Countryside Ace

Chapter 27 : We're closwwe (3)

We're closwwe (3)

"Father, why did you call up Lee Dong-wan to the first squad when you didn't even invite him to spring camp?"

I had no intention of hiding my motives or pretending otherwise, so as soon as I saw Father and confirmed no one was around, I asked directly.

"What? Lee Dong-wan?"

"Yes."

Father seemed to sense that my attitude was different from usual and asked again.

"Were you close? You weren't enemies, at least... But I don't think he was on the list of players destined for greatness later."

"We were close. Eventually, we met again as player and coach."

He nodded as if he immediately understood and responded quickly.

"He was rehabbing during camp. The call-up now was on the recommendation of the second squad head coach."

It wasn't a complicated story. I got it right away.

Lee Dong-wan was the type loved by the second squad coaching staff.

He warmed up quickly, never complained no matter when he was called up, and arrived at the training ground earlier—and left later—than anyone.

"To be honest, I didn't call him up with high expectations."

Father spoke honestly. Actually, I knew that, too. The man had never excelled as a pitcher or had a season that could be called a career high.

A free agent contract was out of the question, and he hadn't even made the protection list for the second draft—nor had any team picked him.

Just an average pitcher.

After finishing his active duty, he was a decent coach—even if most of his coaching was with the second squad.

"I know."

"There was too much to fix with the other kids, so I couldn't call them up."

That was probably true. His max velocity barely cracked the low 140s, he wasn't a lefty, and his potential wasn't all that high.

There were so many second squad pitchers to correct over time that they probably called him up simply to cover garbage innings.

I had taught him the changeup, but how he actually used it was up to him.

"If you care so much, should I give him a chance?"

Not that it mattered—he wouldn't get slotted in as the next starter, anyway.

I answered honestly.

"You'll watch him throw during training and then decide, right? If he's good, you'll use him. Isn't that it?"

"No, if you ask me to, I'll use him as the full-time fifth starter."

Father smiled with an unreadable expression. I couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"Is it okay to run a team like that?"

"What's the problem?"

* * *

Gangwon Miners' home opener.

Game against the Suwon Castlers.

Gangwon Miners put forward their ace, Graham Donald Porter, and Suwon Castlers started their homegrown pitcher Yoo Seung-geun.

The biggest strength of the Castlers' aerobic line was youth.

At just 26 in Korean age, Yoo Seung-geun, the starting right-hander, had posted a record last season of 14 wins, 7 losses, 167 innings, a 3.39 ERA, and 148 strikeouts to just 27 walks—a ball control pitcher.

Thanks to Graham Donald Porter's overwhelming pitching, nothing happened in the top of the first, and in the bottom half—

First batter for the Miners, Lee Seung-bin, judged a dropping splitter as a ball and didn't swing, but ABS called it a strike, resulting in a looking strikeout.

Second batter Woo Hyun-geun hit a changeup and grounded out to short.

Third batter Domingo Batista hit a screaming liner through the 1-2 hole for the first hit, but Yoo Seung-geun fooled even the highly selective Lee Tae-joon for a looking strikeout.

Not many fans had come, but compared to past years, more were present, sighing their disappointment.

Back on the mound at the Gangwon Miners' home stadium, the state-of-the-art, 20,000-seat GW Wintry Stadium, was the 205cm tall Graham Donald Porter.

* * *

Porter's 158 km/h four-seamer whipped past the Castlers' batter and popped into the mitt.

It was a completely different realm from outwitting batters with pitch selection or dazzling breaking balls—a power pitcher who dominated with strength.

"Strike! Out!"

Even as a two-pitch pitcher, with only a four-seam and a changeup, his pitch quality was such that batters simply couldn't catch up.

Sitting next to me, Harold Bradshaw shot me a glance as I admired the scene and commented,

"I used to throw like that when I was young."

"Don't lie."

"It's true."

"I'll go ask Father."

As I pretended to get up, Bradshaw clicked his tongue.

"Pitchers shouldn't act so rashly. Especially starting pitchers."

I sat back down and laughed.

"Damn. If I could have thrown a 98.5-mile fastball like him, I wouldn't have been able to teach you the sweeper, you know?"

Bradshaw chuckled, joking.

Hmm.

"Speed's not everything in pitching."

I'd looked into Bradshaw.

In his youth, his max velocity was about 155 km/h, and he was a completely different style of pitcher.

"But with speed, you at least have options."

"Actually, I can throw about 99 miles."

"I'll go ask your old man about that."

Bradshaw returned my comment in kind without even pretending to stand.

But it was true—I could throw a four-seam at about 99 miles (around 159 km/h).

But to do that, I'd have to completely redesign my pitching from scratch.

I'd have to adjust my motion, too.

If my body finished growing and I further trained, maybe I could climb even higher than 99 miles, but...

"Are there many cases in the Major Leagues where someone can throw that hard but deliberately lowers their velocity?"

Though I didn't say "in the Major Leagues" aloud, Bradshaw instantly grasped my meaning and replied.

"Well, sometimes. If you're confident you can handle a batter without going max effort, why bother?"

For me it was a bit different.

I simply thought it was better strategically to throw a bit slower than as fast as possible.

Meanwhile, porter finished the inning cleanly.

I stood up and held out my palm, and Porter, returning as if nothing happened, grinned and high-fived me.

"This time I'll win. Since I lost last time."

Last time Porter threw a complete game with one run allowed, and I had a shutout.

A veritable Porter fanatic, porter was a fierce competitor who embodied Father's teaching: "Try to win no matter the opponent."

I decided to play along.

"If you can."

At my reply, porter walked away like a gorilla, and Bradshaw chuckled.

"Kids these days, seriously."

Well, from his perspective, we probably both were just kids...

Anyway.

Byeong-ju, who had his debut game yesterday, looked like he'd lost some sleep.

He seemed tired but still excited from his vivid memories of his debut. He seemed desperate to get back in the game.

But...

Crack!

Bottom of the 2nd, 1 out.

Sunbae Kim Jae-beom made a nice opposite-field hit for a single.

And according to the quietly timid Byeong-ju, 'position rival' Yoon Bong-wan—

CRAAACK—!

Turned on a four-seam fastball right down the pipe for strike two and launched the first run for the team with a powerful pull shot.

"Wooaah!"

"Bong-wan hyung!"

"You'll put a hole in the roof! Take it easy!"

A two-run homer in the early, unsettled phase of the game was huge.

Even more so when a pitcher of Porter's caliber was pitching well two games in a row.

We all rose to welcome Yoon Bong-wan sunbae, and Byeong-ju wiggled his hips, gave him double thumbs up, and goofed around in front of him.

"He's a good kid. Unlike you, who advised him to use laxatives."

Though rookie Byeong-ju and KBO legend Yoon Bong-wan were worlds apart, their positions overlapped. Bradshaw watched the scene, smiling meaningfully.

"Bradshaw, did you ever try to push out Father when you played together?"

At my dumb question, Bradshaw answered incredulously.

"No, I didn't need to. In the Major Leagues, teams use about five starters, you know."

I could read the "are you stupid?" look on his slightly sarcastic face.

* * *

During the game, the broadcast camera often showed head coach Song Moon-jung and pitching coach Seo Tae-seung.

[Ever since opening day, doesn't it seem like the head coach and pitching coach argue all the time, or is it just me?]

└ Does that look like an argument to you?

└ Nothing else to watch except potato ball anyway, might as well enjoy this

└ Maybe they're close and just banter?

└ You have to be at Seo Tae-seung's level to argue with "Rapid One"

└ Lol, "Old Rapid" is grabbing his neck again XD

The two were always bickering. Assistant head coach Park Joong-gu, standing by indifferent-faced, was often treated like a robot.

[Still, since Seo Tae-seung came, haven't they recruited great foreign players and developed rookies well?]

└ Foreign players, yes, but rookie development??

└ Didn't you see Seo Ye-sung's KBO debut complete game shutout?

└ That wasn't "developed," he came pre-built, basically

└ Seo Tae-seung was only good as a player, not as a coach. Why can't Kim-Lee-Park develop?

└ It hasn't even been half a year since he became pitching coach lol

└ Just look at how well he raised his son—he's a great coach

└ Raising a super-talented son is not the same as raising average kids

└ Kim-Lee-Park were supposed to be top tier out of high school too though?

└ Seo Tae-seung's only been pitching coach for less than half a year, geniuses lol

The Miners were the kind of team that generated buzz every season by signing free agents.

Fans of players acquired as free agents would root for the Miners, even if only a little, but almost never made it their main team.

Poor performance made this even more likely.

Plus, if a FA signing made a mistake, ridicule doubled or tripled.

[Ye Ji-hoon again, seriously?]

└ Still mad they signed Ye Ji-hoon over Baek Seung-myung

└ For real, Baek Seung-myung was on the FA market

└ Did Baek turn down the Miners, or what?

└ It was scored as an error, but really, he just tried to cover too much ground

└ Ji-hoon, come on...

└ How are there still Ji-hoon stans???

Even at a home game, there were more empty seats than people, but home fans showered Porter—who finished his outing at 7 innings, 2 runs (1 earned)—with applause.

Porter himself looked slightly displeased, though.

"That was good today."

At the pitching coach Seo Tae-seung's single remark, he grinned.

Score: 4 to 2. It was close.

In the 8th, Seo Tae-seung brought in underhander Yuk Kang-oh. When healthy, he pitched brilliantly, but needed careful management.

Remembering how the Miners had collapsed last season from bullpen overload after a starter breakdown, many predicted this season's fate would also hinge on the bullpen.

Not wrong.

With previous closer Kim Hyung-seok and setup man Lee Seok-jun both gone, the Miners' bullpen was a giant question mark.

The reality was that only Yuk Kang-oh, who required close management, could be trusted out there.

It was understandable for closer Jo Sung-gyu, in his first season in the role, to have questions, but the rest of the bullpen inspired little confidence.

- Yuk Kang-oh! Two consecutive batter grounders to short, but now— Haime Gonzalez closes the gap with a solo home run!

Even a reliable card couldn't stop the situation from worsening. The score was now 4 to 3.

When Yuk Kang-oh failed to finish the inning and walked the next batter, Seo Tae-seung climbed the mound.

- Pitching change.

- Is it Terry? Yes, joe Terry is coming in to face left-handed hitter Kim Jung-tae.

- Two outs, bases empty in the top of the 8th—pretty bold timing.

[Pitching coach Seo Tae-seung's face during a mound visit.jpg]

└ Yuk Kang-oh throws his signature meatball right down the middle after falling behind 3-0, classic

└ Ye-sung, if you don't want to see this, you'll have to throw a shutout every game, get it together

└ His face looks like he's staring at an insect, hilarious

└ Yuk Kang-oh's face is killing me too

└ In the club YouTube video, Seo Tae-seung said if you pitch better than him, he'll back off

└ What if Ye-sung confronts Seo?

└ Would be a fire prodigy

└ He was always sulking with his dad on Little Superstar, so there's a chance

└ That was years ago, dummy

Anyway.

Fans and commentators buzzed about a pitcher who barely even had chances in the second squad last year coming up in a crucial spot.

But Joe Terry, feeling unlimited trust from his pitching coach who simply told him to throw strikes, was calm.

All he needed was one out. He wanted to pitch the 9th too, but that wasn't his role yet.

Joe Terry powered in a 154 km/h four-seam with an explosive delivery.

After landing a strike, he induced a foul with a 150 km/h two-seamer.

- Slider! Three pitches for a strikeout! Joe Terry delivers perfectly on Seo Tae-seung's expectations!

Not a sweeping breaking ball, but enough with his velocity to pressure the lefty.

Joe Terry let out a roar after retiring a batter. In the bullpen, Jo Sung-gyu was warming up.

"If Sung-gyu blows the save, it's all your fault. He's a born starter anyway..."

"With a bad back, he can't cover innings. If you can only throw 2–3 innings, you can't be a starter."

Fans laughed again as the camera caught the head coach and the pitching coach, thinking they must be arguing again.

In the bottom of the 9th, Jo Sung-gyu took the mound and, before his back could even bother him, finished the game with a sweeping splitter and the slider he'd learned long ago from Seo Tae-seung.

- A new "winning squad" is born for the Miners! Yuk Kang-oh, joe Terry, and newly converted closer Jo Sung-gyu shut the back door! The final score, 4 to 3—Miners win and move to 4–2, tied for second in the East Sea League! See you again tomorrow!