episode_0298

Thud!

“My ball! My ball!”

As Jang Yoon raised his hand high, the ball soared high towards me. An easy catch for an infield fly. Feeling the firm touch of the baseball in my glove, the out was declared. With this, three outs were made. True to someone with plenty of autumn baseball experience like Jang Yoon, he seemed to be in great form today.

“Nice.”

Jang Yoon acknowledged me after catching the final out count.

“It was an easy hit. Well, more importantly, senior, your pitches look good today, don’t they?”

“Do you think so too? How about trying to stand at the plate yourself? Think you can hit it?”

“…If it were me, I would have hit it, right?”

Unable to lie to my senior, I answered truthfully, making Jang Yoon chuckle as he responded, “Then hit a home run for me. Ah… It’s been over a year now, am I not being ostracized? Let’s go as smoothly as yesterday. Smoothly.”

“I’ll give it a shot.”

Although Jang Yoon maintained a composed expression as he pitched, it seemed he was still bothered by the lack of scoring. Of course, I wanted to ease Jang Yoon’s shoulders by scoring myself, but baseball wasn’t a solo sport.

And so, in the bottom of the 4th inning, Hyun Sung’s mercenary pitcher, Cares, seemed to have sharpened his blade as he faced the leadoff batter, Kim Suho, and managed to strike out Gisangju, bringing me up to bat unexpectedly.

‘Ah, as expected, today is my…’

Before I could finish that thought,

“Bases loaded!”

Perhaps due to it being two outs, Cares didn’t throw me any good pitches, forcing me to get on base with a walk.

“Damn, seriously, he’s avoiding me.”

“Mangho, are you going to run?”

“I have to run.”

In this situation, the best move was a steal. I had to signal Choi Jincheol about the pitch from second base. Despite signaling him in the previous at-bat resulting in a bunt, Choi Jincheol had a trick up his sleeve, so this was the only way to score.

“It’s a slider.”

“Okay.”

Waiting for the pitch, as soon as I felt the changeup grip, I sprinted to second base. Startled, Park Junghyun threw the ball to second base, but,

“Safe!”

It was undoubtedly a safe call. And Choi Jincheol and I locked eyes.

‘I’m counting on you, Mangho!’

“Leave it to me.”

Having played the season together, I immediately responded to Choi Jincheol’s earnest gaze, as scoring first was crucial.

“Ross B, it’s a forkball.”

“It’s a forkball! Senior!”

Acknowledging my sign, Choi Jincheol nodded firmly,

“Huh?!”

“He missed it!”

Cares’ forkball dropped unexpectedly.

‘If I don’t run now…!’

With the ball rolling behind the catcher, I ran to third base to avoid standing out, making it 2 outs with a runner on third.

‘This will be one strike, three balls…’

“Bases loaded!”

Despite showcasing his peak hitting form in the last game, Choi Jincheol didn’t get a good pitch, quickly leading to 2 outs with runners on first and third.

-Yoon Sungtae! Yoon Sungtae! Yoon Sungtae!

The next batter up in this chance was Yoon Sungtae.

‘Ah, damn, feeling uneasy. If only Kwanhyung-senior were here…’

While Yoon Sungtae had shown some good hitting in the first and second rounds, he couldn’t match Kwanhyung’s weighty presence.

‘Come to think of it, Kwanhyung-senior might be watching from the stands now. I miss him. ‘

Watching Yoon Sungtae swing, hitting seemed impossible. Today, he was missing Kwanhyung more than ever.

Thud!

‘Well, that’s how it goes. How do I perform well in both games?’

The result was an outfield fly. Hyun Sung’s center fielder, Yang Jihyuk, easily caught Yoon Sungtae’s hit. With this, three outs were made. Ultimately, we couldn’t score in the 4th inning, and the game continued.

“Guys! Gather around. It’s the 6th inning now. The 6th inning. This might be Cares’ last inning. If we don’t score here, we’ll have to face Hyun Sung’s winning formation. You understand, right?”

Episode 6, just before the attack began, hitting coach Lee Ki-cheol gathered the batters to explain the importance of this upcoming offensive. Though Lee Ki-cheol could be an irritable person, he was quite skilled in coaching, and his words just spoken were not incorrect.

By the end of the 6th inning, the likelihood of Hyun Sung’s winning lineup appearing was high. In the past two games, Hyun Sung’s winning lineup, which had never appeared before despite the widening score gap, was now expected.

With the hefty fastball, slider, and splitter, Lee Jun-ho, who recorded the lowest inherited runner scoring rate in the league, and sidearm pitcher Shin Dong-hyun, whose average speed ranged from the late 140s to a maximum of 154 km/h. Left-handed setup man Kwon Yul, who unleashed fastballs around the mid-150s.

And then there was the league’s best closer, Go Young-hwan, who boasted an average ERA of 0.93 this season and secured 51 saves. Especially noteworthy was Go Young-hwan, who was considered the league’s best pitcher, having declared his entry into the Major Leagues after the current season.

The reason Hyun Sung was regarded as having the league’s best pitching staff alongside UG was precisely due to this winning lineup. Particularly, while UG was rated higher overall than the chasing lineup or long relievers in terms of bullpen quality, experts believed that Hyun Sung’s winning lineup had superior quality.

“If the game remains tied until the 7th inning, Hyun Sung’s winning lineup will come into play. No, even by the 6th inning, if we get into scoring position, the chances are high they’ll step up.”

Looking around, it seemed like everyone shared similar thoughts, their expressions noticeably hardened.

“But fortunately, our batting order looks good this time. We can start with Ju Yeop.”

A favorable batting order was a good sign. If he could step up to the plate this inning, watching Cares’ pitches three times today would be a treat. As long as he didn’t just watch them, he seemed capable of sending the ball flying over the fence.

“And also, Gyung-hyung came to watch today’s game, right? He should show a good performance upfront. Let’s play without shame wearing that number 10 on our helmets. Okay?”

Furthermore, there was another important reason to win today’s game. Woo Gwan-hyung, who had decided on surgery after the Korean Series, had come to the stadium. While Daegu was too far for him to visit, since today’s game was held at Jamsil, Woo Gwan-hyung had brought his ailing body to watch our game. Thinking of him, we all wanted to win today’s game for sure.

“Invincible!”

“AT!”

“Ju Yeop, show us something when you come back!”

“Sure thing.”

After the meeting, Kim Ju Yeop, who had steeled himself with determination, stepped into the batter’s box with a resolute expression. And the showdown continued.

Thwack!

Kim Ju Yeop’s hit rolled towards the shortstop.

“Out!”

‘Well… that’s how it goes.’

Boosting morale during the meeting was good, but the result was an out. However, to some extent, this outcome was anticipated. Since reality wasn’t a baseball manga where a player who couldn’t hit could reach base just by thinking of an injured senior.

“…Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Shake it off. Straighten your shoulders.”

Choi Jin-cheol patted Kim Ju Yeop’s slumped shoulders, comforting him. I turned my gaze away from that scene and looked at Kim Su-ho standing at the plate. While I didn’t have high expectations for Kim Ju Yeop, the story was different for Kim Su-ho.

As the old saying in baseball goes, “There’s no such thing as a slump in the eyes,” other than me, the most consistent hitter in our lineup was none other than Kim Su-ho. Since he hadn’t reached base in his previous two at-bats today, statistically speaking, it was his turn to get on base this time. And he had to get on base this time!

Anxiously, I watched Kim Su-ho at bat. One ball, two balls, three balls. After pushing a few of Cares’ pitches with his bat, several fouls later, Kim Su-ho watched Cares’ final pitch in a full count situation.

And the result was,

“Bases loaded on balls!”

A walk.

‘That’s it! Su-ho senpai is truly reliable! I knew it…!’

I quickly grabbed my bat and walked to the on-deck circle. It would be nice if Gisangju could score here, but hitting a sacrifice bunt wasn’t a bad option from a non-double play situation. If I hit a sloppy double and first base ended up empty, they would definitely walk me.

Thinking back to the intentional walk I received earlier today, if that situation arose, it was definitely going to be another intentional walk.

“Sangju, please take it easy. If you’re going to hit, just hit a home run.”

While a home run would be great, given Gisangju’s current inability to hit home runs in fall baseball, I wasn’t expecting much.

“Well, Sangju isn’t lacking in hitting ability, but he’s strangely not hitting home runs.”

Putting aside that disappointment for a moment, Gisangju’s bat swung at Kares’s fourth pitch.

Thwack!

And Gisangju’s hit soared high. It went far, but it was unlikely to clear Jamsil Stadium. The right fielder easily caught Gisangju’s hit, and the ball was relayed to the second baseman. A clean out.

“Is this two outs?”

Two outs, runner on first, needing a big hit. I stepped into the batter’s box with determination. Luckily, it wasn’t a scoring position, so there was no pitching change.

“But still, Kares, who I’m used to now, should be better.”

“Hoya, let’s go for it. Today, we’re taking this one.”

“Give me a good pitch.”

“It’s a fastball.”

Was the first pitch really a fastball? Kares, who had been throwing over 150 since the beginning of the game, was now down to the mid-140s. With that kind of fastball…

Swish – a miss!

“Darn, was that too fast?”

I aimed for it from the first pitch, but it resulted in a foul. It seemed like my bat was a bit too slow.

“That swing is fierce.”

“That’s why you need to be careful.”

Perhaps sensing something in my swing, Hyunseong’s battery started to play more cautiously.

“Ball.”

“Ball.”

“This shouldn’t be happening.”

With two outs in this atmosphere, they’ll likely try to throw as many bad pitches as possible before forcing me to duel with Choi Jin-cheol. It was necessary to involve the catcher.

“It’s a curveball.”

“As expected.”

Throwing my favorite curveball here meant they were trying to force a walk without putting it in the strike zone.

“I have to swing here to give the impression that I’m not feeling well!”

Whooosh!

My bat swung wildly, cutting through the air.

“Strike!”

“Please, don’t catch on.”

Now it’s a 2-2 count. I wanted to make a play, and although Lee Yong-gi picked up on the situation and walked me, if it were Park Jung-hyun…!

“It’s a slider.”

Slider. If it comes inside, it means we’re going to battle, and if it bends outside, it means we’re not going to fight! I waited for his fifth pitch, creating a hitting zone inside and…,

“Here it comes!”

His slider curved towards the inside.

Swish – a miss!

As I hit his pitch, I kept my hand on the bat until the end. It was a satisfying hit. The ball flew towards the fence. With two outs, Kim Su-ho had already started running, and I, too, ran towards first base without even having time to admire the hit.

“Please, go over. Go over.”

If it were Mad Cats Park, it would have been an obvious hit, but in Jamsil, running with anxiety was only for a moment.

“Woah!”

“Jimaengho! Jimaengho! Jimaengho!”

Cheers began to ring out as if Jamsil was about to explode.

“Darn! This is it!”

“Mangho!”

The third base coach raised both arms, calling out my name. Since he seemed like he wanted to hug, I dodged appropriately and stepped on home plate. Kim Su-ho, waiting with my bat in hand, offered a fist bump. After our fists connected, Kim Su-ho calmly said, “Good.”

A brief word. Yet, in that short phrase, there was a sense of style. To show such restraint in a two-run lead…

“He’s quite cool.”

“Nice job getting on base.”

I replied casually like Kim Su-ho and then headed back to the dugout to enjoy the celebration with my teammates.

“Hey, this guy hit a home run, but he’s not really celebrating much today, is he?”

“Well, isn’t it obvious? It’s me hitting the home run. Where would you find someone who gets excited about breathing?”

“…Why does this guy have bad luck even when hitting home runs?”

Thwack!

“Ow! Why’d you hit me!”

Although he took another hit to the helmet, he didn’t feel too bad.

“That makes it 2:0.”

Then, Carres, who had been pitching well until the bottom of the 6th inning, stepped down from the mound, and Hyunseong, one of the key players in Junho’s boasting winning streak, took the mound. They were trailing by two runs, but since it was the final game, there was no room to spare pitchers, making it the obvious choice.

“Now, all that’s left is to trust our pitchers.”