Chapter 76, An Unexpected Decision
Manager Lin Yu calmly watched the game.
Eighth inning.
8-8.
Both teams kept putting runners on base, but no one was reaching home.
Both teams had already recorded double-digit hits.
Earlier, he had taken inspiration from Korea’s second pitcher, who relied heavily on breaking balls.
China began calling more breaking balls too.
It worked much better than expected.
“Knuckleball. Is he ready?”
Manager Lin Yu personally called the bullpen to check the next pitcher.
He was told the pitcher was ready.
Aside from cleanup hitter Yoon Jae-jun, Korea’s entire lineup had become extremely focused on contact.
Yoon Jae-jun kept chasing breaking balls, apparently still wanting another home run.
But every result was only an outfield fly.
He was young and probably overly excited.
In a situation like this, bringing in a knuckleballer would help control the game.
“As expected from you, Manager. Using the knuckleball right now seems perfect. They don’t look close to producing extra-base hits.”
“Right. I heard Choi Seong is a home run hitter too, but he doesn’t look especially powerful today.”
Manager Lin Yu slightly revised his evaluation of Choi Seong.
Of course, he was still a great player.
But his condition did not seem especially good today.
He had come to the plate five times.
Aside from hitting fastballs well early in the game, he had not done much.
If Korea was not using extreme uppercut swings, the best response was to bring in a pitcher with a completely different breaking ball.
That was the best decision Lin Yu could make.
Did you know about the miracle of the eighth inning?
It meant the same thing as the phrase, the promised eighth inning.
Its history went back to the 1982 World Baseball Championship.
In the final against Japan, Korea produced a dramatic comeback in the bottom of the eighth.
Then during the 2006 World Baseball Classic, Korea also produced decisive hits and home runs in the eighth.
Always the eighth.
This game would be no different.
China changed pitchers.
He would probably cover the final two innings.
110 km/h.
His knuckleball came in with almost no spin.
“Strike!”
At first, I could not adjust properly.
That was because I had been seeing pitches in the 130 to 140 km/h range, and now suddenly had to deal with something slow.
138 km/h.
A fastball more than 20 km/h faster came next.
My bat could only swing through empty air.
Each individual pitch was not overwhelmingly powerful, but the change of speed was pretty good.
Maybe his knuckleball was around B-grade.
110 km/h.
Another slow knuckleball came in.
Because it had almost no spin, it was impossible to predict exactly where it would fall.
I instantly shifted my grip and held the bat longer.
It was a quick decision.
Then I swung without hesitation.
CRACK!
The ball quickly cleared the fence.
China had overlooked two things.
First, they had tried to control the game by bringing in a knuckleball pitcher.
Second, my swing was naturally closer to an uppercut than a contact swing.
The moment the ball crossed the fence, every player in our dugout rushed out and shouted.
“Choi Seong! Choi Seong!”
The small number of Korean fans joined in.
9-8.
The infielders began cursing at the pitcher, who lowered his head on the mound.
It was a run we had barely managed to score late in the game.
A one-run battle.
“As expected, you’re the only one!”
Yoon Jae-jun violently hugged me.
Kwon Geon-woo shook my shoulders from beside him.
All the seniors were staring at me.
I answered lightly.
“It’s nothing. It’s still only China.”
“Yeah, though somehow it turned into monster-level China.”
Every player on the Chinese national team was performing better than their actual ability because of the promised victory bonuses.
Honestly, even if China gathered players from around the world, their normal level still did not match Korea.
Korea had its own baseball history too.
“Anyway, I’ll leave the rest to you.”
Now we could finally bring in the team’s closer.
Oh Jin-ho.
The Daegu Cats’ best closer.
The man widely known as the originator of the stone-like fastball.
Even at forty years old, he was second in the league in saves using only a fastball and slider.
For reference, first place belonged to Noh Jae-hyeon, the reliable closer of the Busan Oceans.
“I’ll shut them down.”
Oh Jin-ho also contacted me from the bullpen before coming in.
I really had no idea why every bullpen pitcher kept calling me.
“Please do. Definitely.”
Oh Jin-ho answered not with words, but with action.
He pitched a perfect ninth inning.
Nine pitches.
Three strikeouts.
An immaculate inning.
The first immaculate inning in the history of official Korean national team games.
It was overwhelming pitching from Oh Jin-ho, who was preparing to retire from the national team.
No.
He was preparing to retire from baseball entirely.
Game over.
The moment Oh Jin-ho recorded the final strikeout, we ran onto the field.
Then we greeted the fans.
“Wow... there are that many again.”
A huge number of foreign reporters were waiting.
But I knew I was not the MVP today.
I had hit the eighth-inning home run thanks to the miracle of the eighth, but Yoon Jae-jun had already hit consecutive home runs earlier.
I quickly returned toward the bench.
“Everything was thanks to Choi Seong! Every idea came from his head!”
Suddenly, Yoon Jae-jun began explaining the advice I had given Cho Seung-hun.
The reporters looked toward me with interest.
“That wasn’t all. He united us in the locker room. One of our seniors even cried...”
Several foreign reporters quickly approached me.
Foreign reporters asked too many questions.
If I wanted to avoid being trapped, I needed to escape quickly.
“What exactly did you do during today’s game?”
“I just played.”
A lot of things.
Explaining every single one myself would only make me look ridiculous.
I quickly went inside to shower.
There was plenty of dirt on my uniform.
When I came out around thirty minutes later, Yoon Jae-jun was waiting with a miserable expression.
“That was exhausting... They ask so many more questions than Korean reporters...”
“Getting attention in an international tournament will help your career. Think of it positively.”
