episode_0406

Bat flies towards the infielder after crossing the mound, landing on the ground. Seeing the thrown bat, Garrett Cole cowered as if frightened.

“[What are you doing! This trash… throwing a bat?]”

Then the catcher stands up and shouts.

“[Sorry, sorry. It slipped from my hand. Maybe I didn’t spray enough. The bat is slippery.]”

“[Isn’t this an ejection? How can you throw a bat? Damn, even local thugs don’t play games like this!]”

Amidst the catcher’s rough protest and my exclamation of it being an accident, the umpire steps in, creating distance between us.

“I said it was an accident. An accident. The ball came too close to my body, slipped from my hand.”

“Damn! Is this an accident? Getting hit by a bat could kill someone!”

“Yeah, people have died from getting hit by a ball.”

“Ugh…!”

Glancing towards the pitcher, Garrett Cole with a ghostly expression seemed like he might rush over at any moment. No, other American players, including the infielders, were gradually approaching. If this weren’t the Olympic stage, their ominous glares seemed like they would have rushed over immediately.

“Don’t come! Stop! Stop! Do you plan to fight at the Olympics?! It’s an accident! An accident!”

However, the umpire loudly shouts, blocking the players’ approach.

“This is your final warning. If something like this happens again, both of you will be ejected!”

“Sorry, I got a bit scared, so I lost strength when the ball came towards my body.”

“Ugh…”

The infuriated catcher who was about to lose his temper puts his catcher’s mask back on.

“Idiot. Who would retaliate so obviously when a bat is thrown at them? Even so, if I had done more, I might have been too scared to throw towards the body, right?”

Though I threw towards the infielder this time, it was clear that if the pitcher was in his right mind, he would understand my message to aim towards him next time.

“Throwing a bat at the pitcher. Truly insane.”

“Well, bats slipping during a game is not uncommon.”

“Heh, I’ve had that happen to me occasionally too. But, my control was lacking. If it were me, I would have aimed for the pitcher’s legs. Unless they break upon impact, it’s quite effective. Plus, it affects their pitching when they’re hurt.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

As expected of Mr. Rosby. There’s still so much to learn… I still have a long way to go.

After the commotion settles down, the infielder approaches me holding the bat.

“Look, I get what you’re thinking, but at least have some sense of camaraderie.”

“What camaraderie. Is throwing a 100-mile ball towards the shoulder camaraderie? And it was a mistake.”

“You’re crazy. If it wasn’t the Olympics, you would’ve been dead. Pulling a stunt like this in the Major Leagues….”

“It was a mistake, damn it.”

Accepting the bat from the infielder and heading towards the on-deck circle to receive the grip guard spray, the next batter, Gisangju, hands me the spray and strikes up a conversation.

“…Was that intentional?”

“Well, yes.”

“You crazy bastard.”

“Oh, if I hadn’t done that, wouldn’t the senior have been hit by the ball? I’m confident I could have dodged it.”

“Alright, well done. Bastard. Still, be careful. Considering the temperament of Major League guys, the next one might come flying at your head.”

“In that case, I’ll run right away. The senior should run over too.”

“Got it, bastard.”

Sprinkling the spray on the bat handle, I step into the batter’s box. Then comes Rossby’s voice.

“It’s a curveball. Inside.”

Body curve. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like he was planning to throw a beanball again as the umpire had warned. Well, since I threw the bat and turned it into a strike one ball, he probably wanted to catch me out. His curve was around 83-84 miles per hour (133-135 km/h). It was fast for a curve, but as long as I knew it was a curve, the moment it entered the zone, I could send it flying beyond the outfield.

“Bring it on.”

I prepared myself and waited for his curve. Putting power into my supporting leg… and his pitch came. …Towards me!

“Ah! Damn it!”

A curse that slipped out involuntarily as the ball hit my thigh. Even at a speed of 130 mph, it hurt like hell. As I swung the bat, the catcher blocked my path.

“[Sorry, sorry. It slipped from my hand this time. It was a changeup, a changeup.]”

“[You wanna fight?! Wanna try it for real?]”

“[That’s enough, that’s enough! Walk to first base! If you keep fighting, you’ll be ejected.]”

Damn it. Looking at the catcher’s face, it didn’t feel like he really wanted a beanball. However, the glare after throwing the curve towards my body pierced through me. That bastard did it intentionally, 100%. Despite the aura of a bench-clearing brawl in the air.

Since I kept avoiding the fastball, he adjusted with a different curve in this situation.

Normally, in such a situation, there would be a chance to compete properly, but he was a real lunatic. Moreover, he didn’t even care about me throwing the bat in his direction.

“Heh, a Major League pitcher should have that kind of toughness.”

Rossby liked seeing that, but I couldn’t feel good about being hit by the ball.

“Damn bastard, if only it weren’t the Olympics…”

I wanted to rush to the mound right away, but behind me were my teammates and the citizens cheering us on while watching the baseball game. Now was the time to endure. I couldn’t afford to get ejected.

“If I make it to the majors, you’re done. Seriously.”

Leaving the confrontation for later, I walked to first base.

“You endured well, Maeng-ho.”

“Yeah, if only it weren’t the Olympics.”

“You endured well. And you took the curve cheaply. Not too painful, right?”

“It hurts!”

“If it hurts, you gotta retaliate. But you can still run since it’s your thigh, right?”

“…Of course.”

It hurt to be hit in the thigh, but there was no issue with running. The best revenge I could take now was stealing second base.

Considering the catcher Will Smith’s shoulder and Garrett Cole’s pitching, stealing bases would be difficult at most timings, but with the timing of his curve, it was enough to steal second base. However, even though I reached base by getting hit by the ball, he seemed unsatisfied and threw three consecutive pickoff attempts.

“Safe!”

“Try picking me off all day long. Will I get caught in a pickoff?”

As long as I held the grip for a pickoff, my weight shift to first base meant I wouldn’t get caught in a pickoff. After his pickoff attempts, finally, the first pitch towards the plate was thrown. A fastball.

“Strike!”

I waited.

“Ball.”

I waited.

“Strike!”

“Ball.”

“Foul!”

“Ball.”

I continued waiting until he threw the curve.

“It’s a curve.”

“Okay.”

And it was a full count situation with two strikes and three balls. Finally, Garrett Cole chose the curve he had been waiting for. The moment he slightly lifted his foot, I ran towards second base.

“Strike! Out!”

The call of a strikeout echoing from home plate and the feeling of the base in my hands.

“Safe!”

And the umpire’s safe call at second base.

As I dusted off the dirt at second base, Garrett Cole looked back at me with fiery eyes. Pretending to brush off the dirt from my face, I subtly raised my middle finger, making his brows furrow.

“What can you do with a frown on your face?”

The sight of his distorted expression slightly lifted my spirits. I smirked at him and refocused.

“Seungcheol hyung, just one more now!”

Though the leadoff hitter struck out, leaving two outs, the batter at the plate was none other than Ju Seungcheol, the most reliable hitter in the Olympics. Moreover, Garrett Cole seemed quite excited. It felt like they could make it home…

Thwack!

And Ju Seungcheol cleanly swung his bat at the first pitch.

“Wooohooo!”

A fantastic line drive by Ju Seungcheol that fell between the center fielder and right fielder. It was a piece of cake to make it home. With this, the score became 3:1. While Ju Seungcheol stopped at first base, thinking about the right fielder’s shoulder, he successfully achieved the hitter’s fundamental goal of scoring.

“Fuck!”

Excited after hitting a timely hit, Garrett Cole threw his glove. The American dugout reacted in unison. The tension was palpable.

“So, who told you to get all worked up and aim at me? Tsk tsk.”

Indeed, one must know how to control their anger like me. To lose control for a moment and give up three runs in a crucial stage like this, pitching 2.2 innings with 3 earned runs was frustrating.

“Mangho, well done!”

“Nice! Let’s focus on defense now!”

Entering the dugout and exchanging high-fives with teammates felt quite refreshing.

[The American mound is being changed. Garrett Cole steps down, and the new pitcher on the American mound is Marcus Stroman.]

“Jinmo, ready?”

“Yes. Forget the low pitches and target the high ones only.”

“Got it. Swing hard once and come back.”

Facing Stroman, South Korea’s strategy was to strictly exclude low pitches. Dividing the strike zone into upper and lower parts, focusing only on the high pitches was a strategy that didn’t quite hold water. Since most of Stroman’s pitches were sinking pitches, and he was a pitcher with good ground ball induction, having a good command of the lower part made sense.

However, South Korea chose this strategy to assess the opponent based on just one pitch. For a pitcher whose strength lies in the lower part to throw high pitches meant it was a mistake. The plan was to aim for a single mistake and create an opportunity.

[Swing! Foul tip, strikeout. That concludes the 3rd inning.]

Yet, if it were that easy, a .300 hitter wouldn’t be highly regarded in baseball. Unable to withstand Stroman’s continued focus on the lower part, Gu Jinmo couldn’t resist swinging his bat, striking out and allowing the American offense to return.

Still, South Korea’s ace, Sung Hyun, remained strong.

[Sung Hyun prevents a bases-loaded crisis with two outs! The score difference remains at 2 runs! The score stays at 3:1!]

[Stroman ends the inning with a three-up, three-down. The game moves into the top of the 5th inning.]

As Sung Hyun consistently sent runners back without conceding any runs, and Stroman displayed powerful pitching to keep Korean batters at bay, the game progressed smoothly until the 5th inning, despite the tense atmosphere early in the game.

[Ji Mangho hits! Oh, caught by the shortstop. Trey Turner, what a play to stop this hit… Unfortunately. Now we move into the top of the 6th inning.]

…And the 6th inning began.

[Ah, the ball is going over… A two-run homer by Arenado. The score is now tied.]

[It’s okay. We can turn the game around anytime. It’s not over yet. Let’s consider this a fresh start.]

Struggling to contain the American lineup, Seonghyun evens the game with a two-run homer by Arenado.

[…Pitcher catches it for an out! That’s three outs. Seonghyun wraps up the 6th inning, catching Turner with great effort.]

[Seonghyun’s performance seems to end here. Still, he did well. Facing the American lineup, he managed a quality start. Now it’s time for the batters to step up.]