Chapter 45

Chapter 45. A Strange Guy

[Hidden Mission Complete: Record Breaker]

• Choi Seong is on a journey to create yet another legend. Since you have broken a record for the first time in this life, this reward is granted.

• Reward: Every time you break a new record, all stats will increase by 10% in the following game.

I somehow felt more strength filling my body.

But more importantly, our team had just broken a new record.

Forty runs.

Was that even possible?

Could two teams really combine for forty runs in a single game?

Players from both teams had broken all kinds of records for reaching base.

Walks and hits had already poured out endlessly.

The previous record for most combined runs was thirty-nine, set by the Seoul Triples and the Seoul Magicians.

We had broken it by exactly one run.

“That’s seriously rare. And of course, the Magicians are involved in another game where this many runs are scored.”

“Did you expect our game to turn out like this too?”

In the end, the game still wasn’t decided even after twelve innings.

It ended in a draw.

Our winning streak had come to a rather uncomfortable end.

The opposing pitchers stubbornly refused to give me proper chances to hit.

Thanks to that, I set the single-game record for most walks with eight.

[Sub Mission: Reach Base in Every Plate Appearance!]

• Description: Choi Seong has just broken the record for most consecutive scoreless innings! Now the fans want to see his genius at the plate as well! Reach base in every plate appearance and achieve perfect attendance! It is time to show an even greater presence against a lower-ranked team.

• Reward: Batter Power +1

Either way, my stats had gone up, so being satisfied with this result wasn’t a bad thing.

Think about it.

The only thing that could probably win every single game would be an AI.

No matter how incredible a team was, no one could finish a 144-game season undefeated.

The players finished the game at 11:30 p.m. and headed to their hotel in Seoul with exhausted expressions.

“That guy is basically a god…”

“His on-base percentage is almost .550 now. Does that even make sense?”

“And isn’t he a pitcher? Other pitchers are actually more cautious against him. They know it’d be embarrassing to get beaten by one of their own.”

“How is that embarrassing? Avoiding him is more embarrassing…”

Heo Jun, manager of the Korean national baseball team, could only admire what he was seeing.

At this point, it really felt as though they might somehow be able to bring home an Olympic gold medal.

He kept voicing his amazement while talking with an employee from the Korea Baseball Association.

“Is there anyone else with skills like Choi Seong?”

“Not among players his age. We’ll probably have to bring players over from the majors.”

“What about Kim Beomjin?”

“He’s not bad, but he’s starting out in the bullpen for now. His ERA is around the low twos.”

“And of all things, he got sent to the second team early because of minor injuries.”

It was a side effect of pushing himself too hard while preparing for spring camp.

The Daejeon Hawks had chosen to keep him in the bullpen instead of using him immediately as a starter.

The prospects they had gathered recently had begun to bloom.

It seemed they planned to use him as a middle reliever and strengthen the back end of the bullpen.

“He should be back soon. It’s just some mild thigh pain.”

“Right. Don’t you think the picture is starting to come together?”

He was talking about how to build the team.

Of course, some players might shine now and decline later.

“It’s still a difficult decision. Kim Hakseong will be returning soon as well…”

“Honestly, there are three players I want from the Oceans.”

Kwon Geonwoo was batting around .330.

Yoon Jaejun was second in home runs.

And whether he was pitching or hitting, Choi Seong was clearly the best.

His overall ERA was literally 0.00, and he was also tied for first in wins.

He was third in home runs, first in batting average with over .400, and his on-base percentage was above .500.

“As long as Choi Seong doesn’t get injured…”

“Isn’t that the thing we should be worried about right now? Even during the game where he set the single-game walk record, a lot of dangerous inside pitches came at him.”

“Hmm…”

Heo Jun began thinking.

If Choi Seong were to get injured, there was a very high chance that their Olympic gold medal hopes would disappear with him.

He was valuable enough just for stabilizing the starting rotation, but his batting couldn’t be ignored either.

America and Japan had been mentioning Choi Seong almost every day.

On overseas baseball communities, Choi Seong was even being named as the player to watch most closely at the upcoming Olympics.

Not any other prospect.

Choi Seong.

Without even realizing it, he was gradually expanding his influence onto the world stage.

“Let’s make an announcement.”

“Huh?”

“We were going to move from the third preliminary roster to the final roster soon anyway, right?”

“Y-Yes?”

“We’ll say that we’re watching Choi Seong closely and that he’s the next-generation star who will lead Korean baseball.”

“And what effect would that have…?”

“Then the other players won’t mess with him. If someone hits him, Choi Seong’s fans will come after them, won’t they? And what are we? Some random association? We’re the baseball association. Even the clubs get nervous around us. Do you think individual players will want to step out of line?”

The employee listening to him nodded.

There was definitely logic behind it.

If that happened, no one would dare touch Choi Seong.

“Understood. Let’s apply it at the press conference later today.”

“Good. We’ll promote him naturally. Very naturally.”

“Seong, at this rate, aren’t you going to bankrupt the club?”

“Every time you show up, it’s another record. Another record.”

“This doesn’t make any sense.”

“I’m just playing. What am I supposed to do? The pitchers are too scared to face me.”

I said that while thinking about the pitchers who had avoided pitching to me the previous day.

What could I do?

They were scared of me.

What caught my attention more were the ridiculous articles.

Just what did people think I was?

[National Team Standards Rise… Only Kwon Geonwoo Newly Added]

[The Choi Seong Trio—Can Their Performances Lead Korean Baseball to Olympic Gold?]

[Three Saeum High Graduates Added to National Team Roster… What Happened to the Perennial Last-Place Team?]

[All Key Oceans Players Join National Team Roster… Final Selection Still Pending]

[Is Everything Thanks to Choi Seong… Even Making the National Team Roster?]

Right before the game, national team manager Heo Jun announced the newest roster.

This was the third preliminary list, and he said the final roster would be announced soon.

But the contents of his announcement were ridiculous.

It was good that Kwon Geonwoo had worked hard enough to earn his way in, but…

[Heo Jun Makes Strong Statement: “It’s Fine to Be Afraid of Choi Seong… But He Is a National Treasure”]

[Heo Jun: “Choi Seong Must Be in Peak Condition for This Year’s Olympics”]

[National Team Warns Against Hitting Choi Seong: “If an Accident Happens, There Will Be No Olympic Gold”]

[Is Heo Jun Protecting Choi Seong? Why the Manager Took Such a Strong Stance]

Coach Heo Jun had suddenly stepped forward to protect me.

Truthfully, there had been a few pitches yesterday that almost hit me.

I quickly dodged them.

Getting hit would only be annoying.

Still, having someone publicly protect me like this felt reassuring.

• Why is that cold-blooded Heo Jun acting like this?

• LOL. Maybe he should deal with all the times he ordered beanballs when he was managing pro teams first.

• If Choi Seong gets injured, I’m seriously killing someone. I’ll find that pitcher and kill him.

• All the Busan old guys are gonna rise up and cause chaos, aren’t they??

• For real LOL. That club will be on fire that same day.

• But if they want military benefits from a gold medal, the pitchers probably won’t touch him anyway haha.

The comments were surprisingly positive.

Of course, they were pretty negative toward the messenger, Heo Jun.

Either way, this should reduce dangerous inside pitches and hit-by-pitches quite a bit.

“Choi Seong, please come forward.”

Since I had broken another record after the previous series, the players began applauding loudly.

I stepped onto the mound with a slight smile.

I received another ten million won.

Most walks in a single game.

Would there ever be another batter who walked seven times in seven plate appearances?

Probably not.

Starting Lineup

• 1st Batter: Kwon Geonwoo (Center Fielder)

• 2nd Batter: Choi Seong (Designated Hitter)

• 3rd Batter: Daniel Sanchez (Third Baseman)

• 4th Batter: Yoon Jaejun (Catcher)

• 5th Batter: Yu Gam (Right Fielder)

• 6th Batter: Gu Jiwon (First Baseman)

• 7th Batter: Kwon Seonho (Shortstop)

• 8th Batter: Park Hyeonghwan (Left Fielder)

• 9th Batter: Go Gyeongtae (Second Baseman)

This time, the batting order had changed quite a lot.

I was scheduled to start as a pitcher in the next game, but batting lower in the order had actually made my weakness more obvious.

Pitchers either tried to hit me with pitches or refused to challenge me at all.

Because of that, they stacked contact and power hitters directly in front of and behind me.

Our batting results weren’t bad.

The problem was our fifth starter.

Four innings, six runs allowed.

And today happened to be one of those days when the opposing pitcher was locked in.

I finished with one hit in three at-bats.

Not amazing, but acceptable.

There were bound to be days like this.

We lost 6–4.

One draw and one loss.

The Daejeon Hawks were chasing us with frightening momentum.

Manager Rodriguez kept writing something down.

Thinking about it, our fifth starter had unfortunately appeared in three games without showing anything meaningful.

His ERA was in the sixes, and there didn’t seem to be much hope for a turnaround.

He would probably be sent down to the second team.

And that same day, a trade was announced.

The player being traded was Park Seunga.

Fortunately, there was actually a team that wanted the troublesome hitter who had been placed on the trade block.

The Gwangju Jaguars.

They were placing high value on the potential that had once made him a first-round pick.

In exchange, we received a pitcher.

However, he had an ERA above 20.00.

Last season, he had barely survived as a sidearm long reliever in mop-up duty before repeatedly blowing games and completely collapsing in the second team.

Luckily, the Gwangju Jaguars’ shortstop had suffered a long-term injury, which made the trade possible.

“Not bad.”

Yoon Jaejun, who had been worried about Park Seunga returning to the first team, looked relieved.

The sidearm pitcher’s name was Kim Byeonghui.

He had already completed his military service and had a tanned complexion.

The next day.

It was the day I was scheduled to start.

I had no idea what happened with Park Seunga, but Kim Byeonghui was immediately called up to the first team.

The fifth starter who had fallen apart the previous day was sent down to the second team instead.

Kim Byeonghui bowed ninety degrees to all of us and shouted,

“Hello, hyungs and dongsaengs! I came running from Gwangju to Busan at the crack of dawn to take over the team’s fifth starting spot! Please take good care of me!”

His voice was incredibly loud.

Manager Rodriguez was smiling with satisfaction.

Thinking about it, there was probably only one reason our fifth starter had been sent down.

He had no fighting spirit.

This guy, on the other hand, had fighting spirit instead of skill.

“I’ll join Choi Seong School too and work hard! Everyone calls me a love-hate guy, but I’ll do my best!”

It had been a long time since I heard someone speak in that old-fashioned blunt style in real life.

But there was something even more burdensome than that.

Those bright, intelligent eyes on his tanned face were staring directly at me.

Ah.

I told you, I’m not a playing coach.