Chapter 685 – Episode 672. Game 1 of the 2026 Korean Series. (1)

“First, shall we take a look at the starters of both teams in Game 1? The starting pitchers announced by both teams are Bellingham and Seonghyeon, the aces of both teams, as many fans expected. Well, Tinie has better records, but it would still be a shame not to use Seonghyun on such a big stage, right?

First, here are Bellingham’s results this season. 14 wins, 8 losses, 3.34 ERA, 157 strikeouts in 167 innings. We achieved results worthy of Bellingham, you could say that.

And here are Seonghyeon’s grades. 18 wins, 2 losses, ERA 2.44, 154 strikeouts in 177.1 innings. Although the record is lower than last year, the winning percentage is a whopping 90%. It means a pitcher who knows how to win.

As expected, it appears to be a victory for Volcanoes in the starting lineup.

Then we can’t avoid comparing batting lineups, right?

First, let’s take a look at the batting lineup of the Hwasan Falcons, who are waiting for the Korean Series.

CF Kim Joo-yeop 140G 106R 59RBI 156H 4HR 0.302/0.374/0.374/0.748 23SB 9CS

(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)

3B Han Seong-jin 137G 85R 74RBI 134H 11HR 0.295/0.359/0.434/0.793 9SB 3CS

1B Choi Si-woo 144G 105R 129RBI 161H 44HR 0.312/0.413/0.612/1.026 3SB 4CS

DH Schreiber 140G 104R 116RBI 137H 36HR 0.287/0.379/0.561/0.940 3SB 6CS

C Lee Yonggi 131G 85R 101RBI 142H 26HR 0.330/0.423/0.563/0.986 2SB 5CS

RF Yoon Joong-il 136G 68R 79RBI 132H 15HR 0.294/0.361/0.459/0.820 15SB 8CS

LF Kim Hyung-gun 137G 51R 67RBI 137H 16HR 0.288/0.357/0.446/0.804 24SB 7CS

SS Seungsik Kim 127G 52R 59RBI 111H 8HR 0.265/0.325/0.394/0.718 13SB 5CS

2B Wonhyeong Lee 136G 53R 47RBI 122H 12HR 0.266/0.348/0.386/0.734 5SB 4CS

It’s a very balanced batting lineup, right? In addition, Hwasan’s strength lies in the cleanup trio of Choi Si-woo, Schreiber, and Lee Yong-gi, and the cleanup trio’s offensive power can be seen as better than that of the AT Thunders.

The AT Thunders are overwhelming in terms of overall batting lineup, but if you look at the cleanup trio alone, I would like to favor the Volcano Falcons. Actually, AT Thunders aren’t that dominant, except for Ji Maeng-ho, the number 4 hitter, right?

In particular, the 5th position can be seen as a weakness, and I am really looking forward to this Korean series and how the AT Thunders will make up for this weakness…”

*

“It’s been a while. “Senior.”

“It’s been a while. “I saw it a few days ago.”

Before the first game of the Korean Series, sparks were flying in the eyes of the coaches of both teams who met to exchange lineup orders.

In the regular season, it was common for the youngest coach or batting coach to exchange orders, but the only reason the coach came out was to take the lead even before the game started.

And as intended, the two directors did not avoid each other’s gaze while shaking hands. It’s as if you lose the game if you avert your eyes here.

“We were the home team last year. Oh, but it’s a little disappointing that if we wait first, we won’t be able to win in our home stadium.”

“Then shouldn’t we have done well this year?”

“Hey, the volcano was perfect, wasn’t it? “Senior, what’s your secret?”

“Well, have we created a team that doesn’t rely on one player?”

After an exchange of ordinary words with hidden blades, the lineup orders for both teams are exchanged. Moon Ki-taek checked the lineup order sheet in his hand.

1. 4/Ji Maeng-ho

2. 7/Weather week

4. 3/Choi Jin-cheol

4. DH/Kim Su-ho

5. 6/Yun Seong-tae

6. 5/Kim Sang-min

7. 2/Baek Kyung-ho

8. 9/Baek Jeong-jin

9. 8/Hwicheol Jeong

‘City… ‘Foot.’

And I cursed under my breath. Because a completely different lineup than expected was written on the order sheet.

You put Ji Maeng-ho at number 1. It’s happened a few times. Because he himself finished second a few years ago after being defeated by Ji Maeng-ho, the number one hitter. However, it was natural that Moon Ki-taek could not have predicted it at all.

He is said to be less sensitive than a pitcher, but hitters are also sensitive creatures. It was a huge adventure for Ji Maeng-ho, who had played No. 4 all year long, to play No. 1 in the postseason until now.

If he had tried it a few times, he would have been able to predict it, but Moon Ki-taek’s mind goes blank when the name of No. 1 hitter Ji Maeng-ho pops up without warning.

“… Senior, don’t you give me your order? Why? What, what’s wrong? Was the player listed twice?”

Lee Soo-hyun’s voice is heard in Moon Ki-taek’s ears. Showing embarrassment here was the same as saying he had prepared something, so Moon Ki-taek resolutely handed out the order.

“Then, let’s have a good fight today.”

“… Yes.”

However, Lee Soo-hyun was not an easy director either. Even if the sport of baseball is not influenced by the coach, an incompetent coach cannot win the Korean Series for three consecutive years, and Lee Soo-hyun was a good coach in his own right.

‘Looks like this guy prepared something. ‘You seem embarrassed?’

Because it was Lee Soo-hyun, he could have sensed something while Moon Ki-taek paused for a moment. Of course, he didn’t know what was in store, but he was sure there was something.

‘Well, you’ll find out when you play the game.’

So Soo-Hyun Lee returned to the away team’s dugout after noticing something, and Ki-taek Moon also headed to the home team’s dugout with an order sheet that caught him off guard.

“Hyuna.”

What Moon Ki-taek did when he returned to the dugout was to call starting pitcher Seong Hyun.

In fact, Moon Ki-taek also had a lot of concerns about who to send to the first match. Because there were two aces in the volcano.

Tinie, a foreign pitcher, has shown a complete awakening this season, throwing fastballs in the mid to upper 150s, ranking 2nd in ERA, 2nd in strikeouts, 3rd in most wins, and 1st in innings. And perhaps because Seonghyeon was older, he couldn’t match Tinie’s performance.

But in the end, Moon Ki-taek chose Sung-hyun. Seonghyeon’s wealth of experience was experience, but Seonghyeon’s real strength was his ability to manage the game.

Seonghyeon was a pitcher who knew how to play the game while controlling the batting line sufficiently as per his strategy.

And, he was a pitcher who knew how to prepare for such unusual situations.

“Yes, director.”

“Ji Maeng-ho is the number one batter.”

“… “Are you Meng Hao?”

Upon hearing the story, veteran Seonghyeon’s face hardened slightly. What Hwasa practiced throughout the preparation for the Korean Series was controlling the opposing team’s batting lineup, and it was natural for Seonghyun’s face to harden since the game plan went awry was a serious matter.

However, Seonghyeon soon made up his mind like a veteran.

“Then I will just win the first time and proceed with the rest as planned.”

“Okay. Tsk, I couldn’t have expected this.”

“But no matter how strong a player he is, it would be difficult to suddenly become the number one hitter. And looking at Maengho’s batting style, I tend to watch a pitcher I haven’t seen in a long time. Rather, it seems like he could easily get an out count.”

“That might be possible. Anyway, I’m sorry. “I was only thinking about one side of the story.”

Moon Ki-taek’s expression brightens at Seong-hyeon’s words, which make sense.

“No. “Director.”

And Seonghyun answered Moon Ki-taek’s words with a bright face in order to put Moon Ki-taek’s mind at ease. If the coach was shaken, the team was bound to be shaken.

“Yes, today, please.”

“Please. “I’m doing my job.”

After reassuring Moon Ki-taek, Seong-hyeon looked at Moon Gi-taek’s order sheet.

“Ha…”

And then a deep sigh.

Although Seonghyun spoke confidently in front of Moon Ki-taek, he couldn’t help but sigh when he looked at the order sheet.

According to the original plan, the batters who should be in front of Ji Maeng-ho are veteran batters like Kim Su-ho and Ki Ki-joo. Since they were originally hitters who were quite good at hitting, even if they were skipped, the loss would not be significant.

However, the batters in front of Ji Maeng-ho now were Baek Jeong-jin and Jeong Hwi-cheol, who were left-handed hitters and did not have much game experience, so skipping them would result in great losses.

‘Well, I guess I’ll have to stick to the plan anyway. After following the strategy advised by the coach, the win rate against AT was quite good.’

Their record against AT this season is 10 wins and 6 losses. Considering that we recorded 6 wins and 10 losses last year, it was a huge improvement. Moreover, the gap between them and Hyunsung, who was in second place this season, was 2.5 games, so it was no exaggeration to say that they won by beating AT Thunders.

Of course, in the second half of the season when the championship was confirmed, the difference in games was reduced as candidates were appointed, but if AT Thunders had the same opponent record as last year, it would not be surprising if the rankings changed.

And it could not be denied that Moon Ki-taek’s strategy played an important role in the process of recording an advantage over AT.

‘Okay, let’s give it a try.’

So Seonghyun strengthened his resolve and began to think about how he would manage today’s game.

*

“Hi.”

“Jingling bastard. Why does it come out first today?”

“That’s right. Yonggi Haeng, please give us a good ball today as well.”

“Get out.”

‘It was rough from the beginning.’

Perhaps because he came out as number 1, Lee Yong-gi’s reaction was harsher than usual.

‘Then, let’s get a feel for it first.’

After a long time, the air of an untouched at-bat greets me.

In fact, the position of batting number one was quite important.

In the top of the first inning, the leadoff hitter is the first hitter to see the starting pitcher’s ball in the game. Since this was not a game in reality, even the same pitcher would throw different pitches depending on his condition, and it was quite interesting to see what the pitcher’s condition was like today. It was important.

In addition, today’s starting pitcher, Seonghyun, throws various types of pitches at will. The next batters also needed to watch a little bit because they had to get a feel for what kind of pitch Seonghyun was throwing today.

‘It’s a first-pitch fastball.’

‘Fastball? Okay.’

Seonghyun’s average velocity this season is around 144. His speed showed his age, but Seong-hyeon could have thrown a faster ball in a big game, so he decided to watch the first pitch and wait for Seong-hyun to throw the first pitch. And Seonghyeon’s ball was thrown.

“… Strike like!”

“… Did this come in?”

“Why are you dissatisfied?”

Seonghyun’s first pitch was a 142 km/h ball that hit the outside. It felt a little far away, but it turned out to be a strike…

‘Today’s referee is a dog.’

If the referee’s zone is like this, it’s a loss to look at the ball for too long.

‘Well, the coach wants me to see a lot of the ball anyway, so he didn’t appoint me as number one.’

Well, it’s okay for me to be a little selfish, right?