episode_0301

-[PO] Ji Maeng-ho ends it with a home run! Breaking through the strongest closer.

…The game, which was progressing as a pitching duel, was ended by Ji Maeng-ho’s solo home run. Go Yeong-hwan took to the mound in a 2-2 tie situation to extend the game, but he couldn’t overcome the wall of the “Devil,” Ji Maeng-ho. …Meanwhile, Ji Maeng-ho was selected as the Playoff MVP after recording a batting average of 0.667 with 3 home runs and an OPS of 2.675 in the three playoff games.

ㄴMaeng-ho is insane.

ㄴHow did Go Yeong-hwan let that one go?

ㄴIn the end, MVP goes to Ji Maeng-ho haha, Choi Jin-cheol crying haha

ㄴChoi Jin-cheol really messed up in those three games haha

ㄴAs expected, the MVP goes to the training camp meta haha

ㄴGo Yeong-hwan gives up his first home run in 20 years, quite impressive haha

-AT’s batting lineup is really strong. Hyun-seong crumbling under the hits…

ㄴIt’s quite shocking that Go Yeong-hwan gave up a home run.

ㄴIt was an outside changeup, but seeing him pull it over, Ji Maeng-ho’s talent is truly exceptional.

ㄴWow, winning even in a pitching duel and advancing, I’m really looking forward to the Korean Series.

-I appreciate the support, but I had to deactivate my Instagram because of you guys. Damn. And the jerk who sent me a nude photo, I’ll find and kill him. Thank you for your support, I will continue to work hard. Please look forward to the second half of the season. [5583 comments]

ㄴThank you for your support.

ㄴThank you for your support.

ㄴI trust in the Korean Series. Maeng-ho…

-A chilling fact. Wu Gwan-hyeong only attended the third game.

ㄴHmm…

ㄴWell… I don’t want to believe it, but it seems like it’s true haha

ㄴWu Gwan-hyeong! Bring back AT’s lost 20 years!

ㄴBut this kind of post… If fans from other teams see it, they’ll think our team is full of jerks

ㄴIt was just meant to be a joke, sigh…

-Yeong-hwan-sin got exposed… It’s tough at the bottom, isn’t it?

ㄴBut he doesn’t know yet that he’s up against Maeng-ho.

ㄴMaeng-ho is beyond comparison…

ㄴYeong-hwan-sin was playing tricks during the season, so I knew this would happen.

ㄴIf you watch the WBC, both are at the same level at the bottom.

-Considering Ji Maeng-ho’s performance, can we call him the man of autumn?

Looking at the stats, in 8 games on September 0.429/0.600/1.571/2.171, and not to mention the Asian Games, where Ji Maeng-ho dominated. Additionally, Jun-pul had 0.615/0.688/2.154/2.841, and Flop had 0.667/0.786/1.889/2.675. Isn’t this enough to call him the man of autumn?

ㄴMaybe it’s because of the low number of games.

ㄴJi Maeng-ho is not just the man of autumn, he is simply ‘baseball.’

ㄴCertainly, his focus seems to be higher in the postseason.

-Damn, am I the only one watching Maeng-ho’s home run scenes on repeat since yesterday?

ㄴAll the fanboys are doing the same damn thing.

ㄴIt’s been 21 years since the last Korean Series, and I’m doing the same. Tears keep flowing.

-Ugh, but what about the Korean Series? UG’s rookies are intimidating, and it seems like the batting lineup is cooling off in the third game.

ㄴKorean Series will probably be carried by Maeng-ho.

ㄴHe’s just Maeng-ho.

*

“Man, that swing is killer even on replay.”

“That’s all there is to say, right?”

“Exactly. To stop a swing like that. Pulling an outside pitch from Go Yeong-hwan? Honestly, I think even most major leaguers would find that impossible.”

“So, sticking to the original plan?”

“Yes,

“Ha… But other batters are equally threatening…”

“If the AT lineup explodes, we can’t stop it either. We have to hope that Ji Maeng-ho gets shut down and the AT lineup doesn’t explode.”

“That’s right! No matter how good a lineup is, it can’t explode in all seven games.”

“I agree. If it were Jamsil, it might be different, but Ji Maeng-ho is a devil himself in Munhak. He must be filtered out in Munhak.”

“Then, let’s go with this strategy for facing Ji Maeng-ho.”

“That sounds like a good idea. Ji Maeng-ho can steal third base at any time, but not every batter runs to third base.”

“All that’s left is for our pitchers to hope to contain the other AT batters…”

“Our guys can handle it. Doesn’t it feel like AT’s hitting cycle has slowed down?”

“We can only hope for that.”

UG’s coach, Moon Ki-taek, decided on how to face Ji Maeng-ho in this year’s Korean Series after a long meeting. The answer was intentional walks. After much deliberation among the coaching staff, they concluded that not giving Ji Maeng-ho a chance to hit even if he gets on base was the correct approach.

“I’ll probably receive a lot of criticism for this Korean Series. But I’ve received enough criticism so far. For the sake of victory…”

Moon Ki-taek also knew that this method would likely lead to significant criticism from fans. However, the essence of being a professional was winning, and Moon Ki-taek was willing to do whatever it took to win.

“But I’m not sure if the players’ morale will be okay. Understanding and actually receiving criticism are different things.”

“It’s okay. I’ll take all the blame for any criticism. It’s all on me.”

“Coach, are you sure you’re okay? You have a contract renewal this year…”

The assistant coach approached Moon Ki-taek with concern. It wasn’t easy to let go of a championship-winning coach, but if public opinion turned against him, the team owner, who paid close attention to public sentiment, might decide not to renew his contract. And according to the assistant coach, this strategy was unlikely to sit well with public opinion. In fact, the front office’s evaluation of Moon Ki-taek wasn’t particularly positive even now.

Moon Ki-taek had been a controversial coach, often clashing with reporters and umpires. His continued tenure as coach was due to his consistent success in reaching the Korean Series during his tenure.

“It’s fine. I’ve been here long enough.”

In his sixth year as UG’s coach, Moon Ki-taek had secured two championships and three runner-up finishes. Six years was a considerable amount of time. The bond of trust between the team and the coach was starting to fray.

If this was indeed the end, he wanted to win the championship for the players who had worked hard for six years. And this method seemed to offer the highest probability of achieving that victory.

“Then let’s conclude today’s meeting with this. Let’s take a break until the Korean Series.”

“Okay.”

“Good job, everyone.”

With that, the coaches all left the meeting room, leaving Moon Ki-taek alone.

“Ha… Is this the right thing to do? Hanchul and Hyunseong couldn’t stop Ji Maeng-ho and crumbled in the end. Ji Maeng-ho is the key to AT. Yes, we have to stop Ji Maeng-ho. That’s the right thing to do.”

While confidently expressing this to the coaches, Moon Ki-taek continued to ponder to himself. He had told the coaches with confidence, but he couldn’t be sure himself if this approach was the correct one.

And amidst his ongoing contemplation, he couldn’t find certainty that this approach was indeed the right one. The only thing left was to watch the game unfold.

As Moon Ki-taek’s contemplation continued and time passed, suddenly the morning of the first game of the Korean Series dawned.

—

“Hey, did you read the news today?”

At Munhak Stadium where the first game of the Korean Series was taking place, just before the start of the game during warm-ups, Im Jun-hu approached.

“Of course, I did. It was damn arrogant,”

“The wording was really strong, wasn’t it?”

As Im Jun-hu pointed out, Moon Ki-taek’s interview that came out today was unbelievably audacious.

Moon Gi-taek, ‘Jimaengho is in the palm of our hands. I’ll block it with a fearless attitude.’

In that article was Moon Gi-taek’s declaration to block me fearlessly.

“How can you block Jimaengho fearlessly? Right?”

“Yeah, bro.”

“Today, I only trust my brother.”

“After the game, let’s talk, bro.”

Im Jun-hoo confidently replied, but he felt somewhat uneasy. Although Moon Gi-taek was a pain in the ass, he wasn’t the type to make such statements without a plan. As he was about to head to the Asian Games, a match against UG flashed through his mind.

“Oh, seriously? Is he really going to do that?”

“Why are you worrying so much?”

“Oh, Sang-joo senior. It’s not worry, just a slight unease.”

“Do you feel nervous before the game? Are you underestimating it like Seong Tae?”

When Im Jun-hoo turned his head towards Yoon Seong-tae, who was quietly stretching, he could see Yoon Seong-tae frozen in expression.

“Why is he like that?”

“I’m not that bad, am I?”

“Of course not.”

Seeing the frozen Yoon Seong-tae made him realize that his worries had been pointless all along.

“Hey, where did he suddenly go? That guy has no manners talking to seniors… Even if he couldn’t play baseball, he’d be dead to me.”

Ignoring the muttering Sang-joo, he approached the frozen Yoon Seong-tae.

“Hey! Yoon Seong-tae!”

“Yes, yes! Oh, what’s up?”

“You look so scared. Bro, did you eat something wrong?”

“No, nothing like that.”

“But why do you look so scared?”

“It’s my first Korean Series.”

“It’s my first time too.”

“What? A baseball player who hasn’t watched the Korean Series?”

“I haven’t watched baseball since Charlotte fell. Didn’t seem interesting.”

“That’s right, Seong-tae was born in 2000, so he probably hasn’t seen the Korean Series.”

Charlotte’s last Korean Series was in 1999. Yoon Seong-tae, born in 2000, hadn’t seen the Korean Series. Thinking this way, he understood why Yoon Seong-tae was scared. It was his first Korean Series game that he would be playing in, so it was natural for him to be nervous.

“But still, I can’t have my buddy scared.”

Quietly approaching Yoon Seong-tae who was warming up, he…

Slap!

“Ow! What the hell?”

“Get yourself together.”

For someone spaced out, a slap was necessary. Since Park Jun-hyung had made a person out of someone with a slap, he gave Yoon Seong-tae a special prescription. Then he started running away.

“Is he crazy? You’re dead. Aren’t you coming here?”

“Huh, someone helped you, and you don’t even say thanks.”

“But why are you running away? Hey! You coward! Aren’t you coming here!?”

He was already slightly anxious, but this seemed to ease Yoon Seong-tae’s tension a bit. And seeing Yoon Seong-tae foolishly chasing after him, his worries seemed to disappear.

“Phew, he wouldn’t really avoid everything like before, right?”

“Stop! You coward! …Whew, whew. Damn, he’s damn fast.”