episode_0118

“Wow, that bastard. “Isn’t swing a joke?”

“I said it wasn’t a joke. I saw that kid training at the national team, and I thought he was really crazy. Right, Yonggi?”

“okay. Well, other than that, it seems like a normal AT. Let’s follow it step by step.”

Hancheol’s players nodded at the words of Lee Yong-gi, the captain and leader of the Hancheol Grizzlies.

The media and fans talked about AT Thunders being Jamsil rivals, but in fact, Hancheol players did not feel like AT Thunders were rivals at all. How can you feel a sense of rivalry with a club that creatively accumulates wins every time you win?

There are two clubs that Hancheol players feel a sense of rivalry with. The only team that always competed for the championship was Hyunseong Madcats of UG Overlords. Or something like Shinra Triggers. Shilla Triggers wasn’t a very scary team after Choi Joo-tae left.

AT Thunders has always been a team that Hancheol fans and players have been thankful for. When the team is having a hard time, it provides victory and serves as a stepping stone for rebound.

“I’m lucky that it’s AT since the opening game. Let’s take it easy and run again this year!”

“Okay, go out and show it. Dongjin!”

And that was also true for last year’s rookie Kim Dong-jin. The AT Thunder met while they were under pressure as they went 0-hit in 20 at-bats. And Kim Dong-jin was able to find his senses by hitting two home runs in one game against the AT Thunders, and was eventually able to achieve results worthy of Rookie of the Year honors.

[No. 1 batter, center fielder Kim Dong-jin, comes to bat. Kim Dong-jin is a rookie player for the Hancheol Grizzlies who won the rookie of the year and steals of the season award, right?]

[That’s right. Since Ji Maeng-ho, a rookie this year, hit a home run, he probably wants to show something as a senior.]

Kim Dong-jin, who played center field in place of the injured Joo Seung-cheol, came to the plate with confidence as usual.

‘Janson, a ground bowler with a fastball in the mid to upper 140s. Oddly enough, AT only brings ground ballers like this. Is it because it’s cheap? ‘Why does a club with so much money do this?’

A groundball-inducing pitcher whose main weapon is a sinker, which is completely unsuitable for the wide open space of Jamsil. Additionally, AT’s infield defense was not very good until last year. While his own club, Hancheol, is trying to recruit pitch-type pitchers and fly-ball type pitchers, one can’t help but wonder because the AT Thunders, which have a lot of money, are not doing the same.

And the reason I was able to think like this while at bat was because I had confidence.

Perfect!

[Kim Dong-jin pushes lightly from the first pitch! This batted ball passes by the shortstop and into left field. Kim Dong-jin throws the first pitch and creates a hit! As expected, he shows himself as worthy of last year’s rookie king.]

After playing against him in an exhibition game, Jansen’s ball was dirty, but not so bad that he couldn’t touch it. And in this vast Jamsil, it was an environment where a hit or extra-base hit could be made at any time as long as the ball was sent out of the infield.

Kim Dong-jin, who easily made a hit based on memories from the exhibition game, raised his fist toward the dugout, and Kim Dong-jin’s cheering song rang out in response.

-Kim Dong-jin hits for Choi Kang Han-cheol’s victory! Hit and run! Kim Dong-jin hits!

And in the ensuing game against the second batter, Kim Dong-jin, the previous season’s stolen base king, ran to second base as soon as he got the timing right.

“Three leaves!”

[Three leaves at second base! The batter swung the bat so that the runner could run comfortably. Isn’t this showing the basic skills of Hancheol players? With no outs, we reach second base.]

[Now the ball count is two balls, one strike, a good count for the batter to hit.]

“A long time?”

“I know.”

“I heard you played a little bit at the national team. I was jealous. “Let’s play again later.”

“okay.”

Kim Dong-jin briefly said hello to second baseman Ji Maeng-ho and focused on the bench’s strategy. Hancheol’s choice was a bunt. A strategy that makes you want to tie the score as quickly as possible in the opening match between foreign mercenaries.

Just right.

With a light hitting sound, Hancheol’s second batter, second baseman Si-Hwon An, lightly rolled in front of third baseman.

[Three leaves at third base! The ball goes to first base, and An Si-Hwon shows good operational ability.]

[This is the role of a veteran, right? We sent a runner to third base, so if there is no strikeout, we can immediately tie the game.]

And then the third batter came out, Kim Jeong-hyeon. In the national team, he appeared as a pinch runner or defender, but in the KBA, he was always a hitter aiming for the Golden Glove.

Batting, fielding, base running. Kim Jeong-hyun, a tool player with all three beats, showed off his hitting tools this time.

Ta – evil!

[Kim Jeong-hyun’s timely double that splits the right-center field! The score is now 1:1.]

“Wow, the home run was cool?”

“You make scoring really easy.”

“If you’re jealous, you should come all season long.”

“That’s a bit…” .”

“Ji Maeng-ho! “Don’t chat and focus on the game.”

“Oh, senior Heul’s charisma~”

“You too, focus on the game.”

-4th batter, catcher. Lee Yong-gi.

As the three players gathered at second base were talking, Hancheol’s fourth hitter Lee Yong-gi came to the plate with an introduction from the announcer.

A catcher recognized by both experts and fans as having the best BQ in the country, he always hit 20 home runs in seasons with more than 400 at-bats. As Lee Yong-gi, who won the batting title last season with a batting average of 0.354, stepped to the plate, Jamsil was filled with quiet silence. It was.

And then a cheering song breaks the silence… .

Ta – evil!

[Both teams have been hitting home runs since the opening game! With Lee Yong-gi’s two-run run, the score is now 3:1! The Jamsil rivalry is always fierce, and a come-from-behind two-run game starts from the first episode!]

[Lee Yong-gi! As expected, it was a swing like Lee Yong-gi’s! Wow, it’s always amazing to see. It seems like a light tap, but the ball goes over Jamsil.]

3:1. As Hancheol’s confident players expected, the game was tilted towards Hancheol. And Hancheol is a strong team that never misses a chance to win.

[Raden prevents a crisis with a double play! We will overcome the crisis.]

[Raden’s status is slowly improving?]

In the top of the second inning, Woo Kwan-hyeong and Jeong Yun-cheol faced a crisis with consecutive hits, but he got two outs in one go by forcing a double play by Kang Hee-seok, and ended the inning by striking out Kim Joo-yeop.

AT’s starting pitcher Janson also came to his senses after allowing three runs and continued pitching, but he had no intention of returning the victory once he had lost it.

[In the top of the third inning, leadoff hitter Ji Maeng-ho comes to bat. Ji Maeng-ho, who became the second high school rookie to hit a home run in his debut at-bat, will see what he will show in this at-bat… .]

[He is a player whose swing mechanism is quite well established. Player Raden needs to be careful.]

[A hit created by pulling the outside ball. Rookie Ji Maeng-ho produces hits in two consecutive at-bats.]

AT players, including Ji Maeng-ho, struggled, but the AT Thunders’ batting line was strangely out of rhythm, so they had no choice but to drag their feet.

[Hey. By the top of the 9th inning, the entire starting lineup was able to get on base, but they were only able to score 2 runs. Will they be able to score in the 9th inning? In the top of the 9th inning, closing pitcher Jeong Tae-hwan, who made 29 saves last season, appears on Hancheol’s mound.]

In the end, when the top of the 9th inning began, the score was 4:2. Hancheol Grizzlies brought their closing pitcher to the mound, and AT’s attack was about to begin with 8th batter Kang Hee-seok.

*

‘I guess they’ll come too. But that guy, Kang Hee-seok, is a bit uneasy… .’

Although Kang Hee-seok got on base today with a missed hit, he was not a very good batting player.

“[Pinch hitter, Lee In-hyuk!]”

The director must have been thinking the same thing as me, so he hired Lee In-hyuk as a pinch hitter. Lee In-hyuk bats left-handed and hit .300 in 160 at-bats last season. I leaned against the railing and looked at the ground, praying that the runners would pile up.

Perfect!

And Lee In-hyuk proved why he remained in the entry list by hitting a hit, and 9th batter Kim Joo-yeop made a true base hit with one out and two bases on base.

“Meng Hao! Blow one up!”

-Don’t get in! Ji Maengho! Don’t get on it! Ji Maengho!

-If you say Ji Maeng-ho, blow it away! Ji~ fierce tiger!

-Blow it away!

The cheers of the audience can be heard clearly. If I hit a home run, is the game tied? It’s disappointing that it wasn’t a comeback, but where are we even with a tie? I swung the bat a few times and then went to bat.

“Senior, give me a good ball.”

“okay.”

I answered calmly, but you probably won’t give me a good ball, right?

‘The first pitch is an outside fastball.’

‘okay.’

We have seen enough of Jeong Tae-hwan’s pitches against the previous two batters. Fastball in the low 150s. It’s easy to get the timing right at this level! As Rossby waited for the pitcher to throw the ball, a fastball flew outwards. I stretched out my arms and swung the bat.

Ta – evil!

“Foul!”

Was it too tight? He climbed over the fence I hit, but ended up missing the pole. As I grabbed the bat again and assumed batting form, I heard unexpected words from behind me.

“Automatic intentional phrase.”

“yes?”

“What are you doing, not walking?”

“Wow, the swing is brutal. I want to compete, but the coach tells me to let him go, so what can I do? “Let’s work together properly tomorrow.”

“… … .”

It seemed that coach Hancheol made a decision after seeing the ball disappear over the fence. If I go out, the runner will tie the game, and if I hit a home run, even though it’s a comeback, they skip me… .

‘Hehe, it looks like the director over there has eyes to see.’

‘This is something you should love, right?’

‘Yes, how great it is to be able to get on base for free.’

It was disappointing that I couldn’t hit a home run, but it wasn’t that bad. Behind me, there was a strong batting lineup consisting of Kim Su-ho, Ki Sang-ju, Yongbyeong, Choi Jin-cheol, and Woo Kwan-hyung. Today, Adari wasn’t able to score many points, but as long as he scored, 3 points was an easy batting line.

‘I’ll do at least one… .’

I walked to first base, trusting the next batter.

*

[Wow, they’re skipping rookie Ji Maeng-ho here? Hancheol coach Park Dae-hoon threw a winning bet.]

[Looking at Ji Maeng-ho’s form today, it was a worthy strategy. One home run, one hit, and one walk. Moreover, because the first hit was a large foul home run that went over the fence, it was a viable strategy for manager Park Dae-hoon.]

[But, the batting lineup lurking behind Ji Maeng-ho is not an easy batting lineup, is it?]

[That’s right. National team third baseman Kim Su-ho. Gi Ki-ju, who was a big leaguer until last season. And Boer, a mercenary hitter who can hit at any time. Choi Jin-cheol, who won four home run titles, and AT’s heart, Woo Gwan-hyeong. There is no one batter that can be taken lightly. Today, we were unlucky and the batting line was not able to come together, but the batting line’s name value is ranked first in the country.]

[Just hearing the name would make pitchers sweat, right? Now Jung Tae-hwan competes with Kim Su-ho.]

Perfect!

[An exquisite hit in front of the right fielder! The runner on second base is on third base, stop signal! Now the bases are loaded with runners! With one out and bases loaded, Ki Gi-joo comes to bat.]

[Right fielder Kim Jeong-hyun’s arm is quite good, so he didn’t think the runner would come home. And this is a wise decision. There was absolutely no need to push yourself too hard, right? Because the next batter is Gigi-ju.]

[Ah, it’s a difficult match for Gyeonggiju. cheek.]

As the caster said, Hancheol’s battery led the game in a way that did not give Gyeonggiju a good ball as much as possible. And when the seventh ball was thrown.

“Base on balls!”

[AT Thunders chasing an important point! This is where the push-off walk comes in! The weatherman scores an important point that could hurt his home team! Now the game is 4:3! And in this situation, the 4th hitter, Roberto Boer, who hit 1 RBI and 2 doubles today, comes to the plate.]