Countryside Ace

Chapter 21

Me? (1)

In baseball, when it comes to the concept of "nemesis" relationships, some attribute it to psychological factors.

They say that if you get hit hard a few times by an opponent, you'll get more timid every time you face them after that.

But some people in the Major Leagues—and Day Olson, a baseball engineer who was brought in by Father and is now working for Miners—say that's not always the case.

"Of course, you can't ignore those things. But you can't quantify psychological effects, right? And you can't explain it all in those terms."

When I was young, I had a baseball perspective that was close to old school, but now I'm different.

So I can understand at least a little what Olson is saying.

"Let's say there's a pitcher. This hypothetical pitcher has his own unique pitching form, extension (the distance from where he releases the ball to the pitching plate), release point, and a whole lot of other factors, right? And this pitcher could have various types of pitches."

To be honest, I don't understand it 100%.

"There are countless factors at play even when this pitcher throws a pitch. And the ball has its own distinct trajectory as it flies. Now, depending on the ability of the opposing batter..."

Pitcher and batter.

It's about the skills both sides, who are always facing off, possess.

Everything starts with the pitcher. The batter has to decide what to do in a split second—a mere 0.1 to 0.2 seconds.

The relationship between the pitch the pitcher throws and the swing the batter takes.

Simply put, it's like this:

How does the "usual" trajectory of Pitcher A's pitch match up with the "usual" swing of Batter B?

"There are hardly any hitters on the Stars who have a swing that can hit Hwang's sinker—the Stars' sidearm pitcher—well. That's exactly why Hwang became the winning pitcher with 6.2 innings and 1 earned run. Their hitting point is later than the moment Hwang's sinker drops."

Yesterday, Hwang Seung-tae became the winning pitcher.

"He even gave up that one run because of a mistake pitch."

The Stars' foreign batter, Alex Hosmer, just took the sinker that came right down the middle and smashed a tremendous home run.

"The tendencies of the Stars' batters are..."

In baseball, the previous season's data is sometimes very important, but sometimes it isn't.

Some players have consistent tendencies, but others can greatly improve or regress.

"They're really aggressive!"

You don't even need to see it to know that Hwang Seung-tae's sinker, which drops lightly below the zone, produced tons of ground balls.

The Stars were the team I excelled against the most. Sometimes, though, pitching well against them backfired for me.

Those players, when my ball control was shaky, would sometimes swing and miss at pitches ridiculously low and away, or just watch a mistake right down the middle.

It tricked me into thinking I was really good.

In any case, Olson concluded that there's a possibility I could become a nemesis against the Stars' batters.

"This is the average trajectory of your pitches."

On the screen, the trajectories of my pitches from practice games and exhibition matches, plus my pitches during training, were displayed.

"The Stars, other than two who consistently uppercut, mostly have a typical level swing. Considering their hitting points, your slider breaks earlier than their swing paths."

Tomorrow, I'll be starting.

Originally, I was scheduled to pitch in the last game of the three-game series against the Stars, but the head coach decided to adjust the rotation himself.

He wanted to go sidearm-lefty-righty, in that order.

"Don't get nervous, just go do your best. As long as you can maintain your pitching form, they won't be able to hit you."

I thanked Olson, who spoke with a bit of overacting mixed in.

I figured he just wanted to encourage the rookie pitcher about to make his debut.

* * *

In yesterday's game, Terry earned his first career hold, pitching 0.1 scoreless inning.

Father boldly put Terry in with 2 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd.

Terry, facing Alex Hosmer—who had hit a home run in his previous at-bat—got ahead with a 154 km/h four-seam, then struck him out swinging with a sweeper.

Gu Hyun-im, who was traded to the Stars, pitched in relief and recorded a scoreless inning.

That's exactly why, though the Stars' fans lost, they were less aggressive online than usual.

[Anyway, I thought there was no way we'd get to Hwang Seung-tae]

└ F***ing Seung-tae always throws rockets when he faces us

└ Still, with Gu Hyun-im, even losing didn't feel as bad

└ For real, even when it's right down the middle, we can't hit it, pitch quality is crazy

└ We gave up 1 loss for getting Gu Hyun-im, so give us 2 wins back, you Potato Ball bastards

Today I'm matched up against Lee Hoon-jung, a fifth-year pitcher from the Stars who was once hyped as the next Seo Tae-seung.

Whatever, he's probably like the 187th "next Seo Tae-seung".

Especially if you're a righty, tall, and throw hard—you're always the next Seo Tae-seung.

Before the game, father told me,

"We don't have a bullpen."

That's a pretty inconsiderate thing to say to a rookie about to debut.

"It's not like we have nobody, right?"

Terry, Kim Joon-seo, and Jo Sung-gyu all pitched yesterday. The day before that was a travel/rest day.

"We need to save them for tomorrow since we'll need the bullpen then. So, try to pitch at least through the 8th inning."

Honestly, rookies are in a great position—they don't have to think about this sort of thing.

But our pitching coach is the only one who knows I'm not really a rookie.

"If it gets really tough, you can stop at the 7th. Oh, if the head coach asks, just say you and I spent hours analyzing their lineup together. Dad's out."

... Analyzing?

You were lying next to me playing a mobile game till just now?

"Father?"

"You're strong against the Stars, right?"

... That's true.

But there was one hitter on the Stars that had my number.

Baek Jung-woong.

There was a time they called me "Baek Jung-woong's RBI fridge."

Well, whatever.

Even if I get hit a few times, it's my debut game. Only Father will take the heat.

* * *

Due to the spring rain that fell in the early morning, the ground was damp.

The home team tried to work on the field, but the condition of Sajik Baseball Stadium—the oldest in the KBO—wasn't great.

"You know Sajik doesn't drain well, right? Be careful when you're on defense. If you're unlucky you might blow something out. Oh, well, you know better than me anyway."

Veteran center fielder Kim Jae-beom was giving advice to Lee Seung-bin, who was starting in left field, then remembered Lee Seung-bin came from the Stars.

"No, I'm sure you played a lot more at Sajik than I did, sir."

"Really?"

Kim Jae-beom smiled.

Like every head coach, Song Moon-jung always grabs the back of his neck when there's a defensive mistake.

If it's not just an error, but a dumb play, he grabs the player's neck, not his own.

"Either way, don't lose focus out there."

"I'm learning a lot. Thank you."

Lee Seung-bin was an even better outfielder than expected.

Kim Jae-beom was always ready to pass down his know-how to diligent juniors, and Lee Seung-bin followed Kim Jae-beom around, eager to learn.

Probably, in a few years, he'll try to take over the center fielder position just as Kim Jae-beom had learned from his own seniors to secure that spot.

Head Coach Song Moon-jung clicked his tongue at the still-damp ground, then glared at the pitching coach with a sour look.

"Did you prep my son properly?"

"Would I dare not?"

"If Seo Ye-sung comes down early, you get up there."

At the head coach's grumpy words, the pitching coach rummaged in his jacket, pulled out a business card, and handed it over.

"What's this?"

"I'm just a newbie as a coach, so the pay isn't great, but as a player it's different, right? That's my agent's card, so give them a call. The negotiations won't be—whoa!"

Seo Tae-seung grinned slyly as he dodged Song Moon-jung's kick, causing the head coach to clutch the back of his neck.

"Call 119, you punk. You're giving me high blood pressure."

"Oh, come on, even I can't do player/coach/head coach all at once..."

The fielding coach, reading the room, slipped away.

It was pretty funny to observe the relationship between the head coach and pitching coach from afar, but being too close seemed risky.

"Hey! Come here!"

Maybe the pitching coach had riled him again, because the head coach actually picked up a baseball bat and started chasing after him.

Some players who were preparing before the game tried hard to suppress their laughter at the sight.

The fielding coach shouted,

"All right! All right! If you don't want to get hurt, get properly warmed up! No distractions!"

* * *

Despite the chilly weather, stars fans started trickling into Sajik stadium.

They lost yesterday's game, but it looked like there were a few more fans than the day before.

"It's stupid to come watch when Hwang Seung-tae started yesterday."

Whenever Hwang Seung-tae's name came up, stars fans would shudder.

"Isn't Miners's starter today Seo Ye-sung?"

"Yeah, Seo Tae-seung's son."

"We're gonna get smoked, aren't we?"

"Come on."

"Seriously, we can't do anything against rookie lefties."

"No way."

"Come on. He got totally rocked during the preseason."

"Shut up, doubter."

Still, most fans were hopeful they'd win since today's opponent was a high-school-drafted rookie pitcher.

"If we lose again today, it means Song Moon-jung deliberately started his ace against us."

It was just the fourth game of the season, but that's how it felt.

"We couldn't hit a thing yesterday, so surely we'll hit today."

Batting form doesn't just heat up out of nowhere—but anyway, that was everyone's hope.

"Oh? That's a Miners uniform, isn't it?"

Some Stars fans entering the stadium spotted two traveling Miners fans wearing Miners uniforms.

"Does Miners even have any fans?"

"Why wouldn't they?"

"Nah, I've never seen an away fan before."

"There are some, just not many."

Stars fans whispered among themselves, having spotted the rarest of all: a Miners away fan in Busan.

The team just launched, their record is nothing to brag about, and their home base is Gangwon—so it's almost unheard of for fans to come all the way to Busan.

What was even more unusual was that both Miners fans were elderly men.

"Both of those grandpas have Seo Ye-sung's name on their backs."

Both the tall and stern-looking old man and the big, tough-looking one were wearing Seo Ye-sung uniforms.

And one Stars fan frowned, noticing what one of the old men was holding.

"What now?"

"That old guy has a Stars' towel."

"What, is he switching teams?"

"And the old guy next to him is wearing a Vipers cap?"

Regardless of what people said or did.

The old fan holding the Stars towel grumbled.

"He could have just watched at home, coming all the way here. Geez."

"What, is it wrong to come all this way to watch my grandson's debut? And you were planning on showing up in a Stars jersey with Ye-sung's name on it."

"It's not like it's a big deal to get the jersey early if he's gonna sign as a free agent and come to the Stars anyway."

The two old men were none other than Seo Ye-sung's grandfathers.

Grandpa Seo Heung-cheol, a Stars fan, grumbled.

"And you put Ye-sung's name on your Vipers jersey, so don't talk."

The two men had been friends since childhood and were in-laws to each other.

Today, after seeing each other's unique jerseys, they agreed to a peace treaty and wore their Miners jerseys.

Just in case, they had brought spare Miners jerseys too.

Grandpa Baek Jin-yeob snorted.

"Would you want to go to the Stars? The Vipers are way better."

"In your dreams, idiot! I talked to Ye-sung yesterday and he said he's coming to the Stars when he's a free agent."

"He's just being nice because you're his grandpa. Ugh, look at this stadium, what a dump. You really want your grandson playing here?"

"Don't you know anything about history and tradition?"

"History and tradition? The Stars are just an old team, that's all."

"......."

It was a brutally honest attack.

A Gwangju Vipers fan, whose team holds the record for most KBO championships, teasing a Busan Stars fan, whose team, despite being an original club, has never once won the unified championship.

Baek Jin-yeob started poking at Seo Heung-cheol.

"And during the election, you voted for the guy who promised to build a new stadium, didn't you?"

Men never lose their childishness, no matter their age. Seo Heung-cheol shouted,

"What do you take me for!"

"I don't even need to see, I know everything."

"Every politician says they'll build us a new stadium! I don't believe it anymore!"

"It took you this many years to finally stop believing?"