Chapter 781 – Episode 768. A Pitcher’s Grave? (4)

Ta – Aak!

Even though the touch felt right, I had no choice but to run at full speed. Because the launch angle of the batted ball was not that ideal.

‘Fuck, I should have just hit you right away… !’

If I hadn’t hesitated a bit because I didn’t trust my feelings, I would have passed… ! It’s been a while since I played by myself, so I hesitated without realizing it. As I rounded first base and looked at the batted ball, the left fielder had already caught it.

Looking at the angle and speed of the batted ball, it seemed like it hit the fence and bounced off. Of course, it also meant that the left fielder’s defense was clean.

‘To second base!’

‘It’s running!’

However, Colorado’s left fielder didn’t have the best arm type for a clean outfield defense, so I just ran toward second base.

“Safe!”

And fortunately, before the left fielder’s throw arrives, he touches the second base with his hand and a triple is declared.

‘Phew, I hit the fence and almost got out at second base.’

I felt happy about landing on second base for a while, but when I thought that if I had just trusted myself and swung the bat from the beginning, I wouldn’t have had to run so badly, I felt a little bad.

The reason for this double hit was that I did not trust my own judgment. I should have believed in myself a little more.

‘Yes, even if Mr. Rossby was around, I would still be in the major leagues.’

Last season, in preparation for the Major League, I went to bat on my own for about 4 months without Mr. Rossby’s help, and my performance at that time was a batting average of about .36, an OPS of about 1.6, and more than 40 home runs. It was being recorded.

Of course, because of my previous performance, my on-base percentage was high even when he came to the plate alone because he avoided me most of the time, but even if he avoided me, it was my ability to pick the ball.

And his performance was not at all inferior to that of other hitters who went from the KBA League to the Major League.

In particular, Seungcheol, who most recently advanced from the KBA League to the Major League, had better results than his older brother. And Seungcheol was clearly performing better than average in the major leagues, recording an OPS in the mid-0.8 range.

In other words, even without Mr. Rossby, I am an above-average major league hitter.

There was no need to question my judgment like I did just now.

‘Wow, it’s been a while since I played, so I played like a fearless player. Well, it’s still a double hit. Ah, that’s it. ‘Shall we take care of the ball?’

This is the first hit I hit on my own since coming to the major league. A ball like this was also worth keeping.

“Huh, Mr. Montes?”

I quickly looked at the markings on the back of the uniform, checked the second baseman’s name, and called him over.

“Huh? “What is it?”

“That ball. “Give it to me.”

“… “Just ask for the ball when you’re on second base?”

“Ah, this is my 777th hit since my professional debut.”

Of course it was a lie.

“… That’s surprising. “I don’t think I’m the type of person to care about things like this.”

“Well, 777. It feels good.”

“Okay, now.”

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to doubt my words. Well, I don’t know how many I hit, but there’s no way he could know.

“Coach, please keep this.”

“Uh? Uh. I get it. “I guess it’s a special ball?”

“Well, that’s right.”

After receiving the ball from the second baseman, he passes the ball to the coach.

‘Okay, I did what I had to do. Then, Mr. Rossby, let’s run.’

‘Tsk, are you taking care of something like that?’

‘Please think of something nice to say. ‘Keep it like that ball.’

‘Anyway, doing something useless. … It’s a curve.’

‘Okay.’

“Safe!”

Caleb chose to curve from the first pitch against Judge, and the situation was safe at third base.

Perfect!

“Out!”

However, the out count goes up as Judge hits an infield fly. Of course, I wasn’t nervous or worried that I wouldn’t be able to score. Even if Judge got out, Soto was there behind him.

Ta – Aak!

‘… It’s cool.’

A batted ball that doesn’t require you to watch the ball until the end.

-Wow!!!!

When I saw Soto’s home run, I felt like I had come to the Yankees in a good way. It suddenly occurred to me that if my team wasn’t the Yankees, if Judge and Soto weren’t behind me, I wouldn’t have been able to stand up to the plate by myself like I did today.

Probably, if I went to a team with a weak batting lineup, I wouldn’t have been able to use this kind of leisure because I would have to do my best to help the team win. And if I hadn’t had today’s experience, I think I might have realized quite late that I was a pretty good hitter and needed to believe in myself.

“Thank you. Soto.”

“Huh? “What?”

“It’s just like that.”

“Funny guy. By the way, if you appreciate it, please let me know. So, did you do that on purpose against Detroit? Breaking a runner’s leg. “I played in the major leagues for 10 years, and I’ve never seen a fool like you.”

“… “It was an accident.”

“Is that an accident? So you’re saying you dipped the kiss on purpose?”

“… “I will have no comment.”

“Haha, as expected, fun things keep happening when I’m with you.”

… This guy definitely has a strange personality. When I saw that this guy, as well as Judge, felt a sense of rivalry and boasted about a rookie like me, I wondered if he had to have a strange personality to become the best player in the major leagues.

‘If you think about it, Mr. Rossby also has a strange personality. No, he’s beyond weird. If you look at the long story, it’s clear that if he’s good at baseball, he’ll have a weird personality. I have to be careful not to end up like that.’

*

[Yankees take a 5-1 lead with Soto’s home run! … Out, … Out! The game now heads to the bottom of the 5th inning!]

[… Gilbert achieves the victory condition by pitching 5 innings and allowing 1 run!]

[In the top of the 6th inning, a new pitcher, Mejia, comes to Colorado’s mound. He has appeared in 24 games this season and has a 4.50 ERA and 1 win and 1 loss in 28 innings. … Mejia ends the inning with a three-way throw!]

[Bottom of the 6th inning, Gilbert still on the mound for the Yankees. … Out! Now at bat is Bouchard, the number 6 hitter. I’m 2-for-2 today. … Ah! You hit it! Bouchard with 3 hits in 3 at-bats! McMahon, the 7th batter, comes to the plate. Today’s record is 2 at-bats and no hits.]

[McMahon is a player with enough punching power to have had 6 seasons with over 20 home runs, right? And he is a player this season who is hitting .269 with 8 home runs and a career high OPS of 0.826. Even though he is 0-for-2, you should watch out for this guy.]

[Ah! You hit it! Hit this ball behind right field! Behind right field! Let’s go! McMahon’s two-run four! Score 5:3! … Heron’s hit! The Rockies keep the momentum going! Montes’ batted ball! Out! Two out! Oh, and Logan Gilbert walking Grisham. Eventually, it comes down from the mound.]

[Director Mattingly has made a decision. Coors Field is called the graveyard of pitchers, so once it collapses, it collapses uncontrollably. Director Mattingly cut it off well.]

[The Yankees’ next pitcher, Loaisiga, takes the mound. He has appeared in 22 games this season and has a 4.38 ERA and 3 wins and 1 loss in 24.2 innings.]

[Actually, the Yankees are not a team with a strong bullpen, right? Except for closer Miller, who has an ERA of 1.64, and setup man Camacho, who has an ERA of 1.86, all bullpen pitchers are in the 4-point range. Even if I were to block this inning, I chose to save Camacho because there were 3 innings left, but I think we will have to wait and see what happens to Coach Mattingly’s decision.]

[Dolander is the number 2 batter at bat. He did quite well last year in his first full season, hitting .258 with 15 home runs and an OPS of 0.735, and this season he’s hitting .274 with 14 home runs and an OPS of .838.]

[Dolander and Loaisiga. I think it will be a good match?]

[Loai City’s first pitch! Oh, it’s off! Here comes the wild pitch! All runners succeed in advancing one base!]

[No matter how veteran Loaisiga is, you can’t help but feel nervous when faced with a situation like this at Coors Field!]

[… You hit it! Hitting a ball! In front of center field! It falls! Even the runner on second base who was already running goes home! Home! Coming in! Score 5:5! Colorado Rockies balance the game! … Toba’s hit! Runners on 1st and 3rd! Now at bat is Fernandez, the number 4 hitter. … Fernandez’s hit! Cut left and center! 2 RBIs and a timely double! Score 7:5! The Colorado Rockies succeed in a comeback by scoring 6 points!]

[This is Coors Field. Any pitcher can collapse at Coors Field!]

[Ah, eventually the pitcher changes once again. There is Merda on the mound. He has appeared in 9 games this season and has an ERA of 4.55 in 27.2 innings.]

[The fact that Merda, who played the role of a pitcher in the Yankees’ bullpen, was brought in means that we will see it for a long time, right?]

[… Merda ends the long inning by catching Goodman with a fly to center field! But the score is 7:5! The Yankees are pressured by 2 points!]

[However, since Coors Field is fair to any team, it remains to be seen whether the Yankees’ batting lineup can overcome this crisis.]

[The game is now in the top of the 7th inning. Ohapi, the number 9 hitter, comes to the plate. … Ohapi’s batted ball lands in front of left field! The Yankees are starting a counterattack again! And at the plate is Ji Maeng-ho, who today has 1 hit and 1 walk in 2 at-bats. Oh, there are quite a few Yankees fans shouting Ji Maeng-ho’s name?]

[Ji Maeng-ho is someone who is highly anticipated by Yankees fans, to the point where he is called Jisus locally. Will he be able to solve this crisis? …]

*

Coors Field, known as the ‘pitcher’s graveyard,’ was definitely Coors Field. Until Soto hit a home run and the score gap widened to 4 points, a part of me was betting on victory.

Gilbert’s recent performance was good, and today’s pitch was good, so I didn’t expect it to collapse all at once. And even Loai City collapsed. There was no home run, but they gave up a lot of points, and before we knew it, the score had grown to 7:5.

‘Hehe, I’m glad Ohapee got on base though.’

Still, the current situation is 1st base with no outs. A two-run lead with no outs on first base meant that a home run would immediately tie the game, and even if I just got on base, Judge, Soto, and Stanton could somehow resolve the situation.

Of course, what I was aiming for was a home run.

‘Shall I help you?’

‘No, it’s okay.’

A chance to become a hero on your own for the first time in the major league. I didn’t want to use this opportunity to get Mr. Rossby’s help. And honestly, when there was a misfire, Mr. Rossby’s help was also poison.

Honestly, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about this situation. Because it was true that I was nervous. However, the excitement that I could become the hero of today’s game was greater than the nervousness.

And those tremors subside when I go to bat and do my routine and smell the foul leather smell of the gloves mixed with the smell of sweat.

It wasn’t the best, but I was in pretty good shape. Moreover, the opposing pitcher is currently slightly weak after pitching 1.1 innings. The guy who had been throwing 94-5 mph in the previous inning threw 92 mph against Ohapee and got a hit, so it was clear that he was probably out of energy.

And, the ball that travels around 92 mph (148 km/h) is a ball that we are tired of seeing in the KBA league.

All situations were created where I could become a hero. Now all that’s left is for me to blast his ball over the fence. Of course, there were times when this kind of thinking led to unnecessary force in hitting, but I was not that much of an inexperienced hitter.

‘Okay, let’s go in peace.’