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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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With a single swing, the scouts, who had been focused on Lee Seung-tae, the top draft prospect, and the core players of Hyeoksan and Ilmyeong High, were thrown into a frenzy.
“Wh-What? He was pitching so well, why did he get hit? Did he lose his focus? What was the speed on that last pitch?”
“154… 3 kilometers faster than Joo Ji-tae’s top speed.”
“What? It was Joo Ji-tae’s best pitch? And he hit it right over? What are you doing! Quick, look up the data on that Cha Tae-hyun kid!”
“Well… that is…”
“Find it! Didn’t you feel anything from that hit? That kid is something else.”
“There’s no data…”
“What? What kind of nonsense is that?”
“No, I mean, there’s really no record of him at all. I’ve searched everywhere…”
“Are you kidding me! So you’re telling me that kid is a complete rookie, who just made his debut!”
Some scouts were berating their team members, while others were frantically contacting their clubs. It wasn’t just the domestic scouts.
“…Hey Rick. Didn’t you say we only needed to watch Lee Seung-tae today?”
A black man asked the white man next to him. The white scout answered with a blank expression.
“Yeah… I did.”
“Then who the hell is that Cha Tae-hyun kid? You’re not going to tell me you didn’t see his fantastic swing just now, are you?”
“I saw it. It was a truly beautiful and efficient swing.”
“Right! Damn, the pitch that Joo Ji-tae threw was perfect, and he just hit it over! What are you doing? Quick, add him to the list!”
The white scout shook his head.
“Not yet. In this country, maybe, but to make it to the majors, hitting alone isn’t enough. He needs to be good at defense too.”
“Hmm… really? I think he’s worth it just for that amazing swing…”
“Honestly… so do I. But let’s just watch him for a bit more… It’s just the beginning.”
“You’re right… Perhaps today, we’ll witness the birth of a monster.”
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I hit the first pitch for a home run in my debut at-bat. It was a satisfying hit, even for me. It seemed that quitting my part-time jobs and getting more sleep, thanks to the coach, was really paying off.
As I rounded the bases, I glanced at the Ilmyeong High pitcher. His head was down, so I couldn’t see his face. Was his mentality shattered? If not, this game wouldn’t be easy.
It was a bit strange for me to say this after hitting a home run, but he was definitely a skilled pitcher. If it hadn’t been me, he would have definitely gotten a strikeout.
When I entered the dugout after rounding the bases, the atmosphere was much more heated.
“Cha Tae-hyun!! That’s it!!”
Senior Chang-hyun pushing Seo Ji-ah aside and running out was a familiar pattern, but…
“This bastard is a real psycho!”
“Shin Tae-hyun… who is he, really?”
“Tae-hyun… I’m scared now.”
“Cha Tae-hyun! Cha Tae-hyun!”
“Cha Tae-hyun! Cha Tae-hyun!”
“Tae-hyun, how could you hit a home run right away and embarrass Chang-seop?”
“Tae-hyun, I’m not surprised anymore. I’ll just take it as it is.”
This was unexpected. As I entered the dugout, countless palms and cheers rained down on me.
“Haha.”
What was this? The cheers from the side were deafening, and the slaps on my back were so hard they stung.
But I was so happy that I couldn’t help but smile.
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After the brief celebration in the dugout, everyone refocused on the game. Senior Lee Tae-hyung was at the plate. As the leader of the fielders and the cleanup hitter, he was someone who could be relied on to hit when it mattered.
Those who knew would know. This at-bat was a very important turning point in the game. A pitcher who had just gotten two consecutive strikeouts with a perfect pitch then gets hit for a home run on a pitch that was even better than his usual condition?
That was a disaster for a pitcher. But a good pitcher should be able to hold his mentality here. I wondered how Joo Ji-tae of Ilmyeong High would handle it…
Soon, he wound up and threw the ball.
“Strike!”
A fastball on the inside corner hit the catcher’s mitt. His speed and stuff hadn’t dropped at all.
“As expected of a first-round pick… he’s not easy.”
“What are you talking about?”
Jin Myung-hwan chimed in again.
“Myung-hwan, don’t you get it?”
“What.”
“His stuff is the same. And his time to the plate is also the same. That means his own routine isn’t shaken. Huh? Honestly, his mentality could have been broken, but it’s not.”
“…Yeah, okay.”
I didn’t think he’d get it even if I told him, but it was surprising. I thought he was the type to play with his senses, so I didn’t think he would care about these details.
“You care about the details too? That’s surprising.”
“No. You told me to just take it as it is.”
Just as I was about to be speechless,
Thwack!
A sharp crack of the bat was heard.
“Ah…”
“So close…”
“If it had just gone a little more to the right, it would have been over…”
A foul home run that just missed the foul pole. A sigh escaped my lips. Hmm… There were two possible futures here.
The pitcher, bothered by the foul home run, gets shaken and gives up a real home run, or the batter, unable to calm his excitement, strikes out.
“Strike out!”
Of course, the latter was much more likely. A full swing on a high fastball. Senior Lee Tae-hyung must have been quite upset, having struck out on a high fastball. He was so disappointed that he even hit his head with the bat.
The gazes of the team members who were watching him became more serious. Since senior Lee Tae-hyung, the leader, was showing such passion, they must have felt something. It was a good direction.
I grabbed my glove and left the dugout.
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Hyeoksan High’s offense ended disappointingly, and Lee Seung-tae took the mound. The starting pitcher in a game that was practically the finals. He could have been a little nervous, but there was no sign of it on his face.
No, he was even smiling slightly. He had stood on this same mound last year. Although the bullpen had collapsed and the game had been extended, he, the starting pitcher, had held them off without giving up a single run.
‘They’re a team I’ve already beaten.’
How could he be nervous when he didn’t think he would lose? Lee Seung-tae’s gaze turned to Cha Tae-hyun. This was the first time he had played on the same team with him.
‘I wonder…’
What would the guy who had easily hit his best pitch be like on defense? A corner of Lee Seung-tae’s lip curled up.
‘Shall I test him?’
Lee Seung-tae changed his grip from a four-seam fastball to a two-seam fastball in his glove. He planned to test Cha Tae-hyun’s defense with a pitch that induced ground balls.
Strike!
‘Hmm… I threw it to get a ground ball. Has the level of the Ilmyeong High batters dropped?’
Lee Seung-tae didn’t know.
[153km/h]
His pitch had gotten considerably faster.
‘Should I control the pace a bit?’
Second pitch. Again with a two-seamer, but with a little less force than the first.
Thwack!
‘Did I take too much off?’
The ball went between third and short. A hard-hit ball that could have easily gotten through. But Lee Seung-tae soon raised a corner of his lip. The moment the sound of the hit was heard, Cha Tae-hyun had already run to the spot and easily caught the ball, throwing it to first.
“Out!”
‘Then there’s no need to aim for a strikeout.’
It was better to get ground balls to reduce his pitch count. The next batter also got a two-seam fastball.
Thwack!
The bat came out again. But just because you made contact didn’t mean it was a hit. It looked like an easy out, flying weakly. But the ball took a bad hop in front of Cha Tae-hyun. A so-called irregular bounce.
Cha Tae-hyun didn’t panic and kept his eye on the ball, leaning forward to catch it. He managed to catch it. But the second batter of Ilmyeong High was a notoriously fast runner.
It seemed a little late for Cha Tae-hyun, whose balance was a little off from catching the irregular bounce, to get into a proper throwing position. As if to deny Lee Seung-tae’s thoughts, Cha Tae-hyun threw the ball forcefully, stumbling, without getting into a proper throwing position.
He had to fall to the ground, but…
“……Out!”
He managed to get the runner out.
‘I hate to admit it… but he’s definitely good.’
Lee Seung-tae, with a faint smile, called out to Cha Tae-hyun, who was dusting himself off.
“Cha Tae-hyun.”
“Yes?”
“Nice play.”
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Meanwhile, the broadcast booth was in a state of high excitement.
“Wow…! Lee Seung-tae’s pitches are amazing, but I’m really drawn to Cha Tae-hyun’s defense.”
“That’s right! What is this player? Where did he come from, and how is he so good? Just looking at his defense just now, I can’t tell if I’m watching high school baseball or professional baseball!”
The commentators were so excited that the director had to tell them to calm down. At that moment, a staff member approached the director.
“Director… the number of viewers is exploding right now…!”
The director’s eyes widened. It was a high school baseball broadcast. It was a project that had just started last year, and high school baseball wasn’t that popular in the first place.
‘Is this a lie?’
In the end, the director, unable to believe it, turned on his phone to check the live viewer count, and the number 500 was displayed. Exploding with just 500 viewers? That might be the thought, but…
“What is this, why is it real?”
On average, it was 20~50 viewers, and at most, it barely exceeded 100. 500 was an explosion.
‘What’s going on…?’
An unbelievable player like Cha Tae-hyun had appeared, so it was worth being an issue. But that should have happened after this game was over. Right now, the public didn’t even know there was a monster rookie.
At that moment, a staff member raised his hand.
“Well… I’m a member of the Kkolnix… no, the Phoenix Gallery… and Cha Tae-hyun is quite popular there.”
“Huh? Is that true?”
The Phoenix Gallery was a community famous for its firepower. The director had heard of it.
“Yes. He was a hot topic for a while. Was it the baseball genius who appeared at the Phoenix Batting Center? That post.”
According to the staff member, Cha Tae-hyun had even declared that he would go to the Phoenix, so he had a very good image in that gallery.
“Well, anyway, you’re saying Cha Tae-hyun is famous there?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Then we have to ride the wave! Give the commentators tablets right now, open the chat window, and have them give feedback on the chat!”
“Yes, yes!”
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“Yes. We just received a new instruction. We’re so grateful that so many viewers have joined us, so from now on, our commentators will be conducting the game along with your chat.”
“The chat window will appear next to the screen soon, so please be respectful in your comments.”
Following the director’s instructions, the chat window was soon opened. And the moment it did, the chat window exploded.
└From now on, the Hwangnix Gallery will occupy this place
└I heard our gallery owner is here, so I came ^^
└So is the gallery owner handsome?
└He looks like he can beat people up well
└Then he must be good
└I came to see our team’s future ace, Tae-hyun-jwa
└So where is Tae-hyun-jwa? Should I cheer for Ilmyeong High?
└You’re a spy from the Dynos, aren’t you?
└This bastard?
└I came here to find the shortstop of the runaway Daejeon Volcanos ^^
└Are the Daejeon Volcanos crazy? How dare you covet the ace of the Hwangnix?
└Isn’t the Kkolnix, which is lower in rank than the Volcanos, the crazy one?
└STFU
└Don’t come to our team… He’ll probably be sold anyway, so I don’t want to get attached.
└But they give you pizza ㅋㅋ
└Damn
└Wow, did you see the pretty person in the stands?
└You shallow bastard, how can you look at anyone else when Tae-hyun-jwa is right there?
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