Chapter 224 – Chapter 222. First All-Star Game. (2)

“Seniors, please leave at least one person.”

“Ji Maeng-ho, here we go again.”

“Hyungs, is it like that on his team too?”

Sharing my support, Lee Eun-chong, the first hitter of the team, looked at the other AT seniors with a puzzled look.

“Okay.”

Kim Soo-ho answered calmly. Following Kim Soo-ho’s answer, Chong nodded his head as if realizing something.

‘There’s something subtle about his expression.’

‘Isn’t it the expression that says, ‘What kind of bastard is there? Hehe.’

‘Mr. Rossby, when did you come? It wasn’t there while I was defending.’

‘A lot of new years have come. I came to look around.’

Really, I can’t dry it. How can a man like a woman like this?

‘So where were you?’

‘Behind the catcher.’

‘Fuck, I can’t see.’

If you were on first or third base, you would have seen it while at bat or on base, but if you were in the catcher’s box, you only get one chance before you go to the plate. This forced him to take a peek before going to the plate. Still, the distance to the catcher’s seat in this stadium is close, so if you look carefully, you’ll be able to see it.

‘Ah! I’ll have to watch it while I’m waiting at bat. After all, I’m smart.’

“I understand, maengho. I’ll give you one.”

“Yes?”

“Huh? Isn’t it because you wanted to be at bat from the first inning?”

“Yes, that’s right. That’s right.”

“Why are you suddenly out of your mind?”

“Grace, he usually does that often.”

“It was the same at the national university. It’s still So, look forward to it.”

And Lee Eun-chong, who goes to the plate. Of course, I didn’t expect too much because my opponent was Kim Seong-gyeol, the ace of UG Overlords. Lefty hitter Lee Eun-chong and right-handed sidearm Kim Seong-gyeol had better compatibility, but if Kim Seong-gyeol had been such a common sidearm, he would not have been called the ace of the strong team UG.

Kim Seong-gyeol was also a player worthy of his name. From what I’ve played against, it was a pitcher with a fastball in the upper 140s that seemed to surge upward, a knuckle curve that flew toward the body and quickly turned into the zone, and a two-seam that seemed to escape outward but exquisitely stuck into the zone.

In addition, he had considerable control, so I was a player who had a hard time dealing with him. In particular, the trajectory of the knuckle curve, which is not often seen, was difficult even for me, who is called a curve killer.

Right!

And, as I expected, Lee Eun-chong hit a grounder in the infield and withdrew.

‘What, is this natural?’

“It was a waste! Grace!”

“Hey, holy spirit, even though it’s an all-star game, he throws it with his teeth clenched.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Does it look the same as usual? Without the All-Star Game hype or anything like that.”

Hmmm, it’s the same as usual. Then, should I aim for two-seamer as usual? Kim Seong-gyeol’s soaring fastball and knuckle curve that seemed to break right in front of the plate had a slightly different trajectory from other pitchers, so it was difficult to hit, so the strategy I chose was to aim for two-seam. In fact, two-seam had an ordinary side, so I had fun dealing with Kim Seong-gyeol.

“Kim Soo-ho! Go for it!”

The batting order of the sharing team today was similar to the usual AT. Except for Shinra Triggers’ center fielder Lee Eun-chong, who was the number 1 hitter, the batters assigned from number 2 onwards were the same as our team’s lineup. In other words, the second batter was Kim Soo-ho, and the third batter was Ki Sang-joo. And behind me, the number 4 batter, Choi Jin-cheol.

‘If Kim Soo-ho and I wake up, at least one person will go on base, right? I want you to go on base.’

Actually, as much as I am a player, Mr. The All-Star spot was coveted.

As a pitcher pitches two innings at most, and most pitch one inning, he could not become an All-Star Game MVP unless he had an unusual record such as nine pitches and three strikeouts.

That is, Mr. Most of the players who become All-Stars are hitters with the winning run. He was more likely to be the hitter for the winning team. To do that, it was as important for my team to win as it was for me to have as many at-bats as possible. Why is it important for me to have a lot of at-bats?

Of course, the more I appear at bat, the more likely the team will win.

Moreover, as Jang Woo-joo heated up the atmosphere by throwing 163 km/h at the beginning of the first inning, he hit a home run at the end of the first inning, so I also wanted to make an impact on the fans.

Right!

“Ah… ! What a waste.”

Kim Soo-ho also made an outfield fly and withdrew, as if dealing with Kim Seong-gyeol was not easy. Now it’s his turn to step in. I went to the waiting at-bat, praying for the weatherman to get on base. Of course, you should check it before doing that, right?

‘Mr. Rossby, where’s that hot bitch?’

‘Hey, fourth row from the front.’

‘Oh, fuck.’

The woman Rossby informed me was that her outfit was hot as it was summer. Dressed in an AT uniform with a white crop top, she certainly had a svelte body that Rossby would come to watch.

‘Is that enough to pass? Won’t you come to get my autograph after it’s over?’

Seeing him wearing the AT uniform, he deserves to come get my autograph. A woman like that deserved the ID of my secret account.

‘The eye candy was good, shall we take a look at Kim Seong-gyeol’s condition now?’

“Cheek.”

Women are women and baseball is baseball. There are many opportunities to fuck a girl, but the chance to win the All-Star Game MVP is only once a year. I stopped watching the girls and focused on Kim Seong-gyeol’s pitching again. The first pitch Kim Seong-gyeol threw to Ki Sang-ju was a ball. However, it was a knife-like ball that got out of the zone by one ball.

‘That level of performance at the All-Star Game. He’s a good thrower as well.’

“Cheek.”

The second ball is also a ball. It was clearly visible that he was conscious of the weatherman. And the third ball against the weatherman was thrown.

Widely!

A batted ball that feels off the beaten track from the sound of the ball. However, in baseball, the more well-hit the ball, the higher the probability of being caught. The hit ball hit by the weatherman floated in an awkward position and landed in a position where the center fielder, second baseman and right fielder could not catch it.

The phrase “Lucky hit” Fits perfectly. Well, no matter what the batting style is, going on base is going on base. My chance came to me from the end of the first inning with the weather warning on base.

‘Mr. Rossby, let’s go with all our might today.’

‘With all my power?’

‘Yes. Also tell me the location.’

Since Kim Seong-gyeol is an outstanding pitcher, there was no problem in swinging the bat trusting the position Rossby told him.

‘I get it. Wouldn’t it be bad to check how much I’ve grown in the meantime.’

‘Then please.’

‘I get it.’

“Hello.”

“OK.”

The catcher sitting in the catcher’s seat of the Dream Team today is Lee Yong-gi, the best catcher in Korea.

“Which ball should I give you?”

“Do you want to go to a fastball game like a man?”

“Okay? Okay.”

‘The first pitch is a knuckle curve. Body side.’

‘He’s like a fox. They don’t even watch the All-Star game, right?’

Kim Seong-gyeol’s knuckle curve on the side was a ball like Kim Seong-gyeol’s signature season that led many hitters to miss their swings. The ball that flew like a fastball and then broke right in front of my eyes was a ball that was difficult to time even if I knew the trajectory. Unless you see 3 or 4 balls in a row, the trajectory is not familiar, so even if you hit it, the ball doesn’t have any cost performance.

I could make a hit, but the current situation was not a situation to aim for a hit.

‘I have to hit a home run, but it’s a waste to face a ball like this.’

In this situation, there is only one simple way to deal with such a ball.

‘I’ll skip the first pitch.’

Anyway, it was difficult to get a good batted ball by hitting a ball like Kim Seong-gyeol’s knuckle curve. I decided to skip the first pitch.

“Strike!”

“I hear you’re competing with fastballs.”

“Did I? Sorry, this is a real fastball.”

‘Speaking without heart. How about the second ball, Mr. Rossby?’

‘It’s a knuckle curve again. But outside.’

Hmm, since I’m still, are you going to attack with a knuckle curve?

‘Do you hit this? Tell me?’

After much thought, I decided to skip this ball. All you need now is a home run. No flimsy hits were necessary.

“Cheek.”

‘Even if it’s Kim Seong-gyeol, it’s hard to put it inside the body and outside, right?’

Kim Seong-gyeol’s second ball was luckily turned into a ball. If anything, he was going to kick the ball away from two strikes and hit it properly when he threw two seams, but if this happened, it seemed like he could push that plan back.

“Is it a knuckle curve again?”

“Sorry sorry. I’ll give it right this time.”

“I can give you a puck. I don’t believe it.”

“Really, this time it’s real.”

‘It’s a fastball. In high.’

A high ball? A ball that induces a swing no matter who sees it. Probably a ball out of the strike zone.

“Cheek.”

Also. One strike to ball. A count that wasn’t bad to hit was made.

“I told you to hit it, but you didn’t hit it?”

“If you are a senior, will you hit this ball?”

“Of course not me.”

‘Changeup. Lower to the body.’

‘A changeup? Against me?’

Throwing a changeup here? Of course, Kim Seong-gyeol was also a pitcher who threw the changeup as his fourth pitch, although it was not his main weapon. However, there is only one reason why I ruled out Kim Seong-gyeol’s changeup. It was because after some analysis of me, there were very few pitchers in the league who threw a changeup against me.

There were a few pitchers who threw curveballs, but the reason few pitchers threw changeups was simple. Because I hit my changeup so damn well.

Occasionally, there were pitchers who looked at me as a dick and threw a changeup to cheat my timing, but most of them punished me with a double, so I couldn’t even see a changeup for about a month.

In the first place, the type of pitch called the changeup was nothing more than a poop ball that would hit a home run if he failed to deceive the batter’s timing. Unless you throw a changeup with an alien trajectory, that is.

‘Well, I’ll enjoy the change-up!’

And Kim Seong-gyeol’s changeup came flying.

Ta-evil!

-Waaaaa!!!

– Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maeng-ho!

Like the expected ending, the ball I threw disappeared over the left wall. A neat home run.

“Nice!”

“Hey, he still hits his changeup well.”

However, seeing Lee Yong-gi’s reaction even after hitting a home run, I felt uncomfortable. As I walked around the base like that, thinking about why Lee Yong-gi reacted like that, I felt like I knew something about why.

‘No way?’

‘No way.’

Seeing Lee Yong-ki smiling at me running around the bases at home plate made my thoughts even clearer.

‘It was something like that.’

‘What, was it like that?’

‘I’ve been thinking about why he threw a changeup all of a sudden.’

‘Okay? Well, I was weird too.’

‘Maybe he tried it? Because it’s an All-Star game, so it doesn’t matter if the team loses.’

‘What?’

‘Does he still hit his changeup well?’

There is only one ranking difference between Hancheol and AT. There was probably a high probability that the ranking would be divided in a head-to-head match. Lee Yong-gi was tested in this at-bat for the confrontation. That I still hit my changeup well.

‘I thought I was stupid, but I managed to think that far.’

‘Because I’m not stupid!’

If I hadn’t been able to catch Kim Seong-gyeol’s changeup, one of the best pitchers in Korea, Lee Yong-gi would have thrown a changeup against me during the season. Of course, since I hit a nice home run, I wouldn’t be so arrogant.

‘Anyway, he’s a fox-like man. Really good hair Thinking of using the All-Star Game to see me? Of course, I’m smarter for seeing that idea.’

‘Oh, I see.’

‘… What’s the reaction like? Mr. Rossby.’

Isn’t this the right time to praise my smart brain?

‘By the way…’

‘Yes?’

‘If you noticed that idea first, why don’t you just swing and pretend you can’t hit? Then you might get lucky with a changeup during the season. Wouldn’t it be better to hit a home run during the season rather than at an All-Star game?’

‘…’

… Such a way.

‘Because you’re a stupid kid. Haha.’

The first home run of the All-Star game had a rather bitter taste. Fuck.