Chapter 93 – Episode 92. We Also Have to Beat Japan at Rock-Paper-Scissors. (3)

‘This is Murakami…. Are you also Japanese?’

Seonghyeon broke into a cold sweat when he saw Murakami at the plate. A monster hitter from Japan who surpassed 1.2 OPS in NPB by breaking Joo Hyung-jin’s Asian record of 61 home runs last year with 62. Murakami Munetaka. A batter who is paying attention even in the majors.

I wanted to throw my main weapon, the circle changeup, but the ball I hit in the previous at-bat was also a circle changeup. It was a lot of pressure to throw a long-hit ball.

‘Did he come in aiming for a changeup?’

Seong-hyun’s circle change-up was a ball that no matter how wrong he was, he couldn’t hit the right hit like that. It was clear he had read the timing. The first hitter, Genda, also aimed for a circle changeup for the first pitch, and the second hitter, Ohtani, also aimed for a circle changeup. Here he did not want to risk anything.

‘Sir, what should I do? Four-seam?’

Shaking my head.

At the sign of the catcher, Lee Yong-gi, Seong-hyeon shook his head. He is too risky to throw a four-seam. The pressure I felt from Murakami was greater than most major league hitters.

‘I can’t give four-seam to that guy.’

Fortunately, Murakami is a young batsman who is still a few years old from his debut. He must have lacked experience.

‘Cutter?’

‘Outside. It bends.’

‘OK.’

After signing an autograph with Lee Yong-gi, Seong-hyeon grabbed the grip of the cutter. He broke faster than a four-seam and faster than a slider. The rosin on his hand holds the baseball sticky. Holding the seam of the ball with his familiar hand movements, Seong-hyeon winds up.

Whoa!

“Strike!”

‘Good. But the sound of the bat….’

The sound of the wind cutting was more menacing. But one day I heard it. It was the sound that teammates Stanton or Judge made when they swung. And Seong-hyeon had heard such a thing in his national team.

‘The youngest also made a similar sound.’

I glanced back at second base, and the familiar voice was concentrating with his face hardened.

‘Boy. I’m concentrating.’

In fact, if Genda, the leading hitter, had missed the ball, the situation would have gotten out of control. However, one of Ji Maeng-ho’s super plays prevented a run. And a laser throw from almost right field. A guy who doesn’t look like a rookie in many ways.

I’ve heard that it’s a bit rude, but I can’t think of anything else when the youngest member of the national team is so focused.

Seonghyun again focused on the game against the batter.

‘The best here is strikeout, and the second is to tie third base with an infield grounder. The idea of ​​giving the rest one point.’

Since it was the 1st inning, there was no forward defense order. In other words, the idea of ​​the bench is to exchange 1 point for an out count. However, Korea’s ace, Seong-hyeon, did not want to concede a single point.

‘Let’s go with the outer four-seam this time.’

‘Outside again?’

‘Okay.’

‘I knew.’

They exchange autographs and catch the baseball again. When I checked third base with a sidelong glance, Ohtani did not move.

‘Even Japan, which plays small baseball, wouldn’t instruct Murakami to bunt.’

After gaining peace of mind, Seong-hyeon threw the ball once more.

Fain!

“Cheek.”

The 151km/h fastball entered an exquisite position outside, but the referee’s decision was a ball.

‘It’s such a waste.’

A ball that is not unusual even if it is judged as a strike. However, Seonghyeon, like a veteran, immediately calmed down. When facing Ohtani, he was a national representative for the first time in a long time, and he was slightly excited when he was hit with a strong first pitch, but Seong-hyeon, who got the first pitch strike from Murakami, was already in a state of immobility.

And. Third ball.

Percussion!

[Ah! Floats high. This batted ball gets stuck in the infield. Sunghyun too! It shows Korea’s ace down.]

[The ball was two-seam, right? Murakami kicked it up, but the ball flew high and got stuck in the infield.]

[Now two-out runner on third base! One out count can get you out of trouble! Now, the next batter is number 4, first baseman Yamakawa Hotaka. He is the home run king of last year’s Pacific League.]

[Ha…. It’s a mountain beyond a mountain. But Seong-hyeon can overcome it. It’s because he posted a record of 95 wins in the major leagues, where there are many players like that. I believe in Seonghyun.]

From the first episode, the caster and commentary were getting more and more immersed in the overheated atmosphere.

‘You touched two seams, you came out aiming for a changeup. He’s going to hit it if it breaks even a little bit. Because all the balls the bat came out of were breaking balls. Courage, let’s go four-seam.’

‘Four-seam? Wouldn’t that be dangerous?’

‘It’s okay. I believe you.’

‘All right.’

Sunghyun boldly put a four-seam in the middle. And Yamakawa watched Seonghyeon’s performance without moving.

‘Also… !’

Restraint rather than restraint. Psychological warfare rather than verbal tactics.

For Seonghyeon, a typical finesse pitcher, a pleasure comparable to an orgasm ran up his spine. The greatest joy of a finesse pitcher came when he penetrated the opponent’s target, and the target was clearly visible as if the hitters in Japan were in the palm of their hand.

And the easiest way to cook target hitters. Throwing the ball you want. Instead, stay away from the strike zone.

‘Changeup. Low.’

‘All right.’

Whoa! Fain!

I hear the sound of a bat slicing through the air and, slightly later, the sound of a ball entering the mitt.

“Strike!”

Two Strikes. From now on, it is the pitcher’s stage.

[Seonghyeon lures her with a ball. One ball to strike.]

[This ball is also a ball. Two-ball, two-strike.]

[I threw the ball! Jitterbug! Impatient Yamakawa! Swing Strike Out! Seong-hyun escapes the crisis by striking out two batters in a row! Korea’s Hope! Pride! It was Seonghyun!]

With Seong-hyeon striking out two batters in a row, the stage of the pitcher battle opened.

*

“So you’ve figured out what the Japanese hitters are after?”

“Yes. It’s probably the exact same strategy as ours. Instead, they seem to be aiming for my changeup.”

“Okay? I’m glad. Shall we seal the changeup then?”

“No. If you throw the changeup lightly like you don’t know anything, you’re unlikely to change your strategy until the hitter has had a turn.”

“I get it. Don’t leave it to you.”

“Thank you. Director.”

Oh! After all, is this a major leaguer? In the beginning, the uneasy look was nowhere to be found, but I could see the Seonghyeon I knew. Smart too

‘Huh. Aren’t you just too stupid to even think about that?’

‘Then how is it? I have Mr. Rossby.’

‘Shut up. It’s disgusting.’

However, just because Seonghyeon figured out the enemy’s strategy didn’t give us an advantage. Kang Han-beom, the 4th hitter, took a fly to the center fielder, and Lee Jin-hong, the 5th hitter, with a ground ball in the first infield.

Besides, even to me, a rookie, Lee Jin-hong’s condition didn’t look good at all. He still seemed shocked that he fumbled the ball on defense.

‘Shit, a bastard can make some mistakes, and bring something like that to the plate.’

It didn’t look that good after all because a veteran would look like that. Can’t we change it to Lee Eun-chong now? Actually, changing it for the second time is nonsense.

“Crimson. Take your swing Don’t be dragged around.”

“Sorry. Coach.”

“You know everything, right? Swing with confidence.”

“All right.”

Leaving behind Lee Jin-hong, who had aged and was being scolded by the hitting coach, he concentrated on watching Ohtani’s pitching even a little more.

Fain!

‘What kind of mitt popping sound is that?’

Widely!

Jeop, not even Gu Jin-mo. Korea’s attack ended in the top of the second inning when Koo Jin-mo hit the shortstop’s ball after two balls.

“Director. 13 pitches through the 2nd inning. This operation…. Would it be okay?”

“I can’t help it. You have to keep pushing. Until the hitters get used to it.”

Oh, perseverance. Still, since Lee Geum-hyeon was holding the atmosphere of the dugout, the players’ expressions were not dark. Except for Lee Jin-hong.

“Hey! 1 point only! Because my brother will block everything.”

Along with Kang Han-beom and Lee Jin-hong, Seong-hyeon, the best member of the national team, said in a confident voice. There are usually many pitchers who are sensitive, but perhaps it was because he was from Hwasan, so he seemed used to not having any other support.

“Sorry.”

“No, I am doing well. Jinhong Lee. Don’t be discouraged. I’ll show you what a major leaguer is.”

And Seong-hyeon, as he boasted, allowed one hit, but blocked Japan’s attack at the end of the second inning.

“Senior Suho, hit one.”

“… Well.”

I saw off Kim Soo-ho, who was going out as the lead batter, and I also started to pack my equipment. It was the equipment lent to me by my seniors because I decided to sign a sponsorship contract after the WBC was over, but I was attached to it because I used it throughout training.

Right!

“Out!”

What? Have you been looking around for equipment? Fuck… ! I packed up my equipment and walked to the waiting table.

“What ball was it?”

“I thought it was four-seam, but it was a splitter. The ball is so fast I can’t tell them apart.”

“All right.”

Advice that might have been useful if someone else had heard it, but it’s useless advice to me. As for the type of pitch, Rosby needs to find out. Right now I just focus on the pitcher’s timing.

‘It’s courage. Look at the ball a lot please.’

The strategy was to hit fastballs quickly, but to me, timing each ball was important. Especially now that I see it right next to me.

Widely!

“Five!”

– Wow!

However, Lee Yong-gi hit the first ball against my wishes, and the ball split the sky of Tokyo Dome.

“Are you passing?”

“Use! Lee Yonggi!”

And the batted ball that could not even go near the wall and lost power and fell in front of the center fielder. Pushed out of power It was Lee Yong-gi who hit double-digit home runs for five consecutive years and 20 home runs three times in Jamsil, but that power was useless against Ohtani.

“Fuck, is this right? I hit it right, but it only goes that far.”

“It was a waste. Seniors.”

After giving a rough answer to Lee Yong-gi’s words, he walked into the batter’s box. Throbbing. His heart trembles at the thought of facing a major leaguer for the first time.

‘How good are major leaguers throwing pitches now?’

The major leaguers of 100 years ago were tired of dealing with them. Among them, Walter Johnson and Satchel Page were the most powerful. I didn’t know it when I was dealing with it, but as a result of looking it up later, they were among the pitchers of all time in the major leagues.

And now. Standing there was Ohtani, one of the top five pitchers in the American League.

‘Let’s see how well he throws.’

Fain!

“Strike!”

Redemption… ? 156 km/h. Even in high school, I saw pitchers throwing balls like this. Of course, it was the highest speed, but. At least Jang Woo-joo consistently threw 153-4 balls. But this monster bastard throws a ball like this consistently?

In addition, the feeling of the incoming ball was different from the pitchers I have seen so far. That heaviness felt in the ball… !

‘I’m sure he has good pitches.’

Rossby’s acknowledgment. This acknowledgment is coming to that racist. After all Ohtani is this? Ohtani’s ball felt as if it were alive.

‘In the middle, it’s a fastball.’

Are you saying that I can press it with force? I feel ignored.

Yeah, let’s try it. Force versus force.

With the thought of hitting slightly higher than usual, I focused on Ohtani’s pitch.

‘Come… !’

Ta-evil!

‘Was it early?’

The ball crossed the foul line and flew toward the spectators. It was also difficult to get the hang of it once I saw it. This is the major level…. But I feel like I need to do a little more. It didn’t seem like an insurmountable mountain. Compared to the feeling of deprivation I felt when I first saw Satchel Page’s ball, this much… !

‘It’s a splitter. Lower to the body.’

Ohtani’s splitter is not only fast, but also has considerable control. They will definitely push me into the strike zone to strike out. Ohtani’s splitter I saw on the bench earlier was 140-142km/h. If you think of it as a fastball and hit it, it was not a big deal. Of course, the angle of the bend was grotesque.

‘Come… !’

Tick!

Ah-oh! It bends more than you think. The bat skimmed over the ball. The ball skimmed the batter box and went out of the foul line.

“…… Zosenjing…….”

What is he saying now? Fuck. What does the catcher say? But I think it was Josenjing… ?

“[Shut up, you jerk.]”

“………… ! … Goros… !”

I have no idea what you mean. Doesn’t this kid speak English? Ignoring the muttering of the catcher behind him, he focused on Ohtani again. I couldn’t afford to deal with Ohtani’s ball while accepting the catcher’s words.

‘Four-seam, body. Too close.’

‘All right.’

Damn, catchers are always like this. I heard that he is the best defensive catcher in Japan, but how could he have the same opinion?

Pa-ang!

“Cheek.”

When I lightly filtered the threat phrase toward his body, I saw Ohtani grinning. Why are you laughing Seeing Ohtani smile for the first time after not showing his expression on the mound makes me feel… ,

… It was like a dick.

You must be ignoring me. Yes, bitch Put another one towards your body. I’ll blow you off the fence.

‘Four seams. Body side. It’s closer to the strike zone than before.’

‘All right.’

The ball I wanted came out as if it had read my mind. The guy I saw at bat had two fastballs. But even that was enough. Ohtani removes the ball from the glove, gets into a stance, and swings his arm. And me too….

Ta-evil!