episode_0419

How far can I go without Rosby? Honestly, I was curious. Yesterday, I managed to hit a home run against a pitcher who just came up from the second team, but he was just a second-string pitcher. I wanted to know how far I could go against the first-string regulars.

Coincidentally, today’s starting pitcher for JT Gold Eyes is the ace mercenary, Andrew Hamilton. He was a perfect opponent to test me. He was a typical AAAA league player. In the Major Leagues, he used to be a tanking team member, known as the “Tank General,” recording over 100 innings with an ERA in the 5.00s. Since coming to Korea this season, he had appeared in 17 games with an ERA in the low 2.00s.

Among the 32 wins JT has achieved this season, he single-handedly took responsibility for 9 wins as the ace of an underdog team. It was clear that his skills had caught Soyoung’s attention.

“Well then, let’s call out the lineup one last time. Batting first, Second baseman Ji Maeng-ho. Maeng-ho, are you confident?”

“Batting first? Yes. I’m good.”

“Okay.”

It’s been a while since I batted first, hasn’t it? Although I mentioned it a few times last week, the coach seemed to have made the decision after seeing me draw four walks yesterday.

“Batting second, Third baseman Kim Soo-ho; batting third, Left fielder Ki Sang-joo; batting fourth, Right fielder Williams; batting fifth, First baseman Choi Jin-cheol; batting sixth, DH Woo Kwan-hyung; batting seventh, Shortstop Yoon Sung-tae; batting eighth, Catcher Jung Yoon-chul; batting ninth, Center fielder Baek Jung-jin.”

It was a solid lineup. With Baek Jung-jin and Jung Hwi-cheol alternating between center field and right field, our lineup for this season was ideal. When we had many injured players, Yoon Sung-tae, who used to bat fifth, being pushed down to seventh was evidence of that.

Alongside the comeback performance of Woo Kwan-hyung, who returned from injury at the end of the first half, and veteran catcher Jung Yoon-chul, who couldn’t play due to injury in the first half but returned in the second half, Williams, who had struggled after getting hit by a pitch, was back to playing normally in the second half.

“With this lineup, we should be able to win even without Rosby.”

We are still competing with the Volcan Falcons for first place. There was a risk of losing the game without Rosby stepping up to bat, but looking at the lineup, I felt confident enough to play without any pressure.

“This lineup looks solid.”

As I looked around with a satisfied expression, Williams avoided my gaze.

“He’s well-educated too.”

Don Williams. He used to swing the bat like eating rice, but he wasn’t lacking in learning ability. From the second half onwards, he had been hitting in the cleanup spot for the team, maintaining an OPS in the high 0.9s. …Perhaps his side was bothering him; his slugging wasn’t as strong.

“Let’s win again today. You all know the Volcanoes lost yesterday, right? We’re three games behind, so let’s win a bit more and make sure they can’t even think about catching up.”

“Yes!”

“Got it!”

*

JT Gold Eyes’ ace starter, Andrew Hamilton, primarily threw pitches at an average speed of 148-149 km/h, topping out at 153 km/h. He mainly relied on curveballs, changeups, and sliders as a right-handed pitcher. His slider was described as ‘awkward.’ It was labeled awkward because the direction of his slider varied unpredictably. On days when it bit, he would cook hitters with a fast, lateral movement, but on days when it didn’t bite, it had a tendency to break more vertically.

During games, he often threw differently, so much so that when we faced off in the first half, I was able to avoid all of his sliders, and that issue hadn’t been fixed yet. But to someone like me who knew his pitches, was it rather intimidating?

“Perhaps he’s practicing before heading to the majors?”

After all, the team was at the bottom, and with that kind of performance, there was no way he wouldn’t make it to the majors. Maybe he kept throwing that ‘awkward’ slider to get a firm grip before going to the majors?

On the mound, watching the guy practicing his pitches, it seemed like he still couldn’t throw properly. Three out of five curved horizontally, while two curved vertically. Well, a slider in the mid-130s was still a threatening pitch, so it was working for the KBA.

“Alright, Rosby. Let’s go.”

“What do you mean, ‘let’s go’?”

“Oh, right.”

Without realizing it, I found myself talking to Rosby out of habit.

“It feels a bit awkward.”

Even though I had experienced this yesterday, batting without Rosby felt strange. I felt like Rosby would stand behind the pitcher and tell me the pitch any moment.

“Hey there.”

“…”

The catcher remained silent. The silence conveyed a strong desire to win today since the team’s ace was on the mound.

“Ball.”

However, the first pitch was a ball. A 146 km/h fastball declared outside.

“Phew, that was close, wasn’t it?”

It felt like the ball just missed by half a ball. Since I was the leadoff batter, I tried to watch the ball a bit, which allowed me to hold back; otherwise, the bat almost slipped. And then the next pitch.

“The ball is up!”

As the curveball was thrown, I held back my swing, feeling the distinctive sensation of the curveball floating.

“Ball.”

As expected. The curveball wouldn’t come into the zone. But two consecutive balls—was the ace planning to walk me even after stepping onto the field?

“I’m the leadoff hitter, are you planning to walk me? Can you catch it with those shoulders?”

“…”

“Are you deaf?”

“Shut up.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

Since I slightly scratched him inside, will he come up and in? After throwing two straight balls, I felt like he might try to place the next one in the strike zone. With the count in my favor, I narrowed the zone and timed my swing to match his pitching timing.

As the guy’s arm swung again, the trajectory seemed slightly outside.

“If it’s a fastball…!”

At the moment of release, the seemingly outside pitch continued on its path. A sweeper!

Thunk!

“Damn it!”

The ball hit the end and lower part of the bat, bouncing sharply off the ground. It was a ground ball, and I sprinted full speed towards first base.

“Rosby! What about the hit?”

As usual, I didn’t bother looking at the hit and ran, but I couldn’t hear Rosby’s voice. Glancing towards third base, I saw the third baseman running forward to catch the ball. And there was first base in sight. As I moved my last foot to touch the base, I heard the sound of the ball hitting the first baseman’s mitt.

“Safe!”

“Wow, that was close.”

“Nice. Great hustle. Manho.”

“Wow, that was risky.”

If the third baseman hadn’t backed up for defense, it could have easily been an out. Even though it was a lucky infield hit, a hit was a hit. Feeling my batting connecting against the mercenary opponent made my heart race slightly.

“Hmph, celebrating over just an infield hit.”

Handing over my gear to the coach and receiving my running gloves, I suddenly saw Rosby approaching, chewing gum.

“No, Rosby! Where were you! You should let me know where the hit is!”

“I was watching the cheerleaders. Why?”

“You being cocky annoys me more. Just tell me where the hit is. Run.”

Given it was a showdown between the opponent’s mercenary starter and Jang Yoon, scoring first was crucial. Moreover, Suwon’s stadium was known for producing quite a few home runs. Considering Jang Yoon’s flyball pitching style, you never knew when a homer might come, so building a lead was essential.

“It’s a changeup.”

A changeup from the first pitch. Since he hadn’t thrown any today, it seemed like he was going for a changeup from the start. In that case, I had only one choice!

“Safe!”

Receiving a light safe call at second base and preparing to run back to third, but it turned out unnecessary.

Thud – Ouch!

Kim Suho’s long-awaited home run led me all the way to home plate. Andrew Hamilton wasn’t an easy hitter for home runs, but it seemed like I had targeted his pitch properly and made my move.

“Nice!”

“Let’s go easy! Easy.”

*

The showdown with Andrew Hamilton resulted in 3 at-bats, 1 hit, and 1 walk. In the first at-bat, I hit an infield single, but ultimately settled for just a walk. It was a bit disappointing not to get a solid hit, but considering it was my first matchup against a mercenary, it was a decent performance, right? Plus, we won the game.

The starting pitcher for the next game was Baek Inhyuk, who was ranked second in the Rookie of the Year in 2021 and is known as the future national team ace. Despite drawing 3 walks, he recorded no hits in 1 at-bat, concluding the series against JT with a winning streak. My stats at the plate without Rosby in this series were 5 at-bats, 2 hits, 1 home run, and 6 walks. It was inevitable to get many walks since most pitchers avoided direct confrontations. The games were close, which also contributed to the high walk count. I thought about being more aggressive to ensure better results, but manipulating the outcome wasn’t an option. So, I decided to keep pushing forward in this manner.

By the end of the games leading up to September 1st, the stats I achieved without Rosby were exceptional and not typical:

0.304/0.686/0.826/1.512. An abnormally high on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Perhaps these stats emerged due to aiming for home runs within limited opportunities, having received around 10 intentional walks.

“So, how was it?”

“Well, it was decent, right?”

Thinking to myself while hitting pitches from pitchers, I felt a slight improvement in my hitting sensation, and I confirmed that if I made contact, the ball would go over the fence. Excluding the JT game, I hit two home runs. Since both were hit at Jamsil Stadium, my confidence grew.

“But, it seems like a slightly bad habit is forming. Let’s practice today.”

“Oh, I thought you were just going to watch the cheerleaders, but it seems like you were watching my at-bats after all?”

“Shut up.”

I had planned to have some fun with the girls and maybe have sex on Monday, but Rosby suggested training first. If Rosby was taking it seriously, then I should probably train with him.

“Starting next week, I hope we can step up our game a bit…”