RAP STAR

Chapter 74 [verse 13. Circle]

**Circle**

The postseason schedule for the 2005 professional baseball season was set to run from October 1st to the 19th. There was barely a fortnight left.

Normally, by mid-September, one could vaguely guess the postseason rankings, but this year was different. Apart from the overwhelmingly top-ranked team, the "Daegu Lions," teams from 2nd to 6th place were engaged in fierce battles, showing slight differences in performance.

The most intense battle among them was for the 4th and 5th place. Though there was only a difference of one game between them, it determined whether they would make it to autumn baseball or not.

The Gwangju Tigers were ranked 5th, while their traditional rivals, the Ulsan Phiruses, were ranked 4th. The gap between the two teams was just one game. Therefore, the three-game series between the Ulsan Phiruses and the Gwangju Tigers, which began on September 16th, attracted tremendous attention from baseball fans. This game was dubbed the "Han Kwangsoo Derby" or the "Autumn Baseball Decider."

Even the commentators brought up many issues surrounding today's game before it started.

"Come to think of it, Han Kwangsoo caused quite a stir when he was injured shortly after transferring, right?"
"That's right. Since Han Kwangsoo has never been on the injured list for more than a week since his debut, fans were more than worried. There were even jokes that he was sent as a spy to weaken the financial strength of the rival team, the Gwangju Tigers."
"Did such talk really exist?"
"I'm sorry. I just made it up."

The caster Jeon Yongjun laughed incredulously at the joke made by commentator Yoo Shinhak. In the baseball community, where real-time discussions about baseball broadcasts were taking place, playful criticisms of Yoo Shinhak's joke poured in.

As a former national team coach, Yoo Shinhak was a commentator popular among fans.

- "The lies are so natural. Yoo Shinhak for Congress!"
- "First, lie, then apologize quickly."
- "Yoo Shinhak, the only theology!"

"But looking at the current performance, it seems that the controversy over the injury has disappeared. He has 13 hits in 32 at-bats, including 2 home runs. It's quite a record."
"Although he still lacks a lot of plate appearances, he barely passed the .400 mark."

“Given these points, we can consider that he is successfully blending into the team. The only regrettable aspect is the low number of home runs, but his slugging percentage has actually increased.”

“Indeed. There were three unfortunate fence-hitting shots, weren’t there?”

“That’s right. It could be attributed to the fact that the outfield wall at the Gwangju Tigers' home stadium is higher than that of the Ulsan Phiruses, which might have led to this phenomenon.”

“Uh... Mr. Yoo Shinhak, the difference in the height of the outfield walls between the two stadiums is only 15cm. Can that really affect home runs?”

“Well, of course. Even a 1cm difference could alter a player's trajectory upon realizing that the outfield wall is higher. I'm sorry, it actually doesn't matter much.”

The caster Jeon Yongjun once again burst into laughter.

While Yoo Shinhak and Jeon Yongjun were engaged in banter, the Gwangju Tigers players began warming up. As it was their home stadium, passionate cheers from Gwangju Tigers fans started.

The players' cheers were chanted briefly, followed by the cheer for the fourth batter, Han Kwangsoo.

"Gwangsu up! Gwangsu up!
Light shines! Gwangsu up!"