The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 251

251. Korean Series (16)

“Seriously, *unnie*. What’s up with the Marlins? If our Choi Su-won did that much, shouldn’t they at least try to do well? Don’t you think?”

“Well… they’re the Marlins.”

Park Eun-jin smiled bitterly.

As a long-time Phoenix fan, Park Eun-jin could fully understand Lee Se-hee’s reaction.

“But, *unnies*. Is that *oppa* really Eun-jin *unnie’s* boyfriend? He’s so handsome.”

“Yeah, they’re so in love, it’s a true love story. Eun-jin *unnie* keeps asking if we’re going to debut in the US because of him.”

“Why? Is he going to America?”

“Yeah, something about the Major League? He’s going to America. And he’s going to make a ton of money? Like, billions?”

“What? Billions? *Unnie’s* boyfriend is really… Wow… I’m so jealous of *unnie*. Shouldn’t you just pack your bags and follow him to America?”

The youngest member, who hadn’t debuted yet, widened her eyes.

Park Eun-jin waved her hand.

“No, boyfriend? He’s just a classmate. A classmate.”

“Come on, *unnie*. I have classmates too? And who is so devoted when messaging a classmate?”

“That’s right. Last time, we were so tired from performing at the university event, but she was fixing her makeup for a video call.”

“Wow, that’s love. Love.”

Park Eun-jin’s face flushed slightly at her younger sisters’ chatter.

Meanwhile, the one still shocked by the amount of money was muttering about billions with a blank expression.

“Wait, so if it’s billions… Our company’s market cap is 170 billion…”

“Se-jung, are you still talking about billions? That’s almost the minimum. I heard it’s at least a hundred million dollars. And it could easily be three or four hundred million dollars.”

“What? Th-th-three or four hundred million dollars? Wait. So… today’s exchange rate is 1342 won… Oh my god!! Five trillion three hundred sixty-eight billion won?”

“Wow, what? Se-jung, you’re really fast at calculating.”

Se-jung looked at Park Eun-jin and asked strongly.

“Eun-jin *unnie*. You said that *oppa* isn’t your boyfriend, right?”

“Uh… uh.”

“I’m seriously asking you to introduce him to me.”

“Hey!! Kang Se-jung!! You haven’t even debuted yet. And you’re already acting like that?”

“*Unnie*, debuting isn’t important right now. I think I’ve met my ideal type. So, I’ll debut in the next life. Now that I look closely, *oppa’s* style is kind of my type. I’ll go to America and be a good wife.”

Park Eun-jin sighed as she watched her younger sisters bickering and spouting nonsense.

America… Right, America. A faraway place that takes 14 and a half hours by plane. Busan, which is three hours away by KTX [Korean Train Express, a high-speed rail system], is too far to see easily, so what about America?

On the mound, Choi Su-won wound up greatly.

Seemingly not caring about Park Eun-jin’s worries.

-Bang!!

“Strike!! Out!!”

And the result was so exhilarating that Eun-jin’s eyes welled up without her knowing.

“Hey!! Kang Se-jung!! What are you going to do!! You made Eun-jin *unnie* cry!!”

“*Unnie*, don’t cry. We can also be more successful and debut in America.”

“That’s right!! This time, we’re going to have a concert in Thailand, right? We’ll gradually increase it like that.”

***

Sometimes, things more like a comic book than a comic book happen in the world. These are miraculous events that are hard to believe even if they were deliberately planned.

However, there are 7 billion people living on Earth. And in the process of 7 billion people interacting, many events are repeated. The ‘common sense’ in ‘things that don’t make sense’ is only about 99 out of 100 times, or 999 out of 1,000 times. Considering that, 1 out of 100 times, or 1 out of 1,000 times, may not be a miracle, but just something that can happen.

Ah, of course, a person going back in time is not something that happens once in 1,000 times, but something that never happens even if you turn it back 1 trillion times, so it is a miracle.

And compared to such a miracle, the fact that I started as a pitcher in the final game of the Korean Series, and that I pitched so well in that game as if I had awakened, and that I haven’t allowed a single hit so far, can’t even be considered a miracle.

-Clang!!!

“Hit!! Jo Yu-jin!! Jo Yu-jin’s timely hit slightly 넘어가는 [neomeoganeun – passing over] the right fielder’s head!! Seo Kyung-joon on 3rd base easily scores!! Lee Joo-hyuk on 2nd base!! Doesn’t stop!! All the way home!! All the way home!! At home!!”

“Safe!!”

Also, the fact that Lee Joo-hyuk, who was on second base, came all the way home can be passed over because it’s just Lee Joo-hyuk.

But Seo Kyung-joon, Lee Joo-hyuk, and Jo Yu-jin’s consecutive hits. Could this be a miracle?

I’m sure that the probability of me pitching a perfect game today is lower than that. Still, Senior Kyu-man running to first base like his life depended on it seems to have been a bit of a stimulus.

“Bottom of the 8th!! Jo Yu-jin’s 2-RBI timely hit!! The Marlins instantly add 2 points, and now the score is 4:0!!”

Kang Ra-on, who was in the waiting batter’s box, walked to the plate.

“Ah, Braves pitcher change!! Pitcher change.”

“It’s a slightly late timing. Especially considering the importance of today’s game.”

“Jang Yao-xun is 내려가고 [naeryeogago – going down], oh? Choi Min-hyuk!! Choi Min-hyuk is 올라옵니다 [ollaopnida – coming up].”

“Choi Min-hyuk, who showed a very good performance as a starter in the last Game 4. He’s only rested for two days, but he’s 올라옵니다 [ollaopnida – coming up] to the mound as a reliever.”

“Well, if they lose today’s game, there’s no tomorrow, so it’s not a bad choice. Because the series will end in Game 7 anyway. Besides, the must-win group has been continuously mobilized in the last Games 2, 3, and 4… But if that’s the case, the timing is still a shame. From the beginning of the inning. At least when he allowed a hit, it would have been better to use Choi Min-hyuk. I think Manager Park Yu-sung was too careless because it was the bottom of the lineup.”

“You said it was 10%.”

“Yes?”

“No, I said there’s almost a 10% difference between talking to you before going to the plate and just going up quietly.”

“Ah, yes. You did.”

Lee Jung-hoon spoke to me with a strange expression.

To be honest, I was a little uneasy. It may seem like a superstition, but if it’s consistently repeated for about a season, it should be considered a kind of routine. A routine of swinging the bat after talking to me before going to the plate.

“So, which team are you going to?”

“Yes? Why are you suddenly asking that at this timing?”

“I’m asking because it’s this timing. Still, I was the closest to you this season. Well, I’ve become a little attached to this terrible team thanks to you. Thanks to you, I might even stay with the Marlins for my next FA [Free Agent contract].”

“Uh… um… That’s… But really, nothing is decided yet. There are some candidates, but they’re just candidates.”

“Then go to a big place. The one that pays the most. Preferably a big city. Like the New York Yankees or the LA Dodgers. You belong in a place like that.”

“I’ll try.”

-Clang!!!

“The third pitch!! A pulled hit!! Slightly 넘어갑니다 [neomeoganeun – passing over] the shortstop’s head!!”

“I’ll visit you later, so find out a lot of good places. And don’t pretend you don’t know me if you succeed. Got it?”

It was a perfect death flag. In baseball terms, it felt like striking out cleanly with three swing strikes.

Jjo Yu was on 2nd base from 1st base.

Kang Ra-on safely landed on 1st base.

Runners on 1st and 2nd.

Choi Min-hyuk on the mound 문질렀다 [munjilleotda – rubbed] the mound several times with his toes, as if he didn’t like the soft Marlins mound.

Lee Jung-hoon stood at the plate.

A 198cm pitcher and a 176cm batter.

When we first met, the pitcher was one of the few reliable helpers who would help me win, and the batter seemed like a troublemaker who wouldn’t be of any help compared to those who were playing house with *seonggol* [royal blood] and *jingol* [true bone, referring to the rigid class system of the ancient Silla kingdom, here implying favoritism] in the team.

And 9 months.

The reliable helper stood on the mound as a powerful enemy, and the troublemaker stood at the plate as the teammate who got along with me the best this season.

I watched Choi Min-hyuk’s ball from the waiting batter’s box.

-Bang!!!

“Strike!!”

Choi Min-hyuk is originally a pitcher who grows into one of the top pitchers in the league even in the original history. It means that even the Marlins’ suppressor couldn’t suppress his talent.

Such talent met the Braves, who are known for raising excellent prospects well. Moreover, Teacher Jo Chang-hyuk, who helped me a lot when I faced him several times, would have given direct help as a senior.

The hit that Kang Ra-on had earlier was like an ‘accident’ that happened because his body wasn’t fully warmed up, and his pitching strongly 몰아붙였다 [molabutyeotda – drove] Lee Jung-hoon.

Bottom of the 8th, 4:0. Runners on 1st and 2nd.

Lee Jung-hoon’s death flag earlier.

Choi Min-hyuk, who has been upgraded even more.

Seo Kyung-joon, Lee Joo-hyuk, Jo Yu-jin, and Kang Ra-on’s consecutive hits, which were like miracles.

And me, waiting in the waiting batter’s box.

The familiar scent of a cliché brushed past my nose.

A lucky day.

A triple play.

The game was won, but his at-bat did not come around.

-Whoosh!!!

“Strike!!”

Ball count 0-2.

The slider that 빠져나가는 [ppajyeo naganeun – escaping] the zone was really clean. It wasn’t the slider I knew from Choi Min-hyuk. It was much better than what he showed in Game 4. Even I might have been a little unsure.

And the third.

-Clang!!

Foul.

And the fourth.

Another foul.

The ball count is still 0-2.

Lee Jung-hoon, who stepped away from the plate for a moment, fixed his helmet for a moment. The hair that could be seen through it was shaggy, which was a little different from the style of Lee Jung-hoon I first met.

Fifth.

Lee Jung-hoon’s bat moved.

Just as effort cannot guarantee success, training cannot guarantee performance. Sometimes people who don’t work hard succeed, and sometimes players who are lazy have excellent results.

Life is originally like that, and professional baseball is also originally like that.

But even so, those who make an effort make an effort.

And those who train train.

Last year.

Lee Joo-hyuk and Jo Yu-jin also 열심히 휘둘렀다 [yeolsimhi hwidulleotda – swung diligently] their bats.

And Lee Jung-hoon was always next to them.

He bought the most snacks because he was a 4.2 billion won player, and he said that managing his appearance was a kind of self-management because professional baseball players are people who appear on TV, so he hadn’t gone to the hair salon that he went to once a week for almost two months.

Of course, that’s not a big deal.

Many players do that much.

If you go to the minor leagues, there are a lot of kids who are really immersed in training, forgetting to eat and sleep. If all the kids who trained with gritted teeth were good at baseball, then all the kids who played baseball in the independent baseball league would have to become pros.

But Lee Jung-hoon was a 4.2 billion won player, as he said. Yes, Lee Jung-hoon is a 30-year-old outfielder who received a 4-year, 4.2 billion won contract even while going around drinking and showing off his convertible sports car.

-Clang!!

So Seo Kyung-joon, Lee Joo-hyuk, and Jo Yu-jin’s consecutive hits were a miracle, but this hit wasn’t a miracle. This is just a 4.2 billion won outfielder finally showing a 4.2 billion won 모습 [moseup – appearance] in the last game of the year.

Game 6 of the Korean Series.

The series score is 3:2.

Bottom of the 8th, 4:0.

Runners are loaded.

Will the Braves choose a bases-loaded walk here too?

“Ah!! The Braves’ dugout doesn’t move.”

The baseball flew in.

It was a slider that I would have been confused about if I hadn’t 미리 지켜보지 [miri jikyeo boji – watched beforehand] one in Lee Jung-hoon’s at-bat earlier.

-Whoosh!!

First pitch ball.

Even though it was clearly a close game, the spectators who filled Sajik Stadium poured out relentless boos. Choi Min-hyuk on the mound took off his hat and wiped away sweat.

What would it have felt like for the 21-year-old young pitcher who was traded away, the prospect who was most 기대받았던 [gidaebadatteon – anticipated] by the team, to be booed by the fans who had been cheering for him until recently?

Second.

Outside low course.

It was definitely Choi Min-hyuk.

He 뿌렸다 [ppuryeotda – scattered/threw] his ball without 크게 흔들리지 [keuge heundeulliji – shaking greatly] even in such boos.

-Whoosh!!

Two consecutive sliders.

The spectators’ boos grew even louder.

Third.

A course that was 몰린 [mollin – cornered] a lot more than before.

It was a slider that would 지나갈 [jinagal – pass] the inside of the strike zone from deep inside.

Game 6 of the Korean Series.

Full base with a ball count of 2-0. It was the result of a 21-year-old pitcher 흔들린 [heundeullin – shaken] amidst the relentless boos of the spectators.

-Clang!!!

And that was 19.

The last ball I faced in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization].

“35 years!! The Marlins win their first championship in 35 years!!”