Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 176

176. More Important Than Baseball (3)

The score remained 2-0 as neither team managed to score any additional runs.

By the 4th inning, An Beom-seok’s pitch count had already reached 65.

The same rule applied in this tournament, limiting pitchers to a maximum of 105 pitches.

-An Beom-seok is back on the mound for the 4th inning.

-He’s kept them scoreless for 3 innings, but his pitch count is higher than usual. It might be difficult for him to last many more innings today.

-What’s the best way for him to manage the remaining innings?

-He needs to induce weak hits and ground balls instead of trying to strike everyone out. It’s good to trust his stuff and go for strikeouts, but he also needs to trust the fielders behind him.

-That would save a lot of pitches more effectively.

An Beom-seok tried to continue pitching as he had been, but he felt the physical strain due to the higher pitch count each inning, and his control began to waver.

Whack!

“Ball!”

Whack!

“Ball!”

An Beom-seok frowned, clearly dissatisfied that the ball wasn’t entering the strike zone as he intended.

Eventually,

“Walk!”

Even after issuing a walk, his pitching didn’t regain its stability.

Tap!

He immediately gave up a hit, and runners started piling up on the bases.

Two outs, runners on 1st and 2nd.

With the score at 2-0, a single hit could tie the game.

Tension began to fill the Sucheon High dugout for the first time in the game.

After a long exchange of signs with the catcher, An Beom-seok threw the ball with all his might.

Tap!

The ball, hit by the batter, soared through the air.

With two outs, the runners on 1st and 2nd didn’t hesitate and ran towards the next base.

The center fielder tracked the ball to the end, extending his glove and diving towards the fence.

-Oh! Could that be a home run?

-Will they hit a home run against An Beom-seok?

Thud!

However, the ball didn’t go into the center fielder’s glove but hit the fence and bounced back into the field.

-Ah, it hit the fence and came back out.

-The runners are still running. The runner on 2nd has already crossed home plate, and it looks like the runner on 1st might make it too?

The center fielder, who had fallen after hitting the fence, quickly got up without showing any signs of pain, grabbed the ball, and threw it towards the cutoff man.

However, by that time, not only had the runner on 2nd crossed home plate, but the runner on 1st had as well.

Moreover, the batter, who was fast, had already passed 2nd base and was charging towards 3rd base.

The shortstop, who caught the ball as the cutoff man, threw the ball towards 3rd base with all his might, but—

The runner, running furiously, was already sliding towards 3rd base.

“Safe!”

The 3rd base umpire spread both hands without hesitation.

“Nice play!”

Cheers erupted from the opposing team’s dugout as they tied the score against An Beom-seok.

-They finally tied the score against An Beom-seok! Sucheon High must be regretting the center fielder’s play at the fence just now?

-The attempt to catch the ball and get the out was good in itself, but the situation turned out to be unfortunate in hindsight. Moreover, with another runner going to 3rd base, they’ve created a situation where the opposing team could potentially take the lead.

-The situation is completely different with a runner on 2nd versus a runner on 3rd, right?

-That’s right. With a runner on 3rd, even if the catcher misses the ball by mistake, it can lead to a run. It’s not easy to throw breaking balls with a big curve [curveballs are difficult to control when a runner is on third].

-How will An Beom-seok overcome this crisis?

Judging that it was time to break the momentum, the Sucheon High pitching coach went to the mound.

The pitching coach looked back and forth between the catcher and An Beom-seok and said something to them.

Then, he patted An Beom-seok on the shoulder and returned to the dugout.

Even after talking to the pitching coach, An Beom-seok’s face was full of dissatisfaction.

Standing on the pitcher’s mound, An Beom-seok stared at the runner on 3rd base and began to pitch.

Whack!

150 km/h [approximately 93 mph]!

“Strike!”

Whack!

152 km/h [approximately 94 mph]!

As if being tied had stimulated his competitive spirit, An Beom-seok was throwing the ball with all his might.

He seemed to be showing the same form as he had at the beginning of the game.

Tick!

The opposing batter managed to make contact with the bat, but it seemed difficult to overcome An Beom-seok’s power.

Whoosh!

“Strike out!”

In the end, he succeeded in making the batter swing and miss with his powerful fastball.

Fortunately, he was able to finish the inning without allowing a go-ahead run.

In the ensuing Sucheon High’s at-bat, they got a chance to score but couldn’t capitalize and take the lead.

Now it was the 5th inning, and the score was still tied at 2-2.

An Beom-seok’s pitch count was 85.

Since he could throw 105 pitches, he only had 20 pitches left to throw in today’s game.

Perhaps conscious of the approaching pitch limit, An Beom-seok’s pitching was much more aggressive than in the early innings.

Whack!

Whack!

“Strike out!”

He continued to battle the next batter in the same way,

Tick!

The ball, weakly hit off the bat, rolled weakly towards the third baseman.

The batter couldn’t hide his disappointment as he ran towards first base.

Having successfully induced a ground ball, An Beom-seok turned his head with a satisfied expression to look at where the ball was.

The third baseman throws the ball to the first baseman, but—

-Huh? The first baseman didn’t catch it cleanly.

-The third baseman’s throw wasn’t clean, but it seems like the first baseman should have been able to catch that ball.

-Looking at the replay, it was shaky from the moment the third baseman caught the ball. He was trying to throw the ball without getting it properly into his glove, so it was inevitable that he wouldn’t be stable.

As the first baseman failed to catch the ball cleanly, the runner was declared safe at first base.

Seeing the ball go past, An Beom-seok sighed deeply and shook his head.

On the other hand, cheers erupted once again from the opposing team’s dugout.

-An Beom-seok only has about 15 pitches left to throw from the mound now.

-It seems like they need to focus on finishing the 5th inning well today.

-Pitching 5 innings in a game isn’t a bad performance, but it’s disappointing considering that it’s An Beom-seok.

-There have been unfortunate errors in between. It was inevitable that his pitch count would increase.

One out, runner on 1st.

It wasn’t a scoring position, but it was a burdensome runner with the score tied at 2-2.

An Beom-seok was distracted by checking the runner behind him before throwing the ball.

Only after he thought he had sufficiently reduced the runner’s lead did he begin to battle the batter.

Whack!

“Ball!”

Whack!

“Ball!”

Perhaps because his focus was still divided on the runner, he didn’t seem to be concentrating on the battle with the batter.

-An Beom-seok has thrown two consecutive balls. If he gives up a walk here, the situation will get even worse.

-In this situation, he needs to focus on the batter rather than worrying about the runner on 1st. It’s not a runner in scoring position anyway.

Two balls, zero strikes.

It was a ball count where he had to throw a strike this time.

An Beom-seok took a deep breath while checking the runner on 1st and threw the ball with all his might.

Tick!

The ball hit by the batter rolled weakly towards the shortstop.

The shortstop caught it and threw it to the second baseman,

“Out!”

And the second baseman threw it to the first baseman.

“Out!”

Two outs were recorded simultaneously, and the inning ended.

-An Beom-seok gets two outs at the same time here!

-As expected of an ace pitcher, he decisively finishes the crisis situation.

Despite the approaching pitch count limit, An Beom-seok went to the mound in the 6th inning as well.

Even as he threw his 100th pitch, he still seemed powerful.

Whack!

“Strike out!”

The strikeout with a powerful fastball was his last pitch of the day.

The moment he reached 105 pitches, he had no choice but to come down from the mound due to the regulations.

An Beom-seok’s record for today’s game was 5.1 innings pitched, 3 runs allowed.

It wasn’t a bad record at all, but it wasn’t the result that matched the expectations for An Beom-seok.

An Beom-seok’s expression wasn’t bright as he went down from the mound.

As An Beom-seok left the mound, people who appeared to be Major League scouts began to pack their bags.

Then, without any hesitation, they picked up their belongings and left the stadium, even though the game wasn’t over.

It was clear that they had come solely to observe An Beom-seok.

As An Beom-seok went down from the mound, the opposing team actively used pinch hitters and focused on their offense.

In the subsequent game, Sucheon High won without allowing a comeback, and An Beom-seok was able to be credited as the winning pitcher in today’s game.

Unfortunately, Choi Woo-jin didn’t get to pitch.

* * *

After the game, I got up to meet the Sucheon High coach.

Since the team had to go straight to school, we decided to meet at Sucheon High School instead of the stadium.

I also got in my car and headed to Sucheon High.

After driving for about an hour, I was able to arrive at Sucheon High School.

When I arrived at Sucheon High, the team bus was already parked.

I got out of the car and headed to the Sucheon High baseball field.

As I looked around the building, searching for the coach’s office,

“Oh, CEO!”

Choi Woo-jin, who saw me, waved his hand and approached.

Other teammates who appeared to be his friends were coming with him.

“Woo-jin!”

I greeted him happily and approached him.

“What brings you here at this hour, CEO?”

“I was planning to talk to An Beom-seok.”

“Ah… I see.”

Choi Woo-jin’s expression darkened rapidly, as expected.

I turned my gaze to Choi Woo-jin’s teammates next to him.

“Nice to meet you, guys.”

I smiled brightly and greeted the players who were with Choi Woo-jin.

“Hello.”

“I’m a big fan, CEO!”

Clearly, the other players were smiling brightly and greeting me,

But seeing the information windows from them, it was difficult to manage my expression.

-Suffering because of An Beom-seok’s [domination/superiority].

-Afraid of the moment the game ends because of An Beom-seok’s [performance/actions].

-Preparing to transfer schools because of An Beom-seok’s [behavior/presence].

They all had uncomfortable feelings about An Beom-seok.

I tried not to show it and looked at Choi Woo-jin and his teammates.

“Are you guys having fun playing baseball these days?”

“Baseball…? It’s fun. Except for one thing.”

One player looked around, checking if anyone was nearby while speaking.

“What’s that one thing?”

“It’s just… sometimes it’s hard to work out [practice].”

I could immediately tell that he had made up an excuse.

I wanted to have a serious conversation with them, but I didn’t have much time left before my appointment with the Sucheon High coach.

“I have an appointment with the coach. See you later.”

I said goodbye to Choi Woo-jin and his teammates and turned around.

My head was filled with complicated thoughts as I walked to the coach’s office.

What on earth is going on with An Beom-seok?