Chapter 297 – Episode 295. The Ride Comfort Is Good. (2)
[In the first game, AT’s batting lineup exploded and the AT Thunders took an easy victory in the second game. I’m looking forward to what kind of game will unfold today?]
[Actually, hitting has a cycle, so pitchers are usually important in short-term games, right? Therefore, there were many experts and fans predicting the victory of Hyunseong Mad Cats, who have powerful pitching ability, but in yesterday’s game, AT’s batting line exploded, and they easily won.]
[The AT Thunders’ batting lineup showed signs of exploding starting in the semi-playoffs, right?]
[You’re right. In Game 4, the batters showed off their abilities by scoring double-digit scores. It is also evaluated as the best batting line of all time.]
[And at the center are powerful hitters from Kim Su-ho to Choi Jin-cheol.]
[You’re right. Su-ho Kim, Ki-joo Ki, Jin-cheol Choi, and Maeng-ho Ji. Kim Soo-ho and Ki Ki-joo are the best hitters in the league who are still playing for the national team, and Choi Jin-cheol is the person who ushered in the era of the right-handed hitter troika along with Kang Han-beom and Lee Jin-hong, taking over the position of four-time home run king and the fourth hitter of the national team during his prime. Ji Maeng-ho…, He is a player that needs no words. It can be seen as the present and future of Korean baseball.]
The 2023 AT Thunders’ batting lineup, which experts say is the best of all time, actually had a big role in the four players introduced by the commentator. The other players could be seen as ordinary first-team starters, but the synergy with these four was the best of all time. It was safe to say that.
Kim Soo-ho was second in scoring with 118 runs and 5.36 WAR (Winnings Above Replacement Contribution), Ki Ki-joo Ki was second in hits with 186 hits and 6.91 WAR, and achieved his career-high season with 44 home runs and 2 home runs. Jin-cheol Choi ranked second in RBIs with 142 RBIs, and recorded a WAR of 6.45.
Kim Soo-ho trusted the batters behind him and played baseball to his heart’s content, and Ki Ki-joo succeeded in joining the .300 -30 home run -100 RBI club with 106 runs and 115 RBI with his unique ability to produce hits. And Choi Jin-cheol showed off his punching power and proved why he can win the home run title four times.
Even if these three players made cleanups, they could be considered the best of all time, and at the center of those players was Ji Maeng-ho, the fourth hitter who recorded the best performance in Korean baseball history. Ji Maeng-ho’s presence made it difficult for Ki Ki-ju to compete and created many opportunities for Choi Jin-cheol.
The combined WAR record of these four people is 36.02. Even if you look at the batting WAR of all teams so far, it was a record that could be ranked among the top ten. With the addition of the performances of Woo Kwan-hyung, Yoon Seong-tae, and Kim Joo-yeop, who recorded WAR between 2 and 3, the AT batting lineup’s WAR this season exceeded 40, leaving a record in league history as the batting lineup with the highest WAR of all time.
However, thanks to Ji Maeng-ho, who recorded an incomprehensible WAR with over 17 points, some people doubted the power of the batting lineup.
-Okay, so isn’t AT’s batting line a complete idiot?
ㄴIsn’t Ji Maengho AT?
ㄴWhy are you leaving out the Fierce Protector?
Haha, these bastards still exist. Do Kim Su-ho, Ki Ki-joo, and Choi Jin-cheol look like dicks?
No, Kim Soo-ho is just a mountain supplement, and Choi Jin-cheol, a meteorologist, received an umbrella effect from before and after Ji Maeng-ho, right? Isn’t the pitcher’s mentality shaken because Ki Maeng-joo is in the game and Ji Maeng-ho is out in front of Choi Jin-cheol?
ㄴㄴThis is ㄹㅇ, Ki Ki-joo crashed in the majors last year, and Choi Jin-cheol had an OPS of 0.786 at 203 last year. Just Ji Maeng-ho sucks.
However, in the playoffs against Hyunsung, AT’s batting lineup began to explode again, as if to completely erase the doubts that had plagued them all season. Like yesterday’s game where 13 points were scored.
[Vandepoort’s second ball was… !]
Ta – Aak!
Hyunseong’s starting pitcher Van Depot blocked the first batter, Kim Joo-yeop, by outing, but with the second batter Kim Su-ho’s single and a meteoric double, the situation suddenly became 1 out, 2nd and 3rd base.
[Now Ji Maeng-ho comes to bat. The choice of Hyunseong’s dugout was, of course, intentional.]
[Choi Jin-cheol’s batting ability is scary, but it makes no sense to compete with Ji Maeng-ho when first base is empty. And in this important game.]
Just like that, Ji Maeng-ho intentionally walks to a bases-loaded pitch, and the situation is one out and the bases loaded. Choi Jin-cheol, who hit two home runs yesterday, came to bat.
‘Please sign quickly.’
In a desperate situation with bases loaded and one out, Vandepot’s gaze pierced the face of Hyunsung’s starting catcher Park Jung-hyun. And Park Joong-hyun, who received that gaze, slightly turned white, even if it was only for a moment.
Park Joong-hyun, who shared the team’s heyday and his own heyday in the 2010s, won the Golden Glove in 2011, 2012, 2016, and 2018, following in Lee Ki-cheol’s footsteps and joining the pedigree of Korean catchers, while Hancheol’s Lee Yong-gi stood out. He was a catcher who divided the league with UG’s Baek Kyung-ho until he appeared.
And even after his prime, he was still talented enough to be called up as a backup catcher for the national team.
Because Park Jung-hyun had so much experience and had risen to the top, he knew what the atmosphere of Choi Jin-cheol, who was currently at bat, was like.
‘Fuck, this guy has been brutal since yesterday?’
It was a pressure that only a top-class hitter could feel.
Even in Park Jung-hyun’s long professional career, there were few hitters who showed this kind of pressure. Kang Han-beom before entering the U.S., Choi Jin-cheol when he hit over 50 home runs for two consecutive years, and Ji Maeng-ho this season. Only those three batters showed such momentum at the plate.
When this atmosphere was felt, Park Jung-hyun’s choice was to walk. There was no need to compete against a top hitter whose concentration was at its peak. But now he had to choose, with bases loaded and 1 out.
‘Let’s go the hard way. ‘Difficult.’
After much deliberation, Park Jung-hyun decides to throw the first pitch and sends an autograph to the pitcher. The first pitch is a fastball that goes outside. Choi Jin-cheol’s reaction speed became slower due to his age, so it was a decision made with the idea that the bat would not be able to keep up with Vandepot’s fastball.
But is it because of the situation with bases loaded and one out? Vandepot’s first pitch was closer to the strike zone than Park Jung-hyun’s mitt,
Perfect!
Choi Jin-cheol pushed the fastball out.
‘Fuck! Also… !’
The push that Choi Jin-cheol only shows on days when he is in good condition erupted at that moment. The batted ball that Choi Jin-cheol pushed flew quickly, hit the fence, and bounced off, perhaps due to his unique strength.
‘Fucked!’
When the right fielder caught the ball, third base runner Kim Soo-ho had already reached home and second base runner Ki Ki-joo was also running toward home.
[Choi Jin-cheol’s double! Two runners home! Ji Maeng-ho, the runner on first base, is on third base! Choi Jin-cheol is on second base! This is Choi Jin-cheol, who is creating an RBI today as well.]
[Choi Jin-cheol, I couldn’t say that he had a good hitting feel in the semi-playoffs, but he showed a better hitting feel after entering the playoffs?]
[Now at bat is No. 6 batter Yoon Seong-tae. … The batted ball flies high! Ji Maeng-ho is at third base. Catch the ball in center field! Ji Maeng-ho is running! Lightly three leaves! 3:0! AT Thunders lead by 3 points. AT’s batting lineup doesn’t know how to rest today either!]
‘Ha, fuck, these bastards, since yesterday…’
Park Jung-hyun, who had an optimistic personality and did not think the defeat in the first game was a big deal, became distorted. And unlike Park Jung-hyun’s distorted expression, smiles were blooming on the faces of the away fans of the AT Thunders who came to Mad Cats Park today.
“Wow, shit. This is it. This is our batting lineup!”
AT Thunders’ batting lineup this year was evaluated as the best of all time, but behind it, there were definitely undervaluations caused by the presence of an off-standard hitter like Ji Maeng-ho. However, the batting line’s performance that completely erased those underestimations proved why they were the best batting line even though Ji Maeng-ho did not play much from the first game.
And,
[Top of the 3rd inning, 2 outs. Ji Maeng-ho comes to bat. Today’s record is an intentional throw.]
[Ji Maeng-ho entered these playoffs with 1 hit in 3 at-bats and 3 walks. It is said to be a decent performance, but compared to the value of his name, Ji Meng-ho, his performance is a bit disappointing, isn’t it?]
[Ji Maeng-ho kicked up the fourth ball! This batted ball… !]
Ta-ah!
Even Ji Maeng-ho, who was silent, hit an over-the-park home run that crossed the stadium in his second at-bat, adding an extra point in a game that was in a lull.
[Hyeonseong’s counterattack! White’s batted ball goes over the fence! Score 4:2! The game is not over yet!]
Hyunseong also followed with a score, but Bellingham did not tie the game and left the mound after allowing 3 runs in 6 innings. Meanwhile, AT’s batting line, the league’s strongest batting line, continued to produce additional runs,
[Game over! Score 10:6! AT Thunders are just one step away from the Korean Series! Mega Thunders exploded for two days in a row! AT is now heading to Jamsil! Will the AT Thunders be able to receive tickets to the Korean Series for the first time in 21 years in front of their home fans?]
[Wow, 13 points in the first game and 10 points in the second game against Hyunseong, who has the best pitching staff in the league. To achieve this result by scoring double digits in two consecutive games. All I can say is that it’s truly amazing.]
[There’s only one game left, but Hyunseong can’t give up just yet, right?]
[You’re right. Batting is a cycle, and you never know when AT’s batting fire will go out. In addition, today, Hyunseong’s hitters showed a sign of revival by scoring against AT’s bullpen, so Game 3 is likely to be more interesting.]
[Baseball fans will also be looking forward to Game 3. The third game between Hyunseong Madcats and AT Thunders held in Jamsil. I hope many people will watch.]
“Wow, is this a dream? “You applied Hyeonseong like this?”
Even the AT fans leaving Mad Cats Park after the game couldn’t believe it was a victory. However, since we were fans who watched over 100 games a year, we couldn’t help but feel anxious.
“But I’m a little anxious. “If I’m playing this well, I need to keep going, but I’m taking a day off.”
“Under… “We all know that if we take a day off, our kids’ batting skills will drop.”
Fans also knew very well that batting is a cycle, and they had seen many cases where a player would get fired up like this and then pour cold water on them by making double plays like ghosts in the next game.
“But we still got two games, so we won’t get a reverse sweep, right?”
“Fuck, are you going to get reverse swept? After… If we win just one more game, it’s Kosida. Please. Let’s go to Kosi.”
“Okay, fuck it, let’s go!”
However, despite such anxiety, there were no fans who thought that the team would slip away with one game left. While the anticipation of being able to go to the Korean Series and the anxiety of what will happen if the batting lineup cools down coexist, time passes and the third game that could decide the fate of the two teams approaches.
*
‘Fuck, for some reason, I played really well in the first and second games. After all, this is normal, right? In the meantime, the batting line has exploded so much. Tsk, I took a day off for no reason and the feeling of hitting cooled down.’
Game 3 of the playoffs, with only one step left until the Korean Series. The only hit we had until the bottom of the third inning was my hit. We were tightly tied up by Kares, a mercenary from Hyeonseong.
‘The good thing is that senior Jang Yoon is blocking with perfection, but I don’t know how long he can block like that, so I need to score quickly…’
Game 3 with the score remaining 0:0. It was a bleak start compared to the first and second games where we had a big lead from the beginning, but it wasn’t annoying or anything like that.
‘I guess I should do it too, right? ‘Hehe.’
On the contrary, I was even slightly happy. Choi Jin-cheol dominated the spotlight in the first and second games, and I felt like I could receive that spotlight in this game.
Before the game, I went into the game thinking, ‘Please just do this, you bastards,’ but I couldn’t help but feel excited about this situation. Has your concentration improved?
‘The bus was sweet, but this is my preference… Show it properly today!’