Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 236

236. Notable Player (2)

As the game’s starting time approached, Choi Woo-jin took his position on the pitcher’s mound.

His practice pitches drew the keen attention of the scouts, their movements buzzing with anticipation.

-Choi Woo-jin is starting today. A lot of scouts are here to watch him.

-He’s improved so much in the past year. Back then, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that no professional teams were interested in him.

-Now, he’s being considered as a potential first-round pick. Do you think he really has a shot at that?

-I think it’s definitely possible. It’s still hard to say he’s the best among players his age, but he’s definitely a strong contender.

-If Choi Woo-jin gets drafted in the first round in a few months, it’ll be because of the tremendous progress he’s made in just two years. What will he accomplish?

As Choi Woo-jin wrapped up his practice pitches, the opposing team’s first batter stepped up to the plate.

“Play ball!”

The umpire’s call signaled the start of the game.

Choi Woo-jin, after getting the sign from his catcher, began his windup without any hesitation.

Thwack!

140km/h [approximately 87 mph].

Thwack!

141km/h [approximately 88 mph].

Thwack!

140km/h [approximately 87 mph].

He was now consistently throwing fastballs over 140km/h [approximately 87 mph] with ease.

Moreover, his control was pinpoint, hitting the corners of the strike zone.

Whoosh-

“Strike out!”

He secured the first out with four fastballs, all perfectly placed within the strike zone.

The next batter was up immediately.

This time it was a left-handed batter, which played to one of Choi Woo-jin’s strengths.

Confident, Choi Woo-jin maintained his steady pitching.

However, the second batter seemed to have a plan, swinging aggressively at the first pitch.

Tick!

The timing wasn’t bad, but hitting a ball that was precisely placed on the outside low corner rarely produces good results.

As expected, the batted ball went foul.

0 balls, 1 strike.

The second ball came quickly.

Choi Woo-jin’s slider looked like it would cross the plate but then sharply broke away and slightly downward.

It was almost impossible for the batter not to swing.

Whoosh-

“Strike!”

-Choi Woo-jin’s slider seems even sharper now?

-Before, his horizontal movement was good, but now it looks like he’s also getting vertical movement.

-If he can add vertical movement to his slider, on top of the horizontal break, it could be a real weapon, right?

-Absolutely. If you can throw a slider in different ways, it’s almost like having multiple pitches. It’ll make things really tough for the batters.

0 balls, 2 strikes.

Pushed into a disadvantageous count, the batter looked tense.

Choi Woo-jin, on the other hand, exuded calmness and composure.

As soon as the catcher signaled, he nodded and threw the ball with everything he had.

This time, the ball darted towards the batter’s high inside corner.

Having just seen a ball break away to the outside, the batter would have felt like this one was coming right at him.

As expected, the surprised batter quickly pulled back to avoid being hit.

He must have thought it was going to be outside the strike zone.

Thwack!

“Strike out!”

The umpire made the call loudly.

The batter, caught off guard, argued, but the umpire stood firm.

-Choi Woo-jin is having another solid first inning today. You can feel his confidence even from the broadcast booth.

-That’s right. I think he’s really enjoying being on the mound right now.

The scouts were busy with their radar guns, tracking each pitch Choi Woo-jin threw.

The third batter stepped into the batter’s box.

Again, Choi Woo-jin pitched without hesitation.

As soon as he nodded at the catcher’s sign, he began his windup.

Since Choi Woo-jin was aggressively throwing strikes, the batter had no reason to wait.

Tick!

But it was just a glancing blow, and the ball went foul.

The second ball followed.

Tick!

Another glancing hit.

However, this time it didn’t go foul and was rolling weakly towards the shortstop.

The shortstop, anticipating the play, was waiting with his glove, ready to field the bounce.

Just as he was about to catch the ball on the last bounce,

“Huh?”

Unexpectedly, the ball took a low hop, skipping past the shortstop.

The rolling ball finally stopped in the glove of the left fielder, who had rushed in to back up the play.

In the meantime, the batter easily reached first base.

-Ah! An error here. The runner is on first.

-The bounce was tricky, but it looked like he could have caught it. Disappointing defense.

-That should have been the end of the inning, but it continues because of the shortstop’s error.

A single error was recorded for Suchun High on the scoreboard.

The shortstop apologized to Choi Woo-jin on the mound.

Choi Woo-jin signaled that it was okay and got ready to pitch again.

Two outs, runner on first.

Because of the fielder’s error, the inning was extended, and now there was a runner on base before the fourth batter.

Even a professional pitcher could be rattled by this.

After receiving the catcher’s sign, Choi Woo-jin looked directly at the runner on first and made eye contact.

Even without a pickoff attempt, the fact that the left-handed pitcher was looking right at first base had a deterrent effect.

Then, he took a deep breath and threw the ball towards the catcher’s mitt.

Thwack!

138km/h [approximately 86 mph].

“Strike!”

-Even with the slide step [a modified pitching motion used when runners are on base to allow for a quicker delivery to home plate and reduce the runner’s chance of stealing], he seems more stable than last year?

-He must have practiced this a lot. There’s almost no wasted movement in his slide step.

-But the velocity seems a little down. If it were a bit faster, he could put more pressure on the runner.

After a pickoff attempt towards first base, Choi Woo-jin continued his battle with the batter.

Thwack!

“Strike!”

The batter didn’t seem to have any intention of swinging from the start.

He seemed to be trying to see if Choi Woo-jin would get flustered, but it was all for nothing.

0 balls, 2 strikes.

After confirming the catcher’s sign, Choi Woo-jin carefully adjusted his grip for a curveball.

He put extra pressure on his middle finger to generate spin and threw the ball.

The ball dropped so sharply that it bounced in the dirt.

The batter tried to check his swing, realizing it wasn’t the pitch he was expecting, but it was too late.

Whoosh-

“Strike out!”

-Choi Woo-jin gets out of the first inning cleanly. Despite the shortstop’s error that extended the inning and created a potentially difficult situation, he didn’t give up a run, thanks to his excellent control.

-Even with the fielding error, Choi Woo-jin’s control didn’t falter.

I glanced at the backs of the scouts.

I could see Hwang Yun-seok from the Jaguars, the scout I had spoken to earlier.

What kind of evaluation are they making?

The bottom of the 1st inning continued with Suchun High’s at-bat.

Despite the aggressive swings of the Suchun High batters, they couldn’t score.

And the top of the 2nd inning began immediately.

Choi Woo-jin took the mound again and started pitching.

The 5th batter, leading off the inning, was a right-handed hitter.

Choi Woo-jin confidently threw the ball, using his fastball grip.

Tick!

Tick!

The batter swung aggressively at every pitch.

Tick!

He was clearly trying to make contact, even with pitches outside the strike zone.

With two strikes, Choi Woo-jin needed to throw a pitch that would induce a swing and a miss.

Ultimately, he chose to throw a slider.

He visualized a pitch that would start as a strike and then break sharply towards where the right-handed batter was standing.

It was a pitch he had practiced as diligently as the slider that broke from outside to inside during the last spring training.

However, without precise control, the pitch could end up over the middle of the plate or even hit the batter.

Gripping the ball for a slider, Choi Woo-jin threw carefully.

The ball headed towards the center of the strike zone.

The batter swung again, trying to hit the ball.

But unexpectedly, the ball curved sharply towards the batter’s body.

Moreover, it dropped slightly, making it impossible to hit.

Whoosh-

“Strike out!”

-Wow! He gets the batter to swing and miss with a breaking ball that dives in on him!

-Even professional pitchers who throw sliders well don’t often attempt that pitch. It requires exceptional control and a lot of guts. Choi Woo-jin threw a great pitch!

The batter, having swung and missed, returned to the dugout looking bewildered.

Choi Woo-jin couldn’t hide his smile, feeling the direct results of his training.

But perhaps because he was a little too excited, he couldn’t quite settle down.

Clang!

In his encounter with the following 6th batter, the fastball ended up over the middle of the plate, resulting in a hit.

One out, runner on first.

In the following at-bat against the 7th batter, Choi Woo-jin invariably threw a fastball to get an early strike.

Clang!

The batted ball sailed over the second baseman’s head, resulting in a clean hit.

The runner on first easily advanced to second base.

He had allowed hits to two consecutive batters.

“Nice hit!”

With the opportunity created, cheers erupted from the opposing team’s dugout for the first time in the game.

-Choi Woo-jin has allowed runners into scoring position for the first time, after giving up consecutive hits.

-He pitched well against the top of the lineup, but now he’s facing a crisis as he moves through the bottom of the order.

-It might be fortunate for Choi Woo-jin and Suchun High that this crisis is happening against the lower part of the lineup.

One out, runners on 1st and 2nd.

No matter how early in the game it was, giving up the first run wouldn’t be a good feeling.

Moreover, the batters he was about to face were the 8th and 9th hitters.

If he allowed more runners on base, it could lead to an even bigger crisis when the lineup turned over to the 1st batter.

He had to compete.

But the opponent was a right-handed batter.

Right-handed batters tend to have a relatively higher batting average against left-handed pitchers.

Holding the ball, Choi Woo-jin stepped onto the pitching rubber and looked at the catcher.

After confirming the catcher’s sign, Choi Woo-jin shook his head for the first time.

He shook his head again at the second sign as well.

Only after the third sign did he nod.

Choi Woo-jin took a deep breath and changed his grip, concealing his hand with his glove.

It was a pitch he was going to try for the first time in a real game.