Chapter 561 – 553. Toward a New Record! (4)

“Strike! Out!”

‘Oh, shit, I’m not feeling well today.’

The score difference was 13-0, but regardless of the team’s big win, I wasn’t in a good mood. The reason is, of course, the performance recorded in today’s game. No hits in two at-bats and two walks. Plus the strikeouts I just recorded. Today’s game was a complete mess.

To make a slight excuse, it is because we moved to Gocheok immediately after playing in Daejeon yesterday. The late move didn’t really matter, but the fact that yesterday’s starter was Tinier, one of the fastest pitchers in the league, was a big problem.

I quickly adjusted my batting timing to deal with Tinie, but today’s pitch from Shilla’s poor starter Yeom Hyeon-gil was underhand with a maximum speed of about 142 km/h, and since it was my first time meeting a pitcher, it was difficult to get the timing of each pitch. As a result, every time I thought I would have hit the right shot, the timing was strangely off, resulting in a bad hit, and I was unable to recover my hitting feeling throughout the game.

Instead, the batting lineup, which had been tied down by Tinie yesterday and barely scored a point with my home run, exploded.

“Thank you! Thank you! Seniors!”

Is that why? I hated to see Junhu making fun of himself after being sure he was the winning pitcher.

“Hey. Is the game over? Come to your senses, asshole.”

“Ah, bro! “If I win today, it’s 10 wins!”

10 wins? Im Jun-hoo? I felt worse. That kid was so blessed that he won 10 games with his skills, but why am I…

“Fuck 10 wins. Never say no. “I can’t believe you won 10 games.”

“Thank you for the compliment~.”

Even when I said harshly that he was happy to have won 10 games, he just laughed it off. What on earth is 10 wins? Why are pitchers so happy about 10 wins? .

“Meng Hao, I don’t think I can even bat anymore… How do you want to go on defense?”

While I was longing for Junhu, the defense coach came up to me and asked me if I wanted to join the defense.

“Ah… “Then I’ll take a break.”

My answer was, of course, OK. The game was tilted, and the coaches had to check that other players were defending, so there was no need to go on defense.

“Yeah, because we only had the bottom of the 9th inning left anyway. Cool your head.”

“Yes.”

“Brother.”

After the conversation with the defense coach was over, Junhu came back to sit next to me.

“Going to the club today? “I’ll shoot for 10 wins.”

“Get out.”

“Ah! Why? Let’s play together.”

“I’m in a bad mood, so get out.”

“… Okay.”

Is it because I feel more depressed when I refuse to go to a club than when I swear? I wonder who it is because I learned it from someone… I felt a little sorry for the coaches who cherished a guy like that as a prospect.

“… Are you really not going?”

“Ah! “Get out of here!”

Of course, it wasn’t that I didn’t like going to the club with Junhu. When we went on an away series, we would often go to the club together for a series in which he was the starter. However, since today was not a good day, I kicked him out with a feeling of shame.

… I definitely didn’t kick him out because I was upset that he got 10 wins and was happy when I threw a no-hitter. Because there was something more important today than going to the club.

Although I would sleep in the away hotel, since I was in Seoul, I had to get a message from Jo Eun and prepare for tomorrow’s game. There was a 99% chance that Wonho would be the starter for tomorrow’s game, and even against Wonho, he couldn’t have recorded a performance like this.

‘But Wonho’s ball is a bit fast, so today’s timing will be enough, right?’

I had a no-hitter today, but the good thing was that Wonho’s pitch was quite fast, reaching in the low to mid 150s, and I had played against him a lot.

“Thank you for your hard work!”

As I was thinking about this and that, the game ended with our victory, and I was able to complete my preparation perfectly by following the routine of getting a massage from Jo Eun and having sex with the women at home.

And before the game starts,

“Everyone please applaud! A legend of the KBA League! This is Woo Kwan-hyung’s final regular season game at Gocheok Dome! Woo Kwan-hyung has the most hits in the league…”

-Wow!!!!

-Clap clap clap!

There was even a retirement tour event commemorating Senior Kwan Hyeong’s last game at Gocheok Dome. After the event, all team members were burning with determination to win today’s game. It was natural for a pro to aim for victory, but today’s match was a little more special.

This is because, along with senior Kwan Hyeong’s retirement tour, the Crongs’ challenge of 20 wins was at stake. From what I heard during the pre-game meeting, it was the first AT pitcher in 20 years to challenge for 20 wins, so the players were burning their will to write the club’s history with their own hands.

“[Ji. I’ll ask you again today.]”

And that burning passion was the same for Crongs. Crongs often said this to me, but he wasn’t the type to say things like this before the game started like today.

The reason is, of course, 20 wins. Since Crongs was planning to return to the major leagues at the end of this year, he seemed to really want to get 20 wins. Or, since he was a pitcher, he could have been obsessed with the symbolism of ’20 wins.’

“[Okay, don’t worry.]”

It’s true, anyway, shaking up the starting pitcher before the game isn’t a good thing, so I answered appropriately.

“[Okay, okay. Hehe. If my grades are this good, I can get twice as much as the offer I received last year. Hehe. I think it was a good choice to stay in Korea to be with you. Ji.]”

And in response to my answer, Crongs smiles brightly, revealing his healthy teeth. It was a tone that was easy to misunderstand whenever I heard it, but since we had become close friends over the past three years, I decided to focus more on at-bats for his sake today.

‘Yes, there is no one who follows me as much as this guy, so I have to use my strength today.’

The game started with such determination.

“Strike! Out!”

“Strike! Out!”

“Strike! Out!”

“Wow, isn’t Wonho joking around today? Sharp, sharp. Meng Hao, you too, be careful.”

At the beginning of the first inning, both Suho and Sangju seniors who played against Wonho said that Wonho’s pitch was unusual. And while I was watching Wonho’s pitch from the waiting box during Williams’ at-bat, I also felt that his pitch was unusual.

‘Why is that bastard like this? You’re throwing with all your might from the first inning? ‘Aren’t you planning on going long today?’

The fastballs Wonho showed in the first inning were all in the low to mid 150s. It seemed like the guy came out with a purpose in mind. Well, it wasn’t that I didn’t understand. His team was fighting for third place, one game behind Hyunsung, and was slightly behind after losing to us in yesterday’s game.

Considering Wonho’s personality, it’s only natural that he would draw out his strength in this situation. And that made me even happier. It’s my hobby to destroy pitchers who come in with all their might.

“Out!”

“Out!”

“Strike! Out!”

Moreover, Wonho wasn’t the only one showing off his strength. The same goes for Crongs, who is on the verge of reaching his 20th win. And in this type of pitching battle, giving me a walk was like declaring that I wanted to lose today’s game. If he gave me, the lead hitter, a walk, he was saying that he wanted to give up one run.

‘Right, Wonho?’

In the top of the second inning, as I walked to the plate and spoke with my eyes, I felt like he was saying yes as well. If this is the case, it’s as if there are no walks. If I was cornered with a three-ball, he had no choice but to throw it in the zone, and all I had to do was wait for the ball.

‘Let’s go slowly, slowly. Don’t judge something just because it looks appetizing. Mr. Rossby?’

‘Yet. … The first pitch is a splitter.’

‘First pitch splitter? ‘Do you want to check the liver?’

He knew he wouldn’t give a walk anyway, so he didn’t need to go for a splitter from the first pitch. Expectations were low because it was difficult to distinguish between balls and strikes. So my choice is to wait.

“Ball.”

Wonho’s splitter hit a sharp point, but it was slightly lower than the zone, so the referee’s hand did not go up.

‘Good. What about the next ball?’

‘It’s a fastball.’

‘Fastball? Is it a high fastball?’

A low splitter followed by a high fastball was a combination like soup, so the possibility was high. It was more likely to wait until the three-ball to hit a home run, but since the goal was to hit a home run anyway, there was no reason not to aim for a high fastball. But wouldn’t it seem like they would make such an obvious move in a situation where they shouldn’t give up even a single point?

Since I didn’t know, I decided to adjust the timing from behind and wait for the guy’s second ball. And within a few seconds of waiting, Wonho’s leg goes up…

‘… ‘It’s coming!’

Perfect!

‘Sweet, it’s a bit off.’

And as expected, Wonho’s second ball was not a high fastball, but a low fastball to the outside, and he swung the bat, but it ended up flying into the stands near first base, creating a foul.

‘One ball, one strike… Write it. It’s a little disappointing. ‘It was so tailored.’

‘It’s two-minded.’

‘Two-centeredness?’

Wonho’s third ball was a two-seam. After listening to the third ball, I felt like I could roughly understand what the battery was thinking when mixing the balls.

Since my batting feeling was bad yesterday, I plan to see how my hitting feels with the first pitch splitter, then fool my eyes with an outside fastball and then fill the count with a two-seamer coming from the outside to the inside.

If my prediction is correct, there was a high probability that this ball was a two-seam ball coming in from the outside. The problem is that Gocheok is also quite wide. Since Wonho’s pitch was at the level of the top class in the country, the probability of him pushing over the Gocheok fence was not that high. If it had been an ordinary pitcher, I would have just pushed it over…

However, there is a high probability that a ground ball will be hit if the outside ball is pulled.

‘Shall I pull it? Should I push? Should I wait?’

Looking at Wonho’s eyes, he seemed ready to throw, so he had to make a quick decision.

‘Okay, just push and hit.’

After much deliberation, the conclusion I came to was a push, which has a high probability of making the ball fly. If this ball entered the zone, it would be a two-strike, one-ball and would have to be dragged to the manned ball, so waiting was the worst move. Then, if he hits a ball that goes out of bounds and becomes a bad hit, it would be a complete loss.

It was obvious that the results would vary greatly depending on the location of the ball that Wonho was currently throwing.

Therefore, the thing with the highest probability now is the push, which has the highest probability of producing a hit.

I left the betting timing behind and waited for Wonho’s third ball.

The guy’s ball was thrown after a short wait. His ball flew outward as expected. And all I can do is swing the bat at the right time as planned before throwing the ball. My bat had already started to go out, and his ball was gradually curved toward the zone at the right time.

‘… ‘Two, three!’

Ta-ah!