Talented FA Catcher - Chapter 362
Only Krnovel
Swan song – 3
#
They say that the knuckleball can only be thrown properly after everything has been lost.
There are countless players who, despite countless efforts to use different mechanisms and pitching forms, are unable to throw.
Even after overcoming that hurdle, finding a dedicated catcher is a task, and only after enduring countless instances of proving yourself will you be given a chance to pitch.
Even if you go through this process, there is no guarantee that you will be able to throw properly, and only a very small number of players succeed in making a comeback.
Perhaps it is because of this difficult process rather than the trajectory that it is called a magic horse.
But even though they call me a magura.
“Long?”
This ending is too much.
It was right after he threw a fantastic ball.
A ball that no batter can react to.
But the price for throwing that ball was too high.
Long sank to the ground, holding his right shoulder, and a moment of silence fell over Yankee Stadium.
Could it be that the anxiety I tried to ignore throughout the game has become reality?
But I thought that if it was Long, if it was Long who had gotten up countless times, it could get up again this time.
But Long’s condition was dire when he arrived at the mound.
The left hand holding his shoulder is trembling and turning red.
“Long?”
“Hey, don’t be so excited.”
Although his speech was his usual long one, it was impossible not to notice the trepidation within it.
I feel like my head is empty, not knowing what to say or do.
I never imagined an ending like this.
“Wait a minute! Kim! Let me see!”
Before we knew it, Dr. Herdo had arrived and was checking on Long’s condition.
“…You didn’t take the medicine I gave you?”
“If you eat that, your senses will become dull. It’s no better than throwing a ball in that state.”
“You shouldn’t say that so casually.”
“Guardian.”
Longi raises his head and looks at me.
When our eyes met, I could tell without even having to listen.
This was Long’s last choice.
“I once told you that the role of a starter is relative. If you give up fewer runs and pitch more than the opposing starter, you’ve done everything you can that day. So how did I do today?”
“…It was the best.”
“Okay. Then that’s fine.”
Long just got up from his seat.
And I looked around.
“Don’t be so excited. The game isn’t over yet, and I’ve done my part. Now it’s your turn.”
Long was huge, even in what may have been his last appearance.
“You’ve worked hard.”
The manager personally welcomed Long, and that was the end of our defense in the bottom of the 5th inning, and Long’s appearance on the mound.
“…Sneakers?”
“that is···.”
I wasn’t the only one who sensed Long’s condition.
Snickers, who saw Long fall, quickly left the place while hyperventilating.
“I will meet you. Don’t worry.”
Long left the dugout after leaving those words indifferently.
After that, the dugout was enveloped in silence.
The end of a career on the mound is a moment every pitcher dreams of, but at the same time, it is also a moment no one dreams of.
It wasn’t yet clear what would happen to Long, but when I thought of those eyes that didn’t show a single bit of regret, the outcome was predictable.
But we still have work to do, so we can’t just sit there and be sad.
“Even when you leave, you leave with great artistic expression.”
Lynch’s calm voice was heard, and soon the players began to speak one by one.
“Yeah, that’s the end of Longdown. Who else but Long would end it like that?”
“I’m going to give it my all in the World Series and walk out, killing it.”
Yeah, that’s right.
Long’s ending was more cool than sad.
Just like a swan, it is said that it sings and cries just once before it dies.
I became curious.
What kind of song will be sung for the first and last time?
Will the desperation to live be felt, or will it be the satisfaction of having raised my voice for the first time?
“Kim, just in case, I can exchange it for you if you want.”
Although I didn’t see the swan, I had an idea what its song would be like.
“No, it’s okay.”
The swan’s song must be terribly beautiful.
#
Yankee Stadium was silent for a moment.
It was a shocking scene for Yankees fans, too.
Rather, having experienced Kirk Long’s prime, I never thought that his end would be like this.
But today’s game was too important to continue to wallow in those emotions.
“Go Yankees! Go Yankees!”
Anyway, the opposing team’s starting pitcher, who had been pitching well, was sent down, so now it was time to change the atmosphere.
In the top of the fifth, Mark Dalio was taken off the mound after Kim Su-ho’s home run.
The next pitcher to take the mound was Jose Gonzalez.
He was the only player on the current Yankees to face Kirk Long in his prime.
A rookie at the time, he is now one of the most senior pitchers in the World Series.
‘You’re fierce.’
He looked into the eyes of Taylor Jackson at the plate and was silent for a moment.
Kirk Long’s finish was the worst for the Yankees.
If he had just been kicked out, would that young player have looked at him like that?
‘The old man is of no help until the end.’
When he was young, he blocked the Yankees’ path with Tony Keough, and now he stands in front of the Yankees again with a crazy catcher named Kim Su-ho.
Even I laughed while watching him block the Yankees until the end.
‘Still, we win.’
It wasn’t just the Diamondbacks players who were in dire need right now.
The Yankees were also desperate and desperate to win the championship.
-Pfft!
“strike!”
Taylor Jackson, at the plate, is a rookie with little experience.
With such a player in good physical shape on the World Series stage, he seemed like easy prey to Jose Gonzalez.
-Ta-aak!
“Foul!”
The outcome of this match seemed obvious as he actually got two strikes easily.
“cheek!”
But Taylor Jackson held off a ball that went just wide of the outside border.
“cheek!”
“Foul!”
“cheek!”
The match went to a full count.
‘Changeups don’t work.’
The bat, which would normally be easily dragged out, shows no sign of moving.
‘Aesongi.’
Jose Gonzalez is now approaching 40, but the fact that he’s still pitching in the Yankees’ bullpen means he has a weapon of his own.
A changeup that shows a high fastball just before and lands on a similar course.
There was no need to throw the changeup low.
The most important thing is whether you can deceive the batter when it comes in similar to a fastball.
Although it was a course that would not be easy for other pitchers to throw, it was not the case for the seasoned Jose Gonzalez.
The pitch was thrown to catch the batter off guard, especially to an inexperienced hitter like Taylor Jackson.
‘It’s a strikeout whether you swing or not.’
But Jose Gonzalez was so sure.
-Taaaaah!
I sat down in my seat when I saw the ball flying into the outfield.
Taylor Jackson hit what could have been a game-changing home run, his first in the World Series, to extend the lead to three runs, but he calmly rounded the bases.
It’s as if the area around the lake where swans live is always quiet.
#
It wasn’t just typists who were influenced by Long’s appearance.
The ones who were most affected were, of course, the same pitchers.
If Snickers were in the dugout right now, he’d probably be jumping up and down, demanding to get on the mound.
Of course, that didn’t happen, and instead, the bullpen pitchers each threw powerful pitches and silently appealed to be let go.
Among the numerous pitchers, the pitcher who took the mound after Long was.
“Kim, Long is okay, right?”
It was a cup.
“I bet they’ve seen you up on the mound by now.”
“Right?”
Just as sneakers were influenced by longs in the past, so were the cups.
Long was like a teacher to Cup, having guided him for almost a month when he first came to the majors.
“Do what you can do now.”
“…yes.”
The Cup has been given steady opportunities since settling into the majors.
As a result, he pushed out Robinson, with whom he was competing, and took the secondary setup man position.
That doesn’t mean the ball wasn’t good compared to Barkley, Green, and Henney.
He was higher than the three players in terms of high scores, but he just lacked the opportunity and experience to prove it.
And today was the perfect opportunity to prove it.
The umpire motioned to the batter as Cooper Cup nodded, his body loosening.
Richard Rogers, the Yankees’ main hitter.
He stood at the plate in silence, and soon the bottom of the sixth inning began with the umpire’s signal.
And the first pitch.
“…strike!”
The cup’s ball soared upward as it passed John, and soon Richard Rogers’ voice could be heard.
“…Fuck”
The manager didn’t bring Cup up for nothing.
The Yankees hitters’ heads are full of knuckleballs with ridiculous trajectories.
It was already confusing because of the trajectory that was different from usual, and the next pitcher was an underhand pitcher who threw up to 94 miles per hour.
It’s not going to be easy to adapt.
In fact, Cooper Cup, who pitched after Long, had a record of 4 games with an ERA of 0.00 and a WHIP of 0.
The Cup was won when he faced 10 batters and did not allow a single runner on base.
That was no different for the Yankees’ lineup, which was full of powerful hitters.
“Strike out!”
He struck out Richard Rogers with the soaring curve that is characteristic of underhand pitchers.
And then White came up to bat.
“It’s a shame about Long.”
“Yes. That’s okay. Long left something behind.”
“okay.”
There was no need for further conversation.
White wasn’t in a position to be considerate of our circumstances either.
However, it was impossible for White, who was already unable to catch the timing of the knuckleball, to immediately adapt to the rising ball in the cup.
-Ta-aak!
White, who aimed for the first pitch, hit a fly ball to left field, making it 2 outs.
Cub came down from the mound after cleanly catching the 5th batter who came in next.
“What would Long say if he saw this?”
“Well, it wasn’t bad, Aesong. That’s what I would have said.”
“I guess so?”
The cup kept looking around behind him, wondering if he was worried about the length.
But it was impossible for Long, who had already left the stadium, to be seen.
There are only two things we can do until the game is over.
One is to wait for news from Long.
Another is to gift Long with news of victory.
The final victory achieved with one’s own hands.
#
[Arizona Diamondbacks 7:2 New York Yankees]
[Kim Su-ho, 4 hits in 5 at-bats, 2 home runs, 5 RBIs, ‘Today’s victory is for Long.’]
[The Yankees, who are in a difficult situation, are now on the brink after losing two games at home. The starting pitcher for the fateful fifth game is Jun Nakamura.]
[Kirk Long, who miraculously returned to the major leagues, was replaced after the 5th inning due to injury. We’ll have to wait and see how things go.]
[Kirk Long becomes first career WS winning pitcher, honored as oldest WS winning pitcher.]
[Cooper Cup – Joe Barkley – JJ Green – Larry Henney, the Diamondbacks bullpen, shut out the Yankees’ batting lineup with 4 perfect innings, leading to a complete victory.]
[D-Backs players interview Kirk Long after the game. ‘We watched what could have been the last pitching of a great pitcher today. When we saw him pitch, which we thought we would never see again, we thought that was enough. But we realized too late that it wasn’t enough. As always, we hope Long can come back to us.’]
[Tom Snitker, who left the stadium due to hyperventilation, is uncertain whether he will pitch in Game 5.]
[D-Backs manager, ‘I heard Snitker’s condition is getting better. Snitker will be the starter tomorrow unless something big happens.’ ‘Long showed everything as a dugout leader. Worrying about a pitcher like that is actually disrespectful to him.’]