Chapter 841 – Episode 827. After the Yangtze River, Before the River, After the Yangtze River. (2)

“Wow, senior, congratulations. “Looking at it, it looks like it’s the starting list for today?”

“Screw you. I’m not dead yet. Stay tuned. “I will give you a scolding today.”

“Isn’t that manager senile? “Why did you include a senior?”

“But, this bastard… !”

“Ah, joke, joke. Just kidding. Senior. Anyway, try your best today.”

*

[Hello. This is Yankee Stadium, where the first game of the ALDS between the LA Angels and the New York Yankees is held.]

[Well, Trout’s incredible one-shot allowed the LA Angels to advance to the Division Series, and I’m looking forward to seeing if Trout can show a good performance against the Yankees.]

[Well, let me start by calling out the New York Yankees’ starting lineup in the top of the first inning. Starting pitcher: Gerrit Cole. Cole, who has recorded his most wins this season with 24 wins and 3 losses, has appeared in 35 games and has a 3.13 ERA and 260 strikeouts in 224.1 innings.]

[Actually, appearing in 35 games as a starter, that’s a really great record, right? This means that whenever I could, I came out without skipping the rotation. It’s even more amazing considering Cole’s age of 37. Cole has not been able to complete the season due to unexpected injuries in the past two years, but he played the season without a single injury this season.]

[Yes. And the catcher who will be in battery with Cole is Ohapee. Hall on first base, Ji Maeng-ho on second base… Leave him in center field…]

[Well, they came out with the expected lineup. The Yankees. Since they are evaluated as the best team of all time, there was no need to change the lineup. Jared Kelnick is showing better defensive performance in center field, but it is also the case that he was used with an eye toward offensive ability.]

[Yes. Now, let me explain the LA Angels’ batting order. 1st hitter Choi Joo-tae, 2nd hitter Chanuel, 3rd hitter Custard, 4th hitter Trout, 5th hitter Cabrera…]

[The Angels also have a generally similar lineup. However, Choi Joo-tae came into the starting lineup instead of Arosemima. I guess Arosemima showed inexperience defensively in the game against the Detroit Tigers, so Choi Joo-tae was appointed as the starter, right?]

[It seems so. Now at the plate is Choi Joo-tae. He appeared in 120 games this season, hitting .205 with 7 ERA, 2 home runs, 50 RBI, and an OPS of 0.643. … A sharp hit! He gets an out as he heads to third base. Gerrit Cole starts the game in a good mood. … Safety! … Safety! Now, Trout steps in with a chance with one out and runners on first and second base.]

[Trout’s performance this season was .209, 6 ERA, 0.903 OPS, 25 home runs, and 110 RBI in 140 games, but in the Wild Card Series, he had 4 RBIs, including 1 home run? Trout’s momentum has been unusual these days, so the Yankees need to be careful with Trout.]

[… This batted ball! Next to the second baseman! Fall in… ! Ah! Gotcha! Ji Maeng-ho catches this batted ball! And throw to first base! … Safe! Ji Maeng-ho succeeds in blocking the hit with a hit at the right time! From the top of the first inning, there is a crisis with one out and bases loaded. … Cabrera’s hit! Shortstop! Second baseman! First baseman! Out! The New York Yankees end the inning with a picturesque 6-4-3 double play!]

*

“Good! “I don’t think Cole is in a good mood today?”

Although they missed the opportunity to load the bases with one out in the first inning, the Angels’ players were not disappointed. That was because he had three hits in a row against Cole, who won 24 games throughout the season and was the American League’s most wins leader.

No matter how old Cole may not have been in his prime, he still wasn’t a player who took many hits. Most of Cole’s run routes were home runs, as evidenced by the 32 home runs.

But today, we had three hits in a row starting from the top of the first inning, and the meaning was clear.

Cole was exhausted now. If it weren’t for Ji Meng-ho’s Ho-bi, who surpassed the human body, it wouldn’t be surprising if he conceded a goal.

‘Tch, he makes mistakes in easy defense, but he’s good at catching things like that. Anyway, Cole’s condition is definitely not that good.’

Choi Joo-tae, who was unable to hit, also felt the state of the call. Even though he was out, he felt good about it as he barreled against Cole. Cabrera’s double play was actually a normal hit, so based on the quality of his batting, it would not be strange to say that he actually had five hits in a row.

And in a way, it was natural for Cole to be tired. Cole played 35 games this season. Considering that each team’s ace typically plays 32 to 3 games, Cole was on the mound in quite a few games even at his age.

He was said to have rested during the Wild Card Series, but only for three or four days.

There was no way that the fatigue accumulated throughout the season could be relieved.

Of course, even if Cole was in bad shape, there were still problems. The Yankees’ batting lineup was a hard-hitting lineup that scored 7.46 runs per game throughout the season. Thanks to this, there are only two pitchers with 20 wins, and all other starters have 10 wins.

Choi Joo-tae didn’t know much, but he knew that the team’s scoring record had to go back to the 1800s, so he was fully aware of how strong the Yankees were this season.

‘… Well, isn’t it so amazing to see that Meng Hao broke all records from 100 years ago?’

Rather than feeling excited, did you feel fear?

But there was no need to be scared before it even started. No matter how much the Yankees led by Ji Maeng-ho are said to be a strong team, there is no such thing as a 100% winning rate in the sport of baseball.

After Choi Joo-tae suppressed his fear, he took his gloves and went out to the stadium.

[Now, Ji Maeng-ho, the Yankees’ number one hitter, is at bat. What will the fall baseball season be like for Ji Maeng-ho, who showed a performance that will go down in Major League history this season? .]

[I’m really looking forward to it too, right?]

[This season, Ji Maeng-ho hit .406 with a batting average of 81 home runs, ranking first in history in eight categories…]

While the caster was introducing Ji Maeng-ho’s record, three balls were thrown, but the caster was still introducing Ji Maeng-ho’s record. This was because Ji Maeng-ho’s season was so shocking and spectacular.

“Strike!”

And in the meantime, the ball thrown by Sandoval, the Angels’ starter, licks the line outside the zone, and the strike count goes up by two.

However, even during this time, no Yankees fan was worried about Ji Maeng-ho. Ji Maeng-ho was a hitter who boasted an inhuman batting average even after two strikes, and he was even a hitter with good contact skills, enough to set the record for the most pitches against one hitter.

Moreover, there was even a rumor among baseball fans that Ji Maeng-ho intentionally batted with two strikes in order to hit the deciding ball.

Baseball fans who heard the rumor treated it as nonsense, asking why they had to compete with a difficult ball instead of competing on a comfortable count.

In any case, Sandoval’s fifth pitch is thrown amid baseball fans’ expectations that Ji Maeng-ho will show something from his first at-bat.

“Strike! Out!”

And Ji Maeng-ho’s bat cuts through the air.

[Ooh! Did Ji Maeng-ho strike out on a rare missed swing?]

In fact, contrary to the public’s image, Ji Maeng-ho was not a hitter who never struck out. Although he boasted fewer strikeouts than home runs, there were quite a few pitchers in the major leagues who failed to throw the ball as intended by the catcher.

Yankees fans were briefly agitated by the sight of Ji Maeng-ho striking out in his first at-bat in fall baseball.

[Ji Maeng-ho nods and walks away. The out count goes up.]

Yankees fans are relieved to see Ji Meng-ho nodding his head as if he knew something. Because Ji Maeng-ho in this state always showed something in his next at-bat.

However, it was not only Yankees fans who were relieved to see Ji Maeng-ho like that.

‘Okay, you can do it. Ji’s condition doesn’t seem to be very good today. Actually, I must have rested for 3–4 days.’

The Angels’ players were also relieved to see Ji Maeng-ho, who had shown record-breaking performance, strike out.

And baseball is a sport of momentum.

[… Judge gets a walk. … Out! Paris shows too! Paris catches the missing batted ball and makes an out! … Out! Langford’s sliding catch! Sandoval, with help from the defense, ends the first inning with 4 batters!]

The Angels’ players, riding on momentum, showed good defense to end the bottom of the first inning, and after that, Cole and Sandoval did not score, and the top of the third inning began.

[In the top of the 3rd inning, the leadoff hitter is Choi Joo-tae, who takes the second at-bat. He is 0-for-1 with a straight hit to third base in his first at-bat.]

‘Whoa…’

Choi Joo-tae, who entered as the first batter of the inning, took a deep breath and stepped to the plate. What we need now is getting on base.

Since there was no need to aim for a big hit, Choi Joo-tae held his bat as short as possible.

Considering his career of hitting .300 in the major leagues for four consecutive years despite holding the bat for a long time, this act could be considered humiliating.

However, Choi Joo-tae is now thirty-five. He was now at an age where he would be slow to react to Gerrit Cole’s fast balls. However, the reason he did not hold the bat briefly was because he was not confident that he could beat the pitches of major league pitchers by holding the bat short.

But today’s call was different.

Because other batters who faced Cole in the first and second inning were unanimous in saying that Cole’s pitch today was light. And Choi Joo-tae was confident that he could hit Cole’s ball even if he held the bat short in his first at-bat.

[Situation of one strike, two balls. Now comes the batter’s count.]

Be patient and wait for a good ball to come.

‘… ‘Fast ball!’

And Cole’s fast ball flew in.

Choi Joo-tae’s bat, who was waiting for the ball, swung concisely.

Choi Joo-tae, who had a batting average of .371 at shortstop, 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases, and an average OPS of 0.967 while playing in the KBA league, was called the best genius in Korea until Ji Maeng-ho debuted.

No matter how old he was, a hitter like that focused only on contact…,

[Choi Joo-tae’s batted ball exceeds the height of the shortstop! It produces hits! Choi Joo-tae’s leadoff hit!]

It was probably natural for a hit to be made.

[Uh! Judge fumbles the ball! Meanwhile, Choi Joo-tae reaches second base!]

And with a little bit of luck, the Angels were left with no outs on second base.

[Verdugo catches Chanuel’s batted ball! Meanwhile, the runner on second base reaches third base! … Strike! Out! The call immediately increases the out count to two!]

However, Cole is also a Hall of Fame pitcher. Cole slowly increased the out count,

[Now Trout is at bat. A match between Cole and Trout. Maybe this could be the first turning point in today’s game.]

In the end, I faced Trout at third base with two outs.

Cole and Trout were stars who enjoyed the same era. The hearts of baseball fan watching the game are pounding as the two stars meet in their twilight years.

However, the match that fans were looking forward to ended somewhat in vain.

[Uh! To the center!]

Ta-ah!

[Trout’s first pitch hit! The direction is toward the center! A fence! A fence! Let’s go! Trout takes the lead with a two-run home run! Score 2:0! LA Angels leading the way!]

Trout overcame Cole’s poor pitch with strength from the first pitch.

[Nice… Two veterans combined for two points. Considering Sandoval’s condition today, isn’t this score big?]

Choi Joo-tae, who was waiting for Trout at home plate, raises his forearm.

Tuk.

Trout’s forearm collides with his forearm. It wasn’t an excessive amount of action, but for the two people who have been together through the difficult times the Angels have experienced since 2019, that was enough to confirm their feelings for each other.

‘Okay, if it’s Trout this fall…’

And as Choi Joo-tae watched Trout calmly return to the dugout as usual despite scoring the first point, he had a strong feeling that Trout’s legend would not end like this.

‘Wow, a home run is hit by an old guy who will soon be retiring. Well, it’s not surprising that Cole hit a home run. What can I do? I have to do it.’

Without realizing that Ji Maeng-ho was looking at them with his arms crossed near the second base.