The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 27

Mungae’s face flushed red again.

And frankly, I thought Mungae would just back down at that point. Whatever his intentions, I was sure that with his shallow personality, he would reveal them even with this much said and respond with, ‘You crazy bastard, you’re at fault too!’ instead of ‘I’m sorry.’

But Mungae’s reaction was a little different from what I expected.

Surprisingly, he actually offered a ‘fourth apology’ right then and there.

“Hey, I don’t know why you’re so angry, but anyway, I’m sorry. So don’t be petty and let’s just drop it, huh? What’s the point of us fighting? And anyway, this league is ending for me after the Wangjungwangjeon [King of Kings Tournament], right? Still, we’ve been together for two years, so we should part with a smile at the end. Huh? Don’t you think?”

The first thought that came to my mind when I heard that was this:

‘Wow, this guy is really something…’

Of course, the world is wide and there are many crazy people. More people than you think shout ‘You crazy bastard!’ instead of ‘I’m sorry,’ and write fourth apology letters instead of apologies. But to have the six basic principles explained so clearly and still ignore them and offer a fourth apology instead of an actual apology?

“Yes, yes. I understand. Sigh, of course, we’ve been together for two years, so it’s good to end with a smile and no hard feelings. Fortunately, it ends after the Wangjungwangjeon. I understand what you’re saying, so I’ll be on my way.”

Mungae’s face contorted again.

Yeah, makes sense. Even if your intelligence level was that of an amoeba instead of Mungae, you’d be able to tell that what I’m saying is sarcastic.

“Hey, Choi Suwon.”

“Yes?”

“What makes you so great? Huh? What makes you so great that you act like that to a senior?”

“What makes me so great? I’m a baseball player who’s good at baseball.”

My timely statement of fact finally made Ahn Byeong-yeong explode.

“Ha, you little punk. You really know how to piss me off. Hey! Just because you’re good at baseball and your family is rich, do you think you’ll always be the boss? Do you think you can keep doing this when you go to pro baseball? I don’t even need to see it. With that kind of personality, who’s going to like you? That’s why the baseball team doesn’t like you either.”

“Hey, even if your mouth is crooked, you should still speak the truth. It’s not that the baseball team doesn’t like me, it’s that you’re jealous of me, senior.”

“That’s not it? The baseball team all hate you. Getting special treatment just because you’re good at baseball. Getting special treatment because your family is rich. What makes you so great that you’re the only one who commutes instead of living in the dorms? You’re used to special treatment, aren’t you? Choi Suwon is just so great.”

The fact that the dorm has a capacity of 20 people.

And the fact that thanks to me not being there, they were able to bring in Im Ji-min, who lives far away, doesn’t seem to exist in his mind right now. Well, I could make those appropriate corrections here. But it would be better to affirm the other person to make the conversation a little more pleasant.

“Yes, I am a bit great on my own.”

Could it be that the power of affirmation worked?

Finally, Mungae’s face, which had turned as red as it could, slowly began to break through the critical point.

“Hey!!! That’s enough. I’m done. What’s the point of talking to a bastard like you who doesn’t understand anything? I’m the idiot for trying to reconcile with you. Just because you know how to throw the ball fast, you’re showing off. I get annoyed just looking at your face, so get out of here right now.”

Why suddenly ‘how to throw the ball fast’ and not just ‘throw fast’?

Ah, finally all the mysteries have been solved.

I wondered why he was apologizing so out of character, but in the end, he wanted to know the secret to my sudden increase in speed.

Well, it’s not like I couldn’t tell him. The secret is nothing great, just carrying over the balance point from the leg lifting top in the connecting motion. It’s not some hidden secret, and more than anything, whether you can do it or not ultimately depends on your individual talent.

More than anything, taking the balance point isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If it were, it wouldn’t make sense for so many coaches to emphasize it. There’s a reason why they emphasize the balance point.

“Ah, so the reason you’re holding me here and being so clingy is because you think there’s some kind of secret to my increased speed and you want me to tell you? Hmm… it’s not that difficult, actually…”

A face full of conflict.

Obviously. He’s furious, but he doesn’t want to sound weak.

But was the temptation of speed too great? Surprisingly, Mungae, who had been shouting at me to get out, quickly changed his attitude. Of course, even that change of attitude was very Mungae-like.

“Then, well, tell me.”

Ugh, that arrogance. It’s as if I should kneel down and beg him to teach me. But saying that there’s nothing I can’t tell him also means that there’s no reason why I have to tell him. No, even if he knelt down and cried, ‘Sunbae-nim [senior], I want to play baseball so badly,’ and sincerely apologized, I might consider it, but why would I be kind enough to coach a guy who offers fourth apologies instead of apologizing?

Besides, what was that? ‘Tell me, then?’ No, that kind of line might work if a celebrity-level beauty said it in a coy way. It’s not a line that a Mungae with acne all over his face should be saying.

“I’ll refuse. It’s not like we care about each other that much, right?”

“Hey! Choi Suwon! You said it’s nothing. Just tell me. Wouldn’t it be beneficial for you if I threw better too?”

“Huh? Why is that?”

This was a question asked out of genuine curiosity.

No, how is it beneficial for me if Mungae throws well? What kind of thought process leads to that logic?

“Be… because we’re on the same team! It’s good for you if your teammates get stronger. Besides, are you going to throw alone in the national tournament? No, you’re not. You can’t win just because one pitcher throws well. If I throw well and lead the team to victory with you, you’ll also make a name for yourself nationwide, and it’ll be good for everyone. Jo Gyu-hyeok and Jo Yu-jin, who are close to you, will also have more opportunities to be noticed by scouts. Isn’t that right?”

Mungae, who was a little embarrassed at first when he said ‘same team,’ gradually put more strength into his words. What should I say? It’s like he’s convincing himself that it’s true as he spouts excuses.

It’s definitely not the way a normal person thinks.

“Yes, you know it well. That’s not right, senior. If you have a thinking function in that thing above your neck, try to use it. Doesn’t it seem strange? Why wouldn’t someone who likes it when teammates get stronger like it when I play baseball well?”

“Th… that’s!”

“Yes, yes, it’s easy to say. But what defines a person is their actions. Anyway, senior, I’ve listened to your bullshit today, and you have to go out as a starter tomorrow, so get some rest. Like you said, it’s almost over, right? Our relationship too. And well…”

I didn’t bother saying the last words.

Even if Mungae is a guy I hate, it would be too cruel to bring up the rest of his baseball career here.

But maybe it’s because Mungae is still in the category of human beings? He seemed to understand what I swallowed even though I didn’t say it. His chin trembled. His nostrils flared, and his clenched fist trembled as well.

I didn’t want to mix words any further here. I just turned my back and walked.

That’s when it happened.

“Hey, Choi Suwon!!!”

Mungae called out to me loudly as I walked away.

-Thud

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I’m sorry that I don’t even know what I’m specifically sorry for. But please tell me. Please…”

Ah… this is an unexpected development?

Should I call this a fourth apology? Or should I acknowledge it as an apology?

Before my eyes.

Mungae was really kneeling and crying.

***

Jo Yu-jin was a well-known defensive catcher.

Before Choi Suwon’s regression. Even in the original history, he was drafted with a batting average in the .200s, and he managed to endure 10 years in the pros, going back and forth between the first and second teams while maintaining a batting average in the .100s.

Of course, thanks to that, he got as much hate in just 10 years as a normal person wouldn’t get even if they were reincarnated a hundred times, but anyway, the fact that a hitter with a .100s batting average lasted 10 years in the pros proved that his defense was top-notch.

And among his defenses, what was especially great was this blocking.

It was like an iron wall. The moment the ball hit the ground, he quickly moved his center of gravity to the bounced location, quickly sat in a W-shape, put his mitt between his legs, and lowered his head to protect his neck.

All of those movements happen in an instant.

Jo Yu-jin, wearing a mask, gritted his teeth.

-Thwack!!

He quickly picked up the ball that hit his chest and fell in front of home plate.

Among the balls that Ahn Byeong-yeong throws, the most powerful ball is the curve. And even if a pitcher throws a curve well, it always carries the risk of a one-bounce. That’s why a catcher with perfect blocking is like a blessing from God for a curveball pitcher.

In fact, Ahn Byeong-yeong used the curve much more actively than usual when Jo Yu-jin wore the catcher’s mask.

So, if you ask whether this was the result of that one-bounced ball, Jo Yu-jin had no choice but to shake his head.

‘No, what kind of control is that…’

Bottom of the 1st inning.

One out, runners on 1st and 3rd.

The count is 1-1.

Surprisingly, the ball that Ahn Byeong-yeong just threw was a ‘fastball.’

That’s right. Ahn Byeong-yeong just slammed the fastball into the ground.

But despite that, Ahn Byeong-yeong’s expression on the mound was very good. The corners of his mouth were clearly raised. Of course, it wasn’t because he enjoyed slamming the ball into the ground.

132km/h [approximately 82 mph].

It was like a wall of lamentation for Ahn Byeong-yeong.

It was a speed that he barely reached when he threw with all his might on a day when his condition was at its best, and after recording it once two years ago, his speed hadn’t increased by even 1km/h for two years, or three years in total.

Unfortunately, the latest electronic scoreboard in Mokdong doesn’t display speed.

When the pros used it, there were various equipment, but when the pro team left, all of that equipment was withdrawn as well.

But he could instinctively tell. That he had crossed that wall of lamentation.

Of course, his control wasn’t very good, and the speed he crossed wasn’t exactly what you’d call a fastball, but what’s important is that he crossed the wall of lamentation of 132km/h.

134.2km/h [approximately 83 mph].

Ahn Byeong-yeong walked the batter.