episode_0350

“Hey, why are you standing around so gloomily, junior?”

“Gloomily? I’m just here to say hello.”

“How’s the food in Daejeon? Does it suit your taste?”

“Is it delicious?”

“There isn’t much to do in Daejeon, right?”

“Hey, am I someone who plays around all the time? I’m busy too.”

After the practice game, Kim Juyeop, whom I met after a long time, seemed unchanged. His performance was still solid, with a batting average hovering around .300 and an OPS fluctuating around 0.7, showing that he might not be worth the 6.4 billion won they paid for him.

“Still, being in first place must make the Volcanoes fans happy.”

Of course, it’s not all thanks to Kim Juyeop that they’re in first place. If you were to pinpoint the reason why the perennial last-place team, the Volcanoes, is now in first place, it would undoubtedly be because of Lee Yong-gi…

“Mangho, long time no see.”

It must be Seonghyeon greeting me now.

“Hello, senior.”

Seonghyeon, whom I hadn’t met due to the rotation during the practice game, greeted me.

“I saw the interview. Well done.”

“Interview?”

What interview is he talking about? Is he referring to the victory interview from yesterday?

“He said he hopes I made it entertaining.”

“Oh… that?”

Could it be that he still remembers the interview we did months ago? It’s surprising that someone hailed as Korea’s best pitcher could be so petty.

“That? You don’t remember?”

“No, I don’t.”

“This guy has a terrible memory.”

“I didn’t forget.”

“So, how can I make it entertaining?”

“Well, just do your best.”

“This guy’s got some nerve. Hey, Hyeon, if Hyung does it properly, you won’t even touch the ball.”

As the two conversed, players started gathering one by one to head back to the locker room after finishing their batting practice.

“Oh, senior, hello.”

Usually, unless you’re close, you wouldn’t enter the locker room, but seeing almost all the players gathered, it seemed like Seonghyeon belonged there.

“Ju-yeop, you’ve been doing well lately.”

…Well, there was Kim Juyeop, who I had been with until last year, but from what I saw, people seemed to be flocking because of Seonghyeon.

“I’ll go in first then.”

In truth, I wanted to catch some sleep after staying up late to calm Soyeong down yesterday. Unfortunately, with today’s away game in Daejeon, I couldn’t even manage to rest on the bus. If it had been a weekend day game, I might not have coped with the fatigue.

“Thank goodness it’s Friday.”

The game is about an hour away now. That should be enough time for some shut-eye.

“Hah, Soyeong getting flustered by Hyeona’s advances yesterday was quite cute.”

“You bastard, enjoying it alone.”

Rossbi, who had been sulking since yesterday, finally spoke up.

“Sex is meant to be enjoyed alone. And we did enjoy it together during the massage yesterday. Alright, I get it. Since we’re on an away game today, let’s have fun with some new girls.”

Trying to placate the sulky Rossbi, I walked towards the dugout.

“Hey, where are you going?!”

Although I heard Kim Juyeop calling out to me, I ignored his voice and continued walking forward. At this point, he’s the enemy. There’s no need to listen to the enemy’s words.

*

“Did you see Mangho talking? He deliberately acts that way.”

“Huh?”

“He intentionally speaks rudely to provoke a response. Provoking the catcher, provoking the pitcher. Things like that. Since pitchers hardly throw at the body anymore, it’s not very effective.”

“Was that it?”

“From the dugout, he seems tough. These days, he’s good at being the youngest on the team. Well, sometimes he makes strange jokes too.”

“Surprisingly, seems like the one who uses their head, huh? Judging just by physical appearance, it doesn’t seem like they’d be good at using their brain, you know.”

“It’s all about image. Image. Most of their hitting is guess-hitting, creating situations where they anticipate what kind of pitch might come in.”

Ji Maeng-ho, as felt by Kim Ju-yeop, a former teammate at Thunders, was that kind of player. A player who could read the flow better than anyone else at bat. There had been occasions when Ji Maeng-ho had been introduced as a demon in some articles, and Kim Ju-yeop empathized with that story.

The ability to read the minds of pitchers and catchers was literally devilish. Especially, when he would signal the type of pitch to the batter from second base, it was even more so. He would even sometimes relay signs from UG, a team like that changed signs every game.

“Is that so? Sounds interesting.”

And upon hearing such words from Kim Ju-yeop, a smile graced Seong-hyun’s face. Seong-hyun himself was a pitcher with experience in mocking batters. If you were to pick Seong-hyun’s greatest strength, it was indeed his control and mound management skills.

Especially, his ability to throw the most appropriate pitch for each situation was evaluated to be top-notch even in the Major Leagues, so Seong-hyun was looking forward to competing with Ji Maeng-ho.

“Play ball!”

And the game began. In the top of the first inning, Seong-hyun was on the mound for Volcanoes, while AT’s batter’s box saw center fielder Jung Hwi-cheol, who had been playing as the leadoff hitter since yesterday’s game.

“Jung Hwi-cheol, he debuted this year, right? His batting average is .325 in 13 games. I heard he lacks power but has decent contact skills. Let’s see how he handles inside pitches.”

And as if reading Seong-hyun’s thoughts, Lee Yong-gi sent a sign that seemed to please Seong-hyun.

“Shall we try an outside slider for the first pitch?”

“Okay.”

Seong-hyun and Lee Yong-gi. The two players, considered the best battery in the country, chose an outside slider unanimously. While it might not receive high praise in the Majors,

“Strike!”

In the KBA League, it was a pitch that could hold its own among the league’s elite. Seong-hyun’s slider curved sharply from the left side of the left-handed batter towards the low outside corner, striking sharply. The speed displayed on the scoreboard was 134 km/h.

“Hmm, they said he has good contact skills, but he didn’t touch this pitch? It was meant to be hit. Well, he’s the leadoff hitter, maybe just taking a look at the ball? No need to prolong the battle then. Let’s go with a fastball.”

“Yes, understood.”

Thud!

“Foul!”

And the second pitch was thrown. A fastball inside following the outside slider. It was a textbook combination, but despite the mesmerizing effect it had on the batter, AT’s leadoff hitter Jung Hwi-cheol swung his bat as if entranced by something, and the ball curved towards third base, declared foul.

[Seong-hyun quickly secures a two-strike count!]

“Isn’t Jung Hwi-cheol a rookie after all? However, with Lee Yong-gi, regarded as the best catcher in the country, behind home plate, and Seong-hyun, evaluated as the best pitcher in Korean history, on the mound, he can’t help but feel pressured.”

“That last pitch clocked in at 140 km/h?”

“This precise control is Seong-hyun’s forte, isn’t it? Seong-hyun may casually throw a 150 mph pitch, but he can also snatch away hitters’ timing with these slow fastballs.”

“Was that last pitch a changeup?”

“Well…”

Wanting to confirm what type of pitch he had thrown, Jung Hwi-cheol asked Lee Yong-gi, but Lee Yong-gi only smiled mysteriously and did not answer. And the third pitch was thrown.

Thud!

Seeming to come straight down the middle, Jung Hwi-cheol swung his bat, and at that moment, as Seong-hyun’s pitched ball dropped sharply, Jung Hwi-cheol’s bat made contact with the upper part of the ball, sending it rolling towards the shortstop.

[This is an infield ground ball. The shortstop lightly throws to first base. One out.]

“Just now, the ball looked like a cutter, right? It clocked in at 143km/h, and there was a slight bend near the strike zone. Ah, it was a cutter.

“Out!”

He sprinted to first base, but the result was an out.

‘Sigh, got caught. As expected of Senior Seonghyun.’

Admiration-filled pitch. Moreover, the solid feeling when hitting the ball was not ordinary.

“How was the pitch?”

“I don’t even know what I got hit by.”

“It was a cutter.”

“Sigh… As expected of Senior Seonghyun.”

Having been perfectly caught off guard, Jung Huicheol had nothing to say to pass on to the next batter, Kim Suho. He simply left admiration behind as he headed back to the dugout, with Kim Suho stepping up to the plate as the second batter.

‘Hmm, it’s been a while since Hyun and Suho faced off…’

When Kim Suho last faced off against Seonghyun, it was during his rookie days before even completing his military service. Back then, Seonghyun was a pitcher who could throw 100 pitches and still manage to throw pitches around 150 km/h, striking out batters. However, Seonghyun’s current fastball sits around 140 km/h. Yet, somehow, it feels like facing the current Seonghyun is more challenging. Could it be due to the aura of a major leaguer or something like that?

“Suho, hi.”

“Yeah.”

As he stepped into the batter’s box, Lee Yongki greeted Kim Suho warmly, but Kim Suho, as usual, gave a brief reply before focusing on Seonghyun’s pitch.

‘A curveball?’

After throwing the ball, there was a faint sense of rising. Kim Suho paused his swing, waiting for the umpire’s call.

“…Strike!”

The result was a curveball hitting low on the inside corner. The ball, which seemed like it would go outside the zone, impressively targeted the low inside corner, leaving the umpire contemplating.

‘Hah, you’re calling this a strike?’

Kim Suho sighed at that strike, and

‘Oh, you’re calling this a strike here?’

Seonghyun called for a strike. In the first inning, the most crucial thing for the battery was knowing where the umpire’s zone extended. Seonghyun and Lee Yongki were quickly figuring out roughly where the strike zone ended.

“Ball.”

“Ball.”

“Strike!”

However, Kim Suho, considered one of the best hitters in the country with a keen eye, persistently battled against Seonghyun, and

Thunk!

On the fifth pitch, he managed to touch Seonghyun’s pitch.

“This hit goes high! Center fielder, Kim Juyeop, comes down to handle it. Two outs.”

However, due to just grazing near the border, it wasn’t a good hit.

“He catches it easily. Seonghyun, you started well, didn’t you?”

“They used to say Seonghyun’s weakness was the first inning, right? But today, he seems relaxed.”

“In fact, the term ‘weakness’ was only used in the Major Leagues, right? During his time in Korea, he was considered a pitcher without weaknesses, except for Seonghyun’s own complacency.”

“Now, the leadoff hitter steps up to the plate. AT has placed left-handed hitters in the lineup as usual, but what’s the point of having lefties against the best left-handed pitcher in the country, Seonghyun? What do you think, commentators?”

“Facing a pitcher like Seonghyun, playing lefty-righty games doesn’t make sense, and Coach Lee Soohyun knows that. In fact, Seonghyun’s secret weapon is the circle changeup, making him even stronger against right-handed hitters. Coach Lee Soohyun, as expected of last year’s championship-winning coach, knows the essence of the game.”

“I see. As I say this! Leadoff hitter’s first pitch swing! Second baseman easily catches it. That concludes the first inning. Seonghyun’s first inning ends with three strikeouts. Now, it’s the Volcan Falcons’ turn to attack in the bottom of the first inning.”

*

“Wow, why can’t they hit that crappy pitch?”

Shortstop groundout, center field flyout, second baseman groundout. In the first inning, the batters who went up against Seonghyun had a dismal performance. Well, even if rookie Jung Huicheol struggled, it was hard to understand how Kim Suho and Gisangju managed to produce such hits.

“Hey, try hitting it yourself.”

The pitcher, who was tidying up his batting gloves, bluntly says, “It seems like I could just hit it.”

“Hey, does it look that way from the outside? Come inside and see for yourself.”

“Is Seonghyun really that good?”

“Sigh, you have to go in and see for yourself to know.”

When watching footage of this season’s games or observing the pitches thrown today, Seonghyun’s average fastball velocity is in the mid-140s, not causing any trouble for Kim Suho or Gisangju. Looking at the footage from this season, he did throw over 150 when facing Joo Seungcheol, but apart from that instance, it seemed like Seonghyun from his prime wasn’t quite there anymore.

“Well, he did return from the majors to Korea, after all.”

From what I saw, it definitely seemed like he was still dealing with the aftermath of an injury. When watching him pitch, it didn’t seem as exciting as it used to be. Just looking at the delivery, Austin Webb, who received a pitching goggles award last year, seemed more formidable.

“Tsk, getting intimidated by Seonghyun’s reputation. In reality, he’s nothing special.”

Indeed, what’s needed in times like these is a home run. It seemed necessary to shatter the aura surrounding Seonghyun that dominates the players’ minds with a single home run, to show that Seonghyun is just an average pitcher.