Chapter 9
9. The Rude Freshman Appears at the National Tournament
Normally, high school baseball was watched only by people who were already deeply interested in it.
Even among them, very few watched closely.
The audience was usually made up of hardcore baseball fans who watched everything and people working inside the baseball industry.
In other words, an extremely small group.
Some members of that small group had watched high school baseball.
They had seen Seo Ji-tae.
And they praised him endlessly online.
[There’s a crazy guy named Seo Ji-tae at Cheongryong High School. He doesn’t just touch 150 once in a while. Most of his fastballs are over 150! He’s someone Korea should seriously be excited about.]
[Have you heard of Seo Ji-tae? He’s a first-year high school student but already a starter, and his talent is monstrous. It’s not just the velocity; his stuff is insane too. You can see it even from outside the camera angle!]
They had seen Seo Ji-tae’s pitches with their own eyes and praised him.
A monster who could carry the future of Korean baseball.
But because almost no one closely followed high school baseball, their claims sounded exaggerated to outsiders.
How many pitchers were said to throw 150 in high school and then got destroyed after going pro?
I looked him up. Reporters are saying he would definitely succeed immediately in the KBO. Is the KBO some kind of joke?
One reporter said he’s a Major League level talent. That’s way too much.
Forget the Weekend League. Today is where the real competition starts.
I bet my wrist he gets destroyed today and leaves the mound crying.
The people praising Seo Ji-tae had actually seen him properly.
There were clearly elite prospects in high school baseball.
Baekho High School, their regional rival, was normally considered a semifinal-level team.
Seo Ji-tae had crushed them and led Cheongryong to the first-half championship.
His stuff was so overwhelming that even an ordinary fan could feel it.
But most baseball fans dismissed the praise as hype.
So they focused on the broadcast with the attitude of, Fine, let’s see how good he really is.”
Mokdong Baseball Stadium.
The Round of 32 of the Golden Lion National High School Baseball Tournament.
As the first-half Weekend League champion, Cheongryong High School had received a first-round bye and advanced directly through the Round of 64.
Now the public began paying attention.
Which one is Seo Ji-tae?
They say he would succeed immediately in the KBO? Is the KBO a joke?
What’s fun about high school baseball? At least KBO games are funny even when the baseball is bad.
Because the tournament was broadcast nationwide through sports channels and the internet, far more scouts and baseball fans than usual filled the stands.
Among them was someone who clearly did not look Korean.
Ji-tae Seo. Let’s see how he performs in an important tournament…”
A foreigner.
A heavyset man with white hair watched the game with a laptop open in front of him.
Everyone’s attention gathered in one place.
Wearing number 1, Seo Ji-tae slowly climbed onto the mound.
The plate umpire called play ball.
Cheongryong High School’s opponent in the Round of 32 was Geonseok High School.
The leadoff hitter stepped into the box and positioned himself strangely close to the plate.
Geonseok High School’s Shin Yoon-jae is batting first. Great plate discipline. He’ll probably be drafted to the KBO.
Shin Yoon-jae crowded the plate.
Getting the leadoff hitter on base was something every baseball team in the world wanted.
He slowly stared at Seo Ji-tae with sharp eyes.
Standing on the mound while the broadcast cameras were clearly filming him, Seo Ji-tae openly frowned.
?”
A third party might not notice it.
But there had been a disagreement between the pitcher and catcher while exchanging signs.
A moment later, Seo Ji-tae smiled.
Then he casually moved his glove toward the hitter.
A challenge.
Seo Ji-tae confirmed that the hitter’s face had turned red.
Then he immediately entered his windup.
Every part of his body connected into one movement.
The force beginning from his lower body traveled through his thoracic spine, exploded through rotation, and gathered at the end of his left arm.
His left arm violently cut through the air.
The ball shot toward home plate like a cannon shell.
!”
The leadoff hitter could not move.
Shin Yoon-jae froze before he could even decide when to swing.
The cannon-like pitch slammed into the mitt before his eyes.
Strike.”
The umpire’s call rang out.
But the real shock was still coming.
A bright yellow graphic appeared on the scoreboard and at the bottom of the national television broadcast.
[154 km/h]
The stadium became silent.
The hitter stared blankly at the scoreboard with his mouth open.
Even the announcer and commentator in the broadcast booth fell silent.
…My eyes aren’t wrong, are they? A first-year high school student just threw 154 km/h!”
Incredible. That high school fastball looks like it rises around the hitter’s chest. It’s the optical illusion created by a rising fastball, which means the spin rate must be extremely high.”
The trembling voices of the announcer and commentator were broadcast nationwide.
This was not a radar-gun mistake.
The network’s measuring equipment was showing Seo Ji-tae’s overwhelming velocity and spin rate live.
The name Seo Ji-tae” was being engraved into the national stage.
All the previous excitement surrounding him had been real.
The baseball communities that had mocked the reports immediately became confused.
What the hell, did you just see Seo Ji-tae’s fastball?
154 km/h is real??? That trajectory is insane.
I’m watching on a screen and I can barely even see the ball.
Where did all the keyboard baseball experts saying the radar gun was fake go?
How is that a freshman? Put him on a professional first team right now.
The hitter is too scared to even swing, lol.
Too early to judge from one pitch.
But 154 km/h is still insane.
Public opinion that had mocked the freshman only moments earlier changed after one pitch.
Of course, Seo Ji-tae knew nothing about those reactions.
He did not care about the noisy stadium or the confused opposing dugout.
He simply prepared the next pitch with the coldness of a machine.
The second pitch was a 140 km/h high-speed splitter.
Aah!”
The hitter swung at the fastball timing and fell to one knee after missing.
The third pitch was another fastball.
Shin Yoon-jae hurriedly swung.
But the ball passed higher than he expected.
This time, 153 km/h.
The umpire immediately called him out.
In a nationally broadcast tournament game, Seo Ji-tae retired the first hitter on only three pitches.
His face remained calm.
It was only the first hitter.
Pitchers always have the advantage the first time they face a hitter.
He really does throw over 150.
Right. He’ll allow runs later.
They still did not want to admit it.
Like the Baekho coach before them, they waited for the next trip through the lineup.
But nothing they wanted to see happened for the rest of the game.
Calling it baseball almost felt wrong.
It was closer to a one-sided slaughter.
Seo Ji-tae dominated the Round of 32 without allowing a run.
Why can’t they hit that?
Can’t they even advance a runner?
He rarely walks anyone? A first-year high school student has control that good?
Seo Ji-tae was human.
Of course he threw balls outside the zone.
But he did not allow a single walk.
, Isn’t that guy throwing fastballs almost every time? They still can’t hit him the second time through the lineup?
