Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 15

All-Star Game!

As a professional sports player, just hearing those words makes my heart flutter. And here I am, standing proudly as one of the players.

Today, as expected, Park Hae-jin’s name is listed as the 4th batter and first baseman. I don’t know if he’ll be at the plate in the first inning, but it’s confirmed he’ll be in the on-deck circle [the area where the next batter warms up], so he’s already got his batting gear ready.

Even before going out to the field, he’s fiddling with his bat, getting ready. It’s… how should I put it? Being on the same team makes me feel so secure.

I’m only now realizing that even though baseball is a team game, it can change so much with just one person’s presence.

The game started with the Eastern team at bat, and it was a series of high-level plays befitting an All-Star game.

Great pitching, great hitting, great defense. Even when a hit happened, they somehow managed to get at least one, or even two, outs with even better pitches, suppressing the runners on base. A true All-Star game.

In the midst of all that, there was one person shining brightly…….

Thwack―!!

“It’s gone!”

“It’s outta here!”

Eastern League’s 4th batter, overwhelming #1 in All-Star voting, 4th batter and first baseman, Park Hae-jin.

He came up as the lead batter in the 2nd inning and smacked the very first pitch, sending it soaring to hit the scoreboard directly. Probably about 140m [approximately 460 feet]. It wasn’t a weak pitch either; it was a 154km [approximately 96 mph] fastball that was jammed inside, but it flew away so easily.

He calmly rounded the bases and came into the dugout, tossed the mascot doll that the bat girl brought him to the cheering section behind the dugout, and high-fives followed.

I was standing there awkwardly, but I went over and held out my hand, and he casually met my palm.

After that, it was pretty much the same. Strikeouts, ground balls, fly balls, the occasional hit followed by a double play, and then strikeouts. With the score at 1-0, the 4th inning started with two outs and no runners on base. The batter was Park Hae-jin again.

First pitch, fastball outside, ball. Second pitch, slider outside, ball. Third pitch, fastball outside, ball. And the fourth pitch, high fastball outside…….

Thwack―!!

“…That crazy bastard.”

…He just tapped it, and it hits the right foul pole.

Back-to-back home runs. His demeanor after calmly rounding the bases was similar to before. High-fives, mascot doll, tossed to the fans.

That was how it was outside the game, and inside the game, it was the same old feeling. Great pitching, routine outs, great defense. Has the All-Star game always been this high level?

Then in the top of the 7th, with one out and no runners on, Park Hae-jin was up again. The pitcher threw a very slow ball, as if to say, “You didn’t see this coming?!”. A so-called Arirang ball [an extremely slow pitch, named after a traditional Korean folk song]. The moment the ball floated up in the air upon release, my eyes went to the scoreboard.

89km [approximately 55 mph].

Thwack―!

And, in the center of my vision where the ball speed was displayed on the scoreboard, the baseball whizzed past.

Wowwww―!!

Startled for a moment, I quickly followed the trajectory of the ball, and it was already,

Thunk―

Going over the top of the left field fence. Three home runs in a row.

“…Hey. What is that?”

“I know, right?”

Hyung-gyu hyung [an honorific title for an older male friend or brother]. I think I’m really an idiot. I was going to face that guy in the bottom of the 9th with two outs and the bases loaded?

Hyung, you’re really a genius. No, ‘genius’ isn’t even enough to describe you.

My third high-five today, my third doll.

What kind of overpowered character is this?

“Han-wool, get ready.”

“Ah, yes!”

The top of the 7th inning ended, and as the bottom of the 7th was about to begin, I snapped out of it at the coach’s call and grabbed my hat and glove.

I trudged over to the bullpen door and went inside, where I saw a bullpen catcher I’d never seen before sitting there.

“Nice to meet you!”

“Yeah, you too.”

He casually accepted my greeting, and I flailed my arms and legs in the air, doing some simple warm-ups. At the pace of today’s game, the bottom of the 7th and the top of the 8th would end quickly. 20 minutes at most.

“Hi, fastball!”

Wham―!

But 20 minutes is plenty of time.

“Curveball!”

Wham!

Even with stretching in between pitches, my body warms up quickly, so I was ready in no time. I glanced at the situation and saw that it was the top of the 8th with two outs. The count was 1-2. It’ll be over soon.

“Last one, fastball.”

“Fastball!”

As I said that, I signaled with my glove and pulled my left foot back, raising both hands behind my head.

Thwack―!

“Han-wool, go up!”

“Yes!”

I walked quickly, passing through the bullpen door that the pitching coach opened for me, and headed to the mound. My face was on the scoreboard. And my stats from this season.

I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I’d be. I just thought of it as one inning of a normal game.

As my entrance music echoed through the stadium, the cheers from the Eastern League cheering section grew louder. Yeah, to the fans of other teams, I must seem like a Park Hae-jin this season.

When you’re up against me, you think, ‘Oh crap,’ but when we’re on the same team, you can’t help but feel secure.

Scratch that, I take back what I said about not being nervous.

I realized that even if they’re not my fans, even if they’re not fans of my team, I get goosebumps when people cheer for me.

Instead of the usual consistent colors, people in a rainbow of colors, wearing their respective uniforms, were doing the same motions and chanting the same slogans.

“Hoo…….”

I barely suppressed my racing heart and stepped onto the mound. I brushed the dirt off the plate with my right foot, picked out a spot for my free foot to step on, and fiddled with the rosin bag.

The catcher I’d be working with today was Hwang Ha-gyun, a senior from KP Stars. He’s two years older than me and one year ahead, but we don’t really have any direct connection.

We’d already worked out the signs, so there wouldn’t be any problems. I kindly showed the signs with my glove to the catcher from the other team who would be receiving my pitches for the first time, and then practice pitches began.

Sinker, curveball, slider, forkball, changeup, fastball. After throwing them all, I finished with the catcher’s long throw to second base, just like always.

As my body turned toward second base to receive the ball from the shortstop, the scoreboard naturally came into view.

Ah, it starts with the #1 batter. Then…….

I couldn’t help but smirk. I looked toward the opposing dugout. I made eye contact with Woo-seok, who was wearing all his batting gear.

Seeing my expression, the commentators must be wondering. Why is he smiling? Is he crazy? I’ll probably get asked about this in the interview later.

I stepped on the plate and signaled that I was ready.

Play!

And at the same time,

Dding―!

[War of the Stars, All-Star Game! Shine in the All-Star Game!]

– 1 Inning, 9 Pitches, 3 Strikeouts (0/1)

– Reward ― All Pitches +5

What?

All pitches +5. I gulped at this incredible reward. But the quest requirements are ridiculous. Strike out three batters with nine pitches? What the heck…….

Dding―!

[Too difficult? Temporary Trait ‘Overwhelm’ activated!]

– Fastball +20, Breaking Balls +10, Velo +1

…I’ll pitch my best.

I must have been lost in thought for too long. The batter was just staring at me with his bat on his shoulder, and Hwang Ha-gyun looked confused. I quickly moved and apologized.

First pitch, a low 109km [approximately 68 mph] curveball for a strike, a sinker that broke outside for a foul, and a splitter that bounced for a swing and a miss. Strikeout.

Oh, I’m on a roll today.

After fiddling with the rosin bag again, I looked at the first baseman…….

“Nice ball.”

Ah… the first baseman was him.

Receiving a ball thrown by Park Hae-jin, the guy who always hits home runs off me, feels strange. I chuckled and shook my head, then stepped back onto the plate. No need to exchange signs. Silently, I repeated what I did 10 seconds ago.

A sinker that broke inside for a ball, resulting in a foul to the left of the catcher, then a slider that caught the outside corner to get another strike.

Then, a changeup that perfectly stole the batter’s timing for a swing and a miss. As soon as he caught it, Hwang Ha-gyun threw the ball to third base while still sitting down. Two outs.

Baseball’s easy.

And…….

“Batter #3, Choi!! Woo!! Seok!!”

You?

His expression seemed to say that. And I’m sure my expression was similar.

What… did I say before the game?

Before stepping onto the plate, I fiddled with the rosin bag longer than usual, recalling the conversation I had with him before the game.

Something about his house, or something like that. I smirked and stepped onto the plate. I stood with my legs shoulder-width apart, waiting for the catcher’s sign. But I didn’t wait.

“Huh?”

The catcher and the batter both had the same expression. I showed the fastball grip to the catcher. A kind of taunt.

I’ll only throw fastballs. No need for signs.

That image was shown on the scoreboard, and although they didn’t know the details, the quick-witted spectators started cheering, and soon, the cheers grew even louder.

Woo-seok briefly called time and stepped out of the batter’s box to start practice swings. The sound of the wind whooshing from his swings seemed to reach my ears, even from 20m away.

Yeah, that’s how it should be.

The guy who stepped back into the batter’s box had a pretty interesting expression. He himself seemed to be enjoying it, and seeing that expression made me enjoy it too.

First pitch.

Hoo…….

I slightly lowered my head, pulled my left foot back, and raised both hands behind my head.

Hoo-ook…….

After a slight sway of my waist, my left knee, raised high enough to touch my chest, slowly lowered as my body moved forward.

Beyond the glove reaching forward, I could see the catcher’s mitt. The moment my left foot touched down, my hips rotated, and my right arm quickly came forward.

“Kyak!”

Wham―!

Whoosh―!

“Swing!”

Waaa―!!

A desperate effort that almost made my body completely fall toward first base. Yeah, ‘desperate effort’ is a good word. The angle of my naturally turned body allowed me to see the scoreboard.

142km [approximately 88 mph]. Not bad.

I nodded at the decent speed and showed my glove to the catcher, who caught the incoming ball as if snatching it. I stood on the plate again. No need to exchange signs. Silently, I just repeated the actions from 10 seconds ago.

“Ugh!”

A truly forceful pitch!

Wham―!

Whoosh!

“Swing!”

Another swing and a miss. The smile I gave him was close to a sneer, but he didn’t seem offended at all. Instead, he was smiling brightly, as if he was happy.

Back on the plate. I took a moment to catch my breath and rubbed rosin on my hands. Then, a random thought popped into my head. What if I threw a breaking ball here? What would his reaction be? What would the audience, the commentators, and the fans watching on TV think?

The silly thought disappeared with a smile, and I continued my windup without even looking at home plate. The same thing as the previous two times, just one more time. But a little harder.

It wasn’t until my left knee, pulled back, reached my chest that I saw the people at home plate.

In that very brief moment, the catcher showing his mitt, the batter waiting for the next pitch, even the umpire who was probably regretting not having popcorn.

“Madaak!”

They say it feels like your fingertips are burning, right?

The scream-like shout that came out unconsciously probably made it into the TV broadcast, even that fleeting moment of consciousness. And then,

Wham―!

Whoosh―!!

“Swing, out!”

Waaa―!!

Dding―!

[War of the Stars, All-Star Game! Shine in the All-Star Game!]

– 1 Inning, 9 Pitches, 3 Strikeouts (1/1)

– Reward ― All Pitches +5

– Too difficult? Temporary Trait ‘Overwhelm’ activated!

– Fastball +20, Breaking Balls +10, Velo +1

Control ― Top Tier

Velo ― Mid+1=High

Stamina ― Low

Fastball ― 66(+20)

Curve ― 48(+10)

Slider ― 36(+10)

Splitter ― 42(+10)

Changeup ― 47(+10)

Sinker ― 45(+10)

Traits

Detachment ― I’m indifferent to any batted ball or situation.

Discomfort ― Makes opposing batters uncomfortable when they look at the pitcher from the plate.

Overwhelm (Temporary) Fastball +20, Breaking Balls +10, Velo +1

My stats, which were like this:

Control ― Top Tier

Velo ― Mid

Stamina ― Low

Fastball ― 51

Curve ― 43

Slider ― 31

Splitter ― 37

Changeup ― 42

Sinker ― 40

Traits

Detachment ― I’m indifferent to any batted ball or situation.

Discomfort ― Makes opposing batters uncomfortable when they look at the pitcher from the plate.

Changed like this.

I smiled brightly and pointed at Woo-seok with my finger. He also smiled brightly and responded with a fist bump. Ah, I wonder if that’s okay to show on TV?

“Ah, nice ball!”

“Hey, that was awesome!”

“You killed it!”

As I slowly walked back to the dugout, the fielders who passed by me said a word or two. Mostly saying it was cool, I pitched well, things like that.

“…Nice ball.”

“Ah, yeah.”

As I was walking toward the third base dugout, I heard a deep voice from behind. A voice that made my heart flutter more than anyone else’s.

My head turned involuntarily, and I saw Park Hae-jin’s profile as he ran past me.

…What a cool bastard.

A chuckle escaped my lips as a noisy celebration began.