Chapter 104 – Episode 103. The World Is Wide. (2)

‘I worked so hard and finally hit one.’

How easy would it be to live if everything came true through hard work? I knew the world wasn’t that easy.

I tried to die for three years in high school, but I still couldn’t get out of the habit of throwing a batting ball. But for some reason, his heart was moved when he saw the weatherman get a hit against Verlander.

‘Is that an efforthehe, when I first saw you, you were worse than elementary school students.’

‘… I know. I’m lacking.’

In fact, if I had been a player with a natural talent like Ki Sang-joo, I would not have been taken out of the starting lineup no matter how jealous Lee Gi-chul was of me in the first place.

… I’m pissed thinking about it Hyejin noona all followed. Fuck! I’ll fuck and eat you like a dog in front of Lee Gi-chul!

‘Well…. Isn’t that a bit I don’t have enough money to raise a child yet.’

Besides, considering Hyejin noona’s spending patterns, it seemed that money would not go out infrequently. Lee Gi-chul is able to handle it because he has a lot of money earned from his golden spoon.

‘Looks like he’s calmed down a bit now.’

‘Yes?’

‘The guy who was trembling until now is stable now.’

‘Is that so?’

Is it because you think of Hyejin noona? Rosby seemed to have settled my mind a little. Apparently I was shaking a bit. Because he was a Verlander who had more monstrous results than that Ohtani. In addition, he had done a lot of imagination training to deal with Ohtani, but Verlander could have been subconsciously afraid of dealing with him for the first time.

‘It sure seems to have calmed down. Let’s go now.’

‘Okay. Do what you normally do.’

‘Yep!’

When I got to the plate, I could see Verlander’s face a little more clearly.

‘It looks a bit like a steamed-up…. You mean she married a famous model with a face like that?’

A face that cannot be said to be handsome even with empty words. To marry such a woman with a face like that…. As long as you’re good at baseball…. It reminds me of myself enjoying a wild sex party on a yacht with Hollywood actors.

Defeat Verlander here and make that delusion come true! I felt as if my baseball power had risen 200% more than usual. Absolute concentration.

‘Fastball, low to the body.’

Verlander’s ball lands deep near his knee. I don’t know why, but the moment I throw it, I can see the thread spinning, and I feel like the trajectory is expected. My condition was at its best right now.

‘Next ball!’

‘Changeup. This time, lower outside.’

‘All right!’

I see it! I could see that Verlander’s pitching motion was cut off like a division motion, and the rotation of the stitches was different from before when the ball flew. Feeling this sensation, I swung the bat as it was.

Ta-evil!

Done… ?

Fain!

“Out!”

“Out!!”

Are you sure you hit it right? Right before I even took my foot off the plate, the ball flew like a bullet and flew toward the shortstop, and the shortstop jumped about 2m from the spot and caught my batted ball. And a lightning-fast throw to second base. Runner on second base, Jin-mo Koo, who failed to return to base, was out. I felt like I was going to go out of my mind in a situation that happened less than two seconds after I hit the ball.

‘It fit so well. Unlucky.’

‘Is that the end? Didn’t that bastard use some item? Something like a high jump catch.’

‘What kind of idiot is that? This kind of batted ball is a hit that is caught like a meal even in the majors. What kind of fuss is this with just one hit like this? Prepare your defense.’

The hit ball was caught with the perfect hitting feeling. What is this… ? Didn’t you usually split left-middle when you hit a ball like this?

“You hit so well. Don’t be too intimidated. I’ve caught a lot of batted balls like this.”

After the end of the first inning, he summoned the players and gave a passionate speech. It was the kind of voice that had broken something. Even so, you’re encouraging me because you’re afraid I’ll blame myself….

“It was a waste.”

Following Ki Sang-joo, Gu Jin-mo moves to the dugout, encouraging me, who is still at bat.

‘By the way… , How many times have you caught something like this?’

It wasn’t a home run hit, but it was one of the best hits I’ve ever had in my life.

‘… Are you a defensive shortstop? Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense to catch this ball!’

“What are you doing? Aren’t you ready to defend?”

At the urging of the meteorologist, I took a step that did not fall and followed him. Somehow, the sad look…. But now it seemed that I would not be able to sleep at night without answering my questions.

“Seniors. Is he a bit defensive?”

“Until last year, it was average, but among the cubs in the majors, there are guys who are different every year….”

“Isn’t that the guy who made a name for his defense?”

Please tell me it’s right

“… No.”

… Fuck.

“It was a waste. Maengho.”

“It fit so well….”

“Oh, straighten up! Well done!”

When I entered the dugout, other seniors also encouraged me. Originally, it wasn’t this kind of atmosphere when you came in after playing sick. It was so heartwarming. In other words, it was a situation that could not be helped by human power.

“Hey!”

Ugh… ! Choi Joo-tae threw my glove.

“Get it out of your head. When I played in the majors, it was a defense that came out once a week.”

“… Have you tried a defense like that?”

“If you can’t do that, you won’t be able to come up in the minors. … It hit well though. If the launch angle was just 1 degree higher, I wouldn’t have caught it.”

Fuck…. You mean that’s a major league average defense? I just thought that defense would be a supercatch worth playing at that shortstop kid’s funeral, one every 10 years.

But it comes out once a week? The burden is heavy. Can I break through this infield? Need to adjust your swing angle a bit more?

‘Don’t be silly, do what you do. If you change your batting form, I’ll tear your limbs apart.’

‘… Yes.’

*

“Hey! Turner! Catch was good I thought I was completely out of it.”

As soon as he entered the dugout, Turner was slightly taken aback when he saw Verlander thanking him. It was because he was a player with an eccentric personality, so I didn’t think he was worthy of such appreciation.

“My hands still tingle.”

Turner shuddered and shook his hand. But just because he was making fun of it didn’t mean he was lying. Even though he was wearing gloves, his hands were still tingling.

“I heard from James that his exit velocity was 120.3 mph. He could have been dangerous if he got it wrong.”

If it was 120.3 miles, it was a speed that could be in the top 5 among exit velocities that came out in a year. I instinctively jumped and caught the ball flying toward my head, but it was that fast.

‘Fuck, I almost turned around.’

If he made even the slightest mistake, his bones would be crushed. I was able to catch the ball because I had received the ball tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of times….

Turner sighed inwardly.

*

‘The defense in the major leagues is definitely different. Is this really a major league?’

The shortstop of the U.S. National team, Turner’s defense, was still lingering in my mind. You mean you have to play that level of defense to get to the major leagues?

In fact, when it comes to batting, I thought I had nothing to do with a major leaguer. But the difference in defense was too great. If he had defended like this in spring camp, surely the beast would not have reacted?

Should I ask Rossby to do some defensive drills?

‘It will be useless. The era in which I played and the current era, the quality of the grass and the type of glove. Batting speed. Because everything is different.’

‘Then how do you catch a ball like that? Mr. Rossby was also a major leaguer.’

‘How do you hit the ball at 160 km/h?’

‘Yes?’

‘It’s actually ridiculous that humans hit a ball that comes at 160 km/h. I don’t know exactly, but he should be able to control it down to 1/100th of a second.’

‘I just play by feel?’

‘I’m sorry. Other batters also hit by feel. That’s enough to get you here. This is enough to bend here.’

‘… Is it?’

‘Okay. It’s all about experience. That’s why it’s important to watch the ball a lot. So is the defense. You have to catch a lot of balls to catch that type of ball. Imagine you were standing there. Could he have caught it?’

‘… No.’

The American shortstop, Turner, was about the same height as me. I also thought I was slightly taller. But if I were there, I would have just watched the ball. No, I couldn’t even look at it. Because it was so damn fast.

Fuck. It’s an effort after all.

Yes, there are many things that can’t be done with effort, but if you don’t try, things that can’t be done will never work.

In the end, like the weatherman who hit Verlander’s ball, Turner must have made great efforts to catch the ball. The major leagues cannot succeed unless talented people put in effort. No, it is a league in which success cannot be guaranteed even if talented people make an effort.

It wouldn’t have been possible for the weatherman to just go crazy for a day and hit Verlander’s ball. You must have continued to work hard. Having shared the same room throughout the national team, I could tell. Because the weatherman was crazy about baseball.

In addition to trying so hard, looking at the fact that the top talent in Korea failed in the major leagues….

And the pinnacle of talent, American League MVP Judge, stepped into the plate.

Ta-evil!

And the pinnacle of that talent must have been working hard, right? It was a perfect swing, like swinging lightly even though it looked like it was fully loaded. It cannot come out without effort.

‘It flies well. Is it a two-game home run?’

I once had this thought. No matter how hard you try, it’s going to be hard to win the AT Thunders….

‘Well…. If it’s a judge, maybe it’s possible?’

6:0. The game has gone too far.

*

Even if the game has gone far, the game continues. Because there was no called game in the finals. The Korean national team continued to fight hard after that, but they couldn’t help but be beaten by the super-luxurious lineup of the United States. The U.S. Put down verlander to show fans a variety of pitchers at the festival, but it was difficult for the Korean national team to score points against major league players.

Just like now

“Ah…. I’m sick again.”

Batter No. 2, Kim Jeong-hyun, somehow managed to walk, but the inning ended with a double play. While our defense takes 30 minutes each, our attack time is about 3-5 minutes. The beasts were getting tired.

“Ha, I can’t keep the tension.”

Choi Joo-tae, who entered the dugout, muttered in a low voice. The atmosphere in the dugout was stagnant enough to hear that little self-talk. The atmosphere speaks for sure.

Lost

Somehow, if you lose after boiling, tears will come out, but seeing you lose so perfectly makes you calm rather than cry.

‘Still, I did hit one against the Cy Young winner.’

‘What does that mean?’

Although he had a hit against Verlander, he only managed to get a single, and he could not even step on second base as the next hitter, Kim Su-ho, struck out.

“Now! Let’s focus on defense!”

We just walked into the ground helplessly like cattle being led to the slaughterhouse again. How many minutes will this defense take?

Fuck!

Right!

-Wow!

The perfect festival for Americans. The choice of the Major League Secretariat, which mobilized all the superstars for the popularity of the Major League, was just right. Because the fans who came to this place are happy.

Come to think of it, I heard that the death penalty was a festival in the Middle Ages, and I feel like we also participated in that festival. Although the role was a death row inmate.

‘It’s like a dick. Shit.’

I mean, I don’t like it. It’s someone else’s banquet, but I wanted to sprinkle feces.

It was already an 8-0 match, but I wanted to blow a shot. Besides, I wanted to suppress that arrogant nose that changed pitchers as if making fun of someone.

“Just one person, please. I’ll blow one up.”