Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 59

#58. Even If I Have to Sell My Soul

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“Han-gyeol, what do you think after seeing that?”

“He’s good. Ahn Chi-wook, what’s up with him all of a sudden?”

“Yeah, the Incheon guys avoided Han Su-hyeok well, but they got hammered by Ahn Chi-wook and Seong-oh.”

It was the first week of May, in the Daejeon Falcons’ scouting analysis room, before the three-game series against the Warriors.

Ryu Han-gyeol, watching the video of the Warriors beating Incheon 8-3 from the previous day with the scouting team staff and pitching coach, muttered with a relaxed expression.

“But still… the Warriors have too many left-handed hitters.”

“True, no matter what, it’s not easy for lefties to hit your pitches.”

“Don’t worry too much. As long as there are three left-handed hitters in the heart of their lineup, they’re my meal. And if they replace those three with other candidates, even better.”

The pitching coach’s face immediately brightened at ace Ryu Han-gyeol’s confident words.

Who is Ryu Han-gyeol?

He’s an ace among aces, consistently slightly ahead of his rival Im Jun-yeong, recognized as the number one starter not only in Daejeon but also on the national team.

Even as Daejeon failed to escape the bottom ranks for the past four years, he recorded an ERA [Earned Run Average, a measure of pitching performance] in the 2s every year, a man of steel mentality, trained by the Falcons’ terrible defense, unfazed by most situations.

That’s Ryu Han-gyeol.

Moreover, Ryu Han-gyeol’s batting average against left-handed hitters last season was only 0.125. In other words, he’s like the Grim Reaper against lefties.

Of course, the Warriors know that.

But the Warriors have no right-handed hitters to replace them. It’s a case of knowing you’ll be beaten, but being unable to do anything about it.

The pitching coach, regaining his peace of mind, spoke to Ryu Han-gyeol again.

“Okay, then we should also avoid Han Su-hyeok as much as possible, like Incheon did, and target the other hitters…….”

“Coach.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m Ryu Han-gyeol.”

“I know. So?”

“If I, who only has a Major League challenge left, give up a walk to a rookie in his first year, what will the scouts think?”

Oh dear. The pitching coach was speechless the moment he saw Ryu Han-gyeol’s stern expression.

Yes, that’s true.

There was a promise made to Ryu Han-gyeol, who had been the team’s breadwinner for the past few years, by the team’s general manager, president, and even the owner.

A promise to cooperate with his move to the United States as soon as he meets the overseas advancement qualifications.

Ryu Han-gyeol, in his 7th year in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization], will acquire that qualification if he gets through this season safely.

In that sense, this year was a really important season for Ryu Han-gyeol. The Major League scouts following him will also be scrutinizing every game he pitches like a microscope.

But.

“But Han-gyeol, wouldn’t it be more of a problem if you face him head-on and get hit by Han Su-hyeok?”

“Me?”

Ryu Han-gyeol replied with an absurd expression.

“Let me say again, I’m Ryu Han-gyeol. Just watch. Tomorrow, that Han Su-hyeok won’t even step on first base once.”

In the first three-game series between the Warriors and the Falcons last month, Han Su-hyeok did not play in any game due to suspension.

Ryu Han-gyeol, who started in the third game and defeated the opposing ace Ryan Stark with a shutout, was showing strong confidence in the Warriors.

Ryu Han-gyeol, the prince of Daejeon, who is loved by the general manager, president, and owner.

The pitching coach, realizing that it was no longer possible to persuade him, eventually nodded with a stiff expression.

“Okay, Han-gyeol. I trust you. Then let’s compete as carefully as possible.”

“Ah, I’m telling you, just trust me.”

* * *

“Tomorrow’s opponent, Ryu Han-gyeol’s main weapons are fastball, sinker, changeup, and curve. He mainly throws fastballs and curves against left-handed hitters, and fastballs, changeups, and curves against right-handed hitters…….”

“Coach. He probably won’t throw curves to right-handed hitters. The probability of a sinker coming in is much higher.”

“Oh? Ah, ah, my bad. Right. It’s a sinker, not a curve. I almost made a big mistake. But Champion, how did you know that? Did you see the data in advance?”

Just like the Falcons, the Warriors were also in the middle of analyzing the starting pitcher they would face tomorrow, with all the key hitters and coaches gathered.

Hitting coach Noah Anderson stared at Han Su-hyeok with wide eyes.

“Yes, well, I looked at the data… and watched the videos. I’m quite interested in Ryu Han-gyeol, senior.”

“Hmm, I see. Good. That’s a good attitude. Then let’s continue. The biggest problem is that the opponent’s starter, Ryu, shows extremely low batting average against left-handed hitters, but Boss’s idea is that we don’t need to avoid it. Therefore, there will be no special changes in tomorrow’s lineup.”

Mumbling, mumbling.

The three left-handed hitters, who were all 0-for-4 in the first match against Ryu Han-gyeol last month, looked at each other with surprised expressions.

They naturally thought that right-handed hitters would start instead of them, but they were a little surprised by Lee Dae-jun’s choice.

“For that reason, the right-handed hitters will have to do even better in tomorrow’s game. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes, Coach.”

“Good, then let’s take a look at Ryu’s pitching patterns again…….”

The players raised their concentration to the maximum so as not to miss a single word of the hitting coach’s explanation.

Hmm.

National team ace Ryu Han-gyeol, the national team left-handed ace who will be eligible to advance overseas after this season.

The national team’s number one starter who is the first to come to mind when facing the most important teams such as Japan or the United States in international competitions.

But when I was playing in the Big League [Major League Baseball], I called him this.

A home run vending machine.

Ryu Han-gyeol, who dominated Korean baseball for 7 years and declared his move to the United States.

The team he chose happened to be the Oakland Athletics, the Seattle’s division rival I belonged to.

When I finished rehab in the minor leagues and first set foot in the Big League, he was in his third season with Oakland.

I remember the first day I met him.

I probably played as a right fielder, and he took the mound as a starting pitcher.

Before the game, we even met separately for a meal.

Actually, I didn’t want to, but Seong-hoon hyung [older brother or close male friend] kept telling me on the phone that players from the same country should get along, so I reluctantly decided to do it.

Not much was said.

I graduated from high school and went straight to the United States, and he was a veteran who had played in Korea for 7 years.

There was nothing to form a consensus with each other.

Just perfunctory stories were exchanged, and we exchanged greetings to do well today, that was all.

And in that day’s game, I hit three consecutive home runs against Ryu Han-gyeol.

“One of Ryu’s characteristics is that when the ball count becomes unfavorable against right-handed hitters…….”

The hitting coach’s explanation sounds as boring as a lullaby. Because I know it very well even if I don’t have to listen.

When the ball count becomes unfavorable against right-handed hitters, to be exact, when he feels like he’s in a crisis, he throws a changeup as a habit.

Yes, strangely enough, the trajectory of my extreme upper swing and his changeup were a perfect match.

To borrow the words of one commentator, it was as if they were originally made as a set and then divided into the bodies of two different players.

Thwaaaack!

If you hit it, it goes over.

Thwaaaack!

If you hit it again, it goes over.

It must have been frustrating for Ryu Han-gyeol, but that season I batted .600 with 6 home runs against him, reigning as more than just his nemesis.

Well, sometimes there are such cases in life.

Strangely, they match well, or vice versa.

Wait, in this case, is it a good match or a bad match? I’m confused.

Anyway, I feel much more comfortable knowing that Ryu Han-gyeol is the starter tomorrow.

He’s aiming to advance to the United States after this season?

Where, as a Big League senior, shall I go and teach him the bitter taste of life?

* * *

“Hey, Daniel, you came too?”

“James, good to see you. How long has it been? Are you still following that Ryu Han-gyeol guy?”

“Well, wouldn’t other scouts be the same? Look over there. Marlins, Nationals, hmm, the Texas guys are here too.”

“Take one of these first. The donuts taste pretty good.”

“Thanks. Compared to other places, this stadium seems to have pretty good facilities.”

“Well, it hasn’t been built for many years.”

“Okay, I appreciate the donuts… but tell me honestly. Who did you come to see?”

James Blake, the Asian scout for the Oakland Athletics, looked at the man sitting next to him with wary eyes.

He was Daniel Mitchell, the Seattle scout who failed to take Han Su-hyeok but still couldn’t give up on him and was wandering around him like a ghost.

“Let me make one thing clear. I’m not interested in Ryu. Our team has too many promising left-handed pitchers. So you can stop putting so much strength into those eyes.”

“Hmm. Is that so.”

Even with Daniel’s words, James still didn’t let his guard down.

The world of Big League scouts is a place where deceiving each other is a daily occurrence. Even Daniel is especially known as a con artist among them.

Although he was ridiculed by the industry for missing out on a prospect named Han Su-hyeok a while ago, he is by no means a man to be taken lightly just because of that one incident.

But Daniel seemed to have no interest in Ryu Han-gyeol at all, and was only focusing his attention on Han Su-hyeok, who he had brought with him.

“Daniel.”

“Huh?”

“Is it true? The rumor that you haven’t given up on that player yet.”

James pointed to Han Su-hyeok, who was warming up on the ground.

Then Daniel smiled bitterly and nodded.

“Of course. I haven’t given up yet. There are still 7 years, and even if the KBO’s overseas advancement regulations change as rumored, it will take 3 years, but I’m willing to wait for that friend.”

“Hmm, do you think he’s that good of a player?”

“Of course.”

“His current record… it’s definitely amazing. But other people may not know, but we know how difficult it is to maintain such performance for a long time. No one can guarantee what that player will look like in a few years. It’s not too late to judge after watching a little more. Why are you in such a hurry?”

James, who was relatively familiar with each other in this industry, sincerely worried about Daniel.

But even with James’s words, Daniel was not shaken at all.

No, rather, he replied with a look of pity.

“Yeah, it would be nice if other idiots thought like you…….”

“What?”

“James.”

“Hmm?”

“I’ll tell you something special just for you.”

“What is it?”

“The reason I decided to follow that Han Su-hyeok guy is not because of such records.”

“Then?”

“Even if he hits .400 and hits 70 home runs in the KBO League, not the NPB [Nippon Professional Baseball, the highest level of baseball in Japan], no one knows what will happen if you throw him in the Big League.”

“Are you saying that knowing that?”

“What I want to say is this.”

“Hmm?”

Daniel slowly continued, recalling Han Su-hyeok’s face in his head.

Daniel, who has been wandering around Han Su-hyeok since the opening of the season and collecting all information about him, may be the person on this planet who best understands the essence of Han Su-hyeok as a baseball player.

Perhaps that’s why Daniel’s voice was filled with perfect conviction.

“So what I want to say is… among all the baseball players I’ve seen so far…….”

“Among?”

“The rookie is the player who best understands the sport of baseball.”

“Heo…….”

“And.”

“Is there more?”

“He has both the mindset of an ace who leads the game alone and the virtue of a leader who knows how to solve the game by utilizing other colleagues. Of course, he doesn’t seem to realize that fact yet.”

“That’s a huge compliment.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Some people might call it crazy if they heard it, but…….”

Daniel’s mouth suddenly closed.

And after a while, he opened his mouth again with a voice as if he had made a decision.

“I think that rookie Han Su-hyeok might engrave his name in front of all the players in the Big League in the distant future.”

“…You’re deeply in love.”

“That’s right, James. Maybe the reason I became a scout for Seattle was to bring that friend to our team. It’s like fate.”

“Heo…….”

“So what I mean is…….”

Daniel, who had been thinking about something for a long time, continued with a determined expression.

“The day that player decides to advance to the United States, I will bring that friend to Seattle no matter what. Even if I have to sell my soul.”