Chapter 365 – Episode 357. A World Line Where AT Picked a Good Mercenary Hitter? (3)

[The power of Hyunseong Mad Cats, who turned the game around today by scoring 3 points in a row in the 7th and 8th innings, is truly amazing. Today’s game is really exciting, isn’t it?]

[Hyunseong is currently in 10th place, but it is a team with great potential, right? Although they are in 10th place, they are only 3.5 games behind the 5th place Hancheol Grizzlies. Moreover, considering Hyunseong’s team color, which is especially strong in the summer, I think the competition this season will be very fierce.]

[You’re right. An exciting ranking competition and an exciting match between AT and Hyunseong. AT’s counterattack begins in the top of the 9th inning. The lead hitter is number 6 hitter Yoon Seong-tae.]

Daegu Mad Cats Park, where the fourth match of the season was held between AT Thunders and Hyunseong Mad Cats, was burning hotter as the ending approached.

The match between Hyunsung’s ace and national team left-hander Choi Jung-hoon and AT Thunders’ long-time foreign mercenary Bellingham was tense from the beginning of the game, but AT seemed to be ahead as Ji Maeng-ho hit a two-run home run in his second at-bat. I wanted to.

By the time Bellingham went down in the 6th inning, the score was 2:0. In addition, 2 points were added by targeting Hyunseong’s bullpen pitchers in the 7th inning, and the score difference when AT’s bullpen was activated was 4 points, which was about the time when fans expected AT to win the first game easily against Hyunseong, the 10th ranked team. ‘S bullpen started arson.

The bullpen pitchers gave up 3 runs each in the bottom of the 7th and 8th innings, and the 6-4 tie continued until the top of the 9th.

And in the top of the 9th inning, AT’s leadoff hitter was No. 6 hitter Seongtae Yoon. And Yoon Seong-tae’s opponent was Hyun-seong, a new closer who had shown a grim reaper-like appearance against left-handed batters throughout his career.

[Kwon Yul warms up.]

[Kwon Yul is a perfect player, but I think he’s still not good enough to replace Ko Young-hwan’s vacant position. Since switching to closer, he’s been showing a bit of a slump with 1 win, 3 losses, 5 saves, and an ERA of 3.86, right? Fortunately, I got the save in the last game by allowing no runs in one inning. What will you show today…]

After Ko Young-hwan, the best closer in Korean baseball history, left for the Major League, it was Kwon Yul, who was considered the best left-handed bullpen in the league, who took Ko Young-hwan’s place. When Kwon Yul first took over as closer, he was evaluated as having experience with the national team and excellent pitch and speed, so he would fill the void left by Ko Young-hwan, but his performance was not that good.

Is it because of the pressure of being the closing pitcher? Kwon Yul’s pitching was not so good that experts assessed that Kwon Yul’s sluggishness was the main cause of Hyunseong’s sluggish performance.

[Commissioner, what do you think of this match?]

[Since Kwon Yul is a pitcher who shows strength against left-handed hitters, it could have been assessed that Kwon Yul would easily get an out. If it had been last year. But Kwon Yul is not that threatening a pitcher this season, right? And since Seongtae Yoon’s progress is perfect, it’s difficult to predict this match, right?]

‘Huh, coach said you couldn’t throw the ball towards yourself?’

Seongtae Yun’s heart was set as he saw Kwon Yul standing on the mound. According to the power analysis team and hitting coach Lee Ki-cheol, Kwon Yul was currently unable to hit the ball into the body of left-handed hitters. Believing the analysis that he had been in that state ever since he moved up to closer at the beginning of the season and hit left-handed hitters a few times, Seongtae Yoon set the hitting zone to the outside.

‘Kwon Yul who can’t put it inside his body isn’t that scary.’

The reason why Kwon Yul was able to attack left-handed batters was because of his low-to-mid 150-degree fastball that stabbed toward his body. If he didn’t have that ball, he wasn’t much of a pitcher.

[Kwon Yul’s windup. Break… !]

And the first pitch was thrown. Seongtae Yoon’s bat comes out to meet the ball that was waiting.

Perfect!

[Yoon Seong-tae pushed out from the first pitch! The batted ball passes between the shortstop and third baseman! In the top of the 9th inning, trailing by 2 runs, Seongtae Yoon creates a hit and puts the leadoff hitter on base! AT’s batting line is on fire once again! Now, Baek Jeong-jin, the number 7 hitter, comes to bat.]

And of course, what Seongtae Yoon knew, Jeongjin Baek also knew. Baek Jeong-jin also took a breather at the plate, waiting for Kwon Yul’s outside ball.

Perfect!

[Baek Jeong-jin hits the ball in a full count situation! Hit the ball in front of left field! Falling hits! The runner stops at second base! 1st and 2nd bases safe! AT Thunders create opportunities! Two batters hit in a row! Here, director Lee Soo-hyun plays a pinch hitter. Kang Joo-hyun is the pinch hitter.]

[Using Kang Joo-hyun here means bunting, right? Since Kim Hyun-seong is still young and inexperienced, I think he chose Kang Joo-hyun, who is the best at bunting among the remaining hitters.]

As the commentator thought, Kang Joo-hyun laid down the bat from the first pitch and succeeded in rolling the ball.

[Now, 1 out, 2nd and 3rd bases. A perfect situation arises. Now the batter is No. 9 batter Lee In-hyuk.]

[Lee In-hyuk recorded a batting average of .303 last year and is a player who has the ability to set his career batting average at .301. This season, he is mainly playing as a pinch hitter behind prominent outfielders such as Baek Jeong-jin, Jeong Hwi-cheol, and Williams, but he is a player who shows his hitting ability every time he comes out as a starter, right? He recorded one hit today as well.]

[Ah, an intentional phrase appears here. Filter out Lee In-hyuk.]

[I guess it’s easier to deal with 1 out and bases loaded than 1 out and 2nd and 3rd bases, right? In addition, the next hitter, Jeong Hwi-cheol, is a player who has almost no long hits, so this is probably a strategy to prevent scores by pulling up the infield and outfield, right? They’re probably looking for a double play. From Hyunseong’s perspective, he would like to win here.]

[Yes. The next batter is the best batter in the league who hit one home run today. Ji Maeng-ho is holding on.]

[You’re right. In particular, Ji Maeng-ho’s concentration in scoring position is ridiculous, so Hyunseong’s dugout will compete here.]

In a situation where the score was tied after being hit by Lee In-hyuk, who had a decent slugging ability, Hyun-seong’s bench decided to skip Lee In-hyuk and face rookie player Jeong Hwi-cheol, and AT Thunders coach Lee Soo-hyun also made a decision.

“Pinch! Williams!”

-AT Thunders, pinch hitter, Don Williams.

The referee is notified of the player replacement, and the announcer’s words echo throughout the stadium.

“Oh, Williams is coming!”

“Please! If there is one hit here, the score is tied and the next batter is Ji Maeng-ho.”

“If Williams comes out, it will be trustworthy.”

At that choice, AT fans watching the game seemed to have a glimmer of victory before their eyes. Although Williams was out due to injury with bases loaded and one out, he is currently hitting .400. And behind him is Ji Maeng-ho, the best hitter in the league, no, the best hitter in Korean baseball history.

AT’s fans began to feel their hearts pounding as the batting lineup seemed to be on the road to victory.

[In the top of the 9th inning, with one out and bases loaded, the AT Thunders replaces the number one batter, Jeong Hwi-cheol, with Williams, the pinch hitter they have been saving for so long.]

[Williams showed that he maintained his pre-injury hitting skills by posting 2 hits and 2 RBIs in his return from injury yesterday, right? He was on standby as a pinch hitter today due to pain in his thigh, which was injured in yesterday’s game, and coach Lee Soo-hyun made a decision.]

*

‘Please. Don’t be a jerk and continue with me. If you’re going to die, die alone. ‘I will do it.’

Williams walks to the plate. But when I saw him, I felt uneasy for some reason.

‘It’s nice to just look at my grades, but why am I so anxious?’

Williams’ current performance in 25 games was a batting average of .401 and an OPS of 1.041. Although he only had one home run, he hit a lot of doubles and his slugging percentage was not bad at 0.575. Looking at the records alone, the next best hitter on our team after me was Williams.

But Rossby’s assessment that it’s fun makes me anxious.

‘Hmm, I’d rather strike out cleanly than be anxious.’

To be honest, him getting an RBI here wasn’t the scenario I was looking for. No, he was hoping that he would die alone and that the opportunity to hit with two outs and bases loaded would come to me.

‘A grand slam home run when you’re behind 6-4? How can I tolerate this?’

Just imagining it felt like stimulation was coming to my lower abdomen.

“Ball.”

While I was imagining that, Kwon Yul’s pitching began, and the first pitch was a ball that deviated significantly to the outside.

‘Tsk, senior Kwon Yul was reassuring when I saw him with the national team, but he’s not that good this season. Well, because I’m old. Still, please give me a little strength.’

I watched the game, hoping that Kwon Yul would exert just enough strength to strike out, but Kwon Yul’s next ball also went high and was called. The count is two balls at once. And the third ball thrown goes low, and a three ball is declared.

‘They throw it in all directions, north, south, east and west. Is this a strategy to filter out that bastard and deal with me?’

Intentional throw with bases loaded. It was a ridiculous operation, but I also experienced it. Of course, that wouldn’t happen against Williams, but Kwon Yul’s control was so poor that I couldn’t help but think that way.

‘Tsk. 6:5, 1 out, bases loaded? It’s less satisfying than two outs and the bases loaded, but a comeback is always good. Should we get ready to go out?’

Three balls, no strikes, one out, bases loaded. Since there was nothing more to see, I stretched out and slowly prepared to strike. And Kwon Yul’s fourth ball was thrown.

Perfect!

‘Huh?’

Williams swung the bat.

“Fuck! What?!”

And the batted ball goes toward the second baseman who is playing forward defense. And at a fast pace.

“Run! Seongtae Yoon! Run!”

As soon as he heard the sound of the batted ball, third base runner Seongtae Yoon took off, but a person could not be faster than the ball.

“Out!”

“Fuck!”

And Park Joong-hyun shot the ball toward first base. Hyunseong’s first baseman fails to catch the ball at once and throws the ball away. A perfect catch error. But our score never went up. Because Williams, who was a batter, had not even reached half of first base yet. Moreover, the guy who was walking to first base suddenly goes limp when the first baseman spills the ball.

“Willie…, Fuck you! What are you doing if you’re not running?!”

A situation where swearing comes out in one’s voice.

“Out!”

And the first baseman who dropped the ball picks it up again and steps on first base. Our final attack ends in vain.

‘What? Fuck. What is this?’

My head is confused.

‘No, you can hit a double play. Why is that bastard suddenly limping? ‘Are you crazy?’

‘I guess my leg suddenly hurt. Hehe.’

‘Mr. Rossby! ‘Do you think that makes sense?’

‘Well, what can I do? Pack your bags. Hmm, this was there, right? I heard that Daegu women are pretty.’

Rossby, who has now memorized Korea’s place names, mutters as if he doesn’t care.

‘The team lost now, what is this?’

‘When did you stop having sex when you lost?’

‘That’s not it… No, fuck. ‘This is a different situation!’

The team is trailing in the 9th inning. Hitting a double play with bases loaded and 1 out and walking to first base? This couldn’t have happened. Even when I walk after hitting an infield ground ball, I run all the way to first base in these situations. Besides, it was a three-ball hit?

‘Are you crazy?’

No, you can give in a hundred times and walk away. But when the first baseman makes an error, he suddenly goes limping?

‘Fuck this, the intention is too obvious.’

‘But why are you angry at me?’

‘Under… It comes out that way, right? All right. I guess I’ll have to swing the bat all night today. Even if I had hit one more home run, this wouldn’t have happened. I’m so angry, what should I do?’

‘… I’ll find out if that guy is sabotaging or not.’

‘You don’t want to meet a gangster in this bar, so let’s pick one fan and go there today.’

It was truly reassuring to have Rossby help me.

‘How dare you ruin my stage? This guy searched for evidence whenever he found it.’