episode_0405

[Jimangho! He lifted it up! This hit goes beyond the wall! It disappears! In one inning, Korea succeeds in a comeback! At the center of it all was Jimangho once again!]

[This is Jimangho! Jimanghop! He was perfectly aiming for a changeup! …Huh?]

[Huh? Jimangho’s unique sniping ceremony came out…?]

[Oh, this is psychological warfare…, psychological warfare, right? There must be an influence from Choi Jutae hitting a high fastball to get on base. Don’t aim at our players in the future, that must be the meaning. Still, I never thought such a ceremony would come out at the Olympics, but Jimangho, he’s still the same.]

-Hahaha, Jimangho is crazy doing that at the Olympics hahaha

┗Minimum 1 million views hahaha

-Wow, he’s got guts, huh? Doing a ceremony against Gegit Kol.

┗But wouldn’t a beanball come right after that?

┗┗But it’s the semi-finals, so who knows.

┗┗I think it’s 100% likely hahaha

-Oh, that guy doesn’t give a damn about the team, he’s gonna get hit like that.

┗Hmm… Isn’t it a benefit even if it’s a beanball? Honestly, I don’t see anyone other than Jimangho.

┗┗Haha, do you have that keen of an eye? ISMHST

After giving up a lead point, an immediate turnaround home run. Just that alone would have caused a commotion, but when Jimangho’s patented ceremony ‘sniping ceremony’ came out, Korean baseball fans were ecstatic.

No, not just Korean baseball fans, but fans from around the world watching baseball right now were equally excited.

-I’ve never seen such a ceremony before. What did he just do? He aimed the bat like a gun!

┗Didn’t that go viral on Reddit last year? It was famous among baseball fans.

┗┗lol Is that allowed in baseball?

┗┗Of course, it’s not.

-He thinks that player lacks respect for baseball.

-Gegit Kol is spitting fire with his fastballs again.

-I found it entertaining though. Of course, it’s a pity we got a home run against us.

┗┗I think so too! Honestly, baseball has been boring lately, maybe we should learn from these aspects.

-Facing Kol with such a ceremony looks good,

┗┗I get that you’re a Red Sox fan. But this is a national competition, how about supporting them?

┗┗Fuck that! Watching the Yankees guys get beaten is my long-time pleasure. fuck the yanks

And not only the fans but also American players were equally excited.

“Fuck! Fuck!”

After giving up a home run to Jimangho, Gegit Kol handled the remaining three batters with strikeouts and groundouts, then as he entered the dugout, he threw his glove and shouted. No teammate dared to approach the frenzied Gegit Kol.

“Calm down, Gary.”

“Do I look calm to you? Did you see what that bastard just did?”

“……”

Only his teammate Jeoji approached him, but there was no pitcher present who could calm the excitement after witnessing such a ceremony.

“I’ll kill that bastard.”

“…Still, remember it’s the Olympics.”

Of course, amidst all this, Gegit Kol was somewhat composed. He didn’t throw a beanball at the next batter. Even if he saved a beanball to throw at Jimangho, it meant that somewhere deep down, the pitcher was conscious that this stage was the Olympic stage.

“Tsk, it’s tough being a starter.”

However, most of the players in the dugout felt it. It was practically impossible for Gegit Kol to hold the mound for a long time. Having a fiery temper might be a basic requirement for pitchers, but a player who is excited on the mound ultimately fails to produce good results.

The pitcher’s frustration with the pitches thrown to other Korean batters was evident. Fortunately, although Korean batters couldn’t conquer Garrett Cole’s powerful fastball, it wasn’t surprising whenever a home run was hit…

Pitchers in such a state were like ticking time bombs ready to explode at any moment. And all the players gathered in the dugout were among the world’s best baseball players. There wasn’t a player here who didn’t notice Garrett Cole’s peculiarity.

And so…

[Swing and a miss! Out! As Freeman strikes out on Seonghyun’s outside fastball!]

[Good. Excellent. It’s quite apparent that Seonghyun is a seasoned player, isn’t it? It seems like the American batters have become anxious since Maengho hit that home run and turned the game around. I was worried about Arrena allowing a leadoff walk to the batter, but thankfully.]

[Seonghyun gets stronger with runners on base! Now the situation is one out with a runner on first base.]

…The American batters start to get anxious. And Seonghyun was not a pitcher to miss such an opportunity. Even with a fastball clocking around 150 and possessing below-average breaking ball values, Seonghyun’s challenge in this game, the crucial Olympic quarterfinals, was unfolding.

“Another fastball?”

“No, let’s go with a changeup now. Something feels off.”

“Okay.”

Furthermore, the catcher working in sync with Seonghyun was Korea’s top catcher, Yonggi, who had synced up with the same team for six months. While Yonggi was recognized for his batting, his real strength lay in his catching lead.

With the rise of sabermetrics among baseball fans, the notion that catching leads didn’t exist was widely accepted as dogma, but catching leads undeniably existed. Catching leads weren’t just about ball mixtures.

Yonggi was observing the atmosphere of the batters coming up after the turnaround home run. A subtly enlarged swing, a sense that the batters were oddly excited.

“Changeup, outside.”

Of course, if the pitcher’s command was lacking, it would all be meaningless, but Seonghyun was once a pitcher boasting the best command in the Major Leagues. He had even been compared to Maddux in his prime. A pitcher who tasted like leading, if you had to pick one player to fit that moniker, it would be Seonghyun.

And as demanded, Seonghyun’s pitch landed in the mitt. Turner swung and missed.

“Strike!”

Turner’s enlarged swing confirmed that his feeling wasn’t wrong.

“His swing has definitely gotten bigger since Maengho’s home run. The timing is quick too. Is it because of that ceremony? It felt like crap when it happened, but I guess it’s a relief we’re on the same team?”

Watching Maengho focused near second base, Yonggi smirked and refocused on the batter.

“Turner… He’s fast, but his anticipation isn’t great. Keep it towards the outside as much as possible…”

Thud!

Once again, Turner’s bat met Seonghyun’s low outside changeup. This time, the hit went towards the shortstop.

“Out!”

“…Safe!”

Since Turner was a fast runner, inducing a double play wasn’t possible, but that made it two outs.

“Since Turner’s on base, he’ll definitely run, right? Should we settle this with a fastball? What do you think, Hyung?”

“Yonggi, let’s just focus on the batter.”

“Okay.”

Sometimes when Yonggi made a wrong judgment, Seonghyun adjusted the ball mixture, and the two continued to sync up.

[Swing, and Turner attempts a steal! Yonggi threw the ball, but he’s safe at second base.]

[As expected, the player is quick on his feet. However, if we get just one more out count, the inning will end, so there’s no need to worry about the runner at all.]

[Strikeout! Seonghyun catches Smith with a strikeout! In the top of the 2nd inning, Korea holds off the U.S. attack without allowing any runs.]

Excited American batters pile up out counts against Seonghyun and Iyongki battery, who have been in sync for about half a year on the same team.

[Now, Korea’s bottom of the 2nd inning attack begins. …Strikeout! …Oh, this hit goes high into the outfield. Two outs. …Kim Suho draws a walk! …Strikeout. While he struck out Kang Hanbeom to get a batter on base, it’s a clean inning end with no runs scored!]

-He hit a home run off Geet Call, woke him up.

┗Damn, that was a solid hit.

-Whoa, he’s so aggressive. But everything’s going into the zone, and he can’t hit it.

┗Just because it’s in the zone doesn’t mean Geet Call is competing with Saiyoung? This is reality.

[Out! …This hit goes far. Center fielder Ju Seungcheol follows it! He catches it! A fantastic diving catch by Ju Seungcheol! That’s two outs! …Strike! Out! Seonghyun ends the inning with a strikeout after a full count battle, creating the first three-out inning today! Korea maintains a 1-run lead as they head to the bottom of the 3rd inning!]

-Ju Seungcheol’s defense is insane, lol. That guy looks like he could go to the majors for real.

-Geez, did Seonghyun bounce back, lol.

┗Honestly, looking at his damn stats this season, he could’ve made it in the majors too.

┗┗For real, lol.

-Let’s keep it up until the 9th inning!!!

[Geet Call strikes out Choi Jutae, three strikes, three outs. The scoreboard shows 100.1 miles per hour?]

[Geet Call hasn’t been throwing balls over 100 miles since 2022? Unfortunately, his velocity seems to be better today? It’s a bit off, but hitting such a pitch is tough.]

[Now stepping up to bat is Ji Maengho, who hit a two-run homer in the 1st inning.]

-Maengho is here!!!!

┗Will he get a walk?

┗┗Definitely, lol.

┗┗Let’s not jinx it…

-Maengho, don’t try to get on base for no reason, just dodge the ball. Without you, our team is doomed.

…And in the bottom of the 3rd inning, with one out remaining, Ji Maengho, awaited by Geet Call, steps up to the plate.

*

“That guy’s eyes look unsettling, don’t they?”

If you see the eyes of a parent’s enemy, would they look like that? Geet Call’s eyes were burning. If eyes could kill with their gaze, those eyes might be it. And there was only one reason why a pitcher would have such eyes.

“Surely it’s a walk, right?”

“Then did you think I did that ceremony thinking I wouldn’t hit it?”

Indeed…. As I stepped into the batter’s box and glanced at the catcher, his body was leaning towards me too much.

“[Stop staring? Do batters in Korea usually glance at the catcher?]”

Whether he felt my gaze or not, the catcher guy threw a word at me.

“[Bastard.]”

Since a walk was already planned, I cursed at the catcher once and waited for Rossby’s next pitch.

“Fastball.”

Geet Call’s fastball is 100 miles per hour. …It must hurt, right? I didn’t want to feel pain. Moreover, if it hit my bones, it wouldn’t just end with pain.

Geet Call’s blazing eyes are not looking at the mitt but directly at me. A signal that he’ll definitely hit me. After winding up, the ball leaves his hand. Its destination is obviously my body!

“Well, I don’t know.”

As I step back, his fastball passes through where my body was just moments ago and lands in the mitt.

“…Ball.”

The arrest displayed on the scoreboard was 99.8 miles per hour (160.5 km/h). Since I had anticipated it, dodging a 100-mile ball wasn’t difficult. If it were a league game, I would have charged right in, but unfortunately, this was the Olympics. Getting benched and then ejected would make the match tougher. Especially if the target was me. Today, I had to hit at least three home runs, so getting ejected now wouldn’t sit well with my plans.

“[Are you a coward? If you dodge this time, it will be your teammates next. Why do you think your teammates are still intact?]”

“[…Even though they’re openly targeting me, you won’t penalize them?]”

“[…It’s a warning.]”

“[I’m sorry. I once tried to threaten. Actually, it slipped from my hand. You know, my pitching isn’t that great. Sometimes it slips like this.]”

“[Then there’s nothing we can do.]”

‘Is that it? This isn’t a joke. Is this what they call home advantage?’

The umpire’s warning. But he was signaling me to take the hit and end it quickly. I was well aware of the strictness in American baseball. Despite the unwritten rules, the umpire acknowledged that my actions were correct but deemed them cheap. However…

‘Are you insane? Taking a hit at 160?’

I never imagined facing a 160 mph pitch, maybe 140, but not 160.

‘If it comes down to this, I have a plan too.’

A brilliant way to protect my teammates while avoiding getting hit.

‘A fastball. How about taking one hit and ending it?’

‘Are you crazy? To take that hit.’

Once again, the pitcher winds up, and a 160 mph fastball is thrown.

“Let’s do this!”

The ball comes flying towards me again. As expected, I dodge the pitch and…

“[Watch out!]”

…I pretend to swing the bat towards the mound.