Chapter 546 – Episode 538. Lighten Up the Second Half! (2)

[In the top of the second inning, leadoff hitter Ji Maeng-ho comes to bat. Since Ji Maeng-ho still showed good batting ability by hitting his 45th home run yesterday, even Kim Won-ho, who finished the first inning with a three-way throw, should be careful, right?]

[You’re right. As the second half of the season begins, batters often lose their hitting skills, but Ji Maeng-ho doesn’t show that at all, so I think Kim Won-ho should also be careful.]

‘My face is a little burnt…’ . ‘Did you go to Badal during your break?’

He should have been concentrating on the game, but Wonho couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of Mengho coming to bat with his face slightly darkened. I can’t believe that a guy who always applies sunscreen during training or competitions has a tanned face like that…

‘It looks like you had a good time. If it’s the sea, did you go with Hyuna?’

And when I thought about Meng Hao going to the sea, I couldn’t help but think of Meng Hao’s girlfriend, Hyuna. The thought of Hyuna, her first love, spending quality time at the beach with her friend Maeng-ho almost shook her mentally, but Won-ho quickly consoled her and made her mentally stronger. Got it

‘Hyuna could be in her preparation training… Yes, Meng Hao has many other women, and she may not necessarily have gone with Hyuna.’

Although he had completely lost his mind now, Wonho, who had erased the scent of his first love from his mind from time to time, focused on the sign sent by the catcher.

‘How about a first pitch splitter?’

‘Hmm… Do you think it’ll be okay? Since it is the first pitch anyway, there is a possibility that Meng Ho will be watching. … Then we move on to a splitter thrown in the zone.’

The first pitch Wonho chose was a splitter. Although he was a fierce pitcher who often swung the first pitch hard, he tended to watch the first pitch in most of his at-bats, so he decided to throw a splitter into the zone.

The first pitch I threw with all my random thoughts in mind.

Perfect!

Meng Hao’s bat came out mercilessly and the batted ball disappeared into the stands near third base. A foul on the 3rd base side when the timing was early… When Wonho saw the foul, he could feel something strange.

‘Huh? The timing was a bit early, wasn’t it?’

In Wonho’s opinion, Ji Maeng-ho’s strengths were many, including his natural strength, veteran-like batting skills, and ghost-like timing for stealing bases using his quick feet, but the greatest strength among them was his ability to read the pitcher’s mind. Guess hitting ability.

However, this time, the timing was too fast, as if he had not predicted his splitter.

Still, as if he was shouting to the world that he was Ji Maeng-ho, even though the timing of his batting was fast, he succeeded in instantly fixing his waist and making contact with the splitter, but it was still strange.

‘Hmm… Did I not expect it?’

It was just a ball thrown lightly to test the season, but the result was like this. Wonho’s mind started to become complicated.

‘Let’s throw a little more first. Because I timed the fastball earlier… How about two-seam this time?’

The two-seam and four-seam balls are easy to make contact with if caught at the same time, but they are also balls that are easy to induce ground balls. This time, I wanted to know what Meng Hao was thinking by throwing a two-seamer that went outside the zone.

‘Okay.’

The catcher seemed to agree with that idea and readily agreed to his autograph. So the agreement between the batteries

The second ball thrown after the end.

The second ball thrown by Wonho maintained the same trajectory as the four-seamer and then took a sharp turn toward Maengho’s body. A ball that an ordinary batter would have no choice but to swing the bat at… However,

“Ball.”

[This ball is declared a ball.]

[It was slightly out of the zone, but Ji Maeng-ho held up well, right? As expected, it is a pioneering plan worthy of a player who boasts the highest on-base percentage in the league.]

Meng Hao just watched his ball without even dreaming, as if he had expected it. Wonho’s mind became more and more complicated with each of Mengho’s stances.

‘What? Isn’t he going for the fastball? Under… I can’t predict it. What? Are you aiming for a fastball? Or are you trying to show the splitter that your timing is late and aim for the splitter? But if you’re going for a splitter, why don’t you pass the ball over when it’s in the zone? Didn’t you know that the splitter would come in from the first pitch?’

The more I think about it, the more complicated my mind becomes. After much deliberation in a short period of time, Wonho finally made a decision.

‘Eh, I don’t know. I’ll just go with a fastball.’

Records proved that it was impossible to defeat Maengho in a fight of numbers, so Wonho’s choice was a battle of strength versus strength. Even Seong Hyeon, who had a significant record in the major league, was likely to give up on Ji Meng-ho in a water fight, and he realized that it was arrogant to think that he would beat Meng-ho in a water fight.

The catcher placed the mitt in the center, and Wonho began preparing for the windup. Even though the mitt was in the middle, this ball was thrown without paying attention to ball control…

A starting pitcher would have to allocate his strength to throw the ball, but Ji Maeng-ho, who was standing in front of him, was not a batter who would easily let go of such a loose ball. An opponent who can win only if he throws his best.

‘I hope I get lucky and get stuck in a corner.’

With those thoughts in his hands, Wonho threw the third ball.

Ta – Aak!

And as if he had expected it, Maengho coolly turned the bat, and as soon as the hitting sound was heard, Wonho automatically turned his head without realizing it. A ball flying high and fast toward the central wall, the deepest part of Gocheok Dome.

‘Please, please!’

Wonho watched the flying ball with eagerness in his heart. And, as if responding to that feeling, Grace, who leaned back against the fence, raised her gloves high.

[Ji Maeng-ho’s hit! High! Far! Fence! Fence! Fence! Caught in front! Ji Maeng-ho hit the ball into the deepest position of Gocheok Dome! However, this hit is recorded as a fly to center field! Kim Won-ho, who defeated Ji Maeng-ho with strength!]

[Wow, Kim Won-ho’s speed just hit 156.8 km/h. Isn’t this Kim Won-ho’s highest velocity this season? If he had been a little slower, he would have gone over the fence.]

The result of a batted ball that flew into the deepest part of Gocheok Dome was a fly to center field. Wonho raised his fist, looking at Lee Eun-chong raising his hand high.

‘Fuck! This is it!’

-Wow!!!

“Oh fuck!”

And Maeng Hao’s voice mixed with profanity was heard from near first base. When he turned his head and looked in that direction, he saw Meng Hao, very angry, smashing the bat he was carrying with his thigh.

‘I guess he was a little angry when I saw him smashing the bat. What can I do, Meng Hao? I won.’

A smile appeared on Wonho’s face at the fact that he had caught his friend and the best hitter in the league, Maengho, but the game was still in the top of the second inning. He had no time to be happy.

Perfect!

“Out!”

“Strike! Out!”

Wonho, who maintained his composure and cleared the remaining two out counts, took a quick look at’s dugout while listening to the applause of the audience. And then he met the eyes of Meng Hoa, who was glaring at him.

‘Baby, look at those bloody eyes. I’m scared to death. I’ll have to change the ball mix next time.’

The look in his eyes almost made him wet himself, but he was the winner of this match. Wonho smiled happily and returned to his dugout.

*

‘Oh, shit. It’s a little late.’

Looking at Wonho’s smiling face, the annoyance I felt while at bat came back. His timing was a little late due to the two-seamer hitting near the zone right before he took the swing, and he was a little angry that he couldn’t overcome it with his strength.

I was disappointed that if it weren’t for Wonho’s performance, he would have been able to get over the fence, but for now, this at-bat was my loss. It was a bit difficult to predict the timing when a guy with a really fast velocity threw a deformed fastball.

‘But, it seems like the ball has gotten a little faster. Oh, fuck. ‘Let’s go play defense.’

Even if you think about past at-bats, you can’t turn back time. There were two more matches left against him anyway, so I cleared my mind and grabbed my gloves.

Our starting pitcher today is Bellingham, who has been supporting the team for several years. Looking at Bellingham’s pitch in the bottom of the first inning, there was a high possibility that today, like yesterday, it would be a pitcher’s battle as long as the starters were guarding the mound.

Perfect!

“Second!”

“Out!”

Perfect!

“It’s up!”

“Mine! “Get out of the way, out of the way!”

“Out!”

Perfect!

“Out!”

And as I expected, Bellingham cooked up Silla’s hitters and finished the bottom of the second inning with a three-way throw.

‘Good, Linham is throwing well too. Let’s go comfortably, comfortably.’

Seeing Won-ho, who had caught me in our offense early in the third inning, get hit by Hyun-seong, I almost started crying again, but I calmly waited for my turn. In the top of the 4th inning, the game continued at 0:0.

Perfect!

“Out!”

“Strike! Out!”

My second at-bat came with two red lights flashing on the electronic display board as the second hitter, Gi Ki-joo, got out with a ground ball to second base, and the third hitter, Williams, coolly spun the bat around Wonho’s splitter and struck out. Br〉

Wonho was pretending to have a poker face as usual, but as his friend, I could immediately see the smile hidden in his poker face.

‘Look at how it’s being cut into pieces. Hmm… Since I caught it with a fastball earlier, will I catch it with a fastball this time? Or is it the first pitch splitter again like before?’

After a brief thought, Wonho’s first pitch was thrown. But this time there was no need to worry so much.

“Ball.”

… Wonho’s ball was fast, but it was so fast that even a high school student wouldn’t be fooled. The pitch is a fastball. And the speed is 157.2 km/h.

‘157.2? It looks like this bastard is clenching his teeth and throwing it.’

Today’s game, I slowly began to feel Wonho’s attitude toward me.

‘Baby, you’re going to try to beat me with your strength, right? Come in, I’ll beat you up.’