Chapter 61 – Episode 61. There Must Be No 1st Nominee Who Can’t Even Hit a 2nd Pitcher, Right? (3)

Kim Jin-hoo, I remember hearing the name somewhere…. Well, what are you doing thinking about this? I cleared my mind and focused on the pitcher.

Deep!

With a cheerful sound, the ball hit by the batter split between 1st and 2nd base and landed in front of the right fielder.

‘That guy is pretty good. It’s a blow worth seeing.’

‘Yoon Seong-tae?’

It was not uncommon for Rossby to give a compliment. Well, from my point of view, except for Woo Kwan-hyung, Yoon Seong-tae’s skills were good.

From what I saw while training in the same group as him during finish camp, he was a good hitter and good defender. Besides, when he was training with the Keystone duo, he got along well.

Although, it was annoying that it stuck to me a little bit after the first day.

“Hello. Director.”

“Now I should call you coach, not the manager.”

“Ah, it became a habit.”

He greeted Lee Ki-cheol, the 2nd division battery coach who served as today’s referee, and stood at bat.

‘Looking at her expression, I think she’s pretty good.’

‘Okay? I’ve heard that they use morning sickness as an excuse to pamper them.’

Hehe, if you’re a man, you’ll be happy when you see your seed grow healthy. Of course, it’s not Ji’s sonhehe’

Well, I was glad that Lee Ki-chul was good. It’s good for me if I raise my children well.

“Play ball!”

When everything was ready, Gicheol Lee sent the start sign.

‘Now, concentrate!’

Yesterday, in the game without Rosby, I came out in two at-bats and only got one walk, so today I wanted to hit a home run to flatten Rosby’s nose.

‘A two-seam in the early to mid-140km/h slider, curve, and changeup.’

I etched the characteristics of the pitcher I heard before the game into my head once again, and matched the rhythm with the timing of the pitcher I saw in the waiting at-bat.

The pitcher’s first pitch flew high and dazzled my eyes. But I’ve seen a lot of high fastballs hitting my upper swing, so I was able to filter them out lightly.

“Cheek.”

‘I think I’ve learned how to watch the ball now.’

‘I’ve seen this kind of ball too many times.’

And the second ball that followed, the pitcher threw the ball at a fast tempo as if he would not give me time to think.

Huh!

“Strike!”

Uh? Was it the right timing?

“What’s the ball?”

“Changeup. Embarrassed? Senior Jinhoo throws his two-seam and changeup at the same perfect timing, so the kids who see him for the first time are at a loss.”

“Ah yes.”

Was it a changeup? It looked like a fastball. After all, even if you are in the 2nd army, is it a progin prong? However, when I thought about the changeup, I thought I wouldn’t be able to respond to the fastball, so I erased the changeup from my mind.

One strike one ball. Would you like to throw a manned ball? With the thought of lightly kicking a ball that entered the zone, I relaxed and waited for the next ball.

‘Also!’

And my predictions were right. A slider that goes far outward. I was able to endure the bat because I was expecting it from the beginning.

“Oh, you’re pretty patient. However, most rookie players have a hard time with these breaking balls. Maybe when you go pro, most of them will throw manned balls?”

Why do you like this baby to say this? The catcher continues to give advice.

“Ah yes.”

I gave an appropriate answer to the catcher who interrupted my thoughts and tried to think about the next ball.

‘Unlike a baby monkey, I have too many thoughts. If you have a motor nerve like yours, you should be able to see and hit. Swing it boldly.’

‘All right.’

Rossby, who hadn’t given her advice yesterday, gave her advice for some reason. Do you have a lot of thoughts? Well, I tried to anticipate all the balls too much. I still have one strike count left, so I’ll just watch and hit.

Basically, it matches the timing of the fastball and waits for the pitcher’s fourth ball. The pitcher’s glove wiggles and his head nods. Now! The moment you decide that it is not a ball, when you try to swing the bat that was taken back according to the trajectory,

It felt like the ball was floating and flying.

‘Fuck, it’s a curve!’

I felt that it was a curve in an instant, and I stopped the bat very slightly, held it with the strength of my waist, and then exploded the power again! And I instinctively let go of my right hand and adjusted the timing.

Right!

I did my swing all the way, but I feel a heavy feeling in my hand. It’s usually wrong when it’s like this…. A ball that floats high. Once I hit the ball, I ran toward first base.

“Left! Left!”

The stadium is quiet because there are no spectators, and I can hear the outfielders calling plays.

Upon reaching first base, the first base coach gave a sign to stop. When I looked at the sign and checked the runners, they were looking at my batted ball from the middle of the base.

‘Oh, if the wind blows well, it will pass?’

After hearing Rossby’s words, I looked in the direction of left field, and I saw a left fielder sitting close to the wall waiting for my batted ball.

“Wow, if it was the batting ground, I would have skipped it?”

The first baseman muttered as he looked at my batted ball that was still floating. And the left fielder stretched his glove all the way to the sky and jumped.

Empty!

Perhaps because he was concentrating, the sound of the ball hitting the railing and bouncing seemed to reach all the way to first base.

“Run!”

And the moment the ball hit the railing, all the runners, including me, started running toward the next base.

1st base, 2nd base! Looking at the base coach’s sign, he was sending a sign to run to third base. Are all the runners in already? I didn’t know where the batted ball was, but I trusted the running coach and rushed to third base.

“Sliding!”

Damn, the third baseman is putting his glove on? But since we’ve come this far, it’s already too late!

‘Hey, fuck!’

At the coach’s order, I used the elasticity to fold one leg and slide to third base as if sliding, but I feel a different sensation from the spikes than the sense of the base.

“Out!”

“Ah-oh!”

“Nice sliding. It was a waste.”

The third base coach clapped and comforted me.

‘It’s a waste, I blew the ball to the left fielder, but what kind of kid can run it all the way to third base, you bastard! I won’t do this in Little Baseball.’

After swearing at the base coach inside, I dusted myself off and went back to the dugout to catch my breath when the hitting coach approached me.

“Zeop, I would have passed it if I hadn’t matched the size of Jamsil, but it’s a pity.”

“No. I should have hit you a little harder.”

“I heard the sound of being eaten just now, but just sending it that far is a success. After all, strength is a monster.”

The hitting coach praised me with a look of pure admiration. Damn, I have eyes to see.

“Thank you.”

Hehe, it seems clear that there were orangutans among your ancestors. I thought it was an easy fly.’

‘Again, again. You can just admit it, why do you have to attach a sajok? Mr. Rossby, are you afraid of Ji Maeng-ho’s growth?’

‘What bullshit are you talking about?’

‘Kuhmm, but even without Mr. Rossby, they’re doing this much.’

‘It’s definitely worth the training. If it’s a ball like that, you should be able to hit it without me. But you know what? If you played well, it would have been a passing ball.’

‘… Yes. Oh, that’s a bit unfortunate.’

‘It was good though. Normally, a hitter would swing and miss, but judging by how he adjusted the timing of his bat in the blink of an eye, he is not without talent. To be honest, I was surprised to be able to hit that level without this body. Pretty good for a monkey.’

Oh! Compliment! The feeling of being fucked after running to third base and getting out started to improve at once.

‘Khehehehehe. Doesn’t Mr. Rossby see it as well? Also! I would have been successful without Mr. Rossby, righthehe.’

Lee Ki -cheol, even though the dog was not jealous, I was originally a successful person! Hearing Rossby’s compliments seemed to alleviate the unpleasant sensations that sometimes plagued me.

‘You monkey, don’t laugh. I’m fond of it.’

Hehe, I understand. As Mr. Rossby’s disciple, I’ll keep my dignity.’

‘Eh….’

Was it thanks to Rosby’s recognition? He struck out three pitches in his next at-bat, but he didn’t feel bad.

*

“Everyone worked hard during finish camp. Let’s prepare well for next season and see you.”

“All right!”

“Thank you for your effort.”

After the Cheongbaekjeon, warm greetings come and go. Is it finally over? I was a little worried because it was my first professional training, but it was nothing special than I thought. Is it because you were with the 2nd Army? Anyway, I said hello to the players I had trained with and entered the room.

‘Finally it’s over. Two weeks is a long time. Without Jo Eun, I think he would have run away.’

Hehe, my mind went through. I would have asked to run away first.’

It was fortunate that I had rice cake with Joeun after the Pilates class was over, but I strongly thought that he would have really escaped without it.

‘Still, thanks to Mr. Jo, it ended without a big deal. I need to pack things up.’

“Ji Maeng-ho.”

“Ah, senior. Thank you for your hard work.”

When he was tidying up the room he had been in for two weeks, his roommate, Kwan-Hyung Wu, spoke to him. Why is this human? Are you trying to nag again?

“How are you going to train before spring camp?”

“Yes? Shouldn’t you be resting?”

“Wouldn’t one month of December be enough to rest?”

“Oh, is that so? What do you think I will do before spring camp? The ground is too cold to go out.”

“Then in January?”

“Even then, it would be the same. I don’t have a specific schedule.”

“Good.”

What did you say went well? I’m anxious….

“Clear your schedule for January.”

“For what reason?”

“In January, I plan to do personal training in Australia.”

Why do you do that to me Are you bragging?

“Ah, that’s great.”

“You know what I’m talking about?”

No? I don’t know I kept my mouth shut because it was clear that I would be labeled as a ignorant bastard by the top team member.

“Come with me. There’s one more person besides you, but it’s an AT tradition for rookies to have seniors who have earned some money take them to personal training. Don’t be sorry and follow me. Wouldn’t it be nice for you to build up your body by doing some running in a warm place?”

Now that Kwan-hyung Woo had spoken to him directly, he could no longer refuse. Damn, I was just going to spend the winter doing some weights and some sex!

“Ah yes. Thank you.”

“You don’t look good. You don’t have to be too sorry. It’s your duty as a senior. If you earn money later, you can give it as it is.”

“Ah, I see.”

I couldn’t even curse when I saw Woo Kwan-hyung, who said he couldn’t spit on a smiling face, and that he would let me participate in personal training.

‘The comfortable winter plan is overdone, damn it.’

“Then you worked hard for two weeks.”

“Senpai-nim suffered, too.”

“Yes, this is my number, save it. Contact me in January.”

“All right.”

After receiving Woo Kwan-hyung’s number and looking at his cell phone to save his contact information, there was an unconfirmed call.

-Cheon So-young: Maeng-ho, is the finish camp over today? Can I see it?

I wasn’t the type to contact you first if I didn’t contact you, what is it?