Chapter 545 – 537. Lighten Up the Second Half! (1)

Perfect!

There was a sound of a miss and the batted ball flew high. The result is an easy fly that gets stuck in the infield. Our attack was completed in the top of the first inning when the approaching shortstop caught the ball comfortably.

‘Was it a cutter?’

The first game of the second half of the season, which started with an 11-game lead against the second-place team, Hwasan. Since I was almost certain to win, I decided to go without Mr. Rossby’s help for about a month, but I was not in a good mood when I hit an infield fly in my first at-bat.

Of course, the opponent is Yelinsky, who forms a one-two punch with Wonho in Shilla Triggers, but no matter how good the opponent is, doesn’t it feel bad if you get outed?

‘Hehe, shall I help you?’

‘No. Are you okay? Still, I have to do this for about a month.’

Mr. Rossby asked if I could help, but my resolve did not break.

There are two reasons why I made that choice. First, hitting the ball without Mr. Rossby’s help was a big help in improving my skills, and it was effective last year as well. This season was almost like my first time without Rossby, so I still couldn’t get the hang of it, but that was a problem that would be resolved after more at-bats.

And the reason I made this choice is precisely for the second reason. The second decisive reason was that it could induce the opponent to let down their guard. It is safe to say that they won the regular season overwhelmingly, but in order to truly win, they still had to win the Korean Series.

However, if I played like this without Mr. Rossby’s help, there was a high possibility that I would interfere with the opponent’s power analysis, and if my performance did not match my original performance, other pitchers, excluding ace pitchers, would likely challenge me. It gets bigger.

This was proven last year as well, so it was almost certain.

Moreover, the team that is likely to be a partner for this Korean Series is the Hwasan Falcons, led by Moon Ki-taek. Moon Ki-taek was a man who was quite open-mouthed, but he still had no idea what plan he was planning, so he needed to lay a trap.

Worried about your grades failing?

Of course, it wasn’t that I didn’t have those concerns, but I didn’t worry too much. Last year, even without Rossby’s help, he hit over 10 home runs in a month. In the first place, the game against the pitchers was a game in my favor even without Mr. Rossby’s help.

First, the fact that the pitchers’ curveballs and changeups were sealed was similar to the fact that most of the pitchers facing me were competing without the deciding ball. You could just hit the fastball type breaking ball with roughly the right timing.

So, it didn’t matter if I had to retire with a hit in this at-bat.

‘It’s a long thought. Are you running away?’

‘No.’

… It really didn’t matter.

‘It’s just one at-bat anyway… You fell behind in your next at-bat.’

Fortunately, today’s starting pitcher is our team’s ace, Crongs, as this is the first game of the second half of the season. I felt light-hearted because he was a pitcher who could bring about a win by just helping him by 1 or 2 runs.

“I didn’t score, but let’s take it easy, take it easy. “Because it won’t feel good on that side anyway.”

“Yes!”

The end of the first inning started like that. As the coach said, the condition of Silla’s batters did not look that good, perhaps because they had been resting for a long time.

“Strike! Out!”

“Out!”

“Strike! Out!”

The game turned into a pitcher’s battle, starting with Crongs, who cleanly blocked the bottom of the first inning against three batters. Our team’s hitters also didn’t have the perfect batting skills, perhaps because they had been off for a long time.

While both teams’ pitchers were going scoreless, my second at-bat came with one out and no runners on base.

‘Okay, this time…’

Yelinsky, who is a starting pitcher and was picked up cheaply by Shilla Triggers as usual, is a left-handed pitcher who has a four-seam velocity of up to 146-7 km/h and throws a cutter, change-up, and curve. He was performing quite well for a guy picked up on the cheap, but he wasn’t a pitcher who couldn’t hit.

Moreover, I checked all the four-seamers and cutters he could throw at me in my first at-bat, so I was ready.

As if he had completed all preparations, he began to assume a wind-up position. Because of his unusual pitching form, left-handed hitters find it difficult to hit, and his pitching form was quite difficult for me, a right-handed hitter.

‘For now, let’s watch the first pitch.’

“Strike!”

Perhaps because there were no runners, he boldly attacked the zone from the first pitch. The speed recorded on the electronic display board was 144 km/h. The pitch is four-seam. It was a perfect pitch to hit, but I didn’t swing the bat because I wanted to watch, but it seemed like a great pitch.

‘Well, it might have had an impact on me being out at bat. Well, because he’s that kind of guy, he’s probably still surviving in the league with that level of pitching.’

Since there have been very few guys who hit a fastball to the body so boldly against me, is it worth acknowledging at least one command? In particular, there was no case where a left-handed pitcher hit this boldly, except for Seong-Hyeon, so I secretly applauded his bravery.

But unfortunately for him, his skills were slowly becoming noticeable. In his first at-bat, I saw a total of eight balls.

Since all eight pitches were fastballs such as four-seamers or cutters, no matter how good a deception player was, if he saw a ball like that, he could get the timing right, and since his velocity was not fast, in the mid-140s, he could see it and react at that level. Br〉

Moreover, his cutter is not a cutter with a large downward lateral movement, but a cutter with a larger vertical movement. It was a pitch that caught the bat at just the right moment, and with my strength, even if it missed the bat slightly, it was enough to clear the fence.

‘Because the difference in speed between the cutter and the cutter was about 4 to 5 km/h… Hmm… If the timing is roughly like this…’

After asking for a moment and swinging the bat a few times when it seemed like the guy would hit the ball, he went back to bat and the game resumed. The pitcher looks intently at home plate, nods his head as if he has made up his mind, then picks up his glove and starts the windup.

And the guy’s second ball that was thrown. It feels like the trajectory is heading from the outside outward.

‘… ‘Two, three!’

Ta – Aak!

Since I couldn’t know the exact type of pitch, the only way to get over the fence was to use force! It was an outside ball, but I pulled his ball without hesitation, and the batted ball flew quickly between left field and center field.

‘It’s done!’

After throwing the bat and walking to first base, I glanced at the batted ball, and saw that the ball I had sent was falling in a place where it could not be returned.

‘Yes, I crossed the line twice in a row, no matter how much I tried to hit it alone.’

It was acceptable to throw it into the zone twice in a row, but that was it.

-Waaaaa!!!!!!!

-Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maengho! Ji Maengho!

Perhaps because it is the first game of the second half of the season, the fans filling the stadium chant my name in unison. I responded to the fans’ cheers by raising my fist and started circling the base as usual.

‘Ha, fuck. If you keep doing this, won’t the pitchers skip it even if you hit it alone? Under… That guy like me is real.’

“Nice! Ji Maengho! “You’re back!”

“To be honest, I was almost worried because I missed it in the first episode.”

“Seniors, I am very intelligent.”

“Good job, dude.”

After speaking calmly to my colleagues who were expressing their joy at scoring first, I sat down and Hwicheol handed me a drink.

‘As expected, I raised one of my juniors well.’

‘Bastard. ‘Don’t be happy just because you hit a home run.’

‘Why don’t you go see women? Were you watching because you were worried about me?’

‘What are you worried about? ‘Pull out your tongue.’

‘Hehe, that’s right. ‘I’m being disingenuous.’

‘Fuck you.’

Mr. Rossby curtly swore and disappeared somewhere after saying those words. He said that, but he seemed to be worried that I, his student, might hit a home run and get excited. However, since I was not the kind of person who would be happy just because I hit a home run, Mr. Rossby’s worries were just unfounded.

‘Rather, I’m worried that that bastard will avoid me.’

It is said that Yelinsky throws a four-seam, cutter, curve, and change-up, but against me, he was just a two-pitch pitcher who was limited to the curve and change-up, so there was a possibility that he would not compete in the future.

With such little worry, the game went on with the score difference maintained at 1:0, and it was the third at-bat against him.

“Base on balls!”

He didn’t throw the ball in the zone as expected, and his third game against him ended in a walk.

Ta – Aak!

Choi Jin-cheol, who was recording no hits in two at-bats, hit a refreshing double with two outs and runners on first and second base, widening the lead to 3:0.

Today’s game, which was a match between the first foreign starters, ended with our victory 3:0.

And my performance was 1 hit in 3 at-bats, 1 home run, and 1 walk. For the first game played without Mr. Rossby, it was a satisfactory result.

‘If tomorrow’s starter is the rotation, it will be Wonho, right?’

But the important thing is tomorrow’s game where Wonho starts. Because he was selected for the All-Star Game, he was given a day’s rest after the second half of the season began, but the real ace of Shilla Triggers was Wonho, so he was not excited about hitting a home run in the first game played without Rossby.

Today’s starting pitcher, Yelinsky, is a two-pitch type pitcher who can throw a four-seam and a cutter, which is almost like a one-pitch pitch, but tomorrow’s starting pitcher, Wonho, is a guy with a splitter. There was no time to get excited when I thought about Wonho’s mid-150s fastball and sharp splitter.

‘Sweet, I guess I’ll have to go back today and train with Mr. Rossby according to Wonho’s timing and then have sex.’

The thought of meeting Wonho without Mr. Rossby’s help made his heart pound.