Chapter 439 – Episode 431. 1st Place Match. (4)

‘Fuck, I’m screwed!’

It was my first time hearing Rossby yell during defense, so I was embarrassed and dropped the ball without realizing it. Fortunately, the ball that hit the glove was nearby! As I was about to quickly grab him, Rossby spoke again.

‘Hey! ‘Keep calm and throw from home!’

From home? My head was full of questions, but perhaps as a result of working with Rossby for many years, my body responded to Rossby’s words and threw the ball home.

“Out!”

And then Jeong Yun-cheol throws to third base.

“Out!”

Two out counts go up at once.

“Uh… ?”

Even though I did it, I felt dumbfounded. What did I just do?

‘Hehe, if I’m an infielder, I should do at least this much.’

After hearing Rossby’s words, I understood what was going on.

If I hit a line drive ball right away, there would be only one out count. However, Rossby, who was looking at the situation broadly, saw the runners returning to base and intentionally caused them to drop the ball. He made a force out at home, returned to second base, and then caught the second base runner who started running to third base with a force out and made a double play. It led to.

‘… It’s been a while since I paid for food.’

While he was praising Rossby, the manager came running out of the Volcano dugout.

“Isn’t this an intentional fall?! How can this be a double play?”

“No. It was a difficult hit to catch, and the fielder looked surprised. “This is normal play.”

“What bullshit? This? Anyone can see that Ji Maeng-ho missed it on purpose, right? Does it make sense for Ji Maeng-ho to miss that?”

“It is true that it was a ball that Ji Maeng-ho almost caught, but I heard that it was a difficult ball for Ji Maeng-ho as well.”

“Does that make sense?!”

“Hey, our fierce tiger, he’s not that smart of a player!”

Before I knew it, our coach also ran out and got between the two, appealing to them that my play was normal. I said it for the team, but what can I say? I didn’t feel good because it felt like I was swearing. And I don’t know why, but I felt even worse when I saw the Hwasan coach entering the dugout, seemingly agreeing with the coach’s words.

“Hey, let’s go in. It’s over.”

“… Yes.”

“But, did you do that on purpose?”

“… Of course.”

“Looking at what this guy is saying, I think I really missed it. Anyway, it was good that he threw it straight home. “It would have been difficult to judge if I had missed it like that.”

“… It’s basic.”

“Yes, it’s basic.”

Choi Jin-cheol, who taps my shoulder,

“Good! Now you know that there is opportunity behind crisis, right?! Let’s go with the flow and turn the tables!”

“Meng Hao! Good defense!”

Even the other teammates were excited to prevent a crisis with bases loaded with one out with a double play.

‘I’m glad, but why do I feel so uncomfortable…’

‘Hehe, isn’t it obvious? ‘It means you instinctively know that you can’t play at such a high level with your head.’

‘… ‘No!’

It was a play I could have thought about if I had played baseball for several decades like Rossby. … I guess so?

*

A line drive hit in a forward defense situation with one out and bases loaded. In this situation, what fans can think of generally comes down to two situations. Either the batted ball passes through the infield, or you hit a straight hit and get an out count.

[Han Seong-jin’s blow! Second base lesson! Follow Ji Maeng-ho! Catch it!]

AT’s fans were relieved to think of the latter situation until Ji Maeng-ho trapped the ball in the infield with his beastly defense.

[No! You miss it! I missed this ball! Ji Maengho!]

However, when Ji Meng-hao missed the ball, he had no choice but to let out a double curse in his voice. Even if we won last year, according to the big data engraved in our memories during the dark period that lasted for over 20 years, this situation always resulted in a catastrophe.

“No! Fuck! Ji Maeng-ho, what are you doing? “Brain defense bitch!!”

Just before the swear words from the fans disappeared, a twist occurred.

[Ji Maeng-ho! Catch it again! From home! Out!]

Ji Maeng-ho, who had dived, once again rose up with animal-like speed, caught the ball, and threw it home.

And, of course, the team was declared out at home. The runner on third base, who thought he was caught after seeing Ji Maeng-ho fling his body and returned to base, was out, and Jeong Yun-cheol threw the ball to third base. Seeing the situation, the second base runner who was running to third base tried to throw his body away, but a person cannot be faster than the ball.

[And throw to third base! Out at third base! Won Jae-hyun prevents the crisis with bases loaded with one out with a double play! Clench his fist!]

[Ji Maeng-ho’s play was very good, right? He missed the ball momentarily, but made the follow-up play very cleanly.]

[If it’s an attack, attack! If you defend, then defend! This player is Ji Maeng-ho!]

A type of play that was never seen on AT during the dark days and even after winning. Even though the game was lost due to that play, the fans were on the verge of going crazy.

-What did Ji Maeng-ho just say? Was it an intentional fall?

┗Really? What is it really? Is there a player on this team who can play like that? That doesn’t make sense?

-Hmm… The result was good, but is Ji Maeng-ho capable of playing like that?

┗Even though Meng Ho-shin looks stupid, he is good at baseball. ㄹㅇ Could it have been done on purpose?

┗┗I think I just missed it? Is your expression serious?

┗┗ㄹㅇ He looks so shocked that he missed it haha

-I’m just going to think that Maeng Ho-shin intentionally missed the ball haha ​​Physical + hitting + athleticism, plus BQ haha ​​Maeng Ho-shin is just the god of baseball haha ​​

┗This is right haha

┗ To be honest, I was worried about Fierce Protector’s defense, but I guess I can see it at this level in the majors? Haha,

AT fans were on the verge of going crazy with joy over an unexpected play. And AT fans weren’t the only ones on the verge of going crazy. The fans of Hwasan were on the verge of going crazy as the inning ended with one out and bases loaded.

-Fuck, it was an intentional fall. Is the referee an asshole? Do you have no eyes?

┗Wow, AT pushing is disgusting. Don’t you make the right decision?

-I didn’t like that bastard in the first place. Starting from the fact that the original shape was dipped, that bastard’s backer was intentional.

-ㄹㅇ I just lost the mood because of the arrival.

-First, I reported it to the Clean Baseball Center. That’s 100% money. Otherwise, it makes no sense to not declare an intentional missed ball.

-This bastard is so fucking bad. He’s terrible in attack, but he’s also terrible in defense.

The emotion that struck the Hwasan fans, who poured out insults against the referee and Ji Maeng-ho, was a feeling of anxiety.

Baseball is a sport of flow. In baseball, if you miss an opportunity with one out and the bases loaded, you face a similar crisis in the next defense. Although it was not a logically proven theory, fans watching baseball could sense that a crisis would come to the team in the very next inning.

[Leader hitter, Yoon Seong-tae’s hit! The shortstop caught the ball that bounced off the infield mound, but was unable to catch Seongtae Yoon at first base.]

And Seongtae Yoon, who had failed to catch a double play in the previous inning due to an error, got on base with a lucky hit, and Hwasan fans felt like their anxiety was being confirmed.

-No, right? Please, please stop it.

-Ah, fuck it, if we don’t win this time, it’s that bastard’s fault. Does it make sense for a mercenary bastard to give up 3 runs in 3 innings?

┗It’s not over yet, so trust me. The team is not progressing because of potheads like you. Looking at his records, he is a pitcher who allows 3 runs in 6 innings

┗┗Ngeumma

[Now, 8th batter Jeong Yun-cheol comes in. His season performance is .205 with 8 ERA and 2 home runs.]

[You’re Jeong Yun-cheol, who hasn’t been able to play in many games this season due to injury, right? Last year, he played full-time and contributed greatly to AT’s victory, but this season, perhaps due to his age, there were many injuries, and due to physical problems, he has been taking turns with AT Thunders’ second catcher, Kim Hyun-seong.]〈 Br〉

[The season results are not that good, but Jeong Yun-cheol is a player with a lot of room, right?]

[You’re right. In particular, in 2020, he was a player who won the Golden Glove Award with a batting average of .301 and 27 home runs. Markel must be careful.]

– Surely you can’t be beaten by that old bastard?

[Jeong Yun-cheol, puts down the bat. I can see the will to bunt.]

-I don’t want to bunt again, so don’t take the ball out and just bunt it

[Jeong Yun-cheol’s fake bunt and slash! The batted ball leaves the infield! Jeong Yun-cheol’s hit! A runner on first base goes to second base! AT Thunders make 1st and 2nd bases with no outs in one go!]

[The infielders were rushing to prepare for the bunt, but like a veteran, Yun-cheol Jeong accurately divided the empty space. Haha, director Jeong Cheol-min took a hit?]

-Wow, now it’s a strategy to attack those bastards haha

┗When did it not apply? Those who were in last place are saying shit about doing well for a year. LOL

┗┗You guys are fucking stupid

[Now at bat, number 9 hitter Jeong Hwi-cheol. Although he only debuted this season, he has a knack for hitting the ball. His performance this season was 3.7 li.]

[AT’s coaches say he is the best player on the team in terms of hitting the ball?]

[Hwasan’s outfield plays forward defense.]

[If you look at Jeong Hwi-cheol’s batted balls, most of them do not go that far, so it can be seen as a custom shift.]

-Fuck, those bastards are hitting 30% on rookies, they’re making me vomit

-Please, that bastard has no long shots, so just stab him inside the body.

-You bastard who is trying to make a double play!

Volcano fans were desperately hoping that Markel would prevent this crisis. Because behind Jeong Hwi-cheol, ‘that hitter’ who was like a disaster for the league was lurking.

However, faced with a crisis of no outs on first and second base, Marquel tried to strike out as much as possible, and Jeong Hwi-cheol persistently committed fouls.

[9-ball match! Foul! Jeong Hwi-cheol cuts this ball!]

After a persistent battle, the ball thrown by Marquel eventually went outside the zone,

[Walk! In the end, Jeong Hwi-cheol gets a walk! Now the bases are loaded with no outs! And at the plate, Ji Maeng-ho is leading the fiery batting lineup!]

Ji Maeng-ho came to bat.

-Ah, why am I here?

– Fierce Tiger I haven’t been feeling good at hitting lately. Is it possible?

Hwasan fans feel despair at meeting Ji Maeng-ho with the bases loaded, and AT fans have doubts about Ji Maeng-ho, who has been in poor form recently. Fans of both teams watched the at-bat, hoping that they would laugh after the at-bat.

[Will Ji Maeng-ho be able to make use of this opportunity? .]

[Ji Maeng-ho is a player who is hotter when it comes to scoring. Markel must be careful.]

[This match could possibly be the biggest deciding factor in today’s match.]

The match unfolded with all the attention of the fans. Markel is sweating profusely as if it were summer, and Ji Maeng-ho is looking at the pitcher with eyes that could kill someone. At that time when you feel like you can tell the outcome of the game just by looking at the two people’s expressions,

[Markel throws out the first pitch!]

Marquel’s first pitch was thrown.

Ta – Aak!

And at Jamsil Stadium, a sound more cheerful than any hit today rang out.

[Ji Maeng-ho’s first pitch hit! Hitting a ball! High! Far! Center field! I’m chasing you! But! Can’t catch it! Ji Maeng-ho showed off his great defense in the previous inning! Knocks a wedge from the blow! Ji Maeng-ho’s grand slam home run! This player! It’s Jimaenghope!]

[Hey… I aimed correctly. If you throw a ball like this at Ji Maeng-ho, you are bound to get hit.]

-Fuck it’s a TV

-What kind of victory is this? Let’s just be satisfied with going to fall baseball ㅅㅂ

Hwasan fans, who thought they could regain first place right before the series started, felt the end of the regular season as they watched Ji Maeng-ho’s batted ball disappear over the fence.