Chapters 207 – 205. New Mercenaries. (One)

“[Nice to meet you. My name is Matt Kronx from America.]”

“Nice to meet you. This is Matt Kronx from America.”

Clap clap clap clap applause erupted from the locker room as the interpreter translated the words of the new mercenary pitcher. The players were warmly welcoming Kronx, the new mercenary pitcher.

‘Is it inevitable?’

It was natural for the players to look bright as the exiled mercenary, Jansson, appeared in 9 games and recorded an average ERA of 6.39 in 38 innings, with a record of 2 wins and 6 losses.

“Krongs will accompany the team for a week, and next Tuesday, he will take the mound at the Hyeonseong Match in Daegu, so help Krongs adapt well in the meantime. Got it?”

“Yes, I understand.”

After coach Lee Soo-hyun’s words, Krongs approached and began to greet the players. Starting with Woo Kwan, the most senior member, as time passed, it was my turn.

“[Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot of stories He’s the hottest hitter in the league right now?]”

“[Okay.]”

“[As I’ve heard, you’re confident. I hope your skills are as good as your confident mouth.]”

“[I don’t expect anything from you. Just throw like a human.]”

“[… ?]”

Kronx, to be honest, I didn’t expect much. How good will the players who came to Korea from the US perform during the season? It was okay if he just threw it like a human being. I heard from So-yeong that she has a good ability to handle innings and throws pretty well, but I wondered how much she would know if a woman knew baseball.

“[Mister, I. Is this friend really like this?]”

“[Well, it’s unusual.]”

“Hyung, I understand all English.”

“Ah, it was. Sorry.”

I gave a shout to the interpreter and smiled at Kronx.

“[By the way, I know that because I don’t treat myself as a person if I can’t play baseball. Okay? Let’s just do the basics, just the basics.]”

“[Ha ha, what a funny fellow. Okay, I don’t hate people who are full of confidence like that.]”

Oh, is this baby, American? There seemed to be no back end.

“[Oh. And I watched the video well. It was amazing.]”

Video? What? Has my cell phone been hacked? The only amazing videos are the ones taken while having sex? Could it be that they leaked?

“[What? Did you see my sex video?]”

“[… ? What are you talking about? I’m talking about the sniper ceremony video. Oh, that’s right. It was a Korean joke. Haha, it turned out that the fun was friends.]”

“[What kind of ceremony is it amazing.]”

Well, there’s no way it leaked. I’m making people tremble for no reason. Judging from how he called insignificant things great, this bastard seemed to be making a big fuss.

‘Looking at you making a fuss, at least this year at least. Tsk, where did Soyoung get these things from?’

*

“Hey, Kronx!”

The day after Krongs joined the team, the time for batters and pitchers to practice jointly. The pitching coach called Kronx through an interpreter.

“How is it, is your body ready to throw the ball?”

“[Yes. I’ve been throwing the ball since the United States, so my body is already complete. I want to throw right away.]”

“Good good. I understand your feelings, but I still need time to adapt to Korea, so let’s start the real battle next week. By the way, how about live pitching? Can you do it?”

“[Of course. Whenever.]”

“Then, let’s throw about 30 to 40 pitches lightly. Our hitters are among the best in the league, so it will help them adapt.”

“[Oh. I wanted to see the skills of Korean hitters.]”

“Then, about five people, is it possible?”

“[Of course.]”

“Okay. Just like in real life, let’s face only five batters.”

As the pitching coach moved, Kronx looked at the interpreter next to him and asked a question.

“[I heard that AT has the strongest batting line in Korea. If there are five of them, who are they?]”

“[Probably those five.]”

Woo Kwan-hyung, a living legend who built a golden tower of Korean professional baseball.
Ki Ki-joo, who has won the batting title three times and has contact and long hits that can record 20 home runs every year.
Choi Jin-cheol, the home run king who hit 50 home runs twice and 20 home runs in the major leagues.
National third baseman Kim Soo-ho, an all-around hitter with excellent linemanship and the ability to play the role the team wants.

… And

“[The four of them and Ji Maeng-ho. Did you see him hit a home run yesterday?]”

“[Yeah, it flew far, but the sound of the hit was great. He had reason to be confident.]”

“[I am currently the hottest hitter in the KBA league. My current batting average is probably 40.1, and I added one home run yesterday to hit 29. If you can catch Ji Maeng-ho, there will be no problem adapting to Korea. Oh, it’s not a problem-free level, maybe you can get an MVP and take it to the major leagues.]”

“[You must have great faith in him.]”

“[Because he is a player with certain skills.]”

As I waited while practicing pitching on the mound a few times, all five of the AT Thunders’ leading hitters gathered.

“Kronx! Are you ready?”

“[Ready.]”

The first batter to come in was Kim Soo-ho. After a windup, Kronx throws the first pitch at Kim Soo-ho.

Phut-! The first pitch is a ball. Although it was a ball, Kim Soo-ho exclaimed in admiration at the powerful ball.

“Is the ball tip pretty good?”

“Because the scout team worked hard to bring him this time.”

The ball came and went several times, and Kim Soo-ho succeeded in contacting Kronx’s ball. Result: Ground ball to second base. Although he was out, Kim Suho’s expression was quite bright.

“Suho, how is your ball?”

“Is it good? His fastball also seems to come out in the early to mid-150s. And is the bending ball a sinker?”

“That’s right. The best velocity is 96 mph, and a sinker in the late 140s is an advantage. Well, there is an evaluation that there is no deciding ball and the pitch is light, but if you are a perfect pitcher, you will not come to Korea, so this is enough.”

“It’s good. It wouldn’t be easy for most hitters to make contact, right?”

“Yes?”

Although we competed as pitchers and hitters, we were on the same team anyway. Rather, if he allowed a hit to a hitter he met for the first time, Kim would have been disappointed. And the batter who followed Kim Soo-ho was Woo Kwan-hyung. Woo Kwan-hyung also watched Kronx’s ball and retreated with a fly in center field.

“Hmm, the ball is a bit light.”

“I can’t help it. Well, this is also Jamsil.”

“I’m glad though. It wouldn’t have been easy to find such a mercenary at this time.”

Ki Sang-joo and Choi Jin-cheol, who followed Woo Kwan-hyung, also sent the ball far, but in the end they were all caught by the outfielders.

In fact, in a way, that was the natural result. First of all, in the first match between the batter and the pitcher, the pitcher had an overwhelming advantage.

A pitcher’s greatest weapon is unfamiliarity. The reason why left-handed pitchers have an advantage over right-handed pitchers is that there are more right-handed pitchers than left-handed pitchers, and batters generally have to deal with right-handed pitchers a lot. That’s why the trajectory of throwing the ball by lefties is unfamiliar to hitters, and that’s why lefties have an advantage in baseball.

That’s how the term 2nd year jinx came about. It was natural for a rookie player’s data to be analyzed and his performance to drop as data piled up without any information.

Besides, baseball is a sport where the pitcher has an advantage in the first place. It was to the point where he was considered a good hitter even if he succeeded only three times out of 10.

Therefore, it was not surprising that the four leading hitters of the AT could not turn Kronx’s ball into a hit. Besides, the purpose of this live pitching was not only a means to check Kronx’s skills, but also a way to instill confidence in Kronx.

‘Hmm, is this the skill of top hitters in Korea? As expected, if it’s at my level…’

And that method worked just fine. Kronx was gaining confidence in his skills while dealing with four hitters.

… Until Ji Maeng-ho stepped into the plate.

Ta-evil!

“What? Did you pass it right away?”

“Wow, it flies far away.”

“[This passed?]”

Seeing the ball fly away, Krongs was embarrassed. Was my ball enough to fly like this?

“[One more time, one more time!]”

“[Throw it.]”

Ta-evil!

Ji Maeng-ho, who was watching a few balls, swung the bat and this time the ball flew to the right. It didn’t turn into a home run, but the ball hit the wall directly.

“Hey, Ji Maeng-ho! Kill me! Gently!”

“Pitching coach, if you play any more, Krongs will be ruined, right?”

“Ah, that bastard suddenly got better.”

“[… Once, just one more time.]”

Kronx wanted to face Ji Maeng-ho once again. Years of minor life and the mound of the major leagues that went up a few times. But he had never met such a hitter before. So I wanted to check again.

“Krongs is asking to face you again.”

“Maengho, what are you going to do?”

“I won’t. It’s boring.”

“Yumma, if you go like that, what will Krongs be? He strikes out moderately.”

“Ah, it’s annoying…”

Ji Maeng-ho, with an annoyed expression, stepped back into the plate.

‘Ah, fuck, I’m just going to hit the first pitch and go out. Bastard, it’s so muddy.’

‘It’s a curve.’

‘Okay.’

With the feeling that he would continue to be soggy if he was not out, Maeng-Ho Ji swung the bat from Kronx’s first pitch.

Ta-evil!

“Uh? Why is this baby ball so light?”

Curve, it was a ball he rarely threw against himself, but the ball he hit lightly went over the fence as if he still felt the same.

“[Once, once more… !]”

“No! Coach, my stomach hurts. Oh shit, shit! Sudden shit!”

Feeling like this live pitching would never end at Kronx’s earnest shouts, Maeng-Ho Ji ran to the locker room.

“Eh, just give me one shot. Hey, Kronx, money mind, money mind.”

“[Kronx, I want to try again with other hitters. You haven’t even thrown 30 yet, have you?]”

“[I want to do it with Ji…]”

“[Suddenly, Maengho said he had a stomach ache…]”

‘A hit like that in a sick stomach? Maeng-ho Ji is real.’

In Kronx’s opinion, Maeng-Ho Ji was a hitter with a sense of pressure that he had never seen before in his baseball career. In particular, when he entered the third at-bat, the pressure he felt was comparable to that of the best hitters in the major leagues. His willingness to send any ball close to his fence reminds him of the superstars he’s played against. He was with the superstars he admired.

But that was a situation with abdominal pain, not in full condition…

‘Why is this guy in Korea?’

Even if he went to the major leagues right now, he would not be a hitter, Ji Maeng-ho. Kronx’s gaze at the place where he ran was like that of a baseball boy looking at a superstar.

*

“Ai, why do you keep looking at me like that?”

“Who?”

“Didn’t you feel Seong-tae? That bastard has been looking at me like that all week. Kronx, you bastard, are you sure you’re not gay?”

A week after Kronx joined the team, something strange happened to that cub’s eyes.