Single Log Bridge (5)
└Guys! Hurry up and watch the Wolves vs. Dolphins game gogo. People who are busy or working, at least check the text updates. You must watch it, watch it twice!
└Today's game is hella fun hahaha. Why are they playing like this today? The way they're gritting their teeth playing can be felt right through the screen hahaha
└So funny hahaha. When Yoon Jae-hyun glared at Katis from the batter's box, I thought a hole was gonna burn in the back of his head hahaha
└At this rate, didn't Acting Manager Kim Young-seung gather the kids and beat them with a bat? If not, how are they showing such intense eyes hahaha
└Where's the guy who said they'd be satisfied with 7th place and suck in the second half?
└The kids all came out sharpening their knives? At this rate, aren't they really going to make it this year? Bring out the glossy jackets?
└For real, hella fun!
It was a slugfest.
Top of the 1st, starting with the Wolves' offense.
Yoon Jae-hyun, stepping up as the leadoff hitter, crowded the home plate.
Since there had already been friction before the game, the Dolphins' battery wasn't going to just sit back and watch.
Wham—!
A brushback pitch naturally flew inside. A 150 km/h pitch brushed right past him.
It was a situation that would make anyone's blood run cold.
But Yoon Jae-hyun didn't back away. No, he crowded even closer, as if daring them to hit him.
'These bastards... doing that to Min-woo sunbae...'
He wanted revenge no matter what. Anyone could see the victim was Han Min-woo. Yet, the Dolphins players acting like the injured party made Yoon Jae-hyun furious.
For a pro baseball player, especially the leadoff hitter who steps up first, the greatest revenge against the opponent is getting on base.
So, even if he had to get hit by the pitch, he wanted to step on first base.
"Hey, bastard. Aren't you gonna back off? Is this bastard really dying to get hit?"
During the process, catcher Baek Do-jin growled, but he paid no mind.
Brushback pitches kept flying. Naturally, the pitcher's pitch count increased, creating an annoying situation for the starting pitcher right from the top of the 1st.
But the situation was the same in the bottom of the 1st.
The Dolphins batters all crowded the home plate one by one. In the process, hit-by-pitches occurred, and the psychological warfare between the players intensified even further.
'They're yapping so much. Do they want to die?'
The Dolphins batter who got on base made large motions between first and second base to draw the pitcher's attention. Naturally, a pickoff throw had to be made.
But at first base was Kang Sung-han.
They had insulted the junior who was working hard right in front of them. So he was in a very bad mood today. The tag had to be extremely rough.
Smack—!
"Hey, fuck. Is this a tag? It's assault!"
"What, retard. If you're mad, let's fight."
That was the reason a bench-clearing brawl was inevitable from the 2nd inning.
Both teams' starting pitchers couldn't even last 5 innings. The batters were tenaciously holding on, the atmosphere was chaotic, and although the sun had set, the temperature was still hot.
It was a situation with heavy stamina loss. That was also when the runs started scoring in earnest.
—It's hit! This ball! The center fielder gives up chasing it! Jo Woo-chan hits another three-run home run right at the start of the second half! He flips the game again!
—A pulled hit! The fence! The fence! It goes over! Park Tae-ho's two-run home run!
When the Wolves took a 3-run lead thanks to Jo Woo-chan's home run, Park Tae-ho, who came up in the bottom of the 5th, immediately hit a chasing two-run home run.
They scored again to run away in the top of the 6th, but the Dolphins batters gritted their teeth and caught up.
With that, the heat could only get more intense.
Smack—!
—Ah... The ball thrown by Kwon Dong-min hits Kim Bae-rae's back. That's already the fourth hit-by-pitch in today's game alone, right?
—That's right. Since it's a guillotine match between 6th and 7th place, both teams' players are very rough... Uh oh! Yoo Sung-jong! He throws his bat and runs toward the mound! We need to stop him quickly!
—Haha... It's a scene that often occurs when the desire to win gets too intense, but it's not good. The umpire has ordered ejections for Kwon Dong-min, Myung Seok-hoon, and Ha Yoon-min from the Wolves, and Kim Bae-rae, Kim Won-bin, and Hong Ji-hoon from the Dolphins.
It was a fierce bench-clearing brawl rarely seen.
Kwon Dong-min's four-seam fastball smashed into Yoo Sung-jong's back. Anyone could see it was a pitch that slipped from his hand.
But Yoo Sung-jong, already furious to the top of his head, ran in and swung his fists.
Players from both teams tangled together, swinging fists, trying to pull each other apart, and swearing as they fought roughly.
It was reminiscent of a chaotic brawl.
In the process, the Wolves had a huge problem.
"Min-woo. I'm counting on you."
It was the fact that Kwon Dong-min, who should be responsible for the mound, was ejected along with them.
"I'm heading out."
Han Min-woo, who was warming up in the bullpen, nodded at the bullpen coach's words and stepped onto the baseball field.
"Boooooooooo!"
"Cowardly Wolves bastards! Do you want to play a game like that!"
Midsummer Busan was incredibly hot. The angry voices of the crowd made Sajik Stadium boil.
It's been a really long time since he stood on the mound.
This hot weather, the humid air soaking him in sweat, the texture of the mound's dirt, the glaring lights, the crowd pouring out boos. All of this felt familiar.
He had really missed this place.
Han Min-woo, standing on the mound, smirked.
—The Wolves' second pitcher, coming in for the bottom of the 6th, is Han Min-woo.
—This is a really crucial moment. If they give up runs here, today's game could definitely tip in the Dolphins' favor, right? Because of that, Han Min-woo has to stop the Dolphins no matter what.
—But the situation is certainly not easy. Bases loaded, no outs, and the 2nd batter Min Hyun-jun steps into the box. From the Dolphins' table setters to the cleanup trio, everyone's bats are really on fire today. For Han Min-woo, the pressure must be immense.
A bases-loaded, no-outs opportunity.
Min Hyun-jun, stepping into the batter's box, glared at Han Min-woo on the mound.
'That son of a bitch. I'll definitely kill him.'
The opponent who could be called the starting point of today's incident.
Originally, he was just going to quietly pick on him.
He was a junior he once envied. From the coaches to the seniors, everyone praised Han Min-woo as a top-tier prospect. For Min Hyun-jun, who was in the year right above him, it was bound to look pretty annoying.
That kind of guy fell to the very bottom. No, he dug all the way down to the basement.
The opponent he originally had to be careful around had now turned into an opponent worse than a worthless bug.
'I didn't like how he walked around with his neck so stiff from the start.'
From Min Hyun-jun's perspective, he had practically reduced him to a toy to torment from that point on.
But that toy ran away somewhere else.
And they met again.
He heard he was pitching a little better lately, but at best, he was a defective product with a ruined shoulder. His velocity was slow, and the pitch grades on the scouting report were scraping the bottom.
Compared to Min Hyun-jun, who had completely established himself as a starter, he was a trivial opponent.
'How dare he act cocky? A mere toy?'
But the situation had blown way out of proportion.
The seniors were fuming, expressing their bad moods with their whole bodies. His peers and juniors were subtly pressuring him. Even for Min Hyun-jun, who had been reborn as a starter, it was an inevitably burdensome situation.
It was just typical perpetrator logic, but for him to bring the knife down on Han Min-woo, who could be considered the root cause of this incident, was only natural.
'I'll send it over the fence.'
Besides, his hitting feel lately was very good. Just today, it was already his second hit.
If he hit a grand slam against Han Min-woo, it felt like it would be the perfect revenge.
But there was something Min Hyun-jun didn't know.
Ding!
[Player 'Han Min-woo' takes the mound!]
[Since he took the mound as a pitcher in an official game with baseball rules applied,
[Since he took the mound as a pitcher in an official game with baseball rules applied,
[Since he pitched in an away game,
[He took the mound in a bases-loaded situation!
[He took the mound after 5 days.
That was exactly it: today's Han Min-woo was in a fearsome awakened state.
'To think a day would come when all of these activate.'
Han Min-woo lightly loosened his shoulders and placed his foot on the pitching rubber.
Thanks to the bases-loaded, no-outs situation and pitching after 5 days, today he had the Bases Loaded Freak and Bench Warmer activated.
The pitches he threw today would become a turning point for him in many ways.
'Try hitting it if you can.'
Han Min-woo confidently threw the ball toward the catcher's mitt.
Pop—!
The velocity displayed on the scoreboard was 148 km/h.
"Huh?"
Everyone doubted their eyes.
148 km/h? That's ridiculous. Wasn't he only supposed to be able to throw a fastball in the high 130s?
But such doubts had no choice but to fade away with the second pitch that came flying.
Pop—!
"Strike!"
Both the first and second pitches were strikes. The velocity was 148 km/h this time as well.
At that moment, both managers simultaneously jumped up.
'What? Han Min-woo can throw a pitch like that?'
'To think I'd get goosebumps from a mere 148 km/h pitch.'
Dolphins manager Kwon Il-man was appalled, and head coach Kim Young-seung was thrilled with joy. The emotions of the one who once held Han Min-woo and the one who currently held Han Min-woo had no choice but to tilt to the exact opposite extremes.
But the surprise didn't end there.
Ding!
[Player 'Han Min-woo' has fulfilled a specific condition.]
[Since it's a 2-strike count,
Pop—!
"Strike, batter out!"
The umpire declared the batter out on strikes. The velocity displayed on the scoreboard was 150 km/h.
"No way!"
"Han Min-woo is throwing 150 km/h?"
"Hey, you retards! Does it make sense to trade a player like that for just Yoo Sung-jong!"
At that moment, Sajik Stadium went into an uproar.