Chapter 671 – Episode 658. 0% Chance of Advancement. (1)
-Et Rotashiko unfolds in the wild card match!
… The team that won the wild card ticket after a fierce one-point match was the AT Thunders. The AT Thunders won their final game against the Future Buffaloes… Meanwhile, coach Choi Doo-young of the 4th place Charlotte Blue Mariners said, “It was something I expected. AT Thunders is a good team, but it will be our team that wins the wild card,” He said, expressing confidence.
Coach Choi Doo-young’s confidence appears to be statistically justified. The way the wild card match is played is a series in which the 4th place team starts with an advantage of 1 win, and the 4th place team is confirmed to advance to the semi-playoffs as long as it records a draw or better.
Since the wild card game was newly established in 2015, the 5th place team has never advanced directly to the semi-playoffs for 11 years until last year…
This season, the AT Thunders and Charlotte Blue Mariners’ head-to-head record is 8 wins, 7 losses, and 1 draw, with the AT Thunders having one win ahead.
Baseball fans are paying close attention to whether the AT Thunders led by Ji Maeng-ho will cause a surprise by beating the Charlotte Blue Mariners, or whether the Charlotte Blue Mariners led by Kang Kang-beom will advance to the semi-playoffs as everyone expected.
┗No matter how AT, this won’t be easy haha
┗I wonder if we will win 2 times in a row haha
┗Fierce Protector VS Han Beom-i Ham’s heart becomes majestic haha
┗┗Sometimes I was a strong criminal haha
┗Honestly, Charlotte came in 4th place, but isn’t AT ahead in terms of power?
┗┗ㅇㅇ But 2 wins in a row will be difficult haha
*
“It was a really intense season, and all 144 professional baseball games ended yesterday, right? In particular, yesterday’s guillotine match between AT and Mirae was a truly thrilling match. We also filmed a vlog, so please look forward to it. Now, let’s start the wild card preview with Commissioner Kim Jeong-min. Hello!”
“Hello. “This is Kim Jeong-min.”
“Once the season is over, the rankings are all confirmed, right?”
“That’s right. Hwasan is waiting for you in the Korean Series, Hyunsung is waiting for you in the playoffs, and Silla is waiting for you in the semi-playoffs, right? And in the wild card, Charlotte faced the 5th place team AT.”
“Then, before the wild card preview begins in earnest, which team do you think will advance?”
“Haha, as expected, Charlotte, the 4th place team, can be seen as having an advantage. In the past 11 years, the 5th place team has never advanced to the semi-playoffs.”
“Oh. Is it so? But doesn’t the AT Thunders have an objective advantage?”
“You can say that, but in fact, even if that is the case, it is not easy to win two games in a row on the fall baseball stage.”
“Hmm…”
“Uh? “I think Jia thinks differently?”
“I will be cautious and predict AT Thunders victory. Honestly, Ji Maeng-ho in the fall. “It’s scary, isn’t it?”
“Well, that’s right. Haha. Then, let’s analyze the strength of both teams in earnest.”
*
“So, here is the expected lineup for AT Thunders.”
As the power analysis team leader flipped through the PPT slides, the screen was filled with AT Thunders hitters’ performances this season.
DH Kim Su-ho 73G 48R 37RBI 92H 7HR 0.311/0.425/0.436/0.861 2SB 3CS
(G=game, R=run, RBI=RBI, H=hit, HR=home run, batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage/OPS, SB=stealing base, CS=failure to steal base)
RF Baek Jeong-jin 138G 63R 71RBI 134H 14HR 0.313/0.374/0.474/0.849 10SB 4CS
LF weather note 140G 107R 116RBI 172H 20HR 0.327/0.413/0.500/0.913 0SB 1CS
2B Ji Maeng-ho 133G 142R 171RBI 135H 62HR 0.381/0.617/1.071/1.688 75SB 0CS
1B Choi Jin-cheol 89G 39R 54RBI 89H 8HR 0.303/0.373/0.432/0.805 0SB 2CS
SS Seongtae Yoon 135G 84R 108RBI 146H 22HR 0.305/0.377/0.504/0.881 24SB 8CS
3B Kim Sang-min 105G 55R 67RBI 105H 14HR 0.286/0.356/0.452/0.809 5SB 3CS
C Baek Kyung-ho 101G 47R 59RBI 101H 16HR 0.288/0.352/0.479/0.831 1SB 3CS
CF Jeong Hwi-cheol 128G 78R 44RBI 142H 0HR 0.318/0.388/0.386/0.774 21SB 5CS
“Umm…”
And at the same time, a moan came out of Director Choi Doo-young’s mouth. However, no one gave Director Choi Doo-young a look of criticism.
“How can there be only one person whose OPS falls below 0.8, the number 9 hitter?”
“I knew it, but looking at it again, it just makes no sense.”
And other coaches also had similar thoughts to Director Choi Doo-young. As someone once said, the AT Thunders’ batting lineup was one that made you groan just by looking at it, as there was only one batter whose OPS fell below 0.8.
And the record of the batter at the center was enough to take your breath away.
Batting average .308 1 ri, on-base percentage .601 7 ri, slugging percentage 1.071, OPS 1.688. Ji Maeng-ho was recording results all year long that could be considered as having had a beautiful week even if he kept records like this for one week.
Of course, Ji Maeng-ho’s boasted .400 batting average was broken, but that did not mean that Ji Maeng-ho’s skills declined. In the past month or two, Ji Meng-ho has been hitting close to .500, showing clearly why he is Ji Meng-ho.
“But aren’t we superior in terms of pitching? Swanson v. Bellingham. “We are definitely ahead in the ace match.”
“That’s true.”
It is said that it precedes the weight of the pitcher. Charlotte’s coaching staff felt strange at those words. In fact, Charlotte has traditionally been a team that beats its opponents with the power of its batting lineup.
Although Swanson led the team to 4th place this season by showing an ERA close to an ace in the mid-2 point range, all other starting pitchers except Swanson were in the mid-to-late 3-point range to low-to-mid 4-point range, which cannot be said to be good.
‘… It won’t be easy if you don’t catch the first game, right?’
And that meant that Swanson would not have an advantage in batting or on the mound unless it was his first game against Bellingham.
“Lim Jun-hoo will appear in the second game, right? Jang Yoon threw in the last game, and Diaz has a lot of ups and downs.”
“Umm… Lim Jun-hoo…”
The likely starter in the second game of the wild card is Lim Jun-hoo, who has shown an awakening this season. At the beginning of the season, the ERA was in the mid to late 3-point range, but he seemed to have realized something during the season and lowered his ERA to the 2-point range, and as the records show, his performance was also quite good.
Aside from Swanson, there was no starter in Charlotte who could beat Lim Jun-hoo.
“Well, if we win the first game, there will be no problem.”
As the atmosphere becomes heavier, someone opens their mouth in a playful tone.
“Okay. Let’s grab the first game as much as possible.”
“No way, will the 5th place team move up? “Even if we just draw, we go up.”
And other people also continue speaking as if responding to what the person said. However, in a corner of the hearts of the Charlotte coaches who were struggling, an anxious feeling was creeping up.
*
“And… “A lot of people came.”
I took a quick look around and saw that Sajik Stadium was filled with spectators. Of course, most of them were Charlotte fans. It seems like about 20,000 people are Charlotte fans? No, about 22,000 people? It felt like our fans in the away stands were really just a handful.
Our fans aren’t being pushed to the margins, but after all, Charlotte is Charlotte, right? Busan, and fall baseball,
In addition, this game is a wild card game that is almost guaranteed to advance. In history, the 5th place team has never advanced to the semi-playoffs, so it was natural that many of Charlotte’s home fans would come.
“Wow, are you scared?”
As I was watching the crowd, Seongtae came up and spoke to me. Maybe it’s because he’s a Busan homeboy, but he seems a little proud of the crowd of Charlotte fans? A man who only needs to play for three more years to become a free agent is acting like this.
I was really worried.
“Yes. I’m scared.”
“… Huh?”
Seongtae is very embarrassed by my answer, as if he didn’t expect it… Well, it was true that I was scared.
“I’m afraid that my brother will spy on me again. “If you does it right, Charlotte, you know there will be no problem, right?”
Because this kind of person is guarding the shortstop.
“You’re my spy!”
Seongtae seems to have hit the nail on the head with my words and raises his voice.
“You know that the more you deny it, the more it becomes real, right?”
“…”
To be honest, I didn’t even expect to play well. It would be nice if you didn’t make any real mistakes…
“Hey! Stop craving Seongtae and gather around! Let’s give it a try and then go in.”
“Yes!”
While Seongtae was strengthening his spirit, senior Jincheol called the players together.
“Isn’t there anyone who said that there were a lot of spectators at Sajik?”
Senior Jincheol’s first words after calling the players together were, of course, about the audience. Even Jincheol, the world’s senior, seemed a little nervous to see such a story being brought up. The other players also seemed a little worried.
Well, since Sajik’s homecoming was that hot, it wasn’t something I couldn’t understand. The energy radiated by 20,000 people with one mind was difficult for ordinary people to bear.
Me? Of course, I was fine.
Wouldn’t it be more fun? Making this crowd of people shut up and turning it into a library was like my specialty.
The spectacle of over 20,000 spectators falling silent after hitting a home run was, of course, a special pleasure. Is it almost like sex? No, in terms of frequency, sex was something that happened all the time, and since this experience only occurred a few times during the season, it could actually be considered better than sex.
“Senior, don’t worry. “We will open the Sajik Library today.”
Home full of fans?
“Okay. As Meng Hao said, even if everyone here is Charlotte fans, no matter how much the media says the 5th place team has a 0% chance of moving up, let’s just trust each other and do our job without being intimidated.”
“Hey, my team. Before I came, we hadn’t won a championship in 29 or 30 years. It’s only an 11-year record, but honestly, it’s nothing special, right? Let’s get two clean wins in a row and go to Gocheok!”
0% chance of advancement?
Anyway, if it was my one home run, it was meaningless.