Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 37

#36. Avoid Han Su-hyeok

“Hwaaa! Su-hyeok, you’re the best! Let go of me! I’m going over there!”

“Ms. Min Ye-rin, please come down! It’s dangerous! You’ll really get hurt!”

﹂Seriously… Am I the only one who understands how she feels?

﹂If I were there right now, I’d cut the safety net with an electric saw and storm the field.

﹂What did we just witness… Is that really possible? Moving like that in mid-air?

﹂I thought it was ridiculous when he said he’d play shortstop with that build, but damn…

﹂Those who went to the stadium today are so lucky. Min Ye-rin’s performance and Han Su-hyeok’s airwalk…

﹂I just came back, and the scalpers were asking for 100,000 won [approximately $75 USD].

﹂Worth paying 100,000 won for that. You wouldn’t see that even in the major leagues.

﹂I’m watching it for the third time now, and it’s seriously insane… I’m so hyped up right now.

It wasn’t just the celebrity Min Ye-rin who was going wild. Something kept flying around here and there, and strange screams erupted from the excited crowd.

Sensing something ominous, the security guards moved busily to calm down the crowd.

After a while, Ryan faced the second batter on the field, where the commotion had finally subsided.

“Ball.”

“Ball.”

Having tasted my defense a moment ago, Ryan began to focus on pitching outside.

Ryan’s two-seam, changeup, and slider danced along the farthest outside borderline for the left-handed batter.

Realizing that the opposing pitcher was only throwing outside, the Magicians’ second batter fixed his bat and began to watch the ball.

Then, Senior Jang Deok-su made a lead that caught the batter off guard.

“Strike!”

“Strike!”

Two unexpected balls flew towards the batter’s body.

Ryan, who initially reacted disapprovingly to Senior Jang Deok-su’s signal, smiled pleasantly and muttered something to himself.

It’s a showdown.

Given Ryan’s tendency not to go to a full count, this would be the decisive moment.

Inside? Or outside again?

Our battery’s choice was a slider that curled from the outside to the inside.

And the Magicians’ second batter hit that ball squarely.

Thwack!

A bullet-like hit that flew over second base. Senior Lee Chang-mo threw his body with all his might, but it was an impossible course.

Everyone thought it was a hit.

But my thoughts were a little different.

Thud!

I moved almost to the point where the outfield grass began and caught the ball. Then, after rolling forward once to regain my balance, I immediately threw to first base.

“Out!”

“Wooaaah!”

“Why is the shortstop there!”

“Isn’t that a foul? Why is the shortstop so far back in the outfield?”

“Han Su-hyeok is really crazy! You’re really crazy!”

A huge roar, mixed with cheers and jeers, headed towards me.

The moment I saw our battery [pitcher and catcher] signaling, I shifted my center of gravity towards second base in advance.

One step towards that direction with the pitcher’s windup, and the moment I heard the sound of the hit, I sprinted.

And I lightly caught the ball that was trying to escape and threw it to first base.

The play just now was completed through this process.

“Huh…”

The Magicians’ batter, who was out at first base, glared at me with a dumbfounded expression.

Well, so what?

It’s hard to say it myself, but this kind of play can’t be done just by being taught.

The best physique along with the predictive ability to see the future…

Hmm.

“Su-hyeok! Nice!”

“Han Su-hyeok, you’re really, wow… really, wow…”

When I first debuted in the major leagues and started as a two-way player.

I had an excellent physique.

In terms of balance, it was a more complete body than now.

Based on that physique, I enjoyed aggressive defense.

Thanks to that, I had saved the team from defeat, but sometimes I had given up games with reckless plays.

I didn’t care. I thought the team lost not because of my play but because of the lack of skill of other players.

As I got older and suffered a shoulder injury, I switched to being a hitter completely, and instead of losing my physique, I gained an eye for reading the game.

It was natural that I had to change my playing style.

But I was stubborn.

I kept saying that I could still do it, that I wasn’t dead yet, and acted arbitrarily.

I tried to catch up with the shadow of my prime, leading a body that didn’t move well due to aging and injury.

But I soon realized that I could never go back to that time.

I was frustrated. I was devastated that the audience no longer cheered for me.

Thwack!

The Magicians’ third batter hit a bullet-like ball next to third base.

At that moment, Ahn Chi-wook threw his huge body and stretched out his glove.

The ball that was trying to escape got caught in the glove.

Feeling that, the guy 벌떡 [beoljjeok – suddenly] raised his huge body and threw a bullet-like throw towards first base.

“Out!”

“Waaaaah!”

The moment the out declaration fell from the first base umpire’s mouth, a huge roar erupted from the Warriors’ cheering section.

Ahn Chi-wook’s name was chanted from everyone’s mouth. The guy, with his face flushed red, stood there not knowing what to do.

“What are you doing? At least say hello to the crowd.”

“Hello?”

“Yeah, can’t you hear them calling your name?”

I tapped him on the back once and headed towards the dugout first. Another huge roar poured out from behind me.

Right now, I’m regaining the physique of my past prime. Maybe I’ll be able to make plays that I couldn’t even try before.

But now I know.

I don’t necessarily have to be the main character in every moment.

It took me too long to realize that simple fact.

* * *

“Change the strategy. Tell Jimenez to avoid a head-on match as much as possible.”

“Yes, Manager.”

The pitching coach, who received the manager’s instructions, hurriedly ran towards the starting pitcher who was preparing to take the mound.

Manager Joo Seok-do, who has been holding the Magicians’ baton for four years, stared at the ground with a stern expression.

He’s crazy. Much more than I heard.

The Warriors and the Magicians did not have a game in the past exhibition game. However, they had fully analyzed Han Su-hyeok’s play through videos.

The problem was that there was a huge difference between watching it on video and seeing it live.

Manager Joo Seok-do, who had spent nearly 40 years in the baseball world, could say with certainty that he had never seen such a crazy guy.

‘Why isn’t a guy like that going to the major leagues…’

He couldn’t understand it at all.

A super rookie who was literally blowing up the league in all areas of hitting.

Yesterday, he spent the whole day with the power analysis team watching Han Su-hyeok’s videos.

And the conclusion was one.

Let’s avoid him.

Considering the pace the guy is showing now, a head-on match is crazy.

Of course, that pace won’t last until the end, but the Magicians’ power analysis team concluded that there is no more scary hitter than Han Su-hyeok in this league right now.

But the problem was the morale of the starting pitcher Jimenez.

He couldn’t recklessly break the morale of the pitcher who had made a great contribution to the Magicians winning the runner-up last year. It’s not easy to tell an ace who will be responsible for the regular season and even the Korean Series to unconditionally avoid a rookie.

In the end, they consulted with the pitcher and decided to compete as carefully as possible.

The game started like that. Two hits that would have unconditionally become hits no matter which shortstop of the KBO League [Korean Baseball Organization] was put in place were handled as ground balls by Han Su-hyeok.

Manager Joo Seok-do’s intuition was activated. Confronting that guy’s momentum today is suicide.

The strategy was changed again. To thoroughly avoid a head-on match as originally planned.

The ace’s pride was important, but he hated being embarrassed in the Jamsil [stadium in Seoul] rival opening game more than dying.

“Out!”

“Out!”

Ace Jimenez, who heard the instruction through the coach to avoid a match with Han Su-hyeok, processed the Warriors’ 1st and 2nd batters with ground balls while making an unpleasant expression.

Choi Min-seok, who struck out, slammed his bat on the ground and burst into anger.

Manager Joo Seok-do sighed with regret at the sight.

He’s a waste the more I think about it.

Just a few months ago, he was wearing the Magicians’ uniform, and he was expected to become the leadoff of this team in the future.

I heard he’s adapting well even after going to the Warriors.

‘Tch.’

Manager Joo Seok-do unconsciously smacked his lips.

Song Gi-tae, who was given that promising player and received, was standing with his legs crossed at the shortstop position.

I don’t like that guy the more I see him.

He was recruited because the shortstop position suddenly became vacant, but everyone in this baseball world knows that guy has a considerable problem with his work ethic.

When he first joined the team, he seemed to be looking around, but he seems to have created a small faction within the team.

There’s nothing I like about him. If it weren’t for General Manager Jung Min-sik, who moved from the Warriors, that guy’s recruitment would never have happened.

‘Tch.’

Well, at least that guy plays in the first team. Jung Gi-ho, who was received together, went down to the second team due to a finger injury and has been out of touch ever since.

While Manager Joo Seok-do was cursing about the front’s wrong trade, the problematic Han Su-hyeok stepped into the plate.

* * *

“Come in quickly. You bastard. What’s with the rookie acting so cocky?”

Since I was playing in the major leagues, I have my own routine.

I watch the outcome of the match of the batter in front of me in the waiting batter’s box, and after that play is completely finished, I fix my gloves once again, turn my neck twice to the left and right, walk with my left foot first, slowly, but not heavily.

That routine of mine seems to have touched the nerves of the Magicians’ catcher.

I didn’t bother to answer. What’s important now is not dealing with this kind of guy.

Whoosh!

I step into the plate and slowly turn the bat. I can feel the catcher sitting behind the home plate flinching.

His head must be complicated.

He wants to give the cocky rookie a hit, but considering my pace right now, it’s hard to recklessly make a match.

But if he avoids it, the ace’s pride is at stake, and he’ll be embarrassed in front of the packed crowd.

In this case, the hitter just has to wait leisurely. The one in a hurry is not me but them.

“Ball.”

I quietly watched the slider that was going out from the outside to the outside.

Thwaack!

“Foul!”

This time, I forcibly pulled the ball that was coming close to my body.

But because the hitting point was too far in front, it curved out next to the left foul pole and became a foul.

The pitcher’s face turns pale and then regains its color.

Jimenez Reyes, who is in charge of the Magicians’ first starter.

A right-handed pitcher who hardly throws a four-seam and mainly throws a two-seam, slider, and changeup instead.

I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw him glaring at me.

“Laugh? What’s so funny? Hey, the world has really gotten better. A rookie is just giggling.”

I didn’t bother to answer the catcher’s words.

Yeah, as you said, the world has really gotten better.

Where are those who wouldn’t have dared to look at my face when I was in the big leagues?

Suddenly, I have such thoughts.

Can the person I met before the regression and the person I meet again now be considered the same being?

For example, people like Seong-hoon hyung [older brother/friend], or the people I met when I was a major leaguer.

All human beings living in this world constantly change while influencing each other.

Therefore, maybe the person I knew before and the person I met after the regression are not the same person.

What are you talking about all of a sudden?

It’s just that guys who would have been crawling in front of me in the past are shouting loudly, so all sorts of thoughts come to mind.

I can’t do this. I suddenly feel bad.

Yeah, in times like this, a big one is the best.

A guy named Jimenez spits once and starts his windup.

In times like this, the DB [data base] that has been accumulated in my head for over 15 years is stored as it is as to what kind of ball that type of pitcher will throw.

The bench must have instructed him to avoid a match, and he will try to save his pride and throw a ball that awkwardly hangs in the zone rather than completely 빼기 [ 빼기 (ppae-gi) means to subtract or remove, in this context, it means to avoid throwing the ball completely out of the zone] the ball.

Tighten the grip that had been loosened, lightly roll the left foot that is the axis to 살리고 [ 살리고 (sal-li-go) means to save or revive, in this context, it means to bring back or enhance] the sense of rhythm, and the hitting point is as far forward as possible so that it can react first before the ball changes.

Swoosh

Thwaaaaaack!

Inside low course, I 그대로걷어올렸다 [geu-dae-ro geo-deo-ol-lyeot-da – lifted it as it was] the two-seam that comes in low, 빠져 [ppajyeo – 빠지다 (ppajida) means to fall, sink, or be excluded. In this context, it means slightly outside] one ball 정도 [jeong-do – approximately] from the zone.

The hit that soared at an angle of 45 degrees, no, more than 50 degrees, began to fly over the Jamsil Baseball Stadium.

The hit went completely into the lights as it soared so high.

Not only the spectators but also the outfielders 놓았다넋 [noh-at-da-neok – 놓다 (nohda) means to release or let go, and 넋 (neok) refers to the soul or spirit. Together, it suggests being so engrossed or stunned that one’s spirit is almost detached] and chased the whereabouts of the hit.

The Magicians’ catcher took off his mask and was spitting out an unknown 욕 [yok – curse word].

Thud!

The hit that had disappeared from everyone’s sight made a loud noise and directly hit the top of the electronic display board.

“Waaaaaaaah!”

At that moment, a huge roar that 진동할 정도로 [jin-dong-hal jeong-do-ro – to the extent of vibrating] the Jamsil Baseball Stadium erupted.

* * *