Chapter 831 – Episode 817. Toward a New Record! (2)

-Choi Joo-tae: Maengho, please beat Tampa Bay. You know we’re 0.5 games behind, right? Please. Don’t feel pressured, just do what you do. Hmm?

“What is this, brother? “It looks like you’re in a hurry to send something like this, right?”

I was a close friend of Joo-tae every time I played for the national team, so we exchanged DMs a few times, but this was the first time I sent a game-related text message like this, so I laughed a little because I could feel Joo-tae’s urgency. I got better.

“Let’s see how much it is.”

To be honest, the league championship was confirmed almost a month or two ago, so I rarely looked at the league standings, but it was polite to check when I received a text message that felt urgent, so I immediately looked up the American League standings.

“At Central, the Tigers are first…, Houston is first in the West.”

First place in the Central Division was the Detroit Tigers with 78 wins and 71 losses, and first place in the West Division was the Houston Astros with 81 wins and 69 losses.

“Wow, but Wonho, it looks like he’s lost some of his stamina?”

And while checking the rankings, Wonho’s performance showed that he lacked stamina. At the end of August, he had 10 wins and an ERA down to the 3-point range, but in 4 games in September, he recorded 4 consecutive losses and his ERA was 4.45. It was as high as it could be.

“But, if this happens, who will get the wild card? Senior Woosung, do you know how the wild card rankings are viewed?”

“Huh? Wild card? Why is that suddenly happening?”

“Oh, senior Joo-tae came to my DM and asked me to win today.”

“Did Joo-tae send it to you too? He sent it to me too. Haha, this guy looks like he’s really in a hurry. Give it to me. … Now.”

Senior Joo-tae must have also sent a text message to senior Woo-sung, and senior Woo-sung smiled and manipulated my cell phone, and I was able to see the wild card rankings.

-American League Wild Card Detailed Standings

…

…

Red Sox: 83W 67L 0.553

Mariners: 79W 71L 0.527

Rays: 76W 73L 0.510

Angels : 76W 74L 0.507

Orioles: 76W 74L 0.507

Rangers: 75W 76L 0.497

Twins: 72W 78L 0.480

“Hmm, is even the Rangers competitive?”

The competition for the American League’s wild card, as seen with my own eyes, seemed to extend to the Texas Rangers. It was impossible to overturn a 4-5 game lead with less than 20 games left.

And is it almost certain that we will get to Seattle? To be honest, it was unfair that Seattle, second in the West, did not advance because its performance was better than Detroit, first in the Central Region.

However, it is the last spot that is causing the battle for rankings.

Tampa Bay, the Angels, Baltimore, and Texas were fighting for the remaining spot, and looking at the winning percentage, it was not surprising no matter who came out on top.

“If this was the case, it would have been worth sending a DM. Shall we see if Joo-tae is doing well? .205, 4 ri, 2 home runs… OPS 0.634… Hmm… What? Did you miss the starting position too? Jujeon…, Mario Arosemima? Is this how you read it? 21 years old. .200, 40%, 7 league runs, 2 home runs, 0.736… “If it was like this, it was worth getting pushed out.”

Well, unlike the performance of the Angels, who are aiming for a wild card game, senior Joo Tae’s performance was a tear-jerking performance. Is it something that can’t be helped because of age? I understand that his contract has 29 years remaining, but if this continues, it looks like he will return to Korea without completing the contract.

However, just because he sent me this DM, it seemed like Joo-tae was better at contributing to the team.

I didn’t like Trout, who stole the Player of the Month award due to his popularity, but I couldn’t help but cheer up when a senior member of the national team sent me this text. He was one step closer to Barry Bonds’ record of 73 home runs.

“Well, if the Angels come up, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to tell Trout who the owner of that shirt was.”

“What? Were you paying attention to that?”

“Honestly, that’s extortion. “I did better.”

“… Well, that’s right.”

Tampa Bay’s starter today is Baz, the second starter. He was a player who recorded 13 wins at 2.79 last year, but he had 12 wins and an ERA of 5.27 this season, perhaps due to the fact that he pitched close to 200 innings last year.

And starting the first game of the series with the second starter means that Tampa Bay’s ace, McClanahan, will not appear.

To be honest, McClanahan was a difficult player for me, and he was in good form these days, pitching a 9-inning shutout in yesterday’s game, so McClanahan’s absence was good news for our team.

Except for McClanahan, most of Tampa Bay’s starters were in the 4-5 range.

‘If we do this, we can surpass Bonds’ record in this series.’

What I’m aiming for is .400 and 80 home runs. It was a bit stressful because I had to hit 8 home runs in 13 games, but looking at my condition these days, it seemed possible.

And to maintain her condition, she drinks the elixir prepared by Soyoung and Jia. Perfectly seasoned blended breast milk moistens your mouth.

“Wow, this tastes good.”

Actually, I’m not the type of person to believe in superstitions or jinxes, but I hit a home run on the days I drank it, and I couldn’t hit a home run on the days I didn’t drink it, so I somehow felt like I would hit a home run today when I drank breast milk.

The game went into the best condition.

Ta – Aak!

‘Ah, I got this.’

In his first at-bat, he must have exerted a little bit of force, and hit a ball that was caught in front of the fence.

Ta – Aak!

… Cole hit a home run against Diaz, and the score gap widened to 1:0 in the first inning.

However, because it was not particularly surprising for Cole to hit a solo home run, the team’s mood did not suffer, and in the top of the third inning, Verdugo hit a single with one out and one out on first base, creating an opportunity.

‘Volpi, don’t just hit double plays.’

Standing at bat, I asked Volpi not to hit a double play.

Perfect!

Volpi complied with my request perfectly by hitting a ground ball to shortstop. However, because the batting speed was slow, the situation was 2 outs and 2nd base.

‘Ah… Fuck.’

… And the pitcher who met me with 2 outs and 2nd base on base had an obvious choice.

“Intentional Work!”

-Wooooo!!

Because Bonds was about to break the home run record, boos poured in even though it was Tampa Bay’s home. But despite the jeers, Baz didn’t care,

“Strike! Out!”

The inning ended with a strikeout against Judge, who was in poor condition these days.

Since I was competing with Judge for the RBI title, I didn’t feel too bad, but seeing my slump getting longer, I started to get a little worried that this shit would continue in fall baseball as well.

‘… Is this why the Yankees didn’t win? Well, if a batter who hit 50 home runs suddenly pooped in the fall, it would be a disaster.’

However, looking at the situation that followed, it didn’t seem like there was any particular problem with Judge today.

Baz may have been back to his form from last year, but he was showing good performance against other batters, and we were tied down by Baz until the top of the fifth inning, and other than Verdugo, who recorded a hit in his second at-bat, no one got on base. That is.

Fortunately, Cole also allowed one run in five innings, so the score gap did not widen, but the atmosphere of being dragged did not change.

And the other players on our team weren’t that motivated either.

To be honest, it was not particularly strange to lack motivation because the league championship was confirmed. If I worked hard and got injured, it would be a loss for me as an individual and as a team, so there was no need to work hard.

After the series against the Dodgers, who could possibly be the opponent of the World Series, there was such an atmosphere in the team as a whole.

Coach Mattingly also always said before the game that we should finish the game without hurting anyone, and I knew that, so he didn’t have any intention of saying anything to the players.

So, in a way, it was natural that they would be pushed out by Tampa Bay, who was fighting like hell to get to the playoffs.

Am I the only one feeling motivated as Alcantara and Cole are competing for the major league title for most wins and the home run record is at stake?

However, Cole, who always had a burning desire to win, was aware of the overall atmosphere of the team, so he did not push the players.

‘Well, then shall I try playing a little solo?’

The overall team atmosphere was like this, so I didn’t want to try to get on base for the team. There was no need to endure bad balls.

Well, the batter’s individual play was ultimately for the good of the team, so you don’t have to feel sorry for Cole.

‘Anyway, one home run is all it takes to tie the game.’

In the top of the 6th inning, when I decided to play selfishly, Baz was still on the mound and my third at-bat came.

‘It’s a fastball. Outward and high.’

‘Okay.’

Today, Baz’s overall speed is around 95 to 6 miles per hour (152.9 to 154.5 km/h). It wasn’t a speed that I had to worry about hitting, so if it came near the zone, I thought about swinging right away and waited for the guy’s ball.

High balls outside could be said to be my only weakness(?), So I would have normally held back, but high balls have a high probability of becoming a home run if pulled properly.

There was no need for me to endure such a ball for the team, so I loaded the bat.

And today, the ball thrown by the guy who had good control went towards the outside and high, just as Mr. Rossby said.

Perfect!

‘Huh?’

It feels like I’ve been hit a little bit. The ball didn’t feel that heavy, so I felt like I could have made a hit if I controlled my wrist here, but I just pulled the ball to him with the mindset that I would do whatever I could.

-Wow!!!

The higher the batted ball flies, the louder the cheers of fans who come to Tropicana Field. Probably, they are shouting in anticipation of my 73rd home run.

However, I wasn’t sure if it would be a home run or not, so I calmly walked towards first base.

Let’s walk to first base like that,

-Waaaaa!!!!!!!!

-Ji! Ji! Ji! Ji! Ji! Ji! Ji! Ji! Ji! Ji!

… The stadium is shaking with my name.

‘Oh! Did this go over? Nice. Fuck Ji Maeng-ho, you crazy bastard!’

It was also a home run that came close to Bonds’ record, and I felt like the hit ball, which I didn’t think was a home run, was going to fly over, so I thought about holding a ceremony, but it seemed a little pointless to suddenly hold a ceremony after we’ve already come this far, so I just didn’t care as if something was going to happen. I ran slowly all the way to home.

“Oh? It was vague, but I guess you were sure?”

“Well, this is the basics.”

“Haha, I really can’t beat you.”

“Try to do well in jersey too.”

After speaking calmly to the judge, I went into the dugout,

“You crazy bastard!”

“Wow, look at how cool this guy is. He’s so unlucky, but he’s cool.”

“Ji! “You beat the druggie!”

“Congratulations on number 73, Maengho.”

Perhaps because it was his 73rd home run, his teammates in the dugout were in an uproar.

“Stop, stop! “I will accept your congratulations on number 74.”

After that, the other batters seemed to have been stimulated by my 73rd home run, and they all started swinging wildly, and in the top of the 7th inning, Vientos hit a solo home run, eventually turning the game around 2:1. After the comeback, the game went according to our sure-win formula.

We were able to win 2:1 as Cole allowed one run in seven innings and Camacho and Miller finished the remaining two innings scoreless.

“Hello! Ji! “With this home run, you tie Bonds’ 73rd home run record in 2001. How do you feel?”

“If you saw my home run, you would know that I wasn’t very happy.”

“Yes?”

“It was going to happen anyway. Oh, and the person who caught the No. 73 home run ball did not return it, so we recommend that fans do not buy the ball if it comes up for auction. “I’m going to hit number 74 tomorrow.”

“Oh! Even a home run notice! It’s the confidence of Ji, after all!”

“Oh, by the way, how did the Angels game go today?”

“Angels? … They say I won.”

“Is it so? Thank god. Senior Joo-tae, I have done enough.”

Even answering a senior’s request for his 73rd home run. Today was a day when I was very envious of Joo-tae, who has a junior like this.