Chapter 639 – Episode 626. Tweezers Instructor. (1)

“Strike! Out!”

‘Wow, that’s cool.’

Junhu’s ball against Hyunseong’s number one hitter, Yang Jihyeok, was the kind of ball that felt worth adjusting the rotation.

The speed of the fastball is around 150. However, today’s Junhu looked like an ‘ace’ not only in terms of velocity, but also in terms of ball control and command.

‘Why does this guy throw so well only in Daegu?’

Honestly, the reason why Junhu pitched so well in Daegu was one of the mysteries even for our club. Because Junhu showed such good performance in Daegu, the power analysis team continued to compare videos, but could not find any differences from usual, which only increased the mystery.

I thought maybe he was throwing better to get revenge because of the memory of being bitten by a snake in Daegu, but since baseball is not a very soft sport, I was also curious about the reason.

‘No matter what, as long as you throw well, it’s good.’

Whether it was revenge on the lover who cheated on him, or hatred for the land of Daegu, the role of a pitcher was to throw the ball well, and today Junhu was a pitcher worthy of the word ‘pitcher.’

“Out!”

“Out!”

“Ugh!!”

‘It doesn’t seem like there’s a reason to hold a ceremony after only finishing one episode…’

I was shocked to see Junhu holding a ceremony after barely finishing the first episode, but I didn’t have time to worry about that.

The batting lineup, which was boasting of a good performance last weekend, seemed to have cooled off after a day off.

In the top of the first inning, our offense suffered a three-way strike. In order to break this trend, my role as the fourth hitter was important.

-Ddu du du du~. Some legends are told, Some turn to dust or to gold, But you will remember me (Ji Maeng-ho!) …

Before going to bat, I listen to the introductory song, erase all unnecessary thoughts from my head, and walk.

“Hi.”

“…”

I greeted them warmly, but unfortunately there was no reply. Starting this year, Hyun-seong’s catcher’s mask was worn by a catcher other than Park Jung-hyun.

Veteran catcher Park Jung-hyun, who served as Yonggi’s backup in this year’s WBC, was sent down to the second team due to an injury, and in the meantime, this rookie took Park Jung-hyun’s place. This guy’s batting performance was so good that the media made a fuss about him being the first big catcher in the league in a long time and a candidate for Rookie of the Year.

However, there were some flaws in defense.

‘Tsk, but I like Park Joong-hyun.’

However, that was a negative factor for me. Park Jung-hyun was a veteran catcher who signed, and he was able to read the ball combination because he knew each and every pitch type that Park Jung-hyun required for the past three years.

However, this guy is a catcher who signs autographs on the bench. In other words, there was no data. As much as the coach paid, there was no such thing as a personal comment.

‘Shall we season it a little first?’

When there is no data, the best option is to watch the first pitch.

“Strike!”

As a result of watching, Hyunseong’s choice was a first pitch strike.

‘Uhm… As expected, this one seems to be going according to the data.’

A first pitch strike, conscious of the fact that I don’t hit the first pitch well.

Choi Joong-hoon, who was standing on the mound, I had met several times on the national team and had played against him several times, so I knew that he was not a pitcher with the guts to throw a first pitch strike at me, so I could clearly feel that he was following the data.

‘Then delete the curveball and changeup. I should focus on sliders and fastballs.’

Joong-Hoon Choi. In his prime, he was a pitcher who was a nightmare for left-handed hitters with a fastball of over 150 and a sharp slider. But now, perhaps because I’m older, my average speed is in the mid-140s, and with that speed, I can even hit the slider at the same time, so I feel a little relieved.

The 2nd pitch hit the fastball just in time. As I felt like I was heading into the zone, I swung the bat like crazy, and the thrown ball gradually deflected towards me.

‘… Slider!’

But with timing like this… !

After applying strength to the waist, delay the timing of the strike for a moment and then swing all the way again.

Perfect!

A sound like a slight hit is heard. However, because I applied all my power, the batted ball went all the way to the fence.

-Wow!!

‘Sseu-eup, if you do this, it’s 2nd base?’

I was secretly hoping for a home run, but unfortunately the ball hit the wall and bounced off.

“Safe!”

Hyunseong’s left fielder quickly caught the ball and threw it to second base, but my foot had already touched second base.

‘What are you going to do?’

‘I have to run.’

2nd base with no outs. It would not have been a bad choice to tell the type of pitch here, but Choi Jung-hoon was still strong against left-handed hitters and Kim Sang-min was the type to strike out a lot, so the safe choice here would be to run to third base and score one run with a sacrifice hit.

‘It’s a curve.’

‘Okay!’

“Safe!”

And as expected, he succeeded in stealing third base,

Perfect!

“Nice!”

“Seongtae, it was good.”

“Ah, if I had hit it a little faster, I would have missed it, but it’s such a shame.”

I was able to take advantage of Seongtae’s infield ground ball and hit home.

‘1 point, it’s a bit disappointing… If it’s Daegu’s Junhui, well, we can score points slowly, right?’

“Brother. 1 point is enough. “I’ll try to block it today.”

Oh, Junhu, you bastard. Confidence is good.

It was only 1 point, but looking at today’s starting pitcher Junhu’s condition, is this enough? The start was pretty good.

*

-ㅅㅂ Why doesn’t our team have a domestic ace? Even if they are not at the level of Jang Woo-joo or Kim Won-ho, there is no one who can score in the mid-2 point range ㅡ

AT Thunders achieved the feat of a dynasty by winning their third consecutive league title. Even AT Thunders couldn’t have weaknesses. The area most often considered weak among experts and fans is the domestic selection.

Last year, the AT Thunders achieved the feat of 100 wins, led by the league’s most powerful ace named Krongs, but in fact, the starting lineup of the AT Thunders was not that good.

AT Thunders’ domestic starting lineup is Jang Yoon, Park Jun-hyung, and Lim Jun-hoo. Of these, Jang Yoon was performing quite well, but still, Silla’s Kim Won-ho, Mirae’s Jang Woo-joo, Hwasan’s Seong-hyun and Choi Jae-hyun, Hyun-sung’s Choi Jung-hoon, UG’s Kim Seong-gyeol, Hancheol’s Na Seung-yoon, and NV’s Kim Si-hyun were all in the league. It was true that they were inferior compared to the ace lineup, which was said to be great.

However, even AT Thunders cannot dominate the league if they are weak.

┗But Jamsil Jangyoon is good haha

┗┗ㅋㅋ If you’re going to be so mean, Park Jun-hyung with red cheeks is also ace-level lol

The AT Thunders’ starting pitchers used to show league ace-level pitching under certain conditions. Jang Yoon, a fly ball type pitcher, was strong in Jamsil, where the stadium is wide, and Park Jun-hyung also used to show the appearance of an ace pitcher when his cheeks turned red. 〈 Br〉

┗┗ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I wouldn’t be jealous of Kim Won-ho if he got slapped by Junhyung and went up to the mound.ㅋㅋㅋ

Although it only happened a few times a year, Park Jun-hyung’s face was naturally white enough for female fans to call him Mochi-san, and it was noticeable whenever his cheeks turned red, making him a famous meme among baseball fans.

┗┗If you think about it that way, kkotbaem is also good at throwing in Daegu haha

┗┗Lim Junhu?

And the pitcher who showed the best performance among them was none other than Lim Jun-hoo, who pitched at Mad Cats Park in Daegu.

┗┗Ignoring Daegu’s Kkotbaemhu lol? After that bastard incident, Daegu’s record was 6 wins at 1 point.

It is said that he earns most of his salary in Daegu, and Lim Jun-hoo, who pitched in Daegu, was a pitcher worthy of being called an ace.

Lim Jun-hoo, who pitched in Daegu, was a player of such value that even coach Lee Soo-hyun, who values ​​the natural order, forced him to adjust the rotation,

[… Strike! Out! Lim Jun-hoo recorded 6 innings of scoreless pitching and maintained the score gap of 1:0.]

… That choice continued to be an excellent choice today. This is because Lim Jun-hoo, the team’s fifth starter, maintained a 1:0 score gap against Hyunsung’s ace Choi Jung-hoon, the national team’s regular left-hander.

The 5th starter catches the opposing team’s ace? From a director’s perspective, there was nothing better than that.

However, Lim Jun-hoo, who was throwing the ball directly from the mound, had slightly different thoughts.

‘… Strangely enough, when it comes to Daegu, it gets thrown well. Is it because of the memories with Ji-hye?’

He returned to the dugout after pitching 6 scoreless innings, but the only thing on his mind was thoughts of his first girlfriend, Choi Ji-hye.

She was a flower snake, but after the breakup, she followed her menagerie around and met various women, but the only one who could fulfill her was her first girlfriend, Choi Ji-hye. Her lips that whispered her love to her, her warm hands that held her cold hands, and her body that embraced her.

The memories of meeting her every time she came to Daegu held onto her.

“Junhoo, it’s episode 7. Do you want to go up?”

“Yes, I will go up.”

All you can do to forget your first love is thrown a ball.

‘Strangely enough, I have good control over the ball and the ball goes in well here. As expected, Jihye noona…’

Perfect!

[Bae Jin-young’s hit! The leadoff hitter successfully gets on base!]

But even on the mound, such thinking was dangerous. No matter how well you throw, a moment of inattention can lead to conceding a goal on the professional stage.

Junhu also let his guard down for a moment, but he wasn’t the type of guy who thought about women even on the mound, even if he was pitching in Daegu. In the dugout, Junhu was always focused on pitching when pitching, even if he thought about his first love whom he could no longer see.

And that was also the reason why Junhu himself did not know why he was throwing well in Daegu.

The form and mentality were the same as when he threw in other places, but strangely, he only threw well in Daegu, so Junhu could not help but think that the reason was the blessing of his first love.

‘Sister Wisdom! Stay tuned! Now focus! Let’s focus!’

As she slowly erased her first love, Jihye, from her mind, Junhu began to focus on the game,

[… On the side of the fence! On the side of the fence! Fence! Caught in front! Three out! The runner is in scoring position, but ends the crisis himself and comes down! Lim Jun-hoo! 7 innings with no runs!]

… Episode 7 also ended easily.

“Junhu, rest now.”

“… “You can throw more.”

“No, my status is dropping now. It almost became a home run just now. “Let’s throw it here today.”

“… I understand.”

And Junhu’s game ended with the pitching coach’s words.

‘Sure, but why is it only in Daegu that it is thrown well? If I only knew why, I could go a little higher. Is it really because of Jihye? Sister… But that’s no reason not to contact me at least once. ‘Please at least say you’re sorry.’

However, even after the game ended, all that remained in his mind was longing for his first love and questions about why he was pitching so well in Daegu.

‘… But, I heard that Meng Ho views players very well. Should I ask him tonight?’

So Junhu watched the game with rising doubts,

[… Weather warning home run! AT begins to attack Hyeonseong’s mound where Choi Jung-hoon went down! … Ji Maeng-ho’s hit! … Safe to second base! … Kim Sang-min’s batted ball! Safety! Ji Maeng-ho goes all the way home! The AT Thunders recorded a big inning by scoring 4 runs in the 8th inning.]

The AT Thunders’ hitters, encouraged by the 5th starting pitcher’s 7 scoreless innings, showed their strengths in the 8th inning.

[… Well, let me tell you the news that AT Thunders won today’s game…]

And that night.

Knock.

“Who?”

“Brother, it’s me.”

Junhu, who was wondering why he was pitching well in Daegu, knocked on Maengho’s door.

‘Wouldn’t it be possible for Meng Hao to know? Hmm…, Okay. You may already know that because even though he’s not smart, he’s good at baseball.’

… With the expectation that Meng Hao will develop himself to the next level.