Chapter 190 – Episode 188. The Man With 3000 Hits. (5)
[I’m filtering out Ji Maeng-ho here.]
[Isn’t that an obvious choice? Maengho Ji’s current OPS is 1.658. To put it simply, when you get a walk, the OPS becomes 1.0, but Ji Maeng-ho’s OPS far exceeds 1.0, so if the first base is empty, of course filling the first base is the right choice.]
[Hey, I can’t believe that the OPS is 1.658?]
[In 2002, just before entering the major leagues, Joo Hyung-jin, the best player in Korea, recorded an OPS of 1.263 and recorded 61 home runs that year, so you can see how great it is. The highest record for a year in the major leagues was Bonds’ 1.421 in 2004.]
[Wow, a record that is better than that Bones?]
[Yes. Well, there is a difference in the level of the league, and since it has been a little over a month since the league opened, there is no guarantee that Ji Maeng-ho will be able to maintain this OPS until the end of the season, but it goes without saying that it is a great record nonetheless, right?]
[Isn’t it unfortunate for Ji Maeng-ho?]
[However, in the dugout of Volcano, it was a natural choice in a way. Currently, the first base is empty in the league, but I don’t think there is a manager who can compete head-to-head with Ji Maeng-ho.]
[Haha, I don’t like Maeng-ho Ji’s expression as he walks to first base.]
[It can be. But Ji Maeng-ho needs to trust the teammates behind him more. The cleanup trio of the AT Thunders, which consists of Ki Sang-joo Choi, Jin-cheol Choi, and Kwan-woo Woo, is currently one of the best batting lines in the league.]
[Aren’t the cleanup trio all regulars of the national team? Of course, the generations are a little different.]
[Yes. Sang-joo Gi and Jin-cheol Choi are heavy hitters who have hit double-digit home runs in the major leagues, and Kwan-hyung Woo is a legendary hitter who is about to hit 3,000 hits.]
[The weatherman now enters the plate. The expression of the weather player is also unusual, isn’t it?]
[My pride is hurt. Now, a rookie player who made his debut receives an intentional walk in front of his plate. Even at the end of the 9th inning. If you are a batter, this is a situation where your pride is bound to be hurt.]
As the commentator said, the weatherman’s pride was very hurt.
‘Ha, are you going to filter Ji Maeng-ho here? You’re looking at me like a dick, right?’
The secret of Ji Maeng-ho, who had been posting tremendous batting results all month, did not receive an outright intentional ball, of course, lay in the back hitters Ki Sang-joo and Choi Jin-cheol. However, the current situation was no different from Hwasan’s bench declaring that Ji Maeng-ho was more frightening than those two batters.
And the declaration caught fire in the eyes of meteorologists.
“Wow, you skip Ji Maeng-ho ahead of me. Did I look like a dick?”
“…”
If your eyes had physical power, those eyes would kill a person. Seeing those eyes, third-year pitcher Shin Su-ho flinched slightly.
‘Anyway, the weatherman is a failed retiree in the major leagues. Don’t be scared, Shin Su-ho.’
Shin Soo-ho, who flinched at those eyes, grabbed his heart by calling his own name. Ki Sang-joo, he was obviously a hitter who commanded the league until a few years ago, but last year, he was released when he recorded a batting average in the early to mid-20% in the major leagues. Regarded as the next-generation national team finisher, he had no reason to be afraid.
‘I am the pitcher who will be the best closer in the major leagues. So, there is no reason to be afraid of the waste released from the major leagues.’
Even if he had a good pitch and razor-like control, the position where he could not properly show his ability was the finisher. The most important thing for such a closer is guts. And Shin Su-ho was a player who was born with that guts.
With just a little self-hypnosis, Shin Soo-ho, who had overcome his fear of the weatherman, confidently threw the first pitch.
Ta-evil!
With a roar, the hit ball of the weatherman disappeared into the distance. The position of the batted ball is the spectator side of 1st base.
[Meteorological attention is a large foul!]
[If I had been hit from behind a little bit more, I could have gone over it, right?]
[As expected, Ki Sang-ju, his pride seems to have been hurt.]
– Is this a true story haha
ㄴBut honestly, I’m more afraid of Ji Maeng-ho than the weatherman haha
– Wow, I think you got the heat right?
ㄴ ㅋ Search and turn around, just.
‘Avoid using the outer curve as much as possible.’
Sending autographs from the volcano’s dugout. The catcher returns the signature to the pitcher. The ball requested from the bench was an outside breaking ball. In this situation, the only outside breaking ball that Shin could throw was a curveball.
‘Curve, outside.’
Shin Soo-ho nodded his head. And Shin Soo-ho’s picturesque curve turned outward, and Ki Sang-joo, who was displaying the utmost concentration, pulled the ball resoundingly.
Deep!
The hit ball, which forcibly pulled the outside ball, makes a heavy sound and heads toward the pitcher at high speed.
[Oh! Is the batted ball heading toward the pitcher?]
[Ah! If this… !]
“Quaaaaagh!”
And screams echoed through the ground. A batted ball that hits the knee side is deflected and rolls exquisitely toward the shortstop and third baseman while slowing down.
[The third baseman catches this ball. First base runner Ji Maeng-ho is already on second base! Weather giver… !]
“Safe!”
And when the third baseman’s throw reached the first base mitt, the weatherman had already put his foot on the first base. Ki Sang-joo, who was burning with the desire to win until he was standing at bat, stepped on the first base and the pitcher’s situation came into view.
For a while, he was a little worried about the appearance of his junior holding his knee, and Shin Soo-ho, who was holding his knee on the mound, waved his palm and sent a sign saying he was okay.
[Ah, it shouldn’t be a big injury… Thankfully, it sends a sign saying it’s okay. The weatherman player also has a brighter expression now.]
[Oh, that was a very dangerous situation. Fortunately, if it wasn’t for Shin Su-ho’s body, the second base runner, Lee In-hyuk, would have come home, but it was a defense that prevented a run.]
[Shin Su-ho proceeds with pitching practice.]
-Wow, it’s such a shame, I’m soaking it right now haha
ㄴ Inseong ㅅㅅ Fucking bastards ㄴㅇ They look like naughty gods
Nope
-Wow, what is the personality of the weather manager? Match the pitcher and sprint to first base.
ㄴAre you an athlete who can’t avoid that too? HahaDo you stop playing baseball?
-Our Suho shouldn’t get hurt…
– No luck. It’s just that I’m not serious, but fuck, this is what happens when the pitcher hits
The sky has abandoned this team
Ha ha.
-3000 hits are on the line, so I’m looking at it. Why are these bastards in the Paralympic Games?
Is it true that the AT bastards were reversed?
-Wow, but these bastards are coming out of the lineup, Kim Soo-ho, then Ji Maeng-ho, then Ki Sang-joo, then Choi Jin-cheol?
ㄴ Isn’t Choi Jin-cheol a waste?
Are your grades crazy this season? 13 home runs already.
[Now, Choi Jin-cheol, who is second in home runs in the league, enters the situation with no bases loaded.]
[There was a lot of concern from AT fans that the aging curve might have come while recording a batting average of 2.3 in the 2022 season. His batting average is 2.6 5 Lee, but his home runs are 13, ranking him second in home runs behind teammate Ji Maeng-ho.]
Even if he is old, Choi Jin-cheol is Choi Jin-cheol. In the bottom of the 9th inning with no bases loaded, the sense of intimidation was beyond imagination.
[Uh, uh. Is Shin Su-ho’s pitch slightly shaking?]
[Is there an effect of being hit?]
[Choi Jin-cheol, who eventually gets a walk! AT adds 1 point for knockback! The score is 8:7! AT Thunders chasing closely by one point!]
Choi Jin-cheol’s sense of intimidation and the bad luck of being hit hit the ball, and eventually Choi Jin-cheol was able to reach first base on foot.
That’s how the situation with no samurai. The heart and legend of AT. Woo Kwan-hyung stepped into the plate.
-Waaaaa!!!!
– Woo-gwan hyung! Right-handed! Right-handed!
One hit to finish. At this situation, which seemed to have been prepared for Woo Kwan-hyung, the audience in Jamsil fell into a crucible of enthusiasm.
[Woo Kwan-hyung enters the plate. 100% on base in this game. It is a right-handed type with an excellent sense of hitting.]
[Woo Kwan-hyung, the feeling of hitting is good today, but it seems that the shouts of the crowd are louder than the sound of the amp, perhaps because of the feeling of hitting and the record being set.]
[Will Woo Kwan-hyung’s 3000th hit happen here? One hit is a reverse situation.]
*
Envy, envy
Someone walked to the intentional pitch in a situation where the score could be tied, but seeing Woo Kwan-hyung stand at bat in a situation where a single hit would turn the game around, I couldn’t help but feel envious.
Bottom of the 9th inning, 1 run. And 2999 hits. Even if only one is hung, it is enough to receive the spotlight, but both situations overlap, so even though the amplifier is turned off after 10 o’clock, the sound of cheers echoes through the sky in Jamsil.
-Right! Coffin! Brother! Right! Coffin! Brother!
I felt like I would be overwhelmed with just the support for fostering. How does Kwan-hyung Woo feel when he is directly hit by this shout? I could see the expression of Woo Kwan-hyung, a left-handed hitter, very clearly, probably because he was at third base.
‘Huh? Is it the same expression as usual?’
If it were me, I would have been unable to control my excitement and it would have been shown on my face, but Woo Kwan-hyung’s expression was calm.
‘Tsk, is he like you?’
‘Again, why are you quarreling all of a sudden?’
‘For a player who has hit close to 3,000 hits, that kind of reaction is natural. It’s just one out of 10,000 plate appearances anyway.’
‘Haa, I can hit that level too, right?’
‘3000 hits is not such an easy record.’
Rossby’s tone seemed somehow nostalgic. If you look at the way you talk… ?
‘Even Mr. Rossby hasn’t hit 3,000 hits, right?’
‘Hey, I also hit well over 3000 when I add these low-level leagues.’
His tone was ticklish, but the expression on Rossby’s face gave him a hint of envy. In other words, 3,000 hits was a record that even Rossby made that face. And even though he was on the verge of achieving that record, Woo Kwan-hyung, who was wearing a poker face, somehow looked more amazing.
Shin Su-ho started the windup.
“Cheek.”
A right-handed type that picks out the first ball lightly. You must be full of desire to hit, but to pick out that ball.
“Strike!”
Shin Su-ho’s second ball went into a strike. And Kwan-hyung Wu nodded his head as if he understood.
– Woo-gwan hyung! Right-handed! Right-handed!
With the cheers of the crowd, Shin Su-ho’s third ball is thrown.
Right!
A batted ball with moderate power. The 2nd base runner, the weatherman, was looking at the gap between 2nd and 3rd base, and I stuck to 3rd base, preparing to run home in case of an outfield fly. And the batted ball is between center fielder and right fielder. Woo Kwan-hyung fell exactly where he spent most of his professional career.
-Pervert!
And as soon as the ball hit the ground, I don’t know where it came from, but fireworks started to cover the sky in Jamsil. The firecrackers that were fired engrave the number 3000 in the sky. It was so beautiful that I stopped involuntarily after stepping on the groove.
-Waaaaa!!!!
– Woo-gwan hyung! Right-handed! Right-handed!
– Woaaaaa! Radish! Enemy! A! T!
The cheers of the fans were louder than ever and seemed to be overwhelmed. The black sky embroidered with firecrackers, the cheers of the crowd louder than the amps. After playing baseball, the most wonderful scene unfolded in front of my eyes.
“Hey! Move!”
As soon as the voice broke through the cheers of the crowd, he quickly got out of the home base, and Ki Sang-joo, who was the second base runner, steps on the home plate. The moment when Woo Kwan-hyeong’s 3,000 hits were decorated with a closing hit.
‘Wow, that’s fucked up.’
At that moment, Jamsil was so beautiful.
“Hey, it’s over, aren’t you going to run?”
“Ah… , Yes. I have to go.”
Behind Woo Kwan-hyung, who is happy to be splashed with water by his juniors, AT fans in striped uniforms standing up and applauding fill the background.
It was also so beautiful, I thought that I really wanted to win with these fans.