Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 202

202. How to Be Good at Baseball (1)

These days, I have another game I’m keeping a close eye on besides professional baseball.

It’s Suchun High School’s games.

Thanks to Choi Woo-jin’s strong performance in his last start, he’s starting as pitcher again.

This is incredibly good news.

As soon as I heard about his start, I re-watched his last game with him and we talked for a long time.

We went over the areas where he needed to improve compared to professional players.

We spent a lot of time discussing game management, which was particularly lacking. We used Go Ji-hoon’s game footage as a good example.

Of course, we also focused on weight training to increase his velocity and improve his pitch quality.

When I arrived at the stadium, I was pleased to see something else.

There were many scouts in attendance, far more than at his first appearance.

I didn’t spot any major league clubs or team leader-level scouts from domestic clubs, like when Ahn Beom-seok pitched, but it was clear that interest had grown since the last game.

Probably, during Choi Woo-jin’s senior year next season, scouts from all the clubs will be fighting for seats to watch him play.

And there will be so many media outlets trying to interview him.

I should probably have him practice for interviews in advance.

I had to consciously keep myself from grinning as I imagined it, and focused on watching Choi Woo-jin warm up.

As the game approached, I turned on the broadcast.

-Choi Woo-jin is starting again today as Suchun High School’s pitcher. What positive feedback did he receive?

-He allowed 2 runs in 5 innings in his first start. He got another opportunity because he showed excellent performance, even when you look at the detailed data beyond the basic stats.

-I see. What should we watch for in this game?

-To establish himself as a starting pitcher, he needs to pitch more than 5 innings. To do that, efficient pitch management will be key.

-Let’s see if Choi Woo-jin can deliver a good performance today.

Finally, Choi Woo-jin took the mound.

His practice pitches showed the confidence of a starting pitcher.

“Play ball!”

With the umpire’s call, Choi Woo-jin’s pitching began.

Thump!

“Strike!”

Choi Woo-jin threw his first pitch for a strike 78% of the time.

Starting the game with a strike was a good sign.

He was able to gain an advantageous position against the batter.

Thump!

138km/h [approximately 86 mph].

“Strike!”

It wasn’t very fast, but he kept challenging the batter by precisely hitting the corners of the strike zone.

Tick!

139km/h [approximately 86.4 mph].

It would have been a ball if the batter hadn’t swung, but it deviated slightly from the strike zone, making it hard for him to resist.

Eventually,

Thump!

The batter just watched the ball go by.

“Strike out!”

He got the strike call with a fastball in almost the same location as the previous pitch.

The batter showed his frustration to the umpire, but it was clearly a strike that caught the corner perfectly.

Choi Woo-jin’s confidence was evident in his next matchup.

Thump!

“Strike!”

Thump!

“Strike!”

Since Choi Woo-jin was throwing strikes without hesitation, the batters couldn’t help but feel pressured.

Tick!

In the end, they swung at the ball and made weak contact.

The Suchun High School infielders easily caught the slow roller and recorded the out.

It only took Choi Woo-jin 10 pitches to get three outs in the first inning.

He kept the batters guessing by throwing fastballs to different locations without using breaking balls.

-Watching Choi Woo-jin makes me realize what’s most important for a pitcher.

-That’s right. Players with good control are hard to rattle. People often focus on pitchers with high velocity, but the real gems are players like this.

-Will clubs be very interested in the next draft?

-I think you should keep an eye on Choi Woo-jin. If he gets more experience starting, he could become a very good player.

Choi Woo-jin’s pitching was also solid in the top of the second inning.

Thump!

“Strike!”

He started off with a strike against the opposing team’s fourth batter, just like before.

Tick!

Tick!

Whoosh-

“Strike out!”

The fastball was between 135km/h [approximately 84 mph] and 140km/h [approximately 87 mph], so they might have underestimated it, but it wasn’t easy to hit a ball that barely crossed the edge of the strike zone.

He also created the illusion of throwing multiple pitches with just his fastball, by varying the location, going inside and outside, high and low.

He didn’t allow a single runner to reach base while the opposing team’s batting order went through once until the third inning.

-Choi Woo-jin has pitched 3 perfect innings!

-He’s been relying almost exclusively on fastballs, except for the occasional slider. It’s been a really perfect performance.

-Choi Woo-jin doesn’t have a wide variety of pitches, and he’s not that fast. Is it surprising that he’s pitching so well?

-When you’re facing a pitcher with good control, you can’t afford to wait for two strikes. From the batter’s perspective, you have to be aggressive early in the count.

Suchun High School’s at-bat in the bottom of the 3rd inning.

Tap!

Tap!

Ttaak!

The Suchun High School batters not only made it difficult for the opposing pitcher but also managed to score the first point.

The scoreboard changed to 0:3.

They started the 4th inning with a three-run lead.

It was the second time Choi Woo-jin was facing these batters today.

What was important for a starting pitcher was what came next.

Since starting pitchers face batters more than three times in a game, they need to be able to mix things up.

Good batters won’t be fooled by the same strategy three times in a row.

Choi Woo-jin exchanged signs with the catcher and prepared to throw the ball.

Thump!

“Strike!”

Of course, Choi Woo-jin’s first-pitch strike was almost automatic.

And the second ball he threw,

Tuck!

“Ball!”

He seemed to be trying to throw a curveball to disrupt the batter’s timing, but it broke too early and hit the ground before reaching the plate.

Choi Woo-jin tried to hide his embarrassment and prepared for the next pitch.

Tick!

The batter made weak contact because he couldn’t time the fastball.

The third baseman easily caught the ball and threw it to first base for the out.

Next up was the second batter.

This time, he threw a fastball for a strike,

The batter swung with all his might, as if he had been waiting for it.

Ttaak!

“Waaaaa-”

As soon as I heard the solid crack of the bat, cheers erupted from the opposing team’s dugout.

The batter reached 2nd base after passing 1st.

It was the first mistake he had made today, and it resulted in a hit.

I could see the disappointment on Choi Woo-jin’s face.

1 out, runner on 2nd.

It was the first crisis he had faced in the game.

Moreover, the next batters were the 3rd and 4th hitters.

The key wasn’t whether he would give up a run right away, but whether he could execute the plan they had practiced.

Could he calmly handle the situation as he had trained?

I involuntarily clasped my hands together.

Choi Woo-jin received the catcher’s sign and threw the ball carefully.

Thump!

“Ball!”

It was the first time in the game that his first pitch missed the strike zone.

Perhaps feeling that he was trying too hard, he took a deep breath after receiving the sign and started his pitching motion.

Thump!

“Strike!”

Even though he was in a tough spot and his first pitch was a ball, he managed to throw a strike calmly.

The next pitch,

Tick!

It was a foul ball.

You couldn’t get a good hit on a ball that seemed to be right on the edge of the strike zone.

And the deciding pitch he threw after taking a deep breath,

Thump!

He threw the ball to a spot where the batter couldn’t react.

“Strike out!”

Something caught my eye as much as his pinpoint control.

142km/h! [approximately 88.2 mph]

It was the fastest ball he had thrown in an official game so far.

And his control hadn’t wavered.

I couldn’t help but exclaim and clap.

-Choi Woo-jin strikes out the 4th batter looking!

-I thought he might get rattled after throwing a ball on the first pitch, but he’s back to pitching with confidence.

Now 2 outs, runner on 2nd.

Perhaps because I felt relieved that he had overcome one hurdle,

Ttaak!

He ended up giving up a hit to the next batter.

It was a bloop single, but with 2 outs, the runner on 2nd easily scored.

In the end, a run was scored.

Fortunately, he pitched cleanly against the next batter and finished the 4th inning.

-He gave up one run in this inning, but he did a good job of shutting down the heart of their lineup.

Since his game management was better than the last game, he saved pitches.

So far, both his performance and the results have been much better than last time.

As soon as Choi Woo-jin finished pitching in the top of the 4th inning, I got up to quickly use the restroom.

I expected it, but moving around the baseball field wasn’t easy.

“Oh, CEO Kang Hyun-woo!”

Several people recognized me and approached.

There wasn’t much time before the 5th inning started, but I couldn’t refuse the fans who wanted autographs.

I held off on going to the bathroom and spent time shaking hands with various parents.

I took pictures with them and signed the baseballs they brought.

Someone even asked me to say a few words to their son in a video. I gave a short greeting and some words of encouragement.

Just a few years ago, my expression would freeze every time I took a picture, but now I see that a lot has changed.

-I’m so happy to meet Kang Hyun-woo in person.

-I’m excited to tell my son that Kang Hyun-woo sent him greetings.

It was also fun to say hello and read the information windows that popped up.

Then I greeted three women who seemed to be together.

“I’m a fan of CEO Kang Hyun-woo.”

“Thank you.”

I shook hands and signed autographs without anything special happening.

I looked up to hand over the signed ball, but

I saw something in the information window that made me stop and stare.
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