Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 203

203. How to Be Good at Baseball (2)

-Slightly hopeful about the growth effect of -!@x$.

-Worried about the excessive cost of -!@x$.

-Anxious about whether getting -!@x$ is the right thing to do.

A peculiar situation suddenly unfolded!

The underlying concern seemed consistent across all three individuals.

What could this mean?

I was momentarily stunned, my mind racing to decipher the meaning.

“Thank you.”

Despite my mental preoccupation with the information windows, they accepted the signed balls with bright smiles and departed.

I felt a strong urge to call them back, but a line of other fans was already waiting for autographs.

For the moment, I plastered on a smile, signing autographs and posing for photos.

Once I had greeted everyone who was waiting, I quickly scanned the area, but it was proving difficult to locate the group from before.

With the game still in progress, I made a quick trip to the restroom and hurried back to my seat.

The Sucheon High’s at-bat in the bottom of the 4th inning had just concluded, and the top of the 5th was about to begin.

Choi Woo-jin had thrown 65 pitches in 4 innings.

That averaged about 16 pitches per inning, a commendable rate even among professional players.

From the 5th inning onward, he noticeably increased his use of breaking balls.

The breaking balls in Choi Woo-jin’s arsenal were the slider and the curveball.

The curveball was primarily used to disrupt the batter’s timing, while the slider served as his main competitive breaking pitch.

Choi Woo-jin began pitching the 5th inning.

A left-handed batter stepped into the batter’s box.

Pop!

“Strike!”

Pop!

“Strike!”

He confidently established an early advantage with fastballs.

Thud!

“Ball!”

Although his control wasn’t perfect, he disrupted the batter’s timing with a curveball, and then…

Whoosh-

“Strikeout!”

He induced a swing and a miss with a well-placed slider.

-Choi Woo-jin seems particularly confident when facing left-handed batters.

-It’s true that left-handed pitchers often have an advantage against left-handed batters, but not every pitcher can capitalize on it. He’s putting on a great performance.

Although the data on Choi Woo-jin’s starts was still limited, his batting average against left-handed batters was a very respectable 0.180.

Of course, his batting average against right-handed batters was also solid at 0.230.

Pop!

Pop!

Thanks to the continuous stream of left-handed batters, he continued to pitch with confidence.

As fastballs and breaking balls found their mark on the corners of the plate, the batters could only flail helplessly at the air.

Whoosh-

“Strikeout!”

Choi Woo-jin himself seemed pleased with his pitching, clenching his fist and openly displaying his satisfaction after securing the final out of the inning.

Choi Woo-jin successfully met the criteria for a winning pitcher by holding the opposing team to one run through the 5th inning.

Having thrown only 80 pitches, he was likely to pitch in the 6th inning as well.

The game transitioned to the bottom of the 5th, and Sucheon High’s offense took the field.

While watching the game, I suddenly recalled the information windows I had seen earlier.

I turned my head and scanned the stands.

I wondered if I could spot those people again.

However, because they were seated so close together, the information windows overlapped, making it difficult to distinguish them.

What could it all mean?

Growth effects, excessive costs, and doubts about whether it was the right decision.

It was highly probable that all three were mothers of baseball players.

If that were the case, it seemed to be related to the well-being of baseball-playing students.

The appearance of special characters, coupled with the content itself, strongly suggested that it wasn’t good news.

While I was engrossed in my deductions, Sucheon High’s at-bat in the bottom of the 5th ended without any runs.

The brief field maintenance period concluded, and the 6th inning commenced.

Choi Woo-jin remained on the mound for Sucheon High in the top of the 6th.

I needed to refocus on the game.

It was the first time in Choi Woo-jin’s career that he had pitched into the 6th inning of a game.

I couldn’t afford to miss this historic moment.

The score remained 1:3.

Although Sucheon High held the lead, it wasn’t a comfortable margin.

The first batter of the inning was a right-handed power hitter.

Knowing he was capable of hitting a home run at any moment, Choi Woo-jin carefully exchanged signals with the catcher.

Then, Choi Woo-jin took a deep breath and delivered the pitch with all his might.

He appeared to be attempting a slider from the very first pitch.

However, it didn’t break as sharply as he had intended and sailed far outside the strike zone.

Pop!

“Ball!”

And the second pitch he threw.

Pop!

“Ball!”

Perhaps overly conscious of hitting the corner, the fastball missed the strike zone entirely.

Two balls, no strikes.

He found himself in a disadvantageous count for the pitcher.

Despite the pressure, Choi Woo-jin’s face remained composed.

He threw the ball with everything he had once more.

Needing to secure a strike, he opted for his most reliable fastball.

Perhaps due to the high-pressure situation, he put even more power behind it, reaching a speed of 141km/h [approximately 87.6 mph].

The problem was that it was heading straight for the center of the strike zone.

While it was a fast pitch for Choi Woo-jin personally, it wasn’t a speed that high school baseball players would struggle to time.

He could only hope that the batter wouldn’t swing.

But as expected, the opposing batter’s bat connected with the ball with tremendous force.

Crack!

The resounding crack that echoed as the ball met the bat made the outcome immediately apparent.

The batter, brimming with confidence, raised one hand and began his sprint towards first base.

-That looks like it was hit well! It’s going far!

-Is it going to clear the fence?

The batted ball soared high into the sky and ultimately sailed over the fence.

“Home run!”

-That was almost Choi Woo-jin’s only mistake in today’s game, and it resulted in a home run.

-Was it the pressure of wanting to avoid a walk? The pitch was too centered.

After confirming that the ball had cleared the fence, Choi Woo-jin offered an awkward smile, unable to conceal his disappointment.

The scoreboard changed to 2:3.

He could have been rattled by the home run and the narrowing score.

Tick!

“Out!”

Pop!

“Strikeout!”

He demonstrated excellent pitching against the subsequent batter.

Ultimately, he managed to complete the 6th inning on his own.

As the inning concluded, he returned to the dugout to the applause of his Sucheon High teammates.

-Choi Woo-jin is being taken out after pitching through the 6th inning. He faced some difficult situations, but he delivered a strong performance.

-It’s not just the statistics; the way he managed the game was impressive. You could really see his growth.

-Now, domestic professional teams should start taking notice, right?

-Absolutely. Plus, he’s still only a sophomore in high school. His potential for future development is truly immense. I’m eager to see how much he improves in his next appearance.

Having already thrown 100 pitches, there was no chance of him pitching in the 7th inning.

As expected, after Sucheon High’s at-bat in the bottom of the 6th inning ended and the top of the 7th began, a new pitcher took the mound for Sucheon High.

Today, Choi Woo-jin’s final stats were 6 innings pitched, 2 runs allowed, 5 hits (1 home run allowed), and 8 strikeouts.

It was the first time he had recorded a quality start [a start in which a pitcher pitches at least six innings and allows three or fewer earned runs].

Not only the result but also the process was significantly better compared to his previous game.

Afterward, Sucheon High managed to score additional runs, maintain their lead, and secure a victory.

The Sucheon High players and coaching staff gathered on the field, celebrating their victory with high fives.

I also stood up from my seat, clapping and offering my congratulations.

“Ah, that’s right!”

As I sat back down and began gathering my belongings, the content of the information window I had seen earlier continued to nag at me.

If I didn’t find them before leaving the stadium, the chances of encountering them again in the future were slim.

I quickly packed my things and got up to search for the group I had met earlier.

* * *

As soon as I stood up from my seat, other spectators also rose and began to leave.

They had likely arrived by car, so they were probably heading towards the parking lot.

I needed to hurry in case they had already left.

“Huff. Huff. Huff.”

I felt out of breath from sprinting.

It was fortunate that I had been exercising regularly; it proved helpful in situations like this.

Having visited this stadium several times, I knew the way well, allowing me to reach the parking lot quickly without getting lost.

Fortunately, not many people had left before me.

I also confirmed that there were no special characters in the information windows of those who had already left.

I stood still, carefully examining the information windows of the people passing by.

Before long, a large crowd of people began to exit.

At the same time, my head swiveled frantically.

The people who recognized me greeted me cheerfully, but this time, I didn’t have the余裕[yoyu – leeway, capacity] to respond kindly to each one.

I apologize, but finding them was my top priority at the moment.

Quite a few people had passed by, but I couldn’t find them.

If those three parents were together, they would likely be leaving together…

The impact of the information window was so strong that I couldn’t recall their faces precisely, but I was certain I would recognize the content of their information windows.

However, there were so many people here who had greeted me, and countless information windows were visible.

Even if I was completely distracted, I should have at least remembered the color of their clothing…

When multiple people exited simultaneously, causing their information windows to overlap, I approached them to examine their individual contents.

But I couldn’t detect any special characters on anyone.

It seemed like almost everyone had already left.

‘Did they leave through a different exit?’

I had no choice but to wait until the very end.

After numerous groups of people had departed,

“Huh?”

No more people were exiting.

No way, am I really not going to find them?

I couldn’t give up just yet, so I quickly re-entered the stadium.

The stands were empty.

They must have already left…

Should I have started looking for them sooner?

I hoped my decision wouldn’t lead to bigger problems down the line.

I could only hope that it wasn’t a significant issue.

As I walked out dejectedly,

I noticed some people in the distance loading items into the trunk of a car.

Could it be them?

It looked like the people I had seen earlier.

I hurried towards them.

As I drew closer, the content of their information windows began to appear.

“Oh!”

It seemed like there were special characters present.

As I approached, I could confirm that they were indeed the people I had been searching for.

-Slightly hopeful about the growth effect of -!@x$.

-Worried about the excessive cost of -!@x$.

-Anxious about whether getting -!@x$ is the right thing to do.

I could see the information window with the special characters that I had seen earlier once again.

Before I knew it, the car they were in was about to drive away.

I gasped for breath and shouted at them with difficulty.

“Excuse me, just a moment!”