The Extra in a Baseball Novel

With a single swing, the scouts, who had their eyes solely on “Lee Seungtae,” the top draft prospect, and the key players of Hyuksan High and Ilmyeong High, were thrown into a frenzy.

“What, what just happened? Why did he get hit when he was pitching so well? Did he let his guard down? What was the speed of that pitch?”

“154… It was 3 km/h faster than Joo Jitae’s top speed.”

“What? That was Joo Jitae’s best pitch of his career? And that guy just knocked it right over the fence? What are you doing! Quickly, look up that Cha Taehyun guy’s data!”

“Uh… about that.”

“Find it now! Didn’t you notice anything from that swing? That guy is something else!”

“There… there isn’t any data…”

“What? What kind of nonsense is that?”

“I mean, there’s literally no record of him. We checked everything…”

“Are you kidding me! Are you saying that guy just made his debut out of nowhere?!”

Some scouts were venting their anger at their unfortunate teammates, while others were hurriedly contacting their clubs.

And it wasn’t just the domestic scouts who were in a panic.

“…Hey, Rick. Weren’t we supposed to just focus on Lee Seungtae today?”

A Black scout asked the White scout beside him, who replied with a dazed expression.

“Yeah… that’s what we planned.”

“Then who the hell is this Cha Taehyun? Don’t tell me you didn’t just see that incredible swing.”

“I saw it. It was a really beautiful and efficient swing.”

“Exactly! Damn it, Joo Jitae threw a perfect pitch, and this guy just sent it flying! What are you waiting for? Add him to the list!”

The White scout shook his head.

“Not yet. Maybe he’s something here in this country, but to make it in the majors, hitting alone isn’t enough. He needs to be good at defense too.”

“Hmm… Really? I think that swing alone is worth it though…”

“Well… I think so too. But let’s watch him a bit more… It’s only just started.”

“That’s true… Maybe today, we’re witnessing the birth of a monster.”

In his debut game, he hit the first pitch right over the fence. This time, I was quite satisfied with my swing.

Seems like quitting the part-time job and getting more sleep is having an effect, thanks to the coach.

As I rounded the bases, I glanced at the Ilmyeong High pitcher. He had his head down, so I couldn’t see his face clearly.

Is he losing his composure?

If not, this game might not be easy.

It might sound strange to say this after hitting a home run, but he’s a skilled pitcher. If it wasn’t me up there, he probably would have struck out the batter. ŗＡɴỒʙЁⱾ

As I rounded the bases and entered the dugout, the atmosphere was heated.

“Cha Taehyun!! That’s it!!”

Changhyun pushed Seo Jia aside and ran towards me. It was a familiar pattern I’d seen many times, but…

“This guy is really nuts!”

“Cha Taehyun… who is he, really?”

“Taehyun… now you’re scaring me.”

“Cha Taehyun! Cha Taehyun!”

“Cha Taehyun! Cha Taehyun!”

“Taehyun, you embarrassed Chanwoo by hitting a home run right away!”

“Taehyun, nothing you do surprises me anymore. I’ll just go with it.”

This… I didn’t expect.

As I entered the dugout, countless hands and cheers started hitting me all over.

“Haha.”

What is this feeling?

The cheers from my teammates were so loud that it felt like my ears would burst, and their hand slaps were stinging my back.

And yet, I couldn’t help but smile.

The Hyuksan nightclub, which had briefly opened, had now closed, and it was time to focus on the game again.

The batter up was senior Lee Taehyung. As the leader of the fielders and the cleanup hitter, he delivers when it matters.

Those in the know would recognize that this at-bat was a crucial turning point in the game.

A pitcher who threw perfect pitches and struck out two consecutive batters had just been hit by a pitch that wasn’t even a mistake but was better than his usual form.

For the pitcher, that situation was a disaster.

But a good pitcher knows how to hold his ground.

The question was: could Ilmyeong High’s Joo Jitae do that?

Joo Jitae wound up and threw the ball.

“Strike!”

A fastball right inside the zone landed in the catcher’s mitt. The speed and the pitch quality hadn’t dropped at all.

“As expected of a first-round caliber pitcher… he’s no pushover.”

“What are you talking about?” Jin Myunghwan interrupted again.

“Myunghwan, don’t you see?”

“See what?”

“The pitch quality is the same, and the time it takes to pitch hasn’t changed. It means his routine isn’t shaken. Honestly, his mentality should be a bit shaken by now.”

“…Yeah, you’re right.”

I didn’t expect him to understand.

He’s the type who relies on his instincts, so I didn’t think he would pay attention to details like this.

“You pay attention to details too? That’s surprising.”

“No. You told me to ‘just go with it.'”

Just as I was about to lose my words,

– Crack!

A sharp hit echoed.

“Ah…”

“That was close…”

“If it had just gone a little more to the right, it would’ve been over the fence…”

A foul ball that barely missed the foul pole. A sigh escaped my lips.

Hmm…

Two possible futures could unfold from here.

Either the pitcher gets rattled by the near-home run and gives up a real home run, or the batter loses his cool and strikes out.

“Strike! Out!”

The latter is far more likely.

A full swing at a high fastball, the so-called “hanging strikeout,” must be burning up senior Lee Taehyung inside.

He must have been really frustrated since he hit his head with his bat.

Seeing that, the eyes of the other teammates became more serious.

Seeing senior Lee Taehyung, who is like the team leader, expressing such passion must have resonated with them.

It’s a good sign.

I grabbed my glove and stepped out of the dugout.

Hyuksan High’s offense ended, and Seungtae climbed onto the mound.

The starting pitcher in a game that was practically the finals.

It would be normal to feel a bit nervous, but there was no such trace on Seungtae’s face.

In fact, he was even smiling slightly.

Seungtae had stood on this mound last year as well.

Even though the bullpen collapsed, extending the game, he had not given up a single run as the starting pitcher.

“I’ve beaten them once before.”

There was no reason to think he’d lose, so why would he be nervous?

Seungtae’s gaze turned towards Cha Taehyun.

It was his first time playing on the same team as Cha Taehyun.

“I’m curious…”

What kind of play will the guy who easily hit his best pitch show in defense?

Seungtae smirked.

“Let’s put him to the test.”

Seungtae, who was holding a four-seam fastball grip in his glove, switched to a two-seam fastball.

He intended to test Taehyun’s defense by inducing a ground ball.

“Strike!”

“Hmm… I threw it for a groundout. Has Ilmyeong High’s batting lineup gotten weaker?”

Seungtae wasn’t aware.

[153 km/h]

His pitch speed had become significantly faster.

“Should I control my speed a bit?”

The second pitch. Another two-seam fastball, but with a bit less power than the first one.

– Crack!

“Did I ease up too much?”

The ball headed between third and short. It was a hard-hit ball that could easily get through.

But Seungtae grinned.

Cha Taehyun had already moved towards the ball the moment he heard the sound of the bat. He caught it with ease and threw it to first base.

“Out!”

“If this is how it is, there’s no need to go for strikeouts.”

Inducing groundouts would help conserve his pitch count.

The next batter faced another two-seam fastball.

– Crack!

Once again, the bat made contact. But just because a ball is hit doesn’t mean it’s always a hit.

The ball flew weakly, looking like an easy catch.

However, it took a sudden hop in front of Cha Taehyun—a so-called “bad bounce.”

Without panicking, Taehyun watched the ball and leaned forward to catch it.

He managed to catch it, but the batter was known for his speed.

It seemed a bit late for Taehyun, who had slightly lost his balance while catching the ball, to make a proper throw.

But as if to contradict Seungtae’s thoughts, Taehyun threw the ball powerfully, even while off-balance.

Though he ended up sprawled on the ground…

“Out!”

He successfully got the runner out.

“Even if I don’t want to admit it… he really is good.”

Smiling faintly, Seungtae called out to the dusting-off Cha Taehyun.

“Cha Taehyun.”

“Yes?”

“Nice play.”

Meanwhile, the commentary booth was in a state of excitement.

“Wow… Seungtae’s pitches are impressive, but I can’t help but focus on

Cha Taehyun’s defense.”

“Indeed! Who is this player? Where did he come from to play this well? From just the defense we’ve seen, it’s hard to tell if this is high school or pro baseball!”

The commentators were so worked up that the camera director had to ask them to calm down a bit.

At that moment, a staff member approached the director.

“Director… the viewer count is exploding right now…”

The director’s eyes widened.

It made sense. This was a high school baseball broadcast, a project that only started last year. High school baseball had never been particularly popular.

“No way…”

Unable to believe it, the director quickly checked the live viewer count on his phone, seeing the number 500.

Only 500, one might think, but…

“What? Is this for real?”

The average viewership hovered between 20 and 50, occasionally breaking 100. 500 was indeed explosive.

“What’s going on…?”

Cha Taehyun’s sudden appearance as a phenomenal player was causing a stir, sure.

But that was supposed to happen after the game. The public didn’t even know about this rookie yet.

One of the staff raised his hand.

“Uh… I frequent the Phoenix gallery… and Cha Taehyun has quite a following there.”

“Really? Is that true?”

The Phoenix gallery was known for its large, active community. The director had at least heard of it.

“Yes, there was a brief uproar about him once. Something like a baseball genius showing up at the Phoenix batting center?”

According to the staff, Cha Taehyun had declared he would join the Phoenix team, which made him quite popular on the forum.

“So, he’s famous there?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Then let’s use this! Tell the commentators to open the tablet and start interacting with the chat!”

“Yes, sir!”

“We just received new instructions. We are extremely grateful to our viewers, so from now on, the commentary team will interact with the chat as we go through the game.”

“The chat box will appear on the side of the screen, so please keep things civil.”

Following the director’s instructions, the chat was opened.

And immediately, it exploded.

└From now on, the Phoenix gallery takes over this chat.

└We’re here to support our main star ^^

└So, is our star good-looking?

└He looks like he could win in a fight.

└Then he must be good.

└The future ace of our team is here, so we came to watch.

└Where’s our star? Should I cheer for Ilmyeong High?

└You, you spy from the Dinos team.

└What the hell?

└We’re here to find the shortstop of the Daejeon Volcanoes who went missing ^^

└Crazy Volcanoes, dreaming of stealing our Phoenix ace?

└Isn’t the crazy one the Phoenix team, ranking lower than the bottom?

└Shut up.

└Don’t come to our team… I don’t want to get attached when he’s just going to be sold off.

└At least Phoenix gives you pizza lol

└Sigh.

└Wow, did you see that pretty lady in the stands?

└You face-crazy fool, our star is on the field and you’re looking elsewhere?