Chapter 404 – Episode 396. WBC Revenge. (2)

[Korea and the United States, first leg of the LA Olympics semifinals between the United States and South Korea. Well, it’s a game that’s attracting a lot of attention, right?]

[You’re right. The LA Olympics are now coming to an end, and there aren’t many events left where I can win a gold medal. I hope the Korean baseball team wins this game and advances to the finals to win a gold medal.]

[You also won a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics during your active career, right?]

[Haha, there was a time like that.]

[How did you feel at that time?]

[It was good. Wow, this is really hard to express in words… If I had to choose the happiest moment in my life, it would probably be that moment.]

[There are players on the current national team who competed in the Olympics at that time, right?]

[You’re right. Seonghyeon and Kang Han-beom were the youngest members of the national team at the time. I’m currently playing the role of the eldest member of the national team, and wow, so much time has passed. It is a thrill to see those young players now playing a key role in the national team.]

[In particular, Seonghyun showed off his health by allowing 6 scoreless innings against Cuba, right? He is also the starting pitcher today.]

[You’re right. Seonghyun, you’re a great player. He is a major league pitcher with 98 career wins. His performance wasn’t that good last year due to injuries, but he returned to Korea this year and is showing signs of resurgence. His velocity has decreased significantly since his prime, but his skill and control are even greater than before. Even if I were to go to the majors right now, I would be able to win 10 games.]

[In addition, today’s match is with former Yankees teammate Gerrit Cole.]

[Gerrit Cole. He’s a great player. However, as a player with a lot of home runs, our players can do it. They are all players who easily hit 20 home runs in the league. Korea, you can do it. Just don’t carry it in first. Fighting!]

[Haha, I hope Commissioner Kim’s concern for his juniors is conveyed to the national team. Now let’s call the lineup. In the top of the first inning, the United States attacks. 1st hitter, Mookie Betts, 2nd hitter, Mike Trout, 3rd hitter, Paul Goldschmitz, 4th hitter, Aaron Judge, 5th hitter, Freddie Freeman, 6th hitter, Nolan Arenado, 7th hitter, Trey Turner, 8th hitter. Will Smith, 9th batter Marcus Siemian. Except for Freeman, everyone is a right-handed hitter, right?]

[Actually, for players at that level, it doesn’t really matter whether they hit left or right.]

[Now, this is Korea’s defensive lineup. Starting pitcher Seong Hyun, the battery that works with him is Lee Yong-gi and infielder…]

The match between Seonghyun and Gerrit Cole. Since it was a match between pitchers who were each Cy Young Award contenders, most Korean fans thought it would be a pitcher’s battle.

No, I thought it should be a pitcher’s battle. When looking at the possibility of winning against the United States, it was more realistic for Seong-hyun to pitch well and take the game to a pitcher’s battle rather than to play a batting battle with the United States, which has many All-Star and MVP-level hitters.

It’s been a while since Sung-Hyun came down from his prime, but his performance in Korea was good enough to raise expectations, so Korean fans placed some hope on Sung-Hyun’s good performance. Of course, there weren’t many people who thought he could beat the United States.

Still, he had no choice but to cheer for the national team, hoping they would win.

[Oh, Mookie Betts holds up this ball. Leadoff batter walks.]

[It’s okay. It’s still okay.]

However, the flow was not easy starting from the lead hitter.

[Trout’s batted ball! Exit the infield! The runner on first base who started first goes to third base! All the way to third base! We arrive. This is Seonghyeon, who faces a crisis on first and third base from the first inning…]

[… It’s still okay. Seonghyun’s crisis management skills are quite excellent, so he can overcome this crisis.]

A walk to the leadoff batter, and a hit to the second batter. The crisis of no outs on 1st and 3rd bases began in the first inning… The batter there is Goldschmitz, who is still performing well in the major league after winning the National League MVP in 2022.

Perfect!

[Grounder! Ground ball to shortstop! Choi Joo-tae! Ji Maengho! And even Koo Jin-mo! Double play leading to 6-4-3! Exchange two out counts and one point.]

[Thank goodness. Thank goodness. 1 point is okay. As expected, Seonghyun. In that crisis, he induces a ground ball with a change-up. Did you hit the ball really well? But I climbed the big mountain well. In fact, I was worried because Goldschmitz was a player who showed a strong side to Seonghyun, but fortunately, the right hit went to the shortstop.]

[The score is now 1:0. However, it produces two out counts.]

Still, a saint was a saint. In a situation where many runs could have been lost, he brought out his main weapon, a changeup, and induced a double play.

“Ruler! Now that we’ve started, let’s focus!”

“1 point is no big deal!”

The infielders cheer for Seonghyun, who made the best play in a critical situation. Is it because of that support?

[Strike! Out! Korea’s ace who strikes out Aaron Judge! This is Seonghyeon!]

[Great. Did you miss the swing on the outside fastball? If you look at Seonghyeon’s record, he is usually weakest in the first inning, but today’s game is worth a try in that he closed the first inning with just one run.]

The first inning, which looked dangerous, ended with Seonghyun striking out Judge and allowing only one run.

[This is now Korea’s offensive lineup. 1st hitter Choi Joo-tae, 2nd hitter Ji Maeng-ho, 3rd hitter Ki Ki-joo, 4th hitter Joo Seung-cheol, 5th hitter Koo Jin-mo, 6th hitter Lee Yong-gi, 7th hitter Kim Jeong-hyeon, 8th hitter Kim Su-ho, 9th hitter Kang Han-beom. No see. Kang Han-beom is batting number 9? Has Kang Han Beom ever batted at number 9 since his debut?]

[Well… As far as I know, there isn’t one. Perhaps because Kang Han-beom’s performance in this tournament is not that good, they are trying to ease the pressure. Kim Jeong-hyun and Kim Su-ho are players who can bat first and second, so they can be considered the main hitters of the new batting lineup.]

[Republic of Korea with a new lineup. South Korea’s attack begins when they are one point behind.]

*

“Nice! Let’s set the mood like this!”

1 point from the top of the first inning. To be honest, if it was a normal game, I wouldn’t be happy with the situation where points were awarded from the beginning of the first inning. But now it’s the Olympic semifinals, and the opponent is the United States. To be held to 1 point against Betts, Trout, Goldschmitz, and Judge…

‘This isn’t bad at all. Well, Seonghyun sunbae is spilling the juice.’

When I saw Seonghyun sweating like rain even though he only pitched one inning, I thought I should help him.

“Senior Joo Tae. “You know?”

I tried talking to Choi Joo-tae as he walked to the plate, but all I got in return was Jung-jung. It seemed like he had gotten used to raising his middle finger at me since yesterday. If it weren’t for his senior, he would have been slapped… I miss AT where there are juniors who help me.

‘You’re training properly, right? I have to take care of it.’

I was worried about the juniors I left behind in Korea, but now is the time to focus on the game. I erased all my random thoughts and focused on Gerrit Cole’s pitching.

“Strike!”

The first pitch is a strike. It was a strike that clearly hit the right-hander’s body high up. This is the ball that can be said to be Gerrit Cole’s trademark. The ball that tails toward the right-handed batter was a ball that resulted in many home runs, but it was also a ball that resulted in many strikeouts.

If you aim for it, it’s a home run, but you can’t aim for it with certainty because of the slider, cutter, changeup, and curve that Gerrit Cole throws. Gerrit Cole knew that too, so he didn’t just throw fastballs. Like now.

“Ball.”

Choi Joo-tae tolerates a slider that goes out of the zone. The strategy was to aim for fastballs until the count was up, so it was an obvious choice. After that, he still picked one ball,

“Jitterbug! Strike!”

As I swing at the fourth ball, the count is two strikes, two balls. Gerrit Cole’s speed recorded on the electronic display board was 98.6 miles (158.6 km/h), which was faster than the average speed. Perhaps because of the stage of the Olympic semifinals, I felt like I was giving my all from the first hit.

It was natural. Besides Cole, the American bullpen was filled with monsters of the Major League All-Star level. I guess I should probably think that the average speed was about 1 to 2 miles faster than what I throw in the major leagues.

‘Seup, it’s hard to get on base anyway… ‘Huh?’

“Ahh!”

Just when Choi Joo-tae, who had two strikes, was thinking that he might not be able to get on base, a loud noise was heard from the plate. Definitely Choi Joo-tae’s voice, no, not a voice but a scream.

While he was thinking about other things for a moment, Gerrit Cole’s ball hit Choi Joo-tae’s buttocks.

“Senior Joo-tae!”

I was embarrassed and called Choi Joo-tae’s name loudly, but Choi Joo-tae gestured as if it was no big deal.

‘What? Such luck…’

The starting pitcher throws a pitch that hits the lead batter in the first inning. Well, it hurts because it’s basically a ball over 150, but honestly, I’ve never had this kind of luck. Choi Joo-tae walks into first base without even rubbing his butt, as if his earlier scream was a lie.

‘Is this what it’s like to be a major-leaguer?’

In the big leagues, he was told he wasn’t supposed to pretend it hurt when he got hit by a ball, but it was a bit strange to see him in action. Gerrit Cole, the pitcher I hit, didn’t even apologize and just spat and waited for me.

It’s quite different from the KBA where they take off their hats and apologize when throwing a sand ball.

‘There is no spirit. I should have run right away.’

‘… How do you clear the bench at the Olympics?’

‘You have to be that strong to be a baseball player.’

Rossby didn’t seem to like this either. Anyway, Choi Joo-tae’s hit makes the situation 1st base with no outs. This was an opportunity. Stepping into the batter’s box is light.

‘Mr. Rossby?’

‘Don’t rush me, monkey. Because it hasn’t been decided yet.’

‘Hehe, even Gerrit Cole of the world can’t help but be scared in front of me.’

‘… Damn it. The first pitch is a changeup. Outside.’

‘Change-up?’

Throwing a changeup at me? Of course, I was blown away by Alcantara’s changeup, but that was because Alcantara’s changeup was a breaking ball outside the standard, and honestly, Gerrit Cole’s changeup wasn’t that scary. His changeup averages around 89 mph. The 143-145 changeup was a pitch that begged me to just throw it over the fence.

‘They must have analyzed me…’

At that time, one possibility flashes through my mind. There is a possibility that the American battery noticed our strategy after seeing Choi Joo-tae’s swing. Choi Joo-tae’s two swings were both fastballs. Can you figure out the strategy with those two swings? The possibility was quite high.

‘Well, Yonggi can do that too.’

The pitcher receiving the ball from Gerrit Cole is also the best catcher in the major leagues. There was ample possibility. And…,

‘It’s a mess?’

For me, it was like being lucky twice. You’re a fool if you miss this opportunity!

I think about the changeup of the guy I saw in the video and figure out my timing. The guy’s kicking motion ends and his arm swings.

As Rossby said, the guy’s changeup seems to flow outward, but his changeup is rolled into the right-handed batter’s body at the end. Now! Like this!

Ta – Aak!

A feeling of touch without having to check the batted ball.

‘Fuck! This is it!’

A home run that immediately turns the score around in the top of the first inning, even in the semifinals of the Olympics! Against Gerrit Cole!

‘I can’t stand it, damn it!’

I just picked up the bat and aimed it at Gerrit Cole as if I was sniping with a gun, bounced it once, and then threw the bat away.

“Fuck! Fuck!”

Even though I covered my mouth with a glove, I could hear swear words.

As expected, hearing swear words after hitting a home run was always thrilling.