Chapter 496 – Episode 488. There Are No Aftereffects.

-AT Thunders! Tying the opening winning streak! Reach the peak of 10 consecutive wins!

… The AT Thunders, who returned to Jamsil after achieving three consecutive sweep series against three formidable teams – Hwasan, Mirae, and UG – won their first match against Charlotte, achieving 10 consecutive wins, tying the opening win streak. Meanwhile, the AT Thunders, who announced that Ace Crongs will be the starter in tomorrow’s game…

-Opening 11 consecutive wins! AT Thunders have no opponents!

… Thanks to Crongs’ 7 scoreless innings, the AT Thunders succeeded in completely tying up Charlotte’s batters, and thanks to Ji Maeng-ho’s 10th home run of the season in the bottom of the 4th inning, the AT Thunders won their 11th game in a row…

*

[Kang Han-beom’s batted ball! High! Far! It falls! Kang Han-beom’s three-run home run targeting closing pitcher Kim Yun-ho! Score 4:3! Charlotte is ahead!]

[This score is big. AT Thunders’ opening winning streak may end here.]

[Out! Kim Yun-ho concludes the game without giving any more points! The game now goes to the bottom of the 9th inning.]

[The pitcher on the mound is Charlotte’s closer Song Jae-yeol. … Out! Pinch hitter Woo Kwan-hyung steps in! … Catch the second baseman and throw to first base! There is now only one out count left. At bat, the number one batter, Jeong Hwi-cheol.]

[If I go one more hitter, I’m going to lose my mind. Ji Maeng-ho, isn’t he in bad shape today with 1 hit and 2 walks in 2 at-bats?]

[Jeong Hwi-cheol! Looking strikeout! Game over! The ones who stopped AT’s 12-game winning streak were the Charlotte Blue Mariners and Charlotte’s legend, Kang Han-beom!]

[They say the aftereffects of winning streak last a long time, right? I think it will be interesting to see how AT Thunders performs in future games.]

*

First loss in 12 games. But the blow wasn’t that big. The pitchers were very tired, and perhaps because the two games before the loss were against Charlotte, there were a lot of errors and the game was not strange to think of as amateur baseball, so even if the game came from behind in the 9th inning, the players were not discouraged.

Now all that’s left is to not lose consecutive games. Fortunately, there is no need to travel to Jamsil for the next series against NV. There was enough time to recover from defeat.

“Yesterday we suffered our first loss of the season, but no player is defeated after losing once, right? Raise your hand if you have one. … No. Yes, we are strong enough this season. Let’s forget about yesterday’s game and start again.”

“Yes!”

The coach also emphasized this in the meeting to prevent this loss from becoming a losing streak. And then the game started.

“Out!”

‘Oh, fuck. Jamsil!’

Contrary to the promise of victory before the game, the game went quite difficult. This is because Vazquez, who appeared as NV’s starter, tightly packed our batting lineup. I got a walk in my first at-bat, so my swing naturally increased to wake up the lineup that was silent with no scores, and by the time the 9th inning came, my results were 0-hit in 3 at-bats and 1 walk.

The bottom of the 9th inning arrived in a 0-0 situation. In the bottom of the 9th inning, the leadoff batter was catcher Kim Hyun-seong.

“Hyung Kwan. Are you ready?”

“Yes. “Director.”

And Woo Kwan-hyung came to bat as a pinch hitter.

“What are you doing? “Everyone is not prepared to end it.”

“Ah, … Yes!”

As Woo Kwan-hyung walks to the plate, captain Choi Jin-cheol gathers the players and prepares to congratulate them on finishing the game. Well, of course, no one thought that Kwan Hyeong would hit a walk-off home run.

Senior Kwan Hyeong has recorded 0 home runs since last year. A person who hasn’t hit a home run in a year hits a home run in a walk-off situation? It wasn’t easy. And senior Kwan Hyeong wasn’t the type of person to aim for a home run in this situation either. The mission given to Senior Kwan Hyeong is to get on base.

Nevertheless, the reason the players were preparing to finish was because the next batter was me. I make eye contact with senior Jincheol, who is holding a drink. Jincheol looked at me and didn’t say anything, but I could clearly see what he was trying to say.

“Yes. “I will try.”

Perfect! And Woo Kwan-hyung’s hit came out.

-Woo Kwan-hyung! Woo Gwan-hyung! Woo Gwan-hyung!

Senior Gwan Hyeong, who performed his duties well, is replaced by a pinch runner.

“Meng Hao, you can do it, right?”

“Of course. “I’m Ji Maeng-ho.”

“You idiot, I believe it.”

After giving a high five to senior Kwan Hyeong who was returning to the dugout, I went into the waiting box. At bat, the number one batter, Jeong Hwi-cheol.

‘Please, die alone. Don’t even hit a base hit.’

The worst situation here is a double play. If my at-bat came up with 2 outs, I would definitely skip it, and even if a base hit came out, I would definitely skip it because first base was empty. It would be nice to get a hit, but I had no conscience praying for a batting lineup that was tied up until the 9th inning to suddenly explode.

Perfect!

And as if my prayers worked, Jeong Hwi-cheol’s batted ball headed for the shortstop. Lee In-hyuk, who came in as a pinch runner, was out at second base. And at first base, Jeong Hwi-cheol, who has quick feet, has three leaves. Jeong Hwi-cheol’s stolen base records were not many because he was the batter behind him, and he was not allowed to leave first base, but it was a play typical of Jeong Hwi-cheol, who had quick feet.

‘Is it now 1 out and 1 base? Since there is a resident senior behind me, I thought I would hit it as lightly as possible.’

Perhaps it was because his swing was a little bigger today, but most of the batted balls were caught in front of the fence and were out, but since it was now 1 out and 1st base, if he could push lightly, Jeong Hwi-cheol could easily get to 3rd base with his main effort. And the next batter is Ki Ki-ju. Since I was the runner on first base, there were no double plays, and if I told the type of pitch from second base, I could have scored at least one RBI.

‘Okay, Mr. Rossby, what about the ball?’

‘It’s a slider.’

The first pitch is a fastball. As expected, there are a lot of empty bases, so you’re trying to make the game as difficult as possible, right? Still, I was satisfied with the fact that I won. Actually, if I skip this point, all my plans would have been in vain. Of course, in some ways it was natural.

The batters behind me are Ki Ki-joo and Williams. Since they were the top hitters in the league in terms of contact, it was also burdensome to create a situation on first and second base in front of those hitters.

‘I’d rather target myself, who had no hits in 3 at-bats today, right…? ? Well, it was a good attempt.’

“Ball.”

The first ball is a ball that goes outward. Although I expected it from the moment the right-handed pitcher threw a slider, it was a welcome surprise to me as I was preparing to push it. Moreover, Jeong Tae-seong, who is currently wearing a catcher’s mask, is a catcher who enjoys playing on the outside. If this happens, there is a high probability that the next ball will come to the outside for a good push.

‘It’s a fastball.’

‘Okay.’

NV’s finisher Cho Sang-hyun’s arrest is in the late 140s. I kept that timing in mind and waited for his ball.

‘Huh, the body?!’

And a full fastball towards the flying body. From the moment the ball left his hand, the trajectory of the ball was different from the outward trajectory I had seen throughout the day, so I was able to react to his ball right away.

Ta – Aak!

And the light sound of hitting is heard. And the Jamsil crowd, who were watching the flying batted ball, began to scream loudly.

‘Are you stupid? Why are we competing here?’

Maybe he thought I wouldn’t expect the inside ball since he’s been showing outside all day? Or it could be that there is a problem. Anyway, that didn’t really matter right now. The important thing is that I hit a walk-off in the bottom of the 9th inning!

“Meng Hao!”

“Fuck! Ji Maeng-ho, is it you again?!”

My teammates came out of the dugout with water bottles, drinks, and other things to spray, and gathered at home plate to congratulate me on my walk-off home run. After throwing the helmet in that direction, I stepped on the groove and was showered with water. Although the pouring liquid was a bit cold, I felt better today than ever.

“This time, let’s make it 12 wins in a row!”

“Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maeng-ho!”

*

[Ji Maeng-ho’s hit! High! Far! To a place of no return! It flies! Ji Maeng-ho’s walk-off home run!]

[Ah, just now the ball was in full swing. The catcher called for an outside ball, but it resulted in a misfire, right? Ji Maeng-ho is not a player who misses balls like this. It’s amazing. Ji Maeng-ho. Great job, AT Thunders! In fact, it was a trend that could lead to consecutive losses after consecutive wins, but of course AT Thunder! This is the strongest team in the league that no one can deny!]

[Haha, he throws his helmet like a basketball. Ji Maeng-ho and AT Thunders are happy like children. To report that the AT Thunders won with Ji Maeng-ho’s walk-off home run…]

*

-AT Thunders! There are no aftereffects! End Ji Maeng-ho!

… Meanwhile, in the bottom of the 9th inning, when the game was still tied at 0:0, pinch hitter Woo Gwan-hyeong produced a hit and succeeded in reaching first base, and first hitter Jeong Hwi-cheol hit a grounder to shortstop, giving Ji Maeng-ho the chance to reach first base with one out. Came to visit Ji Maeng-ho kicked Cho Sang-hyun’s second ball…

┗ㅇㅅㅁㅎㅅ

┗ㅋㅋㅋ It’s just Ji Maenghoㅋㅋㅋ

┗Wow, aren’t you a contributor now? The second-place group in home runs has 4-5, but he alone hit 11, which is crazy haha

┗┗11 home runs in 12 games. If you leave this guy alone, he could hit over 100 home runs haha

┗┗Honestly, I feel like I’m hitting well right now, so I don’t think it will be this easy?

┗┗How many home runs does Fierce Tiger hit in a month?

┗┗16

┗┗I was crazy lol

-Rain falling all day, KBA League Jamsil*Suwon*Incheon games canceled due to rain.

… Baseball games were canceled one after another due to the spring rain pouring down all day. The KBA announced that the games scheduled for the 12th in Jamsil (AT Thunders-NV Rex), Suwon (JT Gold Eyes-Hwasan Falcons), and Incheon (UG Overlords-Hyunseong Madcats) were canceled due to rain. …

┗ㅅㅅㅅㅅㅅㅅI used a lot of pitchers yesterday, shit~~!!!

┗Ah, damn it, I’m going to have sex with you again. Just try not to feel the impact.

┗┗What will you do if you fall?

┗┗I’m going to cheer you on, so you can play well?

┗┗ㅇㅅㅁㅎㅅ

-AT Thunders, starting a winning streak again? 2 wins in a row by defeating NV!

… The AT Thunders won two games in a row by defeating NV on Sunday. … Meanwhile, in this day’s game, Ji Maeng-ho recorded 1 hit in 2 at-bats, 3 walks, and 6 stolen bases, shaking up NV’s infield with his kicks. ….

┗How do you stop this bastard’s feet? Please tell me the answer.

┗I can’t block it. Don’t let him get on base.

–
AT

Thunders, another winning series!

… AT Thunders, who played against Shilla Triggers, won with 2 wins and 1 loss…

– Damn it, AT Thunders! Defeat the Volcano Falcons!

… Another winning series…

-2025 KBA League Professional Baseball Rankings for April 21

1st place AT Thunders 17 wins, 3 losses, 0.850

2nd Place Hwasan Falcons 14 wins, 6 losses, 0.700 3.0

…

9th place Hancheol Grizzlies 6 wins, 15 losses, 0.286 11.5

…

-Moon Ki-taek’s decisive speech! “Narrow the strike zone!”

… Hwasan Falcons coach Moon Ki-taek expressed doubts about the expanded strike zone. “As the strike zone has expanded, low-level pitchers are benefiting too much. We need to think again about whether this is the right thing to do for Korean baseball…”…

┗Why is Chutaek like this all of a sudden? LOL

┗┗Since it was after the game with AT, it seems like you definitely sniped at? Until last year, the bullpens were of a low standard haha

┗┗ㅇㅇ I guess so haha ​​But Chutaek deserves to be a dick too. Hwasan has a strong pitcher, but they are not benefiting from the expanded strike zone haha ​​AT is doing well because of Ji Maeng-ho haha

┗┗Honestly, when they said they were going to expand the strike zone, I thought it was AT sniping, but it’s doing better?

┗┗The fierce god of defense just hits everything haha

*

“Well, you know that you have to pay special attention because the next game is the Jamsil rivalry, right? I believe everyone knows this well. Even if Hancheol is ranked 9th, we don’t know what will happen in the rivalry, so I believe he will focus and do his best in each game.”

‘Wow, I haven’t been looking at the leaderboard lately, so I didn’t know, but 9th place? Why did that team suddenly fail?’

These days, he has been maintaining first place, so I didn’t even look at the rankings, but Hancheol’s rankings, which I heard during the meeting, were serious. No matter how much Joo Seung-cheol is missing, Han-cheol is a member of the team we faced in the Korean Series last year. But 9th place…

“Hey, why is the house next door so ruined?”

After the meeting with unbelievable news, it was time to take a short break. I called Hyeonseong and confirmed the reason.

“Well, Joo Seung-cheol is leaving. The mercenary was a mess. Brother, didn’t you know? One guy had 6 points in 4 games and the other guy pitched one game and got injured.”

After listening to Hyunseong’s words, I thought about it and thought that Hancheol also brought in fastball type pitchers, but it seems like they were a complete failure.

“But isn’t it similar to volcanoes? Well, they say Ozenga throws well.”

“Isn’t Joo Seung-cheol big? To be honest, you were Joo Seung-cheol’s crush last year as well.”

The fact that mercenaries were unpleasant was the same with volcanoes. The guy who was hit by my batted ball still hasn’t returned, and the other guy wasn’t the ace that dominated the league. Then, the biggest problem that prevents Hancheol from waking up is the absence of Joo Seungcheol. As Hyunseong said, in fact, it was only natural that we played in the Korean Series last year because Seungcheol had a bit of an older brother.

‘Well, that’s good. It’s the Children’s Day series right after this game. I need to step on it to prevent it from happening until the Children’s Day series.’

“But these days, Joo Seung-chul is doing quite well in the majors…”

“Hey. But what is Joo Seung-cheol? I’m better than you. “This guy calls his senior’s name and speaks informally.”

“Uh? My brother’s name is just that of a senior from another team…, Argh! Why are you hitting me again? Oh, my! “It’s only for me!”

After making a few gestures of love to educate my rude junior, Hyeonseong stood up holding a notebook. When I saw him swearing all the way, I felt like I needed to educate him because he was such a rude bastard.

“Why don’t you come here? Where are you going to run away?”

“Why am I going there? Now I have to go to a meeting with the pitching team…”

… That was correct. A harsh word.

I got up from my seat to ‘educate’ him again, but Hyunseong disappeared from the meeting room faster than I could get up. If he just hits a ground ball and runs like that, his batting average would go up a penny.

‘Anyway, how is the baseball world going these days? Who did that bastard learn from to become so dishonest? Never mind. ‘No way.’

I felt like I had to soothe my worries about the future of Korean baseball by beating up my neighbor.