Chapter 762 – Episode 749. Yankees Captain. (2)

-Ji Maeng-ho’s 2nd home run! Yankees blow up Toronto!

… In the series against the Angels, Ji Maeng-ho recorded 3 hits in 12 at-bats and has not been hitting well recently, but starting with a lucky double in his first at-bat, he went 4-for-5 with 2 home runs… Meanwhile, the Yankees won 12:3 thanks to Ji Maeng-ho’s performance…

*

‘Ugh, Aaron’s grades are miserable.’

The position of Yankees captain was a difficult position.

When considering the value of a team across all sports, the Yankees were always counted on one hand, and as such, the Yankees were a team that received attention not only in New York but also around the world.

Since it was such a club, it was natural for the world’s best players to gather, and the position of ‘captain’, who represented those players, was bound to be a position of great pressure.

In fact, because there was no need for one specific player to represent the squad, there were more clubs in the major leagues without a captaincy than with one.

And it was the same for the Yankees. In the Yankees’ over 100-year history, there have been only 16 captains. There was a time when there was no captain for over 30 years, and the Yankees had no captain for about 10 years after Jeter, who was called the Yankees’ eternal captain.

However, to break that vacuum, the Yankees brought up Judge as their captain.

And the fact that he gave up the captaincy means that the Yankees consider him a team legend and someone who will have his jersey retired. In addition, there was a calculation that if it was a jersey, various star players would recognize it as their representative. It was like that in reality.

The world’s most prestigious club and representative of various star players. That was the weight of the position of Yankees captain.

And Mattingly knew how heavy that seat was. Because Mattingly was also someone who had sat in that position.

That’s why Mattingly was able to immediately notice that Judge’s condition was strange these days.

Coming out to the training ground earlier than usual, excessive fighting behavior in the dugout, and even team batting that did not match the strangely energetic batting form.

Because Judge was showing similar behavior to when he made his claim.

And, he could not overcome that pressure and chose to retire. Among all Yankees captains, he is the only one without a championship ring.

I felt like it was my fault that the team couldn’t win, and the more I tried to do better, the more injuries and slumps came. Although his performance was declining due to injuries and aging, he was able to maintain his career as a player.

In his retirement season, he appeared in 128 games, and the club also tried to dissuade him from retiring. The reason Mattingly decided to retire was because he was no longer confident that he could handle the pressure.

And Judge was now looking similar to himself back then. The reason why this guy who has never behaved like this until now is because of ‘the incident’ caused by Ji Maeng-ho. It was probably certain because from that day on, Judge changed and started working hard.

In times like this, all you need is to show that the team is doing well, even if it’s not you.

As the team was rebuilding, Mattingly did not trust his teammates at the time, and he thought the team would not run without him. Of course, that thought was an illusion, but that’s what Mattingly believed at the time, and in the end, when he didn’t get good grades, he put in more effort unnecessarily, and the vicious cycle of not getting good grades was repeated.

If only there had been a director to control him back then…

The coach at the time was a coach with a keen eye for rebuilding, but because of the team’s situation, he had no time to pay attention to himself. And Mattingly was ruined like that.

However, the current jersey was different.

Judge had trustworthy teammates and the confidence to follow in those footsteps. I am someone who has experienced such a situation and even failed.

Now Judge needed a break.

Of course, it was not easy to give a hitter like Judge a break. The fans wanted Judge to play, and they would also want Judge to play in the game.

However, since the Yankees called him to do that, Mattingly made up his mind and called Judge into the manager’s office before announcing the lineup.

“Hey, Aaron, how are you feeling these days?”

“Well, it’s okay. “I’m hitting all the balls strangely, but my grades will come back soon.”

“Okay? Thank goodness.”

“Then why did you call me?”

“It’s nothing special, we’re still playing this season, right?”

“Is that so?”

“How about taking a day off today?”

Judge’s expression hardens upon hearing Mattingly’s words of giving him a break. Anyone can see that they were saying that they were leaving him out because his batting skills were not good these days. Judge wasn’t in a position to worry about starting, but it was natural for Judge to feel bad after saying this.

“No, no. Alex is doing well these days. The pitcher we’re going to face today isn’t a difficult pitcher, so let’s take a break for a day.”

Just as he was about to express his discomfort, Mattingly’s name came out of Mattingly’s mouth.

‘After… If I say no here, I guess I’ll be doing the same thing as Alex, right? Alex confronted Mattingly and that caused the incident, so I can’t do that again.’

And when Judge heard Verdugo’s name, he decided to take a step back. It had been less than a month since the division had been created, and he couldn’t bear to do the same thing again.

“… I understand.”

“Okay, good idea, Aaron. “While I’m taking a break, I’m telling you to relax and watch the sights, because I’ve had too much energy lately.”

“Something like that happened, but shouldn’t I, as the captain, take a break?”

“Well, that may be true, but sometimes it’s a good idea to relax and rest. “Just as good batting comes out when you relax your strength, isn’t the same in life?”

Judge is a hitter who has already proven himself with three MVP awards. If he had recklessly told Judge to relax when hitting, Mattingly could have made Judge feel bad, so Mattingly turned around as much as possible.

“Umm…”

“This is advice not as a manager, but as a senior who served as the Yankees’ captain. “When you sit there, sometimes it’s important to relax.”

“… “I understand for now.”

“Okay. “I’ll see you later.”

As the interview with Judge ended and Judge left the coach’s office, Mattingly breathed a sigh of relief that the interview had ended more easily than expected.

For star players like Judge, it is almost an unwritten rule not to remove them from the lineup unless they request a break.

Judge wasn’t that type of person, but I was a little worried because it wasn’t the first time I’d seen a star player get kicked out of the lineup and then rebel against him because of his poor batting skills, but fortunately, things worked out pretty well.

“This is today’s starting list. No. 1 second baseman Ji, No. 2 right fielder Soto, No. 3 designated hitter Stanton, No. 4 third baseman Vientos, No. 5 catcher Ohapi, No. 6 left fielder Verdugo, No. 7 shortstop Volpi, No. 8 first baseman Scantlebury, 9 This is center fielder Kelnick.”

After that, when the lineup without Judge’s name was called, the players could be heard making noises, but Mattingly paid no heed and continued announcing the lineup.

‘Aaron, just watch. Even without you, the Yankees have players who can do their part.’

*

[Ji Maeng-ho’s hit! Ji Maeng-ho hits the first pitch and goes to base from the start!]

[I haven’t been hitting well in the last few games, but I think I figured it out yesterday when I hit 2 home runs, right? Another great advantage of Ji Maeng-ho is that his slump is not very long.]

“Great! Good bet! Ji!”

As soon as the bottom of the first inning started, Ji Maeng-ho hit the first pitch and went to base, and the judge raised his voice and cheered for Ji Maeng-ho. This is because he had to do his best in his position even if he did not appear in the game. No, he actually raised his voice even more because he wasn’t in the game.

He hopes that other players will follow as much as he puts in effort.

Now, Soto has replaced him at the plate as the number two hitter.

“Let’s go! Juan!”

Judge shouted Soto’s name loudly, and following Judge’s shout, other players began cheering for Soto.

Perfect!

[Soto’s first pitch! Blow! Ah! Second baseman in front! To the shortstop! And first base! 4-6-3 double play! The out count goes up by two at once!]

But the result is a double play.

‘Ah… If it were me…’

When I saw that play, the thought that I had been there came to mind.

Soto is a player with a clear sense of self. He was able to maintain a high on-base percentage and consistent performance because he was sure of his zone, but he was the type of player who would attack any ball that came into his zone in any situation.

But if he were in that position, he would have waited for the ball to be in the zone. So that Ji Maeng-ho can steal second base.

In fact, the frequency of Judge hitting the first pitch has been decreasing recently. In particular, when Ji Maeng-ho was on first or second base, he was willing to accept the high ball count so that Ji Maeng-ho could run.

Ji Maeng-ho’s current stolen base record is 28 stolen bases and 1 miss. Ji Maeng-ho’s quick feet were a tremendous weapon that was difficult to block even in the major leagues. Not using the weapon was detrimental to the team, and Judge believed that waiting for the weapon to be wielded was team play.

In particular, after that incident, there was even more of a trend.

However, no matter how good a hitter he was, it was natural for his performance to deteriorate when the ball count was high, and Judge was no exception.

It was natural for Judge’s performance to decline as he was being influenced both outside and inside the game…

And in the bottom of the third inning, when Ji Maeng-ho got on base again with a walk and Soto again hit a changeup on the first pitch and the out count went up, Judge was worried.

‘Should I tell Juan to give Ji some time to run?’

If he was just a young player, he would have given him some advice, but Soto is a superstar as good as himself. Judge quickly relented, realizing that his advice must be offended.

Since he was scheduled to bat behind Ji Meng-ho after today’s game, he thought that it wouldn’t be good to mess with Soto here.

After that, the game remained tied at 0:0 and continued as a pitcher’s battle. And in the bottom of the 5th inning, Ji Maeng-ho’s third at-bat came, and Ji Maeng-ho again drew a walk and succeeded in getting on base.

Same situation as the last three times.

‘Tsk, if I had known this would happen, would I have advised Juan to wait? It’s all good, but that’s the problem with Juan.’

This time, I watched the at-bat, praying that I would not hit the first pitch and give Ji Maeng-ho time to run.

However, unlike his attempts to stop, Soto’s bat was swung this time without giving Ji Maeng-ho a chance to run,

Ta-ah!

… The batted ball went over the right wall while making a cheerful sound.

“Good!! Juan! This is it!!!”

At that hit, Judge, like the other players, shouted Soto’s name loudly. He had completely forgotten that he had been complaining about Soto just a moment ago.

[Stanton’s hit! … Vientos gets a walk. … Ohapee is out. One out, 1st and 2nd base. And leave it at bat. … Verdugo’s sweeping double! The Yankees’ battered lineup awakens! Score 4:0!]

And with Soto’s home run as the starting point, the Yankees’ batting lineup began to wake up.