Entering the Fray (5)
The first game against the Wolverines gave Han Min-woo a lot to think about.
Overall, his impressions were similar to those of Head Coach Kim Young-seung.
To fight against external enemies, the team must unite as one. But right now, the Wolves were hugging a bomb that could explode at any time.
Shortstop Park Jun-young and center fielder Moon Chul-woo were exactly that bomb.
'It won't be easy at this rate.'
What must be done to win in baseball?
The method is very simple. Give the opponent fewer runs, and score more runs ourselves.
Therefore, the presence of Park Jun-young and Moon Chul-woo naturally posed a risk to the pitchers. Shortstop and center field are positions with heavy defensive responsibilities.
Also, Han Min-woo was secretly feeling stressed because of those two.
'They subtly get on my nerves without me even realizing it.'
It was because Park Jun-young and Moon Chul-woo kept picking at him whenever no one else was around.
They frequently mocked him as if making sure everyone could hear, and they also tormented Min-woo by subtly lingering on the training equipment when he was trying to train, among other methods.
He didn't know why they were showing hostility toward him.
Nor was he curious about the reason.
The important thing was simply that they were picking a fight with him.
'Continuing to just take it is what a pushover does.'
Unfortunately, Han Min-woo was neither a philanthropist nor a good person.
No, he was confident he could become as vicious as needed depending on the situation.
That very Han Min-woo made a decision.
To get Park Jun-young and Moon Chul-woo removed from the first-team roster.
'How should I bring Yoon Jae-hyun up?'
In that sense, there was only one worry on Min-woo's mind lately.
How to bring up Yoon Jae-hyun and have him steal the starting shortstop position.
He couldn't become a starter due to his lacking batting, but it seemed if they just fixed his batting, he could easily push Park Jun-young out.
'Even a small change would create tremendous synergy.'
Also, Han Min-woo knew the problem with Yoon Jae-hyun's batting.
However, since he was neither a coach nor a batter, but a pitcher, he couldn't casually bring it up.
As Min-woo was fretting over how to tell him, Yoon Jae-hyun approached and asked.
"Sunbae-nim. By any chance, do you have a moment to talk?"
"Yeah, Jae-hyun. Why?"
"Well, I wanted to ask you something... But I wonder if it would be rude to you, Sunbae-nim..."
Seeing Jae-hyun hesitating, Min-woo's eyes gleamed.
'Nice timing.'
He roughly guessed what he was going to say.
"It's fine. You can speak comfortably."
"Well... Didn't you also have something like a slump before, Sunbae-nim? I was curious how you overcame it... And I thought maybe with your insight, you could find my problem."
It was as expected.
The guy was in just as desperate a situation as he was. Jae-hyun was asking with the feeling of grasping at straws.
Min-woo managed his expression and nodded.
Then, hiding his inner thoughts, he asked Jae-hyun.
"Well... Then I'm going to do some live pitching, could you help me out? Anyway, the only advice I can give you is how it feels to face a batter as a pitcher."
Live pitching.
It meant pitching practice conducted similarly to an actual game, with fielders and a batter set up.
However, the live pitching Min-woo was talking about now was an even more simplified version than that.
In other words, it meant doing it with just a pitcher, a batter, and a catcher.
"Of course."
At Jae-hyun's acceptance, the two moved their positions toward home plate.
"Deok-gu will play the catcher and the umpire at the same time. Whether it's a hit or an out will be decided by the direction and angle of the batted ball, and let's do a total of four at-bats."
"Understood."
Jae-hyun nodded, hiding his trembling heart.
Even though it wasn't an official game, his heart was pounding.
'I'm finally facing Min-woo hyung's pitches.'
Han Min-woo.
He was a senior from Deoksu High School, and a sunbae who had continued his connection from the Dolphins to the Wolves.
During his high school days, he looked incredibly big. A senior who threw a top speed of 158 kilometers and led them to victory in every tournament they went to. Perhaps other high school players also felt that aura; whenever Han Min-woo stepped on the mound, they couldn't even put up a fight.
On top of that, rumors that even Major League teams were interested in him were frequently heard. To a freshman who had just entered his first year, the existence of Han Min-woo couldn't help but look incredibly huge.
However, the reason Yoon Jae-hyun still respected Han Min-woo wasn't simply because of that.
'The fact that I can stand here holding a bat is all thanks to Min-woo sunbae.'
It's a very common story.
There was a boy who was poor but wanted to play baseball so badly.
But baseball was a sport that required more money than one would think. Baseball equipment was more expensive than expected, and since they were consumables, they had to be replaced frequently.
However, unable to ask his hardworking single mother to buy them, the boy had no choice but to wear spikes with torn soles, put on a glove that was tattered from bursting multiple times, and swing a bat that was on the verge of cracking, cultivating his dream in the only way he could.
—Is that kid a beggar? Why is he using such things?
—Ah, fuck, does it make sense that the ball slips out the back because the glove is torn? Does it make sense that my ERA goes up because of you? Why play baseball if you don't have money? Why cause harm to others, you retard.
—Hey, hey. Beggar. Go pick up the balls. You stink, so do your batting practice after we're done. Got it?
Countless contempt and mockery poured down.
The world is cold. Poverty wasn't the boy's fault, but it constantly tried to ruin his dream.
Those who haven't experienced it don't know. That situation. Those stares. That feeling.
He would shrink back for no reason, had to feel guilty even when it wasn't his fault, and had to be ostracized in group life.
The boy grew smaller day by day.
Then one day.
—Wanna use this?
The baseball clubhouse, where everyone had returned to the dormitory and he was left alone.
To the boy who came out after crying his eyes out in the corner, a person reached out a helping hand.
It was a huge person.
A senior who piled up the records he admired so much, and who was even drawing interest from the Major Leagues, called the stage of dreams. The ace of this team. And the captain of this team.
The senior, shining like a star, held out spikes, a glove, and a bat that looked like they had barely been used.
—Ah... T-thank...
It was the first goodwill from others he had ever received.
Because the world was full of coldness and chill, the warmth contained in that hand felt even warmer.
That was what set the boy, who had only been shrinking, back on his feet again.
But the help didn't end there.
—Baseball is a team sport. It's a game where you have to stick together tightly to beat the opposing team. But lately, I keep seeing bastards trying to alienate their teammates... Watch out, if I catch them one more time, I won't just let it slide.
After that day, the world changed.
The captain was a person who looked huge not only to the boy but to anyone his age. His single word was as good as law to the people in the world the boy lived in.
Since then, situations where the boy was bullied or ostracized in group life ceased to exist.
Thanks to that, he was able to continue playing baseball straight from that day onward.
He achieved good results in the high school league, and became a pro player by being drafted in the 2nd round of the rookie draft.
—Mom, Noona. This is the house we're going to live in from now on.
Thanks to the signing bonus he received back then, Yoon Jae-hyun's family was able to move to a more spacious and pleasant house.
And now, he belonged to the same team as that huge person and had been playing baseball together with him.
A very... common story.
'I shouldn't underestimate him.'
Yoon Jae-hyun let out a faint sigh as he stepped into the batter's box.
Looking only at his revealed velocity and stuff, the value of a pitcher named Han Min-woo was below the league average.
But against such a person, even the league's best batters retreated helplessly.
It meant that something Yoon Jae-hyun didn't know existed within Han Min-woo.
Complacency was out of the question.
'Huh...?'
He flinched for a moment.
Bam―!
"Strike."
Kim Deok-gu, who was to serve as both the catcher and umpire for the live pitching, muttered briefly.
Stepping out of the batter's box, Yoon Jae-hyun shook his head.
'I didn't think it would come flying right away like that.'
What just happened was a mistake. He didn't focus properly.
He didn't know that Han Min-woo would go into his windup as soon as he stepped on the pitching rubber.
'Idiot.'
Yoon Jae-hyun hurriedly focused on the pitcher so as not to repeat the same mistake.
"..."
But this time, it was the opposite. Even though his bent thigh was starting to feel uncomfortable, the ball didn't come flying.
He thought Min-woo was going to throw the ball right away, but instead he adjusted his cap, stretched his shoulder once, took a deep breath, and did other actions, waiting for Jae-hyun's concentration to loosen.
'I should call time even now...'
He tried to raise his hand and call time.
At that moment, Han Min-woo threw the ball like lightning.
Since his timing was stolen, Jae-hyun had no choice but to be struck helplessly.
Bam―!
"Swing, strike."
'Ugh.'
Yoon Jae-hyun swallowed a groan after his swing and miss. The second pitch was a changeup. It was a ball that dropped as if mocking his bat.
In an instant, an 0-2 count was formed.
'Is he reading my mind...?'
Jae-hyun felt as if he was possessed by a ghost.
The ball was coming only at moments when he absolutely couldn't react. If it came flying at this kind of timing, he wouldn't be able to hit it even if the velocity was 120 kilometers.
The velocity difference was over 20 kilometers, but the time he had to react was a split second, a fleeting fraction of a moment.
The third pitch Han Min-woo threw was a slider breaking outside the zone.
With his heart growing anxious, Jae-hyun had no choice but to fall for that shallow trick of a pitch.
"Swing and a miss, strikeout."
A complete defeat. He couldn't do anything. In terms of game management, he was completely caught in Han Min-woo's pace.
Even worse, struck out on three pitches. It was a devastating defeat where he couldn't even lift his head as a batter.
And the result didn't change in the second and third at-bats either.
Live pitching result: 4 at-bats, 0 hits, 2 strikeouts.
He was completely eaten alive by the pitcher named Han Min-woo. If it were an official game, it would be a performance that would easily get him called a retard.
'What exactly is the problem?'
Yoon Jae-hyun bit his lip hard.
He felt frustrated. His batting wasn't going the way he wanted.
During his high school days, he batted quite well. Thanks to that, he was a player once called a highly-touted shortstop prospect. But now, it felt like he had become a scarecrow standing in the batter's box.
"Jae-hyun."
To the self-reproaching Yoon Jae-hyun, Han Min-woo, who had been standing on the mound, approached.
His usual expressionless face.
However, Jae-hyun suddenly thought that Min-woo seemed to be in a good mood.
'Could it be...?'
In an instant, a thread-thin hope sprang up in his heart.
Just like in the past, when he came out crying from the baseball clubhouse.
"I think I've found the problem... Do you want to hear it?"
Once again, that senior gifted him hope.
"Yes!"
Yoon Jae-hyun's eyes shone.