Chapter 672 – Episode 659. 0% Chance of Advancement. (2)

[This is the AT Thunders offensive lineup. The batting order consists of No. 1 hitter Kim Soo-ho, No. 2 hitter Baek Jeong-jin, No. 3 hitter Gi Ki-joo, No. 4 hitter Ji Maeng-ho, No. 5 hitter Choi Jin-cheol, No. 6 hitter Yoon Seong-tae, No. 7 hitter Kim Sang-min, No. 8 hitter Baek Kyung-ho, and No. 9 hitter Jeong Hwi-cheol. I am doing it.]

[You brought almost the best lineup, right? Here, mercenary hitter Birch is waiting as a pinch hitter.]

[With a mercenary hitter waiting for a pinch hitter, the AT Thunders’ batting lineup is terrifying.]

[In fact, last year, with the addition of Williams, they boasted the best batting lineup in the KBA League’s history, and although this season’s AT Thunders are not at that level, they are still one of the best batting lineups. Of course, at the center of it all is Ji Maeng-ho.]

[AT Thunders’ batting lineup has become really structured, right? At the beginning of the season, there was a lot of talk about whether it was a little lacking, right?]

[Yes. First, there was a lot of talk about Kim Soo-ho getting injured at the WBC, right? However, Kim Su-ho returned, and Choi Jin-cheol, who had been underperforming, returned to the first team and showed a lot of focus on contact. That can be seen as an element of the AT Thunders’ batting lineup becoming more structured.]

[And Gi-gi-ju and Ji-maeng-ho are still there. Seongtae Yoon, who has shown off his potential since last year, and Sangmin Kim, who has been labeled as a promising prospect this season. In addition, Baek Kyung-ho, whose grades have risen sharply since transferring to AT. It’s terrifying.]

[Well, Jeong Hwi-cheol and Baek Jeong-jin are also hitting above the league average, so most pitchers can’t stop them.]

[Then, let me call you the Charlotte Blue Mariners’ defensive lineup that will face that batting line. Ace Swanson is the pitcher, and Yang Chan-woo is the catcher, making up the battery. And from first base…]

*

To sum up Swanson in one word, he was a pretty good pitcher. The average speed is in the late 140s and the highest velocity is around 153-4. And at the league level, he has top-level control and a variety of breaking balls, including the splitter, which is his decisive pitch.

Moreover, as a foreign pitcher, his pitch was definitely better than that of other Korean pitchers.

But, that’s it.

There was no such thing as perfect ball control like Seonghyun, or universe-like speed, or overwhelming pitch like Wonho. In other words, he doesn’t have any weapons to overwhelm the batter and just feels like a full hexagon?

‘Well, it’s at the Korean level, though. If I had pitched better, I wouldn’t have come here.’

And that means…,

“Base on balls!”

“Good kid! Good kid!”

“Good! Let’s start with the first episode!”

This was tantamount to saying that hitters above the league average might struggle.

The person who opened the fire for us was senior Suho, who was also the number one hitter. Although Su-ho was a senior who was unable to play defense and had lost a lot of his slugging ability after the injury, his eyes were still alive, and he was able to calmly pick out Swanson and get a walk.

And our choice is a bunt to send the runner to second base.

Tuk.

The ball rolled by Baek Jeong-jin rolls toward the third baseman. Senior Suho, who has already started running, is near second base.

“Out!”

The third baseman gave up second base and threw the ball to first base, putting the batter and runner out.

‘Buntra… ‘I’m going to score 1 point from the 1st inning.’

It was a bunt that would not have occurred in the regular season, but the manager’s judgment was reasonable. This means sending a runner to second base to increase the probability of scoring at least one run.

If Sangju senior hits a hit, he gets 1 point. Even if he was out, unless it was a strikeout or a shallow fly, he could send the runner to third base. When I entered with two outs, did they create a situation where they could send me to second base? And then I could send an autograph from second base, so I could trust Jincheol’s batting.

Well, the worst situation was when Sangju senior intentionally threw me out with two outs without even being able to advance on base…,

Perfect!

“Nice!”

“Good bet! Good bet!”

Senior Sangju wasn’t a fool who couldn’t even hit a base hit. No, rather, he is still one of the top hitters in the country when it comes to batting skills!

Senior Sangju’s batted ball exquisitely lands in front of right field.

“Home! Home!”

The right fielder caught the ball and threw the ball toward home, but senior Suho had already hit home. Senior Sangju stopped at first base while looking at the liver. Probably because they calculated that they would skip me if they went to second base.

‘Thank you, senior!’

I went into batting after expressing my gratitude to my senior Sangju for his invisible sacrifice.

“Hi.”

As I entered the batter’s box, I saw Swanson’s expression slightly hardened after allowing a run in the first inning.

‘Hmm… Are you going to skip it even though it’s 1 out and 1 base?’

‘It’s a slider.’

‘Okay.’

But fortunately, there was no automatic cause of death. Probably, the intention is to lose when the ball count is high. In that case, I also had to compete with the fastest count possible.

The first pitch he chose was a slider.

‘Maybe they’re not going to give me a good ball, so I’m going to throw it outside?’

If he vaguely misses one or two balls, he forms a hitting zone on the outside with the intention of hitting him right away and waits for his ball.

And the guy slowly starts making pitching moves.

‘… ‘Two three!’

The thrown ball gradually falls toward the outside. All I have to do here is lightly tap!

Perfect!

The ball that hits the tip of the bat exquisitely passes the first baseman’s height and falls inside the line. And as soon as the ball was hit, I had already thrown the bat and ran toward first base.

‘Run!’

‘It’s running!’

Due to the defensive position being pulled to the left, the right fielder is still running! I ran straight toward second base.

“Stop! Stop!”

But my base running ended at second base. Sangju senior, who walks slowly, felt that the batted ball was a bit short for him to run all the way to home.

‘Ha, for some reason, Charlotte’s defense is uncharacteristically good.’

Additionally, the cut in right field was quite good. Normally, during the regular season, the ball would be shed at times like this, but it seemed like the Charlotte players were more focused because it was fall baseball.

It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t hit an RBI or get to third base, but anyway, the situation was one out, second and third base. Even if we didn’t score, we still had a chance.

‘It’s a splitter.’

‘Jincheol is a splitter!’

And I had a way to make use of that opportunity.

Perfect!

Senior Jin-cheol hits the splitter, the fifth ball that Swanson chose as the deciding ball. The batted ball passed through the second baseman’s high glove,

“Home! Home!”

I was running past third base and all the way to home.

‘It’s sliding!’

‘Okay!’

It felt like the catcher’s mitt was brushing against my body almost at the same time as I touched home plate with my hand… However, my hands came first.

“… Safe!”

“Phew. It’s easy.”

The score is 3:0. Sajik Stadium, which was filled with spectators, fell silent due to the disaster that occurred in the first inning.

– Choi Jin-cheol! Choi Jin-cheol! Choi Jin-cheol!

And only a few away fans break the silence and chant the name of senior Jincheol, who scored two RBIs. The fans’ voices were heard louder because of the silence…,

‘Wow, this is the taste.’

As expected, it was thrilling.

“Out!”

“Out!”

… And the double play that came out was not thrilling.

“Seongtae hyung. “Don’t give a damn!”

“… “I’m sorry.”

“Ugh…”

*

“…”

The dugout was quiet. There were more players in the dugout than there were in the top of the first inning because it was their turn to attack, but it was as if someone had covered their mouths.

An ace who climbed the mound with confidence. And that confidence was in vain as the score was 3:0 from the first inning.

“Out!”

While Charlotte’s dugout was quiet, the out count went up on the electronic display, but the players just watched the number one batter return.

And Charlotte legend Kang Han-beom knew this atmosphere. It is safe to say that this atmosphere is Charlotte’s unique team color.

The characteristic of the Charlotte Blue Mariners was that when the team was in a good mood, they showed play comparable to that of a major league team, but when the mood was down, they showed play like amateur baseball, and now, the team’s mood was breaking down in real time.

“What are you doing? Don’t you raise your voice?!”

“… Fighting.”

“Let’s get on base!”

I tried to force my colleagues to encourage me, but all I got back was the sound of exhausted cheering.

‘It can’t go on like this…’ !’

Nothing will change just by saying it. Kang Han-beom was a key player in Charlotte for over 10 years, so he knew that fact painfully well. The team was in this mood when he debuted, and it was also in this mood even after he returned to the major leagues.

Kang Han Beom has always worked hard to improve the team’s constitution, but even now that he is 40, the team has not changed.

However, he also knew the solution.

The only thing that can change the mood of these guys is one shot that turns the game around.

And that role has always been his since he started his professional career.

The manager was well aware of that fact, so his batting order in this game was number 4, which can be said to be the core of the team. In the regular season, he was a strong batsman who was placed in the 5th position behind mercenary hitter Goodwin, but as it was a big game, he entrusted that important responsibility to himself, who had more experience.

Therefore, Kang Han-beom strengthened his will, grabbed the bat, and headed to the waiting box.

At bat, mercenary hitter Goodwin, who usually bats number 4. And like most mercenaries, Goodwin was not a hitter who was assimilated into the team’s atmosphere.

Perfect!

[Goodwin’s hit! Shortstop left! Exit!]

And, he was a good enough hitter to attack Bellingham’s pitches, batting number 4 throughout the regular season.

In the short time he walks to the plate, Kang Han-beom’s concentration becomes clearer than ever.

This year, Swanson showed good performance and was able to be invited to the fall baseball season, but it could not be guaranteed that he would be invited to the event next year as we do not know what kind of performance the mercenary pitchers will show, so this season could possibly be the last fall baseball season.

And your body getting older day by day.

Among the troika of right-handed hitters who debuted with him, Jin-Hong Lee was already recording results that would not be surprising even if he retired, and the remaining one, Jin-Cheol Choi, recorded 2 RBIs and a timely hit today, but he is nowhere near his former self when he was the home run king. There was none.

Of course, he was considered the best of the three, but Kang Han Beom knew very well that it wouldn’t be surprising if he became like his friends next year.

Therefore, Kang Han-beom did not want to miss this opportunity.

‘… ‘Onna.’

Kang Han-beom’s eyes, full of concentration, look at Bellingham.

District 1, District 2, District 3.

And the bat containing Kang Han-beom’s wishes swings like a thunderbolt.

Ta – Aak!

[Uh? Uh? Should I skip it? Should I skip it? Beyond~! Here we go! Kang Han-beom’s two-run home run! Charlotte Blue Mariners’ counter punch after just one inning! The main character is Kang Han-beom! And! Resignation is on fire once again! Score 3:2!!]

“Sun, senior… !”

“Why don’t you speak louder! “The gangster isn’t over yet!”