Chapter 507 – Episode 499. Because I’m Used to the Return Game. (2)
Perfect!
‘Fuck you.’
Although his senses were returning, it was still difficult to overcome the unfavorable ball count of two strikes and the generous refereeing in the outside zone. The batted ball is caught by the center fielder in front of the warning track and the center fielder is out.
-Ah…
The sound of the away fans sighing the moment the ball is hit. I wanted to repay the fans who came this far by hitting a home run in my first at-bat, but I felt a little unfair.
‘If this bastard, the referee, doesn’t catch us like this, he’s really behind me.’
I went back to the dugout with the bat and glared at the referee, but I hated seeing him not even blink. After that, the 3rd batter’s unexpected hit was caught by the 2nd baseman and 3 outs. The attack in the top of the first inning of the first game after returning ended in a three-way strike.
“Meng Hao, what’s wrong with you? The form is zero par.”
“What is a pie? Are you suddenly hungry? Anyway, baseball is criticized for being a leisure activity because of people like my brother who only think about eating during the game.”
“What bullshit. It’s called pie. “Don’t you know what I’m talking about?”
“How do I know that?”
“… Done. Just focus on defense. “Why are you pooping before your return to the game?”
“Hey, is it going to be a day or two before I get suspended and come back?”
“I’m proud. “You bastard.”
First defense since returning. Although I received a fungo during training, as I was picking up my gloves and talking nonsense with Seongtae, I once again realized that I was back on the field.
‘The problem is that Choi Joong-hoon seems to be in good condition today.’
Looking at the condition of our opponent’s starting pitcher Choi Jung-hoon, the key to today’s game was how much our starting pitcher Jun-hoo could endure. And what was also worth looking forward to was the content of Junhu’s pitch.
After the incident last year, Junhu was strangely prone to hitting balls when he came to Daegu. Is it because I met that flower snake bitch in Daegu? Whatever the reason, it was a good thing to show a strong side to a team.
Bang!
“Strike!”
And Lim Jun-hoo seems to be channeling all of his anger onto the batters by throwing a strike from the first pitch against No. 1 hitter Yang Ji-hyuk.
‘It could be a questionable pitcher’s match?’
And the second ball thrown. Yang Ji-hyuk also seemed to feel that same atmosphere and started laying down the bat from the second pitch. A surprise bunt using quick feet! But no one in the infield was embarrassed. It was not unusual for Yang Ji-hyuk, who plays the role of a pinch runner for the national team, to hit a surprise bunt.
I was also paying attention to that, so I calmly waited for his ball to hit the bat.
Tak!
Left-handed hitter Yang Ji-hyuk pushes a bunt strongly toward second base. As soon as the sound was heard, first baseman Jincheol went back to base, and I dashed toward the bunt.
‘Gloves are late!’
‘Yes!’
And Mr. Rossby’s voice is heard. As Mr. Rossby said, I picked up the ball with a bare hand (a bare hand catch made with the hand not holding a glove) and used my running power to throw the ball strongly to first base.
A strong throw that can be made because of trust in Choi Jin-cheol, who boasts the best first base catch in the country! Through the rotating field of view, you can see the flying ball and Choi Jin-cheol jumping.
‘Ugh!’
I couldn’t see the result as it hit the ground, but I could see it.
“Out!”
Because the voice of the first base umpire was heard.
“Wow, bro, since I can’t help you with my batting today, are you trying to help me with my defense?”
“Bastard, I hit one at-bat.”
“First of all, thank you.”
“You didn’t even help the grateful bastard get up…”
As I was lying down lightly, trying to relieve the pain of hitting the ground, I heard senior Jincheol’s voice.
“Junhu has to throw the ball.”
“I know.”
“Anyway, the defense was good.”
And then he lightly pulls my body up and raises me up. After all, this human also has one strength…
“But isn’t the apology too strong?”
“I trusted my senior and threw. “It’s Yang Ji-hyuk.”
“I was almost in danger too, asshole. I feel this every day, but you are very apologetic. Is it because I have good shoulders? “I heard it would be dangerous if someone other than me came in.”
“Yes.”
Certainly, as senior Jincheol said, he tended to throw a little harder, probably because he still had the habit of watching the shortstop during his amateur days. The distance from second base to first base was short, so there was no major miss.
And honestly, this was also my senior’s fault. Because he always caught it well, I had faith that even if I threw it hard, Jincheol would catch it.
“Okay, since we got the first out, let’s focus on the game.”
“Yes!”
After answering confidently, Junhu returns to the mound. Junhu threw the ball with as much confidence as his answer,
“Strike! Out!”
“It’s up!”
“Out!”
He got off to a good start by blocking Hyunseong’s attack in the bottom of the first inning with a three-way throw.
“Meng Hao, the defense was good.”
“Yes. “I will show it in attack as well.”
“Okay. “I don’t have to worry about adjusting to the game because I can see it flying.”
“Oh, it won’t be a day or two to come back.”
In my opinion, the defense that handled Yang Ji-hyuk’s bunt as praised by the defense coach was a pretty good one. In other words, the sense of the game is almost completely improved even in defense.
‘That’s right. Mr. Rossby?’
‘At least hit well. Gorilla bastard.’
Since Mr. Rossby didn’t criticize his defense, it seems like his defense was pretty good.
‘Okay, I’ll have to show it to you next time at bat.’
*
[Three-way failure for the second time in a row! Choi Joong-hoon’s pitching is sharp. The game now goes to the bottom of the second inning. … The batted ball returns to the pitcher! Out! Lim Jun-hu answers the three-character mistake with the third-character mistake!]
[Hey, isn’t today’s game unusual? There is a high possibility of a pitcher’s battle.]
[Yoon Seong-tae’s batted ball goes out! A hit that breaks the silence! The leadoff hitter is on base! … Jeong Hwi-cheol’s batted ball gets stuck in the infield! The leadoff hitter gets on base, but cannot return home.]
[As expected, Choi Joong-hoon is a player. I want to tell this story. I expected that the AT batting lineup, which has many left-handed hitters, would have a hard time targeting Choi Jung-hoon, and that is also true.]
[The AT Thunders didn’t change their starting lineup that much to face Choi Jung-hoon, the best left-handed pitcher in the league, right? All they had to do was slightly adjust the batting order of Williams and Choi Jin-cheol, right?]
[Yes. Why not use right-handed batters against left-handed pitchers? There may be fans who have this question, but in reality, playing left and right doesn’t have much meaning for a pitcher like Choi Jung-hoon, right? It is correct to form a batting order with the best hitters.]
[Now, at the end of the third inning, Hyeonseong attacks. We start with lead hitter Bae Jin-young. … Consecutive hits! 2 outs, 1st and 3rd bases! Hyunseong Madcats sends a runner to third base for the first time in today’s game! … 3-ball hit! Toward second base! Second baseman Ji Maeng-ho! Grab first base! Out! Ji Maeng-ho’s great catch to end the inning!]
[Ji Maeng-ho, this is his first game after suspension, and his movements look very light.]
-LOL What did you do on your day off, so your defense is so bad today?
┗You came here for volunteer work haha
┗┗He’s flying around because he’s doing volunteer work without having sex ㅡ From now on, at the club level, put a ban on that bastard having sex haha
┗┗I think the fierce god of defense will protest immediately haha
[The lead batter in the top of the 4th inning is Ji Maeng-ho, who showed good defense in the previous inning.]
[Isn’t there a saying in the baseball world like this? Good hitting followed by good defense. I am looking forward to seeing what Ji Maeng-ho’s at-bat will be like this time.]
[Ji Maeng-ho’s first pitch hit! This ball is hit high! Far! Left field! Catch it in front of the fence!]
[Hey, I guess your stomach has become cold? It was a hit that wasn’t strange even if it went over. As expected, Choi Joong-hoon’s ball had great power today.]
-ㅅㅂ I can’t get over that because I’m doing something I don’t normally doㅡ
┗A while ago, some bastard said that sex is prohibited, so it looks like Meng Hosin got angry haha
-I really want to kill you asshole. LOL
┗Hyeon) and these bastards are now cursing even Fierce Tiger God haha wake up you bastard, if it weren’t for Fierce Tiger God, your team would still have been in the dark
┗┗If the other team catches the first pitch and falls behind, they will not be scolded even if it rains, not just assholes.
┗┗I don’t have one?
┗┗Wow, you are terrible.
*
‘Fuck, maybe it’s because it’s the return game, but the game is really not going well.’
Junhoo kept the game scoreless through 6 innings, and the bullpen that came out later blocked 1 inning, making the score 0-0 until the top of the 8th inning. I thought I would score a double with two outs in the top of the 6th inning, but Choi Jung-hoon blocked the batters behind him and continued his streak of 0. And in such a situation, Choi Jung-hoon came off the mound after pitching without giving up until 7 innings, and Hyun-seong showed his will to never lose by bringing up setup man Lee Jun-ho.
“Hyung Kwan, are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, once you get on base, it’s even Meng Hao’s turn, so please.”
“Please leave it to me. “Director.”
In such a situation, the pinch-hitting card the director pulled out was Woo Kwan-hyung, a reliable pinch-hitting card. Even though he was 43 years old, he was a pinch hitter and occasionally a starter and was showing amazing results, recording a batting average of .300, so in a way, it was a natural choice to be a pinch hitter.
Since he was a left-handed hitter, there was no time to use it against Choi Jung-hoon, but when right-handed pitcher Lee Jun-ho came up, the manager pulled out his sword.
-Pinch! Woo Gwan-hyung!
-Wow!!!
When Woo Kwan-hyung appears at the plate, the fans who were tired of the tense pitching battle also raise their voices again and chant Woo Kwan-hyung’s name and cheering songs to their heart’s content. And I also looked into the stadium, praying that Senior Kwan Hyeong would get on base.
‘Please, get on base just once…’
Perfect!
And as if answering my prayers, Senior Kwan Hyeong hit a hit and got on base.
“As expected, Senior Gwan!!”
“Good! Jonghun! Get the pinch runner ready!”
“Yes!”
“It’s good to keep Lee Jun-ho in check, so don’t go big for no reason. Meng Hao will do it anyway.”
“I understand.”
‘Okay, if I do this, my at-bats will come back.’
No matter how much of a pitcher he was, a one-point lead was uneasy, so it was good to have one runner in front. Then, if two people are out, it’s two outs… Uh? If there were two outs here, there was a high probability that they would skip me.
‘Oh, you shouldn’t do that… ? Then it would be better to hit a double play and stand at bat with no outs…’
“Strike! Out!”
‘Fuck, this feels strong… ?’
“Jeong Jin, thank you for your hard work.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay.”
“Fighting Hwicheol! Let’s blow one up!”
However, I couldn’t show my strong feelings in front of my colleagues who were showing off, so I swallowed my dissatisfaction and quietly cheered for Hyeonseong.
‘Hwicheol, let’s play a double play!’
However, despite such unhealthy thoughts, Jeong Hwi-cheol’s batted ball landed in front of right field, sending Jong-hoon, who was the pinch runner, to third base and Hwi-cheol to first base.
Situation of 1st and 3rd bases with 1 out. A fantasy situation came to me in which it was difficult to use the bases loaded strategy or to ignore it outright.
‘Okay, this will change the story.’
Of course, he won’t give you a good ball. I wouldn’t call it an intentional out-of-pocket ball, but it’s definitely a missed ball.
‘Mr. Rossby. What about the first pitch?’
‘It’s a fastball.’
‘Also…’
And the first pitch thrown by the pitcher was, as I thought, a ball. Willingness to never give away a good ball. If I got a walk like this, it was like using the bases loaded strategy, and if I couldn’t hold back and swung the bat, it was very obvious that the intention was to induce a hit.
But…,
‘Ha, you bastards. It’s been so long since I’ve been out that I guess they’ve forgotten who I am.’
They were overlooking one thing. This means that you can hit the ball on the same course as the first pitch at any time by holding the bat long. In any case, a certain point is needed rather than the bases being loaded. A solo home run is worth 1 point anyway, so it was well worth the attempt.
‘Good. The third baseman is near the base.’
It was a defensive position that wasn’t unusual because the fielder knew that the pitcher was thinking of giving him a walk. If it were any other better than me, there would have been no reason to give a walk, so I would have been playing forward defense in this situation…
‘You’re too complacent. Is it because I haven’t been on a business trip in a while?’
And I am the man who bunted Ohtani’s fastball in the Olympic penalty shootout. If the ball hits this level…
The moment the bat is laid down, the third baseman comes running in panic.
Tak!
But I had already hit the ball and was running towards first base. And when I stepped on first base, I saw the first baseman jumping high in front of me. The urgent voice of the first base coach is heard as soon as you step on first base!
“Run! Run!”
‘I fell in!’
The third baseman made a throwing error due to a surprise bunt that came out in a completely unexpected situation.
-Wow!!!
-Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maengho! Ji Maengho!
One out, 2nd and 3rd bases in one go with a surprise bunt. It was clear that not only the score but the momentum was completely in our favor. And as if to prove it, Ki Ki-joo lightly turned the bat, creating a hit that was sure to hit even me, who was on second base.
“Nice! Hey man! It was good!”
With the 3 runs scored in the top of the 8th inning, the players waiting for us in the dugout seemed confident of victory. And with that kind of atmosphere, they closed out two innings and won 3:0. It was a good ending for a comeback match. It’s a shame that he didn’t hit a home run, but except for the last bunt, he sent all his batted balls to the outfield and even hit a double to left-center.
There were many players who were at a loss when they came back after being suspended, but in my case, maybe it was because I was suspended so often and came back, or maybe it was a little easier to get a feel for it?
‘Wow, I feel like a bit of a veteran now.’
‘If I didn’t get suspended in the first place, I wouldn’t have any sense. ‘Hehe.’
‘Mr. Rossby loved it the most when it was blown up!’
As I was enjoying the victory before returning and having a small argument with Rossby, an employee from the broadcasting company came to see me.
“Ji Maeng-ho! “I will be interviewing a decorated player today!”
Distinguished player. Well, it was a natural story. Because my one bunt changed the atmosphere of the game. I felt a little sorry for Jun-hoo, who pitched 6 scoreless innings, but he could have won MVP for the second year in a row.
“Yes! “I’m going!”