Chapter 650 – Episode 637. Hot Summer. (2)
“Strike! Out!”
“Nice! Junhu, you blocked it well.”
“Okay, now let’s take the lead and run away!”
In the bottom of the third inning, when the two runners’ crisis ended with strikeouts, the AT Thunders players’ momentum was rising.
‘Ha, it’s already hard.’
But on the contrary, Junhu’s condition, who was throwing the ball from the mound, was getting worse. It was already past 7 o’clock, but the weather didn’t seem to be getting any cooler, and every time I threw a ball, I felt more tired than usual.
I’ve just finished 3 innings, but it feels like I’ve pitched 5 innings…
‘It would be nice if they gave me just 1 point…’
There is a big difference in mental power consumption between throwing the ball when you are ahead and when you are tied or behind.
Junhu wanted to score first more earnestly than ever.
And this inning starts with the second batter, Baek Jeong-jin. Starting the inning with the second batter, Baek Jeong-jin, means that the batting order includes the fourth batter, Ji Maeng-ho! When Ji Meng-ho steps up to bat, it is the same as saying that he can score at any time.
‘Please, please, just one person, please come out in front of Meng Hao… !’
Perfect!
“Out!”
‘Because we still have senior Sangju… !’
Perfect!
“Out!”
“… Fuck.”
However, contrary to Jun-hoo’s earnest heart, the two out counts pass in vain. Now, there is only one person we can hope for: Ji Maeng-ho.
‘Because even 1 point is good…’
Without realizing it, Junhu put his hands together and watched Meng Hao’s at-bat. And the first pitch thrown to Ji Maeng-ho.
“Ball.”
The first pitch Little threw to Ji Maeng-ho was a ball that deviated significantly. And the moment Junhu saw the ball, he realized. That guy has no intention of fighting head-on.
“Base on balls!”
He missed five balls in a row and walked. Meng Hao’s swing went astray once due to a ball that deviated significantly, but even with one strike, Future Battery did not change its strategy.
Now the situation is two outs and first base.
“Safe!”
Even in the hot weather, Meng Hao’s speed seemed to have not died down, and he easily stole second base, but the situation did not change.
Perfect!
“Out!”
The 5th batter, Yoon Seong-tae, swung the bat wide and sent his batted ball near the fence, but it was caught in front of the fence and three outs.
Still, a lot of time passed because the batters lost a lot of balls, but was it because I was too focused on watching the attack? For Junhu, all those events passed by quickly.
‘Whoa… Isn’t that kid even tired? Ah, I happened to meet a mercenary…’
All Junhu can do is resent the opposing pitcher who never gets tired. While he was complaining and packing his gloves, Maeng-ho, who had returned to the dugout, approached Jun-hoo.
“Hey.”
“Huh?”
“Just try blocking it a little longer. Because my brother will really do anything. “I believe in you, Junhu.”
And Meng Hao’s words were enough to make Jun Hu doubt his ears. I can’t believe Meng Hao said with such a serious expression that he believes in him.
“… Huh?”
Junhu couldn’t believe that the voice he heard was true, so he questioned Meng Hao with a dumbfounded expression.
“Bitch, please throw today as well as you have these days.”
However, Meng Hao’s words that followed proved that what he heard was true.
‘Brother Meng Hao believes in me… ?’
To Junhu, Meng Hao was, to put a bit of exaggeration, almost like a god. Although they usually bickered playfully, Junhu was following Menghao deep in his heart.
And in a way, that was natural.
Maeng-ho, a man worth respecting just for his baseball skills, was a typewriter who always solved problems when he wanted them, and was also a typewriter who always showed the results when Jun-hoo sat on the bench and cheered for his team or sat in front of the TV and cheered for his country.
In addition, even outside of baseball, last year he won 10 games and his salary was raised.
However, the real reason why Junhu viewed Mengho like a god was because Mengho was like the benefactor of his life.
When he was bitten by a flower snake and almost fell down a dark path, it was Ji Meng-ho who saved him, and it was Ji Meng-ho who taught Jun-hu something strange that even he didn’t know about and helped him improve his skills to the next level, allowing him to take the last train to the national team.
But a person like that says he believes in himself? A person who usually just curses and craves?
“… “I’ll try.”
He felt like all the fatigue he had accumulated after pitching three innings disappeared. No, not only was my fatigue gone, but I felt like I was in better shape than ever before. It feels like I’m flying in the sky…
“What the fuck, what are your eyes?”
Meng Hao responded fiercely as usual, but that didn’t matter to Jun Hu.
What is important to Junhu is a warm word and recognition from someone he trusts and follows. Junhu did not forget to smile all the way up to the mound as he heard Maengho’s recognition for the first time.
And that smile disappears as soon as he gets on the mound. Junhu’s face changed into something that anyone could see as the face of a pitcher, and in the bottom of the fourth inning, Junhu’s first pitch was thrown.
“Strike!”
[Hey, the ball landed in a perfect place, right? Low position outside. If you use the location like that, there is no other batsman who can hit, right? … Oh, except for Ji Maeng-ho. Haha.]
[Yes. As soon as the inning started, Lim Jun-hoo threw a 147 km/h fastball as a strike. … I threw the second ball! Fly high! Lim Jun-hoo raises his finger. Shortstop Yoon Seong-tae safely handles the infield fly.]
[This is the point where Lim Jun-hoo has really improved, right? The location has really improved since this season. In fact, Lim Jun-hoo’s advantage is that he has a perfect combination of fastball and change-up, and if the location improves like this, that advantage is bound to double.]
[A player with the potential to grow into a pillar of AT in the future, right?]
[Yes. He’s one of the 2023 draftees. AT Thunders also have high expectations for Lim Jun-hoo.]
[Now it’s a match against the mercenary hitter Bright. … Strike! Out! Lim Jun-hoo catches the 4th and 5th batters in a row! … Now at bat is No. 6 batter Lee Jin-hong. He is hitting .243 with 14 home runs this season.]
[Jinhong Lee, although his batting average has slightly declined as he gets older, he still has enough power to hit 14 home runs in the first half of the year alone, right? In times like these, you have to be more careful with your one shot.]
[Lim Jun-hoo’s first pitch! Swing strike! He succeeds in bringing out Jinhong Lee’s bat with a changeup. … The second ball is also a change-up! The referee’s hand…, Going up! Lim Jun-hoo succeeds in making two strikes in one go with a change-up in an exquisite position!]
[Hey, it’s not an easy choice since it’s two changeups in a row against Lee Jin-hong, but Lim Jun-hoo has really shown strength. In fact, he showed a lot of running away from the game last year, but after Lim Jun, the player’s skills improved and his mentality seems to have improved as well.]
[And the third ball thrown! It’s stuck in the middle! Strike out while standing! Lim Jun-hoo hits a 148 km/h fastball in the middle and strikes out three pitches!]
[Hey… This was a ball that even the world’s Jinhong Lee didn’t expect, right? He just watched the ball. Lee Jin-hong is a truly veteran player… Lim Jun-hoo, the ball is perfect today?]
[AT Thunders block 4 innings thanks to Lim Jun-hoo’s great pitching! And the game now goes to the 5th inning!]
After hearing Meng Ho’s words of recognition, Junhu’s helmet was getting as hot as the weather,
[… In the top of the 5th inning, Little sent a runner into scoring position, but ended the inning with no runs! … The situation is one out, first base, Lim Jun-hoo! I threw the ball! 6! 4! 3! Lim Jun-hoo ends the inning with a perfect double play! A fierce battle of 0:0 ensues! … Kim Soo-ho’s leadoff hitter gets on base! … Baek Jeong-jin’s perfect bunt. Runner on base, 1 out, 2nd base. … Weather warning! I endure it! Walk! Now the situation is 1 out, 1st and 2nd bases! And at bat, it’s this batter! Ji Maeng-ho enters!]
With the game reaching 0:0, an opportunity came to Ji Maeng-ho.
*
‘Whoa…’
Including national team games, the number of professional games played is approximately 500. If it was a lot, it was a lot of games. If it was a few, it was a few games, but when you play games of this magnitude, you can feel the flow.
This is the so-called ‘winner’.
And now at bat, there was a strong smell of victory. Do you feel like if you pass up this at-bat today, an opportunity like this will never come again?
Although Junhu was pitching well, it was already the 6th inning. Although Junhu was fighting well, it was not surprising if he collapsed at any time. So all I can do is give a score here.
‘Let’s hit it as lightly as possible, lightly. Anyway, that guy is having a hard time.’
The 6th inning comes equally to any pitcher. It was obvious that the opponent was having a hard time just as Junhu was having a hard time, so I cleared my mind and waited for his ball with the intention of hitting it as lightly as possible.
“Ball.”
And the first pitch thrown is a two-seamer that rolls toward the body. It seemed like I was slowly getting used to his skills. As if the guy in the last at-bat was intentional, the pitches he chose when he sent me were all four-seam fastballs. At that time, when I threw a four-seamer, my arm was slightly higher, but looking at the two-seam thrown now, I could see that my arm was slightly lower, albeit slightly.
The difference I couldn’t see when analyzing the game… I don’t know if the reason was my set position, lack of stamina, or just my natural habits, but I could see the subtle difference.
‘Hmm… Is it because my stamina is low, and my arms are a little lower? First, I’ll have to watch the four-seamer one more time.’
Now all that’s left is to turn my judgment into confidence.
“Ball.”
“Ball.”
“Strike!”
‘This is a four-seam.’
“Strike!”
‘This is a two-seam. Okay, it’s okay.’
By sending in four more balls, I was able to become more confident in my thoughts. His two-seamer was definitely being thrown slightly lower than his four-seamer.
The problem is the current situation of three balls and two strikes.
It was a bit unclear whether to risk a walk and throw a breaking ball or fight head-on. But the high probability here is…
‘… After all, it must be a fastball type.’
What he caught me with in my first at-bat was a curveball. But he uses the curve as the deciding ball twice in a row against me? It seemed like such a choice would not be easy. Moreover, what he is confident about is the timing battle using four-seamer and two-seamer.
Contemplating what choice he would make was a battle with no answer until I checked the thrown ball, so I focused as much as I could and waited for his ball.
The sight of the guy twitching as if he was aware of the runner. The guy who had been watching the liver like that had finally made up his mind, and he looked straight at me. And the guy’s arm swings along with a series of movements.
… At a slightly lower position than the four-seamer!
‘… Two-seam!’
The guy’s ball, which looks similar to a four-seamer, curves more and more towards my body. But my bat, which had already been determined to be a two-seamer, was meeting his ball,
Ta-ah!
… The batted ball made a cheerful sound. Although it did not hit the center of the bat, the ball that was hit at the right time and pressed down with force was enough to go over the right fence, as expected.
‘Phew, I just took a breather.’
Now the score is 3 points. It was a score gap that could have been overturned with a single home run, but fortunately, Junhu’s pitch today was not enough to allow that single hit.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Okay, now let’s take a rest and prepare for the second half!”
When the game ended, the score was 4:2. We boarded the bus to Seoul with memories of victory, and were able to mark the end of the first half of the year by leaving Gwangju in a good mood.