episode_0259

Ta – evil!

The ball, which felt like a touch, flew in a beautiful parabola toward the left pole.

‘Are you going to pass?’

A batted ball that is difficult to see with the naked eye. I checked the position of the batted ball until the end, but the batted ball cruelly deflected past the pole.

And then the third base umpire called a foul.

“ah! “Kabi!”

“haha! “It’s no big deal.”

“really?”

Was it a little fast?

“Wouldn’t this make your head complicated? You can’t even tell whether to throw a fastball or a breaking ball, right? “You want to run outside, right?”

It was disappointing that I couldn’t hit a home run, but I couldn’t rest my mouth. I had to harass the catcher as much as possible to make the rest of the game easier.

“… Why are you suddenly being polite?”

Even just thinking about it, the catcher’s voice trembles due to his angry tone.

“why? no? “If you don’t like it, don’t.”

“This respectable bastard, to the end… .”

‘It’s a slider.’

‘Oh, one more slider here?’

After seeing that batted ball earlier, you probably won’t throw it towards yourself again. If so, it is most likely an outer slider… . Although I was anxious because I had a foul strike, I decided to take a gamble. Anyway, even if I miss the swing, I still have one strike left.

I finish preparing to push and wait for Austin’s pitching motion.

‘Come, Sipsae.’

And then Austin’s ball leaves my hand and flies towards me, and I feel like I can see the ball spinning. His slider gradually moved away from my body, and I stretched out my arm and struck the bat accordingly.

Ta – evil!

Unlike the previous hit, this is a hit that flies slowly while drawing a high parabola. The ball was flying through Jamsil’s outfield while maintaining a high trajectory.

“light! light!”

Sign calls from fielders were heard here and there, and right fielder Choi Jae-hyun followed the ball and soon stopped. Even when Choi Jae-hyun reached the fence, the batted ball was gliding in the sky of Jamsil.

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

-Waaaa!!

“Hey, slider again? It’s not like he saw me as an asshole, but what if he throws the same ball twice in a row? Tell Coach Battery to change the sign. okay? “It’s so boring as it is.”

“… … .”

He takes off his catcher’s mask, throws a word to the catcher, who is looking at the right-field wall where the batted ball flew, with his mouth open with a dumb expression on his face, and heads to first base.

“nice. Since the score is tied, let’s go back next time.”

“Please just leave it to me.”

After exchanging high fives and greetings with the first base coach, the umpire opens his mouth as he slowly enters the home lane while watching the enthusiastic crowd.

“Let’s go around quickly.”

It was a little annoying, but I deliberately turned late to scratch the pitcher, and the umpire seemed to have noticed because he had some free time.

“Oh, sorry.”

I apologize quickly because I might make a bad decision in the next at-bat.

“Hey… . “How do you get past Jamsil by pushing?”

“Seniors also do some exercise. Shall I tell you the routine?”

“… done. Now, bat.”

As I handed over the bat to Baek Jeong-jin, who had been on base as the leadoff hitter, and entered the dugout, my teammates greeted me warmly again.

“Huh… !”

And Lim Jun-hoo, who is trying to be hugged. I pushed him away and drank the Pocari that someone gave me.

‘Of course, drinking Pocari after hitting a home run is the best.’

Perfect!

And even the hitting sound that makes the pocari more delicious.

“Kim Su-ho Nice!”

“it was good! Let’s go to the reverse!”

Even in the dugout, Austin’s expression is visible. He allowed three batters to get on base in a row without being able to count out a single out. And for me, a home run.

‘It looks good. ‘Who dares to compete so arrogantly?’

“good! Shake, shake, shake!”

“Hit a weather pole!”

The most difficult innings for a starting pitcher are the 1st and 5th innings. Among them, the 5th inning is the third time most batters face the starting pitcher’s pitch, so batters get used to the pitcher’s pitch.

Perfect!

And the batters behind me are veterans who can get used to the pitches thrown by the pitcher. The weatherman’s batted ball clearly split the right-center field. Kim Su-ho, who was on first base, moved to third base, and batter Ki Ki-joo moved to second base.

-Choi Jin-cheol! Choi Jin-cheol! Choi Jin-cheol!

A packed crowd can be heard chanting Choi Jin-cheol’s name. That loud voice anticipating a reversal. After a persistent battle that reached a full count, Choi Jin-cheol sent the ball into the deepest part of Jamsil Stadium. UG’s center fielder stood at the end of the warning track and caught Choi Jin-cheol’s batted ball, but it was not enough to catch third base runner Kim Soo-ho, and even second base runner Ki Ki-joo succeeded in reaching third base.

“done! “It’s a reversal!”

“Senior Jincheol! nice!”

“what a waste! “If it wasn’t for Jamsil, I would have passed over everything!”

After patting the helmet of Choi Jin-cheol, who made a comeback hit, he turned his eyes back to the stadium and saw Woo Gwan-hyeong carefully selecting the ball.

Perfect!

And a technical push to guide the weather note home. In the end, Austin left the mound without making it past the 5th inning.

‘Tsk, it would be easy to deal with that guy, but it’s a shame he changed. If this happens, will it be outside again from the next at-bat?’

I was a little disappointed that Austin Webb, the pitcher who would take the game with me, came off the mound, but I was relieved because it meant that the team’s chances of winning increased as the starting pitcher came off the mound.

6:4. It wasn’t a reassuring score difference, but looking at the condition of the batters today, I felt a little reassured because I thought it wouldn’t be a problem to increase the score further.

“Sanghyeon is ready, right?”

“yes. “I was preparing him from the beginning of the fifth inning.”

“From episode 6 onwards, let’s go to Sanghyun.”

“All right.”

‘A sure victory team will be activated from the 6th episode? Well, is it okay since it’s Sunday? Okay, let’s grab some today and let’s go.’

*

“… … .”

“… … .”

After the bottom of the 5th inning, which was a nightmare for UG fans, the atmosphere in the UG Overlords dugout was cold. Perhaps because the break between innings is a long cleaning time, each second feels like a minute in silence.

“Seungjun.”

And director Moon Ki-taek’s low voice broke the silence.

“Yes, director.”

Catcher Park Seung-jun responds in a hushed voice when he pitches a big inning. In fact, a veteran catcher would have been able to break the flow of excited Austin Webb, but Park Seung-jun’s head was filled with Ji Maeng-ho’s words, so he was busy taking care of himself.

“The last batter didn’t follow his signature, why is that?”

“sorry. “Director.”

The director’s reprimand, but Park Seung-jun also had something to say.

“It seems like I can read all of Coach’s autographs.”

“There’s no way our autographs will be exposed?”

When Moon Ki-taek heard that his autograph would be read, his poker face broke, which was rare during the game. Moon Ki-taek trained as a coach in Japan, where precise analysis is conducted to steal signs from the opposing team. Moon Ki-taek knew very well that one exposed sign could lead the team to defeat, so in extreme cases, he would change the key sign every inning.

But the cause of death was exposed… . Seeing Director Moon Ki-taek blushing, Park Seung-jun waved his hand.

“No, the cause of death was not exposed… .”

And Seungjun Park looked around to find the location of the battery coach. After confirming that the battery coach was far away, he opened his mouth in a low voice.

“Well, I think I read Coach’s sign perfectly. Ji Maeng-ho said something like that. “It’s obvious.”

“… okay?”

“yes. So, today I’d like to give a cheek mix, is that okay?”

Every human being wants to have his or her worth recognized. Park Seung-jun also wanted to use this opportunity to be recognized for his ball mixing skills. So that the salary given by the club is not wasted.

“Okay, Coach Choi seems to be in a bad mood today. Take care of the rest of the inning.”

“thank you. “Director!”

What I mean by “for the remaining innings” is that I will take full responsibility for today’s game. This was a big opportunity for Park Seung-jun, who wanted to go to the game and make his value known.

“I will do my best!”

“okay.”

Park Seung-jun left and Moon Ki-taek fell into deep thoughts again.

‘Tsk, today’s game was bad. As expected, since Ji Maeng-ho explodes, AT’s batting lineup begins to explode. Is this the first big inning of the series? As expected, it was right to blockade Ji-Maengho. Web, that guy must have learned something from today’s game. This is better than showing off your pride in fall baseball. Moreover, with today’s game, Austin’s ERA has dropped to second place, so he won’t have to miss the rest of the schedule due to illness.’

Director Moon Ki-taek, who quickly created a loss statement in his head, came to a conclusion.

‘They gave us one game, but if you think about the big picture, it’s not a loss. ‘For today’s game, I’ll just have to save on the pitcher.’

Under coach Moon Ki-taek’s judgment, UG’s bullpen began to operate in the 6th inning. Although they are not a sure-win team, if they go to a club with a weak bullpen, they have the resources to be a sure-to-win team. And in the bottom of the sixth inning, Ji Maeng-ho came to bat again.

[With one out and a runner on first base, Ji Maeng-ho comes to the plate. Ji Maeng-ho, is hitting 59 home runs with 2 home runs today?]

[One to the left, one to the right. Ji Maeng-ho looks to be in quite good condition. Choi Seung-gi needs to be careful! I hit it again!]

[Ji Maeng-ho hits the first pitch! This batted ball… !]

As soon as Ji Maeng-ho entered the batter’s box, the ball he hit began flying like a laser towards the electronic display board.

Tung-!

-Wow!

The sound of the batted ball hitting the electronic display board was drowned out by the enthusiastic cheers of the audience.

-Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maengho!

[Ji Maeng-ho achieves his 60th home run of the season! Just one step left in Joo Hyung-jin’s record!]

“… This time I paid… .”

“what? Did you sign it? Let’s just leave it to Coach Battery. “It’s easier than before.”

Ji Maeng-ho, who shattered the mentality of a catcher, leisurely headed to first base.