Chapter 794 – Episode 781. Stimulation.

[Soto comes to bat. This season, he has a batting average of .209 and 23 home runs.]

[In fact, there were questions about whether Soto had become lazy after signing a free agent contract, as he had records last season of .204, 7 ERA, and 23 home runs, which did not live up to the name Soto. However, this season, he is performing so well that he is ranked 3rd in WAR after Ji Maeng-ho and Judge, right?]

[First pitch, ball. Soto picks the ball.]

*

Soto felt that the ball was out of his batting zone the moment it was thrown, so he waited for the ball without putting out the bat, and the ball passed outside the zone and was declared a ball.

‘Hmm… Was the ball just a cutter?’

Soto remembered in his mind the ball the pitcher had just thrown and moved his lower body around to relax his body. And when he saw the pitcher’s expression harden after seeing his body movements, he smiled to himself.

Probably, that pitcher is cursing himself just like any other pitcher.

‘Make me have fun, friend.’

And then the second ball. The moment the pitcher threw the ball, Soto instinctively felt that the ball was once again a cutter.

… And that the ball is coming into the zone you set.

If someone asked me how I felt that way, there was nothing I could say to explain it.

Because from the day he first started playing baseball, Soto felt that way instinctively.

Even on bad days or good days, his instincts were sometimes wrong, but for the most part, the feeling was never wrong, and Soto swung the bat the way he always did.

Ta – Aak!

And the batted ball goes over the fence. … As expected.

[Soto’s hit! Go over the wall on the right. Push to create a home run! Juan Soto hits the first three run! Score 3:0!]

[It’s dangerous to throw the same ball to Soto twice in a row!]

A home run that scores 3 runs in the first inning. Soto dropped his bat on the floor, appreciating his hit,

‘It’s not much fun either. Be easy. It’s easy.’

… I wasn’t particularly happy about hitting a home run.

In fact, it wasn’t just yesterday or today that Soto lost interest in baseball.

Soto, who made his major league debut at the age of 19, was a different player from his amateur days. When he signed with the Washington Nationals, the down payment was only $1.5 million, but even at that time, all scouts already recognized Soto’s hitting ability as S-level.

And the scouts’ predictions were correct, and he boasted overwhelming records in the minor leagues, including the rookie league, and recorded close to bombing results wherever he went. It took only two years for Soto to reach the major league.

He joined the team at the age of 17 and made his major league debut at the age of 19, which was an incredible achievement. However, it was not particularly surprising because the player who achieved such incredible results was Soto. Since it was evaluated that his batting skills were already perfected during his minor league days, everyone expected that he would be able to play well in the major leagues as long as he gained physical strength.

And Soto summoned Babe Ruth at the age of 19 and became a player who was nicknamed Childish Bambino.

Baseball was very easy for Soto.

Although he couldn’t explain it to anyone, Soto instinctively knew what the pitcher was throwing after watching a few videos or dealing with him in person, and he could even see the trajectory of the pitch. In addition, he has a body that is above the major league average and a hitting technique that has been praised by many experts since he was young.

Therefore, baseball was not very fun. Because baseball was too easy for Soto.

For the first few years of his career, baseball was fun, but after winning the World Series in his second year, his interest in baseball gradually waned in his third year, when he recorded an OPS of 1.185, the highest OPS among all hitters. Br〉

In particular, in his third year, he was disillusioned with the level of reporters after failing to win the MVP award, even though he recorded the highest OPS, wRC+, and OPS+ among major league hitters and ranked first in various batting indicators, so he had no desire for various awards. I lost.

But that didn’t mean he could quit playing baseball, which he had been doing his whole life. This was because I was quite satisfied with the salary and popularity that ordinary people could not even imagine. Although baseball wasn’t fun, Soto needed motivation because he didn’t want to give up the by-products of baseball.

And the motivation that Soto found was the title of the highest-paying contract. As time passed, he moved to the Yankees for a year.

Soto recorded a batting average of .286 and 40 home runs, and the Yankees gave him the highest contract of all time for a hitter: 12 years and $550 million. Although he did not surpass Ohtani in total, Soto’s contract was practically the best contract, excluding such unusual contracts.

But after winning his contract, all that remains is a feeling of emptiness. Life outside the baseball field was very satisfying, but no matter how much work I did, when it came time to play baseball, I felt empty.

So, in a way, it was natural for Soto to pursue ‘fun’ at the baseball stadium.

“What? You really hit a home run as soon as you said it? “Did you intentionally not hit it until now?”

And now, waiting in front of home plate was the player who has been giving Soto so much fun these days.

A thoughtless way of speaking that scratches the insides of others, a fist that he throws at enemies or colleagues when he’s in a bad mood, and as if dating other women at the same time even though he has a wife isn’t enough, he even spends the night with new women when he comes on an expedition.

It was quite fun to watch Ji Maeng-ho up close, making you wonder what kind of accident will happen this time.

“… Why are you smiling like that? “I feel bad.”

“Haha, please continue to have fun with me.”

“Why do you keep looking for fun in me? Oh, have you been playing baseball wrong lately and not having much fun? It would be fun if you were good at baseball like me…”

“… Haha. After all, it’s fun.”

The moment he heard Ji Meng-ho’s answer, his expression hardened slightly, but he found it interesting that he said this to himself. Anyway, his cockiness was also one of the elements of fun.

‘… Well, it still feels bad to be ignored.’

But apart from the fun, Soto is also a professional among professionals. This was the first time he had heard these words in person, and something he thought had disappeared began to stir in Soto’s chest.

‘Let’s see how long you can be so cocky. It would be more fun not to change at all.’

Can this guy really be this arrogant even to a player who is better at baseball than him? Whether he continued to be cocky or not, both sides seemed like they would be fun. And to do that, what is needed is overwhelming skill.

For the first time in a long time, Soto felt like he wanted to beat someone.

‘Well, it won’t be easy. But the more it happens, the more fun it is.’

Of course, it was clear that it would not be easy to show that guy the overwhelming difference in skill. However, since Soto felt that baseball was boring, he had never made a real effort and thought that it might be possible for him.

And the process didn’t seem to be as easy as the baseball I’ve been playing so far, so I thought it would be fun.

‘Okay, let’s give it a try.’

Soto’s competitive spirit, which had gradually disappeared after signing a free agent contract, was rekindled.

*

[Soto’s hit! Climb the fence again! Juan Soto hits multiple home runs today! With this home run, we have a 7-RBI game! Score 14:5!]

[The Yankees completely won today’s game.]

Yankees

Ji/2B 1 hit in 2 at-bats, 4 walks, 4 runs, 2 stolen bases

2. Judge/LF 2 hits in 4 at-bats, 2 walks, 4 runs, 3 RBI, 1 stolen base

3. Soto/RF 3 hits in 4 at-bats, 2 home runs, 2 walks, 3 runs, 7 RBIs

4. Stanton/DH 2 hits in 5 at-bats, 1 walk, 1 run, 2 RBI

5. Verdugo/CF 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 RBI in 5 at-bats

…

…

…

*

“Fuck! Fuck!”

“Hey, buddy. Calm down. “It’s only one game.”

“From what that arrogant guy said, you can tell it was only one game?!”

And after the first match between San Diego and the Yankees ended with the Yankees winning, in San Diego’s locker room, a large young man was continuously swearing and smashing the iron locker door with his fist.

“Nando. “Don’t worry too much.”

The person responsible for the punch was none other than Tatis, who had been humiliated by Ji Meng-ho before the start of today’s match.

When Tatis, the team’s center, was acting like that, Machado, the most veteran, tried to stop Tatis, but Machado’s efforts only made Tatis angry.

Tatis could not understand Machado not being angry even after being humiliated like that. No, it wasn’t that I didn’t understand it, it was to the point where I was angry at Machado for remaining calm despite being provoked in this situation where the team was ranked last in the world.

And Tatis seemed to have some idea of ​​why Machado was calm.

After being caught taking a banned substance, Machado did not show it, but he showed an appearance of secretly ignoring him.

It was like that just today.

Even though he, a member of the team, was being humiliated, Machado just smiled and did not say a single word about punishing Ji Maeng-ho, who had made arrogant remarks to other team members.

Until now, he was from the same country and was pretending to be friendly in front of me, so I pretended not to know and passed over Machado’s actions with blurry eyes, but today’s incident made it clear.

The fact is that Machado was ignoring him.

‘After that incident, he was probably laughing inside like everyone else who was laughing at him. You disgusting bastard. You acted so friendly in front of me. In the end, you are the same.’

After being caught taking banned substances, the paranoia that had been bothering Tatis attacked him once again.

‘Whew, let’s hold on. Let’s be patient. This old man is going to retire soon anyway.’

But there was nothing they could do about Machado, the center of the team. Unlike Tatis, who took banned drugs, Machado was already the center of the team and respected by the players.

Therefore, all Tatis can do is to turn his attention to the external enemy rather than the internal enemy.

‘Ji… You arrogant bastard. I’ll break your nose.’

However, Tatis could not let go of his anger until the end of the series against the Yankees.

Baseball is a sport in which mental strength and concentration are important as it is a static sport, and the emotion of ‘anger’ was an emotion that was not very helpful in playing baseball.

Tatis, who was unable to control his mentality, had no choice but to record shabby results of 3 hits in 10 at-bats, 0 RBI, and 0 RBI in the three-game series against the Yankees. In contrast, Maeng-ho Ji went 5 hits in 9 at-bats, 2 home runs, and 5 RBIs, leading the Yankees to a series sweep. .

‘What the fuck… ! This is not my skill. Me too, if it were my original skill, that would be… ! Ha, even this damn club just ignored me from that day on. Those guys who seemed like they would give me my liver and gallbladder when I was doing well.’

Complete self-defeat. Tatis couldn’t help but be shocked by the fact that the scum who had no manners and humiliated him in front of him was also good at baseball, and his mind became filled with a sense of defeat and paranoia.

‘I’d rather be ignored like this anyway…’ .’

… Therefore, even though he knew that the path he had walked was full of dishonor, he decided to walk that path again.