Mop-up Pitcher (7)
"How's your shoulder? Is it okay?"
As he entered the dugout, the hitting coach came over and asked. It seemed the pitching coach had stepped away for a moment.
The number of pitches he threw over three innings from the top of the 3rd to the top of the 5th was 67. Perhaps because of that, his shoulder felt a bit stiff.
However, since he had only been doing bullpen pitching for the past few days, this level wasn't something he needed to worry too much about.
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Then should you pitch just one more inning? If we score in the 6th, we'll swap you out."
At the hitting coach's question, Han Min-woo nodded.
If it were up to him, he wanted to pitch not just one inning, but until the end of today's game. He needed to earn points to draw more special abilities.
And above all else...
'It's fun.'
Standing on the mound and throwing the ball was so much fun.
It truly felt like playing a baseball game. Just like kicking a ball around during lunch break in his school days.
"I'll be ready for the next inning too."
Sitting on the bench, Han Min-woo put on a baseball jumper so his shoulder wouldn't cool down.
His pitch limit was 81 pitches. He still had 14 pitches left, so unless he suffered a pitch count terror like in the 4th inning, one more inning would be enough.
However, Han Min-woo never got to take the mound again.
In the bottom of the 5th, the Wolves' attack started with the lead-off hitter.
The original lead-off hitter and shortstop, Park Jun-young, was substituted for defense in the top of the 3rd, so Yoon Jae-hyun entered the batter's box.
'I must get on base.'
He burned with determination as he looked at the pitcher on the mound.
Han Min-woo and Yoon Jae-hyun.
The two were seniors and juniors at Deoksu High School, joined the Dolphins together, and were traded to the Wolves on the same day at the same time.
However, while Han Min-woo was making incredible plays, Yoon Jae-hyun had committed an error on a routine ground ball in the top of the 4th inning.
It was dizzying to think about again. If Han Min-woo had faltered even a little, it could have led to a massive number of runs allowed.
'Min-woo sunbae...'
So, when the inning ended and he was heading to the dugout in a state of total mental breakdown, the one who steadied Yoon Jae-hyun's mindset was none other than Han Min-woo.
To Yoon Jae-hyun, who was apologizing for the error, Han Min-woo actually offered words of comfort.
"Jae-hyun, don't be so nervous. If your mentality breaks over something like that, can you even be a baseball player?"
"Ah, yes..."
"Just take it easy. You worked hard fielding the ground balls this inning too."
Han Min-woo's back as he walked toward the dugout looked incredibly large.
'How can he be like this?'
A prospect of misfortune. Ever since getting hit by the line drive, he hadn't really shown anything. Han Min-woo was already 25 years old. In terms of desperation, his situation must have been more severe than Yoon Jae-hyun's.
Despite that, Han Min-woo did not tremble. He was not swayed by the pressure of the first-team stage. And he proved himself on the mound and came down.
Cool. I want to be like him. I want to prove myself in today's game too, like that man. Such thoughts ignited a fierce determination in Yoon Jae-hyun's heart.
"Play ball!"
The Crocodiles' starting pitcher, Park Jin-woo, threw the ball. The first pitch was a forkball that grazed the bottom of the strike zone.
Clenching his teeth, Yoon Jae-hyun held off on the first pitch.
And he held off on the second pitch that followed. This time the ball was a slider.
'Don't get anxious.'
He continuously steadied his mind. He chanted to himself to watch the ball until the end.
To get himself together, the pitcher would eventually have to throw a strike into the zone. Yoon Jae-hyun waited patiently for that pitch to come into the zone.
And the third pitch flew in.
'Now!'
Yoon Jae-hyun's eyes flashed. The pitch he was most confident in attacking was flying toward the catcher's mitt.
Crack!
A clear sound split the gap between the right fielder and center fielder.
-The ball count is no balls, two strikes. Park Jin-woo's pitch speed is still recording 150 kilometers in the bottom of the 5th.
-As I speak, Yoon Jae-hyun hits the third pitch! A hit splitting the right-center field gap, it's a hit! Yoon Jae-hyun records his first hit since the trade in today's game!
-I really want to praise him. He waited patiently even as the ball count became unfavorable.
-He must have judged that it would be difficult to attack Park Jin-woo's forkball and slider, so he was targeting the four-seamer.
The first lead-off hit of today's game. The Wolves' offense didn't end there. Even the second batter, Myung Seok-hoon, walked on a full count after a 7-pitch battle.
No outs, runners on first and second.
Standing in the batter's box at that golden opportunity was the third batter, Jo Woo-chan.
-The Wolves have created their first scoring chance of today's game!
-Stepping into the batter's box is the Wolves' star hitter, Jo Woo-chan, famous for hitting a lot of 3-run home runs. And there happen to be two runners on base. Let's see if he can hit a 3-run home run this time too!
Jo Woo-chan.
The representative franchise star of the Seoul Wolves and the spiritual pillar of the Wolves, who have been experiencing a long dark age.
He is a player who monopolizes the love of Wolves fans, showing outstanding performance in hitting, fielding, and running, to the point that he is the first mentioned when talking about the 5-tool players of Korean professional baseball, and is especially strong in clutch situations.
"Woo-chan, we're only trusting you, please!"
"Aren't you embarrassed getting dominated by a 137km/h pitcher on our own team! Just hit one three-run homer!"
The Wolves fans filling Jamsil Stadium prayed with their hands clasped together.
Amidst the boiling excitement, Jo Woo-chan swung his bat.
Crack!
-He hit it! The ball is shooting straight out! Behind the left fielder! Behind the left fielder! Over the wall behind the left fielder! It's gone!
The ball flew over the outfield fence in a large parabola.
At that moment, the Wolves fans screamed and jumped up and down.
The shout was so loud that Jamsil Stadium literally trembled.
All the Wolves players in the dugout rushed out.
A 3-run home run in the bottom of the 5th.
The score difference, which was 7-0, narrowed to 4 runs in an instant. The quiet Wolves dugout became as noisy as a stirred-up beehive.
"Who's in the bullpen right now? Jun-yeol and Dong-min? Is Jun-kyu warming up too? Tell him to get ready quickly because he might have to go up in the 6th."
"Strategy Coach. Send a sign to Victor to see as many pitches as possible. If he just gets on base somehow, we need to squeeze out one more run to catch up."
"Bok-gi, warm up. If Victor gets on base and Sung-han bunts, you might go in as a pinch runner."
The atmosphere had reversed.
Thanks to Han Min-woo's great pitching, they had kept the Crocodiles' lineup tied up for 3 innings.
On top of that, when the offense exploded as well, Manager Heo Sang-hyuk made a winning move.
It was the perfect timing to put on a play since it was a no-outs, no-runners situation.
While everyone was bustling about, Chief Coach Kim Young-seung approached Han Min-woo and patted his shoulder.
"Good work. That's it for today."
"...Yes."
"The chasing relief is getting ready. Your pitch count is quite high too, so I'm not going to overwork you."
"I understand."
Han Min-woo nodded.
He had already given up the thought of going back up the moment the home run was hit.
The Wolves were currently on a 5-game losing streak. At times like this, the one win that breaks the losing streak is inevitably crucial.
In that sense, hoping for Han Min-woo to continue pitching innings was excessive greed.
No matter how well he pitched, he was a mop-up pitcher, and a mop-up pitcher was a position that couldn't take the mound in situations related to a win or a loss.
But there was also a part that had changed from before the game.
"Make sure to ice it. Don't skip the finishing training and make sure to do it. I'll tell the conditioning coach separately."
At the sight of Chief Coach Kim Young-seung caring for him, Han Min-woo let out a smile.
"I understand."
[Seoul Wolves 9 : 8 Gocheok Crocodiles]
[Winning Pitcher: Kim Jun-kyu 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, Save: Kim Deok-min 1 IP, 1 H, 2 K, 0 R (Han Min-woo 3 IP, 3 H, 6 K, 0 R)]
[Losing Pitcher: Shin Seung-cheol 0.2 IP, 4 H, 1 BB/HBP, 1 K, 2 R]
After the game.
The atmosphere in the Wolves' locker room was good.
"Yoon-min, we have to grab a drink today, right? A new place opened up right in front, wanna go there?"
"Senior, can I bring Sung-hwan too?"
"Tell everyone who got my RBI to come. I'm paying for rounds 1 through 4."
"Jae-hyuk hyung. Aren't you going to play ranked games? I'm in my Gold promotion matches."
"No, I'm not playing with you. You're gonna play some Ashe jungle or whatever again. I'm not duoing unless you go support."
"You were watching the game while drinking with a friend? Uh-huh. Of course, oppa missed our Eun-jung too. How is she? Is the friend pretty? Huh? No, I was just asking if I should bring a junior too. Of course, it's only our Eun-jung for me."
Perhaps because they had to leave for an away game in Gwangju after tomorrow's game, the players seemed to be going out to enjoy the night in their own ways.
People going to drink, people going to play games, people going to meet women...
Among them, there was someone who spoke to Han Min-woo, who was quietly packing his things alone.
"Sunbae-nim."
"Yeah, Jae-hyun."
It was Yoon Jae-hyun, who had gone 2-for-2 in today's game.
"Umm..."
At the sight of the guy hesitantly trying to speak, Han Min-woo chuckled. It was because his past appearance was vividly coming to mind.
During his high school days, Han Min-woo had never scolded or given a hard time to his juniors. Nevertheless, the juniors found Han Min-woo difficult to approach. Yoon Jae-hyun was one of those juniors.
Han Min-woo intercepted the words and asked Yoon Jae-hyun.
"I'm going to grab something to eat, do you want to come?"
"Ah, yes!"
"What do you like? Meat? Grilled fish? I'll tell you in advance, I don't drink."
"I like meat."
"Alright. Let's go eat meat. Pack your stuff."
Han Min-woo and Yoon Jae-hyun, having decided on the menu, picked up their bags. Just as they were taking steps to leave the locker room.
There was someone who spoke to them first.
"Would it be okay if I joined you guys where you're going to eat meat?"
"Gasp, Sunbae-nim."
A tall stature over 190cm with a dark tanned face. A blunt-looking expression.
The captain of this team and the most famous player in the Wolves. The player who comes to mind first when mentioning the team called Wolves.
It was none other than Jo Woo-chan.
Han Min-woo and Yoon Jae-hyun thought at the same time.
'He really looks scary...'