Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 147

※ 147. The Best

The KP Stars’ batting order I faced in the top of the 9th was:

Third batter, second baseman Kim Ki-yoon.

Right away, the most formidable cleanup trio.

Kim Ki-yoon, who I became quite close with during the Premier 12 tournament and still keep in touch with occasionally, stepped into the batter’s box with a blank expression.

Han-wool, Han-wool. Little brother, little brother.

The person who always greeted me with a smile and patted my back was now looking at me as if I had committed a great betrayal.

I, too, forced myself to erase Kim Ki-yoon’s face, his expression, his very presence from my sight.

A person who values loyalty among teammates. A person known for being good-natured. A person who was approachable despite my initial hesitation, who reached out to me first.

I know he’s a truly wonderful person, but,

Wham-!

“Swing!”

He has to go his own way too, *hyung* [older brother or respected male figure].

The first pitch was a basic fastball, high and inside, resulting in a swing and a miss.

I glanced at the scoreboard and saw the velocity was 154km. Nodding at the better-than-expected speed, I waited for the next sign.

Not the outside slider. Not the inside sinker.

After shaking my head twice, I chose a low fastball on the outside corner. A classic location combination, perhaps.

“Ugh!”

Crack-!

“Foul, foul!”

The fastball I threw this time was 153km.

Watching the ball fly past the umpire’s head, I felt that his timing was starting to come together.

Kim Ki-yoon asked the umpire for a brief time-out and stepped out of the batter’s box. He swung his bat a few times, then returned to the batter’s box and glared at me.

If Kim Ki-yoon has been through a lot with me, and knows me quite well because of it, he probably already knows what I’m going to throw next.

“…Fastball.”

Even if it weren’t because of the quest, yes, I probably would have thrown a fastball in the same situation.

But,

“Ugh!”

Whoosh-!

“Swing, out!”

It won’t be the same fastball.

Ding-!

[Power]

– Strike out 3 batters in one inning using only four-seam fastballs (1/3)

– Reward – Power +1

The ball, pushed with every last bit of strength in my fingertips until the very last moment it left my hand, was a whopping,

“It’s really got some zip today.”

157km.

Even after reaching a speed close to the magic number, I nonchalantly circled the mound. I touched the rosin bag once, then spat on the ground.

4th batter, designated hitter Kim Sung-soo.

Kim Sung-soo, who had entered the same batter’s box as Kim Ki-yoon and was preparing to hit, glared at me with his handsome face.

154km, 153km, 157km.

What sign will Gyu-hak give me, given my insistence on only fastballs among the various signs, and what preparations will Kim Sung-soo make, seeing that I struck out the previous batter with three fastballs?

First, the first sign Gyu-hak chose was an inside fastball. Gyu-hak’s eyes, with one thumb extended, seemed to say so.

*Hyung*, is the concept for today fastballs?

“Hmph!”

That’s right, fastball. The concept for today is striking out three batters with only fastballs.

Whoosh-!

“Swing-!”

Kim Sung-soo met the first pitch with a swing that made the pitcher’s heart grow even colder.

“Ugh….”

In fact, from a pitcher’s perspective, this type of batter is the scariest.

A batter who swings hoping to get lucky? Just trick them so they don’t get lucky.

A batter who bunts and messes with your head when you’re shaken? Just jam their fingers holding the bat until they break.

A batter who sees the ball well and picks and chooses? Usually, those batters have a minus in contact or power instead of good eyes.

“Ugh!”

Whoosh-!

A batter who grips tighter, determined to devour you when they feel like they’re being devoured.

“Swing-!”

That kind of batter is the scariest.

They say you get pushed back from the ‘ki’ [life energy or spirit], so when I felt that, I didn’t immediately go into the windup, but paused slightly to break down the fighting spirit.

“Hoo!”

When I felt it was enough, I tossed the rosin bag, which had been floating around on my hand, away. I nodded to Gyu-hak, who was raising his thumb again,

“Ugh!”

Once more, I strongly pressed down on the end of the ball until the very last moment.

Then,

Whoosh-!

“Swing, out!”

I’ll definitely get him.

Ding-!

[Power]

– Strike out 3 batters in one inning using only four-seam fastballs (2/3)

– Reward – Power +1

Wowwww-!

Kim Han-wool! Kim Han-wool! Kim Han-wool!

The cheering section, which was already loud, began to become even more active.

Not only did the superstar they thought they wouldn’t see today appear, but he was putting on an unbelievable performance.

Until the next batter stepped up, I scanned the first base side of the stands from the mound.

“…Okay.”

Once again, I gained strength and faced the next batter without any regrets.

5th batter, catcher Hwang Ha-kyun.

“Hoo….”

Facing the third batter of the inning, the first ball Gyu-hak requested was, of course, a fastball.

The fact that all six pitches thrown since I came on the mound were fastballs clearly had significant implications.

*If* it’s Han-wool *hyung*, he must have a reason for throwing only fastballs, *if* it’s Han-wool *hyung*, he can strike them out with only fastballs.

Gyu-hak also believed that, and raised his thumb again.

“Ugh!”

Then I have to repay him.

Wham-!

“Strike!”

The fastball that was thrown deep inside from the first pitch was acknowledged with the umpire’s finger pointing and the count.

After that, the ball Gyu-hak requested was an outside slider. But if Gyu-hak is reading the atmosphere well, this sign is a kind of dummy sign.

If I just nod too much, or if I’m the only one giving signs, it’ll be boring, so I have to shake my head sometimes to confuse the batter.

As expected, another fastball sign came out on the outside corner.

What could Gyu-hak be thinking, giving and receiving fastball signs again and again, or continuously?

I bet as soon as we get into the dugout, he’ll suddenly say, ‘*Hyung*, aren’t you scared throwing only fastballs?’

“Ugh-!”

I’m a person too, of course I’m scared.

Even if it’s a good fastball, won’t I get hit with a hit if I only throw fastballs? Maybe, maybe I’ll get hit, of course I’m scared.

Crack-!

But what can I do? The fact that this is the most powerful weapon right now remains unchanged.

“Aheyy.”

The ball that curled slightly from the outside to the center was hit off the end of Hwang Ha-kyun’s bat and became a hit that slightly passed over Sung-moon’s head.

The ball rolled and rolled, and Sung-hyun picked up the ball rolling towards him and tossed it to Sung-moon. Sung-moon received the relay and threw it back to me.

“*Hyung*, good ball! Keep going!”

As I received the ball and stepped on the mound, Gyu-hak encouraged me by tapping his mitt with his right hand.

Thumbs up!

In the brief moment before the next batter came up, I gave a sign that I was okay, raising my thumb.

It’s okay. One or two hits are okay. Just get them out, don’t worry about a lucky hit, just get the next batter out.

“Okay, okay.”

Nodding to myself,

6th batter, right fielder Lee Chang-hyun.

I watched the next batter appear. Lee Chang-hyun, who was positioned in the left batter’s box, glanced at the runner on first base and moved his bat grip next to his left ear.

Accordingly, I also glanced at Hwang Ha-kyun, who was stepping on first base, and entered the set position. It was the first time in a long time that I had taken the set position.

Taking my left foot back, raising both hands above my head—not a flashy pitching form, but standing neatly and preparing for the task.

“Hoo….”

Slightly bent right leg, slightly forward left foot, slightly lowered waist, and the glove waiting in front of it.

Counting one, two, timing, but thanks to the ‘Concentration’ trait, I could feel how much Hwang Ha-kyun was moving, and how far he had moved.

When the timing reached four, my right leg quickly bent further and my left foot quickly leaped forward.

“Guh!”

Start fast, but deliver slowly.

Wham-!

If you faithfully follow the maxims related to the set position, you can throw a strong ball as you want.

“Strike!”

157km.

Many people think that you can’t throw a strong ball in the set position because it feels restricted and locked, but not at all.

Is the set position locked? Restricted? No, that’s just an excuse for people who don’t know how to use their strength.

The set position is not a reduced windup; the set position should be seen as a completely separate stance from the windup.

The starting point itself is different. Therefore, the approach must also be different.

The only commonalities between the set position and the windup are simply bending the legs strongly, turning the waist strongly, and extending the arms strongly.

“Ugh!”

Wham-!

“Strike!”

Yes, that’s the essence of pitching.

Using all the strength I have, and all the strength I can draw upon, somehow, somehow, induce the batter’s swing and miss.

“Oop!”

Right, like now.

Whoosh-!

“Swing, out!”

Ding-!

[Power]

– Strike out 3 batters in one inning using only four-seam fastballs (3/3)

– Reward – Power +1

Control – Best

Power – Above Average +1 = Best

Stamina – Average

Four-seam – 100

Curve – 88

Slider – 85

Splitter – 86

Changeup – 86

Sinker – 85

Traits

Detachment – Accepts any hit or situation with equanimity.

Discomfort – Makes opposing batters uncomfortable when they see the pitcher on the mound.

Comfort – Makes those who watch feel comfortable.

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

Although I allowed one hit, I finished both the inning and the game with three strikeouts.

“Hoo!”

A big breath was automatically exhaled, and a smile spread across my face.

I’m happy that I hit 100 in fastball, and to top it off, I’ve now reached the best in power. Moreover, there’s still more room for improvement.

“*Hyungnim* [respectful term for older brother or senior], good ball!”

“Nice, nice!”

Let’s go, let’s fight, victorious Challengers! For the victory of Wonha!

All the Wonha Challengers players bowed in front of the fans who were singing the cheering song.

Another victory, and from the position of having a share in the 1 win newly added to the team’s record, I naturally have a joyful smile.

As I was not hiding the feeling of ‘I’m so happy’ on my face, Gyu-hak came up to me with his mask tucked under his arm.

“Oh, *hyung*, what’s up with you? You’re not taking some kind of drug, are you?”

“What nonsense are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Your ball was unbelievably good today!”

“That’s how much I crushed it.”

“No, you have to crush it moderately. How is 158 coming out?”

“Not 157?”

“The last ball was 158.”

“158?”

Wow.

“Are you really going to hit 160km soon?”

“160… I don’t know.”

I don’t know. Of course, it would be nice to hit 160km… but I’ve already hit 100 in fastball stats, so it’s hard to expect any further growth in this area.

In the actual ‘Full Count’ game, there is a system where using rosin adds +5 to fastball, and wearing special equipment like gloves or shoes adds a few more…

“…Maybe if I throw it once with my life on the line, it’ll come out.”

It’s going to be a little difficult to expect such a scene in reality.

“No, why would you put your life on the line for that again?”

“Hey, still, I was born as a pitcher, so it would be nice to hit that speed once.”

“Are you going to hit 160 once and retire?”

That’s not it.

“Still, you can look forward to it from the next appearance, little brother.”

“Why, what is it again?”

Still, I got something more important than speed in some ways.

Best Power!

It was amazing when the power went up from average to above average, but what kind of ball will I throw now that it’s at its best?

“Even if I can’t hit 160, from now on I’ll throw a ball that feels like 170km.”