Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 218

Inevitable Showdown (2)

The Jaguars, seeded 4th, began their postseason journey with the Wild Card series.

After a long absence from the postseason stage, the Jaguars’ fans’ excitement soared sky-high.

The fervor was palpable, with all tickets for the Wild Card series selling out within 10 minutes of going on sale.

One fan, Jung In-gyu, passionately attempted to secure tickets through frantic clicking, but unfortunately, he was unsuccessful.

The Jaguars opened their fall baseball campaign against the Unicorns, who barely clinched the 5th seed to make the postseason.

The Jaguars sent out their domestic ace pitcher, Yang Hyun-jae, as the starting pitcher for Game 1.

While Michael Scott had a much better record this season, he hadn’t had any experience starting in a short series like the Wild Card, so they adjusted the starting order slightly.

If the Jaguars were to lose Game 1 of the Wild Card series, he was preparing to start immediately in Game 2.

The Wild Card series finally began.

Because it was a short series, both teams fought fiercely to score the first run.

The Unicorns’ fans must have been hoping for a miraculous comeback from their 5th-place position, but reality was not so forgiving.

The Jaguars’ ace, Yang Hyun-jae, pitched with guts, befitting a pitcher with a lot of experience in big games.

Perhaps because he put in much more effort than during the regular season, his fastball velocity increased by 2-3 km/h [kilometers per hour].

However, signs of fatigue began to show as his pitch count exceeded 90.

Yang Hyun-jae fulfilled his role, pitching 6 scoreless innings.

The first run came in the 6th inning with a lucky hit from Donald Watson.

With two outs and a runner on second in scoring position.

Because Watson was a powerful hitter, the Unicorns’ outfielders were playing deep, close to the fence, anticipating a long hit.

Tick!

But contrary to expectations, Watson’s bat made weak contact, and the ball floated vaguely into the outfield.

If they had been playing normal defense, it would have been an easy catch, but because they were positioned so far back, they had to run a long way.

It was an ambiguous trajectory that was difficult for both the infielder running back and the outfielder running forward to catch.

Eventually, the ball fell to the ground, resulting in a hit.

In the meantime, the runner on second easily crossed home plate.

“Watson! Watson! Watson!”

The Jaguars’ fans erupted in cheers that seemed to shake the stadium with the long-awaited first run.

As the game moved into the 7th inning, it became a battle of bullpen pitchers.

With only a one-run difference, it was still difficult to be certain of the outcome.

The Unicorns, who had to win today’s game, and the Jaguars, who were trying to finish the series in one game, mobilized all available bullpen pitchers.

The strategic battle between the managers, who made pitching changes depending on the opposing batter, was also an interesting sight.

Perhaps because they poured in all their pitchers, the batters couldn’t easily get hits.

Both teams managed to finish the 7th inning without giving up any runs.

The Jaguars succeeded in preventing the Unicorns from scoring in the top of the 8th inning as well.

As the game moved closer to the end, the tension was reaching its peak.

Now, the bottom of the 8th.

If the Unicorns didn’t score, this could be the Jaguars’ last chance to attack.

The Jaguars desperately tried to reduce the burden on their defense in the top of the 9th inning.

The Jaguars’ cleanup hitter successfully got on base, and the 5th hitter, Donald Watson, successfully bunted the runner to second.

Since the runner on second had been replaced by a pinch-runner, he could easily score on a short hit.

“Hoo- Hoo-”

The Unicorns’ pitcher continued to pitch under extreme pressure.

And the decisive blow in an important game was, as expected, a home run.

That home run came from Seo Sung-min’s bat, who had been receiving less attention because of Donald Watson.

Thwack!

“Waaaaa-”

As soon as they heard the sound of the bat hitting the ball, the Jaguars’ players and fans raised their hands in the air.

Seo Sung-min, who had predicted a home run, clenched his fist as soon as he swung the bat and ran towards first base with all his might.

“Hooooome run!”

As the ball went over the fence, the Jaguars’ fans, as well as the players in the dugout, went wild, acting almost like they were in a frenzy.

“Seo Sung-min! Seo Sung-min! Seo Sung-min!”

When Seo Sung-min, who had stepped on home base, returned to the dugout, the Jaguars’ players greeted him with enthusiastic celebrations.

With a crucial two-run home run, the Jaguars succeeded in widening the score gap to 0:3 and seizing the momentum of the game.

Finally, the top of the 9th inning.

The Jaguars’ closer was able to take the mound with a slightly comfortable three-run lead.

Wham!

Wham!

“Strike out!”

He cleanly recorded three outs and finished the game with a victory.

Thanks to Yang Hyun-jae’s great pitching and the performances of Donald Watson and Seo Sung-min, the Jaguars defeated the Unicorns and were able to finish the Wild Card series in just one game.

They were able to minimize their physical exertion and play against the Buffaloes in the semi-playoffs [a round in the postseason, similar to a division series].

Michael Scott was announced as the starting pitcher for the Jaguars in Game 1 of the semi-playoffs, and Go Ji-hoon was announced as the starting pitcher for the Buffaloes.

The baseball fans’ reaction was hot even before the game started for the long-awaited big match.

└Finally, we get to see these two matched up.

└I wanted to see Scott and Go Ji-hoon face off in the climax, but I didn’t know it would be in the postseason.

└The fact that their rotations were staggered throughout the season was for this game.

└I wonder which team will win. Since it’s the postseason, it looks like there’s a high possibility of a pitching duel.

└Wouldn’t the Jaguars be more advantageous? The Buffaloes haven’t been able to use their power since Oh Seok-hoon left.

└Isn’t there a chance the Jaguars will upset?

└The Jaguars’ starting one-two punch is the best in the league, so it wouldn’t be a completely absurd story.

└Since it’s a short series, you never know what might happen.

└That’s the charm of the postseason, lol [laughing out loud].

└I’m not a fan of either team, so I don’t care who wins, I’m just looking forward to a high-quality pitching duel.

* * *

The day of Game 1 of the semi-playoffs was busy from morning.

Just like last season, they were preparing for a live broadcast.

Last year, they just had our players gather and chat while watching the game, but this year, they upgraded it a bit more.

They also produced videos to show during the breaks between innings.

Besides that, they also attracted advertisements to show in between.

Thanks to that, they were able to prepare the broadcast with the help of more staff.

The quality may be lacking, but they were able to have a composition that was not much different from a broadcasting station.

And when it was announced that Oh Seok-hoon would be appearing, the reaction from female fans was enthusiastic.

It was a shame that he couldn’t play in the game due to his injury, but the fact that he could communicate with fans through live broadcasts was a positive aspect.

Instead, they wouldn’t be able to see Michael Scott eating chicken.

Many people wanted to see it, and I was curious too, but this time, it was a much better picture if the Jaguars advanced to the Korean Series [the championship series in Korean baseball] and we couldn’t see it.

Oh Seok-hoon, as well as So Young-joon, Choi Jung-hwan, and Jang Su-young, were scheduled to appear.

Han Gyo-jin said that he would appear after being called up to the first team later, and expressed his intention to not participate in this live broadcast.

And Choi Woo-jin couldn’t attend because high school baseball was in progress.

Jung In-gyu and I were talking to the lead producer in the studio, checking the preparation status.

As the conversation came to an end, So Young-joon quietly approached.

“Wow, this is on a different level than last year.”

So Young-joon exclaimed as he watched the many staff members moving busily.

“We’ve prepared a lot this time. Last year, we had to do it suddenly, so it couldn’t be helped, but this year, we have to prepare properly and show you. You shouldn’t think it’ll be similar to what we did last time.”

I shrugged my shoulders at So Young-joon.

“There will probably be a lot of fun things. You can look forward to it.”

Jung In-gyu raised the corners of his mouth towards So Young-joon.

“Our agency seems to be developing every year.”

“Of course. The level of our players is changing, so the agency has to keep pace with that.”

“But do you really need this many staff members? It’s incomparable to last year?”

“Of course. We have to use multiple cameras, and we have to do sound and lighting. There are also advertisements, so we have to time them well.”

“At this point, isn’t it just a broadcasting company?”

“If we’re going to have our star player So Young-joon, we have to be at the level of a broadcasting company.”

“Ooh. Our representative is really good at talking.”

So Young-joon gave me a thumbs up.

Step. Step.

I heard someone walking behind me.

I turned my head and saw Oh Seok-hoon carefully limping towards me.

“Oh, Seok-hoon. You’re here?”

Jung In-gyu, So Young-joon, and I quickly approached and supported Oh Seok-hoon.

“Seok-hoon, you’re working hard.”

So Young-joon looked at Oh Seok-hoon, who was walking with difficulty, with a pitiful expression.

“But I’m getting used to it, so I’m getting a little better.”

“When will you get better?”

“I hardly have any pain now. If I consistently receive physical therapy from now on, I think it’ll be okay to train little by little from the beginning of the year.”

“That’s a relief. You’ve been through a lot.”

So Young-joon patted Oh Seok-hoon’s shoulder.

I turned my head towards So Young-joon and opened my mouth.

“Young-joon, you be careful too. Your body is your asset as an athlete.”

“Well, I don’t have to run much. In our team, we don’t score much unless I get a hit.”

I could feel a bitter taste in So Young-joon’s smile.

“Even so, the shortstop position itself is a position where you have to overdo it.”

“Yes, I understand, representative. Don’t worry. I’ll stretch hard before the game.”

So Young-joon replied in a serious voice.

I turned my head back to Oh Seok-hoon.

“Seok-hoon, let’s go sit down comfortably.”

I supported Oh Seok-hoon and headed to the sofa.

As the broadcast time approached, Choi Jung-hwan and Jang Su-young also arrived.

I greeted the two of them lightly and went into the studio first.

I looked at the data related to today’s game and prepared until the end.

Even though the plan was to talk with the players and proceed differently from the existing sports broadcasts, it was necessary to be familiar with the specific data.

“Okay, we’ll start broadcasting in 5 minutes.”

As I heard the lead producer’s shout, the players came into the studio one by one.

They sat down one by one in the chairs next to me.

Compared to last year, there was one more guest this year, so there were five of them, and it felt like the seats were full.

Everyone was a big athlete, so I felt even more like that.

After finishing the setup, I realized that the live time was one minute away.

It was time for another live broadcast and the big match between Go Ji-hoon and Michael Scott.