Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 275

274. Her

Sometimes, you just want to throw everything away and give up.

When all your plans fall apart, when everything you do gets tangled up and you don’t know where to start, when life just feels too hard,

You want to throw away everything you’re carrying and shout.

That you’re tired too, that you can’t take it anymore.

But only a very few people can actually do that.

In the end, most people continue to carry that weight.

That’s right.

Sometimes, giving up is harder than taking responsibility for something.

“Play!”

Bottom of the 9th, two-run lead, only three more batters to get out, but you can’t relax until the end.

Because this is a place where a home run can happen at any time.

The game is coming to an end, but the complicated thoughts in my head are not sorted out at all.

Suppressing the urge to give up on the shutout and ask the closer [a relief pitcher who specializes in finishing games] to take care of the rest, I went up to the mound.

Even the manager, who would normally ask me about my intentions, doesn’t say anything special today.

I took it as a sign to just pitch until the end.

Well, considering this is Coors Field [known for being a hitter-friendly ballpark due to its altitude], it’s right for me to finish today’s game.

A pinch hitter [a substitute batter] came in.

I try to pull out data about the batter from my head.

A player who was traded from the Red Sox last month, so he still maintains a typical upper swing, not a San-like swing [referring to a specific batting style, likely one common among Rockies players].

The Rockies’ dugout must be thinking of catching up at once with one big hit.

Or maybe they judged that there was no other answer.

Whoosh

Paang

“Ball.”

In this case, you have to change the pitching rotation to match the batter.

The batter doesn’t budge at the 101 mph fastball on the body that I threw as a test.

Did I miss it? Or is he not going to hit that course?

Let’s go to the same course one more time, but the ball is not a fastball but a cutter [a type of fastball with slight horizontal movement].

Whoosh

Woong

“Swing!”

It seems like he just watched the first ball.

The bat followed right away, but it was a swing and a miss.

A breaking ball that extends horizontally is much more powerful for that kind of upper swing than a ball that sinks vertically.

Once again, to the same course.

Whoosh

Ttaak!

“Foul!”

The bat follows the 95 mph high-speed slider [a type of breaking ball].

Even I can see that the speed and change width are much worse than usual.

But it doesn’t matter. Before the regression, I became a Cy Young winner [award for the best pitcher] with a much worse ball than this.

The important thing is not how fast and how much the ball curves.

The key is when and where you throw that ball.

And I’m probably one of the best at it in the world.

Whoosh

Woong

“Swing! Out!”

A splitter [a type of pitch that drops sharply] that falls to the body against a batter whose mind is completely focused on the outside ball.

If he could hit this, he wouldn’t have been traded.

One out, now two out counts left.

The stands are strangely quiet even though the team is on the verge of defeat.

Have they already given up? Or are they so angry that they can’t speak?

I turned my gaze to the stands.

The spectators, with stiff expressions as if they had made a promise, were watching the game with their arms crossed.

Um,

I think I should leave this place quickly after the game. The atmosphere is unusual.

“Time!”

A time is requested and another pinch hitter comes in.

This time, it’s a player who was traded from another team.

If I remember correctly, he is a batter with considerable strengths in low courses. I was going to request a data check from Bruce by requesting a time, but I decided to just proceed.

The feeling at my fingertips is not bad right now. In this case, it is much more advantageous to take the game quickly than to interrupt it.

Whoosh

Paang

“Strike!”

The batter flinches at the hard sinker [a type of fastball that drops rapidly] that goes to the high outside course. But the bat didn’t come out.

Is he aiming for the low course after all?

If so,

Whoosh

Woong

“Swing!”

The bat was dragged out by a sinker with a large angle that fell lower than it went low.

After all, what that batter is aiming for is a low course ball.

In this case, there are two options.

You can throw a difficult ball to hit on the course the batter is aiming for, as you just did, or you can throw a full strike on the high course.

My choice was neither.

Whoosh

Paang

“Strike! Out!”

A 102 mph fastball that goes to the center.

Considering that this is Coors Field, I struck out with the best fastball I can throw right now.

The stands are still quiet.

It’s like waiting for something to end, or waiting for something to come.

Whatever it is, it has nothing to do with me.

I have to finish the game quickly and run to the locker room to call Min Ye-rin.

To ask if he met her, if it’s really her.

No, when I think about it, no one but me would be able to recognize if it’s really her.

So in the end, everything ends only when I meet her in person.

Whoo,

After clearing my mind with a light sigh, I faced the last batter.

The Rockies’ veteran who came in instead of the ninth batter.

The old lion, once called the Grim Reaper of this Coors Field, growls and glares at me.

Even in his prime, he was a batter who could hit more than 50 home runs, but he is too old to hit my ball now.

There is a very suitable ball for a batter who has a reduced bat speed and wrist strength, but still aims for a long hit.

Whoosh

Woong

“Swing!”

The batter’s bat danced in the air at the high-speed slider flowing from the center of the zone to the outside.

In this case, it’s not bad to throw the same ball one more time.

Whoosh

Woong

“Swing!”

Again, a swing and a miss.

The old lion’s face turns red, and some of the spectators stand up and start shouting something.

I can’t hear what they’re talking about, but that’s not what’s important right now anyway.

At a glance, the batter’s center has tilted further to the outside.

There’s no need to throw a decoy ball here.

I’m not weak enough to allow that old lion to grab my nape [slang for gaining an advantage].

Nod

The final match ball is decided, and the ball containing my last will flies fiercely towards the batter’s body.

Whoosh

Ppak!

The batter’s bat breaks at the cutter that is close to the body, and the mis-hit ball floats over my head.

In an instant, the entire stadium fell into perfect silence as if promised.

I raised my head and looked at the sky.

Even in this intense lighting, a few stars were showing off their presence here and there.

And a white ball was falling towards me between those stars.

This is the end.

Tuk

“Out!”

The moment I caught the ball, Bruce, who was sitting on home plate, suddenly started convulsing with his head buried on the ground.

And teammates poured out of the dugout.

“Wooaaah! This is crazy! You crazy rookie!”

“Han! You crazy bastard! Euhahah!”

“Come here! Come here!”

Why are they making such a fuss about just a complete game win?

Oh, is it because the difference in wins with Oakland has widened with today’s win?

“That was an amazing pitch! Han! You were great!”

“Yeah, I admit it! You’re the best! The best pitcher!”

I was caught by my teammates and flew into the air without realizing it.

A toss?

Suddenly?

The moment my body floated into the air, I looked at the stands without realizing it.

The Rockies fans, who had been glaring at me as if to kill me until just now, stood up and gave me a standing ovation.

That’s when I realized.

What I’ve done.

“Crazy, did I have a perfect game today?”

“What? Haha, you really didn’t know? Really? You?”

“I didn’t know at all, Ty.”

“You freaking rookie, you’re finally acting like a rookie. Anyway, come here. Today, I’m going to drink with you on the plane until my nose is crooked.”

“I can’t, drinking is for muscle recovery for pitchers, uh……!”

“Shut up and fly into the sky, you brat!”

The game I played with half my mind gone thinking about meeting her,

I became the first pitcher to achieve a perfect game since the opening of Coors Field.

* * *

[Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Han Soo-hyuk achieves the first perfect game in Coors Field history!]

[When asked about his feelings about achieving the great record, Han Soo-hyuk said, “I never thought I would say this, but I really threw without thinking today. But when it was over, I was surprised to hear that it was a perfect game.”]

[Ty Johnson, who contributed to the great record with a valuable two-run home run in the top of the 9th inning, said, “Han Soo-hyuk looked like a rookie for the first time today. He is a really great player. I will work with him to win the Seattle championship.”]

[Experts and baseball fans are shocked by Han Soo-hyuk’s perfect pitching, with 12 strikeouts, 11 ground balls, and only 4 fly balls against 27 batters]

[The game, which was broadcast live on ESPN throughout the United States, is expected to have a huge impact on the upcoming All-Star voting]

[Seattle Mariners, who returned to a 60% win rate with 41 wins and 27 losses this season, are widening the gap with Oakland and dreaming of fall baseball [playoffs]]

[Han Soo-hyuk, who has won 10 of 11 starts this season, revisits the Han Soo-hyuk recruitment competition in the past stove league [off-season]. How do the teams that gave up on him feel now?]

└When I heard that he refused to join the Yankees because of the Yankees’ rules, I thought he was crazy. Giving up the striped uniform for just that? But now I realize. Our team was crazy to impose rules on such a player.

└Originally, the partners Han Soo-hyuk wanted included Lucas Anderson, Aaron Decker, and Jerry Wagner in addition to Ty Johnson. If they had known he was such a good player, the Yankees or Red Sox would have signed Ty Johnson. Luxury tax? Is that important? You can use such a player for the minimum salary?

└Damn it, he has 10 wins and 34 home runs before the end of the first half? Good heavens, why did such a guy go to Seattle?

└It’s not just the Yankees. The Red Sox and Dodgers will be regretting it too. It wouldn’t have been easy to meet that player’s demands, but damn it, Han Soo-hyuk is not a player you can get with a lot of money. We had to bring him in no matter what.

└Hello, I’m a Cardinals fan. We almost signed Han Soo-hyuk. But we failed. And at the same time, we lost Ty Johnson. So don’t cry in front of us, you bastards.

└One thing has become clear. Han Soo-hyuk will be the top vote-getter in this All-Star voting. If a different result comes out? That would be evidence that there are still racists in this land.

└But what position will Han Soo-hyuk come out in? Pitcher? Or third baseman?

└What does it matter where he comes out? Is there a pitcher or third baseman comparable to him at this point?

After finishing the series with Colorado, Seattle moved to Houston for a four-game series against the Astros and a three-game series against the Texas Rangers.

During those seven games, Han Soo-hyuk added two more home runs, increasing his season home run total to 36.

And he started in the first game against Texas, recording 5 innings and 1 run, earning another win.

He could have pitched a little longer, but manager Benjamin took him off the mound as soon as the winning pitcher conditions were met, perhaps conscious of his perfect game in the last start, and the middle relief pitchers took responsibility for the remaining innings.

2 wins and 2 losses in Houston, 2 wins and 1 loss against Texas,

Seattle returned home with a season record of 45 wins and 30 losses.

But Han Soo-hyuk received permission from the manager and headed to LA instead of Seattle.

To Min Ye-rin, and to the place where she would be waiting.

* * *

Squeak

[You have arrived at your destination. We hope you have a safe trip to your destination.]

Tuk

I got out of the airport and immediately took a taxi to the meeting place.

I think it’s fortunate that autonomous driving has become widespread.

I’m not usually stingy with fan service, but at this moment, I don’t want to talk to anyone.

I got out of the driverless taxi and the hotel Min Ye-rin told me about was right in front of me.

Suddenly, I felt my heart sink.

Will I really meet her?

Will I be able to tell her the story in my heart and be free from the past?

Step by step

I passed through the hotel lobby and entered the coffee shop, which was the meeting place.

It was a quiet atmosphere with few customers, perhaps because of the time.

I looked around and Min Ye-rin waved at me from afar.

“Oppa [Korean term for older brother used by females], over here!”

I heard whispering sounds, as if someone had recognized me and Min Ye-rin.

But it doesn’t matter. I wasn’t in a situation to care about that.

The blonde-haired woman sitting in front of Min Ye-rin,

The moment I saw the back of that woman, my eyes became blurry.

But I didn’t care and approached her.

“Excuse me.”