Chapter 24. Getting a Little Serious
Hoshino Yuki was throwing pitches in the bullpen at Fukuoka Citizens Baseball Stadium.
He was warming up before the practice game between Hiroshima’s second team and the Busan Oceans.
As he threw, quite a few thoughts passed through his mind.
It was because the Korean player named Choi Sung was rather interesting.
Hoshino Yuki’s life had never really had any ups and downs.
And he had never really had a true rival either.
The life he had always imagined for himself had been far too smooth.
Of course, he hadn’t been able to join a perennial championship contender like Yomiuri.
In a way, joining Hiroshima, who had finished last the previous year, felt like fate.
Until now, he had always been called the next crown prince of Japanese baseball.
Yet every team he belonged to had never won a championship.
It was almost like a jinx.
—161 km/h.
His average fastball velocity exceeded 160 km/h.
And yet there was still something that bothered him.
He had never thrown a game where the pitcher completely dominated everything by himself, like a perfect game or a no-hitter.
He had occasionally recorded shutouts and complete games, but he had never completely erased an opposing lineup through his own power.
—140 km/h.
The pitch Hoshino Yuki had recently been practicing, a sweeper, landed cleanly in the center of the strike zone.
It came in like a slider, but broke almost completely sideways.
There was barely any vertical movement.
“Yuki. Your finishing pitch looks pretty good today.”
“…No, senpai. Choi Sung’s slider was somehow even more impressive.”
For the first time in his life, watching Choi Sung had made Yuki feel hungry for baseball.
Choi Sung had perfectly mastered a slider that came in somewhat similarly to a sweeper.
It wasn’t simply fast.
It broke more.
And it had more force behind it.
“You’re talking about that guy again? Korean baseball is still a hundred years away from catching up to Japanese baseball. He probably wouldn’t even be able to hit your pitches, and you’re Japan’s top prospect right now.”
“Choi Sung was batting over .600 with an ERA below 1.00. Unlike me.”
The senior catcher burst out laughing.
Then he slapped Yuki on the back.
“Korean high school baseball isn’t the same as our Koshien. If you had played over there, you probably would’ve thrown perfect games like it was nothing. You posted an ERA in the ones at Koshien, remember?”
The senior enjoyed Yuki’s competitive spirit, but at the same time, he thought the kid was still young.
Yuki wasn’t considering the difference in league level at all.
“Do you think so?”
“Of course. Show him today. Show Choi Sung and those Busan Oceans what Japanese baseball really feels like.”
“I will.”
Even as he said that, Yuki looked toward Choi Sung warming up in the bullpen on the other side.
Maybe he was just warming up lightly, because his pitches weren’t coming in particularly fast.
“See? Doesn’t watching him throw right now break the illusion a little? I used to be like that too. I’d see guys from Korea or South America and think they were amazing, but once they came to Japan, they usually weren’t anything special.”
Yuki couldn’t really agree.
Because the Choi Sung he had seen in the videos had been untouchable.
Even if you brought over top-level teams from Koshien, he doubted they would be able to hit Choi Sung’s pitches.
Our lineup was simple.
I had been placed high in the batting order.
Third, to be exact.
Manager Rodriguez explained one by one why each player had been placed where they were.
Starting Lineup vs. Hiroshima
1st Batter: Kwon Geonwoo (Center Field)
2nd Batter: Park Hyeonghwan (Left Field)
3rd Batter: Choi Sung (Pitcher)
4th Batter: Kim Hakseong (First Base)
5th Batter: Daniel Sanchez (Third Base)
6th Batter: Yu Gam (Right Field)
7th Batter: Yoon Jaejun (Catcher)
8th Batter: Park Seunga (Second Base)
9th Batter: Kwon Seonho (Shortstop)
“Looking at today’s starting lineup, Kwon Geonwoo and Park Hyeonghwan have shown the most consistent contact.”
Everyone nodded at that.
During the intrasquad game, Kwon Geonwoo had hit a single in front of the left fielder, then recorded a second hit after making a headfirst slide on a ground ball to third.
Park Hyeonghwan had struck out against me, but immediately afterward, he recorded both a hit and a stolen base.
“Kim Hakseong is needed as the heart of the batting order. Daniel Sanchez also needs to be in the cleanup trio as our foreign player.”
Kim Hakseong had hit for extra bases with no runners on.
Daniel Sanchez had gone hitless, but he still needed to prove his value to the team.
“Yu Gam will handle the last spot in the cleanup group. I’m hoping he can occasionally surprise us with a home run. Yoon Jaejun has excellent receiving and blocking skills, and he has good chemistry with today’s starting pitcher, Choi Sung, so I included him.”
Yu Gam still didn’t seem to have much feel for handling different pitches, but there was always a chance he could luck into a home run.
One thing Manager Rodriguez was overlooking, however, was Yoon Jaejun’s batting.
That guy was my personal disciple.
He could hit for extra bases at any time.
“Park Seunga and Kwon Seonho were our existing middle-infield combination. Park Seunga changed his batting form, so today will be a test for that. Kwon Seonho has stable defense, which I like.”
I had been left out of Manager Rodriguez’s explanation.
I assumed he would eventually explain why he had put me in the third spot.
Sure enough, he spoke casually.
“Honestly, I want to bat Choi Sung fourth. But if I do that, there’s a gap between the table setters and the cleanup hitters. Putting him first or second would give him more plate appearances, but then there may not be runners on base in front of him. After thinking it over, I placed him third.”
I had expected him to explain why I had been moved into the top half of the order instead of staying near the bottom.
But that explanation actually made me rate Manager Rodriguez even higher than before.
I could feel several players staring unhappily at me.
Especially Park Seunga, who had been placed in the lower half of the lineup.
What good would glaring at me do?
He was a guy who would get released around the All-Star break anyway.
“Hiroshima will bat first in the top of the first. Everyone, get into defensive position.”
Yoon Jaejun climbed up toward the mound with a somewhat nervous expression.
Wasn’t the catcher usually the one supposed to keep the pitcher calm?
“Sung. Let’s do well today.”
“Stop being nervous and just catch the ball like you normally do.”
There really wasn’t anything to worry about.
He was such a strange guy.
Quite a few men in the stands were setting up pitching cameras.
They were probably part of the analysis teams trying to gather information on Hiroshima.
They were very thorough about that kind of thing here.
They were probably here to study Hoshino Yuki’s pitches.
The leadoff hitter was Harold.
Looking at Hiroshima’s lineup today, there were plenty of players I didn’t know.
But there were some I did recognize.
As far as I remembered, that guy would stay with Hiroshima for a long time and eventually become a regular starter.
—157 km/h.
The fastball came in pretty quickly, and Harold reacted immediately.
Foul on the first pitch.
Later on, during a season dominated by pitchers, that guy would bat .300 and steal fifty bases.
He would even become the first foreign player to receive honorary citizenship after spending several years with the club and being recognized for his contributions.
In a way, he was quite a remarkable player.
