Chapter 819 – Episode 806. Achieving a New Record. (2)
“Ball.”
“Strike!”
“Foul!”
“Ball.”
“Ball.”
“Foul!”
“Foul!”
“Foul!”
Three fouls after a full count. Liberator and Alvarez, who formed the Cardinals’ battery today, shared a look in a strange situation.
‘Should I skip it?’
A catcher from the New York Mets who was traded for the first, second, and third-ranked pitching prospects in the Cardinals’ farm before the trade period closed, Alvarez hit 35 home runs with a 0.943 OPS in ’25 and 42 home runs with a 0.938 OPS in ’26. He was a 25-year-old offensive catcher who had a high possibility of becoming the best catcher in the major league, following the American League’s Lutchman and the National League’s Smith, who are currently the best catchers in the major league.
However, like most young offensive catchers, he was a player whose defensive ability was questionable compared to his outstanding offensive talent.
Therefore, I was filled with the desire to refuse the look in Liberator’s eyes as he asked me to skip Ji Maeng-ho, who committed three fouls in a row.
‘If I skip it, it will run right away…’ .’
If Ji Maeng-ho went to first base like this, he wouldn’t have the confidence to stop him from stealing.
‘For now, let’s try one more game with an ambiguous ball.’
‘Okay.’
Just as Alvarez intended, Liberator threw the ninth ball of today’s game near the borderline.
Perfect!
But the result was once again foul.
‘It’s better to give 1 point than to lose stamina here.’
Liberator, who knew the legend of Ji Maeng-ho’s 29-pitch game, expressed his opinion more clearly. If he faced the Yankees’ hard-hitting line after nearly 20 pitches with Ji Maeng-ho, the first batter of the game, the outcome that would come to him was as obvious as fire.
‘Okay.’
And Alvarez could not refuse Liberator’s words. The relationship between pitcher and catcher was called battery, but in that relationship, the pitcher was always in the upper position, and Alvarez did not want to upset the pitcher’s feelings by refusing the pitcher’s request from the first inning.
“Base on balls!”
A ball that is clearly out of the zone enters the mitt, and Ji Maeng-ho catches the ball as if it were natural. Ji Maeng-ho now enters first base.
Why does Ji Maeng-ho, the first base runner, look scarier than Ji Maeng-ho, the batter?
‘Hehe, I just have to catch it. I can catch it. I can do it!’
Alvarez hid his fear and repeated in his head that he could catch Ji Maeng-ho. After deceiving himself like that, he somehow felt like he could catch Meng Hao.
Alvarez recorded only 7 stolen bases out of 113 attempts this season, which was quite poor considering that he recorded a steal blocking rate of around 13% throughout his career. However, I felt that if he blocked Ji Maeng-ho’s attempt to steal this time, he would be able to escape his long defensive slump.
‘Yes, he is human too. I can see that my stamina is lacking. It can’t be the same speed as before.’
Of course, Alvarez had no intention of forcing a match with Ji Maeng-ho, so he asked for a fastball. I don’t know how to distinguish the timing, but I knew through analysis that Ji Maeng-ho does not run well when he throws a fastball.
When you are slightly relaxed and preparing to catch the ball,
“Second base!”
Ji Maeng-ho started running.
‘Huh?!’
Because he was slightly relaxed, Alvarez fumbled the ball in his mitt, and tried to throw the ball as fast as he could, but
“Safe!”
Ji Maeng-ho had already entered second base.
‘What the fuck!’
Alvarez, who cursed internally at that sight, took a deep breath to calm himself. And to prevent Ji Maeng-ho from stealing third base, he requested the ball as far out as possible.
“Ball.”
“Ball.”
“Ball.”
“Base on balls!”
However, Judge, who is standing at the plate, is not the type of batter who would swing a bat at such a ball, so Judge unpacks his equipment and prepares to walk to first base. Alvarez saw that and threw the ball toward the pitcher, and at that moment,
“Third base! Third base! Stop it!”
Ji Maeng-ho’s steal of third base, which no one expected, began. As soon as Alvarez saw Ji Maeng-ho’s movement, he shouted and pointed to third base, but the ball Alvarez threw was flying slowly in a beautiful arc.
The impatient pitcher quickly caught the ball with his glove and threw the ball to third base, but there was no way that the unfamiliar throw to third base would land properly in such an urgent situation.
“Safe!”
‘Fuck! Did you know you could do something like this?’
A perfect joke. If it had just been a steal of third base, he would have been able to calm down somehow, but Alvarez was furious at the delayed steal that took the timing as if toying with the catcher. But there was nothing the catcher could do about the runner on third base.
Perfect!
I’m just watching Ji Maeng-ho walk home on a sacrifice fly.
“Try running like that one more time. “I’ll show you what I saw.”
In addition, a slight warning to Ji Maeng-ho, who came home?
“What bullshit. I couldn’t catch it. If you catch it, try to catch it. Or, will it be a fight? “Why don’t you stay after it’s over?”
However, the only thing that came back after the verbal warning was Ji Maeng-ho’s bloody eyes and violent words. When Ji Maeng-ho, who was about a head taller than him and had dropped several players by clearing the bench, looked down from above with a murderous look, Alvarez naturally averted his eyes.
‘What kind of young guy’s eyes… Even the gangsters in my hometown didn’t have eyes like that…’
But because his pride remained, Alvarez did not stop talking.
“Well, then why don’t you stay and try it? “I will hold you tight.”
“Huh? Hold it? Oh, was that what you were talking about? Don’t speak Haha, let’s stick to that in the game. Because I’m a bit busy. But if you get on base, I’ll keep running.”
After Ji Maeng-ho, who showed a bloody look in his eyes, returned to the dugout, Alvarez breathed a sigh of relief.
After that, the game went without any problems.
The Yankees failed to score more points with one out and one on first base, and the Cardinals also failed to score an additional point against Gilbert. Bottom of the 3rd inning, 1:1, one out. Ji Maeng-ho came to bat again. And Alvarez discovered something special about Ji Maeng-ho that he had not noticed in the previous at-bat.
‘This guy, he’s holding the bat short, right?’
Unlike usual, Ji Maeng-ho was holding the bat so short that the knob was visible.
‘Why didn’t I notice this earlier? Okay, let’s press with force.’
Alvarez relayed Ji Maeng-ho’s current condition to the pitcher and decided to use his strength to pressure Ji Maeng-ho. What was scary about Ji Maeng-ho was his power to aim for a home run at any time. However, as long as he held the bat short, there was little chance of him going over the fence, and he thought he could overcome that with Rivera Tor’s pitch.
So the two threw the ball outwards,
Perfect!
Ji Maeng-ho’s bat swung.
‘It’s done!’
Pitcher Liberator raised his hand high as the batted ball flew toward the right wall. It means that I want you to deal with an ordinary outfield fly!
The right fielder also watched Ji Maeng-ho’s batted ball and prepared to catch it with his glove.
‘Huh?’
However, Ji Maeng-ho’s batted ball, which did not seem to have been properly powered, seemed to have no intention of sinking.
One step, two steps, three steps. How many steps did you take back like that? Suddenly, something stopped the right fielder from taking a step back. The right fielder looked back in confusion, and there was a fence waiting there.
-Waaaaa!!!!!!!
[Ji Maeng-ho’s 62nd home run of the season goes over the fence! This record is a monumental record, right? Following Judge’s 62nd home run, another batter has hit his 62nd home run!! Score 2:1!]
“Wow, this is going over. “I definitely like the short fence on the right here.”
And in response to his 62nd home run, which is a milestone for clean hitters, Ji Maeng-ho casually threw the bat and walked to first base.
‘Hey, you’re holding this crazy bat like that and jumping over the fence… ?!’
However, unlike Ji Maeng-ho, who didn’t notice it, Alvarez, who was watching it, was so shocked that his jaw dropped. To jump over the fence while holding the bat so short… !
Even though Liberator was not an ace-level pitcher in the league, Liberator was a player with enough skill to maintain the rotation in the major league.
However, Liberator’s ball was so easily…
Alvarez’s eyes turn to Ji Maeng-ho’s forearm muscles, who are raising their hands. With a little bit of exaggeration, you can see Ji Meng-ho’s split forearm muscles, which boast a thickness similar to his own calves. And looking at his forearm muscles, it makes sense to some extent that he went over the fence even though he held the bat short.
‘I broke Seager’s nose with one punch… ? ‘I’m glad I didn’t fool you earlier.’
Looking at that forearm muscle, it was fortunate that Seager only broke his nose. If it had been hit properly, all of his facial bones would have caved in.
Alvarez swallowed his saliva, was thankful that his judgment was not wrong, and silently avoided Ji Maeng-ho’s gaze as he came home.
And as time passed, with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning and the Yankees ahead 3:2, Ji Maeng-ho came to bat for the third time.
“Ah, sorry about earlier. I wanted to compete with you again, but I ended up hitting a home run without even realizing it. Let’s get it right this time.”
“Yes, yes.”
Alvarez answered Ji Maeng-ho’s friendly words while hiding his fear, and the Cardinals’ infield, seeing Ji Maeng-ho’s enormous power, took a slightly deeper defensive position.
And the moment Ji Maeng-ho’s eyes licked the infield,
Tick!
Ji Maeng-ho’s bunt hit, which had never been shown in the major league, exploded.
‘Why on earth…? ?!’
After hitting a home run, Alvarez was upset when he saw Ji Maeng-ho making a play that did not conform to the common sense of bunting in the very next at-bat, and by the time the deep third baseman caught the bunt and threw it to first base, Ji Maeng-ho was already in trouble. This was after my foot stepped on the base.
“Safe!”
“Safe!”
And as if it were only natural, Ji Maeng-ho, who reached third base through two stolen bases, grins at himself. … Like a devil that has found its prey.
‘Why on earth is that bastard doing this to me?’
Since the catcher, who was supposed to stabilize the pitcher, was shaken like that, it was impossible for the pitch to be made properly,
“Base on balls!”
Perfect!
[Soto’s hit! Passing by the first baseman! Safety! Score 4:2!]
Judge and Soto played their roles well and invited Ji Maeng-ho home. Alvarez looked up at the sky to hide his shaking heart, or rather, to avoid the eyes of Ji Maeng-ho, who came into the home field, and at the end of his gaze, there was an electric sign hanging.
Congratulations!
Ties All-Time Runs Record!
NO. 74. Maeng-Ho, Ji!
198 Runs Scored!
And on the electronic display board that Alvarez was looking at, a message congratulating Ji Maeng-ho for scoring 198 points was being displayed on the screen.
[And with this score, Ji Maeng-ho scores 198 points for the season! And this record is tied with the record for most points scored in the major league!]
‘What the fuck! Could it be that this is what shook me?’
Alvarez couldn’t get over the fact that he was being played by this guy, and the game went to 7-4 with the Yankees continuing to score. And then came the bottom of the 8th inning, Ji Maeng-ho’s fifth at-bat.
Perfect!
Ji Maeng-ho exquisitely made a hit that passed the height of the second baseman,
“Safe!”
I ran toward second base. As if he were the owner of the bass. But fortunately for Alvarez, Ji Maeng-ho did not run to third base.
Perfect!
Because Judge’s hit came out, Ji Maeng-ho didn’t have time to run to third base.
[Jimaengho! Coming home! Ji Maeng-ho succeeds in scoring 199 points! Sets a new Major League record for most points scored in a single season!]
Congratulations!
New All-Time Runs Record!
NO. 74. Maeng-Ho, Ji!
199 Runs Scored!
Alvarez, who was distracted by the congratulatory message on the electronic display, felt that he did not want to participate in tomorrow’s game.
*
-Ji Maeng-ho, achieved 199 points! Establishing a new record for the most points scored in the Major League!
… Meanwhile, Ji Maeng-ho led the Yankees to an 11-4 victory by going 3-for-3, 1 home run, 4 runs, 1 RBI, 2 walks, and 5 stolen bases on this day…
┗Wow… I’m crazy because I’m a fierce defender and only aim to get on base. LOL
┗┗Is it true that you only aimed to get on base? I heard you hit a home run too?
┗┗ㄴㄴ The commentator also explained why the bat was held short
┗┗ㅋㅋ I was surprised when I saw the home run scene
┗ㅋㅋㅋ 5 stolen bases seems like the catcher’s mentality is gone
┗Wow, 199 points already? The fierce god of defense is crazy haha
┗ㅇㅅㅁㅎㅅ
┗ㅇㅅㅁㅎㅅ
┗A score of 199 is a bit like a person haha