Chapter 2
2. In Sports, Skill Does the Talking
A sudden showdown.
Everyone was watching the freshman who had caused such chaos.
But Seo Ji-tae himself did not care.
While stretching, the arrogant freshman looked toward one of his classmates, Lee Jin-woo.
Your name was Lee Jin… something, right? Anyway, catch for me before I get on the mound. I need to warm up.”
Huh? M-Me?”
Lee Jin-woo hurriedly put on a catcher’s mitt and moved back.
Lee Jin-woo. You were always hardworking and kind. You never managed to fully develop your talent as a catcher, but I know what you’re capable of.
Standing on flat ground below the mound, Seo Ji-tae lightly rotated his arm and started playing catch.
Ugh!”
But even the lightly thrown balls repeatedly missed Lee Jin-woo’s mitt.
Lee Jin-woo barely blocked some of them with an unstable posture, while others went straight past him.
Even simple warm-up catches looked awkward.
The third-year seniors and Head Coach Choi Dong-il sneered as they watched.
What the hell? His pitches look pretty fast, but his control is complete garbage.”
That guy talked about skill when he can’t even throw one ball properly? What a joke.”
Everyone on the field thought Seo Ji-tae’s result was already obvious.
Only Lee Jin-woo, the person actually receiving the pitches, had cold sweat running down his back.
When Seo Ji-tae began preparing to pitch from the mound, Lee Jin-woo, who had struggled even with the warm-up, returned the ball while breathing heavily.
S-Sorry…”
Surprisingly, the apology did not come from the pitcher who had thrown wild pitches.
It came from the catcher who had failed to catch them.
It’s fine. If it’s your first time, it makes sense that you can’t catch them.”
Seo Ji-tae spoke calmly, as though it were obvious.
After finishing his warm-up, he tilted his neck and walked toward the mound.
And in this entire place, Lee Jin-woo alone began predicting a different result for this match.
Head Coach Choi Dong-il crossed his arms and glared at Seo Ji-tae on the mound.
Hah. Back in the old days, I would’ve beaten his thighs with a bat. The world’s gotten soft.”
A completely outdated remark.
Right. Guys like him believe too much in their own talent. Then their seniors beat some sense into them.”
In front of him, Seo Ji-tae stepped onto the pitching rubber.
He lightly loosened his shoulder and pressed his foot against the familiar dirt.
It’s been a long time.
It was not only the stadium that felt familiar.
There was also the weight of his healthy left arm.
Hoo…”
He slowly closed his eyes and awakened the sensations inside his body one by one.
The left-handed pitching mechanics Antonio, the former Major League coach, had taught him during his independent league days.
With his damaged shoulder, Seo Ji-tae had only been able to imitate the basic form.
But now, he could recreate it properly.
His body began moving according to his will.
He drew as much force from the ground as possible.
His lower body remained firmly fixed.
The rotational force from his spine continued all the way to his fingertips.
Times have changed. Even now, in the 2010s, the velocity revolution has already begun.
Seo Ji-tae’s body bent tightly like a drawn bow.
His right foot pushed powerfully against the mound, almost crushing the dirt beneath it.
Then his left arm sliced through the air like a whip.
Everyone’s eyes widened at the smooth motion.
The fastball shot into Kang Tae-ho’s glove.
And bounced straight out.
Ugh!”
The starting catcher had just dropped the fastball of a freshman.
He hurriedly picked up the ball, but his face was bright red.
Kang Tae-ho stared blankly at his mitt.
The impact had traveled through the thick leather and into his wrist.
Heavy.
Uh… Uh…”
Kang Tae-ho could not even scream.
His mouth simply opened and closed.
But the catcher was not the only one shocked.
A stunned voice came from the dugout.
T-This is…!”
The manager holding the radar gun had trembling hands.
An unbelievable number was clearly displayed on the screen.
O-One hundred fifty-two kilometers per hour! It says 152!”
152?”
The entire field exploded into chaos.
152? Not barely 150, but 152?”
Shocked voices came from among the freshmen.
The third-year seniors froze as though they had seen a ghost.
A left-handed 152 km/h pitch.
Even in the KBO League, that was a number only top-class pitchers could reach.
Yet it had come from the first practice pitch of a freshman who had just entered high school.
Head Coach Choi Dong-il pretended not to care, but the hand holding his bat was trembling.
Only moments earlier, he had been talking about Seo Ji-tae’s attitude and trying to intimidate him.
But now, even he was nervous.
A freshman who could throw 152 km/h.
This was treasure.
And the ball had not been wild.
It had gone straight down the middle.
No matter how much Choi Dong-il disliked him, he had not spent all his years in baseball for nothing.
He really can throw 150…!”
When a baseball scout said a player could throw 150 km/h, that usually meant the player had reached it once on an especially good day.
If a player normally threw around 144 to 146 km/h and happened to hit 150 once, scouts would write that he was a player who could throw 150.”
That was why Choi Dong-il had not trusted the report.
But the radar gun had not shown 150.
It showed 152 km/h.
This really was a pitcher capable of throwing in the 150s.
Everyone was speechless.
Choi Dong-il blinked.
F-Fast… But his control… We need to see more.”
Seo Ji-tae touched the rosin and stood on the mound.
