Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 131

Professional baseball’s premier team.

Wow, just hearing that phrase is enough to make any baseball player’s heart race.

What if we add ‘starting lineup’ or ‘starting pitcher’ to it?

Professional baseball’s premier team starting lineup. Professional baseball’s premier team starting pitcher.

The heart, already fluttering, feels like it’s about to explode.

Why?

Why do baseball players feel such a surge of emotion when they hear those words?

Is it because it represents the highest level of competition in Korean baseball?

Is it because success at that level can lead to significant financial rewards?

Is it because it’s practically the only stage where baseball fans are laser-focused?

Well, all of that is certainly true.

But if we add one more element, wouldn’t it also be due to the limited number of spots available?

Roughly speaking, each team might have around 15 starting players.

Every baseball player grinds, practices relentlessly, and risks everything to be among those ’15’.

Some might get there purely on talent, but the vast majority combine talent with immense effort.

“Um, Kim Han-wool, senior.”

“Huh?”

“Could you…teach me how to throw a curveball?”

“Curveball? Sure, why not? What’s the problem?”

In that regard, Lee Seung-jin, a rookie in the 2020 season, embodies the combination of talent and hard work.

His velocity consistently clocks around 150 km/h [approximately 93 mph], which is impressive, but even more striking is the sheer power behind his pitches.

A cannonball? I think his fastball is even more potent.

Beyond that natural ability,

“I think the curveball…doesn’t break as much as I thought. It feels like there’s hardly any change at all.”

He also possesses the drive to constantly improve his pitches, to make them even more devastating.

“I want the trajectory of the curveball to be more noticeable than the speed.”

Seung-jin stated his goal with unwavering confidence.

“Did you throw a curveball yesterday?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Then what did you throw yesterday?”

“I only threw fastballs yesterday.”

Yesterday, Seung-jin threw 11 pitches in one inning against the KP Stars’ formidable lineup, striking out all three batters he faced.

Beyond just a three-up, three-down inning, the fact that all the pitches were fastballs makes it even more remarkable.

This could be interpreted as Seung-jin’s fastball being exceptionally good…but on the other hand,

“Why didn’t you try throwing a curveball?”

“I’m still a bit hesitant to throw it in a real game.”

It also suggests that his only breaking ball, the curveball, might be seriously lacking.

“Well, yeah. Right now, your fastball is good enough that you can get away with just throwing fastballs…but you definitely need a breaking ball…”

“Han-wool.”

“Yes, yes?”

“You’re up in the 8th.”

“Ah, yes!”

Ah, that’s a relief.

“That’s great. I’ll warm up, and when I’m throwing, watch from here, right in front of me. If you have any questions while you’re watching, feel free to ask.”

“Yes, thank you!”

Having been given permission to observe freely, Seung-jin bowed his head and positioned himself to the right of the pitcher’s plate.

The way he watched his senior warming up from the best seat in the house, it was as if he was trying to glean every possible secret from the veteran.

Good. Well done. That’s exactly how a rookie should act.

After completing his stretches and even playing catch with Geon-yeong, he wiped the plate with his spikes.

“Curveball.”

“Curve!”

Given the situation, the first pitch is a curveball.

“Curveball!”

“Ah!”

Another curveball.

“Curveball coming!”

“Hey!”

After throwing three curveballs in a row, I glanced at Seung-jin.

“Do you understand a little?”

“Um…not really.”

“Seung-jin, you’re really strong. You’re strong, your mechanics are great, everything’s good.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s not thanks. But because of that, it seems like you’re trying to throw the curveball with strength too.”

“Ah….”

“Just think simply. Geon-yeong, curveball!”

“Aye!”

After showing him the grip I use, I threw the fourth curveball.

It had a pretty significant drop, but it showed a clear ‘change’ that broke inwards instead of simply falling from a high point.

“Don’t try to force the break. Don’t do that thing where you move your wrist like this and spin it, like, like that.”

“Yes.”

“Just naturally. One more curveball!”

“Yo!”

The fifth curveball followed almost the same trajectory as the previous ones and landed squarely in Geon-yeong’s mitt.

After throwing a total of five curveballs, I glanced at Seung-jin. It’s kind of funny to see him with that blank expression on his determined-looking face.

“And you know what?”

“Yes, yes!”

“The timing of *when* you throw a curveball is more important than the act of throwing it itself, okay?”

“Are you talking about timing? Release timing?”

“No. The timing of when you’re going to throw it to which batter, *that* timing.”

“Ah….”

“But this isn’t really like a formula, so it’s hard to explain in words…”

“Han-wool, let’s go up!”

“…so I’ll show you.”

“Yes!”

Walking through the open door of the bullpen, the mound came into view. I picked up the ball lying alone in front of the pitcher’s plate and brushed off the dirt.

“Curveball….”

I realized I’d only been throwing sinkers [a type of fastball that drops sharply] in the bullpen recently, and only sinkers during in-game pitching.

It’s strangely similar to that time.

Being fixated on a specific pitch in connection with someone, only throwing that pitch in the bullpen, and then going up to the mound,

Ding-!

[The Beauty of Slowness]

– Throw 6 or more curveballs and allow no runs in 1 inning (0/6)

– Reward – Curveball +2

Even accepting a quest related to that pitch.

As if modeled after the curveball’s large and graceful arc, today’s text was floating above the high scoreboard.

Thanks to that, I was able to reconfirm the batting order I would be facing.

“Ryu Seung-hoon…Kim Ki-yoon…Kim Sung-soo….”

The KP Stars’ 2nd, 3rd, and 4th batters.

“…It might be easier than I thought?”

Against the KP Stars’ batting order, which boasts as much firepower as the fans’ enthusiastic support, a pitching style that gently coaxes them might be more effective.

I turned back around and looked at Gyu-hak.

Let’s decide on the concept for today’s pitching based on the pitch I throw the most during practice throws, or the first pitch I throw.

Recognizing the unspoken rule that Gyu-hak and I had developed over time,

“Ugh!”

I threw a curveball.

Bang!

“Ah, good!”

I subtly signaled with my eyes, and Gyu-hak nodded slightly. He probably understood.

“Play!”

The 8th inning defense began as the 2nd batter, Ryu Seung-hoon, stepped up to the plate. In response, the first card Gyu-hak played was,

“Eup!”

Boom-!

A high, inside fastball. But very high.

“Ball!”

He received a ball call, judged to be outside the strike zone vertically rather than horizontally.

I had been signaling for curveballs, but instead of thinking, ‘Why a fastball?’, I thought, ‘He really wants to set up the curveball, so he’s drawing a big picture.’

As expected,

“Keuk!”

Boom-!

“Ball-.”

The next fastball he threw went accurately to the outside, but the height was almost the same as the previous pitch.

Naturally, he received a ball call, and the count was 2-0.

At this point, it was time to unleash something that had been held back for a long time. That something is,

“Ack!”

Clang!

“Haaik-!”

The fact that it’s a curveball that’s a whopping 40 km/h [approximately 25 mph] slower than the fastball that was zipping back and forth near 150 km/h [approximately 93 mph].

Ding-!

[The Beauty of Slowness]

– Throw 6 or more curveballs and allow no runs in 1 inning (1/6)

– Reward – Curveball +2

First, let’s take care of one quest count.

Ryu Seung-hoon’s face is subtly distorted, perhaps because he was flustered by the sudden change in speed. Gyu-hak, judging that he couldn’t miss this opportunity, called for another curveball.

“Kkeuak!”

Crack―

A curveball that drops right below the strike zone.

“Swing-.”

That’s what’s great about a curveball. It’s the only pitch that can start as a ball and end as a strike.

Ding-!

[The Beauty of Slowness]

– Throw 6 or more curveballs and allow no runs in 1 inning (2/6)

– Reward – Curveball +2

Having gotten two balls with two fastballs and two strikes with two curveballs, throwing one more curveball might be a good strategy, but Gyu-hak called for the same pitch as the first one.

Wouldn’t it be because he wants to actively exploit the difference in speed and drop?

“Euk!”

Boom-!

“Swing-!”

There aren’t many batters who can properly handle a fast, high fastball of about 150 km/h [approximately 93 mph] after seeing two slow curveballs of about 110 km/h [approximately 68 mph] in a row.

Unless they just don’t swing.

While Gyu-hak threw the ball towards Ki-sung, I dusted off the rosin bag at the back of the mound and gradually revised the plan.

The total number of curveballs I have to throw to complete the quest is four.

“…Assari… [a Japanese-derived Korean slang term meaning ‘let’s go’ or ‘all right’]”

What if I just threw curveballs to Assari Kim Ki-yoon?

I didn’t think deeply; I just sent out the signs as they came to mind. These things work better when you just go for it without thinking.

I tapped the brim of my cap with my index finger and pointed to my glove. Gyu-hak nodded and gave the curveball sign.

I sent a confirmation sign from my side as well, and the grip was twisted around inside the glove.

“Eup!”

The place to throw it is outside.

I tried to put it in, but did it miss a little? I thought, but,

Thwack―

“Hyung [older brother or senior], plenty of time!”

“Slowly, step properly-!”

Kim Ki-yoon shattered my plan from the very beginning.

Ding-!

[The Beauty of Slowness]

– Throw 6 or more curveballs and allow no runs in 1 inning (3/6)

– Reward – Curveball +2

Ah, wait a minute.

Kim Ki-yoon, who had predicted an easy out because the hit was fast and Sung-hoon hyung caught it easily, was running with a light step, and I thought something was wrong.

“This is a bit dangerous.”

The number of curveballs I have to throw to complete the quest is three. But there’s only one batter left.

What if the next batter, Kim Sung-soo, hits it from the first pitch again? But throwing balls that don’t even make sense is almost like match-fixing.

“…Ah, whatever. I’ll have to try.”

If this happens, there are two conditions that are newly revised.

Throw a ball that the batter can’t even think of swinging at. But it shouldn’t be a ball that looks completely absurd to other people.

There are a few zones that meet these conditions. Let’s aim for those places.

“Eup!”

The most representative place that meets this condition is,

Boom-!

“Haaik-!”

Ding-!

[The Beauty of Slowness]

– Throw 6 or more curveballs and allow no runs in 1 inning (4/6)

– Reward – Curveball +2

A slow curveball passing through the high strike zone.

Since the starting point of the ball itself is very high, the batter basically flinches once.

From there, the ball comes, but it’s very slow. Therefore, you can see the movement of the ball more accurately.

Oh…it’s high…?

Once you lose the timing, you can’t fill that ambiguous gap.

You can’t keep throwing only these kinds of balls, but you can use them occasionally. Now is the time to use them.

And then, the next most likely place is the low inside.

“Eup!”

Thwack-!

But it’s too deep, so it’s a zone that should be called a ball.

“Foul, foul!”

Ding-!

[The Beauty of Slowness]

– Throw 6 or more curveballs and allow no runs in 1 inning (5/6)

– Reward – Curveball +2

Unless it went into the zone completely, there aren’t many batters who can hit a curveball that’s so deep that it almost hits their shins and put it inside the line.

Okay…I’ve gotten to 0-2.

The balls I threw against Kim Sung-soo were a curveball that hung high on the inside, and a curveball that fell deep on the inside. Then the last one is…….

“I have to go here once too.”

At this point, it should come out once. The signature of our battery, made up of me and Gyu-hak.

“Kkeuak!”

When I throw the ball,

Boom!

Gyu-hak catches it like a strike,

“Haaahahahaik-!!”

Getting a strikeout.

Ding-!

[The Beauty of Slowness]

– Throw 6 or more curveballs and allow no runs in 1 inning (6/6)

– Reward – Curveball +2

Control – Top

Power – High

Stamina – Medium

Four-seam fastball – 89

Curveball – 83+2=85

Slider – 82

Splitter – 83

Changeup – 83

Sinker – 84

Traits

Detachment – I’m okay with any hit or situation.

Discomfort – Makes the opposing batter feel uncomfortable when they look at the pitcher in the batter’s box.

Comfort – Those who look at me feel comfortable.

Concentration – The number of targets I can concentrate on increases.

“Hoo….”

I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking I had overcome one hurdle, and returned to the dugout.

Clap clap clap―

“Hey, nice ball!”

“Your curveball is really good today!”

“Han-wool hyung, you’re the best!”

I couldn’t just stand still when I found my teammates welcoming me,

“Ah, click!”

Click!

I happily did a celebration once.

Among the teammates who were returning to their positions after a simple celebration,

“You worked hard!”

I saw one junior blocking my path.

“How was it?”

“…Awesome.”

Seung-jin was clapping slowly with a blank expression as if he was possessed by something.