Chapter 7

Chapter 7. The Real Beginning

There were about three weeks left until the 2024 KBO Rookie Draft.

Every player who started baseball dreamed of becoming the main character there.

More than a thousand players tried to pass through that gateway, but only around ten percent would become dragons.

To become part of that small group, everyone poured everything they had into the Bonghwangdaegi.

Some did it to hold onto the smallest thread of hope.

Others did it to secure a better contract.

The final two surviving schools met in the championship game.

Seongsin High, led by their overwhelming ace Kang Jihoon and Kim Nahan.

Dongsin High, which had reached the final through the strength of a well organized batting lineup led by Choi Jiwan.

With Choi Jiwan narrowly leading the race with six home runs, the game between the two teams began on September 9.

Before the game started, the coach gathered the players and slowly spoke.

"You've all worked hard until now."

After making eye contact with each player, the coach gave a small smile.

He had probably experienced tournament finals several times before.

Still, perhaps this tournament was special even to him.

His gaze stayed on me and Kang Jihoon a little longer.

"You've already done more than enough. You guys had fun too, didn't you?"

"Yes!"

The coach clapped loudly.

There was no need for a long speech.

Clap!

"Still, since we've come this far, we should win, right?"

"YES!!"

That playful sentence seemed to loosen the tense atmosphere.

While everyone laughed together with the coach, some of the pressure disappeared.

Perhaps some of us would fail to cross the wall into professional baseball.

Some might even leave baseball forever.

Still, we laughed together with the teammates we had spent three years running beside.

Everyone became one.

Even Kang Jihoon awkwardly put his arms around others' shoulders and stumbled through a cheer.

That said everything.

So that none of us would have regrets at the end.

We would pour everything we had onto the field.

Looking at Father sitting in the first base stands, I made that promise to myself.

"All right, let's go!"

The game began.

Dongsin High's starting pitcher was a classic type.

His fastball topped out at 148 km/h.

He also threw a fast slider around 8 km/h slower than his fastball and a decent changeup.

He was clearly the kind of pitcher who would comfortably be selected in the second round.

He might not be a protagonist, but he was important enough to be a supporting character.

Crack!

In contrast, our leadoff hitter was a relatively less impressive player who would ultimately fail to get drafted.

Of course, one of the charms of baseball was that even players like him could sometimes hit home runs off great pitchers.

Still, it did not happen very often.

The hitter barely made contact with a third pitch changeup and was retired.

"Nice!"

"Just two more!"

The Dongsin High players shouted as if they had just recorded the final out in the bottom of the ninth.

The second batter stepped into the box.

I filled his place in the on deck circle while receiving encouragement from my teammates.

I erased the cheers coming from the surprisingly large crowd and the players' shouts from my ears.

Right now, I only had one thought.

Hit a home run.

Tap!

"Foul!"

Boom!

"Ball."

Tap!

"Foul!"

Our second batter seemed determined to see as many pitches as possible.

He stubbornly wore down the pitcher.

The pitcher's expression tightened after another foul ball.

What does he think he is, Lee Young-gyu?

He was probably thinking something like that.

To be fair, this approach was almost the same as half giving up on getting a hit just to force the pitcher to throw more pitches.

Some people could say it was not good baseball.

Getting a hit was obviously better.

If you became too focused on seeing pitches and simply got out, you had put the cart before the horse.

Still, it's not completely useless.

Our strategy was for the first and second hitters, especially, to focus on seeing a lot of pitches.

It might hurt the players' pride too.

It meant we trusted the players batting behind them more.

What player did not want to become the star of the game and impress the scouts?

But our table setters valued the team's victory more than that.

Crack!

After stubbornly troubling the pitcher, the second batter was finally retired on a grounder back to the mound.

He approached me with a disappointed expression.

"The fastball is easier to hit than I expected. It feels a little light. I don't think he's getting his usual velocity either."

"What about the breaking balls?"

"His changeup comes out with almost the same form as his fastball, so it's not easy. The slider seems to drop a little lower than it did on video. I think he'll rely mostly on his breaking stuff."

"Okay. Got it. Good work."

"Yeah. Go hit one out."

The information we collected during the pregame meeting was never absolute.

Every player's condition changed from day to day.

Depending on that condition, they also changed how they approached the game.

Even a pitcher whose greatest weapon was his fastball might choose to rely on breaking balls on a certain day.

Closing the gap between information collected beforehand and information gained on the field, then adjusting properly.

That was a necessary ability if you wanted great results.

His fastball is worse than usual. But his breaking balls are in good condition.

The pitcher's first pitch came toward home plate.

Crack!

"Foul!"

"Ahh, so close!"

"The pitcher's scared! He's scared!"

The ball flew deep and crossed the fence.

Unfortunately, it passed just outside the foul pole.

I adjusted my grip on the bat and briefly stepped out of the box.

I had thought it would be difficult for him to throw his lighter and slower four seam fastball as the first pitch.

So my swing had been weighted more toward his breaking pitches.

Unexpectedly, his first pitch had been a fastball.

This pitcher and catcher had more courage than I expected.

No balls, one strike.

The count was against me, but I had still gained something.

I was completely late on the timing, but the ball still carried really well.

My natural power was part of it, but the ball was clearly light too.

Even though I had pushed the ball to the opposite field, it had more than enough distance to become a home run.

The pitcher seemed to understand that too.

He lightly bit his lip.

He probably knew exactly what happened to pitchers whose fastballs lacked power.

I'm timing everything for the breaking ball.

It was something I could never do against a pitcher whose fastball was in normal condition.

If I swung on changeup timing and still hit a foul home run, that means I can still make solid contact even if I'm late.

Because his fastball velocity was down, I was confident I could hit it even if I swung on breaking ball timing.

There was a difference in movement between his slider and changeup.

But that was not a serious problem.

I can deal with the movement using my wrists.

Would he throw the changeup I wanted?

Or would he throw a fastball and leave everything to luck?

The pitcher faced an incredibly unfair two choice problem.

He thought for a long time.

Eventually, he nodded.

The moment he released the ball,

my bat also began to rotate with force.

CRAAACK!

The race for the 2023 Bonghwangdaegi Most Home Runs Award had become more intense than ever.

While Kim Nahan slowed down in the semifinal, Choi Jiwan added another home run and seemed to pull ahead.

But in the top of the first inning, Kim Nahan tied things again with a solo home run.

Then in the bottom of the fourth, Choi Jiwan answered by hitting a home run off Kang Jihoon and taking the lead once more.

"WOOOOAAAAAH!!"

Jiwan raised both arms and sprinted around the bases as if he had just hit a walk off home run in Game 7 of the Korean Series.

Watching him roar, a Hawks scout spoke excitedly.

"He's really incredible. He makes me feel like we should draft Choi Jiwan right now."

"I agree. That's a home run off Kang Jihoon."

At those words, Myeonghak shook his head.

"Unfortunately, he's a first baseman. Choi Jiwan's defense isn't good enough for third base. What we need is a third baseman."

"Would a conversion, a position change, be difficult?"

"Choi Jiwan's offensive numbers may be possible because he plays first base, where the defensive burden is lower. Our first base depth isn't nearly as urgent as third base, so taking that risk in the draft isn't ideal."

If necessary, they could also convert the team's starting third baseman to first base and open up the third base position.

Myeonghak added that explanation.

Then, in the top of the sixth inning, Nahan hit another home run.

It was a huge shot that landed in the upper section of the outfield seats.

It was the kind of ball no player without natural power could hit.

Watching Nahan slowly circle the bases, the scout exclaimed in admiration.

"Wow. This is seriously making it hard to decide who we should draft."

"If we have to choose one of them in the same round, we're taking Kim Nahan without question. But only if they're available in the same round."

It was true that Jiwan, who had performed consistently for two full years, was rated more highly than Nahan, who had suddenly exploded in one tournament.

However, Nahan was a third baseman.

Exactly the position the team had desperately searched for.

He might even become the player who replaced the team's franchise star.

When Myeonghak's thoughts reached that point, his expression tightened slightly.

...We might need to plan this more carefully than I thought.

They were not the only ones interested in Kim Nahan.

Other club officials who had gathered to watch the final also straightened in their seats whenever Nahan stepped into the batter's box, analyzing him with interest.

He had already become a hot commodity among scouts.

Originally, they probably could have picked him comfortably in the fourth or fifth round.

But now, there might be a team willing to gamble on him in the second or third round.

"We might even have to make an early pick."

The scouting team's attention turned toward Nahan.

It was not an easy game.

Both teams were showing their highest level of concentration.

Players ran an extra step to catch balls that could have become extra base hits.

They stretched their arms as far as possible.

After surprise bunts, players even made head first slides into first base just to survive.

The desire to win filled Mokdong Stadium.

Top of the ninth.

The score was tied 2 to 2.

I slowly stepped into the batter's box.

Now we both have seven home runs.

I had matched his home run total.

Still, I was not satisfied.

If I'm satisfied just because I completed the quest, I'll never become a better player.

Our leadoff hitter stood on second base with his uniform completely covered in dirt.

There was not a single player wearing a clean uniform.

That meant every player had poured everything into this game.

If I saw that and still remained satisfied with where I was now, then I did not deserve to become a professional player.

"Nahan!! We're counting on you!!!"

"You can do it, so stay calm!"

"Just give us one hit!"

My teammates' eyes were filled with trust as they looked at me.

Even Kang Jihoon was leaning against the dugout railing, watching me.

Before my regression, I had almost never received looks like those.

It made me smile.

It almost felt as though the heavens themselves were whispering that I should become the protagonist.

I'm already an old man inside. I should grant these kids' wish at least once.

For some of them, this might be the final game of their lives.

I wanted to leave them with a good memory.

Does everyone become like this when they get old?

I had never particularly enjoyed showing off.

Still, maybe living as the protagonist once in a while would not be so bad.

I could complete the quest at the same time.

And I wanted to give my family at least one thing they could proudly brag about.

I calmly took my batting stance.

I could see the pitcher on the mound taking a deep breath.

Psychologically, he was at a greater disadvantage.

The side being chased always became more desperate than the side doing the chasing.

Eventually, he went into a large windup.

The ball flew toward home plate.

......

Suddenly, I saw Father.

He had come all the way here to watch his son play in the championship game.

He sat behind the first base side, clutching both hands together anxiously.

Inside.

Stay calm.

There was no reason to rush.

Father was still alive.

I still had plenty of time.

I no longer needed to play baseball as though something was chasing me.

Even if I grounded into a double play here, Father would still be proud of me.

I tucked my right arm close to my torso.

My left foot rose into a leg kick.

It increased the power of the swing without disturbing my balance.

My hands remained back until the moment my front foot moved forward again.

As the ball approached home plate,

I pushed my front foot downward and outward.

My hips rotated at the same time.

The bat moved toward the ball.

Lightly, comfortably.

I held the bat lightly and swung naturally upward.

Then, not in front of the plate, but directly over the center of it,

the bat and ball met.

CRAAAAACK!

Ah.

It was the most beautiful swing I had shown Father since returning to the past.

The fastball had drifted only slightly, just slightly, toward the center.

And it crossed over the fence.

Ding.

I could almost hear the notification telling me that the quest had been completed.