episode_0312

“As expected, Jimangho, that guy is dangerous… Why would such a player stay in Korea?”

Watching Jimangho hit a low pitch for a double, Moon Gitak felt an irrational emotion. It was impressive enough that he hit a single with that low pitch, but he managed to reach second base. Even though about 90% of hitters in the league wouldn’t have made it to second base with that hit.

“Is that the speed of a 60 home run hitter? It’s truly unbelievable. Unbelievable… And on top of that, hitting .400… Why did the baseball gods bestow such talent upon him?”

Hitting .400 and achieving 60 home runs, a player who set records that would cause a sensation with just one of them. In Moon Gitak’s opinion, Jimangho was a player beyond the norm.

A hitter aiming for home runs typically sacrifices batting average, but Jimangho defied even this basic common sense. His performance in the postseason was even more unbelievable. It was expected for exceptional players to emerge in short-term games. However, for such a crazy player to perform in playoffs, even in the postseason, and even in the Korean Series with limited batting opportunities, was astounding.

“Doesn’t he even have a cycle of hits? Well, if there were such a player, hitting .400 would be impossible.”

In a baseball environment increasingly valuing home runs, Jimangho, achieving a .400 batting average and 60 home runs, was a player who surpassed Moon Gitak’s understanding. The intentional walk strategy chosen to stop such a player ultimately backfired due to the players’ resistance.

-“Coach, we can’t continue like this.”

When Gu Jinmo and several other players visited his office, Moon Gitak, who never compromised his beliefs even in front of the team owner, had no choice but to retract the strategy.

For Coach Moon Gitak, victory was paramount. He was willing to do whatever it took within the rules to secure a win. However, continuing with this strategy would contradict his principles.

Baseball ultimately relied on the players, and the most crucial element for victory was the players themselves. Without motivated players, no coach could secure a win. Moreover, the intentional walk strategy relied on the belief that batters would give up points. But with Gu Jinmo at the forefront of resistance, victory through that strategy became unattainable.

“These pro players are swayed by unnecessary public opinion and interviews…”

Of course, Moon Gitak couldn’t understand such players. The essence of being a pro was to gift victories to the fans, and bypassing Jimangho was the most likely path to victory. Keeping Jimangho, whose explosive scoring ability could erupt at any moment, contained to just one point. Everything had gone as expected so far, except for Lee Seokgyun’s breakdown.

AT’s unbeatable formation was showing signs of fatigue during the postseason, and UG’s starting lineup had always been superior. Additionally, containing AT’s offensive power by restricting Jimangho, their attacking leader, was also preventing explosive scoring from AT’s lineup.

“That’s why we should have won the 4th round. No, it’s my mistake. I should have clearly instructed automatic intentional walks there.”

Having been a pitcher himself during his professional career, Moon Gitak knew how difficult it was to accept a strategy of intentionally walking with bases loaded. Hence, Lee Seokgyun’s pitch headed near the zone. However, even so, the ball thrown by Lee Seokgyun was one that not even an elementary school baseball player would swing at. A remarkable decision that couldn’t be attributed to a rookie in a clutch situation.

As expected, that guy excels in clutch situations. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would have questioned what “clutch” means in modern baseball, but he’s the real deal. Whenever he hits the ball, something significant happens.

Mu Gitaek believed that Jimaengho’s greatest strength wasn’t his ability to hit .400, nor was it his power to hit 60 home runs, or his knack for stealing bases at will. Jimaengho’s greatest strength lay in his ability to explode in clutch situations, changing the course of a game with his hitting. No, whenever Jimaengho made contact, it became a clutch situation.

When Jimaengho connected, games that seemed like easy wins turned into tight contests, games that were being won were flipped, and games that were being lost found a turning point in his swing.

Crack!

[Kim Suho! He hits it! Park Kyungmin and Choi Jaehyun are running! The ball! Can’t be caught! Kim Suho’s hit, piercing through the best outfielders in the country! Runner on second, Jimaengho is coming home! He scores! 2-0!]

…Just like the current situation. Kim Suho’s hit splits the center field as Jimaengho smoothly touches home plate.

“That’s why I didn’t want to give him a chance to bat…”

Austin Webb began to falter under Jimaengho’s hit. And with a shaky mound, Webb ended up walking the next batter. What was supposed to be an easy inning after getting the leadoff hitter out now smelled like a big inning.

“Coach, should we get the guys ready?”

“…We probably should. Webb can’t even hold on until the 5th inning. This is beyond calculation.”

“It’s not over yet, right? Even though Choi Jincheol hit a home run, he could still ground into a double play…”

Crack!

Despite the pitching coach’s words, another fierce crack of the bat echoed from the field.

[Choi Jincheol! He pulls it! Left-field wall! Left-field wall! Over it! Choi Jincheol’s three-run homer! This home run is decisive!]

“…Prepare Geunwoong for the lefties and Jungho for the righties.”

“No, since today’s game might drag on, let’s get Dongho ready for now.”

“Understood.”

Ace pitcher Austin Webb was crumbling. Mu Gitaek’s choice was the fifth starter, Seo Dongho. Before becoming a starter due to last year’s injury to Lee Seokgyun, Seo Dongho was a pitcher who had been a swingman, making him familiar with such situations and possessing the skill to seamlessly fill in for Jang Yoon’s absence.

Moreover, even when he was a swingman, a few pitches were all it took to get him in the groove, making him the right man to handle this situation.

“I can only hope Dongho can put out this fire.”

[Yoon Sungtae’s hit sneaks between the second baseman and shortstop! Another hit for the AT Thunders!]

[Kim Jooyeop’s hit! Drops in front of the right fielder! Now it’s first and second with one out!]

[Webb isn’t known for giving up many runs; is it because of the short rest? He looks tired today.]

[Jung Yoonchul’s hit! It’s deep! Center fielder! Park Kyungmin catches it. Two outs.]

With Webb barely adding an out count, a call came from the bullpen.

“Dongho is ready to go.”

“Send him in. Make sure to explain well to Webb.”

“Understood.”

“In the end, this is where Webb stops. The pitcher taking over the mound for UG is player Seo Dongho. …Swing, strikeout! The long 5th inning comes to an end. However, the score is already 5-0.”

“For UG to win this game, they must keep up in the next inning.”

Seo Dongho, who came in to extinguish the fire, did his job well, but the game had already tilted towards AT. AT’s starting pitcher Croms carried a 5-run lead and finished the bottom of the 5th inning with three straight outs, bringing nightmares to UG fans. In the top of the 6th inning, Jimaengho, who had haunted UG fans earlier, stepped up to the plate again.

“One out. Now batting, Jimaengho.”

Episode 5, even in such a situation, allowed for a large number of points to be scored. To prevent scoring, one must stop Player Jimangho.

“Is it that guy again?”

Seeing Jimangho’s at-bat, Munkitak’s frown deepened,

Thud!

The sound of the hit rang out again.

“A pushed hit! Right fielder! Right fielder! Right fielder! He runs! He catches it! A fantastic diving catch! UG’s right fielder is Choi Jaehyun!”

However, contrary to Munkitak’s concerns, Jimangho gets out.

“I guess he thinks the game is over now. Still a rookie, huh? Can’t maintain focus until the end.”

Munkitak watched Jimangho get out but didn’t feel anything strange… until the game was over.

“Final score: 10-6! The Mega Thunders explode, concluding today’s game this way. AT Thunders leave only one step away from victory!”

“What an incredible offensive power. AT Thunders. The batting strength fans have been waiting for showed up today. UG Roses’ batters also managed to score 5 runs against AT Thunders’ bullpen but couldn’t turn the game around.”

Thus, the Korean Series 5th game ended with a score of 10-6, and as players rested for the next day’s game,

“Oh, senior? Isn’t this a bit strange?”

“What is?”

“Jimangho.”

“Why? Today, 3 at-bats, 1 hit, 2 walks. Plus, one double and 3 runs scored. Except for the meaningless first at-bat, it’s 1 hit in 2 at-bats… If Jaehyun’s fielding wasn’t there, it wouldn’t have been strange to have one more hit… Not hitting a home run is what’s strange?”

“No, it’s about his swing form. Doesn’t it seem different?”

“…Huh? Hey, rewind that. When he swings. …Hmm. It does seem quite strange, doesn’t it?”

“Right? Isn’t it? The distance is different than usual, and the hit speed has decreased.”

“Oh, really… Director around?”

“Yeah, I don’t think he’s left yet.”

“Let’s take this data with us.”

“Got it.”

Throughout the season and while preparing for the Korean Series, UG Roses’ performance analysis team, who had been continuously analyzing Jimangho’s hitting, discovered something amiss in his swing form.