Chapter 751 – Episode 738. A Fateful Rivalry. (2)

[Judge’s batted ball hits the fence! Third base runner Ji Maeng-ho goes all the way home! Stopping a batter and a runner… ! It stops at first base!]

[The hitting speed was so fast that I didn’t have time to get to second base.]

[Score 1:0! The New York Yankees get the first run against Trilling! … Soto hit, grounder to third base. Greg Trilling concludes the 6th inning. The game goes into the top of the 7th inning. … Three-way trip! Walker Buehler continues the Yankees’ momentum!]

*

“Walker, how are you?”

Yankees manager Mattingly, with his fighting spirit burning right before his eyes, approached Buehler and asked.

To date, Walker Buehler has pitched 101 times. If it were a normal situation, he would be the one who had to unconditionally put the pitcher down. Moreover, in the top of the 8th inning, the next inning, there will be a batter who will bat 4 times.

Nowadays, it has become a major league trend not to show the same pitcher to a batter more than three times in a game, and Mattingly also knew that it would be unreasonable to have a starting pitcher throw more than 100 pitches and lead him through the eighth inning. .

… In my head.

However, Mattingly was a player in the 80s and 90s, a time when there were many pitchers who threw complete games and shutouts. In his head, he understood that he had to do that, but he couldn’t help but feel inclined towards the pitcher when he was giving him such a passionate look without any icing on it.

Modern baseball is full of all kinds of numbers, and there has been a standard saying that baseball should be like this, but Mattingly was the type to just refer to those records and not get into them deeply.

Because in baseball, the important thing is not numbering but flow. And the role of the director is to catch that trend.

Some people criticized Mattingly, calling him a director who was behind the times, but Mattingly just scoffed at those criticisms.

Looking at and analyzing those numbers was the job of a data analyst, not a director.

Anyone who has never been in the field can look at the results and talk about the results, and they could have done that by seating fans who are even slightly interested in baseball.

However, the important thing was not to read the numbers that even those who don’t know the letter ‘B’ in baseball know, but to feel the flow of the moment that only a person like himself who devoted his life to the baseball game can feel, and to catch that flow. .

Because baseball was not a game, it was not possible to throw the ball that the numbers indicated every pitch, and both the batter and the pitcher had to be able to catch such small differences and create a flow, and the manager had to hire players who could feel that flow. .

And in Mattingly’s opinion, the look in Buehler’s eyes was one that made him feel that kind of trend.

Of course, no one could tell whether that trend actually existed or not, but Mattingly felt that way, and he did so in the first game of the series. The look in his eyes that he never wanted to lose in a battle of momentum with the rival team’s ace was enough to shake the heart of Mattingly, a typical old school coach.

‘Yes, if a pitcher shows eyes like that, the manager should trust him.’

Moreover, if a pitcher with this look in his eyes was taken off the mound, his morale would be broken.

“I’m fine. “If the manager wants, I will go up next inning as well.”

Walker’s answer also had similar nuances. He, as the manager, said that he would take charge of the mound in the next inning if he wanted to, but it also contained his intention to finish the game until the next inning.

And Mattingly liked Buehler’s will. These days, there are many pitchers who are like brats who throw 80 pitches and then whine about getting off the mound, so in Mattingly’s world, breaking the morale of a pitcher like that was ridiculous.

“Okay, be careful not to let your shoulders get cold. Well, I don’t think that guy will break down easily today either.”

That’s why Mattingly decided,

“… I understand.”

Buehler nodded.

And Mattingly’s words that he would not be easily defeated soon became reality. Although Trilling allowed Kelnick’s third hit of the game, he ended the inning cleanly by forcing a double play to the next batter, Hall.

‘After…, Let’s just block it until this inning.’

Buehler grabbed his tired shoulders and walked to the mound.

In fact, Buehler himself knew that pitching in the 8th inning was impossible. But he said Buehler wanted to give a message to the fans. A message that the players are doing their best.

The home stadium we returned to after an arduous three-game road trip. The home stadium was filled with boos from the mound. As the season started with 14 consecutive wins from the opening game, expectations were high, so it was natural that fans were upset by the recent poor results.

However, despite this, the players wanted to let the fans know that they were doing their best. So that this booing can turn into cheering.

Greg Trilling, the opponent’s ace and today’s starting pitcher, is considered the best pitcher of the past 2–3 years. There was a high probability that it would appear in the 8th episode, or perhaps even the 9th episode. Trilling, who can be said to be the pride of Boston, which has been underperforming for the past few years, was a pitcher capable of doing so.

And Buehler wanted to show that he could not be outdone by Trilling at his home stadium, directly refuting the fans’ criticism that the Yankees only care about their own records and are busy having fun all the time.

Of course, the opposing batters are also major league batters.

Perfect!

The batters were not at a level where they could not attack the tired Buehler’s balls.

[Valdez’s leadoff hitter hits a double! Boston’s batting lineup, which had been tied down by Buehler, is starting to wake up!]

[I thought 8 episodes might be a bit too much… There is no change in Coach Mattingly?]

[… Buehler strikes out Howard! Now it’s 1 out and 2nd base! … Abreu’s timely hit! Balance the game! Score 1:1! The situation is 1 out and 1 base! It’s not over yet!]

A tie that occurred when a pitcher who was overly pressured by the fans and an old-school manager met. This would not have happened if the fans had not booed at the home stadium, but since the situation had already happened, it could not be undone.

However, fortunately, there was still a chance to make things right.

Because the Yankees had a bullpen warming up.

[Ah, here comes Mason Miller, the closing pitcher.]

[The decision is to leave 1.2 innings to the closing pitcher… Actually, it’s not a trend these days, is it? Manager Mattingly is a manager who often hears complaints from fans that he overuses the bullpen or uses only used pitchers, so we’ll have to see what the results are like this time around.]

Manager Mattingly’s idea to end the game by leaving Buehler in the 8th inning and bringing up Miller, the closing pitcher, in the 9th inning went astray, but since the game was not over, Mattingly brought in his most reliable pitcher,

[… Volpi to Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maengho! Step on second base and throw to first base! Out! 6! 4! 3! Mason Miller creates a double play!]

[Of course, with this level of pitching, it would be impossible for a manager not to use it, right?]

As a pitcher who is currently considered one of the best closers in the major leagues, Miller neatly saved the crisis and returned to the dugout.

[At the bottom of the 8th inning, Boston’s ace Trilling is still standing on the mound. … Strike out! … It flies high! The second baseman catches it! Two out! … This batted ball! The third baseman catches it and goes to first base! Out! Trilling to end the inning with a three-way throw!]

[This is Trilling, the best pitcher in the major leagues! He threw 103 pitches, so it looks like he might come up next inning, right? Trilling is a player who can throw up to 120 pitches.]

[In the top of the 9th inning, the Yankees’ second pitcher, Mason Miller, is on the mound. … Mason Miller ends the inning with a clean three-way throw! The game now heads to the bottom of the 9th inning!]

Yankee Stadium, where the highest level of pitching competition takes place. The curtain opened on the bottom of the 9th inning, the last of the regular innings,

-No. 74! Second baseman! Maeng-Ho! Ji!

Ji Maeng-ho entered as the lead hitter.

*

Perfect!

“Foul!”

‘Fuck, it’s the bottom of the 9th inning and the pitch is…’

Surely the best pitcher was the best pitcher for a reason. He is maintaining this status even as he passes the 100-count mark.

This is my 4th at bat against this guy. Now one thing was known for sure. He clearly knows that hitting a ball that doesn’t go into the zone won’t produce good results.

The ball you should aim for is the one that is driven. Unless you hit a ball like that, it’s hard to hit a home run from this guy.

A situation where you can win with just one point. He was desperate to get on base because he had to somehow score one run. I felt like I could score at least one run with my feet if I just got on base.

However, the odds of hitting for a hit were not that high. Because unless you go over the fence, there is a variable called the beast’s rain.

So what I should aim for now is a home run or a walk.

“Ball.”

I waited for his ball as carefully as possible.

Perfect!

“Foul!”

Perfect!

“Foul!”

Clear away any ambiguous balls that come near the zone,

“Ball.”

“Ball.”

As I was picking out absurd balls, the count was already full.

‘It’s a change-up. Outside.’

‘Okay.’

The guy chose an outside changeup as his final pitch. Probably, this ball will also be controlled towards the borderline. And considering the full count situation and his control, there was a high probability that he would be in the zone.

‘Should I remove it?’

Honestly, it was risky for me to kick that changeup. Even if it was hit slightly wrong, there was a high probability that it would go straight into the ground and become a ground ball. However, there was a high chance of striking out if I stayed still, so I decided to put out the bat and wait for his next pitch.

‘… Huh?!’

However, the moment he threw the ball, I noticed a moment of awkwardness. Obviously, according to the trajectory of the changeup he was throwing, it was a ball that would have headed outward and then curved inward and should have been called a strike, but something strange was blocking the bat.

Should I bring out the bat? Should I not? In a split second, countless worries passed by,

… I decided to just trust my judgment.

Bang!

The guy’s ball lands in the catcher’s mitt, and the umpire is slightly concerned. And the words that came out of the referee’s mouth were,

“Base on balls!”

It was a walk call.

“Nice!”

‘Yes, it’s time to run out of energy.’

Lucky that the ball, which should have been broken, entered the zone without being broken. If I had swung, I would have struck out, but it seemed like I did well to trust myself and follow my instincts.

Now all that’s left is to turn this getting on base into a score.

And I was a specialist in that area.

‘Let’s go, Mr. Rossby.’

‘Yes, it’s a fastball.’

Trilling’s first pitch was a fastball. But in the bottom of the 9th inning, on thin ice, can he predict my stolen base?

‘I have to run right away.’

When I gripped the fastball, I had to reduce the lead width, but I thought that I could easily steal a fastball to second base, so I ran toward second base as soon as the guy took his steps, and as soon as my hand touched the base, the shortstop’s glove hit my thigh. It passes by.

“Safe!”

Fortunately, the result was safe.

-Waaaaa!!!!!

In the bottom of the 9th inning, Yankee Stadium is shaken by a stolen base with no outs on first base. 2nd base with no outs. It was a situation where one point could be scored with just one hit, but now was not the time to rely on the low probability of a hit.

What we need now is to make it possible to score points with a ground ball or fly.

Moreover, since the batter standing at the plate was Judge, he could not avoid throwing a breaking ball no matter how much he trilled.

‘It’s a curve.’

‘Okay!’

“Safe!”

-Ji! Ji! Ji! Ji!

And Yankee Stadium shouted my name as if victory had been confirmed when I stole third base. The fans seemed to have completely forgotten that they booed me when I took my first at-bat. However, it was too early to feel catharsis.

Because the game is not over yet.

‘Now, just roll or float, whatever you want, I’ll take care of it.’

Whether it’s a fly or an infield grounder, get ready to run home and wait for a shot from Judge.

Perfect!

‘Ah…’

The result of the ball that Judge hit was a fly to first base. The out count light turns on. Of course, Judge wasn’t discouraged because he was out. Because the next batter was Soto.

“Strike! Out!”

However, as Soto held back the ball at full count, the referee’s strikeout call echoed throughout the stadium.

‘Fuck, I have to hit this!’

The game was over as soon as I hit it! Even though he is a player who has a clear zone and is confident in his leadership, he lets this go… !

‘Fuck you, Soto you bastard!’

The evaluation of Soto, who was previously liked, has dropped significantly.

‘Ha, fucked up.’

Now all that’s left is Stanton, who comes out as the number 4 hitter and has no hits in 3 at-bats today, and has absolutely no timing on Trilling’s pitch.

‘Ha, just give me a big hit.’

I looked at the dugout, hoping to see if Verdugo, who was good at hitting balls from right-handed pitchers, would be pinch hitter, but there was no movement in the dugout. Anyone could tell that something must have happened to Mattingly’s head as he continued to use hitters whose timing was off.

-Wooooo!

-Verdugo! Leave it alone!

The fans seemed to have the same feelings as me, booing and desperately shouting Verdugo’s name.

‘Fuck it, I need to prepare defense. From episode 10 onwards, that bastard won’t even come on.’

When I was preparing to defend with such resignation,

Ta – Aak!

Stanton’s bat flashed from the first pitch.