Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 19

As August ended and September began, the shape of the team rankings was starting to become clear.

Last year, in the 2016 season, the teams finished in the order of Sangsoo, Dongsung, KP, Visco, Gaya, Wonha, Sungwoon, and Hansung. The top four teams, which advanced to the post-season, played in reverse order of their rankings.

First, KP and Visco played in the semi-playoff, and Visco, who won, played Dongsung in the playoff. Dongsung, who won that, played Sangsoo in the Korean Series. And Sangsoo won the championship.

The current 2017 season rankings weren’t much different from last year. The top four teams were the same, with only slight differences in the bottom four.

While Gaya, who were relatively close to making the autumn baseball [Korean Series playoffs], couldn’t seem to get it together, our Wonha and Sungwoon each moved up a step. Hansung was still in last place.

Last year’s autumn baseball teams were decided relatively early. With a month and a half left in the season, the difference between 4th and 5th place was 10 games.

It’s generally said that it takes about a month to make up a 3-game deficit. When considering all the possibilities, there’s still a mathematical chance based on the magic number [the number of wins needed by a leading team to clinch a spot] and tragic number [the number of losses that eliminates a team from contention], but it was just a possibility, and there wasn’t any real change.

However, this year, with about a month and a half left in the season, the top 1, 2, and 3 teams were clear, but 4th, 5th, and 6th were still up in the air.

Visco and us were two games apart, and us and Sungwoon were two games apart. If we put in all our effort, we could get a foot in the door, and Sungwoon, while it would be difficult, couldn’t be counted out yet.

In that respect, the Hansung Winners made this 3-game series very appealing for us.

The weakest team in the league. A team that just couldn’t seem to do anything right. Offense, defense, base running, and even luck were against them. This season, this fourth element was particularly absent.

On the other hand, Visco, who was competing with us for 4th place, had a 3-game series against the absolute powerhouse Sangsoo, and 6th place Hansung had a 3-game series against 2nd place Dongsung scheduled.

After that, in the weekend 3-game series, we would face 7th place Gaya, and Visco and Sungwoon would each change opponents to face Dongsung and Sangsoo. This was a time when we absolutely had to capitalize.

“Are you pitching today?”

“Who? Me?”

“Yeah.”

“I think so. Has it been 4 days?”

“I’m a little relieved.”

Before the game, I was chatting with Hyunjin hyung [older brother or close male friend]. I wondered if a pitcher who was scheduled to pitch that day could be so relaxed, but everyone has their own preferences and routines. Moreover, if you’re a person with some experience, even more so.

“Did you hear that rumor?”

“What rumor?”

“They say Lee Yongho is starting today.”

“Why that bastard?”

“I don’t know. How would I know?”

Lee Yongho. My greatest enemy. A senior two years ahead of me in high school baseball who only did terrible things and eventually fell to the bottom of the barrel in the pros, but he deserved it.

“…If I hit his head with a fastball, I’ll be ejected, right?”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, this person next to me was also one of the victims. He was hurt even worse than me. In his elite high school days, he couldn’t directly harm me, who was so talented that I was a regular starter even as a freshman.

But Hyunjin hyung, who was short, had a speed of only 130km [kilometers per hour], and had ambiguous grades, seemed quite easy to deal with. If I have bad feelings about that guy, Hyung would want to kill him.

“How about a changeup?”

“Ah, changeups are hard to control, so it won’t go exactly to his head.”

“Too bad. Or how about a curveball?”

“It’s slow, so it won’t have much impact even if it hits him.”

“Too bad.”

I wondered if he was expecting an extreme underhand conversion from a very, very short pitcher, pulling up from the bottom.

Wonha picked Hyunjin hyung with what felt like a lottery pick. The pick order was almost at the end. As soon as he joined the team, he heard, ‘Do you want to play shortstop or underhand?’

But Hyunjin hyung, who used the phrase ‘I’m in trouble now, please wait a little longer,’ soon succeeded in breaking through and rebounding to reach where he is now.

The arm action of throwing a heavy fastball in the late 140km range from a very small height of 160cm [centimeters] was a rather uncomfortable hitting point for hitters.

Subtlety? Unfamiliarity? Awkwardness?

It’s overhand, but it feels like underhand.

In fact, Sangsoo’s Hong Seokjin evaluated Hyunjin hyung’s ball that way.

In addition, he has a curveball that falls with a large drop and a changeup that properly steals timing. Unlike me and Lee Yongho, he’s a late bloomer who started from the bottom and even gained national team experience.

“Why don’t you just hit him in the head with a fastball and go down?”

“Are you crazy?”

“Too bad.”

We were chatting when we saw a group of people walking around with cameras and closed our mouths at the same time. It wasn’t a light chat, because if someone heard it, it would be a big deal.

“Prepare well. If you win today, it’s your 10th win, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Good luck.”

“Yeah.”

I got up from my seat and headed to the bullpen.

* * *

The game track was something that could be quite divisive.

A pitching battle.

Hyunjin hyung, who was starting today, was pitching well, allowing only one hit and no runs for 6 innings, including 5 innings of no-hit, and the opponent’s starter was sending out at least one runner in each inning, but he was just barely holding on.

“…This isn’t good.”

There was a hunch. A feeling. A sense. Something that comes from playing baseball for nearly 20 years. There are times when you feel like you’re going to win even when you’re losing by 5 points, and there are times when you feel uneasy even when you’re winning by 10 points.

Sreureuk, Awoo!! [Sound effects]

Starting with a runner on 2nd base with no outs, a looking strikeout at 2 outs with a runner on 3rd base, I glanced at the dugout. The top of the 7th inning ended so futilely.

However, Hyunjin hyung picked up his glove and headed to the mound without any change in expression. The play call started after about 6 practice pitches.

The leadoff hitter was well blocked with a ground ball to the first baseman, but after allowing a walk to the 5th hitter and a hit to the 6th hitter, there was 1 out and runners on 1st and 3rd base. After blocking the 7th hitter with an infield fly, he faced the 8th hitter, Lee Yongho.

A guy who is ambiguous to use as a pinch hitter, pinch runner, or defensive replacement was starting for some reason. The reason was probably because of the injury of the starting left fielder Choi Hyungseon.

Choi Hyungseon was temporarily removed from the team list due to a hamstring injury sustained during a base running play a few days ago, and Lee Yongho was replacing him.

While the hitter was taking his routine for a while, the pitcher and catcher started exchanging signs. The hitter at the plate right now doesn’t have very good contact. He doesn’t have a good eye, and his power isn’t something to worry about.

First pitch.

“Strike!”

Strike with a fastball inside. After getting a strike, catcher Gyuhak briefly stepped in front of home plate and sent a sign to the infielders.

The infield is ball first if they catch the ball. It was nothing more than a dummy sign and had no meaning. It was just that there was a situation with runners on 1st and 3rd base, so they were trying to create a mood in case any tactics came out.

“Swing.”

He gave up a strike with an awkward swing on a fastball that was stuck low inside. Count 0-2. A favorable situation for the pitcher. There’s nothing to think about in an absolutely favorable count.

The pitcher’s high hitting point is definitely one of the elements that can be an advantage. It’s said that a ball thrown by a traditional overhand pitcher who is tall and has long arms feels similar to throwing from the second floor.

But according to that logic, Hyunjin hyung’s ball, who is 160cm tall, should be hit every time, but according to the hitters, Hyunjin hyung’s ball is surprisingly difficult to hit.

The unusual combination of having a much smaller height than the pitchers they usually face and having an extreme overhand is said to be something they never get used to.

It’s a count where you can press with force. Whether he had the same thought as me, Gyuhak gave a sign without hesitation, and Hyunjin hyung quickly nodded. He immediately went into a stretch and only had to pay attention to the hitter, not paying much attention to the runner, and lifted his left foot.

The 151km fastball that flew like that,

Tick― [Sound effect]

Waaaaaaah―!! [Sound effect]

Coupled with an awkward swing, it grazed the third baseman’s glove and fell into the fair zone.

F***.

It’s impossible to hear properly because of the home fans’ enthusiasm, but it wasn’t difficult to guess Hyunjin hyung’s lip shape from afar.

The count that was taken for granted didn’t go up, and the score that shouldn’t have gone up did. [Meaning they gave up a run]

The batted ball, which grazed the third baseman’s glove and decelerated on its own, had already reached the base after the 1st base runner, who had started early, had touched the base. The score is 0 to 1, and there are runners on 1st and 3rd base again.

It’s getting twisted.

If you miss an at-bat that you thought you would definitely catch, you will miss a game that you thought you would definitely catch. [Baseball saying]

Thinking that there would be quite a mental blow, Hyunjin hyung remained on the mound even after the pitching coach went up to the mound to change the pitcher and finished talking. A determined look.

I don’t know what kind of conversation took place, but after blocking the 9th hitter with a ground ball to the second baseman on the first pitch, the inning ended. The number of pitches was 107.

He gave up one point with one walk and two hits in 7 innings, but no one could deny that it was a good pitch.

“Good job.”

“Too bad, too bad!!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay!”

The fielders who came into the dugout patted Hyunjin hyung on the back and comforted him. Perhaps sensing that it was his last inning, he covered his eyes with his hat as soon as he came in and opened his mouth…

“Hey.”

“Yeah.”

“If we come back, that bastard will come out again, right?”

“Um……”

A brief calculation. The inning ended with the 9th hitter, so the next defense will start with the 1st hitter. If we come back, the defense in the bottom of the 9th inning will proceed, so if we send out about two runners in the middle, his at-bat will come in the bottom of the 9th inning with 2 outs.

“Wouldn’t it depend on how many points we come back by?”

“What if it’s a one-point difference?”

I apply the style of Hansung Winners’ coach Kim Seon-gon. To put it nicely, it’s baseball of faith. To put it badly, it’s baseball that is neglected. Under such a coach, wouldn’t he put out the hitter who scored the first point one more time?

“I think he’ll come out.”

“Ah, I should have just hit him in the head with a fastball.”

His mentality is back.

Seeing him spout nonsense, it seemed that the mental blow was less than I thought. He chuckled and watched the next attack. Our batting order isn’t bad either. Starting with 9th hitter Hooni.

“Why don’t you start by praying that Hooni gets out?”

“Didn’t you see him making the sign of the cross as he came into the dugout earlier?”

“Ah, I saw it with telepathy.”

“You crazy bastard.”

The opponent also changed pitchers. The bullpen is in operation. He really blocked it by force, but he blocked it. No runs allowed for 7 innings. As a result, he pitched more effectively than Hyunjin hyung.

But baseball is a 9-inning game.

“Good!”

“Follow it, follow it!”

“Good eye!!”

Hooni straight walk.

It’s more of a walk that feels like his aim hasn’t been set yet, rather than a walk that is having difficulty with control. The impact group itself was a ball that was only missing one or so on the outside low side.

Myeongjin took a step back from the plate and looked at the 3rd base coach. The coach’s right and left hands are busy going back and forth. When the two hands face each other and clap, the opposing catcher gets up from his seat as if he had been waiting and moves his right and left hands busily.

The first pitch is.

“Ball.”

Myeongjin’s slider flowing to the outside. He watched without any special posture. Both benches are moving again. Tactics and thoughts intersect with each ball.

Second ball.

Tick― [Sound effect]

“Foul!”

It was a strong swing, but it was a foul again on the slider. He takes another step back and looks at the 3rd base coach. The coach responds with a complicated sign. The opposing catcher also responds to that.

After sending a sign to the fielders, he sits down and sends a sign to the pitcher this time.

“He’s running!”

Hooni starts to 2nd base.

Tick― [Sound effect]

“1st base!”

“First, first!”

As soon as the bunt posture came out, first baseman Kim Youngguk, who ran with all his might, looked straight at 2nd base, but Hooni, who had cut off the start first, was watching the situation while landing at 2nd base. He inevitably threw the ball to the second baseman who covered 1st base and got 1 out.

“…Are they going to walk him?”

“They can’t walk him. The next ones are Giseong and Jinhyung.”

Next up to bat is 2nd hitter Kang Seonghyun. Like Choi Wooseok, Park Haejin, and Hong Seokjin, he’s a top-tier baseball player in the league. He’s a similar type to Wooseok, but he’s a little slower but has more power.

“I hope he hits one over [a home run].”

While the signs were being exchanged, Seonghyun put his bat below him and shook it, waiting for the pitch. The sign exchange is over. The catcher sat on the inside and showed his mitt. The pitcher glanced at Hooni on 2nd base and slightly lifted his left leg.

“Bbaek!!” [Sound effect]

Chwaak― [Sound effect]

“Safe!”

He got a slight reverse motion on the inside pick, but he was safe with a slide. The temporarily chaotic situation was resolved and the first pitch started again. This time, the catcher sat on the outside. The slightly raised left leg went towards the hitter this time, not 2nd base.

Ddaak―!! [Sound effect]

“F***.”

That batted ball went over the right fence from the first pitch.