Chapter 547 – 539. Lighten Up the Second Half! (3)
Ta – Aak!
I hear a hitting sound as if the ball is splitting, and the ball I throw disappears to the left. But unfortunately, the destination of the batted ball is next to the pole.
‘Was it a little fast?’
The speed recorded on the electronic display board was 154.3 km/h. I thought it was a fastball timing, so I swung the bat with a timing of about 160, but unfortunately the ball was slower than I expected, so it seemed like a foul. The ball count with this is three balls, two strikes. All counts came on.
So far, Wonho has thrown three fastballs and two two-seamers. I could feel the thought of pressing me with complete force through the combination of the cheeks.
‘Boy, this is fun.’
When I glance at Wonho’s expression, I see that he is still full of confidence. It felt like he was going to throw a fastball again, but since the ball count was full, we couldn’t rule out the possibility of throwing a breaking ball here.
‘Then let’s set the betting timing late and focus on contact.’
The more complicated your mind becomes during a full count, the more distracting thoughts are likely to get mixed in with the bat. All I can do now is look at the ball and hit it. I decided to kick out all the balls that came near the zone, and waited for his sixth ball.
And Wonho’s legs going up. The moment his legs hit the ground, a ball was shot out of the swung guy’s arm, and the guy’s ball, which seemed to be coming in a straight line, suddenly started falling.
‘Fuck… !’
Perfect!
By tightening my back and forcing the timing to be slower, I succeeded in making contact, and the result was a foul toward first base. The ball Wonho chose as the deciding ball was a splitter.
‘Wow, I almost got screwed.’
The expression on his face looked like he was about to throw a ball 100 mph, but it ended up being a splitter. I almost got hit. The good news, though, was that it felt like he was about to throw a curveball. The fact that he ran away at the last moment without engaging in a battle of strength versus strength meant that there was fear in his heart.
When I gathered my thoughts like that, he nodded as if he had also gathered his thoughts, and then started to get into a pitching stance. And the guy’s seventh ball was thrown…
The moment I threw the ball, I felt a familiar feeling from his form, and I was instinctively convinced that this ball was a slider.
‘… It’s far!’
The trajectory seems to go outward the moment you throw it… It was clear that if my hand went out here, I wouldn’t get a good batted ball, so I decided to hold on to the bat this time despite the disappointment of a walk. But…,
“… Strike! Out!”
… The umpire’s hand went up along with the framing of the catcher, who sneakily put his mitt into the zone.
“Yes?! “This came in?!”
I looked at the referee and protested at the absurd situation, but the referee was looking straight into my eyes and gesturing for me to go into the dugout.
“If I catch this, how will the right-handed hitter hit the ball?”
“Go in. “I’m in the zone.”
‘Fuck, you fucking bastard. Mr. Rossby! ‘Did you just see it?!’
I called Mr. Rossby to make a concrete complaint, but there was no answer from Mr. Rossby.
‘Sseu-eup, if this continues, I can’t protest anymore…’ . It sucks, really.’
My eyes could have been wrong, and it could have really come in, and if I got sent off for protesting, I couldn’t continue the game with Wonho any longer, so I had no choice but to console my regret and return to the dugout.
“Did you just come in?”
“Sweet, it looks like he went out…”
“It looks like it came in…”
I asked the players as soon as I entered the dugout, but the answer was half-and-half. I felt uncomfortable and wanted to check it out with my own eyes, but since the inning was over, and I had to change offense and defense, I had no choice but to take my gloves.
‘Fuck, that bastard checked later and searched if he didn’t come in, really. What’s your name? Kwon Hyo-joong? I just saw your name.’
*
[The referee’s hand goes up! Strike out while standing! Kim Won-ho strikes out against Ji Maeng-ho! This is the seventh strikeout in today’s game.]
[Ji Maeng-ho, what is he complaining to the referee? I think it may be unfair for Ji Maeng-ho.]
[Haha, this is a ball that makes you understand a little why Ji Maeng-ho is angry. But, the framing was good, right?]
[Yes. I think a ball like this could be called a strike at the referee’s discretion. Well, it’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing we can do, right?]
-Fuck, I walked and struck out because of the dog-eyed bastardㅡ
-The biased commentary is disgusting. Everyone missed it, but these bastards say the referee uses a fucking shield
┗They are all seniors and juniors, so they are shielding each other haha
-But Kim Won-ho’s ball is good haha
┗The way I see it, that kid seems to have a higher chance of getting to the majors than Jang Woo-joo haha
-Ha, I’m nervous when a damn decision like this comes out.
┗ㄱㅊ We are also Bellingham
[Now in the bottom of the 4th inning, Shinra Triggers’ attack continues. The lead hitter is number 3 hitter, Park Cheol-young. … Out! … Strike! Out! … Ah, Belliam giving away sand dunes. Brite gets on base, with 2 outs and runners on first base. … Out! Bellingham ending the inning! The score continues to be 0:0!]
After Ji Maeng-ho’s strange ball decision, the atmosphere could have been strange, but Bellingham, a veteran who had already spent five years in Korea, kept the game balanced by blocking Silla’s batters.
[… Three out! Inning over! In the top of the 5th inning, Seongtae Yoon got on base with a single, but the AT Thunders were unable to score! The game now goes to the bottom of the 5th inning!]
And Kim Won-ho is the same when it comes to throwing powerful balls. Thus, the match between Shilla Triggers’ ace Kim Won-ho and veteran foreigner Bellingham, who had 12 wins in the first half alone, continued as a tight pitching battle.
However, no matter how pitching a game is, it is impossible to keep every inning scoreless. It was the Silla Triggers’ attack in the bottom of the 6th inning, when the batters were entering their third at-bat, that broke the tight balance that seemed like it would last forever.
[In the bottom of the 6th inning, Shilla Triggers’ attack begins with the number 1 hitter, Kim Hwan-young.]
[It is now the 6th inning, and Bellingham must be especially careful. The batting order has changed three times, and Bellingham is also very familiar with the ball after playing in the KBA league for five years, right? And Kim Hwan-young can show good hitting…]
Perfect!
[Kim Hwan-young’s first pitch hit! This batted ball goes past the second baseman! Leadoff hitter hits!]
Leadoff hitter Kim Hwan-young’s hit came out just before the commentator finished telling us to be careful. As the first batter reached base, the Shilla Triggers dugout began to get busy. The pitcher standing on the mound is Kim Won-ho, who is still showing his best today.
Kim Won-ho’s pitch today was that of an ace pitcher, enough to lead the team to victory with only 1 point of scoring support,
[Lee Eun-chong’s bunt attempt! Get the catcher! Second base! Ah! The throw missed! Kim Hyun-seong’s apology for his mistake! Kim Hwan-young reaches third base! Batter and runner Eun-chong Lee reached second base! A fatal mistake in Samurai!]
AT players also knew that fact, so they became anxious. And in these urgent situations, a rushed mind is bound to cause mistakes. Kim Hyun-seong, who has only been a starter for a year, made a throwing error in a critical situation.
[No outs, 2nd and 3rd bases. And the third batter, Park Cheol-young, comes into the batter’s box.]
[Park Cheol-young, a two-goal hitter, has a good hitting batting average of .300 this season, right? If it weren’t for Ji Maeng-ho, he could have won two more Golden Gloves.]
In that situation, the pitcher who came to bat was Park Cheol-young, who had played second base for the national team before Ji Maeng-ho debuted. Three Golden Gloves won by Park Cheol-young before Ji Maeng-ho debuted. As his career shows, Park Cheol-young was not a player who missed such opportunities.
Ta – Aak!
[Park Cheol-young’s batting ball! Right middle! Cut it out! Runner on third base, home in! Runner on second base! At home! Three leaves! Park Cheol-young’s 2 RBIs and a timely double! Park Cheol-young proves his class! Score 2:0!]
And with the subsequent base hit and sacrifice hit, the score difference at the end of the 6th inning was 3 points.
[Now, in the top of the 7th inning, the AT Thunders attack. And Silla’s ace Kim Won-ho is still standing on the mound. … Kim Won-ho clears Williams out with a ground ball to second base! Now one out! Now, the number 4 batter, Ji Maeng-ho, comes to bat.]
Kim Won-ho was still showing his best on the mound in the 7th inning, and in a situation where the loss was so strong, the 4th batter, Ji Maeng-ho, came to the plate.
*
‘Ah, fuck. There are no runners. Tsk.’
Third at-bat against Wonho. Honestly, it was as if the winner had already been decided. This season, Wonho was the kind of pitcher who could always protect a 3-point lead. Moreover, looking at the ball he threw to Williams, it seemed like he still had some stamina left, so it wasn’t easy for him to turn it over.
However, the battle with me is not over yet.
The first at-bat was a fly to center field that went near the fence. The second at-bat was a shit call, but it was a looking strikeout. Here he could not retreat once more. In a match between a batter and a pitcher, no matter how bad the pitcher was, he would have a 60% advantage, but I didn’t want the match with Wonho to end like that.
Wonho also caught me twice and must have gained confidence, so he quickly finished exchanging signs and started fiddling with his gloves. And then Wonho’s helmet.
“Ball.”
Wonho’s first pitch was a slider that struck out in his second at-bat, as if he was teasing me. However, about two balls fall to the side. No matter how anxious I was, I couldn’t swing at a ball like this, so I watched him throw the ball and got the ball.
‘Hmm… I guess the fact that you showed the outside slider means you want to get the count with an outside fastball?’
Still, as if my time with Mr. Rossby was not in vain, I felt like I could roughly see what ball combination I would take when I saw the first pitch. Normally, I would have asked Mr. Rossby about the type of pitch and felt confident in my opinion, but unfortunately, I couldn’t.
What was certain was that Wonho had gained confidence by catching me twice, so it was unlikely that he would get the ball out twice in a row.
‘… And you probably want to leave the splitter as a crystal ball, right? In my first at-bat, I used a splitter to get the count and won with a fastball, so there’s a good chance that it will change this time.’
In that case, what remains is the two-seam and four-seam. If you throw a two-seamer, it is likely to be towards the body, and if you throw a four-seam, it is likely to be towards the outside. The more I think about it, the more it feels like something is coming together…
‘Because the four-seam was good today. Probably a four-seamer…’
As I briefly gathered my thoughts, Wonho was back in his pitching position, as if the opponent’s battery had finished exchanging signs.
‘Fuck it or take a strike, whatever. The count is leisurely anyway.’
Now all that’s left is to organize your thoughts as simply as possible and wait for the pitcher to throw.
And then, Wonho’s ball was thrown. As expected, Wonho’s ball quickly flew close to home plate from the moment he threw it…
‘I don’t know!’
I wasn’t sure if it was a two-seam or a four-seam, but I turned the bat at Wonho’s four-seam timing,
Ta – Aak!
The light hitting sound stimulated my ears.
“Huh?!”
Silla’s outfielders stay in place even though the batted ball passes through the infield and outfield at high speed.
-Wow!!!!
-Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maengho! Ji Maengho!
The pleasure of beating Wonho and the pleasure of knowing that my battle was successful! Such complex pleasure came rushing in at once, making my dick feel stiff for the first time in a long time.
“Fuck! This is it!”
So I started circling the base, enjoying the joy of winning the battle.