Chapter 558 – Episode 550. Toward a New Record! (1)

“Base on balls!”

Third at-bat against Universe. Starting from his first at-bat to his third at-bat, he continued to give me walks, and the game I was looking forward to with Woo-ju ended with only 3 walks.

Overall, my control wasn’t good today, but it felt like something was a little broken. As starting pitcher Woo Joo collapsed, the game easily ended in our victory. In this way, in the future two-game series, the team was able to achieve 70% win rate again by winning two games in a row.

“Hey, did you get scared and walk today? What if the boy gets scared like that?”

-“Oh, fuck, I’m scared. I just said my arm was a little stiff today and the ball didn’t go in well. Bro, there are two games left, right? I will adjust the slope and go up at that time, so look forward to it. Really.”

“Okay, try hard.”

Well, there was a time when I called Woo Joo and tea-bagged him after the game, but that was a minor thing. However, Daejeon went down without a chance to enjoy the joy of beating strong pitchers.

Ta – Aak!

Ta – Aak!

I don’t know why, but I hit two home runs against Yonggi and Hwasan’s pitchers, who were strangely clumsy in leading, and before I knew it, I had increased my home run record for this season to 62.

“Ji Maeng-ho, you are now one home run away from your new record of 63 home runs. How do you feel?”

“Uh… Well, I don’t want to attach much significance to it. “I think if I keep doing it now, I’ll be able to wake up soon.”

… I even got the opportunity to be interviewed.

Of course, it was a lie to say I didn’t care. There are 23 remaining games. If I did well, I thought I could break the home run record set by Bonds.

The problem is, now that we’ve reached this point, have pitchers slowly avoided giving up records?

After the game against Hwasan, I played six games with UG, JT, and Hyunseong, and my records were 4 hits, 2 doubles, and 16 walks in 9 at-bats. As if the fans were paying attention, they never allowed automatic intentional throws, but avoided the game by throwing balls that were ridiculously out of the strike zone.

There were many cases where I went in aiming for a home run at a rare opportunity and ended up with a bad hit. As a result of being annoyed by the situation and running so hard, the number of stolen bases, which was less than the number of home runs, had already reached 68. It was a good thing that the stolen base record increased, but it seemed like the time had come to make a decision.

‘Mr. Rossby. This can’t happen anymore, right? There is no point in practicing alone because you will avoid it anyway.’

‘Good. I was starting to get bored too.’

With 17 games left, Mr. Rossby, who was bored, and I, who was aiming for a new home run record, aligned.

‘You bastards, you sure won’t skip the remaining at-bats, right? I ran after you, you bastards.’

*

[Hello. AT Thunders and Hancheol Grizzlies, Hancheol Grizzlies and AT Thunders. As it is a match between Jamsil rivals, there are a lot of fans gathered, right? In particular, the fans gathered in the outfield are impressive.]

[Yes. In fact, it is inevitable that many fans will gather in the outfield. Because we never know when Ji Maeng-ho’s new home run record will come out.]

[Yes. Ji Maeng-ho, who hit his 62nd home run in the last game against Hwasan, was unable to add a single home run in six games? However, he is a player who has the ability to hit a home run at any time, so fans seem to have high expectations.]

[That’s right. Starting from the next game in which Ji Maeng-ho hit his 62nd home run, his hitting was not bad as he recorded 4 hits in 9 at-bats and 16 walks, but he only hit home runs. If the blocked blood vessels are opened, Ji Maeng-ho is a player who can hit 70 home runs.]

[Then, I will call the AT Thunders lineup today. 1st hitter Kim Su-ho, 2nd hitter Ki Ki-joo, 3rd hitter Williams, 4th hitter Ji Maeng-ho, 5th hitter Choi Jin-cheol, 6th hitter Yoon Seong-tae, … …]

[Same lineup as usual, right?]

[Now, I will call out the Hancheol Grizzlies’ defensive lineup. Starting pitcher Na Seung-yoon and catcher Ahn Hoon-chan form the battery…]

[Na Seung-yoon is growing into what baseball fans expected, recording 10 wins even for the 10th-ranked team this season, right? What kind of performance will they show against the AT Thunders, the league’s strongest batting line? .]

[Now the first batter, Kim Su-ho… Out! … Strike out! … Strike out! Na Seung-yoon creates a three-way inning against Kim Su-ho, Ki Ki-joo, and Williams!]

[Na Seung-yoon’s condition looks perfect. Well, maybe we won’t be able to see Ji Maeng-ho achieve a new record today? Haha.]

*

“Whoa, whoa…” .”

“Seungyoon. It’s the beginning of the second inning.”

‘Already.’

Na Seung-yoon, who finished off AT’s strong top-order lineup with a three-way strike, frowned at the fact that his turn had come again without him even having time to catch his breath. However, the change in facial expression lasted only for a moment. Na Seung-yoon managed his facial expression as best as he could and grabbed his gloves.

And, unlike before, he looked quite suitable for the position of a team’s ace.

Two months since the last match against AT. There were times when the coach who believed in him voluntarily resigned, there were times when he achieved 10 wins despite the team’s poor performance, and there were times when he recorded his first shutout since entering the professional ranks. It was a time when he could feel that he had grown as he experienced such things.

However, even while experiencing such growth, one thing he regrets is the stigma of running away from Ji Maeng-ho’s new record. Even though he had a match with Ji Maeng-ho at that time, he regretted the stigma that was still bothering him because he left the mound before pitching even one inning.

And now. Ji Maeng-ho is recording his 62nd home run…

‘Whoa… ‘I will definitely stop it today.’

Seungyoon Na instinctively knew that this was a great opportunity to erase the stigma of that time. His team’s attack in the bottom of the first inning ended so quickly that he didn’t have time to catch his breath, but on the contrary, he was in excellent condition today.

-Ddu du du du~. Some legends are told, Some turn to dust or to gold, But you will remember me (Ji Maeng-ho!) Remember me, for centuries (Ji Maeng-ho!) And just one mistake, Is all it will take, We’ll go down in history(Jimaengho!) Remember me for centuries(Jimaengho!)

As Ji Maeng-ho walked to the plate, he heard Ji Maeng-ho’s entrance song that always made him tremble, but today he was in such a condition that he didn’t feel like he was going to lose. Moreover, Ji Maeng-ho’s records in the second half of the season also showed that he was at an advantage.

‘Yes, my batting average broke .400, and it’s been a week since I haven’t even hit a home run. I am worthy of it.’

Ji Maeng-ho in the second half of the season was not the same Ji Maeng-ho who dominated the league during the first half of the season. The number of strikeouts increased, and the batting average failed to hit .400, as if his devil-like hitting ability was overloaded.

So, he had no reason to be afraid.

‘Shall we take a look at the curveball?’

‘No. From the first pitch, it goes to a fastball. Inside the zone.’

Therefore, the first pitch chosen is a fastball that goes toward the body. It was the first pitch prepared before the game for Ji Maeng-ho, whose rate of watching the first pitch increased in the second half of the game. Although the probability of hitting a long ball was high, it is natural that the number of pitches to choose from increases after throwing a strike with an inside fastball.

It was not a pitch that simply meant not to hit a home run, but a pitch that contained the desire to completely suppress Ji Maeng-ho.

‘Whoo, whoo. Baby, look at your eyes…’

When I saw the look in Ji Maeng-ho’s eyes as he stood at bat, I felt like the fear that had been building up for a while came back. But that was only for a moment, and Na Seung-yoon threw away all those fears and threw the first ball to Ji Maeng-ho.

‘… ‘It’s done!’

The feeling that he threw the best ball he could throw. The feeling that can be felt at the moment of throwing is transmitted through Na Seung-yoon’s fingertips. And that feeling told me that the destination was the highest position in the strike zone on the body side.

However,

Ta – Aak!

Seungyoon Na didn’t know. Ji Maeng-ho in the latter half of his life and Ji Maeng-ho now are completely different people.

‘… ‘Huh?’

Na Seung-yoon’s head automatically turned back with a light hitting sound. A batted ball that you can be sure is a home run the moment it hits.

‘Well, because it’s Jamsil… !’

The only thing you can trust is Jamsil, which can always protect the pitchers. However, before those thoughts were even over, Ji Maeng-ho’s batted ball went over the left wall like a clothesline.

[Ji Maeng-ho’s first pitch hit! This batted ball! Fence! Fence! Let’s go! Home run No. 63! Ji Maeng-ho is once again on top of his record that he set last year! Ji Meng Hao raises his hand! Jamsil responds to Ji Maeng-ho’s one shot!]

[It was a ball that was in full control… He threw well and hit the ball well. Hey, I think the speed was set at 155.3 km/h. Isn’t these Na Seung-yoon’s personal highest speed? But there was nothing I could do in front of Ji Maeng-ho.]

-Waaaaa!!!!!

‘What is it, what is it? What’s wrong? I definitely threw the best ball…’

As he started pitching in elementary school, the best feeling he had ever felt in his life came to his fingertips, and Ji Maeng-ho in the second half of the game was a hitter who rarely touched the first pitch. Moreover, his control was also perfect.

However, as if he was laughing at himself, Ji Maeng-ho lifted the ball at the perfect time and ended up hitting his 63rd home run.

‘Fuck…’

He looked like he was going to cry at the fact that he lost so completely, but Na Seung-yoon held back and received the ball from the catcher. He still had innings to take responsibility for and batters to deal with.

‘Next time…, Next time…’