Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 173

As September began, teams still clinging to hopes of improving their standings felt the pressure mounting.

The teams barely hanging on above worried, “Ah, one slip-up here, and we could fall!”

The teams just below the threshold fretted, “Ah, if we mess up here, we might not make it!”

In this tense atmosphere, teams that didn’t obsess over their ranking gained a significant advantage.

Whether it was luck, or truly a result of their hard work, the Wonha Challengers found themselves in a comfortable position where they didn’t need to stress too much about their team ranking.

“Um… like this?”

“That’s too much of a break. It’s not wrong to break it, but that’s excessive. It turns it into a sinker instead of a changeup. There’s no point in throwing a changeup then.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll try again. Changeup!”

“Hey! Changeup!”

*Thwack!*

“Not… bad. Don’t think of it as a breaking ball. Just think of throwing a fastball with your middle and ring fingers.”

“Ah… okay. One more!”

“Okay, changeup!”

*Thwack!*

“That’s good. From there, if you push the ball instead of hitting it, it’ll be even better.”

“Wow….”

They swept the second-place Sangsu Tigers, creating a comfortable five-game lead. That positive trend continued afterward.

Win-win-win-win-win, losing once in a while, then win-win-win again…….

In the process, Sangsu stumbled, widening the gap even further.

“Are you going to use it today?”

“I should try it out. If I’m going to use it, I should use it now.”

“True… can’t just throw it into the Korean Series [championship series] right away.”

Hyeok-jun even had the freedom to use a changeup that didn’t quite fit his hand in a real game.

Variety of pitches?

Among the various factors to evaluate a pitcher, it is one of the top three.

The two unmentioned factors are fastball speed and control; these remain crucial.

But a ‘pitcher’ can’t solve everything with just a fast fastball and good control.

In an extreme comparison, a pitcher who only throws fastballs only needs to think about the fastball even when facing a 0-2 count [two strikes, no balls]. But a pitcher with many breaking balls has to consider all those pitches.

No, even with a good fastball and a high school-level curveball, you can’t ignore that curveball.

What if he throws it this time? What if he hits it well this time? What if the timing is off this time?

Hyeok-jun has been using a ‘curveball’ for tempo control reasonably well, along with his fastball and slider, somewhat shedding the stigma of being a two-pitch pitcher.

However, even a three-pitch pitcher is still unstable unless they have exceptional game sense or control.

So, what Hyeok-jun is trying is,

“The best practice is in a real game, so I need to use it as soon as possible.”

The changeup.

“That’s not wrong… but don’t get hit too much.”

“But don’t you need to get hit to know what’s wrong?”

“That’s second-rate.”

“…Then what’s first-rate?”

“Knowing what’s good without getting hit. For reference, not knowing even after getting hit is third-rate. Not knowing how you caught it even after catching it is just trash.”

“Isn’t it the opposite? Isn’t catching it better than not catching it, even if you don’t know how you caught it?”

“Usually, those guys throw it because it feels good, and then get hammered in important moments. On the other hand, guys who don’t know why they got hit become cautious and play it safe.”

“Ah….”

“Think carefully before you throw. Don’t get beat up and then think, ‘Ah, I shouldn’t have practiced this,’ and give up.”

“Of course. Why am I learning the changeup? I’m practicing because I want to throw it well, right?”

A guy who throws well practices because he wants to throw ‘even’ better.

Hyeok-jun is a guy who follows this incredible proposition well. And he has been doing well so far.

Even though I say this,

Bang-!

“Swing, out!”

I thought he would use it well like this.

Hyeok-jun, who cleanly took care of leadoff hitter Jo Hong-gyu, the start of the defense, with three pitches, watched the rounding infielders with a bright smile.

Looking away from Hyeok-jun’s smiling face and checking the speed on the scoreboard, it was 131km [kilometers per hour].

The previous two pitches were 154km and 155km, respectively.

“He throws well.”

Inside fastball, inside fastball, changeup moving away to the outside; wasn’t it a very classic ball combination?

After Jo Hong-gyu, Hyeok-jun faced Kim Seong-ju and Choi Jae-won.

Since left-handed hitters appeared in succession, it was difficult to use the changeup,

Bang-!

“Strike, out!”

He finished the bottom of the 1st inning by getting Kim Seong-ju out with a ground ball to the pitcher and striking out Choi Jae-won once again.

He’s doing well.

“How is it? Not bad, right?”

“You’re doing well. Now, aren’t all the hitters right-handed from now on?”

“That’s right.”

Lee Won-woong, Bae Jun-ho, Hong Seong-min, Yang Jin-woo.

Starting with the 4th hitter, he would face four consecutive right-handed hitters from the start of the bottom of the 2nd inning.

Hyeok-jun would probably be excited about throwing the changeup from here on out.

“Did it work well against Jo Hong-gyu?”

“I think it went in nicely. Like this, like thiiiis.”

He explained the trajectory of the changeup with his pitching left hand.

It doesn’t cause too much change, and it doesn’t move too timidly; it has the appearance of a very good changeup.

Not bad.

However,

“It’s good that it’s working, but don’t just keep throwing it and put too much force into it.”

“Of course. I can control that much.”

“No. It’s not something you can do just because you want to.”

“Aww….”

Assuming it consistently maintains its form.

“I told you, the changeup isn’t a pitch to strike out batters.”

No, in the first place, no pitch is thrown to strike out batters.

Throwing to get an out, getting three outs to end the inning, and collecting nine innings to end the game; that is the value of all pitches.

The moment you become obsessed with strikeouts, which are just a byproduct of the process,

Bang-!

“Ball-.”

Bae Jun-ho, who got a walk, dropped his bat on the ground. He politely placed his other batting equipment in its place and trotted to first base.

Lee Won-woong, who was automatically on first base, also gained the right to advance safely to second base, resulting in runners on first and second with no outs.

“Time-!”

The coach, judging that he couldn’t stand it any longer after allowing two consecutive walks at the start of the inning, called a timeout early.

“I told you to take it easy.”

It has been several years since he has been living with Hyeok-jun.

He hid his face with his glove, but his eyes, full of embarrassment, were very visible.

“He’s flustered….”

Whether he put too much force into it, or suddenly forgot the feel of it.

I don’t know what the coach will say when he goes up there, but since it’s a crisis situation, I think he’ll say something like, ‘Let’s do what we’ve been doing here for now, and we’ll deal with the weird stuff later.’

As expected,

Bang-!

“Swing, out-.”

The next three hitters, numbers 6, 7, and 8, were all struck out, and he returned to peace.

Seeing the dejected look on his face as he trudged back to the dugout, he must be very disappointed that he couldn’t use the changeup properly.

Clap clap clap-

“Hey, hey, don’t worry about it. You can use it again next time. There are still many innings left.”

So, as soon as Hyeok-jun returned, I clapped and tried to lighten the mood.

I was so curious about the power that Hyeok-jun, not just any pitcher, would unleash when he equipped himself with a changeup.

When a left-handed starting pitcher who throws in the late 150s [kilometers per hour] equips himself with a changeup and becomes a four-pitch pitcher, what kind of 모습 [look/image] will he show…….

“No, that’s not it.”

“Why?”

“The changeup went in well.”

Huh?

…My curiosity about that was put aside for a moment.

“But.”

“…They didn’t call it?”

“What.”

“Strikes.”

“Which pitch.”

“All of them.”

I quickly shifted the essence of the incident elsewhere.

“What do you mean they didn’t call it?”

“No, it went in here… No, no, they called it before. But… they didn’t call it this time. So, the next time I accidentally throw it there, when I think, ‘Ah, that’s a ball,’ they call it, and….”

To put his somewhat disorganized words simply, it’s like this.

They called it at first, but then they didn’t call it the next time, and then they called it again the time after that.

“So, you kept throwing fastballs and sliders after walking Bae Jun-ho because of that?”

“Yes. I thought it would be ambiguous if I went for location, so I tried to overpower them.”

In a word, it’s a mess.

“Heh heh….”

I was wondering if I should ask Gyu-hak, who is another party involved, but he is already far away, scheduled to be the lead hitter in the top of the 3rd inning.

“At this rate, it seems like nothing will work properly, whether it’s the changeup or anything else.”

“Yeah….”

The changeup is a very good move in a mind game.

The essential element for playing a mind game is control.

But the pitcher himself can’t trust his own control.

“The umpire today is… ah.”

By someone other than us, who is in charge of the judgment.

“…It’s him.”

“I went in considering it a bit, but it’s a bit much today, isn’t it?”

“How bad is it?”

“…Lee Won-woong just stood still even after getting a walk.”

“Thinking it was a strike?”

“Yes.”

It’s really unavoidable when you lose because you’re not good enough or because the opponent is good.

It’s not like I can quickly improve my skills, or suddenly put some kind of debuff on the opponent.

But what if someone who is supposed to mediate between us, not me or the opponent, messes things up?

“Ah, it makes me not want to play the game.”

That’s what makes the gentle Hyeok-jun swear like that.

It feels like they’re playing games. It feels like we’re being manipulated.

“Gyu-hak also got a walk.”

“…I think it’s the same case as me?”

Seeing Yoon Seok-ho, who allowed Gyu-hak a walk, tilting his head, it seems like the situation is very similar to what Hyeok-jun said.

Why didn’t they call it when it went in?

“The games are a bit much.”

It is a very basic prerequisite that the umpire must make equal calls for both teams.

They called it for one team but not for the other team? That can’t be explained without some kind of match-fixing.

Then this logic can also be applied like this.

We called it and didn’t call it, and the other team called it and didn’t call it, so isn’t it equal?

“This isn’t games, it’s just a lack of ability, isn’t it?”

No. The logic itself doesn’t hold.

The word ‘equal’ can only be uttered after keeping the ‘basics.’

Strike, out!

“Huh? They’re calling that one?”

Hoon, who was penalized with a strikeout for letting a ball pass that was almost ankle-high, just laughed in disbelief and obediently returned to the dugout.

He kept muttering something as he returned to the dugout, but I couldn’t hear him because of the distance, but I’m sure he was counting the number 18 diligently [likely referring to an expletive or curse].

“Hoon is pissed.”

“Oh dear.”

“Hey, go tell the kids to come out quickly.”

In fact, the scariest guy on our team is Hoon.

He’s tall, handsome, and has a good personality, but he tends to snap whenever he gets angry.

Bang!

“Did you dip your eyeballs in eye drops!”

Like this.

“…It’s a mess.”

“I would have done the same if I were Hoon.”

“If you were Hoon? You already got hit, too.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

The game track afterward was still a mess.

As Hoon said, whether he really dipped his eyeballs in eye drops, Myeong-jin just stood still and watched four balls, then tilted his head and walked to first base.

And,

“Strike, out!”

“Hey! How can that be a strike!”

The problem occurred at the plate of the next hitter, Seong-hyeon.