episode_0131

“Hey, you’re not weak to sidearms, are you?”

As I was slowly putting on my gloves and getting ready to go to bat, the weatherman came up next to me and spoke to me.

“What do you mean? that is.”

“No, I think this is my first time dealing with Sidearm, but he struck out in the first inning.”

hmm… . I thought he might react like this because it was Ki Ki-joo who had been watching me by my side ever since I was in national college.

“That’s because he suddenly threw a strange ball.”

However, the reason I struck out in the first inning was because the ball I was throwing out suddenly came into the middle and I couldn’t react, but it wasn’t to the point where I couldn’t hit the ball.

“Then try playing better this time.”

With a thud, the weatherman taps my shoulder. Given this much encouragement, was it really that shocking that I struck out? Actually, if someone I didn’t know saw it, it would have felt like I had struck out without even touching it.

‘By the way, Mr. Rossby. I guess I’m really weaker at sidearm than other pitchers.’

‘That’s right. Among the pitchers I faced, there were very few sidearm pitchers.’

‘For some reason, the trajectory doesn’t seem familiar to me.’

Today’s starting pitcher for Shilla Triggers, Beryl Thompson, is a foreigner, but she unusually throws the ball with a sidearm that is close to under. Well, the trajectory of the ball was less noticeable than that of other pitchers, but that didn’t make me less confident.

The ball I saw in the first inning looked perfect for hitting.

‘If possible, it would be nice to have runners piled up… .’

7th batter Jeong Yun-cheol came out with a single, and Kang Hee-seok tried a bunt but failed, so the current situation was one out and one base, and I earnestly thought that it would be good if one more player came out.

Looking at this team’s performance, it was obvious that even if the score was tied, it would be overturned again.

“Ji Maeng-ho!”

Just before I went out with the bat, the hitting coach called me.

“Yes, coach.”

“It would be good if Joo-yeop hit it, but even if he doesn’t hit it, it’s two outs and two runs, so make a big comeback. If Joo-yeop survives, he will be on 1st and 2nd bases with 1 out, so either push him out or try to connect with Suho as much as possible. got it?”

“All right.”

The current situation was 2-0, and Jansen allowed one more run in the top of the third inning, increasing the score to two, so the hitting coach was also asking me for a big hit. Even if Kim Joo-yeop, the number 9 hitter, survives, nothing will change in my swing.

In fact, when I was young, I often heard that we should bet on teams depending on the situation. In situations where there is a runner on base, push toward right field so that the runner can easily come in. If the pitcher is shaky, look at the ball as long as possible. In situations where a score can be scored with an outfield fly, lightly send the ball to the outfield.

Things like this. But after spending time with Rossby, I realized that that old view of baseball was useless. The only true team bet is getting over the fence.

So no matter what the coach said, I was just going to swing to get over the fence.

Perfect!

And with good timing, the 9th batter, Kim Joo-yeop, produced a hit that fell in front of center field, giving the team a chance to put 1 out and 1st and 2nd base on base.

It is noticeable that second base runner Kang Hee-seok is shaking. Perhaps because he is a veteran, he has memorized all of Silla’s autographs? So you were talking about a body change ball?

‘Fastball, low to the body.’

Well then. In fact, I had no idea from the beginning that this team would actually steal signs. Putting the sign from Kang Hee-seok out of my mind, I focused my attention on the starting pitcher, Thompson, standing on the mound.

When I saw it in the first inning, his four-seam was bent all over the place, probably because it was a sidearm. So, if the ball came low to the body, there was a high probability that it would go out.

“cheek.”

‘yes.’

A ball that falls low towards the body. It was a ball that I thought might have been hit if it had been closer to the body. And I was able to gain confidence with this ball.

‘I guess I’ll have to filter out this kid’s fastball.’

The angle of deflection of the fastball and the control of the ball were arbitrary. Aiming for a ball like this is taking part in a gambling game with low odds. Rather, it seemed better to aim for breaking balls with a certain angle and control.

‘Fastball. This time it’s inside the zone.’

‘okay.’

Let’s watch one more thing. It was obvious that even if I hit it for no reason, I wouldn’t be able to hit the ball past Jamsil.

“strike!”

“Wow, this is what you’re wearing.”

This time the ball hits the corner of the knee. Perhaps because he was a foreign pitcher, it was surprising to see balls like this come out one by one every now and then.

‘Well, if I could keep throwing balls like this, I would have stayed in the majors.’

One ball, one strike. What choice will Silla’s battery make here?

‘It’s a curve. ‘Falling outward.’

‘okay.’

Battery selection is a curve. It seemed like a standard idea to show two balls inside the body and then induce a missed swing with an outward curve.

When throwing a pitch that is usually out of the zone, most pitchers try to throw it close to the strike zone. The batter wasn’t stupid either, so he wouldn’t swing the bat if it was too far from the strike zone. Then, the pitcher will end up missing a poor ball count.

In other words, even if you throw a missed ball, it is natural to hit it as close to the zone as possible to deceive the batter, and Thompson naturally threw the ball as close to the strike zone as possible.

Sigh!

The curve, which had a lot of rotation, met the bat and rose high. However, the moment I was hit by the bat, I felt the slight tip of the bat hitting me.

‘It’s a bit thinner than I thought… . ‘Wouldn’t it be okay to write?’

Although they have reached first base, the runners are still waiting. It was an ambiguous hit as to whether it was a home run or not. Moreover, because it was a spacious Jamsil, it was even more difficult to distinguish.

“oh!”

-Wow!!!

-Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maengho! Ji Maengho!

‘Phew, I went a little overboard. ‘This stadium is too far.’

“nice! Hey tiger! it was good.”

“thank you.”

Well, since I didn’t do anything difficult, I calmly circled the diamond while receiving congratulations from my coach. The score is now 3:2. It would be nice if Jansen worked up a bit. Strangely, even though I hit a come-from-behind home run, I feel more worried than happy.

‘Hey, can’t you even get a quality start?’

*

[ah! Jansen falls! Jansen gave up 6 runs in 4 innings. Director Sands also shakes his head. The pitching coach goes up to the mound with the ball. That’s all for Jansen today. 6 runs allowed in 3.1 innings. For a foreign pitcher, this is a bit of a disappointing performance.]

[hmm… . Director Sands also looks dissatisfied. In the bottom of the third inning, Ji Maeng-ho hit a three-run hit to turn things around. The manager must be upset because the starting pitcher gave up 4 runs. Even though the bases are loaded, the team’s ace cannot be put down in just four innings.]

‘under… . AT should win.’

Joo Ji-ah let out a strong sigh as she listened to the broadcast through her earphones. It’s already been four days since I haven’t seen Ji Maeng-ho. It was clear that he was intentionally avoiding himself.

Since it was an away game starting Tuesday, let’s say we won’t be able to meet. I thought you would meet me today, Friday. Because he is Joo Seung-cheol’s younger brother, he sent a message saying he had something important to say. But Ji Maeng-ho’s answer was rejection.

‘I’m sure you were disappointed when you found out that your brother took drugs. So, I guess he won’t meet me as his younger brother.’

Ji Maeng-ho was avoiding himself, even telling a ridiculous lie that he couldn’t meet him because his team had lost three games in a row and he had to go to work early.

‘Is there any club in the world that breaks the routine and lets you go to work early just because you have lost in a row? And that too, the day after I returned from my expedition.’

Usually, when I return to Seoul after an away game, it is around 1 or 2 in the morning. In a way, it was natural to give players who returned from an away trip a rest the next morning.

Moreover, Jujia knew that during weekday games, people go to work around 1 or 2 pm. Therefore, I contacted him to ask him to meet at a reasonable time around lunch, but Ji Maeng-ho refused the meeting, saying he had to go to work.

Jujia was rooting for the AT Thunders because even if she thought about it even a little, she could tell that people were avoiding her.

Praying that his team would win and Ji Maeng-ho’s mood would ease a little. Joo Ji-ah, whose father and older brother are baseball players, knew that when players win a game, they feel good enough to overlook minor mistakes.

The only way to break through the impenetrable guard of Ji Maeng-ho, a pure baseball youth, is to attack when he is in a good mood after winning!

And if AT won the game today, I planned to meet Ji Maeng-ho in person.

‘So, try to win. You baseball idiots!’

Even though it was 6-3, it was still the top of the 4th inning. There was ample possibility of a reversal.

*

‘The way I see it, this team must be possessed by a ghost. Or, like this, every time I hit a home run, I can give up a run in the next inning?’

Otherwise it couldn’t be like this. In the opening game against Hancheol, as soon as I hit a home run, Lee Yong-gi hit a home run and gave up a run, and in the game against Hyunseong, as soon as I hit a home run, the pitcher was hit hard.

And today. As soon as he hit a come-from-behind three-run hit, Janson hit a grand slam and was punished. Unless he was possessed by a ghost, this couldn’t have happened every time he hit a home run.

‘Soyoung should have held a ritual in Jamsil instead of buying free agency… .’

This team hasn’t been able to go to a fall baseball game for 20 years. It was a situation that I couldn’t understand unless I was possessed by a ghost. It’s not like you have to win for 20 years, you just have to be average. You can’t do that? There was definitely a ghost in Jamsil Mound. It’s also a very terrible ghost.

‘Mr. Rossby. Please speak quickly. ‘There must be a ghost here, right?’

‘I said there isn’t one. You crazy bastard. Stop whining. ‘Why are you blaming ghosts when you can’t just handle it?’

No, there are ghosts. There had to be. Because this was a supernatural phenomenon.

‘Hahaha. okay. It’s because of ghosts. The reason why I give up a run every time I hit a home run, and the fact that AT hasn’t been able to go to the postseason for 20 years. It’s been almost 30 years since we won the championship. It’s all the ghost’s fault.’

‘Tsk, I’ve completely turned around.’

As I was smiling and realizing the identity of what was blocking AT’s victory, I made eye contact with shortstop Kang Hee-seok. Kang Hee-seok is the one who made the mistake that resulted in the worst result, a grand slam. The average shortstop fumbled a ground ball and was unable to handle a hit that would have been a double play.

“Hey, what are you laughing at? Do you like it when your team loses?”

“Is that the smiling statue?”

‘And don’t make a mistake. ‘You bitch.’

I swallowed the words that I would have said out loud before. I also noticed the quiet third baseman standing at third base looking at us.

‘Ha, I’m so nice too.’

But even if he didn’t say anything, there was no doubt that this bastard was possessed by a terrible ghost that was blocking AT’s victory. If this guy hadn’t made an error, he would have been able to finish the inning with a double play and my come-from-behind home run wouldn’t have faded.

Kang Hee-seok, unless this guy was possessed by a ghost, there was no way he would make a mistake on that easy ball.

“under… . Anyway, take care of your facial expressions. “It’s not nice to see you smiling when you’re losing.”

Kang Hee-seok shook his head. I’m the one who really wants to shake my head. Now that I think about it, Kang Hee-seok seemed to be breaking the rhythm of the batting lineup.

Including me, a .500 hitter, and Ki Ki-joo, who is hitting .400. Kim Su-ho and Woo Kwan-hyung are in the mid to late .300 mark. Boer and Kim Joo-yeop in the early 300s. Even Choi Jin-cheol, who is in the mid-.200 mark, has already hit two home runs. Since Jeong Yun-cheol was a catcher, there was no reason for the batting line to be cut off.

However, strangely enough, the batting line was slow and the number of RBIs as recorded was not high. And at the center of it all was Kang Hee-seok, who had a batting average in the low .200s.

‘Was this kid the culprit?’

I’ll have to tell Soyoung later and get rid of it. If I told you that I was possessed by a ghost, you would surely believe me, right? It was clear that if Soyoung used her power, she would be able to get rid of this ghost that was blocking AT’s victory.

‘Hehe, you must be really crazy. ‘There is no such thing as a ghost.’

‘What can I do! ‘Whether there is a ghost or not, there’s no need for an old kid who can’t play defense or hit to be the starter!’

‘What did this bastard eat wrong?’

‘why?!’

‘Uncharacteristically, you got to the point well. ‘You didn’t get hit on the head by that bastard earlier, did you?’

Although the honey chestnut of the weather was painful, it wasn’t to the point where I was going out of my mind. My mind is now better than ever. And with a clear mind, I was certain of one thing.

First of all, there are too many unnecessary guys on this team.