episode_0432

-[KBA] Hellish Showdown! Stamina is the Key Battle!

…Meanwhile, due to the Olympic schedule, the KBA office scheduled Monday games and doubleheaders to catch up on the delayed league schedule, announcing schedules ranging from as short as 14 games to as long as 21 games per team.

…Intense battles for the top spot and mid-tier positions. The key to the ongoing fierce competition is expected to lie in the players’ stamina.

-The first 4-game series for AT Thunderz! Results: 2 wins, 2 losses. Volcano Falcons in hot pursuit!

…With a victory today, AT Thunderz evened out the series against Future Buffalos with 2 wins and 2 losses, while 2nd place Volcano Falcons recorded 3 wins and 1 loss against JT Gold Eyes, trailing closely by 0.5 games.

September 19th Pro Baseball Standings

1st AT Thunderz 72-39-2 0.649 0

2nd Volcano Falcons 72-40-2 0.643 0.5

3rd Hancheol Grizzlies 66-44-4 0.600 5.5

4th Silla Triggers 59-53-2 0.527 13.5

5th Charlotte Blue Marlins 57-54-2 0.514 15

6th Future Buffalos 55-55-3 0.500 16.5

7th UG Over Roses 44-66-2 0.400 27.5

8th Hyunseong Mad Cats 44-66-3 0.400 27.5

9th JT Gold Eyes 44-68-2 0.393 28.5

10th NV Rex 41-69-2 0.373 30.5

-Who will claim the home run king title this season? Joo Seungchul vs. Ji Maengho, a showdown of legendary hitters!

…This season’s hitting competition is expected to be fierce. Leading in batting average is Ji Maengho, with 257 at-bats and 102 hits, boasting a .397 average. He is expected to comfortably secure the hitting title over 2nd-placed Joo Seungchul (.348) and 3rd-placed Lee Yongki (.340).

Ji Maengho, topping various rate stats as well, has an OBP of .593, SLG of 1.062, and OPS of 1.655. Leading in runs scored (118) and RBIs (120) excluding hits, he also dominates stolen bases with 73, leaving the 2nd-place stolen base leader Kim Dongjin (44) far behind, aiming for his 7th consecutive hitting crown like last year.

However, unexpectedly, Ji Maengho faces the biggest challenge in his bid for a second consecutive hitting crown, particularly in home runs. While currently leading with 44 home runs in 81 games, Joo Seungchul closely follows with 42 home runs. Joo Seungchul, who declared his Major League entry after this season, has proven his worth by hitting 42 home runs in 114 games.

The attention of baseball fans is now focused on who will clinch the season’s final home run king title.

┗A legendary home run battle, lol.

┗Maengho, step up your game, lol. Still running scared like a coward.

┗┗Seriously, did you see him back down from that tough guy and almost get beaten up? If you want to survive, you gotta fight, lol.

┗┗He just blocked the guy charging at him, what’s with the tough guy act?

┗┗Damn, Spencer got a concussion because of that jerk and can’t play in the game, damn it.

┗┗Since they’re bottom anyway, might as well aim for the 1st pick, gg.

┗┗These bastards are really going all out with their trash talk, lol. Let’s see how long this lasts.

*

“Manager, you have to let me know right away if Seungchul hits a home run. Got it?”

“I said I got it. How many times do you need to say it?”

The manager’s firm instructions eased my mind slightly. There was a 2-run difference between Seungcheol hyung and me. It was a distance that could be reversed at any moment. Especially, this series was crucial. Today was the day we played literary games.

The final literary away game. It felt like we needed to widen the gap here in this small stadium to feel more at ease. And saying we were playing away meant mentioning Jamsil. I felt like we needed to secure the lead in this series so that Seungcheol hyung wouldn’t have futile dreams.

“Alright, gather around!”

At that moment, the coach called all the players in the dugout.

“Yes!”

“We all know our schedule is a bit tough, right?”

Eight games from Monday to Sunday. Especially tomorrow, we have a doubleheader. It was indeed a demanding schedule.

“If you’re tired, speak up. I’ll make substitutions. Especially, don’t hesitate to speak up about the centerline. Understood?”

“Yes.”

Of course, there was no room for error. We had to hit home runs.

“Good. Let’s go.”

The game began with a brief meeting. In the first inning, our leadoff batter was naturally me.

“Hi. Long time no see.”

And at home plate, I saw Baek Gyeong-ho. After colliding with me and getting injured, he hadn’t been playing in our games, but perhaps due to the tight schedule, Baek Gyeong-ho was wearing a catcher’s mask.

“…Don’t talk to me.”

“Oh, come on, if we’ve met this many times, shouldn’t we be friends by now?”

“Shut up?”

“Since we’re practically out of the fall baseball race, please play seriously.”

UG’s ranking was fifth, trailing by 12.5 games, essentially eliminating them from the fall baseball contention. It was surprising how last year’s championship team had ended up like this, but with two failed foreign reinforcements and domestic starters Lee Seok-gyun and Seo Dong-ho struggling with injuries big and small, the collapse of the pitching staff wasn’t that strange.

“Sigh…”

Today, UG Overz’s starting pitcher was the fifth starter, Seo Dong-ho. After being injured during the season and taking about three months off, he seemed to be making a comeback today.

“I need to watch out for his fastball and slider, right?”

Before the injury, he was throwing pitches around 140 km/h, so I needed to observe his pitches closely today.

“Ball.”

The first pitch was a ball outside the strike zone.

“Well, not much has changed. The movement seems a bit weaker.”

Before the injury, his pitch movement was quite good, but it seemed affected by the injury. Since he wasn’t an outstanding pitcher before, I felt like I could handle his pitches easily even with a light swing.

“Let’s swing lightly. Lightly.”

The second pitch followed.

Swing – crack!

“Oh, damn!”

With a loud crack, I hit the ball, but it didn’t cross the foul line, disappearing.

“It’s slower than I thought? I swung too early.”

The scoreboard showed the pitch speed as 139 km/h. Indeed, it was too slow.

“Dongho, are you okay? Your fastball is at 139… You haven’t finished rehab yet, right?”

“You don’t need to worry about me.”

“Sigh, what can I say even if I worry. But are you really going to compete? I thought you’d avoid it. Aren’t you scared? Oh! Are you worried you won’t catch me if I run again?”

“Just shut up.”

Last year in the Korean Series, the team used an absurd strategy of intentionally walking me, so I naturally thought they would avoid pitching to me. It was fortunate that they were competing against me. Was it because of the change in coaches? While having such thoughts, Seo Dong-ho twitched his body and prepared to pitch.

“Time!”

Phew, I almost got screwed without even thinking about hitting the ball. After calling for time, I stepped out of the batter’s box, swung the bat a few times, and aimed for the pitch.

“As expected, right now…”

My target pitch is a slider. Since two consecutive fastballs came, it was obvious that a slider would follow. The first pitch was inside, and the second one too. So, the conventional move here is an outside slider.

After deciding on the pitch to aim for, I step into the batter’s box.

“When it looks like the trajectory will be inside, I always swing.”

And then the third pitch is thrown.

Thud!

“Ugh… It felt like I hit it right in the center, but the timing was off.”

With a heavy feeling in my hands, the ball soars high towards left field. It feels like an outfield fly…? Still, just in case, I sprint towards second base. As I’m preparing myself mentally, a loud cheer erupts from our side of the stands.

-Wow!!!

“Huh? Did that go over?”

Literally Literary Stadium…! A home run from the first at-bat… Somehow, today felt good.

[Home run by Ji Maeng-ho, his 45th of the season! Leading off with a home run, Ji Maeng-ho! AT Thunderz lead 1-0!]

“That guy really has some power…”

Even though it sounded like a light hit that could easily be caught in the outfield when only the sound of the hit was heard, Baek Gyeong-ho shook his head as he saw it go over. In his eyes, he could see Seo Dong-ho on the mound, shaking his head.

“Sigh… That’s why I didn’t want to play.”

After returning from injury, he needed to boost the pitcher’s confidence in the first game, but with this result… Baek Gyeong-ho felt guilty towards Seo Dong-ho. In truth, he could have avoided the situation if he wanted to. But he knew that wouldn’t end well.

The bench-clearing incident that arose during the game between AT Thunderz and NV Lex in which Ji Maeng-ho seemed to be protecting the pitcher might have seemed that way at first glance, but the truth was clear to Baek Gyeong-ho. Ji Maeng-ho, that devilish guy, intentionally hit someone.

That psychopath had no intention of protecting his teammate. He was simply releasing the stress accumulated from the continuous walks on the field. Just like when he sent him to the hospital in the first half of the season.

“Hah, if I keep avoiding contact in this series, probably a few more will get hurt. We’re also competing for the home run king title. This season is already doomed. To aim for the next season, it’s important not to get injured. Sorry, Dong-ho. This couldn’t be helped.”

Of course, he didn’t intentionally allow a home run. He didn’t manipulate the game; he just didn’t avoid the competition.

The pitch that Ji Maeng-ho hit for a home run was a perfectly located fastball aimed at the corner. However, with his unique strength and bat control, he managed to send that ball flying. It seemed like his hitting form had faltered…

“I have to face that guy for four games straight…”

His head started to ache. But unlike before when he avoided Ji Maeng-ho, except for a doubleheader, Baek Gyeong-ho decided to wear the catcher’s mask for all games. Just in case another catcher came in for him and provoked Ji Maeng-ho while sitting behind home plate, risking injury to his teammates.

“I have to protect my guys.”

With a firm resolve to protect his teammates, Baek Gyeong-ho put on the catcher’s mask to face the next batter.