Chapter 777 – 764. Plural. (2)

Ta – Aak!

‘Fuck.’

Detroit Tigers’ second batter, Clark’s batted ball goes over the fence. I wondered if he handled the first hitter well, but then he hit a home run and one point went up on Detroit’s scoreboard.

In fact, today’s starting pitcher Buehler’s recent runs were 6, 4, 4, and 6, so his ERA had already risen to the mid-4 range, so I was anxious, but as always, he ended up giving a run in the first inning.

After that, Buehler faced a crisis with two hits, but fortunately he did not give up any points and the bottom of the first inning ended.

‘Phew, not the worst.’

Considering Buehler’s condition today, it seemed like he needed at least 5 runs, so it was his first at-bat with maximum concentration.

‘Let’s watch carefully for now.’

‘It’s a fastball. Outside.’

‘Yes.’

Since Manning was a player I had only met once, I decided to watch the first pitch to see if anything had changed and waited for the guy’s pitch. And the guy’s ball hit a slightly high position.

“Strike!”

‘Hmm… The ball is definitely heavier than the last time I saw it.’

It certainly felt like the pitch had improved compared to when we met at the beginning of the season, perhaps because the day was getting warmer. He’s already a guy who throws the ball in the mid to upper 90s, so it feels like I have to get the timing right to pass it?

‘… Well, in this case, let’s skip the fastball if possible.’

There is no need to take the difficult path when there is an easy path. The second ball of a guy who decided to narrow the zone when dealing with a fastball and waited.

‘It’s a curve. Outside.’

‘Okay.’

The second ball he chose was a curveball. Not only is there no pitcher who throws a high curve, but considering that the first fastball was hit high, this ball was designed to induce me to swing and miss. Moreover, it was clear that he had analyzed that I was good at hitting curves, so I decided to watch this ball as well and waited for his ball.

However,

‘Huh?!’

The guy’s curve flew out with the feeling that it was floating from the beginning, as if it had slipped out of my hand, and I ended up swinging the bat without realizing it as the ball fell into the strike zone due to the ball’s trajectory.

Ta-ah!

The touch was okay, but the ball flew into the deepest part of Yankee Stadium. The batted ball, which seemed to have a launch angle of about 40 degrees, began to slowly sink in front of the fence and ended up in the center fielder’s glove.

‘Oh, fuck! Mr. Rossby, was it an incoming ball?’

‘Yes, if I had left it, I think it would have ended up at the top of the zone.’

‘Write…’

I thought I would just watch it even if I got one strike, but I couldn’t help it because it was too good not to hit a ball like this.

‘Tsk, if it were just a little lower, it would be okay.’

I walk toward the dugout, swallowing the regret that even if the ball had come in just 1–2 inches low, it could have gone over the fence.

Afterward, Manning called out Judge and Soto in turn, ending the bottom of the first inning with a three-way strike.

‘I should have passed on that…’ .’

As I was packing up my gloves, feeling sorry for myself, the jersey came up to me.

“Ji.”

“Yes?”

“Well, didn’t you feel anything strange?”

“No. There was nothing like that at all? “There is no ball hitting the body.”

“… Okay? Hmm… “They are not the kind of people who will let things go like this.”

“Hey, what happened yesterday was an ‘accident’. “My heart hurts too.”

“Anyway, be careful about this series. “No team, including us, gets off easily when something like this happens.”

“No need to worry.”

Judge had been warning me to be careful since the ‘accident’ happened yesterday, and he seemed to be a bit uneasy today as well.

‘Anyway, is it because I’m old? ‘There’s just a lot to worry about.’

They say that as you get older, you start to worry more and more, and that was exactly what Judge was like.

And as if to prove that Judge’s worries were unfounded, the second episode ended without a hitch. Doesn’t it look like Manning’s ball was hit with bad intentions towards his body?

In particular, since Stanton and Hall hit singles with one out and first and third bases on base, it was possible to throw an empty ball to make the bases loaded, but seeing as Manning finished the inning without that happening, Judge’s worries were unnecessary. It was certain.

Actually, it didn’t really matter even if those bastards were targeting me as Judge had feared. Anyway, all you had to do was dodge the moment the empty ball was put in and hit it.

‘The only problem is that even with 1 out and 3 runs, we couldn’t score.’

Right now, the fact that we were tied 1-0 was more important than that. In particular, the fact that they could not score a single point even though they were on 1st and 3rd bases with 1 out was even more serious because there was a high possibility that the game would continue like this.

And then came the top of the third inning. Badu, the leadoff hitter and number one hitter, came to bat.

“Strike! Out!”

However, Buehler misses the ball and is out. The guy must have been displeased with the strikeout, so he glared at Buehler for a few seconds and then went into the dugout. It felt like we made eye contact, but the batter who struck out couldn’t have been staring at me, so he must have been aiming at the pitcher.

After that, the second batter, Clark, was out and the third batter, Green, hit a double, but the inning ended when Soto succeeded in sniping the runner.

‘Hmm… I was worried because he hit a home run, but is Buehler in good shape today? If this is the case, it will be something to look forward to.’

Now all that remains is for the batters to score points. I felt like I could win this game if Buehler scores before he collapses.

Coincidentally, the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the third inning was Ohapee, the number 9 hitter.

‘Even if Ohapi gets out, it’s one out… If he runs to 3rd base, he will be judged and given 1 point since it is Soto. Let’s start by striking a balance.’

*

“Fuck!”

I participated in this game with the intention of showing Ji Maeng-ho an example. Badu’s plan to show Ji Meng-ho’s example was simple.

Go out to first base. And he runs to second base. When the guy comes to stop him, he tackles him right in the shin. That’s the end of our precious teammate’s revenge. Badu had a perfect plan.

However, Badu’s perfect plan went awry from the first step. Buehler’s pitch was so good that he couldn’t even change runners, let alone get on base.

In such a situation, the only thing that becomes urgent is the mind.

“Hey, Badu, calm down. Or should I do it?”

“No, I’ll take care of that guy.”

Another colleague was saying that he was going to tackle the guy, but Badu stopped him.

In the eyes of Badu, who had lived a pretty rough life before coming into contact with baseball, Ji Meng-ho was a guy who had learned to fight professionally, and his other teammates could become dangerous like the idiots in Texas.

So here he had to solve it himself.

In particular, the sight of him not averting his eyes even though he was constantly looking at him was quite threatening, so he did not want to put such danger on his colleagues.

‘The problem is getting on base…’

The only problem was that he had to go to first base to tackle the guy. But in order to do that, he had to get the at-bat back to him.

‘Let’s focus on defense first.’

So Badu put aside his thoughts of revenge, grabbed his gloves and headed to his outfield,

[…] ] … With one out, Ji Maeng-ho comes to bat. … Ji Maeng-ho’s batted ball! Behind left field! Back! Let’s go! Ji Maeng-ho balances the game!]

‘… 이 개새끼가 콜트를 그 꼴로 만들어 놓고 자기는 홈런을 치고 좋아해?’

He gritted his teeth as he watched Ji Maeng-ho’s ball pass behind him.

[…] ] … Strike! Out! Manning hits a home run but remains steadfast! … This batted ball is caught by the right fielder! Three out! Manning concedes a run but doesn’t give up the lead. Score 1:1.]

[… Out! Walker Buehler puts two runners on base but does not allow a run! The game goes to the bottom of the 4th inning!]

[… Manning ends the inning with a three-way throw! The tight score gap of 1:1 continues!]

The top of the 5th inning started with the score remaining 1:1.

[Buehler catches Valente. One out. Badu, the number one batter, now comes to bat. Today’s record is 2 at-bats and no hits.]

The third at-bat came for Badu, who was gritting his teeth for revenge.

‘I always get on base.’

Badu watched Buehler’s ball as much as possible while praying in his mind, and was it because Badu’s prayer reached the heavens?

Buehler’s 97 mph fastball went almost to the middle of the field. Although the ball was fast, it was no different from a miss.

Perfect!

And as expected from the major leagues, Badu also swung the bat like lightning without missing the ball.

[This batted ball! It falls into left field!]

[It’s a long-hitting course where you can aim for second base?!]

‘This is the second base?!’

The original purpose was to target Ji Maeng-ho, who was the second baseman, on the way from first base to second base, but the batted ball unexpectedly fell in an exquisite position, making it possible to aim for second base.

While he was wondering whether to stop at first base and tackle Ji Maeng-ho as planned, or aim for second base, Badu saw the shortstop going to the outfield to make a cut and Ji Maeng-ho taking his place at second base. .

‘This is an opportunity!’

He wasn’t paying any attention to himself as he was turning toward left field to catch the ball. Badu, who thought that a more perfect opportunity could not come to him as he ran for revenge, increased his speed and ran towards Ji Maeng-ho, who was waiting with his glove near the second base.

5 m, 4 m, 3 m.

The figure is getting closer and closer.

And Badu launched himself at the unsuspecting guy. He puts his foot forward just like he did with Keith.

‘Search!’

An image of the guy falling down holding his leg flashes through Badu’s mind.

However, at the moment Badu threw his body, he could see Meng Hao looking at himself, wondering if he should concentrate to receive the ball.

“What the fuck!”

‘… How?’

Basically, the fielder’s eyes follow the ball. If it was a fielder who needed to receive a throw, it was normal for him to catch the ball and turn around.

However, the guy was turning towards himself without even receiving the ball, and at the same time, he was jumping over his own body, sliding almost as if he was flying.

There was a feeling of feet colliding with each other, but since he had already jumped, his high feet passed under Ji Maeng-ho’s spikes.

And the body of the high-flying guy gradually sinks. The guy’s foot, with his weight on it, is getting closer and closer to his shin…, More and more…

Badu sensed the coming fate and screamed, but

“N…, No… ㅡaaaaah!”

He couldn’t defy gravity by shouting.

Drop.

Tremendous pain that comes with the sound of something breaking.

“[And… If it weren’t for Mr. Rossby, I would have been really screwed. What is this, you bastard? Ugh, you can’t hit an injured cub. You are lucky Really.]”

Ji Maeng-ho, who landed safely on the ground after stepping on Badu’s shin, looked down from above and muttered in Korean that Badu could not understand, but Ji Maeng-ho’s voice could not be heard by Badu, who was filled with pain.

“Kwaaaaa at my legs! My legs!!”

I just scream because of the pain I feel in my shin.

Badu’s desperate screams continued until the ambulance arrived.