Chapter 194 – Chapter 192. 4 Batsman Ji Maeng-Ho. (3)

“Wow, even looking at these bastards, the bullpen is brutal.”

“Iknow, right. Hyunseong guys have been slowing down these days, not Younghwan.”

“Isn’t that why you won first place?”

“If only one of them comes to our team, it will be over.”

When the video of the UG bullpens comes out, everyone mumbles. It was definitely a sympathetic comment.

UG’s lefty one-pointer Kim Geun-woong had 2.20, Pilseung’s Lee Ji-won had 2.64, Chasing’s Jin Do-hyeon had 3.19, set-up Jang Dong-hyun had 2.16, swingman Choi Seung-gi had 3.10, and finisher Kim Woo-joon had 1.88 ERA. There was no one lower than Park Jin-hyuk. There’s even the baby that’s on the screen right now.

“Wow, he was bloody when I saw him last time, but he’s even more bloody when I see him throwing these days.”

“The octagonal angle is a little lower, right?”

“Oh, they said they got their first ball after getting off. The velocity has decreased, but looking here, the maximum velocity is now 153? It only comes out to that extent.”

“Under 153 is scary, right?”

“I mean.”

“It’s just a fastball one-tool, but are you still throwing well?”

“Tailing is good.”

Yoon Joong-hwan, now on the screen, was throwing enough balls to impress others. A fastball with good movement in the early 150s, coming from the underhand. Even though he’s four-seam, he has to admit it’s annoying to see the ball move almost like two-seam.

“Wow, how do those bastards stick out the bullpen like that?”

Yoon Joong-hwan’s ERA was 0.59. On top of that, in less than a month, he was already putting up 8 holds.

“It’s scary because I’m sure I’ll get caught. Did he step up after he was with us?”

“Yeah, it must have been since catching a fierce tiger? I saw an interview, and they said that he got the ball because he was confident that he could lower his octagon while playing against Maengho.”

Damn, did you even do that interview?

“Ah! Senior! Why are you talking about that?”

“Wow, the youngest has a temper? Are you afraid to play?”

“Oh, that’s not what you mean.”

Yoon Joong-hwan, bastard… Do you do interviews like that? When I met this kid, I really fell behind. That’s how I turned on the lights and looked at Yoon Joong-hwan’s video. And, he could see something odd.

“Uh? But he’s no longer a fastball?”

“What is he saying now? He’s a kid who only throws fastballs. And what is he, a good boy?”

“It’s not even a day or two that a ferocious tiger does that.”

“That’s my motive, son of a bitch.”

Were you in sync with Kang Joo-hyun? What happened in ’94? Farm was bad. More than anything, that’s not what’s important right now.

“Because it doesn’t matter now! He used to have a ball that sticks out all the way, but that’s gone!”

The reason why I had a hard time with Yoon Joong-hwan. A ball that changed two things with one grip. That ball is gone.

“Until the end, he, he. Ugh. You won So what do you mean?”

“No, originally he threw two balls with a four-seam grip? Something that gives off a two-minded feeling and something that just stretches out. But the ball that stretches all the way is gone.”

“Oh, there are no real four-seam balls.”

No matter how many times I watched the video, what I found out was correct. After that day, among the balls thrown by this kid, the ball that came like a four-seam disappeared.

“You got the ball, so it looks like you threw it away. Well, that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a difficult opponent.”

Well, other people probably do. But I was different. If it breaks honestly like this…

‘Yoon Joong-hwan, this bastard is really behind.’

*

[UG Overlords and AT Thunders, AT Thunders and UG Overlords. The fourth confrontation will take place in Jamsil.]

[The AT Thunders, who have been on the rise lately, and the UG Overlords, who are firmly in first place, are two teams with good performances, so I’m really looking forward to it.]

[Besides, there is a reason the two teams shouldn’t lose, right?]

[You’re right. 1st place, UG Overlords, is maintaining first place by 3 games ahead of Hyeon-seong, and since Hyeon-seong has been strong since summer, it is necessary to earn as many rides as possible now.]

[Aren’t AT Thunders in a hurry?]

[Yes. First of all, Hancheol and AT are now tied for 4th place with the same record of 24 wins, 22 losses and 1 draw, and below them, the Charlotte Blue Mariners with 23 wins and the future Buffaloes with 22 wins are aiming for the spot. Can’t you lose? In addition, AT is a club that burns a lot of atmosphere, so if the momentum is dampened here, a situation that fans are concerned about may occur.]

[Now, I will explain the defensive position of the AT Thunders. Starting pitcher Jeong Jin-hong and catcher Jeong Yun-cheol form the battery. From first baseman, Kim Sang-min, Ji Maeng-ho, Yoon Seong-tae, and Kim Su-ho. From left fielders, they are Ki Sang-joo, Kim Joo-yeop, and Lee In-hyuk.]

[The first baseman has changed from the last game, and Choi Jin-cheol, who firmly guarded the first base of the AT, was the designated hitter, and Kim Sang-min was the first base. Perhaps it was something that was conscious of today’s starting pitcher, Benjamin, right? In addition, it seems that Woo Kwan-hyung was given a break.]

[And Jung Jin-hong returned to the first team?]

[You’re right. Jeong Jin-hong was called up to the 1st team at the end of April to fill the vacancy of Jansson, but when Jansson returned, he went back to the 2nd team. But this time, Janson went down to the 2nd team again and came up. Player Jung Jin-hong, as he is old, he should show his worth now, right?]

[This is the starting lineup of the UG Overlords. 1st batter Choi Jae-hyeon, 2nd batter Won Joo-hyeok, 3rd batter Ma Jung-ki, 4th batter Koo Jin-mo, 5th batter McCoyin, … ]

[Ug’s lineup always has a good balance, right? The seven players in the lineup, with 40 home run hitter Koo Jin-mo and slugging power at the fore, are hitters who can hit .300 and anyone can hit double-digit home runs. In addition, they are hitters who can lightly perform operations such as bunts and sacrifice flies, so it is an advantage to easily advance and score.]

[The UG leader who leads such players, Gu Jin-mo, also plays a significant role, right?]

[You’re right. With 10 homers already, they are forming the second highest home run group with hitters like Choi Jin-cheol, Kang Han-beom, and Lee Yong-ki, right? Hmm… When I think about it like this, Ji Maeng-ho is amazing. 23 already. If you hit a home run at this pace, it’s 74 paces, right? Since there are 144 professional baseball games, it simply means hitting at least one home run in two games. Well, that’s not going to happen. Haha.]

[Now, Jeong Jin-hong throws the first ball.]

Ta-evil!

*

‘You’ve been beaten from the start. Is this the reality of our team’s pitcher?’

The level of the 6th pick who came up from the 2nd group is this level. Before meeting me, I thought I knew why Soyoung looked so cold. He’s been watching pitchers at this level for over 10 years.

If Joker had seen baseball like this for over 10 years, he would have lost his laugh. He’s in there and he’s even got his own money… It was fortunate that Korea did not allow guns. If you think I’m giving these bastards’ salaries with my own money…

‘Whoa, let’s not think of anything terrible.’

What was even more bleak was the fact that the pitchers in the second team couldn’t come up because they couldn’t push Jeong Jin-hong.

‘Lim Joon-hoo, what is this bastard doing? He’s a 1-ra-1 pick. How can you not push out such trash?’

“Crimson! Urgent! Let’s go slowly! Slowly!”

Veteran catcher Jeong Yun-cheol soothes Jung Jin-hong, who was lightly hit with a home run on the first pitch. You can see the back of Jeong Jin-hong, who lost his senses after being hit with a home run from the first pitch.

‘I should have been a pitcher so I wouldn’t see such a mess.’

Right!

He reacted immediately to the sound of the ball and ran after the ball, but the ball hit the glove and rolled toward the right fielder.

“Second base!”

Fortunately, right fielder Lee In-hyeok’s cover play was fast, so the runner couldn’t get to second base.

‘Fuck, it must be tough today too.’

… Unfortunately, my expectations were not wrong.

*

[Ah, Jeong Jin-hong, ending the long episode. AT Thunders, who only gave 3 points in the first inning, won’t it go as the manager expected from the beginning of the game?]

[Is the three-point difference really big? The AT Thunders have a strong lineup, but are mostly left-handed hitters? Benjamin is quite strong against left-handed hitters. Last year, the OPS against Benjamin’s left-handers was 4.5 2, and the OPS against right-handers was 7.5 9. Is there a big difference this season? This season, Benjamin is definitely a strong left-handed hitter with 4.7 3 Lee and 7.8 5 Lee.]

[So today, the AT Thunders added a right-handed hitter, right?]

[You’re right. Batters 4, 5, and 6, leading to Ji Maeng-ho, Choi Jin-cheol, and Kim Sang-min, should play their part.]

A nightmare for left-handed hitters in the KBA League. Benjamin was a player with the ability to live up to his reputation.

[Benjamin treats Kim Joo-yeop as a ground ball!]

[Kim Soo-ho’s hitting ball! Trapped in the infield. Two out.]

[Full count match, the hit ball of the spirit! Come in! Looking strikeout! Protest to the referee, but the verdict won’t change! In this way, at the end of the first inning, Benjamin finishes AT Thunders’ attack with a triple strike!]

-Fuck it..
ㄴIt’s Benjamin University’s Jung Jin-hong, so why are you watching it?
ㄴ Then why did you come in?

– Benjamin Doesn’t he go to Japan or America?
ㄴ He catches left-handers well, but right-handers hit a lot.
ㄴHa, to win today, it would have to be a random shot, but even if it was Jeong Jin-hong, I would lose

The second inning started like that. The fortunate thing for AT was that Jung Jin-hong, who relieved the burden by giving up 3 runs from the beginning of the 1st inning, blocked the 2nd inning with no runs.

[Bottom of the 2nd inning, AT attack. It starts with batsman Ji Maeng-ho, number 4.]

[Oh, there’s an unusual record? It is said that this is the first at-bat for Ji Maeng-ho to have his first at-bat in the second inning.]

[Is there such a record?]

[At the beginning of the season, as the first hitter under the Sands coaching system, and at the beginning of manager Lee Su-hyun’s appointment as the second hitter, it can be said that it is a natural record, but it is a bit strange that it is the first time even after playing as the fourth hitter.]

[That means that AT’s top hitters have reached base a lot, right?]

[You’re right. Well, actually, these records aren’t that important, are they? Look at Ji Maeng-ho’s expression now. Aren’t you confident? This is great confidence.]

And it didn’t take long for that smiley face to turn into a shit-chewed expression.

“Cheek!”

‘Fuck, this shit again.’