Chapter 99 – Episode 98. Revenge With Japan. (2)
‘Darvish….’
Seeing Darvish, Joo Seung-chul briefly recalled his childhood memories.
‘The last season his father played for Texas, Darvish made his Texas debut.’
Although he was not in the US when his father was in Texas because of his mother, who was an actress in Korea, Joo Seung-chul always watched his father’s games on video.
And Darvish’s helmet that I saw in front of the TV like that. The first impression of Darvish is a sense of awe that even Asians can do that. Darvish was the first wall Joo Seung-cheol saw and admired.
The young Asian player who played with his father, who had made Joo Seung-cheol feel a wall, was now a veteran and blocking Joo Seung-cheol’s path.
Pa-ang!
“Strike!”
‘As expected, it’s heavy.’
I also checked the video, but the pitch was not significantly different from the heyday. Darvish’s performance in recent years has been good enough to say that now is the second heyday.
And Darvish’s crystal ball….
“Swing Strike!”
It was a slider like the current ball that Seungcheol Joo swung. It was an obvious pattern, but Joo Seung-chul had no choice but to be fooled by the slider, which flew like a fastball in the beginning and then turned sharply.
‘Looks like you’ve decided to go with the slider. Come to think of it, seniors Joo-tae and senior Sang-ju hit with a fastball, and seniors Jin-mo and Han-beom were caught with a slider. Yes, Darvish’s key today is the slider.’
Joo Seung-chul quickly came up with an earlier at-bat, and he was able to decide which ball he was aiming for. And he greeted Darvish’s ball.
Whoa!
“Swing strike! Out!”
“Aww!”
Joo Seung-chul burst into boiling anger at the fact that he knew it but couldn’t hit it. However, the slider that falls in a different direction than the previous slider that bent horizontally. He was the ball that Joo Seung-cheol, who was only thinking about the horizontally bending slider, could not help but be deceived.
“Senior, I also threw a slider that fell into the bell.”
“Okay? He didn’t throw it in the first inning, so I wondered if he would go with a horizontal slider today, but he seems to be mixing it up.”
Kim Suho’s words became unusually long. Kim Soo-ho was also feeling the pressure. However, the situation was better than that of Joo Seung-cheol. The right-handed pitcher’s slider was a ball that was clearly visible to left-handed hitter Kim Soo-ho.
In front of left-handed hitter Kim Su-ho, Darvish’s main weapon, the slider, could be said to be sealed. But even so, he couldn’t be careless because he had two-seam against left-handed batters. A two-seam that flows outside the left-handed hitter. However, he had no intention of defeating Darvish by force anyway. Pushes the perseverance That was the thought that filled Suho Kim’s head.
‘Let’s just aim for two-shim. Fighting spirit.’
Kim Soo-ho stepped into the batter’s box thinking only of Darvish’s two-seam. And at the end of a persistent game that goes all the way to the 7th ball.
Widely!
“Short!”
He hit the shortstop grounder and withdrew.
“You’re a little late.”
A voice full of regret. Kim Soo-ho, who was about to return to the dugout, saw Ji Maeng-ho, the next hitter. A junior member of the club who said crazy things to Seong-hyeon, the big senior. He was a junior who didn’t want to be involved with Kim Soo-ho, who moved between three clubs.
However.
“Ji Maeng-ho!”
“… Yes?!”
“Hit one. Believe!”
After the first episode, I wanted to give words of encouragement to the frozen juniors, probably because I was scolded by myself. We didn’t have a concept, but we were still a team.
‘I did something not like me.’
Kim Soo-ho, who did something he wouldn’t normally do, went into the dugout with his face slightly red.
*
Why is that person talking all of a sudden? Are you sorry? When I was talking with Rossby, Suho Kim suddenly talked to me, and I was a little embarrassed.
‘Mr. Rossby, are you ready?’
‘Okay. I’m ready. You?’
‘I’m ready too.’
I said that to Seong-hyeon, but what would he do if he struck out here? I got ready and walked into the plate.
‘The first ball is a horizontal slider that goes outward.’
‘OK.’
Slider filters. The angle was bigger than any other pitcher I’ve seen in Korea, so I wasn’t confident in getting the timing right. A ball that must be given up even if it is struck.
The ball thrown by Darvish tricks the eye and flows outward. If he didn’t know what the ball was, he would have swung it right away.
Fain!
“Cheek.”
Fortunately, the referee’s decision was a ball.
‘After the slider, a fastball to the inside?’
‘It’s a changeup.’
Throwing a changeup here? Darvish’s changeup wasn’t that famous. A level where you just know how to throw? However, it was natural that if he threw a changeup that he had not shown before in this situation, it would have a great effect.
‘If only I didn’t know the type of pitch.’
However, there was no ball as easy to hit as the known changeup. After Darvish winds up, he sprays the ball.
A ball that seems to stop suddenly for a fleeting moment. And the bat that had already left to meet him just in time.
Right!
‘Right!’
The ball cut through the infield like a bullet and rolled in front of the center fielder. And I was able to get to first base comfortably. It’s the first time I’ve seen Darvish’s changeup, so it’s a pity that I couldn’t make a home run, but this was a good enough achievement.
– Wow!
Hearing the cheers of the crowd, he looked at the dugout and raised his fist.
“Maengho! It was good!”
“Nice! Let’s follow one more point!”
“Can do!”
“Courage! Let’s blow one!”
Lee Yong-gi, who was on a business trip as the 9th hitter today, also looked satisfied. As I was appreciating the excitement, the first base coach grabbed me by the shoulder and whispered in a low voice.
“Maengho. Shake the pitcher So that you can hit a good ball with courage.”
“All right.”
Shaking the pitcher is my specialty, so I took a longer lead than usual. Four steps. A situation that can catch me right away if a good check comes.
Glancing, Darvish looks at me.
‘Okay, I’m conscious.’
‘Fastball grip. Be careful of restraints.’
‘Yep.’
He prepares to return to first base immediately and pays attention to Darvish’s every movement.
Huong, Pak!
“Safe!”
Tuk-tuk, shake off the dirt and take a four-step lead again.
‘Fastball. It looks like you’re just too concerned about it.’
While participating in the WBC, Japan must have also accumulated data about me. So you must know my quick feet. Even if it’s a two-out, you can’t not care about me. If you don’t mind, I’ll run to third base.
“Cheek.”
‘Now I just need to hit Lee Yong well.’
Lee Yong-gi’s WBC record was 3 hits in 14 at-bats. It was a disappointing result to be considered the best catcher in Korea at the moment, but he is also a player with a clear shot. Please. Give me one
‘It’s a fastball.’
I wanted to scream out loud what I had found out, but I held back my desire and believed in Lee Yong-gi. The biggest advantage of Yonggi is BQ. He was a player who was evaluated for his ability to lead his team as a catcher and excellent ball combination. Good ball combination was synonymous with good aim.
‘Can you figure this out? Ramen is the best catcher in Korea!’
Fain!
“Safe!”
A check that comes flying again. This time, he widened his lead to four and a half steps. This lead width is a lead width that can never catch a runner from second base with a breaking ball. And it was a lead width that I could never go back to if I didn’t have the mindset of returning unconditionally.
Glancingly, Darvish’s eyes pierced me again. Like a major league veteran, his eyes seemed to say, ‘You can never run.’ My heart went cold At that moment, Lee Yong-gi, a right-handed hitter, met his eyes. Those eyes that knew what I was aiming for.
And Darvish threw the ball toward home plate. I couldn’t check the scoreboard, but it’s probably the fastest ball Darvish threw today. When you reflexively try to return to first base,
Right!
A light hitting sound rang out. Lee Yong-ki stretched out his arm and pushed the ball outside of him!
“Run!”
Before I could hear the first base coach’s voice, I was already running toward second base.
‘Spittoon!’
‘On first base! Keep running!’
Past second base
‘Zero!’
‘The right fielder got it!’
Current position 3rd base. Third base coach’s stop signal! But I kept running.
‘I threw it!’
And it slid onto home plate. And as I lay down to catch my breath, I heard the referee’s call sign.
“Out!”
Out? Haven’t you ever been brushed by meat?
‘I’m out at second base.’
When I turned my head at Rossby’s words, I saw Lee Yong-ki lying on second base. When I saw it, I knew at once what the situation was. Lee Yong-gi saw me go all the way to the home and ran to second base, and Japan must have cut it in the middle and threw it to second base.
‘I’ll trust you.’
Even if Lee hadn’t run second base, he would have been able to come all the way home. However, Lee Yong-gi’s second-base overrun, which was trying to save the home runner to score, was a standard play, so there was nothing to say.
“It was a good run.”
Choi Joo-tae, who was angry with me earlier, held my hand.
Puck! Choi Joo-tae’s left hand hits my back and passes. But he didn’t feel bad because he knew it was meant as a compliment, not a rebuke.
“Ugh.”
“Pretending to be sick. I didn’t even hit that hard. Hey. Let’s go prepare for the defense for the next inning.”
“All right.”
Now, 1 point. Just a little further!
*
[Both starting pitchers go down in the 4th inning, and now a new Korean pitcher is on the mound at the beginning of the 5th inning. The pitcher’s name is Jung Woo-sung! This is a pitcher who won 10 wins in the major leagues last season.]
[Seonghyeon and Darvish. Both pitchers were seasoned players in the US, and the number of pitches exceeded 85 in 4 innings, right? This is a result that shows how fierce today’s game is.]
[Sung-hyun was shaken by giving 3 points in the first inning, but kept the rest of the inning scoreless, while Darvish scored 1 point in the 1st inning and 1 point in the 2nd inning. He also got two runners on base in the fourth inning. Unfortunately, I didn’t score.]
[The Japanese dugout is going to be a headache right now. He probably thought of an all-out war in the final and chose Darvish as the starter. Because that Darvish was only responsible for 4 innings? This is your chance. And to seize that opportunity, Jung Woo-sung’s pitching right now is really important. We have to keep this inning scoreless.]
[Jung Woo-sung, you can do it. Jung Woo-sung is now the starting pitcher, but in the early days of his debut, he was an amazing closer who made 36 saves in the major leagues. He has to show that skill now. The first pitch is a strike! Redemption is 153!]
[It’s not common for a sidearm to show such restraint. Moreover, it seems that Japanese players will not be able to adapt to the ever-changing trajectory of sidearm pitches. In particular, even if it is a left-handed hit, it is clear that a sinker that curves outward will be difficult to cope with.]
However, contrary to the wind of such commentary, the Japanese batting line started to breathe fire again.
[Ah…. Murakami’s three-run home run…. Now the score is 6:2. It will open by 4 points.]
[Catching two outs and collapsing. Jung Woo-sung, you have to wake up now!]
[Jung Woo-sung strikes out the fourth hitter Yamakawa! The long 5th inning comes to an end!]
And at the end of the 5th inning, Orix ace Yoshinobu took the mound.
Yoshinobu, who announced his era by recording an average ERA of 1.99 in 2019, won 5 pitching crowns in 2021 and an average ERA of 1.75 in 2022, and was currently the best pitcher along with Sasaki in NPB.
Although he was a pitcher saved for the game against the United States, he made a bold decision to solidify the game.
[Ah, Yoshinobu Yamamoto is standing on the mound….]
The director who uploaded Yoshinobu, the fans watching Yoshinobu, and Yoshinobu himself. I thought this match would end like this.
And.
[Seungcheol Joo and Suho Kim’s consecutive hits! Ah! Skip Ji Maeng-ho here and Japan will launch a full-base operation!]
[Lee Yong-gi, you scored an RBI earlier. Please this time….]
[Catcher Pop Fly!]
[Miss it, miss it…. Oh Catch it.]
[Choi Joo-tae is now batting with 1 bases loaded.]
Ta-evil!
[Choi Joo-tae’s sweeping and timely hit! All three runners home! Home! Home! Ji Maeng-ho! Come in! Still fast feet! Ji Maeng-ho! And the shortstop that represents Korea! Choi Joo-tae’s fantastic right-middle hit at the right time! The name of this hitter who saves Korea from crisis! This is Choi Joo-tae! Now! The match! 6:5! 1 point difference!]
[Aaaaa! Choi Joo-Tae-ae-ae!]
The smell of gunpowder wafted through Londipaw Park, home of the Miami Marlins.