Chapter 29

Chapter 29. I’ll Prove It, Always

—Crack!

With a crisp sound, Kim Gyeongman shot to his feet.

“H-Huh? Is it going over? Is it going over?! Home run! It’s a home run!”

His voice rose with sudden excitement.

“Here at Sajik Baseball Stadium, where the fences are pushed farther back than almost anywhere else... he hits a home run! The score is now 1–0...”

There was clear disbelief in his voice.

Beside him, the play-by-play announcer shouted even louder.

As if they had just witnessed a miracle.

The comment section was already flooding with people accusing Kim Gyeongman of biased commentary.

—What the hell? Kim Gyeongman actually sounds shocked LOLLLLL.

—Did he seriously think Choi Seong couldn’t do it?

—Damn, this is hilarious. He was talking crap about him earlier, and now he’s about to lose his voice LOL.

The comment section was overflowing with criticism aimed at Kim Gyeongman.

And there was a reason for that.

Until just moments ago, Kim Gyeongman had been heavily criticizing Choi Seong for relying mainly on his four-seam fastball.

Even though Choi Seong had already been getting results with it.

It was basically unreasonable criticism.

Of course, Kim Gyeongman himself knew that.

“Please read this.”

The youngest PD, who had been flipping through the stat sheets behind him, quietly spoke to Kim Gyeongman.

Something this specialized was the commentator’s job, not the play-by-play announcer’s.

In other words, Kim Gyeongman had to say it himself.

“Since the KBO introduced pitchers batting... No, since the rule was introduced this season, this is the first time it has happened. He’s created a miracle in his very first game! A pitcher stepped into the batter’s box and hit a home run in his very first plate appearance. And a rookie did it! Choi Seong is slowly circling the bases. I can’t believe what I’m seeing!”

For a moment, Kim Gyeongman’s heart pounded violently.

It was almost like he was broadcasting the beginning of a legend.

Until now, he had been watching Choi Seong from the perspective of an anti-fan.

But his perspective began to change.

He started looking at Choi Seong more seriously.

Especially because that home run had come against an ace-level pitcher who had won two major pitching titles last year.

Kim Gyeongman finally said one thing.

“Even if we look through the entire history of Korean baseball, there have only been four home runs hit in a player’s debut plate appearance. This is a moment that makes you look forward to this player’s future... No, even his present.”

Kim Gyeongman thought to himself.

The score was 1–0.

But the way they had scored that run was far too unusual.

Still... the momentum has already shifted.

All because of a single rookie pitcher...

The Oceans’ leadoff hitter came up next and was retired, ending the inning.

Was this the arrival of a true genius?

There was no denying it.

Choi Seong was playing overwhelmingly well.

Better than any other pitcher.

And even better than the other hitters.

Kim Gyeongman couldn’t help but be amazed.

A new legend was beginning right here today.

“Good job, Seong. But are you okay with pitching right away? Want to throw a few practice pitches?”

“I’m fine. There’s no real problem.”

If anything, hitting that home run had sent dopamine exploding through my body.

It felt like the breaking balls that had been slightly dull earlier might finally start coming back.

“Really? What pitches do you want to focus on this time? At least until the middle innings, we should definitely have control of the momentum.”

I could feel that with my entire body.

Because of the afternoon sunlight, I couldn’t clearly see every face in the stands.

But I could hear their cheers perfectly.

Everyone was chanting one name.

My name.

How many years had it been since I’d received this kind of welcome?

It was a thrill that high school baseball and spring training could never give me.

“This is fun.”

“What?”

“I said it’s fun. Just being here, in this moment.”

I had finally learned how precious it was to play for each individual game.

For each individual moment.

In the past, winning the championship had been my only goal.

I had pushed my body mercilessly for that one purpose.

Because I was so obsessed with winning, I had never truly been able to enjoy an atmosphere like this.

But this...

“It feels like I’m the main character.”

Sure, I had once earned the nickname Championship Contractor after taking last-place teams in Korea, Japan, and America all the way to championships.

But even then, I had to share the spotlight with the rest of the team.

This time, however, I could fully enjoy this feeling on my own.

Everyone was cheering for me.

“Yeah. Enjoy it while you can. So, like we talked about, are we going with the curveball and four-seam fastball?”

“No. Screwball, slider, and four-seam fastball. Let’s focus more on horizontal movement instead of vertical movement.”

The screwball had given me trouble earlier, but I had a feeling things would be different now.

And I hadn’t even used the slider yet.

“The leadoff hitter is the guy who nearly hit a home run off you earlier. You okay with that?”

“Of course. Against Kim Ilgwon, I’ll start mainly with the fastball and slider. Two-pitch approach.”

“Okay.”

Kim Ilgwon stepped into the batter’s box again.

He was the guy who had nearly hit a home run off me earlier.

I calmly began my windup.

The first pitch was a screwball.

—120 km/h.

Kim Ilgwon didn’t panic as the ball approached.

He adjusted to its trajectory and swung.

—Crack!

The ball shot through the gap between first and second base for a hit.

The opposing batter was definitely in good condition today.

Even if my screwball wasn’t working particularly well, being able to hit it that cleanly was impressive.

Yoon Jaejun simply stood up from behind home plate and nodded.

It was only one hit.

I wasn’t particularly bothered by situations like this.

The only thing that mattered was that the ticking clock inside my body was slowly starting to return.

This is fun.

If I gave up a run, I would die.

Not a bad restriction at all.

Just like the previous season’s stolen-base king he was, Kim Ilgwon repeatedly edged away from first base, looking for a chance to steal second.

Every time he did, the ticking inside me grew faster.

Before throwing the first pitch to the second batter, I quickly fired a pickoff throw to first.

“Safe!”

Kim Ilgwon slid back and touched first base.

That was close.

Maybe because this was my first professional game, he had underestimated me.

He kept taking a large lead off first base, constantly searching for an opportunity to steal.

I threw over again.

Once again, he barely made it back safely.

He was probably trying to force either a balk or a throwing error.

But I decided to stop caring about whether he stole or not.

Four-seam fastball.

Yoon Jaejun’s request was obvious.

He was certain Kim Ilgwon would attempt a steal within the next few pitches.

If that happened, the catcher needed to receive a fast pitch like a four-seam fastball and immediately throw to second.

Okay.

I gave a small nod.

A high inside pitch.

That was the easiest location for Yoon Jaejun to throw from.

—156 km/h.

The pitch came in hard.

And Kim Ilgwon took off on the very first pitch.

Yoon Jaejun instantly fired the ball toward second.

It was last year’s stolen-base king against a rookie catcher who had only joined the league this year.

Fortunately, Park Seunga received the ball cleanly at second base and tagged the charging Kim Ilgwon.

Everyone’s attention turned toward the umpire.

“Out!”

By the smallest of margins, Yoon Jaejun’s throw had won.

Kim Ilgwon looked disappointedly at the umpire before returning to the dugout.

“Nice!”

“Yoon Jaejun, good job!”

Loud voices came from the fielders and the dugout.

Yoon Jaejun himself clenched his bare hand into a fist and let out a small roar.

I raised my thumb toward him.

It felt like we were going to control this game well into the later innings.

Since baseball was a sport played by humans, momentum clearly had a huge effect.

I kept them scoreless through the sixth inning.

Then our cleanup hitter, Kim Hakseong, hit a double.

The fifth hitter, Yoon Jaejun, followed with a single that drove him home.

The score became 2–0.

By the seventh inning, I finally saw the opposing starter’s previously expressionless face twist in frustration.

“Pitching change!”

Their starter, who had already thrown more than one hundred pitches, was replaced.

We went quiet again against their bullpen, but...

“Seong. You worked hard today.”

I had thrown around ninety pitches through seven innings, so I was also taken out.

A different reliever took over starting in the eighth.

Park Geonwoo.

He was one of our key setup men, signed for seven billion won over four years.

—Crack!

Unfortunately, he failed to meet expectations.

The moment he came in, he started getting hit.

He gave up one run before being pulled in the eighth inning.

The score was now 2–1.

A tight game.

Then, in the bottom of the eighth, my turn at bat came around again.

The opposing reliever was also one of their trusted setup men.

He hadn’t won the hold title last season, but he regularly pitched in both the seventh and eighth innings and had maintained an ERA in the 2.00s.

Thanks to Yoon Jaejun, I already knew his general pitching data.

After hitting the home run earlier, I had drawn a walk in my next plate appearance.

Their starting pitcher had clearly been uncomfortable facing me.

—139 km/h.

A heavy fastball came toward me.

It wasn’t incredibly fast.

But since he was a left-handed pitcher, it felt extremely unfamiliar.

The first pitch was a strike.

Unlike their previous pitcher, this guy had no intention of avoiding me.

“Good ball! Good ball!”

The catcher shouted before throwing the ball back to the pitcher.

The next pitch would probably be a forkball.

He would try to fool me and get another out.

It would likely come in extremely low, almost like it was going to bounce before reaching the plate.

—128 km/h.

I could clearly feel that this pitch was slower.

I had been thinking that I shouldn’t force anything.

But...

Change of plans.

The ball was coming in far too comfortably.

I matched its trajectory and swung.

—Crack!

Once again, a loud sound echoed through Sajik Baseball Stadium.

The catcher ripped off his mask and sighed.

It was a tiny sigh that almost no one could have heard.

But the umpire and I were close enough to notice it.

“Is it going over? Huh? Huh?! It’s going over!”

I hadn’t gotten quite enough power behind it.

Still, I had somehow managed to push the ball toward the right-field wall for a home run.

The right fielder sprinted all the way back and tried to stop it, but there was nothing he could do.

“Choi Seong! Choi Seong! Choi Seong!”

The crowd’s voices grew louder and louder.

Before long, Sajik Baseball Stadium had turned into a sea of excitement.

Without changing my expression, I stepped on each base and returned to the dugout.

Inside the bench, my teammates excitedly slapped me on the back.

“Ah, ah. That hurts. I need icing. Icing.”

I didn’t like making a big fuss, so once I said that, everyone quickly backed away.

Except for Kim Hakseong, who messed up my hair one last time.

“You’re changing our team, punk.”

3–1.

We had scored a priceless insurance run in the eighth inning.

The opposing dugout looked completely gloomy.

In the ninth, our right-handed submarine pitcher Ahn Jaehyeon came in as the closer.

I was nervous.

And there was a reason.

He still hadn’t properly found his command.

Unfortunately, my worries often became reality.

—Crack!

—Clang!

“Waaah!”

Ahn Jaehyeon kept getting hit.

Cheers erupted from the visiting team’s supporters.

He continued giving up singles and eventually surrendered a walk as well.

3–2.

Two outs.

Bases loaded.

That was the situation he had created.

“If you hadn’t scored that extra run in the eighth, we probably would’ve lost.”

Someone in the dugout sighed.

I simply watched the game without saying anything.

Then Yoon Jaejun walked out to the mound and said a few words to Ahn Jaehyeon.

Immediately, some life returned to Ahn Jaehyeon’s expression.

What did he tell him to recover his mentality that quickly?

And then Ahn Jaehyeon safely recorded the final out of the game.

Busan Oceans.

For the first time in five years, they had won their opening game.

“Today’s standout player and game MVP is the man everyone is talking about—Choi Seong! You’ve just made your mark on Korean baseball history. Could you tell us how you feel?”

As soon as the game ended, an announcer approached me for an interview.

I calmly accepted.

“I’ll keep working hard so I can do even better from now on.”

There was nothing more I wanted to say.

After the interview ended and the cameras were turned off, the female announcer quietly added one more thing.

“I heard the second preliminary roster for the Olympics will be announced tomorrow. Keep it up just a little longer!”

I didn’t give her any particular answer.

I simply smiled.