Mop-Up Pitcher (8)
"Call me hyung. Why is it so hard? Auntie, four more servings here."
Han Min-woo and Yun Je-hyun, sitting in front of the grill, couldn't hide their bewilderment.
'Is this really... the Woo-chan sunbae I know?'
Whenever the Wolves' games were broadcast on TV, he always had an expressionless face, so the image of Cho Woo-chan they had imagined was strict, stern, and serious.
On top of that, he looked really intimidating. If someone didn't know baseball well, they might mistake him for a thug.
But the Cho Woo-chan they actually got to know was a very easygoing person.
"The meat here is good, right? Every time there's a home game, I always eat meat here. See this gochujang jjigae? Since I come so often, Auntie gives it to us for free now."
"Ah, yes..."
"You two aren't eating naengmyeon? You have to eat fried rice? Just eat rice, naengmyeon, and fried rice. A stomach for meat and a stomach for rice are separate, you know."
"T-That's true."
"You don't drink alcohol? Don't drink, don't drink. I don't do that stuff. Ahem, no need to pour for me either. I'll drink on my own, so just eat your meat quickly."
"Understood."
Honestly, it was a bit of a shock because he was so different from the image they had imagined.
It would be more fitting for him to ask, 'Do you know who I am?' with a smiling face.
You shouldn't judge a person by their looks, but Cho Woo-chan looked that intimidating.
If he had been sitting expressionlessly, they wouldn't have known if the meat was going into his nose or his mouth.
'It'd be reassuring to walk around the streets with him.'
Han Min-woo revised his mental image of Cho Woo-chan.
His talkativeness and the way he sprinkled in humor from time to time softened the image of Cho Woo-chan significantly.
He felt as approachable as a neighborhood hyung they'd known for a long time, so much so that Yun Je-hyun, who had been completely stiff, was now smiling occasionally.
Like that, the three focused on their meal. With three athletes gathered together, the amount they ate was enormous.
"Min-woo."
"Yes, sunbae-nim."
"I told you to call me hyung, not sunbae. Anyway, good job today."
"You worked hard too. My sincere congratulations on today's game-winning hit."
"Were you disappointed over the past two days?"
"......?"
An abrupt question. Min-woo, who was eating meat, looked at Woo-chan with a face asking what this was all about.
Yun Je-hyun rolled his eyes wide open. He was reading the room at the sudden shift in atmosphere.
"It's not really an excuse, but players from the 2nd team come and disappear countless times a year here. Sometimes, the first-day greeting becomes their last. So there's a tendency to avoid easily giving affection to newly arrived players."
"Ah... Yes."
"I'm sorry to say this, but hyung honestly thought you wouldn't last in the 1st team, Min-woo. This world is pretty small, you know. And there were rumors."
"That's right."
"Didn't you go up to the mound several times with the Dolphins only to get pulled? So honestly, I thought you'd get lit up in today's game and go straight down to the 2nd team."
Woo-chan spoke while looking down at his soju glass. Min-woo picked up the soju bottle on the table and filled the empty glass.
'Well, that could happen.'
Honestly, Min-woo didn't mind much.
Because he thought it was natural to think that way.
After being hit by a line drive, Min-woo's life turned 180 degrees. For a pitcher whose heart should beat the fastest on the mound, having that place become a source of terror was a truly massive problem.
He really tried everything. He got counseling, received drug treatments. But there was no improvement at all.
If it weren't for the BnB status window, and if he hadn't gained the special ability, he would have definitely been lit up and sent down to the 2nd team in today's game too.
And then he would have been clenching his teeth again, holding back tears.
Woo-chan continued speaking.
"In that sense, you were so cool today."
"......?"
"Everyone had given up on the game. They were accepting a 5-game losing streak as a given. The starting pitcher was pulled due to injury, we were already down by 5 runs in the top of the 3rd inning, and you came up to the mound. Honestly, even Young-seung hyung—no, Chief Coach Kim Young-seung—had given up on today's game, I thought."
"......"
"But watching you pitch, I felt a lot of things. I've seen a lot of 2nd team players come up and try hard. Because they're desperate. It's natural to want to try hard even when you're losing."
"Yes."
"But you were a bit different. It wasn't the concept of trying hard or being desperate; how should I say it, I felt this desire to win, like you would absolutely take down this batter no matter what?"
"Ah..."
It was embarrassing.
The reason Min-woo was so determined to take down the batters was to earn BnB points.
But he didn't bother to correct him. Regardless of the reason, it was an undeniable fact that Min-woo had pitched to fight and beat the batters in today's game.
"Thank you."
"I welcome both of you to our team. I look forward to working with you. If you have any hardships, tell me anytime. You too, Je-hyun."
"Yes, understood."
"Please take care of us."
Min-woo and Je-hyun bowed their heads.
Their appearance was like people entering the gangster world.
It was then.
"Ah, today's game was really fun. Right?"
"Yeah. Who knew there'd be a comeback there? My friend said he was coming today, but he already left."
Three adult men entered the meat restaurant where they were eating. The unique thing was that all three were wearing Wolves uniforms.
At that moment, Min-woo's expression completely changed.
"......?"
"What's wrong, Min-woo?"
"Sunbae-nim, excuse me for a moment. Je-hyun, give me three balls if you have any left."
Leaving behind Yun Je-hyun and Cho Woo-chan tilting their heads in confusion, Min-woo approached the three men.
Then, with a gentle smile, he asked.
"Would you like an autograph?"
"Excuse me?"
"I'll give you an autograph."
"Who are... Oh! Han Min-woo, the pitcher from today's game!"
"Yes, I'm Han Min-woo. I'll give you my autograph."
"Uh... I-It's okay."
"Not at all. It's only natural to give autographs for the fans."
"T-Thank you..."
Min-woo signed the baseballs he received from Je-hyun and handed them over to the three men.
[
[
'Got another one done with this.'
Min-woo smiled happily at gaining points from an unexpected place.
But Cho Woo-chan and Yun Je-hyun, who didn't know what was going on, couldn't hide their bewilderment.
"Is he always like that?"
"......"
Je-hyun thought.
Even though he respected his senior, he wanted to pretend he didn't know him today.
The next afternoon.
[Current condition is 42%, limit pitch count is 0.]
[Your body has not fully recovered. If you overexert yourself pitching in today's game, there may be long-term physical damage.]
Arriving at work just past noon as usual, Min-woo started stretching. Even the day after a game, there was a daily quest.
The difference from usual was that they were mostly related to the body's recovery.
The hitting coach, seeing Min-woo like that, approached and asked.
"You should have rested well before coming, why did you come so early? I told you that you don't have to participate in training today."
Starting pitchers do not participate in training the day after their start. Throwing nearly 100 pitches is extremely hard work.
It's so hard that they lose over 2kg of body weight, and their shoulders swell up. Their arms can't even be raised above their chests. It was truly like grinding down a person's shoulder to take responsibility for one game.
So the organization makes considerations to allow them to focus entirely on recovery. The work hours are relaxed. They just need to be in the dugout before the game starts.
In that sense, although Min-woo wasn't a starting pitcher, he had pitched 3 innings in long relief in yesterday's game. He was receiving similar treatment to a starting pitcher for today.
"It's my routine. I'll just do some stretching and running, then rest well."
"Alright, alright. Don't even go near the bullpen. Got it?"
"Understood."
The hitting coach was a really good person. Even though Min-woo wasn't a player in the position he had to care for, he always treated Min-woo sincerely.
As Min-woo nodded obediently, the hitting coach patted Min-woo's left shoulder.
"Just keep doing what you're doing now, just like now. Then you'll definitely see your name in the 1st team roster every year."
"Yes."
"You pitched really well yesterday. Because of that, the coaches had a meeting yesterday."
Min-woo's eyes lit up at the hitting coach's words.
"Is my position changing by any chance?"
Yesterday, Min-woo pitched 3 scoreless innings. Honestly, even he thought it was a very impressive game performance.
There was no way the pitching coach or Chief Coach Kim Young-seung wouldn't have felt what Min-woo felt.
Thanks to the special ability, his biggest weakness had disappeared. That meant his pitches could now work in the 1st team.
'Being consumed as a mop-up pitcher is over.'
He was secretly hoping to be a starting pitcher. The ones who faced the most batters were, of course, the starting pitchers. They took charge of at least 5 innings, or sometimes even an entire game.
On the other hand, relief appearances were very short. On average, they pitched about 1 inning.
There were times they faced just a single batter in a one-point role, and occasionally they took charge of 2 innings, but that was very rare. They almost never exceeded 1 inning.
And if they pitched consecutively, they were sometimes given a day of rest. To collect points, being a starter was inevitably much more advantageous.
But the hitting coach betrayed Min-woo's expectations.
"The pitching coach will probably come by later to tell you, but from now on, you'll be pitching in crisis situations and taking charge of about 1 inning."
"Ah... Yes."
Honestly, it was disappointing.
'I thought the possibility was sufficient.'
The difference between a starting pitcher and a middle reliever is whether they can draw up a scenario.
Even among relievers, there are people with the shoulders and stamina to throw 100 pitches. Nevertheless, the reason they are relievers is because they don't know how to draw up a scenario.
For a starting pitcher who has to face a single batter multiple times, the ability to draw up a scenario is essential. It wasn't for nothing that the resource called a starter was precious.
In that sense, Min-woo had shown that he could draw up a scenario by pitching 3 scoreless innings yesterday. But it seemed that such an ability hadn't appealed to the coaching staff.
Or maybe it had appealed, but they still thought it was lacking.
'Well, a pitcher throwing 137km/h pitches wouldn't be reliable. It's not like I have a specially outstanding weapon.'
Min-woo steadied his mind. Even if things didn't go as he wanted, there was no need to be disappointed.
He just had to do what he had always done. He had risen from a mop-up pitcher to a setup reliever, so next time, he might become a starting pitcher.
The points Min-woo had earned in the 2nd game against the Crocodiles were 1,250.
450 points for achieving 9 out counts, 300 points for getting 6 strikeouts, and 500 points from the surprise quest.
Adding the points he got from giving autographs at the meat restaurant, he had earned nearly 1,500 points in total.
'Thanks to Doctor K appearing in the middle, I earned quite a bit.'
Thanks to that, Min-woo currently had two special abilities.
And now, he was on the verge of a third special ability.
Tiring!
[
[Currently held points: 1,010 P]
Min-woo wiped the sweat off his face with a towel and looked at the status window with half-anticipation and half-worry.
'What will come out this time?'
There were truly all sorts of abilities in BnB. Some raised health, and there were also abilities that raised defensive stats.
Honestly, he was a bit worried that such abilities would come out this time.
Of course, that didn't mean they were unnecessary.
If his health stat went up, he could maintain a high condition throughout the season. The moment a pitcher throws the ball, they become a fielder. In other words, it was a position that required defensive ability.
However, for Min-woo, who had to produce results immediately, he couldn't help but think it would be a waste. Therefore, for now, the best would be a special ability that improved pitch speed, control, stuff, or breaking ball proficiency.
Sitting on the locker room chair, Min-woo stared intently at the status window.
'Please. Please. Something helpful, even a little.'
[What could it be? Drumroll please.]
[★☆★☆Ta-da☆★☆★]
[
'Nice!'
Min-woo let out a sigh of relief inwardly after seeing the notification window.
The special ability that came out this time was one Min-woo knew well. And it was an ability his character had when he used to play BnB.
[
Not bad. No, it's too good. It was the best special ability for Min-woo, who would be appearing as a middle reliever from now on.
Because even if he appeared in a game, he would only throw a few pitches at most.
'Ugh...'
A really good special ability had come out.
Maybe because of that, his body heated up. He wanted to go up on the mound and throw a ball quickly. He wanted to show his changed self to the fans.
He wanted to go out into a game and test this special ability quickly.
That feeling grew even bigger after the game started.
-He hit it again! Base hit!
-A fiery batting battle is unfolding at Jamsil Stadium, where the 3rd game between the Wolves and the Crocodiles is taking place!
Sitting on the bench watching the game, Min-woo smiled deeply.
'I can pitch if I just wait two more days.'