Chapter 77 – Episode 76. National Team VS UG Overlords. (One)

Training for the national team was not as big as I thought. All of them were top-level players in the KBA, and the coaches didn’t really touch them too much. Rather, in terms of intensity, would you say that AT’s training is more intense?

“Stop, stop.”

Blowing the whistle, Lee Geum-hyeon announced the end of the base run training.

“Today’s training is over, now each individual exercise, if you need something, tell the coaches or staff to train, well, those who rest can rest. Can everyone do it on their own?”

“Yep!”

“Yeah, it’s a practice game from tomorrow. Don’t overdo it. Oh, didn’t you forget what you heard this morning? I have to move my stuff to the UG side spring camp, so pack all your stuff today. Don’t be in a hurry tomorrow. Disband then.”

“Thank you for your effort!”

Are you already practicing? The national team had scheduled practice matches with each club to maintain a sense of the game before the WBC was held in March. If it was a normal game, I would have done a power analysis, but since it was a game to maintain my senses, there seemed to be no time for power analysis.

“Hey, Gu Jin-mo!”

Tomorrow’s team will be the previous year’s winner, UG Overlords. After training, the players gathered around Gu Jin-mo, the representative hitter of UG Overlords.

“Jinmo, we are still fighting the state, but wouldn’t it be a little embarrassing if we were robbed? Tell me some UG pitchers.”

Currently, the national team’s power analysts were busy analyzing each country’s players and could not afford to analyze the opposing team in the practice game. The result is what I see in front of my eyes now.

“Ah, then how are we doing this season? And if you’re at the level of the national team, you should be able to steal it without it, right?”

“You ungrateful bastard.”

“By the way, hyung, will you let me know when you fight against your team?”

“That’s right….”

“Then, I’m going to weight.”

Cool In response to the players’ questions, Koo Jin-mo coolly left to do weights. How great would it be if our seniors were cool like that?

‘Then shall I take a break?’

When the seniors’ attention was focused on Gu Jin-mo, I was about to move to the break room.

“Hey, Ji Maeng-ho.”

“Ah, senior Sangju….”

‘I was next to Jinmo Gu until now, but when did you come all the way here? Under….’

Was a meteorologist. Kim Soo-ho, who was also recruited from AT, didn’t seem to be interested in me, but the weatherman was different. Unlike Goo Jin-mo, the uncool senior, Ki Sang-joo. This kid was very interested in me. There was more nagging.

The most annoying thing was that this nagging never ended. Because we were sharing the same room! Looking back on my experience at finish camp, I think the weather manager put me in the same room…. Fuck.

Why is this bastard so interested in juniors? It seemed to be worse than the right wing type. Woo Kwan-hyung didn’t talk to him unless it was absolutely necessary, but this person seemed to have a motor in his mouth and talk nonstop.

“Come with me. Were you thinking of lifting weights?”

“Uh…. Yes. Well, I thought so.”

“Oh, I’m not like kids these days and I’m working hard. I liked it.”

‘Because you keep watching. Shit!’

“Ah… , Thank you.”

I felt somewhat desolate as I smiled while hiding my true feelings and answered the sage’s words. How did I, who reigned like a king in school until last year, come to this point?

‘Ah, it was nice when the juniors filled up the equipment….’

‘I’m getting that punishment now.’

‘What’s the punishment, I built a career for them because they’re going to college. Maybe he’s thanking me?’

“What are you doing? Blankly. Sometimes when I look at it, I spend a lot of time blankly like this.”

How long have you been watching me? You stalker bastard….

“Ah, there are times when I suddenly think of baseball….”

“Oh, nice. I am like that sometimes too. Oh, you said you were also a SY agency? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Haha, I wonder if I even need to say that. It sounds like you’re pretending to be friendly.”

“You know that SY Agency is a place where nobody accepts, right? Damn, I also felt it during spring camp, and I think you will succeed if you work harder.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“And how about pretending to be friendly? When playing baseball, just right! Playing baseball When you are comfortable, you are comfortable. I know it’s a bit difficult to walk together on the first day, but hyung, you’re not that hard of a person. Rest when you rest, play when you do. At that time, it seemed that the kids were too relaxed. Hancheol didn’t do that.”

“Oh, is that so? Because I don’t know….”

“Well, a rookie can do that.”

Crucially, the thing I didn’t want to hear was the fact that there were too many words. Do you talk a lot after going to the majors? Choi Jin-cheol didn’t say that….

Besides, 90% of what he said was about baseball. The remaining 10% were stories related to baseball.

“… Are you listening In the major leagues, even when you do weights, you just don’t do it. Under…. I wish I had known that before I even got to the majors. Certainly, there is a big difference in infrastructure from Korea, so those details made a big difference.”

It felt like my head was ringing. Damn, why is the weight room so far away? The nagging of the weatherman did not stop until the weight was over that day and I fell asleep.

*

“Brother, why do you look so bad? Aren’t you nervous because it’s a practice game?”

Tension sucks. It’s because I can’t sleep. Sleep!

“Nervous, you won’t even be able to play in the game anyway.”

Besides, there was no reason for me to be nervous. Our position in the national team is that of a face madam? I don’t even play for the start, so it’s my loss to be nervous. Even though the coach looked at me with pretty good eyes during training, he wasn’t the kind of person to push out a top player and use a rookie.

“Well…. It is. But since it’s practice, I think I’ll throw a few balls.”

“Well, maybe I can go out for at least one at-bat.”

It’s up to the 9th inning, so you can go out at least one at-bat, right? I sat on the bench and waited for the seniors to warm up. Episode 1 passed like that, episode 2 passed, and episode 9 approached before anyone knew it.

Jang Woo-joo stayed next to me after being told by the pitching coach that he would be taking a break in the middle of the game. He and I were the only rookies in the national team, so he seemed to be quite dependent on me. Plaguy.

“Oh, well, that’s not much fun.”

“It’s just warming up.”

Right!

“Nice!”

“Senior Hanbeom! Nice bet!”

“Five! Did Kang Kang not die?”

In the beginning of the ninth inning, Kang Han-beom got a hit and the coach called me.

“Maengho, are you ready to run?”

“Yep!”

Ugh, I was bored just watching, but I’m glad I did.

“Do you know who the pitcher is on the mound?”

“Are you Kim Geun-woong?”

“Yes, he is one of the best players in our country. Yesterday, the coach saw you training and said you would be able to run as well. Let’s see what he’s doing in action today. OK?”

“All right.”

The score gap widened and it was a loose game, but it seemed to motivate me.

“Change players! Great runner Ji Maeng-ho!”

He seemed to be throbbing slightly as he entered first base with his baserunner’s gloves on. It’s been 3-4 months since I almost played real battles, except for my own Cheongbaekjeon, which was at the finishing camp.

‘The feeling of real combat that I feel after a long time….’

‘What kind of practice game is the actual match?’

‘Still, it feels real. The blue-and-white match I had with the 2nd Army at the finish camp didn’t even practice.’

‘It’s not like that. The standard of baseball in this country is too low.’

‘It’s been a while, please tell me the type of pitch. I have to run.’

The coach gave me the green light. A green light has many meanings, but in baseball, a green light is giving a runner the right to steal bases freely. And I got credit for my quick feet in training.

“Oh, are you a rookie who entered the national team this time? Envy you. I entered national university because I was young.”

‘It’s sarcastic in the first place…. Look at this bastard?’

As I was preparing to steal base, the UG’s first baseman started talking to me. Since UG’s first baseman, Jin-mo Koo, is in the national team, he’s probably a backup.

“Is it too young to twist?”

“Look at this bastard? Didn’t Jin-mo hyung tell you? I do not know?”

“Yes, don’t you know? Just focus on the game.”

“Wow…. This kid is a funny kid.”

“Let’s not swear. I’m not your kid, am I?”

There was no reason to take the obvious jealousy well, so I fired at it and focused on the pitcher’s pitch. It seemed that the boy had lost his temper and didn’t speak to him any more.

‘The first pitch is a fastball grip.’

Well…. The day I came out as a major runner, will I check it? I am almost 190 cm tall, so no one would have thought that I would have quick legs based on my appearance. Because of the injury, I didn’t even steal bases in high school.

Shall we run? I fell about three steps from first base. Common lead. But I have enough power to steal second base in three steps….

Glancing, I feel the pitcher looking at me. I paid attention to his right foot, not paying attention to his gaze. Since he is definitely a pitcher with a good command of checks, I couldn’t tell whether he was pitching or checking with his right foot at all.

‘I was just showing off when I was in high school…. Is this also a pro? Let’s keep the first ball still.’

First of all, I thought I should look at the pitching. I saw Kang Han-beom on the bench, but there was no choice but to be different from what I saw on the ground.

“Cheek.”

The first pitch is a ball. Is the restraint in the early to mid 140’s? It was not a difficult restraint to steal. It is said that the containment is good, but the pitching motion did not seem to be very fast. Well…. So is it catching a lot of runners? The check motion is good, but the pitching motion is not fast, so it seems that there are more runners who want to steal the base.

‘Oh, why did I do that?’

‘Ah, I have baseball jjambab too, and I think about this much.’

Hehe, that’s a surprise.’

Besides, the UG catcher sitting at home plate is not a very good catcher from what I have seen so far. Shall we run on the breaking ball as usual?

‘Then let’s play on the breaking ball as usual.’

I waited until Rossby told me about the breaking ball grip. Second ball, third ball. The pitcher seemed to have excluded me altogether when I didn’t move much.

‘It’s a curve.’

‘OK.’

I took half a step further than the lead I had so far. But still, the pitcher seemed to have no intention of checking.

‘You did well to stay still. You don’t even care about me?’

And now, according to the pitching form of the guy I’m used to… ,

“Second base!”

When the ball left the pitcher’s hand, it ran toward second base. Then, he slid into second base with a head-first sliding, which he didn’t usually do well. The feeling of the bass is transmitted to the hand along with the rough feeling felt in the chest.

“Safe!”

“Phew.”

The second baseman who received the ball is a perfect stealer who cannot even dare to touch me with his glove. It tastes like this too Looking at the dugout, the coach was clapping as if he was satisfied.

Is this a pretty good first impression?

*

“It is also fast. I thought he would be scared because it was a real game, but he boldly steals bases. Certainly things are things. I don’t think Joo Hyung-jin praised me for nothing.”

“I felt it while watching the training, but the physical is really good.”

“We’ll have to wait a little longer to see, but I think one courage can be used as a major runner in an actual game.”

At the head coach’s words, the national team coach Lee Geum-hyeon nodded his head. Even in the eyes of Lee Geum-hyeon, who had been directing since the 1990s, Ji Maeng-ho had a corner that was not like a rookie. In particular, the appearance he showed during training was so attractive that he wanted to put Park Chul-young as a candidate and use Ji Maeng-ho as a starter.

“Janghun-ah, what do you think?”

“Well, from what they’ve said, it doesn’t seem like they’re pecking.”

“Under…. I’m really worried about this….”

Right!

Even as the match between the national team and UG Overlords continued, Lee Geum-hyun’s worries did not stop.

“Jang Hoon. How does it compare to Cheolyoung?”

Lee Geum-hyeon whispered to head coach Lee Jang-hoon in a low voice so that the players could not hear.

“With Cheolyoung? Even so, Cheolyoung and I are on a different level.”

“It’s not like that.”

Did I go too far Lee Geum-hyeon nodded his head at the head coach’s words.

Now, since playing full-time in 2019, Park Chul-young, the national team’s second baseman, has won the second baseman’s Golden Glove three times in a row in 19, 20, and 21 years, stealing king in 20 and 21, and batting average over 30% in his career. Ji Maeng-ho is fine, but the comparison with Park Cheol-young was at the level of feeling sorry for Park Cheol-young.

‘But, Ji Maeng-ho is strangely attracted to him. The way he shows during training is also impressive.’

After Maeng-Ho Ji, who succeeded in stealing the base, came home, the inning was over. And until the practice game with UG was over, the national team coach, Lee Geum-hyun, continued to worry.

————————————————– ——————
Park Chul-young, right-handed, left-handed, second baseman.

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