Chapter 78, Crushing the Weak
Thump.
Outfield fly.
The well-hit ball eventually landed inside an outfielder’s glove.
Ahn Hong-gyu lowered his bat in disappointment.
Still, it had not been a bad ball.
Maybe around a B-minus.
It was unfortunate, but there was nothing else he could do.
With the bases loaded, swinging away was the only realistic choice.
0-0.
The Taiwan game had unexpectedly become a brutal pitching duel.
Taiwan’s pitcher was currently the only Taiwanese player in Japan’s league, and he had just been called up to the first team.
That alone was enough to prove his ability.
After the fifth inning, I did not make a separate speech as captain.
The players seemed to be waiting for me to say something.
But speeches became boring if you gave too many of them.
Maybe they lost their effect.
Instead, I calmly waited for an opportunity.
If Kwon Geon-woo and Cho Seung-hun both got on base, I would finally receive a chance.
Then I could decisively tilt the balance toward us.
I took a deep breath.
There was no reason to become emotional.
“Ha...”
Actually, I was not the problem.
Go Gyeong-tae was sighing beside me.
He had come to the plate twice and struck out both times.
“If things aren’t working, don’t try to bunt. Just tap the ball.”
During his previous plate appearance, Go Gyeong-tae had even attempted a bunt with two strikes.
It went foul.
He was called out under the three-bunt rule.
“Okay...”
“Just find the contact point properly and tap it. That should be enough.”
Go Gyeong-tae weakly nodded.
Other than Cuba, there really had not been an easy game.
Go Gyeong-tae led off the sixth.
He had actually played very comfortably at third base.
As expected, there was a reason he was such a useful infield utility player.
“It’s not as easy as you make it sound...”
“I’ll teach you quickly, senior.”
I showed him how to identify the contact point and almost release the bat through the swing.
“I, I’ll try.”
The ninth hitter, Go Gyeong-tae, calmly stepped into the batter’s box.
Then the mighty Cho Seung-hun from Colorado’s lower leagues approached me.
“Ah, this is frustrating.”
Cho Seung-hun gave a fake cough while watching Go Gyeong-tae prepare.
“Frustrating, right? Since you can’t get on base, they’re just walking me.”
“Right... So maybe...”
“If you want to get on base, do what you’ve been doing lately. Short grip, focus on singles. Though judging by your condition today, even that might be difficult.”
“Damn it. I’ll get on somehow.”
Cho Seung-hun’s personality had changed a lot during these Olympics.
Maybe seeing a bigger world had changed how he approached baseball.
He used to be a complete narcissist.
Now, at least, you could actually talk to him.
Crack!
While we were talking, Go Gyeong-tae got a hit.
It was not perfect, but he made contact almost exactly the way I had taught him.
The ball strangely passed between the second baseman and shortstop.
It was only a single, but it became his first national team hit in three plate appearances.
“Nice!”
People around him cheered.
Maybe because Go Gyeong-tae was so timid, strong-personality baseball players tended to like him.
Everyone sincerely celebrated his first hit.
“I’m going.”
Kwon Geon-woo applauded Go Gyeong-tae, then stepped forward.
He had been completely overpowered by the pitcher today.
But Taiwan’s starter had already thrown more than eighty pitches.
If the pitcher was starting to tire, Kwon Geon-woo might be able to find an opening.
Hit and run.
Manager Heo Jun gave a simple tactical sign.
It was not a bunt.
He trusted Kwon Geon-woo’s actual hitting ability.
Go Gyeong-tae gradually increased his lead.
Even after several pickoff attempts, he did not back down.
Crack!
Kwon Geon-woo hit the ball.
It barely passed over the shortstop’s head.
In an instant, Korea had runners on first and second with no outs.
“Nice!”
Cho Seung-hun was next.
He had been talking with me the whole time.
“If I get on here, our precious junior gets his chance, right?”
“Right. But don’t worry about me. Score runs. Keep the swing as simple as possible, understand?”
Cho Seung-hun nodded firmly.
As long as we won, I did not care if Taiwan walked me every single time.
Then Taiwan changed pitchers.
“What should I look for?”
Cho Seung-hun kept talking to me from the on-deck circle.
But this was a pitcher I had never seen before.
If I could not remember him, he probably had not been anyone special.
“He’s nothing special either. Just keep hitting the way you have lately. Focus on singles. You should get on base.”
“Right? My skills aren’t dead yet, are they?”
“Yes.”
Cho Seung-hun stepped into the box.
Then the problem happened.
150 km/h.
A fastball suddenly came flying in.
The biggest problem was that it did not enter the strike zone.
“Aaaagh!”
The fastball struck Cho Seung-hun directly in the head.
I rushed toward the batter’s box in shock.
The Taiwanese catcher and pitcher exchanged horrified looks.
Cho Seung-hun screamed from the pain.
An ambulance immediately entered the field.
“Agh...”
Cho Seung-hun barely held back another groan.
“Don’t talk. Just wait until the ambulance gets here.”
Blood was coming from his head.
It was not a good sign.
But he was smiling.
“Seong. I did well, right...?”
“Are you crazy? How is this doing well? You’re injured!”
I rarely raised my voice.
Cho Seung-hun looked surprised.
Then he smiled again.
“What? I thought you were a robot. You can make a voice like that too?”
I clenched my fists.
Why was Cho Seung-hun acting like this?
Was it because I had pressured him too much?
When he saw me biting my lip, he laughed.
“It’s not because of you. It’s just... I’m embarrassed by myself. I have this label saying I went to the Majors, but I never actually got there. Honestly, I’m mediocre even on this national team.”
“Even so...”
“I know. So hit a grand slam this time.”
Cho Seung-hun’s head was wrapped tightly in bandages as he was taken away in the ambulance.
Why?
Why had he gone that far?
What had gone wrong?
What had he wanted to prove to me so badly that he refused to avoid that pitch?
It had been possible for him to get out of the way.
“Ha...”
Anger rose inside me, too large to contain.
Cho Seung-hun was immediately replaced by a pinch runner.
His blood was still clearly visible in the batter’s box.
The pitcher who threw the headshot was immediately ejected.
The next pitcher came to the mound without properly warming up.
The game had already tilted enough.
Still 0-0.
There was no excuse for me not to hit here.
I slowly took my stance.
Fear filled the opposing pitcher’s face.
Why had Cho Seung-hun tried so hard to win?
No, why had he gone so far to create this opportunity for me?
A curve came low and outside.
The control was good.
But because the pitcher had not properly warmed up, the pitch had no life.
It was easy enough to hit.
I swung without hesitation.
CRACK!
The ball cleared the fence.
The crowd seemed to forget Cho Seung-hun’s injury and erupted into cheers.
Before running the bases, I calmly wiped away some of the blood still left near the batter’s box.
It was a precious home run created by Cho Seung-hun.
4-0.
The game against Taiwan ended with that score.
The moment it ended, I opened my phone and tried to find articles about Cho Seung-hun.
No one inside the stadium had heard any updates yet.
At times like this, breaking-news reporters were usually the fastest source.
Then foreign reporters rushed in.
“How is Senior Cho Seung-hun?”
The first thing I did was ask them about him.
The mood around them became solemn.
“His life is not in danger.”
A detailed examination would take time, but around thirty minutes had passed since he entered the emergency room.
The doctors should have given at least an initial opinion.
“They suspect an orbital fracture. He may not be able to play again this season...”
“...Damn it.”
I almost cursed even worse, but barely stopped myself.
My eyes started feeling hot.
Why did someone have to get injured like this because of me?
The foreign reporters looked surprised at my unusually rough response.
“This victory belongs to Senior Cho Seung-hun. We reached the final because of him.”
We could have won even without him being hit.
There had been other possibilities.
Still, I had no choice but to acknowledge Cho Seung-hun, who had truly sacrificed himself.
Until now, every victory had felt like it came from me.
For the first time, that rule had been broken.
“I sincerely hope Senior Cho Seung-hun recovers quickly and reaches Major League Baseball. I truly mean that. He sacrificed himself for his country.”
As I explained everything fluently in English, the foreign reporters quickly wrote it down.
If Cho Seung-hun was injured now, he could be released immediately.
At the very least, public sympathy could help him remain with his organization a little longer and rebuild his body.
So...
I thought I should help him a little.
“Oh... his character passes too.”
A blond, blue-eyed foreigner whistled.
His eyes sparkled.
This was his first international tournament, and there were too many players he wanted to face.
Choi Seong.
Hoshino Yuki.
Their game was already considered one of the best moments of the Olympics.
He found both of them fascinating.
“Noah. We face Japan soon. Get ready.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Were you watching Korea? That team is almost entirely carried by a guy named Choi Seong. Still, he’s already thrown several times in a short tournament, so his stamina should be dropping. We can target that.”
“Rodri, stop analyzing like that. I was listening to an incredible interview.”
The Hispanic man called Rodri sighed.
“Fine, Noah. Just watch carefully. We don’t compromise. We don’t use tricks. We destroy teams head-on. Let’s show them America is the strongest country in the world not only in basketball, but baseball too.”
“Sounds good! It’s a shame Hoshino Yuki isn’t pitching against us, though.”
“You care because he’s around your age, don’t you? Choi Seong is pitching in the final.”
“Good. Those are the guys I want to see.”
Noah calmly picked up his bat and walked outside.
It was time to begin crushing weaker opponents again.
