Chapter 609 – Episode 596. Probably the Strongest.

Cuba.

Although I didn’t know much about the country, one thing I kept hearing from a young age was that Cuba was the strongest country in amateur baseball. Other than that, during international competitions, there are players who run away from the national team to the opponent’s dugout and go into exile?

Honestly, there has been a lot of talk in the media and other places saying that Cuba is a strong team, but I feel like that’s it? The country I wanted was Cuba. Maybe it’s because they had a record of losing a cold game against Cuba in the preliminaries at last year’s Olympics, but isn’t this a country that you wouldn’t think of as being that good at baseball?

However, today I was able to clearly see why Cuba holds the title of being the best in baseball.

“Swing strike! Out!”

“Oh, shit! Isn’t this Balk?”

“[What? Speak in English!]”

“[No, when the pitcher throws the ball like that, isn’t it a balk?]”

“[What kind of two-shot balk is thrown like that in the major leagues?]”

A kid with such amateur-like pitching form is guarding the starting mound. Isn’t that probably why it was given the title of being the best in baseball? It was definitely like that. It was clear that the country was nurturing youngsters who threw in such shitty form in amateur leagues.

Even as a top professional player, it’s hard for me to get my timing right, and it certainly seemed like it would be hard to deal with a bunch of guys like that at the Ama Baseball level.

“Meng Hao, how are you?”

“Ah… “I can’t get the timing right?”

Siwoo, the 4th hitter, came into the waiting box and asked me how the ball was, but there wasn’t much I could answer. I didn’t feel like I couldn’t hit the ball at all, but the timing wasn’t right with my bat at all.

When trying to throw the ball, he would stop his foot and wait for 2–3 seconds, or he would suddenly straighten his foot at a right angle and throw the ball, etc., And he used such catching techniques, so his ball was completely unpredictable. What was even more annoying was that the velocity of the left-handed pitcher was around 150, so the ball was clearly visible, causing cognitive dissonance in my head and body.

“Well, Seung-cheol and Joo-tae also said that hitters they see for the first time may not be able to get the timing right.”

As if Siwoo was trying to comfort me, he told me something he had heard during the pre-game meeting, but he didn’t comfort me at all. As I left Siwoo behind and entered the dugout, Seonghyeon, today’s starting pitcher, approached me.

“How about Cortes? Isn’t it tight?”

“Under… It’s really tough. Why do they throw the ball like that?”

Haha. There are pitchers that even you can’t hit. “Cortez throws well.”

Senior Seonghyun answers my words with a smile. Maybe it was because we had played together for the Yankees, but it felt good to see Cortes pitching well.

“Still, your junior struck out, so aren’t you really happy?”

“It’s because I look more like a human now. Why?”

“… But, it’s definitely tough. Do all Cuban kids throw the ball like that? They say he’s probably the strongest, but there’s definitely a reason. I don’t think it was like this during the Olympics. “Is that how they teach baseball in Cuba?”

“What are you talking about? He’s completely American. As far as I know, you’ve been living in America since you were young?”

“… Really?”

“We ran together, and of course it was real. “Why would you lie about something like that?”

“…”

‘… Wasn’t he probably the strongest because he was taught like that? Then, is that guy just throwing shit like that?’

… Just a moment to wonder.

“Juseungcheoul!!”

“And! Went! Went! “I’m gone!”

“Nice!”

“Let’s go!”

My doubts ended with Seungcheol’s cool blow from his older brother. A two-run hit from the top of the first inning. Senior Joo-tae hit a hit and Seung-cheol hit a home run, and the major-leaguers succeeded in scoring two points.

‘Ah…, Fuck. I was the only one who couldn’t hit it.’

“Nice…”

“What is Ji Maeng-ho’s voice? Why is it so small?”

“Nice ugh!!! Joo Seung-cheol, you crazy bastard!! “You hit it so damn well!!!!!”

I was in a good mood, but since I was a junior, I reacted louder than anyone else to Seungcheol’s home run.

“Hey, your voice was louder than the cheering.”

And my voice seemed to have been heard by Seungcheol, who was playing the bases, when he returned after hitting a home run and spoke to me with a smile.

“My younger brother should speak up like this. But, bro. How did you hit it? “I can’t seem to get the timing right.”

Honestly, I could understand Senior Joo Tae’s timing. I heard that you played against him a few times while playing in the major leagues for several years.

However, it was last year that Seungcheol advanced to the majors, and I only had the experience of playing against him once. Since he wasn’t the kind of guy who could get his timing right just once, I wanted to know the secret to how he hit a home run.

“It’s hard to get the timing right, but it’s okay if you just watch and play, right? Ah, but the structure is weaker than I thought, so I guess you can just float it and get over it?”

“… Really?”

I think it might be possible to hit it without Mr. Rossby’s help… When I received help from Mr. Rossby, I swung the bat after thinking about the bending angle and timing of the velocity, so I had no choice but to be weak in improvisation, but I thought I could make up for that if I hit on my own.

“Strike! Out!”

… It won’t be easy to see Siwoo strike out. Moreover, senior Han Beom also hit an infield grounder, and our offense ended in the top of the first inning with a 2-0 lead.

A score difference of 2 points. It was an ambiguous score difference; if it was big, it would be big, if it was small it would be small, but fortunately, Seonghyun senior seemed to be in pretty good condition today.

“Out!”

“Out!”

“Out!”

Although he is old, Sunghyun is still Sunghyun. Senior Seonghyun blocked Cuba’s top batting lineup with a three-way strike. Looking at you throwing the ball today, does it feel like you can hit it without any pressure?

The two-point score difference was maintained until my next at-bat, and my second at-bat came with senior Joo-tae on first base with one out and a walk.

‘Mr. Rossby, I’ll play it by myself this time.’

‘Hehe, do you think you can do that?’

‘… I have to try something.’

To be honest, I was a little anxious, but in a way, this was an opportunity. He was a guy who couldn’t hit even with Mr. Rossby’s help, but he hits on his own? If that were done, Mr. Rossby’s high arrogance could be broken.

‘I fell behind. ‘You fucking bastard.’

Deciding to push Mr. Rossby’s nose, I slowly waited for his ball for a few seconds. The guy slowly started to raise his feet.

‘I shook it here for about 2 or 3 seconds… ?’

At that time, when I was waiting and thinking about the pitching form he showed in the previous at-bat,

‘Huh?’

Without any fuss, the guy threw the ball right away. The guy’s ball was thrown in a situation where he wasn’t mentally prepared… It was clear that even if he hit it, the timing wouldn’t be right, so he lets the ball go.

“Strike!”

And the result is a strike.

“Oh, shit. “You really are throwing everything.”

“What? Si Bal?”

“[I’m talking to myself. I wasn’t swearing.] Ha, thanks to Netflix, I understand everything.”

… Plus, he’s a sensitive judge. The situation was a total disaster. In that situation, he threw the second ball,

“Ball.”

“Three leaves!”

Senior Joo-tae runs to second base and becomes second base with one out. When I was a batter, our team’s basic strategy was not to leave first base empty, but running to second base meant that Joo-tae saw my condition today and decided that it would be beneficial to just get on base today.

And even in a situation where first base was empty, automatic intentional out-of-field calls were not made. I decided that these bastards were capable of dealing with me.

‘Under… Even treatment like this. Are you upset?’

Heat suddenly rises in my head. However, in situations like this, you have to be calm. I adjusted the bat and waited for his ball again.

‘Let’s not think about pitching form. The ball comes my way anyway.’

No matter how much I shake my legs, the ball has to leave my hand to reach me. So if you just focus on your hands…

… At the same time as I thought this, the guy’s right foot opened, folded, opened, folded. It went back, it went forward, it started shaking.

‘… Fuck, I can’t concentrate. Really. Uh? Fuck!’

Then, at a completely unexpected moment, a hand pops out from the side!

Perfect!

I reacted instinctively, but the timing was delayed, and the ball curved into the stands near first base. The count is one ball, one strike. Now, rather than wanting to hit a home run, the thought of wanting to hit the guy in the head dominates my mind.

‘Whew, let’s hold on. Let’s be patient. Calm down. Ji Maeng-ho. Let’s calm down.’

I overcome that evil temptation and come to my senses once again.

‘Maybe it’s because I’ve seen the ball a lot, but I think I know the timing to a certain degree now…’

Anyway, the time it took for the ball to leave my hand and reach the mitt was similar to other pitchers, so I’m starting to get a feel for the situation… It seemed like he could hit it well if he didn’t look at the guy’s feet.

‘… Should I really close my eyes and hit it?’

At times like this, why do I suddenly remember the eyepatch game I played with Jo Eun? If he could, he wanted to close his eyes, so he wouldn’t see the guy’s lower body, but he couldn’t, so he kept his eyes focused on the guy’s hand as much as possible and waited for the fourth ball.

All I can see is his hand. As the hand slowly moves forward, a white object flies out of the guy’s hand.

‘… ‘Now!’

Perfect!

‘Oh, fuck! ‘Change ball!’

However, the ball left his hand and started to sink slowly in the middle position, and although I tried to hit it by tightening my waist, it wasn’t the right timing.

“Uh? Huh?”

Still, as Seungcheol said, the pitch wasn’t very good, and the ball flew quite far, giving me some hope.

“Out!”

In the end, he was caught by the center fielder near the fence, resulting in an out.

“Oh, fuck!”

I ran to first base with little hope, but had no choice but to go back into the dugout, swearing.

‘Hehe, even though I’m here, I can’t play. Did you think I’d be alone?’

‘Shut up! Still, I got the timing right, right?’

The only failure this time was because I was focusing only on his hands and missed the breaking ball. However, as I was getting the hang of it, I felt like I would be able to hit his ball over the fence in my next at-bat. Because I was able to get a feel for it to some extent through this at-bat.

‘See you next time at bat, motherfucker.’

So, I kept thinking about his timing in my head as I looked forward to the next at-bat, and the game went on with the score remaining at 2:0 thanks to Seonghyun’s good pitching.

The third at-bat after that.

“Base on balls!”

This time, perhaps because I was a bit used to it, I tolerated his breaking balls and got a walk, and as I ran straight to third base, I scored one more run, bringing the score to 3:0.

‘Good. I have a clear sense of it now. ‘Maybe I’ll hit a real home run next time at bat?’

Moreover, I was gaining confidence that I could hit his ball reliably.

“[Time! Replacing the pitcher!]”

… Just real confidence. I couldn’t turn this confidence into reality because he left the mound without giving me a chance for revenge.

“Good! The selection goes down!”

“Is it already 95?”

So, before my 4th at-bat, he threw all 95 pitches and left the mound.

‘Ah, you fucking bastard! Are you running away from this? I really was able to hit it this time… !’

All the other players were happy when the opponent’s starting pitcher, who gave up 3 runs in 6.2 innings, went down, but I couldn’t help but curse and feel defeated because I couldn’t get revenge on him.

“Out!”

‘Ha, fuck, today really sucks…’

And in his fourth at-bat with a new pitcher, he was so focused on Cortés, who was throwing in such a bad form, that he couldn’t get his hitting timing back and flew out. However, unlike my situation, the team finished the game with a score gap of 3:1, giving up only 1 run over 9 innings, and I did not get to bat anymore.

“Out!”

“Nice! It’s the finals!”

“Let’s win this time!”

“Let’s just do it like we did in the Olympics! Just like the Olympics!”

“Meng Hao, straighten your expression. “If anyone sees it, they’ll think we lost.”

In that way, Cuba, the best team in baseball, humiliated me and lost to us without even giving me a chance to take revenge, so I packed my bags and my team, excluding me, started preparing for the next game, happily worrying about who our opponent in the finals would be.