Chapters 444 – 436. Stepping Towards a New Record. (5)

-AT Thunders come from behind to win thanks to Ji Maeng-ho’s home steal!

… Meanwhile, Ji Maeng-ho’s home steal in the top of the 5th inning changed the atmosphere of the game. …

┗LOL So who would skip it? LOL

┗ㄲㅂ I thought it was going to go over at the end, but it hit the wall and bounced off.

┗Remember the trash thrown away today. That is public sentiment.

┗┗The Daegu guys seem very angry haha

┗┗I can’t help but be angry. If I didn’t lose NV today, I would be in last place.

┗┗The opponent record is 13 wins and 2 losses. It’s such a fucking shame.

-Ji Maeng-ho, aiming for two new records?

… Meanwhile, Ji Maeng-ho’s home runs and stolen bases this season are worthy of setting a new Korean record. 59 home runs and 83 stolen bases. There are two home runs and one stolen base left to tie the record, and if they record three home runs and two stolen bases, they can break Korea’s record of 61 home runs and most stolen bases of 84.

… Ji Maeng-ho said in an interview, ‘A stolen base record? You don’t really care, do you? Honestly, if I put my mind to it, I can steal 144 bases, so what’s the importance of my stolen base record? The answer, “I just lose strength for no reason,” Is becoming a hot topic. …

┗It’s a bit cocky, but it’s true haha. If a fierce defender runs like he wants to, he could steal 200 bases.

┗But if a fierce tiger runs, it’s a loss. If you get hurt while running, it’s scary.

┗Wow, but you’re a legend, so how can you do that, even though you stole base 83 times and never got caught?

┗┗There is an analysis column, take a look. They say he has amazing timing on his breaking balls. He’s so smart that he seems to be thinking about ball combinations even on base haha

┗┗ I came to see it, and it looks real. What kind of supercomputer is this guy? How can you be analyzing everything when it’s not even your at-bat?

-Joo Hyung-jin, speak with determination! This is not the Hyunseong baseball I know!

Joo Hyung-jin, a legend in the Korean baseball world, is becoming a hot topic after criticizing his team, the Hyunsung Mad Cats. Joo Hyung-jin is a member of the Hyunseong Mad Cats and is a professional baseball legend who has hit 432 home runs in Hyeonseong alone and a total of 599 home runs in Korea and the United States.

After the game that day, Joo Hyung-jin posted on his SNS account, ‘The record should go to someone who deserves it. There is a saying that criticism is fleeting, but records are eternal, but no one would want to take a record stained with dishonor with them forever. ‘I want to be proud of my record forever.’ He posted at the end of it, ‘I hope that Hyunsung Mad Cats will play a game befitting a prestigious club called Hyunsung Mad Cats.’ He concluded by writing, ‘The team’s front office and coaching staff should think about why the home fans booed.’

┗Stop being damned and come as a director haha

┗Why do outsiders tell me to bow down to work? If you ask me, will you come as a director?

┗That is correct. This series really wasn’t like us. Even if the ranking is low, if you think about the meaning of the name Hyeonseong…

┗What do you do if you filter it like that? In the end, Gyeonggi lost, and it was ugly.

┗Have a fair fight tomorrow, really. I am embarrassed by the rankings, so should I be embarrassed by Gyeonggi as well?

*

-“Oppa, have you seen the article?”

“Article? Oh, that senior Joo Hyung-jin posted a post? “I saw it too.”

-“Did I do well? Hehe.”

“As expected, Jia is the best.”

Yesterday, at the moment of AT’s victory, I had sex with Jia, who came to film the vlog, and whined that Hyunseong’s bastards were filtering dirty words despite not having any skills, and it seemed like Jia had been pestering her father since this morning. Before we parted ways, he said he was going up to Seoul today, and on the way up, he seemed to brush up on Joo Hyeong-jin.

This had happened before, and it seemed like Joo Hyeong Jin had listened to Jia’s request, as is the case with any father who has a daughter.

‘Will I become like Joo Hyeong-jin?’

When I thought of my daughter in Hyejin’s womb, I felt like I could understand how senior Joo Hyeongjin felt. It would be nice if my daughter was as cute as Jia.

“Well, I don’t know what condition the kids are in today, but thank you Jia.”

-“No, this is for my brother.”

“Then, as a reward today…, Ah. “Today is the day I go up to Seoul.”

-“Hey, I can just wait for you at my brother’s house. “It’s been a while since I saw Soyoung.”

“Okay. “I’m waiting at home.”

-“Huh! “I’ll be waiting!”

After Jia’s lively reply, I hung up the phone. Now it’s time to get into the game.

‘No way, Team Centipede Legend wrote something like that, so you’re going to skip today too?’

And then the game started.

“Ball.”

The ball came in like usual, but it felt a little different. Yesterday, about three balls flew out of the zone, but today, about one? I had a strong feeling that I was going to compete.

“It looks like you won’t skip today?”

“Don’t talk to me.”

As has been the case throughout this series, the catcher is not Park Jung-hyun, but a candidate catcher. It seemed like experience was being given to the candidates as the season was coming to an end. I wanted to know what type of catcher he was, but I didn’t have time to find out because he only got walks throughout the series.

‘Well, the important thing is the pitcher.’

Today’s pitcher is Choi Jung-hoon, Hyunsung’s left-handed ace. He hadn’t pitched for about a week, but when the team was on the verge of finishing in last place, he finally came on the mound. He may be one of the few saviors of Hyeonseong where the mound collapsed. It was definitely a difficult opponent for us who have a lot of left-handed hitters.

In other words, my performance is important. I replayed each pitch Choi Jung-hoon showed me in my head and focused on the at-bat again.

‘Let’s go. Mr. Rossby.’

To be honest, I wanted to gain experience by playing alone until the end of the season, but I realized that through yesterday’s game. You can’t compete with me properly anyway, so it’s meaningless to gain experience alone.

‘If that’s the case, it’s better to keep records. Right, Mr. Rossby?’

‘Self-justification…’

Rossby seemed bothered by having to work in the top of the first inning for the first time in a long time, but he stood in his familiar position and started talking about his pitches.

‘It’s a slider.’

Choi Joong-hoon’s slider. It was a slider that was a left-handed hitter’s nightmare, but as a right-handed hitter, I thought it was a ball that just came toward the body, so if you aimed it right, you could make a long hit.

The ball thrown on the first pitch is a ball that goes out of the zone. When I thought about various situations, I felt like this ball would fall into the strike zone. If I threw the ball again this time, there could have been boos again.

And if a slider that curves toward the right-handed batter is thrown into the zone, there is only one place for the ball to land. It’s just a backdoor slider that starts from the outside and hits the outside borderline. When a left pitcher hits a slider into the strike zone, it only means asking for a home run.

I formed a batting zone outside and waited for the guy’s ball. Joong-Hoon Choi’s right leg is lifted high and kicks the ground, while his arms are swung at high speed. And…,

‘… ‘Now!’

The ball that looked like it was about to hit the outside began to quickly come in, and my bat was already there to meet his ball.

Ta – Aak!

Wow, it’s been a long time since I felt the taste of my hand! There was no need to check the batted ball. I just picked up the bat, aimed it at the fence, and threw it.

-Wow!!!!

-Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maengho! Ji Maengho! Ji Maengho!

The stadium is heated up by my sniping ceremony, which has been held for the first time in a long time. As I rounded the bases and returned to the dugout, leaving behind Choi Jung-hoon, who was spitting on the mound as if he had seen something I couldn’t see, my seniors greeted me with joy.

“Meng Hao! Let’s give it a try today!”

“Brother! “Why are you putting a burden on the child?”

“What a burden. “This guy doesn’t have the personality to be a burden.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“… “I feel pressured too, right?”

“Damn. Anyway, congratulations on 60 home runs.”

“Thank you!”

The first inning started in such a good mood. But Choi Jung-hoon was Choi Jung-hoon. The top of the first inning ended with a clean out of the left batting line from Kim Su-ho to Williams.

Kim Chan-young, who confirmed the win and came on the mound as a starting pitcher to give the starting pitchers a rest, also cleanly blocked the bottom of the first inning, but was a little uneasy as all the batted balls flew into the outfield.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter since the win is confirmed anyway.’

Actually, winning or losing today’s game wasn’t that important. Those guys will work hard to get out of last place, but our ranking has been confirmed. In fact, rather than going into a close game, it was best to have a wide gap in scores for either team and to be able to bat comfortably.

However, contrary to my wishes, the score gap of 1:0 remained tight, and my second at-bat came in the top of the third inning with one out.

“Ball.”

Unlike previous at-bats, this slider hits quite far from the zone. I could feel the determination from the first pitch that I would no longer stick the slider in the zone.

‘I like it when it’s this blatant.’

I don’t want to give up a walk. Choi Joong-hoon’s winning pitch, the slider, does not enter the zone. In that case, the only ball to aim for is a fastball. I waited for his fastball as the ball count piled up.

‘It’s a fastball.’

And the long-awaited fastball. I swung the bat with the same timing as I trained in the dugout.

Ta – yep!

A batted ball that goes over the fence with ease. The audience at the top of the outfield caught my ball and loved it.

‘It’s easy. It’s easy. Was baseball always this easy?’

‘It’s because I exist.’

‘But it seems like it’s easier than before.’

‘Hmph, I helped you so much, but you have to do this to be a human being.’

‘But it’s still better than a gorilla.’

‘… Shut up.’

*

[Ji Maeng-ho’s 61st home run! Back-to-back home runs! Joo Hyung-jin’s record has been reached! Ji Maeng-ho now has only his 62nd home run, which no one has ever hit in Korea!]

[Hey, this is it. This is what fans were expecting! Well, after today’s game, I’m going back to Jamsil and have two games left against Hyeon-cheol, and I’m looking forward to seeing if Ji Maeng-ho will be able to hit his 62nd home run.]

[Wow, he is truly a blessing to Korean baseball. Ji Maengho!]

*

-Ji Maeng-ho’s 61st home run! Tie the record for most home runs!

… Ji Maeng-ho recorded his 60th and 61st home runs in Game 16 against Hyunsung Mad Cats, matching Joo Hyung-jin’s record. … Ji Maeng-ho’s performance this season is impressive, with 131 hits, 61 home runs, and 83 stolen bases in 329 at-bats in 107 games, and a batting average of 0.398, an on-base percentage of 0.601, and a slugging percentage of 1.103.

In addition, he recorded 132 runs and 158 RBIs, ranking first in runs scored and RBIs, securing the honor of winning his 7th crown this season following last year. All baseball fans are paying attention to what kind of great records Ji Maeng-ho will write in the coming season.

┗Wow, my grades suck haha. How can someone get grades like this?

┗┗Not a person. New appointment.

┗Honestly, even if I hadn’t filtered it, I would have won the best hits, but I’m never going to win 8 awards, right?

┗┗I don’t think it will ever happen hahaEven if I were a pitcher, I would be like Ji Maeng-ho.

┗Wow, last season was crazy too, how can I grow further? Baseball is just Ji Maeng-ho.