Chapter 391 – Episode 383. Bogatz? I’m a Married Woman, Right?

“Director, what should we do? First, Wonho and Woojoo are warming up in the bullpen.”

“… “For now, let’s block Woosung until the 6th episode.”

“I understand.”

Pittsburgh’s third starter, Jung Woo-sung’s weakness was his physical strength. It was difficult to play a full season as a starter due to his underhand pitching form. He was a pitcher who had good pitching ability and was good at striking out, but because of such problems, the club had to carefully manage him.

Jung Woo-sung’s average innings per appearance this season is 5.1 innings. He was slowly exceeding his average innings, and in fact, his condition seemed to be worse than usual.

‘The competition will be comfortable if Woosung blocks at least 6 innings…’

However, the manager did not want to waste too much of the bullpen from the first game, and manager Lee Geum-hyun believed that Jung Woo-sung was the best pitcher in Korea.

However,

[The batted ball heads toward second base! Ambiguous hit! Ji Maengho!]

With two outs, Bernardina’s quick hit went toward the second baseman. No, it wasn’t aimed at second base from the beginning. When it comes to which is closer to second base or first base, the hit is closer to the first baseman. However, Koo Jin-mo was defending along the line in preparation for the left-handed batter, so although Koo Jin-mo threw his body, he was unable to catch the batted ball. Now all that remains is second baseman Ji Maeng-ho.

“Get caught!”

Someone shouts desperately from the dugout. And as if he heard the shout, Ji Maeng-ho, who had been running from afar, launched himself towards the batting ball. The incredible athleticism that judged the direction of the batted ball in that short moment and ran,

“Fuck!”

… However, no matter how good his athletic ability was, he could not overcome the physical distance. After the batted ball bounces off the ground, it catches on the edge of the glove and comes out as if playing with the glove.

[Oh, I missed the ball!]

Bernardina is a batsman who has overcome the odds. He’s corrected enough to still be seeing the outfield, but he’s past his prime, a situation he might have been able to handle if he’d just pitched slowly. Ji Maeng-ho looked around and picked up the ball rolling on the floor.

“Slow down! Slowly!”

‘Fuck, I’m screwed!’

However, the Bernardina that Ji Maeng-ho remembers was a hitter who stole over 30 bases in the KBA League. He didn’t particularly enjoy the KBA league, but any hitter who scored 20-20 will remain in his memory.

When the batted ball bounced off the glove, what came to mind before analysis was the old image of Bernardina in his memory. Meng Hao’s mind is filled with thoughts of catching the batter, and strength goes into his arm throwing the ball.

[Ji Maeng-ho! Find the ball and throw to first base! Ah! I couldn’t catch Jung Woo-sung. Fortunately, Lee Yong-gi covers, and the runner stops at first base.]

[Ah, the defense is a bit disappointing, right? The apology was too strong. If I had been a professional first baseman, I would have been able to catch it, but it was a bit disappointing because the pitcher was covering. Still, if Ji Maeng-ho had not caught the ball, it would have been a hit, but the attempt was good. However, if he had slowed down a little, he could have gotten an out…]

[This hit is recorded as Ji Maeng-ho’s throwing error.]

No matter how much Ji Meng-ho is bombing the league, he is still a young player in his second year of debut. If he had been a professional first baseman guarding the first base, it was a throw that he could have easily caught, but it was difficult to distinguish it in an emergency situation.

‘Tsk, I can’t even catch that much.’

Rossby, who helped Maengho’s decision, also thought that the pitcher should be able to catch that much, so he didn’t give any warning.

“Ah…, Senior. “I’m sorry.”

“No, I should have caught it. “I did a good job just catching the batted ball.”

“… “I’m sorry.”

[Now Bogaerts comes to bat. Here, the pitching coach visits the mound.]

An ominous trend in which the opposing batter’s main batter comes to bat after an error is recorded at the right time to end the inning. To break that trend, the pitching coach walked to the mound.

“Woosung, what should we do?”

“… “I will deal with it.”

“Okay, if that’s what you think…” I got it.”

Two outs, one base, ahead of the 7th inning. Is there any starting pitcher who would want to come down the mound in this situation?

This is ridiculous, Jung Woo-sung thought to himself. Jung Woo-sung did not want to come off the mound even more because his young junior made an error that should not have been recorded while trying to help him, and he also had a share in that error. Moreover, the opposing hitter is Bogaerts, who is famous for his hitting in the major leagues.

‘I have to do it.’

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust other pitchers, but if he went down here and allowed even a run to Bo Gaerts, he would definitely regret it.

A pitcher’s unique sense of responsibility, of having to resolve the crisis he himself created, surrounds Jung Woo-sung’s body.

[I see you are continuing as Jung Woo-sung?]

[It is also an obvious choice. Because it’s Jung Woo-sung.]

The weight of being named the third starter in the major league.

-It is better for Jung Woo-sung to throw it than to change it for no reason haha

┗ㄹㅇ Anyway, there is no one who throws better than Jung Woo-sung, and the only ones that are good are Sung-hyun and Ko Young-hwan, so it is difficult to write them here.

┗I think we can stop here and raise the bullpen next time.

The fans watching the game did not question that judgment. Moreover, Bogaerts’ record today is no hits in two at-bats and one strikeout. I firmly believed that Jung Woo-sung would catch Bogaerts like he did the previous at-bat.

Ta – Aak!

However, the opponent was one of the hitters who would not be questioned even if he was the best offensive shortstop in the major leagues,

[Ahh! Bogaerts batted! Ah… Let’s move on…]

He was not a batsman to watch for Jung Woo-sung’s missed pitches, which would have lowered his pitching status.

[Ah, the slider is centered… Bogaerts, great. There were some ups and downs last year, perhaps because it was the first year of the contract, but we managed to bounce back this season, but it’s a shame. I wish he had played one more year.]

-Dol Geum-hyeon, you idiot, the pitcher’s performance is declining, but he doesn’t change anything and ends up hitting a home run.

┗Jung Woo-sung How is that bastard playing in the majors? I’ve never heard of stability while watching that bastard play. ㅅㅂ

┗No shit, we should switch to the bullpen. His hitting quality wasn’t too bad either.

-Dol Geum-hyeon, the baseball of faith sucks

┗I guess it was good to win the Olympics with that. ㅅㅂ

┗This is why they say we have to kick out the bastardsㅡ We have to look at the data and play the game. Anyone who watches major media knows that Jung Woo-sung’s status drops if he goes beyond the 5th episode.

-Ha, the fucking idiot made an error and it was a home run. The inning would have been over if he had just gotten an out.

┗Domestic consumption level ㅅㅂ

┗The defense is definitely not major levelㅇㅇ

┗┗Are they assholes? Even if it wasn’t Ji Maeng-ho, it wouldn’t have been a hit anyway. I made a mistake trying to catch it. Honestly, the pitcher should have caught that much

┗┗Okay next time. Nguyen Meng Hao made a mistake and the snowball rolled, right?

┗┗If I gave you hope, I should take responsibility haha

*

“… “I’m sorry.”

“Under… It’s my fault for hitting the home run. “What do you have to be sorry for?”

“… Still.”

“It’s done. If you’re sorry, just erase the defeat.”

“… Yes.”

Jung Woo-sung’s hand taps my shoulder. Jung Woo-sung’s mood was told by his empty expression that contradicted his upward words.

‘Oh, I should have calmed down a bit.’

I continue to have regrets. Rossby said the pitcher didn’t catch it, but it was also true that if I had just stayed calm, it wouldn’t have happened. I threw hard toward first base like I usually do, but I couldn’t help but think about the difference between Choi Jin-cheol, a huge man of 190’s, and Jung Woo-sung, a short man of mid-170’s.

My mistake. This was completely my mistake.

‘You have to make up for the blow.’

Anyway, this inning started with Choi Joo-tae, the first batter. Choi Joo-tae’s performance today was 1 hit in 2 at-bats. If it’s Choi Joo-tae, at least one more time…

Perfect!

“Out!”

‘Fuck.’

However, contrary to my wishes, Choi Joo-tae’s batted ball is caught by the right fielder, and the out count increases on the electronic display.

‘Why is this idiot throwing so well today?’

Does it feel like the pitcher’s day that comes about once a year? Or maybe it was because it was the first game and the batters were not relaxed. Whatever it was, we were stuck today. The only thing that can change the situation is one big blow.

‘Whoa, let’s focus.’

After taking a deep breath, I step to the plate. Standing on the mound is the same guy as always. I saw enough of his pitch when he got a walk in the previous at-bat.

‘If the location is right…’

When I hit his ball, it didn’t feel that heavy. He felt that if he could predict the location well, he could easily get over the fence. No, I had to hand it over. Because I have to clean up the poop I made.

‘Mr. Rossby, what about the first pitch?’

‘It’s a sinker.’

‘Okay.’

Van den Berg’s sinker today was in the low 140s, but the velocity of the sinker he threw against Choi Joo-tae was 91.1 miles per hour, or about 146 km/h.

‘Go in from the first pitch.’

There was a high probability that the first pitch would be thrown towards the body and hit the liver.

‘Well, if it’s not on the body, you can just think of it as a cool spin.’

Since it was the first pitch anyway, the ball count was ample. Van den Berg’s left leg rises to chest level and extends forward, swinging his hand. And the ball, which seemed small when it left his hand, grew bigger as it came towards me.

‘Low!’

The ball is lower on the body than expected. Instinctively, my legs collapse and my upper body tilts. But in the meantime, the tip of the bat remained behind until the end,

Ta – Aak!

I met his ball exactly at the right time as it passed through the zone. An exhilarating sensation felt in the palm of your hand. I threw the now useless bat that was still in my hand high into the sky and looked at the dugout.

The dugout had a mixture of expressions of confusion and joy. I pointed to that place with my finger and ran toward first base.

“Nice!”

Match! After giving high-fives to the coaches one by one, when I hit home, the next batter, Gi Ki-joo, looked at me and opened his mouth with a dumbfounded expression.

“And… I’ve seen it a few times… How do you get into that position?”

“Senior! I’m Ji Maeng-ho!”

“Good job, asshole!”

Match! High five with Gigiju. After sharing the joy with Ki Ki-joo, I went into the dugout and my home run was greeted by several teammates, starting with the manager.

“Ahh! It hurts! Stop! Stop!”

… With quite a spicy taste. And at the end of the baptism, today’s starting pitcher Jung Woo-sung was waiting for me with icing on.

“Senior! “The defeat has been erased!”

“… Is this why you say Ji Maeng-ho, Ji Maeng-ho? “You crazy bastard, you pass it over right away.”

A smile seemed to spread across Jung Woo-sung’s lips as he spoke with a mixture of pride and admiration. However, he was sure that if he was too happy after hitting a home run, he would look like an idiot who just happened to hit a home run, so he opened his mouth with a smile on his face.

“That’s it, okay. “You’re familiar with it, right?”

Jung Woo-sung laughed at my words and tapped his shoulder. He did the same thing as before leaving the dugout, but the warmth he felt in his hand was warmer than before.