episode_0059

“Hey, what’s he like?”

“Who?”

“Jimaengho. You trained with him, didn’t you?”

“Oh, him? He’s a monster.”

Veteran pitcher Jung Jin-hong, assigned as the starting pitcher for the Baekgun, was fearful. He had heard rumors about Jimaengho during camp.

“Hey, none of that abstract stuff.”

He knew what a monster meant… Not getting the answer he wanted, Jin-hong turned to Baekgun’s shortstop Yoon Sung-tae, whom he had trained with in the first base group.

“Well, his power is almost like Jincheol senior’s. I wonder why he’s not playing shortstop. Well, it’s good for me.”

“Really? How does his swing look?”

“His swing speed is fierce, right? Well, he’s still a high schooler.”

Yes, a high school student. Jin-hong had faced countless high school graduates. The place where high school graduates who had just graduated from high school struggled was usually the second string.

Except for times when he was left out due to missing starting members, Jin-hong spent almost all of his professional career in the second string. High school rookies were just easy prey for him.

Dealing with high school rookies was simple. Nudge gently towards the border and throw a changeup; they would swing wildly and self-destruct. Especially after two strikes, the difficulty level became much easier.

The biggest difference between high school pitchers and pro pitchers is control and the completeness of changeups, with ball movement being a secondary factor. If a rookie saw a pro’s pitch for the first time, they would always struggle against the pro’s wall.

“Yeah, he may seem like a monster, but he’s just a high schooler. Don’t be scared, Jung Jin-hong.”

But no matter how much he tried to reassure himself, he couldn’t stop shaking. The rumors he heard were unbelievable.

– “There’s this rookie. They say his batted ball speed reaches 200 km/h.”

– “They say it sounds like a cannon shot when the ball hits the bat.”

– “They say he hit it out of the park during batting practice.”

Of course, these were exaggerated rumors. There was no reason for such a player to stay in Korea.

“Phew. Jung Jin-hong, your mental game is the problem. You have good pitches, but this mental block that makes you lose all the time! Jin-hong, please pull yourself together!”

His chronic condition of always losing to power hitters! He needed to fix it quickly… Jin-hong tried hard to calm himself down.

And as he stepped onto the mound and caught the first batter with a center field fly, his trembling gradually subsided.

“Second batter! Second base, Jimaengho!”

The coach’s shout rang out, and the batter Jin-ho, whom he had been worried about, headed to the plate. As Jimaengho stood at the plate, an unfamiliar sense of pressure began to build up within Jin-hong.

“What’s this? It feels like the plate is full, doesn’t it?”

He had seen many batters bigger than Jimaengho. However, the feeling that no matter where he threw the ball, it would be hit was not something he felt with just any pinch hitter.

“It’s dangerous…!”

Despite his fragile mental state, the intuition that had sustained his professional life began to sound the alarm. The catcher asked for a sign, but Jin-hong shook his head repeatedly.

“Why aren’t you throwing off-speed pitches to a rookie?”

He could hear the catcher’s words. But the gut feeling that throwing an off-speed pitch would immediately result in a home run made him refuse to throw until a fastball sign came. And then the fastball sign came.

A high inside fastball. A ball mix aimed at the upper swing trajectory of Jimaengho. Only then did Jin-hong nod his head.

And the first pitch.

“Strike!”

As the sound of the cool wind reached him, the first pitch safely passed through the bat and into the catcher’s mitt.

“Thank goodness.”

Jin-hong was gradually regaining his confidence.

“Why did you swing at that, you idiot!”

‘Oh, he looks nervous. I can tell he’s only seen that kind of pitcher once or twice. It took him over 10 seconds to throw the first pitch. He’s probably aiming more towards the borderline, but he’ll likely walk the batter, right? That style usually starts with one strike and then throws the ball inside.’

‘You can think to that extent now? Impressive.’

‘Who do you really recognize as a monkey? I think to that extent too.’

‘If you thought so, you would have gone for a walk.’

‘Well, that wouldn’t be fun. It’s a professional pitch; you need to feel it once.’

As Rossby said, he didn’t want to go out on a walk in his first plate appearance against a pro. No matter how unknown the pitcher might be, a pro is a pro. He wanted to feel the touch of the bat.

Moreover, starting as a starting pitcher in the Cheongbaekjeon means being among the top pitchers in the AT Thunder’s second team. He didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

‘Now, you want to throw one inside the zone, right?’

‘Slider. Outside.’

Since he’s a right-handed pitcher, there’s no need to touch a breaking ball that goes outside. I let the second pitch go by untouched.

“Strike!”

“Huh? Is this it?”

“Yeah, it’s in.”

‘It’s in, you idiot.’

It looked a bit far…. Before I knew it, I was already focused on two strikes. To put it right in the strike zone from a one-strike situation. Is this what they mean by a pro being a pro?

Normally, this would be a subtract-one situation….

“Fastball.”

“Ball.”

Knowing it had missed as soon as it was thrown, I let the third pitch go by untouched. Now the count is two strikes and one ball.

A good count for the pitcher to make a move or throw a breaking ball.

‘What do you think?’

‘I think he’s going to throw a breaking ball.’

And for hitters like me, who are like a sponge type, it was generally a count where a breaking ball was thrown. Why? Because if you catch a two-strike count and hit a home run, it’s unbearable.

‘That’s correct. Curveball. The position of the bat is towards the body, so be careful.’

If it’s a curveball, it was a ball I had seen sharply through training with Rossby. Moreover, the curveball of the pitcher seen from the waiting plate wasn’t that impressive. It was a ball I could easily hit!

The ball left the pitcher’s hand drawing a familiar trajectory, seeming to pause for a moment as if it were just right to hit. And the moment I confirmed the ball’s position, my bat was already meeting it.

Thunk!

Swinging with recoil, I threw the bat. Then I slowly headed towards first base. Skipping the ceremony since we’re on the same team anyway.

“That was a good swing.”

I high-fived the first base coach,

“Wow, your swing is sharp.”

“What do you mean.”

Rounding second base, I exchanged greetings with the keystone combo.

Thunk!

After high-fiving the third base coach,

“Well done.”

I exchanged brief greetings with Woogwanhyung who met me at home plate.

‘The second team? Nothing special.’

Easy peasy. With Rossby’s help, I felt like I could gauge the level of the second team.

‘I really wanted to see the pitch of a first-team pitcher, but it’s a shame.’

If it had been a real game, hitting a home run would have been satisfying, but since it’s just a practice game, there’s more regret than joy.

“That was good, Jimangho. I think I can recommend you to the manager with this level.”

“Thank you.”

“Just a moment.”

I was about to greet the second team hitting coach who is acting as the Green Army coach and sit on the bench, but he called me.

“Yes?”

“In a two-strike, one-ball situation, what kind of pitch were you aiming for and why?”

“Uh….”

Usually, they don’t ask this kind of question after hitting a home run, but maybe because it’s a practice game?

“Well, since it was a two-strike, one-ball count, there were two balls to spare, so I thought the pitcher was likely to throw a breaking ball. And the previous batter was caught with a curveball. So, I thought he would throw a good curveball today.”

Actually, Rossby had told me, but I also thought similarly.

“Oh, really? For a rookie, you have quite a sharp mind.”

“Thank you.”

“But don’t get cocky. First-string pitchers don’t throw such loose curves. If you knew how to throw it properly, it would have dropped lower.”

“Thank you for the advice.”

“Still, I like your approach to throwing the curveball.”

“So you liked it. From the way you speak, looks like you won’t start from the second string.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. You’re lucky. To elevate that low pitch.”

“Luck? It’s skill.”

“Haha, yes, skill indeed.”

It was Rossby who signaled it was coming towards my body, but since I was the one who elevated the low pitch, I had no shame in scoring even a single point.

“Cheeky guy.”

“Oh, maybe we don’t need Mr. Rossby anymore, given how much training you’ve done?”

“Is that so? How about trying it alone in the next at-bat?”

Tsk, he’s sulking again. Sometimes Rossby acts like this. But well, it didn’t seem like I would lose anything. After all, I already hit a home run.

“Let’s see in the next at-bat then.”

“Arrogant fellow.”

“…Will you teach me the breaking ball?”

“Get lost.”

“…Yes.”

Did I provoke him for no reason?

—

-“Swinging at high balls and low balls without discrimination makes you look like you don’t have your own zone. But be careful because if you hit them, you go.”

For his second at-bat, Lee Jun-seong, the 2nd string pitcher on the mound, recalled the words of Jung Jin-hong, who hit a home run in the first inning.

“Then I’ll gently lure him.”

Lee Jun-seong was already in his fourth year, unable to leave a mark even in the first string, so if he couldn’t show himself here, like other seniors, he might have to go to the military and risk cutting off his career. And to enter the first string, he needed to show a good performance starting from the finishing camp.

Usually, players who show a good performance in the finishing camp are invited to the spring camp.

“This is an opportunity. You’ll leave a good impression on the coaches. You can do it!”

Swung. Bang! The first pitch thrown against Jung Maeng-ho happily hit the catcher’s mitt.

“Ball.”

Huff, is this a ball? But he wasn’t even thinking of hitting it. Could it be a bluff?

“How is it? Different from Senior Jin-hong, right?”

Jung Jin-hong was a crafty pitcher with a fastball in the mid-140s and various changeups, but he was a strong fastball pitcher who could throw in the late 140s even though it was November.

“How is it, rookie? Haven’t seen a pitch like that at high school level, huh?”

He threw the next pitch, but Jung Maeng-ho showed no reaction. Of course, it became a ball, but he had no intention of swinging. Now the count was two balls, needing to put in one strike. Seeing Maeng-ho not even considering swinging at his pitch, Jun-seong felt his confidence rising.

“A slider?”

“It seems like he’s surprised by my pitches. I’ll just go with a fastball.”

“It’s risky…”

“Trust me.”

Exchanging signs with the catcher, for the third pitch, he chose a fastball. The location was in-high (high inside pitch). Jun-seong wasn’t great at control, but he had confidence in his in-high pitch after practicing it all year.

And the third pitch! The ball released from Jun-seong’s hand flew rapidly towards the strike zone.

“Caught…! Right?”

Thud! He imagined the ball satisfyingly hitting the catcher’s mitt, but reality is cruel. Jun-seong could only stare blankly as the ball flew out to the outfield.

“Please, catch it!”

Thwack! The ball bounced off the wall and into the left fielder’s glove. The hit seemed fast enough that with good relay, it could have been stopped at first base, but,

“Where…? Already past first base?”

Already between first and second base. Even if the left fielder threw, it was too late. Jun-seong hesitated.

“How…? Wasn’t that an unfamiliar speed?”

Jun-seong’s arrogance was that he tried hitting a home run even against a pitcher who threw a ball close to 100 miles per hour, and his misfortune was that the in-high pitch Jun-seong threw was the most familiar pitch for Maeng-ho.

Since all pitchers thought Maeng-ho’s weakness was an upper swing, they kept throwing high pitches! However, with monster-like strength and athletic ability, even if it was an upper swing, Ji-maengho could pass if it entered the zone.

“Nice batting!”

“Oh, if I hit it properly, it would have gone over, right?”

“Why is he throwing the same pitch three times in a row? Hey! Can’t you mix up the ball selection properly?! Is this a home run derby here?”

The coach’s words mixed in with the players’ voices.

“I’m screwed again this year. Should I just go to the military…?”

While Jun-seong was thinking about enlisting like that, Maeng-ho standing on second base was smiling brightly.

“How about that? I won, right? A double without Rosby.”

“A double with that, couldn’t turn such a crappy ball into a home run. You still have a long way to go.”

I wanted to say “Don’t force it!” but Rosby was right. It was an easy pitch, but thinking about a changeup, I was late on timing and couldn’t hit it over the fence.

Sports where a split-second difference determines whether the hit goes over or not. Baseball was such a sport.

“Tsk tsk, hitting a double without my help, truly a country of monkeys, huh? Your level is primitive.”

“I’m good at what I do! Anyway, I tried it and felt that during practice games, I could do without Rosby’s help? It feels like I’m growing a bit more when I do it alone.”

“If that’s what you think.”

“Okay, I’ll try doing it alone in practice games from now on.”

“If you try it alone, you’ll realize how lacking you are. Hehehe. But don’t get discouraged because I’m by your side. I’m just a humble monkey! I’m already looking forward to seeing your pathetic figure. Hehehe.”

“…Unlucky.”

With two games left, Maeng-ho vowed to erase that unlucky smile.