The Prodigy Who Rejected the Major League Chapter 24

Chapter 24

 

After hitting the home run, I rounded the bases and looked toward the stands behind third base.

Two women were screaming at the top of their lungs.

I could not hear exactly what they were saying.

But in a stadium full of people cheering for the Flame Baseball uncles, just knowing that there were still people cheering for me felt good.

I raised both arms and made a big heart so they could see it clearly.

At home plate, Senior Park Jaehoon stared at me like, ‘What are you doing?’

But what else am I supposed to do? Heh heh.

“That’s it! Song Seongjun! Nice job!”

The national team head coach held out his right hand, waiting for a high five.

I slapped it hard.

Smack!

“Ugh!”

The coach jerked back in surprise with a shout.

Ah. Did I hit it too hard?

Not my problem. I quickly squeezed into the group of teammates who were dying to start the home run celebration.

Thud thud thud thud!

They were pounding on me like crazy. Smashing my helmet like they wanted to break it. American or Korean high schoolers… no difference there.

 

***

 

Jin Wooyoung, who had just retired clean-up hitter Park Geonhee with an infield grounder, was welcomed back to the dugout with applause from his Flame Baseball teammates.

“You’re in great shape today! That’s three ground balls already!”

“You’re teasing me when I gave up a home run?”

“That kid’s supposedly a five-million-dollar prospect. The one who hit that 140-meter homer.”

“Really? I thought he was just someone we had to be careful with.”

“A first overall pick is different.”

The overall vibe was: if he’s that kind of player, giving up a homer is understandable.

“The game’s just starting. It’s only one run. We can tie it. We can flip it.”

It was true that the U-18 national team gathered the best high school players.

But as always, these veterans had no intention of losing easily.

They were retired, yes. But each had once stood at the peak of professional baseball. And it had not been long since retirement… just a few years. Kim Daehan, for example, joined Flame Baseball immediately after retiring.

 

***

 

Bottom of the first. The national team’s starting pitcher was Seong Jinseong.

Though he had been pushed to second behind Song Seongjun, he was still considered part of the high school Top 3 along with Moon Seungchan and Yoo Hyundo.

“Take it easy. Just pitch like you normally do.”

After watching the warm-ups, Coach Jeong Juchan stepped off the mound.

Flame Baseball’s leadoff hitter was Jang Geonwoo.

One of the best table-setters of his era stepped into the left-handed batter’s box.

“Strike!”

The first pitch registered 147 km/h.

Second pitch.

Another fastball came in. Maybe he was sitting on it… Jang Geonwoo attacked without hesitation.

Crack!

 

[A deep drive to the right! This one’s big!]

 

“Waaah!”

“Oh! That’s gone!”

It was clearly crushed.

The moment I heard the sound, I took off toward the wall.

If it clears, nothing I can do. But if it does not, I am catching it.

 

[Back to the right! Back!]

 

The launch angle was high, and the hang time long.

That costs distance.

Because I started quickly, I reached the fence before the ball did.

Watching it drop, I didn’t expect it to be cleared.

The fence here was about three meters high. If I stepped on it, I could reach it.

I had heard it used to be covered with fabric for advertising reasons.

Now there was nothing.

I dug my spikes in and leapt.

Thud!

I felt the ball settle into my glove and landed, raising it high.

 

[Did he catch it? He did!]

[Wow! He stepped on the fence and stole it!]

[That is basically a home run robbery!]

 

Jang Geonwoo, already heading for second, shouted in frustration.

“Ah!”

The Flame Baseball dugout reacted the same way.

“Wow… he caught that?”

“Who is that kid?”

If some were disappointed,

Someone else was thrilled.

Seong Jinseong beamed and waved both arms at me in the outfield.

Then he turned to the next batter.

Four-seam.

Splitter.

Four-seam.

Ahead 1-2.

“Swing! Strikeout!”

A 149 km/h high fastball got the whiff.

Riding the momentum, he induced a first-pitch fly to left from the next hitter.

Three batters. Three outs.

A clean start.

 

***

 

Top of the second, the U-18 lineup was handled by Jin Wooyoung’s veteran savvy. Three ground balls and done.

Bottom of the second, Seong Jinseong answered aggressively.

 

[153 km/h! His fastest of the inning!]

 

Even with one hit batter, he struck out the other three.

Jin Wooyoung also handled the third inning cleanly.

In the bottom of the third, Coach Jeong Juchan put right-hander Jin Seogeon from Dongshin High on the mound.

Since this was an exhibition, they wanted to evaluate as many pitchers as possible.

Jin Seogeon, projected as a starter alongside Seong Jinseong, delivered. Two quick outs… a fly to center and a sharp grounder to third. He allowed a single to Jang Geonwoo but finished with a grounder to second.

Jin Wooyoung returned for the fourth and retired eight straight before facing Song Seongjun again.

 

[Song Seongjun, who homered in his first at-bat, returns.]

[This will not be easy.]

 

“Strike!”

 

[A short-breaking outside slider.]

 

Jin Wooyoung threw two sliders: a big, slow one and a tight, fast one.

“Hmm…”

I nodded, waiting.

High fastball?

Crack!

“Foul!”

A bit early.

0-2.

Behind in the count.

Still, I trusted my eye. I laid off two slider bait pitches. I watched the fifth… a dropping changeup.

Full count.

“Hey. You’re really good.” Park Jaehoon said.

“Thank you.”

“That was not a compliment.”

But he laughed anyway. High schoolers rarely lay off that combination with two strikes.

Another bait pitch? Or go at him?

Jin Wooyoung chose to compete in inside fastball.

He fired.

The moment it left his hand,

I knew it drifted slightly more into the zone than intended.

That was enough.

Crack!

“Ah! Damn!”

He did not even look back.

 

[Deep to left!]

 

Back-to-back home runs.

The crowd’s reaction changed this time.

Applause.

“Whoa!”

“He did it again!”

“Who is this kid?”

 

[Song Seongjun with back-to-back homers.]

[That was not even a mistake pitch.]

 

Afterward, Jin Wooyoung struck out the next two in frustration.

“Ugh. Annoying.”

Back in the dugout, he scratched his head… his habit.

“Stop scratching. You’ll go bald.”

“What is that kid?”

“The confirmed first overall.”

“I’m not in the mood for jokes.”

“What do you want me to say? A monster rookie showed up.”

 

***

 

From the fifth inning on, Coach Jeong Juchan rotated pitchers every inning.

Sidearm Kim Jangyeon in the fifth. Two lefties in the sixth and seventh.

Flame Baseball kept Jin Wooyoung through six. Lim Jio, their official ace, handled the seventh. Still hitting 150 km/h, he thrilled the crowd.

 

***

 

Top of the eighth. Still 2-0.

“Seongjun, start warming up.”

“Yes, sir.”

Another pitcher was already warming up. It looked like they were getting me ready as well.

Did they think a crisis might come in the bottom of the eighth?

The game was tied at two point.

In baseball, if you follow the flow of the game, a crisis is bound to come at least once. It seemed like they were letting me warm up in advance in case they needed to switch pitchers midway through the eighth inning.

Even if you head to the mound while playing defense, it is always better to have your arm loosened up ahead of time than not at all.

The national team’s offense at the top of the eighth ended with another three-up, three-down strikeout inning. Perhaps because he is in his thirties among players mostly in their forties, Im Jio’s stamina was outstanding.

As the bottom of the eighth began, the pitcher who had warmed up with me earlier took the mound.

It was Bae Jooan from Hanyang High School.

At 192 centimeters with a solid build, he certainly looked the part. However, his fastball, topping out in the low 140s, was somewhat disappointing. His real weapon was his changeup, and with it he induced the leadoff hitter, Jang Geonwoo, to ground out back to the pitcher.

Oh! What a nice start.

But his changeup to the second batter, Cha Doyoung, did not drop as much. There was no margin for error, and he gave up a single to center field.

Then Seoul Twins legend Baek Wootaek stepped up to the plate and pulled the very first pitch.

Taaak!

The moment I heard the crack of the bat, I reacted, but the ball came off unbelievably fast.

I chased after it as hard as I could and immediately prepared for a play at the wall.

I fielded the ball after it caromed off the fence and fired it straight toward second base.

 

[Baek Wootaek! He is heading for second!]

[The throw from the right fielder goes to the second baseman!]

 

The throw from right field short-hopped in front of second. The second baseman, Choi Ilhan, caught it and attempted the tag.

 

[Tag! Ah! oh! Ah! Safe! Safe!]

[The second baseman! The ball popped out of his glove!]

[Baek Wootaek! It is like he has been watching this happen for ten years! Hahaha.]

[Song Seongjun, the right fielder. He has an outstanding arm.]

 

“Brother Wootaek! Aren’t your legs too slow?”

“A snail would have beaten you!”

From the Flame Baseball Team dugout, they teased Baek Wootaek, who had barely avoided being thrown out.

“It is not that I am slow! That guy is the weird one! How does he throw the ball straight to second like that?”

National team manager Jeong Joochan swallowed his disappointment. By timing alone, it had been a perfect out. Yet they had failed to record it.

In any case, that was the end of Bae Jooan’s outing.

“Time!”

Manager Jeong Joochan immediately requested time from the umpire.

“I will make a pitching change.”

Even if this was only an evaluation game, he wanted to win the final matchup and head back to the United States in good spirits.

 

[The U-18 national team will make a pitching change here.]

[Who is it? Huh?! Song Seongjun, who had been playing right field, is running toward the mound!]

 

The crowd was still cheering for Baek Wootaek’s double that had created the opportunity.

But confusion quickly spread across their faces.

The outfielder had run to the mound and immediately begun throwing warm-up pitches.

Those familiar with baseball grasped the situation right away.

“Is Song Seongjun finally coming in?”

“It is coming! The big one is coming!”

“Are we finally going to see him pitch for the national team?”

“Song Seongjun! Let us see 160!”

They watched his warm-up pitches with eager anticipation.

Those who had looked him up after watching him hit back-to-back home runs already knew that Song Seongjun was also a pitcher. Reports about his pitching ability had circulated before.

But no one had actually seen him pitch.

This was their first time watching him throw warm-up pitches.

When the radar gun flashed mid-140s during warm-ups, people began asking around.

“Is Song Seongjun really that good at pitching?”

Of course, many still did not understand what was happening.

“What? Song Seongjun is coming in for relief?”

“Are they sending the beast out here?”

It was a critical situation. One hit could break the tie.

Such a move was rare even in professional baseball and was usually seen only in unusual, near-desperate circumstances.

“Has the national team manager lost his mind?”

Amid anticipation, astonishment, and suspicion…

Flame Baseball Team manager Ha Jaeyoon called Kim Daehan over.

“He is fast.”

“I know. You said four-seam and changeup, right?”

“Yeah. Four-seam, two-seam, changeup.”

“That is all?”

Given his professional experience up until last year, just a fastball and changeup seemed manageable.

“Yeah. But that changeup is unusual. It is not your typical one.”

In Korea, when someone says ‘changeup,’ they usually mean a circle changeup. Or perhaps a very basic three-finger changeup.

“Vulcan?”

Some pitchers did occasionally throw a Vulcan changeup.

“Not that either. He throws a kick changeup.”

“A kick changeup? You think he throws that?”

Kim Daehan, who had retired at the end of last season, had once struggled badly against a particular foreign pitcher. That pitcher’s signature pitch had been a kick changeup.

“Song Seongjun is not even a full-time pitcher.”

Learning to throw that pitch properly would be extremely difficult.

Yet a high school student was throwing it?

“Exactly.”

Manager Ha Jaeyoon shrugged.

“Anyway, watch out for the changeup.”