Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 220

Inevitable Showdown (4)

Ko Ji-hoon’s fastball curved slightly downward, perfectly targeting the outside low corner of the batter’s box.

Thwack!

-Strike!

The Jaguars’ batter couldn’t react as the ball whizzed past.

“Ko Ji-hoon gets a strike right off the bat. That was a truly perfect pitch.”

Watching the replay of the ball’s trajectory on the broadcast, my voice naturally rose in excitement.

“Once a batter sees a pitch like that, perfectly placed in the corner from the very first ball, it becomes very difficult for them to establish their strike zone.”

Oh Seok-hoon exclaimed in admiration.

Immediately, Ko Ji-hoon continued his pitching.

-Ball!

He managed to pick out the second ball,

Tick!

But it barely grazed the strike zone, so he couldn’t get a good hit.

1 ball, 2 strikes.

Ko Ji-hoon took a deep breath and carefully threw the fourth ball.

The ball left Ko Ji-hoon’s hand and flew as if rising from below.

The batter tried to hit it with his bat, but the unfamiliar trajectory made it difficult.

Whoosh-

-Strike out!

After cleanly striking out the first batter,

Tick!

He successfully induced a fly ball with just one pitch against the second batter.

The showdown with the third batter didn’t last long either.

Following an aggressive first-pitch strike, he threw a ball that barely grazed the strike zone.

Tick!

The weakly hit ball rolled towards third baseman Park Seong-ju.

Park Seong-ju easily caught the ball and casually threw it to first base.

-Out!

As the third out count went up, the teams switched sides.

“Ko Ji-hoon cleanly finishes the top of the 1st inning. He didn’t allow a single runner on base, and his pitch count wasn’t too high either.”

“They say the 1st inning is tough for starting pitchers, but that doesn’t seem to apply to Ko Ji-hoon at all.”

Jang Su-young exclaimed in admiration.

Soon after, the Jaguars’ Michael Scott approached the mound.

“This is Scott’s first time starting as a pitcher in the postseason. What will he show us?”

The pressure of a regular season game and a postseason game could never be the same.

I was worried that he might be too tense since it was his first time pitching in a short series,

But contrary to my worries, he looked relaxed.

And he started pitching with all his might from the first batter.

Thwack!

154 km/h

-Strike!

Thwack!

155 km/h

-Strike!

After quickly getting two strikes with a fastball full of power,

Whoosh-

158 km/h

-Strike out!

Since he had already gained a favorable position with two strikes, he was able to get the batter to swing at a high fastball that was out of the strike zone.

The showdown with the second batter was the same.

Thwack!

-Strike out!

He struck out two batters in a row.

And then the third batter, who was in the lineup instead of Oh Seok-hoon.

Scott nodded without hesitation at the sign sent by the catcher and continued pitching.

Thwack!

Thwack!

After creating a favorable situation with two strikes, he finally changed his grip.

It flew like a fastball but then dropped sharply in front of the batter.

The splitter [a type of pitch that breaks sharply downwards], which he threw for the first time in today’s game, also fell with a perfect trajectory.

Whoosh-

The batter’s bat had no choice but to swing in vain.

-Strike out!

Scott seemingly erased the 1st inning in an instant.

Soon, the Jaguars’ attack began in the top of the 2nd inning.

Stimulated by Scott’s pitching, Ko Ji-hoon pitched aggressively.

It was too difficult to make a proper hit on the fastball that came wriggling in.

Tick!

-Out!

Behind the 4th batter, who swallowed his disappointment and returned to the dugout, Donald Watson, who had been waiting in the on-deck circle, stepped up to the plate.

“It’s finally time to meet Donald Watson.”

Even though it wasn’t a critical situation, my hands were sweating.

-Watson! Watson! Watson!

The Jaguars fans in the stands cheered with anticipation.

Ko Ji-hoon and Donald Watson prepared for the showdown seriously, without a hint of a smile.

And the first ball.

Thwack!

-Ball.

“It seems Ko Ji-hoon can’t help but be conscious of Watson. The first ball went way outside.”

“Watson is a batter with the power to hit home runs and doubles, and he also has the ability to steal bases, so pitchers are very wary of him.”

Jang Su-young couldn’t hide his tension as if he were on the mound himself.

Thwack!

“Strike!”

He succeeded in driving the fastball deep inside.

And then he threw the second ball,

This time, Watson’s bat swung powerfully.

Clang!

The power was there, but the timing was a little early, so the hit went outside the foul line.

“That was a close one for the Buffaloes. If the timing had been right, it could have been a home run.”

The atmosphere in the stadium fluctuated with Watson’s swing.

As the two players prepared again, the broadcast screen showed Olivia, who was cheering with rhythm.

“Seeing her here, it’s like seeing a celebrity. Her sense of rhythm is no joke.”

So Young-joon said, shaking his body along with the rhythm while sitting down.

“She’s our agency’s hottest celebrity.”

My smile was fleeting,

As the showdown resumed.

1 ball, 2 strikes.

Ko Ji-hoon threw another ball,

Whoosh-

In the end, Watson’s bat swung in vain at the sharply curving changeup.

“Strike out!”

The winner of the first encounter was Ko Ji-hoon.

Moving on to the bottom of the 2nd inning, the showdown between Scott and the 4th batter, Park Seong-ju, continued.

Unlike the previous batters, Scott carefully exchanged signs [signals between the pitcher and catcher].

Unlike the 1st inning, where he mainly used fastballs, he chose a curve to disrupt the timing.

Thwack!

-Ball!

Park Seong-ju only flinched slightly and didn’t swing.

The second ball chosen by the Jaguars’ battery was a fastball.

Thwack!

-Ball!

“Scott is now in a situation with two balls.”

“Since Seong-ju is a batter who can hit a home run at any time, he must be very conscious of him.”

Oh Seok-hoon said, looking at me.

“He needs to throw a strike, but if he tries too hard, he might make a mistake. He needs to compete thinking that he might give up a walk. No matter how good Scott is, giving up the first run in a short series would be a big blow.”

2 balls, 0 strikes.

Scott took a deep breath and threw the ball with all his might.

Park Seong-ju, who had been adjusting his timing, swung his bat as if he had been waiting for it.

Clang!

The hit flew far into the outfield.

“Oh, it looks like the hit is going to go far?”

The players and I watched the screen with faces mixed with anticipation and disappointment.

Park Seong-ju ran towards first base with all his might, with a dubious expression.

-Waaaaah-

The Buffaloes fans predicted a home run and burst into cheers.

But Scott’s ball had power, so it was impossible to go over the fence.

Center fielder Donald Watson, who was fielding close to the fence, caught the ball on the warning track right in front of the fence.

-Aaaah.

The Buffaloes fans, who had expected an important first run, had to swallow their disappointment.

Park Seong-ju’s expression, who had been running with all his might, was not much different.

In the following innings, Ko Ji-hoon and Scott continued their excellent pitching, and the fielders behind the pitchers also provided flawless defense, befitting the postseason.

A high-level pitching duel continued, and neither team was able to reach home base while the batting order went around once.

Thanks to this, the early innings were progressing very quickly.

“Both pitchers are showing really good condition. If you were at bat in this situation, how would you approach the game?”

I asked, looking back and forth between Oh Seok-hoon and So Young-joon.

Oh Seok-hoon opened his mouth first.

“When facing an ace pitcher, it becomes really difficult when you get into a situation with two strikes. Especially Scott’s splitter, it’s fast and it’s really hard to distinguish from a fastball until right before it drops. Competing early is the best way to increase your chances.”

“What about So Young-joon?”

At my question, So Young-joon jumped up and took a swinging stance.

“If I were facing Scott, I would focus and match the timing of the ball coming in, shift my weight, and swing the bat. Then I’ll get a hit, and if I’m lucky, maybe even a home run.”

“Ah, I shouldn’t have asked.”

I quickly turned my head back to the monitor.

Even in the 5th inning, Scott and Ko Ji-hoon continued their unwavering pitching, successfully tying up the opposing batters.

They allowed runners on base and faced crises, but they managed to resolve the situations well and did not allow any runs.

The score remained unchanged at 0:0.

* * *

It was already time for the cleaning time [a break between innings] before the top of the 6th inning.

It was finally time to show one of the videos that the agency had ambitiously prepared in advance.

The change of innings took longer than usual, and I thought the viewers would get bored if we kept playing commercials, so we prepared this video.

As one commercial was finishing, I exchanged glances with the producer.

The producer nodded, signaling that he was ready.

Soon after, I confirmed that the screen had switched back to the studio and naturally started the conversation.

“What moment would our players choose as the most memorable scene of this season?”

Oh Seok-hoon was the first to answer my question.

“Personally, I would say when Seo Seong-min hit his first home run. Even though it was a home run, seeing him sprinting to first base and sliding made me feel emotional.”

“Ah, yes. That moment was really amazing. And that was also the moment when Seong-min’s son was born.”

I felt a slight chill as I recalled that moment.

Soon after, So Young-joon added a word.

“There was a game where Scott and Watson both went crazy at the same time. Scott almost had a perfect game, and Watson almost had a cycle hit [hitting a single, double, triple, and home run in the same game]. I think that was against the Buffaloes too.”

“Ah… That was a really painful game for the Buffaloes. I remember being completely suppressed by Scott and not being able to do anything. Watson seemed impossible to stop.”

Oh Seok-hoon shook his head.

“If Seok-hoon hadn’t gotten a hit, Scott could have had a perfect game, right? Then Scott’s name would have been etched in Korean baseball history.”

So Young-joon put his hand on Oh Seok-hoon’s shoulder and asked.

“I’m a little disappointed too… but I couldn’t intentionally get out.”

Oh Seok-hoon scratched his head and trailed off.

└We can’t leave out when Scott threw a beanball [a pitch intentionally thrown at the batter] right after Watson got hit by one. That’s teamwork.

└That was refreshing.

└Come to think of it, Watson didn’t start a bench-clearing brawl [a fight involving players from both teams].

└Wouldn’t it be great if he showed us one in the postseason?

└Don’t shake up a player who’s doing well for no reason. If you do, Scott will throw a 157 km/h fastball at your head again.

“Many opinions have been expressed. Our production team has picked one memorable scene.”

“Is it the production team’s choice for the best scene?”

So Young-joon asked me with anticipation.

“To be exact, it would be more accurate to say it’s the most memorable scene.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“It’s almost the same, but a little different? Shall we watch it together first?”

After a while, the screen changed and a scene from not long ago was replayed.

Scott on the mound appeared on the screen first.

Then the screen changed and another familiar face appeared.

“What is this?”

So Young-joon, surprised, jumped up.