Chapter 782 – Episode 769. A Pitcher’s Grave? (5)

“Ball.”

“Wow sir…”

Is this a threat? Or did it get out of hand? I was a little angry that I had to throw a ball that caught my body like this when I had a chance to become a hero, but I suppressed my anger because every ball was precious right now.

“Juan! Calm down! Calm down!”

When I saw the catcher making the gesture of lowering both hands while throwing the ball to the pitcher, I thought it might have fallen out of his hands, but I decided not to think too much about it because it could have been a way to deceive me.

As Mr. Rossby always says, it was necessary to think as lightly as possible when at bat.

‘Anyway, except for the four-seam, the pitch types are two-seam and change-up. Because the bending angle of the two is similar…’

And with a lighter mind, I predict his next pitch. His pitches are four-seam, two-seam, and change-up. It was surprising that he didn’t have any pitches that curved out, but if he had learned more pitches, he wouldn’t have had a career ERA of around 6.

But that didn’t mean I was ignoring him. Since he was playing as a bullpen player in the major leagues, he also had some strengths.

There is only one reason why he pitches as a bullpen pitcher in the major leagues because his velocity is not fast for a right-handed pitcher, his variety of breaking balls is not good, and his control is not that good.

He was good enough to offset those shortcomings.

-“Mejia is a guy who has only hit 14 home runs in 174 innings while using Coors Field as his home. He only has an HR/9 (home runs per 9 innings) of 0.7. So when he meets a guy, he tries to walk him as much as possible…”

Before the series against Colorado, he remembers what his coach said: He laughed it off when he heard it, but the fact that he hit that high of an HR/9 in a park like this is a bit surprising.

‘Well, if I hit a home run against a guy like that, it means I’m even greater. Hmph. Ah, now is not the time to think about this.’

I once again erase the random thoughts that pop into my head and concentrate. And the guy’s ball was thrown.

‘… ‘Two three!’

Huh-!

Since he thought he had seen his fastball from the previous inning, he lost his posture when the bat he thought he swung at the perfect time failed to hit the ball.

“Strike!”

‘… Is this a changeup? I definitely didn’t just get to the major leagues with one tool.’

There was definitely little difference in pitching form between throwing a changeup and a fastball.

First off, that’s how I see it. I didn’t hear anything like that during power analysis, so I guess I can’t find the difference.

If you’ve been watching the KBA league for a long time, you might be able to find the difference, but since this match could be the last match against him, there wasn’t time to find the difference.

‘If this is the case, I will have to abandon the change-up and focus on the fastball. If you get the timing right, you can almost get close to the fence.’

It’s hard to distinguish between changeups, so what I should aim for is the fastball type. Since the two-seam pitch was a pitch that bends inward anyway, I form a hitting zone near my body and wait for his next pitch.

“Ball.”

And once again, the ball goes deep into the body.

‘Is it two-seam this time? Write, it’s too much of a change to your body?’

Even though Mr. Rossby said he wouldn’t tell me, I had no choice but to know if the build-up was building up to my body like this. The crystal balls of these guys are stuck outward.

‘What should I do?’

Are you aiming for the outside when the crystal ball is coming? However, I am slightly reluctant to do so because his final ball could have been used as a change-up. Is it really necessary to aim for the opponent’s trick?

‘Ah, fuck. Let’s not worry about it. If you want to hit a home run, just go to the body.’

Anyway, the ball count was two balls, one strike, and I needed to get one more strike to throw the deciding ball, so I decided to play it cool, thinking that he would aim for the inside ball again.

It didn’t look like I was going to throw the same ball twice in a row, so I tried to time it as close to the four-seamer as possible.

‘Come, come, come…’ !’

I wait, concentrating on his every move. And the guy’s ball was thrown…

‘It’s coming…’ !’

I have seen the ball towards my body quite a few times, so it feels like it is flying towards my body. I don’t know if this is a changeup or a fastball…,

‘I don’t know!’

I swung the bat coolly with the mindset of just getting one strike.

Perfect!

However, a slightly dull sound is heard, and the ball floats high. Almost soaring into the sky.

‘Fuck you.’

Ohapi, who was a runner on first base, stops walking and returns to first base. He walks to first base just in case the outfielder misses the ball, but he gets a little annoyed at the thought of hitting an outfield fly.

At that time…,

“… Huh?”

The left fielder, who had settled down, started hitting balls further and further back.

‘No way… ?’

One step, two steps. The left fielder, who had been taking a step back, was eventually blocked by the fence and could no longer go back, and the batted ball was falling slowly. … Right behind the fence.

-Waaaaa!!!

‘Fuck! This is it! Is this what that jet engine does? It’s a mess, really. I love you! Coors Field!’

‘Ha, I can’t believe I passed over something like this. One real power…’

I heard Mr. Rossby’s ridiculous voice, but I ignored Mr. Rossby’s words and gave a high five to the first base coach.

“You crazy bastard! It really is an incredible power.”

“Coach, it’s me. I have to get used to it now.”

Haha! It was a great home run. Ji!”

After talking with the coach, he shouts at Ohhapi, the runner on first base who is rounding the base with a dumbfounded expression.

“Oh hapi! Run! “Before I catch you from behind.”

“Uh? Uh. Yes, I should run.”

Tsk, it’s only been a few months since I teamed up with you, but I’m still surprised this much.

Still, my score could have been canceled if I caught up with Ohapi, so I ran slowly after Ohapi.

This is now a tie. I ran toward the base, fully enjoying the cheers of the crowd mixed with praise for the batter who tied the game. Although my semi-erect penis was a hindrance, the mandatory cervix protector prevented it from growing any further, so fortunately I didn’t have to adjust my clothes while going around the base.

“Ji! It was a wonderful room. And congratulations on 40 home runs. It has already expanded to 14.”

“I’m going to give Jersey a blow too!”

After sharing a high-five with Judge, who was the standby hitter, and returning to the dugout, the dugout was already in the middle of a festival.

“Ji! Ji! Ji! Ji! Ji!”

“Crazy guy! How did you get over this!”

“You don’t go down after getting hit by that bastard’s fist for nothing.”

“You bastards! It’s me, Ji Maeng-ho!”

“Yes, male prostitute!”

“What kind of bastard are you!”

“…”

After enjoying the festivities, I realized that this was the first major league home run I hit under my own power, so I immediately approached the coach.

“Coach, can I get the ball for this home run?”

“Also? Oh, by the way, this home run is a new record, so you might want to keep it.”

“A new record?”

“Yes, the angle at which the ball was hit was 51 degrees. This is the highest angle home run since Statcast. Surely you didn’t know?”

“Well, I had a feeling.”

No matter how much you ride the jet stream, it’s still 51 degrees.

‘Under… Are you scared of me too? How far will you grow? Ji Maeng-ho!’

‘Crazy bastard…’

‘Anyway, Mr. Rossby, you’re jealous again.’

‘Hmph, I guess I’ve hit a few home runs like that, right? There were no records left because there was no means to record them.’

‘Well, I guess so.’

‘With such care, this bastard… !’

Mr. Rossby swore, but there was no room for the loser’s voice to enter my ears, so I watched the game while chatting with the coach about this home run ball.

“Oh! Let’s go!”

Judge must have been stimulated by me, but he hit a ball that went all the way to the fence, but the left fielder caught it, and he was called out.

“Base on balls!”

Soto calmly drew a walk.

“Out!”

“Out!”

“Ah…”

And the top of the 7th inning ends with the score tied as Stanton hits a double play. It was a bit disappointing that I couldn’t seize this opportunity, but I was satisfied with the score and was about to grab my gloves when the club’s manager approached me.

“Hey, Ji. A fan wants the bat you hit with a home run? Are you going to change it?”

“Yes, I will sign this and give it to you. “Do you have fans?”

“Now, here.”

“Good.”

Probably, if you come out of defense, the ball will be exchanged. It was a bit of a waste since it was the ‘Ji Maeng-ho special edition’ bat that I signed a new sponsorship contract with when I came to the major league, and the commercial price of the bat was over 500,000 won, but this home run ball was also the first special ball I hit in the major league, so I signed the bat. After doing so, he willingly handed the bat over to the manager.

“Ji! Come out quickly.”

“Okay, I’m on my way.”

Bottom of the 7th inning with the score tied. Camacho came up to our mound. Camacho was so stupid that he didn’t know where the opposing team’s stadium was, but his current score was at 1 point, so his skills were certain enough that some fans even said he was the second coming of Rivera.

“Out!”

“Out!”

“Base on balls!”

“Out!”

Although he gave one walk, he neatly blocked the Rockies’ attack in the bottom of the 7th inning.

And in the top of the 8th inning, our offense was hit by Verdugo, who played center field today, and Vientos, who had been in a slump, finally hit a home run, bringing the score to 9:7.

After the successful comeback, it was Camacho again who came on the mound. I wondered if Camacho was pitching too often these days, but since there were no reliable pitchers in the bullpen, it wasn’t an unconvincing pitching strategy.

“Out!”

“Out!”

“Out!”

And Camacho, as if repaying Coach Mattingly’s faith, succeeded in completely solidifying the victory by ending the bottom of the 8th inning with a three-way strike.

‘Okay, since I’m the starting point, let’s give one more point!’

Now there is only one inning left. I decided to give up one more run for Miller, our closing pitcher, who would come up in the bottom of the 9th inning, so I went to bat,

“Out!”

“Out!”

“Out!”

The bottom of the 9th inning began with me, Judge, and Soto both counting out and taking a two-run lead. But fortunately, Miller was Miller. Miller, who was throwing the ball at a speed of 164 to 6 km/h, hit the ball into the zone regardless of whether it was Coors Field or something else, and the game turned into a batting contest as the Rockies’ hitters, unable to overcome the overwhelming speed, returned to the dugout. It’s over.

‘Phew, if I lost on my own, I would have been made fun of by Mr. Rossby, but I’m lucky.’

That’s how I was able to win and preserve my pride in the first game where I went to bat alone,

“Ji, is this article true? To commemorate this meeting, can I also give you an autographed bat? ?”

“Huh? Amanda, what article are you talking about?”

Ji Maeng-ho’s autographed bat, which hit a -51 home run, appears on an auction site!

… After the introduction of Stat Cast, the autographed bat of Ji Maeng-ho, who hit the highest angle home run in the Major League, was registered on an auction site. This bat had the date of the home run and Ji Maeng-ho’s autograph written on it…, The starting price of the auction is $5,000 (approximately 7 million won) and the expected winning price is $10,000…

“What the fuck… !”

“Ah! Sorry! Ji!”

‘Fuck! ‘If I’d known it would be like this, I would have sold it!’

I was in a good mood until the next morning because of the article that the woman I met through DM that day at the hotel showed me.