episode_0315

Thud!

“Here it comes!”

UG’s first batter, Choi Jaehyun’s powerful hit struck the ground like lightning, bouncing up beside me. Instinctively, I kicked off the ground, leaping up and reaching out with my glove. For a brief moment, feeling the pain shoot through my hand as it pierced the leather of the glove, I touched the ground, rose, and as trained tirelessly, threw towards first base.

“Out!”

And the call of out from the first base umpire.

“Dang, that hit my palm.”

Only then did the pain properly register in my palm. Failing to catch the line drive properly was part of it, but it also proved the force packed into the hit. Taking off my glove, shaking my hand, today’s starting pitcher for UG Overlords, Jang Yoon, offered his thanks.

“Thanks for the defense. Maengho!”

“Trust me and throw. Senior.”

Though I replied to Jang Yoon with a smile, the power behind the hit made me slightly uneasy. Four days of rest, facing Jang Yoon, a flyball pitcher, at Munhak Stadium where the matchup wasn’t favorable. Even if Jang Yoon faltered, it wouldn’t be surprising.

Thud!

Another well-hit ball soared towards the outfield.

“Left field!”

But the left fielder effortlessly caught the ball,

Thud!

“Shortstop!”

Securing the line drive hit towards Yoon Sungtae, the first inning attack by UG Overlords came to an end. Taking the lead, followed by three outs. It should have been a generally positive situation, yet the unease persisted.

Three consecutive strong hits going straight to the fielders meant Jang Yoon’s pitches were being hit.

“I need to score more. A two-run lead at Munhak makes me nervous.”

[Second inning, AT’s leadoff hitter is the 8th batter, Jung Yooncheol. First pitch hit towards shortstop. Out.]

[Player Benjamin struggled with an error in the first inning but shows good pitching without losing focus.]

Despite conceding two runs due to an error in the first inning, UG’s starting pitcher Benjamin began to steady himself and deliver solid pitches. Getting Jung Yooncheol, the 8th batter, and Baek Jeongjin, the 9th batter, out, and ending the inning with Kim Jooyeop at bat.

And as the second inning began,

[Second inning, UG’s leadoff hitter is the 4th batter, Gu Jinmo. He has recorded three home runs in this Korean Series.]

UG Overlords’ cleanup hitter, Gu Jinmo, stepped up to the plate. Gu Jinmo, currently showing top form with four home runs in the Korean Series despite not getting proper hits against Ji Maengho’s intentional walks.

Crack!

“Gu Jinmo’s hit is deep! Deep! Over the fence! Gone! Gu Jinmo’s solo home run evens the score to 2-1!”

[Player Gu Jinmo, your hitting has been exceptional throughout the Korean Series, right? Another home run today.]

Gu Jinmo’s hit landed beyond the outfield stands, and UG’s score went up on the scoreboard.

-Oh, Jang Yoon is struggling, even after holding them back since the first inning?

Even the fans watching the game noticed something off about Jang Yoon’s condition. However, from AT’s perspective, there weren’t many alternatives. They couldn’t change the starting pitcher from the second inning, and even if they did, there wasn’t a suitable replacement.

The games had continued from the wildcard playoffs. The pitchers for AT were already pushed to their limits, not surprising given the pressure of the postseason compared to a regular season game. Especially for pitchers, the pressure was intense, squeezing every ounce of strength to throw the ball, leading to increased fatigue in such situations.

In addition, due to Bellington’s unexpected injury during yesterday’s game, many pitchers were exhausted, requiring Jang Yoon to pitch long innings.

Thud!

[This hit! Center fielder catches it near the wall. McCoy can’t hide his disappointment!]

[Oh, I thought it was going over.]

Despite such a challenging situation, Jang Yoon, like a veteran, began to close the inning without allowing any further runs.

[In the bottom of the 2nd inning, UG Overlords added a run with a solo home run. However, there were no more scores. Now we head into the top of the 3rd inning.]

‘Phew, this is tough. We might get turned around at any moment.’

Jang Yoon also felt that his condition wasn’t great. The continuous hits proved it. However, he couldn’t request a substitution. Knowing that the team’s pitching situation wasn’t ideal, Jang Yoon understood.

‘Can I only trust the batters?’

Ultimately, in the final moments, Jang Yoon only believed in the batters who had led the team with the best offense throughout the year.

“Let’s score more!”

“The batting order looks good this inning!”

“Suho senior, please!”

Other players seemed to sense this too, as they started cheering loudly for Kim Suho, the leadoff batter of the inning.

[Now stepping up to bat, leadoff hitter Kim Suho.]

The pitcher on the mound was still Benjamin. He was a pitcher with a tricky form between a three-quarter and sidearm delivery, making it difficult for left-handed batters to face him. Especially when throwing sliders, it seemed to come from behind their heads, making it even harder for lefties.

However, Kim Suho was also a seasoned batter.

‘The changeup is threatening, but the fastball isn’t that intimidating. Let’s go in looking for the fastball.’

He had already thought about his approach before stepping into the batter’s box. And then the showdown.

[Benjamin throws the ball on a full count! It’s a close call? The umpire’s decision is… It’s a ball! Leadoff batter walks! Kim Suho works a walk. Runner on first for AT Thunders!]

Kim Suho calmly took the walk and successfully made it to first base.

“Darn! Not calling that a strike! Just shows the level of these umpires.”

And Kim Suho’s walk rattled Benjamin. Thinking he had displayed perfect control, Benjamin’s excitement was cut short by the umpire’s call, especially facing a disciplined hitter like Kim Suho.

[Now at bat, Discipline! … He hits the fifth pitch! The ball goes far! It drops in front of the wall! A perfect shot to right-center by Discipline! Runner advances to third from first! But the runner won’t make it to second.]

[Park Kyungmin’s play at the fence was excellent. He prevents Discipline from reaching second.]

[But with runners on first and third, UG Overlords are in trouble. Oh? UG’s dugout is stirring? They’re bringing in a new pitcher. A pitching change here.]

Watching the situation unfold, Mungitaek made a move. The new pitcher on the mound for UG was Yoon Junghwan. He was the best pitcher against right-handed batters among the remaining pitchers for UG. The early pitching change in the 3rd inning was unexpected, but Mungitaek’s keen intuition deemed this a crucial moment.

A decisive move that could only be made in the final game of the Korean Series, Game 7. With all pitchers except yesterday’s starter Kim Sunggyul waiting in the dugout, including Austin Webb who started in Game 5, this was a strategic move.

“Jimaengho and Choi Jincheol. None of the batters are easy. But I believe in you. Junghwan.”

“I’ll give it a shot.”

Yoon Junghwan willingly accepted the challenge. A showdown with Ji Maengho. The nerves were real. And with Choi Jincheol, this season’s second-highest home run hitter waiting in the wings, the pressure was even greater.

However, Yoon Junghwan wanted to repay. To the coach who gave him a chance when he was just a minor league player on the verge of being released, and to the fans who supported him.

“Come to think of it, my first appearance this season was against Ji Maengho, and I got hit back then.”

Since then, he had faced Ji Maengho several times. He had struck him out and given up a home run, experiencing a ceremony he had never seen before. While he felt embarrassed by the ceremony, he was grateful to Ji Maengho. Elevating him from a nobody to a key player in UG’s winning lineup, boasting the best defense in the league, was an impact similar to striking out Ji Maengho.

“My baseball career has been going well since then. Could Ji Maengho be my benefactor?”

A benefactor in his baseball life… Yoon Junghwan chuckled at the absurd thought.

“…I can’t afford to show a shoddy pitch to my benefactor.”

[Yoon Junghwan’s practice pitch. The scoreboard shows a speed of 156 km/h.]

[Could he be considered the Cinderella of this season? Player Yoon Junghwan. He has solidly guarded UG’s mound since coming up during the season. His fast pitches, twisting and turning from overhead, are like nightmares for right-handed batters.]

“And his opponent is none other than Ji Maengho, considered the pinnacle of KBA league right-handed batters?”

“Therefore, expectations are high. What kind of hit will Ji Maengho deliver? What kind of pitch will Yoon Junghwan show? And whether Manager Moon Gitaek’s strategy will succeed. Everything is at stake in this at-bat.”

*

“What’s this, a split?”

Splitting while practicing pitching. Is he confident? In front of me? It was unbelievable.

“He wouldn’t have thrown that up to give a walk. By putting Yoon Junghwan up here, it means they’re serious about winning. What’s with the bravado?”

With a runner on third and one out, laughing in front of me. He seemed to be out of his mind. Still, I couldn’t let my guard down, so I didn’t forget to check his condition while he practiced pitching.

“His pitches are still unpredictable.”

Whether a sinker or a slider, the ball seemed to break just like I saw it last time. The speed was in the mid-150s, and the movement was still fierce. That kind of fastball that seemed to explain why he secured a spot in UG’s bullpen with just one fastball.

As I analyzed his fastball, before I knew it, the practice pitch was over.

“Hello.”

“….”

“Are you okay, Kyungho? I saw you getting hit.”

“Just shut up and focus on hitting. I feel like punching you, but I’ll hold back.”

“Then go ahead and punch.”

“This son of a… ugh…”

It seemed like he had scratched himself a lot, even though we only exchanged greetings as it was our first meeting today.

“If I do this, the first pitch will probably come inside. I’ve earned a ball count advantage.”

Although Yoon Junghwan had some control issues, fundamentally he was a pitcher with control problems. The more he could bring the count in his favor, the higher the probability of the ball ending up in the middle.

“Ball.”

And as I expected, the first pitch came inside. I exaggeratedly dodged the ball and appealed to the umpire.

“Sir! Isn’t this a threatening pitch? Shouldn’t he be ejected for this?”

“Oh, no. You know Yoon’s having trouble with his control.”

“…Be careful from now on.”

The umpire thought my point was valid and warned the catcher.

“Fastball.”

“Well, that guy only throws fastballs anyway.”

Slider was occasionally thrown, but it didn’t seem like the right time to throw a slider in such a crucial moment. If thrown, just eat it deliciously.

“Ball.”

Yoon Junghwan’s second pitch also veered outside of the zone. This time, a ball that went outside. The first pitch curved towards me, and the second pitch flew like a typical fastball. Analyzing even the practice pitches, since there were more balls curving towards the right side for a right-handed batter, this time, I waited for his pitch according to the trajectory of the pitcher.

“Throw it inside the zone. You want to throw it, right? Huh? It’s a 2-0 count. Isn’t it burdensome for Choi Jincheol with bases loaded? Right?”

And the third pitch was thrown. The moment his pitch left his hand, I felt it coming inside the zone.

“It’s inside the zone!”

I immediately put strength into my lower body and met his pitch.

Thwack!

“It’s done!”

The solid sensation felt from the bat that met his pitch. Additionally, as the ball curved in like a pitcher’s intent, the bat vibrated as if it automatically found the center of the bat.

“Wow!”

In such a delightful situation, I couldn’t help but let out a sound. A home run without a doubt.

-Wow!!!

As if supporting my thoughts, the loudest cheer of the day erupted from the third base side.

“If it hadn’t curved, it might not have gone over… Or was it because it’s fiction that it did?”

Regardless, since the fact that I hit a home run remained unchanged, I stopped unnecessary thoughts and raised my hand to the fans who were ecstatic at third base.

“Ji Maengho! Ji Maengho! Ji Maengho! Ji Maengho!”

“Yeah, I’ll lead us to victory. Just wait.”