Chapter 564 – Episode 556. Toward a New Record! (5)

-Best friend showdown! This time, Kim Won-ho laughs!

… In this match between Kim Won-ho and Ji Maeng-ho, best friends who had been together for four years, including paid periods in high school, Kim Won-ho laughed. When Kim Won-ho and Ji Maeng-ho were at Korea Sports High School, they played as the team’s ace and number 4 hitter, and together they won three competitions, including the Golden Lion, Blue Dragon, and Phoenix Flag… … Although Kim Won-ho hit a home run from Ji Maeng-ho, he tied up the AT batting lineup by allowing only one run in 9 innings, and won the game through Park Cheol-young’s walk-off double in the bottom of the 9th inning…

After the game, seeing Ji Maeng-ho smiling after hitting a home run and Kim Won-ho crying after the game, one netizen commented, “Ji Maeng-ho laughed but cried, and Kim Won-ho cried but laughed.” …

┗Hmm, Kim Won-ho also laughed after hitting a home run?

┗┗Aren’t you laughing because it’s ridiculous? Even if it were me, I would laugh if I threw a ball like that and hit a home run haha

┗? Why is Meng Tiger crying? I was laughing so hard because I hit a home run?

┗┗ㄹㅇ Only Crongs is in tears of blood hahaI came out aiming for 20 wins, but I gave up no runs in 8 innings and nodish haha

┗What is a netizen? ㅅㅂ The bastard is writing down what he has to say again

┗Wow, the 23rd draft is tough. It’s crazy about Maeng Ho-sin, Kim Won-ho, and even Jang Woo-joo.

┗┗Why was 10-win pitcher Lim Jun-hoo removed?

┗┗Flower snake, get out of here ㅅㅂ

┗┗Those three will definitely go to the majors, the question is when they will go.

┗┗First of all, Meng Hosin will leave after the 4th year, and the rest will spend another year or two in Korea.

┗ To be honest, when Kim Won-ho debuted, he was buried because his classmates were monsters, but his talent seems to be the strongest among pitchers of his age

┗┗ㄹㅇ Jang Woo-joo throws 100 mph, but Kim Won-ho wins everything except velocity

–
AT

Thunders! Forget your loss and win 1! 92 wins achieved!

-AT Thunders! Just one more win will tie the record for most wins in the league!

[AT Thunders! He has won 2 games in a row against JT and recorded his 93rd win of the season! AT Thunders tie the record for most wins in the KBA League!]

[Today, Ji Maeng-ho’s new home run record was not broken, but it will be a good day for AT fans as the AT Thunders achieved a new league record and a tie record.]

[Plus, there are still 7 games left for AT Thunders, right? I wonder how many more wins the AT Thunders can achieve. Haha.]

[If you win 7 games in a row, you can reach a 70% season win rate and reach 100 wins, but will you be able to achieve that record? .]

[The AT Thunders’ remaining games are two games against the UG Overlords, two games against the Mirae Buffaloes, two games against the Hancheol Grizzlies, and one game against the Shilla Triggers. We will have to watch the AT Thunders’ moves in the future.]〈 Br〉

-AT Thunders! Achieved 93 wins in the season!

… AT Thunders achieved their 93rd win of the season in this game, setting the record for most wins in a KBA League season with 7 games remaining until the end of the season. In the history of the KBA League, there is only one team that achieved 93 wins, the Hancheol Grizzlies, who achieved 93 wins in 2016 and 2018… Meanwhile, Ji Maeng-ho is still stuck on his 68th home run…

-Record party? 7 games remaining, AT Thunders keep running!

… Meanwhile, coach Lee Soo-hyun seemed perplexed, saying, “I want to give the starting players a rest, but the players also want to play because they want to achieve the same record as the most wins in the season.” Meanwhile, in addition to team records, AT Thunders is also aiming for various records for individual players.

… AT Thunders’ ace Krongs is preparing for the next game to achieve the 20 wins he failed to achieve in the last game… Ji Maeng-ho currently has 68 home runs, 134 runs, 186 RBI, and a batting average of .400. Will Ji Maeng-ho be able to achieve the milestone of 70 home runs, new scores, new RBI records, and a batting average of .400 for three consecutive years? …

– Will ‘Devil of Literature’ Ji Maeng-ho be able to surpass 70 home runs in literature?

… Meanwhile, Ji Maeng-ho, who is only 2 home runs away from 70 home runs and 5 home runs away from the world record 73 home runs, will face his final match against UG at Munhak Stadium. Ji Maeng-ho’s record in literature was so good that he was called a nightmare by UG fans. He hit 4 home runs in one game, 4 home runs in one day in a doubleheader, etc… Fans are interested in how many home runs Ji Maeng-ho will hit in literature…

[… This hit is a true hit! Williams’ batted ball splits the outfield and the runner on third base gets home! The runner on second base is also home! Williams to second base! AT Thunders start with 2 points in the top of the 1st inning! And Ji Maeng-ho enters second base with no outs. … Walk. The AT Thunders take the opportunity to reach first and second base with no outs again.]

[Well, from UG’s perspective, there was no reason to compete with Ji Maeng-ho, right? It was difficult, but Ji Maeng-ho persevered.]

[With this walk, I recorded 205 walks in one season.]

[The world’s highest record is the 232 walks Bonds recorded in the Major League in 2004, but it seems difficult for Ji Maeng-ho to surpass this record, right? Instead, I hope we can surpass Bonds’ record of 73 home runs in a season, which he set in 2001. There are 7 games left including today, and Ji Maeng-ho is a batter who can easily hit 6 home runs in 7 games.]

[The moment I speak, Choi Jin-cheol’s strike! A slow hit, the shortstop gives up second base and throws to first base. Now, 1 out, 2nd and 3rd bases. … Seongtae Yoon’s batting ball is high! Grab right field, tag up! AT Thunders make it 3-0 by scoring one more point!]

-Ssssscore increases haha

┗If you get more points, you will now compete with the fierce tiger, right?

┗┗ㄴㄴ It’s uneasy to be down by 3 points. You have to score at least 6 to 7 points to win the game.

┗┗Ha, fuck, now it’s Literature 2, Gwangju 2, and Jamsil 3? You need to hit at least 3 to 4 points in literature

┗┗I just believe in the fierce god of tigers. In literature, this kid is the one who hits a home run every at-bat if he is in good condition. The average distance of a floating batted ball is the distance of a literary wall

┗┗Baby? Is Meng Tiger your friend?

[… Ji Maeng-ho’s second at-bat, … Strike out!!]

[Ah, the swing was big just now. I made up my mind to take a swing, but I was aiming for a home run too blatantly, right? Ji Maeng-ho himself is laughing, probably out of embarrassment. Haha.]

[The strikeout scene appears again.]

[It was wide open, right? It’s a splitter, but the splitter didn’t come down properly and came up high. There was a misfire and I missed this ball. Ji Maeng-ho himself must be very disappointed.]

-ㅅㅂ In literature, just keep it compact

┗That bastard seems to be in a hurry because the record is coming

┗┗ㅋㅋㅋ Those people in the corner of the room are giving advice to Meng Hosinㅋㅋㅋ

┗┗A sharp ‘criticism’?

[… Ji Maeng-ho’s third at-bat, … Walk. Ji Maeng-ho gets a walk on a full count.]

[You look dissatisfied. I want to hit it, but I can’t reach the ball that far away even if I extend my bat, right? Am I the only one who feels like he would have swung the bat if it weren’t for the full count? Haha.]

[… Seongtae Yoon with two outs! You hit it! This ball flies high! A fence! Let’s go! AT Thunders widen the score gap to 7:2! Seongtae Yoon’s 19th home run of the season!]

[Hey, actually, Seongtae Yoon was a prospect that AT Thunders cherished a lot, right? As he got the opportunity under manager Lee Soo-hyun, he grew into a slugging shortstop who could hit 20 home runs in Jamsil. When the Keystone duo hits home runs like this, the team can’t help but feel reassured.]

– Haha, I feel sorry for Shaalcheop too. The shortstop hit 19 shots in Jamsil, but he was buried by the fierce guardㅠㅠ

┗But the core of our team is Seongtae Yoon hahaAll the veterans are getting older and Maeng Ho-sin is going to go to the majors and in the end, Seongtae will have to do it in 3–4 years haha

┗┗If that bastard doesn’t show up against Charlotte, he’ll be a shitty shortstop haha

┗┗But honestly, if you look at the records of fierce defenders and look at their intelligence, they look shabby haha

[… Ji Maeng-ho’s fourth at-bat, … You hit it! Fence! Let’s go! Home run No. 69! Ji Maengho! Score 9:3! Ji Maeng-ho’s home run that fans have been waiting for comes in just his fourth at-bat!]

[It’s a good home run. It was a home run worthy of Ji Maeng-ho. Now that it’s his 69th home run, if he hits just one more, he can reach the milestone of 70-70 club, right? Ji Maeng-ho is currently recording 72 stolen bases?]

[I’ll have to look forward to seeing if we can actually hit a record of 70-70 today.]

*

‘Oh, fuck. I finally hit one.’

In addition to not being able to hit a single home run in the previous games, I was anxious because I felt like I had to hit at least 2 to 3 since I came to Munhak, but hitting a home run like this made me feel a little more stable.

“Good job, Meng Hao. And congratulations on number 69.”

“Thank you.”

“Let’s get to 74 home runs!”

“Yes!”

The coaches and seniors must have seen that I was impatient, so they all congratulated me. When I saw the seniors who had always nagged me congratulating me, it seemed like everyone was worried about me. Still, do you feel any affection after being together for three years?

JT I was getting a little impatient because I hadn’t hit a home run in 3 games before, but after hitting a home run, I felt relieved.

‘After all, literature is good.’

It was my fifth at-bat that I went into with such peace of mind. In the top of the 8th inning, UG’s sixth pitcher came on the mound. The name of the pitcher on the mound is Ye Seung-won. At the meeting, he was a rookie pitcher with only a few videos, although we saw him in the pitcher entry list.

“Is he a rookie last year? Or this year?”

“… This year.”

“What are you good at throwing?”

“… “Why are you asking me that?”

“Hey, it’s been a while since I last saw you, but you’re cold.”

I tried to talk to Kyung-ho, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, to get information about the new pitcher, but he was still cold.

“Mr. Kyung-ho, are you retiring after this year?”

“Under… “I’ll take care of it, so don’t talk to me.”

“Why don’t you just play until next year instead? Still, I think Kyung-ho is better than most other catchers…”

“…”

‘It’s a fastball.’

While I was chatting with Kyung-ho, whom I hadn’t seen in such a long time, it seemed like Kyung-ho had completed the exchange of autographs like a veteran.

‘Okay. Fastball from the first pitch?’

To be honest, since he was a pitcher I don’t remember, I couldn’t tell how much velocity he had, so I decided to watch the first pitch and wait for his pitch. Wait like that for a few seconds. The pitcher must have been nervous and spent as much time pitching as possible before finally lifting his foot.

And the first pitch was thrown…

‘… Huh?’

I decided to wait, but I reflexively swung the bat when I felt a mid-140 ball go into the zone.

Perfect!

‘Are you late?’

Because I saw it and hit it, it felt like I was hit slightly behind the original hitting point… The batted ball flew toward right field and was gradually curved to the right.

‘Are you going out? ‘Are you leaving?’

Fortunately, there was no heaviness felt at the moment of hitting, so the ball flew straight out, and all the attention in the baseball stadium was focused on the ball I hit. The only thing left is a home run or a foul.

Tung!

And the batted ball hits the pole and falls back into the ground.

-Waaaaa!!!!!!!

At the same time, the cheers of the fans who had been waiting for my home run echoed through Munhak Stadium once again.

‘Fuck! ‘This is why I like literature!’

Even if the stadium was just a little bigger, the ball would have gone beyond the foul line. How could any batter not love a stadium where the ball could go over the fence even if it was hit at such a late timing? I once again admired the loveliness of Munhak Stadium and enjoyed my 70th home run.

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

‘Bones, wait. Ji Maeng-ho is going!’

‘Tsk, I can’t believe I got over 70 in a league like this that’s not even a major league…’

Mr. Rossby has a point, but he doesn’t listen. No matter what anyone says, a record is a record.

‘Anyway, I’m grumpy for no reason. Just wait. ‘I will pass it on to the majors as well.’

Four to go. There really isn’t much left now.