Chapter 125 – Episode 123. First Away Game. (2)

In the history of the KBA league, there have been several ballparks called pitchers’ graves.

Cheongju General Sports Baseball Stadium, which was used as the second home stadium of the Volcano Falcons, and Mokdong Baseball Stadium, which was used as the home stadium of the Shilla Triggers and is now the main baseball stadium. Or Daegu Civic Stadium, which has now disappeared into the back road of history.

However, there are only two extremely hitter-friendly stadiums left in the KBA. Madcatz Park, aka Maepak, used as home by Hyunseong Madcatz, and Munhak Baseball Field, used as home by UG Overlords, could be said to be the two places.

However, if you are a baseball fan who looks at the records a little, you can see that the park factors of Maepak and Munhak are not much different from other stadiums than you think, and the reason is because of the characteristics of the two clubs that use these two places as their home.

And the characteristics of these two clubs are similar.

After Hyung-Jin Joo retired, he put all-in on his pitching power, playing mound-oriented baseball every year based on an iron-wall bullpen and compliant starting pitchers, and playing small ball baseball with batters capable of performing strategies centering on home run hitter Koo Jin-mo. UG Overlords rolls the best 5 picks.

In other words, he leads the game based on a high mound. Most of the hitters of the two teams were weak in punching power, but there were many home runs that went over the fence, and the away team did not give a home run based on the extreme mound and suppressed the other team’s scoring.

And now, in the first game against Hyeon-seong, we were being dragged around with a pattern of losing to Hyeon-seong.

“Wow…. What kind of finishing grade do those bastards keep coming out of?”

Today’s starting pitcher, Bellingham, went down with 2 runs in 6 innings, but the AT Thunders hitters were not showing their skills.

“Now! Let’s follow one point at a time! We still have two innings left!”

The score on the scoreboard is 3:1. Until the beginning of the 8th inning, they had not been able to score any points except for one point against Choi Joong-hoon.

“Maengho, the opponent is Kwon Yul. Have you ever seen the national team throw it?”

“Yes.”

“You are important. Our next batters are all left-handed hitters, so you have to go out and shake the opponent.”

“Leave it to me. Coach.”

Kwon Yul, we didn’t talk much about training because the pitching team and the batter team were divided, but I’ve seen him throw a ball a few times. A left-handed fireballer who throws a ball between 153 and 5 km/h, becoming Hyun-seong’s setup man.

Although the quality of his breaking ball was a bit poor, it was a huge merit for a lefty to throw that much, and he was one of the best setup men in Korea, recording an ERA of 1-2 points in more than 20 holds every year.

The monster who leads Hyeon-seong’s mound with Ko Young-hwan as the finisher.

… Although, it was a story that had nothing to do with me how fast the ball was. After all, it was easy to play if you knew.

Besides, my condition was very good today. 2 hits in 3 at-bats, 1 double and 1 RBI. I missed a home run unfortunately, but this was enough.

‘Then Mr. Rossby, let’s go.’

‘Confidence is good.’

‘Well, wouldn’t it be a corpse without confidence?’

And despite the fact that it was my first night game, I could see the ball well. Is it because there is no sunlight?

After stretching with the bat, he slowly walked to the plate where the best left-handed setup man in the KBA league was waiting.

“Ah, this Sheki, here you go again.”

“Ah, how long are you going to sit down, too? Aren’t you tired? I want to go out.”

“Sheki. It’s still cheap.”

I also greeted the national team candidate catcher Park Joong-hyun, who is wearing a catcher mask.

Park Joong-hyun is also a player with a good understanding of lead, enough to be selected for the national team. When he was a rookie, he was criticized by fans for having a stone glove with BQ, but now that he has become a veteran, he was one of the best catchers in the league along with Lee Yong-gi, so he was not an opponent to be caught off guard.

Today’s batters on our team were also affected by the ball combination and lost their pulse.

‘Of course, this has nothing to do with me. Mr. Rossby, I don’t like breaking balls, so I’ll try my fastball.’

‘It’s a good choice.’

Kwon Yul’s breaking pitch was a bit poor, so there was a high chance that he would swing it wrong and miss it. Rossby also supported my choice, which gave me more confidence.

‘Outside the slider.’

Does the outer slider come in through the backdoor? Not being sure, Chogu decided to wait.

And Kwon Yul’s first pitch was thrown.

‘Falled out.’

“Strike!”

“Yes?”

“I’m in.”

“…….”

A left-hander holding a slider thrown outward against a right-handed hitter. It was clear that John had suddenly widened. It was because the starting pitcher, Choi Joong-Hoon, didn’t catch the course on this side.

‘Fuck, is it a work zone?’

I did hear from seniors. Against Hyeon-seong, he could be out of work zone from the 7th episode, so be careful.

‘But, sure, sliders aren’t great. The angle is not that great. A fastball in the mid-150s is also the right timing.’

The fortunate thing is that as soon as I saw Kwon Yul’s slider, I became more confident in my thoughts. If the opposing catcher had normal intelligence, he wouldn’t put such a flat breaking ball into the zone against me.

Besides, the opposing catcher, Park Joong-hyun, knows my skills while training with the national team. Any ball that enters the zone is a fastball.

‘Fastball. Lower to the body.’

‘OK.’

After adjusting the timing to the mid-to-late 150 fastball, I grabbed the bat and waited. And when Kwon Yul’s legs came up and his arms started swinging, he swung the bat as he had practiced.

‘Fuck, it’s slower than I thought?’

In an instant, the ball he threw felt strange, but I couldn’t stop the bat I had already swung.

Deep!

“Uh?”

The batted ball floats high and flies slowly. Once the ball was on the ground, it had to move, so I ran to first base. And as I rounded first base and reached second base, I saw a left fielder catch my ball near the fence.

“What the fuck.”

Second baseman Hyun-seong glared at me at my low-key swearing, but he lightly ignored it and looked at the screen. The speed limit recorded on the electronic board is 143 km/h. If there was a moderate difference in restraint, I could have passed it, but I couldn’t help this much difference.

‘What….’

When I saw Kwon Yul’s pitching practice, I thought he was throwing it without straining. But you just threw 143 shitballs? Kwon Yul, who knew my skills while playing the national team together?

“What is it? You missed this ball.”

“Ah…. Something is strange. Are the restraints too low?”

“Okay? Well, it was recorded like that on the electric signboard. 140…. Once I knew.”

First of all, I told Kim Su-ho, the next hitter, what I felt at bat, but the question inside me was not resolved.

“Hey, what is it? Why did you miss If it is 143, isn’t it a complete mistake?”

“Oh, sorry. I thought this would be over 150.”

“Hey, so you should have looked closely. I can’t just hit the geth like that. I sent it to the wall anyway. Cabi.”

The weatherman coming into the waiting at-bat also gave me a shout. Could it be that Kwon Yul rapidly adjusted the 10km/h speed limit? A bullpen pitcher throwing such a weak ball in a critical situation? To be honest, if I hadn’t been convinced after hearing Rossby’s words, this ball would have gone over the fence unconditionally.

Although I missed the timing, it seems like I sent it right in front of the fence.

‘Could it be that I threw a ball like this with the thought that I was completely guest-hitting? Mr. Rossby, what do you think? I’m sure I did the national team together….’

I was so embarrassed. If this is the case, should I aim for only the changeable ball that is difficult to adjust quickly? ? What if all the veterans of the KBA make such rapid adjustments?

‘Well…. Don’t you think so?’

But Mr. Rossby, I think, was negative. So what? A pitcher who used to throw well over 150 in the national team suddenly threw 140…. I felt like my hair was going white.

‘Is this the skill of a veteran catcher? ?’

Park Joong-hyun…. But why wasn’t it like that when dealing with Choi Joong-hoon? My mind was so confused.

“It was a waste.”

“Ah…. You are definitely a veteran. Throwing 140 there. I really couldn’t have imagined it.”

“But I don’t think he threw it on purpose.”

“Yes?”

Woo Kwan-hyung’s chin gesture made me look back into the field.

Ta-evil!

Kim Su-ho’s ball flew between the second baseman and shortstop like a bullet. The ball on the scoreboard is 142km/h. And the pitching coach Hyeon-seong who goes up….

No way… ?

And the announcer’s replacement call is heard. The replacement pitcher is Hyeon-seong’s other left-hander, Pil Seung-jo, and Yang Soo-hyun.

Kwon Yul threw only three pitches and went down the mound. That means….

‘That bastard must be feeling uncomfortable somewhere.’

‘Yes?’

‘Somehow, the restraint didn’t come out too much.’

‘That means….’

It felt like all the worries that had been swirling around in my head were all dispelled. It was just that I threw a bad ball because I was in a bad condition, and I was just unlucky. Fuck!

“Tsk, I feel sorry for Yul too.”

“Yes?”

“There are many pitchers who collapse because they can’t manage their condition after going to the WBC like that. If you improve your condition from March, pitchers will have a harder time. There will probably be a lot of broken pitchers this season.”

Under…. I was making a fuss for no reason. Somehow, even the changing sphere was fucking flat. Fuck. Unluckily, it got caught in my at-bat.

If I hadn’t been the lead hitter, I would have been able to see the speed and adapt like Kim Soo-ho…. Or if you just looked at the ball a little more…. However, the low ball in the body was my favorite course, so it was very difficult to endure.

‘If you think about it, this is because the referee held the zone wide. It was too hasty. Under….’

‘Tsk tsk. That’s why I can’t be a kid.’

‘Then Mr. Rossby shouldn’t have told me to wait!’

‘Did I threaten you with a swing? Uh? This bastard is swung by Ji and has a temper toward others. This baby now wants to change the shit diaper. ‘

It was. I was too conceited, probably because the ball hit me well from the WBC. Besides, it was easy to match the timing because I saw the other person first through the video. However, since pitchers are not machines, their condition was inevitably different every game.

As a starting pitcher, it didn’t matter because I was able to see balls thrown against other players at least twice, and at most three or four times, but as a bullpen pitcher, at most one at-bat. He should have seen the ball a lot. Or maybe you should have noticed something odd when you practice pitching.

‘I was too complacent.’

Fortunately, however, the next pitcher Yang Soo-hyun, who suddenly came up, was not able to catch the ball. Yang Soo-hyun gave a walk to Ki Sang-ju not long after he had prepared, and a chance came to us with 1 company, 1st and 2nd base.

“Nice Eye! Nice Eye!”

“Good eyes! Sangju hyung, what did you eat alone?”

The dugout started to heat up due to the chance he had against Hyeon-seong. If all the runners who went out come in, it’s a tie!

“Look! Let’s hit one!”

And hitter 4, Robert Bohr, came to bat. Today’s record is 3 hits in 3 at-bats. He’s been oddly reliable, as he’s been a consistent hitter in the last two games. Bore’s stats on the display board were close to 50%. Although it was regrettable that there were no home runs.

However, among the stats recorded on the electronic board, the record that was lower than expected stood out.

“Is there only one RBI? Didn’t we score 10 on Sunday?”

“It must be because Suho and Sangju act so well in front of them.”

“… Is that so?”

“Yeah, Bohr has the best feel of any mercenary hitter I’ve ever seen. He also has the ability to target medium and long distances. If he hits just one home run, he will continue to win and win. He is good at work, and I haven’t seen such a mercenary hitter for a long time.”

Woo Kwan-hyung’s words contained strong conviction. Well, how many mercenaries must have seen Woo Kwan hyung in his 20 years of running. If Woo Kwan-hyung is like that, then that would be it.

Woo Kwan-hyung is a living witness of Korean baseball in the 2000s. Woo Kwan-hyung’s words raised my expectations for Bohr as well.

And….

Deep!

“Out!”

“Out!”

A picture-like double hit appeared in a textbook heading to second baseman, shortstop, and first baseman in that order.

“… Just one home run.”

“… I got hit too head on. Well, it was 3 hits in 3 at-bats, so it came to a point where I couldn’t hit one.”

“… Right.”

Bohr’s batted ball was good, but the results were not very good. Because the ball was so fast, both Ki Sang-joo, the runner on first base, and Bo, the batter runner, all died. And the hot atmosphere in the dugout cooled down with the picturesque byeongsalta.

‘What? Why is it so down?’

“Now, let’s stop one inning and turn around in the ninth!”

“…….”

I didn’t like the sluggish dugout atmosphere, so I tried to force it up, but few people responded.

‘What, it suddenly became a house of mourning.’

And I could understand the reason after the end of the 8th inning defense.

As a player walked in from the bullpen, the atmosphere at Mad Catz Park became heavier than before and the crowd started to murmur.

A pitcher’s entry song that resonates with a groovy guitar riff and a drum beat on top of it.

[Say your prayers little one don’t forget, my son…….]