episode_0119

Boer, the team’s mercenary and fourth hitter, came to bat. I was selected to the national team during spring training, so I’m not sure what kind of player Boer is, but looking at today’s game, it seemed like he was a decent player. If you look at the way he trains, he has power and he also scored an RBI today.

‘You can hit one, right?’

With Jeong Tae-hwan, the finisher of Hancheol, being shaken, Boer was in a situation where he could end his debut match in the best possible scenario.

‘Please hit just one.’

I don’t even want a hit. I was confident enough to hit the home run if I only sent it to the outfield. Just send it to the outfield… !

He makes eye contact with right-handed pitcher Jeong Tae-hwan. Shall we shake it a little? I quietly walked out from third base and shook Jeong Tae-hwan. But like a veteran closer, he wasn’t paying attention at all.

‘Shall I quit?’

‘Yes, it would be a disaster if you got out for no reason. ‘Stay and don’t mess around.’

‘All right.’

Rossby was right. Normally, a right-handed pitcher would look slightly embarrassed when a runner on third base was making a move like I did, but Tae-hwan Jeong was not like that at all. There was a high chance of losing money if you tried to shake things up against a pitcher like this.

“Ugh!”

And Jeong Tae-hwan screamed and threw the first pitch against Boer.

Sigh!

‘Fucked!’

The ball that Boer hit was sucked into the pitcher’s glove. Although he was caught in a reverse move, he quickly returned to third base.

“Safe!”

“and… . “I almost got screwed.”

A narrow difference. As soon as I reached the base, the third baseman’s glove touched my arm. If he kept pretending to shake the pitcher, he would definitely have been out… .

“Okay, that was a nice play. Ji Maeng-ho.”

“Wow, that was close.”

“Well, no luck. “That hit goes into the pitcher’s glove.”

Boer’s batting quality was pretty good, but unfortunately, the direction was not good. Because it was in front of the pitcher. Moreover, Jeong Tae-hwan’s defense was quite good.

[Batter number 5, first baseman Choi Jin-cheol.]

In the top of the 9th inning, with two outs, the stadium announcer said Choi Jin-cheol’s name and the crowd began to stir.

-Choi Jin-cheol! Choi Jin-cheol! Choi Jin-cheol!

– Fly, fly! Choi Jin-cheol~! Home run Choi Jin-cheol! Fly, fly! Choi Jin-cheol! home! Run! Choi Jin-cheol!

The fans who filled Jamsil to nearly 10,000 won were chanting for Choi Jin-cheol in unison. There’s even a story about an unlucky prospect who left the team becoming the home run king and returning to his former team. Jamsil seemed to be resonating with the sound of fans cheering.

‘It’s spectacular…’ .’

Four-time home run champion, three-time MVP. The player who became synonymous with home runs after Joo Hyung-jin, Choi Jin-cheol. The fans’ expectations spread to me.

‘IM jealous. I wish I had that same level of anticipation… .’

No matter how brightly I performed in the WBC, I still wasn’t at a level where I could compete with Choi Jin-cheol.

The cheering was loud during my at bat, but not to this level. I was a little jealous of Choi Jin-cheol, who received such enthusiastic support. Although I was selected to represent the national team and received a lot of support, I was disappointed that I did not receive such fanatical support from the home fans because I played in Japan and the United States.

And I was a little curious. The best players usually take good care of themselves. Just looking at the weather note that was attached throughout the national team, I remembered that the day before the game, I did not drink and only watched baseball videos.

But the confidence to go drinking the day before the opening game. The question is whether that confidence can be shown in an actual game.

‘Show me? Choi Jin-cheol?’

*

[Pinch runner on first base, Lee In-hyuk. And at the plate is No. 5 hitter Choi Jin-cheol, a slugger who returned to the AT Thunders.]

‘Ugh, it’s the same no matter when I come here. As expected, at least one cheer… .’

The cheering sound was so passionate that it seemed like it would tear my eardrums. While listening to the cheering, Choi Jin-cheol’s thoughts came to mind when he debuted.

2006, when Choi Jin-cheol debuted. The KBA league was crazy about three high school students.

Busan’s Kang Han-beom, a mid-to-long range first baseman with a flexible body and soft hitting form.

An outfielder with a muscular body and lightning-fast swing speed, he was called the post Joo Hyung-jin. Jinhong Lee from Gwangju

And if you hit it right, it has the power to make Jamsil laugh. A third baseman with a strong arm and wide defensive range. Choi Jin-cheol in Seoul

Fans watching Korean baseball at the time paid great attention to the emergence of three right-handed sluggers who would lead Korean baseball for the next 20 years, and fans wondered who would succeed Joo Hyung-jin and raise the status of Korean baseball.

Of course, the Rookie of the Year that year was Seong-Hyeon, a left-handed pitcher who appeared like a comet and took Korea by storm.

Anyway, Choi Jin-cheol debuted in the KBA League with not only the expectations of AT, but also the expectations of all baseball fans… ,

… It was ruined like a lie.

Future Buffaloes’ fans smiled brightly at the success of Lee Jin-hong, who was second in Rookie of the Year honors, and Charlotte Blue Mariners’ fans imagined happiness in anticipation of Kang Han-beom, who appeared in 67 games and showed his ceiling as a slugger.

And AT Thunders fans criticized the performance of Choi Jin-cheol, who appeared in 18 games and recorded two home runs with a batting average of 0.176.

The fall of a successful team and the success of other teams’ prospects. AT Thunders fans needed someone to blame, and the target fell on Choi Jin-cheol, the most anticipated right-handed slugger prospect. Of course, expectations were greater than criticism, but young Choi Jin-cheol found it difficult to bear such criticism.

Choi Jin-cheol, who always received only praise, slowly crumbled under such criticism.

Choi Jin-cheol, who ran away to the military after recording performance that was embarrassing to be called a prospect for two years, worked hard to live up to the expectations of AT Thunders fans for three years after being discharged, but the high walls of Jamsil were not so easy. .

And a trade to the Future Buffaloes in 2013. They were worried about the fans who were as passionate as the AT Thunders, but unlike the fans of the declining AT Thunders, the fans of the Future Buffaloes, the team with the most wins in the KBA League, had enough patience to wait for a promising slugger, and the stadium and fans were smaller than Jamsil. Choi Jin-cheol flew up to the cheering.

But Choi Jin-cheol’s heart was always heavy. It goes without saying that if you wear silk clothes, you should return to your hometown instead of wandering around at night.

In addition, the AT Thunders, which had dominated Seoul since childhood, were like a dream club for all the players who played baseball in Seoul at the time, so it was natural that Choi Jin-cheol wanted to return to the AT Thunders.

I want to show AT’s fans the real me that I couldn’t show when I was young.

Choi Jin-cheol returned to Jamsil with such determination, but listening to the support of the still passionate AT Thunders fans, he couldn’t help but think of the old days, when he was mentally weak.

‘If anything has changed… .’

The support of enthusiastic fans remains unchanged from his rookie days. However, the player receiving the support was different.

Three-time MVP, four-time home run champion. And major league experience.

Now Choi Jin-cheol was ready to repay the support of his passionate fans.

‘come… !’

Hancheol Grizzlies pitcher Jeong Tae-hwan threw the first pitch.

[First pitch ball! Here, Jeong Tae-hwan’s choice is the outer slider.]

[Ah, it seems like you feel a lot of pressure against Choi Jin-cheol, right? It has increased, the aging curve has arrived. There are many such stories, but Choi Jin-cheol is Choi Jin-cheol. And the AT Thunders probably recruited Choi Jin-cheol in anticipation of that.]

Jang Tae-hwan’s eyes waver. The pressure of passing the ball over at any time… . The pressure made me break into a cold sweat.

And the second ball thrown. A 153 km/h four-seam fastball was headed toward Choi Jin-cheol’s body.

Ta – evil!

The sound of a ball splitting was heard.

[This ball goes to the left fence! Left fence! Left fence! A timely hit that hits the left wall! Runner on third base, Ji Maeng-ho, home! Second base runner Kim Su-ho also went home! Home! Safe! Coming in! Choi Jin-cheol’s timely hit hits the fence. The Thunders’ right-handed power hit is back! Choi Jin-cheol turns this game around! Score 5:4!]

[If it weren’t for Jamsil, it would have been a hit that would have passed, but Choi Jin-cheol must have been very disappointed.]

[Huh? There was an out sign at third base? Inhyuk Lee overrun and was out. The next batter, Woo Kwan-hyung, frowns. However, the AT Thunders successfully came back with a big inning in the top of the 9th inning. Choi Jin-cheol, the home run king, returns and turns this game around! Now, in the bottom of the 9th inning, we move on to what could be the Grizzlies’ last attack of the season.]

“This is it!”

When all the AT fans watching the broadcast shouted with joy, Soyoung, who screamed more passionately than any other fan, also started shaking her fists in front of the TV as if she was boxing. If Meng Ho had seen that clumsy appearance, he would have smiled, but unfortunately, Meng Ho was in the AT Thunders dugout right now.

“This is Choi Jin-cheol! nice!”

If Soyoung’s subordinates had seen this high tension, they would have rubbed their eyes, but the place where Soyoung is now is her own home. There were no subordinates who would open their eyes.

There are only two things that can melt Soyoung’s usually cold and cold expression. It’s Meng Hao and the AT Thunders. In this situation where the game came from behind in the top of the 9th inning and the player of his choice hit a comeback hit, it was natural for the tension to rise.

And as if her excitement when the inning changed was a lie, Soyoung knelt in front of the TV and folded her hands like a priest confessing to God.

“Please, let’s just block it for one inning.”

AT Thunders’ closer Park Jin-hyuk takes the mound in a bloody situation with a 1-point lead. Last season, his performance average was 3.47, 22 saves, and 7 blows. Although it was an ambiguous performance to call Jamsil home, there was no bullpen in AT that could throw a better ball than Park Jin-hyuk.

“under… . I’m a little uneasy… .”

Soyoung, who has been watching AT Thunders baseball for nearly 20 years, instinctively began to break out in cold sweat.

Bottom of the 9th inning, 1 run down. The opponent is the Hancheol Grizzlies. And the leadoff hitter is second baseman An Si-Hwon, who has tormented the AT Thunders in various ways for over 15 years.

“No way, right?”

And as all baseball fans thought, uneasy premonitions were not always wrong.

[An Si-Hwon succeeds in getting on base as the lead hitter! Now the runner with the tying run is on base! The game is not over yet!]

[Kim Jeong-hyun makes 1st and 3rd bases with no outs with consecutive hits! This is the baseball of the Grizzlies! Now the come-from-behind runner is on base! And the batter is Lee Yong-gi, the 4th batter who hit a home run today! The best catcher in Korea! He is the player who succeeded Lee Ki-cheol and made a name for himself as a heavy hitter catcher.]

Ta – evil!

[Lee Yong-gi! The ball hit by Lee Yong-gi creates a large arch! This hit goes out of the fence! good bye! good bye! good bye! Lee Yong-gi hits a walk-off home run right from the opening game! As long as Joo Seung-cheol is injured and Lee Yong-gi is healthy, the Hancheol Grizzlies are still a strong team! The main character of today’s game is the big gun catcher! It was Lee Yong-gi! A fierce Jamsil rivalry, and an even fiercer home run competition between the two teams. And the one who took the victory was the Hancheol Grizzlies… ]

Tiriring.

“under… . Fuck… .”

The TV turned off, and a soft curse flowed from the mouth of Soyoung, who usually didn’t swear much. And it was natural that similar profanity flowed from the mouths of all AT Thunders fans who were watching the game.

*

“Oppa, you said AT is easy?”

“and… . “It’s definitely difficult because there are players as good as Choi Jin-cheol.”

“okay?”

“This is why baseball is a home run. But AT Thunders are definitely scary this season. Ji Maeng-ho, Kim Su-ho, Gi Ki-ju, Choi Jin-cheol, and Woo Gwan-hyung. “It’s almost all-star level?”

“Oh, is Ji Maeng-ho included in that line?”

“… “Maybe more than me.”

“What’s going on? Are you acknowledging another player? “I told you that everyone but Dad is a dick.”

Joo Seung-cheol’s expression became complicated at the words of his younger sister, Joo Ji-ah, but then calmed down.

“just. what.”

“Anyway, if that’s the case with you, then that’s probably the case. Instead, please contact me. “Are you available for an interview tomorrow?”

“Ha, it’s a bother. I’ll try it later. “It will take about an hour to wash up and do something else.”

“Aaaah! Brother! thank you!”

“Wow.”

Even if they bicker on a regular basis, a younger brother is a younger brother. Joo Seung-cheol started looking for his junior’s contact information for his younger brother.