Chapter 403 – Episode 395. WBC Revenge. (1)

“The starter for the U.S. Game is Gerrit Cole. Gerrit Cole, you know everything, right?”

“Is Gerrit Cole in the semifinals? Then who will be selected for the finals?”

“McClanahan.”

100 mph right-handed and 100 mph left-handed. As for who is easier to deal with, would a right-hander 100 mph be easier? In addition, although the highest speed was recorded at 102 miles per hour, the average speed was around 96 to 97 miles per hour (154 to 156 km/h), which was slightly slower than that of the Dominican pitchers.

‘Lucky Jang Woo-ju, what are you doing?’

“Brother, why are you looking at me like that?”

“… It’s done.”

Lucky Jang Woo-joo, I felt like I said something too harsh to Gerrit Cole. Sorry, Mr. Cole. After giving a mental apology to Gerrit Cole, I returned to focusing on the power briefing.

“Hyuna, do you know anything? “You were on the same team as Gerrit Cole.”

The coach’s eyes are on Seonghyeon, the starting pitcher who will face the United States. It was a question I asked because I wanted to know something since we had a meal together at the Yankees, but no one had any expectations.

“Well, the ball is good. There are a lot of home runs, but honestly, all major hitters these days have swings aimed only at home runs, so if you hit them, you’re good to go.”

“Other than that, what are your weaknesses?”

“Well.”

And the words that came out of Seonghyun’s mouth were exactly the same. There was no meaningful information.

“Still, I’m glad it’s not McClenahan…”

The best pitcher in America right now was McClenahan. He was also the pitcher with whom I hit a home run in the WBC last year. Even until 2022, it wasn’t at a level where they were ruining the league that much, but seeing as things went well after I hit a home run, it seemed like the fire injection I gave them was a big help.

‘Did my home run make him come to his senses? Then, can I say that I am his benefactor?’

Anyway, McClenahan, who came out of his shell last year, won the Cy Young Award in the American League and stood tall as the best pitcher in the Major League. He was at Cy Young pace this season, so he was honestly a scary opponent.

Well, Gerrit Cole was also on pace to aim for the Cy Young Award this season.

“Wow, so the final is Otani vs. McClenahan?”

Otani… He won the American League MVP award last season, and this season, he stepped up as a pitcher and was competing with Alcantara for the National League Cy Young Award.

In addition, Japan was adjusting its starting schedule to have Ohtani as the starter in the finals, so if the United States were to advance, there was a high possibility that it would be a starting matchup between the leading candidates for the American League and National League’s Cy Young Award this season.

“Hey, the U.S. Hasn’t even moved up yet.”

If only the United States would rise…

“Okay. “We will advance to the finals.”

“Wow, so it’s Jang Woo-ju vs. Otani in the finals?”

While the names of McClanahan and Ohtani are mentioned, Jang Woo-joo… The weight falls off. A face-off between McClanahan and Ohtani. It was a matchup I already wanted to see. On the other hand, the confrontation between Jang Woo-joo and Ohtani…

“… Wouldn’t it be right for us to fall for the sake of baseball fans around the world?”

“Hey, someone please shut Meng Hao’s mouth.”

“It’s a joke, a joke.”

Of course, I had no intention of leaving here because I wanted to see such a matchup. It was the same for the coaches, so they sent Seonghyun to this game.

The one-two punch of the Korean national team was Jung Woo-seong, a major league starting pitcher, and Seong Hyun, a former major league starting pitcher. However, since both Dominica and the United States were opponents we didn’t know whether we could beat even if we tried our best, we had no choice but to use our best starting pitcher for each game.

Yesterday was Jung Woo-sung, tomorrow is Seong-hyun. After that, even if they made it to the finals, the starting pitcher had no choice but to be Jang Woo-joo. Well, there were aces in the KBA league like Choi Jung-hoon and Kim Seong-gyeol, but the coach’s choice was Jang Woo-joo, who threw the fastest ball. Woo Joo has better records this season than other seniors.

Even so, it was inevitable that the feeling of weight would decrease.

‘This is also a story from when we reached the finals…’

“But what is the lineup in the US?”

“It will probably be similar to the quarterfinals. Will Smith at catcher, Freeman at first base, Bichette or Simeon at second base, Turner or Seager at shortstop, Arenado at third base, Judge, Trout, and Betts in the outfield. Harper. Alonsona Goldschmitz at designated hitter. Honestly, it’s the same no matter who comes out.”

When I looked at the lineup, it looked difficult as expected. Moreover, the hitters the coach didn’t mention were also outstanding players.

‘I’ll have to hope the pitchers do well. Especially senior Seonghyun…’

Seonghyun’s expression looked dark as he listened to the lineup called by the coach.

“Then the pitching team should follow.”

“Yes.”

Starting with Seonghyeon, the pitchers follow the pitching coach to another meeting room. With about half of the people filling the meeting room remaining, the meeting room looks empty.

“Now, focus.”

As the pitchers left, hitting coach Joo Hyung-jin focused the players’ attention.

“Let’s watch the video first. First, it is a four-seamer, with an average speed of 97.4 miles (156.7 km/h). His top velocity was around 102 mph in his prime, but he hasn’t thrown a pitch over 100 mph since last year.”

Gerrit Cole’s four-seam is played on the screen. Gerrit Cole’s four-seamer seems to be slightly emerging. It also looked heavy. I don’t understand why so many home runs are hit with a ball like that. Is it because there are a lot of high fastballs due to the pitching mechanism?

‘Lucky Jang Woo-joo as expected…’

Unlike me who thought that way, the voices of other hitters were quite dark.

“Wow, are major-leaguers monsters? How do you hit a ball like that? I don’t think I can even touch it with the bat…”

“Well, it’s slower than yesterday…”

“Still, if you get hit, you’ll get over it…”

I can’t believe people representing the national team speak so weakly. It was also time for me to step forward.

“Are you all talking weak? “I even brushed off Alcantara.”

“Robbing is something that has gone down.”

“I got 1 hit and 1 double in 3 at-bats? Honestly, if I get 1 hit in 3 at-bats against a pitcher I’ve never met, isn’t that a good thing?”

“Yeah, you’re great. “You bastard.”

“Where should I quarantine the tiger?”

… Okay, this is it.

“Now, just focus. Look at the next ball. Next ball…”

“I think the slider is worth hitting?”

“It’s scary to see that mixed in.”

“Wow, when I was running, I was almost at a random level. Is it because the velocity of the fastball has decreased?”

Perhaps thanks to the freshening up of the atmosphere, the atmosphere became slightly brighter than before. In fact, the slider was equally difficult to hit, but it didn’t make a death sound like before.

“The next ball is a cutter. In fact, this ball is the most difficult because although it is similar to a fastball, it is curved in the complete opposite direction to a four-seam ball that causes tailing. Still, the speed difference is about 3 to 4 miles, so if you look closely…”

“Ah, but you don’t throw the cutter often, right?”

“The proportion has increased a bit this season, but if the proportion is that high…”

“If it’s 93-4 mph, well, there are foreign kids in Korea who throw balls like that.”

Gerrit Cole’s analysis came to an end, somehow maintaining a bright mood.

“Now it’s the bullpen. First, Pil Seung-jo…”

Even after Gerrit Call, analysis of other pitchers’ performance continued. Because there wasn’t just one pitcher in one game. No, it was also a problem for only one person to go up. Because it meant giving a complete game or shutout to the starting pitcher. In order to win the game, it was also essential to analyze other bullpens.

A video of the American bullpen is played like that. Although it was a bullpen in the Olympics, there are monsters who are playing as the club’s ace in the major leagues and closers who are guarding the back door of each team.

Korea’s best closer, Ko Young-hwan, was performing well in the majors, but considering that he was a common 1st-place winner, the United States was a fearsome opponent.

“… “This is the extent of the analysis.”

After a long analysis session of watching American pitchers’ videos, it was time to talk about batting direction.

“First, it is virtually unreasonable to expect consecutive hits against Gerrit Cole. Algiers?”

“… That’s true.”

“For the next game, I’m going to be aggressive and aim for as many hits as possible. As expected, aim for the four-seamer or change-up, which produces more home runs than the slider. It may be difficult, but if the timing is right, you can do it, kid.”

Honestly, it wasn’t the best strategy. The story of getting over it if you hit it right was also a story at the level of major league hitters.

When I think about our team, excluding Choi Joo-tae and Ki Ki-joo, who have experience in the major leagues, and Nana and Joo Seung-cheol, who are aiming for the majors, it was difficult to put them together properly, which was Gerrit Cole’s contribution. There was also Kang Han-beom, but his record in this tournament was 1 hit in 16 at-bats. It was a feeling of hitting that made me worry whether I would hit 90 mph rather than 100 mph.

However, it was the best strategy from our perspective. Still, it means that about 4 people can hit the ball. It was much better than waiting for an unexpected walk or hit.

4 out of 9 people. Moreover, if I were to say that I would absolutely hit a home run, even if only one out of nine at-bats from the remaining three hit a home run…

‘Then it’s almost a winner? If I hit 3 home runs, I get 3 points. Also, if Seung-cheol or Choi Joo-tae hits a home run, it gets 4 points. Seonghyeon pitched a complete shutout with 9 scoreless innings… What? It’s easy in America.’

“Coach! “Is this guy smiling?”

“Leave it alone, don’t even think about women.”

“Ji Maeng-ho, please concentrate. “Please focus.”

“… “I was concentrating.”

“Then what did the coach say?”

“… Hit a home run?”

“Hit me? Why does the tail of your speech go up? You weren’t focused, were you? “Be honest.”

“Sangju, I’m going to catch the kid.”

“… Why was Sangju senior also looking at me? “You didn’t concentrate either, right?”

“You can’t do this. I need to do something special today. “Follow me after the power analysis.”

Oh no… After it was over, I was planning a steamy night with Hyuna… It was at least two hours if you take a special ride with the weather.

“Senior, can I join you?”

“Yes, Seungcheol. “You too, come.”

“Ha, if the youngest members act like that, I have to do it too.”

“Let’s just do a special hit together and wrap it up.”

“Did you hear?”

“Yes…”

Still, if we were all doing it together, I’m glad we were able to avoid the weather warning mark…

“Let’s all stay after the special attack for one more hour. Meng Hao, you can do it, right?”

“… Yes.”

‘Fuck, I made a fool of myself for no reason.’

*

“Han Beom.”

“Yes, director.”

As the special hit, which was suddenly conducted under the leadership of Ki Ki-joo, was coming to an end, coach Lee Geum-hyeon, who was watching the special hit, called out Kang Han-beom, the eldest member of the national team. He knew something like this would happen someday, so he was mentally prepared, but when it actually happened, he still didn’t feel good.

‘Under… Even if you fail, it’s still a grade that has nothing to say.’

1 hit in 16 at-bats. It was a performance that could have been waited for in the league, but it was different in a short-term game. It was a grade that was not strange no matter when I missed it. No, rather, waiting until now was a strange result. Moreover, if you think about the practice games and training, the batting quality was good, so it was more of a problem.

The real problem was that we didn’t even know what the problem was. If there was a problem with my batting form, I could just fix it, but strangely, once the game started, the ball didn’t hit the bat. It would be a lie if I said I didn’t feel pressure, but I already felt this level of pressure when I was young, so it wasn’t a problem for my hitting.

In fact, there was nothing special about not knowing what the problem was. All hitters go through a slump like this at least once a season or once a month if it’s severe. That’s right. The slump that all batters experience was just hitting him.

‘Why now…’

Kang Han-beom felt resentful towards the sky. Now, on the last national team stage of his life, he can’t believe he’s in such a slump. If there was a baseball god, he felt like grabbing him by the collar. But, I had to admit it. He now realizes that he is not helpful to the team.

Therefore, I was going to accept whatever the director said. The names of other batters who replaced him appeared in his mind.

Since he was the designated hitter, anyone could take his place. Second baseman Park Cheol-young is talented at making contact, and Kim Hwan-young has one shot. And the lineup includes Joo Seung-cheol as the designated hitter and Yang Ji-hyuk, who boasts the best center field defense in Korea, as center fielder.

As I was making up my mind, director Geumhyun Lee opened his mouth.

“Hanbeom. “I’m sorry.”

“Gwae Ansimdeo.”

“There will be adjustments to the batting order.”

“Yes?”

“I might not hit because I think I should hit better if I’m at number 4. Go down to the bottom of the batting order and hit comfortably. “I trust you.”

Kang Han-beom’s eyes almost turned red when he heard coach Lee Geum-hyun’s words, telling him in advance that he would adjust the batting order out of concern for the batter’s pride even if he was eliminated if he lost tomorrow.

Even at this very moment, he is probably being scolded for excluding himself, but he is thinking of the player… The only way to repay is to prove that the coach’s judgment was correct in tomorrow’s game.

‘Tomorrow, no matter what… !’

Kang Han-beom made a firm determination and nodded to Director Lee Geum-hyun’s words.