Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 49

#48. Pitcher or Stalker

In the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization], when a bench clearing occurs, the outcome is usually determined by age and seniority.

There are cases where a pitcher who accidentally hits a senior player gets slapped without any resistance, and there are players who seem ready to explode but become docile with just a word from a senior player on the opposing team.

Well, considering there are only about 80 high schools nationwide that have baseball teams, and they’ve been intertwined since youth national teams, it’s difficult to stand up to a senior player who might end up being your coach on the same team after retirement.

“Son of a bitch!”

But there are always exceptions. There are always those who break the norm.

After the CCTV footage of the Hwang Sung-min incident was released, players from other teams started avoiding him.

Approaching a giant who is 2 meters tall and weighs 120kg, a monster who has proven he can knock out a sturdy man with a single slap, is close to suicide.

Age and experience won’t block a punch flying towards your face.

Thinking about it, Hwang Sung-min, who had been tormenting such a monster for years, is truly amazing.

Well, the problem is that he’s not amazing, just stupid.

Anyway.

Lee Tae-woong, who was about to rush onto the mound after the ball flew towards his head, snapped back to his senses at the voice from behind.

“It was a mistake. If you jump onto the mound here, I won’t stand still either.”

It was the voice of catcher Jang Deok-soo, who he had played with briefly in the military team.

Back then, he seemed like the kindest and most innocent person, not fitting his size at all.

‘Hmm.’

Lee Tae-woong swallowed hard and made eye contact with Han Soo-hyuk, who was looking at him with a serious expression from next to second base far away.

Suddenly, he came to his senses.

He vividly remembered what Han Soo-hyuk had done during the bench clearing with the Magicians a while ago.

Honestly, setting aside Jang Deok-soo, who is hard to see as human, the existence of Han Soo-hyuk, who completely destroyed Hwang Sung-min with four punches, is also burdensome.

He wondered if he would dare to attack a senior player like that again, especially since it hadn’t been long since his suspension was lifted, but he didn’t want to test that guy’s patience himself.

“Ahem.”

Lee Tae-woong cleared his throat and stood back in the batter’s box with a stiff expression.

Still, he was really surprised.

Everyone in the baseball world knows that he has been struggling with outside pitches lately, so he thought the first pitch would definitely come that way and was sticking close to the plate.

But a fastball flying towards his head…

He almost pissed his pants.

‘Ah, my stomach isn’t good, and I have to make up with Mi-kyung… I want to finish this quickly.’

Right now, all Lee Tae-woong is thinking about is making up with Mi-kyung, who seems like she’s about to leave him.

On top of that, he wanted to calm his churning stomach from the spicy chicken feet [a popular Korean dish often enjoyed with alcohol] he ate last night to relieve stress.

Either way, the team is competing for the bottom spot. He’s not motivated in any way.

‘Let’s just end this quickly. The next pitch will be outside.’

Lee Tae-woong, having sorted out his thoughts, stood close to the batter’s box again.

The pitcher, after shaking his head at the catcher several times, started his windup again.

I watched that player practice pitching from the on-deck circle.

Just from the form, it’s impossible to guess what kind of pitch he’ll throw.

The release point is consistent, and the deception is good, making it difficult to predict the pitch.

Whoosh

“Heok!”

“Strike!”

Once again, Lee Tae-woong was horrified and fell on his butt as the ball flew towards his head.

But the ball, which was heading towards his head, drew a gentle arc and was sucked straight into the zone.

It was a 115km/h curve with a huge drop.

“What the hell…”

Lee Tae-woong, realizing that he had needlessly gotten scared of a bad ball and made a fool of himself, cursed and returned to the batter’s box.

He really didn’t expect it. He didn’t think he would throw such a ball there.

He was so surprised that his churning stomach almost exploded and he almost shat his pants in the batter’s box.

Lee Tae-woong, realizing that the rookie pitcher on the mound was not as easy as he thought, bit his lower lip and started thinking about the next pitch.

1 ball, 1 strike.

Good. If that’s how it’s going to be, then I’ll aim for the inside pitch this time.

Lee Tae-woong, determined to induce the pitcher’s inside pitch, stood in the batter’s box again.

He took a slightly open stance without the opponent noticing and prepared to shift his weight back at any moment.

After all, the pitcher’s maximum speed is only around 140km/h.

No need to think too hard. Even if I see it coming inside and react, I can still get a hit.

As Lee Tae-woong waited for the next pitch.

Whack

“Strike!”

“……”

This time, a 140km/h fastball filled the high outside course.

It was a course where Lee Tae-woong, who was only aiming for the inside pitch, couldn’t even swing the bat.

Whoosh

“Strike! Out!”

Confused, Lee Tae-woong ended up pathetically swinging at a changeup that plummeted to the ground on the low inside course and was struck out.

* * *

“Hmm.”

Watching the pitcher Chun Sang-jin, I feel something strange.

It’s a feeling that only someone who has been a pitcher can sense.

What should I say, it feels like Chun Sang-jin is completely toying with the opposing batter? It feels strangely like the batter can’t concentrate on the game?

Ah, I’m so curious.

“Out!”

“Out!”

Chun Sang-jin, after striking out the tricky first batter Lee Tae-woong, kept throwing sinkers on the low outside course to the second batter, walking him, and then induced the third batter with pitches that danced around the border line, finally getting a double play.

Impressive. He’s incredibly skilled in the game, even though he’s just made his debut on the first team.

It wasn’t just me who felt that way; the manager and pitching coach in the dugout far away were also looking at Chun Sang-jin with sparkling eyes.

Unable to resist my curiosity, I came down from the mound and followed Chun Sang-jin as he headed to the dugout.

“Senior, how did you do it?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“The batters seem strangely off their game.”

“Ah, that. Hehe, you were curious about that.”

“Yes, I can’t figure out the reason no matter how much I look at it.”

“It’s nothing much. I just did a lot of research on the Buffaloes batters who came out today.”

“What kind of research?”

“Things like behaviors that are revealed without them knowing. Things that don’t appear in the data can be seen if you keep watching the videos. The power analysis team does that too, but there’s a limit to the amount of work they can do, and there’s no guarantee that the information they find will be useful to me. Anyway, I searched through about 3 years’ worth of videos to find that, and I made statistics…”

Huh… Look at this guy.

That’s not something you can say so easily.

Most pitchers are busy trying to memorize the data of the batters they’ll face tomorrow.

Seeing my dumbfounded expression, Chun Sang-jin chuckled and continued.

“And another important thing is to analyze the psychological state of those batters. People’s minds have a huge impact on their play as well as their condition, right?”

“Psychological state… How do you analyze that?”

“You can find it all by just looking at their SNS [Social Networking Service]. For example, the last batter I faced seems to have had some conflicts with his wife recently over their children’s education. When I looked at his wife’s SNS, she said, ‘If you want to be forgiven, come home early after the game today and let’s talk,’ with wine and cake tags all over it. If that’s the case, wouldn’t a person want to finish the game quickly? In that case, I slowly lure them in with decoy balls…”

…See, see? See this? SNS is definitely a waste of life.

It’s like telling the enemy my weaknesses.

Well, I don’t think there’s another crazy person who would dig through the SNS of their opponent’s lover, family, and even relatives to analyze their psychological state.

Hmm.

In fact, there are many other factors besides what Chun Sang-jin just said that contribute to his good pitching today.

In an era where pitchers’ speeds are gradually increasing, his 140km/h fastball, which can’t be called fast even as a compliment, has surprisingly good movement, and although his breaking ball angles aren’t great, his release point is good, so batters are easily fooled.

Unlike during practice pitching, Chun Sang-jin, who went into the actual game, clearly had several advantages that he didn’t even know about.

On top of that, the personal efforts he mentioned earlier would have created synergy.

In a word, he’s a type of pitcher who is very strong in actual combat.

Anyway.

A pitcher who stores the last 3 years of batting records and patterns of opposing batters in his head, and even analyzes their psychological state by digging through their SNS, as well as those of their family, lover, and relatives…

This is um…

Should I call him a… stalker-type pitcher?

* * *

Seoul Warriors (Away) VS Daegu Buffaloes (Home)

Score 0 : 0 No Outs

Warriors Pitcher Chun Sang-jin

Bottom of the 6th – Daegu Buffaloes Attack

1st Batter Lee Tae-woong

1st Pitch Ball

2nd Pitch Ball

3rd Pitch Ball

4th Pitch Strike

5th Pitch Strike

6th Pitch Hit

Catcher Foul Fly Out

2nd Batter Yoon Sung-jae

1st Pitch Strike

2nd Pitch Strike

3rd Pitch Strike

Strikeout

3rd Batter Liam Anderson

1st Pitch Ball

2nd Pitch Ball

3rd Pitch Ball

4th Pitch Hit

Second Baseman Fly Out

– What the hell are you doing…

﹂Look at the batters’ swings

﹂It feels strangely like they’re getting messed up

﹂Who is this Chun Sang-jin guy?

﹂I don’t know, I’m seeing him for the first time today. When I searched the news, it seems like he served in the military as an active duty soldier, and even at the front lines.

﹂War) LOL Buffaloes are trash

﹂War) You guys were so excited before the game, saying he was a nobody

﹂Get lost, you bastards. Why are you causing trouble at someone else’s funeral?

﹂You were so flattering, calling us allies when we were both scraping the bottom, but now you’re acting like this just because Han Soo-hyuk joined?

Top of the 6th Seoul Warriors Attack

1st Batter Lee Chang-mo

1st Pitch Strike

2nd Pitch Ball

3rd Pitch Ball

4th Pitch Strike

5th Pitch Ball

6th Pitch Ball

Walk

2nd Batter Choi Min-seok

1st Pitch Ball

2nd Pitch Ball

3rd Pitch Strike

4th Pitch Hit

Right Fielder Single

Batter Runner 1st Base, Leading Runner 2nd Base

﹂Argh! Don’t pile up runners in front of Han Soo-hyuk!

﹂Yoo Se-joon is washed up now

﹂Why did you give Lee Chang-mo a walk in the first place?

﹂Lee Chang-mo’s eye game is no joke these days

﹂No, why are you only throwing balls to a guy who has no intention of hitting?

﹂No outs, runners on 1st and 2nd, Han Soo-hyuk… Damn it ㅠㅠ

﹂Hey, look at that guy’s expression. Doesn’t he look like a villain?

﹂Is that really a rookie? Can you believe that guy was a high school student a few months ago?

﹂Just walk him! Just face the next foreign player!

3rd Batter Han Soo-hyuk

1st Pitch Hit

Center Fielder Single

1st Base Runner Lee Chang-mo Scores

2nd Base Runner Choi Min-seok Scores

Throwing Error, Batter Runner to 2nd Base

Seoul Warriors 2 : Daegu Buffaloes 0

﹂LOL Damn…

﹂Crazy, I told you to just walk him, why did you throw a fastball right down the middle?

﹂Is the pitcher crazy? Is the pitcher crazy? Is the pitcher crazy? Is the pitcher crazy? Is the pitcher crazy?

﹂Just give up the game and go to last place. We’ll get a guy like Han Soo-hyuk next year

﹂Crazy bastard, do you think a monster like that comes out every year?

﹂Argh! This sucks!

* * *

Tap

“Out!”

“Out!”

“Damn it!”

It’s really amazing the more I watch it.

No, it’s even more amazing after hearing the explanation from him.

His pitching gives me great inspiration, even though I thought there was nothing more to learn as a pitcher.

“Okay, just one more!”

“Fighting!” [A Korean expression of encouragement, similar to “Let’s go!”]

The Warriors are leading 4 to 2 in the bottom of the 9th, thanks to my two-RBI [Runs Batted In] hit, Ahn Chi-wook’s sacrifice fly, and Max Walker’s home run.

Now, if we get just one more out, it’s a complete game victory.

He’s so mentally strong that he even has a relaxed expression, considering he’s a pitcher facing his first complete game victory.

Or is it just because of his expression?

Anyway.

Tap

“Out!”

The last batter from Daegu is out with a weak ground ball to the first baseman, and the game ends as it is.

He did it.

He really did it.

It’s a complete game victory.

The unknown pitcher Chun Sang-jin ridiculously recorded a complete game victory in his first first-team start.

It’s hard to believe that a pitcher like this stepped onto the first-team stage for the first time today, but on the other hand, I can understand it a little.

The Warriors’ former pitching coach may have been an idiot, but he still had eyes.

The problem is that it’s difficult to confirm the true value of a pitcher like Chun Sang-jin until he’s actually put on the first-team stage.

When you only look at his practice pitching, he just seems like a pitcher with a slightly better fastball movement and no other special advantages.

Who in the world could have guessed that this pitcher memorizes information about the batters and digs into their personal information? Who could have recognized that he’s so serious about baseball that he only thinks about facing the opposing batters all day long?

“Hmm…”

Certainly, I realized once again today through this senior player that the most important thing for a pitcher is not what kind of ball they can throw, but how they throw it.

“Sang-jin! Congratulations!”

“Hey, Chun. Good. Well done. You’re the champion today.”

“Chun Sang-jin, please prepare for the post-game interview.”

Chun Sang-jin, who won his first first-team victory and his first complete game victory, was congratulated by his teammates and coaching staff and walked towards the reporter for the interview.

A microphone for the interview was placed in front of him for the first time in his life.

The reporter, feeling attracted to his appearance, kept making jokes, and several cameras turned towards him.

But there wasn’t even a hint of trembling in his voice as he responded to the interview.

“Chun Sang-jin, you worked really hard today. A complete game victory in your first first-team game, did you expect it?”

“I didn’t expect it at all. Honestly, I think I was lucky.”

“Can I ask the secret to only giving up two points to the Daegu batters through the 9th inning today?”

At the caster’s question, Chun Sang-jin paused for a moment and stopped talking.

At that moment, I prayed in my heart that he wouldn’t say that he had dug through all the SNS of the Daegu Buffaloes players and their relatives.

The world is not yet ready to accept his eccentricities.

Fortunately, a completely different, plausible answer came from Chun Sang-jin’s mouth.

“I don’t have talent.”

“Yes?”

“I don’t have the ability to throw a fast ball, which is the best weapon for a pitcher. I don’t have long and strong fingers to throw good breaking balls. The only advantage I have is that I throw the ball with my left hand.”

“Ah, yes…”

“So I worked harder. I reduced my sleep, reduced my rest, and instead tried to watch, memorize, and analyze as many at-bats of other teams’ batters as possible. The secret to a complete game victory? Well, maybe this will be my last complete game victory. But I’ve shown that even a player with nothing can make it in the first team, so I have no regrets.”

It was too honest and upright of an answer for someone who had dug through the SNS of the opposing team’s players and their surrounding people to win the game.

So much so that the reporter who was listening shed a tear.

It was then.

Ahn Chi-wook, Max Walker, and Choi Min-seok, who were waiting in the back with drink bottles, poured water over Chun Sang-jin’s head.

“Ugh! Surprise!”

“Chun Sang-jin, are you okay?”

Chun Sang-jin, caught off guard, brushed the hair off his forehead and smiled.

The reporter’s face turned red at the sight, but Chun Sang-jin, as if he had no interest in such things, continued with a calm expression.

“Even if hope is not visible, moving one step further, that seems to be the secret to today’s complete game victory. Thank you. Fans, I am a really happy person today.”

Perhaps that was a line that the baseball player Chun Sang-jin had cherished in his heart for a long time.

* * *