episode_0093

‘Murakami here… . Is it Japan after all?’

Seonghyun broke into a cold sweat when he saw Murakami at bat. Japan’s monster hitter who broke Joo Hyung-jin’s new Asian record of 61 home runs last year with 62 and surpassed 1.2 OPS in NPB. Munetaka Murakami. A hitter who is receiving attention even in the majors.

I wanted to throw my main weapon, a circle changeup, but the ball I hit in my last at-bat was also a circle changeup. There was a lot of pressure to throw a long ball.

‘Could it be that you came in aiming for a change-up?’

The ball that even Ohtani couldn’t hit like that was Seonghyun’s circle changeup. It was clear that the timing had been read. Genda, the first batter, also aimed for a circle changeup on the first pitch, and Ohtani, the second batter, also aimed for a circle changeup. I didn’t want to take any chances here.

‘Senior, what should I do? ‘Four-seamer?’

Shaking my head.

Seonghyun shook his head at catcher Lee Yong-gi’s autograph. Throwing a four-seamer carries a lot of risk. The pressure felt by Murakami was greater than that of most major league hitters.

‘No four-seamer for that guy.’

Fortunately, Murakami is a young hitter who debuted only a few years ago. It was definitely a lack of experience.

‘cutter?’

‘Outward. ‘Bending.’

‘okay.’

After signing autographs with Lee Yong-gi, Seonghyun grabbed the cutter’s grip. It bends more than a four-seamer and is faster than a slider. The rosin on your hands sticks to the baseball. Seonghyun caught the seam of the ball with familiar hands and did a windup.

Whoa!

“strike!”

‘Good.’ But the sound of the bat… .’

The sound of the wind splitting was even more threatening. But I heard it someday. It was the sound made when teammate Stanton or Judge took a missed swing. And Seonghyun had heard such things from the national team as well.

‘The youngest made a similar sound.’

When I glanced back at second base, I saw the familiar sounding figure with a stern expression on his face, concentrating.

‘boy. ‘I’m concentrating.’

In fact, if lead hitter Genda had missed the ball, the situation would have spiraled out of control. However, Ji Maeng-ho’s super play prevented the goal from being conceded. And a laser throw almost from right field. A guy who is not like a rookie in many ways.

I’ve heard that it’s a bit cheesy, but I shouldn’t think about anything else when the youngest member of the national team is focused like that.

Seonghyun again focused on winning against the batter.

‘The best here is a strikeout, and the second is tying up third base with an infield ground ball. The idea is to give the rest 1 point.’

Since it was the first inning, no forward defense instructions were given. In other words, the bench’s idea is to exchange an out and 1 point. However, Korea’s ace, Seonghyeon, did not want to give up even a single point.

‘This time, let’s go to the outside four-seamer.’

‘Outside again?’

‘okay.’

‘I knew.’

We exchange autographs and catch the baseball again. When I checked third base out of the corner of my eye, there was no movement of Otani.

‘Even Japan, which plays small baseball, wouldn’t order Murakami to bunt.’

After gaining peace of mind, Seonghyun threw the ball once again.

Paang!

“cheek.”

A 151km/h fastball went into an exquisite position on the outside, but the referee ruled that it was a ball.

‘It’s a shame.’

A ball that is not strange even if it is ruled a strike. However, like a veteran, Seonghyun immediately calmed down. When facing Ohtani, Seonghyun was a little excited because he was a member of the national team for the first time in a long time and was hit hard on the first pitch, but Seonghyun’s mind was already in a state of motion after getting a strike on the first pitch from Murakami.

and. Third ball.

Percussion!

[ah! It floats high. This batted ball gets stuck in the infield. Of course Seonghyun! It shows Korea’s ace appearance.]

[The ball just was a two-seamer, right? Murakami kicked it up, but the ball flew high and got stuck in the infield.]

[Now with two outs and a runner on third base! You can escape the crisis with just one out count! Now the next batter is number 4 hitter, first baseman Hotaka Yamakawa. He is the home run king of the Pacific League last year.]

[ha… . It’s a mountain beyond a mountain. But Seonghyun can overcome it. Even in the major league where there are many such players, he achieved a record of 95 wins. I believe in Seonghyun.]

The casters and commentators were becoming increasingly immersed in the heated atmosphere from the first episode.

‘You messed with the pitching pitch, so I came out aiming for a change-up. If it bends even a little, they will try to hit it. Because all the balls the bat hit were breaking balls. Courage, let’s go to the four-seamer.’

‘Four-seamer? ‘Wouldn’t it be dangerous?’

‘are you okay. ‘I trust you.’

‘All right.’

Seonghyeon boldly put a four-seamer in the middle. And Yamakawa watched Seonghyeon’s ball without moving.

‘also… !’

Restraint rather than restraint. Psychological warfare rather than position.

For Seonghyun, who was a typical finesse pitcher, a feeling of pleasure comparable to an orgasm went up his spine. The greatest joy of the finesse pitcher came from penetrating the opponent’s target, and the target was clearly visible as if the Japanese batters were now in the palm of their hand.

And the easiest way to cook those who want to aim. Throwing the ball you want. Instead, stay away from the strike zone.

‘Change-up. low.’

‘All right.’

Whoa! Paang!

The sound of a bat cutting through the air can be heard, and the sound of a ball entering the mitt slightly late can be heard.

“strike!”

Two strikes. From now on, it’s the pitcher’s stage.

[Seonghyun lures with the ball. One ball, two strikes.]

[This ball is also a ball. Two balls, two strikes.]

[I threw the ball! jitterbug! Yamakawa couldn’t resist! Swing strike out! Seonghyun escapes the crisis by striking out two batters in a row! Hope for Korea! Pride! It was Seonghyeon!]

The tense pitcher’s battle began with Seonghyun striking out two batters in a row.

*

“So you figured out what the Japanese hitters were aiming for?”

“yes. It’s probably the exact same strategy as ours. Instead, it looks like those bastards were targeting my changeup.”

“okay? I’m glad. So, shall we seal the changeup?”

“no. “If you pretend not to know anything and just throw a changeup, it’s unlikely that you will change your strategy until the batter has made one turn.”

“I get it. “Don’t leave it up to you.”

“thank you. “Director.”

oh! Is this because he is in the major leagues? In the beginning, I could see the anxious look of Seonghyeon I knew everywhere. Smart as expected.

‘joy. ‘Aren’t you too stupid to even think about that?’

‘Then how about it? I have Mr. Rossby.’

‘Shut up. ‘Because it’s disgusting.’

However, just because Seonghyeon figured out the enemy’s strategy did not mean we had an advantage. Kang Han-beom, the 4th batter, retired with a fly to center field, and Jin-Hong Lee, the 5th batter, retired with a ground ball to the infield on the first pitch.

Moreover, even to me, a rookie, Lee Jin-hong’s condition did not seem to be very good. He still seemed shocked that he fumbled the ball on defense.

‘Tsk, the boy can make some mistakes, why bring something like that to the plate?’

For a veteran to look like that, it didn’t look that good. Can’t I change it to Lee Eun-chong right now? Actually, it makes no sense to change it in the second episode.

“Jinhong. Take your swing. “Don’t be dragged around.”

“sorry. “Coach.”

“You know everything, right? Swing with confidence.”

“All right.”

I left behind Lee Jin-hong, who was getting scolded by his hitting coach at that age, and focused on watching Ohtani pitch a little more.

Paang!

‘What kind of sound is that sound of a mitt popping?’

widely!

Ugh, even Koo Jin-mo can’t do it. Korea’s attack ended in the top of the second inning when Koo Jin-mo hit a fly ball to shortstop after two balls.

“Director. There are 13 pitches until the second inning. This operation… . Would it be okay?”

“I can’t help it. You have to keep pushing. Until the batters get used to it.”

Oh, tenacity. Still, with Lee Geum-hyun setting the mood in the dugout, the players’ expressions were not dark. Except Jinhong Lee.

“hey! Just give me 1 point! “My brother will stop everything.”

Seonghyun, who is the most senior member of the national team along with Kang Han-beom and Lee Jin-hong, spoke with a confident voice. Usually, many pitchers are sensitive, but since they are from Hwasan, they seemed accustomed to not having any batting support.

“sorry.”

“No, I’m doing fine. Jinhong Lee. Don’t be discouraged. “I’ll show you what a major leaguer is.”

And Seonghyeon, as he had said, allowed one hit, but blocked Japan’s attack in the bottom of the second inning.

“Senior Suho, try hitting one.”

“… hmm.”

I saw off Kim Su-ho, who was going out as the lead hitter, and started packing up my equipment. It was equipment lent to me by my seniors because I decided to sign a sponsorship contract after the WBC ended, but I became attached to it because I used it throughout my training.

Perfect!

“out!”

what? Did you have a hard time getting the equipment? Fuck… ! I finished packing the equipment I had packed and walked to the waiting stand.

“What kind of ball was it?”

“I thought it was a four-seamer, but it was a splitter. “The ball is so fast that you can’t tell the difference.”

“All right.”

It might have been useful advice to others, but it was of little use to me. Rossby just needs to figure out the type of pitch. Now I just focus on the pitcher’s timing.

‘Courage. Look at the ball a lot. please.’

The strategy was to hit fastballs quickly, but for me, every pitch was important to get the timing right. Especially now that I’m watching it right next to me.

widely!

“oh!”

-Wow!

However, Lee Yong-gi hit the first pitch against my wishes, and the ball split the sky of Tokyo Dome.

“Are you going to pass?”

“Lee Yong-gi! Lee Yonggi!”

And a batted ball that doesn’t even go near the fence loses its power and falls in front of the center fielder. was pushed out of power. Lee Yong-gi hit double-digit home runs and 20 home runs three times for five consecutive years in Jamsil, but even that power was of no use to Ohtani.

“Fuck, is this right? “I hit it hard, but it only goes so far.”

“It was a waste. Seniors.”

I gave a rough answer to Lee Yong-gi’s words and walked to the plate. My heart is pounding. My heart trembles at the thought of facing a major leaguer for the first time.

‘How well do major leaguers pitch now?’

I’ve faced so many major leaguers from 100 years ago that I’m sick of it. Among them, the most powerful were Walter Johnson and Satchel Page. I didn’t know it when I was playing against them, but I looked it up later and found that they were among the best pitchers of all time in the major league.

And now. Ohtani, one of the top five pitchers in the American League, was standing there.

‘Let’s see how well you throw.’

Paang!

“strike!”

Restraint… ? 156km/h. Even in high school, I saw pitchers throwing balls like this. Of course, it was the highest restraint. At least Jang Woo-joo consistently threw 153-4 pitches. But this monster throws balls like this consistently, right?

Moreover, the feeling of the incoming ball was different from that of pitchers I had seen so far. The heaviness felt in the ball… !

‘It’s definitely a good position.’

Rossby’s admission. I can’t believe this kind of recognition comes to that racist. Is this really Otani? Otani’s ball felt like it was alive and floating.

‘In the middle, it’s a fastball.’

Are you saying that I can push it down with enough force? I feel ignored.

Okay, let’s give it a try. Strength to strength.

I focused on Ohtani’s pitch with the idea of hitting it slightly higher than usual.

‘come… !’

Ta-aak!

‘Was it fast?’

The batted ball crossed the foul line and flew toward the stands. As expected, it was difficult to get the right shot just by seeing it once. This is the level of a major… . But I feel like I just need to do a little more. It didn’t seem like a mountain I couldn’t climb. Compared to the feeling of deprivation I felt when I first saw Satchel Paige’s ball, this level of ball… !

‘It’s a splitter. ‘Low on the body.’

Ohtani’s splitter is not only fast, but also has considerable control. I’m sure they’ll put me in the strike zone to strike me out. Otani’s splitter, which I saw on the bench earlier, ranges from 140 to 142 km/h. If you hit it thinking it was a fastball, it was nothing special. Of course, the bending angle was annoying.

‘come… !’

Tick!

Ah-oh! It’s more broken than I thought. The bat slightly grazed the ball. The ball passed through the batter’s box and went out of the foul line.

“… … Jo Senjing… … .”

What is he saying now? Fuck. The catcher says something. But I think it was called Joseonjing… ?

“[Shut up, Jax bastard.]”

“… … … … ! … Goros… !”

I have no idea what you’re talking about. Doesn’t this guy know English? Ignoring the catcher muttering behind me, I focused on Otani again. Because there was no time to deal with Ohtani’s pitch while accepting the catcher’s words.

‘Four-seam, body side. ‘You’re too close.’

‘All right.’

Fuck, catcher bastards are always like this. I heard he is the best defensive catcher in Japan, but how can we have the same thoughts?

Pa-ang!

“cheek.”

As I lightly skimmed the threatening phrase on the body, I saw Otani grinning. Why are you smiling? When I saw Ohtani smile for the first time after not showing any facial expressions on the mound, I felt… ,

… It felt like shit.

You must be ignoring me. Yeah, you fucking bitch. Try inserting another one toward your body. I’ll blow it out of the wall.

‘Four-seam. Body side. Closer to the strike zone than before.’

‘All right.’

As if he had read my mind, the ball I wanted came out. The guy I saw at bat threw two fastballs. But that was enough. Ohtani takes the ball out of his glove, takes a stance, and swings his arm. And me too… .

Ta-aak!