Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 90

Showdown.

Most games against the KP Stars turn into slugfests.

Thanks to their explosive lineup.

And thanks to their pitchers and fielders who throw everything they have into it.

Inevitably, one batter ends up taking a lot of plate appearances. This is also true for Kibum, who is batting eighth.

It’s only the bottom of the seventh, but Kibum has already been up to bat four times. And all four times with runners in scoring position.

But the results were not good at all. Strikeout, strikeout, double play, and then strikeout.

A normal batter would think, ‘I’m just not having a good day,’ or ‘That pitcher is on fire today.’

But in Kibum’s case…

“Let’s get Hanwool up here.”

“Yes, sir.”

He’s just not hitting. It’s a shame.

9 to 8. I was sent to the mound with a precarious one-point lead.

I picked up the rosin bag sitting next to the plate. I watched the infielders rounding, puffing out white smoke.

It’s Sunghoon hyung’s [older brother or respected male figure] turn, then Kibum’s. Kiseong quickly rolls the ball towards Kibum…

Thump, thump, thump—

Then it bounces appropriately and comes to the shortstop area. I hop my right foot to the bounce, thump, thump, thump, catch it, and toss it to second base using the momentum.

Clean.

“Sunbae-nim!” [senior/respected colleague]

“Ah… yeah.”

Gyuhak is out and Juho is in as catcher. Same as always, the aftermath of pinch hitters.

Well, unlike when Hunhee was in, Kibum is in… If I lead from my end, I can finish the inning well…

Ding-!

[Trust Your Catcher]

– Pitch according to the catcher’s signs and allow no runs in this inning (0/1)

– Reward – All pitches +2

Ah.

“Sunbae!”

“Uh….”

I wonder, how will Juho lead?

Whack!

I continued my practice pitches and thought for a moment.

He has grown a lot, but will Juho’s lead work against KP’s fiery lineup?

Play!

I don’t know.

Second batter, Ryu Seunghoon.

Of all the batters to face, it’s the second batter. Seeing Ryu Seunghoon enter the left batter’s box, I gripped the ball tighter.

Juho, let’s go with a sinker for the first pitch. Sinker is good.

Middle finger, ring finger, pinky.

It was really hard to resist my head from tilting on its own to a different opinion.

“Hoo….”

Have I ever had such an unstable windup before?

I grabbed the fastball grip,

“Keuk!”

And threw the ball with all my might. A fastball heading towards Ryu Seunghoon’s body. If he just leaves it alone, if he just catches it as it comes, it’s a strike.

Please.

Whack!

“…Strike!”

Oh, man.

Even if Juho catches it, it has to look like a strike.

It shouldn’t be too centered.

Most importantly, I have to throw it hard so that even if the batter hits it, it’ll be a ground ball.

It was worth gritting my teeth and throwing to overcome the triple burden.

Okay, I threw an inside fastball on the first pitch. Seeing him flinch, it looks like his timing is off, so wouldn’t it be good to go in one more time?

Thumb and index finger.

Not even looking at me, Juho called for a backdoor slider.

I put strength into my neck, which was trying to turn to the right, and lowered it down.

I can’t help it. Let’s throw it with all my might as well.

“Kkak!”

Clang—

The bat came out. Thinking about the old slider angle, the trajectory that scooped up a little below the ball soared high into the sky.

“Ma! Mine! Okay, okay!!”

As I stared blankly at the ball floating like a star in the black night sky, Kibum screamed from behind.

Using the source of the sound as a reference, I turned my body. Kibum, waving his arms in the air, was standing at the landing point with his head tilted up as much as possible.

Thwack!

“Out-.”

The infield fly went up almost to the height of a 10-story apartment building. Kibum easily caught it, and the first out was recorded.

He caught it, so that’s good. Let’s relax a little.

Third batter, Kim Kiyoon.

“Oh, dear….”

But I groaned when I heard the name of the next batter.

Another national-level hitter. Almost the only one in the batting-focused KP who can also play defense.

Kim Kiyoon was standing on the opposite side of Ryu Seunghoon, swinging his bat.

Can I catch him with my physique and Juho’s lead?

The ball that came back after the infield fly out went straight to where the ball boy was sitting as soon as it passed me.

Actually, the ball was fine, but I just wanted to buy some time.

The pitch Juho called for the first pitch was an outside slider. To graze the edge.

I think this is a good pitch. A slider, like a sinker, always has enough justification to be thrown.

But… can you catch it properly?

Whack!

There’s a story that spreads like a joke among the players.

If you catch it well, it’s a strike, if you don’t, it’s a ball.

The umpire is also human, so there is a position that is understandable enough.

That’s the position now,

“Ball.”

And the catch now is a bad catch.

If he had just caught it as it came, he would have comfortably raised the umpire’s right arm, but with a catch that follows the changing ball, you can never get the call.

Still, the good thing is,

Did it miss?

Only half, only about half.

He knows the reason himself now.

Unlike before, he doesn’t not know why they don’t call it even though he caught it like that.

After returning the ball, Juho bowed his head deeply between his legs. It seemed to be a procedure for immersing himself in thought, not a sign of being depressed or intimidated.

After a very brief 정리 [jeongni – Korean word for arrangement/organization] of thoughts, he quickly raised his head and held out one index finger. This time, he wanted a sinker that would be planted inside.

Good.

Tick, thud!

“Foul, foul!”

A dull sound rang out twice in a row. The ball that hit the neck of the bat hit the batter’s shin instead of the ground.

“Ugh….”

That’s really painful. Really, really painful.

It hurts even if you’re wearing a foot guard. It’s like a subterranean missile that hits the ground and spreads the damage deep underground.

He twitched and ran around the batter’s box, but soon picked up his bat again, so it seems he’s going to continue batting.

Play!

After receiving the play call again, I focused on Juho’s crotch. Count of 1-1, the batter took a strong hit to his lead foot on the previous pitch.

Wouldn’t a fastball inside be the best here?

The batter is in a situation where it’s uncomfortable to use his stepping foot properly. To take advantage of this, the best choice is obviously an inside fastball.

Slider inside.

“…….”

I hope it’s like aiming for the opposite of the opposite, Juho.

I decided to continue the confidence I gained from getting the first batter out relatively easily. I quickly changed my grip, putting both hands behind my head.

“…Eup!”

The thrown ball headed towards the batter’s thigh. I’d rather he hit it. If I just watch it, I’m sure it’ll be called a ball with Juho’s catching.

Clang-!

But he hit it. He hit it pretty well.

Although the slider is a fast type of pitch, it’s still slower than a fastball. Of course, there’s a momentary gap.

For a batter like Kim Kiyoon, it’s a gap that can be technically overcome. It’s a hit, I thought, and didn’t bother to turn around.

“Short!”

“First!”

Oh?

Unlike me, there was hope in the voices of the infielders. Encouraged by that, I quickly turned my body.

“First, quickly!!”

A sliding stop like a painting.

Kibum somehow blocked the ball that was trying to escape towards third base and jumped up from his spot.

With a quick change of stance, he pointed to first base with his white fingers.

“Ugh!”

Kibum, staggering so much that I could hear his groan, threw the ball towards first base with all his might.

Following the quickly flying throw, I can see the white baseball entering Kiseong’s mitt and Kim Kiyoon’s foot stepping on the base in sequence.

“Out!”

He caught it!

“Yeah! Kibum is alive!!”

“I’m a little handsome, aren’t I!”

A great play naturally makes the pitcher’s heart flutter wildly.

The way he waved his arms in the air to celebrate had a strange addictiveness that made me follow along.

Fourth batter, Kim Sungsoo.

Two outs. One was luck, and the other was mostly Kibum’s help, but he got them out. He got them out.

That’s good then.

Baseball is simpler than you think, so you can never ignore the process, but sometimes there are times when you can ignore it.

Then this time too.

Kim Sungsoo, who took over Kim Kiyoon’s spot, faced the first pitch with a slightly flamboyant stance.

Whack!

“Strike-!”

The first pitch was an outside curveball.

I was worried about whether Juho could catch this properly… but he caught it. I guess he didn’t forget the memory of the slider from before.

Now that I’ve caught the first pitch with a curveball, what should I throw next?

With his head bowed, he scans the batter standing to his left up and down. Soon, he raises his head and calls for a high fastball.

I don’t know whether to call it foolish to regard the high fastball as a panacea, or to say that it’s bold to call for such a pitch when it’s not even 0-2.

First, I nodded and finished my windup. When my left leg moved and the power position was created, I saw Juho standing up slightly in place.

“Ack!”

Whack!

A high fastball that’s just right to get hit for a long hit if it’s ambiguously centered. I threw it with all my might, with the intention of not letting it in at all.

“Ball-.”

144km.

Of course, it’s a ball.

It would have been even better if a swing had come out, but I want to praise Juho a little more for thinking about up and down rather than left and right.

What’s the next pitch? It’s not a splitter or a changeup, is it? No, maybe a splitter would be better?

Even I can’t figure out Juho’s ball combination, so what is the batter thinking?

Juho bowed his head again and revealed his 정리 [jeongni – Korean word for arrangement/organization] thoughts. The result was a fastball on the inside low side.

“Hmm.”

Honestly, I don’t know. What kind of result will come out? Let’s not think about the future and focus on the present.

“Kkeup…!”

A “swish!” sound was heard from my fingertips. That means I hit the ball properly. The ball, which flew with more power than usual, headed exactly to the inside low spot.

Tick!

He didn’t prepare properly, so the hit ball hit the slightly inside part of the bat and floated up.

“Ah… sh*t.”

A Texas leaguer [a weak hit that falls between the infield and outfield].

It’s not a clean hit, but that’s why it’s even more frustrating for the pitcher. Yeah, it’s not my fault or Juho’s fault. It’s just bad luck….

“…Huh?”

As I watched the ball, which had reached its peak and was slowly falling to the ground, I saw someone running hard towards the landing point.

Kibum, throwing his hat, which is the minimum courtesy to enter the ground, far away, and even his long strands of hair fluttering, running towards the outfield, was really,

“Wow, waaaaack!!”

Really cool.

A basket catch [catching the ball in front of the body near the waist].

The way he ran towards the outfield and sensuously caught the ball falling in front of him seemed much more amazing than legendary shortstops.

“Yeeeeack!!”

“What is Kibomi doing!!”

“Hooooooo!!”

The atmosphere instantly reached its peak!

Ding-!

[Trust Your Catcher]

– Pitch according to the catcher’s signs and allow no runs in this inning (1/1)

– Reward – All pitches +2

Control – Top

Power – High

Stamina – Medium

Four-seam fastball – 69+2=71

Curveball – 57+2=59

Slider – 51+2=53

Splitter – 51+2=53

Changeup – 53+2=55

Sinker – 53+2=55

Traits

Detachment – He accepts any hit or situation.

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

Comfort – Those who see him feel comfortable.

Shouldn’t the quest name be changed? Instead of trusting the catcher, let’s trust Kibum, or something like that.

“Hey, I’ll buy you guys chicken.”

“Why are you the hyung?” [older brother/respected male figure]

“If I buy you chicken, aren’t I the hyung?”

“Ah, hyung-nim!” [term of respect for an older brother or male figure]

I muttered nonsense with Kibum as I returned to the dugout. After sending him in first, I held out my glove to Juho, who had also worked hard.

He sensed it and tapped his catcher’s mitt.

Okay, now if we score more runs in the bottom of the eighth and block the top of the ninth, we’ll win again.

Clang—

“…Ah.”

…That thought went hand in hand with the solo home run that went over the fence and drifted away.

Bottom of the 8th, three up, three down. Top of the 9th, 1 run allowed.

The bottom of the 9th, which I hoped would never come, had finally arrived.

“What is going on.”

After Seungju’s double, Gyuhak advanced the runner with a ground ball to second base, but Sunghoon hyung struck out in the clutch.

And entering the batter’s box….

Eighth batter!! Kim!! Ki!! Bum!!

Our Kibum.

I searched for a pinch hitter to replace Kibum in my mind. But due to the player changes caused by the fierce slugfest….

“Kibum, please hit….”

There’s no one. There’s just Kibum.

Unless the other battery is really stupid, they won’t walk Kibum. And this fact is,

Clang-!

“Wow!”

“Oooo!!”

Kibum probably knows it too.

Waaaaack-!!

Kim Kibum!! Kim Kibum!! Kim Kibum!!

All the players in the dugout ran out towards the batter who hit the walk-off hit.

Some kicked him, some pulled his clothes, and some poured drinks on him.

The ground, where the game would be held again tomorrow, was soaked, but no one cared.

“Kibum is aliveeeck!!”

“I’m a little handsomeeeick!!”

It’s possible.

All the players of the Wonha Challengers had only one thought in mind and bowed to the fans.