Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 58

Spring Camp (5)

Oh Seok-hoon adjusted his grip on the bat as he walked to the plate. His face was still clouded.

It was probably too early in the season for him to be worrying about his performance.

He also wanted to impress the Major League scouts in attendance.

However, the opposing pitcher now looked not just comfortable, but downright confident.

Having easily retired the first two batters, he had every reason to feel that way.

“Play ball!”

The game resumed as Oh Seok-hoon settled into the batter’s box.

The pitcher, after a quick nod to the catcher’s sign, fired the first pitch without delay.

Thwack!

“Strike!”

The first pitch was a fastball, just as expected.

It zipped through the lowest part of the strike zone, on the opposite side of the plate from where Oh Seok-hoon stood.

Even if he connected with a pitch like that, it would likely result in a foul ball or a weak grounder to the infield.

After the strike call, Oh Seok-hoon stepped back, took a few practice swings, and seemed to gather his thoughts.

The umpire, waiting patiently, eventually gestured for Oh Seok-hoon to get back in the box.

It was a common gesture, often directed at batters who were struggling.

“Play ball!”

The game was on again with the umpire’s call.

The pitcher, after receiving the catcher’s sign, nodded once more.

The catcher’s pitch calling was excellent, and he seemed to have a great rapport with the pitcher.

The moment the pitcher raised his right leg.

“Huh? What’s this? Out of nowhere?”

Oh Seok-hoon crouched lower, choked up on the bat, and squared around to bunt.

Tap!

The ball, tapped softly by the bat, bounced a few times and trickled toward the pitcher.

He killed the speed nicely, but the placement of the bunt wasn’t ideal.

It would have been better if it had gone closer to the third baseman, but now it was an easy play for the pitcher.

However, because the opposing pitcher was left-handed, he needed a moment to fully turn his body to field the ball and throw to first.

The pitcher scooped up the ball quickly, pivoted, and fired a throw to first.

It was a clean, textbook play.

But when he turned his head to see the result at first base, Oh Seok-hoon was nowhere in sight.

Oh Seok-hoon had already touched first base with incredible speed and was slowing down.

“Wow!”

His speed was breathtaking.

The bunt wasn’t perfectly executed, and the pitcher made a good play, but he was safe with room to spare.

The pitcher, visibly surprised, could only gape in astonishment.

Oh Seok-hoon’s gamble paid off.

Since his batting wasn’t quite up to par and the opposing pitcher had such good control, it was a smart move to play unconventionally.

Although Steven Paul’s expression didn’t change much, I noticed his hands were scribbling notes rapidly.

Now, the cleanup hitter, Park Sung-joo, was stepping into the batter’s box.

Park Sung-joo’s batting form was near its peak, so I was eager to see what he would do.

His confident expression only heightened my anticipation.

Paul’s eyes lit up as the imposing figure of the cleanup hitter approached the plate.

Unlike before, the pitcher and catcher huddled, exchanging signs carefully for a long time.

The pitcher, after receiving the signs, brought his glove to his chest, glanced at first base, and paused.

And the moment he lifted his right leg.

“Huh?”

Oh Seok-hoon on first base took off for second with everything he had.

“Run! Run! Run!”

The opposing team’s dugout erupted, announcing the steal.

The catcher, barely rising from his crouch, fired the ball toward second.

The second baseman rushed to cover the bag and attempted to tag Oh Seok-hoon, but…

“Safe!”

He had successfully stolen second.

“Oh Seok-hoon, nice!”

Applause thundered from the Buffaloes’ dugout.

It was a moment that showcased his strengths perfectly.

The showdown with Park Sung-joo continued.

The first pitch was outside the strike zone, but Park Sung-joo offered at it anyway, resulting in a swing and a miss.

Now, the second pitch.

The pitcher, after getting the sign, glanced at Oh Seok-hoon on second for a long time, keeping him in check.

Then, he delivered the ball with a quick slide step [a modified pitching motion designed to be faster to home plate, making it harder for runners to steal].

Park Sung-joo seemed to anticipate a strike and swung with full force.

Whoosh.

But the ball sailed harmlessly into the catcher’s mitt.

He had thrown a changeup [a pitch designed to look like a fastball but arrives much slower] with nearly the same arm action and trajectory as a fastball.

It looked like a strike, but the speed dropped off and the ball sank, fooling the batter completely.

Park Sung-joo, caught off guard by the near-perfect changeup, could only stare in amazement.

“At that level, he could go to the Major Leagues.”

Lee Joo-hyuk, standing next to me, exclaimed.

“I agree.”

There was a reason why he was attracting the attention of Major League scouts.

The count was now 0 balls and 2 strikes, a tough situation for the batter.

From the pitcher’s perspective, it was a comfortable position, allowing him to throw a pitch to disrupt the batter’s timing.

On the other hand, since he was a pitcher with good control, he could challenge the batter with a pitch that barely clipped the strike zone.

This is why a pitcher with good control is often more dangerous than one with a blazing fastball.

The pitcher wasted no time delivering the next pitch.

It was a splitter [a type of fastball with an unusual grip that causes it to drop sharply] that came in fast and then plummeted.

“Ball!”

Fortunately, the ball dropped a little too early this time, and Park Sung-joo laid off it.

1 ball and 2 strikes.

The count was still in the pitcher’s favor.

Soon, the fourth pitch was on its way.

“Hoo.”

The pitcher threw without hesitation.

The ball hurtled toward the upper part of the strike zone at high speed.

It was a strategy to strike him out with a high fastball, the opposite of the previous low pitch.

Having just thrown a low pitch, it could deceive the batter, and it was definitely an effective strategy against home run hitters who typically used an uppercut swing.

But…

They probably didn’t realize that Park Sung-joo was different from ordinary power hitters.

Clang!

The bat, swung with lightning speed, connected squarely with the ball.

“Oh! Wow!”

The ball soared so high and far that it was hard to track.

Oh Seok-hoon, who was on second base, had already rounded third and was sprinting toward home, his legs a blur.

The hit looked like it would clear the fence, but…

Thud!

The ball slammed into the top of the fence and bounced back into play.

It was agonizingly close to being a home run.

Park Sung-joo, who reached second base easily, grinned, but couldn’t hide his disappointment.

In any case, they had managed to score a run, thanks to Oh Seok-hoon’s dash home.

They had put together a good rally against a skilled pitcher.

I turned to look at Paul.

How would he evaluate Park Sung-joo’s performance?

The game continued.

After giving up a run to Oh Seok-hoon and Park Sung-joo, the opposing pitcher regained his composure and pitched well.

Since it was still a college team, considered amateur, there was a certain instability in their defense.

However, thanks to the pitcher’s ability to escape jams, they didn’t give up any more runs.

The opposing starting pitcher reached his predetermined pitch count and left the mound after three innings.

As the fourth inning began…

“He’s coming in already.”

The pitcher who came to the mound this time was Michael Scott.

“He certainly has an aura about him, doesn’t he?”

I was curious to see what he would show.

The Buffaloes’ lower batting order was due up.

He was scheduled to pitch about two innings, so I thought I might get to see him face off against Oh Seok-hoon and Park Sung-joo.

Thwack!

Thwack!

Thwack!

“Wow……”

Scott struck out the first batter on three straight fastballs.

-I’m worried that my velocity isn’t increasing.

According to Scott’s information window, he was worried about his velocity.

But watching him pitch now, it didn’t seem like he had anything to worry about.

“His fastball is no joke.”

Lee Joo-hyuk rubbed his left palm, perhaps remembering the painful experience of catching Scott’s pitches yesterday.

“Is your hand okay?”

“I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt at all.”

But his expression didn’t quite match his words.

I turned my attention back to the field.

Scott was equally dominant against the second batter.

Thwack!

Thwack!

Whoosh.

With a powerful fastball and a slider [a breaking ball that moves laterally] that made it almost impossible for a right-handed batter to resist swinging.

Even if they managed to make contact, the ball was pushed foul by the sheer force.

Even when the bewildered batters stubbornly fouled off pitches to prolong the at-bat, the result remained the same.

He easily retired three professional batters.

Even considering that it was a practice game and the lower part of the order was up, I felt a twinge of pride as a domestic professional baseball player, seeing them overwhelmed by a college player.

The Buffaloes’ half of the inning ended, and it was their turn to bat again.

As expected, Michael Scott came out to pitch his second inning.

The Buffaloes’ lineup was starting over from the top.

Thwack!

The power of his fastball was still incredible.

It was more than a match for the Buffaloes’ leadoff hitter, who had good hitting skills.

However, in this at-bat, Scott quickly got ahead 0-2, but then threw five more pitches without getting the out.

Perhaps his concentration wavered slightly due to the constant foul balls, as more pitches started missing the strike zone.

In the end, he walked the leadoff batter.

“But he’s throwing almost exclusively fastballs this time.”

“I agree. His fastball is great, but he needs to mix in some breaking balls.”

However, he delivered another near-perfect performance against the second batter.

“I can’t figure him out at all.”

And then it was Oh Seok-hoon, the third batter, coming up again.

This time, he quickly got ahead with two fastballs.

Confidently throwing the first pitch for a strike was definitely one of his strengths.

Now, as he prepared to throw the third pitch.

The time he spent exchanging signs with the catcher was longer than ever before.

Scott shook his head, disagreeing with the catcher’s suggestion.

Only after exchanging signs several times did he finally nod and get ready to throw.

Scott took a deep breath and delivered the pitch.

Huh?

It was subtle, but the trajectory of the ball was definitely different from before.

It was a pitch with noticeably less velocity, perhaps an attempt to disrupt the batter’s timing.

The speed was slow, and the spin rate was low.

Is it a changeup?

A changeup from a pitcher who throws hard is a devastating weapon.

But this one was floating toward the strike zone without any significant movement, looking rather ordinary.

A pitch like that was nothing but batting practice for the hitter.

As expected, Oh Seok-hoon’s bat was already in motion.

Clang!

The sound of the bat hitting the ball echoed throughout the stadium.