Chapter 177 – Chapter 175. Step by Step Step by Step. (3)

“Is his ball that hard to hit?”

“I want to ask, how did he hit the ball?”

“I just hit it. But is it difficult for seniors even after going all the way to the majors?”

“Hey, it’s difficult to hit a fast ball even in the major leagues. You seem to think it’s 100 miles, 100 miles away.”

“Hmm…. Is that tidy?”

With the bottom of the fifth inning underway, the score is 1:0. After Jang Woo-joo hit a home run against me, he led the game well unlike a rookie, blocking our lineup with no runs. There were a lot of walks, but Jang Woo-joo looked different when I saw that he kept the scoreless except for the home run hit by me.

“But today, I’m a bit better because I’m Yuni hyung. I’m not worried even though I’m down by one point.”

Fortunately, today’s starting pitcher is Jang Yoon. It was easy to cook the future batting line without Lee Jin-hong. Still, if the 1-point difference continues like this, you will feel the pressure. As the inning went by, I could feel that we were getting more and more impatient.

Players who tried to see a lot of balls in the first inning gradually lost their hands on the first ball.

Right!

Lee In-hyeok, the 9th hitter who played as center fielder today, kicked the ball off Jang Woo-joo and got a foul. A long overdue foul. The coaches judged that he had strength in fast balls compared to starting center fielder Kim Joo-yeop, so he came out as the starting pitcher today, but even Lee In-hyuk didn’t seem easy to hit Jang Woo-joo’s ball.

‘I think Jang Woo-joo is more amazing than I thought? Well, in terms of speed, I wasn’t much different from the guys I saw at the WBC.’

However, Jang Woo-joo’s ball was not scary. Would you say there is no pressure? When he was in high school, he felt firsthand that just hitting a ball would make it go far.

‘Yeah, that’s it.’

‘Yes?’

‘That is confidence. Confidence in being able to hit any ball. So too in scoring. No, even if you are not in the scoring position, don’t be scared with confidence. The hesitations in the heart are bound to come out in the swing.’

‘What kind of nonsense is this all of a sudden?’

‘So! When swinging, no. Done.’

Rossby said something smug, so I tackled him, but I thought I knew what he meant. The answer to what I’ve been worrying about for so long is that I’ve already learned it through my body.

The advice given to me by Rosby and Jincheol Choi was just putting into words what I was thinking about the ball of the long universe.

Always swing with confidence. The mindset that you can hit any ball.

Certainly, I didn’t worry about anything when I hit the ball of the long universe. Because I had the confidence that I could pass the ball at any time.

In other words, when dealing with all balls, if you swing it as if you were dealing with a long universe….

‘Tsk, it’s easy to say, but it’s not going anywhere.’

‘That’s why you’re a kid.’

‘So, did Mr. Rossby always strike with that confidence?’

‘Hey, have you ever been a pitcher?’

‘Well, when I was little….’

Are there any baseball players who didn’t pitch when they were young? Besides, I also tried batting ball pitcher.

‘What do pitchers think when they throw the ball?’

‘Well, where should I throw the ball to catch the batter? Or would I throw with a little more attention to control and velocity?’

‘All those bastards are shit. A pitcher who throws well doesn’t think that way.’

‘So what?’

‘If you want to hit it, hit it. Can something like you hit my ball? I’m throwing with this in mind.’

‘Isn’t that careless?’

‘But you can’t be the best with a ball that doesn’t even have that kind of pride.’

‘Um…. It sounds kind of like an oldie. Mental strength is important, fighting spirit is important, something like this?’

Is it because I was a person 100 years ago?

‘… Isn’t Mr. Rossby looking at players by looking in their eyes?’

‘Kuhm…. The look is also important.’

‘Ah… , Yes.’

It sounded like an oldie, too.

‘Anyway, the batters are the same. Throw it, I’ll hand it over wherever you throw it. This kind of mindset is necessary.’

‘If I just thought about it, they would all be major leaguers and all would be in the Hall of Fame.’

‘Bastard! I became the best player that way, what do you know… ! I will kill the pitcher. When we meet at the next at-bat, I will not even make eye contact with you. Go to bat with these thoughts in mind!’

It was kind of like an old man, but it was plausible because Rossby said it. After all, Rossby was the best player in the league unrivaled during his active career. … Babe Ruth was in the American League, so he had no rivals in the league… Right?

‘Anyway, the skills and physical abilities of the guys who play in the first team are similar. Ah, well, no player has as much power as you. Anyway, the important thing is the mindset, that’s what I mean.’

Fortunately, I didn’t seem to notice that I was thinking about Babe Ruth. Because I was excited and explained this and that.

If I had found out I was thinking about Babe Ruth, I’m sure I’d have shuddered with inferiority again. Rossby even stopped me from wearing eye black during daytime games.

I Black is a culture without roots that Babe Ruth first started, or something.

‘… So I’m telling you Baseball is war. To kill is not only to kill physically, but also to kill mentally. Never again a pitcher….’

Right!

“Five! Hit!”

At the timing of Rosby’s nagging, Lee In-hyeok, who was at bat, hit Woo-Joo Jang’s ball and sent it to the outfield.

“What? Pass?”

Like Jang Woo-joo, who has a bad pitch, the ball flies farther than expected. And the sighs and cheers of the audience. Sighs came from the first base side, and cheers spread from the third base side.

“Inhyuk-ah, it was a waste!”

Lee In-hyeok’s ball went farther than the sound of the ball, but this is Jamsil. Lee In-hyeok’s batted ball was caught in front of the warning track. Lee In-hyeok trudged through the dugout with a sad expression on his face. It seemed very disappointing.

“Hitters! Gather everyone.”

After the end of the fifth inning, it was cleaning time to clean up the ground. Hitting coach Lee Gi-cheol called all the batters together.

“Now! Isn’t Yuni showing off a good pitch right now? Right. But shouldn’t hitters exert a little more strength? If you keep being chased like this, the end will be uneasy. Everyone knows.”

“But the ball is too fast.”

“We want to hit too.”

“Certainly, that kind of speed isn’t common in the major leagues.”

“Yes, yes. I know everything. Because there was no player who threw a ball like that when I was active.”

Lee Ki-chul nodded his head as if he understood the players’ dissatisfaction.

“By the way, aren’t you guys doing better than me too?”

Shit…. I’ll tell you this story when I was in high school. I thought that I wanted to throw a punch at Lee Gi-cheol, who inspires the morale of the players with a smile on his face. What’s even more fucked up is that the players laughed at Lee Ki-chul’s words and it worked.

‘It’s annoying…. Hyejin noona said she was coming on Children’s Day, right?’

That day, I have to bully Hyejin-noona a lot.

“A fierce tiger!”

“Yes Yes?”

I’m calling you all of a sudden. While thinking of Hyejin noona, I was a little surprised when Lee Gicheol called.

“Please give a lecture to the seniors on how to attack. You’ve been a long-term killer since high school.”

“Ah, what is it?”

“So, how do you hit that guy’s ball?”

“You just search and hit me? Has anyone ever hit a long space ball?”

If he said that he was hit by a ghost, he would be treated like a psychopath, so he hid the fact and opened his mouth.

“Me.”

“Ah, did Inhyeok-senpai hit it earlier too?”

Everyone knew that the criterion for hitting here was not a poor infield grounder or a missed hit. We are pro And the only people who hit a ball that met that standard were me and Lee In-hyeok, who had just hit the warning track.

“Okay.”

“How was it?”

“Did you fly farther than you thought? If it wasn’t for Jamsil….”

I was caught in front of the warning track, so even if it wasn’t for Jamsil, there would have been quite a few stadiums that I couldn’t pass, but that wasn’t important right now.

“But you didn’t feel like you were hit with a straight hit, did you?”

“Uh. Even though it hit the bottom slightly, it flew like that. After all, it must have worked because I did a lot of weight during the off-season.”

“No, No. That’s not it.”

“What?”

“A senior is an anchovy. No, that’s not the point, what’s important is that Woojoo’s pitch is feathery enough to fly to the warning track even if Senior Inhyeok hits him.”

“What?”

“Inhyuk-ah, be quiet. Maengho seems to be talking about something important.”

“… Chit.”

“Jang Woo-joo, it’s his feather. Will you really pass by?”

“… Really?”

“Yes. Of course, it could be because of me, but the ball is definitely lighter than other pitchers. Is it much lighter than the heavy 145? That’s why you either need to relax a little or take your swing faster than usual. No matter how you swing it, it goes to the outfield.”

“Hmm. Although Jin-mo hyung said in an interview that he accidentally hit the ball.”

Jang Woo-joo has hit only one home run so far. It was a home run hit by Gu Jin-mo in literature.

“I think you know what I mean. When I hit him with a straight hit, it feels like I can’t feel anything in my hand. Don’t you have any heaviness?”

“But why are you talking about that now? Not during power analysis class.”

“Did I tell you?”

“The Maeng Ho said it. If you hit it, it will pass. Did that mean that? I thought you were bluffing as usual.”

“Huh? I’ve never been bluffed in my life, have I?”

“Again, again and again. If you’re saying that, doesn’t that mean the seniors don’t believe you?”

Chit, it’s all true, so what?

“Then it should be a little easier. He swings in such a way that he only sets the timing for the fastball and only hits it. What do you think?”

“I think it’s fine. What about the coach?”

“Do you think I’ll be fine too? If what Maeng Tiger said is true, then even one hit is highly likely to be a home run.”

“When I saw it, everyone except senior Inhyeok would pass, right?”

Not to mention Choi Jin-cheol, Ki Sang-joo, and Boer, and Woo Kwan-hyung, Kim Su-ho, and Jeong Yun-cheol, who hit the 10th home run, seemed like they could easily be passed over. Yoon Seong-tae, well, he’s a hyung with punchy power, so I thought he’d pass it enough.

“Then, from the next inning, let’s just swing it unconditionally. Don’t worry about the batting average, just hit the target. Got it?”

“Yes!”

“Yes, at the beginning of the 6th inning, let’s block it well and try it.”

*

[Kim Soo-ho strikes out with his swing! Umm, Kim Soo-ho is not a player who can swing three times in a row like this, but the AT Thunders’ batting strategy seems to have changed a little, right?]

[That’s right. It was briefly captured on the screen, but during cleaning time, I could see Coach Lee Gi-chul, the hitting coach, calling the players together. Maybe you have a good idea. Coach Lee Gi-cheol was also famous as a catcher with good brains when he was a player.]

[That’s right. Kim Su-ho strikes out three pitches, and Ji Maeng-ho enters the at-bat. One home run and one walk today. This is Ji Maeng-ho, who is on base in all at-bats.]

[Can you see that Jang Woo-joo is shaking a little while facing Ji Maeng-ho? As far as I know, the two wrestlers are pretty close while competing in the WBC together. Is that why? It seems that Ji Maeng-ho knows how to attack Jang Woo-joo.]

[Ooh, the ball that falls out greatly. This time, Jang Woo-joo is fighting hard.]

[I was blocking it well with one run until the 6th inning, but getting Ji Maeng-ho on base here is a different story, right? As everyone knows, Ji Maeng-ho is a very fast-footed player compared to his large body. He has 11 stolen bases and 1 stolen base to date. He added one stolen base yesterday, leading the league in stolen bases? Maeng-Ho Ji is scary even when he is a hitter, but he is also scary when he is a runner, so we have to catch Maeng-Ho Ji here.]

[Ah! But again, he gave up a straight walk. I’ll give it to one company like this.]