episode_0245

“Chae Jae-hyun, he’s in no fun condition these days. “It’s going to be quite difficult today.”

“I know. “If you look at the month of August, you can almost see him as a saint.”

Before the game started, I heard seniors gathered together and whispering. The seniors seemed to be aware of Chae Jae-hyun, who is currently a hot pitcher in the league. Jaehyun Chae won the MVP award in August with an ERA of 0 and 5 wins, so I could understand the feelings of his seniors, but it wasn’t very nice to see them talking from the beginning of the game about how difficult today’s game would be.

‘What can I do? I guess I’ll have to step up.’

I couldn’t stand that atmosphere because I wanted to leave a painful memory for the Hwasan fans who came to watch the game today.

“Seniors.”

“Oh, Meng Hao.”

“Why are you so worried? “I’m on our team.”

Baseball is a battle of momentum. I usually don’t do things like this, but it’s the youngest’s job to boost morale, so I guess it can’t be helped.

“Ha, this guy does it again.”

“When do you say I did this again?”

“Yumma! “If I played as well as you, we wouldn’t have to worry about it either.”

“Hey, I just have to look and hit. Is that difficult?”

“This kid is a right-handed hitter so he doesn’t know what pitch Chae Jae-hyun throws. Sangju hyung, right? “Brother, please tell me something.”

“It’s definitely hard for Chae Jae-hyun to hit. “Because when I throw, I completely hide the ball.”

hmm… . Since Ki Ki-ju even said this, left-handed hitters seemed to be having a really hard time. For some reason, almost all left-handed hitters were missing from today’s lineup.

“Even in the U.S., there were few pitchers who had that good of a deception.”

“Hey, who talked to Sangju hyung? “It’s starting again, bro.”

“bastard. “This is advice that will become your blood and flesh, so listen to it.”

Despite the weather warning, the gathered players began to leave.

If it had been at the beginning of the season, the players would have listened to the weatherman’s advice, but since it was revealed that once the weatherman starts talking about baseball, he has to stay for 10 minutes, the players tend to avoid the weatherman like they did today.

“Ugh, that’s why I can’t play baseball. Tsk. Anyway, it’s Meng Hao. “You know that deception is important in baseball, right?”

“… yes.”

Of course, as the youngest, I couldn’t leave that place.

‘Fuck, I started talking to you for no reason. This is why people shouldn’t do things they don’t do.’

“Do you know why Chae Jae-hyeon had good grades in August?”

“You didn’t meet me?”

“Ahu, you bastard. What have you heard so far? I was talking about Deception. Please concentrate. It’s Meng Hao. In my time, I tried to get at least a word of advice from my seniors. Kids these days… . Anyway, if you look at why Chae Jae-hyun’s grades have improved since August, Deception has become perfect. I don’t know who taught me, but now I almost turn around when I throw the ball. “Did you watch the video during the meeting too?”

“… yes.”

“I don’t know about right-handed hitters, but from a left-handed hitter’s perspective, you can barely see the ball. Also, the speed is in the low to mid 150s, so how difficult would it be to hit it? There was also a guy named Bumgarner in the major leagues. That kid couldn’t see the ball at all. But there was a time when I hit Bumgarner’s ball. As for how you hit it then… .”

Fuck, you started talking about your major days again. I should go to America quickly or something. At that time, the sight of Yoon Seong-tae coming into the dugout caught my eye.

‘That’s it!’

“Seniors.”

“huh?”

“But I’m Utazan…” . “Does what I hear have any meaning?”

Then, I slowly turned my eyes and glanced at Yoon Seong-tae. And Ki Ki-joo, who has the visual acuity of a top-notch hitter, caught the movement of my eyeballs and turned his head toward Seong-tae Yoon.

“Well, even if you listen, it won’t be of any use. hey! Kim Joo-yeop! Seongtae Yoon! “Aren’t you here for work?”

Meteor Joo called out loudly the left-handed hitters included in the lineup. Kim Joo-yeop, who had been avoiding the seat due to the loud voice, and Yoon Seong-tae, who had just entered the dugout, walked towards Ki Ki-joo.

‘phew. It’s finally over.’

I quickly left the place before the weather warning started.

‘But if Senior Sangju says something like that, it sure looks like Chae Jae-hyeon is throwing well these days.’

Ki Ki-joo was originally a talkative person, but that didn’t mean he was a person who praised pitchers who didn’t do anything special. In other words, Chae Jae-hyun is a pitcher with skills that meteorologists are aware of.

‘Well, that means he beat me and won the August MVP award.’

Of course, I would have received it even if I had not had a lack of at-bats due to the disciplinary action, but it is true that I still won the monthly MVP award, beating out prominent players.

‘Sounds fun.’

How upset would Hwasan fans be if such a pitcher was torn apart? My heart started pounding even before the game started.

“… So that’s it. When facing a pitcher with good deception, you can’t see the ball, so you have to hit faster than usual… .”

And the meteorological batting lecture continued until the national anthem sounded.

*

[The season is almost at its end. There are approximately 20 games remaining for each team. However, the ranking competition is not over yet.]

[you’re right. UG Overlords, in first place, has a winning percentage of 0.583. Hyunseong Mad Cats, in second place, is in a fierce battle for first place with a winning percentage of 0.582, and below them are the AT Thunders with a winning percentage of 0.564, the Hancheol Grizzlies with a winning percentage of 0.558, and the Shilla Triggers with a winning percentage of 0.551. Since there is only a 4.5 game gap between 1st place UG Overlers and 5th place Shilla Triggers, the remaining games are important.]

[That’s right. In particular, matches against lower-ranked teams are important. If you get hit by a low-ranking team, your ranking may drop.]

[Yes. In slang, they say they sprinkle red pepper powder, right? And since the Volcano Falcons are a team well-versed in spreading red pepper powder, the AT Thunders should be careful.]

[In particular, today’s starting matchup may be burdensome for AT. AT’s starting pitcher is Krongs, a foreign pitcher who came in as a substitute and has won 7 games so far, and Hwasan has August MVP Chae Jae-hyun on the mound. If AT loses the ace matchup, AT will likely suffer a greater blow.]

[And the Volcanic Falcons should not miss this opportunity. The Volcano Falcons have a lot of young and promising players, so their season experience of not giving up until the end will be of great help. Ha, personally, it’s a bit unfortunate that Hwasan’s players are players who can achieve good results if they have the opportunity… .]

[Commissioner, Commissioner.]

[Oh, sorry.]

[Big, big. Now, let me introduce the lineups of both teams. At the beginning of the first inning, AT’s attack consisted of 1st hitter Kim Joo-yeop, 2nd hitter Kim Su-ho, 3rd hitter Ki Ki-joo, 4th hitter Ji Maeng-ho, 5th hitter Choi Jin-cheol, 6th hitter Kim Sang-min… … .]

“what? “They removed Woo Gwan-hyung?”

“It’s Chae Jae-hyun, and he deserves to be removed. Unless you’re Kim Soo-ho or Ki Ki-joo, Jaehyun can’t even touch the ball.”

“Honestly, with Jaehyun’s form these days, even Kim Su-ho and Ki Ki-joo can’t touch him.”

“There’s nothing wrong with Uta, right? “Change one hundred days, will Chae Jae-hyun get robbed?”

Hwasan fans laughed while looking at the lineup of the AT Thunders, who changed their batting lineup to focus on right-handed hitters to deal with Chae Jae-hyun. The basis for that ridicule is Chae Jae-hyun’s form.

Chae Jae-hyun, who modified his pitching form from the start of the second half of the season to maximize the number of deceptions, was able to call up Seong-hyun, a legend of the team that had advanced to the majors since August, so it seemed natural for Hwasan fans to think.

The reason why the Hwasan Falcons were able to gather a home crowd on Tuesday, the start of the midweek series, even though they were a 10th-place team, was because it was Chae Jae-hyun’s pitching day. Volcano fans were excited about the appearance of another super ace.

Since baseball is a sport played by nine people, the impact of one person on the game was not that great. However, if that one person was a pitcher, it would be a different story. A player who can change the game on his own. Chae Jae-hyun’s performance these days is enough to make him someone who can change the game.

Therefore, Hwasan fans had high expectations for Chae Jae-hyun.

‘If Jaehyun is in this form next year, he can really escape the dark times, right?’

Chae Jae-hyun’s pitching was attractive enough to make Hwasan fans dream of escaping the dark ages, and Chae Jae-hyun was also enough to live up to the expectations of those fans.

[Swing strikeout! Kim Joo-yeop is brought back with three pitches and a strikeout!]

[Looking strikeout! Kim Su-ho shakes his head after a full count match! 2 strikeouts in a row!]

[Perfect circle changeup! This is a circle changeup that completely fools the weather forecast! Strikeout 3 batters in a row! Chae Jae-hyeon finishes the first inning with ease! This is a pitch that reminds me of the team’s senior, Seonghyun!]

“Jaehyun! nice!”

“This is it!”

The highest level of deception in the country, a velocity in the low to mid 150s, and a circle changeup that completely deceives batters. Hwasan fans clenched their fists from the beginning of the first inning upon seeing Chae Jae-hyeon catch three batters in a row.

“How is Jaehyun’s condition today?”

“If Chae Jae-hyun blocks 8 innings and Shin Su-ho blocks 9 innings, we will win if we score just one run. really.”

“Siwoo, give me just one point. Jaehyun’s form today is no joke.”

And I earnestly prayed for a miracle due to Ace’s good pitching. Was it because that prayer worked?

[#3 hitter, Choi Si-woo’s solo home run! The 27th home run of the season hits with two outs in the bottom of the first inning. Home team Hwasan Falcons takes 1 point first! ah! Chae Jae-hyun is smiling brightly!]

Choi Si-woo, another player that Hwasan fans are looking forward to, took the lead by hitting a solo home run.

Hwasan fans were on the verge of going into despair due to the performance of the two promising players, who began to show their talents this season.

Over the past 10 years, Hwasan’s results have been last in all but three seasons. Except for 2018, when they finished 5th and took the last train for fall baseball, they finished 9th in the remaining two seasons, so the hurt of Hwasan fans was indescribable. In addition, all the prominent amateur players who joined the team failed, and along with the AT Thunders, the team was ridiculed as a graveyard for promising players.

In the meantime, seeing promising players grow and perform like this, the satisfaction that Hwasan fans feel these days is at the highest level in recent times.

“AT Those bastards, even if they make a lot of money, it will end when they get old. After all, we need to develop promising players.”

It was a great joy for Hwasan fans who had endured the dark times to see the performances of promising players who would lead the team for the next 10 years.

… but,

[In the top of the second inning, leadoff hitter Ji Maeng-ho comes to bat.]

The joy of fans at the game did not last long.

[Leads the league in home runs with 52 home runs. In addition, his current batting average is 0.409, which is a new .400 batting average. Baseball fans can’t help but recognize this player, right?]

[you’re right. In addition, Ji Maeng-ho has achieved the milestone of 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases, a milestone that no baseball player has achieved in history, with only two stolen bases left behind.]

“Ha, fuck. “It’s Ji Maeng-ho.”

“That kid is a bit scary.”

The intimidating feeling of hitting a home run just by standing at bat. In just one year, Ji Maeng-ho has grown into a player who can give such an intimidating feeling to the fans watching the game.

Ta – evil!

[Let’s go! Ji Maeng-ho immediately ties the score!]

Baseball fans’ sad premonitions were always wrong.

“Ah, shit! “It’s Ji Maeng-ho again?!”

The expressions on the faces of Hwasan fans, who had been watching the prospects’ performances with fatherly smiles after Ji Maeng-ho’s game-tying home run, quickly soured. However, the sadness of volcano fans did not end there.

[uh? Ji Maeng-ho, what are you doing now after hitting a home run?]

This is because Ji Maeng-ho, who hit a refreshing home run, stood still at the plate and watched the batted ball. At that sight, the Daejeon stadium fell silent.

And Ji Maeng-ho made the next move. Ji Maeng-ho, not paying attention to the silence in the stadium, slightly tilted his neck and put his hand to his ear.

[Ji Maeng-ho puts his hand to his ear. Are you asking me to shout?]

At Ji Maeng-ho’s gesture to shout, the third base cheering crowd went into a frenzy, and loud cheers echoed through the Daejeon stadium.

-Wow!

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

Only then does Ji Maeng-ho move to first base. It was natural for Hwasan fans to feel heartbroken upon seeing Ji Maeng-ho like that.

“Ha, fuck. Even that damn ceremony is disgusting.”

“… It took us several years to raise Choi Si-woo, but why are they… .”

It took Choi Si-woo, who hit 27 home runs and is cherished by Hwasan fans as the emergence of an all-time great hitter, to perform like this for five years. However, it only took 6 months for Ji Maeng-ho, who is twice as good as him, to achieve these results.

Moreover, the frustration was even greater when Chae Jae-hyun, the team’s hope, collapsed in front of Ji Maeng-ho’s bat.

“under… . If only we had properly called for free agency… .”

“In front, Ki Ki-joo, and behind, Choi Jin-cheol. “Fuck, that’s why players have no choice but to grow.”

“We should have bought it… . “What are these motherfuckers doing at the front desk?”

The actions of the AT Thunders, who are showing a perfect movement to end the dark period by entering the fall baseball season thanks to the signing of large amounts of free agents and the outstanding performance of top rookies, were enough to ignite the hearts of Hwasan fans who dreamed of romance.

“Fuck, if this stove has zero bites, I’m actually going to the front desk.”

And how that fire spreads is a story a little later.

“Ji Maeng-ho, you bastard! “Can you get to the base quickly?”

Right now, all he wanted to do was swear at Ji Maeng-ho, who was slowly walking around the base.