episode_0362

“Junhu! Since it’s Jamsil, let’s take it easy! Relax!”

Before the game started, Kim Hyun-seong, who had taken over the starting catcher position due to Jung Yoon-cheol’s injury from last year, encouraged Lim Jun-hu by throwing the final pitch of practice to him, injecting some fighting spirit.

“Well, the guy who used to be a crybaby in middle school has become a starting catcher in the first team. Quite reliable, I must say.”

Kim Hyun-seong, injecting fighting spirit, now looked like a seasoned starting player, and Lim Jun-hu, standing on the mound, seemed to have significantly improved his mental state compared to when they met the day before. It seemed like my mental care had been effective.

“Anyway, he’s crazy about that girl. How can a pro athlete’s mood swing so much after meeting a girl just once?”

“…Are you talking about me?”

“…It’s not something Rosby would say.”

Putting aside the uncomfortable silence with Rosby, we geared up for today’s game. The leadoff batter for Shilla Triggers was Kim Hwan-young, who won the Golden Glove award as a shortstop last year. As a left-handed hitter who could pull quite well, special attention was needed.

Well, not just Kim Hwan-young, but Shilla’s important hitters following him—Lee Eun-chong, Park Cheol-young, Martin—all were left-handed hitters, making them a team that hit fast balls towards me, the second baseman. They had hit quite a few balls in this series too.

“Then, seniors, I’ll do my best in today’s game!”

Jun-hu also seemed determined like me, looking around the infield and greeting the seniors. It felt like I had managed the juniors well.

“Sure.”

“Keep up the fighting spirit!”

Kim Su-ho and Choi Jin-cheol also cheered Jun-hu on.

“Work hard. Don’t be a crybaby again.”

“…You’re not a senior to me.”

“Focus on the game.”

And the game began. Jun-hu, who had worked hard in the second team, threw a fast ball of 147 km/h right from the start.

“Nice pitch!”

“Today, I’m definitely in good form, right? Is it because I rested for two months and came back?”

Just as I thought that, Kim Hwan-young timed Jun-hu’s fourth pitch and swung his bat.

Thunk!

“It’s coming…!”

Thanks to the defensive shift, without moving a few steps, I was waiting for Kim Hwan-young’s hit. As the ball bounced closer, it seemed like a routine ground ball to second base. I casually brought my glove…

“Huh?”

As I reached out, the ball that was coming cleanly suddenly bounced upwards between the grass and dirt.

“Darn it, Jamsil!”

I tried to jump higher according to the bounce, but unfortunately, the ball grazed past my glove.

“Don’t throw it!”

And Kim Hwan-young had already reached first base. Damn, luck wasn’t on our side from the first batter.

“Don’t mind! Don’t mind!”

“…Isn’t it usually my job to say that?”

“Hey, don’t worry. I’ll handle it.”

“Sigh…”

“Just take a breath. I’ll take care of it, kid.”

He definitely seemed young. Maybe he couldn’t catch the ball. Well, the young guy was making the seniors uncomfortable.

“Tsk, if it were me, I would’ve caught it.”

“Isn’t Rosby a bit shorter than me by about 10cm? How did Rosby manage to catch that ball when my glove barely reached it?”

“…Shut up. You tall gorilla.”

That son of a groundhog… If I said that out loud, I’d definitely get cursed out by Rosby, so I cursed at Rosby silently and refocused on the game. The next batter was the national team regular guest, Lee Eun-chong. He seemed to have hit around .340 last year, but this season, his average had dropped to .250.

And perhaps conscious of his poor batting average, Lee Eun-chong bunted right from the start.

“A bunt from the first inning. How boring.”

Well, even though today’s Shilla Triggers’ starter Won-ho was performing well, bunting from the first inning was really a petty baseball move.

Thunk!

However, the ball touched by Lee Eun-chong fell right in front of the catcher, and Hyun-seong immediately threw off his catcher’s mask and picked up the ball.

“Second base!”

And Song Gu to second base.

“Out!”

‘Well, it seems like Lee Eun-chong failed at bunting. His hitting sense doesn’t seem to be that great. It looks like he’s not lucky either, considering he can’t even bunt properly.’

Due to Lee Eun-chong’s failed bunt, there was a runner on first base with one out. And Park Cheol-young stepped up to the plate.

‘Kim Hwan-young, Lee Eun-chong, Park Cheol-young. The cleanup hitter is a mercenary. Their batting lineup is definitely strong.’

The top order hitters of Silla Triggers, who were right below us, were easy to understand. Certainly, apart from our team, their batting lineup seemed to be the best, structurally speaking.

Thud!

‘Fast!’

Once again, Park Cheol-young’s hit came quickly towards me.

‘Uh, it’s a bit far?’

As I ran closer, Park Cheol-young’s hit got nearer. If this gets past me, it’s a single with runners on first and third! The ball hit the ground and bounced high. I swiftly threw my body to the right in line with the bounce.

And the solid sensation of the baseball in the glove.

“I got it!”

As I felt that sensation, I touched the ground, stood up, and pulled my hand out of the glove. Just as Park Cheol-young arrived at first base,

“Throw!”

At Choi Jin-cheol’s shout, I threw to first base. As Choi Jin-cheol swung his mitt, Park Cheol-young’s foot touched first base.

“….”

The umpire’s decision was prolonged.

“…Out!”

“Video! Video!”

And Park Cheol-young and Silla Triggers’ first base coach simultaneously called for a video review.

“Hey, Chul-young! Why are you so nitpicky? Anyone could see that I was faster.”

“Are you nearsighted? My foot was faster, what are you talking about?”

While discussing with Park Cheol-young during the video review, it suddenly ended.

“Out!”

“That’s why are you nitpicking with the challenge.”

“Ha, I think I was faster. Kid, just having good shoulders isn’t enough.”

Park Cheol-young, feeling regretful, returned to the dugout. Now the situation was two outs with a runner on second. A hit would tie the game, but having secured two outs gave us some breathing room.

And stepping up to bat was Silla’s mercenary hitter, Martin. As a cash-strapped team, we had brought in a mercenary who had been playing in the minors, but he was hitting over .300 with an OPS over 0.8, so caution was needed. While he was known to have good contact abilities, observing him for three days, I realized that at least his contact was quite decent.

‘Phew, a bit nervous though.’

And my anxiety turned into reality.

Crack – Ouch!

“Fast!”

“Damn it!”

Martin’s hit flew quickly towards right field. Fortunately, Baek Jung-jin, predicting the direction of the hit, prevented it from rolling further, but Eun-chong, who was the runner on second base, had already started and was crossing third base. Realizing that preventing a run with Baek Jung-jin’s shoulder was impossible, I ran forward and shouted to Baek Jung-jin.

“Hey! Give me the ball!”

Thud! Baek Jung-jin quickly threw the ball, which landed in the glove. I caught the ball, turned around, and after retrieving it, I threw it towards home plate, using the momentum.

‘Will it make it?!’

Eun-chong was near home plate, but a faster ball was heading towards the catcher’s mitt.

And at home, Hyun-seong and Eun-chong collided.

‘…Did he make it?’

The noisy Jamsil Stadium fell silent for a moment, as Hyun-seong, who had been lying down, raised the mitt.

“…Out!”

“Nice!”

-Wow!!!

-Im Jun-hoo! Im Jun-hoo! Im Jun-hoo!

“Wow, I thought we were screwed.”

Honestly, we could have given up a run, but it was significant to prevent this one point, especially considering Jun-hoo’s mental state after returning to the mound after a long time. How the starting pitcher performs in the first inning can determine the course of the game.

“Wow, it seems like 160 just came out? Maengho, well done.”

“Thank you.”

Choi Jin-cheol, who was nearby, approached and patted my shoulder.

“Maengho hyung!!”

Then, Jun-hu’s voice, who was covering plays near the home plate, could be heard. When I turned in that direction, Jun-hu took off his cap and expressed gratitude.

“Hey, I said I’d take care of it.”

“Sir, thank you.”

Approaching Jun-hu and patting his shoulder, he brightly smiled and greeted me.

“Kid, now you’re smiling. Wait for it. I’ll give you points too.”

“I will wait! Sir!”

Seeing Jun-hu smile, I felt relieved.

‘Indeed, a baseball player should be on the baseball field. How did he end up meeting the wrong woman and suffering all this time?’

Nevertheless, why do men obsess over women like that? I couldn’t understand. Perhaps men are meant to be ensnared by women.

Still, there were good aspects to such a personality. Just by introducing a new woman, he was throwing the ball with such a bright expression today.

“Jun-hu.”

“Yes, hyung.”

“In the future, don’t go all in on one woman, but meet several women to gain some experience.”

“…Huh? Can you shake the starting pitcher’s mentality like this? You’re trying to send me away because you’re close with the opposing starter, right?”

“Hey, as a senior who has lived life before you, I’m telling you.”

“Just one year older, so what.”

Seeing him react jokingly to my words, it seemed like my mental care was effective. Love is like being told to forget with a new love, and seeing a woman gradually forget with a new one made me feel relieved.

“Oh, the youngest ones get along well. Maengho, stop messing around and get ready at the plate.”

“…Yes.”

Without realizing it, I took off my glove and grabbed the bat as the umpire approached.

“Come to think of it, is today a starting matchup between Won-ho and Jun-hu?”

In a way, Won-ho was also a guy constantly exposed to similar risks as Jun-hu. He was from a wealthy family, and his baseball skills were quite decent; there were even talks about him joining the Olympic national team. He was a perfect target for gold diggers.

“If I hadn’t cared for Won-ho, he would have had a hard time too, right? It’s fortunate. If I hadn’t stopped those attempts, Won-ho’s mental state might have been shattered. After all, there’s no one like me who thinks of friends.”

Forgetting love with a new love is good, but loving someone unforgettable is even better. I planned to continue making efforts for my best friend, Won-ho.

“Well, that’s that. Baseball is baseball.”

I would make an effort to help him find true love, but I had no intention of going easy on him in baseball. I stepped into the batter’s box and focused on his pitch.

“Strike!”

A first pitch at 153 km/h. Even from the batter’s box, it felt like a powerful pitch.

‘Indeed, his skill is solid. I must continue to watch over Won-ho in the future.’