Chapter 306 – Episode 304. Are You Really Going to Skip Everything? (4)

‘Wow, that’s a shame.’

This at-bat also resulted in a straight walk, but it wasn’t satisfactory. Even though I brought up the story of being the catcher who allowed the most stolen bases in the Korean Series in an attempt to scratch catcher Baek Kyung-ho at the plate, Baek Kyung-ho didn’t even reply, so I felt very disappointed.

Seeing that he didn’t respond to what I said made me want to hit him on the head with a bat, but I was a gentleman who knew manners, so it was even more disappointing that I couldn’t do that.

“Run gently, Meng Hao. “I’m going crazy because of you.”

“Then don’t skip it. Because I’m going crazy too. And if the board is laid out like this, you have to run.”

First baseman Koo Jin-mo begged him to stop running, but he had no intention of stopping. He’s 1 out, but if he runs to 3rd base, 1 run is guaranteed. If I had been a little more relaxed, I would have stopped at second base and told him the type of pitch, but I knew best that knowing the type of pitch would not lead to a hit in every at-bat, so I planned to run to third base this time as well.

‘If you are senior Suho, you will call me somehow.’

When I gathered my courage and waited for the right moment, the timing I wanted came soon,

“Second base!”

“Safe!”

After getting an easy save at second base, he started aiming for third base. And again, I was able to get a three-leaf decision at third base on a breaking ball that was thrown again.

‘Wow, I almost got caught this time. Has Baek Kyung-ho recently rejuvenated?’

“It was dangerous. It’s Meng Hao. Why did you push yourself to win by 1 point?”

“Because it feels different between 1 out, 2nd base, and 3rd base.”

“Yes, good job.”

The third base coach’s voice was filled with tremors, as if he was also trying to console himself at that critical timing.

‘Seeing the coach get excited, it really reminds me of the Korean Series.’

‘So who wants to run so dangerously?’

‘It’s going to be hard for me if I keep running like this.’

‘Young guy, tsk tsk. When I was your age…’

‘Would you like to check how many bases Mr. Rossby stole when he was my age? You know that times have improved these days, and you can check with just one click, right?’

‘Hmm…’

There was an unexpected tackle from Rossby, but since we reached third base anyway, all that was left was to return home. And I was confident that Kim Su-ho would be able to invite me. Among AT’s batters, he was the player who hit the most in situations.

Perfect!

And as I expected, Kim Su-ho pushed the ball outside and sent it toward left field. A high but slow flying ball.

‘Good location. Mr. Rossby, please signal.’

‘Run!’

“Run!”

I heard Rossby and the third base coach shouting at almost the same time, and I started running quickly toward home. Although the location was good, Munhak’s stadium was small and UG’s three outfielders all had good arms, so we couldn’t let down our guard at all.

Baek Kyung-ho came to the front of the home plate to catch the throw, but the umpire’s mouth opened as he opened the groove for my slide, as if the ball had not arrived yet.

“Safe!”

2:0 with this. Looking at the pitches between Bellingham and Kim Seong-gyeol today, there was a high probability that it would be a pitching battle in the future, so this additional point was significant.

“You did a good job running.”

“I’m just doing my job. “What?”

Before I knew it, Kim Soo-ho approached me and patted my shoulder to encourage me. I don’t normally do things like this, but seeing him do this made Kim Soo-ho feel a little sorry that I was only getting walks.

‘Senior Suho is having trouble swinging because of me, so he must be more understanding of my feelings.’

It was natural for a batter to want to swing the bat over the fence while at bat. However, if he couldn’t bring me in, it would have been a disaster, so today Kim Su-ho was trying to bring me home with his swing as well as possible.

“Let’s go in.”

“Yes. I wish Sangju senior would play here, but how about Kim Seong-gyeol? It looks good to watch.”

“Today probably won’t be easy.”

And as Kim Soo-ho predicted, Ki Ki-joo hit a big ball, but the top of the third inning ended when he was caught in front of the fence. The good news, though, was that Bellingham was also throwing the ball just as good as Seong-gyeol Kim.

“Out!”

In the bottom of the third inning, Bellingham put one man on base, but blocked the remaining batters and ended the bottom of the third inning with no runs.

“Now! “Let’s go add one more point!”

And then, in the top of the 4th inning,

Ta – Aak!

Leadoff hitter Choi Jin-cheol hit a double that hit the fence, creating the first true hit of the game.

“Choi Jin-cheol! “I believed it!”

“Stylish! Jincheol!”

And I thought Seongtae Yoon would get a walk and attack Seonggyeol Kim,

“Out!”

Kim Joo-yeop, who played at No. 6 today, ‘s batted ball floated high in the infield, resulting in one out,

“Out!”

“Out!”

The atmosphere calmed down again with Jeong Yun-cheol’s double play.

“Ah…”

“Brother Yun Cheol…”

“Fuck, it’s hot. It opened.”

Kim Seong-gyeol was one of the starting pitchers who was best at inducing double plays in the league due to his underhand skills, so Yun-cheol Jeong’s double play was not that surprising.

‘Fuck, this feels strong. If this happens…’

The proverb in baseball that a chance is followed by a crisis came to mind, and I just had a bad feeling. … And my hunch was right.

Dang!

“Wow, that goes over.”

“Write. Because the stadium manager is the manager. “I pushed it, and it fell over?”

-Wow!!!

-Puuuuu!

-Goo Jin-mo! Goo Jin-mo! Gu Jin-mo!

-Overlord’s home run hitter~ Jinmo hits a home run~! Overlord’s home run hitter~ Jinmo hits a home run~!

As her batted ball, pushed by Gu Jin-mo, crossed the fence, the Munhak Stadium was filled with cheers, the sound of boat horns, and Gu Jin-mo’s name and cheering songs.

“[Hey, Bellingham! Money mind! Money mind!]”

I quickly gave Bellingham some encouragement before they got into the semi-playoffs.

‘Surely, you won’t collapse if you hit a home run? Please come to your senses.’

“[Are you okay. Because we are familiar with home runs like this in literature.]”

“[If that’s the case, I’m glad.]”

Contrary to my worries that Bellingham, who was pitching well, might collapse, Bellingham did not collapse with one sudden hit and ended the bottom of the fourth inning by catching the remaining two out counts.

However, despite Bellingham’s strong performance, the game was not easy. In the third at-bat with two outs in the top of the fifth inning, I ran to third base like the previous at-bats, but I was unable to add any points as Kim Seong-gyeol struck out Kim Su-ho, and the score gap of 2:1 continued.

… Until the top of the 8th inning begins. And then, in the top of the 8th inning,

Perfect!

“Out!”

I wondered if Kim Seong-gyeol, who had blocked our batting lineup with only 2 runs until the bottom of the 7th inning, would go down and let some blood flow, but the pitcher who took the mound for UG was UG’s left-handed pitcher Kim Geun-woong, known as the left-handed lion. Kim Geun-woong, as his nickname for a tall man, got Baek Jeong-jin out and got his fourth at-bat with one out.

If it had been the regular season, Kim Geun-woong, who is weak against right-handed hitters, would have been replaced, but there was no pitcher replacement.

“I kicked 1 point, but am I going to take it again? Ha, fuck.”

It was clearly the pitcher’s intention to skip me and catch left-handed hitter Kim Soo-ho and Ki Ki-joo.

“Base on balls.”

A walk that was close to an intentional walk and a stolen base to third base. This time too, today’s scoring pattern proceeded without a hitch.

‘Now, Senior Suho, once again… !’

Perfect!

“Hold it! Center! Center!”

However, this time, Kim Su-ho’s batted ball ended up being a shallow fly to center field. In addition to the fact that both the infield and outfield were playing forward defense, the disaster occurred when facing left-handed pitchers while dealing with underhands all day.

‘Ha, fuck…’

But I couldn’t blame him. In a way, it was natural that Kim Soo-ho, who had been hitting the right shots to bring me in all day, lost his batting sense.

‘Is this 2:1? No matter how good you think about Bellingham, it’s until the bottom of the 8th inning. I’m anxious if I’m one point behind Park Jin-hyuk, but…’

Although there were still at-bats due to the weather warning, today’s performance was 0-hit in 3 at-bats. It was a result that was not expected at all.

‘Tsk, I need to prepare for defense.’

*

[Two outs, top of the 8th inning. Meteorological Joo comes to bat. Ki Ki-joo’s performance was 3 at-bats and no hits.]

[If you add up the first game, you are doing quite poorly with 1 hit in 7 at-bats, right? Ki Ki-joo must come back to life quickly so that Ji Maeng-ho is not overlooked in UG.]

Due to the blatant walk toward Ji Maeng-ho, the broadcasting crew also had a vague idea of ​​UG’s strategy, and AT’s fans were hoping to educate UG Overlord.

However,

Perfect!

All such expectations turned into curses when the unexpected ball aimed at the first pitch went outside the foul line and hit the audience.

-Ah, but why can’t I look forward to the weather forecast? ㅅㅂ

ㄴHancheol’s spy is like that.

-I don’t want anything big, so just one hit, please, please, please…

-That bastard, I think he played really well in the fall when he was in season, damn it

ㄴㄹㅇ It was a fall killer, but why did it become like that?

[One strike with this.]

[This may be the most important deciding factor in today’s game.]

[Kim Geun-woong and meteorological competition. That second ball! You hit it! A ball like a bullet! Go beyond the foul line. With this, two lights come on in the strike count.]

-Fuck, I spent 15 billion to recruit that guy.

ㄴGive me the money, you scammer!

-Ha, if it were my brother, he would have definitely hit it. ㅅㅂ…

ㄴI miss you. Guan Yuxin…

Can’t you hit if your hamstring is torn? There was no base running anyway, so please just hit…

ㄴThen my brother dies haha

-You idiot, you failed at the majors because you did that.

AT fans were on the verge of exploding after two consecutive fouls. However, the climate inside was colder than ever.

‘Okay, the timing is right.’

The first foul hit is in the stands and the second foul hit is near the foul line. The batted ball was getting closer and closer to the ground as the weatherman intended.

Kim Geun-woong’s main weapons are slider and forkball. However, it was safe to say that he did not have a forkball due to the presence of Ji Maeng-ho at third base. Considering Ji Maeng-ho’s speed, it was clear that he would hit the ball home as soon as it was released.

What remains are sliders and fastballs. And a better as talented as Gyeong-ju would have no problem timing the speed of the fastball and hitting the slider. Especially if you are a pitcher who throws a cutter-like slider like Kim Geun-woong.

‘Come…’ !’

And the third ball was thrown.

Ta – evil!!!

The weatherman’s bat, which had been silent throughout the series, hit the ball coolly.

[This hit is to the right wall! Right fence! Right fence! Let’s go! Weather warning: The first home run of this postseason will be hit in this situation! Score 4:1! Rising… Uh? Player Ki Ki-joo is holding a bat?]

And as soon as he hit the ball, Ki Ki-ju, who was sure it was a home run, raised his bat and started aiming at the right fence. … Just like Ji Maeng-ho.

-Wow!!!

– Weather warning! Weather warning! Weather warning!

The AT fans gathered at Munhak Stadium went into a frenzy at the ceremony for Ji Maeng-ho, who had not swung a bat even once throughout the series.

-Kya!!! This is the value of 15 billion!!!

-Sangju is crazy!!!!

-15 billion! 15 billion! 15 billion!

AT fans in various communities who had been criticizing Ki Ki-ju just before changed their attitude like flipping their palms and started praising Gi-gi Ju.

And another person who tried to change his attitude was waiting for the weather at home.

“Wake up! Are you crazy?”

“Bastard! “Speak informally to your senior!”

“I love you, Sangju!”

“Why is this guy like this today?”

“Hehe, it’s because I like it.”

When Ki Ki-ju stepped on the home plate like a triumphant general, Maeng-ho, who had stepped on the home plate first, welcomed Ki Ki-ju warmly. He looked like a child who got caught swearing behind his back, but those doubts quickly disappeared in the joy of the home run.

[Is this big? This score is the perfect wedge.]

A perfect wedge point that even a child can see. Thanks to that key point, the game ended 4-1, and AT Thunders succeeded in balancing the series before going to Jamsil.

And…,

“Director Moon Ki-taek! From yesterday to today, Ji Maeng-ho has not even been given a chance to swing the bat. Was this the way the manager talked about before the series started to prevent Ji Maeng-ho from giving no hits?”

A mini-hearing was beginning in the loser interview after the game.