Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 82

The Lazy Genius (6)

I had never been so nervous watching a game that wasn’t in the postseason.

My focus was solely on one thing.

Would So Young-joon finish the game today without making an error?

I held a small but significant hope that he might, considering how hard he had been practicing his fielding.

Today’s game was between the Pelicans and the Hawks.

The Pelicans weren’t in a great position, but the Hawks were just as shaky, so a close match was expected.

-The Pelicans and Hawks, who face off today, are unfortunately both on losing streaks.

-Both teams are struggling on offense and defense. They need something to turn their atmosphere around.

-Since both teams are on losing streaks, one of them will break it today. Which team will turn things around?

I was preparing for the game as usual, but for So Young-joon, it was a tougher day than any other.

He had been doing several times more training in the past few days.

I don’t think he even trained this much when he was in high school.

‘Will I be okay out there on defense?’

While warming up, it felt like his legs were moving on their own, regardless of his will.

After stretching and warming up, he trudged back to the dugout.

Today, he was once again in the starting lineup as the 8th batter and shortstop.

“Play ball!”

Soon after, the game started with the Pelicans on offense.

The Pelicans’ first-inning offense didn’t go smoothly, and So Young-joon didn’t get a chance to step up to the plate.

After the scoreless inning, So Young-joon grabbed his glove and headed to his defensive position as the game moved to the bottom of the first.

As the pitcher and batter began exchanging signals, So Young-joon thoroughly rubbed rosin [a sticky substance used to improve grip] on his right hand and prepared.

‘Hoo-‘

He could somewhat anticipate the type of pitch the pitcher would throw, but he couldn’t know the exact speed and direction.

Moreover, if the pitcher made a mistake and threw a bad pitch, the ball could come in an unexpected direction.

Therefore, he had to concentrate intensely every time the pitcher threw a ball.

Thwack!

The moment the ball hit the bat, he prepared to dive.

‘A pop fly.’

The batted ball soared high and flew towards where the second baseman was standing.

It was an easy out.

‘I can handle as many of these as they throw at me.’

The game continued.

Thwack!

This time, the batted ball bounced several times and rolled quickly towards second base.

It seemed too far for So Young-joon to catch.

However, So Young-joon’s body was moving towards the path of the ball without him even realizing it.

-It’s a weakly hit ground ball. The trajectory is good. It looks difficult for the shortstop to catch.

-Oh! So Young-joon caught it with a quick step.

‘Finish it accurately!’

So Young-joon quickly took the ball out of his glove and threw it with all his might, looking at the first baseman’s mitt.

“Out!”

The first base umpire stretched his fist forward and declared the out.

-Wow! So Young-joon made a fantastic play.

-It was a ground ball, but the trajectory was so good that I thought it would get through the infield. But So Young-joon chased it down and caught it.

-If you watch it in slow motion, you can see that So Young-joon took a good first step as soon as the ball hit the bat.

-And he quickly took the ball out of his glove and made an accurate throw to first base. It was a flawless play.

“Wowwwww-”

The Pelicans fans cheered enthusiastically for the great play.

As the inning ended with the final out, the Pelicans players returned to the dugout.

The Pelicans’ starting pitcher extended his glove towards So Young-joon.

“Thanks, Young-joon.”

So Young-joon smiled and gave the pitcher a high-five with his glove.

He was about to enter the dugout when,

“So Young-joon, fighting!” [a Korean phrase of encouragement, like “You can do it!”]

He heard a fan shouting from nearby.

In the top of the second inning,

As the previous Pelicans players got hits, it was So Young-joon’s turn to bat.

Two outs with runners on first and second.

It was a scoring opportunity.

-The 8th batter, So Young-joon, is stepping up to the plate. He already showed us a good defensive play in today’s game, but what about his batting?

-He currently has the most home runs on the team, but his batting average is not high at 0.230. His batting average in scoring position is also not very high. From the pitcher’s perspective, it seems wise to actively challenge So Young-joon.

So Young-joon slowly stepped into the batter’s box.

The focus of his training with Kang Hyun-woo was on defense, but his batting practice was also considerable.

He didn’t know how many times he swung the bat at the balls constantly coming out of a machine he had never seen before.

Just thinking about that moment still made him nauseous.

However, he felt like his senses were changing as he faced various speeds and breaking balls.

“So Young-joon, home run! So Young-joon, home run!”

The Pelicans fans were hoping for a refreshing home run.

Normally, he would have tried to hit a home run with a big swing to meet the fans’ expectations.

However, Kang Hyun-woo had repeated something so often during training that he was sick of hearing it.

‘Hit according to the situation.’

Kang Hyun-woo didn’t just have him swing during batting practice, but he had him practice assuming different situations.

When there were runners on base and when there weren’t, situations depending on the number of outs, and even situations where he had to carry out the manager’s strategy.

Even though it was basic knowledge that he had learned since elementary school, Kang Hyun-woo repeated it almost like brainwashing.

So, what kind of hit did the team need most right now?

The score was 0:0.

It would be best to hit a home run and score three points, but the probability wasn’t very high.

It was a good situation for the team and the starting pitcher to score the first point and take the lead.

Moreover, since it was a two-out situation, even a single hit could bring the runner from first base home.

‘Then, let’s aim to hit a single to the right.’

After organizing his thoughts, So Young-joon stood in the batter’s box and waited for the pitcher’s pitch.

The pitcher exchanged signals with the catcher and finished preparing to throw the ball.

So Young-joon also gripped his bat tightly and took his batting stance.

Bang!

“Strike!”

It was a strike coming in low on the outside.

The ball came in at such a good spot that he didn’t even think about swinging.

‘Even if I had hit that, it would have been a foul.’

So Young-joon took his batting stance again.

The pitcher, ready, threw the ball again.

Bang!

“Strike!”

This time, it was a strike that came in fully on the inside.

‘Hoo… How am I supposed to hit a ball like that?’

Following the outside ball, the inside ball was almost perfect.

0 balls and 2 strikes.

It was a count that was completely disadvantageous for the batter.

‘Take it slow. I can do it.’

So Young-joon muttered as if he were chanting a spell and stood in the batter’s box again.

-The pitcher got two strikes with a really good ball.

-When you have two strikes, the batter can’t help but feel pressured. At times like this, you have to narrow your strike zone and hit the ball to avoid being fooled by a decoy ball. Otherwise, there is a very high possibility of swinging and missing.

The pitcher looked at the catcher’s signal and shook his head several times.

He nodded on the third signal and took his pitching stance.

And he threw what might be the final decisive ball.

‘Oh, could it be?’

It looked like he was trying to throw a slider [a type of pitch that curves away from the batter] that would curve to the outside, but the ball was coming towards the center more than he thought.

At the same time as So Young-joon thought in his head, his body started to swing.

Clang!

“Waaaaaaaa!”

“Run, run!”

As soon as they heard the sound of the ball hitting, the Pelicans runners ran with all their might without looking back.

-He pushed it perfectly!

-Will the runners all be able to come in?

-The runner on second base and the runner on first base comfortably step on home base. And So Young-joon safely arrives at second base.

-The Pelicans take the lead with So Young-joon’s two-RBI [Runs Batted In] double!

“So Young-joon! So Young-joon! So Young-joon!”

The cheers of the Pelicans fans, who stood up and enthusiastically waved their cheering sticks, filled the stadium.

“Nice!”

So Young-joon raised his right hand and responded to the fans’ cheers.

-He effortlessly pushed the slider that was curving to the outside along the grain.

-So Young-joon usually swings to hit a home run. This time, he achieved a great result by hitting lightly.

Even after the Pelicans took a 2:0 lead, the game continued fiercely.

The score was tied at 5:3 at the end of the 5th inning, but in the bottom of the 7th inning, the Pelicans succeeded in scoring a large number of points, taking advantage of the Hawks’ mistakes, and the score widened to 12:6.

It seemed like they were winning smoothly, but the Hawks’ offense was fierce in the bottom of the 8th and 9th innings.

-The Pelicans bullpen is shaky again today. They are maintaining the lead after the starting pitcher went down, but there is no inning that ended cleanly with three batters out.

-Ah… As I was saying that, it’s a walk again.

Bottom of the 9th inning. Hits and walks continued.

The score was 12:10.

With only one out recorded, the bases were loaded again.

-In the end, they allow a walk and load the bases.

-There is a possibility of tying the score with just one hit. Can the Pelicans get out of this crisis?

The Pelicans fans couldn’t smile even though their team was winning.

Meanwhile, the Hawks’ 3rd batter stepped up to the plate.

-With the bases loaded, they can’t avoid it. They have to compete boldly.

The Pelicans’ closer prepared to pitch with a tense expression.

The expressions of the fielders watching this were more serious than ever.

As the ball left the pitcher’s hand,

The Hawks batter’s bat swung boldly.

Clang!

With a solid sound, the ball sped away.

The Hawks runners ran with all their might towards the next base.

But,

-Wow! So Young-joon dives and stretches out his arm to catch it. He caught it before it bounced!

-The runners have to go back to their original bases!

The runners desperately turned around to go back, but they had already run too far.

So Young-joon got up leisurely and threw the ball to the second baseman.

“Out!”

-Game over! In the 9th inning, the Pelicans turn a double play and break their long losing streak!

-Today’s game was highlighted by So Young-joon’s great defense. I hope he continues to show this kind of performance in the future.

So Young-joon and the Pelicans players were overjoyed, as if they had won the Korean Series [the championship series of the KBO League, South Korea’s professional baseball league].

“Invincible Pelicans!”

“We will love you forever, the strongest Pelicans!”

Not to mention the fans who were cheering in the stands.