episode_0239

‘This guy is so upset after hitting a home run.’

The starting pitcher had a grim expression on his face, so I tried to comfort him, but this isn’t any school. I couldn’t help but feel annoyed. Still, I felt a little sorry for making a mistake, so I comforted him, but I can’t believe a pitcher was punishing himself like this.

‘Well, pitchers these days are weak.’

‘The guy who made a mistake is alive.’

‘I can earn that for you. And how many times have I paid for the lakeside expenses so far?’

That’s why I was confident. What’s the big deal about making one mistake?

“Although we lost three points in the first inning, we are fully capable of turning things around. Joo-yeop. “Are you ready?”

“yes.”

“okay. “Go and harass the other person.”

After hearing manager Lee Soo-hyun’s words, No. 1 hitter Kim Joo-yeop packs up his bat with a solemn expression and heads to the plate. A familiar but missed sight. Seeing that scene made me realize that I was back in Jamsil. When you were defending earlier, did it feel like something was floating? So it seemed like I made a mistake.

‘After all, in baseball, you have to swing the bat.’

While looking at Kim Joo-yeop’s back, I also tried holding my bat. I continued to swing the bat during the break, but the feel of the bat I touched during the game was different from the one I held during training.

Perfect!

The sound of Kim Joo-yeop’s batting ball rings out just in time. Kim Joo-yeop hit a ball from JT’s starter Joe Kennett and succeeded in getting on base.

“Good start!”

“Kim Joo-yeop is cool!”

The vitality of the dugout can be felt just by getting on base. Such vitality showed no signs of cooling down even though Kim Soo-ho failed to reach base.

“Senior, how about the ball?”

On the way to the waiting box, I caught Kim Su-ho, who was coming back from an outfield fly, and asked him about Kennett’s condition.

“The ball is heavy. “Maybe it’s because it’s getting warmer, but it seems a lot better than the last time we met.”

“Okay, check.”

After a long Q&A with Kim Su-ho, I went to bat. As Kim Soo-ho said, Kennett’s ball, seen from the standby at-bat, felt heavy.

‘Is this because he’s a mercenary? I’m looking forward to it.’

Kennet is not currently dominating the league, but a mercenary is still a mercenary. I had no intention of letting my guard down in my first at-bat after my return, so I recalled the information I heard about Kennett during the pre-game meeting.

‘The restraint is in the early 150s. Last time we met, he was in the mid to upper 140s, but it felt like he went up because it was summer, and his deciding pitch was a changeup… , you won’t throw a changeup against me. Leave this behind. Then what should I be careful about is the high-speed slider?’

Kennett’s slider was in the 140 km/h range, so it was worth paying attention to. The slider usually thrown by Korean pitchers is formed at a speed of 130 km/h, but the speed is as fast as 10 km/h. First of all, I decided to skip the slider to make sure my batting sense had improved enough to use it in practice. No matter how much I swung the bat alone and trained with Rossby in my imagination, the sense of actual practice was another matter.

‘I don’t want the timing to get messed up for no reason, so let’s start with a fastball.’

As I was carefully examining Kennett’s pitch, the weather warning bat flashed.

Perfect!

A hit that goes right through the first and second basemen. Due to the high speed of the batted ball, first base runner Kim Joo-yeop stopped at second base. One out, first and second base situation.

“Hello. It’s perfect for a return at-bat. Yes?”

As you go to bat, say hello to the catcher and umpire.

“Don’t talk to me.”

JT’s starting catcher reacted coldly to my words despite my warm greeting. Of course, the reaction was not strange. It’s been a while since the catchers reacted coldly to what I said.

“Hey, let’s talk for a bit. Still, it’s work, so I talk to my colleagues. “It’s good, right?”

“Did a bastard like that break the pitcher’s chin? “I heard he couldn’t even chew rice until a week ago.”

“Oh yeah? “This is my first time knowing that.”

Although I’ve seen bench clearing a lot, I’ve never seen a follow-up article, and I haven’t been interviewed by reporters due to Soyoung’s strict orders, so this was my first time hearing about it today.

‘Oh, now that I think about it, I think Wonho said something similar.’

That day, Wonho contacted me and said that my senior had been taken to the hospital. I didn’t pay attention to the call because it was from one of my daughters, but now that I think about it, I think the senior who was taken away was Lee Chang-jun.

“I heard that Donghyun’s arm ligaments have stretched.”

“Who is Donghyun?”

“Donghyun, don’t you know? Silla catcher. “The one you blew away.”

“Oh yeah? “I don’t remember players who don’t have any special features.”

“… “Do you know my name?”

“… “I focus on the game.”

Since I had no hobby of memorizing men’s names, I tended to forget about my opponents after the game, unless they were memorable players. It’s not that I’m stupid and can’t remember.

“… … .”

“… … .”

‘It’s a slider.’

‘yes.’

The first pitch is a slider. I decided to skip it, so I watched Kennett’s first pitch.

“cheek.”

‘The ball is good. Well, I’m not the type to say anything without Suho senior.’

Kennett’s pitch was quite good, as Kim Soo-ho’s words may not have been a false statement made out of shame that he retired after a bad hit.

‘Slider again.’

After the outer slider, it was a slider again… .

“Strike~!”

This time, Kennett’s slider goes low towards the body. As I watched the slider come twice in a row, I started to get used to his slider.

‘Should I just hit it?’

‘It’s a fastball.’

‘As expected, I’m not throwing a slider again.’

‘No fool would throw the same ball to the same batter three times in a row. Hehe.’

‘I guess so.’

As soon as the conversation with Rossby ended, Kennett took up a set position. He took a deep breath and threw a four-seamer. I swung the bat according to his speed.

Ta – evil!

‘done!’

A taste I haven’t felt in a long time. The batted ball began to fly through the sky of Jamsil Stadium.

‘It’ll be hard to catch, and you’ll have to decide whether to let it go or not.’

“run! run!”

First base runner Ki Ki-ju and second base runner Kim Joo-yeop were already running toward home, and I also picked up my speed.

‘Where’s the ball?’

‘The left fielder is about to catch it.’

When I asked Rossby a question to determine whether he was sliding by the time he got to second base, the answer came back that the left fielder was about to catch it. When I first tasted it, I thought it would pass, but I was a little disappointed. But now the left fielder has caught it. I quickly calculated the distance.

‘If this happens… ‘Run to third base?’

‘I see.’

Seeing that Rossby’s answer was vague, I thought it might be unreasonable. However, it was disappointing that his first at-bat on his return ended with a double.

‘Just run!’

As I stepped on second base, I immediately increased my speed. Even taking the time to check batted balls is a luxury. Anyway, when the time came, Rossby would tell me the sliding direction, so I trusted Rossby and ran to third base.

“hey! What are you doing! go back!”

The third base coach made urgent gestures to stop me, but it was already too late. JT’s third baseman bent his knees to catch the ball, and I almost reached third base as well.

‘to the left!’

At Rossby’s words, I stretched out my feet towards the left side of the base. At the same time, the third baseman’s glove, which was facing left field, turned toward me. And almost as soon as my foot touched the base, his glove hit my thigh.

‘Useup, is it out?’

I stepped on the base and stood up to wait for the third base umpire’s decision, but there was silence on the field for a few seconds.

“… Safe!”

And the following safety declaration.

“nice! This is it!”

I looked straight toward first base and stretched out my fist. The cheers of the crowd accompanied by my hand gestures. It tastes just like this!

“Good, Meng Hao!”

“It was close, wasn’t it?”

“It would be nice if you left out the criticism, but it looks like you’re not using it.”

“Iknow, right.”

Since it was almost the same time, I thought the third baseman might request a video review, but JT’s third baseman did not specifically request a video review. It seems that the person playing defense probably had something to say.

“Well, it’s nice that it doesn’t take up too much time.”

Even with my senses, it felt like my foot touched first, so the choice of third baseman was a pretty good decision.

“Meng Hao, stay relaxed. “You can come in at any time.”

“All right.”

1 out, 3rd base. Perfect situation to score points. The batter there was Choi Jin-cheol. As long as it is not a strikeout, a pitcher’s ground ball, or a clumsy ball such as an infield fly, he or she can come in. Perhaps because JT’s bench was at the end of the first inning, it didn’t feel like he was playing forward defense.

and,

Perfect!

Choi Jin-cheol did not disappoint and launched the ball into the sky. Choi Jin-cheol’s batted ball flew for quite a while and entered the center fielder’s glove. I leisurely hit the groove while watching the ball.

“Nice fly.”

I handed the bat I picked up at home to Choi Jin-cheol and spoke to him. Choi Jin-cheol’s expression as he received the bat looked quite satisfied.

“The base running was good.”

“I trusted my senior and ran. lol.”

“Damn, that’s funny. By the way, how did you feel before returning?”

“Is it good? “If it weren’t for Jamsil, I guess you would have passed over anyway?”

“That’s what’s annoying about Jamsil.”

Choi Jin-cheol’s words feel sincere. Well, Choi Jin-cheol also had a hard time in Jamsil, so I could understand his feelings. There may be many factors as to why Choi Jin-cheol struggled in Jamsil before reaching his prime, but then moved to Gwangju and exploded with potential, but it was clear that there must have been psychological pressure felt when looking at the fence from Jamsil’s batter’s box. The fence seen from Jamsil’s batter’s box was too far away to be burdensome.

To be honest, I was feeling like Jamsil was a bit annoying these days. One of the reasons why I shook my fist at Lee Chang-jun without hesitation was because it was a Jamsil game. I felt like asking Soyoung to pull up the fence.

“Still, when you look at the fans, this place is like no other. “Isn’t that right?”

Before entering the dugout, Choi Jin-cheol speaks while looking at the packed crowd of fans.

“Yes, of course.”

And I agreed with that. When you see the fans wearing striped uniforms filling Jamsil, the irritation caused by the fence being so far away is bound to melt away like snow.

‘Well, it’s like 1~2m. I can hit it farther.’

“Baby, you’re already an AT man.”

“Unlike others, I am a pure-blooded AT man.”

“A guy who hasn’t even been around for a year… . bastard. “I was an AT player even before you entered elementary school.”

“But you went to another club.”

“This bastard doesn’t say a word. Hey, you come to work!”

I ran quickly and entered the dugout, avoiding Choi Jin-cheol’s hand.