Chapter 34. 120 Pitches
Manager Rodriguez was growing increasingly troubled.
Choi Seong didn’t look particularly good right now.
He had already thrown close to 110 pitches.
If they pushed him too far, it could snowball into an injury later on.
After the Oceans’ lifeless offense ended, they had one final defensive inning left.
Just before Choi Seong headed back to the mound, Manager Rodriguez called him over.
“Are you okay?”
“I’ll finish it.”
“You’re already close to 110 pitches. Can you really do it?”
“I can. There’s nothing I can’t do. You’re supposed to struggle when you’re young so things get easier later.”
His English pronunciation was as natural as a native speaker’s.
Manager Rodriguez couldn’t help being surprised once again.
Still, he remained torn between protecting a promising young player and allowing that player to complete a historic performance.
Choi Seong resolved that dilemma for him.
“I want to keep pitching. I have to finish this game myself. You don’t need to worry about injuries.”
Manager Rodriguez could see the determination in Choi Seong’s eyes.
It was like looking at a soldier prepared to die before charging onto a battlefield.
If Rodriguez ever wrote an autobiography about his career as a manager, he might say that the eyes of this young man had left the deepest impression on him.
That was how strong Choi Seong’s determination was.
It looked as though he was willing to risk his life for this one game.
“I’ll leave the final inning to you as well.”
Manager Rodriguez firmly gripped Choi Seong’s bare hand.
To think he could show this much fighting spirit so early in the season.
When Choi Seong returned to the mound, the cheers from the crowd grew even louder.
Some critics might later condemn Manager Rodriguez for such extreme pitcher management.
But if they failed to end their three-game losing streak today, it could easily become four straight losses.
Then five.
Choi Seong calmly warmed up by throwing to Yoon Jaejun.
Through eight innings, he had recorded thirteen strikeouts while giving up only four hits and two walks.
He had allowed a few extra-base hits during the middle innings, but from the later innings onward, he had begun striking out every batter he faced.
The bench coach spoke beside Rodriguez.
“Shouldn’t we put Ahn Jaehyeon in now?”
“No. Right now, Mr. Choi will stop everything himself.”
He was trying to burn everything he had to become the winning pitcher of this game.
No matter what happened, Choi Seong would stop them.
Rodriguez had absolute faith in him.
—147 km/h.
His velocity, which had been in the low 150s earlier, had dropped noticeably.
Even the sharpness of his pitches had dulled enough to see with the naked eye.
—Crack!
The batter swung.
He had perfectly targeted the weakened pitch.
The ball looked as if it would slip through the gap between second base and shortstop for a hit.
At that moment, Go Gyeongtae appeared.
He made a sliding catch and immediately threw to first.
“Out!”
The first-base umpire calmly called the batter out.
Manager Rodriguez clapped harder than ever before.
He could feel the same desperation from his players.
One out.
On the mound, Choi Seong raised his thumb.
Shortstop Kim Jeongtae also tapped Go Gyeongtae on the shoulder with his glove.
The next batter was a pinch hitter.
“Are they trying to gamble here...?”
Manager Rodriguez let out a quiet groan.
“That player is Yoon Youngman. He hit thirty home runs last year, but he’s been struggling since getting injured.”
Yoon Youngman.
Rodriguez had heard that he had been left out of the starting lineup early this season because of an ankle injury.
He was steadily growing into the cleanup hitter of the Daegu Cats.
“Why are they so obsessed with winning this game?”
Manager Rodriguez could hardly believe it.
Originally, Choi Seong only needed to face the eighth and ninth hitters.
After that, his job would be done.
But with Yoon Youngman suddenly appearing, the momentum shifted slightly.
It was only a one-run game.
If the injured slugger somehow hit a home run, the entire atmosphere of the game would change.
“It’s his first plate appearance of the season, so we don’t know how he’ll perform.”
At the bench coach’s words, Manager Rodriguez swallowed hard.
Yoon Youngman limped into the batter’s box.
Should they intentionally walk him?
But then the lineup would turn over to the top of the order.
In the worst case, they could even give up the lead.
Rodriguez’s instincts told him that extra innings would be better than risking that.
He calmly signaled Yoon Jaejun, who kept glancing toward the dugout.
Keep going as planned.
Yoon Jaejun looked toward the bench and nodded.
—143 km/h.
A fast four-seam fastball entered the strike zone.
Pinch hitter Yoon Youngman swung.
—CRAAACK!
“Waaaaah!”
The Daegu Cats fans erupted.
Everyone on the bench watched the flight of the ball.
“Foul!”
It was a long foul ball.
The ball barely passed outside the foul pole.
Yoon Youngman lowered his head and grimaced.
“Okay. Keep going like this.”
The swing had caused a slight pain in his ankle.
Manager Rodriguez believed things would now become more favorable for Choi Seong.
Whatever happened, because of his injury, Yoon Youngman wouldn’t be able to make another swing like that.
At that moment, Daegu Cats manager Choi Seungryong walked onto the field.
“Wasn’t that a home run?”
He had come out to protest to the home plate umpire.
But anyone could clearly see that it had been foul.
It had simply been a foul ball with home-run distance.
“Tch. He’s trying to waste time...”
Manager Rodriguez clicked his tongue.
“VAR!”
For the first time today, a video review was requested.
About two minutes passed.
By then, Yoon Youngman was rotating his ankle and practicing his batting stance again inside the batter’s box.
His condition had stabilized somewhat.
“We will announce the result of the VAR review. Daegu Cats manager Choi Seungryong challenged the previous ruling, claiming Yoon Youngman’s foul ball may have been a home run. After review, the ruling stands. It is a foul ball. The original call will not be overturned.”
Boos erupted from the Busan Oceans fans toward Choi Seungryong for delaying the game.
Manager Rodriguez looked toward the mound with concern.
He wanted to see whether the delay had affected his young pitcher mentally.
However, Choi Seong was grinning.
He looked back and forth between the Daegu Cats dugout and Yoon Youngman before pointing toward Yoon Youngman’s ankle.
He had already realized they were trying to buy time.
But what happened next surprised everyone.
“What is he doing?”
The bench coach stared in disbelief.
Choi Seong had told Yoon Youngman to take a little more time to rest.
Yoon Youngman hesitated for a moment.
Then he went over, sprayed pain-relief spray onto his ankle, and returned.
“Fair play...”
Manager Rodriguez couldn’t help feeling moved by Choi Seong’s character.
Choi Seong patiently waited.
Since this involved an injury, the delay didn’t count toward the pitch clock.
When Yoon Youngman returned to the batter’s box, he bowed his head toward Choi Seong.
It was a gesture of gratitude.
Despite being a much more junior player, Choi Seong had shown him consideration.
It seemed even the Daegu Cats fans had become captivated by Choi Seong.
Everyone began chanting his name.
—134 km/h.
The next pitch was a slider.
Yoon Youngman swung and missed.
It was one of the first sliders Choi Seong had thrown since the seventh inning.
Choi Seong, who had shown almost no change in expression throughout the game, smiled for the first time.
“He really looks like he’s enjoying himself...”
Manager Rodriguez could only admire him.
Then Choi Seong struck out Yoon Youngman.
The ninth hitter met the same fate.
Manager Choi Seungryong stared at Choi Seong in amazement.
A nine-inning complete-game shutout.
An achievement accomplished with exactly 120 pitches.
And with that, Choi Seong led the Busan Oceans to a 1–0 victory.
[Choi Seong Overcomes Choi Seungryong’s Strategy and Protects the Win]
[Choi Seong Waits for Injured Yoon Youngman... A Gentleman of This Era]
[Choi Seong Becomes First Player to Record a Shutout in His Second Career Start]
[Hits His Own Home Run and Protects His Own Lead?... Korean Baseball Watches Two-Way Player Craze]
[The Second Ohtani? No, He’s the First Choi Seong... Scouts Turn Their Eyes Toward the Oceans]
Articles flooded out one after another.
There was also criticism aimed at Choi Seungryong for deliberately stalling for time.
But he merely chuckled.
Because he believed Choi Seong represented the hope of Korean baseball.
Choi Seungryong was already considered one of the senior figures of Korean baseball.
Winning championships was important.
But the future of Korean baseball mattered as well.
Of course, sending out an injured slugger in the ninth inning had still been entirely for the sake of winning.
“He’s quite an interesting kid.”
The next day, Choi Seong’s complete-game shutout became a huge topic of discussion.
The super rookie had already begun proving his true value from the very start of his professional career.
Some inexperienced reporter, apparently unable to read the mood, requested an interview with Choi Seungryong, the manager who had lost the previous day.
But Choi Seungryong accepted without hesitation.
“Fans have been going crazy over the way Choi Seong showed consideration for his opponent at the end. As the opposing manager, what did you think of it?”
As the opposing manager...
Choi Seungryong thought for a moment before answering calmly.
“Fair play is important to a certain extent. But that’s something you can only talk about when winning comes first. We’re professionals. If we go easy on the opponent, they win. The best service we can give the fans is victory. If we start showing mercy, we can’t do that.”
“So are you saying you view Choi Seong’s actions negatively?”
Choi Seungryong shook his head.
“No. That’s not what I mean. Choi Seong was taking pity on us. That kid is already overwhelmingly skilled. He showed that consideration because he was already certain he would win.”
It wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to say that the entire Daegu Cats had been pushed back by Choi Seong alone.
Choi Seungryong had already become a fan of his.
“Choi Seong said in yesterday’s MVP interview that he was worried about his opponent’s ankle because he wanted to enjoy the final showdown. What do you think about that?”
“I want to recruit him to the Daegu Cats immediately. He already has that kind of confidence. Even after throwing 120 pitches, he was absolutely certain he could win!”
The people around them began murmuring after hearing that.
They had never seen Manager Choi Seungryong become this excited at his age.
His eyes were shining with joy, almost like a final burst of passion from an old veteran.
“Y-Yes...”
The reporter hurriedly wrote down his words.
“When he becomes a free agent, he’ll probably go to America, but make sure you write that he should remember the Daegu Cats when he comes back. He’s the future of Korean baseball.”
“I’ll make sure to include that.”
After the first six games of the season, the KBO entered its Monday rest day.
And among baseball fans with no games to watch that evening, Manager Choi Seungryong’s interview became the hottest topic.
[Exclusive Interview — Choi Seungryong: “Choi Seong Is the Future of Korean Baseball... Go to the Majors, Then Come Back”]
—This is the first time I’ve ever seen Choi Seungryong talk like this.
—Honestly, I love Choi Seong too, but is anyone else on the Oceans even alive? They all look like corpses.
—Even if they don’t win the championship, he’ll probably build an insane individual career. There was a reason Yomiuri wanted to trade for him.
—Isn’t his personality ridiculously good too?? He even said he only waited because it looked fun, probably because he didn’t want people saying he was looking down on the opponent by showing them mercy lol.
—But judging from everything we’ve seen so far, I think he really is just enjoying himself... Seriously, the guts he showed in the ninth inning were insane.
—Honestly, I don’t look forward to any Oceans games unless Choi Seong is pitching.
[Sub Mission: Lead Your Team to Victory!]
[The Busan Oceans have partially recovered after losing three straight games!]
[Reward: Four-Seam Fastball +1]
As Choi Seong watched the comments and his rising stats, he could only let out a quiet sigh.
They had to start turning things around from this week onward.
But it didn’t look like it would be easy.
What was the point of him being the best ace pitcher?
If he failed to lead the Oceans to a championship this season, his body would literally explode and he would die.
At that moment, he was calmly practicing his batting inside the team’s indoor training facility.
Then two heads cautiously peeked inside.
Each of them was carrying a box of red ginseng extract, supposedly good for the body.
They were Go Gyeongtae and Kwon Geonwoo.
