Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 244

244. Inevitable Risk (2)

The Jaguars’ starting pitcher was Michael Scott, while the Buffaloes countered with a player considered their fourth-best starter.

The game began with the Jaguars’ attack in the top of the first inning.

The Jaguars’ hitters aimed to increase the pitch count to unsettle the Buffaloes’ pitcher.

The second batter successfully got on base, seemingly creating an opportunity, but the third batter’s ground ball resulted in a double play, ending the threat before Han Gyo-jin could bat.

Thus, the Jaguars’ first-inning attack concluded without scoring.

Following this was the bottom of the first inning.

It was the Jaguars’ defense against the Buffaloes’ attack.

Michael Scott and Han Gyo-jin walked toward the mound.

“Waaaaah-”

“Scott! Scott! Scott!”

The Jaguars’ away fans cheered him on enthusiastically.

Kim Sang-wook, who was watching this scene with a pleased expression, turned to me and asked,

“Doesn’t it seem like Scott performs exceptionally well against the Buffaloes?”

“Indeed. His head-to-head record is much better, according to the data. I wonder how he manages to do so well against the Buffaloes, who are known for their strong hitting.”

Scott had earned the most wins in the Korean league against the Buffaloes, and his ERA [Earned Run Average, a measure of pitching performance] was also impressive, hovering around a dominant 1.00.

Such inexplicable occurrences often happened in baseball.

“It seems like the Korean league is becoming too small for Scott now. It looks difficult for Korean players to exploit Scott’s weaknesses.”

“There is one player that even Scott fears.”

“Who is that?”

“Pelicans’ So Young-joon. His batting average against Scott is .500. They say his timing is good even when he just swings, and looking at his stats, it seems like it’s not just an empty boast.”

He was indeed the player with the best batting record against Scott in the league.

Even this season, he had been consistently hitting well against Scott every time they faced each other.

If So Young-joon were a player on a team fiercely competing for rankings with the Jaguars, it would be quite concerning.

“Should I recommend that any team struggling against Scott’s pitching consider acquiring So Young-joon later?”

“That would be an excellent choice. Moreover, he’s incredibly good at shortstop defense, so he would be competitive in other infield positions as well.”

I smiled at Kim Sang-wook and replied.

Meanwhile, Scott, who had finished his preparations, began pitching to the Buffaloes’ first batter.

Whack!

153km/h [approximately 95 mph]!

Whack!

154km/h [approximately 96 mph]!

Scott announced his start today with powerful fastballs.

Whack!

“Strike out!”

He not only struck out the first batter with just fastballs, leaving him completely helpless, but also,

Whack!

Whack!

Whack!

Whoosh-

He easily sent the second batter back to the dugout as well.

During those seven pitches, Scott didn’t shake his head at Han Gyo-jin’s signs even once.

And now, it was time to face the third batter, Oh Seok-hoon.

“Waaaaah-”

“Oh Seok-hoon! Oh Seok-hoon! Oh Seok-hoon!”

As expected, the Buffaloes’ stands erupted with such loud cheers that it felt like the stadium would be swept away.

“Every time I watch a game, I always feel that Oh Seok-hoon’s popularity is no joke,” Kim Sang-wook said with a pleased smile.

“He’s handsome, plays baseball well, and has a great personality. There’s no way he wouldn’t be popular.”

The corners of my lips couldn’t help but turn upwards as well.

“Play ball!”

The game resumed with the umpire’s call.

There were two outs and no runners on base.

Even when facing Oh Seok-hoon, the sign exchange between Scott and Han Gyo-jin didn’t take long.

Whack!

156km/h [approximately 97 mph]!

“Strike!”

Scott started with a powerful fastball once again.

Perhaps because he was facing Oh Seok-hoon, who had the best batting record in the league, his velocity was even faster than when he faced the previous batters.

The following pitch came in high.

Whack!

“Ball!”

One ball and one strike.

Scott, after carefully exchanging signs with Han Gyo-jin, threw his third pitch.

It was a fastball coming inside.

This time, Oh Seok-hoon’s bat was swinging quickly.

Despite the difficult location, Oh Seok-hoon’s bat made solid contact.

Clang!

You could tell from the sound alone that the hit was well-timed.

The batted ball off Oh Seok-hoon’s bat was quickly heading out of the infield.

“Waaaaah-”

Everyone was expecting a clean hit,

But second baseman Seo Sung-min stretched out his arm and leaped high into the air.

Whack!

The batted ball went straight into Seo Sung-min’s glove.

“Out!”

The second base umpire raised his fist, confirming the out.

Unlike the cheering Jaguars fans,

“Ah.”

The Buffaloes fans couldn’t hide their disappointment.

Oh Seok-hoon’s expression, who had stopped running to first base after confirming the out, was no different.

Scott and Seo Sung-min, who were returning to the dugout after finishing the inning, bumped gloves, celebrating the great defensive play.

“That was a really well-hit ball, but it went straight to the second baseman,” Kim Sang-wook said, revealing a hint of disappointment.

“That’s what makes baseball difficult. Well-hit balls can result in outs, and weakly hit balls can become hits; it happens quite often.”

“CEO Kang, it must be difficult for you to cheer for one side when watching games between the two teams.”

“Rather than cheering for the victory of either team, I usually just enjoy watching our players perform well.”

However, head-to-head matchups between our players felt more regrettable than enjoyable.

Because the outcome of the match inevitably had to be divided into winners and losers.

In the top of the second inning, the Jaguars’ attack continued.

This inning featured a batting order starting with the fourth batter, Han Gyo-jin, followed by Donald Watson and Seo Sung-min.

Especially since these were players who had been in good hitting form recently, there was reason to expect a score.

As the pitcher prepared to throw, Han Gyo-jin gripped his bat.

The Buffaloes’ battery [pitcher and catcher] seemed conscious of Han Gyo-jin’s potential for a big hit and was trying to target the corners of the strike zone.

Whack!

“Strike!”

The first pitch came in so perfectly that it was untouchable, but,

Whack!

“Ball!”

Whack!

“Ball!”

The following two pitches narrowly missed the strike zone, failing to get the desired call.

Two balls and one strike.

If the following hitter hadn’t been in good condition, they might have chosen to intentionally walk the fourth batter in a situation where the ball count was becoming unfavorable like this.

However, the batter waiting in the on-deck circle was Donald Watson.

It was never a good choice to load the bases in front of Watson.

Much would depend on whether this next pitch was a ball or a strike.

The pitcher, well aware of this, took a deep breath and prepared to pitch.

And he threw the ball with all his might.

Han Gyo-jin, seeing the incoming ball, confidently swung his bat.

Clang!

The batted ball, making a crisp sound, sailed between the center fielder and the right fielder.

Right fielder Oh Seok-hoon, turning towards the fence, ran with all his might to the spot where the batted ball would land.

Meanwhile, Han Gyo-jin was running past first base to second base.

Oh Seok-hoon, who had finally caught the ball, threw it forcefully towards the second baseman.

However, it was impossible for the throw to arrive before Han Gyo-jin.

“Waaaaah-”

“Han Gyo-jin! Han Gyo-jin! Han Gyo-jin!”

The Jaguars’ fans cheered as the leadoff batter hit a double.

And soon, the fifth batter, Donald Watson, was approaching.

“Watson has a chance now,” Kim Sang-wook said, unable to take his eyes off the field with an expectant expression.

Finally, Donald Watson stepped into the batter’s box.

Since first base was empty, they might want to avoid an aggressive approach against Watson,

But the batter following him was Seo Sung-min.

He was now a player with run-producing abilities that no team could easily dismiss.

The pitcher only glanced at second base, where Han Gyo-jin stood, once before turning his head back to the catcher.

Since Han Gyo-jin wasn’t a fast runner, and there was no reason to risk him attempting to steal third base during Watson’s at-bat, it was a natural strategy.

The pitcher, feeling the pressure, took a deep breath and threw the first ball.

Whack!

“Ball!”

Perhaps due to nervousness, it greatly missed the strike zone.

Whack!

“Ball!”

Whack!

“Ball!”

The following pitches were the same.

Eventually,

Whack!

“Walk!”

Watson succeeded in getting on base without swinging once.

Zero outs, runners on first and second.

Now, the sixth batter, Seo Sung-min, was approaching the plate.

And Seo Sung-min confidently swung his bat at the first pitch.

Clang!

The batted ball off Seo Sung-min’s bat flew towards right fielder Oh Seok-hoon.

“Waaaaah-”

A hit that landed right in front of Oh Seok-hoon was made.

“Run! Run! Run!”

Meanwhile, Han Gyo-jin was running past third base to home, and Watson was running past second base to third base.

Oh Seok-hoon, who caught the ball, threw it home without hesitation.

Han Gyo-jin slid and tagged home base with his hand.

However, the ball thrown by Oh Seok-hoon flew accurately, and the catcher tagged Han Gyo-jin as soon as he caught it.

“Out!”

The umpire called out with a large motion.

Seeing this, Kim Sang-wook clapped his hands and rejoiced.

“Wow! As expected, Oh Seok-hoon’s throwing ability is truly amazing.”

“Seok-hoon’s defense has prevented quite a few runs.”

A smile naturally spread across my face as well.

In the ensuing play, the Buffaloes seemed to overcome the crisis with Oh Seok-hoon’s good defense, but eventually conceded a run after a subsequent hit.

The consolation was that they had limited the damage to one run in a situation that could have become a major crisis.

* * *

It was already the end of the 5th inning, and the mid-game cleaning was in progress,

Weeing-

Kim Sang-wook’s smartphone was ringing.

After briefly asking for my understanding, Kim Sang-wook began talking to someone.

“CEO Kang, the Major League scouts are asking if they can come to meet you now. Would that be alright?”

“Of course. Anytime.”

Kim Sang-wook, nodding at my reply, resumed the conversation in English.

After finishing the conversation, he looked at me and said,

“They’ll probably be up soon.”

“Hoo- I’m looking forward to what kind of conversation we’ll have.”

“The person we’re meeting today is a high-ranking official in the scouting team. That alone tells you that they’re not just casually interested.”

“Oho, that’s good news.”

Usually, the arrival of a high-ranking official meant they were cross-checking before making the final decision on acquiring a player.

“They already know the data on the four players better than anyone else. They’ve probably thoroughly investigated what they’re like off the field as well.”

“It sounds like they already know everything about our players?”

“Well, they’ve been watching with interest since last year. The club probably has most of the reports as well. Major League scouts aren’t ordinary people.”

“I wonder how well they know?”

I thought about what the scout I was about to meet might ask and organized in my head what kind of stories would be exchanged.

After a while, a knock was heard.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“It seems they’ve arrived.”

Kim Sang-wook jumped up and approached the door.

I also got up from my seat to prepare to greet the guests.

The door opened, and two foreigners entered.

I raised the corners of my mouth, giving them a bright smile to welcome them, but,

“Huh?”

An information window was already floating above one of the two people’s heads.

Even if that weren’t the case, it was a familiar face that seemed like I had met somewhere before.

Where did I meet them?