Chapter 390 – Episode 382. I Don’t Think It Will Fail at That Level.

“Out!”

“Fuck!”

I was caught? There was no right fielder in the KBA who could catch me…

“Criticism! Coach! Criticism!”

“Meng Hao.”

“Yes?”

“There are still many games left. To be honest, I’m not sure when I look at it, but if I waste it here, the future game…”

The third base coach’s words were simple. Since there are many games left, the idea was to save on video review in case of an unexpected critical situation. If he had been sure, he would have requested a video review, but he meant that he did not want to waste a card that could be a joker in an ambiguous situation from the end of the first inning.

“Was it very ambiguous?”

“That’s how I see it.”

“Under…”

It wasn’t that I didn’t understand what the coach said.

‘I think I arrived first…’

I felt like I arrived first, but I couldn’t be stubborn here. Anyway, like the coach said, there was a lot of game left. I didn’t want to fail here and end up not being able to use the video review in an important situation, so I accepted the coach’s words.

“I can’t help it.”

“Sorry. I turned it around for no reason. “It’s definitely different because he’s a big leaguer.”

Did this guy turn around too? In fact, I rarely saw the coach when I was running the bases. Because it was effective to focus on Rossby’s words by reducing the time spent looking at the coach by 0.1 second. Anyway, the coach turned around, so I took comfort in the fact that my judgment was correct, and walked to the dugout.

“I’m sorry. I’m overdoing it for no reason. “It would have been nice to just have no outs and no outs on second base.”

“No, good job.”

Choi Joo-tae, who hit home first, comforted me, but I couldn’t help but feel bad. So my first at-bat ended with a 1-RBI double, and our offense in the bottom of the first inning ended with third hitter Ki Ki-joo and fourth hitter Kang Han-beom striking out and hitting a batter.

*

[Ji Maeng-ho’s challenge to third base! The result… ! Out!]

[Ah. Is this out? When I saw it, it looked like a three-leaf timing.]

[Ji Maeng-ho requests a video review. Oh, you don’t. A replay appears. … It’s a very difficult timing, isn’t it?]

[Ah… When I saw it, it was three leaves… Usually, referees give outs when there is good defense, right? I think that’s the case in this case too… Ah, that’s difficult. It seems like my hand touched it first… I wish I could apply for a video review, but it’s a shame.]

[… Jitterbug! Van den Berg strikes out the weatherman! … Kang Han-beom’s batted ball went high! Center field! Catch it… Korea scores one point in the bottom of the first inning, making the score 1:0! The game now moves to the top of the second inning.]

A match between Korea and the Netherlands. This game, which attracted attention as a confrontation between major league starting pitchers, turned out to be a tight pitcher’s battle as originally expected.

[Simmons swing! Strike out! Jung Woo-sung strikes out three batters in a row, Hrehorius, Palacios, and Simmons!]

[Hey, of course Jung Woo-sung! He is a player with an outstanding strikeout ability, with 10.4 strikeouts per 9 innings this year! That too in the major league.]

True to his nickname ‘nuclear submarine,’ Jung Woo-sung used his unique underhand movement to strike out,

[Joo Seung-cheol! Leadoff hitter hits! … Koo Jin-mo’s batted ball heads toward second base. Out at second base, and out at first base. Korea with a disappointing double play!]

Van den Berg blocked the Republic of Korea’s attack with stable pitching while putting runners on base. And in the bottom of the third inning, Ji Maeng-ho came back at bat.

[Ji Maeng-ho! Pick this ball! After a persistent battle, he gets on base with a walk! Now 2 outs and 1st base!]

Van den Berg’s control, who was hit by a double from Ji Maeng-ho in his first at-bat, was shaken, and Ji Maeng-ho succeeded in getting on base after seeing six balls.

[Ji Maeng-ho is on base, so he will run now, right?]

-Ji Maeng-ho gets on base successfully!!!

┗Do you want to run?

┗┗Of course I have to run haha

-But can you run on a big stage like the Olympics?

┗Fact) Ji Maeng-ho succeeded in stealing 20 bases in last year’s Korean Series.

┗Information) This season, Ji Maeng-ho is ranked first in stolen bases with 35 stolen bases and 0 stolen bases.

[You’ll run, right? If it’s Ji Maeng-ho. In fact, it can be said that Ji Maeng-ho’s greatest strength is displayed when he is on base, right? He stole 93 bases last year and this year, but has only two stolen base failures. The reason this record is so great is that Ji Maeng-ho is a player who enjoys stealing third base. Normally, it is not easy to steal third base unless the catcher makes an error, but it is truly amazing that Ji Maeng-ho created this record while enjoying stealing third base.]

A total of 93 stolen bases and 2 misses, a record of 20 stolen bases in the last Korean Series, and even a home steal record. When Ji Maeng-ho reached base, everyone watching the game was expecting Ji Maeng-ho to steal base.

“[Ji Maeng-ho went out on base? After all, it will run, right?]”

“[I have to run. Honestly, I would like to see him face off against a major league catcher. I can’t help it. Well, there are many opportunities.]”

“[But Tromp is also a catcher with a base stealing rate of about 30% in the minors.]”

And it was the same for the major league scouts who visited this stadium.

“[But I see a lot of familiar faces.]”

“[I guess so. Not looking at players like that is a dereliction of a scout’s duty. It’s even being held in the US. If you select a pitcher like Sung or a hitter like Joo or Choi, you can use them for several seasons anyway.]”

“[Ko is also doing well.]”

Major league scouts came to the Olympics to see players from various countries, like hidden pearls, where players from all over the world gather, and the player ranked at the top among those players was, of course, Ji Maeng-ho.

Ji Maeng-ho, who recorded a batting average of .400 in the professional league, the power to hit 60 home runs, and a steal success rate that could be considered human, was a player that major league clubs were paying attention to.

Of course, the KBA league was of a lower standard compared to the major leagues and was usually rated as AA to AAA, but even in those minor leagues, there were almost no .400 hitters. There were a few players who hit .400 in the minor leagues, but most of them hit .400 in less than 100 games, so they were nothing compared to Ji Maeng-ho.

‘One of the reasons is that if you hit .400 in the minor league, you will be called up to the big league, but in any case, .400 is a record that makes no sense. That too in a professional league full of tension. Besides, he’s hitting .400 this season as well, so it’s probably not a fluke.’

Tyler, a scout for the New York Yankees, was also paying attention to Ji Maeng-ho. The most recent hitter who attempted to hit .400 in the minor leagues was Guerrero Jr., Who unfortunately failed to hit .400. Guerrero Jr. Is a hitter who came to the major league and created a monster season of 48 home runs with a batting average of .301.1 in 2021.

Of course, I didn’t think Ji Maeng-ho would show that level of performance, but even if he performed at just that level, it was a great success for an Asian player. No, he was worse than that, so even if he performed like Choi Joo-tae, it was clear that he would be a solid help.

‘Are you quick on your feet? Choi recorded 51 stolen bases in his final season in Korea. The record for most stolen bases in the big leagues was 36, right? When I watched the video, my ability to steal bases looked good.’

A player like that can even steal bases? If your mouth did not water, you were disqualified as a scout.

‘I hope his ability to steal bases is the same as in the video.’

Tyler, who had seen the defense, batting, and base running in the previous situation, wanted to check his ability to steal bases.

[The first pitch thrown by the weatherman! Ji Maengho! Jump! Catcher throws to second base! Three leaves at second base! As expected, Ji Maeng-ho! The ball was called at the plate.]

[Van den Berg threw a curveball, and he targeted the timing well, right? It fits comfortably.]

‘The lead is wide. Does he have the confidence to return home?’

Even at a glance, the lead width is enormous. The lead width seemed to be one step further than the normal lead width.

“[Hey, John. How many times has there been a check on Ji?]”

“[No.]”

“[Yes, I guess so. Because there were only two stolen base failures…]”

Successful stealing of a base depended on the catcher’s shoulder and the pitcher’s pitching form, but the checker was a different story. He had to read the flow of the game more sensitively than anyone else in order to avoid being put in check. In particular, the fact that a player with such a wide lead did not face a single check…

‘Are you saying that he is an outstanding player not only in terms of athletic ability but also in his ability to read the game? ?’

And in a two-strike, two-ball situation, Ji Maeng-ho ran toward third base again.

[Three leaves at third base! Ji Maeng-ho steals two bases in one go!]

[This is it! This is Ji Maeng-ho! We are showing exactly what we see in the league!]

Tyler muttered to himself at Ji Maeng-ho’s stolen base.

“[… At that level, even if my batting fails, I can do as well as Brett.]”

*

“Out!”

“Oh, I got this.”

He worked hard to get to third base, but the batted ball was caught by the second baseman, so he couldn’t score any more runs.

“Tsk, I’m sorry.”

On the way back to the dugout, the weatherman gives me an apple.

“Hey, what, once or twice? “It often happens in the league.”

However, I wasn’t that angry because I had experienced this situation several times in the league.

‘What can I do? It’s my fault for getting on base well. Senior Woosung is also blocking well. Wow, if I had known it would be like this, I would have handed out an autograph at second base. Was it too hasty? After… Let’s not be impatient.’

Jung Woo-sung, who had been worried at the beginning of the game, was blocking the Netherlands’ batting lineup well by striking out, so he was a little greedy, but it seemed like it was too much.

‘It was too urgent. ‘Van den Berg, you throw better than I thought.’

I was slightly ignoring him because he played in the KBA, but when I saw him play against other seniors, I could clearly see why he was in the starting rotation in the major leagues.

Starting matchups between big leaguers continued similarly thereafter. While Jung Woo-sung and Van den Berg continued to pitch well, the game had already passed the 5th inning.

And…,

Ta-ah!

“Please, don’t fall.”

“Out!”

“Wow, I almost got into big trouble.”

Even in the major leagues, Jung Woo-sung, who is considered weak due to his physical strength, was gradually hitting the ball.