The Extra in a Baseball Novel

After Lee Sangjin’s grand slam, the Phoenix hitters continued their momentum.

The sixth batter, Shin Taeseop, pulled the first pitch for a hit, and the seventh batter, Min Wooseung, also hit a single.

The Phoenix’s batting show, like an unstoppable runaway train, had fans dancing with joy and cheering fervently, but the moment the eighth batter, Lee Hoongi, struck out, the fans let out a collective groan and immediately sat down.

└ Ugh, damn Lee Hoongi

└ So close, with runners on first and second…

└ At least they scored four runs

└ Hey, there’s still one out left. Why are you all acting like this?

└ Must be a newbie, lol

└ Can’t you read? Look who’s up next.

└ Shin Siwoo?

└ Useless Siwoo, yep.

The camera panned to the stands, showing a Phoenix fan with a pout, staring at their phone.

Isn’t there still one more out? The commentators were confused, but when Shin Siwoo’s batting average flashed on the screen, they nodded in understanding.

“So far, in thirteen plate appearances… he has two hits. Yes, Shin Siwoo’s batting performance seems to be struggling. Given the importance of this situation, he must want to make up for it here.”

“Yes, that’s right. Shin Siwoo is still a rookie, and these situations must be very difficult for him.”

A batting average of 0.154, a pitiful statistic that even the commentators couldn’t help but speak in a sympathetic tone.

The Angels pitcher wound up and threw the ball, and Shin Siwoo swung at the first pitch as if he had been waiting for it.

• Smack!

With the sound of the bat cracking against the ball, Shin Siwoo gritted his teeth and sprinted with all his might, not even looking at where the ball went.

But… there was no need to run. There was no need for a throw to first base, either.

“Out!”

A well-hit ball with poor direction.

The line drive was caught by the second baseman.

Shin Siwoo bit his lip and, with his head slightly lowered, walked back to the dugout.

└ Damn, seriously…

└ Useless Siwoo, this guy is hopeless, lol

└ He’s only in the first team because he’s Phoenix’s catcher. Any other team, he’d be a backup of a backup.

└ This guy seems to have the worst luck…

Hmm… Is Shin Siwoo okay mentally?

I haven’t seen him get on base recently. As far as I remember, his batting average is still in the low .100s.

And sure enough, whenever I checked the comment sections of articles or communities, there was always criticism directed at Shin Siwoo.

It’s kind of sad, like he’s just unlucky. He hits the ball decently, but it always seems to go in the worst possible direction.

In any case, baseball is a mentally taxing sport, and the longer a slump lasts, the worse it gets.

A prolonged slump turns into a full-on mental block, and a mental block can lead to the yips.

Shin Siwoo can’t afford to fall apart.

If we want to win, unless we pick up another catcher from somewhere, Shin Siwoo needs to stay strong.

I approached him and asked quietly.

“You okay?”

Shin Siwoo turned to look at me and asked back.

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t know, it just seems like you’ve been unlucky lately. You’ve been hitting the ball well, so don’t stress about it. Batting averages always drop and rise again.”

Shin Siwoo widened his eyes before giving a small laugh.

“I was wondering what you were talking about…”

Suddenly, Shin Siwoo stood up straight and said confidently.

“I’m fine! Even if they call me ‘Useless Siwoo,’ even if they call me ‘Trash Siwoo,’ even if they call me ‘One-Hit Siwoo’… I’m not bothered at all!”

… Is he really okay? Well, if he says he’s fine…

“Still… thanks. This must be what it’s like to have a good friend.”

With that, Shin Siwoo hurriedly grabbed his gear and left the dugout.

I chuckled to myself and grabbed my glove.

Lee Seungtae took the mound and scanned his surroundings.

A lot had changed in just one year. The keystone combo on both sides had changed, and he had gone from being the number two starter to the number five.

But none of those changes were unwelcome. In fact, he liked them.

To begin with, the fact that a rookie pitcher like Lee Seungtae was the number two starter last year was the real problem. It meant the foreign pitchers were worse than him.

‘The starting rotation really was a disaster.’

Of course, that excludes Cha Taehyun, the current number one starter. That guy is just on a different level.

Lee Seungtae rubbed the rosin bag and blew into his open palm.

After scraping the mound with his foot a few times, he got into his stance, and the catcher sent a sign.

“A forkball for the first pitch?”

Lee Seungtae was a bit surprised but nodded in satisfaction.

It was much better than the previous catcher, who had constantly asked him to hold back on the forkball to avoid wild pitches.

‘At least I don’t have to worry about that anymore.’

It had been a long time since he had been able to throw his forkball with ease, without fear of what might happen.

He spread his index and middle fingers and confidently threw the ball.

The moment it left his hand, a grin spread across Lee Seungtae’s face.

The ball had come off his hand perfectly.

And his instinct as a pitcher was right. The ball dropped sharply right in front of the batter’s eyes.

• Whoosh!

The batter swung wildly at the air.

“Strike!”

Shin Siwoo squatted low to catch the forkball, which had nearly touched the ground, securing it with stability.

“He threw a forkball on the first pitch, and it dropped beautifully. The batter couldn’t help but swing at that one.”

“Indeed. Last season, he didn’t throw the forkball much, and I thought it wasn’t a strong pitch, but it’s really impressive. Why hasn’t he used it until now?”

On the second pitch,

• Thud!

A fastball inside, hitting the corner perfectly.

The batter, completely thrown off by the forkball, didn’t even move his bat.

[156km/h]

“Lee Seungtae, who hadn’t thrown a fastball over 155 km/h since his debut, just recorded 156 km/h. He must have really prepared for this season.”

“Yes, as a rookie, many players need time to adjust to the pro level, so it’s not uncommon for their speed to dip and then recover as they settle in.”

The commentators thought it was due to his adjustment period, but in reality, nothing had changed much.

Lee Seungtae had just trained as usual and thrown as usual.

The only difference was…

The anxiety that had once filled his mind with every pitch had completely disappeared.

Being able to focus solely on pitching felt incredibly liberating.

‘I understand now why mental strength is so important for a pitcher…’

Receiving the sign from Shin Siwoo, Lee Seungtae smiled again.

‘My body feels light, and the feel of the ball is sharp. It’s been a while since I’ve felt like this… It’s like…’

It felt like he was back in his high school days at Hyuksan High.

Lee Seungtae released another forkball, this one with an even bigger drop than the first.

The batter swung hard but missed, and for a moment, a dreadful memory of a wild pitch flashed through Lee Seungtae’s mind.

• Thunk!

The ball bounced off the ground, but Shin Siwoo adjusted his body and cleanly caught it, tagging the batter out quickly.

“Out!”

“Nice!”

Lee Seungtae pumped his fist, ready to give Shin Siwoo a thumbs-up, but suddenly, Shin Siwoo jumped up from his spot.

“Siwoo!!!!!!!!!!”

His random celebration left the umpire, the batter, and even Lee Seungtae stunned for a moment.

“Haha! Shin Siwoo is showing off an amusing little celebration.”

“Yes, it was a well-executed catch despite the huge drop on that forkball. He has every right to be proud.”

└ Ugh, this guy is so embarrassing, lol

└ Siwoo’s moment at the baseball field, lol

└ Was he a showman? I’m starting to like him now, lol

└ Shin Siwoo… I’ll forgive your 0.100 batting average just this once.

└ Wow, seriously, neither Jo Gangwoo nor Useless Siwoo can hit, but at least Siwoo’s defense is solid.

└ For real, now I get why Coach Lee Geumseok is committed to developing Shin Siwoo.

└ Will the Phoenix ever have a catcher who can hit too?

└ Oh, it’ll happen… for sure… but by then, he probably won’t be with Phoenix anymore.

└ Damn.

As the commotion died down, Lee Seungtae quickly struck out the next batter on three fastballs.

The third batter shortened his grip and tried to make contact, eventually

hitting a hard grounder toward the shortstop-third base gap.

It could have easily gotten through, but Cha Taehyun dove and made a stunning play, quickly getting up and throwing to first.

The batter let out a sigh of frustration as the umpire called out.

“Out!”

“Yes! That’s how you play defense!”

Lee Seungtae slapped his glove in excitement and ran to pat Cha Taehyun on the back.

Cha Taehyun, slightly taken aback, looked at him with confusion.

‘What’s up with this guy?’

As Cha Taehyun returned to the dugout, he noticed Lee Seungtae suddenly looked serious again and asked,

“Did something bad come to mind? You suddenly seem down.”

“Oh… no, it’s nothing. I just… I was thinking, if you had joined a year earlier, I might’ve won Rookie of the Year… But never mind. There’s no use dwelling on the past.”

Lee Seungtae smiled bitterly and walked back to the dugout. It was the most pitiful smile Cha Taehyun had ever seen on him.

Lee Seungtae finished the day with 7 innings and 2 earned runs, leaving the mound.

The score was [6:2], and with only two more innings left, the four-run lead seemed safe enough.

“Ugh… why does it feel like we’re going to blow this lead?”

“Can’t Taehyun pitch out of the bullpen too?”

“Who’s coming out of the bullpen today?”

The fans were still haunted by the bullpen disaster from the previous game.

As the new pitcher took the mound, the fans were visibly surprised.

└ ???

└ Is that Lee Rowoon? Did he get bumped to the bullpen? lol

└ Considering how bad the bullpen is, maybe Lee Rowoon is the better option.

└ Lol, he threw well in one exhibition game, and now everyone forgot. He’s just a dice roll pitcher, lol. That time he rolled a six.

└ Magic Conch, what will Lee Rowoon’s dice roll be today?

└ Seven.

└ Hey, idiot, there’s no such thing as seven on a dice.

└ He’s going to give up seven runs and blow the lead.

└ Oh… I see.

└ Don’t just agree with that, damn it!

Although everyone was skeptical of Lee Rowoon, notorious for his inconsistency, Lee Rowoon himself…

… was just bored.

“Where’s the thrilling one-run lead? A four-run lead…? My bullpen debut is… this anticlimactic?”

Shin Siwoo, who had come up to the mound for a moment, furrowed his brow.

‘What is he talking about…?’

Shin Siwoo could be a bit odd sometimes, like when he did that random celebration earlier.

“I’m so bored I could die.”

But next to this crazy person, Shin Siwoo seemed like nothing.

“Uh… right, Rowoon-sunbae? About the pitch selection…”

“To me, baseball is murder.”

Dizzy from Lee Rowoon’s insane comment, Shin Siwoo just nodded. He had to.

“Uh… alright. Yeah, let’s go kill those batters.”

All he could do was hope that no one from the other team had overheard Lee Rowoon’s remark as he returned to home plate.

As the Angels’ cleanup hitter stepped up to the plate, Lee Rowoon muttered,

“I feel good about today…”

Lee Rowoon’s dice roll was influenced by many factors, but most of all, it was affected by his “scenario.”

If the scenario was a bit underwhelming, his dice roll would be low.

‘Today, I’ll prove my ability… and restore my honor as a starter!’

But if his heart pounded at the thought of an exciting scenario, sometimes the dice’s maximum value would increase.

“Yes, Lee Rowoon’s bullpen debut is interesting, but at the same time, it shows how desperate the Phoenix bullpen situation is.”

“Exactly. A team wouldn’t make such a sudden move unless they thought their current bullpen wasn’t good enough… It’s hard to expect a good performance from such a rushed change—”

• Thud!

The fastball hit the catcher’s mitt dead center, and for a moment, the commentators fell silent, and the fans in the stands were left with their jaws hanging open.

Lee Rowoon’s previous top velocity was 151 km/h.

He had recorded that speed once during an exhibition game but had never broken it since.

But now, in his first bullpen appearance, on his first pitch…

[153km/h]

He broke that record.

└ What the heck, lol

└ I’m speechless, lol. Is this guy for real?

└ So what was the dice roll?

└ I think he actually rolled a seven this time, lol.

└ Today, he’s an endlessly advantageous pitcher, lol.

└ He’s beneficial, very beneficial.

└ Just pitch like this all the time, damn it, lol.

‘Huh… this guy is really something.’

Shin Siwoo, staring at the ball in his mitt, let out a small laugh.

He had thought Lee Rowoon’s pitches were pretty good during the exhibition games, but this one felt different. It had a sharpness to it.

One thing was for sure: his stuff was way better than Iric Wood’s.

Of course, it was still too early to celebrate. He’d only thrown one pitch so far, so they needed to see how he handled getting an out.

• Thud!

“Strike!”

• Thud!

“Strike! Out!”

Hmm… point taken.

“Looks like you rolled a six today.”

• Swing and a miss! Lee Rowoon, in his first bullpen appearance, shuts down the Angels’ lineup through the ninth inning, leading Phoenix to a winning series!

The Phoenix owner, watching the broadcast, clapped his hands and smiled contentedly.

“Secretary Kim, doesn’t it feel like our Phoenix has gotten stronger? Aren’t you a baseball fan too?”

“Yes, sir. Phoenix has improved a lot this year.”

“Right? So, which team do you like?”

Secretary Kim flinched. His favorite team was the Changwon Dinos.

“Di—”

“Di?”

“I mean, Phoenix! I’ve always been a lifelong Phoenix fan!”

“Haha! They say you’re good at your job, and you’re a Phoenix fan? Anyway, clear my schedule for tomorrow.”

“Pardon? Do you have something planned?”

“What do you mean? Tomorrow’s our first home game at Sajik Stadium! Of course I have to go!”

Laughing heartily, the owner then got a sudden idea and instructed his secretary.

“Tell General Manager Lee I’m coming and that I’ll personally present the MVP award tomorrow. Make sure he knows.”

Nodding, Secretary Kim couldn’t help but glance enviously at the screen.

The Phoenix owner was famous for being incredibly generous.

One of those players was about to receive a reward beyond their wildest dreams.