Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 378

#377. When He Took a Step Forward

From 2027, when Han Su-hyeok joined, until 2039, the Seoul Warriors advanced to the playoffs 12 times out of 13 seasons, winning the Korean Series trophy 8 times.

Fans of teams that hadn’t won a championship in 47 long years would be horrified to hear it, but Warriors fans were far from satisfied with their team’s performance.

They knew well that baseball, compared to other sports like soccer, offered relatively less room to be ‘solved’ with money, and that such limitations were even more pronounced in Korean baseball.

[Warriors Dynasty Dominating the 2030s, Is It Collapsing Like This?]

[Lineup Full of Holes, Still Questionable Foreign Player Contracts, Aging Existing Starters and Slow Development of Rookies Combined into a Total Crisis… What Is the Future of the Warriors?]

[The Dongdaemun Dome Era Finally Arrives, But the Atmosphere of the Warriors Team Playing There Is Bleak]

[Furious Warriors Fans Gather in Front of the New Home Stadium to Protest… “Present a New Vision for the Team”]

For fans who considered advancing to the Korean Series a given, the 6th, 5th, and 4th place finishes over the past three years were a shock in themselves.

What made them take this situation even more seriously was that the retirement of the last remaining star players on the team, such as Jang Deok-su, Cheon Sang-jin, and Im Jun-yeong, was approaching, and the growth of new players to replace them was too slow.

In fact, this was not the fault of the Warriors. Under the current draft system, where rookie draft picks are assigned in reverse order of the previous year’s standings, there was almost no chance for a team that had been at the top for over a decade to bring in a top-notch rookie.

In addition, strengthening the team through free agency or trades was not easy due to competition from traditional powerhouses such as the Seoul Magicians, Incheon Rangers, and Suwon Commanders, which were maintaining their squads with aggressive investments, and the newly emerging Busan Titans, which had completely normalized the team 10 years after the change of ownership.

In a word, the Warriors were paying the price for being at the top for a long time.

However, with the backing of owner Han Su-hyeok’s wealth and the help of their sister club, the Seattle Mariners, they were gradually normalizing the club, but it was not enough to satisfy fans who were already used to winning championships.

Meanwhile, the construction of the Dongdaemun Dome, which was initially expected to be completed in about 4 or 5 years, was continuously delayed due to various problems and was only recently finished.

The world’s best dome stadium, inheriting almost the entire design concept of the Texas Rangers’ home stadium, cost nearly 1 trillion won [approximately $760 million USD] to build and was nicknamed Warriors Field.

The Warriors, who were to hold their first-ever opening game there in the coming April, were determined to lift the Korean Series championship trophy there this year, but few believed it.

The Seoul Magicians, longtime rivals who started rebuilding a few years earlier than the Warriors and succeeded in winning the Korean Series championship trophy in the past 2039 season.

The Incheon Rangers and Suwon Commanders, which overwhelm other clubs in terms of investment scale of their parent companies, and the Busan Titans and Daejeon Falcons, which have newly joined the ranks of strong teams.

Therefore, the Warriors’ expected ranking for the 2040 season was 6th, following these five teams. No one thought the Warriors would win.

But,

└ My cousin works for the Warriors club…….

└ Usually, anyone who starts talking like that is full of crap.

└ Should I just not say it?;;;

└ Just say it. It’s probably nonsense, but I’ll listen and judge.

└ Um… to be honest, I don’t believe it myself. So just listen and ignore it.

└ What the hell is it that you’re being so hesitant about?

└ Han Su-hyeok might be coming back.

└ Um? What the hell are you talking about? Coming back? He always goes back and forth to Korea during the off-season.

└ No, I mean he’s coming back to Korean baseball.

└ I don’t understand. When did he leave? Han Su-hyeok is the owner of the Warriors anyway, so he does this and that work in Korea during the winter because of that. What’s so important about that?

└ Ah, you’re so frustrating. Ha… I don’t mean that, I mean he’s coming back as a Korean baseball player, he’s returning to the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization].

└ What?

└ ㅋㅋㅋ Another new attention seeker has appeared. Stop talking shit.

└ I usually don’t swear in this fan cafe, but you deserve to be sworn at. Damn, a player at his prime age of only 32, with a .400 batting average, 72 home runs, and 21 wins in the Major League, is coming back to Korea?

└ I don’t think we should be swearing at him. The problem is that cousin of his. What the hell did he say to the kid?

└ No, this is real;;;

It started with the Warriors fan cafe.

No matter where the information came from, the rumor of Han Su-hyeok’s return to the KBO began to spread little by little, starting from there.

The strongest baseball player in history, who has almost monopolized most of the Major League’s individual career records for pitching and hitting, and who achieved a .400 batting average, 72 home runs, and 21 wins in the previous season.

Apart from his main job, he is the owner of enormous wealth that increases just by breathing, and a powerful figure who exerts tremendous influence in the sports world around the world is returning to Korean baseball.

It goes without saying that no one believed the rumor.

Not the officials of rival teams, not the baseball fans, not even the Warriors fans who wished for Han Su-hyeok’s return more than anyone else.

Because no matter how you thought about it, it didn’t make sense.

It didn’t take long for baseball officials and fans, who were briefly startled by the sudden rumor, to return to their daily lives.

As time passed,

On a day when people’s hearts were softening with a long-awaited white Christmas.

A nuclear bomb fell on the Korean baseball world.

[Breaking News: Seattle Mariners’ Han Su-hyeok Makes a Surprise Return to the Warriors]

[Seoul Warriors CEO Park Seong-hoon Officially Announces “Han Su-hyeok, Who Has Finished His 10 Years in the Major League, Will Return to Korea.”]

[Baseball Fans Around the World in Shock, Why Is the Best Hitter and Pitcher in the League in the KBO League?]

[KBO Top Teams, Who Were Confident of Winning the Title Next Season, Stop All Stove League Work and Focus on Han Su-hyeok’s Moves]

[An Anonymous Professional Baseball Official “I’m not kidding… It’s like an adult coming to a children’s water gun fight and spraying them with a machine gun. The association must prevent Han Su-hyeok’s return.” Anger]

[KBO Official on Whether It Is Possible for an Owner of a Club in the Major League and KBO to Register as an Active Player “It’s unprecedented and of course there are no related regulations. Some say we should create new regulations to prevent it… Well, I don’t want to be stoned to death by the public.”]

[Korean Sports Fans, Except for Some Rival Club Fans “If Han Su-hyeok really returns, that alone will grow the Korean professional sports market by one level. A league where the best player in the world plays will raise the level by one step.”]

[Warriors Fan Club, Which Was Dissatisfied with the Club’s Sluggish Moves, Expresses Enthusiastic Welcome to Han Su-hyeok’s Return Through an Emergency Statement]

[Seattle Citizens in Despair at the Sudden News “Baseball without him is now unimaginable. Today is the saddest day of my life.”]

[Han Su-hyeok’s KBO Return News, Which Shocked the Baseball World, Will Be Followed by a Related Press Conference at the Seattle Mariners Club Office at 9 a.m. Local Time on December 26]

[Sports Reporters from All Over the World Flock to Seattle, What Is the Truth of the Transfer Rumors That Will Be Revealed Through Han Su-hyeok’s Mouth?]

* * *

“Preparation is complete. You can go out this way.”

“Thank you, Daniel. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Don’t mention it, it’s an honor to serve you until the end.”

“It’s not the end. Even if I stay in Korea, please take good care of the Mariners.”

“Of course, that’s what I have to do even if you don’t ask me to. Haha.”

Daniel Mitchell, the president of the Seattle Mariners, whose face had turned pale when he first heard Han Su-hyeok’s intentions, escorted him with a face that seemed to have regained his composure.

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand it. Why would he want to return to Korea after spending the best time as a player and owner for the past 10 years?

When asked why, Han Su-hyeok replied:

‘I think I’ve been away for too long. I feel like I’ve done everything I can do here. It’s not good for the baseball world as a whole for one team or player to dominate too much. Above all, I don’t think the Mariners will collapse right away even if I’m not there.’

Daniel Mitchell was reminded of one thing he had forgotten when he heard those words.

From the beginning, Han Su-hyeok was not an existence that could be calculated and evaluated by the standards of ordinary people.

From the time he debuted as a professional to the present, he has never been swayed by public opinion or objective standards.

Always going where he wants to go, so he can’t be grasped by hand and feels like the wind, his boss.

The moment he realized that, he felt at ease. What he had to do now was not to force Han Su-hyeok to change his mind, which had already been decided, but to reorganize and revive the Mariners after he left.

“Let’s go in. The reporters are waiting.”

“Um.”

The door to the Mariners’ briefing room opened and Han Su-hyeok entered.

The conference room, filled with sports reporters from the United States, Korea, and Japan, as well as economic reporters, became quiet in an instant with the appearance of Han Su-hyeok.

Daniel Mitchell, who first grabbed the microphone, said to the reporters.

“As you have confirmed through the preliminary press release, Han Su-hyeok will leave the Seattle Mariners at the end of 2039 and return to the Seoul Warriors. I know you have many questions, but due to time constraints, we will only take three questions. Thank you for your understanding.”

With those words, Daniel handed the microphone to Han Su-hyeok and stepped down from the platform.

From now on, it was time for the main character alone.

The reporters were given only three chances to ask questions, and considering Han Su-hyeok’s tendency to adhere to strict standards in press interviews, it would not be just a threat.

In this situation, it was foolish to ask about useless facts such as salary or contract terms, which would be known later anyway. Rather, a sharp question that could give a glimpse into Han Su-hyeok’s inner thoughts was needed.

One of the reporters, who was whispering to each other and discussing the questions, raised his hand.

“I’m Jonah Harrison from ESPN. I would like to ask Han Su-hyeok on behalf of all sports fans. You are the best superstar in the Major League who is building a brilliant career that cannot be compared to any other player at this point, no, ever. I don’t mean to belittle Korean baseball, but I think the best players should play in the best leagues. Nevertheless, why are you trying to return to Korea?”

Han Su-hyeok slowly opened his mouth with a faint smile at the reporter’s question.

“I have achieved all the goals I set while playing baseball here for the past 10 years. Still, I know that there are many people who want me to achieve more. But I don’t want to use the rest of my baseball life to add a few more numbers or records. Rather, I want to spend it playing happily where I want to be and where I am needed. That’s why I’m going back to Korea.”

Murmur, murmur

The briefing room shook greatly at the unexpected answer from the absolute being.

Reporters who were about to ask something but remembered that there were only two questions left and blocked their mouths, reporters who were adding all kinds of flowery words to Han Su-hyeok’s answer and sending it to the world, and most of the reporters who were just staring blankly at Han Su-hyeok without saying anything.

Breaking the silence for a moment, someone raised his hand again. It was a familiar face with the KBC [Korean Broadcasting Corporation] mark on his chest, Ko Dong-sik, who had followed Han Su-hyeok in every game he had played for the past 10 seasons and worked as a local commentator.

“I support Han Su-hyeok’s choice. Still, I would like to ask you one thing. Don’t you think it’s a waste of the records you’ve worked so hard to build over the past 10 seasons, such as career home runs? Just as Barry Bonds broke Babe Ruth’s records, which were thought to be unbreakable, and Han Su-hyeok surpassed those records again, a player who will threaten your records may appear someday. Don’t you think that if you accumulate a little more stats, it could become an immortal record that no one in later generations can break?”

Han Su-hyeok nodded his head up and down at Ko Dong-sik’s words.

And he continued to answer in a soft voice that he had never heard before.

“I’m also human, so it’s not like I haven’t thought about that. But after playing baseball for quite a long time… yes, it’s really been a long time now. Anyway, after spending such time, I realized that records are ultimately meant to be broken. If someone builds an immortal record, only that person will be satisfied, but the entire baseball world that has to challenge that record will have no energy. That’s why I hope that someday, someone, junior players will challenge my records. I really hope that happens. Was that an answer?”

Murmur, murmur

Tadak Tadadak Tadadadak

Commentator Ko Dong-sik smiled broadly, giving a thumbs up at Han Su-hyeok’s answer. Muttering to himself that it was indeed like Han Su-hyeok.

The reporters’ fingers moved busily to write an article about the inner thoughts of the absolute being in the baseball world, which no one had known until now.

Now there was only one question left.

Everyone’s eyes turned to one place.

There sat a veteran reporter with white hair, who had devoted himself to the baseball world the longest among the reporters gathered here.

The old reporter, realizing that his juniors had given him the opportunity to ask a question for him, raised his hand to express his gratitude and slowly asked Han Su-hyeok.

“I’m Jimmy Hamilton from Fox Sports. It’s been 10 years since I’ve been covering you, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard such a sincere answer as today. It was an impressive and meaningful time in many ways. So now, on behalf of Major League, no, baseball fans all over the world, I would like to ask you a question. Han Su-hyeok, you are still young. You may be wearing a uniform for 5 years, or 10 years, or maybe even longer. What is your goal for the rest of that time?”

A long time ago, Han Su-hyeok’s goal was success.

His goal was to somehow succeed as a Major Leaguer and bring money and fame, and to fill the places of the precious people he had lost with that.

After the regression, the goal changed a little.

He ran with all his might for what he had missed, not money and fame, and as a result, he spent a lot of time building the Warriors and Mariners dynasties.

Now that he has achieved all those goals, what is Han Su-hyeok’s new goal?

Han Su-hyeok’s sincerity, which he had revealed only to one person in this world,

Min Ye-rin, was transmitted to the reporters through the microphone, and then to baseball fans around the world in real time through their fingers.

“I hope that I and the people around me will all be happy through baseball. Yes, I can’t think of anything else besides that. I’m going to use the rest of my baseball life for that.”