Chapter 637 – Episode 624. Hell of a Schedule. (2)

“Base on balls.”

‘Ha, fuck, I’m not even surprised anymore. Since it’s two outs, of course you’ll skip it. But if this bastard is going to do something like this, it will automatically be filtered out as an intentional phrase. What a waste of time…’

Bottom of the 6th inning, two outs. As I felt from the start of today’s game, Moon Ki-taek didn’t seem to have any intention of giving me a chance to bet. What was more irritating was that if he intentionally walked three times in a row, he would definitely be criticized, so he didn’t want to be criticized, so he kept pretending to force a walk.

‘Tsk, it’s two outs, but I have to run. Mr. Rossby!’

Two out. Even with a sacrifice hit, the probability of scoring was low, but getting to second base was meaningful, so I prepared to run as usual.

‘It’s a slider.’

And taking advantage of Tinie’s third pitch, he stole second base.

“Safe!”

The result was, of course, safe. All I can do on second base is…,

‘Fastball.’

‘Seongtae hyung! Fastball!’

… All you have to do is trust your teammates and deliver pitches. If Moon Ki-taek knew about this situation, he would have scolded me, but I was confident because he was the one who avoided the match first.

‘Okay.’

And Seongtae, who clearly received my will, nodded. And Tinie’s windup…

Ta – Aak!

Seongtae’s bat shines brightly.

-Wow!!!

-Yoon Seongtae! Seongtae Yoon! Seongtae Yoon!

‘Anyway, only Moon Ki -taek stretches. Try it every other day, if I keep telling you the pitch type from second base, it will happen like this one day. Hehe.’

This doesn’t always mean you’ll hit a home run, but if you keep accumulating, you’ll eventually end up with a score like this. The score, which was tight, widened to 2:0.

“Nice!”

“Seongtae! “It was a good home run!”

“Wow, you hit this bastard 161? Are you Ji Maeng-ho?”

“… Hey, senior. Let’s not cross the line.”

Haha. Seongtae, Meng Hao is in a bad mood.”

Take a moment to share some joy with your colleagues in the dugout. I felt sick to my stomach when I saw Moon Ki-taek looking at the ground from the dugout, pretending to be charismatic.

‘That rat-like bastard…’ . … Mr. Rossby, help me one more time.’

‘This bastard is annoying.’

‘Just this once. Please!’

‘Tsk. ‘Just this once.’

Normally, I wouldn’t have done it this way, but I hated the fact that he gave me a walk in an insidious manner to avoid getting criticized.

‘Try it yourself sometime. … Sangmin hyung! Slider!’

These days, I was teaching Kim Sang-min the pitch types, so this was the same as usual, but this time, since Mr. Rossby was telling me, the probability was 100%!

Ta – Aak!

After the fourth pitch, Kim Sang-min’s batted ball heads toward the left wall. It’s unclear whether it will be a home run or caught in front of the fence…

However, the wind was on our side.

-Wow!!!!

-Kim Sang-min! Sangmin Kim! Sangmin Kim!

“Back to back what?!”

“Sangmin! Are you crazy?! “Why is that guy like this these days?”

Could it be that Tinie was more lethal because he was an easy-to-select pitcher? As long as you knew the slider was coming, his slider was a good ball to hit at 140, so Kim Sang-min also succeeded in making a home run, bringing the score to 3:0.

‘If this happens…, Today’s game is almost over? Looking at Diaz’s condition, it looks like he could go up to the 7th inning.’

It was safe to say that the game was almost tilted in our favor.

*

[… Thanks to Diaz’s excellent pitching, allowing 1 run in 7 innings, the AT Thunders get a valuable victory.]

*

“Out!”

Our final attack ends with the referee’s out call.

‘Tsk, Chae Jae-hyun definitely has a unique form, so even if I tell him, it’s hard for him.’

Hwasan used the same strategy as yesterday and did not give me a chance to bet until just before the game was decided. In the end, I went 1 hit in 2 at-bats, 2 walks, and 2 RBIs, but the result was a 7:3 loss.

Although it was disappointing, 1 win and 1 loss against the first place team, Hwasan, wasn’t that bad. More problematic than that is Game 3 of the series. Since the game against Hyunsung was held in Daegu, the third game was important in Daegu, where the strong Jun-hoo’s rotation was postponed and substitute starter Kim Chan-young was promoted to the starting position.

A two-game winning series against Silla and Hwasan would have been enough to set the mood.

The opponent facing Kim Chan-young is Tyler Jackson, who was newly recruited to replace Oz. He was a balanced mercenary with an ERA currently in the low to mid 3-point range.

Is he a typical starting pitcher who throws a fastball, slider, curve, and changeup in the mid to high 140s?

I had faced him twice before, and he was a decent type of pitcher with no particular weaknesses or strengths. As a mercenary pitcher, he had good skills and skills, but he was an average pitcher who was neither difficult nor easy.

Well, the story may be different for other people. In addition, it could have been more difficult because it was against Chae Jae-hyeon, who is considered the best in Korea for his unique pitching form.

“Tsk, is there anyone who wants to come in and do a special hit with me? “It’s 2 o’clock tomorrow anyway, so there’s no training before the game.”

And, since Sangju senior also knew this fact, he implicitly asked a question to the players who were gathering their equipment. Since it was the weekend and the game ended early, he seemed to have been planning to practice more before going in.

‘I heard that senior Sangju is trustworthy. But, why aren’t other people responding?’

I was afraid that my senior Sangju would be embarrassed if I told him that no one would join me, so I spoke first.

“… There’s no answer? “I’m going.”

“Then, me too…”

“I’ll go too!”

“Wow, what are these people who don’t answer? “Are you confident that you can play better than me?”

“… “I’ll go too.”

The batters come together one by one. As the players gather, Sangju senior’s expression brightens.

“Guyungho, aren’t you going?”

“Me? Tomorrow is my day off? Tomorrow’s starter, Hyunseong…”

“Wow, you seem to be hitting it a bit these days? Sure. “When you rest, you should rest.”

“… “I’ll go.”

With this, all the hitters, including Kyeong-ho, are in favor of the special hit.

“… Too many? Okay, I think the coaches need to come a little more. I was planning to do it lightly with just 4–5 people…”

“Hey, if Sangju senior says we should do it, we all do it together. It ended a bit early today anyway. And since it’s home, everyone will help.”

The special attack that started before the third game continued until late at night,

“How is my form right now?”

‘Mr. Rossby, how do you look?’

‘Fuck. Having sex at a time like this…’

‘This must end quickly, so I can go home quickly. The more this happens, the later it gets to be home from work.’

‘… The body is a little empty.’

“Hyung, your body is empty?”

“Tsk, Chae Jae-hyeon and Geumma threw the ball strangely today… “How is it now?”

‘It’s okay now.’

“I felt much better after putting some on my body.”

“Okay.”

He also gives advice to players,

“Brother, can you please throw that ball? When my brother throws it, it hits well…”

“… Really?”

Ta – Aak!

“Under… It would be really nice if other pitchers pitched like my brother… No, the velocity is similar, but why does Meng Ho’s ball seem to go over so easily?”

He also served as a batting pitcher and prepared for the third game against Hwasan.

And then the third battle against Volcano began.

“Out!”

“Nice! “You did well in the first episode, Chanyoung!”

Although he put two batters on base, Kim Chan-young, who came on as a replacement starter, did well to block the Hwasan attack in the top of the first inning,

Ta – Aak!

“Nice!”

“Hey, if Hwicheol hit that much, wouldn’t it be a home run?”

“Wow, Meng Hao throwing the batting ball had an effect. Hwicheol sends the ball all the way there.”

In the bottom of the first inning, leadoff hitter Hwicheol got off to a good start by hitting a double.

‘Boy, I guess what I taught you yesterday had an effect.’

And the good start did not end there.

“Base on balls!”

“Nice!”

“Good kid! Good kid!”

Baek Jeong-jin, the second batter, reached base with a walk and succeeded in reaching first and second base with no outs. No outs, 1st and 2nd bases. And at the plate, Gigi Joo. With the scent of the bases loaded for the first time in a long time, I picked up the bat and headed to the waiting box.

‘Fuck, how many bases are loaded? Moon Ki-taek, let’s see if this little bastard can get away with the bases loaded.’

During the previous two games, he was getting a walk that was almost like an intentional walk at every important moment, so he was under a state of stress without realizing it, so he watched the game from the standby at-bat, praying earnestly that senior Sangju would get on base.

“Strike!”

Jackson’s ball from the standby batting box looked heavy. However,

“Ball.”

“Ball.”

It feels like my control is shaking differently than usual. To be honest, I was a little worried after yesterday’s game, but Jackson’s condition looked so bad that my worries were worthless.

‘Is it because that bastard’s first game at 2 o’clock is today? ‘I haven’t figured it out yet?’

From what I heard in the pre-game meeting, this is his first time on the mound, excluding exhibition games, that he throws at 2:00. It was not uncommon to feel shaken when the game pattern was different from usual. Especially for sensitive pitchers.

In addition, Hwicheol, who rarely hits extra-base hits, hit a double that went all the way to the fence? I don’t know, but it was clear that he was out of his mind right now.

“Base on balls.”

And he couldn’t overcome his sensitivity and ended up walking. Sangju senior, like a veteran, did not give the shaky guy a chance to get control of the ball.

‘Okay, let’s get the wedge in before we come to our senses. I saw yesterday that it doesn’t skip anything if it increases by about 4 points, so that’s perfect.’

“Hi.”

“… “Are you here?”

“Your voice is shaking a lot. “You weren’t this nervous even in the WBC finals, were you?”

“Don’t you care?”

“Yes!”

It’s been a long time since we last visited bases loaded. Lee Yong-gi’s voice, who was wearing a catcher’s mask, was trembling slightly, and my heart was pounding harder than usual because I think it was the first time since the season started that I had an opportunity like this in the first inning.

‘Whoa, let’s calm down. Calm down.’

However, I calmed down my excitement by going through my routine as usual. The foul smell of rubber from the gloves reminds me that this at-bat is no different from usual.

‘Okay, let’s go.’

As calmly as possible. However, you are quick to judge.

A double, a walk, a walk, and the bases loaded with no outs. In this situation, there is only one ball the pitcher can throw. Fastball coming into the zone.

In a situation with bases loaded and no outs, the role of the first batter entering the situation was most important, so hitting on the first pitch was not a very good choice. … In general.

However, with my strength, I could send it to the outfield even if I made a mistake, so I decided to aim for the first pitch fastball.

‘… Or just have a cool strike. Anyway, one count doesn’t matter.’

And he throws the first pitch with all his might. A trajectory that seems to be slightly heading outward. But at this level… !

‘… ‘Two three!’

Perfect!

A cheerful sound and a jingling sound are transmitted through the bat. It feels like I was hit slightly above, not in the center…

“Under…”

However, as Yonggi’s sigh suggests, the timing was perfect. Perfect timing, perfectly aimed. Even the high walls of Jamsil were useless against that timing.

The batted ball flew towards the left wall in a beautiful parabola at an appropriate speed and went straight into the arms of a fan holding a glove in the outfield.

-Wow!!!

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

Jamsil was filled with cheers.

“Hey, Yonggi hyung. It was so easy. Are you aiming for the station? “Is it too obvious?”

“… If you don’t want to get shot for the first time in a long time, don’t be damned and go quickly.”

“Yes!”

4-0 from the start. Well, at this point, I guess today’s game is over, right?