Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 382

#381. The Follower

Like an old manager lamenting the end of baseball season as the saddest day of the year, Cheon Sang-jin, who had dedicated his life to baseball without any other hobbies and still relished stepping onto the field each day, felt the weight of time pressing down on him.

This 38-year-old left-hander had a respectable season in 2039 as the team’s number two starter, pitching 180 innings with a 3.55 ERA [Earned Run Average, a measure of runs allowed per nine innings pitched], a 1.30 WHIP [Walks plus Hits per Inning Pitched, a measure of baserunners allowed], and an 11-9 win-loss record.

However, remembering his prime when he was the team’s ace, consistently achieving ERAs in the 2s and racking up nearly 20 wins each year, he realized the end was slowly but surely approaching.

The velocity of his fastball, which used to touch 142 km/h (approximately 88 mph), had dropped to 135 km/h (approximately 84 mph), and the bite of his changeup and curveball, his signature pitches, had dulled compared to his glory days.

What kept him going now was his vast experience, his keen ability to analyze opposing hitters, and his pinpoint control, which remained as sharp as ever.

“Sang-jin, why the long face? Trying to look serious in front of your elders?”

“Ah, Jun-yeong hyung [older brother or respected male figure]. It’s not that…”

“Hehe, just kidding. Anyway, you should start warming up soon.”

“Where are you going, hyung?”

“Oh, my elbow is acting up again, so I’m going to get a massage. I don’t know if I’ll be able to pitch properly tomorrow in this condition. Anyway, good luck out there.”

Cheon Sang-jin, who had been contemplating the fleeting nature of time, regained his composure after the brief exchange.

He was jolted back to reality by Im Jun-yeong, the KBO’s [Korean Baseball Organization] oldest pitcher, still active at the age of 44, six years his senior.

Moreover, Im Jun-yeong was a classic power pitcher who overwhelmed hitters with sheer velocity and power in his prime. Cheon Sang-jin knew better than anyone the immense effort Im Jun-yeong had invested to remain on the mound for so long after his power had waned.

‘That’s right. I’m still too young to blame it all on age.’

Even though he sometimes couldn’t even lift chopsticks with his left hand after pitching, and he had to rely on painkillers daily to manage the pain in his back and shoulders.

“Sunbae-nim [senior], please take care of me today!”

“Yeah, sure. Dong-seok. I’m counting on you too.”

Even with all the aches and pains, Cheon Sang-jin loved baseball too much.

It made him, an otherwise ordinary man, loved by so many people, and despite the monotonous repetition of training and games, he found joy in the thrill of each moment.

Cheon Sang-jin continued his love affair with baseball, day after day.

Vowing to leave no room for regret when the inevitable end arrived, he prepared for another start with unwavering determination.

* * *

‘I can do it. No, we *have* to win the championship with this team.’

The Seoul Warriors had secured a 3-0 victory in their opening three-game series against their arch-rivals, the Magic Stars.

A formidable starting rotation consisting of ace Han Su-hyeok, followed by Choi Ma-ru and Jose Carlos, the new closer Eric Barkley who pitched in the second and third games and notched two saves without allowing a single run, and a bolstered offense featuring Han Su-hyeok and Derek Fleming.

Thanks to the stellar performance of these players, the Seoul Warriors, riding a three-game winning streak, moved on to Busan to prepare for a three-game series against the Titans.

1. Right Fielder Derek Fleming
2. Center Fielder Han Su-hyeok
3. Third Baseman Ahn Chi-wook
4. First Baseman Jang Deok-soo
5. Designated Hitter Choi Jae-min
6. Catcher Park Dong-seok
7. Shortstop Yoo In-cheol
8. Second Baseman Park Kyung-bae
9. Left Fielder Seo Jun-seok

Pitcher Cheon Sang-jin

A bead of saliva escaped the corner of Manager Jo Sung-oh’s mouth as he filled out the lineup card.

“Ah, damn it…!”

He was unconsciously reveling in the strength of the lineup, reminiscent of the Warriors’ glory days, when they boasted a team batting average of .400 in the last three games against the Magic Stars.

The exceptional foreign player Derek Fleming, who seemed to have seamlessly transitioned his performance from the major leagues, Ahn Chi-wook who was poised for another MVP-caliber season, Jang Deok-soo who had shaken off his slump from the exhibition games and finally unleashed his home run power, Choi Jae-min who consistently hit 20+ home runs every year, and even the potent bottom of the order anchored by Park Dong-seok and Yoo In-cheol.

Although the second baseman and left fielder positions, filled by rookies, were a slight concern…

‘It’s okay.’

‘This is the KBO, not the major leagues. Every team has to contend with weaknesses somewhere.’

The Warriors, who had transformed all question marks into resounding exclamation points in just three games after the season opener.

Now, the remaining concern was how well Cheon Sang-jin and Im Jun-yeong, entering their 38th and 44th seasons respectively, would perform in the 4th and 5th starting positions.

While there were pitchers waiting in the wings as potential alternative starters, they were still inexperienced rookies who needed more seasoning. They were greenhorns who needed to gain valuable experience as middle relievers.

‘Let’s hang in there a little longer. Jun-yeong, and Sang-jin.’

Jo Sung-oh, who had spent his entire playing career alongside them, sincerely hoped that Cheon Sang-jin and Im Jun-yeong would continue their careers for at least one more day.

He wanted them to experience the joy of winning another championship as players, just as they had patiently waited for Han Su-hyeok’s return, even as many other veterans, including himself, had retired.

He believed that would be a fitting reward for those who had steadfastly supported Han Su-hyeok all those years.

Bang!

“Alright, everyone! Here’s the starting lineup! Ahn Chi-wook, how many times do I have to tell you to wear your pants properly!”

* * *

‘Finally, this moment has arrived for me…!’

If one were to single out the team that had undergone the most significant transformation in the past 10 years since Han Su-hyeok’s departure from Korea, it would undoubtedly be the Busan Titans.

After the old guard, who had monopolized power for decades by leveraging alumni networks, hometown connections, school ties, and regional loyalties, were ousted with the arrival of the new owner,

The Busan Titans focused on recruiting talented leaders and front office personnel from the Warriors and essentially replicating the Warriors’ operational blueprint.

As a result,

The Busan Titans, who had languished at the bottom of the standings for an extended period, steadily climbed the ranks to become a competitive mid-tier team that consistently contended for a spot in the postseason, and ultimately achieved the remarkable feat of advancing to the Korean Series for the first time in 40 years in the 2039 season.

Of course, they were swept in the Korean Series, losing to the Magic Stars in four straight games.

Regardless,

The Busan Titans were determined to contend for their first championship in franchise history, not to mention their first Korean Series title in 48 years this season.

Park Jang-yeol, a key player for the Busan Titans and the only player besides Han Su-hyeok to successfully pursue a two-way career, gazed intently at the ground with a serious expression.

Park Jang-yeol, the Titans’ star player who pitched 140 innings in the 2039 season, posting a 3.78 ERA with 9 wins and 8 losses, and as a hitter, recorded a .278 batting average, a .355 on-base percentage, a .425 slugging percentage, 17 home runs, and 78 RBIs.

Today, he was preparing to start against his idol and mentor, Han Su-hyeok.

“Jang-yeol, how’s your shoulder feeling? Still any pain?”

“No, I’m fine, Trainer-nim [term of respect for the trainer].”

“Yeah, no matter how chronic it is, you should never just ignore it. Tell me immediately if you feel even the slightest twinge. Got it?”

“Yes, thank you.”

It was almost stating the obvious, but after Han Su-hyeok’s emergence, countless baseball players around the world attempted to become two-way players.

Baseball prospects from nearly every country with professional baseball leagues, including Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, and the United States, looked up to Han Su-hyeok as their role model and embarked on this challenging path.

And almost all of them failed miserably.

Some showed flashes of brilliance for a year or two, but none lasted more than five seasons.

Some were forced to abandon pitching due to shoulder injuries, while others were relegated to pitching roles due to poor hitting performance.

Amidst this chaos, Park Jang-yeol of the Busan Titans stood out as virtually the only two-way success story.

Although he had only consistently played as a two-way player for about five seasons out of his 12-year career, the fact that he had achieved this level of performance demonstrated that Park Jang-yeol possessed exceptional baseball talent.

‘When walking, keep the stride as short and quick as possible, shift your weight slightly to the left and then back to the right, that’s right… good job, Park Jang-yeol.’

One of the secrets to Park Jang-yeol’s success was his fanatical study and emulation of Han Su-hyeok.

Beyond simply viewing him as a role model, Park Jang-yeol truly revered Han Su-hyeok as a god, meticulously studying every aspect of his life and applying it to himself.

Starting with fundamental aspects such as his daily diet and training regimen, to his walking style, breathing techniques, speech patterns, and even the smallest habits in his daily life.

Even so, he couldn’t completely avoid unexpected injuries.

In the year following a successful season, he would invariably suffer from minor and major injuries, derailing a season or two, and facing pressure to abandon his two-way aspirations.

But Park Jang-yeol refused to give up. He made prioritizing his two-way status a non-negotiable condition when signing his free agent (FA) contract, and the Titans’ owner readily agreed, expressing his support as a fan.

“Oppa [term of endearment for an older brother or boyfriend]! Over here, look this way!”

Someone shouted loudly at Park Jang-yeol as he emerged from the dugout and headed onto the field.

Park Jang-yeol’s fiancée, with whom he had promised to hold a wedding ceremony after the season, was holding a camera and pointing it towards him from the first base grandstand.

“To the side, two more steps, oppa, a little back, back, okay! Stay right there!”

Following his fiancée’s instructions, Park Jang-yeol moved around on the field and smiled with satisfaction when she said she was ready.

He then struck the most impressive and splendid pose he could muster.

“Is it done? Are you sure it’s in the camera angle?”

“I’m telling you, oppa, your pose is perfect now. Stay still, don’t move!”

After a moment, the camera flash from his fiancée’s camera went off in rapid succession.

Park Jang-yeol, who had been standing still for a long time, ran to the safety net separating the grandstand from the field.

“Where, where, show me quickly.”

“Just a moment. Um, this is what I took last time, but I didn’t delete it. Skip, skip, okay, it’s from here. Check it out.”

His fiancée held out the camera display to Park Jang-yeol.

Park Jang-yeol, who meticulously reviewed the photos he had just taken, broke into a bright smile.

Behind him, striking a magnificent pose on the field, Han Su-hyeok’s figure was captured in front of the opposing team’s dugout.

“Min-ji, thank you. Thanks to you, one of my bucket list items has been fulfilled.”

“But oppa, if you were going to do this, wouldn’t it have been better to just ask him to take a picture together?”

“Uh-huh, you don’t understand. That’s too artificial. It’s better from such a natural angle… and what if I disrupt Su-hyeok hyung’s condition by asking him to take a picture? I can’t do that.”

The words that it would be beneficial if he disrupted the opposing hitter’s condition almost escaped his fiancée’s lips, but she swallowed them back.

They had been dating for five years, and no one knew better than her the depth of Park Jang-yeol’s admiration for Han Su-hyeok.

Jeong Min-ji, his fiancée, sighed softly and said to Park Jang-yeol.

“Should I have all these photos framed?”

“Uh, the biggest and most expensive one. And send me the original by email. Don’t reduce the size, just the high-resolution original.”

“Yes, oppa.”

Finally, Park Jang-yeol, having successfully completed his pre-game ritual, headed towards the pitcher’s mound.

All preparations for the game were complete, and Han Su-hyeok, batting second today, entered the on-deck circle.

Seeing this, Park Jang-yeol shouted loudly.

“Sunbae-nim! It’s an honor! Please take care of me!”