episode_0241

“Baby, look at your confidence. “You can hit a home run at any time or something like that?”

“of course. “It’s harder to hit a triple than a home run.”

A triple in the first at-bat. And a double this at-bat. In fact, when I hit the ball earlier, the reason I thought about running to third base but stopped was because of the cycling hit. He has hit double-digit triples this season, but has never done so before. I didn’t want to miss that opportunity.

Kennett was destroyed by Choi Jin-cheol’s home run. Considering JT’s future pitchers, there was no reason why he couldn’t have a cycling hit this opportunity.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen someone like you who aims and achieves records. Anyway, let’s go in first.”

As we entered the dugout, the players welcomed us back after hitting a home run.

“Jincheol hyung! “It was a good home run!”

“nice!”

“thanks! Hey tiger! Thanks to you, I will get my 10th win today.”

The person who welcomed me with the loudest voice was of course today’s starting pitcher, Park Jun-hyung. When the ahead score came out, his expression looked noticeably brighter.

“Senior, don’t you know that a poker face is important for a pitcher?”

“Nigga, you just have to take care of it on the mound.”

“Well, I guess so.”

If the score difference is this large, it is not easy for the pitcher to be shaken. In the first place, a pitcher who could be shaken by such a difference in scores would have a hard time making the rotation at a professional club. Park Jun-hyung also played the remaining innings well, as expected of a player who was the number one starter in AT before Jang Yoon arrived.

“good. “Let’s go like this!”

At the end of the 5th inning, Park Jun-hyung’s record was 3 runs and 1 earned run in 5 innings. Although there was a slight accident in the top of the first inning, he completed 5 innings while meeting the requirements for a winning pitcher. The bottom of the 5th inning started after the top of the 5th inning ended. The leadoff hitter was me.

-Hit No. 4. Second baseman, Ji Maeng-ho.

-ji! Fierce tiger! Together! ji! Fierce tiger!

-Wow!!!

-Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maengho! Ji Maengho!

Steps walking to the plate. A mixture of cheers can be heard from the announcer, cheerleading leader, and fans. The defensive position I looked at as I entered the batter’s box was that both the infielder and outfielder were in a backward position, probably because they were aware of a long hit. In particular, the third baseman was in a position that was considerably further back than normal defense in preparation for hard hits.

‘Hmm. Mr. Rossby, shall we give it a try?’

‘Are you going to do that?’

‘yes. I think it will work.’

JT’s players seemed completely oblivious to what I was going to do. It was only natural that he would do that, since he had never tried this since he met Rossby.

‘Plus, since the pitcher has changed from this inning, the defense will be lax. Mr. Rossby, when the fastball comes, I’ll go right away.’

The action I will try this time at bat is a bunt. It was something I wouldn’t normally do, but it’s different now. What I need are hits and home runs. You can hit a home run at any time, but there were times when I went over the fence while trying to hit a hit, so I thought I wanted to hit a hit first.

‘Considering the third baseman’s defensive position and my main strength, this strategy will definitely work.’

Push the bunt hard toward third base and run to first base. If you look at the third baseman’s defensive position, it was a defensive position where you could just push in without having to clumsily cross the line.

“cheek.”

Lightly skip the first pitch breaking ball,

‘It’s a fastball. Get ready.’

‘okay.’

The pitcher’s fastball is thrown on the second pitch. And the pitcher did a windup. I laid down the bat according to the tempo of his pitch.

Tick!

The moment the ball hit the bat, I pushed hard and ran to first base.

“uh? uh!”

“Third!”

“what? hey! catch!”

The panicked voices of the guys coming from behind.

‘The third baseman caught it.’

When I heard Rossby’s words, I was already a few steps away from first base. It was quite funny to see the first baseman, who had hurriedly covered, reaching out with his glove towards third base in a hurry, but this did not slow down his nerves.

“Ji Maeng-ho! run! “Don’t slow down!”

The urgent call of the first base coach is heard just in time. Hearing that shout, I stretched out my feet to first base.

“Safe!”

“nice!”

“Ha, fuck, you bunt here.”

The first baseman’s despondent tone.

‘I heard it’s fun to hear the complaints of losers.’

-Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maengho! Ji Maengho!

The fans’ voices were also raised as loud as they could at the rarely seen sight of me bunting.

“Hey, Ji Maeng-ho, did you know how to bunt? “You don’t train to bunt, do you?”

“This is basic. “It’s not like it’s difficult, you just have to push it toward third base.”

“Of course, those who are good at baseball are good at it.”

“Do you know now?”

“This is why you shouldn’t praise him.”

After chatting with the first base coach, I receive a baserunning glove. Since I’ve already bunted, should I try running for the first time in a while? Because it was summer, I was a little reluctant to run, but maybe it was because I missed 10 games that I even missed the feeling of running.

“Am I going to keep running?”

“Okay, do whatever you want. “When did you get permission and run?”

The plan was to keep running like this and completely shake off the pitcher’s changed mentality.

“Second base!”

That’s how I was able to steal second and third base in a row, and with Choi Jin-cheol’s infield ground ball, I was able to score one point with just my foot.

“Hey, Ji Maeng-ho. Are you even bunting now?”

“Good, Meng Hao.”

“Let’s go easily.”

There are 4 innings remaining. What’s missing is one home run. I didn’t feel like I would fail today.

*

-Now Ji Maeng-ho bunts too. Wow, he’s a versatile player.

ㄴHonestly, it is overshadowed by the striking, but the main force is also at an all-time high. There are already 43 stolen bases.

ㄴBut you didn’t bunt well, did you? The third baseman was too far behind. Plus, he hits the ball fast, so if it weren’t for a player as fast as Ji Maeng-ho, I think he would have been caught.

You only know one, but you don’t know the other. The very fact that you attempted a bunt is important. Now, the shift will become difficult in Ji Maeng-ho’s at-bat.

Why?

If you push the infield back, bunt and pull it forward, the distance between you and the outfield increases. However, even though Ji Maeng-ho has power, he cannot move the outfield forward.

Oh no! okay. Thank you for the explanation.

-Today, I went 3 out of 3 at bats. He took 10 games off, but he is like Ji Maeng-ho haha.

ㄴHonestly, Korea is too narrow for Ji Maeng-ho now.

ㄴIt’s actually more awkward that there are no home runs haha.

– Haha, let’s see how fierce the opponent’s mentality is. Surprise bunt – stolen second base – stolen third base. If I were Ahn Jun-pyo, I would cry haha.

ㄴㄹㅇ I’m just joking lol.

That damn devil can just hit me, but he’s doing it on purpose haha.

-Oh, but isn’t that the fierce tiger god?

What is that?

No. Bicycle.

It was a triple, a double, a hit, right? There’s one home run left.

ㄴㄴBut if you are a fierce defender, you can easily hit a home run haha.

ㄴㄴㅇㄱㄹㅇ

-Wow, I see that Ji Maeng-ho’s cycling has one home run left.

So what number of cycling hits is this?

No, this is the first one.

Yes? The first one? It’s actually surprising that there hasn’t been a cycling hit so far haha.

So, did you intentionally bunt because of cycling?

No way. Is there any player who would intentionally bunt when he could fail? Haha.

ㄴㄴBut if it was Ji Maeng-ho, it might have been like that…

Ji Maeng-ho’s return match after 10 games. As he is a player who is heating up Korean baseball, the interest of fans was great. It didn’t take long for those fans to notice that Ji Maeng-ho was on the verge of a major record.

[Bottom of the 7th inning, Ji Maeng-ho’s fourth at-bat. Today, Ji Maeng-ho hit a triple in his first at-bat and a double in his second at-bat. He recorded a hit in his third at-bat.]

[Triple, double, hit. One home run is a cycling hit, right?]

[That’s right. Ji Maeng-ho has never recorded a cycling hit yet, so will he be able to achieve it in this at-bat? .]

[Because it is a home game and we are winning against the horse attack, this could actually be our last at-bat, right? Ji Maeng-ho is probably hoping for a home run in this at-bat.]

And the same applies to broadcasting stations. Although the cycling hit record was not an extremely unusual record, it was still a record that was only seen a few times a year, so the broadcasters forgot their neutral stance and hoped in their hearts that Ji Maeng-ho could hit a home run.

[Because the gap is 5 points, the pitcher won’t avoid the game, right?]

[you’re right. In fact, in the past, about 20 years ago, efforts were made to prevent opponents from achieving records, but that is not the trend in baseball these days.]

The commentator said so, but it is natural for any player to not want to set records for the other player. Choi Beom-soo, JT’s chase team member on the mound, also wanted to avoid a match with Ji Maeng-ho.

but,

[ah! Ji Maeng-ho! He lifts the bat and points at the fence! This is Ji Maeng-ho’s signature, right? A predicted home run came out in this situation.]

[Wow, that’s a lot of confidence. Usually, athletes are not conscious of the record when they are about to achieve it, right? However, Ji Maeng-ho was conscious of the record and declared that he would hit a home run.]

[To date, Ji Maeng-ho’s predicted home runs boast a 100% success rate.]

Ji Maeng-ho’s provocation touched Choi Beom-su’s pride. Even if he is in a chase team, Choi Beom-soo is also a professional player. It was natural for a player with the ego to tolerate such provocation in a situation unrelated to the game to have difficulty stepping onto the professional mound, and Choi Beom-soo was one of those professional players.

‘Director. ‘I will compete.’

Beomsu Choi turned his gaze and looked at the dugout. And then I made eye contact with the director.

‘okay. Throw whatever you want.’

Director’s permission signature. Beomsu Choi’s heart started pounding.

‘If we stop Ji Maeng-ho here… !’

It was not a dream for a coach or manager to see him again, and to make a mark and play in the first team next season as well. In addition, I also coveted the title of being the first pitcher to block Ji Maeng-ho’s predicted home run.

‘Come, Ji Maeng-ho!’

Ji Maeng-ho was looking at Choi Beom-su with an indifferent expression, not sure if he was aware of that look in his eyes. Those eyes that seem to be staring into space as if they don’t even care about themselves.

‘Okay, let’s see how long you can ignore me.’

Choi Beom-soo took that look into his heart and began exchanging balls with the catcher.

*

‘Mr. Rossby, please tell me the location this time.’

‘What is it, suddenly?’

‘It would be embarrassing if I couldn’t hit a home run like this. hurry.’

‘Bitch, you have to train even in situations like this!’

‘Surely, they’re not holding me in check just because I haven’t had a cycling hit?’

‘What is he saying now? This orangutan cub.’

‘Well, if you’re not keeping it in check, you can just let me know.’

‘Hmph, it’s a high ball outside the two-seamer. I think I’ll throw it into the zone.’

After all, Mr. Rossby is easy. Even if you scratch it slightly, it reacts like this.

‘Okay, OK.’

The pitcher looks very nervous. After seeing a predicted home run, they give me a record like a cycling hit? Once I saw the preview home run, it was obvious that it was difficult to stay sane. If I were a pitcher, I would hate to hit a home run in this situation.

‘Then it’s easy to lose your composure.’

Because the catcher’s mitt was inside the strike zone. You’re going to throw as hard as possible to avoid hitting home runs, right? It might be a little off. And after being provoked like this in front of a packed crowd, he pulls the ball away and avoids it? Especially in a situation where the game is tilted like this, a guy like that can’t be considered a pitcher. therefore… .

‘If it’s roughly similar, you can grind it.’

As I gathered all my thoughts, he also did the windup to see if he was ready. And then the guy’s pitch came flying out. Since I already knew the location, my reaction was that much faster.

Ta – evil!

Along with the thrilling feel of the hand, a good sound was always heard from the bat. You may not always be able to hit a home run by listening to Rossby about the type and location of the pitch, but there is a high probability that a pitch from a pitcher who is cornered like this will result in a home run. It seemed like he was so concerned about ball control that he couldn’t put any effort into the ball.

“There’s nothing more to see.”

I just threw the bat and headed to first base.

-Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maengho! Ji Maengho!

A cycling hit recorded in the return game. The taste was exhilarating.