Chapter 651 – Episode 638. A Returning Veteran. (4)

-KBA All-Star Game, the dream team wins after a fierce battle!

… This All-Star Game held in Daegu was won by the Dream Team after a fierce battle of 8:7. The All-Star Game MVP went to Kang Han-beom of Charlotte, who hit a walk-off home run, and the Best Batter Award went to Ji Maeng-ho, who had 3 hits in 3 at-bats, 1 home run, and 4 RBIs…

-In the second half of the year, which star will return to our side?

… Many injured people, including others, are scheduled to return. Meanwhile, AT Thunders captain Choi Jin-cheol, who had been sent down to the second team due to poor performance, was also registered in the first team…

*

“It’s been a while. Big, big.”

Two days before the second half of the season started, a man with a familiar face was awkwardly greeting me in the locker room.

The man was senior Jincheol, who was immediately sent down to the 2nd team and had not even touched his nose for several months. I heard that he worked out almost to the level of spring training again,

Senior Jincheol, who returned after a long time and was greeting with an awkward expression, seemed to have changed a little from when he was sent down to the 2nd team.

Has it become a little sharper? The fat and muscles that had made him look a little dull had disappeared, and he looked similar to how he looked when I first saw Choi Jin-cheol a few years ago. Well, it was still big.

“From now on, Jincheol is the captain again, so listen carefully to Jincheol. Brother, you worked hard. “I heard you were exhausted while you were away.”

“Yes, Sangju, you also had a hard time managing the kids. “You did a good job watching first base while I was away.”

‘So now first base is Jincheol Seonban?’

After Suho returned, most of the Sangju seniors were playing first base part-time, or sometimes Suho or Burch were rotating in. To be honest, not all of them were players who specialized in first base, so it was true that they were more focused on throwing.

There were a few times when I lost a game because of a throwing error.

But now that senior Jin-cheol, who catches everything even if he throws it like a piece of cake, is back, he seems to have no worries.

When I glanced at the expressions of Seongtae, who was looking at the hit, and Sangmin, who was looking at third base, they both seemed to have the same feelings as me, nodding their heads with satisfaction.

‘The problem is senior Jincheol’s hitting ability…’

To be honest, I just needed to focus a little more on defense, so it wasn’t that big of a problem. The real problem is senior Jincheol’s batting skills. Senior Jincheol, who thought he would be promoted in about a month at the latest, spent more than two months in the second group.

Having spent that much time and hardened, the coaches may have judged that my form has improved, but in my eyes… So, I wanted to judge how Jincheol’s form has improved through Mr. Rossby’s eyes.

‘Still, a hitter of Jincheol’s level took a break and trained for about two months, so there must be some result, right?’

The training time I went into with that thought in mind.

‘Oh, I think it’s pretty good?’

‘The swing form has become more compact. I also held the bat a little short.’

‘Right? Is it because I held the bat short? I feel like I’ve lost some of my useless strength. It’s soft overall, isn’t it?’

‘Well, I’m not satisfied, but I think that would work well in this country.’

Mr. Rossby also gave a passing grade.

Our current record is 48 wins and 44 losses, in 4th place. They were two games behind 3rd place Silla and 3 games behind 2nd place Hyunsung, and were in a position where they could move up at any time if they gained momentum in the second half. Of course, we were in a position where we could fall by 0.5 from 5th place Charlotte and 2 games from 6th place Mirae at any time.

In such a situation, the return of senior Jincheol, whose form improved, was truly reassuring.

‘Good…, Let’s run in the second half as well.’

*

Batting average: .300 6/7, on-base percentage .604. In the baseball world, where even a 100% difference in batting average and on-base percentage is considered a great pitching idea, having a 2037 difference in batting average and on-base percentage was quite an abnormal performance.

A hitting gap that cannot be expressed in words that the starting pitch is good…

Ji Maeng-ho’s records so far this season were incredible, but Choi Jin-cheol first felt guilty when he saw those results. That abnormal batting gap was the result when the hitter behind couldn’t support the hitter in front.

Ji Maeng-ho’s batting gap in his first year is 10.15 li. The hitting gap recorded in the second year was 10.99 li, and the hitting gap recorded in the 3rd year was 20.19 ri, and Ji Maeng-ho’s hitting gap was widening every year.

Some people may think that Ji Maeng-ho’s pioneering vision has improved, but Choi Jin-cheol, who watched Ji Maeng-ho closely, knew that such words could not explain his record.

Ji Maeng-ho was always fighting a walk that he thought was automatic and meant to be avoided.

Ji Maeng-ho received 14 intentional pitches in the first year, 46 in the second year, and 66 in the third year. And this year, after the first half of the year, there were 62 intentional dead blocks, increasing every year.

And in proportion to that, his grades were falling.

In 23, Ji Maeng-ho’s first year, he recorded a .304 batting average and 44 home runs, which were enough to support Ji Maeng-ho. In 2024, he hit .277 with 38 home runs.

However, even though he was a pitching hitter in 2025, his batting average was .206 with 7 home runs and only 22 home runs. This season, he was completely ruined with .200, 4.3 and 4 home runs.

He should be supporting Meng Hao reliably, but he is recording such results, so it is natural for him to avoid Meng Hao rather than compete with him. Although Seongtae was supporting him, Choi Jin-cheol knew that it was not enough.

As a result, it was natural that Maengho, who was showing the appearance of a perfect Guess hitter, became impatient, and his batting average fell.

Choi Jin-cheol believed that that was the only reason Maengho, who had been hitting .400 for three years, was hitting .306 this season.

Of course, the performance recorded this season was one that other hitters could not match, but Choi Jin-cheol could not help but think that Ji Maeng-ho’s performance was poor because he and other hitters behind him could not properly support him.

That’s why Choi Jin-cheol worked hard to completely change his style in the second division.

From a style that aims for one punch to a style that values ​​contact a little more.

As long as Meng Hao got on base, he could aim for second base at any time, and in that case, he could make one run with just a short hit, so opposing pitchers had no choice but to feel the burden of avoiding a game with Meng Hao.

Because it was a completely different style of hitting from what he had been doing his whole life, it was bound to take quite a long time for him to get the hang of it, no matter how Jincheol Choi was…

However, for the sake of the team and for the struggling Maengho, Choi Jin-cheol slowly changed his style by putting aside all pride by honing himself in the second team. After getting a feel for the new style, Choi Jin-cheol was able to move up to the first team. 〈 Br〉

“… Number 4, second Ji Maeng-ho. And number 5 is First Choi Jin-cheol. Jincheol, is it possible? If it feels burdensome, say it.”

“Hey, director. It’s a burden at this age. Just leave it to me. “I am Choi Jin-cheol.”

“Yes, Jincheol. Let’s show it once. Then I will call the lineup again. Short Seongtae Yoon in number 6, short 7…”

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t scared because it meant giving up the style I’ve had my whole life. However, it didn’t matter as long as I could be of some help to the team and Meng Hao. Because with just that little help, Meng Hao was a hitter who could lead the team to victory.

And the time to prove that my thoughts were not wrong came sooner than I thought.

[Bottom of the 4th inning, 2 outs. The match between Na Seung-yoon and Ji Maeng-ho. Ah…, This is where the automatic intentional phrase appears.]

[Since there are two outs, the decision would be to face Choi Jin-cheol rather than the burdensome Ji Maeng-ho, right?]

[Ji Maeng-ho expresses strong regret.]

[It has to be that way. Since the score is 0:0, 1 point is urgent, but Ji Maeng-ho is a player who enjoys solving such situations on his own.]

[Now then, it’s a match between Na Seung-yoon and Choi Jin-cheol. First pitch changeup! Ji Maeng-ho ran and hit three leaves at second base! Ji Maeng-ho steals second base right from the first pitch!]

The sign sent by Ji Maeng-ho, who landed on second base, is a fastball.

‘Thank you, Meng Hao.’

Honestly, we couldn’t overlook this very reason why Choi Jin-cheol changed his style. If Maeng-ho only went to second base anyway, it was clear that he would alleviate his worries with his unique guess-hitting ability.

Meng Hao’s geth hitting ability, which has a hit rate of close to 100%, gave us confidence that the changed style would also work.

Of course, if he only relied on Meng Ho like this, his batting performance could have been poor when Meng Ho was not around, but Choi Jin-cheol admitted that he was no longer the main character. No, from the moment he spent his first season with Meng Hao, he had instinctively felt that fact.

He is just a supporting actor to bring in Meng Hao. When Meng Hao went out as a runner, it was enough for him to call Meng Hao home.

When he was young, he was always in the spotlight, having won the home run title four times, but as long as he could bring Maeng Hao home, as long as the team could win, as long as the team could win the championship, that didn’t matter anymore.

This season is the last season with Ji Maeng-ho. The 40-year-old veteran wanted to share the joy of winning again with the young player who gave him the joy of winning, so he held the bat briefly and waited for the pitcher’s ball.

[I felt it from the moment before the at-bat, isn’t Choi Jin-cheol holding the bat a little short?]

[Yes. Choi Jin-cheol was usually a hitter who held the tip of the bat as much as possible and aimed for a single hit, but I am curious about what kind of change in mindset he had in the second team.]

[Na Seungyoon threw the ball!]

The moment Na Seung-yoon threw the ball, Choi Jin-cheol swung. A swing so light that baseball fans who have watched Choi Jin-cheol for over 20 years would wonder, ‘Is this the swing Choi Jin-cheol used?’

And that light swing hit the ball exactly,

Perfect!

The batted ball flew with the ideal arch that I had thought about throughout my training in the second team.

[I hit it! A batted ball passes over the shortstop’s head! Ji Maeng-ho, who has already started running, reaches home! Safe to home! AT Thunders take the lead! And at the center of it all is a returning veteran! Choi Jin-cheol is here!]