Chapter 592 – Episode 584. Coronation. (4)
[… Lim Jun-hoo allowed lead hitter Lee Yong-gi to get on base, but finished the inning with no runs without allowing the batters to get on base! The game goes into the top of the 7th inning. … Top of the 7th inning, Oz still on Volcano Mound. AT’s attack in the top of the 7th inning begins with 5th batter Yoon Seong-tae.]
[From AT’s point of view, we have to lower the odds here, but it doesn’t seem easy, right?]
[Oz’s current pitch count is 84. The most pitches this season is 126.]
[Oz is a player who can throw a complete game at any time.]
[… Seongtae Yoon… Hyunseong Kim, … With Baek Jeong-jin out, Frank Oz continues to show his best by making a three-way inning in the top of the 7th inning! The score remains 3:3! And the game continues in the bottom of the 7th inning with the Volcano Falcons attacking. … Today’s second pitcher, Lim Jun-hoo, stands on AT’s mound.]
[Lim Jun-hoo and Park Jun-hyung, who started today, were not in very good condition, but he is showing good performance as the second pitcher, right?]
[From Hwasan’s perspective, we need to get Lim Jun-hoo down quickly, right?]
[Yes. Of course, coach Lee Soo-hyun is unlikely to keep Lim Jun-hoo that long. Lim Jun-hoo came on the mound in the bottom of the fourth inning with two outs and faced eight batters? I think he’ll probably get off the mound after the batting lineup goes around once.]
[Hwasan’s attack in the bottom of the 7th inning begins with the 8th batter, Kim Seung-sik. … Out! Lim Jun-hoo catches Kim Seung-sik with a fly to center field! And here, coach Lee Soo-hyun goes up to the mound.]
[You changed the ball, right? This is standard pitcher replacement timing.]
[The pitcher who came up is Park Jin-hyuk, a man whom coach Lee Soo-hyun trusts.]
[Did Park Jin-hyuk take care of the dirty work this season? AT’s setup man is Kang Se-ho, but according to Manager Lee Soo-hyun’s interview, he said that in a crisis situation, excluding the closer, he will bring up the strongest bullpen? And it was Jinhyuk Park who put out the lights in every crisis situation.]
[Park Jin-hyuk is on the mound, and number 9 hitter Han Seong-jin is at bat. … Out! Jinhyuk Park records the second out count! … Swing strike out! Park Jin-hyuk clears out difficult hitter Kim Joo-yeop with a strikeout! The game now heads to the AT Thunders’ attack in the top of the 8th inning! … Top of the 8th inning, Oz is still on Volcano Mound. And at’s at-bat, a pinch hitter replaces 8th batter Jeong Hwi-cheol!]
[Here, there is only one batter that coach Lee Soo-hyun can serve as a pinch hitter, right?]
[The cheers are already pouring in! Fans visiting Daejeon raise their voices towards AT’s heartthrob, Woo Kwan-hyeong.]
[You will have to watch the game more to find out, but Woo Kwan-hyung has announced his intention to retire at the end of this season, so if today’s game is the last game, this could be Woo Kwan-hyung’s last active at-bat.]
[This could possibly be the legend’s last at-bat. With the score tied at 3:3, what kind of batting will Woo Gwan-hyung, who has always defended the AT Thunders in the same position for 24 years, shown? .]
*
Just before the top of the 8th inning began, Woo Gwan-hyung saw Lee Soo-hyun approaching him while he was swinging the bat in a corner and intuitively felt that it was his turn.
In the top of the 8th inning, the leadoff batter is Jeong Hwi-cheol. Although he had the ability to make contact, he was a junior who was weak against a fastball pitcher like Oz, and considering Suho and Maengho waiting behind him, now was the time to use him.
“Hyung Kwan. Oz, are you confident?”
The manager said that he wanted to use a pinch hitter in this at-bat as he expected.
“Of course. “Director.”
At those words, Wu Kwan-hyeong nodded his head willingly, confident as always. And there was a reason for that confidence.
The training Woo Kwan-hyung did throughout the Korean Series was to match the timing of Shin Su-ho’s fast balls, and Oz’s velocity was in the mid-150s, similar to Shin Su-ho’s velocity. Of course, the pitching form was different and the release point and extension were different, but it wasn’t a big problem.
Woo Kwan-hyung was a hitter who appeared in 2,847 games and had 11,394 at-bats over 24 seasons.
During those many at-bats, Woo Kwan-hyung recorded 3,206 hits. Woo Gwan-hyeong was the hitter with the most at-bats in Korea and the hitter with the most hits.
“Please. “As always.”
“Don’t worry.”
Therefore, Woo Gwan-hyeong’s answer could not help but be trustworthy. And then the top of the 8th inning began. As Woo Kwan-hyung leaves the dugout, AT fans gathered near third base cheer louder.
-Woo Kwan-hyung! Woo Gwan-hyung! Woo Gwan-hyung!
The visiting fans also knew that this at-bat could be his last active at-bat, so they began chanting Woo Kwan-hyung’s name with a voice no less loud than Jamsil’s. Woo Kwan-hyung took a quick look at the fans and walked slowly, unlike usual.
This could have been his last active at-bat. He wanted to give his fans a chance to shout his name one more time, and he wanted to engrave that image in their eyes and in their memories.
‘It’s a good thing I didn’t retire after last year’s Kosi. I almost forgot this scene.’
Last year’s Korean Series was the first time he participated in the Korean Series since he was a rookie, so he ran for victory without any time to reflect on the fans. And after holding the Korean Series MVP, which I had dreamed of, I impulsively announced my retirement.
But, now. As his last at-bat was right in front of him, he became grateful again to manager Lee Soo-hyun, who had dissuaded him from retiring.
-Invincible A! T! Woo Gwan-hyung! Whoa, whoa! Whoa, whoa!
And the cheering song is heard one beat faster than usual, as if it knows how you feel. No, normally he would have been heard the moment he came to bat, but he was slow in his steps. Woo Kwan-hyung looked at Lee Yong-gi and the umpire with a sorry heart, but the two also felt that this at-bat would be Woo Kwan-hyung’s last at-bat, so they waited for Woo Kwan-hyung to walk without any prompting.
And the moment you step on the white line of the plate,
‘Whoa, let’s focus. Because it’s not over yet.’
Woo Gwan-hyung erased all his miscellaneous thoughts and returned to his usual Woo Gwan-hyung. That’s it for the sentimental end. Because now it was time to become a batsman, Woo Gwan-hyung.
“I’m sorry I’m late. “My legs don’t move well.”
“… It’s okay.”
After giving a short apology to Lee Yong-gi, who was waiting for him, Woo Gwan-hyung took his usual stance.
The ball you are aiming for is the first pitch.
In general, it is an established belief in the baseball world that as you get older, your bat speed cannot keep up with the speed of your fastball. Are you asking a pitcher who throws a mid-150 fastball against a 43-year-old veteran to give him a breaking ball? There was no fastball pitcher in the world who would accept such a ball combination.
Like right now.
‘You’re shaking your head…’ . You don’t like this, right? Yes, you want to hit the fastball too. Come in.’
Oz continued to shake his head at Lee Yong-gi’s autograph. Oz’s pitch count was 101. It was clear that he didn’t want to waste the number of pitches on useless balls when every pitch was precious.
As Wu Kwan-hyeong watched Oz like that, he kept repeating the timing in his head. And the bridge of Oz rises slowly. As soon as his leg touched the ground, Oz’s first pitch was thrown toward the strike zone.
… Without even knowing that Woo Kwan-hyung was aiming for the ball.
Perfect!
With a sound as if it had been eaten, the batted ball exquisitely exceeds the height of the shortstop and lands in front of the left fielder. It was a lucky hit and a bit shabby to think that it was the last at-bat for a player who recorded 400 home runs and 3,206 hits during his 24-year career, but for Woo Kwan-hyung, this hit is better than all the hits he has hit so far. It felt precious.
[Woo Kwan-hyung succeeds in getting on base as the leadoff hitter! Woo Kwan-hyung appeared as a pinch hitter! We present a precious hit to AT!]
[This is Woo Kwan-hyung! A hitter who can produce hits whenever the team needs them! In fact, there were people who disparaged Woo Kwan-hyung because he didn’t go to the fall baseball game or because he didn’t win the championship. But look at the at-bat now. Woo Kwan-hyung is this kind of player.]
[Yes. The heart of AT! Achieved the milestone of 3,000 hits, 400 home runs, and 400 stolen bases! And Woo Kwan-hyung, who won last year’s Korean Series MVP, shows his true value here! Woo Kwan-hyung completes his mission and is replaced by pinch runner Kim Jong-hoon. AT fans give a standing ovation to Woo Kwan-hyung’s hit.]
His last hit as a player. And the last game. He wanted to hit the home run himself, but he couldn’t afford to do that for the team’s victory. Because the score is still tied. But that didn’t mean I was worried.
As he was returning to the dugout, there was a trustworthy junior who came out of the dugout and walked to the stand-by batting box to say hello.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Yes, Meng Hao. Please.”
In his debut season, a dependable junior who made a dream he had been unable to achieve for 21 years a reality. When someone asks, ‘Do you like baseball?’, He was unable to proudly say what kind of fan he was. The junior made it possible for the discouraged fans to confidently say the name of their favorite team.
And the batsman who surpassed himself and became AT’s symbol just three years after his debut.
Woo Gwan-hyeong believed in Ji Maeng-ho.
Ji Meng-ho’s last at-bat will be the last of his career. And he believed more than anyone else that he would not miss the opportunity and solve it.
Therefore, after returning to the dugout, Woo Gwan-hyeong received congratulations from his teammates and began to watch the remaining game with a relaxed mind.
[… Kim Su-ho’s hit! AT Thunders drive momentum and produce consecutive hits! … This is where pitchers are replaced. … The changed pitcher is Hwasan’s closer Shin Su-ho. With no outs on first and second base, the league’s best closer and the league’s best hitter face off.]
“Meng Hao! Let’s finish it!”
“One home run won’t wake them up!”
“Ji Maeng-ho fighting!”
Colleagues cheering each other on. Woo Kwan-hyung, who was in the group, called out Ji Maeng-ho’s name as if he were a fan.
Ta – Aak!
Ji Maeng-ho kicked up Shin Su-ho’s third ball. A white dot flies quickly over the red sky that is slowly turning black and lands on the stands in the outfield. And Ji Meng Hao raises one of his arms.
[The batted ball stretched straight out! Jump over the fence! Ji Maeng-ho’s three runs! This score is big! Score 6:3!]
Woo Gwan-hyeong was so impressed by the sight of the batsman turning his beliefs into reality that he felt proud of joining this club once again.
[This score is big. I think this score will be the deciding factor in the game.]
[AT’s heart, Ji Maeng-ho, who hits a home run without missing the opportunity provided by Woo Kwan-hyung! Even if Woo Kwan-hyung retires, the AT Thunders still have Ji Maeng-ho!!]