Chapter 624 – Episode 611. Children’s Day Must Be Won. (3)

Ta – Aak!

“Nice!”

Senior Sangju’s batted ball flies through the right-center field. The moment I flew, I screamed involuntarily as I felt like I would hit at least the fence.

“Ah…”

However, contrary to the expectation of a home run, the result was a double hit that hit the fence and fell. Senior Sangju was about to run to second base while watching the batted ball, but he glanced in my direction and started to return to first base.

This means that first base will not be left empty for me. I can feel the belief in Sangju senior’s steps that I will solve this situation.

‘Senior… Wow, thank you for trusting us! … Still, it’s a bit of a waste. If it weren’t for Jamsil, I would have passed. Well, if I hit a home run, we can at least tie the score.’

The pitcher allowed one more run in the previous inning, and the score is now 7:5. Although we were down by 2 runs, it was still the beginning of the 7th inning, and it was enough to tie the game this time and turn things around when it was my turn to bat in the 9th. … It would be nice if other hitters did it before that, but it was better for my mental health not to expect much.

‘Whoa, let’s go!’

I went into the at-bat with such determination. Jeon Dae-hoon, who can be said to be Hancheol’s sure-fire winner, replaced starting pitcher Park Ji-hwan at the plate.

‘This guy really lasts a long time. The bullpen.’

An easy-choice type pitcher who throws fastballs and forkballs. Forkball was Jeon Dae-hoon, who is currently considered the best in the bullpen, but has he faced too much over the past three years? His ball was already a familiar ball.

‘Well, those kids who throw forkballs are obvious. ‘One will come high, right?’

“Ball.”

And just as I thought, the first pitch is a high fastball that comes at eye level. Since it was the first pitch, which was the same as the formula for pitchers throwing a forkball, I was able to know this much without Mr. Rossby’s help.

Now the problem starts now.

Since I was in a situation where I could fool the eyes with a high fastball and then throw a forkball that would fall, or I could pretend to fall and throw a fastball that would hit the middle, I was in a situation where I had to choose Easy Choice. To be honest, this situation without Mr. Rossby was burdensome.

‘… ‘If only the speed was a little faster.’

Jeon Dae-hoon’s fastball velocity is in the low 140s. If he had thrown a forkball in the mid-150s like a major-leaguer, it would have been difficult for him to hit the batting timing, but this speed was no different from a batting ball to me.

‘It’s difficult to hit a forkball while aiming for a fastball, so I’ll just have to aim for a forkball and kick the fastball when it comes.’

Swinging the bat at the timing of the fastball and then kicking the forkball had a high risk of missing the swing, but even if you messed up your form while timing the forkball, it was easier to swing the bat faster and kick the fastball to make a foul, so aim for the forkball. It was decided.

‘Well, there may be a ground ball in the infield, but we have to leave that to fate.’

You can’t hit a hit in every at-bat anyway. What I had to do was to increase the odds as much as possible, and his ball flew into the strike zone near his knee.

Perfect!

“Foul!”

‘Kavi, it was a fastball.’

Jeon Dae-hoon’s second pitch is a fastball that targets the low zone. When I felt that his ball was not deflecting halfway through its flight, I quickly kicked it away.

‘Sweet, but was it the ball? … If you think about that now, your spitting speed won’t be able to keep up, so let’s just think about hitting the ball.’

It was a ball that could have been a ball if left alone, but if I even thought about it now, the bat speed would become slower and there was a high chance of getting out, so it was an inevitable choice. Since it was one ball, one strike anyway, the situation was similar.

And the third ball was thrown.

‘… Outside!’

No matter how much I thought about hitting it, I wasn’t an idiot to swing the bat at a ball like this, so I picked the ball lightly.

“Ball.”

His third ball missed the ball by a wide margin.

‘Now two balls, one strike. When it comes to three balls, are you just going to skip me? Then you have 1 or 2 samurai… Hmm… Seongtae and Jincheol also posted RBIs today… Still, I feel like I’m missing it somehow. Write it. If possible, I should avoid three balls.’

Although Seongtae and Jincheol posted RBIs, the situation is still uneasy. First, it was important to stimulate the pitcher’s competitive spirit by creating two strikes, so even if the ball went out of the zone a lot, I decided to swing the bat and waited for the guy’s fourth pitch.

And the fourth ball thrown…

‘… Outside!’

I felt like the guy’s ball was going outward. Anyway, it didn’t matter if I missed the swing, so my timing was fastball timing,

Perfect!

… The guy’s ball hit the tip of the bat perfectly.

“… Huh?”

And the batted ball flies ambiguously. The batted ball was flying along the line, and as soon as I saw that sight, I ran to first base. And the first baseman jumping high toward the ball!

“Meng Hao! Run! “I didn’t catch it!”

‘I’m watching too!’

The first base coach’s earnest cry passed by my ears, and I circled first base while listening to that voice.

-Wow!!!!

And the cheers that echo from the stands. I glanced at the batted ball and saw that it was rolling outside the foul line, but this shout told me that the first point of the hit was inside the foul line.

‘Because the outfield was pulled to the left… !’

The basic defensive position of the teams facing me is to the left, conscious of my pull. From my experience so far, a hit like this was enough to get me to third base. As I stepped on second base, I looked toward third base and saw that the third base coach was looking at senior Sangju and spinning his arms as if he were spinning a windmill.

‘Please! Please!’

I prayed earnestly and looked back, fortunately, Kim Jeong-hyun was preparing to throw the ball. And at this distance… !

-Wow!!!

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

Sangju senior ran with all his might and arrived at home before Kim Jeong-hyun’s throw arrived, and I stood and stepped on third base. With this, the score became 1 point.

“Ji Maeng-ho! “You crazy bastard!”

“Coach! I’m Ji Maeng-ho!”

When I looked at the home, I was a little worried about Sangju senior, who was walking with difficulty as if he was out of breath. However, at that age, just running from first base to home was an achievement, so I gave him a thumbs up.

‘After. Since there is no out on third base, this is at least a tie.’

Perfect!

Seongtae-hyung’s batted ball flies deep into the outfield with a cheerful sound. Unfortunately, the batted ball was caught in front of the fence, but I was able to walk home comfortably.

“Meng Hao! It was good!”

“Now let’s go to the reversal!”

As I entered the dugout, the dugout was in a festive mood,

“Whoa, I’ll do it for you, so just keep score!”

I took advantage of that atmosphere and asked the players a small favor.

“Yes, Meng Hao! Let’s go!”

… As if they had listened to my request, our offense ended in the top of the 7th inning without scoring any more points, and fortunately the score was maintained as the pitchers did not score any more points. In the bottom of the 7th inning, in the top of the 8th inning, and in the bottom of the 8th inning.

And then the top of the 9th inning began. In the top of the 9th inning, our offense was led by defender Jeong Han-yul, who took over as left fielder in place of senior Sangju, who felt strain on his thighs from sprinting. It would have been nice to have a pinch hitter, but since we had to think about defense during extra innings, Jeong Han-yul continued at bat without a pinch hitter,

“Out!”

… Naturally, the young player who came in as a substitute defense did not have the luck of hitting a hit against Hancheol’s closer.

‘Fuck. Okay, I’ll do it. ‘You scumbags.’

Tied 7:7, one out. Top of the 9th inning. If you were an ordinary hitter, it would have been a burden, but I am the type of hitter who solved this situation like eating a meal. He didn’t really feel like a burden or anything. What you should aim for in this situation is a home run.

‘I won’t skip it because it’s a one-point game and one out. The ball you threw earlier came out around 146-7, right?’

Hancheol’s closer, Jeong Tae-hwan, is a familiar pitcher who has been protecting Hancheol since his debut, like Jeon Dae-hoon, whom he faced in the previous at-bat. At that time, Jeong Tae-hwan was a pitcher who threw 150 pitches, but these days, perhaps because he is older, he is a pitcher who cannot often throw pitches over 150.

“Ball.”

“Oh, 152?”

However, perhaps because the opponent was me, Jeong Tae-hwan’s first pitch was a fastball at 152.8 km/h. His control was poor, perhaps because he was giving it his all, but his velocity was quite fast. … For a KBA league pitcher.

‘Good, perfect for hitting a home run.’

Other than this ball, what ball should you be careful of is the slider? His slider was a ball that could be kicked even if I just timed it with a fastball, so in this at-bat, I timed it with a fastball and waited for his pitch.

Perfect!

“Foul!”

‘Was it a slider?’

One fastball, one slider. Anyway, there is only one of two pitches he can throw at me. Hold the bat as lightly as possible and concentrate. The guy nodded and took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind. And the guy’s feet went up.

The ball leaves his hand and heads toward his body without fear. There was plenty of room in the count anyway, so there was no reason to watch such an appetizing ball,

‘… Two, three, now!’

Ta – Aak!

… I felt the most satisfying feeling in today’s game.

‘Fuck you.’

-Wow!!!!

The fans also begin to cheer loudly, as if they have already sensed the final destination of this batted ball. If you do not respond to such cheering, you are dereliction of duty as a professional!

I immediately aimed the bat like a gun, bounced it once, and threw it.

“City… Feet.”

Jeong Tae-hwan, who saw my signature ceremony like that, muttered an expletive with his mouth, and I headed to first base, enjoying that humiliated expression.

‘Ha, fuck. If we’ve done this, there won’t be an earthquake today, right? If I lose today again…’

With that in mind, I stepped on the groove and Seongtae hugged me fiercely and opened his mouth.

“Happy cycling day!”

“Eh?”

“I said I hit you while cycling.”

‘Cycling? Was it a walk in the first at-bat, then a double? I even had one hit. The previous at-bat was a triple hit…’

As Seongtae said, I looked back on the hits I hit today, and as Seongtae said, the last home run of this at-bat was the first cycling hit in a long time.

“Wow, you adorable bastard.”

“Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maengho! Ji Maeng-ho!”

Of course, the dugout is also excited to celebrate my cycling hit, which was achieved along with the comeback.

‘Good. In this mood, I really won today.’

Children’s Day, 9th inning upset, cycling hit. Could it be that I lost after doing this?

*

[… Ah, Baek Cheol-soo’s batted ball! Taekyung Lee, who was a runner on second base, went home as he passed by the third baseman! Reversal! 9:8! Finish! Miracle Grizzlies achieve a comeback! Children’s Day! We present a dream-like victory to young fans!]

[Wow, this is really amazing. All season Grizzlies! Actually, I thought Ji Maeng-ho’s home run had set the tone for the game, but this game turned it around.]

[It must be really disappointing for Ji Maeng-ho. Today, while achieving a hit-for-the-cycle, he went 4-for-4, 1 home run, 4 runs, 3 RBIs, 1 stolen base, and 1 walk, but in the end, the goddess of victory ruled in favor of the Hancheol Grizzlies. So, as we end the broadcast here…]

A crushing defeat that occurred on Children’s Day. It was something that could have happened. Children’s Day is also one of 144 games.

Lose a match in which a cycling hit occurred. It was something that could have happened. Even with a cycling hit, I could only score 3 RBIs.

But on Children’s Day, you have a cycling hit, but end up losing? That was something that could not have happened in Ji Maeng-ho’s dictionary.

And other players except Ji Maeng-ho knew that such a thing should not happen. That’s why there was silence in AT’s dugout. An atmosphere where no one, neither the manager nor the coaches nor the players, can open their mouths.

But after the game ended, there was only one person qualified to speak in the silence of the dugout.

It was Ji Maeng-ho, the protagonist of today’s cycling hit, the hitter who brought the team to the top for the past three years, the league MVP for three consecutive years, and the one and only god of Korean baseball who proved that he is at another level even in international competitions.

“Let’s talk about today, shall we? Let’s all meet in the locker room. “Coach, I’m going to have a chat with the players today.”

Ji Maeng-ho’s cold but calm voice was heard in the silent AT Thunders dugout. The players said they would talk to each other.

Coach Lee Soo-hyun also used to be a player, so he knew that talking about problems among players could be one way on days like this, so he nodded to Ji Maeng-ho’s words. And the other players were also nodding their heads at Ji Maeng-ho’s words without realizing it.

Because Ji Maeng-ho’s voice had an atmosphere that was difficult to reject, no matter how senior he was.

“Then shall we go?”