Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 51

51. Vlog

Once again, All-Star Game season is upon us.

All-Star Game!

The game itself hasn’t started, but the voting process, the groundwork for the All-Star Game, has begun.

One week has passed out of the total three-week voting period. While some positions still seem fiercely contested, others already seem practically decided.

I’m not particularly interested in the Western League. In our Eastern League, Park Hae-jin is leading at first base.

At this point, it would almost be disappointing if he *wasn’t* at the All-Star Game. Besides him, Kim Ki-yoon of KP is at second base, and Sung-hyun from our team is at right field.

Hong Seok-jin, traditionally a strong designated hitter, is surprisingly being challenged by Seung-joo, who’s putting up a decent fight.

As for other friends on our team who are doing well, there’s Hyuk-joon. The rest, unfortunately…

I belonged to the former group: overwhelmingly in first place in the relief pitcher category.

Since last season, the trend of hitters outperforming pitchers has continued, and I was one of the few who could be considered normal amidst the general destruction of pitchers.

And above all,

“Kim Han-wool! Just one word, please!”

“Ah, why?”

“Aww.”

“Are you going to keep acting spoiled for no reason?”

“B-But! Wonha’s fans want it!”

“I love you all. People say there’s a landlord above the creator [referring to someone with ultimate power], but for me, there are fans above the landlord. I will never forget your support and will work harder than I am now. You know, this shoulder isn’t just my shoulder, it’s the shoulder of all the fans…”

It’s all thanks to characters like this.

Typically, the All-Star Game is considered more of a fun exhibition than a serious competition, but last year’s All-Star Game was a bit different.

Dead serious.

People who usually enjoyed laughing and joking while pitching and hitting seemed to have gotten hooked on something and were grinding their teeth as they played.

Thanks to that, the reaction was good.

From mild reactions like, “This kind of game is fun too,” to strong reactions like, “Yeah! That’s what the All-Star Game should be!”

I don’t know what this year’s All-Star Game will be like, but it’s coming up again. I’m looking forward to it in my own way.

The quest I received at last year’s All-Star Game and the +5 to all pitches I received after completing it were unbelievably awesome. I’m hoping for a similar experience this year.

“Today is a special feature on Kim Han-wool after a long time.”

The Wonha Challengers’ Mitube [a fictional video-sharing platform similar to YouTube] account, which has grown rapidly and surpassed 100,000 subscribers. I was one of the people with the most shares in it.

The Wonha’s Mitube account, where at least one and often two or three videos are uploaded a day, was perfect to watch right before going to sleep.

“Me?”

“Yes!”

“We did one before, though.”

“That was an introduction; this is more of a vlog .”

“Hmm…”

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Three consecutive appearances until yesterday. They’ll probably let me rest today. Then it would be okay to hang out with Eun-seo today.

“But what are you going to film with me? I probably won’t be playing today. There won’t be much footage, will there?”

“Ah, that’s why.”

Muttering to herself, she took out a small notebook.

“…What’s that?”

“A questionnaire.”

“About me?”

“Of course.”

“How serious are you trying to be…?”

In an instant, one side of the dugout transformed into a small studio. I glanced at the manager next to me to see if this was okay, and he waved his hand, telling me not to worry about it. That makes me worry even more.

“First, please say a word to the fans.”

“…Hello. I’m Kim Han-wool, your man.”

Clap, clap, clap.

The faint sound of a pair of claps was truly pathetic.

“Um… first question. What do you do when you go home?”

“When I get off work? First, I eat… If I pitched that day, I review the pitching. If I didn’t pitch, I briefly plan for the next game.”

“What are your hobbies?”

“Gaming?”

“What kind of games do you play?”

“Is it okay to say this?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Full Count.”

“Is that a baseball game?”

“Yes.”

“Oh. Then have you ever used your own character in the game?”

“Yes. It turned out pretty good, so I’m using it well.”

“Ooh. Next question. Ah, this seems to be a question from someone who plays baseball as a hobby. Kim Han-wool throws a lot of different pitches, right? What do you throw?”

“Um… curveball, slider, splitter, sinker, changeup, and fastball?”

The slider is practically sealed, but I can’t leave out the bluff.

“Then do you have any tips for throwing each of those pitches?”

“Tips?”

“Yes, yes. Maybe someone who plays social baseball? Or a student.”

“Well…”

I glanced around and picked up a baseball that was rolling around.

“The curveball is like this… don’t break it, just take it out. The slider is like cutting it like this. The splitter is just spreading your fingers. The sinker automatically breaks when you grip it. The changeup also… it falls automatically when you throw it with that grip.”

“…Is that all?”

“I can’t explain it any more kindly than this.”

Eun-seo looked like she had a lot to say, but she kept her mouth shut.

“Who is the closest player on the team?”

“I’m pretty close with everyone… but Gyu-jin hyung [older brother/friend]? We’ve been living together for almost 15 years. Our personalities match well.”

“Do you know that fans say you two were a married couple in a past life?”

“No, who the hell is saying such unpleasant things?”

Hey! Don’t be ridiculous!

“…”

I tried to ignore the faint screams coming from afar.

“And… ah, then, realistically speaking, what do you think Wonha’s ranking will be this year?”

“Realistically? Realistically, about 4th place?”

“Then what’s the goal?”

“The goal is, of course, winning the Korean Series [championship series of the Korea Baseball Organization].”

“Um… this isn’t a question from the fans; it’s just my personal curiosity.”

“Yes.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to say something like, ‘We’re going to win the regular season,’ even if it’s just lip service?”

“It would be, but… would the PD [production director] take responsibility if we don’t?”

“Um… yes! I will, I guess!”

“Okay. Don’t cut this out, put it in.”

“Okay! Put it in!”

She trembled alone and moved on to the next question.

“What will Kim Han-wool be doing in 10 years?”

“10 years? In 10 years, I’ll be 40. Oh, wow, I’m already 30 years old. Wow, wow! When did I get this old?”

Do you want to die?

Ah, no, Manager. I love you. I respect you. I’ll work hard.

“In 10 years, I’ll be 40… 40? If I’m 40, I’ll probably still be a baseball player, right? This isn’t so much a prediction as it is a goal or a dream.”

“Then, slightly changing the question, how old do you want to play baseball until?”

“I want to do it forever, but that’s realistically difficult… If my body holds up, I want to do it until I’m 50.”

“50 years old? 20 more years?”

“Why not? If my body holds up and I perform well, I’ll keep doing it.”

“Hmm. Then, do you have any advice for students who dream of becoming baseball players now?”

“The current elite kids?”

Let’s see…

“If I make a latte here, it’ll be edited out, right?”

“Of course.”

“Damn it. But I only have latte-making stories to tell [referring to uninteresting or irrelevant anecdotes].”

“Try to do better, please.”

“Eat well. Sleep well. Don’t worry too much about exercise or anything like that, just focus on the basics.”

“Eat well, sleep well, and master the basics?”

“Yeah, yeah. How important are the basics? You know, like, uh? Over there, Myung-gyu in Seongun, and Woo-seok too, uh? Do you know how much I emphasized the basics when I played baseball with them? Huh? Do you know how many times we ran pole-to-pole [running sprints between the foul poles]? Back in my day…”

“Stop.”

“…Tsk.”

“This seems to be a question from a woman. Kim Han-wool, do you have a girlfriend?”

“A girlfriend?”

Well…

Of course, Min-young came to mind for a moment. Could I dare to think of it as a *ssum* [a Korean term for the ambiguous stage before a relationship]?

“No. Not yet.”

“Oh dear.”

“What does ‘oh dear’ mean?”

“What could it~ mean.”

Eun-seo smiled slyly and turned the page of her notebook.

“What’s the first thing you want to do after you retire?”

“When I retire, I’ll probably… think, ‘It’s over!’ and order a bunch of chicken and pizza and eat it. Ah, now that I say it, I want to eat chicken.”

“Ah, me too… ah, no. Ah, then, um. Before you retire. What are Kim Han-wool’s goals before retiring?”

Striking out Park Hae-jin.

A similar question that Hyun-jin asked me a while ago came to mind. I still felt the same way. But I need to soften it a bit here.

“Winning the Korean Series.”

“Within how many years?”

“Well… wouldn’t it be within 3 years?”

“Wow, confidence.”

“Kuh… cool.”

“Ah, that’s a bit much.”

“Hey.”

After bickering like that, the interview was over.

Eun-seo turned off the camera, closed her notebook, and paused before saying goodbye and leaving.

“About what you said earlier.”

“What are you talking about?”

“At the end, about the Korean Series.”

“Ah… yes.”

“Is it possible? Is it real?”

At the question that even showed desperation, I quietly smiled. I replaced the answer with a thumbs-up. Satisfied with that, Eun-seo smiled cutely and turned to head elsewhere.

* * *

“Yo, Han-wool. How’s your body?”

“Ah, Senior. Hello.”

I bowed instinctively at the appearance of the senior.

Senior Kim Soo-chan greeted me by tapping my shoulder with his left hand instead of his right hand, which was holding my hand.

“How’s your shoulder? Is it all healed?”

“Yes. It wasn’t an injury that required that much rest in the first place.”

“Don’t get hurt. Being hurt is the saddest thing.”

The team’s legend and current commentator for MBS [a fictional broadcasting station] visited. Seeing that he came with a camera, it seemed to be a meeting related to broadcasting.

“What brings you here?”

“Were you surprised that a humble person like me came to such a precious place?”

It was quite refreshing to hear the senior, who was approaching his sixtieth birthday, tell such a corny joke.

Ugh, not a humble person in a precious place, but a humble person in a precious place! The wit of reversing the humble and precious is outstanding! This junior slaps his knee at the senior’s sense and laughs, ahahaha!

Not that much.

Yep. Sorry.

“Ah, I was wondering if I could ask you for a short interview.”

“An interview?”

Is today a special interview day?

“Is it okay? It’s about stats.”

“Yes, yes. It’s okay.”

“I’ve already talked to Han-joo, so don’t worry.”

“Yes, yes.”

Calling the manager by his name. He’s really high up.

“Ah… is it ready? Okay.”

Ahem, ahem.

“Hello, this is MBS commentator Kim Soo-chan.”

The senior, who started smoothly, soon turned to the camera and said this and that alone.

It wasn’t a long story. From the beginning, he said that he was meeting Kim Han-wool this time, so it seemed like he was meeting various players.

“There are so many stats in baseball, aren’t there?”

“That’s right.”

“As baseball has developed, so many stats have been invented and made known. Are there any stats that Kim Han-wool particularly values?”

“Stats that I value?”

When he said stats, my ‘stats’ came to mind for a moment, and I was spacing out.

“Um…”

What is there?

“I… um… classically speaking, ERA (Earned Run Average) [average of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched]?”

“Hmm. That’s a more common answer than I thought?”

He sounded a little disappointed. What kind of answer was he expecting?

“Well… my pitching style is a bit unique. Or rather, my attitude? There are many, like FIP [Fielding Independent Pitching], WHIP [Walks plus Hits per Inning Pitched], and BABIP [Batting Average on Balls in Play], right? I’ve thought about those too, but they don’t seem to fit my style.”

“But doesn’t ERA naturally come out better if you’re on a team with a strong defense?”

“That’s right. But in my case, I’d rather let them hit it and get on base, and if I think it’s advantageous to let this hitter get on base, I’ll just give them an easy walk and start. So I think that part is offset to some extent.”

“Hoo.”

Only then did he become interested and ask me this and that.

“It’s not important how many points I give up. The team has to win. Ah, of course, if I screw up… ah, is this okay?”

“Not really.”

“Yes. If I mess up, it puts a burden on the next pitchers in a chain reaction, and that’s definitely an element that will make the season creak, but first of all, it’s my standard, right? If I lower my ERA, I think it will be comfortable enough for the part after me.”

“But is there a situation where it’s advantageous to intentionally let a hitter get on base? I was a pitcher too, but of course, it’s better to block everything if you can.”

“This is a bit… I think the fans will say something if they hear it… Senior, you were a pitcher too, so you know. When you feel like they’re going to hit it. But it doesn’t seem like it’ll lead to a score. Or when you don’t mind giving up a score.”

“Ah, yeah, yeah.”

“That’s when. In addition, it’s the bottom of the 9th inning, two outs, bases loaded. The score is one point apart. But the next attack is when our batting order is very good. Then I might rather give a walk.”

“Ah, isn’t that a bit extreme?”

It was a story I had with Gyu-jin hyung a while ago, so I could say it with confidence.

“Walk them with the bases loaded? With a one-point difference?”

“But if they get a hit there, the game ends right there.”

“Hoo…”

It’s going to be a new perspective.

“This is quite an interesting story. Thank you.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you for your hard work.”

As soon as the cameraman put down the camera, as if the interview was roughly over, he returned to his usual kind senior self.

“But is that real?”

“Yes? What are you talking about?”

“That you might walk them with two outs and bases loaded.”