Chapter 796 – Episode 783. End of the First Half. (2)

It’s the top of the 6th inning, when the pitcher feels the most tired, and it’s a two-out situation where you can record a quality start if you get one more out count. If I were a pitcher, I would think I would want to quickly count out and go to rest.

And Sasaki had the same thoughts.

“Strike!”

‘95.1 miles (153 km/h)? I’ve definitely lost stamina. And when I see a ball like this being put into the zone, it seems like my concentration is broken.’

The first pitch Sasaki threw to me was a fastball in the low 150s that entered the zone. I didn’t swing the bat because I wanted to check my liver, but if the fastball velocity was this high, I thought I could just swing it without any pressure.

The problem is that the guy’s stamina is low, so his control may be unstable?

‘Mr. Rossby, you don’t have to tell me the location of the fastball.’

So rather than being told where the pitch was, I decided to handle it on my own. It seemed like the bat would be late if there was an image that it was coming from a certain direction.

‘I get it. Next is the forkball. Outside, low.’

‘It’s obvious, it’s obvious.’

Targeting the low outside zone ultimately means throwing a fastball high outside. I was a little tired of the ball combination that seemed to be the norm against me, but I understood it to some extent because it was so effective.

As Mr. Rossby said, excluding the ridiculous misfires that did not come and came from strange places, the ball that caused the most strikeouts and outs was the fastball that hit high outside. As Mr. Rossby said, if I had long arms like a gorilla, there wouldn’t have been a problem, but since I was a human, that was unavoidable due to my body structure.

However, like all high balls, this outside high ball was a ball that could go over the fence the moment it was pushed a little, so after this ball combination was established, long hits were quite good.

And looking at Sasaki’s condition, there was almost no chance of his ball hitting the zone I was having trouble with.

In that case, what I will do is wait until two strikes so that he can throw the decisive ball. Well, if a fastball is thrown well, the bat may be used, but there was no reason to use the bat for a forkball like this.

“Ball.”

“Ball.”

“Strike!”

So he threw forkballs three times in a row, and before we knew it, the ball count was two balls, two strikes.

The perfect situation to throw the deciding ball.

‘It’s a fastball.’

‘Okay.’

In that situation, he chose a fastball as I expected.

‘Ha, aren’t I too smart?’

‘Tsk, you’re a fool if you can’t even read that against a two-pitch pitcher.’

I just ignore Mr. Rossby’s jealousy and wait for him to get his reward. Anyway, the only place to come is outside. And since it was clear that he didn’t want a three-ball situation, he had no choice but to focus the ball toward the zone.

He could have prepared for a three-ball and thrown it farther, but there was no pitcher who could do that in the top of the sixth inning, with two outs and two strikes, when he could have accomplished his task by throwing just one strike.

… Even more so if it’s a major league pitcher.

‘… ‘It’s coming!’

And my prediction was exactly right. He threw the ball as if he was trying to pull it out slightly, and contrary to his intention, the ball flew into the perfect position to hit.

Ta – Aak!

For a moment, I felt good about the perfect taste that I had tasted for the first time in a long time.

‘Bitch, you need to know how to admit and bend when your stamina is low.’

When I saw him throw the ball like this, I felt a little bad because I thought he was ignoring me. But that bad feeling didn’t last long.

“Ji. “Congratulations on 50 home runs!”

“You crazy bastard! “You may be the only one to hit 50 home runs before the end of the first half.”

“What? So it’s 50-50 now? “Isn’t 50-50 also a first in the major leagues?”

As soon as I returned to the dugout, my teammates congratulated me and gave me good news.

“Ji. Are you going to get this ball too? A place commemorating the first 50-50 in the Major League.”

“Yes, please accept it. Well, you could just sign a bat and give it to me, right? … “Here.”

“… Umm. “I understand first.”

Just like that, the team’s manager stepped forward to receive my 50th home run commemorative ball, and when I returned to the dugout after the defense had finished cleanly with no runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, my mood worsened again.

“… I won’t give it to you. “They say they’re going to put it up for auction?”

“… Holy shit!”

Based on experience so far, the value of this memorial ball is at least 10 million won. Honestly, I couldn’t help but swear because I thought it would be over 100 million. Earning 100 million just by sitting in the outfield? It was too embarrassing to say the least.

‘I guess I’ll have to do an interview after today’s game.’

*

[… This batted ball will pass! 3:0! Ji’s solo home run! He hits his 50th home run this season! We succeeded in reducing Bonds’ record of 117 games to 77! And with this home run, Ji becomes the first batter in Major League history to hit 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases.]

[In fact, when Ji came to the major leagues after setting great records in Korea, I was worried whether he would be able to perform the same in the major leagues, but now I have no choice but to admit it. We may be the lucky ones who saw the best player in baseball history debut in the major leagues.]

…

[… The New York Yankees win the game 3-0. … Now comes Ji’s interview. Subscriber to Major League Baseball’s first 50-50 Club. Maeng-Ho Ji! Ji, you set a lot of records today, right? In addition to the shortest game with 50 home runs, the first 50-50 in the major leagues. The pace is faster than your record in Korea. How does it feel?]

“Ah, well, it feels good. It’s good, but it’s also bad.”

[Is it so? That’s an unexpected answer, isn’t it? I thought it would feel like I was flying…]

“The person who caught my home run ball said he was going to auction it off. Please ask again. Please return it now. “That ball was created with great difficulty, with blood, sweat, effort, passion, tears and patience.”

[… Ah, I see.]

“And, even if I sell it, I’m sure I won’t get much. Because 50-50 is not the end. If you are thinking of purchasing it, please wait. “There could soon be a 60-60 home run ball, or even a 70-70, maybe even an 80-80 home run ball.”

[Haha, I see. If a greater record is set, the price of the ball may fall. Then the next question…]

*

-Ji Maeng-ho, the first major league player to achieve a milestone of 50-50!

… Meanwhile, in this game, Ji Maeng-ho hit his 50th home run of the season, becoming the first major league player to hit 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases. … These 50 home runs is a record shortened by 40 games from Bonds’ 117 games, and if he maintains this pace, he is expected to hit over 100 home runs by the end of the season…

Meanwhile, Ji Maeng-ho said in an interview after the game that he would score 80-80, so he urged fans not to buy this home run ball if it comes up for auction.

┗The fierce god of defense is crazy. Really, he seems to be doing better than in Korea. LOL

┗┗ㄹㅇ Why is this guy doing better?

┗┗American pitchers don’t avoid it haha. It’s just a home run.

┗┗Is this correct? I don’t think I’ll be able to hit a home run like this in the second half of the year? The on-base percentage will go up, but

┗Is 50-50 a difficult record? The news is so crazy, isn’t it?

┗┗There are only two players who hit 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in other seasons

┗Are you going to have an interview after this game? It’s so fucking annoying haha

┗┗Not only in the interview, but after the game, they stuffed the person who caught the ball with a stargram? LOL

┗┗ㄹㅇ? This guy is really crazy. Didn’t an ordinary person catch him?

┗┗ㅇㅇ But I didn’t mosaic it, I just stuffed it.

┗┗ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ You idiot

-Yankees win 3:2 in the game against Cleveland!

-Ji Maeng-ho’s 50-home run ball appears on the auction house.

… This auction, which started at $10,000, went up to $13,000, but there has been no bidding since then.

┗Just give it back to Ji Maeng-ho lol I’m just going to use 60-60 anyway

┗┗But where is 10,000 dollars? It’s almost 18 million won

┗┗Even in the U.S., The seller was being criticized a lot, and someone posted a message on Byeolgram asking them to stop sending abusive DMs haha

┗┗Maengjjokdan class haha

┗┗But wasn’t someone criticized in the past for asking for the return of the monument?

┗┗If the fierce god of defense asks for something, I’ll give it to him haha

-Yankees win 5:1 over Cleveland!

… The Yankees recorded their 4th consecutive win with this win…

*

‘Hey, it’s easy to read. I’m getting criticized like this, but the auction house doesn’t take it down until the end. ‘You damn bastard.’

When I returned from the game against Cleveland and checked the auction site, my home run ball was still up there. The guy who posted the ball was plastered with insults on his social media, but he still hadn’t put down the auction.

How can an ordinary person endure this much abuse? It was a bit surprising, but it was not incomprehensible considering that the price was over 10 million won. However, that didn’t mean he wasn’t stupid.

If I had sold my autographed bat at an auction house, I could have gotten similar money without being criticized. Considering that the last time I hit a 51-home run, it was sold for about 7 million won, the bat that hit 50 home runs this time could have been sold for about 10 million won, but they didn’t accept my bat.

It was truly stupid. I also heard swear words that I shouldn’t have heard…

‘Tsk, so I’ll change it when I ask for it.’

I was still a little angry that I made 10 million won just by sitting in the outfield, but that wasn’t the reason I turned on my phone, so I played the video from yesterday and today that I received from the power analysis team.

And take a few minutes to look around the videos.

‘Mr. Rossby, you are avoiding this, right?’

Through the video, I was able to confirm the identity of the strange sense of deja vu that continued from yesterday and today’s game. Cleveland’s pitchers were completely avoiding me.

I felt a sense of déjà vu because their ball combinations were similar to the pitchers I faced in Korea.

Except for the 5 starters, all of Cleveland’s starting pitchers had an ERA in the mid-3 point range, and avoiding me even with such a good record was no different from a signal that the teams I faced next would also avoid me.

‘Right, Mr. Rossby? … Mr. Rossby? … Mr. Rossby? Damn it! Where did you go again? The hotel has disappeared again. Oh, it really doesn’t help.’

Of course, my reasoning did not reach Mr. Rossby, who disappeared somewhere.

Anyway, my confidence was almost confirmed as I got five walks in the remaining two games against Cleveland.

I appeared in 81 games and recorded ratios of 0.407/0.544/1.036/1.580 with 123 hits, 50 home runs, 139 runs, 113 RBI, 93 walks, 42 strikeouts, 62 stolen bases, and 2 errors, resulting in what is considered the most perfect and destructive first half in major league history. I uploaded it, but

Now, I am ending the first half of the year having discovered the unpleasant fact that even major league pitchers are avoiding me.