Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 169

It’s okay to lose.

The weight of that three-syllable word isn’t light at all.

Why?

Why, you ask? Telling a pro whose job is to win that it’s okay to lose is like telling a salaried employee they don’t have to work. It’s like saying, ‘You don’t have to work even though you get paid.’

Um… is that a good thing, then?

Then how about saying it like this:

It’s okay to lose, if you’re sure you’ll win tomorrow.

If we change this to a salaried employee version, wouldn’t it be, ‘You don’t have to work today, but you have to do two days’ worth tomorrow’? How would the employee feel hearing that?

That kind of absurd talk was the order of the day the day before yesterday.

Sangsu Tigers put up their ace, Seong Sang-jin, and we, Wonha Challengers, put up our fifth starter, Dong-gyun.

Honestly, if it’s a fight between the first and second starters, things can go back and forth. But when it’s the first and fifth starters, there’s bound to be a difference in class.

In that sense, ‘It’s okay to lose’ was a three-syllable phrase that our team and fans could all agree with.

But we won?

“Dong-gyun did well.”

“No, the batting lineup helped a lot, so I won thanks to them. Oh, I gave up a lot of runs too….”

There are other phrases similar to ‘It’s okay to lose.’

It’s okay to not hit well.

It’s okay to give up a hit.

It’s okay to not catch it.

However, these phrases also have the same preconditions as ‘It’s okay to lose.’

It’s okay to not hit well, because you’ll hit next time.

It’s okay to give up a hit, because we can stop them.

It’s okay to not catch it, because it’s easier to defend now.

Gyu-hak, who struck out the day before yesterday, Eun-gu, who gave up a hit the day before yesterday, and Seong-mun, who made an error [cracked an egg, a baseball term for making an error] the day before yesterday.

They all kept the preconditions well and led yesterday’s game to victory as well.

Gyu-hak recorded 2 hits and 1 home run in 3 at-bats, and also got a walk.

Eun-gu finished the inning with three strikeouts with 12 pitches.

Seong-mun didn’t do much at the plate, but he dominated the game itself with four good defensive plays.

Okay, we won a game we could have lost. And we won a game that felt a little easy.

Usually, when you achieve your goals this early, your purpose tends to become blurred. Or rather, should we see it as becoming clearer?

If you made 2 wins in two games in a series aiming for 2 wins and 1 loss, shouldn’t the third game be a little more relaxed? Even if we lose today, we’ll still achieve our goal, right?

Thwack-!

Nope, no way.

“Seong-mun, nice!”

“Seong-hun, run, come on in!!”

Swish―

Safe!

“Yeah!!”

“Seong-mun, nice bat!!”

“Seong-hun, nice run!!”

The third game of the series was similar to a half-and-half mix of yesterday’s and the day before yesterday’s games.

Half-and-half?

Our team’s score is similar to the day before yesterday, but the Sangsu Tigers’ score is similar to yesterday’s, that’s what half-and-half is.

In the bottom of the 4th inning, the Wonha Challengers’ offense hadn’t even finished yet, but they had already scored their 6th point, making the people watching feel secure from the start.

On the other hand,

Bang-!

“Haaah-!”

In the top of the 5th inning, even though all three of the Sangsu Tigers’ batters had exhausted their offensive opportunities, they only managed to score one point.

Even if the Wonha Challengers didn’t score any more points, and Seung-jin, who came on in the 7th inning, gave up a two-run home run, it wouldn’t be a big deal.

Bang-!

“Haaah-!”

Ding-!

[Creative Economy]

– Pitch within 8 pitches and allow no runs in 1 inning. (1/1)

– Reward – Splitter +3

Control – Top

Power – Top

Stamina – Medium

Four-seam – 100

Curve – 95

Slider – 94

Splitter – 93+3=96

Changeup – 95

Sinker – 94

Traits

Detachment – Accepts any batted ball or situation as it is.

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

Comfort – Those who look at you feel comfortable.

Focus – The number of things you can focus on increases.

Showdown – Four-seam fastball +5 when you want to win.

Contagion – Your emotions are contagious.

I just need to stop them next.

A quest that appeared while facing the Sangsu Tigers’ 5th, 6th, and 7th batters.

Compared to the reward, wasn’t the quest itself the most difficult quest ever?

It was so hard to gently coax the bats of the hitters who were out to drain my stamina…….

“Good job.”

“Hey, you had it easy?”

“I admit it.”

“You bad guy.”

“These days, bad guys like me are popular.”

“You’ve lost your mind.”

After returning to the dugout and having a lighthearted conversation with Seung-ju, I sat in the dugout and leisurely watched our team’s 8th inning offense.

A three-point lead becomes a four-point lead, and a four-point lead becomes a six-point lead.

“…It’s amazing that Senior Gyeong-seok has already recorded 30 saves with our batting lineup like this.”

Thanks to that, Senior Gyeong-seok, who had temporarily lost his closer role, watched Ji-ho cleanly block the top of the 9th inning.

* * *

“Ugh… euheuheu, euaaaack!!”

A scream or roar that filled the dugout as I stretched.

My whole body felt refreshed after stretching so intensely that my thighs were engaged and my legs were shaking.

“…I’m bored.”

I do tend to make big movements when I stretch, but I don’t scream like a madman. I’m worried people will think I’m crazy.

“Is he crazy?”

See?

I heard Hyung Gyu-jin’s voice and checked his expression, and he was making a disgusted face.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“I thought something happened. You were just stretching?”

“I thought no one was here.”

“I just came in.”

“Ah….”

I cracked my neck from side to side, which still felt a little stiff, and waited for Hyung Gyu-jin to say something next.

“…Why?”

I guess not.

“Nothing.”

Then I should go out and have some fun.

“Where are you going?”

“Just the indoor practice field.”

“Why are you going there again?”

“Because I’m bored.”

Nod.

“Is he crazy?”

“Because he’s crazy.”

Nod.

“…….”

“Because there’s no answer.”

Nod.

“…Stop with the overreacting and go, hurry.”

“Because it’s overreacting….”

Smack―

“Ack!”

“Go, I said go!”

Jeez.

After getting hit on the back by Hyung Gyu-jin for no reason, I grumbled and headed to the indoor practice field.

As far as I know… the rookie infielders who just came up from the minor leagues are practicing their hitting.

They’re infielders, is it okay for me to go?

“…I’m the captain. I have to go.”

…I thought, but I nodded, reasonably justifying it to myself.

“Hello, Senior!”

“Hello!”

“Oh, hello, hello, hello.”

On the way, I ran into some rookie pitchers,

“Oh, Coach, you’re working hard.”

“Oh, Han-ul. You’re working hard too.”

“Oh, Coach, you’re working even harder.”

“Oh, I have no regrets now that Han-ul said that.”

“Oh, you’re still in your prime, why are you talking about regrets.”

“Oh, I get emotional when I’m over 40.”

“Oh, the manager will scold you if he hears that.”

I also met batting coach Yang Taek-gyun and hugged him for no reason,

“Where are you going?”

“Ah, I’m going to check out the indoor practice field.”

“Why there?”

“Well… aren’t there some rookie friends there?”

“There are.”

“I’m going to see their faces and give them some advice.”

“Don’t go.”

“Yes?”

“What kind of corruption are you going to do there?”

“…….”

“They’re 20 years old now. Behave yourself.”

“…Yes.”

I got scolded by the manager for no reason.

…Should I try some corruption for once? I’ve never done it before, but I’ve learned so much that I’m confident I can do it really well. I’m more confident than anyone else.

“Eh.”

I shook my head and continued on my way.

If I turn right there… and go down to the basement, there’s the indoor practice field…….

“Ah, hello.”

“…Yes. Hello.”

A person I’d never seen before greeted me with a friendly smile.

A neat suit. Hair neatly styled. A notebook in one hand. A pen in the other. A name tag around his neck.

“Do you have a moment to talk?”

Anyone could tell he was a reporter.

“Yes… if it’s short, it’s okay.”

“Ah, thank you.”

The reporter smiled brightly, happy to have gotten an interview so suddenly, and flipped through his notebook, ready to take notes.

“You just won the series sweep against the Sangsu Tigers yesterday, didn’t you?”

“Ah… yes.”

“Before the series, there were only two games left, which was a bit… considering the flow of this season, there must have been some anxiety, but you’ve widened the gap to five games.”

“Yes.”

“Did the Wonha Challengers have any special strategies prepared in relation to this series sweep?”

“Strategies?”

Strategies… I don’t really have any.

“Uh….”

If I had to make something up, would it be that we didn’t adjust the starting lineup and sent Dong-gyun out as the starter in the first game of the series?

But can that be considered a strategy?

“…No. There weren’t any special strategies. We just said, ‘Let’s do what we’ve been doing, we’ll win if we do what we’ve been doing.’ Everyone thought that way and went into it.”

“Ah… yes.”

He nodded at my words and started scribbling something in his notebook.

Waiting for him to finish writing,

“Then, what do you think about the Wonha Challengers’ remaining games this season?”

“Uh….”

I’m trying not to give it too much meaning if possible.

Of course, it’s good to win. Of course, it’s good.

But we’re already in first place in the league by a whopping five games. It’s not even the beginning of the season, we’re approaching the end of the season and the rankings are becoming more and more fixed.

If I think too deeply about this game or that game, there’s only a greater chance of getting hurt.

“I’m trying not to think too much about it. It’s a loss if I get hurt from putting in too much effort.”

He nodded again at my words and started scribbling something in his notebook again.

He seemed to like the interview content quite a bit, and he nodded again with a bright face,

“Thank you for the sudden interview.”

“No. It’s okay.”

He disappeared from my sight.

* * *

After the game,

[Ms. Min-young – Han-ul, Han-ul]

[Ms. Min-young – What is this?]

[Ms. Min-young – Wonha Challengers’ Kim Han-ul, ‘Sangsu Tigers don’t even need strategies…’]

[Ms. Min-young – Wonha Challengers’ Kim Han-ul, ‘The remaining season isn’t that important…’]

I checked my phone and saw a text from Ms. Min-young.

But the contents were…….

[Wonha Challengers’ Kim Han-ul, ‘Sangsu Tigers are a team that doesn’t even need strategies.’]

[Wonha Challengers’ Kim Han-ul, ‘The remaining season isn’t that important.’]

“What?”

Every single one of them is terrible.

No,

“Did I say these things?”

It’s not just terrible. It’s just trash.

I checked the first article Ms. Min-young sent me.

…Kim Han-ul expressed confidence in the Sangsu Tigers, saying, ‘There weren’t any special strategies. We’ll win if we do what we’ve been doing.’

And I checked the second article too.

…When asked what he thought about the remaining season, he replied, ‘I don’t really think about it. It’s a loss if I get hurt for no reason.’

“…….”

The comment section of the article was, of course, a complete mess.

Who do you think you are to think of our Sangsu like that, quit being a baseball player if you don’t want to get hurt, why are you talking like that, etc.

Whether I should call it fortunate or obvious, there were comments trying to mediate, saying, ‘Don’t be fooled by the reporter’s tricks’… but.

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Is Sangsu so easy that they got reverse swept in the Korean Series last year? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ [Korean internet slang for laughing]

ㄴIt’s an aggro article

ㄴAggro? Where’s the aggro?

ㄴThey said they wrote down exactly what Kim Han-ul said?

ㄴWhen will you guys ever challenge? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

…It didn’t have much power.

“Um….”

They say that when a person is really angry or really dumbfounded,

“…Huh.”

Rather, they laugh, and it’s true.

“…He’s really lost his mind.”