episode_0310

“Is the meat position closer than usual?”

“Yes.”

“It’s a 1-0 count, so are they going to walk you intentionally?”

“That seems to be the case. I heard it.”

Just before stepping into the batter’s box, it seemed like Rossby overheard what was being discussed on the mound.

“Intentional walk with bases loaded, that’s unbelievable.”

“Well, it’s not unheard of.”

Although I only caught bits and pieces, this situation took me by surprise, but I quickly confirmed my defensive positioning as I had anticipated it to some extent. The outfielders were shifted to the left just as they usually do against me, and first baseman Gu Jinmo stood with his arms crossed, watching over my batter’s box.

“If even Gu Jinmo is in that state, then concentration must have been scattered, right?”

It was inevitable since I had been getting walks throughout the series; it was natural for fielders’ concentration to scatter when I stepped up to bat.

“If you send it that way, it’s definitely a hit!”

And with the pitch thrown,

“Here it comes!”

I extended my arm straight out, aligning the bat’s end with the trajectory of the ball successfully.

Thunk!

Due to a disrupted balance, the hit lacked the usual power, but the direction was spot on.

“Huh? Huh!”

Gu Jinmo, who had his arms crossed, attempted to jump and catch the ball, but the weakly hit ball struck his glove and started rolling along the foul line. In the meantime, I touched first base and sprinted to second base.

-Wow!!!

-Jimaengho! Jimaengho! Jimaengho!

“The runner?”

“One has scored for now. The runner on second is heading home.”

Third base runner Kim Juyeop seemed to have already touched home plate, and the former second base runner, Kim Suho, appeared to be running towards home. Glancing towards the right fielder while running to second base, it seemed there was still some distance to go before catching the ball.

“If it’s that far…?”

The third base coach seemed to share my thoughts, as he signaled the leadoff runner, Kisangju, to keep running, and I, too, received the sign to run to third base.

-Wow!!!

-Run! Run!

Once again, cheers echoed as it seemed the runner from second base had made it home. That’s two runs. Without time to confirm the ball’s location, I slid into third base, but I couldn’t feel the ball in the glove.

“It’s a home game!”

I quickly got up and looked towards home plate. Baek Gyeongho poised and Kisangju sliding into home. The broadcasted ball entered Baek Gyeongho’s mitt, and as Kisangju and Baek Gyeongho collided, both players tumbled at home plate.

“Please, please!”

With an earnest heart, I gazed at home plate, but Baek Gyeongho flashed the mitt, showing the ball inside.

“…Out!”

After a slight delay, the umpire declared the out.

-Wow!!!

This time, cheers came from the third base side.

“Darn it.”

While Kisangju was slow, it was mostly due to Choi Jaehyun’s exceptional defense. In that situation, with a glimmer of hope, Coach Lee Soohyun requested a video review.

“Maengho! How did you hit that?! Did you really bet on bases loaded?”

In the midst of the excitement, the fired-up third base coach approached me. Even the third base coach seemed delighted by my timely hit after a long time.

“Well, it was closer than usual, but whether they intended to walk me, I’m not sure.”

I wanted to answer the coach’s question truthfully, but with the third baseman listening in, I vaguely asked Rossby if there was a chance for a reversal in the decision.

“How do you see it, Rossby?”

“If it’s that timing, it’s an out.”

“…As expected, right?”

The distance from first to home was considerable, so scoring like Kisangju did was indeed challenging, and the umpire, who had recently put on a headset for video review, promptly declared him out.

-Choi Jaehyun! Choi Jaehyun! Choi Jaehyun!

In Jamsil Stadium, there was nothing as annoying as hearing the opposing player’s name call echoing, but that was matched by Choi Jaehyun’s remarkable defense.

‘How did he manage to dive all the way there and make a sacrifice play in one go? Still, is this worth two points?’

With a triple, one out count, and two RBIs. The outcome wasn’t that bad.

‘If Junhyung-hyung keeps up his form today, he might give us a quality start, but it would be nice if we could score just one more point…’

Now at bat was Choi Jincheol. And as Lee Seokgyun stepped down from the mound, a new pitcher took the field.

– Yoon Junghwan! Yoon Junghwan! Yoon Junghwan!

And UG’s fans began chanting the newly changed pitcher’s name.

‘Will that guy over there be able to hit Senior Jincheol’s pitch?’

Although he had repaid his debt, hitting Yoon Junghwan’s pitches was indeed challenging, making this match look quite tough. With Choi Jincheol and Yoon Junghwan’s Korean Series showdown resulting in 2 at-bats with no hits, and the out count full, scoring seemed difficult.

‘Please, Senior Jincheol!’

Along with my prayer towards Choi Jincheol, Yoon Junghwan threw his first pitch.

Thwack!

Aiming for the first pitch, Choi Jincheol swung his bat. Since it was two outs, while he didn’t even look at the hit, he started running home, causing Jamsil to once again echo with cheers. And the origin of that sound was towards the first base.

-Wow!!

-Choi Jincheol! Choi Jincheol! Choi Jincheol!

‘Damn it! That’s it!’

Choi Jincheol successfully tackled the changed pitcher’s first pitch. His hit pierced between the third baseman and left fielder, successfully stepping on home plate before the left fielder could catch the ball.

“Great!”

“Hyung, you nailed it, right?”

“Wait for it.”

As I exchanged high-fives with the on-deck batter Yoon Sungtae and headed back to the dugout, my teammates began welcoming me enthusiastically.

“Mangho! Great triple!”

“Ji Mangho! We believed in you!”

The affectionate banter of teammates felt refreshing after not experiencing it during the Korean Series, so even getting helmet taps felt good.

“Mangho, here, you worked hard running to third. Have a sip of this.”

“Thank you.”

‘Ah, this is baseball.’

The drink tasted sweet whenever taken after stepping on home plate.

Thwack!

At that moment, I swiftly turned around at the sound of the hit.

“Out!”

‘Damn, thought it would go easy. Well, that’s baseball.’

Yoon Sungtae touched Yoon Junghwan’s pitch, resulting in a ground ball to second base, concluding our fifth inning offensive. It was a bit disappointing, but we managed to turn the game around, leading by three runs, making it quite a satisfying inning.

‘Phew, thankfully, he pitched close to what I expected. All that practice wasn’t in vain.’

‘It’s fortunate that the bat reached the ball. But we know such opportunities won’t come often, right?’

‘Probably not, right?’

As Ross B said, it did feel like such opportunities wouldn’t come again. While we seized the chance to score while the pitcher was complacent, knowing this was the last Jamsil game and having hit a triple, I was sure they would be more cautious about giving walks.

‘There’s no guarantee such opportunities will come again. We must win today’s game.’

“Alright, it’s cleaning time, so gather around for a moment!”

While pledging to win today’s game, Coach Lee Soohyun called the team together.

“Yes!”

“If we win today, let’s move on to literature. In literature, even without Mangho, we can pass, right? Are you all confident?”

“Of course!”

“Junhyung is pitching well today, and the feeling is good. You all feel it, right? The atmosphere has shifted. Let’s carry this atmosphere into literature. Okay?”

“Got it!”

“If we win today, we’re not just dreaming of victory, right? I believe you all share my sentiments. Then, invincible!”

“AT!”

After shouting the team cheer and finishing the meeting, starting pitcher Park Junhyung, who had pitched two runs until the fifth inning, approached me.

“Maengho.”

“Yes?”

“Do that.”

“What? What all of a sudden.”

“You remember what we did during the playoffs.”

“Oh, the slap?”

Suddenly approaching and asking for that made me think it was a random request, but it seemed like he wanted to absorb my energy. It was a bit disgusting to ask a man to hit him, but having seen many baseball players with various superstitions, Park Junhyung gave him a slap on the cheek as he wished.

Smack!

“Ouch! Damn, that hurts!”

“You asked for it to be hit. Alright, let’s have a good pitch today.”

“Yeah, phew, let’s focus and go.”

‘He pitched well even after getting slapped back then; I hope it’s the same this time.’

With that, Park Junhyung prayed not to give up any more runs and got ready with his glove for the bottom of the 6th inning defense.

*

[If this ball flies high, it’s a three-out! Park Jinhyuk secures AT’s victory! 6-3! Game over!]

“In the end, AT balances the series at Jamsil. Today, AT’s starting pitcher Park Junhyung pitched 6.1 innings, allowing 3 runs, and with Ji Maengho’s 2 RBI timely hit in the 5th inning, the game ended.”

“Now, stay tuned for an interview with today’s MVP, Ji Maengho.”

The intense fourth game of the Korean Series concluded with Ji Maengho’s 2 RBI triple as the winning hit. A valuable victory for the Thunderz from AT as they head into games 5, 6, and 7. The community once again ignited with the victory before heading to Munhak.

– Haha, after dodging so much, they ended up getting hit and losing, right?

ㄴNice one, Maengho.

ㄴNice one, Maengho.

– Can’t dodge with bases loaded, huh? Haha

ㄴNo matter how scary Maengho is, that’s a bit too much, haha

– But it’s a bit disappointing. Wanted to see them dodge even with bases loaded, haha

ㄴEven if they dodge, they probably tried to make it challenging. Maengho’s winning hit seemed to be outside.

– Well… but seeing Maengho hit like this in the end, wasn’t that Moon Gitaek’s fault?

ㄴExactly, he pushed that ball.

ㄴBut anyway, Choi Jincheol didn’t hit either.

– Gotta challenge Yoon Junghwan there, push through him and go for Lee Seokgyun.

ㄴSeems like Lee Seokgyun insisted, but if a pitcher of Lee Seokgyun’s caliber is on, you have to change. Even if I were the coach, I would have gone with it.

ㄴStill, when Koshin looks tough, you should change immediately.

– But there’s definitely a reason they avoided Maengho. Getting a triple there, continuously avoiding, his hitting sense must not be good, impressive.

ㄴEven if it’s this or that, he’s a .400 hitter.

ㄴI used to curse Moon Gitaek too, but watching this game, I understand why they avoid him. I remember he was stronger in scoring positions during the season.

ㄴMaengho’s WPA (Win Probability Added) this season is 14.2, so he was strong in scoring positions.

– Chutae is re-evaluated, haha. Got hit right when it got serious, right?

However, unlike before, fans’ opinions showed quite a bit of understanding towards Moon Gitaek. This was largely due to the impressive performance Maengho displayed in just one opportunity. And thus began Maengho’s interview.

“Player Ji Maengho! Throughout the Korean Series, UG has been avoiding you. How do you feel about this?”

“I understand as well. How else can they stop me? Haha. If they’re scared, they should run away. It’s a bit much to say this, but what else can UG do? I have to understand.”

Maengho’s interview, which seemed to completely look down on the opposing team UG Overlords, combined with the negative sentiments towards AT, who had been causing controversies, led to an increase in support for Moon Gitaek and UG in various communities.

However, from Moon Ki-taek’s perspective, the interview was not necessarily a positive development.

“Director, I can’t continue like this anymore.”

Several players, including Gu Jin-mo, who had initially been against this strategy, visited the coach’s office after watching Ji Maeng-ho’s interview.