episode_0344

“Out!”

Was it thanks to the consecutive explosions of Hosubi in the 9th inning that Hanchul’s 10th inning attack ended disappointingly with a three-strikeout? And then came the 10th inning. To relieve the seniors of their burden, I shouted loudly from the dugout.

“Seniors, take it easy. Relax. I’ll finish it anyway.”

“Yeah, reassuring.”

Kim Suho, the leadoff batter of the inning, responded with a smile,

“This guy subtly gives signals, right? Get on base.”

Twisting my words, the next batter, Kisangju, said,

“Oh, no.”

It was meant to ease the pressure, but judging by their reactions, they didn’t believe me at all.

‘Can’t be helped.’

I immediately decided to change course and put pressure on the seniors,

“Then please go out. Even if it’s just first base, you don’t have to worry about me getting out.”

Actually, this was my sincere wish. It would be nice not to feel pressured, but I hoped they could at least get me to first base without rejecting me. Judging by today’s ball distribution by Hanchul’s guys, it seemed like they were forming mostly outside to prevent my power hits as much as possible. Facing me with two outs in this situation? There was probably a high chance of an intentional walk.

‘Well, I doubt the veteran seniors will feel pressured by this.’

“Yeah, I’ll give it a shot.”

Kim Suho smiled once and walked towards the batter’s box.

“As expected of Suho senior. Quite charismatic.”

With good physicality for a third baseman and arguably the best-looking face on our team besides me, his quiet demeanor made him quite cool.

‘Maybe other juniors see me like that too?’

Thud!

“Out!”

“Darn! Shouldn’t I have gotten on base if he did that?”

…It would have been cooler if I had reached base.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, you can’t get on base every time.”

Kim Suho, returning after being called out, offered an apology as he headed to the on-deck circle. Now, Kisangju was the only one left to trust. Combining Kim Suho and Kisangju’s on-base percentages this season exceeded 90%, so one of them had a pretty high chance of reaching base. No, they had to reach base.

“Strike! Out!”

“Ah! Kisangju!”

“Sorry. I believe in you. Be confident, Maengho.”

“…Yes.”

Kisangju returned after striking out, playfully speaking, but his expression mixed regret and apology, making it hard to say anything.

“Be careful of the forkball. The break is sharp. Got it? Without Junghoon hyung’s forkball, he’s nothing special.”

“It doesn’t matter, right? I’ll probably get rejected anyway.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine.”

The pitcher on the mound was Jeon Daehun, Hanchul’s key player. With a mid-140s fastball and a top-tier forkball, he was a forkballer. If you just watched out for the forkball, he was nothing special, as Kisangju said, but,

“Intentional walk.”

‘Ugh, damn, I knew this would happen.’

…There was no facing Jeon Daehun. As I expected, the bench of Hanchul instructed the intentional walk. I understood Hanchul’s dugout. It must have been intimidating to face me with no runners on base. Plus, the next batter was Choe Jincheol, who hasn’t been in good form lately.

Choe Jincheol’s current stats were .276 with 4 home runs. For an average batter, those were decent numbers, but the problem was that it was Choe Jincheol achieving them. And his hitting process wasn’t great either. He managed to drive in runs today, but he kept hitting ground balls, so it was a natural choice to reject me.

‘Given Jincheol senior’s current state, even if I signal the pitch type, it won’t be easy, right? Ah, I don’t know. Let’s just get to second base first. Rossbi, what’s the pitch?’

“It’s a forkball.”

Even though his form wasn’t great, Choe Jincheol was still Choe Jincheol. Hanchul’s battery chose to see through the changeup from the first pitch rather than engage in a direct confrontation. Thankfully.

“Safe!”

Stealing second base on a bounced forkball was easier than getting on base. The catcher, still guarding home plate, allowed me to take second without even thinking about throwing the ball.

‘What should I do, go for third? Or let Jincheol know the pitch?’

Considering the form shown by Choi Jincheol today, it didn’t seem like there would be significant results even if I let him know the pitch. If I couldn’t score here, it felt like my turn at bat might not come back, so I wanted to finish this inning off.

‘The higher probability is…’

The probability of Choi Jincheol calling me and the chance of the pitcher faltering or missing when I reach third base.

‘Yeah, just running might be better.’

Jeon Dae-hoon was a pitcher with a higher ratio of forkballs than fastballs. Pressuring him by going to third might bring some unexpected luck.

‘It’s another forkball this time. Will I run?’

It was another forkball this time. It meant he wasn’t paying any attention to me. The battery’s determination to focus on the batter as much as possible was evident, as getting just one out would end the inning.

‘Yes. Thank you for this opportunity.’

As the pitcher and catcher exchanged signs, I subtly moved away from second base. And when the pitcher made his pitching motion, I ran towards third without hesitation.

“Strike!”

This time, Choi Jincheol swung at a low ball that didn’t bounce, and by the time the catcher was ready to throw after the pitch, I had almost reached third base.

‘I guess I don’t need to slide at this point.’

Ultimately, the catcher couldn’t throw the ball until I reached third, and in a flash, the situation turned into two outs with a runner on third.

“One ball, one strike. Now all that’s left is to pray.”

I don’t believe in God much, but playing baseball makes me feel more religious somehow.

“Just praying?”

“Yes? What else should I do here?”

“There’s one more base to steal, you know.”

“What… You mean home?”

Is this guy finally losing his mind? Steal home? What on earth…

“Why, isn’t this the perfect situation?”

As Rossbi spoke, it somehow seemed plausible.

The pitcher is a forkballer, and the catcher is essentially a backup catcher who has taken over as the starter this season. Despite stealing bases consecutively before, I didn’t feel like they were paying any attention to me. Even though I was the stolen base leader last season and wreaked havoc in the Korean Series with steals.

“Let’s just test the waters for now.”

Since I never lost out following Rossbi’s advice in baseball, I subtly extended my lead. While widening my lead, I made eye contact with the pitcher, but he avoided meeting my gaze, perhaps focusing on the batter.

“Even if Jincheol’s form isn’t great, it’s still nerve-wracking not to concentrate.”

Even if his form isn’t great, Choi Jincheol is Choi Jincheol. He’s a batter who can clear the fence with just one mistake, so I understood the pitcher’s mindset.

“It’s a fastball. Be ready for it.”

“Okay.”

Just in case I could bluff. Keeping my weight on third, I waited for his pitch.

“Ball.”

The third Greek pitch headed towards home, and Choi Jincheol watched it carefully.

“Has Jincheol also decided to be more selective and patient?”

He knows his condition best. It seemed like Choi Jincheol had made up his mind to watch the ball as much as possible. The problem was, if I could figure it out, the battery facing me must have noticed too, so the game would likely heat up soon.

“One strike, two balls. If I’m going to run, it’s now. If he throws a forkball this time, I’ll run right away.”

Feeling as if my heart was beating twice as fast than usual at the thought of attempting a home steal. I had never tried a home steal in over 10 years of playing baseball. To have such a first-time experience now, and on Children’s Day of all days, during the final chance.

‘If I succeed…’

The thought of savoring the sweet fruits of success afterward made it impossible to control my rapidly beating heart. The cheers of the fans, the spotlight of the media.

“Here it comes. A forkball.”

“Damn, I can’t take this.”

“Huh?!”

“I’m running!”

As the pitcher began his pitching motion, our eyes met for about 0.1 seconds, and I immediately started running towards home plate.

“Choi Jin-cheol! Clear the way!”

In response to my shout, Choi Jin-cheol, who was preparing his batting stance, cleared the path. The pitcher seemed flustered as the forkball landed further ahead than usual. The ball hitting the ground and bouncing towards home plate felt like frames skipping.

With a sensation that felt like the world momentarily stopping, I leaped towards the pentagon-shaped home plate. That brief moment of slightly floating in the air felt eternal; as the catcher’s mitt descended diagonally from above to tag me, instinctively, I swept past with my right hand while leaving my left hand out.

Silence lingered in Jamsil Baseball Stadium.

“….”

“….”

“…Safe!”

-Wow!!!!

And as if that silence were a lie, Jamsil Baseball Stadium erupted into cheers.

—

-The Maengho God is still alive lololol Bring it on~ I’ll feast on second base.

-Haha, this is what being a Maengho God is all about, reaching third base lol

-Anyway, it’s Choi Jin-cheol, so he’s out anyway~

-These bastards are making a fuss lolololol They’re writing as if it’s a win with two outs and three runs lololol

-Should we ban them?

[Player Ji Maeng-ho reaches third base in one go! Ji Maeng-ho’s speed is still alive!]

[Last year in the Korean Series, he stole 20 bases, even against UG Overlords, you know? Oh, allowing steals this easily isn’t good.]

[Huh? But Ji Maeng-ho has quite a wide lead, doesn’t he?]

[Probably to pressure the pitcher. Since Player Jeon Dae-hoon is famous for his forkball, he seems to be gesturing to make it difficult to throw a forkball by hinting that he will run home if the ball slips even a bit. So, there’s only one ball that Choi Jin-cheol will aim for in this situation, right? It’s the fastball.]

[I see.]

[But since Jeon Dae-hoon is also a veteran, such pressure won’t work, right? Probably, Jeon Dae-hoon will continue to rely on the forkball.]

[There’s a psychological battle not only between the pitcher and batter but also between the pitcher and runner, right?]

[That’s right. If Jeon Dae-hoon wasn’t a veteran, he might have been flustered by that lead, but since Jeon Dae-hoon is called the Forkball Master, such pressure won’t work.]

[Now, the fourth pitch… Ugh! Ji Maeng-ho is running!]

[Huh?! Huh?! What’s this?! Ji Maeng-ho to home!]

[Ji Maeng-ho attempts a home steal! The result? The result? The result! Safe! Ji Maeng-ho’s game-ending home steal! On Children’s Day! Giving young fans a magical memory! The game-ending steal is successful! Wow….]

[I heard that a game-ending home steal has never happened in the KBA league before? Wow, but in this game…. Wow…. I’m speechless.]

[5:4! Game over! AT Thunder’s Ji Maeng-ho successfully completes a lightning-fast home steal, ending the game just like this!]

-??????????????

-What just happened?

-Wow, Ji Maeng-ho is insane, damn

-Maengho God is freaking badass. How did he make that jump?

-Wow, damn game-ending steal, crazy

-Info) A game-ending home steal is a record that has occurred 35 times in the majors, but this is the first time in the KBA.

-OMG

-LOL Looks like he got pissed off about last year’s loss in the CoSi. Seems like he prepared for nothing but home steals during the preseason lololol

– F*ck, is that why? I can’t just ignore it now.

– How are we going to stop Ji Maeng-ho now?

– Seriously, this is insane.

– I appreciate the support for Ji Maeng-ho, but because of you guys, I deleted my Instagram. Screw that. And the bastard who sent a dick picture, I’ll find him and kill him. Thank you for your support, I’m always grateful and will work even harder in the future. Look forward to the second half. [Total comments: 9513]

– Ji Maeng-ho!

– Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maeng-ho!

– This guy is just the best at baseball, lol.

– I got emotional watching the home steal today.

– Since there’s no Instagram, I’ll write here. Thank you. Thanks to Maeng-ho player, kids go home laughing.

– How far will he grow? Ji Maeng-ho!

– Seriously, when is this guy going to the majors? Damn, send this kind of guy away quickly.

– Ji Maeng-ho also Ji Maeng-hon, today Ju Seung-cheol was hilarious too, lol.

– Seriously, these two did everything?

– Today’s main match, Ji Maeng-ho wins by decision!