Chapter 715 – Episode 702. 2027 Major League Opening Game. (3)

“Oh, fuck!”

The center fielder, who was stepping back, leaned his back against the fence and lifted his glove, and the ball I hit went into the glove. Even if it flew just 1 m further, it would have been a home run…

‘Are you sure a major-leaguer is a major-leaguer? The timing was a little off, but with timing like this, most people in Korea went over it.’

It was a ball that hit exactly into the bottom corner of the outside zone, and although the timing was a little off, it was a hit that was worth looking forward to because I hit the bat well, but it was a little disappointing that it ended like this. Honestly, it was even more disappointing because he would have passed the ball if it had been in a different stadium.

Yankee Stadium’s central wall distance was slightly longer than 124 m, which was shorter than Jamsil’s, but it was still longer than most stadiums, so it was more disappointing.

‘Sseu-eup, you should hit at least one home run in your debut at-bat…’

“It was a waste. Ji. “If it were any other stadium, it would have passed.”

As I returned to the dugout with so much regret, manager Mattingly comforted me.

“Well, it’s my first at-bat.”

“Your mindset is good. “It’s hard to achieve great success if you struggle with one at-bat after another.”

“Mattingly. I was MVP 4 times in a row. “You know?”

“Haha. I’m looking forward to the future.”

As I sat down on the bench after talking with Mattingly, other players also told me that it was a waste, and the bottom of the first inning continued.

“Base on balls!”

“Good! Juan! Let’s go!”

“Juan! Juan! Juan!”

Judge singled out the ball and got on base with a walk, and Juan Soto was at bat. But Judge never stepped on home plate. The first inning ended with both teams scoreless as the third hitter, Soto, and the fourth hitter, Ohapi, both retired with a hit.

And that pattern continued in the second episode.

In the top of the second inning, Cole allowed a hit to leadoff hitter Mountcastle, but struck out the 7th and 8th hitters, creating two outs in one go, and finished the inning with no runs by handling 9th hitter Crawford with a grounder to shortstop. I did it.

And the bottom of the second inning. Vientos, the 5th hitter, and Hall, the 6th hitter, are out, with two outs in one go. Volpi, the 7th batter, got on base with a single, but Kelnick, the 8th batter, hit an ordinary ball toward the third baseman…,

‘Tsk, I guess I should go prepare for defense.’

… When you are thinking.

“Huh?!”

“I fell in! Run! Run!”

Houston’s third baseman Morel’s throw flew high and flew almost toward our dugout, and in the meantime, Volpi, who was a runner on first base, and Kelnick, who was a batter, were able to land on third and second base.

“Wow, this is the same thing in the major leagues.”

Well, I occasionally saw what our team’s players did during training, but it was a little funny because it was my first time seeing it in an actual game. To be honest, aren’t throw errors like this common in the KBA league?

Now, the number 9 batter is at bat. And I am the standby at bat.

‘Leave it alone…’ . He doesn’t seem to be training hard, but he has some talent for hitting.’

Although he batted number 9, the right-handed pitcher’s ability to hit the ball was almost the best in the team, so I watched his batting from the waiting box with high expectations.

Perfect!

Verdugo’s batted ball hit the mount, passed between the second baseman and shortstop, and rolled in front of center field. And the number 0 written on the electronic signboard changes to 2.

‘Wow, kid. It was worth hitting me back then.’

2 outs, 1st base. It would have been better if he went out on a walk and had the bases loaded with one out, but being able to get back to the plate after just one inning was satisfying enough.

‘You were lucky earlier, right? Then, let’s go again properly.’

‘Slider. Outside.’

‘Okay.’

His first pitch was the slider we had fun with earlier. I didn’t really want to hit the ball that hit me earlier, so I decided to watch the first pitch and wait for the guy’s ball.

“Ball.”

“It looks like you have the ability to learn. Hunter’s slider, isn’t it difficult?”

Nice… It’s been a while since I heard trash talk. During the exhibition game, we mostly just exchanged greetings, so I missed this experience. In Korea, there were almost no catchers other than Yonggi who talked to me like this.

In any case, it is assumed that if you received it, you should return it.

“Let’s see if you can make that much noise even after hitting a home run.”

“Haha, that sounds fun.”

“Okay, I hope it’s fun until the end.”

It was my first time talking to a catcher in the major leagues, so I talked to him in a slightly gentle tone and waited for Mr. Rossby’s next words.

‘It’s a curve. Outside.’

‘Oh, curve.’

The ball he chose was an outside curve. It seems that he chose the curve because he deliberately did not touch the curve during the exhibition game. To be honest, he knew the data showing that I was good at hitting the curveball, but it was clear that the arrogance of a major-leaguer also helped in this choice.

Even if it were me, I would have ignored it even if it were analyzed that I threw the ball really well in the Taiwan League or Futures League.

‘Okay, let’s take a look at the trajectory first.’

However, if I hit a ball with an unfamiliar trajectory, the same situation could have happened, so I decided to wait for the ball.

And then its curve flies outward and plummets down.

“Ball.”

See the results.

“Seup.”

When I saw the catcher licking his lips, it seemed like he wanted to guide my bat. Well, if you know that I like curves, it’s a good choice, right? Because your favorite ball usually comes with a bat.

‘Curve. Outside.’

‘Also? It’s harsh, it’s harsh.’

Their choice is again the outer curve. Since I had no intention of hitting unless it was in the zone, I decided to let the ball go and watch their third ball.

However,

‘… ‘Huh?’

Unlike before, this guy’s curve flew toward the high zone. Although it was still about one ball out of the strike zone, it was a high ball that came into a perfect position to hit… !

‘You can’t hit a ball like this!’

It’s rude to the chef who prepared it for you not to eat these delicious balls! I immediately stretched out the bat.

Perfect!

However, because the judgment was slightly late, he had no choice but to be pushed, and the batted ball drifted towards the right. And the moment the ball hit, I threw the bat far away and ran toward first base. Since there were two outs, Verdugo, who was the runner on first base, was also running towards third base,

By the time I got to first base,

-Wow!!!!

-Ji! Ji! Ji! Ji! Ji!

My name rings in Yankee Stadium. A sound of a completely different magnitude than when Verdugo struck at the right time.

“Great! Ji!”

It was my first home run in the major leagues, but it didn’t feel that good. Because I was so panting that I was running to first base.

‘… The right side is definitely shorter.’

The first home run in the major leagues that I thought of was a huge home run that went over the left field fence, so you could tell it was a home run the moment it hit, but this time, an ambiguous hit that was pushed, went over the fence. The fence on the right was definitely a bit closer.

‘Sseu-eup, if I had known it was a home run, I would have celebrated. Then I would have been mentally shattered. ‘Kabi.’

So, swallowing the disappointment of my first home run, I slowly ran toward home.

*

[Ji Maeng-ho’s hit! Right! Right! Let’s go! Ji Maeng-ho’s debut home run! Ji Maeng-ho records his first home run since his major league debut!]

[This is Ji Maeng-ho! In fact, Ji Meng Hoi’s first hit was almost a home run, right? Well, he hit a home run in his first game, so I think he’ll probably show good performance in the future. Actually, the first button is important.]

[Yes. Honestly, we were all nervous because it didn’t go over in the first at-bat, right?]

[It was like that. Haha.]

[Ji Maeng-ho turns around and hits home! Everyone! This batter is the pride of Korea! This is Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maeng-ho is still in the major league! … Now, with two outs and no runners on base, last year’s American League MVP Judge comes to the plate.]

Ji Maeng-ho’s home run resulted in a situation with two outs and no runners on base. Normally, it was a situation where the inning would end, but the New York Yankees were not a place with such ordinary batters.

The batter who stepped up to the plate was Judge, who won MVP three times, winning MVP for two consecutive years in 2025 and 2026. Judge was not the type of hitter who would leave a pitcher shaken by a mistake.

Perfect!

[Judge’s sharp batting ball! Fair ball! A batted ball flowing along the first baseline! Judge all the way to second base! Back to second base! Third base! Sliding into third base! Aaron Judge hits a triple! And with 2 outs and 3rd base on base, third batter Juan Soto comes to bat!]

And at the plate, Juan Soto. Although Soto also performed poorly last year, he was a hitter who could aim for MVP at any time, and was a hitter who was called a genius hitter even in the major leagues.

Ta – Aak!

[The ball that Soto pushed was to the left! Left! Left fence! It hits the fence and falls! Soto to second base! Soto roars! JJJ fire explodes from the opening game! The New York Yankees quickly take the lead by 5 points!]

[Isn’t that what the newly appointed manager of the Yankees, Mattingly, targeted, putting Ji Maeng-ho, Judge, and Soto in succession? As expected, the batting line is on fire because we took the opportunity!]

[The New York Yankees boast a strong offense!]

[Actually, the Yankees are a team with a historically famous batting lineup, right? Could it be that the JJJ can go beyond the M&M cannons of the 1960s and summon the Muderers Row led by Ruth and Gehrig in the 1920s?]

[Haha, isn’t that too much?]

[That’s what it says.]

[But I hope so too. Of course, the role of Ruth is played by our player Ji Maeng-ho. Ohapi is now the number 4 hitter at bat. Ah! It fits your body. As Ohappi gets on base with a ball that matches his body, the situation is 2 outs and 1st and 2nd bases. … Vientos’ ball goes to first base. The Yankees’ offense ended in the bottom of the long second inning as the first baseman stepped on base. Score 5:0!]

In the opening game, which featured the best starting pitchers from both teams, one small throwing error by the third baseman led to fatal results, tilting the game in favor of the Yankees.

Gerrit Cole ended the inning with 5 runs, and Brown also came to his senses and continued to throw the ball, but the game was already in turmoil.

Brown gave up one more run and came off the mound with a record of 6 runs and 1 earned run in 5.1 innings. Houston’s batters scored two home runs against Gerrit Cole in the remaining innings, but it was not enough to turn the game around. It was.

[In the top of the 9th inning, the situation is 6:4. Mason Miller, who has been tailgating the Yankees since last season, comes up to close out the game. Miller’s numbers last season included a 2.23 ERA, 71 strikeouts, and 32 saves over 64.2 innings in 62 games. … Strike out! Mason Miller finishes the match! With the news that the Yankees achieved a valuable victory in the opening game…]

*

-Ji Maeng-ho had 2 hits in 5 at-bats! Yankees win over Houston!

… Meanwhile, Ji Maeng-ho, who hit a ball that went close to the fence in his first at-bat, did not miss the opportunity in his second at-bat. The ball that Ji Maeng-ho pushed went over the right wall… In the end, Ji Maeng-ho recorded 2 hits in 5 at-bats, 1 run, 2 RBI, and 1 strikeout, marking his first hit in the major league with a home run…

┗ㅅㅂ That bastard Kelnick jumped on a batted ball that wasn’t even a damn thing, so he only lost one RBI, which is a badass.

┗No walks? Isn’t this a sluggish performance?

┗┗I felt like I hit a home run and just swung everything in sight haha

┗┗ㄹㅇ After the second at-bat, he just swung the bat within 3 pitches haha

┗Honestly, I thought it would take a long time to get used to it because of the injury, but the fierce tiger god is a fierce tiger haha

┗Joo Seung-cheol had 3 hits in 5 at-bats and even hit a home run. It doesn’t work for Joo Seung-cheol either.

┗┗ㅋㅋ Didn’t Joo Seung-cheol make it big in Korea and go to the majors?

┗┗Joo Seung-cheol, who hit .208 and hit over 20 home runs in the majors, looks like a dick, but it’s different that he’s adapted well to the major leagues. Ji Maeng-ho is just a poor guy.

┗┗ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I played one game, but I wonder if he’s a god lol I don’t think Joo Hyung-jin would say something like this eitherㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-I didn’t see the game, but how was Ji’s play today?

┗You didn’t see this? You are not a fan of the Yankees!

┗It was a fantastic debut worthy of $260 million. Because Brown collapsed with that one home run.

┗┗This is correct. If it hadn’t been for that home run, Brown would have come to his senses.

┗What is certain is that he is different from that scammer. He returned from injury and hit a home run in his first game as a starter.

┗┗ Hey Stanton did well in his first season too

┗┗I didn’t say Stanton?

┗┗Oops…