episode_0390

“Out!”

“Damn it!”

Caught? There shouldn’t have been a right fielder from KBA who could catch me…

“Critique! Coach! Critique!”

“Maengho.”

“Yes?”

“There are still many games left. Honestly, even I’m not entirely sure about this, but if we exhaust ourselves here, the upcoming games…”

The third base coach’s words were simple. Since there were many games left, he suggested saving video review for potentially crucial situations. It meant that he didn’t want to waste a card that could be a joker in ambiguous situations from the first inning onwards; if it had been clear, they would have requested a video review.

“It was quite ambiguous, wasn’t it?”

“That’s how I saw it.”

“Sigh….”

It wasn’t that I couldn’t understand the coach’s words.

“I felt like I arrived first…”

Although it felt like I arrived first, I couldn’t insist on it here. Anyway, since there were many games left, I accepted the coach’s words to avoid a situation where I couldn’t use video review in a critical moment if I failed here.

“There’s nothing we can do.”

“Sorry. I turned back for no reason. It’s different being a big leaguer, after all.”

Did this guy also turn back? In fact, I rarely looked at the coach when playing as a baserunner. It was more effective to reduce even the 0.1-second time of looking at the coach and focus on the words of the third base coach. Anyway, since the coach also turned back, I found solace in the fact that my judgment was correct and walked towards the dugout.

“I’m sorry. I pushed too hard. Just getting to second base safely would have been fine.”

“No, you did well.”

Choi Jutae, who touched home plate first, comforted me, but I couldn’t shake off the bad feeling. That way, my first at-bat ended with an RBI double, and as the third batter, Kisangju, and the fourth batter, Kang Hanbeom, struck out and bunted out, our first inning attack came to an end.

[**Ji Maengho’s challenge at third base! The result is…! He’s out!**]

[Oh. Is this an out? It looked like he made it to third base when I saw it.]

[Ji Maengho requests a video review. Oh, they’re not doing it. Here comes the replay. …It’s a very difficult timing, isn’t it?]

[Oh…. I thought he made it to third base…. Usually, when impressive defense happens, the umpires sometimes call them out, right? It seems like that might be the case here too…. Oh, it’s tough. It also feels like his hand touched first…. I wish they had requested a video review, but it’s a shame.]

[…Swing! Ban Den Berg catches Kisangju with a strikeout! …Kang Hanbeom hits a high ball! Center fielder catches it…. With this, Korea scores one run in the first inning, leading 1-0! Now the game moves to the top of the second inning.]

The showdown between Korea and the Netherlands. This highly anticipated game, focusing on the duel between starting pitchers in the Major Leagues, unfolded as a tight pitcher’s duel as initially expected.

[Simmons swings! Strikeout! Jung Woosung strikes out Horehowies, Palacios, and Simmons consecutively!]

[Wow, as expected of Jung Woosung! His strikeout rate per 9 innings this year is 10.4, showing excellent strikeout ability! And this is in the Major Leagues.]

Jung Woosung, known as the “Nuclear Submarine,” used the underhand unique movement to secure strikeouts, and…

[Joo Seungcheol! Leadoff hitter gets a hit! …Gu Jinmo’s hit heads towards second base. Out at second, and out at first. Unfortunate double play for Korea!]

Ban Den Berg kept the runners on base while delivering stable pitching, thwarting Korea’s offense. And in the bottom of the third inning, Ji Maengho returns to the plate.

[Ji Maengho! He picks this ball! After a persistent battle, he walks with a walk! Now it’s two outs, runner on first!]

After hitting a double against Ji Maengho in his first at-bat, Ban Den Berg’s control faltered, and Ji Maengho succeeded in reaching base after seeing six pitches.

[Now that Ji Maengho is on base, he’ll run, right?]

Jimaengho’s successful steal!

┗Running?

┗┗Of course, gotta run!ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-But can he run on a big stage like the Olympics?

┗Fact) Jimaengho succeeded in 20 stolen bases in last year’s Korean Series.

┗Info) This season, Jimaengho leads with 35 stolen bases and 0 failures.

[Will he run? Of course, he’s Jimaengho. In fact, Jimaengho’s greatest strength is seen when he’s on base, right? Despite stealing 93 bases last year and this year, he has only failed twice. What makes this record remarkable is that Jimaengho enjoys stealing third base. It’s not easy to swipe third base unless there’s an error by the catcher, but Jimaengho manages to do so while enjoying stealing third, which is truly impressive.]

With a total of 93 steals and 2 failures, his record from the previous Korean Series of 20 steals, and even a home steal record. Whenever Jimaengho reached base, everyone watching the game expected him to steal.

“[Jimaengho is on base? He’ll definitely run.]”

“[Gotta run. I’d love to see him face Major League catchers, but it can’t be helped. Well, there will be plenty of opportunities.]”

“[Still, even Trump had a 30% caught stealing rate as a catcher in the minors.]”

And the Major League scouts who visited this stadium felt the same way.

“[But I see a lot of familiar faces here.]”

“[That’s true. Not watching players like that is neglecting the scout’s duty. And it’s happening in the U.S. Here, picking pitchers like Sung or hitters like Joo and Choi means they can be useful for a few seasons at least.]”

“[Ko is doing well too.]”

Scouts from Major League teams came to the Olympics to see players from various countries, hidden gems from different nations. Among these players, Jimaengho naturally ranked at the top.

With a .400 average in the pro league and the power to hit 60 home runs, along with a seemingly unbelievable stolen base success rate, Jimaengho was a player that Major League teams were keeping an eye on.

While the KBA league was considered lower in standard compared to the Major Leagues, typically evaluated at around AA~AAA levels, there were hardly any .400 hitters even in such a minor league. Some players had achieved a .400 average in the minors, but most of them did so in situations with fewer than 100 games, making it incomparable to Jimaengho.

‘If you can achieve a .400 average in the minors, one reason for being called up to the big leagues, but still, a .400 record is unbelievable. Especially in the high-pressure pro league. Moreover, maintaining a .400 average this season means it’s no fluke.’

Tyler, a scout from the New York Yankees, was also paying attention to Jimaengho. The most recent hitter who attempted a .400 average in the minors was Guerrero Jr., who unfortunately fell short of .400. Guerrero Jr. made a monster season in the Major Leagues, hitting .301 with 48 home runs in 2021.

Of course, no one thought Jimaengho would perform at that level, but even performing at that level would be a great success for an Asian player. Or even if he performed at the level of Choi Ju-tae, it would surely be a solid contribution.

‘He’s quick on his feet too. Choi’s last season record in Korea was 51 steals. The highest stolen base record in the big leagues was 36, right? When you watch the videos, his stealing ability looks pretty good.’

A player like that capable of stealing bases? If that doesn’t get your blood pumping, then you’re not fit to be a scout.

‘I hope his stealing ability matches what we’ve seen in the videos.’

In the previous situation, Tyler, who had been observing defense, hitting, and base running plays, wanted to confirm the stealing ability as well.

[First pitch thrown to Gisangju! Jimaengho! It’s up! Catcher throws to second base! A slide at second! Indeed, Jimaengho! A ball has been declared at the plate.]

[Ban Den Berg threw a curveball, and he timed it well, didn’t he? It goes in generously.]

‘That’s quite a wide lead. Does he have confidence in stealing?’

Even at a glance, it was an extraordinary lead. The lead seemed to be one step ahead of the ordinary lead.

“[Hey, Jon. How many times did Ji get caught stealing?]”

“[None.]”

“[I see, that makes sense. Only two failed steals….]”

While successful stealing depended on the catcher’s shoulder and the pitcher’s form, the story was different for pickoff attempts. One had to read the flow of the game more sensitively than anyone else to avoid pickoff attempts. Especially, for a player with such a lead not to have been picked off even once….

‘Is he an outstanding player not only in athletic ability but also in reading the game…?’

And in a two-strike, two-ball situation, Jimaengho ran towards third base again.

[A slide at third base! Jimaengho steals two bases in one breath!]

[There it is! This is Jimaengho! Showing exactly what he displays in the league!]

Watching Jimaengho’s steal, Tyler muttered to himself.

“[…If he can do that much, I might be able to do at least what Brett does, even if my hitting fails.]”

*

“Out!”

“Ah, he got me.”

Despite making it to third base, Gisangju’s hit was caught by the second baseman, ultimately preventing any additional scoring.

“Oops, sorry about that.”

On the way back to the dugout, Gisangju offers an apology.

“Well, what can you do? Happens once or twice, right? It’s common even in the league.”

But since he had experienced this situation several times in the league, he wasn’t particularly upset.

‘Oh well. It’s my fault for getting on base. Wooseong senior is playing well too. Sigh, should I have signaled from second base or something? Was I too hasty? Ugh… Let’s not rush.’

At the beginning of the game, Jun Woosung’s worries mixed with strikeouts were effectively shutting down the Netherlands’ batting lineup, so he got a bit greedy, but it seemed like a stretch.

‘I was too hasty. Van den Berg is pitching better than I thought.’

Having played in the KBO, he had underestimated him a bit, but watching him face other seniors, it seemed clear why he was rotating in the Major League starting lineup.

The showdown between the Big Leaguers’ starters continued in a similar manner thereafter. As Jun Woosung and Van den Berg continued their pitching, the game had already crossed into the fifth inning.

And…,

Thud – Crack!

“Please, don’t fall apart.”

“Out!”

“Wow, that was close.”

Jun Woosung, who is also evaluated for his stamina weakness in the Major Leagues, was gradually finding his rhythm.