Chapter 343 – Episode 335. Juji Daejeon. (4)

‘Fuck, that’s harsh.’

1 year. If it was long, it was a long time, if it was short, it was a short time, but if there was one thing I felt while playing as a professional player for a year, it was that baseball is a sport of momentum. Baseball is a sport that allows you to feel anxious at any time.

“Ball.”

And now, seeing him give up the ball to lead hitter An Si-Hwon twice in a row gave me a chill. When Kim Yun-ho, who took over as the closer after Park Jin-hyuk, who was last year’s closer, was sent down to the second team, came on the mound and threw a ball that went wide to the outside, there were signs of that, and seeing the second ball also hit low on the floor, the big data that had been accumulated for a year was revealed. Whispered to me Now is the time to win.

‘I hope my feelings are wrong.’

Perfect!

As soon as he thought that, An Si-Hwon’s bat swung, and the ball that bounced in front of the mound went through Kim Yun-ho’s legs and headed toward second base.

‘It’s mine!’

The moment it was hit, I ran towards second base, but my sense of catching fungoes was telling me that I couldn’t catch this ball. But still, I couldn’t give up. I dived toward the bat and stretched out his arms.

Tak!

‘Did you catch it?’

I felt something hitting my glove and immediately closed my hand. After that, I reflexively got up and tried to take the ball out, but unfortunately, nothing got caught in my hand.

‘Oh, fuck! Where is the ball?’

“Hey! “Focus!”

‘It curved toward left field!’

After hearing Rossby’s words, I checked left field and saw Ki Ki-ju running to catch the rolling ball. Seongtae Yoon must have been diving with me, and he was still lying nearby.

“Stop second base!”

And then I hear an unknown shout. A Si-Hwon, who made a lucky batted ball, was running around first base and all the way to second base.

“Catch it!”

The weather warning throw was directed towards me, and Yoon Seong-tae, who was about to stand up, lowered his body to create space. I also took a seat near the base and stretched out my gloved hand. Phut! As soon as I felt a thrown ball enter my glove, I closed the glove, turned around, and brought the glove towards the sliding runner. The dust that arose from sliding flew loudly and blocked my eyes.

“Tag!”

I wasn’t sure about the timing, but I looked at the second base umpire, heard the glove, and shouted. I can see the second base umpire worried about my shout.

‘It’s ambiguous? Three leaves? Out?’

“… Safe!”

And the safety declaration is heard.

“Brother! Did you see it?”

I immediately turned my head, saw Seongtae Yun, and shouted. As I was turning to tag, I wasn’t sure about the situation, but Seongtae Yoon, who was watching from the side, could clearly tell, so I waited for Seongtae Yoon’s answer.

“… “It’s bitter, it looks like a three leaf?”

“… Fuck.”

If Yoon Seong-tae, who is on the same team, says something like this, he must be a real trifle.

‘Fuck, you’re out of luck.’

I was just unlucky. Unfortunately, the batted ball came between me and Yoon Seong-tae, and it was a ball that both of us could catch, so the two of us dived, and there was no shortstop to cut the ball that hit my glove and headed toward left field. I tried my best, but the result was a double.

From the moment Kim Yun-ho threw the ball twice in a row, the feeling was bad, and in the end, this was the result.

‘No matter what, I can’t believe I was beaten by a 100 hitter. Really…’

An Si-Hwon’s current batting average as written on the electronic display board is .208. Before this hit, An Si-Hwon’s batting average was 100%. A .100 hitter who is the leadoff hitter of the inning hits a double and gets on base? In my long experience, this was a situation that inevitably led to a goal.

In addition, Hancheol’s remaining batting lineup consisted of Kim Dong-jin, Kim Jeong-hyeon, and Joo Seung-cheol. All three are pretty good hitters who were selected for the national team. Of course, Kim Dong-jin is a member of the Asian Games national team. Anyway, Hancheol’s top batting line was one of the best in the league.

‘The best is to block with 1 point…’

The problem was that Joo Seung-cheol’s form was unusual. Joo Seung-cheol, who scored all the points in today’s game, was giving off a scary pressure even from the side.

“It’s okay, Yunho! “Let’s focus and catch the next batter!”

Kim Dong-jin comes to the plate with encouragement from Choi Jin-cheol. He is in a bunt position. You can feel the Hancheol bench’s determination to send a runner to third base unconditionally. The defense coach sends a forward defense signal according to that posture.

‘Are you saying we should be aware of fake bunts and slashes?’

The sign sent by the defensive coach was that although it was a forward defense, he was conscious of fake bunts and slashes, so it was a sign not to play full forward defense. This is where the infielder’s judgment is so important. As the infielders take their positions, Kim Yun-ho enters the pitching stance.

‘That kid is running.’

And here are Rossby’s words: At those words, I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw An Si-Hwon, the runner on second base, running.

‘If this happens…’

And Kim Dong-jin waits for Kim Yun-ho’s first pitch with his bat lying down.

‘It’s a slash!’

After seeing An Si-Hwon running, he stopped heading to first base and waited for Kim Dong-Jin to hit.

Perfect!

‘Infield ground ball!’

The batted ball that Kim Dong-jin pulled bounced once in front of the plate and quickly approached the space I was protecting between first and second base.

‘First base, third base?’

‘Throw it to third base!’

The worries were short, and the decision was quick. Because when it comes to baseball, Rossby’s word is law. I caught the batted ball, took the ball out, and used the momentum of the run to throw it straight toward third base. There was no one on third base yet, but I believed they would catch me. And…,

“Out!”

As I believed, Kim Su-ho, who returned to third base, succeeded in tagging An Si-hwon. As the third base umpire declared him out, a shiver ran through his body. It was my first time succeeding in a defense of this level of difficulty, and I felt a greater sense of pleasure than a home run.

“Nice!”

‘Fuck, this is it!’

“Meng Hao, it was good.”

“Senior Suho accepted it well.”

It was a really difficult situation, but Kim Su-ho accepted it well. In this situation, it was the norm to catch the batter and runner, so if Kim Su-ho didn’t catch it, he would have nothing to say even if he was scolded.

“Thank you, senior.”

“I did what I had to do.”

Kim Su-ho responded coolly as usual to my thank-you. While talking with Kim Su-ho, I took a quick look at Kim Yun-ho’s expression and felt like my nervousness had been relieved. Since baseball is a sport of momentum, it seemed like my defense was of great help to Kim Yun-ho.

‘Phew, the fire was quickly extinguished.’

*

[Ji Maeng-ho’s fantastic defense! Succeeded in sniping the runner on second base who was playing third base!]

[Hey! This defense is big, right? Although there are still runners on base, a situation that could be one out and third base becomes one out and first base!]

[Hey, looking at it again, it’s a great defense. Kim Dong-jin attempted a fake bunt and slash, and the hit Ji Maeng-ho. And without a moment of hesitation, Ji Maeng-ho threw the ball to third base and caught An Si-hwon, who was the runner on second base.]

[An Si-Hwon, although his speed has slowed down as he gets older, his base running sense is top-notch in the KBA League, and he catches An Si-Hwon. This is big. In a situation where there is a one-point difference, the pressure the pitcher feels is completely different whether the runner is in scoring position or not. This can be seen as a defense that prevents one point.]

[Ji Maeng-ho. There was a gap of a month, and it didn’t look like that at all.]

[Is this something you’re born with? It’s called baseball IQ or BQ, but isn’t it common for an average player to throw to first base and throw the batter runner out? But to make the decision to throw to third base at that moment without any hesitation… This is true. I saw a defense similar to that seen in the major leagues. It’s amazing.]

[And we can’t leave out Kim Su-ho’s tag, right?]

[You’re right. It was a play that was really faithful to the basics. If he were an inexperienced player, he wouldn’t have thought of returning to third base in that situation, but like an experienced veteran, even though he played forward defense, he went back to third base as soon as he heard the sound of the hit? Even if Ji Maeng-ho had made a good decision, there would have been a disaster if there was no one on third base, but Kim Su-ho also showed good defense.]

-Wow, what was Ji Maeng-ho’s defense just like? Did you hit third base from there?

ㄴYou’re crazyㄷㄷㄷ

ㄴㄹㅇ I thought I was watching a major.

ㄴIt hurts my shoulder.

-Has anyone seen the shoulder of a fierce warrior just now?

Wow, they say it’s slow, but it’s An Si-Hwon, but An Si-Hwon is caught

ㄴIt was crazy haha

-The flow was interrupted once. Fuck, let’s just keep it like this.

ㄴㄹㅇ I almost lost it, but I was able to get over it thanks to the fierce tiger rain.

It was a difficult situation, with the leadoff hitter hitting a double and getting on base, with everyone thinking about giving up a run. AT fans were heartbroken when the rare situation of hitting a runner on second base from third base on an infield ground ball occurred.

[Kim Jeong-hyun’s batted ball! Outfield high! Center field! Center field! Catch it! Jeong Hwi-cheol’s diving catch! AT Thunders receive help from Hosbi again this time!]

And the next batter, Kim Jeong-hyun, was also blocked by the center fielder’s rain, and AT fans cheered.

-Can I lie down now?

No, Joo Seung-cheol still remains.

But even so, AT fans could not comfortably watch baseball. Because the remaining batter was Joo Seung-cheol, who was showing off his best batting ability today. Normally, if things were going badly and there were consecutive rainouts, the inning would normally be shut out without allowing any runs, but everyone watching the game felt it.

Joo Seung-cheol’s batting sensation today is unusual. And fans who have watched baseball for a long time saw Joo Seung-cheol’s appearance as that of another batter.

This is Joo Hyung-jin, the father of Joo Seung-cheol and the hero of Korean baseball.

“Oh, why are you so anxious?”

“Joo Seung-cheol, I think I’m going to hit that bastard…”

[Now Joo Seung-cheol’s turn at bat is back. Will Joo Seung-cheol, who is responsible for all of Hancheol’s scores today, be able to become Hancheol’s hero? .]

And the first pitch thrown to Joo Seung-cheol.

Ta – Aak!

Joo Seung-cheol’s bat swung like a thunderbolt. The ball pushed by Joo Seung-cheol passes smoothly between center field and right field and rolls all the way to the fence.

[This hit is a wall! It hits and falls! Kim Dong-jin, who had already started running, returned to second base and went to third base! Back to third base! Home! Home! Home! Coming in! Joo Seung-cheol’s timely hit to tie the game! Now the odds are in the balance! 4:4! Tie! And Joo Seung-cheol at third base! Out! You are out!]

[Joo Seung-cheol’s wonderful batting and AT Thunders’ excellent rain shined once again. As soon as second baseman Ji Maeng-ho caught the ball, he threw it to third base. It was a good decision for AT to throw the ball straight to third base, perhaps because they felt they were in trouble at home.]

[From the son of a hero to now a hero! Joo Seung-cheol, the hottest hitter of the season, saves Han-cheol from the brink of defeat once again!]

A timely hit to tie the game in the top of the 9th inning. However, fortunately for AT fans, Ji Maeng-ho, who received the ball from right fielder to make a broadcast play, threw the ball back to third base and succeeded in getting an out count, ending the anxious top of the 9th inning.

And then AT’s attack in the bottom of the 9th inning.

[Out! The game now heads to extra innings in the top of the 10th inning.]

Pinch hitter Lee In-hyuk hit a hit and succeeded in getting on base, but AT’s attack ended in vain as the other batters were eventually out.

“Ha, fuck. “You’re so persistent.”

When AT players preparing for defense in the dugout were complaining, there was one player whose eyes were shining, unlike the other players.

‘Whoa, if this is the case, does the next inning start with senior Suho? Okay. ‘This is how it’s fun.’

It was Ji Maeng-ho who was so excited that he would somehow end up being the main character in this game.