novelraw Chapter 24 : Me? (4)
Chapter 24 : Me? (4)
Me? (4)
A shutout isn't easy.
Generally, in modern baseball, a starting pitcher's pitch count is cut off around 100 pitches, so with simple math, you'd have to throw about 11 pitches per inning.
The fact that the Stars' starter, Lee Hoon-jung, threw 32 pitches in the first inning would have been considered quite a lot, even if the crowd hadn't been so fiercely angry.
And a shutout is never achieved by a pitcher's performance alone.
There were still two innings left, but the reason a shutout seemed possible was because the Stars were a team full of aggressive hitters.
On top of that, as the game went into the later innings, the Stars' batters were swinging with all their might, hoping for a home run.
"The bullpen is closed. Just pitch a shutout."
"Is a complete game okay too?"
"Don't you have confidence?"
"No, it's just, isn't throwing a complete game in your debut pretty amazing?"
"It's not amazing."
"Huh?"
There were some pitches where the ball control wavered.
The lucky part was, at those moments, the hitters became aggressive and were retired on weak contact.
*Thwack!*
It was the top of the 8th, while I was talking with Father.
Park Dae-yong sunbae hit a three-run home run.
The pitcher who surrendered the homer was, of all people, Gu Hyun-im, who had been traded to the Stars before the season opener.
Maybe because of that, you could hear an angry voice from a Stars fan above the dugout.
"Send that guy back and bring back Seung-bin, you scammers!"
Today, Lee Seung-bin sunbae had 2 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs.
But Gu Hyun-im sunbae...
"He should've done better. If he can't record a single out and gives up two walks and a home run, what is he doing?"
"Is that so? It kind of looks like the corners of your mouth went up?"
"Ahem, someone might get the wrong idea. I smiled because I liked seeing Dae-yong's home run."
Maybe it was a bit of nerves, going against his old team. Still, in his last outing, he struck out two and looked good.
While the Stars prepared their next pitcher, I spoke to Father.
"If I get a shutout, what will you give me?"
* * *
When the score gap widens, teams often give up on the game, contrary to the fans' wishes.
Especially if the starter has only allowed two hits, hasn't walked anyone, and has thrown just 75 pitches over 7 innings, yet is still throwing 155km fastballs.
Idealism and reality clash.
Some fans insist the team shouldn't give up for the fans' sake, while others say it's better to conserve the main players' stamina and prepare for the next game.
Playing 140 games in a season, you can't blame them. Using your best bullpen arms in a blowout could mean you can't use them tomorrow.
Same goes for fielders. It's about preserving stamina and giving backups experience.
― Seo Ye-sung strikes out pinch hitter Kim Eun-on! A 155km four-seam blows him away! That's the ninth strikeout of the game!
― His strength isn't dropping. He's thrown about 80 pitches... But nobody expected a high school rookie to show this kind of performance in his debut.
― No one is warming up in the bullpen! At this rate...
― Yes, he could set a record as the first high school rookie ever to throw a shutout in his debut in KBO history.
Seo Ye-sung was smiling slightly.
The reason Stars, despite having mighty offensive stats, couldn't rise to top-tier.
A weak pitching staff, poor defense, a big gap between starters and bench.
They'd even traded backup outfielder Lee Seung-bin to shore up the league's weakest bullpen, making things tougher.
One out in the bottom of the 8th.
Seo Ye-sung decided to focus on changeup-heavy pitching to save his shoulder.
He had discussed this with Yoon Bong-wan before taking the mound.
His body was still young.
Personally, he thought he could go over 100 pitches, but since this was his first real game, he planned to keep an eye on his physical state.
The high school rookie lefty's changeup poured onto the mound with crafty timing.
"Out!"
A hitter with no motivation.
"Out!"
Or a hitter frozen with nerves.
Time passed, and in the bottom of the 9th.
"Out!"
At this point, the game was all but over, so the batter gave it a full swing for a desperate home run shot.
"Strike! Out!"
A batter, completely overmatched by Seo Ye-sung's dominance, couldn't even swing properly.
The outs piled up in a flash, and now—history: the fourth shutout in a debut by a rookie, and the first ever by a high school rookie in KBO history.
Still, Jo Kyu-chan, madly in love with first pitches, stepped up to bat.
Today, he got a rare fourth chance, and was one of the two Stars hitters to collect a hit.
"That Seo Ye-sung—he's a total freak, huh?"
"How did he resist throwing the changeup?"
Stars' side reacted with a mix of admiration and annoyance.
After the 8th inning, the changeup-heavy pitching continued, and Jo Kyu-chan—with his simple brain—stood at the plate with a vacant stare, thinking:
'Changeupchangeupchangeupchangeupchangeup...'
A pitcher like Graham Donald Porter, Miners's new foreign signing, just throws his best pitch no matter what the batter expects.
But Seo Ye-sung was different.
Before his debut, people expected him to be similar to the new Miners import.
A power pitcher with two pitches: four-seam and slider.
But that was an act.
He'd laid the groundwork so people would think that way.
Tonight, he unleashed the high-velocity slider, the sweeper, and the changeup, but he hadn't even shown the two-seam yet.
He hadn't used many other slider variants, so other teams wouldn't be able to analyze him easily for some time.
He was feeling a bit giddy, but he still had a job to do.
He got the sign and went into his delivery as-is.
The batter would be sitting on the changeup.
He used the set position he'd used against Baek Jung-woong, intentionally disrupting the hitter's timing.
With a fluid, natural motion, not yet fully ingrained in his body but executed perfectly in his mind like a machine.
From the tips of his toes, through legs, hips, torso and waist, to chest-arm-fingertips.
Seo Ye-sung's smooth pitching form burst forth at maximum speed, and while Jo Kyu-chan, whose mind was full of 'changeup', tried to track the four-seam's path, he ended up hitting the bottom of the ball.
*Crack!*
Seo Ye-sung calmly signaled with his glove that he'd handle it himself, and after standing still a while, caught the ball.
The final out of the game.
Among the few Miners fans in Sajik Baseball Stadium, two elderly men in Miners uniforms hugged each other, cheering.
One of their expressions was a bit complicated, but nevertheless, it was a victory thoroughly dominated by Seo Ye-sung, Miners's first overall draft pick.
* * *
"I think I just got lucky today..."
A look of disappointment flashed across the reporters' faces.
Maybe... No, they were probably hoping I'd have a freewheeling mouth like Father.
To be honest, I was feeling quite elated.
Let's be frank.
No matter if I'm reliving my second life—even on a day like today, how could I not feel good?
So I said what the reporters wanted to hear.
"The pitching coach said he'd buy me a car if I threw a shutout, so I worked hard."
Sure, there was a hint of distortion, even some fabrication, but today was a good day.
"What kind of car did he say he'd buy?"
The reporter beamed as he asked. I decided to ditch the filter.
A rookie player who just quietly works hard at baseball?
That's okay.
But even if I tried to keep quiet, the world would never leave me alone.
If that's where things are heading, why not make it a bit more fun?
"I haven't decided yet, but my father is going to give me his card."
"His card?"
"Yeah. You know, that black one. The black one."
* * *
[Gangwon Miners 8 : 0 Busan Stars]
[Seo Ye-sung, 2-hit shutout with 10 Ks on 93 pitches against the Stars in debut!]
[Fourth-ever debut shutout, and first-ever high school rookie debut shutout in KBO history by Miners's Seo Ye-sung]
[Seo Tae-seung's son here to end the 'Second Seo Tae-seung' debate]
[Sensational rookie Seo Ye-sung silences the Stars with 155km four-seam and up to 150km slider combo]
[What was the driving force behind the shutout? Seo Ye-sung: "The pitching coach said he'd buy me a car if I threw a shutout". What kind? "Whatever I want."]
[Miners pitching coach Seo Tae-seung: "Buy him a car if he gets a shutout? Me?"]
└ "Seo Tae-seung, lol, pretending not to know, epic fail, lOLLLLL."
└ "He promised a black card, though ;;"
└ "That's on another level, a black card;;;;"
[Song Moon-jung, the head coach: "Our Ye-sung, he works hardest and listens the best."
About the car: "Pitching coach has plenty of money, just buy him one, haha."]
└ "He's already 'our Ye-sung,' LOLLL."
└ "Keep your Ye-sung, please."
└ "Serious fans are upset?"
[Stars head coach Ok Hyun-seung, shocked: "Was that Seo Tae-seung in disguise, pitching?"]
└ "This crazy guy gets beat and says that, lol."
└ "Has Okdom lost it, or what ;;"
└ "Maybe the whole batting lineup is betting against themselves?"
[Living legend Yoon Bong-wan: "He's better than Jeon Soo-jae or Kang Young-ho were as rookies."]
└ "Yoon Bong-wan always says someone's better than Jeon Soo-jae."
└ "But honestly, he really is better;;"
└ "Just one game and already better than Jeon Soo-jae or Kang Young-ho, lol."
└ "Of course, he is. It's the first-ever high school rookie debut shutout."
[Sensational debut evokes memories of 'Little Superstar' among old fans]
└ "Ye-sung, I'm so proud of you!"
└ "Look at how tall Ye-sung's gotten. I just got wider, lol."
└ "Wow, time really flies. When did he grow up so much?"
* * *
"Here."
The morning after my debut, father tossed me a credit card with a sullen look.
It was black.
"Wow."
"......"
Father's face said he disapproved. I grinned and asked,
"I heard you went broke buying a villa on Geoje Island?"
"When did I say that?"
I knew it was a joke. I just didn't think he'd forget his own jokes.
"Are you really going to buy it?"
"Yeah."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Truthfully, father never did promise me a car. When I'd asked what he'd give me for a shutout, he'd only scoffed.
"That's okay."
"I already said I'd buy one for your mom."
"I don't even have a license yet."
"......"
Father stared at me with this look of disbelief.
"Besides, don't you think the public would react if a high school rookie drives around in a Ferrari or a Lamborghini?"
"Were you really thinking of buying one?"
"Well, since you're treating, shouldn't I go for something fitting? It'd be weird to take a black card and then buy something cheap."
"You think they'll just hand you a Ferrari or a Lambo for waving a card around?"
Instead of answering, I just burst out laughing.
Honestly.
How long has it been since I came back to the past?
I never imagined this. I used to hole up in my room, drinking, crying, or pouring out inexplicable anger.
If I really thought about it, it made no sense. Turning back time?
Then coming back as a rookie, pitching a debut shutout, and joking around with Father like this?
"My son, but he really knows how to annoy me with that smile."
"Me? When?"
Father laughed in disbelief and said,
"If you're not going to buy a car, just get anything. It's your shutout reward."
"I won't decline."
I stuffed the card into my pocket.
"And now I guess the Stars fans must hate me, right?"
"Not that much."
"Well, compared to you, father..."
Father was an agent of provocation. Next to him, I was mild.
"The Stars' head coach did look a little annoyed."
"You'll take care of it, right?"
"That's not something that would even get to me. The skip will handle it."
Father made a cutting motion to his throat and snorted. Honestly, seemed a bit out of order.
"If there's a brawl, you'll cover for me?"
Sometimes, pointless fights break out in baseball. I had to bite my lip not to laugh saying it.
"A brawl?"
"Well..."
As for the head coach, whatever.
Miners was full of KBO-seasoned veterans.
With just the six or so FA players standing together, they'd add up to 200 years old.
This isn't the Major Leagues—who would dare?
But Father had come up with a different solution.
"Who in Korea would dare take on Jung-gu?"
Right, our head coach...
"And we have Timothy too."
That forearm monster...
"And if you lined up Park Dae-yong, Han Sung-yun, and Lee Tae-joon, wouldn't the three add up to almost 400 kilos?"
"... Probably not quite that much."
"Well. Anyway, I'm off. If reporters ask, tell them your dad bought you a Ferrari."
Father, with lots to do, quickly left.
Reporters, huh.
Maybe I should drop Father's name again today?