The Prodigy Who Rejected the Major League Chapter 28

Chapter 28

 

The second batter, Shim Jeongwoo, had been timing his swing for Shumaker’s mid-to-high 150 km/h fastball.

But then, on the very first pitch, a changeup came in.

If only he had completely whiffed.

At least then, the runner on third might have been able to dash home.

But even that bit of luck wasn’t on their side.

It was a moderately paced ball hit straight at the shortstop. The runner on third couldn’t move, and just like that, two outs.

“Seongjun, that guy throws a changeup.”

“Really? Got it. Thanks.”

Shim Jeongwoo, meeting Song Seongjun near the on-deck circle, told him which pitch he’d been beaten by.

“How was the movement?”

“It was a normal changeup. But it was so sudden… I couldn’t react.”

“No, it’s fine. Just knowing he pulled out a changeup is already a big gain.”

“When you go up, make sure you bring Juwon home, okay?”

Shim Jeongwoo was indirectly telling him to get an RBI.

“Maybe I should make the pitcher throw a wild pitch or something?”

“That wouldn’t be bad either.”

At Song Seongjun’s joke, Shim Jeongwoo gave an awkward smile and nodded.

Still, if it were Song Seongjun, wouldn’t he somehow get it done?

He believed that.

During their national team training camp…which had felt both short and long, Shim Jeongwoo had noticed something about Song Seongjun. He always seemed relaxed.

Even today, everyone else looked pressured by the tall left-hander throwing blazing fastballs for the first time.

But not Song Seongjun.

Hadn’t he already produced results in his first at-bat?

Right now, they absolutely needed a run.

Since elementary school, more than ten years of playing baseball, Shim Jeongwoo had absorbed an unchanging rule of the game.

No… any ballplayer would know it.

When you need to score, you must score.

If you fail, the other team will strike back.

It was only one run.

If they didn’t get one here, would they get a better opportunity off that pitcher later?

 

 * * *

 

The first pitch to Jeongwoo was a changeup?

I had seen 85 miles per hour flash on the scoreboard and thought, ‘Ah, changeup.’

‘So it’s a changeup.’

I nodded to myself, locked that information into my head, and stepped into the batter’s box.

As I settled my footing with my spikes, Andrew spoke first.

“Looks like you did a whole lot of useless research.”

His tone had grown cocky.

Even after going back to the dugout, Andrew Costello had been bothered. How did that Korean guy know his girlfriend’s name so accurately?

Then one teammate cleared it up.

“Your girlfriend? She’s the cheer squad queen at your school. And she’s famous around town. That’s probably how he knew.”

That made sense.

She was the queen of the cheer squad, famous locally… and despite that, she chose Andrew over the football team captain. Of course, people would know her name.

“Those cheap tricks won’t work this time. Got it?”

“Cheap?”

I’d planned to keep my mouth shut this at-bat after messing up earlier.

But listening to him, I figured that wouldn’t be necessary.

“Are you in a hurry? Sounds like you’re getting weak.”

“What? In a hurry? Weak?”

American macho guys really hate being called weak.

“Sure. I mean, you already pulled out the ‘Ulala’ changeup.”

“What the hell is Ulala?”

“Ulala! Ask your pitcher about it after this inning.”

I subtly pointed at Shumaker on the mound.

It was his cute little nickname for it.

 

***

 

“Ball.”

Shumaker’s first pitch came in high.

The scoreboard showed 96 mph (154.5 km/h).

‘This guy spent three years grinding in the minors… then started hitting 100 mph.’

We were the same age.

And we were both still growing.

He might even grow to two meters tall.

Part of his shaky control probably came from his height increasing year after year, never quite settling his balance.

That was something we could exploit.

“Doesn’t look like the pitcher’s in great condition?”

When Shumaker wasn’t feeling sharp, his velocity didn’t drop.

Instead, the difference between strikes and balls became dramatic.

“Ball!”

Even now, anyone could tell the moment he released it. That one was never a strike.

“Who would fall for that?”

Still, don’t walk me. Got it?

For fifteen years in the major leagues, I always stepped up determined to decide the game myself.

And the national team manager had placed me in the heart of the lineup.

Why?

To draw walks and pass chances along?

No.

He put me there to drive runs in.

Of course, if they refused to give me a hittable pitch, I had to show patience.

Swinging wildly at garbage would just be a bonehead play that would hurt the team.

If they didn’t want to face me, then yes… take the walk and pass the opportunity along.

But!

On a pitch like that, you don’t hold back.

Crack!

The ball flew into the right-field stands… foul.

It had been a changeup.

My timing was early.

‘That was flat.’

A perfectly hittable Ulala changeup… and I missed it. Damn it.

’Ulala’ was Spanish. Apparently, a type of cactus.

I’ve never seen one.

Shumaker said his changeup looked like a ridiculous cactus, so he called it Ulala.

When I first heard that, I thought he’d lost his mind.

Anyway, when his changeup goes ‘Ulala’ in a good way, it’s a nasty pitch.

‘But when it goes the other way?’

It’s just a ball that drops.

Maybe today was one of those bad Ulala days.

Jeongwoo had said it too… the changeup felt ordinary.

“Blue! My bat handle’s slipping.”

I immediately called time.

In truth, the bat wasn’t slipping at all.

But saying that was a legitimate(?) excuse to go over to the on-deck circle and say a few words to the next hitter.

“LeeJun, toss me the spray.”

Receiving tar spray from Woo Lee-jun, I sprayed the bat handle.

“Right now, his changeup’s flat. When he throws it, it just flies and then free-falls. That kind of level.”

Not literally, of course.

But for a hitter, that image is enough.

“That flat? The changeup’s that bland?”

“Yeah. If one comes, don’t miss it.”

First, I had to stay alive so Leejun would even get his turn.

And even then, there was no guarantee the pitcher would throw a changeup.

But knowing and not knowing were two entirely different things.

After delivering what felt like crucial information, I returned to the box.

 

The fourth pitch was a fastball again.

“Foul!”

It kept tailing outside and dropped into the right-field stands.

Good distance… but still foul.

‘Meaningless.’

The scoreboard showed 98.5 mph.

“Wow!”

I burst out in pure admiration.

How can you not be surprised when you see this?

It was the fastest pitch the pitcher threw today.

And then there’s the fastball.

“Foul!”

This time, the ball was so ambiguous that I couldn’t help but swing the bat.

As is typical of competitions held in the United States, ABS is available, but challengers must request it. And even then, they only have two chances.

If you feel like it’s ambiguous, it’s right to swing the bat.

‘But why is he like this?’

Suddenly, I felt like I had caught a fastball.

I saw some balls being pushed towards the center today.

You’re not just doing this to me, are you?

“Aren’t you using too much strength? If you’re going to pitch until the seventh inning, you need to conserve some strength.”

I knew Schumacher’s stamina was excellent because I played for the same team in the minor leagues. According to the analysis team, all four of Team USA’s starting pitchers were in good shape.

“Don’t worry. I have enough stamina to face you in the 7th round.”

“Oh? 7th inning? So you’re saying we don’t have the confidence to score as many points as Australia did yesterday?”

It’s childish, but it’s nitpicking.

The United States ended Game 1 against Australia yesterday with an 11-1 score in the sixth inning.

“I like that. Good job! Andrew.”

“Huh! Interpret it however you like.”

Andrew clicked his tongue.

So is the guy crazy? I hope he is.

Stop throwing that damn fastball now.

Slider or.

If you’re going to do it, it would be great if you could throw that delicious changeup one more time.

Oh, that’s less annoying.

The pitch chosen by Schumacher and Andrew was the slider.

It’s a slider that comes in slightly outside the strike zone as if it were a backdoor.

Taak!

I wasn’t being greedy. I just returned the ball that John had hit.

Even when I played in the major leagues, I was a hitter who hit far behind the league average.

It’s not difficult to deal with these kinds of changeups.

And now, it was time. It was a situation where additional points were needed.

The ball flew over the first baseman’s head and into the outfield.

However, I think I hit it too hard.

 

[Song Seong-jun’s hit went to the right!]

 

The location where the ball would land was ambiguous.

I wonder if it’s too close to the foul line!

 

[Falls inside the line! Fair ball!]

 

“Oh my!”

thank god!

 

[Runner on third base scores!]

 

Heo Juwon stepped onto the home plate with ease.

 

[And the batter and runner Song Seongjun goes to second base!]

 

It was only after I reached second base that I sighed deeply.

If I had been unlucky, it could have been a foul.

 

[Following a solo home run in the first inning, he drove in another run in the third! Today’s game, he went 2-for-2. Two RBIs! A home run and a double! This is Song Seongjun, the South Korean national team’s third hitter!]

[U-18 Baseball World Cup Korea 2-0 USA]

 

┗WAWAWAWA

┗King Sungjun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

┗You’re really good at it LOL

┗I threw a slider because the fastball kept getting cut, but if you hit it like that, there’s no answer KEKEKE

┗It’s a striking machine, it’s a striking machine Hahaha

┗The pitcher pitched well, and the batter hit well too LMAO

 

The catcher visits the mound. What do they talk about?

I think he’s saying, “Don’t worry about getting hit. Focus on the next batter and the game.” That’s what he’s saying. If we give up more runs here, even if the US is the strongest team among the 12 participating nations, today’s game will be difficult.

 

[Pitcher Geo Schumacher is a pitcher whose strength is his fastball, but so far, he’s been a fastball-only pitcher, right?]

 

It was just a matter of mixing sliders there.

 

[Hasn’t the batting order already been turned around? I think they’ll probably mix in the changeup from now on. The key will be how Woo Leejun, who can’t help but feel pressured by fastballs, will react when he throws the changeup.]

 

Contrary to the commentator’s concerns.

Woo Leejun, who had already been warned by Song Seongjun that his changeup might be flat, swung his bat boldly when he felt it was a changeup with 2 balls and 1 strike.

It might not have been a changeup, so I might have swung and missed badly.

Still, it was better than hesitating, missing out, and regretting it.

Don’t miss the changeup.

There’s still one ball left in the ball count anyway.

I felt the ball resting on the head of the bat.

At that moment, Woo Leejun had a feeling.

 

[Woo Leejun’s hit is high and to the left! High!]

[It’s over!]

[Republic of Korea! Home run!]

 

Shumaker, who was watching the ball fly into the outfield, eventually lowered his head.

This home run was more shocking than the one he gave up to Song Seongjun and the RBI double he gave up earlier.

In the dugout.

The young players of the Korean national team greeted the home run hitter with enthusiasm.

“Woo Leejun! You’re crazy today!”

“Are you following Seongjun’s example too?”

“Did you eat something wrong? What are you talking about all of a sudden? Hahaha.”

“It’s all thanks to Seongjun.”

These were the first words Woo Leejun uttered after being beaten up by his fellow players under the guise of praise.

“Huh? Thanks to Seongjun?”

At those words, everyone looked at Woo Leejun and Song Seongjun alternately with puzzled expressions.

“Thank you, Seongjun.”

“How is it? I tried it. It was bland, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. It was just a batting ball.”

“Batting ball? Is that so? Hahaha.”

I laughed out loud at Woo Leejun’s words.

It’s a batting ball. Yeah, that could be it.

He’ll be a major leaguer in the future. Right now, he’s just another high school student. Hahaha.

“What’s going on? Stop laughing so slyly. Talk to me.”

 

***

 

The younger you are, the scarier it is to ride the wave of momentum.

The Korean national team players, who were young, even 18 years old, were scary.

Of course, Geo Shumaker may have been half out of his mind.

After that, walks and wild pitches continued.

 

[The ball bounces high and clears the first baseman’s head! The runner on second base scores!]

 

Even the luck of the game didn’t follow.

Giving up one more point, Geo Shumaker gave up four runs in the third inning alone.

He came down from the mound.

It was a big inning in the third inning that no one expected.

In that way, the second match of the opening round of Group A between Korea and the United States was tilted in an instant.

 

◆The WBSC U-18 Korean national team defeated their formidable opponent, the United States, in Game 2, defeating them 8-2! Song Seongjun took the mound in the bottom of the seventh and finished the inning cleanly with three strikeouts.

 

* * *

 

The opening round Group A preliminary round was not difficult for the Korean national team, which had overcome the great mountain of the United States.

After winning the third game against the Czech Republic 14-1, they faced Australia, the second toughest team after the United States, in the fourth game and won 5-2.

Game 5, the final match against Mexico, was a close one, ending in a narrow 4-3 victory.

 

◆The Korean youth baseball team took first place in the group stage for the first time at the U-18 Baseball World Cup.

 

The national team, which advanced through the group stage with 5 wins in 5 matches, will begin its Super Round schedule on the 11th, starting with a match against Taiwan.