episode_0345

“Hey, Homestil, what’s up? Thanks to you, Hoonchan hyung’s mental state is shattered.”

“Do I have to worry about that too? Who told you to provoke him?”

“Anyway, crazy bastard. If I see you next time, I won’t be so nice.”

“If someone sees us, they might think we’re getting along today.”

After the game, at Jamsil Parking Lot. As I was signing autographs for young fans, Joo Seungcheol happened to be leaving work and approached me. But Hoonchan is the catcher, right? Joo Seungcheol had been talking so much that I was starting to remember his name now.

“By the way, Hyung, are you still getting along well with Lea?”

“Geez! Why bring that up now! What’s it to you if someone hears?”

Honestly, I wasn’t that curious, but I wanted to tease him just because his reaction was amusing. It seemed like he couldn’t resist such jokes that didn’t suit him.

‘But if I tell the truth, I’ll probably get punched, right?’

“Well, Yeonghee asked to meet up once. She’s thankful to you, you know? She said you put in a lot of effort to connect us. Anyway, thanks.”

“It’s nothing, really.”

Actually, I helped not because I wanted to but because Ji-ah was rooting for their love. Seeing Ji-ah happy made me happy too.

“Let’s hang out together later. Lea wants to introduce her members to you.”

“…Really?”

Damn, I can’t resist this. I’ve been holding back because of Ji-ah, but devouring an idol is almost every guy’s dream, so there’s no reason to refuse. Plus, if Lea is part of AiBlack, they were currently a top-tier idol group in South Korea.

“Anyway, thanks for today. Next time, I’ll win though.”

“Give it your best shot. Make me even happier next time.”

“Haha, you crazy guy. Got it. I’m off.”

“Okay, take care.”

So I parted ways with Joo Seungcheol, and the next day, I came across the news article that An Hoonchan, who had been guarding Han Cheol’s living room, had been demoted to the second team.

“What? This guy was acting all high and mighty, now he’s been demoted to the second team. Good for him. He needs to gain some experience there and come back up. Ugh… I’m too nice; that’s my problem. I shouldn’t be doing things that help rival teams like this.”

*

“Strike!”

‘Huh? They’re throwing strikes here?’

After the Children’s Day series with Han Cheol ended, the first game unfolded with Charlotte. Slightly flustered by the strike thrown in a two-out situation, I was preparing to sprint out on a deliberate ball until I entered the batter’s box, but here we go…

‘For now, let’s focus on the batter’s box.’

Although it was confusing, stray thoughts at the plate led to bad bunts, so I quickly cleared my mind of distractions. Moreover, having previously retreated with a bunt attempt on a ball that went wide outside from second base with two outs in the first inning, I needed to focus on the plate now.

“Ball!”

However, the second pitch from Jo Yong-joo was declared a ball, going wide outside. At this point, I was slightly confused.

‘I was just going to let it go, but did the pitch miss inside due to poor control?’

“Ball.”

But this time, the pitch clearly seemed to be aimed near John to induce a weak swing.

‘Oh, damn, my head hurts. Rossby, help me out!’

‘Why me?’

‘…Tell me the pitch type.’

‘This time, it’s a curveball.’

‘Curveball? Let’s just let it go. There’s no way he’ll throw one inside against me anyway.’

With a curveball of that speed, I was confident I could send it near the fence even if my timing was slightly off, so I decided to see one more pitch. And then, Jo Yong-joo’s curveball was thrown.

“Ball.”

“This one didn’t fool me. Expecting a curveball?”

“Yes. It was too obvious.”

“You spoke for no reason. Just shut up like earlier, Judy.”

Observing the catcher’s disappointed reaction, it was clear that they were determined to make a difference at this plate appearance. While I couldn’t be sure about other catchers, having watched Charlotte’s catchers for a year, I didn’t think they engaged in such psychological warfare.

“Alright, aiming this time. One strike, three balls. Perfect timing for a hit. This time, it’s definitely going into John’s zone.”

If they had intended to walk me, they wouldn’t have foolishly thrown me a curveball. Throwing me a curveball meant they were willing to risk a strong hit almost 99% of the time and induce a 1% swing-and-miss. In my experience, pitchers who threw me curves were all looking to challenge me.

So, now was the moment.

“It’s a slider.”

“Okay.”

As the pitcher’s motion concluded, the ball left his hand. A well-paced slider, fast yet curving just right.

Thunk!

“Ugh.”

However, the outcome wasn’t as favorable. It lacked the right feel from the start. The hit soared high towards the right fielder. Since last season, I had a feeling my hitting sense wasn’t at 100%. Though it seemed like an out, I still ran to first base, just in case.

– Ahhh…

Followed by a sigh, the right fielder effortlessly handled my hit. That marked the end of the inning.

“Should I have waited a bit longer?”

Regret flooded in after the hit.

“Hey, why the long face for missing one at-bat? You’re not a perfect hitter.”

“…Did you just subtly curse at me?”

Returning to the dugout with disappointment, as I waited for my turn in the on-deck circle, Choi Jin-cheol approached me, patting my shoulder.

“What’s up?”

“…It’s not about missing the hit.”

“But why the expression then?”

“I’m a bit distracted.”

“What’s up?”

Thinking a veteran like Choi Jin-cheol could alleviate my unease, I confided in him about my discomfort.

“Why do you think they didn’t pitch to me during that crucial moment?”

“Is it overthinking? …I want to say that, but it does seem odd. Not pitching to you with two outs and no runners on base is indeed strange.”

Since the Korean Series, no team had avoided pitching to me in such situations. With two outs, I couldn’t exchange outs for runs, making it a rational decision to avoid pitching to me in those scenarios.

This fact was confirmed during exhibition games. Early on, some teams tested their game senses, but as the games progressed, every team intentionally walked me in such situations.

Even Han-cheol, whom we faced in the previous game, did the same.

“But something feels off today.”

“Maybe it’s because of the Sunday game?”

“Sunday game? What happened there?”

“The steal at home plate.”

Home steal? Ah…! I had overlooked that completely. Hearing Choi Jin-cheol reminded me of the feeling I had at the plate, resolving my discomfort.

“Oh, that’s right.”

Last year, my slugging percentage was 0.991. Delving deeper, my home run rate per at-bat stood at 13.6%, nearly hitting a home run every other game. That’s why other teams avoided pitching to me.

However, the situation changed with just one home steal I made during Sunday’s game. By successfully executing the home steal, I proved that I could score a point without the help of an out count. The strategy to avoid giving points ended up creating a situation where a point was scored for free. Therefore, there was no longer a need to cut me off in situations without two outs or base runners.

“Senior, are you a genius?”

“…If you think about it a little, you could have figured it out yourself.”

This limited the situations where I would be cut off. The runner was in scoring position but first base was empty. Although the free walk was eliminated, it turned out to be a favorable situation for me. Before going to the majors, I wanted to take as many hits as possible. As Rossby said, it was enough to build a record that would get me signed at a good price in the majors, so I preferred this situation.

“I did well by running.”

And if I occasionally attempted a home steal to instill a bit more fear…

“If that happens, I won’t be cut off at every at-bat like in the previous Korean Series.”

The UG Overlords and the Korean Series. Moon Ki-taek, the manager of UG, ordered intentional walks in every at-bat to win despite enduring all the criticism. Public pressure eventually led to abandoning the strategy, but honestly, if we had persisted, wouldn’t we have won the championship?

As a result of that aftermath, a director like Moon Ki-taek was fired from UG, but there was no guarantee that a director making choices like Moon Ki-taek for the sake of winning would never emerge again.

I wasn’t particularly interested in my personal records, but seeing the fans cheering us on and So-young’s happy face, this side was definitely better.

“I didn’t intend for this situation, but there’s no need to reject it.”

Now, all that remained was hitting sense, especially for outside pitches. Even if intentional walks weren’t issued, the pitchers facing me from the preseason games onwards had a clear stance in targeting me to prevent extra-base hits.

“What can I do? I have to improve my hitting sense through continuous gameplay.”

Now it was time to go play defense, so pondering over this issue was a waste of time. When playing defense, only thoughts about defense were certain. After all, I was a pro.

“Hey, why are you standing there dazed? Get ready. You might miss a catch once.”

With determination in mind, Yoon Sung-tae couldn’t hold back and approached me.

“Do you think I’m someone who obsesses over each at-bat like you, hyung?”

“When did I ever do that, you punk?”

“Do well like your brother. You’re acting like a Charlotte bastard. Did you hit into a double play today too? If you keep coming at me so blatantly, I won’t stay quiet either.”

“What will you do if I don’t stay quiet?”

“Hyung, you know. What happens if a match-fixing suspect gets caught by me.”

I firmly told the Charlotte bastard while raising my fist. From my standpoint as someone who received commendation at the Clean Baseball Center, there were limits to tolerating such match-fixing suspects.

“I’ve considered you a close brother until now, but if you hit into a double play one more time or make an error, then I won’t stay quiet for real.”

“…You crazy bastard. Shut up.”

“Seriously, I understand that you’re from Busan and like Charlotte, but let’s keep it in check. Moderately.”

“No way! You damn bastard!”