Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 254

#253. Tanaka’s Ordeal

I’m not exactly someone with a great fan service spirit, nor do I possess unconditional affection for young children.

Wait a minute…

I regressed after saving a child from being hit by a car, so I might need to rethink that part.

Anyway,

After the team lost, I inadvertently glanced towards where Min Ye-rin was, and I noticed a little kid leaning against the safety net, crying miserably.

Suddenly, a memory popped into my head.

When I was about the same age as that kid, I remember crying my eyes out after hearing that my favorite player had been traded to another team.

I suddenly felt like I had done something wrong to the kid, so I invited the child and their guardian to dinner through Min Ye-rin, and I also had some of my teammates join us to give them a little pep talk.

I only found out right before today’s game that this had become a hot topic among Seattle fans.

“Play!”

Anyway, I promised that kid yesterday.

That I would win today’s game no matter what, so they should definitely come to the stadium again.

No matter how strong we are as a team, or how weak the opponent is, predicting a victory is never easy.

So why did I promise to win?

Because of that guy standing on the mound like a corpse—no, thanks to him.

Tanaka Yamato.

The pitcher who appeared in crucial moments during the WBC [World Baseball Classic] and Olympics and became my excellent home run supplier.

Whoosh

Bang

“Ball.”

“Boo!”

“You son of a bitch! Throw a strike! If you keep avoiding it, Taiga will punish you!”

That ridiculous pitch just now seemed more like a mistake than intentionally throwing it wide.

It’s clear from the way he keeps wiping sweat from his forehead with those rotten fish eyes.

Both in my past life and this one, my batting mechanics and that guy’s pitches have a strange synergy.

It’s like, I feel like I could close my eyes and swing randomly and still hit a home run.

“Play!”

With a runner on first and no outs, scoring the first run is crucial to break the team’s losing streak, but.

Shuffle

I trust myself and aggressively aim for a big hit.

Adjusting the grip, slightly changing the stance to prepare for outside pitches,

Visualizing the trajectory of that guy’s signature two-seam fastball in my head,

One, two, three,

Crack!

“Wow!”

“Fucking great! That’s it! That’s the one!”

“Damn it! I’ll forget about the three-game losing streak until yesterday, so kill that pitcher! Kill him!”

The moment the bat connected, I knew it was a home run.

Without even looking at the trajectory of the ball, I threw the bat into the air and raised my fist towards the cheering section near first base, where the kid, their grandfather, and Min Ye-rin were.

“Yes! Awesome! Han Su-hyeok! You’re the best!”

“Sorry for cursing you out yesterday! Damn, I believed in you!”

“Oppa!” [Korean term for ‘older brother’ used by females, often used affectionately towards male friends or idols]

I slowly ran, looking towards the first base cheering section.

Min Ye-rin and the kid were jumping up and down, stuck to the safety net, and the kid’s grandfather was standing a step away.

I raised my hand towards them once more before heading to second base, then third base.

“You son of a bitch.”

As I rounded third and headed for home, I heard some idiot’s voice and glanced back.

It was Sean Tucker, who had been the starting third baseman for Seattle until last season, the guy who was traded to the Cubs to make room for me, chewing gum and glaring at me.

I thought about going back and punching him in the jaw, but I decided to hold back this time. I thought the kid who was looking at me with admiration would be sad if I got ejected.

Instead, as I stepped on home plate, I said to the Cubs’ catcher.

“Hey.”

“What? Why are you talking to me?”

“Tell that third baseman over there. If he has any complaints, don’t be a coward and grumble behind my back; come at me head-on anytime.”

“What are you talking about? What’s that supposed to mean, you son of a bitch.”

“It means if I catch him grumbling behind my back one more time, I’ll kill all of you.”

“You… crazy!”

“That’s enough! Okay, that’s enough arguing, just go back to the dugout.”

After giving the warning, I approached Taiga, who was in the batter’s box.

Taiga asked me with a dumbfounded expression.

“What’s wrong? You even hit a home run; why are you so angry?”

“That third baseman was talking nonsense behind my back. Anyway, Taiga, that pitcher definitely can’t throw good pitches. It’s okay to watch him for a while, and if you’re going to hit, you might want to expand your zone a bit.”

“Really? Okay. I’ll keep that in mind.”

The Seattle Mariners, who need to break their three-game losing streak and maintain their position as first place in the division, versus the Chicago Cubs, who need to continue their winning streak and aim for first place in the division.

A showdown between the aces who are responsible for the fate of their teams.

And an idiot who is holding a grudge over a trade.

“Good.”

“Huh? Han? What’s good?”

“No, I mean, it’s a really good day to play baseball today.”

“Is that so?”

* * *

In the bottom of the first inning, Seattle took a 2-0 lead with Han Su-hyeok’s two-run home run.

In the top of the second inning, Sean Tucker, who had the team’s only .300 batting average last season and recorded a decent 85 RBIs, stepped up to the plate after being traded to the Cubs.

“Hey, Bruce.”

“Hmm, I don’t think we’re on *insulting* terms, are we?”

Bruce Matthews, the starting catcher who was the oldest player in the Seattle roster, which was mainly composed of players in their 20s, and third baseman Sean Tucker had experienced serious conflicts of opinion throughout their time playing together due to their different personalities.

General Manager Daniel’s decision to trade Sean Tucker was primarily to make room for Han Su-hyeok, but it may also have been a decision to side with Bruce, who sacrificed himself for the team’s teamwork, over the selfish Sean Tucker.

Anyway, Sean Tucker, who was traded to the Cubs, secured the starting third baseman and core hitter position and was showing decent performance.

“Forget it, tell that damn rookie. If he does that bat flip one more time, I won’t let it slide.”

Bruce chuckled at Sean Tucker’s words.

“You still don’t use the internet much, do you?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Hmm, I thought so. Okay, if you’re going to refuse the conveniences of civilization, ask the other idiots in your dugout to show you the Seattle Han Su-hyeok bench-clearing video.”

Sean Tucker closed his mouth as if something had come to mind.

Bruce, thinking that he was still an annoying guy, sent a sign to the pitcher for the first pitch.

‘High fastball inside.’

Ryan Thibodeau, who had roughly grasped the situation, nodded at once.

And immediately threw the ball where the catcher had directed him.

Whoosh

Bang

“Ball!”

“Fuck!”

“Calm down. It just slipped out of your hand. Your pitcher did that earlier too.”

“Damn it, I’m going to kill all you annoying bastards.”

“Umpire, I clearly explained the situation to the batter. But it seems like he can’t hear me. Can I ask you to mediate?”

“Hmm, I will. I don’t know what happened between you guys. And I don’t want to know. But what’s certain is that if you curse and stall any longer, I’m going to eject him. Understand?”

“I understand.”

“……”

Sean Tucker closed his mouth again as the situation turned unfavorable.

Bruce, who had known him for a long time, knew very well what kind of pitch to throw now.

‘Outside changeup.’

Whoosh

Woong

“Swing!”

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down. Why are you glaring at the pitcher with your bat? It’s your fault you didn’t hit that pitch, not the pitcher’s.”

“You sons of bitches……”

“Okay, shut your mouth and play baseball.”

Sean Tucker, who had messed up Sean Tucker’s mood, sent the final sign to Ryan.

‘Changeup again.’

Nod

Whoosh

Woong

“Swing! Out!”

“You cowardly bastards!”

“If striking out with a changeup is cowardly, then all the Cy Young winners in history are cowards. Don’t talk nonsense and go in, buddy. We’re playing baseball right now.”

Sean Tucker, who had been glaring at the pitcher and catcher for a long time, eventually went into the dugout without doing anything.

In that moment, Bruce felt something heavy that had been stuck in his heart for a long time go down.

It wasn’t just once or twice that this selfish, arrogant, and self-centered guy had ruined the team’s atmosphere.

A cocky third baseman who acted all high and mighty just because he was a little good at baseball among the mediocre rookies.

Bruce gave another snort and inadvertently looked towards third base.

The best third baseman, who couldn’t be compared to that trash in terms of skill or character, was standing there.

‘Okay, next time, should I provoke him by saying that you got traded and our third base got stronger?’

Bruce smiled without realizing it.

* * *

“Why? Why are you saying you can’t do it? You cowardly bastard!”

“What?”

“Hey! Sean! Stop it! What are you doing to the starting pitcher?”

“Damn it, there are only cowards on this team.”

“Watch your mouth. One more word and it’s a fine.”

With Seattle leading by 2 points thanks to Han Su-hyeok’s 21st home run of the season in the bottom of the first inning, Seattle’s attack was being prepared again in the bottom of the third inning.

Sean Tucker said to Tanaka Yamato, who was coming out of the dugout with an expression that said he hated throwing.

To hit Han Su-hyeok, to throw a beanball [pitch thrown intentionally at the batter’s head].

It was a natural thing to say, but Tanaka jumped up and down and refused, and the veteran first baseman, who recognized the situation, went to the side and separated the two.

Tanaka thought as he looked at the idiot heading to third base with a flushed face.

‘Should I have moved teams?’

A harsh environment makes people violent.

Along with the Philadelphia Phillies and the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago Cubs are the team with the best and worst fandom among the 30 Major League teams.

Waiting for a World Series victory for a whopping 108 years, the fans of this team have become ferocious, and the players who play while being mindful of such fans have no choice but to become increasingly sensitive and violent.

Of course, not everyone was like that, but at least that’s how Tanaka saw it.

Chicago was not a suitable team for him to play for, as he considered himself to have a humble and delicate personality.

Thinking that he should have transferred to another team even if he received a little less money, Tanaka stood on the mound.

Gulp.

The feeling that had been heated up by the same team’s idiot third baseman until just now had cooled down due to the opposing team’s third baseman.

Seattle’s attack in the bottom of the third inning, starting with Han Su-hyeok.

Tanaka grabbed his mind, which kept trying to turn off, and looked at the catcher’s sign.

Shake shake

Shake shake

Tanaka refused the catcher’s signs that were coming through the earpiece in succession.

Low ball inside, high ball outside, he didn’t like any of them.

He wanted to just intentionally walk him, but Tanaka knew very well what kind of trouble the teams that made that choice had with the next batter, Taiga Johnson.

The catcher’s face showed annoyance.

With the introduction of the pitch clock, he had to throw the ball within 15 seconds, so he couldn’t just stall for time.

‘Curveball that flows out of the zone.’

Nod nod nod

Tanaka nodded like crazy as the catcher gave the decoy sign.

His brain’s happy circuit was spinning furiously.

‘If that guy swings and misses at the ball that’s going out of here, and if I’m lucky, a strikeout, no, I’m not even hoping for that, just a ground ball, no, no, that’s too greedy. Yeah, just letting him get a hit isn’t bad either. The manager would understand that much. Damn it, why do they even do interleague play? Please, God, please!’

Tanaka, searching for a God he didn’t even believe in, threw the best curveball he could throw.

Believing that this ball would save him from despair.

But,

Crack!

The moment Han Su-hyeok mindlessly pushed the ball that was going out of the zone and sent it flying to the right,

And the moment he felt like he knew where that ball had gone without even bothering to look back.

“Oooooooh!”

“It’s going! Yes! Fucking! That’s it!”

“It’s over! Another home run!”

“Han Su-hyeok! Damn it! Sorry for cursing! I’m sorry!”

Tanaka, who had allowed two home runs in two at-bats, slumped down on the mound once again.