episode_0422

No runners on second base. The defense had retreated. At a time like this…

“Block it!”

He swings the bat. Just before throwing the ball from his hand, Cha Jae-hyun, with a bewildered expression, and the infielders running towards him. Smirking at the scrambling guys, he swung the bat.

“Ball.”

“You’ve lost your nerve, Hyung. It was an easy pitch. Can’t you even tell that?”

Whether Cha Jae-hyun took the ball or whether Yi Yong-gi took off his mitt at that moment, scratching the catcher was always a pleasure.

“…Is he still alive?”

The rustling sound reaches here. Ugh… That’s two balls. The count is now in my favor enough.

“He wouldn’t want to give a free pass, right? He’ll definitely throw it here…”

Although Yi Yong-gi might demand another ball here, Cha Jae-hyun doesn’t have the finesse to lick the borderline. So, it’s either a definite ball or a definite strike. If luck favors and the pitch hits the borderline,

“I’ll take a strike then.”

Preparing to swing for a strike, the ball came too close to his body. Quickly stepping back, he looks at Yi Yong-gi.

“Ball.”

“Oh, Hyung! A non-strike, really? Let’s play fair?”

“Hey! It didn’t even come close to your body. Stop exaggerating.”

“The catcher’s right. I may have flinched, but it wasn’t that bad.”

…Was it not? Perhaps considering unforeseen circumstances, the umpire leans towards Yi Yong-gi.

“I’ll keep an eye on it. For real.”

Though it’s two outs, the next batter is Kim Soo-ho who hit a timely hit. Getting me on base means sending me to third base. This time, it’s definitely coming in.

“What will it be? Fastball? Slider? Maybe not a curve or changeup? Definitely not a curve. Yi Yong-gi can’t throw a curve; he’s more of a fastball guy. While Yi Yong-gi likes trickery, the catcher doesn’t completely ignore data.”

In the end, the conclusion remains the same. Either a fastball or a slider. In a three-ball situation, there was a high chance of me being walked due to Yi Yong-gi thinking I’d watch it go by carelessly. A strike could also come naturally in this flow.

“Considering the slider’s control, it’s likely a fastball…”

What pitch will he throw? Was it so difficult to predict the pitch type? There was no answer. Hence, aiming for the most conventional method, the fastball, was decided. Even if it resulted in a whiff, the count was still in my favor.

“Come on in.”

Cha Jae-hyun’s windup. Despite facing him three times today and practicing against his pitching form discreetly from the dugout, his unique pitching style seemed familiar. Showing his back entirely, for a moment, his arm swings.

“…Oh, a knuckleball?”

The moment I recognized the trajectory of the ball from his hand as a knuckleball, my bat instinctively turned.

Thunk – Crack!

My bat’s trajectory precisely meets the fastball hitting the sweet spot. There was no need to confirm where the hit ended up.

“Haah….”

Yi Yong-gi’s sigh from behind and Cha Jae-hyun shaking his head in front of me. After casually tossing the bat, he speaks.

“Yong-gi, I’m still alive.”

“…Get to first base quickly.”

“Yes. Hehe.”

“Ah, damn.”

—

– Ji Maeng-ho’s 37th season home run! But the team faces defeat!

The Volcano Falcons narrow the gap to 1.5 games with a victory over the AT Thunders. …In the top of the 5th inning, Ji Maeng-ho’s solo home run puts the AT Thunders ahead 3-1, but in the bottom of the 5th, the Volcano’s lineup ignites, tying the game. With the pitcher change to Han Sang-hyun, they bring all the inherited runners home, tipping the scales. On that day, Cha Jae-hyun pitched 7 innings, allowing 3 runs…

On the other hand, Ji Maeng-ho’s splendid home sliding in the third inning also elicited admiration from the fans.

– Let’s do well tomorrow, guys.

– Let’s go for first place!!!

– Ah, I’m nervous. We’re not going to drop again, are we?

– Still, it’s a relief that Maeng-ho, our god of hitting, managed to hit a home run.

– Seriously, the game was boring, but it’s fortunate we salvaged one.

– But is Maeng-ho okay? How is he so unscathed?

– Haha, he’s just a tough beast.

– Maeng-ho, even one point is good, but take care of yourself. If you’re out, the season is really over.

– Seriously.

[At Thunderz vs. Volcan Falcons, Volcan Falcons vs. At Thunderz. A fierce battle unfolds between the two teams for the top spot, here at Volcan Falcons Park in Daejeon. Hello, commentators.]

– Hello.

– Yesterday’s match was really exciting, wasn’t it?

– Yes, indeed. As expected from a face-off between the top two teams, the level of both teams was exceptionally high. It was a showdown between Seo Joon-hyun, arguably the league’s best left-handed pitcher, and AT’s reliable starting pitcher, Park Joon-hyung. Ultimately, AT collapsed in the bullpen, leading to the outcome, right?

– That’s correct. In fact, neither team has a strong bullpen.

– Volcan boasts a formidable starting lineup with Seong Hyun, Garcia, Seo Joon-hyun, Kim Min-joon, and Marcelo. There’s even talk that foreign starter Marcelo might be a fifth starter. Excluding Kim Min-joon and Marcelo, everyone has racked up over 10 wins each. With Kim Min-joon and Marcelo also securing 9 and 8 wins, there’s a possibility that five starting pitchers could achieve a record-breaking ten wins each.

– AT Thunderz have a powerful batting lineup, led by the league’s best hitter, Ji Maeng-ho, along with solid veterans like Woo Kwan-hyung, Choi Jin-cheol, Ki Sang-joo, Kim Soo-ho, promising rookie hitters like Yoon Sung-tae, Jung Hwi-cheol, Baek Jung-jin, and Williams, who filled AT’s long-standing gap in foreign hitters, boasting the league’s best batting lineup.

– Indeed, this series can be seen as a clash of spear and shield.

– AT’s starters, Krongs, Bellingham, Jang Yoon, Park Joon-hyung, are quite decent, while Volcan’s batting, centered around Lee Yong-gi, Joe Mackey, and Kim Joo-yeop, shows great cohesion. However, neither team has a particularly strong bullpen, so the probability of the game being decided in the starting pitcher matchup is very high.

– Yesterday’s game followed a similar pattern, right?

– Yes. Although AT’s lineup targeted Chae Jae-hyun, he held his ground, pitching seven innings without crumbling. Meanwhile, Park Joon-hyung gave up 3 runs in 4.1 innings, exiting the mound too quickly. That was the decisive factor in yesterday’s outcome.

– Will AT’s lineup be able to overcome Volcan Falcons’ foreign starter, Garcia, today? Let me introduce AT’s lineup. Leadoff hitter Ji Maeng-ho… … … Ninth hitter Baek Jung-jin. The ninth hitter, who also plays center field, has changed from yesterday?

– It seems they’ve put in Baek Jung-jin, who has power against Garcia, a power pitcher.

– Now, let’s announce Volcan’s defensive lineup. Starting pitcher Garcia, catcher Lee Yong-gi will lead the battery, with the infield starting from first base with Lee Yong-gi…

– Garcia has appeared in 20 games, pitched 118.1 innings with an ERA of 2.90, and struck out 126 batters. Judging by the high number of strikeouts compared to innings pitched, it’s clear he’s a strikeout-style pitcher.

“Strike!”

Volcan’s starting pitcher Garcia’s pitch comes straight into the zone from the first pitch. The speed is 150.2 km/h.

“The pitch looks good.”

“You’re so relaxed now? We lost yesterday, remember?”

“Oh, come on, bro. Do games matter that much? As long as we win.”

“Do you know Hyun’s pitching tomorrow and still say that?”

“We have Krongs tomorrow too, don’t we?”

As they share their stories, they scrutinize each other fiercely. Yi Yong-gi examines what pitch Garcia is aiming for, while I analyze the type of pitch Batteri is throwing. Garcia’s repertoire consisted of a fastball, changeup, slider, and curveball. Among them, the curveball was not a pitch to throw to a batter like me due to its lack of perfection.

“Throw the changeup most frequently, then the slider, and then the fastball…”

I calmly reconsider the ratio of Garcia’s pitches. The first pitch was a changeup breaking towards the body. It was a precise pitch aimed at the lower inside corner.

“If I do this, is there a high chance it will go outside?”

Among his pitches, only one breaks outside, which is the slider. Moreover, the slider is still a type of curveball. There’s no way I can hit it.

“Ball.”

“Ah, that’s it.”

As expected, a sweeping slider breaking outside was thrown. This feeling never gets old. Even without Rossby’s guidance, hitting the pitch always excites me.

“You look happy. What’s up?”

“…Not really?”

“How can you not be? Is this guy possessed or something?”

Yi Yong-gi’s sharp eye didn’t miss a beat. He was someone you couldn’t afford to let your guard down around.

“Since it turned out like this, I want to see the fastball too…”

The count is one strike, one ball. A count where it’s impossible to predict what pitch will be thrown where. My choice was to wait.

“Ball.”

This time, a low changeup goes into the mitt.

“Hey, the changeup isn’t working.”

“Hmm…”

If I hadn’t been waiting or had come near John, I might have swung aimlessly. But luck was on my side. One strike, two balls. If it were an aggressive pitcher, the timing would be right to hit John. While Garcia was quite aggressive, having Yi Yong-gi as the catcher made me a bit uneasy.

“Clear your mind and swing. That’s the best approach.”

Thinking only about hitting anything that doesn’t seem absurd, I awaited his next pitch. Finally, Garcia’s pitch was thrown.

“It’s low…!”

A low pitch comes in. I swung with the thought that even if it’s a miss, it wouldn’t matter.

Thwack!

Although I managed to make contact with the bat, my hands felt a numbing sensation. A hit heading towards left field! Quickly dropping the bat, I ran towards first base.

“Rossby! How’s the hit? Should I run to second base?”

With no response from Rossby, I glanced at the hit. The ball, flying in a high arc, passed over the outfielder’s head and was gradually descending.

“Near the fence! Will it clear? Will it clear?”

The left fielder leaned against the fence, adjusting his posture. At least to second base! As I attempted to step on second base, a loud cheer erupted from the stands.

– Wow!!!

The left fielder leaned against the fence, extending his glove.

– Jimaengho! Jimaengho! Jimaengho!

“Wow!!”

Without Rossby’s help, I unintentionally shouted after hitting two consecutive home runs in two games against top-tier pitchers like Chae Jae-hyun and Garcia!

“Darn it, did you see that, Rossby?”

…Of course, Rossby, who was naturally looking at the cheerleaders, remained silent.