Chapter 75, Making Up for It
“I’m sorry...”
Yoo Jong-hyeon apologized to us after barely finishing the inning.
Manager Heo Jun stood at the front of the dugout, staring at the field without changing his expression.
Yoo Jong-hyeon had already thrown thirty pitches in the first inning.
His pitches had worked reasonably well in Korean baseball.
They had helped him record an ERA in the 3.00s during the first half of this season.
But on the Olympic stage, none of them worked at all.
“Prepare for the next inning too. You still need to make up for this.”
Manager Heo Jun calmly gave him a single sentence.
There were still no pitchers warming in the bullpen.
If Yoo Jong-hyeon had been a rookie or a starter with an uncertain career, he probably would have been replaced already.
But Manager Heo Jun trusted him.
After this Olympics, Yoo Jong-hyeon would essentially retire from the national team.
He was giving him one final chance to redeem himself.
“Thank you!”
Yoo Jong-hyeon bowed deeply.
Of course, it was not a good decision.
Yoo Jong-hyeon would allow even more runs and completely collapse later.
If anything, we were lucky he had only given up six so far.
That was possible because core players like Kwon Geon-woo and Yoon Jae-jun had made great defensive plays in this life.
Some of our players were different from my previous life.
“Don’t worry. We’ll score more.”
Kim Seong-mu of the Seoul Magicians said it confidently.
Then the bottom of our order went down one, two, three.
The players kept trying to challenge Reginent head-on.
They still did not seem to understand that to fight someone directly, your ability first needed to be comparable.
“Small ball. Everyone use bunts, fake-bunt slashes, whatever you can to keep disturbing him. Fast runners, take the biggest leads possible. Do what we did in the first inning.”
Manager Heo Jun finally gave direct instructions.
They were all methods I had already suggested in the first.
Unfortunately, they did not work.
Bottom of the second.
Yoo Jong-hyeon gave up two more runs.
The score became 8-5.
Thirteen runs in only two innings was rare by itself.
“Call the bullpen and tell them to get ready.”
Manager Heo Jun made the decision without hesitation.
Yoo Jong-hyeon’s expression instantly darkened.
But there was nothing else to do.
He had already allowed eight runs.
Far too many.
As captain, I did not say anything.
From my perspective, this disaster had been predictable.
He could simply do better next time.
Top of the third.
Our offense again.
Cho Seung-hun was the first hitter.
Apparently he had already benefited from my earlier advice, because he asked me,
“Uh, hey. What should I do?”
“Hold the bat as short as possible and focus on contact. You’re naturally a gap-power hitter. If you suddenly start taking uppercut swings trying to hit home runs, you’ll destroy your entire balance.”
He nodded.
Cho Seung-hun’s eyes sparkled slightly.
I shook my head.
Crack!
Cho Seung-hun lightly fouled off the first-pitch fastball.
He had listened to me and held the bat very short.
“Nice!”
When he swung quickly on the next pitch, I had no choice but to applaud.
He hit a single through the gap between second and third.
How many plate appearances had he already wasted with hero swings?
Cho Seung-hun seemed to believe his ability was still at the level where he had won MVP in Korea.
That was a huge mistake.
Years in the lower leagues had caused his skills to decline.
Both now and later, he needed to change his batting mechanics toward contact hitting.
[Third Batter, Designated Hitter Choi Seong. Choi Seong.]
I heard my name.
After loosening my body, I stepped into the box.
153 km/h.
A pitch perfectly attacked the inside and became a strike.
That was a signal that he intended to challenge me directly.
Probably because the hitter behind me was Yoon Jae-jun, who had already hit a three-run homer.
If he avoided me and then avoided Yoon Jae-jun, it could quickly become bases loaded.
Rather than creating that risk early, he intended to focus on me now.
What would the next pitch be?
I thought about it.
Not for long.
151 km/h.
Another hard fastball.
It looked as though Reginent really wanted to challenge me directly.
I had absolutely no intention of taking a hero swing.
CRACK!
But when you receive a fastball that good, you naturally want to hit it.
My ball smashed directly into the center-field fence.
Maybe I should’ve held the bat a little longer.
Meanwhile, the fast Cho Seung-hun scored.
8-6.
We had cut China’s lead to two.
Cheers erupted from our dugout.
At the same time, China called their bullpen.
That was a positive sign.
Honestly, aside from Reginent, China’s naturalized roster did not have many truly good pitchers.
Swing away.
Manager Heo Jun again gave Yoon Jae-jun the sign.
Two outs, runner on second.
Yoon Jae-jun nodded with a serious expression.
While the pitcher briefly took a breath beside the mound, I discreetly gave Yoon Jae-jun a sign only the two of us knew.
I was careful because I did not want it to become a sign-stealing controversy.
First pitch will definitely be a two-seam. Probably high and inside.
Yoon Jae-jun saw the signal and nodded.
The catcher would probably request a low inside two-seam.
But Reginent was already emotional.
His control was likely to miss high.
150 km/h.
A very fast two-seam rushed toward Yoon Jae-jun’s inside.
He did not flinch at all.
He swung as if he had been waiting for it.
