Chapter 48 – Episode 48. Phoenix Waiting Finals (2)

[At the end of the 3rd inning, Hwichul Jeong, the 9th hitter from Gunsan Commercial High School, came in as the lead batter. At the beginning of the 1st inning, Hwicheol Jeong showed off a wonderful defense of Maengho Ji’s homerun hit, a.K.A. The ‘Spider-Man catch’, as the lead batter. A great hit after a lake rain in a popular baseball myth. Is there a saying?]

[There is such a myth. That’s why I’m looking forward to what kind of blow Jung Hwi-cheol will do.]

[What kind of player is Jeong Hwi-chul?]

[In fact, even though he is in the 3rd grade, it is ambiguous to evaluate Jeong Hwi-cheol as he has no batting record so far. When he looked up his records, he only had a record for defense and a record for runners.]

[Oh I see? Then you should look closely at this at-bat right now, right? Touch the choke A foul that curves to the left.]

[The swing speed is quite fast. I heard that he is a player with considerable talent for contact.]

[Oh, didn’t you say there was no record earlier?]

[But who am I? Aren’t you the Kim Hyung-gi of the baseball world? After the first inning, I asked the coach at Gunsan Commercial High School, and he said that he was a left-handed outfielder with contact ability, quick feet, and good defensive range.]

[Okay. The second ball was also a foul that curves to the left. The ball count is two strikes and no balls. Are you sure your ability to hit the ball is quite good?]

[But baseball is not a sport where you just hit the ball with a bat, right? Because the ball goes into the ground only when it is precisely centered, Jung Hwi-cheol needs to align the bat with the center. Right now, the timing is right, but it hits the end of the bat and keeps fouls that curve to the left.]

[Third ball! Foul! It passes by the third base base.]

[Ah! Too bad. The timing was late this time.]

“He definitely seems to have the ability to hit the bat. Um, but it doesn’t feel like the ball is loaded with power.”

“Isn’t that what Team Manager Hong sees?”

“Yes? Ah yes. That’s right.”

‘Still, I’m not that stupid.’

Soyoung agreed with team leader Hong’s idea after a long time. Because his own eyes made the same judgment as Team Leader Hong.

‘Contact is 45/55, left and right balance is quite good. The main power is also fine at 60/65. The defense is at a level where I can work even if I go pro right now.’

Right!

[The 8th ball also creates a foul. He made fouls on eight pitches in a row. It was a very falling ball.]

[You shouldn’t get your hands on such a bad ball. Since he is a player with many days to develop in the future, he needs to develop his pioneering mind.]

‘No, rather, the pioneering idea is too good.’

Jeong Hwi-chul’s pioneering plan is also at the level of an all-star player with a 40/55 level.

‘If I hadn’t seen the stats, I’d have thought of it like a commentary, right?’

However, after checking his abilities, So-young knew. The reason why every ball comes with a bat is not because they have a bad vision, but rather because they have good eyesight, so they can see the ball, and as a result, the bat goes out.

In other words, Jeong Hwi-chul was an extreme ‘bad ball hitter’. He also has contact skills.

‘Because I hit the ball with my eyes, the timing is slightly delayed, so all the balls are headed toward third base. This is a lottery ticket with half a certain success!’

But the problem is….

Right!

[Jeong Hwi-chul’s batted ball! In front of shortstop, slow grounder. Shortstop, handles comfortably. One out.]

[After a fierce game that went up to 10 pitches, I finally got an out. Park Young-cheol is a sophomore, but you can see him as a pitcher who practically leads Korean physical education high schools in Bonghwangdaegi. It is also stable pitching.]

… That Jeong Hwi-chul’s power is absurdly low. Jeong Hwi-cheol’s ability, which I confirmed with my eyes, was quite good. Contact, main and defense. However, the ‘power’ to create a home run and the ‘gap power’ to send to the outfield were both 20-/25, which were below the high school level and even if they fully developed their potential, they were not even the average KBA level.

‘Perhaps the reason why I haven’t been able to compete so far is because of that power, right? But the defense is good, so it must have been a starter for an important final. Well…. Should I consider myself fortunate to be a player without power?’

If Jung’s power had only reached the high school level, he would have appeared in many games. However, Jeong Hwi-chul’s record is all about defense.

‘If a player with such a record was selected in the draft, he would have been criticized for being paid to pick the player. Thanks to that, the possibility of Shingo players is open to us. Great. Let us recruit them.’

“Chief Hong.”

“Yes?”

“Jeong Hwi-chul, if that player is not selected in the draft, let’s bring him in as a reported player.”

“Well…. The defense is fine, so it doesn’t matter, but what if I go to college? There are a lot of left-handed outfielders in the second team, so players may be reluctant.”

“Isn’t it Team Manager Hong’s job to make that possible? Send a few team members to contact us right now.”

“… All right.”

‘… Bitch. It’s something to do, but not cheap…. Ugh, I should transfer to Volcano or something.’

Even today, Team Manager Hong’s worries about leaving his job have only deepened.

*

[In the beginning of the ninth inning, two outs are loaded. Maeng-Ho Ji, who is 0-hit in 5 at-bats today, walks into the batter’s box. Two outs in the top of the ninth, trailing by 1:0! The hitter who could be the last in Korean sports high school is a super high school level infielder! This is Ji Maeng-ho!]

[He’s already in his sixth at-bat. Also, the effect that came out with the first batter is toktoktok. Director Lee Ki-cheol’s mercenary skills can be said to have hit the mark. Of course, the performance in today’s game is a little disappointing.]

[There were so many batters that the first hitter went to bat six times, but Gunsan Technical High School is struggling to keep scoreless every inning with its unique strong organization and crisis management ability. What will this inning be like, will Ji Maeng-ho overcome the great mountain? Only one inning to win. The attention of all the spectators is focused.]

[If you are Ji Maeng-ho, you need to fight a little harder, right? Pitcher Jun-cheol Choi needs to focus on baseball because you don’t know what will happen until the sport is over.]

[Korean Physical Education High School that created a full base situation in the 9th inning! Attention is focusing on whether Ji Maeng-ho will focus on the attack. Ah! I have a strange record. It is said that today’s game is the first game in which Ji Maeng-ho has not reached base since he participated in the weekend league in the first half.]

[Oh, that’s great. I am looking forward to seeing if he will go on base today and continue his streak in high school baseball major tournaments. In fact, today’s game can be seen as the end of the high school baseball tournament in a way, right?]

[You’re right. Does the major tournament end with this phoenix?]

[That’s why Ji Maeng-ho has to show a better image.]

An attack in the top of the 9th inning by Korea Physical Education High School, which could be the last. Hitter Ji Maeng-ho stepped into the batter’s box.

Ji Maeng-ho, who is he? The best hitter in high school baseball. A player who broke the high school baseball home run record and led the team to victory in the Golden Lion and Blue Dragon Flags. The spectators who visited the Mok-dong baseball field were excited to see Maeng-ho Ji at bat.

“Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maeng-ho!”

“Try to hit a home run!”

An important circumstance that could decide the victory. Reporters and cameras from broadcasting stations are all pointing at Ji Maeng-ho.

And Maengho knew that too. He knows that all eyes are on him.

Maeng-Ho Ji’s record today is 5 at-bats, no hits. His grades did not suit Ji Maeng-ho, a super high school hitter. But everyone who watched the game off the numbers knew he was out of luck.

‘Fuck, it’s unfortunate.’

In the first at-bat, a home run over the fence was caught by the center fielder, foretelling that this game would be tough.

In the second at-bat, a well-hit line drive ball went straight to the left fielder. It was fine up until this point. Because the quality of batted ball was good.

In the third at-bat, the hit grounder hit the ball and went into the arms of the shortstop. What is this? He’s embarrassed, but he’s gone.

In the fourth at-bat, in a full count situationheheard Rossby say that he pulled the ball all the way out, so he waited for the ball, but the pitcher had poor control and struck out looking. Yeah, because he comes up sometimes when he’s playing. Maeng-ho smiled and went back to the dugout.

In the fifth at bat, the batted ball was caught by the center fielder right in front of the fence. A ball that would have passed if it was the same as usual. But strangely, at the moment the batted ball flew away, a headwind blew and the batted ball lost speed and fell.

‘What? Is it a hidden camera?’

Hehe, it’s your skills.’

‘No, how can I have no luck like this in a row?’

‘Do you know what they usually say about that?’

‘What is it?’

‘The beginning of a slump.’

Shit, to say nonsense.

Meng Tiger lightly ignored Rossby’s words and erased them from his memory, but there was nothing wrong with Rossby’s words. If it’s not a physical problem, it’s because the slump of batters usually started like this.

The hit ball that was not supposed to be caught is caught, the hit ball that was thought to be a home run becomes a foul, and the hit ball goes straight ahead. In that case, others will endlessly doubt themselves. There were few hitters who could coolly go over it even if they knew it was bad luck. Because batters are just as sensitive creatures as pitchers.

– Is the form wrong? Was your bat speed slow? Weird hitting points?

It’s just unlucky, but hitters shift the blame onto themselves and change the batting they’ve been doing well so far. If the attempt succeeds, it’s fortunate, but most attempts end in failure. And that was the start of the slump.

If it were normal hitters, it would certainly have been. If you’re a normal hitter…. If he had such bad luck, he must have started his slump by reviewing his previous at-bat and finding out where the problem was. Especially if it’s a game where a lot is at stake, like the final.

However, Maeng-ho was not the type of hitter who reviewed his at-bat to find out what was the problem.

‘Ha, fuck. When does it end It’s fucking hot even though it’s early fall. I’m just going to say I’m going to be the designated hitter today. The bishop is in the bat and puts it in at -bats. After all, he’s a fucking guy. Uh? Hey, can you see that? How’s your girl, Mr. Rossby? Isn’t it pretty?’

Hehe, even in this situation, you can afford to see a woman. At this point, we have to suspect that the position of the cock and her brain has shifted.’

‘I like Mr. Rossby, but what? Ha, if I become a pro, I’ll be able to fuck a female fan like that, right?’

‘The easiest thing is the fanshehe. That’s when I ……….’

The guts to recognize a beauty in the stands even when she goes 0-for-5. At the base of that courage was the belief in oneself.