episode_0152

[In the match between AT Thunders and JT Gold Eyes, today’s starting pitchers will be between Jang Yoon and Park Jeong-seop, the native aces of both teams. Jang Yoon has currently appeared in two games, recording an ERA of 1.38 in 13 innings, and 2 losses, while Park Jeong-seop has appeared in three games, recording an ERA of 2.12 in 17 innings, and 2 wins.]

[Jang Yoon made his home at AT Thunders this season, right? There has been some suspicion as the free agents recruited from AT Thunders have shown poor performance, but they are in good shape even after only two games? And Park Jeong-seop showed a good performance to the public while playing as a national representative at the WBC held this year, right? I think it will be a match worth watching.]

[Commissioner, then who do you think is the key player on both teams?]

[When this type of pitching battle unfolds, the important thing is who scores the points in the end? Since both starting pitchers do not allow consecutive hits, there is a high possibility that the game will be decided by a home run. And AT Thunders currently has No. 1 in home runs, Ji Maeng-ho. What kind of match you have against Ji Maeng-ho seems to be important.]

[Then who do you think is the key player on JT’s side?]

[JT’s key player is Jang Hyun-ho, who moved to JT through a trade this year. Hyun-ho Jang is showing off his good form by hitting 4 home runs with a batting average of .302. You can see that Jang Hyun-ho, who was blocked by the wall of Jamsil, is showing off his batting ceiling by moving to Suwon, a hitter-friendly stadium. Ji Maeng-ho and Jang Hyeon-ho. I think it will be a match worth watching.]

[Now, in the top of the first inning, JT Gold Eyes’ attack begins. Let us introduce the lineup. Type 1… … … ]

*

-Wow!

The baseball stadium is filled with cheers at Woo Gwan-hyung’s super catch. In the top of the 3rd inning, with the bases loaded, Woo Kwan-hyung caught a big hit from JT’s 4th batter Bell with a dive.

‘Wow, you can dive at that age?’

I was a little surprised because it was something I had never seen before in a game. He was hitting pretty well, but to be honest, Woo Kwan-hyung was not a good fielder. Especially since my shoulders are weak, it felt like I was running 50 meters when playing relay.

“nice! “Good defense!”

“Wow, what is it, Kwan-hyung? “How did you catch it?”

On the way back to the dugout, the other players seemed quite surprised by Woo Kwan-hyung’s diving catch.

“Hyung, it’s been almost 5 years since you went diving?”

“What are you talking about? “I went diving occasionally.”

Even catcher Jeong Yun-cheol, who had been with Woo Kwan-hyung for 20 years, was surprised.

“now. Today’s defense concentration is at its best, so let’s focus a little more on attack. okay?”

“yes!”

As the batting coach said, our defensive concentration today was better than any game since the opening. Starting pitcher Jang Yoon wasn’t in very good condition, throwing 60 pitches until the top of the third inning, but he was able to keep the team scoreless thanks to the strength of his defense.

‘hmm… . Is it really effective with less training?’

‘Then you must be too weak.’

Rossby is said to be weak, but from my perspective as someone who played on the field, it seemed like the training before the game had an effect. Should I say my steps are light?

“Meng Hao, it’s not like you’re losing your sense of the game today, is it?”

The batting coach who had been coaching lead hitter Jeong Yun-cheol approached me. This person doesn’t usually act like this, so why is he acting like this all of a sudden?

“yes. “There’s no problem?”

“No, I got struck out on a ridiculous pitch in the first inning.”

Although he struck out on Park Jeong-seop’s pitch in the first inning, there was no problem. The problem was Park Jeong-seop’s control.

“Did you see Park Jeong-seop at the WBC, too?”

“Yes, I saw it.”

Since I was a pitcher and a batter, I didn’t have a chance to become friends. Well, there was an age difference in the first place.

“Even though he seems like he’s throwing well, he’s secretly a bird. Do you often get lost in trouble? “Rather than guessing, try watching.”

“yes.”

“Don’t be anxious, just do your usual thing. okay?”

“… “Coach seems anxious?”

It was obvious that a person who normally wouldn’t give advice unless asked first was now overdoing it just because there was no supervision. When I saw that the batters kept giving advice right before they went to bat, it seemed like they thought they had to do something.

“Is that so? Anyway, give me a cool blow and come back.”

“That’s my specialty.”

Perfect!

Jeong Yun-cheol, who came out as the leadoff hitter with good timing, hit a ground ball to second base and retired. I was tired of listening to the coach’s useless words, so I quickly headed to the waiting box.

‘Why is he doing that all of a sudden?’

‘Hehe, I guess he’s aiming for the director position.’

‘What kind of director position is this? ‘Just take what hasn’t come out in a day.’

‘Tsk tsk, innocent bastard. Does the position of director seem that easy? ‘I guess they don’t know that it’s not a soft position where any bastard can be absent without permission.’

‘is it? Then did he really run away?’

Listening to Rossby, it was funny that that was even a possibility. Well, if the three of you don’t receive a call. There is no way three adult men suddenly disappear in Korea.

… Perhaps other players also vaguely know this? So is the hitting coach strangely passionate? He just seemed anxious, but when I thought about the possibility that the director had run away, he seemed passionate.

‘Hey, what’s important about this?’

The important thing now is to hit Park Jeong-seop’s ball. In the first inning, I was told the ball was going to the outside, but to my surprise, it ended up in the middle and I couldn’t react. I was so careless.

Perfect!

-Wow!

Kim Joo-yeop, the ninth batter, produced a hit that landed in front of left field.

‘If it’s a home run, it’s 2 points. Jang Yoon doesn’t seem to be doing well today either, so let’s take a shot. Mr. Rossby, please be nice this time. Just like before… .’

‘What kind of bullshit is this? If there was a loss in the middle, you should have reacted. ‘It’s okay to blame others.’

‘That’s true, but… .’

I was also unfair. If I hadn’t known that it was coming from outside, I would have been able to react, but if such a ball came at the moment I was already thinking about throwing, it was natural that I wouldn’t be able to react. Just as major league players are unable to react to breaking balls entering the strike zone.

‘It’s okay to make excuses.’

Rossby gave a warning and moved to his seat behind the pitcher. As Rossby moved his seat, he saw Park Jeong-seop’s expression, which he had not been able to see. Expressive poker face. Okay, so you’re going to strike me out and get a kick out of it, right? The best feeling when I stand at bat is to destroy the expressionless expressions on pitchers’ faces.

‘Let’s see how long you can keep your expression blank.’

In particular, Park Jeong-seop gained more confidence because he was a player who was good at hitting the ball when practicing with the national team. During live pitching, if I faced an opponent 10 times, I would hit a home run 5 times.

‘What about the first pitch?’

‘Fastball, it comes high.’

But that doesn’t mean you can hit just any ball. I decided to skip the first pitch.

“cheek.”

And of course, the high ball came in and we were able to take the count fight to our advantage.

‘As expected, I was unlucky earlier.’

‘Curve, low.’

‘okay.’

Low curve. My favorite ball. I loaded my swing over my shoulder and waited for Park Jeong-seop’s second ball.

‘come!’

Perfect!

You can feel the strong touch of the bat. After throwing the bat, he quickly ran to first base. But, the angle is a little low?

‘Fuck.’

The batted ball heads quickly toward the shortstop. Even though it was a line drive, I was a little anxious because it wasn’t a floating ball, and that anxiety soon became reality.

“Short!”

Did the shortstop catch it? I could see the runner on first base still attached to the base.

‘Fuck, I guess I caught it.’

At that time, first base runner Kim Joo-yeop started running towards second base.

“run!”

An urgent call from the first base coach. I looked back and saw the shortstop was picking up the ball. Double plays are the worst in this situation. I picked up the pace and stepped on first base.

“out!”

An out call is heard from second base. I wasn’t surprised because even if it was Usain Bolt, the runner on first base had no choice but to be out. As I took off my protective gear, I asked the first base coach about the situation.

“What happened?”

“The shot spilled. “It hit my glove and bounced.”

and… . I almost got screwed.

“I lived because the batting speed was fast. Nice base running. “If it had gone higher, it would have been a home run, but it would be a shame.”

“Well, there are days like this too.”

I spoke calmly, but I felt very bitter inside. It seemed like the timing was right as I saw a line drive hit, but was the bat’s trajectory not very good?

‘The ball didn’t fall as much as I thought.’

Listening to Rossby’s words, I felt like I had a rough idea of what the situation was like. Unless it was a game, the pitcher’s breaking ball couldn’t maintain a certain trajectory, and the ball that Park Jeong-seop threw fell less than his usual ball.

In other words, in a way, it’s a loss. In a word, it was unlucky. Park Jeong-seop was lucky.

‘If I had thrown it properly, it would have been a home run.’

But the at-bat has already passed. I neatly erased the previous situation from my mind and received a base-running glove.

*

[Park Jeong-seop calls the catcher to the mound. He got an out count with good pitching, but he seems to be dissatisfied with something.]

[Is it because the quality of the balls Ji Maeng-ho hit was unusual? If I ever get an interview, I’d like to ask.]

“Jeongseop, why?”

“brother. You have to be careful. “Because he’s no joke.”

“Do you think you understand?”

“… “I know it well.”

know well. Those words weren’t enough. All national team players who saw Ji Maeng-ho training at the WBC knew that fact. Especially Park Jeong-seop. Every time I did live pitching, I felt like I was standing in front of a big wall when I threw the ball against Ji Maeng-ho.

It feels like no matter what ball I throw, I’ll hit a home run. And they showed what they did during training during the game, putting Korea in second place in the WBC. That’s why I couldn’t help but feel nervous.

“Hey, why are you so scared?”

The catcher must have noticed Park Jeong-seop’s tense expression mixed with his expressionless expression, so he tried to relieve the tension by gently touching his body with his glove. Park Jeong-seop, who was nervous, didn’t hit the ball as well as the 5th starter.

There were many reasons why JT has never advanced to fall baseball since its founding, but the biggest stake among them was Park Jeong-seop.

‘This bastard is strangely weak when it comes to decisive moments.’

Although it is not revealed in the statistics, there is something that can be known about the catcher receiving the ball. Park Jeong-seop is weak when it comes to decisive moments. He was a reliable pitcher except in critical situations, but today was strange. In the bottom of the first inning, JT’s catcher had a strong feeling that his usual pitches were not coming out, both in his first at-bat against Ji Maeng-ho and also in his current at-bat.

“I’m a little nervous.”

And that feeling was true. Because the pressure that Park Jeong-seop felt from Ji Maeng-ho was greater than ever. So, in his first at-bat, he lost a pitch. In the second at-bat, the breaking ball did not land as expected.

‘I was lucky.’

“Why are you shaking after blocking it well? Relax, asshole.”

They say it was luck, but this is why Park Jeong-seop is nervous even after blocking two at-bats.

“brother. I can’t catch him with my checks. “I will try to make it as easy as possible to apologize.”

“The next batter, Kim Soo-honde?”

“Ji Maeng-ho is scarier than Kim Su-ho.”

The presence of first base runner Ji Maeng-ho. Park Jeong-seop was scared of batter Ji Maeng-ho, but he was also scared of runner Ji Maeng-ho.

“Is it that much?”

“yes. “You’re really good at timing.”

Amazing timing, avoiding checks at all costs and running only when a breaking ball is thrown. Even when training with the national team, there was not a single person in the battery who could catch Ji Maeng-ho. Even Seong-Hyun, a left-handed pitcher who sometimes catches runners in check even in the major leagues.

“I get it. “I’ll try my best.”

“… yes.”

‘You’re good at timing? Well, you’re a kid.’

JT’s veteran catcher snorted after hearing Park Jeong-seop’s words.

No matter how fast a runner is, stealing bases comes down to timing. And he never thought that a first-year kid would be able to get the timing right from him, a veteran catcher.

‘Jeongseop, the problem is that this bastard pecks alone. Tsk. What should I do to help?’