episode_0286

“Damn it!”

“Out!”

“Out!”

With rough curses, two outs were recorded, ending the first inning attack.

“Kavi.”

Kim Suho, who was on first base, calmly comforted Gisangju and headed back to the dugout. Gisangju’s expression seemed more frustrated than usual.

“Damn, if only it wasn’t a shift.”

“Kaviyo.”

“I’m sorry, I should have followed up with a hit.”

“Well, it was just one at-bat. But how about that guy’s pitches?”

Although I had heard about today’s starting pitcher, Patrick, during the pre-game analysis or from our leadoff hitter, Kim Juyeop, understanding how a batter like Gisangju felt was important. So, I inquired about Patrick’s condition for the day.

“Well, he’s similar to his usual self, but his speed is 2-3 km/h faster. He seems to be pitching with full force from the first inning. I could feel the power when I hit. His control seems a bit off, though.”

“Okay, noted.”

Patrick’s average speed was around the late 140s. With today’s peak speed hitting 154 km/h, he seemed to have sharpened his skills for the stage of autumn baseball. When I faced Patrick during the season, he was a skilled pitcher who threw various breaking balls based on excellent control. He had good chemistry with our main catcher, Lee Yonggi.

“He seems to be throwing harder today. Must be the postseason, right?”

If he pitched like he did during the season, I could easily get a double off him, but with the extra power he was putting into his pitches today, things would be different. Power pitchers were a bit trickier for me. It would have been nice to face him from the first inning, but with all the outs recorded, I shrugged off my disappointment, grabbed my glove, and headed back to the dugout.

“[Hey, Ji. Hurry up and come out.]”

“Fortunately, Crongs seems to be in good shape. If I can score a few runs, today’s game should be easy, right?”

Even though our offense ended fruitlessly after facing Crongs’ powerful pitches in the first inning, I didn’t feel particularly disappointed.

Thud!

“Out!”

“Strike! Out!”

“Strike! Out!”

Continuing his form from the first inning, Crongs thwarted our offense.

“Mangho! Just one favor!”

As the second inning arrived, I walked to the plate, listening to my teammates’ cheers.

“Hi. Long time no see.”

“Yeah, it’s been a while. Take it easy, Mangho.”

I greeted Lee Yonggi behind the home plate and settled into my batting stance. It felt familiar being back at Jamsil after a long time.

-Ji Mangho~! Ji Mangho~! Oh oh oh oh! Thunder’s Ji Mangho! Send it flying~ to the ends of the sky!

The echoing chant made me realize that I was truly back at Jamsil.

“Give me a good pitch.”

“Are you crazy? You’ve been walking all series.”

“Hyung, can you catch this one? Or should I just walk away?”

“Can you run even with a broken rib?”

Despite Lee Yonggi’s dead-ball declaration, I wasn’t particularly intimidated. From what I had seen of him so far, he wasn’t the kind of player to resort to such dirty tactics. He probably aimed to make me conscious of inside pitches and compete on the outside. It’s tough to hit outside pitches at Jamsil.

“It’s a fastball.”

“Got it.”

Starting with a fastball, is he going strong? I focused on the outside and waited for Patrick’s first pitch. And as the ball came towards me…

“Huh?”

Thunk!

Realizing it was off, I forcefully pulled back my bat at the impact moment.

“Damn it…”

A hit rolling towards third base. Luckily, it went foul. I had been too conscious of the outside pitch and got fooled by the inside fastball.

“Damn, was I too conscious? Completely fooled.”

“Geez. Just watch and hit. Why overthink at the plate?”

“I need to think before I hit!”

“You’re better off just watching and hitting! Anyway, you idiot. To beat that guy in a hand-to-hand fight, you’d need at least another 10 years.”

“Hit….”

And as soon as he saw Paul, Rossby’s scolding continued.

“…But I’ve been doing pretty well lately.”

“Just shut up and watch.”

“Got it.”

“Mangho, feeling nervous?”

“…A bit.”

“Hey, kid, do you think I’m going to hit you? Relax, hit comfortably.”

As Yi Yong-gi managed to get a strike from the first pitch, his momentum increased. …Damn. I wanted to say something, but having played together from the WBC to the Asian Games and being one of the few players I got along with, it was awkward to provoke him. I might have gotten punched if I had caused trouble….

“…You really know how to get lucky.”

“Really, luck is on my side. I have the skills to strike out Ji Mang-ho.”

“It’s a curveball.”

“A curveball? Here?”

Yi Yong-gi wouldn’t throw a curveball without reason, right? This was definitely going to be a ball. Even if it came into the strike zone, I wasn’t worried because I couldn’t miss a slow curveball.

“Ball.”

As expected, the ball went outside the strike zone. The count now stood at one strike and one ball.

“Sigh, you’re not falling for it. Maybe I shouldn’t throw curves.”

“Hyung, I’ve faced you at bat several times and you still read my curveball. It’s just sacrificing one ball in the count.”

“It’s a fastball.”

“After the dropping curve, a high fastball is textbook, but… with Yi Yong-gi, it might be different…”

“Hey.”

“Got it.”

I abandoned thoughts of where the ball might go and focused on hitting it when it entered the strike zone. The speed of the first pitch displayed on the scoreboard was 153 km/h. Even if I tried to follow it, it was a speed I could handle. In times like this, it’s better to heed Rossby’s advice and just watch and hit.

“Ugh!”

With determination, Patrick threw his third pitch. The ball flew high towards my body. It was slightly higher than the strike zone but…

“…Too late to stop!”

Thunk!

A hit soaring to the left.

“It’s short!”

Kim Dong-jin, the left fielder who had moved back near the wall anticipating my power hit, swiftly started running forward.

“If he misses, it’s a double!”

The ball was high, but since Kim Dong-jin had also moved back quite a bit, it was worth a try. I ran as fast as I could around first base.

“The hit?”

“He missed it.”

“Okay.”

Since there was no cheering, it wasn’t a diving catch. That meant a close play at second base! As I slid into second base, feeling the dirt brushing against my pants and the base touching my spikes, I heard the umpire call, “Safe!”

“Wow, that was close.”

It was risky when you intended to hit. Since I was thinking about swinging the bat, if the ball came near the plate, I had no choice but to swing, even if it was a bad pitch.

But this time, luck was slightly on my side. The outfielders were far back due to my power hitting mindset, and Kim Dong-jin, one of the league’s best outfielders, couldn’t reach the ball in his position. If it was a standard defense, it would have been caught for sure, right?

“Man, he’s damn fast. Coming into second base with this?”

Of course, my quick legs played a part too, as Han Cheol muttered to himself. Anyway, the process wasn’t smooth, but a double was a good result with a runner on second base, guaranteeing at least one run.

“Should I run to third? Or should I give you the pitch type?”

After watching Choi Jin-cheol step up to the plate, I decided to reveal the pitch type first and then run to third if it became one out.

“Senior, the first pitch is a curveball.”

“Okay.”

Already, Cho Jin-cheol and I had exchanged many signs as soul partners during the season. When I gestured with my eyes and hands, Cho Jin-cheol immediately understood my sign.

Thud – Bam!

And a booming hit erupted. It was supposed to be an automatic home run in another ballpark, but being at Jamsil, I watched the hit from between second and third base. The ball flew towards the wall at a considerable speed, and,

“Wow!!!”

“Cho Jin-cheol! Cho Jin-cheol!”

The ball hit the wall and dropped. The player who caught it was the well-known center fielder Ju Seung-cheol, but it was unrealistic for him to snipe home from that distance, so he leisurely ran home. And the number 1 appeared on the scoreboard.

“Can’t live without AT~! Can’t live without AT~! Can’t live without AT~! Really can’t live without~!”

As the lead point burst out, the voices of the fans grew louder.

“Is Cho Jin-cheol going for first base?”

Cho Jin-cheol’s hit was fast, but his running was slow. Plus, there was center fielder Ju Seung-cheol. Although it was disappointing that Cho Jin-cheol stopped at first base, it was better than risking an out and spraying cold water, so I was somewhat satisfied.

“And the next batter is senior Gwan-hyung…”

If it was Woo Gwan-hyung, he was trustworthy. The following batter, Yoon Sung-tae, wasn’t as reliable, though. I thought we might score another point with this lineup.

“Great job, Maeng-ho.”

“This guy, his legs are really something. He should have gone into track and field.”

“Seniors, I’m Ji Maeng-ho. Hehe.”

After coming back to the dugout and exchanging greetings with teammates, when I took out a drink from the fridge, the sound of a hit rang out again.

Thunk!

…Quite an ominous sound. Setting down the drink I was sipping, I looked around the ground to see Woo Gwan-hyung’s hit miraculously sucked into the second baseman’s glove. A satisfying hit for the second baseman. Han Cheol, the second baseman, An Si-hoon, spread the ball to second base, and the ball that arrived at second base was thrown back to first base.

“Out!”

“Out!”

A picturesque 4-6-3 double play. It was the kind of double play that would have elicited applause if watched on TV. And Yoon Sung-tae’s turn at bat followed without even seeing a ball.

“[Haha! Still got one point. Just trust this body. Hahaha.]”

As Crongs laughed and grabbed his glove, already two double plays had occurred in the second inning alone. And they were from reliable hitters like Ki Sang-joo and Woo Gwan-hyung.

“It won’t be easy today, will it? Looks like I’ll have to… handle it after all.”

Overall, the batters seemed somewhat frozen. In situations like this, I knew I was the one who had to step up.

—

[Crongs’ powerful pitching! He walked a batter but struck out the leadoff hitter Kim Dong-jin with three strikes! Three scoreless innings!]

“A fierce pitching battle typical of autumn baseball is unfolding, isn’t it?”

“Patrick! This inning ends with a strikeout! The previous inning’s run doesn’t pose any problem.”

“Patrick is really on fire, isn’t he? His pitching seems like he’s giving it his all in every game!”

As Maeng-ho thought it wouldn’t be easy, the game progressed tightly with a one-point difference between the two teams.

“Kim Su-ho reaches base as the leadoff hitter! Two consecutive times on base today!”

“Oh! Ki Sang-joo hits it high! This ball goes far! Far! Ah, the right fielder catches it in front of the wall. Kim Su-ho makes it to second base. Now Ji Maeng-ho steps up to bat.”

Thus came Maeng-ho’s second at-bat in this tense situation. Maeng-ho went into the batter’s box thinking he would definitely hit a home run, but with one out and a runner on second, no team within the KBA would pitch to Maeng-ho, so he walked to first base on an intentional walk.

“Patrick! He gets out of this jam!”

And Patrick, who was unleashing powerful pitches, missed that chance. In a crucial playoff first-round game, Patrick was showcasing the kind of pitching he only displayed once a year.

Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6. There were no signs of the starting pitchers’ conditions deteriorating as the spectacle of zeros continued. In the midst of it all, Ju Seung-cheol, who came out as the leadoff batter in the top of the 7th inning, hit the ball.

[Ju Seung-cheol’s hit is a big one! Left field, left field, left field! It’s over! Ju Seung-cheol balancing the game! The score is now 1:1! Back to square one!]

A pitch right down the middle by Krongs. However, Krongs didn’t flinch at such a pitch and closed out the 7th inning.

“[Hey, Krongs, are you okay?]”

Concerned about fiery-tempered Krongs, Jung Yoon-chul spoke briefly in English, asking, “[I’m fine. I’m still strong.]”

‘Oh, why is he so calm? He was raging about losing the last game.’

Krongs responded calmly, ‘Phew, if it’s Ji, he’ll help me win again.’

The reason Krongs answered so calmly was simple. In the bottom of the 7th inning, he trusted Ji Maeng-ho, who was set to bat next, the most genius hitter he had ever seen.

[Now stepping up to the plate is the cleanup hitter Ji Maeng-ho. Today’s stats are 1 hit in 1 at-bat, one walk, and one run scored.]

[Patrick has thrown over 80 pitches, but he’s still on the mound. That indicates Patrick’s condition is good today. However, facing Ji Maeng-ho is a cause for concern.]

Moreover, the commentators felt strongly that something was about to happen during the game.

“Please, Maeng-ho god, please!”

Similarly, fans wearing striped uniforms of AT gathered, praying together with hope that Ji Maeng-ho would deliver a powerful hit. Every time they hoped like this, it was Ji Maeng-ho who delivered that powerful hit.

Such faith from AT fans brought anxiety to Hanchul fans,

“Maeng-ho always hits in situations like this… Ah, screwed.”

This anxiety was also felt by Hanchul’s starting catcher, Lee Yong-gi.

“Coach, Ji Maeng-ho is the leadoff batter next inning. What should we do?”

“If we walk him, it’s an automatic run, right?”

“…Sorry. I don’t think I can stop him with my shoulder.”

“Ji Maeng-ho’s batting average is .400. Out six times out of ten hits. So, I’ll bet on those six times. I believe in you. Be brave.”

‘…Sigh, I’m not confident either.’

Having received permission from the coach to challenge the outcome, Lee Yong-gi faced Ji Maeng-ho with a spine-chilling sense of impending change.