Chapter 95 – Episode 94. We Also Have to Beat Japan at Rock-Paper-Scissors. (5)

“Maengho. You are the last one Bring only 4 balls to Ohtani. Then Ohtani can get off.”

“All right.”

Bring the runner home. Task entrusted to me. Looking at the last ball thrown to Kim Su-ho, Ohtani was also exhausted. For that kind of thing, the speed still comes out lightly in the late 150s.

‘Are you going to wait?’

‘No. If a good ball comes, I’ll hit it.’

‘That’s how it is, Ji Maeng Hoji.’

‘It’s been a while since I’ve been calling your name.’

‘Yes, you bastard monkey.’

Want to hit I want to hit like crazy. And I want to invite Yang Ji-hyeok, the runner-up, to the home field.

‘Relax. You know it’s worse if you force the bat, right?’

‘All right.’

Taking Rossby’s advice, I relaxed a little from the bat.

‘Let’s play it lightly. Lightly.’

I decided to play lightly and looked at Ohtani, who was grinning just like before.

‘Splitting. Fuck. Mr. Rossby. What type of pitch?’

‘The first pitch is a slider. Outside.’

Ohtani throws a slider. After all, is it going to be difficult because it is the last one? I decided to wait for the first ball.

“Strike!”

Asshole! Asshole! Asshole! Missing this. Ohtani’s slider came right into the zone with less breakage than expected. I.E. Misspelling. A ball that could pass over the fence if you were aiming for it. Missing this opportunity

‘Concentrate! It’s not too late to blame yourself even after the at-bat is over.’

‘… Yes.’

Hearing Rosby’s words brings me to my senses. Yeah, still two strike counts. That was enough.

‘Fastball. Body side.’

Outside slider and inside fastball. A classic combination. And classic means it always works. But not for me. Because I know it will fly towards you.

‘I hit it this time.’

Showing the outside slider and throwing an inside fastball means you are going to count. I didn’t forget the mistake I made earlier and took a faster timing. Ohtani would throw over 160 balls here.

I trusted Ohtani, one of the best pitchers in the major leagues.

‘Come… !’

Ta-evil!

Light ball. The launch angle was low, but the left-mid cut was good enough! I immediately started running to first base.

‘Spittoon!’

‘Line Drive! It’s a direct hit to the wall! Run to second base!’

In a frantic situation, I started running to second base, trusting Rossby’s navigation. The merit of not seeing the batted ball in the in-play situation is beyond imagination! Second base is visible in front of you.

I slid into second base, but I couldn’t feel the second baseman’s glove. Perfect timing too… ? No, why don’t you tag… ? Japanese players make this kind of mistake… ? Even if the runner steps on the base, tagging is the basic of a fielder. To think that a Japanese player who is crazy about the basics would make such a mistake…. It was an unbelievable situation.

Anxiety driven by the absurd situation. I instinctively looked at Home.

Yang Ji-hyeok lying down… A Japanese catcher holding his mitt high.

“Out!!!!!!”

And the referee’s roaring out call. What? Yang Ji-hyeok can’t come in here? This is what… This… Okay?

Red light going up on the billboard. And a quiet Korean dugout. It was real.

‘Tsk, the ball was too fast. Still, I pulled out one long shot.’

‘…….’

“What happened?”

Ignore Rossby’s words and ask the coach who came to get the equipment.

“The batted ball was too fast. It hit the wall and bounced right off. The left fielder caught it.”

“Sleep in left field… ?”

“Suzuki Seiya. Also, it’s a strong dog. Shouldn’t have turned Fuck.”

The coach was also annoyed and spat out swear words. Seiya Suzuki. Japan’s strongest dog comparable to Ichiro. I heard about power analysis. The line-drive castle hit the fence and landed in front of Seiya like a bullet without losing power, and Seiya sniped Yang Ji-hyeok.

That’s the end of the case.

‘Fuck, no luck.’

Properly… I was beaten A situation beyond my power. And it also made no sense not to turn the ball home. It’s just that Seiya’s defense was good, and his shoulders were better.

“Unfortunately. If the batted ball had been a little faster, it would have come in. It was also a close encounter. But there is still one outcount left.”

More problematic than that is that Ohtani has thrown 64 balls so far. There is a limit of 65 pitches, but there is a rule that the batter who has already faced can face to the end, so the next hitter must also face Ohtani.

‘But it’s Choi Joo-tae….’

Right, Strike! Just, ball, ball, ta-eak! Swing Strike Out!

Choi Joo-tae, whom he believed, also struck out after seeing 7 balls, and in the beginning of the 6th inning, Korea’s attack came to an end.

‘Certainly, that bastard is different for a monkey. Ohtani, Ohtani. He’s definitely a great guy.’

‘Mr. Rossby. Ohtani doesn’t look like a ghost, right? Aren’t you getting advice from that bastard Babe Ruth?’

‘If there was such a thing, I would have already told you.’

Complete defeat. He was tied up by Ohtani and couldn’t score a single point.

‘But next time….’

And I couldn’t help but promise the following.

*

“Ha, fuck. It sounds like a dick.”

Complete defeat. My record against Ohtani could be seen as a complete defeat. I hit one with a long hitting course, but it was that much even though I knew it and hit it.

It was the first time I experienced a complete defeat, and I felt dirty. Even though I’m getting help from Rossby, I’m still in order, but are the guys in the majors who score points from guys like that monsters?

“Youngest, how long will you be there?”

“Going….”

Just as I was about to pack up my gear and leave the deserted pitch, someone from Japan approached me.

“[Hi? A rookie drafted this year? It’s great that a rookie hits my ball, isn’t it? In fact, would you say that you were most concerned about Korea? Of course, there was also Choi.]”

It was Ohtani. Pronunciation was a bit sloppy like a Japanese, but the pronunciation showed that I put a lot of effort into speaking English. Well, with Rossby’s help, it’s not comparable to my English, which is at the level of a native speaker, but it’s acceptable.

With Rossby’s help, I was able to speak English fluently. When I spoke English in Australia, I heard that he had a strong Texas accent and spoke like an old man, but that couldn’t be helped because Rossby was an old man from Texas.

“[Sohei Ohtani, did you say ‘Fierce Tiger Ji’? I hope to see you in the big leagues later.]”

I was annoyed by the way he smiled even after we won, but we still play baseball together. Besides, as the saying goes, “I can’t spit on a smiling face,” I couldn’t spit out sharp words when the likable-looking bastard smiled and approached me.

“[Hello, nice to meet you. Just wait a bit, I’ll go to the majors soon.]”

As I thought, English came out smoothly. I, who have built a wall with English, can speak English so well, after all, Rossby is amazing.

“[Ummm. He speaks like a grandfather. Anyway, today’s match was good. Let’s fight again next time.]”

If this continues, the next game against Japan will be the quarterfinals. I didn’t think that we or Japan would fall before that. Because neither Korea nor Japan could be called the strongest force in history.

‘Let’s see. Ohtani! And look forward to the next time we meet. I’ll erase that smile.’

Hehe, the losers must have said that. Is there even an association of losers?’

‘Damn! Shut up! Because it’s cheating!’

*

-[WBC] A sad defeat to Korea and Japan. The match ended 3:1. We lost but fought well!

(Reporter Park OO of OSXE)

Japan defeated Korea and won the fourth game of Group B of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), solidifying its first place.

South Korea suffered a 3:1 defeat in the 4th round of Group B against Japan in the first round of the 2023 WBC held at Tokyo Dome, Japan on the 10th.

The Japanese selection on this day was 2021 American League MVP Sohei Ohtani (LAA). Ohtani pitched to match his reputation and blocked the 6th inning with no runs. Ohtani, who had a perfect streak until the 5th inning and blocked Korea’s line-up, faced a crisis in the beginning of the 6th inning when leading hitter Kim Su-ho walked.

However, Japan was Japan. With Lee Yong-ki’s bunt making him 1 out and 2 base, hitter Ji Maeng-ho hit a line drive ball that hit the left wall directly, but unfortunately the ball hit too fast.

The ball hit the wall and bounced right in front of Seiya Suzuki (CHC), the left fielder of Japan, and Suzuki showed off his strong dog and caught Yang Ji-hyeok, the runner. Thanks to Suzuki’s solid defense, Ohtani fulfilled his duty as a starting pitcher by striking out the next hitter, Choi Joo-tae.

Korea’s starting pitcher Seong-hyeon (NYY) also showed a reverse pitch, but Ohtani’s solo home run at the end of the third inning was painful. Sung Hyun pitched 4.1 innings against Japan and allowed 1 run, and Jung Woo-Sung (PIT), who came up next, tied Japan’s batting line with no runs in 2.2 innings.

However, in the bottom of the 8th inning, Kim Woo-Jun (UG Overlords) got two outs and hit a home run to Munetaka Murakami (Yakult Swallows), Japan’s third hitter. Lee Jin-sik (Future Buffaloes), who came up next, also hit a back-to-back home run from Yamakawa Hotaka (Seibu Lions), and the game tilted. Lee Jin-sik caught the remaining out count, but could not overturn the tilted game.

In the top of the ninth inning, Choi Joo-tae (LAA) got on base with a hit and Ki Sang-joo (AT Thunders) called in to make up one point, but Japan’s closer Rocky Sasaki (Chiba Charlotte Mariners) struck out the next two batters. He caught it and finished the game.

…… (Shorthand)……

-This is why you say ohtani ohtani.

-Tanikun kita–(ﾟ∀ﾟ)–!!!Www
ㄴIlppong is a bit off
Yes, the next Josenjing~ Rhubarb was destroyed like a dog by the Japanese Empire?

-Still, Ohtani Perfect was blocked.
Oh, even if that shot was a bit slow
ㄴ Ji Maeng-ho played well, but he’s not fucking lucky.

-Gukppong sucked Seonghyeon so much, Ohtani doesn’t like it
Is it the same as playing against a Japanese batter and a Korean batter?
Yes, that Ohtani hit a home run~

-Just wait while watching the number of pitches, what are you trying to do?
No idea
ㄴI just want to finish it quickly and go for a drink.

-Under…. The gap with Japan is getting wider. Can Japan not win?
ㄴI didn’t win
Wasn’t it strange when Joo Hyung-jin was there?
ㄴIt hurt my heart to say it was the best ever, but in the end, it doesn’t work for Japan.

– Still, the pitching match was great.
It was unfortunate back to back, but it was worth watching.

-I couldn’t beat Tanikun. Whoops.
Not surprising.
ㄴWhat the hell is the judge who won the MVP after defeating Tanikun? .
Wasn’t it a bit of a tea though?
What’s wrong?
Earn a strike with a single ball