episode_0364

“Hey, your batting lineup is not a joke, huh?”

“Is it that impressive?”

“Seriously, I thought I was going to throw up.”

After the game, there was a long-awaited drinking session with Wonho. As soon as alcohol entered his system, Wonho began to grumble.

“Man, seriously, your pitching was disgusting today.”

“Hey, I had a quality start today, man.”

“A quality start with 6 innings and 3 earned runs, right? Pitchers really have it easy. Even if they give up 3 runs in 6 innings, why do they get praised for it? If you give up 3 runs in 6 innings, isn’t that a 4.5 ERA?”

Today, Kim Wonho’s performance was 6 innings with 3 earned runs. Although Junhu, who was the starting pitcher, gave up 3 runs in 5 innings before being pulled out of the mound, it wasn’t a performance worth boasting about.

“…Let’s hold off on the harsh criticism.”

Whether Wonho was aware of this fact or not, his face turned red as he remained silent for a moment. Then, perhaps thinking of an excuse, he took a sip of his drink and spoke up.

“Hey, but honestly, you guys scored those 3 runs because of your batting lineup. I’ve been averaging in the 2s lately. Honestly, your batting lineup is too strong. Sangju-senior, Jinchul-senior, Suho-senior. These three were top hitters last year, plus you, the MVP from last year. There’s no weak spot in your lineup.”

Today’s game must have been really tough. To complain this much…

“And there’s Seongtae-senior, right? That guy has power too. Jungjin-senior is hitting around .300 now, right?”

“That’s right.”

Indeed, as Wonho said, our batting order was well-structured. Even the fourth starter was holding his own, and except for the catcher, everyone was showing quite a good sense of hitting.

“And Jung Hwicheol? Isn’t he the one from back then? The one we faced in the finals.”

“Do you remember even that?”

“Of course I do. It was our high school’s final game. You hit a home run and we won.”

“You have a good memory, brat.”

“He was hitting like a beast back then, and now he’s hitting .300 in the majors. Anyway, if we couldn’t pick good mercenaries, even the mercenaries are hitting .400. Damn, if it weren’t for that Williams guy, today would have been an easy win. Didn’t I contain you well?”

“You contained me well. If it weren’t for Jamsil, you know we would have won today, right?”

“Don’t blame it on Jamsil. It was just that I was caught in my rhythm. Ah, damn. So why go to AT then? Just play decently and stay with me at Silla.”

“What Silla? You haven’t even won a championship.”

Silla Triggers was indeed a peculiar team. As far as I knew, they had never failed to make it to the postseason since 2013, yet they hadn’t won a championship during that period. Their players were all solid, occasionally producing Major League talents, so why the lack of championships?

“As expected, the good players go to the Majors, and maybe they don’t sign Grade A free agents, which is why they don’t win? Honestly, if we didn’t have Sangju-senior, Jinchul-senior, or Jangyun-senior last year, it would have been tough for us.”

Especially when I was completely tied up, it was thanks to Sangju-senior and Jinchul-senior stepping up that we could win. Well, I couldn’t deny that I was at the center of it all. Thinking about last year’s championship made me feel slightly uplifted.

“After all, winning a championship is always a good thing.”

“Yeah, it would be nice to win again this year. But it seems like we’re on track for another championship this year, right? How do you stop us when even the mercenaries are performing well?”

However, the good mood slowly dissipated due to Wonho mentioning Williams.

“Williams… He does hit well.”

Though not certain, considering what I saw today, this Williams guy seemed like someone not to be underestimated. Should I pay closer attention to him going forward? There was a sense of unease.

“Why do you look like that when your team’s mercenary hits well? Jealous, perhaps? Hey, no matter how well he hits, do you think he can hit .400 like you?”

Today, even in the midst of his team being defeated, Wonho worried about my mood. Indeed, Wonho was a good friend.

“Hey, enough with the baseball talk, let’s go meet some girls. With me.”

“This guy already has a girlfriend. You really don’t know when you’re wrong. Hyuna doesn’t seem like the type to just sit back and watch.”

“Don’t worry… I’ll handle my girlfriend myself. Just come with me.”

“Why do I get cursed at for no reason?”

“It’s fine.”

“You’re really trash.”

Despite calling himself trash, Wonho got up from his seat.

“Hey, but if by any chance someone tries to date a girl behind my back, let me know.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, I still need to approve it. What if some weird girl sticks to you? Jun-ho knows, right? I screened out those weird girls he used to meet.”

“Got it, man.”

With Wonho’s words as the last, we left the room to find girls to enjoy the day with.

‘If we go on an away trip to Daegu, we should have some fun before we go.’

-AT Lineup: 8 Jung Hwi-chul, 4 Ji Maeng-ho, 7 Ki Sang-joo, 3 Choi Jin-cheol, 5 Kim Soo-ho, 6 Yoon Sung-tae, 9 Baek Jeong-jin, 2 Kim Hyun-sung, D Han Sang-gyu. Today, Williams is said to be on standby for pinch-hitting due to thigh pain. He might come out in crucial situations even though running might be difficult.

“Nha, Williams was playing well, but he got injured again after one game.”

“Still, it’s a relief that Maeng-ho is back. We almost cried when both of them were out.”

“Sigh, there are so many injuries this season.”

“It looks like Han Sang-gyu is starting for both teams.”

“Ji Maeng-ho, fighting outside of Jamsil!!!”

-“There’s nothing abnormal at the hospital…” Coach Lee Soo-hyun sighed deeply about Williams.

“The test results show nothing unusual, but what can we do if the player himself feels unwell.” Those were the words of Coach Lee Soo-hyun before the match against the Hyundai Mad Cats. After winning 2 out of 3 games against the Silla Triggers, tying with the Volcano Falcons for first place, Coach Lee Soo-hyun expressed regret about Williams before the game.

Since last year’s league MVP and the team’s ace batter, Ji Maeng-ho, returned, the AT Thunders seemed to be sailing smoothly to the top. However, there were concerns for Coach Lee Soo-hyun as well. The players who had left the team due to injuries.

The man known as the heart of the AT Thunders, the ‘3000-hit man’ Woo Kwan-hyung, left the team after getting injured in last year’s playoffs. Also, Jung Yoon-cheol, one of the key players in last year’s championship, the catcher, is undergoing rehabilitation due to a hamstring injury.

Moreover, the mercenary hitter Williams, expected to break the cruel history of mercenary hitters with a batting average of .425, also suffered a hamstring injury and was absent for about five weeks. Although he returned yesterday against the Silla Triggers, scoring two RBIs, he felt discomfort while running and was replaced as a pinch runner.

Williams underwent tests today, but the diagnosis of no abnormalities is troubling Coach Lee Soo-hyun.

Coach Lee Soo-hyun said, “It’s great that he hits well, but he needs to play in the game.” Expressing sympathy for the mercenary hitter’s injury to reporters, he also stated, “If a good situation arises in scoring position today, I plan to use him for one at-bat.”

Fortunately, despite missing many key batters, the AT Thunders’ lineup, which received a boost from Ji Maeng-ho’s return after the assault incident, faces off against Hyundai’s ace pitcher Choi Jung-hoon in today’s game.

Meanwhile, Woo Kwan-hyung and Jung Yoon-cheol are scheduled to return in June.

“Nha, isn’t this Williams guy a troublemaker? He’s so suspicious.”

“Ah, damn, if he’s healthy, he can’t hit, and if he hits well, he’s not healthy. The scouting teams for the hitting department need to do their job properly.”

“But if it’s Williams, it seems worth waiting for. Judging by his performance, this guy seems legit haha.”

“No matter what, he needs to play in the game.”

Hmm… What should we do if Woogwan-hyung returns?

Well, since Woogwan-hyung is also getting older, he should take on a substitute role. Honestly, Jung Hwichul and Baek Jeongjin are playing really well, so Isuhyeon might have a lot to worry about.

No need to worry, when Woogwan-hyung returns, someone else will probably get hurt again, haha.

Hyunseong, let’s rise to the top spot by stepping on others! Honestly, Hyunseong hasn’t been in good shape lately, so we should sweep here and move on.

—

“Hoya, I’m sorry. I really didn’t know Ga Ga would do something like that.”

“Oh, senior. It’s okay. I’m just still thinking about it.”

“Ugh, that arrogant guy even reached out to our kid. Damn it.”

“He did?”

On their first away game after his return, during a break in training, Park Junghyun, the national team catcher and Hyunseong’s starting catcher, approached and continued to apologize. To our kids? Could it be that this guy also reached out to Hyunseong’s pitchers?

“That’s right. Ugh… damn it, so I’ve been investigating for a few months now. This shouldn’t be happening. Damn, what a mess.”

Well, if he manipulated Junhu in Seoul, how much worse could it have been in Daegu?

“So, did he really do it?”

“He calls him a kid, but he went over there a few times and received pocket money, so I don’t really know. He keeps calling him a kid, but you gotta be careful with kids, right?”

“But why would he take money from some gangster?”

And Park Junghyun’s answer was shocking. He said he offered free drinks, then coerced them into reporting to the higher-ups, depositing money, and using that money to buy drinks for the players. The fact that there were records of receiving money from this guy was causing problems.

“That’s why they say you shouldn’t accept anything for free.”

Whether it’s a woman or anything else. Freebies are always risky.

“Anyway, I’m sorry. Let’s have a good game today.”

“Yes, you too, senior.”

And Park Junghyun walked away lonely. Judging by how much he seemed to have aged since the last time I saw him, he must have gone through quite a bit of mental anguish.

“So, was Hyunseong’s performance not good? It’s strange, we barely lost one relief pitcher, and yet the team seems shaky. That shouldn’t result in a 10th place finish. The team looks unsettled.”

Whether they actually manipulated the game or not, the results will show, but seeing players like Hyunseong being investigated, it was worrying to see a team like his being affected.

The Hyunseong Mad Cats can be considered one of the most prestigious teams in the KBA League. They won four consecutive integrated championships from 2011 to 2014, repeated victories from 20 to 21, and have been a strong team since the 90s, with only a handful of postseason eliminations. Especially from the dark days of 2002, until this year, Hyunseong has never failed to make it to the postseason, and until last year, they were known as the ‘Reverse AT’ team before we won the championship.

However, even such a team has plummeted to the bottom due to the investigation of one or two players, showing that the atmosphere among the players is indeed crucial.

And in our team, there was a sneaky character like a loach that seemed likely to disrupt the team’s unity needed for victory. While not as serious as Hyunseong, leaving him alone could disrupt the team spirit needed for victory.

“If Williams is really causing trouble, I’ll have to step in for the team’s discipline and for the sake of winning.”