The Extra in a Baseball Novel

“Cha Taehyun, right? You hit pretty well. Let’s keep it up from now on.”

“I thought you were crazy for just standing still at the end there.”

“Hey, which middle school baseball team were you on? How come I’ve never seen you before? Someone at your level would’ve definitely made a mark in the tournaments…”

Before the game started, the team members were giving me the cold shoulder, but now, after hitting a home run, they were approaching me in a friendly manner.

It’s like when a player, criticized for underperforming, suddenly becomes a national hero after a dramatic performance against Japan.

…Guess I was lucky.

If it hadn’t been a game against Dongshin High, or if the game hadn’t come down to my final at-bat, it might have taken me longer to establish my place on the team.

Of course, not everyone was welcoming me.

For starters, Lee Chang-soo, the original starting shortstop, and his friends still seemed to be avoiding me.