Chapter 418 – Episode 410. The Second Half Begins. (2)
In the fifth at-bat of this game in the top of the 7th inning, former batter Su-ho Kim hit a two-run home run, bringing the score to 10:3, and the pitcher was changed in front of me. With two outs and no runners, the pitcher who came on the mound was a pitcher named Joseph Jeong.
You might remember him because of his unusual name, but the fact that I don’t remember him means that he is an unheard of pitcher. I searched through my memories, but I couldn’t find any memories of watching his video at the pre-game meeting today. Probably, it was posted this week in District 2, right?
If so, there was a chance of winning. 7 runs in the 7th inning. And two outs. The opponent is a pitcher who has just come up from the second team. He had to prove himself here.
‘Great, I’ll finally be able to swing the bat properly.’
I got a walk in all four of my last at-bats, so my whole body was itching.
‘Now, come in.’
Although it was a plate appearance without Rossby’s help, I wasn’t that nervous. I was a little nervous in my first at-bat without Rossby, but I guess all the nervousness went away after I got an automatic unintentional pitch, an automatic unintentional pitch, and a walk.
The adjustment was all over as I watched the straight walk that occurred in the previous at-bat. Anyway, not giving up the bat was also my ability.
The pitcher lifts his foot and takes a powerful step.
“Ball.”
The first pitch is a ball that throws about 3 balls outward. The velocity is around 143? Why did a kid like this get promoted to the first team? Seeing the ball fall like this, it doesn’t seem like he has good control, and I didn’t know there might be a surprising breaking ball waiting for me.
‘Shall I give it a try?’
“Let’s stop now. “This is enough.”
“Close your mouth. Please.”
I tried to get the catcher, but he didn’t seem willing to talk to me. Well, it didn’t matter anyway. Anyway, his balls were visible.
Joseph Jeong preparing for the windup once again. I keep the timing of his fastball in mind and wait.
‘It has arrived!’
Whoo!
‘Huh?’
What? Was it a slider? His ball passes through the bat and hits the outside.
“Under… Can you stop doing that now? Hey, who’s going to fool you now that you’re swinging so wrong?”
This bastard, are you making fun of me?
“What bullshit?”
“Hey, there’s no one in the league who doesn’t know that you intentionally set up two strikes to win.”
It sometimes happened regardless of the current situation, but it seemed like I had already seen through it all. At first, I thought he was making fun of me, but it seemed like he misunderstood.
“… Haha. Did you notice it? I can’t use this anymore. Ha, ha, ha.”
The important thing in times like this is to pretend not to be embarrassed at all. If the catcher misunderstands me, that’s fine.
“I tried not to say anything, but honestly, if you have that level of skill, just walk away. Don’t you feel sorry for the kids? He also just moved up from the 2nd division, so let’s make a living together. Is it really necessary to do this to a child who is barely seeing the light of day? Huh? By 7 points?”
That’s why I told you. I don’t know if he was sincere, but I felt a little angry in his tone.
“What should I do?”
But what should I do? I’m doing my best too.
“Under…, Personality is really…”
“Then you strike out once and go in? “Stop fucking with me and sign it.”
Are you expecting me to show some sympathy? My mental state was rotten. Baseball is war! Baseball was all about doing your best to outrun your opponent. I can’t believe a guy with such a pathetic mental state is standing on the professional stage. I couldn’t forgive.
‘From what you’re saying, it looks like you’re planning on competing.’
The catcher is worried about the pitcher. I am hoping that the pitcher who just came up from the 2nd team will do well. Then there was no way he would have been called for a walk with two outs. A pitcher who walks with a 7-run lead and 2 outs? If I were the manager, I would immediately send him to the second team.
‘Thank you for the information.’
The pitcher’s facial expression, the catcher’s movements, and the catcher’s words. Everything was information. War begins with information warfare. You gave me such great information…
‘It’s one strike, one ball now, so you’ll take one out, right?’
“Ball.”
‘Great, this is it.’
Without Rossby, the pleasure is double. I feel like my thoughts are coming true. One strike, two balls. Now it’s time to hit. As usual, I lifted the bat while thinking about the timing of the fastball.
‘I was only thinking about fastballs earlier. There may be a curveball, so a little later than before.’
There were no slow curveballs anyway. There were very few pitchers in front of me who openly threw off-speed pitches like curveballs and changeups. In the first place, if he was confident enough to throw that ball in front of me, I couldn’t hear his name.
So the balls you need to prepare for are fastballs and sliders. As long as I timed the fastball and prepared for the slider, it wasn’t difficult to make contact anyway. I couldn’t do it earlier.
‘Forget your mistakes.’
The pitcher does the windup again. And the ball being thrown.
Perfect!
‘It’s late.’
The moment it hits, you can feel that the timing is too late. A fastball flew, but perhaps because the fastball was faster than expected, the ball flew toward the right wall.
‘Ha, are you caught?’
A right fielder chasing a batted ball. As I run to first base, I hear the crowd cheering.
-Wow!!!
The source of the cheers was the away stands at third base, where our away fans were gathered. This was because the batted ball went over the fence of Suwon Gold Eyes Park by just one inch.
“Heavy rain!”
If it had been Jamsil, I would have caught the ball in front of the warning track, so I screamed and raised my fist without realizing it.
‘Oh, this is it. You should rot in District 2. If you were pushed and passed over, your position is not good.’
The satisfaction of hitting a home run filled with regret for the pitcher. Even though it was Rossby’s first at-bat, it was like this…
‘I guess I can get to the majors without Mr. Rossby?’
“Hey, I got 8 points, but the ceremony was a little…”
“Senior, did you see it? Did you pass over?”
“No, it’s not my first time hitting a home run. Why is this happening all of a sudden? “Did I eat something wrong?”
“It’s a home run. “Home run!”
As I hit home, the next batter, Ki Ki-joo, said something, but it didn’t reach my ears. The first home run hit without Rossby.
‘It took me a really long time because it was my first time in middle school.’
After entering the dugout and congratulating my colleagues, I approached the smiling manager.
“Manager.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Hey, can I get this home run ball?”
“Home run ball? JT I’ll talk to the team. But why?”
“Just. “I want to celebrate.”
“Okay? What record did you set? What? Were there any records I didn’t know about? Oh, 100 home runs in total?”
“No, this is number 34, so I guess I hit 94. It’s not like that. “I just want it.”
“Hmm… “I figured it out.”
The manager nods and walks out of the dugout. There were many balls at home, such as the first home run I hit in the WBC or the walk-off ball I hit in the Olympic finals, but this one seemed a little more special.
“Meng Hao.”
“Yes, director.”
“The game is almost over, so how about taking a break? Since it’s summer, I need to take care of my physical strength. And I feel anxious because of the ceremony.”
“Yes. I don’t care.”
“But be careful about the celebration when you’re down by 8 points, Meng Hao. “I can’t live because I’m worried about you.”
“All right. “I’m in a good mood today.”
Hmm… It’s my first home run, and I feel like I want to celebrate it more. Should I get a quote from the director? Or senior Gwanhyeong? As I was looking around the dugout, looking for someone to write a good quote, there was someone that crossed my mind.
‘Mr. Rossby! Mr. Rossby! Come quickly!’
After all, for such a meaningful ball, it would be right to receive it from Rossby, who was like a baseball teacher and father. To be honest, I didn’t express it to Rossby, but he was like a second father to me and taught me how to live.
Just then, the manager comes in with the ball.
“Meng Hao, I received it. But he wants me to autograph your uniform and the ball. Are you okay? “I said I would give it to you first.”
“An autograph on the uniform? It’s not some kind of commemorative phrase, but they’re trying to eat something worth over 100,000 won every day. Do you have any spare uniforms?”
“Uh, since it’s an expedition, how should I ask them to wait?”
“Tsk. That’s it. Since I’m not going to the game any more anyway, I’ll just give you what I’m wearing. “Please give me some maca.”
“I get it. “I’ll contact the club and ask them to bring another away kit.”
“Yes.”
I felt bad about trying to get a uniform for something worthless, so I decided to give him the clothes he is currently wearing. It was my little revenge to sign his sweaty and dirt-stained uniform. I took the short-sleeved windbreaker worn by the remaining coaches from my manager and took off my top.
After signing the uniform and returning it to the manager, Rossby, who was watching the cheerleaders, approached.
‘What? Calling suddenly. ‘Isn’t your game over?’
‘Mr. Rossby, didn’t you watch the game? I hit a home run.’
‘I know.’
‘But what kind of reaction is that?’
‘What is it, you brat.’
‘Why is the reaction like that when it’s my student’s first home run?’
‘Fuck, how many home runs have I hit so far… Has even your brain become a gorilla?’
‘No, this is the first home run I hit without Mr. Rossby.’
‘… I looked happy, but it was a fake home run that went slightly over the fence.’
As expected, even though I said this, I was watching. Anyway, I’m being disingenuous.
‘Well, please give my student a nice quote as a gift.’
‘To bother you. ‘I’d rather bite my tongue and die than play baseball with bastards, how about that?’
‘… ‘Not like that.’
‘Tsk. Good luck to Ruth. How is it? I applied what the cheeky kid said, and it fits the current situation perfectly.’
‘Yes? ‘Didn’t you hate it?’
‘Because you’re going to surpass his baseball record, which is the only thing he’s proud of. Shouldn’t there be some luck for the guy who is waiting in hell with nothing to brag about? ‘Hehe.’
Those were Rossby-like words. It had some meaning.
‘But you still think I can surpass Ruth?’
‘With this body, nothing is impossible. Originally, I was better at pure baseball skills. Hehe.’
‘It’s good.’
Good luck to Ruth. After writing that down in crooked English, I felt like it was a bit lacking. Add the text again in English.
‘Because soon I will surpass it.’
The handwriting looked like it had been written by a child, perhaps because he slept through every English class, but it stuck with me. It was a phrase engraved by Rossby, and it well contained Rossby’s desire to surpass Ruth.
“What? What did you scribble on the ball? “If you’re bored after missing a game, at least cheer.”
While I was smiling happily, Gyeong Gi-ju, who had replaced Dae Sub-bi like me, approached me and spoke to me. It felt like the overwhelming atmosphere was suddenly broken by the words of weather warning.
“It’s not graffiti, it’s a memorial!”
“What? Is it a commemorative sphere? Was the 100th home run today? What, did you set a record?”
“That’s not it.”
“Then what? Anyway, it’s hard to understand. And what is the youngest one wearing? Why are you wearing those clothes? “Is it torn?”
“I’m not the youngest, am I? And I gave the uniform to the fan.”
“… You will be the only one who provides fan service during the game. Anyway, he’s a strange guy.”
While I was chatting with Gyeonggi-ju, the game ended. Our victory 11:4.
August 20, 2024, the day he hit his first home run without Rossby. It was a day he would remember for the rest of his life, until the day he surpassed Ruth.
*
-Uniform certification received from Maengho today!
I caught Maeng Ho’s home run ball today, and the guard and AT manager came and asked for the ball. I looked it up and there was no record set, so it seems like it was a special day for Maeng Ho^^. I asked if he could give me a uniform, and while I was waiting, he gave me the uniform I was wearing in today’s game. Furthermore, I will never wash it and keep it as an heirloom! Maengho’s fan service is amazing!!
#Ji Maeng-ho #Suwon Baseball Stadium #AT wins! #Happy day #Heirloom #Baseball stargram
┗I’m jealous… I could buy Ji Maeng-ho’s actual uniform for 1 million won.
┗┗I won’t sell it for 1 million won haha
┗Wow, your photo is pretty! Ji Maeng-ho, honestly, I was a little upset because of the controversy, but he provides good fan service, plays baseball well, and is cool.
┗ㅇㅅㅁㅎㅅ
┗┗What is ㅇㅅㅁㅎㅅ?
┗😄😄😄