episode_0238

On the day when my long suspension was lifted and I was playing in a game for the first time in a long time, I was greeted by the nostalgic atmosphere of the locker room before the game started. I felt the atmosphere and inhaled the smell.

‘Useup, it’s good as expected…’ No, it still sucks.’

There was no musty smell, perhaps because I took a quick shower after training, but it still didn’t feel good to see the boys smelling like shampoo, body wash, and perfume. As I was feeling the atmosphere of the locker room, the weather forecast came to me.

“This guy, maybe because he came back from rest, he looks bright.”

When I wasn’t away to an away game, I kept seeing him at the training ground. What does this mean?

“What are you talking about? “We trained together yesterday too.”

“… done.”

“Brother Sangju, Meng Hao still don’t know? “He’s clueless.”

Laughter spread throughout the locker room at what a senior said. What, why are you smiling?

“Hey, Ji Maeng-ho. “Eat this.”

At that time, Choi Jin-cheol came over and held out a white object to me.

“huh?”

“Tofu bastard. Let’s eat tofu and play with a new mind.”

What Choi Jin-cheol handed me was a bowl of white tofu.

“what? It’s not like I’m being released from prison. Well, it’s still not bad.”

I answered curtly, picked up the tofu, and ate it in one bite. The taste wasn’t bad.

“Meng Hao, from now on you have to play healthily for a long time without getting into any accidents~”

“… “Do you feel bad about something?”

“Anyway, Meng Hao is back today, so let’s win. If you win today, you are winning. know? “Let’s win cleanly and take a day off.”

“okay.”

“yes!”

I tried to protest the oddly unpleasant tone of voice, but the atmosphere had already changed, so I just moved on. Because it wasn’t important anyway. What’s really important is today’s game.

AT Thunders’ performance remained in 3rd place during the 10 games I was away, but that was something of a disappointment. Even before I was suspended from business, the team was on the rise and was able to move up, but due to my suspension, the momentum was interrupted and it felt like we were stuck in 3rd to 5th place.

‘If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have hit her.’

I was intoxicated by the blood of the moment and shook my fist, but in hindsight, I regretted it a little because it broke the team’s flow. There was also a way to just check the seasoning and then soak the base cover, but I was too stupid.

‘Is that so, Mr. Rossby?’

Fuck, this guy went to see the cheerleaders again. After finding out that there was a separate cheerleading lounge, Rossby stopped watching the crowd and started going to the cheerleader lounge. Well, it doesn’t matter because I’ll be back when the game starts.

“Meng Hao, it’s been a while since you played. Are you in good condition?”

“yes I’m okay. “You saw it during training.”

“Well, I was worried for no reason about a .400 hitter.”

“I’m in the best condition today, so look forward to it.”

There were some seniors who were worried about my game sense, but I was in excellent condition because I rested for 10 days in this hot summer.

“Meng Hao, then can you make me a winning pitcher today?”

Today’s starting pitcher, Park Jun-hyung, who currently has 9 wins, probably heard me, and approached me.

“Senior, pitch only 5 innings. “It doesn’t matter how many points I give.”

I answered Park Jun-hyung with a smile.

“Boss, please. let’s go.”

“yes!”

As I left the locker room and made my way to the dugout, this feeling I felt for the first time in a long time was making my heart race.

*

[JT Gold Eyes and AT Thunders, the fourteenth game of the season between AT Thunders and JT Gold Eyes. It takes place in Jamsil. Hello, this is caster Lee Han-won.]

[Hello, this is commentator Jang Myeong-jun.]

[Is Jamsil full today? Even though it’s a Sunday game, it’s not easy to get a full crowd, but that’s probably because today’s game is that special, right?]

[you’re right. Today’s game is the game where Ji Maeng-ho’s disciplinary action will be lifted. I think many fans gathered to watch Ji Maeng-ho’s comeback match.]

[The third base side is also full of fans wearing AT uniforms, and it seems like AT fans have high expectations.]

[Yes. The team, which had not been able to even step foot on the threshold of fall baseball for over 20 years, has almost confirmed fall baseball under the leadership of coach Lee Soo-hyun, the team’s legend. As long as we don’t lose all of our games starting today, we will definitely go to fall baseball. And at the center of it all is this player, Ji Maeng-ho.]

[The screen now shows Ji Maeng-ho warming up. Looking at your smile, you don’t look nervous at all, right?]

[Actually, Ji Maeng-ho has long since passed the stage where he would be nervous. Although he is a rookie, Ji Maeng-ho has more courage than most veterans. .400 with 45 home runs. It’s a performance that a nervous player can’t record, right?]

[That’s right. Ji Maeng-ho’s comeback game is drawing a lot of attention from baseball fans. In the top of the first inning, we start with JT Gold Eyes’ first pitch.]

A crowd of 10,000 won gathered in Jamsil. What the audience was looking forward to was Ji Maeng-ho’s performance. The game began with everyone watching with interest to see what kind of performance Ji Maeng-ho would show after returning from disciplinary action.

The visiting team, JT Gold Eyes, took the lead. The first batter, center fielder Lee Jun-sik, came to bat.

‘He’s a straight left-handed hitter, so let’s press upward.’

Park Jun-hyung, a pitcher on the verge of his 10th win, threw out the first pitch with that in mind. The first pitch is a strike that hits the batter’s body.

‘Are you feeling okay today?’

It’s already been three games since I accumulated 9 wins, and I was at the moment when I thought that if I couldn’t accumulate more wins, I would be caught in the 9th move and might not be able to achieve the 10th win mark, but fortunately, I was in good condition today. And regardless of his condition, the biggest positive factor in achieving 10 wins was behind him.

‘Besides, there’s a fierce tiger.’

Park Jun-hyung glanced behind him and saw Ji Maeng-ho, who was positioned between first and second base to catch the left-handed batter. Ji Maeng-ho seemed to have sensed his gaze and grinned. A confident smile.

‘I didn’t think that guy was this much of a hitter.’

A rookie batsman whom I saw for the first time when I went to watch the Internet broadcast of a 2nd team game. Even at that time, he was a rookie who showed remarkable hitting skills, but I never dreamed that he would do so well in his first year. No, he went beyond being good and became an indispensable player for the team.

As long as Ji Maeng-ho is holding on at the plate, there is only one thing for the pitcher to do. Trust Ji Maeng-ho and throw the ball. Park Jun-hyung knew that well, so he trusted Ji Maeng-ho and threw the second ball.

Perfect!

Lee Jun-sik pulled Park Jun-hyung’s second ball, and the ball rolled toward second base.

“Second!”

Park Jun-hyung saw the rolling ball and shouted. But there was no urgency in that call. Because not only batter Ji Maeng-ho but also fielder Ji Maeng-ho was a reliable player. He was also a player who provided reassurance to pitchers due to his brilliant defense that came from his unique beast-like athleticism.

‘I want this… laugh?’

While Park Jun-hyung was thinking such things, an unfamiliar sight unfolded in his eyes. The ball hit the ground and suddenly bounced, and Ji Maeng-ho was unable to handle it.

“uh?”

[Ji Maeng-ho missed the ball! The batter and runner have already reached first base. Ah, this is a mistake.]

[As expected, is there a problem with the sense of the game? Of course, there was an irregular bounce, but this ball should have been dealt with, but it is unfortunate.]

[Now, runner on first base with no outs. Park Jun-hyung gets into trouble from the first episode.]

“Ah, senior, sorry.”

“… no.”

Ji Maeng-ho still looked confident and handed Park Jun-hyung an apple. Park Jun-hyung was slightly annoyed by the expression on his face that made a mistake and didn’t think it was a big deal, but he tried to accept the apology with an expressionless expression.

‘Hey, we got a few wins thanks to Meng Hao, but let’s calm down, Junhyung. Nothing.’

Although Park Jun-hyung had mind control, the pitcher was a sensitive creature and would have been shaken if he gave up first base in a situation where he could have easily counted out. Even more so if it’s just the 1st time.

[Baek Min-seok’s surprise bunt! Ah, this time Park Jun-hyung fumbles the ball. To second base, give up second base! Throw to first base! Ah, Baek Min-seok goes in first! Now you are on 1st and 2nd base with no outs! JT Gold Eyes gets a chance from the beginning of the first inning!]

[It seems like Park Jun-hyung was affected by his previous mistake, right? It would have been fine if I had simply thrown it to first base, but the judgment was disappointing.]

“Money Mind! “Money mind!”

Ji Maeng-ho applauds Park Jun-hyung, who made a mistake, with his glove and shouts to him not to worry.

‘Fuck, you made a mistake first!’

Seeing Ji Maeng-ho like that made Park Jun-hyung feel feverish, but he held back this time as well.

‘Whoa, the nine numbers are terrible. Let’s endure, let’s endure.’

And JT’s third batter, Jang Hyun-ho, came to bat. Park Jun-hyung felt a little relieved at the appearance of the hitter he had been eating with until last year.

‘Hyunho hyung, I heard he’s playing well at JT…’ . Well, anyway, it’s Jang Hyun-ho.’

The basis of that feeling of relief was because I knew Jang Hyun-ho well. He was a player who had a batting average of around .300 and hit double-digit home runs every year, but he was weak in scoring power and did not have a good starting pitching plan, so his saber stats were much worse than his classic stats. The type of player that fans call ‘Schichi’ (a stat bastard).

Jang Hyun-ho, who he watched from the dugout, was a player who hit a double play at every moment like this. The score sheet he saw during the meeting did not seem to be the Jang Hyun-ho he knew, but like most players, Park Jun-hyung was a player who trusted his senses rather than his records.

‘Well, it seemed like it was still the same when we met before.’

He catches Jang Hyun-ho in a double play and catches foreign batter Bell to end the inning. After quickly calculating, Park Jun-hyung decided to throw the ball low to his body to induce a double play.

However, Park Jun-hyung did not know. What efforts has Jang Hyun-ho made since being traded to JT?

The current Jang Hyun-ho has already surpassed a career high of 18 home runs, and his batting average is close to .300, making him a hitter worthy of the term ‘talat effect.’

Ta – evil!

Just like that, Jang Hyun-ho’s batted ball missed the fence, and Park Jun-hyung ended the inning without even realizing it and came into the dugout.

“… “Fuck.”

“senior.”

As he was sitting on the bench and swearing, Ji Maeng-ho came up to Park Jun-hyung and spoke to him.

“Anyway, an earned run is only 1 point. “Both runners made errors.”

The sight of him clumsily consoling himself. It was so absurd that the guy who made a mistake in the beginning of the first inning said something like that, so I couldn’t speak well.

“Ha, is earned run a problem now? 3 runs in 1st inning. “Fuck, I’m going to lose if I keep doing this.”

“Senior, I am there. “I guess I’ve lost my senses because I’ve been suspended for so long, but I’m smart.”

The image of Ji Maeng-ho speaking while pounding his chest. Even though he was a junior who made a mistake, he somehow seemed extremely reassuring.

‘If this guy… .’

A strange belief enveloped Park Jun-hyung that Ji Maeng-ho would be able to overturn the 3-point gap at any time and give him the victory. And Park Jun-hyung looked around. The surrounding players were just calmly preparing for the next attack.

If it had been last year, the moment the game was down by 3 points in the first inning, there would have been an atmosphere of defeat in the dugout, but not this year. Because the team members had the thought that they could turn the tables at any time with Ji Maeng-ho.

Although it was only less than five months, Ji Maeng-ho’s performance was enough to drive such thoughts into the consciousness of his teammates.

“… “Yes, please.”

“Please leave it to me.”

An earnest request from a starting pitcher. At that request, Ji Maeng-ho, full of confidence, smiled.

‘This guy is so fucking whining after hitting a home run.’

… While hiding his true feelings.