Coach An Chung-hui’s gaze was not on the batters at the plate, but on Chae Gang-u and Ryu Jae-yul in the bullpen.
Whoosh—. Thwack.
Chae Gang-u’s form was smoother than it had been when he first joined the team. The ball flew with power, its trajectory was good, and his command had tightened up quite a bit.
Chae Gang-u had definitely changed. The same went for Ryu Jae-yul.
But the score was 0–3. They were down by three in the bottom of the seventh.
They couldn’t lose like this. It was a crucial moment where they had to break the chain of consecutive losses. Of course, people said baseball wasn’t over until the bottom of the ninth, but that only applied when you put everything you had into the game.
In a crisis where even sending out their best options might not be enough, they were going to put in an unproven player?
That was why Coach An Chung-hui was so troubled.
Manager Yun Seong-geun’s decisions had never been wrong. Even if they had seemed wrong, there had always been a reason for them. That was why Coach An Chung-hui had always followed the manager’s words without question.
But now, no matter how hard he tried to understand, Coach An Chung-hui seemed unable to grasp what Yun Seong-geun was thinking.
“Manager.”
Normally, he would not have asked, but today, even Coach An Chung-hui wanted to know the reason.
Why he was sending out Chae Gang-u.
“Are you really going to put him in?”
At that question, Manager Yun Seong-geun merely chuckled.
“Manager.”
When Coach An Chung-hui, unable to hold back his frustration, called him again, Manager Yun Seong-geun nodded.
“Yes.”
“Even if Gang-u has improved, he still lacks experience. And it’s the bottom of the seventh right now.”
“Good.”
“…Pardon?”
It was then that Manager Yun Seong-geun, who had been staring at the mound, shifted his gaze.
“Isn’t this the perfect opportunity?”
Looking straight at Coach An Chung-hui, Manager Yun Seong-geun continued.
“For him to gain experience.”
“…Manager, what I’m saying is, why experience at such an important—”
“If I put him in when we’re winning by ten runs, would that be experience? That’s a picnic.”
A picnic. At those words, Coach An Chung-hui’s mouth pressed into a straight line.
“You’re worried because I’m putting in an unproven kid. But how often do you see a knuckleballer who throws 130?”
Coach An Chung-hui’s eyes widened. To begin with, Chae Gang-u was a guy who threw a knuckleball at 130.
“And have you ever seen a right-hander told to switch to left-handed and make the change this quickly?”
He had overlooked it. The fact that Chae Gang-u was different from an ordinary pitcher.
“My thinking was shortsighted.”
At that, Manager Yun Seong-geun chuckled.
Whoosh—, thwack.
At the sound that came from the bullpen just then, both Manager Yun Seong-geun and Coach An Chung-hui turned their eyes. The two of them watched Gang-u pitch with all his might.
“Now, when we’re down by three, is the best time for him to gain experience. If Gang-u can hold them for just one inning, we’ll get a chance to turn it around.”
The gains and losses were clear. If they won, Chae Gang-u would remember for the rest of his life that he had “won after taking the mound for the first time in a crisis.” But if the opposite happened, his confidence and mentality could shrink back significantly.
“Whether he overcomes the difficulty or not, he’ll learn something from this game.”
Coach An Chung-hui let out a breath. Overcoming pressure was part of being a first-team player. Now that Chae Gang-u had come up to the first team, he could not avoid it.
“Yes.”
Just then, the bottom of the seventh inning ended.
The score was still 0–3.
Coach An Chung-hui headed toward the bullpen.
Hoping, earnestly, that Chae Gang-u would do well.
***
“Hah.”
A breath escaped my mouth on its own.
Nervous? That word wasn’t in my dictionary. Even back in high school, when I’d started in the finals of the President’s Cup, my heart had been calm.
All I had to do was throw the ball like usual and prove myself on the mound. That was why I thought there was absolutely no need to be nervous.
But at one sentence from Coach An Chung-hui, my body stiffened slightly.
“Warm up, quickly.”
They said opportunities came without warning, but I never thought I’d be going into a game on my first day on the first-team roster.
“Phew.”
The hand gripping the ball inside my glove twitched. As if it wanted to throw the ball right this instant.
I got into position. Exchanging a glance with Ryu Jae-yul, I prepared to throw again.
Maybe I’m built for big games.
Otherwise, there was no way my nerves would have settled the moment I grabbed the ball. My heart was beating just right. Not too fast, but not so slow that it felt as if there was no tension at all.
As my leg lifted slowly, my hand moved forward.
Whoosh—.
The ball split the air. The pitch, which had been bending as it dropped sharply, sank straight into Ryu Jae-yul’s mitt.
“Nice ball.”
I nodded at Ryu Jae-yul’s words. This was enough. For practice.
I turned and opened the bullpen gate. The moment the gate opened, every player sitting on the bench looked at me.
They seemed unable to believe that a guy who had made the first-team roster for the first time today was going straight into the game.
“Gang-u.”
Coach An Chung-hui beckoned with an unusually serious face. At that gesture, I quickly ran over.
“Yes, Coach.”
“Don’t be nervous. Stay relaxed. Got it? Don’t put too much power into it.”
“Yes, sir!”
“You too, Jae-yul. Focus and make sure you don’t let Gang-u’s pitches get past you.”
“Understood.”
Coach An Chung-hui nodded as if that was enough. It was the signal to head out. I had to go straight up to the mound, but before that, I needed to see Manager Yun Seong-geun.
I wanted to greet Manager Yun Seong-geun, who had trusted me and put me into the game.
“I’ll be back.”
Manager Yun Seong-geun replied simply.
“Go on.”
I gave a light nod and turned around.
“Pitcher change. The pitcher is rookie Chae Gang-u.”
The announcer’s voice rang through the stadium.
When had it been?
Was it when I first went to a baseball stadium holding my parents’ hands? Amid the enormous roar, I had looked at the pitcher standing alone on the mound and thought to myself.
I want to throw from up there too.
And now, I was taking steps toward that place.
Toward the mound, where the eyes of the packed crowd were focused.
The stands fell quiet in an instant. They seemed confused by the appearance of a pitcher and catcher they had never seen before. The Yours Dragons were probably the same. By now, they were likely whispering among themselves, asking who the hell that guy was.
The tip of my foot touched the plate. Tap, tap. I nudged it and lifted my head. And then, at last, it came into view.
The sight of the stadium from atop the mound.
The crowd filling the ballpark, cameras visible here and there, the opposing bench and our team’s bench. And on the scoreboard behind them, my name was written clearly.
[ P Chae Gang-u ]
I had finally stood here.
I inhaled and pressed down the emotions beginning to surge. My first game on the mound. I needed to greet the spectators who were seeing me for the first time.
I immediately took off my cap and bowed my head. Then applause broke out among the quiet crowd.
I rolled the ball I had received with my fingertips. I did not need to throw perfectly. Wanting perfection in my first appearance would be greed.
There was only one thing I wanted right now.
To prevent any more runs from scoring.
I fixed my gaze straight ahead. Then Ryu Jae-yul, seated in the catcher’s position, nodded.
It was the signal that he was ready.
I was ready too, but… what should I throw for the warm-up pitch?
Should I just toss something roughly, then drive in a knuckleball once the game starts? Or should I make an impact with a knuckleball from the very beginning?
While I was thinking, I saw one of the Yours batters walking out in the distance.
Ah. Was Yours starting from their number three hitter?
Of all people, my first opponent was the third batter. And after him came the fourth and fifth. Unless I sent all three of their core hitters back to the dugout, I couldn’t prevent them from scoring.
Well, that was important too, but.
I got into position. I could feel Yours Dragons’ third hitter, Bak In-jae, looking at me. Since he had no information, he was probably planning to judge me by watching me throw.
I swung my arm. My fingertips and joints straightened at the same time, pushing the ball out.
Whoosh—.
I could feel it. Everyone holding their breath.
They had no choice. The ball, which had been wobbling through the air, suddenly changed its trajectory and dropped.
Thwack—.
The stadium fell silent in an instant, and exactly thirty seconds later, it grew noisy. As expected, the Yours Dragons’ dugout was in an uproar.
Because what I had thrown was a knuckleball clocked at 128.
Bak In-jae of the Yours Dragons also tilted his head. He seemed unsure of what exactly the pitch I had just thrown was.
In that case, there was no need for any more warm-up pitches. I nodded toward the home plate umpire.
“Play!”