Chapter 846 – Episode 832. 2027 World Series. (1)
[In the top of the 11th overtime inning, Fernando Tatis Jr. Comes to bat. He is 1-for-5 in today’s game.]
[You missed yesterday’s game due to a muscle strain, right? The condition in Gyeonggi-do today is not that good…]
[… Tatis’ first pitch hit! Uh, uh! This batted ball! Like that! Let’s go! Two outs in the 11th over! Fernando Tatis hits a decisive solo home run off AJ Smith Schober! Score 5:4! This home run is big!]
[Hey… Tatis is truly amazing. If the American League’s recruit of the year is Ji Meng-ho, the National League’s recruit of the year is Tatis, right? At the end of the first half of the year, he was traded to the Dodgers and appeared in 69 games, hitting .209, 2 ERA, 20 home runs, and 21 stolen bases, showing good performance as if he was achieving his first 30-30 record, and it was still the same in the playoffs.]〈 Br〉
[Following the Division Series MVP, do you think it would be possible to become the Championship Series MVP as well?]
[Yes. He is doing such a great job.]
[… In the bottom of the 11th inning, pitcher Bethea was replaced on the mound. … Game over! Bethea keeps the score! The LA Dodgers head to New York to win their third consecutive major league title!]
[Nice… The LA Dodgers are truly amazing. Now it will be decided who the greatest team in Major League history is. Is it the Yankees, who recorded the strongest batting performance in major league history, or the Dodgers, who are ranked first in pitching record and second in batting record this season and are aiming for their third consecutive major league title? It’s a matchup I’m really looking forward to.]
*
-LA Dodgers! Going to New York!
… The LA Dodgers won a ticket to New York by winning the series 4:1.
… Meanwhile, Fernando Tatis Jr., Who transferred to the Los Angeles Dodgers after the first half of the season, was awarded the Series MVP by hitting .313/0.389/0.688/1.077 with 1 home run and 5 RBIs in the Division Series and then the Championship Series. He hit the game-deciding home run in both series. Record your clutch instinct…
… The Yankees and Dodgers are the most popular teams in the United States, and in Korea, the LA Dodgers, with Joo Hyung-jin and Joo Seung-cheol, and Sung Hyun, who debuted together, were more popular, but with Ji Maeng-ho showing tremendous performance for the Yankees this season…
-Seonghyeon, “The winning team, our team!”
… Meanwhile, in response to a reporter’s question about who he would like to see win the World Series, Seonghyun, who is ahead of the Korean Series, responded, “It doesn’t really matter who wins. The Dodgers were the team I played with for the first time in the major leagues, and the Yankees were the team I played for the last time. He answered, “I’m just going to watch it comfortably.” …
… Seonghyeon said, “Joo Seung-cheol and Ji Maeng-ho have never faced each other in Korea or played together on the national team, and I expected from the beginning that both players would go to the major leagues. “Although the poor seniors did not show a good performance in the World Series, I hope that the two juniors representing Korea will show good performances in the World Series and raise the status of Koreans,” He said, expressing his gratitude to the two juniors who are active in the Major League. Didn’t spare anything.
-Joo Seung-cheol and Ji Maeng-ho meet again in the finals!
… Since their days in Korea, Joo Seung-cheol and Ji Maeng-ho have been in the spotlight as the next generation of rival stars who will lead Korean baseball with their similar playing styles…, Before Joo Seung-cheol went to the major leagues, the 2024 Korean Series between AT Thunders and Han-cheol Grizzlies was a series that proved how much influence a batter can have on the game as Joo Seung-cheol and Ji Maeng-ho competed…
Afterward, Ji Maeng-ho recorded historic results in the major league, and the match between the two ended in Ji Maeng-ho’s victory.
However, that does not mean that Joo Seung-cheol is in a poor position at all compared to previous Korean hitters. Joo Seung-cheol recorded 0.285/0.348/0.516/0.864, 87 home runs, 76 stolen bases, and 267 RBIs over three years in the major league, accumulating cumulative records at the fastest pace compared to other Korean batters except Ji Maeng-ho, and is considered the best Korean of all-time by baseball fans. Isn’t he ranked second among hitters? …
Meanwhile, the two have a very close personal relationship, and the two met for the first time at the 2023 WBC… He also introduces his younger sister…
… Looking at one player alone, it seems natural that the winner of this matchup will be Ji Maeng-ho, but since baseball is a team sport, experts predict a victory for the Dodgers, who have good pitching skills…
Below are the records of both teams that will face each other in the World Series.
The Dodgers’ team ERA is 3.34, ranking first in the major leagues, and their OPS is second at 0.865…, The Yankees ranked 3rd in the major leagues with a team ERA of 3.91 and 1st in OPS with 0.914…
The following are the records of batters from both teams.
C/
Ohapi(NYY) WAR: 4.5
: 134G 93R 90RBI 132H 27HR 0.267/0.347/0.473/0.820 1SB 0CS
Smith (LAD) WAR: 6.2
: 130G 89R 119RBI 140H 39HR 0.286/0.363/0.601/0.964 2SB 0CS
1B/
Hall(NYY) WAR: 2.4
: 122G 67R 74RBI 131H 25HR 0.267/0.331/0.473/0.804 1SB 0CS
Tatis (LAD) WAR: 5.8
: 155G 110R 124RBI 161H 36HR 0.270/0.355/0.547/0.902 33SB 10CS
2B/
Ji Maeng-ho((NYY)) WAR: 20.3
: 155G 255R 192RBI 236H 81HR 0.406/0.538/0.978/1.516 108SB 2CS
Sean (LAD) WAR: 6.9
: 161G 148R 102RBI 203H 36HR 0.303/0.372/0.549/0.921 51SB 1CS
3B/
Vientos (NYY) WAR: 3.7
: 150G 104R 90RBI 161H 30HR 0.272/0.346/0.467/0.813 4SB 1CS
Candelario (LAD) WAR: 1.7
: 140G 64R 56RBI 127H 17HR 0.249/0.323/0.413/0.736 1SB 2CS
SS/
Volpi (NYY) WAR: 5.6
: 152G 119R 90RBI 144H 25HR 0.256/0.358/0.448/0.806 26SB 4CS
LAD WAR: 2.6
: 153G 75R 84RBI 148H 21HR 0.260/0.324/0.412/0.736 8SB 5CS
LF/
Jersey (NYY) WAR: 7.6
: 145G 143R 186RBI 170H 60HR 0.280/0.377/0.639/1.016 8SB 1CS
Palenski (LAD) WAR: 1.5
: 81G 59R 52RBI 77H 12HR 0.231/0.318/0.411/0.729 9SB 3CS
CF/
Verdugo(NYY) WAR: 1.9
: 126G 73R 55RBI 131H 10HR 0.290/0.347/0.408/0.755 2SB 1CS
Joo Seung-cheol (LAD) WAR: 4.6
: 161G 112R 109RBI 185H 33HR 0.282/0.332/0.521/0.853 18SB 0CS
RF/
Soto(NYY) WAR: 8.1
: 145G 135R 152RBI 158H 43HR 0.285/0.418/0.601/1.019 4SB 2CS
Betts (LAD) WAR: 3.0
: 144G 111R 95RBI 140H 24HR 0.253/0.336/0.460/0.796 6SB 1CS
DH/
Stanton (NYY) WAR: 6.1
: 150G 101R 161RBI 164H 50HR 0.280/0.353/0.580/0.933 0SB 0CS
Ohtani (LAD) WAR: 7.4 (hitting)
: 162G 142R 180RBI 214H 62HR 0.326/0.407/0.697/1.104 21SB 2CS
PH/
Kelnick WAR: 1.4
: 124G 79R 57RBI 97H 19HR 0.234/0.310/0.441/0.751 1SB 1CS
Freeman (LAD) WAR: 0.4
: 69G 26R 27RBI 63H 5HR 0.241/0.321/0.360/0.681 2SB 2CS
… Compared to the Yankees, who performed evenly even in the lower-order lineup, except for Ji Maeng-ho, the Dodgers had only a central lineup consisting of Sean, Ohtani, Smith, Tatis, and Joo Seung-cheol…
But when it comes to pitching, the Dodgers have the upper hand…
Starting pitcher
NYY/
Call WAR: 6.0
35G 24W 3L 3.13ERA 224.1IP 260K
Gilbert WAR: 6.2
34G 23W 3L 2.92ERA 212.1IP 222K
Rodon WAR: 3.1
34G 15W 6L 4.61ERA 189.1IP 192K
Buehler WAR: 2.9
33G 14W 6L 4.42ERA 195.1IP 156K
Singer WAR: 2.1
26G 13W 7L 4.40ERA 153.1IP 121K
LAD/
Otani WAR: 7.5
33G 20W 3L 2.36ERA 202.0IP 239K
Glasnow WAR: 5.6
32G 14W 4L 3.02ERA 190.2IP 231K
Cooper WAR: 4.9
30G 13W 3L 2.85ERA 183.0IP 179K
Yamamoto WAR: 3.8
32G 14W 6L 4.06ERA 186.1IP 189K
Miller WAR: 2.8
32G 16W 6L 4.30ERA 180.0IP 164K
Main fight
NYY/
Merda WAR: -0.7
34G 1W 0L 5.44ERA 91.0IP 69K 9SV 0BS
Gonzalez WAR: 1.0
40G 6W 2L 3.70ERA 48.2IP 34K 1SV 7BS
Jung Woo-sung WAR: 0.5
23G 6W 2L 3.71ERA 51.0IP 35K 5SV 4BS
Camacho WAR: 2.3
47G 7W 2L 1.89ERA 62.0IP 78K 3SV 3BS
Miller WAR: 2.8
57G 3W 3L 2.35ERA 57.1IP 63K 45SV 3BS
LAD/
Bethia WAR: 1.1
58G 3W 4L 3.80ERA 71.0IP 71K 5SV 4BS
Williams WAR: 1.1
15G 4W 0L 2.61ERA 38.0IP 25K 3SV 0BS
Grove WAR: 1.9
67G 10W 3L 2.74ERA 82.0IP 70K 1SV 5BS
Phillips WAR: 1.6
57G 5W 2L 3.05ERA 56.0IP 52K 12SV 8BS
Deadline WAR: 1.3
63G W 5L 3.89ERA 71.2IP 75K 32SV 6BS
… Overall, in terms of pitching, the Dodgers have the advantage in the starting lineup, but in terms of the major bullpen, the Yankees have the advantage in Camacho and Miller, who are considered the league’s best setup and finish duo. However, in terms of bullpen ERA, the Dodgers are evaluated to be quantitatively better at 3.79 than the Yankees, who recorded 3.94…
Ji Maeng-ho and Joo Seung-cheol have played against each other twice in fall baseball in Korea. And it was Ji Maeng-ho who won during those two confrontations. Who will win the third fall baseball match between Ji Maeng-ho and Joo Seung-cheol in the United States? …
┗Juji Daejeon Let’s go~~~~!!!
┗But no matter how Korean they are, why are they rubbing up against Joo Seung-cheol? Even compared to Ohtani haha
┗┗The media is just sucking it up haha
┗The Dodgers have a strong starting lineup, but you wouldn’t know it if they fought in the bullpen. First, Camacho and Miller are perfect.
┗So who is the winning team?
┗┗Uh-huh, if you say this, Tani dogs and blind gangs will come and fight for 10 pagesㅡ
*
The joy of winning the championship series was short-lived. The very next day after the series ended, the Dodgers players gathered in the meeting room without a day off to prepare for the World Series against the Yankees.
“… First, the most important thing is to block the Yankees’ batting lineup. As you can see from the records, it is safe to say that the Yankees have the best batting lineup in Major League history. In particular, the top batting lineup starting from Ji Maeng-ho has 234 home runs, and except for Korea and Houston, no team has more than these four home runs. To that extent, pitchers plan strategies with their coaches on what to do with their batting lineup before a game…”
‘Whoa…’
As the coach explained the things to be careful about ahead of the World Series against the Yankees in the meeting room where everyone gathered, Joo Seung-cheol felt frustrated and let out a long sigh. In particular, I heard that it was the best batting line of all time, even in Korea.
‘Why is the team with Meng Ho always the best batting lineup of all time?’
Is the batting lineup with Meng Hao the best batting lineup of all time, or did Meng Hao join a good lineup and become the best of all time?
I didn’t know what came first, but what was certain was that Maeng-ho was the hitter who had the best season of all time, and even without Maeng-ho, the Yankees’ batting lineup was strong.
It was the same when I was in Korea. Ki Ki-joo, who returned from the major league, Jin-cheol Choi, who was thought to be a bygone era but succeeded in making a comeback by transferring to AT, Su-ho Kim, who was the best third baseman in the league at the time, and Kwan-hyung Woo, the best hitter in the KBA league.
At the time, the AT Thunders that Maeng Ho was a part of were praised as the strongest batting line in KBA League history, and they never missed a championship throughout Maeng Ho’s tenure.
What Joo Seung-cheol realized while competing with Ji Maeng-ho at that time was that winning or losing did not depend on him. Of course, it was Joo Seung-cheol who always worked hard, but since winning or losing the game depended on the pitcher, not on himself, all he could do to win was pray to the heavens.
The only thing that is better now than then is that the Dodgers’ current batting lineup is stronger than the season-long batting lineup back then.
In particular, the resurgence of Betts, who performed poorly in the regular season and division series, but hit .300 with two home runs and exceeded 1.0 OPS in the championship, was encouraging.
And although it is said that there is only so much he can do, he was also in good condition, hitting .300 with 3 home runs and an OPS of 1.075 in the two series.
To be honest, it was Joo Seung-cheol who thought it would be impossible for any hitter in history to show a performance like a fierce tiger throughout the regular season, but it was not unreasonable for him to show a performance like a fierce tiger in one series and in one game, so with a batting line of this level, he could finally become a fierce tiger. I had expectations that I might be able to win.
‘Yes, you shouldn’t go in with the mindset that you’re going to lose already, because who is the best player in the fall is important anyway.’
What is important in the fall is a player who can pitch 9 innings without allowing a run or maintain an OPS of 1.3 to 4 throughout the series. I felt that Maengho’s performance of maintaining that level of batting performance throughout the season was remarkable, but in any case, there was one player like that in the current Dodgers.
‘If it’s Tatis…’
Joo Seung-cheol glanced at Tatis, who was showing the craziest performance this fall. Tatis, who had 11 hits in 27 at-bats, 4 home runs, 10 RBIs, and 5 walks throughout the fall, was a little short of being a hawk, but he was at least as good as a hawk, so I was a little relieved.
Joo Seung-cheol, relieved to see Tatis like that, turned to his record sheet and looked at the Yankees’ fall baseball records. Until now, I couldn’t see the performance of other teams because I was focused on the championship series, so I was curious who on the Yankees side was crazy except for Maengho.
And Joo Seung-cheol was able to discover an unexpected record.
‘Uh? Jersey? What? ‘You didn’t read the name wrong, right?’
-Aaron Judge
ALDS: 0.091/0.375/0.364/0.739 1HR 4RBI 4BB
ALCS ; 0.125/0.222/0.313/0.535 1HR 2RBI 2BB
Judge’s record was one that was absolutely not worthy of the name Judge.
‘… Isn’t this the fall jersey?’
Judge is the player who hit 60 home runs this season as the number 2 hitter behind Meng Ho, creating an environment in which Meng Ho can play…
But is Jersey achieving these results? This seemed like a method that could be utilized.
“… Director! Well, there is a way that a director in Korea blocked Ji…”
“Oh! Joo, is that really true? I was already thinking about how to stop Ji…”
“But if you get too caught up in this method, the results may actually be bad. So, this is a method that should be used considering the situation.”
“I will listen and judge. Hurry up and tell me.”
So Seung-cheol Joo started talking about the plan of Ki-taek Moon, who was evaluated as the best coach in Korea, to create a three-peat for the team.