The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 65

65. Flaw (2)

“Hmm…”

Director Kwon Gyu-jong scratched his stubble, which was starting to prickle.

It had already been nine days since the start of the tournament. In that time, the Korean team had played a total of eight games. It was practically a professional-level schedule. Of course, the period was short, but the squad size for this national team was only twenty players.

Hot weather in August.

The pressure of an international competition where one loss could lead to elimination.

Up until the second Super Round game against Taiwan, it was manageable. Tension can make people sharp.

However, the moment they secured their spot in the finals with a win against Taiwan in the second Super Round game, the players’ taut tension snapped – just like that.

Of course, that didn’t mean they would lose the last Super Round game against the Netherlands. The difference in skill between Korea and the Netherlands was significant. Besides, compared to the relatively worn-out fielders, the pitchers were quite fresh. This was thanks to the many mercy rule wins and the starting pitchers eating up a lot of innings.

But the upcoming final.

Their opponent is the United States.

Of course, they had won a come-from-behind victory of 8:7 in the preliminary round.

However, objectively speaking, it was hard to deny that the United States had the upper hand. Right away, excluding Choi Soo-won, none of the other Korean hitters managed to properly hit balls over 95 mph in that game. The rest of the hits were all breaking balls or slightly weak fastballs between 93~95 mph.

It was difficult.

“Still…”

Director Kwon swallowed the words that were about to come out without him realizing it.

A glorious defeat. Honestly, who would be ashamed of losing to the Dream Team in Barcelona in ’92? At the time, Angola called a timeout at the end of the game to take a commemorative photo and lost by a triple score, but no one criticized them for it. Of course, if you ask whether the current U-18 US team is that great, that’s not the case. It’s just the best team at the prospect level. But even so, the difference in power between the US national team and the Korean national team was clear.

-Knock knock

“It’s Seong-jong.”

“Oh, Coach Choi. Come in. How are the kids?”

“I just finished giving them extra batting practice and sent them in. But even if they didn’t do so well in today’s game against the Netherlands, is this okay when the finals are the day after tomorrow?”

“It can’t be helped. Whatever the case, it’s better than leaving them as they are.”

Coach Choi nodded with a strange expression.

***

The most miserable time for an office worker in the world.

It was Monday morning.

Oh Gyu-hwan’s routine was not much different from usual. The rightmost stall in the company restroom. He sat on the toilet with the warmest seat and turned on his smartphone. The first news that caught his eye was, of course, the hottest topic in professional baseball.

[Phoenix – Marines Showdown!!]

The article was plastered right at the top of the portal’s main screen without even needing to go to the sports section.

‘Tsk, why are these guys even playing baseball? Won’t they disband?’

Double 17-game losing streak.

What’s even more of a hot topic is that one of the two teams is guaranteed to set a new all-time record of 18 consecutive losses.

That’s because the two teams’ series starts tomorrow, Tuesday.

According to experts, setting a new record might be difficult. The two teams are so evenly matched, and the starting lineups are so ingenious that they each have a foreign second starter and a fifth starter. And a match between a third starter who is worse than even the fifth starter of other teams and a foreign ace was predicted.

He swiped away the annoying article.

-LIVE-

Oh Gyu-hwan’s small eyes widened.

Come to think of it, today is the day of the U-18 game finals. The time difference between New York and Korea is 13 hours. It’s 9:01 AM now, so it’s 8:01 PM in New York. It was exactly one hour after the game started.

Oh Gyu-hwan quickly plugged in his Bluetooth earphones and pressed the LIVE video.

“Ah… The United States is stubbornly avoiding the match.”

“What should we say about this? It’s actually a rational choice. But it’s still a high school game. It’s a bit bitter that they’re so focused on winning with such adult standards.”

-CRACK!!

Choi Soo-won threw down his bat and walked to first base.

A sullen face. Having started baseball in Beijing and already being in his 18th year, Oh Gyu-hwan had seen many players so far, but he could say with certainty that this was the first time he had seen such an honest and charming player. Was that why? Usually, he would look at the score first when he turned on the game, but he was a little late this time.

‘Huh? 8:0??’

Of course, he knew it would be a difficult game. The difference in skill between the United States and Korea was clear. But even so, there was a glimmer of hope because the Korean national team had won against the US national team 8:7 a few days ago.

“This is Choi Soo-won’s third time on base this game. All intentional walks.”

“This is… unfortunate. Our viewers and the American viewers probably wanted a more exciting and romantic game from the amateurs. Look. The American fans are all booing, aren’t they?”

─TasteTheShow: Park’s hypocrisy is so bad. When we walked Alexander McDowell in the top of the first, he said that baseball is originally that kind of sportㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

─JJDY: National team games are fun to watch like that. I’m sure the foreigners are saying something similar.

─GiantHitterLee: Lee Joo-hyuk is charging up for 5 home runs in 5 at-bats today

─SoulOfAHero: Seeing what Choi Soo-won is doing, I understand what’s going on with the Marines and Phoenix. This will definitely be a fight where the loser wins.

─GoldRolex: Realistically, would he stay in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] if they do this to him? He’s going straight to the MLB [Major League Baseball] no matter what. Alexander McDowell is getting over $10 million and is being called a legendary prospect, but in my opinion, Choi Soo-won is no less than him.

─8888577: You guys are such traitors. Exporting Choi Soo-won to a foreign country and making him play in the minors is a drain on national wealth. We need to cherish him and hone his skills in Korea first and then send him straight to the majors.

─SoulOfAHero: Yeah, making him play for the Marines is more of a betrayal.

The chat room was truly a melting pot of chaos.

In reality, anyone watching the game understood that it was impossible for a comeback to happen in today’s game.

“It’s a shame. The Korean team’s hitters’ batting is too dead today. They need to be at least able to support Choi Soo-won.”

“The US team also figured out the Korean team through the last game. They’re especially weak against fastballs over 153km/h. Today’s starting pitcher for the US team, Eric Den. The average speed of his pitches today is 97 miles. That’s over 156. He’s only allowed three deflected hits in 5.1 innings.”

“It’s a ball that they’ve hardly experienced in Korea. The pitcher who throws the fastest ball among high school players right now is…”

“I know that Choi Soo-won, who is standing on first base right now, has an official record of 156.3km/h and an unofficial record of 157km/h. Other than that, Baek Ha-min’s 153km/h is the fastest ball.”

It’s the bottom of the 6th inning and the score is 8:0. One out and a runner on 1st base.

Jung Byung-cheol swung his bat – whoosh, missed.

“Strike!! Out!!”

Oh Gyu-hwan turned off his smartphone and got up from his seat.

It was the start of work about 5 minutes earlier than usual.

***

“Hey, did you see the internet reactions? The best comments on the portal’s main article were so annoying.”

“The one that said everyone except Choi Soo-won should come back by boat?”

“No, honestly, isn’t winning the silver medal a good thing? The US team was really legendary. And we beat Japan by mercy rule, too.”

“So they said they should come back even by boat? They would have had to swim across the Pacific if it wasn’t for that.”

As much as there was a lot of media attention, the reaction to the lackluster defeat in the last game was also strong.

The only one who received an exemption from that was Choi Soo-won. Well, that’s understandable because Choi Soo-won recorded 2 hits and 3 walks in 5 at-bats. He recorded hits in both at-bats after the 7th inning when the game was decided. In particular, that last two-run hit was a fast and strong hit that would have definitely gone over the fence if the angle had been a little higher.

“But don’t worry too much. People’s attention is a little focused because professional baseball isn’t open [in season]. By the time we return to Korea, the Phoenix and Marines game will be in full swing, so people who watch baseball will only watch that, right?”

“Yeah, they’re about to set the all-time record. I really feel bad for the kids who went to the Marines and Phoenix. In my opinion, those teams are teams that can’t be fixed within a few years.”

“Hey, hey, don’t say too much. What if Gyu-chan and Baek Ha-min hear you?”

It was actually a ridiculous thing.

Baek Ha-min and Jo Gyu-chan were the overall 1st and 2nd picks.

Whether the team is in last place or not, they are players who have earned an amount close to the annual salary that those who are gossiping here will be able to earn in their entire baseball career, just with their draft signing bonus.

“Hey, but I’m annoyed by that one thing.”

“What?”

“Jo Gyu-hyuk.”

“Ah, yeah. He played so badly throughout the tournament, but people are saying that he should be exempt from criticism because he hit one hit in the last game against the US. I was going to write a comment, but I held back.”

“No, that’s also true. Honestly, it’s not our fault that our batting senses disappeared at the end. I mean, we’re playing in such a tough tournament, but how can extra batting practice be a thing? It’s like something from the 80s.”

“Ah… yeah. The director was a bit like that. He even picked players based on connections and brought in guys like Jo Gyu-hyuk. Honestly, it would have been much better if Coach Choi was the director.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

When several people gather to share their opinions, there must be someone who expresses a dissenting opinion. If there is no such person, their opinions tend to become more and more extreme, and the more foolish the content of the opinion is, and the more foolish those who share the opinion are, the faster it is.

And unfortunately, Kim Tae-yoon from Gyeonghago and Yang Him-chan from Daeilgo, who were gossiping today, were faster than anyone else in the speed at which their opinions became extreme, and their conclusion was also more foolish than anyone else’s.

“Him-chan, how many Instagram followers do you have?”

“Me? I hit 8,000 this time. I had about 5,000 before the tournament, but it kept going up during the tournament. Especially when I tag Baek Ha-min and Choi Soo-won, it really goes up like crazy?”

“Shall we try to snipe the director [criticize the coach indirectly]?”

“Snipe? The director? That’s a bit much. Are you trying to get us in trouble?”

“No, you idiot. I’m not saying we should do it openly. If we just post that we’re sorry for not showing good results even after extra batting practice, people will think for themselves.”

“Oh, daebak [amazing]. Kim Tae-yoon, your brain works really well. But why are you posting that on my Instagram? You can post it on yours, right?”

“I still only have 2,000 followers.”

“So you’re trying to get out of it?”

“No, I can just like it first and leave a comment first, right?”

“Sigh… I’m a little uneasy.”

“Ah, if you’re scared, forget it.”

“Who’s scared? I’m just a little uneasy. Hey, like it right away and leave the first comment.”

Someone said that. If your body is bad, your head suffers.

One day until the U-18 national team returns to Korea.

Seven hours until the match of the century between Phoenix and Marines.

The result of the two boys, who had never had to suffer because their bodies were so good so far, using their heads swept the internet.