Chapter 376 – Episode 368. A New World Record.

“Wow, I guess you really sharpened your knife today? Look at Meng Hao’s expression.”

“If I hit just one more, it’ll be my 6th consecutive home run. “It’s worth it.”

“I heard you didn’t even hang out with Junhu yesterday.”

“Meng Hao… ? “I guess the guy who always goes out and has fun, even on expeditions, has made a big decision?”

AT players were feeling the dangerous energy emanating from Ji Maeng-ho even before training began.

“Wow, it must be a bit tough to compete with Meng Tiger today, right?”

“I see. “I think I would avoid it at all costs, right?”

The pitchers instinctively knew that competing with a batter who gave off this kind of vibe would be tantamount to suicide.

‘I got one out count. The problem is Jimaenghonde.’

Feeling that same atmosphere was Hancheol’s starting pitcher, Park Hee-min, who caught leadoff hitter Jeong Hwi-cheol with a grounder. But it couldn’t be avoided.

[Ji Maeng-ho. Raise the bat and point to the left fence. Ji Maeng-ho’s proprietary preview home run! You can feel Ji Maeng-ho’s will to record the world’s first home run in six consecutive at-bats.]

[It’s because Ji Maeng-ho always hits a home run every time something like this happens. I’m looking forward to this at-bat as well. Personally, even though I am from Hancheol, I would like to see a record of 6 consecutive home runs. Haha.]

[Jamsil’s outfield is already full of fans trying to catch Ji Maeng-ho’s home run ball. There is someone who brought a sleeping bag over there.]

[After Joo Hyung-jin’s home run record, I never thought I’d see another record like this, but Ji Maeng-ho is doing it.]

Considering the fans who gathered in Jamsil for Ji Maeng-ho’s new home run record,

-“Hey, did you see Ji Maeng-ho’s interview? Push it down with your skills. Heemin.”

-“Did you know that Manager Moon was fired last year after intentionally throwing out a pitch in every at-bat? Hee-min. If you avoid it, you won’t be able to handle the insults. Honestly, it’s only one game out of 144, so it doesn’t matter if you lose, so just give it a try. “I can’t give him a walk and then watch him get in trouble.”

-“Heemin. Homer? You can give it to me. We’ll make it up to you. Throw your ball!”

This was because there were comments from the manager, coaches, and teammates before going on the mound.

And,

‘Fuck, if I avoid here, I’ll be terrorized by Byeolgram, right? It would be better to hit a home run in six consecutive at-bats and be stuffed. Anyway, Ji Maeng-ho is already the best player in Korea… I have nothing to lose. Besides, if you get an out… !’

Park Hee-min himself didn’t really want to avoid it.

Hitting a home run in six consecutive at-bats and being written off the official record, and avoiding a game and being terrorized by baseball fans. In Park Hee-min’s opinion, the greater disgrace of the two was avoiding competition. Even Moon Ki-taek, who was ruling like a king in UG Overlords, did not want to avoid competition when he was dismissed due to public opinion.

The moment I made up my mind and looked at the plate,

‘Fuck, why are your eyes like that?’

Park Hee-min felt a chill down his spine at the look in Ji Maeng-ho’s eyes that he had never seen before. It was Park Hee-min who had developed quite a bit of facial expression while playing together in the Asian Games, but the look Ji Maeng-ho was showing me now was the first time I had seen him in his life.

A look that could kill a person. And the instinctive intuition that the target of the murder was himself.

In that feeling of fear, Park Hee-min’s hand slipped.

[Park Hee-min’s first pitch! The first pitch is outside! The first pitch falls out as it goes to a place where the catcher cannot catch it. Ball.]

[It fell far outside, right? Park Hee-min, you look nervous? Seon-sun, who is naturally good at controlling the ball, can’t believe the ball is missing like this. He seems to know how important the match against Ji Maeng-ho is right now. However, Park Hee-min should not give in to that pressure here.]

The first pitch thrown by left-handed pitcher Park Hee-min was thrown in a position where a left-handed batter would have hit the buttocks, and Hancheol’s catcher tried to catch it by jumping, but was unable to catch Park Hee-min’s ball.

-Wooooo!!

With Park Hee-min’s first pitch, boos loud enough to shake Jamsil Stadium were heard. Even though they were two teams that shared a home stadium, the level of booing was on a different level. It was as if the entire Jamsil Stadium was filled with AT fans.

‘Hmph! What kind of ball am I giving now…’

And when Park Hee-min heard those boos, he came back to his senses.

If Ji Maeng-ho had been a left-handed hitter, or if he had been a right-handed pitcher… He was in a situation where he was a rare piece of trash, having blocked a new record of 6 consecutive home runs with a dead ball. If that happened, his career as a player would be…

‘Fuck, I can’t do that.’

It gets dark before my eyes, so I can’t even see the catcher’s sign. Park Hee-min shakes his head at the invisible catcher’s sign and signs the sign himself.

‘Outside, fastball.’

A fastball that hits low on the outside. That was the ball that Park Hee-min chose. The reason Park Hee-min was able to participate in the Asian Games even with a pitch in the low to mid-140s was thanks to his fastball that could target the outside of right-handed hitters and his slider that fell to the bell.

However, the slider was not an option due to an ominous feeling that if he threw a breaking ball right now, it would come loose in his hand, so the only pitch Park Hee-min could throw was a low fastball to the outside.

‘Fuck, hit me or not!’

Park Hee-min threw the second ball, saying, “Let it happen as it happens.” And contrary to his wish for such a fluke, Park Hee-min’s body, which had worked hard all his life to throw the ball, succeeded in sending the ball to the location where it had been thrown so far, as the owner intended.

“Strike!”

The referee’s strike call rings loudly throughout the stadium.

[Outside! Low! Strike! Now the count is one ball, one strike!]

[Park Hee-min likes this kind of ball. Ji Maeng-ho just watches.]

‘Good! It works! After all, no matter how great a hitter he is, if he gets caught in a place like this, he has no choice but to be unable to hit!’

And that one strike call gives me confidence. After all, Ji Maeng-ho is also human. As long as you are human, there is a way to attack.

Ta – Aak!

[Ji Maeng-ho’s batted ball goes far! It flies! Ji Maeng-ho’s batted ball goes beyond the pole. It is a foul.]

[Hey, even if the angle was slightly off, it was dangerous. It looked like a slider just now, but I hit a slider on my body and sent it over the fence. However, the angle was not good.]

[Usually, a foul home run is followed by a strikeout, but what kind of batting will Ji Maeng-ho show? .]

Like now. Park Hee-min’s third ball was a slider that fell from the body. Ji Maeng-ho kicked the ball up nicely, but the direction of his hit was outside the pole.

‘Luck, luck follows you.’

Park Hee-min lowered his head the moment he was hit, but was it due to the wind? Or was it a miracle? Ji Maeng-ho’s home run hit became a foul. A heaven-sent opportunity. A chance to block Ji Maeng-ho’s 6th consecutive home run and become a hero.

‘This ball will go to the forkball.’

Two strike situation. Now I no longer feel the same fear as before. Rather, he felt like he was contemplating on Ji Meng Lake. It feels like the relationship between predator and prey has been reversed.

In that situation, the ball Hee-min Park chose was a forkball. The basics in a two-strike situation are to time the fastball and kick the ball that comes near the zone. And the most effective ball for those hitters was the forkball.

If it comes from a similar position as a fastball, the batter in a two-strike situation has no choice but to swing the bat. At that moment, the forkball falls to the ground, so the batter has no choice but to return to the dugout with a missed swing.

But the opponent is Korea’s best hitter, Ji Maeng-ho.

‘I’ll throw it towards your knees.’

‘What? ‘Wouldn’t it be dangerous?’

‘You know that ambiguous balls don’t work anyway.’

There is no way a one-bound forkball would work against Ji Maeng-ho like that. In order to become a hero by blocking a home run in six consecutive at-bats and striking out Ji Maeng-ho, he must take some risks. The risk of throwing near the strike zone against Ji Maeng-ho.

It feels like the hand holding the baseball is getting cold. As if someone is watching.

However, he only has a reliable colleague who always protects him behind him. Park Hee-min soon realizes the identity of the gaze. This gaze is his own illusion, conscious of Ji Maeng-ho, who is praised as a ‘devil’ by the media.

Just his own illusion. There is no way Ji Maeng-ho really knows his pitch type.

‘Yeah, fuck. What if Ji is a devil? Then I am a demon hunter. Fuck.’

I shake off the anxiety creeping up again and strengthen the hand holding the baseball. The familiar sensation of a baseball between his fingers. And he stamped his feet vigorously.

Ji Meng-ho’s body, which was in a batting stance, seemed to crouch for a moment, but then the bat came out from behind his shoulder and Ji Meng-ho’s knees bent. And Ji Maeng-ho’s bat swings in the blink of an eye.

Ta – Aak!

The ball splits the sky with a splitting sound. It started at 5 o’clock and the sunlight, which was still young, hid the baseball ball, but Park Hee-min seemed to know where the ball was.

‘City… ‘Foot.’

All I can do is swear. Ji Maeng-ho, who set a record of six home runs in a row, threw the bat with one hand as if this was nothing to him and began to slowly run to first base.

[Ji Maeng-ho’s batted ball! Left! Left! Left fence! Let’s go! Ji Maeng-ho’s 6th consecutive home run! Ji Maeng-ho achieves a record that will remain in baseball history! The best batsman in Korea! This is Ji Maeng-ho!]

[Wow, this record is finally coming out. 6 consecutive home runs. And… Is this record possible? Really… Look at your swing posture. From takeback to follow through. Perfect. He responded to the low ball by slightly bending his knees as if he knew it was a forkball. By the way, my dream was to try a swing like this when I was a pro… It’s amazing. Ji Maeng-ho. Although he is a much younger player than me, I respect him as a baseball player.]

-Wow, 6 consecutive home runs. Yes. Actually, I didn’t like Ji Maeng-ho very much because there were rumors that he had a bad personality, but his skills were good.

ㄴThose are all rumors haha ​​I’m jealous for no reason, so I’m just spreading rumors haha

-ㅇㅅㅁㅎㅅ

ㄴㅇㅅㅁㅎㅅ

ㄴㅇㅅㅁㅎㅅ

-It’s just this guy.

-Crazy hahaam I the only one looking forward to the Olympics? Honestly, do you think you can win?

ㄴㄹㅇ If we don’t win with Ji Maeng-ho, the pitchers will have to swim haha

-Ah, send that bastard to the major as quickly as possible. Honestly, it doesn’t make sense.

You bastards are the only ones using cheat kits

Ah, I feel so deprived

ㄴㄴjis also write Joo Seung-cheol, what are they doing lol

-Wow, I’m just amazed. Ji Maeng-ho, you are amazing.

After Ji Maeng-ho hit a home run in six consecutive at-bats, Hancheol’s mood did not improve. AT’s starting pitcher Jang Yoon sealed Hancheol’s batting line with 2 runs in 7 innings, and in the end, the AT Thunders won.

“Ji Maeng-ho, you became a distinguished player today with 2 hits in 5 at-bats, 1 home run, and 4 RBIs. How do you feel?”

“Actually, I think senior Jang Yoon is a distinguished player, but I’m sorry that I’m interviewing him because of his record of 6 home runs at bat in a row. Honestly, 2 hits and 1 home run in 5 at-bats are not the kind of performance that would warrant an interview. “I did what I normally do.”

“Yes? Ah… Does Ji Maeng-ho think that way? Now that we’re talking about him, he set a record of hitting home runs in 6 consecutive at-bats…”

“Well, of course I feel good. I will continue to work hard to set these records so that there is no one in Korea who does not know my name.”

“Yes? Was there anyone who didn’t know Ji Maeng-ho?”

“Well, there is. Anyway, even if you don’t know baseball, I will try my best to help you know Ji Maeng-ho’s name.”

“That’s a great ambition. Unfortunately, he couldn’t hit a home run in his 7th consecutive at-bat. How did you feel at that time?”

“It was unlucky. Because he was caught at the very end of Jamsil. Under… If it were a different stadium, I would skip it… Captain! “Please pull the fence!”

“… Haha. You are really witty… This is how I sent a video letter to Director Yoon… ! Haha. Yes, yes. Ah, yes. So, next question…”

-LOL Why did I have a normal interview today LOL

ㄴJi Maeng-ho, stop that bastard from interviewingㅡ

ㄴWhy, the young player is cute.

ㄴfact) In fact, the interview was not normal from the beginning.

ㄴBut what is that story about? What did a stranger do?

ㄴㄴYou still don’t know about Fierce Tiger God? Just looking at it, it seems like I met a girl at a club or on a chat app, and she didn’t know me, and so I criticized her haha ​​

ㄴㄴThis is 100%.