Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 189

The Real Start Begins Now (1)

May was ending, and June was beginning.

The season had passed the 50-game mark, nearing its halfway point.

The Wolves, Dragons, Buffaloes, and Jaguars were fiercely battling for the top spots in the league.

Meanwhile, our players were performing remarkably well.

Michael Scott and Go Ji-hoon, in particular, were already competing for the most wins, each having secured six victories.

Their earned run averages were also outstanding, with 2.89 and 3.01 respectively.

Having reliable starting pitchers gave the team a significant boost.

Many fans were eager to see the two pitchers face off, but their rotations were slightly misaligned, preventing the highly anticipated match-up from happening.

Oh Seok-hoon had a batting average of 0.328, with 38 RBIs [Runs Batted In, a statistic in baseball] and 13 stolen bases. Park Seong-ju recorded 0.289 with 12 home runs.

Their performance wasn’t bad, but perhaps due to their outstanding performance last season and the increased attention from opposing teams, they seemed slightly less impressive than the previous year.

Na Jun-ho was, as always, quietly putting up good numbers this year.

He had a solid batting average of 0.320, with 7 home runs and 32 RBIs.

Choi Jeong-hwan had been pitching much more consistently since his pitching training with me and his subsequent save [Preserving a lead in the final inning of a game].

Whenever the Doubles managed to hold the lead until the 9th inning, Choi Jeong-hwan would somehow prevent a comeback and secure the win.

It was encouraging to see him gradually become more stable as he gained experience.

The same went for Jang Su-young of the Angels.

If Choi Jeong-hwan or Jang Su-young had been the closer [Relief pitcher who specializes in pitching the final inning] for a top-tier team, they might have been competing for title holder status like Scott and Go Ji-hoon.

* * *

The game between the Jaguars and the Buffaloes.

The difference between the 3rd-place Buffaloes and the 4th-place Jaguars was only two games.

Today’s starting pitcher for the Jaguars was Michael Scott.

Once again, the two pitchers’ starting rotations were misaligned, and unfortunately, a match-up with Go Ji-hoon didn’t happen.

Donald Watson, who had been steadily improving his hitting, had climbed all the way up to the 5th spot in the batting order.

As Watson’s condition improved and he moved up in the lineup, the opposing teams’ level of scrutiny towards him also increased.

As a result, the players batting after Watson often had more opportunities.

Fortunately, Seo Seong-min, batting 6th after Watson, was also hitting well.

He consistently racked up RBIs from the next spot in the batting order, accumulating 22 RBIs in just 50 games. If he maintained his current hitting pace, he could definitely achieve a career high.

└Since Michael Scott is the starting pitcher today, I can watch comfortably.

└It’s great that Scott and the other pitchers are doing well, but Jung Min-woo is preventing us from continuing our winning streak.

└Isn’t Jung Min-woo on an 11-game losing streak already?

└Yeah, he just loses whenever he comes up.

└Can’t we just get any 5th starter from another team?

└The Jaguars seem like they’re about to surge forward, but they’re still in 4th place.

└Still, it’s better than last year. I’d say there’s almost a 100% chance we’ll make it to the playoffs this year, so that’s good enough.

└Jaguars, you guys are lucky you didn’t face Go Ji-hoon in the series against us. We would have definitely won if Go Ji-hoon had pitched.

└Buffaloes are scared. Why aren’t you sending out Go Ji-hoon when Scott is pitching?

└Why would we be scared? It’s just that the rotation doesn’t match up.

└They’re probably avoiding it because if they lose the match-up, Go Ji-hoon will fall behind in the race for most wins, and the gap in the standings will narrow, so they’re scared.

└Avoiding it? LOL. We have Oh Seok-hoon and Park Seong-ju, so we can just overpower them with our hitting.

└Honestly, the two teams should force a Michael Scott vs. Go Ji-hoon match-up at least once. They have to face off when they’re having such perfect seasons.

└It would be amazing if they clashed during the climax of the race for most wins.

“Play ball!”

The game started with the Jaguars at bat.

Thwack!

Thwack!

“Strike out!”

The Jaguars managed to get on base with a hit and a walk in the first inning, but a double play prevented them from scoring.

Now, the bottom of the 1st inning.

Michael Scott took the mound to defend against the Buffaloes’ attack.

-Jaguars fans are probably watching today’s game more comfortably than ever.

-That’s understandable. He’s only lost one game this season before today’s game. And even in that game, he pitched 7 innings and allowed only 2 runs, but the offense didn’t produce, so it was recorded as a loss. This season, it’s safe to say that he’ll at least deliver a quality start [Pitching at least six innings and allowing three or fewer earned runs] every time he pitches.

-Because of that, many fans are probably looking forward to a match-up with Go Ji-hoon, who is competing for the most wins. Unfortunately, it hasn’t happened due to the Buffaloes having many games postponed due to rain.

-I don’t know when the two players will face off, but I definitely want to see it happen at least once this season.

After finishing his practice pitches, Scott began pitching.

Tock!

Tock!

Tock!

The opposing batter aggressively swung at the first pitch, but he either missed or couldn’t overcome the power of the pitch, failing to send the ball into fair territory.

Whoosh-

Eventually, he struck out swinging.

-Michael Scott’s ability to throw breaking balls has improved significantly this year. That’s why the batter wants to be aggressive before getting to two strikes.

-The batter’s strategy was a good decision, but it’s the first inning, so Scott’s power is at its peak. It’ll be difficult to get a hit easily.

The second batter also tried to be aggressive from the first pitch, but he ended up grounding out.

Now it was Oh Seok-hoon’s turn to bat.

-Michael Scott has easily recorded two outs against the first two batters. Now, last season’s batting champion, Oh Seok-hoon, is approaching the plate.

-His stats are slightly lower compared to last year, but he’s still showing a very good performance this year. Moreover, he had a good on-base percentage against Michael Scott last season.

Scott and Oh Seok-hoon looked at each other from the mound and the batter’s box, exchanging faint smiles.

And when it was time to compete, they prepared for the game as seriously as ever.

Scott prepared to pitch much more carefully than when he faced the previous batters.

And he threw the first pitch with all his might.

Oh Seok-hoon barely managed to stop his bat halfway through his swing.

Thwack!

“Strike!”

Oh Seok-hoon chuckled after seeing the pitch that had just passed.

-Haha. Michael Scott threw a curveball for the first pitch. He probably didn’t expect that at all, did he?

-The part that’s different about Scott compared to last season is this. His ability to throw breaking balls for strikes has definitely improved. He’s able to steal the batter’s timing and even get a first-pitch strike.

-After seeing a pitch like that, the batter’s head must be spinning, right?

-After seeing a curveball like that, the fastball will feel much faster than usual. How will the battle continue?

Before the afterimage of the curveball disappeared, Scott quickly threw the second pitch.

At the same time, Oh Seok-hoon gripped the bat short and placed it in the path of the incoming ball.

Tap.

-A surprise bunt! It looks like Scott will have to field it himself with that course.

-Whose speed will prevail?

Oh Seok-hoon was running towards first base with all his might.

But Scott, as if he had anticipated it, calmly caught the rolling ball and threw it towards first base.

It was a split-second play, almost simultaneous.

The umpire hesitated for a moment before raising his fist.

“Out!”

Oh Seok-hoon requested a video replay out of disappointment, but the result didn’t change.

Top of the 2nd inning.

Again, the Jaguars’ offensive inning.

Fifth batter Donald Watson stepped into the batter’s box as the first batter.

“Watson! Watson! Watson!”

The Jaguars fans, who had jumped to their feet, chanted Watson’s name and cheered.

-It’s time to meet the hottest hitter lately. Donald Watson had a batting average in the .110s and a significantly lower slugging percentage until April, and there was even talk of replacing him. Now he’s a completely different hitter, isn’t he?

-If they had released him after seeing only his performance in the first month, it would have been a huge mistake. He’s been putting on a truly terrifying performance since mid-May.

Thwack!

“Ball!”

Thwack!

“Ball!”

The Buffaloes pitcher threw a breaking ball that barely missed the strike zone, trying to induce a swing, but Watson’s bat didn’t budge.

-Watson’s hitting is so good right now. It seems like it’s difficult to get him to swing with any ordinary breaking ball. It seems like it’s better to go for the strike.

-The pitcher must be worried that Watson is a hitter who can hit a home run at any time, right?

-Of course, they should avoid being too straightforward. Watson is also fast, so walking him will also be tiring. It seems necessary to compete before going to three balls.

The pitcher stopped throwing the ball, stepped off the pitcher’s plate, and reapplied rosin [A sticky substance used by pitchers to improve their grip] to his hand.

“Boo!”

“Throw it already! When are we going home at this rate?”

The Jaguars fans didn’t miss this opportunity and booed the Buffaloes pitcher.

Having barely finished preparing again, the pitcher stepped back onto the pitcher’s plate and threw the ball with all his might.

He seemed to be trying to throw a breaking ball for a strike, but perhaps because he was too nervous, it didn’t break at the desired angle and flew straight.

A mediocre breaking ball was an easy target for Watson, who was in great hitting condition.

Clang!

“Wow!”

The ball hit by the bat fell between the right fielder and the center fielder and rolled quickly to the fence.

Watson quickly stepped on first base and ran to second without hesitation.

“Safe!”

Watson had already stepped on the base when the ball arrived.

-Watson gets a hit from his first at-bat!

-And it’s a nice extra-base hit. Lately, it’s hard to find a single from Watson’s at-bats, his power is so good.

-If he can maintain his current condition, the opposing pitcher won’t know how to compete against him, right?

At the same time, the reaction of the fans watching the broadcast online was also heated.

└Wow, seriously, when Watson is at the plate these days, I feel like he’s definitely going to hit it.

└Even if he came out with a broom, the opposing pitcher would feel threatened, lol.

And it immediately led to Seo Seong-min’s at-bat as the 6th batter.

-Recently, you shouldn’t underestimate Seo Seong-min either. At this pace, it could easily be the season with the most RBIs in Seo Seong-min’s personal career.

-You can say that he has completely adapted as a switch hitter, right?

-Of course. Just looking at his batting average, it’s .280. The Doubles must be feeling a lot of pain seeing this.

The pitcher glanced at Watson on second base, checked him, and then threw the ball with all his might.

Seo Seong-min, standing in the left-handed batter’s box, confidently swung his bat from the first pitch.

Clang!

The batted ball soared towards the outfield.