episode_0125

In the history of the KBA league, there have been several stadiums called the graveyard of pitchers.

Cheongju Sports Complex Baseball Stadium, which was used as the second home stadium by the Hwasan Falcons, and Mokdong Baseball Stadium, which was used as the home stadium by the Shilla Triggers and is now probably the main stadium for baseball. Or the Daegu Citizen Stadium, which has now disappeared into the back of history.

However, there are currently only two extremely hitter-friendly stadiums remaining in the KBA. Mad Cats Park, used as the home of the Hyeonseong Mad Cats, and Munhak Baseball Stadium, used as the home of the Maepac and UG Overlers, were the two places.

However, baseball fans who take a closer look at the records can see that the park factors of Maepac and Munhak are not as different from other stadiums as expected, due to the characteristics of the two clubs that use these two stadiums as their home.

And the characteristics of these two clubs were similar.

After Joo Hyung-jin retired, the league went all-in on pitching ability and played small-ball baseball with the Hyunseong Mad Cats playing mound-centered baseball every year based on a solid bullpen and decent starting pitchers, and hitters who were good at executing strategies centered around home run hitter Koo Jin-mo. The UG Overlords have the best 5 starters.

In other words, the game is led based on a high mound. Most of the batters on both teams had weak punching power, but there were many home runs that went over the fence, and the away team was suppressed from scoring by not giving them home runs due to their extremely strong mound.

And now, in our first game against Hyunsung, we were being dragged along in the usual pattern of losing to Hyunsung.

“and… . “What kind of finishing level do those bastards keep coming out with?”

Today’s starting pitcher, Bellingham, went down after giving up 2 runs in 6 innings, but the AT Thunders’ hitters were not showing their best skills.

“now! Let’s follow one point at a time! “There are still two innings left!”

The score on the electronic display board was 3:1. As the top of the 8th inning began, no points were scored except for one point scored against Choi Jung-hoon.

“Maengho, your opponent is Kwon Yul. “Have you seen the national team throw?”

“yes.”

“You are important. “Our next hitters are all left-handed hitters, including Boer, so you have to go out and shake up the opponent.”

“Please leave it to me. “Coach.”

Kwon Yul, we didn’t talk much because we trained separately in the pitcher’s and batsman’s teams, but I saw him throw the ball a few times. A left-handed fireballer who throws the ball at around 153-5km/h, which is Hyunseong’s setup man.

Although the quality of his breaking balls was slightly poor, the lefty’s ability to throw that much of a pitch was a huge advantage, and he was one of the best setup men in Korea, recording over 20 holds and an ERA in the 1-2 range every year.

A monster who leads Hyeonseong’s mound along with the closer Go Younghwan.

… Although I won, it had little to do with how fast the ball was. It was easy to play anyway if you knew it.

Besides, my condition was very good today. 2 hits in 3 at-bats with a double and an RBI. Although I missed the home run, it was enough.

‘Then Mr. Rossby, let’s go.’

‘I feel confident.’

‘Well, if you don’t have confidence, wouldn’t you be a corpse?’

And even though it was my first night game, I could see the ball well. Is it because there is no sunlight?

After stretching with the bat, he slowly walked to the batter’s box where the KBA League’s best left-handed setup man was waiting.

“Ah, you bastard, here you go again.”

“Hey, senior, how long are you going to sit down? Aren’t you tired? “I’m going out jointly.”

“Shekki. “It’s still the same.”

I also exchanged friendly greetings with national team candidate catcher Park Jung-hyun, who was wearing a catcher’s mask.

Park Jung-hyun is also a player who is so skilled at leading that he was selected for the national team. It is said that when he was a rookie, he received a lot of criticism from fans for having a rock glove and low BQ, but now that he has become a veteran, he was one of the best catchers in the league along with Lee Yong-gi, so he was not someone to let down his guard.

Today, our team’s hitters were also hit hard by that ball combination.

‘Of course, it has nothing to do with me. Mr. Rossby, the breaking ball is not that good, so I’ll try the fastball.’

‘It’s a good choice.’

The control of Kwon Yul’s breaking ball was a bit poor, so there was a high chance of a missed swing if he swung it for no reason. My confidence grew as Rossby also supported my choice.

‘Outside the slider.’

If it’s an outer slider, does that mean you can enter through the backdoor? Since he wasn’t sure, Chogu decided to wait.

And Kwon Yul’s first pitch was thrown.

‘I fell in.’

“strike!”

“yes?”

“I’m in.”

“… … .”

A left-hander catches a slider thrown outward against a right-handed hitter. It was clear that the zone had suddenly widened. Because starting pitcher Choi Joong-hoon didn’t take this course.

‘Fuck, is this the end-of-work zone?’

I heard it from my seniors. Against Hyunseong, be careful because he may show up in the 7th episode.

‘But the slider is definitely not that good. The angle is not that big. As expected, the ball with the right timing is a fastball in the mid 150s.’

The good news is that as soon as I saw Kwon Yul’s slider, I became more confident in my thoughts. If the opposing catcher had normal intelligence, he wouldn’t throw such a dull breaking ball into the zone against me.

Moreover, Park Jung-hyun, the opposing catcher, knows my skills while training with the national team. Any ball that enters the zone is unconditionally a fastball.

‘Fastball. ‘Low on the body.’

‘okay.’

After adjusting the timing to a fastball in the mid to late 150s, I grabbed the bat and waited. And when Kwon Yul’s legs were raised and his arms were swinging, he swung the bat as he had practiced.

‘Fuck, it’s slower than I thought?’

For a split second, I felt like the ball he threw was strange, but I couldn’t stop swinging the bat.

Dang!

“uh?”

The batted ball floats high and flies slowly. Since the ball was in the ground, I had to move first, so I ran to first base. And as I rounded first base and reached second base, I saw the left fielder catch my ball near the fence.

“What the fuck?”

Hyunseong’s second baseman glared at me at my low curse, but I just ignored him and looked at the electronic display board. The speed recorded on the electronic display board was 143km/h. If the speed had been slightly different, I might have been able to get over it, but there was nothing I could do about this difference.

‘What… .’

When I saw Kwon Yul’s practice pitch, I thought he was throwing with less strength. But you just threw a 143 shit ball? And Kwon Yul, who knew my skills while playing for the national team with me?

“What’s going on? “You missed this ball.”

“ah… . Something is strange. “Is the restraint too low?”

“okay? Well, it was even posted that way on the electronic display board. 140… . “Once I figured it out.”

First, I told Kim Su-ho, the next batter, what I felt during the at-bat, but the doubts within me were not resolved.

“Hey, what is it? Why did you miss it? “Isn’t 143 completely out of sync?”

“Oh, sorry. “I thought this would be over 150.”

“Hey, so you should have looked carefully before hitting. I heard you shouldn’t just hit Guess like that. Still, I sent it to the fence. “Kabi.”

The weather leader, who came in as a standby, also said something to me. Could it be that Kwon Yul suddenly adjusted his speed to 10 km/h? A bullpen pitcher throws a weak pitch like this in an important situation? Honestly, if I hadn’t been convinced after hearing Rossby’s words, this ball would have definitely gone over the fence.

I missed the timing, but it seemed like I sent it right in front of the fence.

‘Did I throw this ball with the thought that I was completely guessing? Mr. Rossby, what do you think? I was definitely a member of the national team as well… .’

I was so embarrassed. If this is the case, should I only aim for breaking balls that are difficult to control? ? What if all KBA veterans do this?

‘hmm… . ‘I don’t think so, do you?’

But Mr. Rossby was negative in my opinion. So what is it? Even on the national team, a pitcher who used to throw well over 150 suddenly threw 140… . I felt like my hair was turning gray.

‘Is this the skill of a veteran catcher? ?’

Park Joong-hyun… . But why wasn’t it like that when dealing with Choi Joong-hoon? My mind was so confused.

“It was a waste.”

“ah… . He definitely looks like a veteran. You throw 140 there. “I really couldn’t even imagine it.”

“But I don’t think I threw it on purpose.”

“yes?”

Woo Gwan-hyung’s chin gesture made me look inside the field again.

Ta – evil!

Kim Su-ho’s ball flew between the second baseman and the shortstop like a bullet. The ball recorded on the electronic display board was 142 km/h. And Hyunseong’s pitching coach goes up… .

no way… ?

And then the announcer’s replacement call is heard. The replacement pitcher is Hyunsung’s other left-handed pitcher, Yang Soo-hyun.

Kwon Yul threw only three pitches and came off the mound. That means… .

‘That bastard must have been feeling unwell somewhere.’

‘yes?’

‘For some reason, the restraint didn’t seem too strong.’

‘That means… .’

It felt like all the worries swirling around in my head were completely eliminated. I just threw a bad ball because I was in bad shape and was unlucky. Fuck!

“Tsk, I feel sorry for Yul too.”

“yes?”

“There are many pitchers who collapse after going to the WBC like that because they cannot manage their condition. It will be more difficult for pitchers if they improve their condition starting in March. “There will probably be a lot of pitchers who collapse this season.”

under… . I made a fuss for no reason. For some reason, the breaking ball was so flat. Fuck. Unfortunately, it happened to be my turn at bat.

If I wasn’t the leadoff hitter, I would have been able to adjust to the speed like Kim Su-ho… . Or if only I had seen the ball a little more… . However, since low balls to the body were my favorite course, it was too difficult to resist.

‘If you think about it, it’s because the referee caught the zone wide. I was too impatient. under… .’

‘Tsk tsk. That’s why they say you can’t be a baby.’

‘Then Mr. Rossby should have told me to wait!’

‘Did I threaten to swing at you? uh? This bastard is being swayed and has a temper towards others. Now this bastard even wants to change his poopy diaper.’

It was like that. I was overconfident, perhaps because I hit the ball well starting from WBC. Plus, it was easy to get the timing right since I watched the other person on video first. However, because pitchers are not machines, their conditions were bound to be different in each game.

It didn’t matter since starting pitchers could see pitches thrown against other players at least two times and at most three or four times, but bullpen pitchers had at most one at-bat. I should have seen the ball a lot. Or maybe I should have noticed something strange during practice pitching.

‘I was too complacent.’

However, the fortunate thing was that Yang Soo-hyun, the next pitcher who suddenly came up, could not control his pitch. Yang Soo-hyun, who had barely prepared, gave up a walk to Ki Ki-joo, giving us a chance with 1 out and 1st and 2nd bases.

“Nice kid! Nice kid!”

“Good eyes! Sangju, what did you eat alone?”

The dugout started to heat up due to the chance we had against Hyunseong. If all runners who went out come back, the score is now tied!

“You have to see it! Let’s hit one!”

And the fourth batter, Robert Boer, came to bat. Today’s record is 3 hits in 3 at-bats. He was strangely reliable as he was a hitter who consistently hit in the last two games. Boer’s stats on the electronic display board were close to .500. It was disappointing that there were no home runs.

However, among the statistics displayed on the electronic display board, one that was lower than expected was noticeable.

“You only have one RBI? “Didn’t we score 10 points on Sunday?”

“I guess it’s because Suho and Sangju are so nice to me in front of them.”

“… is that so?”

“Yes, Boer has the best feel of any mercenary batsman I have ever seen. There are also techniques for mid to long distances. If we hit just one home run, we will continue to win. He has a good work ethic, and it’s been a while since I’ve seen such a mercenary hitter.”

Woo Kwan-hyeong’s words contained strong conviction. Well, how many mercenaries did Woo Kwan-hyung see during his 20 years of operation? If Woo Kwan-hyung is like that, then it must be like that.

Woo Kwan-hyung is a living witness to Korean baseball in the 2000s. Woo Gwan-hyeong’s words also raised my expectations about Boer.

and… .

Dang!

“out!”

“out!”

There was a double play that looked like it would be in a textbook and went to second base, shortstop, and first base in that order.

“… “As long as there’s one home run.”

“… It seemed like it was hit from the front. Actually, I was 3-for-3, so there was a time when I couldn’t hit even one.”

“… yes.”

Boer’s batting quality was good, but the results were not very good. Because the ball was so fast, both the runner on first base and Boer, the batter and runner, died. And with the picturesque double play, the heated atmosphere in the dugout cooled.

‘what? ‘Why is it so down?’

“Okay, let’s stop the first inning and now try to turn things around in the 9th inning!”

“… … .”

I didn’t like the downcast atmosphere in the dugout, so I tried to force it up, but hardly anyone responded.

‘What is it? It’s suddenly become a funeral home.’

And I found out why after the defense ended in the bottom of the 8th inning.

As a player walked in from the bullpen, the atmosphere at Mad Cats Park became heavier than before and the crowd began to chatter.

A song featuring a pitcher that resonates with a groovy guitar riff and drum beats on top of it.

[Say your prayers little one don’t forget, my son… … .]