Chapter 531 – Episode 523. Charlotte, AT and Resignation. (1)

‘This time it’s a splitter.’

‘Okay.’

Swanson’s ball this time is a splitter. He still needed to get two more strikes to put me out, but seeing as he started throwing splitters from now on, it seemed clear that Williams had changed his ball combination starting from his at-bat.

In this case, there are two remaining options. Either send out all the splitters and aim for the fastball that will fly to the final ball, or aim for the splitter from the beginning.

Both options were good options, but if I thought the batters behind me would hit, I felt like I should aim for a splitter here to shake up the battery.

‘Okay, put it in the zone and turn it right away.’

After making up my mind and waiting for Swanson’s pitch for a few seconds, he took a quick slide step and I felt the ball float slightly. And if you feel like the splitter is slightly open, it means it’s in the zone!

‘Now!’

Perfect!

The moment it is hit, a heavy feeling resonates in the hand. Since it was my first time playing against a ball, I felt like the timing was a little off… The timing was a little fast, and I thought it would be a foul if I followed through all the way, so I didn’t swing until the end, threw the bat, and ran toward first base.

‘What about the ball?’

‘It escaped!’

Nice! As expected, it seemed like the right answer was not to continue the follow-through to the end. The hit became a ground ball, but it passed through the infield quickly, and senior Suho, who was a runner on second base, was running hard toward home.

“Stop! Stop!”

But the ball was hit so fast that I had no choice but to stop at first base.

“Ugh!”

Swanson spits on the mound as if he was irritated. Although he didn’t look like he was crying, he looked much better than before.

‘Write… It’s a little disappointing. I should have skipped it right away.’

It was a bit difficult to get the timing right because it was my first pitch from a pitcher I had never seen before. There were times when I wondered what would have happened if I had just aimed for the fastball, but if I had instilled in them the idea that I would also aim for the splitter regardless, my strategy would have been half a success.

… Well, perfect success meant I hit a home run.

Now all that’s left is for my next hitters, Jincheol and Seongtae, to read the moves I made and solve them.

Ta – Aak!

And as if he understood my thoughts, senior Jincheol’s exciting swing hit the fastball he threw, as if splitting it, and the batted ball flew towards the fence at high speed. … However, the angle was slightly low. Sajik Stadium is a stadium with high fences. It was unclear whether it was a home run or not.

‘But you’re not out anyway… !’

Although it was one out, it didn’t make sense to catch a batted ball like that, so I started my legs, and senior Sangju, who was the runner on second base, started running as if he had finished judging the batted ball.

Empty!

‘It hit the fence.’

‘I know!’

‘What about the cover?’

‘It’s fast.’

‘Fuck, I’m not doing anything I haven’t done before.’

Charlotte is a team that cannot be said to have a good defense even with empty words. But if Mr. Rossby said that, it must have been really fast. Still, it’s close to the fence…

‘To home?’

‘Okay, just run for now.’

“Run! Run!”

Mr. Rossby’s judgment and the third base coach’s judgment were the same. In this case, he had no reason not to aim for home. After making that decision, it’s time to head home. When I was getting ready to slide, Sangju senior, who was waiting for me at home, made a gesture telling me not to slide.

‘Sliding?’

‘The ball stopped at second base.’

‘Okay.’

“Safe.”

So I’m safe at home with plenty of time to spare. He probably thought he couldn’t catch me even if he threw all the way to home, so he just made a relay play to prevent senior Jincheol from advancing to second base.

“Wow, you didn’t throw this into the groove.”

If he had thrown it home, it would have been a close call, but since it was early in the game, he seemed to have chosen stability.

“Hey, if the runner is you and the ball falls, it’s 1 out and 3 runs, but even if it were me, I wouldn’t throw.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course. Honestly, where is the shoulder for you to hold on to? Well, I don’t know if it’s Seungcheol’s level.”

Well, what Senior Sangju said made sense. Moreover, if you try too hard to catch me and miss the ball, it’s 1 out and 3rd base. And it was understandable because Charlotte was a team that lost the ball quite often in these situations.

Anyway, with this, 3 runs, 1 out, 1 base.

‘Good. At this level, we have succeeded in suppressing the momentum.’

“Nice! Hey man! It was good!”

“Anyway, this guy is so fucking fast!”

“It’s 3 points! Let’s win easily today too!!!”

The atmosphere in the dugout was also almost festive as the score was 3 from the first inning. What’s left is Seongtae’s hyung who took advantage of this atmosphere…

Perfect!

A true hit that seems like a hit the moment it hits! However,

“Out!”

“Out!”

The batted ball went straight toward the second baseman, and senior Jincheol, who started the game, was unable to return to first base, resulting in two out counts.

“Ah! Fuck! That spy!”

“Is it Seongtae Yoon again? “Shouldn’t that bastard be banned from coming to Busan?”

“I told you. “That bastard is a spy.”

… Well, I didn’t expect it. The inning ended with Yoon Seong-tae’s double play.

“Ha, it was a good fit…”

“Hmm…”

“Ah! You really saw it too. “It was a good hit.”

“I see. Why does this always happen to Seongtae? And that’s only in the Charlotte match.”

“… Mouth.”

Is it because he was discovered to be a spy? Seongtae gives off a gloomy vibe. And as if the weather in Busan was saddened by this fact, raindrops began to fall little by little from the sky.

“Oh, as expected, the son of Busan. Is the sky sad too? Evil! A spy attacks a person!”

“Mind! A little!”

The defense in the bottom of the first inning avoided Seongtae’s missed attempts. Although the inning ended with a double play, my heart was light because the score of 3 was quite large. Moreover, our pitcher is Crongs, who currently has 14 wins. Since we were aiming for a record 15 wins in the first half, there was little chance of him giving up a 3-point lead.

“Out!”

“Out!”

“Strike! Out!”

‘As expected, Crongs! That kid may have a strange personality, but his skills are clear.’

And even with the rain falling lightly, the Cronks pitched well, meeting my expectations, and Charlotte’s attack ended in a three-way strike in the bottom of the first inning. However, Swanson also seemed to have come to his senses and ended our attack with a three-way strike in the top of the second inning, and Charlotte’s attack came back in the blink of an eye in the bottom of the second inning.

Ta – Aak!

-Waaaaa!!!

-Kang Hanbeom! Strong Beom! Strong Beom!

“Wow, you’re gone.”

Sajik Stadium began to shake as Charlotte’s fourth hitter, Kang Han-beom, hit a home run as the leadoff hitter.

“Fuck! Fuck!”

‘That guy gets a little excited…’

Moreover, seeing Crongs so excited and constantly swearing, I felt like I had to hold my own.

-5th batter, right fielder. Martinez.

The next hitter is Martinez, Charlotte’s mercenary hitter. My batting average wasn’t that good, but I had one hit, and because I was the type to hit extremely hard, I had to focus more than usual because there were a lot of strong hits on my side, that is, on the second baseman’s side.

“[Hey! Crongs! Are you okay! Trust the defense and throw.]”

As I shouted loudly from behind to cheer him up, Crongs glanced at me. Once he saw my face, he started taking deep breaths.

‘But that bastard always regains his sense of stability by looking at me in a creepy way.’

And then the match started with the 5th batter, Martinez. Crongs seemed to have regained his sense of stability and began targeting every corner of the zone as usual.

“Strike!”

“Ball.”

“Strike!”

“Foul!”

“Foul!”

“Ball.”

However, the batter seemed to be showing the best concentration of his life, and the game continued.

‘Just do it in moderation, you’re so persistent.’

When I was losing my concentration a little,

Perfect!

‘Good! First, one out… !’

Martinez’s strong batted ball flew toward me. Because the speed was fast, I was able to catch the ball well in the right place…

“… Huh?!”

However, the batted ball hit the boundary between dirt and grass and bounced high.

‘Fucked, damn it!’

Fortunately, the hitting position can be caught as long as you jump. I ran quickly and succeeded in catching the ball with the tip of my glove. Fortunately, Martinez is not a player who walks that fast.

‘There’s still room…, Huh?!’

However, perhaps because of the rain, the surface of the ball was more slippery than usual, and the moment I threw it, I felt that I was not able to pick up the thread.

“Ah! Fuck you!”

And that kind of apology has only one ending. My throw went far beyond Jincheol senior’s height and headed toward the foul line, and Martinez started running to second base.

“Second base! “Second base!”

“Safe!”

The result is 2nd base with no outs. I felt Crongs looking at me with eyes that were different from usual. And,

“Are you a spy?”

Even Seongtae hyung talks to himself and breaks things down on his own as if he is trying to resolve what has happened so far.

“… No. Hey, Krongs! Sorry!”

Phew… Even though he’s on second base with no outs, it’s Crongs…

Ta – Aak!

‘Ah, I’m tired.’

Rainy day, Charlotte and resignation. The game was unusual from the start.

‘… It’s your fault. Gorilla bastard.’

‘… If I got screwed, I should have struck out. I hit home runs.’

‘I couldn’t even hit a home run just now.’

‘… Okay, let’s focus on the game.’