Chapter 369 – Episode 361. An Uninvited Guest at a Famous Banquet. (1)

-Wow!!!!

-Hwicheol Jeong! Jeong Hwi-cheol! Jeong Hwi-cheol!

‘Has my advice already worked?’

As Jeong Hwi-cheol’s batted ball passed the shortstop, Jeong Hwi-cheol hit a single and got on base in the top of the first inning. It was a lucky hit that was just over the shortstop’s height, but he probably would have been caught if it weren’t for my advice to swing the bat faster.

‘No one on first base. It’s not bad.’

A match against Jang Woo-joo after a long time. I go to bat with a slightly excited heart.

“How are you?”

After saying hello to the umpire and looking at the mound, I saw Jang Woo-joo with a slightly stiff expression.

‘Wooju, it’s been a while. It’s time to get hit, right? You’ve been too outspoken.’

Every time you win, you send me a message to stimulate me. It was a time when true education was needed.

‘Mr. Rossby, please take care of me today as well.’

‘It’s a fastball.’

The first pitch is a fastball. Well, I expected it to some extent. He probably knows that unless it’s a fastball against me, it’s meaningless. The breaking ball is thrown outside the zone as much as possible to confuse the eyes, and in the end, the game will be a 100 mph fastball that gets inside the zone.

The guy is ready to pitch and lifts his foot. It wasn’t a windup, but the ball was still faster than other pitchers, so I was fully prepared and waited for his fastball.

Perfect!

‘Fuck, was it too fast?’

With a heavy sensation of shaking hands, the ball hit by the bat curved to the left and disappeared toward third base. The bat was too fast. The speed posted on the electronic display board was 156 km/h. Other pitchers pitch with all their might, but he manages to achieve velocity with a calm expression.

“… It’s a stripe.”

“Huh?”

“I’m just talking to myself, so don’t worry about it.”

It was quite difficult to see him acting proud and thinking, ‘This is nothing to me.’

‘Curve.’

‘Okay.’

Jang Woo-ju’s curve is in the mid to upper 130s. Even though the movement wasn’t that good, it was his only off-speed pitch, so it was a ball that turned away quite a few batters. Well, it was a ball that was hit a lot because it was slow. As far as I know, most hitters go to bat targeting this uniquely slow curve.

‘If it comes into the zone, hit it, otherwise it skips it.’

It was possible to see and hit a ball with a speed of about 130 even if you knew the type of pitch, so I waited for his next ball.

“Ball.”

And see the results. As expected, I didn’t seem to have the guts to put the curve into the zone.

‘What about the next ball?’

‘It’s a fastball.’

The combination of a falling curve and a high fastball was a combination that was easy to fool even if you knew it, but it was just as effective. Here, choosing a fastball after a falling curve means that you must throw it high.

But I didn’t feel like swinging the bat. Even though I’m currently hitting .400, if I had to pick a weakness, my high fastball is weak. Due to my upper swing mechanism, I was inevitably weak against high fastballs.

It didn’t matter if the pitches were from other slow pitchers, i.E. Pitches between 140 and 150. A ball with that speed was no different from prey. In addition, since a high fastball goes over the fence if it comes in just a little bit, the high fastball was a difficult ball for pitchers to throw.

However, the high fastball around 160 km/h was burdensome to me. Jang Woo-joo’s pitch control wasn’t perfect, but if he was lucky and hit the ball in the right place, it was obvious that even if he did hit it, it would be a high-flying hit or a missed swing, so he didn’t want to take that risk.

If it becomes a ball, it becomes a ball, so it is advantageous, and even if it is in the strike zone, the probability of a proper hit is low, so in many ways, it is beneficial to skip it. As long as it’s a high fastball.

‘I don’t think it would be a bad idea to skip one since there are still a lot of left anyway… Mr. Rossby, I’ll skip one.’

‘Don’t pretend to ask quietly and wonder where it is.’

‘Tch.’

If only the old man was quick to notice. Since trying to figure out Rossby failed, all that’s left now is to trust my senses.

And just as I expected, a high fastball came.

‘High!’

The ball seems to be about one ball higher than I expected. Rossby tells me to clear my mind and hit, but honestly, the pleasure of getting my prediction right was better than hitting a hit, so it wasn’t easy to clear my mind like Rossby said.

Maybe my self-esteem went up a bit because I felt like I was showing that I could do it without Rossby? He felt like his battery had been completely consumed, and he couldn’t quit.

“… Strike!”

“Yes? “This?”

But that joy didn’t last long. How can you call a strike on a ball like this?

“Isn’t it almost towards the head?”

“I’m in.”

‘You bitch. No matter how I look at it, it looks like two balls are missing. Did you not see it because it was too fast? When I’m old, I’ll just sleep at home.’

Even if I complained to the referee, nothing would change, so I held back my anger.

‘Is it because he’s a guy that’s being pushed around in the league? John’s judgment is generous. Fuck.’

And to some extent, this was expected. Players who were superstars in the league were bound to benefit from the zone, knowingly or unknowingly. Just as a batter who is famous for his good pitching ability gets a ball even if he hits the borderline, and a pitcher who is famous for his good ball control gets a strike even if he misses one ball.

In addition, Jang Woo-joo and Nana were among the players who received generous zone decisions. It’s hard to say it with my own mouth, but they were young stars promoted by KBA.

‘But, no matter what, this is a bit, fuck. I can do at least one thing, but this is a bit harsh.’

However, no matter how much he heated up, nothing would change, so he quickly calmed his anger and focused on pitching.

‘First, see you later. Just try to get caught.’

‘Slider.’

‘Okay.’

You don’t even need to look at the slider. If Jang Woo-joo had the guts to throw a slider into the zone, it was clear that he wouldn’t have been so out of sorts during the Asian Games, so his slider was definitely a ball.

“Ball.”

‘Also. ‘It’s just obvious.’

Two balls, two strikes. And the coach’s signature catches my eye. A solo steal by runner Jeong Hwi-cheol on first base. The timing was pretty good. Because Jang Woo-joo was still too young to care about runners in Two Balls, Two Strikes.

‘It’s a curve.’

The curve is perfect for stealing a ball that happens to be thrown. His curves fell below his knees just like before,

“Ball!”

“Safe!”

Jeong Hwi-cheol took advantage of that opportunity and completely stole second base.

‘Wait a minute, does this mean first base is empty? Fuck. If I do this, will I skip it?’

Feeling like I’m suddenly losing energy. There’s no need to challenge me on second base with no outs, so I’ll probably skip it… Just when I thought that, Jang Woo-joo, who was standing on the mound, did something strange. He suddenly smiled at me and extended his hand towards home plate with a four-seam grip.

-Wow!!

-Jang Woo-joo! Jang Woo-joo! Jang Woo-ju!

And the name calls of the home fans.

‘You want to win here with a fastball? ‘Woowoo, are you crazy?’

He’s been doing well these days, but he seems to be out of his mind. I think I hit 3 or 4 home runs from him… Still, I can’t believe that a guy who was rude in front of women had this kind of courage. I felt proud because I felt like I had provided him with a solid education.

‘It’s a slider.’

‘… Yes? Show off your four-seam grip and throw a slider? ‘Don’t play around.’

‘Then you aim for a fastball and miss a swing at a slow ball.’

Rossby is not the type of person to lie about something like this. In the three years I’ve been watching, I’ve rarely had a pitcher tell me the wrong pitch unless he suddenly changed his grip.

‘Ah, you idiot. Then yes.’

And I understood why Jang Woo-joo did what he did. Since you’ve been confessing things to me so far, it would hurt your pride to just skip it, and I think you’d be beaten if you didn’t skip it. It was obvious that she was planning to pretend to be a fastball and induce a missed swing by fluke.

‘I’m not stupid, do you think I’d be fooled by something like that?’

It was just obvious. And then there was laughter. If I had the ability to throw 100 mph, I wouldn’t have used such a crappy move. I’m thinking of just hanging out and waiting for the guy’s ball.

And Jang Woo-joo’s feet come up. And the guy’s slider that was thrown. The ball that was flying toward my body was rolled into the strike zone.

‘Am I missing about one piece?’

“Strike!”

“Oh, shit! “Isn’t this right?!”

“What? Chew?”

“No, I caught the ball earlier, and I caught this ball too. How do you hit it like this? “You have to do it in moderation.”

“I have to do it in moderation, right? “The young bastard is rude.”

“… Siba”

“Meng Hao! Hold on!”

Just before the curse was said, the weatherman who was watching the situation from the stand-by batting box suddenly ran over and grabbed my shoulder. I wanted to have one touch with the referee,

“Eww… “I’m sorry.”

“I’m just looking at you this once.”

… I bowed my head and apologized to the referee. It would be the worst if I got sent off here. The battle for rankings with Volcanoes is in full swing, and the Future Buffaloes are also a good team, but they are ranked 4th. If I were left out, the chances of winning against Jang Woo-joo were not very high, so I suppressed the curses that rose to the top of my throat and returned to the dugout.

‘What’s going on? Endure it.’

‘After… Not a child. You can’t just act according to your nature.’

There was quite a bit at stake in today’s game. The team’s victory, the expectations of colleagues and fans, and other things. The referee can take advantage of the opportunity later, but past victories will not come back. To be honest, if the game had gone down, I would have taken it even at the cost of suspension. Being ejected from the beginning of the first inning was disqualification as a professional.

“I endured it well. “It’s Meng Hao.”

“Wow, I thought it was an accident.”

“Ji Maeng-ho, you’ve grown a lot.”

“Hey, seniors. I’m not a first year kid. “Are you going to lose your temper and ruin the game?”

“Oh, Ji Maeng-ho. What? Why did you grow up?”

“… Was it like this originally?”

‘The reaction is like this because of my image. ‘Making a fuss over something that isn’t a big deal.’

‘Rather than that, are you going to leave that bastard alone?’

‘I have to think about it from now on.’

It would have been a loss for the KBA League if such a dog-eyed bastard was allowed to continue to watch the referee. This is not because I am unfair, but it is a step toward the development of Korean baseball!

‘So what do you plan to do?’

‘I guess so.’

If it was the first day of the series, we could have taken advantage of the opportunity when the umpire came out on base, but since it was the second day, we couldn’t meet in this series. But I wanted to vent my anger right now rather than praying that that bastard would be assigned to our game next time.

‘First, what is the referee’s name? … Han Dong-hyuk? Okay, OK. Under… Fuck. That bastard will make fun of me again for striking out.’

To win over Jang Woo-joo, you have to hit a home run… After all, all that’s left is practice. And to get revenge on the referee, adjusting the angle of the bat was essential.

‘Mr. Rossby, I think it will be over soon, but I’m just practicing for now.’

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