Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 226

#225. Rookie

While Seattle led the American League West with a 6-1 record, the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization], whose season started slightly later, featured a three-game series between the Seoul Warriors and the Busan Titans.

The Busan Titans were perpetually tipped to finish last. Since their founding, they had never won a regular-season championship, and they hadn’t even sniffed the Korean Series championship trophy in the 21st century. A true miracle team, but not in a good way.

However, if you had to pick the KBO team with the most changes in the 2030 season, it would undoubtedly be the Busan Titans.

The Jin San High School and Kyung Seo High School faction had been deeply entrenched within the Titans organization for 48 years, since the KBO’s inception.

These people had been living comfortably, chanting “We are family” while the team scraped the bottom of the league. Now, they were being swept away.

The person who accomplished this miraculous feat was none other than the Titans’ new owner.

More precisely, it was the third son of the former chairman, who had taken the chairman’s position instead of his older brother, the presumed heir. During his time as a successor trainee, he’d been briefly involved in the Titans’ operations. As soon as he seized power, he immediately turned his attention to the baseball team.

Naturally, everyone within the baseball team who had aligned themselves with the eldest son, anticipating his ascension to chairman, was put on high alert.

A large-scale audit and subsequent measures were carried out on the president, general manager, front office staff, manager, coaches, and players who had been running the Titans.

The president, who had advised against rapid changes, arguing they would harm the team, was the first to be fired.

Following him were the operations team leader and public relations team leader, along with four coaches from both the first and second teams. They were all dismissed. Several veterans who were occupying positions without contributing were unconditionally released from the team.

But it didn’t stop there.

The general manager, who had been eyeing the next president’s position, along with more coaches, the head of the power analysis team, the marketing team leader, the manager, and several players connected to them, all packed their bags in quick succession.

The Busan Titans were instantly decimated.

The new owner appointed a professional manager to the vacant president’s position and declared to the world:

Even if they finished last for the next few years, he would not tolerate freeloaders leeching off the team. Anyone even suspected of unsavory behavior would be immediately dismissed.

That single statement caused several coaches and players who still had connections to power to prostrate themselves, begging for mercy.

The secret meetings and tightly woven networks of influence were instantly severed.

[Busan Titans Appoints Korean-American Jonathan Lee as New General Manager]

[New General Manager Jonathan Lee: “We have managed to bring in a good manager with the Warriors’ understanding. Jason Bennett, who was the Warriors’ second-team manager last season, will lead the Titans for the next three years.”]

With Han Su-hyeok moving to the United States and Benjamin Reynolds, the chief coach, being appointed as the new manager of the Mariners, several foreign coaches who had remained with the Warriors were also looking for new opportunities.

Among them, Jason, the second-team manager, who had been recognized for his contribution to revitalizing the Warriors’ second team, became the new manager of the Busan Titans.

[Busan Titans: “We hope that the new manager will transplant the Warriors’ winning mentality to the Titans as well.”]

[Busan Baseball Elders Express Concerns About the Titans’ Sudden Move]

[Titans Fans: “We Actively Support the Club’s Bold Move. Baseball Elders OUT!”]

The large-scale club reform that had taken place in the Warriors a few years prior was now happening in the Busan Titans.

Was it thanks to that?

Even though they hadn’t fully cleaned up the mess yet, the faces of the remaining Titans players, now that the leeches were gone, began to show hope for a new future, replacing the complacency they had displayed until now.

And that immediately led to improved performance.

The Warriors, who had won the first game with ace Lim Jun-yeong on the mound, were defeated by the Titans in the second game.

Second starter Cheon Sang-jin pitched well, allowing only two runs through the seventh inning, but Lee Young-joo, who came on as a middle reliever, was hit with a three-run home run, allowing the Titans to reverse the score in an instant. The Warriors lost the second game.

And then came the third game.

Bang!

“Cough!”

“Third base! Third base!”

“Eek!”

Whoosh

Thwack!

“Out!”

“Wow!”

“Seo Hyeong-joo, nice! Nice play!”

“Seo Hyeong-joo! Seo Hyeong-joo! Seo Hyeong-joo!”

The Warriors were almost in another crisis.

Choi Ma-ru, who started in place of Eric Thompson, who felt discomfort in his side, took a deep breath after stopping a crucial threat in the fifth inning.

Seo Hyeong-joo brilliantly handled a batted ball that could have been a game-winning hit, allowing the Warriors to maintain a one-run lead at 4-3.

It goes without saying that there had been many changes in the Warriors’ player operations since Han Su-hyeok left.

First, the starting rotation he left behind was reorganized in the order of Lim Jun-yeong, Cheon Sang-jin, Eric Thompson, Ryan Stark, and Choi Ma-ru.

Lee Man-shik, now in his mid-thirties and approaching his late thirties, was contributing to the team as a long reliever or setup man, rather than a starter.

There were also many changes in the batting lineup.

Yoo In-cheol, a classmate of Han Su-hyeok, was filling the shortstop position that Han Su-hyeok had vacated. Although he was no match for Han Su-hyeok in any aspect of offense, defense, or running, none of the Warriors fans blamed him.

They all knew that there was no shortstop in this world who could replace Han Su-hyeok.

Meanwhile, Seo Hyeong-joo was still holding down the starting center fielder and leadoff hitter position, and Ahn Chi-wook, who had been pushed to designated hitter after Min Joo-hyeon’s acquisition, regained the third baseman position after much soul-searching.

Min Joo-hyeon, who gave up third base to Ahn Chi-wook, was now playing first base in place of Jo Seong-oh, who was approaching forty.

And Jang Deok-soo was gradually reducing the number of catcher appearances due to his large physique and weight issues, instead focusing more on hitting as a designated hitter.

Everything had changed like that, but one thing hadn’t.

That was Han Su-hyeok’s presence, which still lingered in the Warriors’ dugout.

“Choi Ma-ru, good job. You worked hard.”

“Thank you, Manager.”

“Hoo, Choi Ma-ru. I told you not to throw a fastball on that last pitch, didn’t I?”

“What are you talking about? If I had thrown a sloppy breaking ball there, it would have been crushed for sure. Look at that foreign player’s arms.”

“Haa… you’re all talk. Anyway, did you get a message from Su-hyeok hyung [older brother or respected male figure]?”

“Hehehe, yeah. I was really honored that he personally left a sacred text on my humble cell phone.”

“How much did you bother him with messages… Anyway, what did he say?”

“Well, um… it’s a bit long, but first of all, he said this to Dong-seok. Don’t even think about doing useless framing, just focus on the basics. And stop wiggling your butt every time you catch the ball.”

“Wow… did I really do that?”

“Figure it out, and then…”

Seo Hyeong-joo, who had been listening to their conversation from the side, suddenly interjected.

“Did he say anything to me?”

“Ah! Hyeong-joo hyung! Thank you so much for that defense just now.”

“Forget it, did that Han Su-hyeok say anything to me or not?”

“Ah, ah, yes, well, that is…”

“Why? Didn’t he say anything?”

“He did, but that’s…”

“What is it? Ah, you’re killing me with frustration. Just tell me straight.”

“Yes! He said, don’t pose unnecessarily at the plate, and make sure to clean your house properly…”

“…Damn it.”

Seo Hyeong-joo, who had been hit right on the mark, disappeared without another word, and Ahn Chi-wook approached him instead.

“What about me?”

“Ah, Chi-wook hyung.”

“Forget it, what did he say?”

“…He said if you keep flaring your elbows every time you swing, he’s going to sew them to your torso with a sewing machine…”

“Bad guy… that’s the first thing he says after a few months.”

Ahn Chi-wook, who had nothing to say, just like Seo Hyeong-joo, picked up his bat and went out to the on-deck circle.

Choi Ma-ru, who had been staring blankly at the scene, muttered to himself without realizing it.

“Su-hyeok hyung, I miss you. It’s only been a few months.”

“I know.”

“Park Dong-seok.”

“What?”

“Don’t stop me.”

“From what?”

“I’m going to go to America through posting [transfer system] no matter what next year.”

“Don’t talk nonsense, let’s win today’s game first. What crazy American club would take a guy who gives up three runs in five innings in the KBO?”

“Hey, that’s because my pitching schedule was suddenly moved up…!”

“Oh? Are you dissing the pitching coach right now? Coach! Ma-ru is here, ungh! Ungh! Let go! Ptooey! Ptooey!”

The Warriors players recalled someone’s face as they watched the bickering of the youngest players, who were now in their third year as professionals but still looked young.

It had only been a few months since they had parted ways, but they already missed his presence.

A pillar-like presence that somehow filled the void whenever there was something lacking in the team.

Han Su-hyeok.

No matter how hard they tried to forget him, the memory and presence of him was too great.

That’s why it will take a little more time for the Warriors players and fans to forget Han Su-hyeok.

Because he is a player who cannot be replaced by anyone in this world.

* * *

Bang!

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”

The visiting team’s locker room at Yankee Stadium.

Jake Howard, the Seattle fifth starter, who had started today and given up five runs in six innings before being taken off the mound, punched his locker in anger.

It was anger at himself, not anyone else.

At himself for leaving such a pathetic result on the Big League starting mound that he had managed to grab with such difficulty.

“Hey, calm down. What if you hurt your hand?”

“…Damn it, I’m sorry, Ty.”

“No, you don’t have to be sorry to me, I just don’t want you to hurt your hand.”

“I understand. Thank you.”

“Good, then go take a shower and cool your head, friend.”

Ty Johnson stepped in to sort things out, unable to watch any longer.

The Mariners, who had recorded 6 wins and 1 loss with ace Ryan Thibodeau pitching a complete-game victory in the first game against the Texas Rangers, suffered a three-game losing streak in the second, third, and fourth games against Texas that followed.

There was no particular reason. It was just that the opponent was too good, while the Mariners players were a little worse.

During that three-game losing streak, Han Su-hyeok added three home runs, and Ty Johnson also had one home run and five RBIs, but in the end, they couldn’t prevent the team from losing.

That was something that could happen.

But after the 10-game home stand, Seattle came to New York for a three-game road series against the Yankees and suffered another crushing defeat in the first game.

In an instant, a four-game losing streak. The team that had been running at 6 wins and 1 loss in the first seven games after the opening game, fell to fourth place in the division.

Naturally, the atmosphere of the team also sank.

Ty Johnson, who didn’t intend to volunteer as a leader, but felt responsible for the team’s atmosphere as a veteran, comforted some of the players and returned to his seat.

Han Su-hyeok was sitting there with an indifferent expression, eating a banana.

“Damn it, I wish those guys were half as cool as you.”

“Don’t worry too much, Ty. They’re still young.”

The average age of the Seattle Mariners’ starting lineup this season was only 26.5 years old.

It was an age that was more appropriate to be called young than young.

“Young… yeah, it’s not something you, who’s just in your early twenties, should say, but they’re definitely young.”

“Sometimes when you play baseball, things just happen like this, hmm…”

“Hehe, that’s true.”

Ty Johnson looked at Han Su-hyeok with a dumbfounded expression.

The youngest guy on this team in terms of age, the guy who should be the first to be frustrated in this situation and bury his head in the locker, can maintain such composure.

He was a really interesting guy the more he thought about it.

Anyway, Ty Johnson knew better than anyone that Han Su-hyeok’s words were right, regardless of age or anything like that.

It’s just nothing.

Baseball is something that can go on a winning streak and then fall into a losing streak for no reason.

Of course, he had to spend quite a bit of time to understand that as well.

“Alright.”

“Damn it, rookie.”

“Hearing you say that just now suddenly reminds me of someone.”

“Who?”

“There’s someone who keeps telling me not to throw knuckleballs whenever he sees me. Anyway, why?”

“Can I look forward to tomorrow’s game?”

Han Su-hyeok chuckled at Ty Johnson’s words and replied.