Chapter 406 – Episode 398. Excitement Is Bad! (2)

The bat flies over the mound toward the shortstop and falls to the ground. When Gerrit Cole saw the thrown bat, she crouched like a coward.

“[What are you doing! Such a piece of trash… ! Throw the bat?]”

And the catcher stands up and shouts.

“[Sorry, sorry. It slipped out of my hand. Is it because I didn’t spray it? The bat is slippery.]”

“[Isn’t this an ejection? How can you throw a bat? Fuck, even the local gangsters don’t play games like this!]”

The umpire comes in between the catcher, who protests harshly, and me, who raises his hand and shouts that it was a mistake, and widens the distance between us.

“[It was a mistake. Mistake. The ball came too close to my body and I lost it out of my hand.]”

“[Fuck! Is this a mistake? If you get hit by a bat, a person can die!]”

“[Hey, there are people who die from being hit by a ball.]”

“[Profit… !]”

When I glanced toward the pitcher, it looked as if Gerrit Cole, with a ghost-like face, was coming running here at any moment. No, other American players, including infielders, were getting closer. If this stage wasn’t the Olympics, they would have come running at me right away.

“[Don’t come! Stop! Stop! Are you planning on fighting in the Olympics?! It’s a mistake! Mistake!]”

However, the referee shouts loudly and blocks the players from approaching.

“[This is the final warning. If this happens one more time, we’ll both be kicked out!]”

“[Yes, sorry. I was a bit scared, so I lost strength in my body.]”

“[… Ugh.]”

The catcher, who was gritting his teeth at the umpire’s words, put his catcher’s mask on again.

‘You suck. If you throw it out like that, who will respond? Still, if I did this much, I wouldn’t be so scared that I wouldn’t be able to throw it towards myself, right?’

This time I threw it toward the shortstop, but if the pitcher was in his right mind, he would definitely notice my message that he would throw it toward you next time.

‘You’re throwing a bat at a pitcher. After all, it’s a fool.’

‘Well, there are times when you miss a game because the bat is slippery.’

‘Hehe, that happened to me sometimes too. However, control was disappointing. If it were me, I would have aimed for the pitcher’s legs. If you hit your leg, it’s likely to fall off unless it breaks. Moreover, it hurts, and it interferes with my pitching.’

‘… I will keep that in mind.’

As expected, Mr. Rossby. There’s still so much left to learn… I still have a long way to go.

After the commotion, the shortstop approaches me with a bat.

“[Hey. I know what you’re thinking, but please have at least a spirit of partnership.]”

“[What is the spirit of partnership? Is it a spirit of partnership to throw 100 miles on your shoulder? And I was a mistake.]”

“[… You’re crazy. If it weren’t for the Olympics, you would be dead. If you did something like this in the major leagues…]”

“[It was a mistake, asshole.]”

As I received the bat from the shortstop and approached the standby batter’s box to receive the spray (grip guard), the next batter, Gyeonggi Joo, handed me the spray and spoke to me.

“… “Did you do that on purpose?”

“Well, that’s right.”

“… Crazy bastard.”

“Hey, if I hadn’t done that, you would have been hit by the ball? “I’m confident I can avoid them all.”

“Yes, good job. Bastard. Be careful though. “If you think about the personalities of major league guys, it could go to your head this time.”

“Then we run straight away. Seniors also have to come running right away.”

“Okay, dude.”

After spraying the spray onto the handle of the bat, go into the batter’s box. And Rossby’s voice is heard.

‘It’s a curve. ‘Body side.’

Body curve. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like he was planning on throwing an empty ball again like the weatherman had warned. Well, since I threw the bat and got one strike and one ball, you probably want to count me out. Its curve range is around 83 to 4 miles (133 to 5 km/h). He was fast for a curveball, but as long as he knew it was a curveball, he could hit it over the outfield the moment he entered the zone.

‘Come.’

Get ready to hit and wait for his curve. Give strength to the leg that serves as the axis…, His ball flies out. … Towards me!

“Evil! Fuck you!”

The swear word that comes out the moment you get hit on the thigh. Even if the restraint was around 130, it was really painful. As I throw down the bat, the catcher blocks my path.

“[Sorry, sorry. This time it fell out of my hand. It’s a curveball, a curveball.]”

“[You want to fight?! Really give it a try?]”

“[Stop, stop! Walk to first base! If you fight anymore, you will be kicked out.]”

Holy shit. Looking at the catcher’s face, I get the feeling that he didn’t really ask for an empty ball. But Gerrit Cole, who had thrown a curveball toward his body, was staring into my eyes. That bastard was 100% intentional. Even though the energy of bench clearing was in the air.

Since I kept avoiding the fastball, the trajectory was set to a different curve.

Normally, in a situation like this, he would have a good fight, but he was a real idiot. Moreover, he didn’t seem to care that I threw the bat in his direction.

‘Hehe, a major league pitcher must have that kind of toughness.’

Rossby was happy to see that, but I couldn’t help but feel good about being hit by the ball.

‘Fuck you, if it weren’t for the real Olympics…’

I wanted to run to the mound right away, but behind me, there were my teammates and the people who were watching baseball and cheering us on. Now is the time to be patient. I couldn’t get sent off.

‘If I only go to the majors, you are left behind. Really.’

He puts off-putting a bamboo stick in Gerrit Cole’s face until later and walks to first base.

“I endured it well. “It’s Meng Hao.”

“Ha, if it wasn’t really the Olympics.”

“I endured it well. And the curve was removed cheaply. “It doesn’t hurt that much, does it?”

“It hurts!”

“If it hurts, I have to take revenge. But you can run because it’s your thighs, right?”

“… Of course.”

Although it hurt to hit her thigh, she had no problem running. The best revenge I can have now is to steal second base.

Considering catcher Will Smith’s shoulder and Gerrit Cole’s speed, it would be difficult to steal a base with reasonable timing, but if the timing of the curve was sufficient, the speed was enough to steal second base. However, even though I got on base with a pitch that fit my body, the guy seemed to not be irritated, so he threw me a check three times in a row.

“Safe!”

‘Try throwing 100 days. Am I being held in check?’

Anyway, if I had a grip that allowed me to check, I would shift my center of gravity to first base, so there was no way I would be out on the check. After this guy’s baptism of control, the first pitch was finally thrown toward Ki Ki-ju. The first pitch is a fastball.

“Strike!”

Wait.

“Ball.”

Wait.

“Strike!”

“Ball.”

“Foul!”

“Ball.”

Keep waiting for the curveball to be thrown.

‘It’s a curve.’

‘Okay.’

And 2 strikes, 3 balls, full count situation. Gerrit Cole finally chose the curve he had been waiting for. From the moment the guy lifted his foot slightly, I ran toward second base.

“Strike! Out!”

A strikeout call at home and the feel of the base in your hand.

“Safe!”

And then, the second base umpire’s three-leaf call is heard.

As I was shaking the dirt at second base, Gerrit Cole looked at me again with burning eyes. As he pretends to dust off her face and subtly raises his middle finger, his brow furrows.

‘What can you do by frowning?’

Seeing the guy’s distorted expression made me feel a little relieved. I just raise the corner of my mouth, laugh at him, and then focus again.

‘Seungcheol, now just one!’

Although Ki Ki-joo struck out and had two outs, the batter standing at the plate was Joo Seung-cheol, the most reliable hitter in the Olympics. Besides, Gerrit Cole is very excited. I feel like I can get back into the groove…

Ta – Aak!

And Joo Seung-cheol coolly swung the bat from the first pitch.

-Wow!!!!

Joo Seung-cheol’s amazing push that fell between center field and right field. Getting all the way home was no problem. 3:1 with this. Joo Seung-cheol stopped at first base out of concern for the right fielder’s shoulder, but he succeeded in achieving his original goal of scoring points.

“Fuck!”

And Gerrit Cole, who received a timely hit, gets excited and throws his glove. The American dugout moves with him. In terms of flow, it was clear that it was a steel plate.

‘So who was so excited that they hit me? Tsk tsk.’

After all, people, like me, had to know how to control their anger. I couldn’t control my anger at the moment and ended up being punished for giving up 3 runs in 2.2 innings on such an important stage.

“Meng Hao, it was good!”

“Nice! Now let’s just protect it!”

The feeling of coming into the dugout and giving high-fives to his teammates was quite refreshing.

*

[The American mound is replaced. With Gerrit Cole gone, the new pitcher on the mound for the United States is Marcus Stroman.]

[He is a short player with a height of about 170 cm, but he throws a fast ball with an average speed of 92 mph and a maximum speed of 96 mph. His main pitch is a sinker that clocks around 92 mph and has similar velocity to a fastball, and he is very good at inducing ground balls. The percentage of ground balls is a whopping 60%. He is also a player who induces three times as many ground balls as fly balls. And he is the player who ranked 6th in the National League Cy Young last season.]

The player who followed Gerrit Cole on the mound was Chicago Cubs ace Marcus Stroman.

“Jinmo, Algiers?”

“Yes. “Throw away the falling balls and only aim for the high balls.”

“Good. “Just give it a whirl and come back.”

“I understand.”

The strategy that Korea developed against Stroman was to completely exclude low balls. The strategy of dividing the zone into two parts, top and bottom, and only targeting balls coming from the top was, in fact, a strategy that did not work. Most of Stroman’s pitches were low pitches, and since he was a pitcher who was good at inducing ground balls, his control on the low side was quite good.

Nevertheless, the reason South Korea chose that strategy was to go in based on only one loss. For a player with such good control of the low pitch to hit the ball above the zone means it is a lost throw. It was a strategy to create a single shot by aiming for a single loss.

[Jitterbug! Foul tip strikeout. This is how episode 3 ends.]

However, if it were easier said than done, there would be no reason for a hitter hitting .300 to be overrated in baseball. Koo Jin-mo could not resist Stroman’s pitches, which continued to attack the low side, and swung the bat, and he struck out and the United States attacked again.

Still, Korea’s ace, Seonghyun, was still alive and well.

[Seonghyun prevents a crisis with bases loaded with 2 outs! The score difference is still 2 points! The score of 3:1 is maintained!]

[Stroman blocks the inning with a three-way strike. The game continues in the top of the 5th inning.]

The performance of Seong-Hyun, who consistently sent out runners while blocking the inning without allowing a run, and Stroman, who showed powerful pitching and blocked Korean batters, combined to keep the game quiet until the 5th inning, with no scores being scored despite the atmosphere at the beginning of the game. It flowed to.

[Ji Maeng-ho! You hit it! This batted ball! Oh, it’s caught by the shortstop. Trey Turner, blocking this hit… It’s a pity. The game now goes to the top of the 6th inning.]

… And episode 6,

[Ah, this batted ball goes over… Arenado’s two-run home run. The score is now tied.]

[It’s okay. It can be reversed at any time. It’s not over yet. Now you can think of it as starting again.]

Seong Hyun, who was dangerously blocking the U.S. Batting line, hit a two-run home run from Arenado, and the game was balanced.

[… Catch the pitcher and get out! Three outs with this. Seonghyun ends the 6th inning with difficulty by catching Turner.]

[I think this is the end for Seonghyun. He did well though. Because he got a quality start against the U.S. Batting lineup. Now it’s the batters’ turn to work hard.]