episode_0133

-“I will nominate AT Thunders. Gyeongnam Jeil High School, shortstop. Seongtae Yoon.”

When Yoon Seong-tae, who was born in Busan, loved Busan, and started playing baseball while attending Busan’s elite course, heard that word at the draft, the emotions he felt were complex, half mixed with sadness and half betrayal.

As someone who was born in Busan and started playing baseball, he was a pure baseball boy whose dream was to join the Charlotte Blue Mariners. He couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of betrayal that Charlotte didn’t pick him and the sadness of having to leave Busan, which he had grown fond of.

And then came Seoul. Living in Seoul was not as comfortable as I thought. Because I didn’t have a home, I stayed in a dorm and commuted to and from the club, and I didn’t have a few close friends.

However, the AT Thunders were also paying a lot of attention to Yoon Seong-tae, whom they selected in the first round, so the adaptation went smoothly. Seongtae Yoon, who performed quite well in the 2nd team, was promoted to the 1st team in recognition of his punching power, and in his first year of debut, he appeared in 63 games and made his name known to fans and the club by showing a quite good performance with a batting average of 0.238 and 5 home runs.

And in his second year, Yoon Seong-tae, who was selected as the starting player at the beginning of the season, did not have a good batting average, but he was expected to gradually become AT’s shortstop for the next 10 years with a decent defensive ability that could not be considered a rookie and a slugging percentage that produced 7 home runs in 65 games. It was.

However, in the middle of the season, a dispute with a senior reached the club’s leadership, and Yoon Seong-tae was demoted to the second team and joined the Sangmu team.

‘When I think about it now, I was a crazy bastard. How could I stand up to my senior in my second year? Well, it seems like there are people who are weirder than me… .’

Yoon Seong-tae glanced at Ji Maeng-ho, who was watching the game with a stern expression while his legs were shaking on the bench. And I could see that the stern expression on his face was similar to his expression right before he was attacked by his senior in his second year.

Seongtae Yoon was like that at that time. AT Thunders were continuing their losing streak, and the team’s performance was plummeting. It was natural that the rookie player’s mentality would be broken by the team’s continuous losses, and Yoon Seong-tae, who was blunt as a Busan man, did not know how to talk back.

‘That bastard, isn’t he going to cause trouble like that?’

Although it was a bit rude, it was still fun in its own way, and Yoon Seong-tae, who was worried about his junior who had been hanging out with him all winter, soon shook his head.

‘Hey, who do I have to worry about?’

Ji Maeng-ho is the starter, and he is on the bench, even as a pinch hitter when the game is decided. Fortunately, Coach Sands was not in the team at the time of the discord, so he was brought to the 1st team, but with these results, it would not be strange if he was sent down to the 2nd team at any time.

‘under… . I don’t think I’ll be wasting my time in the 2nd team again like this… .’

When Seongtae Yoon was worried about his future, the hitting coach approached him.

“Seongtae.”

“Yes, coach.”

“Hee-seok is a pinch hitter at bat. “You can do it.”

“Just leave it to me.”

“Damn, confidence is good. “Go show it to me.”

“All right.”

‘nice! Yes, I’m better than Senior Heul.’

Seongtae Yoon was inwardly delighted. These days, I’ve been playing as a pinch hitter, so I’ve lost my sense of the game, but I felt like I had at least some batting sense because I was special hitting with Ki Ki-ju.

‘Okay, let’s show it this time and move up to the starting lineup!’

Calming his trembling heart, Seongtae Yoon picked up the bat.

The opponent on the mound is Ryu Tae-hyun, closer for the Shilla Triggers. Although he was pushed out of the bullpen for the national team by Ko Young-hwan, Ryu Tae-hyun was still one of Korea’s best closers. I was a little scared when I saw Ryu Tae-hyun like that, but I quickly tried to get my mind together.

‘In the last game, I got struck out by Go Young-hwan… . Ryu Tae-hyun is similar to Go Young-hwan, but Ryu Tae-hyun’s speed is a little faster. So should I swing the bat faster than before? Or are you aiming for a forkball?’

However, Ryu Tae-hyun’s forkball returns Han Sang-gyu to shortstop with a ground ball.

‘Fuck, isn’t it a foul to throw a forkball like that while throwing a ball over 150?’

“Pinch! Seongtae Yoon!”

And your name being called. When you feel like your hair is turning gray, pop! And I felt a strong impact on my buttocks.

“damn! who is this?!”

“Why is it so frozen? “Were you scared?”

An awkward dialect with a mix of Busan and Seoul accents. Seongtae Yoon’s speaking style, which he considers to be perfect Seoul dialect. Ji Maeng-ho, imitating the accent even more awkwardly, was standing behind Yoon Seong-tae.

“I’m scared, damn it.”

“Hey, I think it’s pretty.”

“Turn it off. “Are you crazy, kid?”

Kick your senior’s ass? No, regardless of whether you are a senior or a junior, you kick the ass of a player who is about to enter the field. A real idiot. Where on earth did this kid learn to play baseball? middle School… , no. I guess it ended up like this because I didn’t learn well from elementary school, right? Hehe, I wouldn’t have been able to do something like this if I had learned baseball in Busan.

‘As expected, Seoul’s son is strange.’

When Yoon Seong-tae was thinking that, Ji Maeng-ho, who was looking at Yoon Seong-tae, smiled.

‘What is this guy? Wow, laughing and damn it… .’

“It looks better than before.”

“what?”

“Then go ahead and hit him.”

“Ha, indeed. “If anyone sees it, they’ll think you’re a coach.”

‘So, were you trying to relieve tension? To the extent that Saeparan’s junior knows? Seongtae Yoon is dead.’

Ji Maeng-ho’s kick was definitely effective, and I felt less nervous than before, and all my random thoughts disappeared. Crazy bastard. So you kicked your senior’s ass… .

Seongtae Yun was so dumbfounded that he let out a laugh and then walked to the plate. Ryu Tae-hyun, standing on the mound, looked smaller than before.

‘Yeah, fuck. Is there anything special? ‘We’re all good baseball players.’

Bottom of the 9th inning, one out. Ryu Tae-hyun started the windup by raising his long legs.

[Ryu Tae-hyun throws the first pitch against Yoon Seong-tae. 155km/h. The first pitch is a strike.]

[Ryu Tae-hyun’s ball is good. Usually, players’ form drops when they come from international competitions, but Ryu Tae-hyun doesn’t seem to have anything like that, right?]

[The battery signs again. Fast tempo, second ball! cheek. This time it’s a forkball.]

[Yoon Seong-tae endures this. Usually, young players are often fooled by Ryu Tae-hyun’s forkball, but Yoon Seong-tae. The pioneering idea is good.]

[Actually, when Seongtae Yoon joined the Sangmu team, there were a lot of confused fans, right? Seongtae Yoon also performed well for two years. However, this is the player who made fans expect more by winning the home run title in Sangmu.]

[Seongtae Yoon, his defense is quite good and he also has punching power. There were many reviews saying that contact was lacking, but it feels like you improved on the contact aspect after serving in the military, right? I think enlisting was a good choice.]

[The third ball follows. Deep inside the body. The count is two balls and one strike.]

‘The ball is bloody… .’

But even if you get your mind together, Ryu Tae-hyun is still Ryu Tae-hyun.

“time!”

Moreover, I couldn’t keep my mind off the ball being thrown at a fast tempo. Seongtae Yoon, who called the time to bring the timing to his side, turned his attention to AT’s dugout, pretending to watch the operation. Then, he made eye contact with a junior who was leaning on the railing and looking at him.

‘Are you scared?’

‘Ha, you crazy bastard.’

The shape of his mouth as if he were laughing at the fact that he couldn’t even hit the bat. The shape of that mouth stimulated Seongtae Yoon’s heart.

‘Okay, I’ll give it a try.’

Just time the fastball and swing it. No matter what the outcome was, I wanted to prove to Ji Maeng-ho that I was not scared.

[Ryu Tae-hyun prepares for the fourth ball. They exchange autographs and nod their heads. Ryu Tae-hyun’s fourth ball!]

Ta – evil!

As I swung the bat after erasing all my thoughts, it coincidentally hit the fourth ball thrown by Ryu Tae-hyun. The sound of the shot was quite beautiful, and the ball flew in an even more beautiful arc.

[Yun Seong-tae catches it! This batted ball! This batted ball! Direct hit on the fence! Seongtae Yoon reaches second base! Three leaves at second base!]

[oh! It was a good hit. You pulled it right!]

“Aaaah!”

[Haha, Seongtae Yoon raises his arms and roars. And he gestures to the dugout. Is this related to what Seongtae Yoon was talking about with Maengho Ji before he went to bat?]

[Well, probably so. I’ll have to hear more details. ha ha ha.]

[Now, the runner is in scoring position. If this runner comes in, the score is 1 point, and if it is a home run, the score is tied! The next batter is center fielder Kim Joo-yeop.]

[This at bat is quite important. Now, the national team lineup consisting of Ji Maeng-ho, Kim Su-ho, and Gi Ki-joo is coming out, right? From Shinra Triggers’ point of view, he must be caught as an out.]

And then Kim Joo-yeop’s at-bat.

[Kim Joo-yeop, close to the plate. He is not afraid of the ball near his body at all. ah! Kim Joo-yeop appeals that the first pitch grazed his uniform! Both the catcher and pitcher look at the umpire. … result! A ball that fits your body! Sand dunes are recognized!]

That’s the situation with one out and runners on first and second base. Ji Maeng-ho came to bat.

*

‘I threw a fastball to Seongtae Yoon and hit a double, and I threw a fastball toward Jooyeop Kim and hit a dead ball. Should we aim for a forkball?’

‘Hehe, you know how to move your head quite a bit now, right?’

‘I just have a general feeling, okay. Ryu Tae-hyun, that person doesn’t seem to have control over his fastball today?’

If he couldn’t control his fastball, he would naturally bet everything on his final pitch. He’s probably thinking of throwing a fastball high to dazzle the eye and then throwing a forkball to get a swing and miss.

‘The first pitch is a fastball. High fastball.’

‘also!’

The pleasure you feel when the scenario fits perfectly. A mental pleasure that is different from sex satisfies me.

‘I’ll skip the first pitch.’

Anyway, even if I hit a high fastball, my swing mechanism doesn’t produce a good hit. If it wasn’t Jamsil, I would have tried my best to overcome it, but this is Jamsil. It was better not to take unnecessary risks. And the first pitch was thrown.

“strike!”

‘It looks like he’s really out of control.’

The highly requested first pitch came right in the middle of the strike zone. Although I lost a count, it was better because I knew I couldn’t control the ball.

‘Mr. Rossby, please tell me only the type of fastball pitch.’

If you listen to the course of a pitcher who has such poor control, it can be confusing. If I knew the pitches, the course would be enough to show off my abilities, so I boldly asked Rossby to just pitch the pitches.

‘It’s a high fastball again.’

‘okay.’

I guess you want to deceive my eyes somehow. However, since it was a ball that I didn’t know where it would bounce, I had no intention of swinging the bat even if the count was high.

“cheek.”

‘I threw it properly this time.’

‘Fastball.’

‘hmm… . Does this mean you’re going to somehow get two strikes and throw a forkball?’

I want to hit the forkball faster than the uncertain fastball… . I’ll have to swing it once.

Whoa!

The bat passes through the cool wind and the umpire shouts a strike call. High fastball again this time. I was satisfied with my swing, which seemed to be aimed at a fastball.

‘If this is enough, you’ll think I’m being deceived, right?’

‘It’s here, it’s a forkball.’

‘Okay, I was waiting.’

Balls that fall are picked up, and balls that fall further are filtered out. Battery has been given the idea that he is aiming for a fastball, so he will probably throw it as similar as possible… . If the forkball doesn’t fall, let’s coolly pass it to Kim Su-ho and leave.

I braced myself and glared at the pitcher. Ryu Tae-hyun’s expression was a poker face that did not change at all even in times of crisis. Then the fourth ball was thrown.

‘This is it!’

He swung the bat like lightning at the trajectory of the forkball that seemed like a dream.

Ta – evil!

The batted ball rose up against gravity, making a pleasant sound every time I heard it. And my bat also falls to the ground in a beautiful arch.

-Aaaah!

“nice!”

“It’s up!”

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

At this level, I don’t have to appreciate batted balls any more. I raised my fist and calmly stepped on the base where AT fans were gathered.

‘Hehehe, if I’m too happy here, I’ll look like a piece of shit, right?’

In fact, my heart was pounding so hard that it felt like my ears were deafening, but I thought it would look like I wasn’t there if I showed I was too happy, so I tried to control myself as much as I could and kept walking.

Players can be seen running out of the dugout with drinks and water. After all, I have to take care of this unresponsive club.

‘okay! Praise! You bastards! Hehehehehe’

Enjoying the feeling of hitting a walk-off home run for the first time in a long time, I slowly and calmly circled the bases.