Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 63

Opening Game of the Season (2)

As the cheers of the fans grew louder, a smile spread across Park Sung-ju’s face.

It was the moment he had longed for.

Just a year ago, fans would desperately hope that Park Sung-ju wouldn’t strike out whenever he stepped up to bat.

Now, everything had changed.

“Oh, oh, oh, oh! Park Sung-ju, home run! Blast it away, Park Sung-ju!”

Many of the fans there genuinely believed he could do something.

‘I can do it. I’m the best here.’

Park Sung-ju constantly repeated this to himself, boosting his confidence.

‘The opening game is nothing special.’

He felt more relaxed, and a smile naturally appeared on his face.

On the other hand, the pitcher on the mound was still struggling to steady his breathing.

He tried to stall for time, hoping his breathing would return to normal, but,

“Play ball.”

At the umpire’s call, he had no choice but to prepare to pitch.

As Park Sung-ju waited at the plate, Oh Seok-hoon sent a signal they had prearranged.

‘Okay. Received.’

Park Sung-ju showed no change in expression, as if nothing had happened, and focused on the pitcher.

And as the pitcher, after a lengthy exchange of signs with the catcher, finally lifted his leg to throw the ball,

“Going to second base! Second base!”

Oh Seok-hoon sprinted towards second base with all his might.

The pitcher, already off balance, was further rattled by the sudden shouts from his own teammates.

The pitch came in far below the strike zone.

The moment the catcher caught the ball and started to throw to second base,

Oh Seok-hoon was already sliding.

The catcher faked the throw, holding onto the ball.

“Safe!”

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

‘Are we going to score the first point in the first inning?’

With the runner advancing to second base so quickly, the Buffaloes fans’ expectations soared.

Creating a hit with a surprise bunt and attempting an aggressive steal on the first pitch.

Oh Seok-hoon successfully disrupted the opposing pitcher and catcher’s rhythm with his speed, making them feel flustered.

Eventually, the catcher went to the mound to talk to the pitcher.

The two players covered their mouths with their gloves and spoke for a while.

– Oh, my. Oh Seok-hoon’s speed is incredible. You can barely see his legs when he’s running.

– By the time the catcher caught the ball, he was practically already at second base. In this situation, it was a much wiser decision for the catcher not to throw.

– In an instant, there’s a runner on second. If Park Sung-ju can get a base hit here, they can definitely score.

– With Oh Seok-hoon’s speed, it should be enough.

As the catcher returned to home base, the pitcher prepared to throw again.

Park Sung-ju also focused at the plate.

‘If the pitcher is shaken and the first pitch was a ball, there’s a good chance he’ll throw a strike this time.’

As the pitcher threw, Park Sung-ju gripped his bat and swung with all his might.

Whoosh-

“Strike!”

But the ball was already in the catcher’s mitt by the time Park Sung-ju finished his swing.

– He gets a swing and a miss with a changeup here.

– He perfectly disrupted Park Sung-ju’s timing.

– Park Sung-ju probably expected a fastball to get a strike.

‘One ball, one strike. Now that the count is even, the pitcher has some breathing room [a moment to relax]. He’ll probably throw a breaking ball here.’

The pitcher glanced at Oh Seok-hoon on second base and then threw the ball.

Whump!

“Ball.”

The catcher’s mitt that caught the ball was high, near Park Sung-ju’s body.

‘I need to forget that high ball. He’ll definitely try to come in low this time.’

As Park Sung-ju predicted, the next ball came in low.

‘I feel like I can hit this one.’

Whoosh-

Crack!

“Wow!”

“Oh Seok-hoon, run, run!”

– Park Sung-ju’s batted ball shoots past the shortstop and third baseman! No matter how hard they dive, they can’t catch it!

– Oh Seok-hoon on second base cleverly avoids the ball and heads to third in an instant. He’s rushing straight for home!

– The left fielder has it now. Can he throw it home?

The left fielder, judging that there was no chance of getting him out at home, threw it towards the shortstop, who was acting as the cut-off man.

“Safe!”

Park Sung-ju gestured as if he would round first and go to second, but then returned to first base.

The Buffaloes’ score on the scoreboard changed from 0 to 1.

“Park Sung-ju! Park Sung-ju! Park Sung-ju!”

Park Sung-ju, after high-fiving the first base coach, raised his fist in joy towards the fans.

The fans’ cheers were even louder than before.

The broadcast replayed the hit several times.

– Commentator, how fast do you think Park Sung-ju’s batted ball was just now?

– It looked fast to me too. Hmm… Wouldn’t it have exceeded 160km/h [~99 mph] ?

– It was recorded at 175km/h [~109 mph]. At that speed, unless you’re unlucky and it goes straight to a defender, it’s almost guaranteed to be a hit.

– Even watching it again, the ball was already past the shortstop before he could even dive.

Oh Seok-hoon and Park Sung-ju displayed clean and perfect teamwork from their first at-bats of the season opener.

Thanks to both teams giving their all to gain the upper hand, the game remained intense.

The Hawks also continued their aggressive play, capitalizing on any gaps in the Buffaloes’ defense.

However, the game ended after the top of the 9th inning.

The final score was 2:3, a victory for the Buffaloes.

Thanks to the Buffaloes protecting the 1 point they scored in the 1st inning, Park Sung-ju became the hero of the game with the game-winning hit.

Although the game MVP [Most Valuable Player] was the Buffaloes’ new foreign pitcher, who recorded 1 earned run in 6 innings in his Korean professional baseball debut, it was a perfect start.

* * *

“Oh, oh, oh, oh! Park Sung-ju, home run! Blast it away, Park Sung-ju!”

Even after arriving home, Park Sung-ju’s cheering song echoed.

Of course, the fans hadn’t come to our house.

The voice belonged to Park Sung-ju himself.

Perhaps because the excitement from the stadium hadn’t subsided, he was still singing his cheering song at the top of his lungs.

I don’t even know how many times he’s sung it now.

Oh Seok-hoon walked around, plugging both ears.

I was worried I might start bleeding from my ears.

“How long are you going to sing?”

“Woah, woah, woah. Blast it awaaaaay, Park Sung-juuuuu!”

Looking out the window, he was now singing with real feeling.

Unable to bear it any longer, I reached out and covered Park Sung-ju’s mouth.

Even so, his excitement didn’t subside easily.

“Senior, I feel sooooo good today. The team won, and I got a hit too.”

I know you’re feeling good… but I wish you’d stop.

“You worked hard. So, take a rest now.”

“It’s nice to have a day game. The day is so long.”

He stretched out his hands and spun around in a circle like he was doing ballet.

“Yeah. You should go and prepare for tomorrow’s game.”

I tried to calm him down by patting Park Sung-ju’s back as if coaxing him.

“Woah, woah.”

“Yeah, yeah. Stop now.”

As expected, it’s not easy.

It was only after I told him that he should train hard if he wanted to hit a home run in the next game that I was able to calm him down.

Phew-

It’s quiet now.

So this is what it means to be mentally exhausted.

Only after throwing my tired body onto the sofa was I able to take out my smartphone and check the next schedule.

Tomorrow was the day Doubles’ Go Ji-hoon was scheduled to pitch.

* * *

Go Ji-hoon prepared for his practice pitches in the bullpen as usual.

It was a routine of throwing his sinker, two-seam fastball, changeup, curveball, and slider exactly 10 times each to get a feel for them.

Whump.

“Nice ball.”

Whump.

“Your pitches are looking great today too.”

The Doubles’ bullpen catcher was encouraging the starting pitcher who was about to take the mound with a loud voice.

Go Ji-hoon was seriously testing the inside and outside corners of the plate, assessing his condition for the day.

Among them, Go Ji-hoon’s curveball, which he threw from low to high, was considered a magic pitch.

But,

‘I don’t like the angle of my curveball today?’

As he threw the last, tenth curveball,

‘This isn’t it.’

After contemplating, Go Ji-hoon said to the approaching catcher.

“I’m going to throw a few more curveballs.”

“More here? Senior, you’ve thrown more than usual today.”

“The angle of change isn’t good today.”

“Still, I think you’re overdoing it.”

Go Ji-hoon gave a faint smile and tapped the bullpen catcher on the shoulder.

“It’s okay. I’ll ask for a few more.”

“It’s okay with me… then let’s do five more. You have to take the mound soon, so any more than that is too much.”

“Okay.”

At the bullpen catcher’s earnest request, Go Ji-hoon nodded.

Whump.

Whump.

That’s how he finished his routine of preparing to take the mound.

As Go Ji-hoon was quietly organizing his thoughts while taking a short break in the dugout, pitching coach Lee Sang-hak approached him.

“Ji-hoon. Don’t feel too pressured from the first game. Our team won yesterday, so you can relax a little.”

‘The team winning is one thing, and my pitching is another.’

Go Ji-hoon barely suppressed the thoughts that came to his mind.

“Yes. Don’t worry. I won’t overdo it.”

Lee Sang-hak patted Go Ji-hoon on the shoulder and left.

Left alone, Go Ji-hoon sat in the corner and tried to clear his mind by meditating.

– Today’s starting pitcher for the Doubles is Go Ji-hoon.

– He’s an underhand pitcher who represents Korea. Last season, he recorded a 4.10 ERA [Earned Run Average] while pitching 163 innings with 12 wins and 9 losses. He’s a pitcher who throws the ball almost from the ground. He’s not particularly fast, but his pitches have very good movement.

– He’ll meet the FA [Free Agent] requirements at the end of this season, right?

– That’s right. He’s a bit old for his first FA, but he’s a pitcher who can definitely get 10 wins. Many teams will probably jump in to sign him.

– Can we expect FA-roid [performance enhancement due to upcoming free agency] this season?

– From what I’ve heard, he’s been preparing very hard in the preseason. Doubles fans can look forward to it.

– What kind of performance will Go Ji-hoon show? Let’s watch together from now on.

Go Ji-hoon, who had finished his practice pitches, was ready to throw his first pitch of the season.

‘Let’s go for a quick win. Today’s goal is at least 6 innings. I need to show that I can pitch a lot of innings this year.’

Having made up his mind, Go Ji-hoon received a sign from the catcher.

It didn’t take long because he had already decided how to face the first batter.

The first pitch is a sinker that breaks inside.

Go Ji-hoon bent his back and threw the ball towards the catcher.

‘If he swings at the first pitch and gets out quickly, that’s a bonus.’