episode_0031

If Jang Woo-joo’s talent is said to come out once every 30 years, Kim Won-ho’s talent is said to come out once every 10 years. What do you mean? It meant that Kim Won-ho also had enough talent to handle high school players.

Won-ho easily ended Gwangju Future High School’s attack with a three-strikeout in the first inning and it was my turn as the leadoff batter in the second inning.

“When I see it from the on-deck circle, it seems faster than I thought.”

“That’s the power of the 100-mile dream that pitchers have.”

“Did Rossby see a 100-mile pitch?”

“No, it wasn’t up to 100 miles, but it looked like around 98 miles (156.8 km).”

“Even if it’s not, it’s fast enough. How did Rossby deal with it?”

“How many pitchers do you think can throw 100 miles? It’s better not to aim for such a pitcher’s pitch because timing it could disrupt your own balance. Since there are plenty of games anyway. Instead, I aimed for the changeup.”

A pitch I hadn’t encountered before. Moreover, it was a pitch that was almost nonexistent even in Rossby’s experience.

“There’s no choice. You have to time it while watching.”

“Yeah. Your bat speed is enough. And if you know he only throws fastballs, there’s no ball you can’t hit.”

As Rossby said, unless Jang Woo-joo’s fastball reached 160, there was no specialty pitch that could be called a winning shot. I heard about throwing curves, but it wasn’t that dangerous or well-thrown. Jang Woo-joo’s strength was that both his fastball and curveball came from the same form, but it wasn’t particularly important to me.

“Hello.”

I greeted the umpire and quickly swung the bat a few times after taking my position at the plate. When Jang Woo-joo and I made eye contact, he gave me a sharp smile.

“Why do these damn pitchers always smile whenever they throw a pitch?”

Is that you? It doesn’t seem like a big deal? A smirk that seemed to carry some meaning. And most of those pitchers who smiled like that at me ended up with a red face after giving up a home run.

“Let’s see if that expression lasts until the end.”

The battery quickly exchanged opinions and threw the first pitch.

“Fastball. Right down the middle.”

Bang! The sound of the catcher’s mitt popping.

“It’s fast.”

“Ball!”

But the ball went slightly high. I didn’t swing the bat because I saw the pitcher release the ball. And standing at the plate, seeing Jang Woo-joo’s pitch directly gave me a slightly different feeling than watching from outside.

“What should I say? The pitch feels clean?”

It’s fast, like a fastball flying like a stick. And with a clean pitching form, the ball looked clear? It felt like the ball was rising. It probably wasn’t actually rising, but because the ball was so fast, it looked like it was.

“Yeah, so swing without fear.”

“Got it!”

Confidence surged in response to Rossby’s words. Yeah, if Major League’s greatest second baseman says he can do it, then a rookie like him is nothing.

I prepared myself with mind control and waited for his pitch at the plate again.

“Fastball. Down the middle.”

Down the middle? Wasn’t it down the middle before? Is this guy trying something with me?

Watching his wind-up posture, I prepared to swing the bat right away. I had to swing almost as soon as the ball left his hand to hit his pitch. Fortunately, his pitching form was clean, making it easy to time it. And as the ball left his hand!

Crack!

I timed it right and swung the bat. The ball flew high towards the right foul line and landed in the stands. But something felt strange.

“My hand doesn’t hurt as much as I expected.”

Even though Won-ho’s pitch was at 150, there was a striking sensation in the hands. That was the case with other pitchers too. But his pitch, despite its high speed, didn’t hurt the hands as much as expected.

“It was like a feather.”

‘It seems like that, doesn’t it?

It was fast, but the power in the ball wasn’t much. Come to think of it, the coach said it’s a type that unexpectedly takes a big hit when explaining, right?

“I thought it was because I was careless, but it turns out the pitch wasn’t that great.”

Since there was no batter who could hit the ball from Jang Woo-joo, he must have been maintaining a good record so far, but not anymore. I am Rossbi’s acknowledged orangutan! I was confident in my bat speed.

“Heh heh, finally admitting he’s an orangutan.”

“Next, he’ll climb up to gorilla. Jang Woo-joo, you’re done.”

Knowing that the pitch wasn’t great, Jang Woo-joo’s ball didn’t scare me. Even if I didn’t hit the sweet spot precisely, I was confident enough to get it over. It’s difficult to hit the center of the bat, but if you just hit the bat, any baseball player who has walked the elite course can do it.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

As I hit the ball, it was flying more towards the right, gradually getting closer to the inside of the ground. It meant I was getting used to his pitches and my bat speed was adjusting to his control.

“You’re just going to keep throwing fastballs? Boring.”

“Two strikes, one ball. Are you confident?”

“Just keep throwing.”

The catcher seemed slightly nervous, his voice tinged with dialect. Is he coming in with a curveball?

“Inside. Middle.”

Just living on pride. Well, pitchers are creatures with a bit of a childlike aspect. It wasn’t strange for him to be cocky in this situation where the ball was being hit.

Thwack!

This time the ball flew towards the left foul line instead of the right. Unless you forcibly pull it, if the bat is late compared to the ball, it goes right for a right-handed batter, and if the timing is early, it goes left. And the ball that had been heading right all along now went left, quite significantly!

“Foul.”

“That was close. For a monkey.”

“Oh, this isn’t going over.”

But with this hit, I could definitely tell. If this guy just makes contact, he can turn it into a home run. Moreover, even though he’s getting fastballs, the catcher’s mitt didn’t move. Meaning he’s a pitcher who just believes in his fastball, looks at the middle, and throws. There’s no intention to hit the borderline (the front part when making a strike zone).

Either go out or come in.

“The problem is, until now, his pitches were good, but I don’t know what will happen from now on… Until now, all the balls have entered the strike zone due to luck, but there’s no guarantee the next one will. Should I just leave it to fate? Please come inside.”

While thinking like that, what saved me was not the heavens, but Rossbi’s voice.

“Inside, it’s a ball that’s going outside.”

“Going outside?”

“Yes.”

Is he planning to throw a ball here once? No pride? While throwing 160. If I were him, I wouldn’t want to run away from facing the opposing batter on this big stage. Well, even if he’s taking it out, he’ll probably try to put it as close to the zone as possible.

Since there are still many at-bats left, I matched my body timing to his pitch with the thought of turning it coolly.

Unaware of my thoughts, he winded up and threw the ball,

Thwack!

“I don’t get it!”

A feeling like my hand resonating with the ball. It’s here!

Instinctively finishing the follow swing, I let go of the bat along its trajectory and slowly walked to first base. Then I locked eyes with Jang Woo-joo.

“What are you looking at, you bastard.”

After giving him a dirty look, I stretched out my hand, started circling the bases again.

“Ah, damn it!”

He muttered while slamming his glove.

“Another home run today?”

“Some things are unavoidable in life. Death, taxes, and Ji Maeng-ho’s home runs.”

“Sigh, I’ll let you off easy this time.”

As I arrived at the dugout with Wonho waiting for me and bantering, all the players were waiting for me. The players congratulated me and high-fived me, but the reactions weren’t as enthusiastic as before.

“Wow, Hyung, you hit a home run again today?”

“I thought you would. I’ll pass from now on.”

“How are you going to score next? Senior Maengho will reject everything from now on.”

Just like how no one would be surprised to see a fish breathing in water, it was a natural reaction to a natural event.

“Senior Maengho, congratulations.”

“For what?”

“From the round of 32 to the finals, five consecutive home runs. It’s a high school baseball record.”

“Oh, really? What kind of record is that? It’s nothing special.”

“Ah, unfortunate.”

“Yeah, praise me more, send me to college!”

Although the team spirit wasn’t something I held onto, I couldn’t shake off the stigma of wasting three years being pushed out by those who couldn’t even go to college… and setting up blind dates for my classmates at university.

“Maengho, well done.”

After the commotion died down, the coach, who had been quietly watching, congratulated me. Since Hyojin nuna became pregnant and softened up, the coach had become strangely gentle.

“I’m sorry. Even if your defense isn’t great, with your batting talent, I should have made room for you.”

“No. How can I play in a game when I can’t even defend properly? It’s okay.”

Ikecheol’s apology was too late.

“You should have apologized to me sooner. You’re paying for that sin, so don’t be shocked if you find out later.”

The idiotic coach who couldn’t recognize Wonseok, Ikecheol’s punishment had already been received by Hyojin nuna. Thanks to that, the coach’s family life improved, and Hyojin nuna got to taste my vigorous manhood.

“Wait, am I too nice? What I gave to the coach wasn’t a punishment but a gift. Mr. Losby! Make sure to include the name of Maengho in the top 5 adults in the world from now on. And if I ascend to heaven, recommend me there.”

“Idiot. Really. Sigh.”

“Well, Mr. Losby can’t go to heaven. If I go to heaven, I’ll bring out Mr. Losby from hell. I’m one of the top 5 adults. Hehehe!”

Seeing Losby nodding vigorously made me laugh involuntarily. A disciple who would relieve Losby suffering in hell. Ted Williams couldn’t do that, making me a greater disciple!

“Hehehe!”

“Senior Maengho seems to be in a good mood. He didn’t usually smile much.”

“But his laughter sounds a bit forced.”

Ahem, I quickly put on a poker face and returned to being Ji Maengho, the ruthless charismatic senior admired by juniors.

“Is he really acting like an idiot? Just a few months ago, he was whining while being ignored by juniors. Looks like hitting a home run has boosted his spirits.”

Despite Losby’s slander echoing in my head, I paid no attention and focused back on baseball.

*

“Yeah, what’s wrong with liking girls a bit. Just need to play baseball well.”

Soyoung, who was holding a speed gun in the stands, inadvertently exclaimed in admiration after seeing Maengho’s home run.

“He’s a monster. In the end, he overcame Jang Woo-joo with his strength, right?”

The last pitch of Jang Woo-joo recorded on the speed gun was 159 km/h. He confidently hit a ball that even most pros would find hard to touch. It was certainly a surprising result in a power vs. power showdown typical of high school games.

“He’s definitely not just a high school-level player.”

It was obvious to anyone, an immediate sense of power.

“Surely Maengho will become the best rookie picked by AT. With Maengho, winning is not just a dream.”

For herself. And for her grandfather lying in the hospital.

Maengho liking girls was no longer a big issue.

“…I’m sorry. I didn’t recognize such a player.”

When Soyoung muttered to herself, AT’s scout team leader Hong Hyun-cheol, who was watching her, said in a gloomy voice.

“It’s okay. We’ve already made the contract.”

“And I know very well about your pathetic scouting skills.”