Chapter 682 – Episode 669. Friend. (7)

[… Strike out! Lim Jun-hoo puts a runner on base with two outs, but cleans up the inning!]

[… Bottom of 2nd inning, 2 outs, 1st and 2nd bases. And at bat is number 9 hitter Jeong Hwi-cheol. … This batted ball! The right fielder catches it! Out! Kim Won-ho organizing the inning!]

-ㅋㅋㅋ If Hwicheol hits it that far, shouldn’t he be recognized as a home runㅋㅋㅋ

┗ㄹㅇㅋ But it looks like Kim Won-ho is having a hard time too? I hit a ball like that from Jeong Hwi-cheol haha

┗┗There was no ball going to the outfield against that bastard Kim Won-ho, but he definitely seemed to have lost the ball.

-All the batters turned around in just 2 innings. Isn’t this the first time this season against Kim Won-ho?

┗I don’t know the record, but I feel like it’s the first time in several years haha

[… Out! … Out! … Out! Lim Jun-hoo ends the inning with a three-way throw! The game now goes to the bottom of the third inning.]

-The flower snake god is crazy haha

┗ㄹㅇ That bastard is going to be fucked next year, really

┗I heard in an interview that Maeng Ho-sin told me something, but it doesn’t seem to have any effect

┗┗Kk, please give Meng Ho-sin exemption from military service, catch a flower snake, and give me advice. As for the flower snake, if you become a FA, give half to Meng Ho-sin

[At the bottom of the third inning, the AT Thunders’ leadoff hitter is Kim Su-ho. … Kim Soo-ho’s batted ball! It’s big! It’s big! Ah! A batted ball caught in front of the fence!]

[Jamsil is really spacious, right? I made up my mind to aim for it, and it was a perfect hit, but it must be quite unfortunate for Kim Su-ho.]

-Ah, please identify Jamsil Kim

-The feeling is strong… If Won Ho-shin was originally on the pitch, he wouldn’t have hit the ball that far…

┗Ha, still got one out.

┗┗Getting outs is not a good thing. I think I need to get off quickly because I’m getting hit with all the right hits.

┗┗Still, I think I should take a look at Kim Won-honde?

[… Baek Jeong-jin’s hit! This batted ball goes into right-center field! Baek Jeong-jin to second base! A double hit after one out! AT Thunders get another chance!]

-Ah, if you get hit by Baek Jeong-jin, how are you going to stop Ki Ki-joo, Ji Maeng-ho, and Choi Jin-cheol?

┗ㅈㅈ I lost

*

Was throwing a ball really this hard? The fatigue that would normally come from throwing 120 pitches seemed to be eating away at his arm even though he had only thrown 50 pitches.

Now the batter standing at bat is Ki Ki-joo. He was a batsman who was named in the top 10 hitters this season with a batting average of .302 and 7 li. And even without those records, the value of the name Gigiju was bound to be scary.

Moreover, the batsman waiting behind the weather warning is Ji Maeng-ho. If a walk is given here, Ji Maeng-ho will come to first and second base with one out. A situation that must be considered out. A walk was not allowed even if it meant death.

‘… Even the weather chief knows this, right?’

And there was no way the veteran weatherman would not have known about such a situation. However, if you put it in the zone, it was a situation where a runner could come in with even a short hit.

‘Wouldn’t it be better to give up a walk and get the bases loaded by blocking the Tigers? Then what about Choi Jin-cheol? Then what about Seongtae Yoon?’

My mind becomes complicated due to the dilemma.

If I were in the same condition as usual, I would have just put it in the zone, but my condition is the worst right now.

I knew that the mound is not a place where you can always be in the best condition, but this was too harsh in a situation where the team could fall in this game.

However, taking the mound after three days of rest was his own choice. He couldn’t blame anyone.

‘Er, I don’t know.’

In that situation, the method Wonho chose was to just stick it in the zone.

No matter how good a hitter he was, he couldn’t hit in every at-bat. Even if it’s that Ji-maeng-ho.

He was already on the mound himself, and he had to throw the ball. All that’s left is to believe in your ball and hit it in the zone, no matter how tired you are!

‘I’m going with a two-centered approach.’

The first pitch Wonho chose was a two-seamer. Although the angle was flat today, it was reasonably fast, and there was no need to worry about it going outside the left-hander and hitting a long hit.

“Strike.”

Fortunately, Ki Ki-ju didn’t throw out the bat due to a flat pitch, perhaps because he thought he could blow the golden opportunity with an out on the first pitch. The speed of the two-seamer shown on the electronic display board was 139 km/h. Wonho breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that he was not hit by a ball that was 10 km/h slower than his usual two-seamer.

Now there are two strikes to take.

But the problem started now. Because the weatherman was not a batter who would stand still holding the bat like before.

The good news is that although velocity is not there, ball control is good. He kept getting hit, but the reason he didn’t give him a point was because he had good ball control.

‘As far as possible towards the borderline.’

Wonho kept repeating the borderline in his mind and prepared for the next ball.

Perfect!

“Foul!”

The bat was swung at a ball that was about two balls outside, and the batted ball swung toward third base, creating a foul. Now two strikes. There is only one strike left until out.

‘… I’ll throw the splitter.’

And the ball that Wonho chose in that situation was the splitter that made him the best pitcher in the league.

Of course, it was dangerous today because the splitter wasn’t thrown properly, but I couldn’t miss this golden opportunity.

“Ball.”

‘… Splitter.’

“Ball.”

‘… Splitter!’

Perfect!

“Foul!”

‘… Splitter!!’

“Ball.”

‘… Splitter!!!’

Perfect!

“Foul!”

‘… Splitter!!!!’

Perfect!

“Foul!”

[Geun Sang-ju is fighting persistently. The count that started with two strikes suddenly changes to a full count.]

[Kim Won-ho and Ki Ki-ju are having a really great match, aren’t they? Kim Won-ho threw a splitter five times in a row, and Ki Ki-ju Ki is also persistent.]

‘Fuck, please come in!’

Wonho cursed under his breath as he watched the team call off balls that went into the zone as fouls and pick off balls that went out of the zone.

I keep throwing the splitter, and it hurts like my fingers are going to break. But he couldn’t show it. Because showing a hard time on the mound was like asking someone to kill you.

‘Wonho, are you going to keep using the splitter?’

‘…’

The catcher seemed to be asking himself with his eyes. What kind of ball is the batter aiming for here?

Expect six straight splitters? Or should I expect a fastball?

One thing that was certain was that if he were to be detained now, Ki Ki-joo would likely be kicking his balls for days.

Wonho’s mind becomes complicated.

But the choice was limited. It felt like he was losing all his grip strength as he kept throwing the splitter with his fingers wide open. If you throw a splitter here, if you’re lucky, it’s a stray pitch that gets stuck in the zone, and if you’re unlucky, it’s a wild pitch that rolls behind the catcher.

In other words, excluding the splitter, the ball you can choose is only the fastball that you are most confident in controlling.

‘I’ll go with the fastball.’

Wonho quickly sent his sign and looked to where he was going to throw the ball. The lower part of the body is the most difficult for a batter to hit.

‘As light as possible. Anyway, if I throw it now, it won’t even come out in the mid 140s. What is important is control.’

Wonho consoled himself and threw the ball with as much attention as possible to his control. Was it because he threw with less strength? His arm was as light as when he first threw the ball,

Perfect!

The weather warning bat was swung.

‘It’s done!’

The direction of the hit is a normal third base grounder. But, is it because the game took longer?

“Huh?!”

“Run! Run!”

[Ah! The third baseman fumbles the ball! Look at the runner on second base and throw to first base! Safe! A weatherman who lives on first base.]

[Ah, I should have taken care of it just now, but Ki-joo Ki’s sprint was good.]

[Now the situation is 1 out, 1st, 3rd base!]

The third baseman’s error occurred in a critical situation. However, Wonho’s attention was focused on something other than his mistake.

‘… ‘What just happened?’

A strange feeling that cannot be explained in words. To confirm that feeling, I turn my head to the electronic display board and check the restraints. The speed recorded on the electronic display board is 136.8 km/h.

‘136? No matter how bad I was, I felt like I was in the low 140s.’

For a moment, I was a little surprised by the speed that felt like it was my first time throwing since middle school.

‘… ‘Why didn’t I hit this?’

Rather than thinking about his mistake, Wonho’s mind was filled with pure curiosity. Although he got on base due to an error, Ki Ki-ju completely missed his ball, which was only in the mid-130s.

“Wonho, are you okay?”

“Yes? Yes, whatever.”

And the catcher, who called time out of concern for Wonho, who may be shaken by a mistake, comes up to the mound.

“Yeah, that’s a relief. And what about the ball just now? Changeup? “I was preparing because it was a fastball sign, but it came very slowly.”

“It was a fastball, what was strange?”

“No, it’s not that it’s strange, it’s that it comes too slowly.”

The catcher said it was too slow. And from the catcher’s words, Wonho was able to understand what the strange sensation he was feeling was.

‘… Is this speed control?’

Of course, it wasn’t that Wonho didn’t know how to control speed and speed. The highest speed recorded by Wonho was 158.6 km/h. He continued to say that he couldn’t throw a ball with that much velocity, so he usually threw a ball in the low to mid 150’s with some effort.

And he controlled his velocity through breaking balls.

But, now. I felt like I knew what it meant to control speed with a fastball. … Like a saint.

‘… I think I’ll find out for sure if I throw it a little more.’

Now, the opponent who comes to bat is Ji Maeng-ho, the best hitter in the league. Conducting an experiment on Ji Maeng-ho was a risky action.

‘But, isn’t there a lot of risk if I throw it as usual anyway?’

However, in its current state, no matter how you throw it, the risk is still high. And Wonho was also a pitcher. A pitcher who is evolving to catch batters more easily. Wonho was stimulated by the thought that if he missed this feeling now, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

“Ji Maeng-ho… Do you want to skip it?”

“No. At this point, Ji Maeng-ho or Choi Jin-cheol with bases loaded are the same. Anyway, if they hit it right, both are home runs. If that’s the case, it’s better to give as few points as possible.”

“Okay.”

Wonho sent the catcher, who was making weak calls to skip Maengho, back to his seat and welcomed his friend once again.

‘Now that I think about it, you missed that plain slider earlier, right? … Is this really the right answer?’

And after making the decision, I felt like I could see Meng Hao’s weakness.

‘I’ll go with a fastball first.’

The first pitch Wonho chose was a fastball. In the same way as before, he threw the first pitch with as much strength as possible, remembering the feeling of not feeling anything in his arm.

Whoa!

“Strike!”

The referee’s strike call is heard with a bloody sound cutting through the air.

Meng Hao had missed his ball. The speed recorded on the electronic display board was 135.7 km/h. Meng Hao laughs as if he is dumbfounded.

‘It’s a fastball this time too.’

And this time, I’ll give it my all and give it my all!

“Ball.”

However, Meng Hao did not move as about 3 balls fell.

‘I won’t go easy either. Is this it? Fastball again.’

This time it was also a fastball. But slower than before.

Ta – Aak!

The batted ball heads towards the fence with a loud sound. Wonho broke into a cold sweat while watching that hit,

“… Foul!”

Fortunately, the batted ball deflected at the end and went off the pole. And a foul means the timing was off.

His own credit worked. Against that Ji Maeng-ho!

‘Fastball again this time.’

‘Wouldn’t it be too dangerous?’

‘Just listen to me, damn it.’

Wonho prepared for the next ball, sending a strong look at the catcher who was trying to break the flow. The next ball is also a fastball. This time, as slow as possible.

And then the ball left Wonho’s hand.

‘… ‘Huh?’

But I can feel a slight burden on my arm.

Wonho could tell the moment he threw it. The ball wasn’t thrown properly this time.

Ta – Aak!

And the price was terrible. The speed recorded on the electronic display board was 141 km/h. It was a failure to control the restraint.

-Wow!!!

-Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maengho! Ji Maengho!

Meng Hao’s bat is pointed at him like a gun. And the bat flies far away after bouncing once.

‘Ah…, If only I had thrown a little better.’

Normally, he would have been annoyed by the ceremony, but instead of being annoyed, Wonho felt self-reproach overtaking him. If only I had focused a little more, no, if only I had realized this sensation earlier than now…

I wanted to crush myself, who had never known this feeling until now.

‘Okay, this isn’t enough, right?’

This home run was a gift given to him by a friend as a sign to try harder.

Wonho wanted to use the gift as a lesson to further refine his senses.

However, there were no more opportunities for Wonho. Because the manager was walking out of the dugout.

I’ve already visited the mound once. If someone visits the mound one more time, he has to leave this place.

“Under…”

I felt like I wanted to stop the director. It was because I felt like I could truly realize this feeling if I threw a little more.

But he couldn’t be stubborn. Because this was a mound and not a place to practice.

How many more points do you need to give to master this sense perfectly? This feeling could have disappeared if he got off the mound, but he couldn’t let his greed end what could have been the team’s last game of the season.

“… Sorry. “I should have given myself more time to rest.”

“No. Director. “I’m sorry for giving up points.”

“No, it held up well.”

Just like that, Wonho left his greed behind and came down from the mound.

-Kim Won-ho! Wonho Kim! Kim Won-ho!

And seeing the ace’s back on the mound after a three-day break, Silla’s fans were shouting for Kim Won-ho with one voice. This was something fans knew, even though he gave up three runs on a home run. He said that if it weren’t for Wonho, they wouldn’t be where they are now.

That was the fans’ final gift to the Ace, who had been dominant throughout the season and helped an underpowered team advance straight to the semi-playoffs.

‘… I’m sorry.’

All I can say to those fans is that I’m sorry.

‘I really wanted to laugh together at the end…’

Just like that, the league’s best ace slowly walked to the dugout with the image of the fans, which might be his last, engraved in his mind.