episode_0207

“[Nice to meet you. My name is Matt Crongs from the United States.]”

“Nice to meet you. “This is Matt Crongs from the United States.”

Clap clap, clap clap, as the interpreter translated the new mercenary pitcher’s words, cheering applause rang out in the locker room. The players were heartily welcoming the new mercenary pitcher, Crongs.

‘Is it inevitable?’

As the expelled mercenary Jansen appeared in 9 games and recorded 2 wins and 6 losses with an ERA of 6.39 in 38 innings, it was natural for the players’ expressions to be bright.

“Krongs will accompany the team for a week and then pitch against Hyunseong in Daegu next Tuesday, so please help him adjust well in the meantime. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand.”

After Coach Lee Soo-hyun finished speaking, Crongs came over and began greeting the players. I started with Woo Kwan-hyung, the most senior, and after some time it was my turn.

“[Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot of stories. He’s the hottest hitter in the league right now, right?]”

“[okay.]”

“[As I heard, you are confident. I hope that your skills will be as good as your confident mouth.]”

“[I don’t expect anything from you. Just throw it like a human being.]”

“[…] ?]”

Crongs, honestly, I wasn’t really looking forward to it. How good will a player who came from the United States to Korea perform during the season? It was okay as long as they just threw it away like a human being. I heard from Soyoung that she has good innings pitching ability and that she pitches quite well, so I wondered how much a woman would know about baseball.

“[Mr. Is this friend really like this?]”

“[Well, it’s unusual.]”

“Brother, I understand all English.”

“Oh, it was like that. sorry.”

I said something to the interpreter and then smiled and spoke to Krongs.

“[For your information, I know that because they don’t treat me like a person if I can’t play baseball. okay? Let’s just do the basics, just the basics.]”

“[Haha, what a funny friend. Okay, I don’t hate people with that kind of confidence either.]”

Oh boy, is it because he’s American? There seemed to be no end.

“[Oh. And I enjoyed the video. It was huge.]”

video? what? Has my phone been hacked? The only great videos are those taken during sex? Could it be that they were leaked?

“[what? Are you sure you saw my sex video?]”

“[…] ? What are you talking about? I’m talking about the sniping ceremony video. Ah, I see. It was a Korean joke. Haha, it turns out that fun is a friend.]”

“[What kind of ceremony is this amazing?]”

Well, there’s no way it was leaked. It’s making people nervous for no reason. Seeing how he made a big deal out of something that wasn’t a big deal, it seemed like this guy was the type of person to make a big fuss.

‘Seeing all the fuss, it lasts until this year at most. Tsk, where did Soyoung get this?’

*

“Hey, Crongs!”

The day after Crongs joined the team, it was time for a joint training session between hitters and pitchers. The pitching coach called Crongs through an interpreter.

“How about a body that can throw a ball?”

“[Yes. Since he was throwing the ball all the way from the United States, his body is already complete. I feel like throwing it right away.]”

“Good good. I understand how you feel, but I still need time to adjust to Korea, so let’s start the actual competition next week. By the way, what about live pitching? “Can you do it?”

“[of course. whenever.]”

“Then let’s lightly throw about 30 to 40 pitches. “Our team’s hitters are among the best in the league, so it will help us adapt.”

“[oh. I wanted to see the skills of Korean hitters.]”

“Then, about five people, would that be possible?”

“[of course.]”

“okay. “Let’s just face five batters like in a real game.”

As the pitching coach took a step forward, Crongs looked at the interpreter next to him and asked a question.

“[I heard from the explanation that AT currently has the strongest batting line in Korea. Who are the five of them?]”

“[Probably those five people.]”

Woo Gwan-hyeong, a living legend who has built a milestone in Korean professional baseball.

Gi Ki-joo, who won the batting title three times and is a hitter with contact and slugging ability who can hit 20 home runs every year.

Choi Jin-cheol, the home run king who hit 50 home runs twice and 20 home runs in the major leagues.

Kim Soo-ho, the national team third baseman, is an all-round hitter who has excellent pitching skills and can play the role the team wants.

… and

“[Those four people and Ji Maeng-ho. “Did you see him hit a home run yesterday?]”

“[Yes, it flew far, but the sound of the hit was great. There was a reason to be confident.]”

“[He is currently the hottest hitter in the KBA League. His current batting average is probably .401 and he hit 29 home runs, including one yesterday. If you can catch Ji Maeng-ho, adapting to Korea will be no problem. Oh, it’s not that there’s no problem, but he could probably win MVP and be taken to the major leagues.]”

“[It seems like you have great faith in him.]”

“[Because he is a player with clear skills.]”

As we waited on the mound for a few practice pitches, all five of the AT Thunders’ leading hitters gathered together.

“Cronx! Are you ready?”

“[Ready]”

The first batter to come to bat was Kim Su-ho. Crongs, who did a windup, throws the first pitch to Kim Su-ho.

phut-! The first pitch is a ball. Although it was only a ball, Kim Soo-ho exclaimed in admiration at the fairly powerful ball.

“The tip of the ball is pretty good, isn’t it?”

“Because this is the guy the scout team worked so hard to bring in.”

The ball went back and forth a few times, and Kim Su-ho succeeded in making contact with Crongs’ ball. Result: ground ball to second base. Although he was out, Kim Su-ho’s expression was quite bright.

“Suho, how do you like the ball?”

“Is it good? The fastball seems to be in the low to mid 150s. And is a curved ball straight?”

“that’s right. The highest velocity is 96 mph and the advantage is a sinker in the low 140s. Well, there are evaluations that the pitch is light and there is no crystal ball, but if I were a perfect pitcher, I wouldn’t come to Korea, so I’m satisfied with this.”

“It’s good. It wouldn’t be easy to make contact with most batters, right?”

“yes?”

Although we competed as pitchers and batters, we were still on the same team. Rather, Kim Su-ho would have been disappointed if he had allowed a hit to a batter he was meeting for the first time. And the batter who followed Kim Su-ho was Woo Kwan-hyung. Woo Kwan-hyung also watched Crongs’ ball and retired with a fly to center field.

“Hmm, the ball is a bit light.”

“I can’t help it. Well, this is also Jamsil.”

“Still, I’m glad. “It wouldn’t have been easy to get this many mercenaries at this time.”

Gi Ki-ju and Choi Jin-cheol, who followed Woo Gwan-hyeong, also sent the ball a long way, but it was eventually caught by the outfielders.

In fact, in some ways, that was a natural result. First of all, in a match between a batter and a pitcher who met for the first time, the pitcher had an overwhelming advantage.

The pitcher’s biggest weapon is unfamiliarity. The reason why left-handed pitchers have an advantage over right-handed pitchers is because there were more right-handed pitchers than left-handed pitchers, and batters generally faced a lot of right-handed pitchers. Therefore, the trajectory of left-handed pitchers throwing balls was unfamiliar to batters, and that was why left-handed pitchers had an advantage in baseball.

That’s how the term ‘second year jinx’ came about. Because it was a natural law of the world for new players without any information to be analyzed and their performance to drop as their data piled up.

Moreover, baseball is a sport where pitchers have an advantage in the first place. Even if he succeeded only three times out of ten, he could be considered a good hitter.

Therefore, it was not surprising that AT’s four leading hitters were unable to turn Crongs’ ball into a hit. Moreover, the purpose of this live pitching was not only a means of confirming Crongs’ skills, but it was also a way to instill confidence in Crongs.

‘Hmm, is this the skill of the top hitters in Korea? As expected, if my skills are up to par… .’

And the method was spot on. Crongs was gaining confidence in his skills while facing four batters.

… Until Ji Maeng-ho came to bat.

Ta – evil!

“what? Did you pass it right away?”

“Wow, it flies so far.”

“[This is over?]”

Crongs was embarrassed as he watched the batted ball fly away. Was my ball supposed to fly like this?

“[Once, once more!]”

“[Try throwing it.]”

Ta – evil!

Ji Maeng-ho, who was watching a few balls, swung the bat, and this time the batted ball flew to the right. Although it didn’t become a home run, it was a hit that hit the wall directly.

“Hey, Ji Maeng-ho! Be gentle! “Take it easy!”

“Pitching coach, if I do this anymore, Crongs will be ruined, right?”

“Wow, that bastard’s condition has suddenly improved.”

“[…] One more time, just one more time.]”

Crongs wanted to face Ji Meng-ho once again. After several years in the minors and a few appearances on the mound in the major league. But I’ve never met someone like this before. That’s why I wanted to check again.

“Kronx is demanding to be dealt with again.”

“Meng Hao, what do you want to do?”

“I won’t do it. “It’s boring.”

“Yumma, if you go like that, what will become of Krongs? “Just strike out and come back.”

“Hey, it’s annoying… .”

Ji Maeng-ho, looking annoyed, came to bat again.

‘Hey, I guess I’ll just hit the first pitch and go out. Baby, it’s so squishy.’

‘It’s a curve.’

‘okay.’

Ji Maeng-ho swung his bat from the first pitch of Crongs, feeling as if the game would continue to be muddy if he was not put out.

Ta – evil!

“uh? Why is this little ball so light?”

A curveball was a ball he rarely threw against himself anymore, but he still felt the same, so the ball he hit lightly went over the fence.

“[Once, once more… !]”

“Yep! Coach, my stomach hurts. Oh, shit, sudden poop! “Sudden poop!”

Ji Maeng-ho, who felt like this live pitching would never end due to Crongs’ earnest cry, ran straight to the locker room.

“Ugh, just lose once. Hey, Krongs, don’t mind, don’t mind.”

“[Cronx, let’s try again with other hitters. “You haven’t even thrown 30 yet, right?]”

“[I want to do it with Ji… .]”

“[Suddenly Meng Hao said his stomach hurts… .]”

‘A hit like that when your stomach hurts? Ji Maeng-ho, this guy is real.’

In Krongs’ opinion, Ji Maeng-ho was a hitter with pressure that he had never seen before in his entire baseball career. In particular, the pressure he felt when entering his third at-bat was similar to that of the best hitters in the major leagues. His willingness to send any ball near the fence was similar to that of the superstars he had faced. With the superstars he admired.

But it wasn’t a situation where I was in full condition, but a stomach ache… .

‘Why is this guy in Korea?’

Ji Maeng-ho, a hitter who won’t be disappointed even if he goes to the major league right now. Crongs’ gaze as he looked at the spot he ran to was like that of a baseball boy looking at a superstar.

*

“Ai, why does that bastard keep looking at you like that?”

“who?”

“Seongtae, didn’t you feel it? That bastard has been looking at me like that all week. “Cronx, this bastard, isn’t gay, is he?”

It’s been a week since Crongs joined the team, and there’s something strange about that bastard’s eyes.