Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 159

The “ball-mixing” story I shared with Ju-ho at the pork belly restaurant after Sunday’s game was a bit long and involved, and I wondered how much Ju-ho had actually understood.

I got the chance to confirm my doubts sooner than expected.

After a good rest on Monday, we headed down to Busan on Tuesday for a game against the KP Stars. Considering the opposing team and our pitcher facing them…

Clang-!

“Wow, Ju-ho’s intense.”

From the middle of the game, a series of defensive replacements and pinch hitters unfolded, naturally leading to Ju-ho’s appearance in the top of the 7th inning.

So far, this tactical move could be considered a success. A go-ahead grand slam with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the 7th.

But what about the defense?

Thud-thud-

“Three, three!!”

“No, stop!!”

Due to the KP Stars’ characteristic aggressive onslaught, Ju-ho, as well as the pitcher, couldn’t quite get their act together.

You know that feeling when you analyze and study something, only to have it crushed by sheer physicality?

The emotions Ju-ho was feeling were evident everywhere.

A shaky catching performance that felt worse than it should have been.

The pitcher’s extended intervals, seemingly lost in thought for involuntary reasons.

His right hand twitching constantly, as if doubting his own judgment.

“Han-ul, let’s get ready for the 8th.”

“Ah… okay.”

“Just think you might have to go out in the 7th.”

“Yes.”

In the bottom of the 7th, after allowing one run and confirming the situation with two outs and runners on first and second, I headed to the bullpen.

Thinking I might have to cover 1.1 innings in a pinch, I quickly started warming up, boldly cutting out anything unnecessary.

By ‘unnecessary,’ I mean things like mindlessly watching the game or engaging in pointless chatter with people around me.

Quickly, quickly.

I started moving around busily… it felt like about five minutes.

“Hyung [older brother or respected male figure], you can take your time.”

“Huh?”

“The defense is over. You can just warm up slowly and go out.”

Following Geon-yeong’s words, I looked at the field and saw our team’s players returning to the dugout, and the KP players coming onto the field.

“Looks like they somehow managed to stop them.”

“It was a bit shaky, but Hyung Myeong-jin did a good job holding them off.”

That’s a relief.

Thanks to that, I started warming up, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere. I threw curves, sinkers, and even played around with my fastball.

“Han-ul, you can go out now.”

“Yes.”

At the coach’s words, I shrugged my shoulders and headed to the mound. Ju-ho was already sitting behind home plate, waiting for me.

“I wonder what Ju-ho’s going to do….”

Ju-ho probably didn’t expect to get a pop quiz so soon. The tension in his eyes was palpable, quite a sight to see.

First, I threw him a few pitches one by one to help him get a feel for catching.

How is it? Can you catch them?

No.

In an already chaotic situation, the teacher saw me mess everything up in front of him, and now I have to take a pop quiz from that teacher.

I fully understood Ju-ho’s feelings. Even if I didn’t, I wouldn’t say anything.

Right now, the priority is to calm Ju-ho down. I can provide some stability.

“But he’s still the catcher.”

No one, not even the manager, can have as much influence on stabilizing the defense as the catcher.

“Ju-ho!”

“Yes!”

“Right down the middle!”

“Ah….”

Right down the middle.

On the day of the brief lecture at the pork belly restaurant, wouldn’t that one phrase, like a teaser video before the game, be enough to bring him back to his senses?

Thanks to that, the sound of the mitt, which had been clicking and ticking, started to make a loud, resounding thud!

Ding-!

[Pop Quiz]

– Pitch according to the catcher’s lead and pitch a scoreless inning (0/1)

– Reward – Changeup +2

And at the same time, a quest appeared.

“The name is….”

Just when I thought the quest names were getting lazy, KP Stars’ leadoff hitter, Ahn Byeong-guk, stepped into the right-handed batter’s box with a rather hefty build.

A hefty leadoff hitter?

He’s hefty, but he doesn’t hit more than 10 home runs in a season, and he’s not particularly fast, so why would they put a hitter like that in the leadoff spot?

Despite the many negative characteristics, there’s a clear reason why the KP Stars, the top-hitting team, sticks with Ahn Byeong-guk as their leadoff hitter.

What is the essence of a hitter anyway? Getting on base.

Ahn Byeong-guk knows what he needs to do at the plate and acts accordingly.

In that sense, he can be compared to Hong Seok-jin, who is now retired, but the difference is that Hong Seok-jin was a passive hitter, while Ahn Byeong-guk is an active one.

However, the ‘active’ part is annoying because he tries to endure, watch, and even tap at pitches he knows are balls just to make the pitcher throw one more.

“Play!”

Facing Ahn Byeong-guk as the first batter, Ju-ho chose a high fastball as the first pitch. Not just near the zone, but a fastball that was completely out of the zone from the very first pitch.

What on earth is he thinking…….

“Ugh!”

Thud-!

“Ball!”

…That thought was evident on the batter’s face.

Kim Han-ul is only human, so I thought, is it a mistake? But Ju-ho’s awkward posture clearly made it look like a deliberate move.

Whether Ahn Byeong-guk was looking at him or not, Ju-ho didn’t care and thought about the next sign. After a moment of consideration, he gave the same sign as the fastball he had just thrown.

“Guh!”

Thud-!

“Ball!”

Again?

Ahn Byeong-guk tilted his head, with a one-letter question mark on his face.

He knew that Kim Han-ul was taking an unusual approach to ball mixing, but he was wondering what the benefit was of giving up two balls first.

Benefit? There definitely is one.

Bang-!

“Strike!”

As far as I, and Ju-ho, know, Ahn Byeong-guk is a hitter who is hell-bent on increasing the pitcher’s pitch count.

In other words, he’s the type who would watch and wait even if he could hit a 2-0 pitch, just to make the pitcher throw one more.

Ju-ho had given up two balls first, but thanks to that, he had safely secured one strike, and he was thinking again about how to get another strike.

2-1. The next pitch to follow up the count created by two high fastballs and an outside curve was,

“Ugh!”

Whoosh-

“Swing-.”

A fastball with a difference of over 40 km/h [kilometers per hour]. He threw it right at the body, so the swing was late, very late, and he got a new count.

Whether it was because he had just thrown a curve and was relatively late, or just late on a 157 km/h fastball.

If it were me, I would have left the left and right alone and just raised the height a little more to induce a swing, but Ju-ho had a different idea.

Sinker.

If he threw it in the same course as the fastball he had just thrown, it would likely become a ball, but with the matchup between me and Ahn Byeong-guk, he must have calculated that the bat would come out.

No,

Bang-!

An even more fundamental calculation.

“Three!”

“Third, dash!”

What is the essence of a pitcher and defense in the first place? It’s to thwart the batter’s attempt to get on base and disrupt the offense.

“Out!”

If he was aiming to exploit the fact that high fastballs are often used to induce swings in counts where a final pitch is needed, I would like to praise him.

Clap clap clap!

“Ju-ho’s doing well!”

Like this.

When I tapped my fingers, which were stained with rosin, against the back of my glove, Ju-ho nodded his head as if he was happy.

He must have done a similar quest before.

It’s exactly the same as before. The pitcher is me, the catcher is Ju-ho, and the content is not to shake his head at the catcher’s sign.

Back then, I overwhelmed him with tremendous concentration and the gap between my past self and my much-improved self.

In other words, it can be said that the quest was successful entirely due to ‘me.’

But today is different. I don’t have to do the work of two or two and a half people alone.

Bang-!

“Short! Short!”

“Ugh!!”

The first pitch, and inside.

Seeing the results of subtly mixing and twisting the two things Ryu Seung-hoon likes, I thought it would be okay.

After cleanly getting two outs, Ju-ho stood up and waved his hands in the air when the 3rd batter, Kim Ki-yoon, appeared.

If I were to slightly interpret the block signs that Koreans use, it would be to move the third baseman back a little and the second baseman slightly to the right.

Oh…….

By slightly shifting the positions of the two infielders, several hypotheses were established about what Ju-ho wanted to do.

However, the truth is that there were doubts about whether Ju-ho could properly execute each and every one of them.

With the thought of let’s watch and see, I checked the first sign that came out. A slider that moves away to the side.

“Ugh!”

When I strongly hit the right side of the ball and threw it, the ball that was flying towards the outside of the strike zone at some point,

Bang!

It curved as if it was bouncing off something.

“Ball!”

It’s a shame that Kim Ki-yoon’s bat didn’t come out with it, but Ju-ho didn’t get discouraged and pointed to the first base umpire.

Wow-!!

Even with the first base umpire’s gesture that the Busan home fans were cheering for, Ju-ho stubbornly continued with the next sign.

What could be the reason why he wasn’t disappointed at all, even though it didn’t enter the zone and wasn’t caught in a check swing?

Because Kim Ki-yoon, rather than being a hitter who just looks at the ball and hits it, takes at least a minimal amount of strategy into the game, the fact that he reacted to the outside ball itself could be another hint.

Of course, it is also the catcher’s job to read what comes next.

He saw the outside this time, but will he see the outside next time? Or will he turn his target to the inside next time?

Ju-ho must have chosen the latter of these two options.

“Kkeut! [End!/Finish!]”

When I strongly hit the seam that was felt along the length of my index and middle fingers, the fastball heading towards the body was completed.

Ddik!

“Foul, foul!”

But now with tailing added.

Depending on the situation, there are many branches to ball mixing.

A situation where even allowing a hit on the bat is not allowed.

A situation where it is sometimes advantageous to let them out on purpose.

A situation where you can throw it to them and tell them to hit it if they can.

Ju-ho seems to have judged the current situation to be the third situation.

The initial slider that tried to pull the bat down, the sinker on the body that he just threw, and the reasons why he moved the fielders just before.

Hit it if you can.

Ju-ho was saying that in front of a senior hitter.

“Heut!”

Thud-!

“Strike!”

Ju-ho, who is making another count by quickly catching the low fastball on the body with a much-improved catching, how annoying must this guy look to the hitter right now.

Ju-ho didn’t care and went through the thoughts for the final pitch, and sent out the sign for the final pitch.

A changeup that falls in the same course.

Huh, a changeup on the body for the same-handed hitter, whoever taught him, well,

“Ugh!”

Well taught.

Thud-

“Swing, swing!”

The changeup, which was turned and thrown from the fastball grip, fell with a slightly larger drop than usual, but Ju-ho quickly moved his body to the left and dropped the ball in front of him.

He quickly picked it up and tagged Kim Ki-yoon, who was now running out, and got three outs.

Ding-!

[Pop Quiz]

– Pitch according to the catcher’s lead and pitch a scoreless inning (1/1)

– Reward – Changeup +2

Control – Best

Power – Best

Stamina – Medium

Four-seam – 100

Curve – 91+2=93

Slider – 88+2=90

Splitter – 89+2=91

Changeup – 91+2=93

Sinker – 88+2=90

Traits

Detachment – I’m okay with any batted ball or situation.

Discomfort – Makes the opposing hitter uncomfortable when they see the pitcher at the plate.

Comfort – Those who see me feel comfortable.

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

Match – Four-seam +5 when I want to win.

Contagion – My emotions are contagious.

Instead of going back to the dugout with the usual chaos, he silently pointed to this inning’s MVP with his finger and quietly returned to the dugout.

“Hoo-o-o-o!”

Because this chaos is what Ju-ho has to do.

Nevertheless, all the cheers from the team members and the awe from the fans are directed only at me. All I did was throw the ball as they asked me to.

Feeling sorry, I didn’t go straight into the dugout and stood still, waiting for Ju-ho to come.

He took off his mask and hung it on his waist, turned his catcher’s helmet forward, and dragged his catcher’s gear with a clattering sound.

Towards Ju-ho, who came sweating profusely,

“Ju-ho, what are you doing!”

“Yes?”

“Click, you idiot, click! [Take the spotlight!]”

“Ah, click!”

Click!

I cheered louder, I made more noise, and I revered him more.

Only then,

“Shouting!”

“Nice!”