The Genius Hitter Who Conquered America - Chapter 20

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 20
Soo-ho stepped into the Batter’s Box, dust swirling around his feet.
Taking his position in the Left-handed Batter’s Box, he gauged the distance to the pitcher and made several practice swings to find his rhythm.
Pitcher Cade Foster looked Soo-ho up and down as he stood at the plate.
His gaze was filled with undisguised contempt and arrogance.
‘A face I’ve never seen before? But an Asian? And look at how scrawny he is. This guy plays baseball with that kind of physique?’
Moreover, his jersey number was 79.
A high jersey number meant the organization held little expectation for him.
Unless he later became a Major Leaguer and personally chose such a high number for himself.
But receiving such a number in the Minor League made it clear the team had no faith in him whatsoever.
Cade nodded to himself.
‘Ah. A rookie who came in late in the season. Then this is predictable.’
Just some undrafted guy who wandered in from nowhere.
‘There’s no need to waste time on someone like that.’
Cade flashed a confident expression and signaled to the Catcher.
The meaning of that signal was simple.
His most powerful weapon.
Overwhelming the batter with a 100-mile-per-hour fastball.
‘If he’s Asian, he’s probably never even seen a 100-mile pitch.’
He’d dominate him with raw power and end it with three strikes.
The pitcher entered his wind-up.
The overwhelming pressure radiating from the Mound reached all the way to the Batter’s Box.
But in that moment, Soo-ho’s mind was operating with crystalline clarity.
‘100 miles per hour. I can’t hit it with my current swing.’
Not with John’s swing.
Nor with my own swing from my best days in High School.
Soo-ho coldly accepted reality.
But it didn’t matter.
‘I just need to contribute to the team’s victory.’
To seize even the slightest additional opportunity.
In that instant, Cade’s arm whipped forward like a lash.
With a roaring shout, the ball left his fingertips as a crimson streak, driving toward Home Plate.
100 miles per hour.
Just as everyone anticipated the pitcher’s overwhelming dominance.
Soo-ho’s movement completely shattered their expectations.
A bunt stance emerged.
Tap.
The ball, all its force neutralized upon contact with the bat.
Began rolling slowly along the empty Third Base Line.
“What, what?!”
“A bunt? At that timing?!”
The opposing infielders gasped in shock, their bodies reacting far too late.
The third baseman and pitcher rushed toward the batted ball, but
their reaction had come too slowly.
By then, I was already storming toward First Base—impossible to catch.
The result: a comfortable infield hit.
Standing on First Base, I gazed ahead with an unmoved expression.
My eyes fell coldly upon the Pitcher on the Mound, his face drained pale with shock and humiliation.
‘Surprised? I’m confident with my bunts.’
Even during my Minor League days, my bunts were flawless.
Moreover, my success rate with bunt hits was exceptionally high.
Though as data accumulated later, I could no longer use them.
But this is the United States.
‘There’s no way they have my data.’
In other words,
I could showcase my greatest strength right now.
‘I’ll buy myself time to perfect my swing before they figure me out.’
This was my strategy.
My baseball style was fundamentally different from what America pursued, after all.
‘So I’ll need to be patient.’
And then,
facing a dominant pitcher,
one man watched intently as a Korean player—barely warmed up—reached base.
No one noticed the faint smile that crossed Taylor’s lips.
* * *
Mark stood in the On-Deck Circle, unable to believe what his own eyes had just witnessed.
‘A bunt? And he made it work?’
Of course, Mark knew how fast Soo-ho’s legs were.
He’d even thought that throughout the entire Minor League, no one was faster than Soo-ho.
‘But… proof was needed now.’
If we didn’t produce results today, we might spend a month warming the bench, just as the Manager said.
Forget about our goal—the Arizona Fall League.
We’d have to wait until next season.
Soo-ho couldn’t have been unaware of this.
He was the one who’d ignited the flame for the Arizona Fall League in the first place.
‘Yet he chose a bunt for such a crucial first at-bat.’
In American baseball, a bunt was nothing short of a loser’s choice.
It was an admission that you couldn’t win with your own strength.
Yet Soo-ho executed it without hesitation.
‘Is this really the guy who might be playing his last baseball? He’s fearless—like someone just starting the game.’
Mark’s entire body broke out in goosebumps.
It was a choice I could never have imagined making.
The compulsion to prove myself through sheer force, the arrogance that only head-to-head confrontation held truth.
Soo-ho had dismissed all those constraints that bound me and flipped the entire game on its head.
It was different from jealousy.
Something I didn’t possess.
Pure awe for the gambler’s instinct that lived only for victory.
‘So he really was a first-round pick.’
Mark adjusted his grip on the bat and headed toward the Batter’s Box.
Anxiety flickered across my vision.
‘Damn it, Soo-ho set up the perfect opportunity for me….’
The problem was me.
So soon after finishing rehabilitation.
I had no confidence in making solid contact with that monster pitcher’s 100-mile fastball.
I wanted to show my strength like Soo-ho suggested.
And that’s probably what the Manager wanted to see.
‘My body won’t be able to keep up.’
Right then.
My eyes met Soo-ho’s standing on First Base.
His gaze seemed to be saying something.
But unfortunately, I couldn’t discern the exact meaning.
‘What’s he trying to say? I should’ve worked out some kind of sign system if I’d known this would happen.’
As Mark fidgeted anxiously.
The pitcher’s first pitch came flying in.
A 100-mile fastball charged with the fury of allowing a bunt single.
Mark swung the bat but sliced through empty air.
“Strike!”
Second pitch.
Another fastball on the same course.
Mark whiffed again.
Two strikes in an instant.
The worst possible situation.
Cade on the Mound stared at Soo-ho on First Base with a smug expression.
A silent display of confidence that he wouldn’t be rattled by these small-timers.
But that was precisely the moment.
The instant Cade lifted his leg to throw the third pitch.
Soo-ho’s body on First Base exploded forward like a bullet.
“He’s running!”
The Catcher’s shout shook the pitcher’s control.
Crack!
The Catcher caught the ball and immediately fired it to Second Base, but!
“Safe!”
The Catcher’s throw sailed past the Shortstop covering the base and rolled into the Outfield.
Witnessing the flawless stolen base, the Shortstop couldn’t believe his own eyes.
‘This is insane… How can a person move this fast? It’s like teleportation!’
Even from the Quakes Dugout, where an icy silence had settled, a brief gasp escaped.
The reckless play that everyone had dismissed executed flawlessly, gradually pushing back the cynical atmosphere.
“Wow. What the hell. Insanely fast?”
“Is he a track athlete?”
With each exclamation, the Pitcher’s face twisted with rage.
He clenched his teeth and tried to focus on the batter.
But these weren’t major leaguers.
They were still prospects.
So they knew the right answer—to focus on the batter.
Yet their emotions couldn’t keep pace with their minds.
All their attention was fixed on Soo-ho, the runner on Second Base.
But this wasn’t the end.
The moment the Pitcher, having steadied himself, entered his pitching motion.
Soo-ho bolted toward Third Base.
“Damn it! He’s running again!”
This was a gathering of the finest prospects.
Having witnessed Soo-ho’s base-running speed moments earlier.
They anticipated he might run again, and they were right.
But unfortunately…
Soo-ho’s legs seemed to transcend human limits.
Faster than the Pitcher’s perfect catch of the 100-mile fastball and his flawless throw to Third Base.
His feet reached Third Base first.
“Safe! Safe!”
A consecutive stolen base.
Everyone except Soo-ho’s eyes went wide.
An unknown Asian had suddenly appeared and was commandeering the stage.
But Soo-ho wasn’t showcasing his abilities.
It was purely for the team.
He was executing a solo operation to completely shatter the Pitcher’s mental composure.
As a result, the Quakes Dugout was transforming from shock into euphoria.
“He ran again… The audacity is insane?”
“More importantly, is Kade even in his right mind?”
“Wow. We can all see Kade falling apart.”
“A bunt single that turned into a triple… It’s basically an extra-base hit.”
His teammates were no longer mere spectators.
Completely absorbed in my play, they were thrilled as if they were the ones running the bases.
And just as they said, the pitcher’s eyes were now vacant.
He had completely lost his focus.
His shoulders had also sagged, a clear sign that his competitive spirit had been utterly shattered.
The count was 2-2.
Still an unfavorable count for the batter.
But Mark wore a knowing smile.
‘It’s over.’
No matter how dominant a pitcher is, once their mental fortitude crumbles.
Even if they can still throw 100 miles per hour, the velocity loses half its bite.
And so the fastball the pitcher threw next.
posed no threat to Mark whatsoever.
Most importantly.
‘I can’t waste this perfect opportunity Soo-ho set up for me.’
Whoosh!
The moment a powerful swing—as if summoning a tempest—connected with the ball.
Crack!
A thunderous sound that seemed to shake the world echoed across the stadium.
The ball soared into the pitch-black night sky.
and embedded itself at the very top of the Outfield stands.
A two-run home run.
Given only one chance, Soo-ho and Mark.
demonstrated an overwhelming performance that capitalized on that opportunity flawlessly.
* * *
As the two entered the Dugout after scoring, silence gave way to celebration.
One player praised Mark’s home run.
“That was an incredible swing.”
Taking that as a signal, players from all around approached and patted Mark on the back.
After the congratulations for Mark ended.
All eyes turned toward Soo-ho.
Normally, the player who hits the home run would be the star.
But they all understood that this home run had originated from my speed.
“Hey! Do you have rockets attached to your feet?”
“Were you a professional sprinter? Why are you so fast?”
“Do you know who you just embarrassed? He’s supposed to be a top prospect!”
“Damn! These new recruits are no joke!”
But the game ultimately ended in a loss for the Quakes.
Despite my and Mark’s contributions, it wasn’t enough to overcome the early deficit.
The players headed to the Locker Room with expressions full of regret.
I was also about to gather my personal equipment and leave.
At that moment, someone approached Soo-ho.
It was Cade Foster, wearing the opposing team’s uniform.
His face still bore traces of frustration.
Yet all arrogance had long since vanished from his eyes.
“Hey.”
He stared at Soo-ho intently for a moment, then spoke quietly.
“Next time, I won’t lose.”
With those brief words, he turned and left.
Mark approached Soo-ho, who stood gazing blankly at his retreating figure, and tapped his shoulder.
“What? That guy got his ass handed to him. But what did he say?”
“That he won’t lose next time.”
Mark let out a hollow laugh, shaking his head in disbelief.
“I’m the one who hit the home run, so why is he taking it out on you?”
Even as he grumbled, Mark couldn’t help but acknowledge the truth.
‘Honestly, without Soo-ho, I wouldn’t have hit that home run either.’
If Soo-ho hadn’t reached base with that bunt and then completely shattered the pitcher’s mental fortitude with consecutive stolen bases.
He would have been helpless against that 100-mile-per-hour fastball.
‘I thought it was a battle we couldn’t win from the start. But Soo-ho completely turned it around.’
And the pitcher clearly understood this as well.
Of course he did—he’d experienced it firsthand.
“In the United States, especially among players with exceptional talent like him, pride reaches the heavens.”
For someone like that to come directly and acknowledge defeat, pledging a rematch.
“That means he’s recognized you as a rival equal to himself, or perhaps even greater.”
It was indeed the case.
Though neither could see it, Cade Foster, as he left the Stadium, clenched his trembling fists in fury.
It wasn’t Mark’s home run that had broken him.
It was number 79—the one who had mocked his 100-mile-per-hour pride with a bunt, rolling it away.
The one who had torn his mental composure to shreds with consecutive stolen bases.
A complete defeat.
Soo-ho understood the meaning behind that gesture, and he was genuinely elated.
‘How long has it been since someone acknowledged me like this?’
He could barely remember.
So he wanted to continue savoring this feeling, and it was precisely at that moment.
“Hey, you two.”
A Coach from the Dugout called out to them urgently.
“The Manager is looking for you. Head to the Director’s Office right away.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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