Chapter 486 – Episode 478. Opening Series. (4)
-Ji Maeng-ho, “Tainie’s injury is a big regret. I hope you recover quickly and show a good side.”
… Meanwhile, in the interview that day, Ji Maeng-ho praised Tinie’s personality, saying, “Tainie is a good player, but he was actually worried about me for hitting the ball.” He also said, “It’s unfortunate that Tinie got injured, and I hope he recovers quickly and shows a good performance.” …
┗What’s going on with the Fierce Protector? Such a heartwarming interview haha
┗┗ㄹㅇ It looks like Meng Ho-shin has a perfect personality. I can’t believe he gave an interview like this. LOL
┗┗Don’t you just want to keep watching it because it’s a joke?
┗┗What does that mean to you? Haha, if we meet, we’ll all walk anyway. Haha,
┗Wow, but it’s so pitiful haha How do you avoid it at 194 km/h?
┗┗That’s why you couldn’t avoid it haha
-Moon Ki-taek, “There is no replacement for foreigners.”
… Coach Moon Ki-taek began by saying, “I have a lot to worry about,” And expressed his regret over yesterday’s game. When asked by a reporter yesterday whether he would replace the injured Tainier, coach Moon Ki-taek said, “There is no replacement. Although it is a micro fracture to the toe, it will recover and return in around May. “Tainie is an essential player to win the championship,” He said, asserting that there will be no replacement of foreign pitchers. Also, “I don’t know why something like this happens when I play with Ji Maeng-ho. “This incident isn’t really Ji Maeng-ho’s fault, but it’s unfortunate that something like this is happening.” …
┗ Chutaek is back haha. I was bored while he was gone.
┗ㅋㅋㅋ How did you put up with this bastard without supervision last year?
┗Look at Chutaek’s inferiority complex haha
┗Hmm, but isn’t that true? There are a lot of players who got hurt because of this guy swinging his fist.
┗┗ㅈㄹㄴ I admit the punching, but everything else turned out to be a piece of cake
-Ji Maeng-ho, “Director Moon? It’s fun.”
… Meanwhile, Ji Maeng-ho, who heard about director Moon Ki-taek’s interview from a reporter, said, “It’s interesting. You probably don’t know much about baseball, but anything can happen during a game. He wishes he had studied baseball a little more before returning…” Saying…
┗ ㅋㅋ ㅋㅋㅋ This baby is also a lol
┗Well, Ji Maeng-ho defeated Chu-taek and won, so he deserves it.
┗So are there bean balls coming out today?
┗┗Do you think it will be difficult to hit because we used up all the pitchers yesterday? If you team up with Ji Maeng-ho, 2~3 people will be kicked out haha
*
“Ball.”
Bottom of the first inning, 0:0. Hwasa’s starting pitcher Oz, who was facing number 1 hitter Jeong Hwi-cheol, hit the ball.
‘The speed is 153 km/h? As I heard, it’s slower than yesterday. Well, I didn’t see much yesterday either.’
Today’s starting pitcher, Oz, was a fastball type like Tinier, who he faced yesterday. The difference was that the maximum velocity was 3-4 km/h slower and there were many breaking balls. Oz’s highest velocity was around 156-7, and he had a number of pitches that could be considered a starting pitcher, throwing a slider, splitter, and curveball. Besides, he was the same as Jegu Regi.
‘Besides, that guy is white, and yesterday that guy was a bastard.’
‘… Is that even important?’
‘Of course it’s important. Because you can see the bastard’s balls better.’
‘Yes?’
What kind of bullshit is this?
‘They say bastards can see the ball better because their hands are black. Hehe.’
… I couldn’t deny it. Certainly, on days when conditions are good, there are times when you can see the pitcher’s grip, but if the pitcher is black, there is an effect of focusing more on the ball.
‘But how does Mr. Rossby know that? As far as I know, when Mr. Rossby was playing, black people weren’t allowed to play in the major leagues?’
No matter how stupid I was, Jackie Robinson knew. When was it in middle school? Because the baseball coach showed me that movie. And the era in which Jackie Robinson played was the 50s. No matter how much I thought about it, it did not fit the era in which Rossby played.
‘… It’s needlessly sharp.’
‘This fucking racecist… !’
‘Hehe, you sympathized too.’
… After briefly apologizing to black people around the world for sympathizing with Rossby’s trashy thoughts, I return to focusing on Oz’s pitch.
‘You’re throwing a curveball?’
The ball that flew this time was a splitter. The angle was unusual, but this time it didn’t fall into the zone. Jeong Hwi-cheol calmly watched the ball.
“Ball.”
Before we knew it, the situation was two balls. Now it was the batter’s time to hit, but Jeong Hwi-cheol did not swing the bat even on Oz’s third ball.
“Ball.”
‘This is a curve, the velocity is 132? It looks like a Power Kirven.’
Although it did not enter the zone, the ball had enough power to lead the bat. Perhaps because he had good control of the ball this time, Oz tilts his head and looks disappointed.
After that, Jeong Hwi-cheol cut a ball that entered the zone, and succeeded in getting on base with a walk after only the fifth pitch.
‘Did you not throw the slider because you are a left-handed hitter? First, I saw everything except the slider.’
No out and 1st base. With first base occupied, he was sure to win. Plus, Oz is one of the pitchers brought in to catch me. There is no way to avoid this situation. So the ball he is aiming for is a strike.
‘… ‘If only I could control it.’
Well, I wasn’t really expecting anything.
‘Fastball.’
‘Oh, fastball from the first pitch. ‘Do you feel confident?’
Bold fastball from the first pitch. The mentality of the pitcher who walked the previous batter was obvious. I felt very well the desire to hit the first pitch in the strike zone.
‘Come!’
The guy’s arm swinging.
Ta-ah!
‘Oh my, was it too tight?’
I heard the sound of hitting the bat properly, but the outside ball was pulled too much and the batted ball flew past the foul line. A large foul home run that slightly misses the pole. It seems like the structure was quite heavy as well. His pitch was one of the best pitches I’ve ever seen in the KBA League.
“If I put it in the zone next time, will it be inside the pole this time?”
Of course, it wasn’t the major league level we saw in international games, so I thought we could get by.
“You’re not going to put it in?”
Although he says he won’t put it in the zone, you can still feel his happiness at getting a strike.
‘Slider.’
‘Are you saying you’re going to go with the slider here as it’s your first match?’
But he had no intention of hitting a slider. Since he had never thrown a slider against Jeong Hwi-cheol, it seemed unlikely that he would hit a good ball.
“Ball.”
‘It bends slightly to the side and falls. Okay, check the slider.’
After recording the trajectory of his slider in my mind, I wait for the third ball.
‘Fastball.’
The third ball is a fastball. When it enters the zone, I prepare to swing and wait for the guy’s ball, but the guy’s ball goes outside.
‘Okay, one strike two…’
“Strike!”
“Yes? Strike?”
“I came in.”
Holy shit. I thought it was an outgoing ball, but it seems to have entered the zone. I thought it was a missed ball, but I guess I made a mistake since the ball was fast. Or the referee is an asshole. If it had been last year, I would have thrown the bat at the umpire, but the zone was so wide that I couldn’t tell if it was me or the umpire who made a mistake.
‘Mr. Rossby, are you in?’
‘It seems like it’s a bit worn. Stop worrying and prepare for the next ball, it’s a splitter.’
Rossby also seemed ambiguous. Anyway, as Rossby said, now is the time to forget about the past ball and focus on the game. Since it was a splitter, it seemed like the ball would fall low and cause me to miss the swing. However, since we confirmed that his breaking ball control was poor, we could not let down our guard.
First, I set the hitting timing to the mid-130s, which is his splitter speed, and waited for his pitching stance. And the splitter of the thrown guy.
‘It didn’t break!’
Perfect!
The splitter of an unbreakable guy. I tried to control the bat as much as possible and hit the ball that didn’t bend, but the sound of the hit wasn’t very good. A batted ball flies toward right field as if it wasn’t hit properly.
The right fielder was chasing the high-flying batted ball, and first base runner Jeong Hwi-cheol was looking between first and second base.
And,
-Waaaaa!!!!!!!
The sound of cheers covering Jamsil Stadium. The source of the cheers was the first base cheering squad.
“Wow, what the fuck did this get over?”
At most, I thought it was a fly to right field that went to the warning track, but the batted ball, which was flying erratically, hit the yellow safety bar on the fence and went over. The pitch of his fastball was quite heavy, and the pitch of his fastball was at the level of a batting ball, probably because it was a misfire where the splitter was not properly bent.
I was a bit confused, but a home run is a home run. I raised my fist and started circling the bases toward the first base cheering section, where people were singing my cheering song. And while I was heading toward third base, I felt like I made eye contact with Moon Ki-taek in the opposing dugout. Even though he was wearing sunglasses, we clearly made eye contact.
‘Kitaek, please study baseball!’
Seeing Moon Ki-taek like that, he smiles once and then raises his fist towards him, and Moon Ki-taek’s expression becomes distorted. Well, if you ask during an interview, you can just say that it was directed at the home fans at third base.
“Meng Hao! It was good! This guy’s strength is real!”
As soon as I hit the home run, the weatherman who was waiting in the waiting box was very happy and gave me a high five.
“Senior, it’s Ji Maeng-ho. Oh, and seeing as he’s been throwing splitters from the first episode, I don’t think he’ll be able to use it today.”
“Okay.”
I told the weatherman what I felt while at bat and went into the dugout.
“Good swing, good swing!”
“Okay, let’s go easy!”
“Thank you. Ji.”
As I entered the dugout, I even thanked Bellingham, the starting pitcher of the day, for the home run from the first inning. Bellingham, seen in the top of the first inning, was in excellent condition. Even though we couldn’t play Bellingham on a day like this, we got a quality start, so I felt like we could go to today’s game with ease.
“Strike! Out!”
… Although the weatherman didn’t even bat once and struck out three pitches.
“Wow, that bastard was suddenly caught.”
When the weatherman returned to the dugout, he made a noise, but I didn’t understand it. From what I can see, Oz was suddenly in control. If a fastball in the low to mid 150’s hit all corners of the zone and then suddenly threw a curve that hit the very bottom of the strike zone, it was clear that anyone would strike out like a weatherman. … Except me.
“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s going to shake for no reason again anyway.”
Someone in the dugout shouted, but unfortunately, there was no sign of the guy’s control shaking. The Oz ended the first inning by striking out Williams and striking out Choi Jin-cheol with an outfield fly.
‘Wow, how did they suddenly gain control? Did you come to your senses after being hit?’
Should I not have hit a home run? This guy suddenly got control of the ball so much that I thought, Is it just my mood that makes me think that it would be difficult for a pitcher who throws balls like that to be in control?
“Out!”
“My ball!”
“Out!”
“Strike! Out!”
Fortunately, Bellingham, who was in good condition today, was blocking the Volcanoes’ batting lineup.
“You never know when he might falter, so like we said at the meeting, let’s wait a little while and then compete.”
“”Yes.””
In order to deal with Oz, who seems to be in control of his pitch, hitting coach Lee Ki-cheol’s action is to wait for a walk. Even though he disliked the guy, his coaching skills were pretty good, so there was nothing wrong with what he said.
The problem is,
“Strike~! Out!”
“Strike~! Out!”
“Base on balls!”
“Out!”
Oz was still showing good form. The so-called scratch day for pitchers. It seemed like he was completely awakened after hitting a home run.
‘What is that bastard doing all of a sudden? Under… Should I do it too? Hmph.’
If there is a problem, of course there is a solution. Although we were ahead 2-0, I felt like I had to give an answer to the anxious fans.
‘See you next time at bat, asshole.’