Chapter 77

Hidden Fastball -6-

#

The 166 km/h fastball that Kang Geon-woo just threw.

Unlike the general reaction of the people watching the ball, Kang Geon-woo was momentarily surprised and then thought to himself,

‘I shouldn’t have thrown it yet.’

The speed itself was astonishing. However, the course was quite poor. It was a bit high, a course that would result in a home run if hit incorrectly.

And there was almost no movement. The slight wobble that entered the strike zone and prevented a home run was gone.

Just a fast ball.

Of course, other people had different thoughts.

- Kang Geon-woo, the player... Yes! He has recorded the highest pitch speed in KBO history! It’s amazing! What an incredible player! I bet fans of other teams, especially the Thunderbirds fans who are facing him now, are complaining about why he didn’t go to the major leagues and stayed in Korea! What are we even watching right now!

In fact, the person who was most flabbergasted was Yoon Tae-ho, who had just faced that pitch at the plate.

Yoon Tae-ho, extremely flustered, involuntarily broke out in a cold sweat and couldn’t hide his confusion. He blurted out his thoughts without realizing it.

“F*ck.”

He was completely shaken.

“How the f*ck am I supposed to hit that? F*ck. F*cking f*ck.”

Though crude, it was also the highest praise one could give.

Even Park Eui-hyun, who caught the ball, didn’t know how he had caught it and was examining the baseball from all angles.

‘Did I really catch it?’

Naturally, the internet was in an uproar.

[To the fans of other teams visiting the Kek Gallery, we don’t know either;;; Just press the lol button to show your respect;;;]

└lol lol lol lol lol

└lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol

└lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol f*ck

└f*ck lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol

└What the hell is going on here? lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol

└Did Yoon-ri tell him to throw 166?

└F*ck, just press lol if you don’t know

└Why are you swearing;;; f*ck;;; lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol

└Are you going to follow her orders again? lol lol lol lol lol

└Is he on drugs?

└F*ck, what a show-off lol

└lol, even the Kek fans are suspicious

└lol is a sign of respect, you bastards..

└But can a Korean really throw 166? lol

└Geon-woo isn’t Korean lol

└Then what is he? lol

└Geon-woo is Yoon-ri’s man....

└;;;;

└Ah lol, it was a mistake, not intentional lol

And the person who was most surprised was Jung Yoo-ri.

“The pitch speed went up that much...?”

Jung Yoo-ri had thought the pitch speed would increase to the mid-150s. And while the pitch speed was impressive, she had also thought the release point would be slightly adjusted to improve stability. This was an unexpected result.

Sometimes, mistakes can lead to good outcomes. Yoo-ri was curious why her simulation and the actual result were so different, but she decided to enjoy the moment.

“Geon-woo!”

#

Here’s my conclusion.

I thought about throwing a full-effort pitch like when I threw 162 km/h, and it seems to have created an unexpected synergy. Or maybe Yoo-ri really intended this, but I’m not sure. I’ll have to ask her after the game.

However, it’s hard to see the 166 km/h fastball as entirely positive. The control and movement were different from what I expected. I don’t prefer things I can’t control. If the batter hadn’t swung, it would have been a ball.

So, for the next pitch, I chose a changeup.

“Strike!”

It was clear that Yoon Tae-ho was thoroughly flustered. He seemed to swing in panic as soon as the ball was thrown.

And the next pitch was also a changeup.

“Strike! Out!”

Regardless, a good result is a good result. While I can’t always rely on luck in baseball, the fact that I threw 166 km/h once will give me an advantage when facing batters on the mound.

The next batter was the foreign left-handed hitter, Tim Carter.

The report said he had above-average plate discipline, above-average contact ability, and the power to hit 30 home runs.

He took a wide stance, ready to lift low pitches. To throw a high fastball or a low pitch, I had to aim below the strike zone.

I threw a high four-seam fastball, and he swung and missed.

Then I threw a two-seam fastball low and outside the strike zone, and he swung and missed again.

The catcher gave the sign for a changeup. I wasn’t in deep conversation, but I planned to throw the Vulcan changeup I learned from Senior Cho Hyung-oh.

This is similar to a splitter or forkball. It’s also called a split changeup or four-seam changeup, and it’s a changeup that drops sharply.

From a low stance, the bat comes out, and the ball drops sharply just below the strike zone.

Whizz!

“Strike! Out!”

Two strikeouts. Park Eui-hyun caught the ball that fell to the ground with stability. He was definitely very stable at catching.

The last batter seemed nervous and unsure of what to do, even from a distance. Facing such a batter is one of the easiest tasks in baseball.

“Strikeout! Game over!”

Today, I struck out three batters with just nine pitches.

I stretched out my arms to point to where Yoo-ri was, and I was about to draw a heart...

“Baseball genius Kang Geon-woo! You genius of a genius! Surprising me again today!”

...but I was stopped by Park Eui-hyun.

#

“Hey. How did you throw that 166 km/h pitch?”

That’s what I wanted to ask. My rough guess seems to be correct.

“If the coach tells me to take a wider step, how am I supposed to answer if he asks me that?”

Yoo-ri looked flustered at my words. She really seemed to have had no idea what would happen.

“I thought the average pitch speed would increase by 1-2 km/h... I never expected the top speed to go up that much...”

“So what? It turned out well, didn’t it?”

After the game, there was a big fuss. It was the highest pitch speed in KBO history.

The manager and pitching coach also seemed very surprised, and I was once again selected for a doping test.

“And how am I supposed to answer if I say this...”

Yoo-ri took out her smartphone and showed me a news article.

[Kang Geon-woo, “Yoon-ri didn’t tell me to throw the ball faster, but she taught me how to throw it faster.”]

└Mad scientist Yoon-ri creating a baseball robot;;;;;

└But isn’t Yoon-ri better than professional coaches???

└Oceans, f*ck, quickly scout her ㅡㅡ If another team takes Yoon-ri as a coach, Geon-woo will follow ㅡㅡ

└Can’t be serious, just boasting. She’s still a college student, how can a college student do that

└Talented couple;;;;;;;

It was clear that there was a big fuss.

“I just told the truth. Is it burdensome?”

Yoo-ri sighed slightly in response to my question.

“No, it’s not that...”

“Is something wrong?”

“The professor called again and said I have to come to graduate school...”

I laughed quite a bit after hearing that. That was the problem.

“So what if you go to graduate school?”

“No...”

“Why?”

“There was a really pretty senior...”

“Yeah.”

“When I went to graduate school...”

Yoo-ri shivered and closed her eyes, then opened them again.

“Anyway, no. I’m not going there.”

We then talked in detail about the 166 km/h fastball. Yoo-ri was also very curious.

“The speed was ridiculously fast, but I didn’t want to throw it like that.”

“Can’t you control it?”

“Yes. And the vertical and horizontal movement were all messed up.”

“Really?”

“But when I threw it with less power and focused on control, it was around 154 km/h.”

“Honestly, I was also astonished... I didn’t think our Geon-woo could do this...”

“What do you take me for?”

“What do you take me for? Hey. In KBO, a 154 km/h pitch with control is what?”

“What is it?”

“It’s unbeatable. I just didn’t expect this much...”

I laughed with a dazed face while muttering to myself, and Yoo-ri, finding it cute, laughed similarly and stretched out her arms to pinch my cheeks.

“How can our Geon-woo’s smile be so beautiful?”

She was just following my lead.

#

Currently, the biggest topic for all KBO teams’ power analysis teams is Kang Geon-woo.

“Was Kang Geon-woo’s 166 km/h pitch a speed gun error?”

“No, it wasn’t. We cross-verified, and it’s accurate.”

“Really? Was it just one pitch that was that fast?”

“That hasn’t been confirmed. We can’t ask Kang Geon-woo directly...”

“But after throwing 166 km/h, he only threw changeups, right?”

“Maybe it wasn’t effective? Yoon Tae-ho was completely flustered.”

Some critical people thought it was a speed gun error, but it was quickly proven to be accurate.

“Showing an incredibly fast pitch and then two changeups? Who gave the sign?”

“It wasn’t Kang Geon-woo, right? Probably the bench?”

“Isn’t the catcher also known to give signs sometimes?”

“If it was Kang Geon-woo, that’s really...”

A young player with incredible hitting, insane defense, and throwing such fast pitches, and even using smart pitch combinations?

“F*ck. We should have tanked to draft him.”

Even if it meant losing the entire season, it might have been worth it to draft him in 10th place.

“Even if we tanked, it would have been hard to beat Oceans.”

“Why did such a player end up there?”

The Oceans in what is known as the ‘Kang Geon-woo season’ were truly remarkable. Of course, in a negative sense.

“Is there a hitter in Korea who can handle a 166 km/h fastball?”

“There was a major leaguer who threw 105 mph (168 km/h).”

“Hey. That’s the major leagues. This is Korea.”

All the teams’ power analysis teams were talking about Kang Geon-woo.

Leading in most hitting metrics and also serving as a closer who throws 166 km/h.

“With that, the shortstop position could be left open.”

“Maybe it would be better to just bunt when he comes up to bat.”

Kang Geon-woo, a rookie, is showing defense at shortstop that is far beyond the league level. It’s hard to say that his backup shortstop is even good in comparison.

While his pitching is strong, his infield defense is weak, which could be a potential breakthrough, but with this level, it’s hard to even hit the breakthrough.

“Is he on drugs?”

“Don’t have false hope. No.”

“With his level, even if he was on drugs, he would say he wasn’t.”

Such a player greatly helps the league’s popularity. While the overall quality of the league is important, the impact of a star player who dominates the league is enormous.

In recent seasons, the Big 3 starting pitchers have driven the league’s popularity. However, since they belong to relatively unpopular or weaker teams, it has been a bit difficult to gain popularity.

With a rookie of this caliber, fans are drawn regardless of the team or region.

Just seeing the Oceans fans fill the away stadium gives an idea of the Kang Geon-woo effect.

Of course, it also had a positive impact on other teams. Filling the stands regardless of performance.

“He should be sent to the major leagues quickly.”

“Should we suggest a special law for Kang Geon-woo? Let him be eligible for posting after 3-4 years.”

However, the role of the power analysis team is to improve the team’s performance, not for financial gain. While some people suggested this, someone else offered a different opinion.

“Wake up. The chairman of Daeyang Life will gladly agree. He’s completely infatuated with Kang Geon-woo.”

If neither of these options work, bringing him to your own team might be the best.

“How can we get Kang Geon-woo?”

“What if we scout his girlfriend?”

“Hiring a dedicated coach and offering a billion won salary would be a good deal if it brings in Kang Geon-woo.”

Maybe that’s the only way.

In any case, amidst the discussions about Kang Geon-woo.

The Thunderbirds, who had lost two consecutive games to the Oceans, presented the only solution in the third game of the three-game series.

[Thunderbirds defeat Oceans 4-3, ending losing streak.]

[The Oceans, still strong despite the end of their winning streak. The core of this season’s storm.]

[What is the Thunderbirds’ strategy against Kang Geon-woo?]

└Cowardly Birds lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol

└Intentional walks with runners on base lol lol lol lol lol

└The Thunderbirds are smart

└You bastards are despicable

└Laughing at today’s highlight music lol lol Birds are cowards

└The best is to avoid him and prevent him from closing lol lol lol lol lol

└If you’re angry, just win and talk about it cowards

└Yeah, winning

└Cowards, this season’s record against Oceans is 7 wins, 2 losses lol lol lol lol

└The one who wins in the end laughs ㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗ

└What will you do when you get destroyed next time ㅎㅎ

└The Oceans bastards are doing well this year, it’s so annoying

└If you’re annoyed, just win!

└What are the losers boasting about without Geon-woo lol lol

It sounds like a joke, but the only solution is to not give the Oceans a save situation.

“We have to be leading by the 9th inning to keep Kang Geon-woo from coming in.”

“That’s not easy...”

“The Oceans’ starters are doing well lately, making it hard to call the bullpen...”

“Is the only option to provoke Kang Geon-woo and get hit?”

In fact, this was the last resort that netizens also thought of.

[How to win a series against the Oceans]

-Just curse Yoon-ri as soon as the game starts

└F*ck

└