Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 368

#367. World Series (6)

The thought had occurred to me before.

Or, more accurately, it had simply popped into my head.

The memory of diving in front of a truck to save a child near the stadium.

Why did I make that choice back then?

I’d pondered it countless times, but a clear answer eluded me.

Dismissing it as mere altruism or compassion felt unsettling. Considering my personality and behavior before the regression, it was difficult to reconcile.

But now I understand.

The face of that child, with whom I made brief eye contact, the child who might have been hurt in my arms…

In that face, I saw someone familiar.

Someone almost forgotten, or rather, someone I’d been trying to forget.

I can’t be certain, but she clearly had some connection to Yerin.

That’s right.

The look in that child’s eyes and face resembled hers, the one I had been searching for a while.

Perhaps…

Perhaps I discovered a trace of her, the one who left me long ago, the one I let go of myself, and that’s why I acted so recklessly.

“Han, what are you doing here?”

“Just… watching the field.”

“How boring. You should head in and get ready. The game is almost here.”

“Preparation is just… changing clothes. Anyway, I got it.”

“Good, see you in the locker room, friend.”

Tiga spoke to me as I leaned at the end of the long passage leading from the clubhouse to the field, staring at the empty expanse.

My consciousness, lost in thought, snapped back to reality.

Right, now isn’t the time to dwell on past memories.

I have run through a long tunnel of time and stood on this stage once again.

The opportunity to win the World Series, which I could only reach at the age of retirement in my previous life, is now unfolding before me.

Even though it’s past October and into November, the evening breeze doesn’t feel cold; it’s even refreshing.

The fans who want our team to win, and the colleagues who have run here with one heart.

Long ago, I had to stand on this stage with a tired and sick body.

The perfect opportunity for victory that I so desired is waiting for me.

To not miss this opportunity that came after living a second life, I step onto the field once again.

* * *

“This is the last lineup I’ve made this season. To be honest, I tore up more than ten lineup sheets to complete this. I haven’t learned how to write the final game lineup to determine the champion yet. That’s right. I mean, like you guys, this is my first time on such a big stage. That’s why I think we went 3-3 in the last six games entirely because of me. No matter what anyone says, you are the best team in the major league this season, and today I have prepared a lineup that will allow that best team to produce the best results. I guarantee it. When the game is over today, we will be holding the trophy and shouting loudly. Fucking World Series.”

The locker room fell silent at Benjamin’s words.

It wasn’t because they were intimidated or nervous.

Rather, it was closer to organizing their minds in their own way.

The players who finished preparing their minds came to the wall and checked the lineup sheet.

1st 3rd baseman Han Su-hyeok

2nd 1st baseman Ty Johnson

3rd Designated Hitter Antonio Garcia

4th Center Fielder Derek Fleming

5th Right Fielder Chuck Clark

6th Left Fielder Jim Brown

7th Catcher Bruce Matthews

8th 2nd baseman Liam Landman

9th Shortstop Josh Oliver

Pitcher Mike Warren

The Seattle Mariners, who advanced to the World Series for the first time in 53 years, and are aiming for their first-ever championship in that first opportunity.

The names of the main players who made that miracle possible this season were engraved there.

The leadoff Han Su-hyeok card, which should be regarded as the best in a situation where it is impossible to confirm what tactics the Cardinals, who have no way out, will come up with.

And the best partner Ty Johnson supporting him, Derek Fleming, who will play the role of starting the central batting line and connecting with the lower batting line, 45-home run hitter Antonio Garcia, who is maintaining the best hitting feeling since the post-season, Chuck Clark, Jim Brown, who have been firmly defending the central batting line throughout the season, Bruce Matthews, who had his first All-Star season ever, and Liam Landman, an offensive second baseman who was traded from the Marlins and took the starting position, and Josh Oliver, who is certain to win the Gold Glove this season.

While the names of the nine hitters were stacked like a tower, the name of starting pitcher Mike Warren, who will be responsible for today’s game, was written below.

The players’ eyes turned to Mike.

He, who is facing the most monumental game in his baseball career, opened his mouth in a calm voice.

“I can promise one thing for sure. No matter what happens, I’m going to stay on the mound longer than the opposing pitcher. So everyone, please help me out, friends.”

* * *

Before the game started, Mike came to me and said this.

‘To be honest, I’m so nervous that it’s hard to even hold the ball. Damn it, what should I do in this case?’

Mike Warren, who had experienced the World Series as a middle relief pitcher during his time with the Dodgers, was starting in the final game with the team’s championship at stake for the first time.

I answered him like this.

‘Even if I tell you to throw with the same feeling as usual, you won’t listen anyway. So just throw it. You’re a knuckleballer anyway, right? Just throw it in the middle and pray to God.’

‘Damn… that’s right. But what should I do? I really don’t want to lose? I want to win no matter what.’

‘I’ll take that burden. Mike, I’ll say it again, just throw it. If you give up 1 point, I’ll bring 2 points, if you give up 2 points, I’ll bring 3 points. That’s our hitters’ job.’

Of course, that kind of magical thing didn’t happen, where all the anxiety disappeared with just one word.

But Mike seemed to have caught a very small clue from my words.

Baseball is all about who scores more points.

In that respect, Seattle has reliable hitters.

You have to believe. No matter what happens during the game, you have to trust your teammates and stick to your pattern.

I turned my head and looked at him.

My slightly anxious heart soon calmed down.

On the mound, there was an old pitcher ready to do everything for his mission.

“Play!”

The game started and the Cardinals’ leadoff hitter stepped into the plate.

Grant Dixon, the Black Panther, who was good in the regular season but is recording a batting average of nearly 50% in this post-season.

‘Low inside course, knuckleball’

Information about the first pitch Mike will throw flowed from the in-ear [earpiece] I plugged into my ear.

When a knuckleballer is on the mound, it can be a bit tricky to position the defense.

Because it is virtually impossible to predict the direction of the batted ball because you don’t know what trajectory the next ball will draw.

In the end, it’s a feeling.

Now I have to trust my senses, which have spent nearly 20 years in the pros.

Sreuk [Sound of the pitch]

Mike, who usually enjoys throwing with a set position rather than a windup, slowly began his pitching motion.

An inside ball thrown by a right-handed pitcher to a left-handed hitter.

If it is a typical breaking ball trajectory, there is a high probability that a batted ball will come out between 1st and 2nd base.

“Josh! Tension!”

“Okay.”

Somehow my hunch was the opposite.

Shortstop Josh reacted immediately to my voice, and the next moment, a reverse-rotating knuckleball that dug into the body collided with the bat.

Taak! [Sound of the bat hitting the ball]

A bullet-like batted ball heading to the right of the shortstop.

Fortunately, Josh, who had been watching the batted ball in advance due to my warning, threw his body with all his might and pulled out the batted ball.

But there was not enough time to get up from his seat and throw directly.

At that moment, Josh showed his wit. Josh tossed the ball in his glove to me as if bouncing it while falling, and I grabbed the ball with my bare hands and threw it to 1st base.

Teoog [Sound of the throw]

Shuoong [Sound of the ball flying]

“Out!”

“Uaaaaaa! That’s it! That’s it!”

“Josh! Han! You are the best defenders in the world!”

“Fucking Grant, finally catching that bastard cleanly!”

The Seattle fans, who had been brutally defeated by Grant Dixon in this series, shouted with their throats.

Grant Dixon, who properly hit the unfamiliar knuckleball, picked up his bat with his head down as if in vain.

“Come on! Let’s go like this, friends!”

“Good!”

“One by one, calmly!”

The other fielders shouted fighting in a loud voice at Ty Johnson’s lead.

In the Seattle infield, which was engulfed in tension in the early game, peace and stability were gradually found.

[2nd batter Left fielder Travis Reed]

In the meantime, the Cardinals’ 2nd batter stepped into the plate.

A 30-60 hitter behind a leadoff hitter who recorded 30-60 [30 stolen bases and 60 RBIs], and a 30-40 home run hitter.

I’m not one to talk, but it’s really one mountain after another.

Today, the Cardinals’ 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th hitters all recorded more than 30 home runs, and were truly composed of league-leading hitters.

It is a natural enemy to knuckleballers, who already have a high rate of allowing long hits.

Powerful hitters who can lift the falling knuckleball and fly it out of the fence.

That’s why what I expect from Mike today is that the knuckleball he throws will show much more severe changes than usual, and fly to a place that even the pitcher throwing it cannot guess.

Paang [Sound of the bat hitting the ball]

“Strike!”

Travis Reed, who swung at the first pitch, burst into laughter as if he was dumbfounded.

Because it was a ball that came into the middle of the zone, did not cause any change, and was literally close to a batting practice pitch.

The compatibility between knuckleballs and hitters who enjoy guess-hitting like that guy is not very good.

Rather, a bad ball hitter of the type of A.J. Jones, who is on the 3rd today, can be said to be much easier to attack knuckleballs.

Of course, all of that is just theory.

Because it’s the same if it hits the center of the bat.

I also understand enough how Mike is walking on thin ice because I have been responsible for a game with only knuckleballs.

That’s why I have to help more diligently.

With the determination to pull out any batted ball heading towards me.

Paang [Sound of the bat hitting the ball]

“Ball.”

The hitter just let go of the absurdly moving ball, which soared once in the middle and then sank sharply in front of the home plate.

Suddenly, I remembered when I first met Mike before the regression.

An old knuckleballer who was sad that his last legacy would disappear from the league like this.

What was Mike thinking when he recommended knuckleball to me back then?

Now there is no place to ask, no one to confirm.

I scattered memories like just my own fantasy into the air and prepared for the next defense.

‘High inside course’

A good choice that can stab the hitter’s weakness.

Of course, there is a prerequisite that it must be properly controlled and show as much good change as that.

It’s okay.

Because there is no perfect plan in the world anyway.

Sreuk [Sound of the pitch]

Mike, who decided to compete with a fast ball, threw the best knuckleball he could throw with all his might.

And,

Taaaak! [Sound of the bat hitting the ball]

With an intense hitting sound, a bullet-like batted ball flew towards the 3rd baseline.

Such a batted ball that would probably be foul if left alone.

I try to throw my body with all my might.

For the pitcher who is fighting anxiety on the mound,

And for all the people who are praying for Seattle at this moment,

Teoog [Sound of the throw]

“Out!”

“Han Su-hyeok! As expected! You! Are the best in the major league!”

“Damn it, he caught that! That friend is our third baseman! Can everyone believe it?”

“How does it taste? You Cardinals bastards!”

I almost missed it, but there’s no need to show it here.

I took the ball out of my glove, threw it to Mike, and shouted loudly.

“Good. Send them all this way like now. I’ll catch them all!”