Chapter 689 – Episode 676. A Battle of Wits Between Two Coaches With Strong Pride. (3)
[With one out, Choi Jin-cheol walks. … Chae Jae-hyeon strikes out Kim Su-ho and counts out the second out. And the fifth batter, Seongtae Yoon, comes into the batter’s box. … Seongtae Yoon’s batted ball! Fence! It hits and falls! First base runner Choi Jin-cheol goes all the way home! Home! Home! Out! This is the end of the inning! The score remains at 1:0 as Yoon Joong-il’s home assist explodes!]
[Ah, actually, considering Choi Jin-cheol’s age and strength, it wasn’t the right time to turn, but it seems like he overdid it with two outs. It would be a little disappointing with AT’s point of view, right?]
After the first inning, in which both teams exchanged good defense, the game continued without much change until the top of the third inning.
And in the bottom of the 3rd inning, Jeong Hwi-cheol and Ji Maeng-ho got walks, giving them a chance to reach first and second base with no outs, but left-handed pitcher Chae Jae-hyeon hit three out counts against left-handed hitters Gi Ki-ju, Kim Su-ho, and Yoon Seong-tae, leaving AT As no additional points were scored, the atmosphere of the game seemed to be slowly turning towards a volcano.
[Now in the top of the 4th inning, the Volcano Falcons attack begins. The batting order is very good, right? It starts with the cleanup, which includes Choi Si-woo, Schreiber, and Lee Yong-gi. … Out! … Out! Now at bat, Lee Yong-gi is the number 5 hitter. … Ah! This batted ball goes over the left wall! Score 1:1! The Volcanic Falcons balance the game!]
[Lee Yong-gi debuted in Hancheol, so he is familiar with the spacious Jamsil, right?]
And just like that, Lim Jun-hoo was shaken as Lee Yong-ki balanced the game with a solo home run,
[Lim Jun-hoo gives up a straight walk to Yoon Joong-il. Now the situation is 2 outs, runner on 1st base. And the 7th batter, Kim Hyeong-geon, comes into the batter’s box.]
A situation has arrived with 2 outs and 1 base. It’s a crisis that comes unexpectedly. Baek Kyung-ho went up to the mound like a veteran and calmed down Lim Jun-hoo.
“Junhoo, throw it comfortably. Because we can turn the tables today anyway.”
“Yes, senior.”
And the game resumed.
‘I told you to take it easy… !’
… Junhu’s ball fell high.
Baek Gyeong-ho stood up to catch the ball, and at the same time the batter’s bat was swinging in front of his eyes, a runner on first base was running toward second base.
‘Hit and Run!’
Moon Ki-taek’s strategy that came in when the pitcher was shaking!
“Strike!”
However, Jun-hoo’s ball was too high for the batter to hit, and Baek Kyung-ho, who stood up to catch the ball, was in the perfect position to throw the ball. Baek Kyung-ho took the ball out and threw it to second base, and Yoon Joong-il, who was too slow to steal a solo base, was caught at second base.
“Out!”
[Three outs like this! AT Thunders once again see through Volcano’s operation!]
[It seems like Director Moon Ki-taek just called for a hit-and-run strategy, but Director Lee Soo-hyun completely saw through it and signaled a pitch out, right?]
‘Wow, what is luck? ‘Today is the day?’
A home run followed by a straight walk. Although there are two outs, in a situation that could lead to many runs, the pitcher’s ball misses significantly, and he ends up catching it in the perfect position to throw. Baek Kyung-ho was thinking that today was a really lucky day.
‘Fuck, I got caught through it again?! Where are they stealing autographs? No, it’s a new sign I made today, but how on earth… !’
Of course, when Moon Ki-taek saw that, his insides were burning.
‘Whoa, let’s calm down. For now, we have tied the score.’
But the situation wasn’t bad because we tied the game.
[Chae Jae-hyeon saves the inning with a three-way strike! The game goes to the top of the 5th inning!]
Moreover, Chae Jae-hyun, whom I was worried about, also showed decent pitching, allowing 1 run in 4 innings. Now the important thing is 1 point. And because Moon Ki-taek firmly believed that scoring one point was the manager’s domain, he did not stop his efforts even in the fifth inning.
[Leading batter Kim Seung-sik’s hit!]
‘Send Bunt!’
[Lee Won-hyung’s bunt attempt! Ah, three leaves at second base! Three leaves at first base! The Hwasan Falcons create an opportunity to reach 1st and 2nd base with no outs in one go!]
‘Did you prepare for a buster in a similar situation at the beginning of the first episode? Okay. Since I am the manager, I have a higher chance of preparing for a buster than a regular bunt. Then here again!’
[Ah! The third baseman catches it! To third base! Out! And first base! Out! Here comes a bunt double play! 2 outs, 2nd base in one go!]
[Hey, the AT Thunders’ infield was 100% bunt defense, right? In fact, there was a risk of a buster, and it was not an easy choice to play on first and second base with no outs, but AT’s infielders are moving as if they were one body!]
‘100% bunt defense on first and second base with no outs? This doesn’t make sense… How did the guys who prepared for the buster earlier…’
However, Moon Ki-taek’s operations repeatedly failed. And the fact that the operation was failing meant that the atmosphere was gradually changing,
[In the bottom of the 7th inning, with one out and bases loaded, Ji Maeng-ho comes to bat.]
… The situation that Moon Ki-taek was most concerned about occurred in the bottom of the 7th inning.
“Director.”
“Change the pitcher. “You were ready, right?”
“Yes. Hyojun was waiting.”
Chae Jae-hyun was showing good pitching, allowing 1 run until the 6th inning, but since the Korean Series is a game where you never know when the situation will change, Moon Ki-taek already had setup man Oh Hyo-jun waiting in the bullpen. If it had been a regular season, he would have come up in the 8th inning, but he came in earlier than usual.
Ta-ah!
[Ji Maeng-ho’s hit! High and far! Ah! Caught on the warning track! Runner on third base, home in! Runner on 2nd base and 3rd base! Score 2:1! AT Thunders are ahead!]
And the goddess of luck, who had ignored Moon Ki-taek all day, gave Moon Ki-taek his hand this time. Ji Maeng-ho’s batted ball was caught in the deepest part of Jamsil thanks to the wide Jamsil and the headwind.
‘Okay, heaven is on our side. To stop Ji Maeng-ho like this… As expected, the pitcher replacement was correct.’
In that way, Moon Ki-taek praised himself for having the perfect pitcher replacement timing.
However, the luck ended there.
Perfect!
[Meteorological warning hits! Runner on third base, home in! Runner on first base goes to third base! The weather note goes all the way to second base! Weather warning, timely double! The weatherman who was silent today gives the team a much-needed score! Score 3:1! … Choi Jin-cheol’s batted ball! Left fence! Let’s go! Even Choi Jin-cheol explodes! Score 6:1! Choi Jin-cheol’s three runs at a crucial moment!]
Ki Ki-joo and Jin-cheol Choi, who had been blocked by Chae Jae-hyun’s unusual form all day, hit consecutive long hits as if to wash away their poor performance.
‘Fuck… I completely blocked it…’
There are 2 innings remaining. And the score difference is 5 points.
“Director, what should we do with Ji Maeng-ho now?”
“… Just deal with it.”
So director Moon Ki-taek had no choice but to raise the white flag,
‘I made a strategy that didn’t work and ended up ruining the game. Actually, the guy who coaches baseball in this country is like that. If you had used me today in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened.’
He offended Tyler, a mercenary pitcher from Hwasan who was watching the game.
Originally, pitchers were creatures with strong pride, and this was especially true for mercenary pitchers. Most of the mercenary pitchers were guys who played at least one game in the major leagues.
But on the biggest stage of the season, the Korean Series, you are pushed down to the 4th starting spot?
It was natural for the mercenary pitcher’s pride to be scratched.
Moreover, in order to face one batter, you have to control the batting line and unconditionally give walks to low-level batters? It was an operation unheard of even in the major leagues.
From the beginning, Tyler thought this operation made no sense. Although he persevered for the team’s victory, seeing how every plan he tried today failed, it was obvious that this was the plan the coach had in mind.
It was a better choice for the team to throw the way he wanted.
‘I’ll show you tomorrow. During the season, I threw with less effort and got hit a few times, but if I were serious, it would be different.’
In that way, Tyler, the starting pitcher in Game 4, prepared for the next game with the thought of perfectly beating Ji Maeng-ho, a hitter who is attracting attention in the major leagues, and returning to the majors.
*
-The Volcano Falcons self-destructed. Lose to AT 6:2!
… Meanwhile, every time there was a chance to score, coach Moon Ki-taek’s strategy repeatedly failed. …. Meanwhile, the Daily MVP on this day went to Lim Jun-hoo, who allowed 1 run in 6.1 innings…
┗Chu-taek came up with an operation and got scolded by Lee Soo-hyun, right? LOL
┗┗ Wow, it was legendary today haha. Why are you using that batting line for a strategy? If you just stay still like Lee Soo-hyun, you’ll get halfway there haha
┗┗ㄹㅇ I just read everything haha. Well, it’s a coach who won 7 finals and 5 runners-up VS a coach who lost 3 times in a row, so of course it doesn’t work against a coach who lost 3 times in a row
┗Kkotbaemshin is the MVP of the Korean Series… I’m going crazy haha
┗┗ㅋㅋㅋ To be honest, whenever Chutaek was having a hard time, he came up with a fucking strategy and helped me a lotㅋㅋㅋ
-Today, Dol Soo-hyeon was playing with Chu Taek-shin. What happened?
┗To blame a coach who has lost 3 times in a row. A deception of lightning playersㅡ
-Wow, but at Media Day, you were making a big fuss about blocking the fierce god. ㄹㅇ You’re blocking it well, right?
┗There are 8 walks and the OPS is 3.036ㅡ Blocking is a breeze, but he walks away at the plate
┗┗By the way, what are the two home runs? LOL
┗But it seems like your hitting ability is ruined because you keep walking? There was one outing and one strikeout today.
*
‘Fuck it, let’s see if I skip today too.’
My last two at-bats yesterday had one outfield fly and one strikeout. The outfield fly was a skill, but the strikeout was intentional because the score gap widened. Is this a sign that you don’t have to filter me out?
Hwasan’s strategy against me was the same throughout the three games.
Volcano’s plan is to exclude me from every at-bat except the first one.
Luckily, every time I was skipped, there were still runners in front of me, so I didn’t have to run, and I didn’t get any points.
So yesterday, I struck out in my last at-bat and tried to appeal to the public that my batting skills were fading away.
“Strike!”
And as if it was effective, the pitcher hit it into the strike zone from the first pitch. But the problem started now. I don’t know why, but their strategy is to face me in the first at-bat. If I hit another home run here, it was clear that they would keep skipping me after that.
‘What should I do? ‘Is it okay to get out once?’
It’s a critical crossroads whether you give up one at-bat for today’s game.
‘It’s a slider.’
‘Yes.’
While I was thinking about it, the opposing pitcher must have made a decision, and Mr. Rossby tells me the pitch type. And the pitcher’s slider being thrown. His slider flies almost to the middle of the strike.
‘Fuck, if it tastes this good, I have no choice but to hit it!’
Since it is a slider, the final destination is slightly below the center. It’s a shame for a batter to miss a ball like this!
… I quickly swung the bat toward that delicious slider.
Damn!