Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 233

#232. Houston Jerks

“Hey, Han. About the last game. When you faced that Lucas guy in the 5th.”

“Yeah.”

“Looking back, I think it would have been better to throw another breaking ball instead of trying to overpower him, right? It ended up as a fly ball to center field, but honestly, it was a well-hit ball. Was I too hasty?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought so. Thanks, that helps a lot. Oh, Riley told me to thank you for his home run. My wife also wants to have dinner with you when you come to Seattle, so I’ll set a date and invite you to our place. Is that okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Great, I’ll let you know when the date is set. Thanks for accepting the invitation, buddy.”

Ryan, who had been circling around me and talking to himself, disappeared somewhere with a satisfied look on his face.

And then someone else’s face popped up in front of me.

“Hehe, looks like you’ve got another kid. Mommy, mommy, another kid whining for food.”

“Don’t make such horrible jokes. Tai, I’m only twenty-three.”

“Damn it, that’s the real horrible thing to say. The fact that you’re only twenty-three.”

“Whatever, more than that, two kids? I understood Ryan, but who’s the other one?”

“Over there, over there. The guy who keeps looking at you even while changing his uniform.”

Tai’s finger pointed to Derek far away.

The center fielder of our team who has been strangely watching me since the bench clearing.

“Ah…….”

“Anyway, Ryan seems pretty serious, shouldn’t you at least give him a proper answer? I’d like to help, but I don’t know anything about pitching.”

“Help with what? He already knows that his idea is right. He just wants… how should I put it… to get confirmation from someone, to be acknowledged… Damn it, saying it like this makes him sound like a kid.”

“Hahaha, that’s funny. Really funny. That such a guy is one of the best pitchers in the American League.”

Having said everything he wanted to say, Tai got up from his seat, laughing, and went back to his locker.

The third game against the Yankees yesterday ended with a 5-4 come-from-behind victory for us by one point.

The tears in Ryan’s eyes when I hit the go-ahead home run and returned to the dugout are still vivid in my mind.

In my past life, my relationship with that guy wasn’t that great, to be honest.

Back then, Ryan was always on edge, leading this team full of youngsters, and I was focused on my own work without much interaction with other players, so there wasn’t really a relationship to speak of.

We just came to work together, and when we left, we were strangers, just like that.

If I had started my baseball career in Seattle again after my regression, if that had happened, I might have lived an isolated life like I did back then.

But the three years I spent with the Warriors seem to have changed me quite a bit.

Guys I wouldn’t have even looked at before keep catching my eye, and when they’re whining and crying, I want to go and help them, and if someone hits them, I want to take revenge for them…….

Hmm,

Let’s stop. I feel like I’m going to become a babysitter.

Anyway, after finishing the three-game series against the Yankees with 2 wins and 1 loss, we moved up to second place in the division with a season record of 8 wins and 5 losses, following Oakland.

And then, a three-game road trip against the Houston Astros.

Although we belong to the same division, the distance is terribly far.

The league office seems to have been considerate enough to have us go to New York, then Houston, and then back to Oakland, but in terms of travel distance, it’s almost like touring the entire United States.

Houston Astros.

Based on population and the city’s wealth, it’s clearly a team that can be called a big market.

But the things their front office does are worse than Oakland, which is a small market.

Oakland is really tanking [intentionally losing games to secure better draft picks] because they don’t have money, and Houston is tanking because they don’t want to spend money.

Still, the gathered energy bombs exploded, and from the late 2010s to the mid-2020s, they reigned as a strong team, but after all those players left, another tanking began.

When I think about it, there is no absolute powerhouse in the American League West, where our team belongs.

Houston, which has relatively ample financial circumstances, is in that shape, and the Texas Rangers don’t seem to be getting their money’s worth because of the front office’s incompetence, even though they spend a lot of money.

LA Angels? When it comes to not spending money properly, they’re one of the top teams in the entire Big League.

Objectively speaking, Seattle is just as pathetic.

After tanking for a long time and gathering prospects, they made a big decision to sign Ryan to a long-term contract and declared win-now, but…….

The players they brought in through trades all flopped and are stuck on the bench.

Frankly speaking, if Tai Johnson and I hadn’t joined this season, this team’s fate would be, at best, somewhere in the middle of the division.

Anyway, in this situation, Oakland, which manages the team frugally with the lowest payroll in the Western Division, often wins the championship by chance.

A competent front office gathers prospects from all over the place and nurtures them well, and after winning the league championship once, they sell those players to secure the team’s operating budget.

Hmm,

Except for the fact that the front office is competent, it looks quite similar to the Warriors before I regressed.

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

Someone approached me as I was frowning because of the sudden dirty thought.

Dimon Anderson Jr., our team’s number two starter who will be starting today’s game against Houston.

A traditional right-handed pitcher who uses a fastball, curve, and changeup with moderate power.

Although he was somewhat sluggish last season, he is a player with endless potential considering that he is only twenty-six years old.

“Han, your team, ah, I mean the Korean team you played for before coming here. Seoul Warriors? Right?”

“Right.”

“I heard Walter is playing there. Is he doing well?”

“I don’t know what the standard for doing well is, but as far as I know, he seems to be satisfied with his role.”

“Good, he’s doing well. That person caught my ball when I first came up to the Big League. Hmm, yeah, that was quite a while ago.”

Walter Smith, who joined the Warriors in my first season after regression to replace an injured foreign player, has signed a long-term contract with the Warriors and is playing as the team’s fourth hitter.

Although his batting average stays in the mid-200s every year, he is currently an indispensable player for the Warriors, recording more than 40 home runs and more than 100 RBIs.

Park Dong-seok’s frequency of appearing as a backup catcher is increasing to maximize the offensive power of Jang Deok-soo, who has opened his eyes to hitting, but Walter is still wearing his mitt when a backup catcher is needed in important games.

Ah, come to think of it, Seong-hoon told me a while ago that they are considering converting Jang Deok-soo to first base to prepare for Jo Seong-oh’s retirement.

Hmm,

Retirement…….

Suddenly, I felt a little strange.

I’m planning to return to Korea someday, but some of the Warriors’ seniors may have already left the field when I return to Korea.

I’ve been playing baseball for quite a long time through two lives, but I’ve never witnessed the retirement of someone meaningful to me.

I don’t know how it feels for a colleague who played with me to get old and take off his uniform.

Huh,

Let’s think about this later.

Now is the time to find out why this guy came to talk to me.

“I’m ready, Dimon.”

“Hmm?”

“You came here to say something. I’m ready, so tell me.”

Dimon’s face turned slightly red at my words.

It was the face of someone who had been caught.

“It’s nothing.”

“Hmm?”

“I just wanted to say thank you.”

“For what?”

“For hitting the come-from-behind home run in the last game, no, more than that, for helping Ryan, damn it, yeah, that’s what I honestly feel. Thank you. For helping our ace.”

“Why are you thanking me for that?”

“I’ve been throwing the ball while watching Ryan in the minors [minor league]. It was my dream to be on the same mound as him. I finally achieved that dream, but… hmm, to be honest, I’m too burdened by this second starter position. I have to support the ace, but I’m not quite there yet, haha.”

“Hmm.”

“When Ryan is having a hard time, I feel like it’s all my fault, so it’s been tough. But since you and Tai joined, I think that burden has been reduced a lot. I’ll say hello again formally. Thank you, buddy.”

Dimon, having said what he wanted to say, handed me a banana and went back to his seat.

Honestly speaking,

Hmm,

What should I say, it’s a little embarrassing.

I feel a little strange because I heard something I never thought I would hear.

The reason I came to America was to see how far I could go if I played baseball with all my heart.

There was no one to stimulate me anymore in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization], so I just wanted to play at a slightly higher level.

But this team, those guys, keep coming to me.

Sometimes, the faces of my lacking colleagues, seniors, and a few juniors I left behind in Korea come to mind in the 모습 [form/shape] of those guys.

I don’t know.

I don’t know if this is right, if it’s right to leave my mark on a team that I don’t know when I’ll leave.

“Alright, everyone! Are you all ready? Good, gather around here!”

Manager Benjamin calls the players together in a loud voice.

The thoughts that were bothering my head disappeared somewhere at that voice.

After today’s game, I should leave a message for my colleagues I left behind in the Warriors.

Just,

I just suddenly thought of that.

* * *

“It’s you. The super rookie from Korea? How is it? Is the Big League adaptable? There’s a good bar around here, would you like me to introduce you?”

“Hey.”

“Hmm? Why? Don’t tell me you want me to go with you? We’re not at that stage yet.”

“Shut up and play baseball.”

“Ooh… tough, huh?”

“If you want to see what’s really tough, throw a ball at my butt. Then I’ll show you what real tough is.”

“What?”

“Okay, both of you stop talking and focus on baseball.”

I basically don’t like teams that tank. No, to be more precise, I despise them.

If Oakland is really tanking to survive because they don’t have money, I can understand it a little, but these Houston guys are an exception.

A population of 2.5 million and an economy that ranks among the top in the United States, and home fans who are enthusiastic about baseball.

Despite having such excellent infrastructure, this team’s management has no desire to win.

First of all, there is no will to invest at all.

All teams affiliated with Major League Baseball pay approximately 30% of their profits to the league office, and the league office divides the money collected in that way equally among each team.

The reason why they do this troublesome thing is to distribute the profits of big market teams that earn a lot of money to small markets with relatively poor infrastructure.

If it’s difficult to achieve results because of the limitations of the infrastructure, we’ll supplement it like this, so invest in the team with that money and try harder to win the championship.”

But Houston’s management didn’t invest that money in the team, but kept it locked up in the warehouse and started tanking again.

I’m sure of it.

Tanking is the most despicable act that erodes the popularity of baseball and the level of the league.

“Damn it, acting cocky for a rookie.”

“Shut up. If you have a problem, try hitting me. You son of a bitch.”

That’s why I can’t look at these guys in a good light.

In fact, even if that wasn’t the case, Houston itself has long been marked as a nuisance to other teams.

The main character of the sign-stealing scandal that will be remembered in the history of Major League Baseball is Houston.

Stealing the opposing team’s signs with a camera installed in the outfield, and delivering the signs to the players by banging loudly on the trash can according to the signs.

What made other teams even more angry was that many of the Houston players who did such dirty things didn’t reflect on it, but made things worse by making ridiculous excuses through SNS [Social Networking Services].

The antipathy towards Houston that started that way reached its peak when they won the World Series in 2022.

They stole signs and even won the championship, so they became the public enemy.

“Play!”

The umpire quickly urged the start of the game as the atmosphere between me and the catcher became increasingly hostile.

Top of the 1st inning, one out, no runners.

Whoosh

Bang

“Ball!”

A high inside pitch that flew almost to the end of the helmet.

It was clear to anyone that it was a threatening ball, but I didn’t bother to avoid it.

I clearly warned you.

Try hitting me once.

The moment that ball touches my body even by a hair, I’m going to take care of this unlucky catcher first.

Whoosh

Bang

“Strike!”

Whether my warning worked, or whether it was because he was conscious of the next hitter, Tai Johnson,

Instead of a beanball [a pitch deliberately thrown at the batter’s head], a full strike came in on the outside.

The Houston fans’ curses and jeers are getting louder and louder.

Very good.

Unlike the KBO, which is intertwined with various school ties, I like this atmosphere where I can take care of guys I don’t like as much as I want.

Ah, of course, I mean taking care of them with baseball.

I’m not a psycho.

Really.

Whoosh

Bang

“Ball!”

This time, the ball flew in an absurd course, perhaps because the control was not good.

Whoosh

Bang

“Ball!”

“How can you hit me throwing like that? Try harder.”

“……”

Perhaps giving up on arguing with me anymore, no words flowed out of the catcher’s mouth.

Well, there’s no way guys who come to the baseball field every day without any intention of winning and just get paid a salary would have such courage.

Whoosh

Bang

“Ball!”

“Woo-hoo!”

“Another walk from the start! You son of a bitch!”

“Who told you to win the championship? At least you should do your best!”

“Do you think I bought this expensive ticket to watch a game like this? You son of a bitch!”

The home fans’ jeers poured out as if they had been waiting for it when the walk came out.

Of course, it’s jeering at their own team’s players, not me.

“How does it feel to play baseball while listening to those sounds?”

“Shut up.”

“Hmm, at least he knows what shame is more than that catcher. Good, then shut up and let’s play baseball.”

After exchanging light greetings with the first baseman, I started to increase the lead little by little.

As I gained weight to increase the number of home runs, the thought of stealing naturally disappeared from my head.

As a result, I have never attempted to steal a base since entering the Big League.

But now is the time to take it out.

Because that’s the best way to screw over the cocky pitcher and catcher.

Whoosh

Ta-dat

The moment the ball left the pitcher’s fingertips, I immediately started.

My thigh muscles, which have gained more strength as my body has grown a little, powerfully push my body forward.

The eyes of the spectators were focused on me, along with the catcher’s scream mixed with panic.