Chapter 524 – Episode 516. Returns as the Number 4 Hitter. (3)
“Ball.”
‘Oh, you’re competing? Did you feel like you were already gone?’
The grand slam home run that came in the top of the third inning was enough to break the opponent’s momentum. We were able to add two more runs before my third at-bat came around.
The starting pitcher went down, and the fact that he threw the first pitch means that he will now compete with me today. Well, it didn’t seem like it would be an easy game, but it felt good to have the opportunity to bet twice in just my third at-bat.
‘Okay, the first pitch was a slider, so the next pitch is an inside fastball? Or slider again?’
‘It’s a slider.’
‘Okay.’
The slider of the pitcher I just saw has a velocity of about 130 and a large vertical movement. It was a ball that seemed like it could be easily passed if it came in close to the zone. I timed the slider I saw earlier and waited for him, and his foot hit the ground.
‘Now!’
Perfect!
‘Fuck, did I get hit from above?’
It felt like I fell lower than expected and touched the top of the ball, but the timing was right, so the batted ball headed towards the third baseman at a high speed, and I quickly threw the bat and ran to first base.
“Second base! “Second base!”
The voice of the first base coach can be heard as you approach first base.
‘What about batted balls?’
‘I went out on board.’
‘Okay!’
If you take the boat, you get a free pass to second base. I didn’t think I would be able to hit third base because the left fielder would catch the ball, but it didn’t matter. Because even if he hit a triple, he was going to stop at second base. However, is it a little disappointing that there was no home run?
‘Well, it’s a bit disappointing. It certainly seems like my batting skills have decreased a bit because I haven’t been able to swing the bat for a while. No matter how much you practice, you still have to practice it in practice…’
-Wow!!!
-Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maengho! Ji Maengho!
After swallowing his regret and standing up to second base, he waved to the fans and handed over the equipment to the coach, and senior Jincheol came to bat.
‘I feel like running to third base, but…’
Considering that senior Jincheol had chosen me in the locker room before the game started, I wanted to just run to third base, but since the probability of the batter picking me out was lowered only if the hitter came out alive, I waited for the battery to exchange signs at an appropriate position. .
‘Mr. Rossby?’
‘It’s a fastball.’
‘Okay.’
When I relayed the pitch type and catcher’s position that I got from Mr. Rossby to senior Jincheol, he slightly nodded his head to indicate that he understood.
‘Now let’s survive. ‘Senior.’
Ta – Aak!
And the sound of hitting the ball as if it were splitting. However, the ball continued to curve to the left, passed over the pole, and disappeared. A foul home run that chills the hearts of Silla fans.
‘Ha, no fucking luck. How can this not go over?’
‘It’s a fastball again.’
‘Oh, another fastball?’
Although my performance this season is not good, throwing fastballs twice in a row against senior Jincheol, who still has punching power, means that I am conscious of stealing third base. After widening the lead by about a foot toward third base, he moved his center of gravity toward second base in preparation for any possible checks and delivered the pitch to senior Jincheol again.
‘It’s a fastball this time too. ‘Senior.’
Ta – Aak!
And Choi Jin-cheol’s sparkling bat.
‘Go!’
-Wow!
Senior Jincheol lifted the fastball as it was, and the batted ball floated high and flew toward the fence.
– Choi Jin-cheol! Choi Jin-cheol! Choi Jin-cheol!
“Meng Hao, it was good.”
As I was waiting at home, senior Jincheol patted my shoulder with a bright face.
“Then, please tell me that what happened in the locker room earlier was just a joke.”
“I get it. I’ll tell the kids later. But who will believe it?”
… It seemed unlikely.
Anyway, the score is 8:0 with this. The game continued that way as multiple runs were scored for the first time in a long time, and in the remaining three at-bats, I recorded two walks and an outfield fly that went close to the fence, going 2-for-3 with a home run and three walks, putting the game at 14. We were able to win with 5.
“Ji Maeng-ho came out as the 4th batter and gave us the first run with a bases-loaded home run in the top of the 3rd inning. Can we hear your thoughts?”
And, of course, the interview with the Distinguished Player was mine because I hit a grand slam.
“Ah, it was nice to have a chance to swing the bat after a long time. Honestly, it’s a shame that the number of intentional phrases has increased again these days, but what can you do? It’s because I’m scared. You have to understand. Not even for a day or two. “How can I play baseball if I’m stressed about things like this?”
Haha. “This is a remark from Ji Maeng-ho, who is full of confidence today.”
“But, there is something a bit strange.”
“Yes? “What was so surprising about it?”
“The players on the team who think they can throw well will compete. Does it feel like some low-level pitchers are avoiding it? Well, that’s actually a good thing. When I hit pitches from low-level pitchers, I feel like my level is lowered as well. Haha.”
“Ah…”
I spoke a little too loudly, and the face of the reporter who was interviewing me next to me started to rot. Even in my opinion, the level of this remark was strong. After receiving training from Soyoung, I did not often make such high-level remarks in interviews, but I really wanted to say this today.
Pitchers are a sensitive and prideful race, so scratching things like this could have had some effect.
If the manager orders him to skip me, there may be a pitcher who disobeys.
Well, it may not be noticeable right away because there is an automatic intentional throw, but as such damage accumulates, the pitcher’s mentality is bound to break, and no matter how much of a pitcher he is, our team’s batting lineup was not at a level where it couldn’t beat up even a mentally broken pitcher.
“Well then, shall we go back to the story? Today, I hit a grand slam and achieved a record of 100 RBI for three consecutive seasons…”
After that, the interview ended with a smooth response to the reporter’s words, and when I entered the locker room and checked, the notification window on Byeolgram was on fire. I took a quick look and found that comments were exploding on the photo taken at Lee Ki-cheol’s house yesterday.
[email protected] It’s been a while since I met Master! Thank you, my wife, for always providing delicious meals!!!
┗The priest-priest relationship is really nice to see.
┗Is this guy being interviewed today?
┗What are you good at, but your seniors and juniors are telling you that your level is low? These are all hard-working players. Ji Maeng-ho, you need to be humble on this floor. If you act like that, you’ll be blown away overnight, right?
┗ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Fierce defender, cider today too~~~
There are about 20,000 hearts and about 1,000 comments. When I checked before the game today, there were about 900 running, but in that short period of time, 100 ran.
‘Ha, you’re giving me this much attention again, so I can’t stay still.’
I immediately took a selfie and posted it again.
[email protected] Even if the dogs bark, the train runs.
┗What’s going on with Maeng Ho?
┗Someone bullied my brother😠😠
And the comments that come immediately after posting.
‘Is this why people can’t quit social media?’
“Hey, what are you doing? “After the interview, I came in and took a selfie right away.”
My senior Sangju, who was organizing my luggage before taking a shower, must have seen me like that and immediately started talking to me.
“Wow, bro, did you just see what Meng Hao posted on Stargram? “This guy is so fucking funny.”
And Junhyung responds to Sangju senior’s words. I felt pretty good about getting the starting win today.
“What is it? What is it? … Wow, what is it? You had an accident again during the interview, right? “Half of this guy’s comments are swear words?”
“Hehe, is this the life of a superstar? “I recently surpassed 1 million followers.”
“What is a superstar with 1 million followers? Hey, Ronaldo has 600 million followers.”
… 600 million people? What is it? That monster…
“… I should have played soccer. How many people are there in Otani?”
“Otani? As far as I know, it’s probably around 10 million right now?”
Ohtani, the biggest superstar in baseball, has 10 million people, but Ronaldo has 600 million people. I felt like I had to quickly go to the major leagues and overcome Ohtani first.
“Why do you look like that? Are you sure you are listening to Ronaldo’s followers?”
“… “It’s not.”
“Anyway, you bastard. “Because I’m addicted to social media, I don’t worry about the weather at Gocheok Dome.”
Thanks to someone, I got the winning pitcher today, but I was truly ungrateful.
“Oh, that was just Jincheol senior playing a prank! Senior Jincheol! Quick explanation… !”
“Jincheol went to take a shower, bastard.”
… Fuck. I was supposed to explain!
“Anyway, you need to develop some common sense.”
“I studied pretty well in high school! Are you better at English than me? [Even if I say this, you won’t understand, right?]”
“… Brother, what is he saying? “My brother is from Major.”
“… I don’t know, motherfucker. If only I knew, he’s still playing in the major leagues. But why is that guy only good at English?”
“Let’s study English in the global era.”
Mr. Rossby, thank you! I don’t know why, but I was very fortunate to have inherited Mr. Rossby’s English skills along with his batting experience. It was quite refreshing to leave the two mute people and go to the shower.
‘Okay, now I wish I could swing the bat like I did today tomorrow, so I don’t want anything more…’
Is it because I hoped so much? The opportunity to swing the bat the next day came sooner than expected.
… In a different form than yesterday.
‘Oh my gosh, I went to the game today. Anyway, Lim Jun-hoo, that bastard says if he plays well in one game, he can’t play in one game.’
After starting pitcher Junhu gave up 7 runs in 2.1 innings, the score was 7:0. Was Silla’s director conscious of my interview yesterday? When the gap grew to 7 points, I allowed the pitcher to win, and excluding an intentional walk in my first at-bat, I was able to finish the game with 1 hit in 3 at-bats and 1 home run.
Although there was only one home run, all other hits were outfield flies that were caught in front of the fence, so I felt like my batting was better than yesterday. Before dealing with Wonho, to what extent were you able to regain your sense of hitting that had been lost?
With this, you are ready to face Wonho.
‘Ha, now I’m finally going to have a proper match for the first time in a while.’
*
[The final match of the series between AT Thunders and Shilla Triggers, who have 1 win and 1 loss, heading towards a winning series. It unfolds in Gocheok.]
[Today’s match is refascinatingright? Crongs and Wonho Kim. The aces of both teams started as starters. Both players take the mound on Tuesday and then take the mound after a four-day break, so I don’t think there’s any need to worry about their pitching quality. He is a player who has already proven himself.]
[Yes. Now the national ceremony begins. … Now, let’s call out the AT Thunders starting lineup. 1st hitter Kim Su-ho, 2nd hitter Ki Ki-joo, 3rd hitter Williams, 4th hitter Ji Maeng-ho, 5th hitter Choi Jin-cheol…]
[The player you should pay attention to is Ji Maeng-ho, right? He gave a bold interview on the first day of the game, and he proved that his words were not bluff by hitting home runs in two consecutive games, right? Also, I understand that he is very close with Kim Won-ho as a high school classmate, right? Perhaps we should pay attention to the match between the two friends today.]
[Now, I will call out the defensive lineup of Shilla Triggers. Kim Won-ho as a starter and Kim Dong-hyun as a catcher… ..br/>
[Same defensive position as yesterday, right? This is the best lineup.]
[Today’s starting pitcher, Kim Won-ho, appears in 15 games and has a 2.32 ERA, 96 strikeouts, and 7 wins in 89.1 innings.]
[You could say Won-ho Kim’s strength is the combination of a powerful fastball and splitter, right? The average fastball speed is about 148 km/h, and the highest speed this season was 155.7 km/h. In addition, he has a splitter in the mid to upper 130s that bends sharply, a perfect two-seamer that he installed last year, and a slider that he has been throwing since high school. He is a player who is good for a reason.]
[Along with Kim Won-ho, there are a lot of young starting pitchers who throw well these days, right?]
[Future Jang Woo-joo, Hwasan’s Chae Jae-hyun and Kim Min-jun, and Hancheol’s Na Seung-yoon. As the caster said, there are many young starters in the league these days who pitch well, which is truly a blessing for Korean baseball.]
[Now, practice pitching is over and the game begins. First pitch, strike.]
[Hey, 152 was recorded from the first pitch. As expected, today’s game will be quite interesting.]