Chapters 117 – 115. Jamsil Rival? (2)
“Cheek.”
A sinker in the mid to late 140’s. It was said that the speed of the sinker increases to the early to mid-150s when the condition improves, but it seems that the speed of the sinker is slower than the video because it is spring or because it is a starter.
“Oh, do you like the ball?”
“If you like it that much, give it a swing.”
You want me to swing it once? It can’t be. You can’t swing the bat blindly when you’re not even sure how many pitches the pitcher is throwing.
At the high school level, the pitch was obvious and the deception was poor, so the trajectory of the ball was visible, but it was difficult to get the timing, perhaps because he was a mercenary pitcher.
Whoops, Fang!
“Cheek.”
Besides, the sinker this guy threw was fairly fast and had a big angle, so he needed to get used to it.
‘It seems that he usually uses a sinker against right-handed hitters, doesn’t he?’
‘Yeah, because I haven’t thrown a single four-seam yet.’
He didn’t even throw a single four-seam against me, as if he had already done my analysis. Because I was strong in four-seam. Well, his sinker speed was similar to that of a four-seam. A thorough sinker match against a right-handed hitter. It was the same as what I heard during the analysis.
“Senior, give me a four-seam.”
“Are you crazy? Give four shims to the bastard who beat Ohtani-kun too?”
‘It’s a sinker. Body side.’
Sheesh, if I said this, I thought a four-seam would fly. If it was Lee Yong-gi, it seemed that he would stab the station and win with a four-seam, but it seemed that he was going to win the match according to the rules. Because it was still the first episode.
“Cheek.”
Is it a three-ball now?
“Seniors. Will you be able to handle it if I leave? Am I running right away?”
“Did you try jumping?”
‘This time it’s four-seam to the outside.’
‘Do you think he’ll come into the zone?’
‘Well, I don’t think I would put it in. First of all, the catcher’s mitt is ambiguous.’
In this case, I have to make a decision. Whether or not to go out after seeing the trajectory. Anyway, I knew the direction of the outside four-seam, so it was definitely a win for me.
One-time pitcher Radet prepared to throw the fourth pitch. The moment the ball left the pitcher’s hand, I was sure.
‘It’s a ball.’
“Strike!”
“Yes? Is this a strike?”
“It came in.”
‘Did he really come in?’
‘No, I felt that catcher when he was on the national team, but his framing is good.’
‘Chit.’
But no matter how framing it was, it seemed to be far off….
I glanced at the referee’s face, and he was looking at me with an impudent face. Usually, when you look at me like this, you look at me with a questionable expression…. Also this.
-“Maengho, be careful as there are cases where you give a strike in the flow during a three-ball.”
-“Yes? A strike on the flow?”
– “Yes, that often happens unless you accidentally miss. However, if you protest to the referee and then you start taming it right away, rookies like you have to be more careful.”
The advice given by Woo Kwan-hyung during the training camp in Australia. As expected, the current situation is a strike in the flow. It was absurd, but it also benefited me to see another ball. I just thought that was it and took my posture again.
‘Slider, towards the body.’
After watching only the sinker for a long time, a slider comes in. If the slider on the inside was not bent, it was a ball with a high probability of miscasting. I was ready to swing at any time and glared at the pitcher.
“Meng Ho, do you know that? From this year……….”
Ignoring Lee Yong-gi’s muttering words from behind, I focused on my pitching form. The ball falls out of the glove, and his hand swings like a whip.
Widely!
“Foul!”
A foul that lands outside the line. Did you hit it too low? The sliders were lighter than expected.
“Oh, how do you react to this? I thought you were aiming for a slider?”
“Seniors. You know I just hit you.”
“Again, again. Bluff.”
Even during the national team training, I told the players that I was watching and hitting, but few people believed it. And Lee Yong-gi was one of those players who didn’t believe me.
“I didn’t even touch the fastball type, but when I see it coming out on the breaking ball… , Well, even if you hit a home run against Ohtani with Porok, you think a sinker with a score close to 150 is a bit burdensome?”
I can hear the sound of Lee Yong-gi rolling his head from behind. Yes, keep thinking about it. I’m cheating
‘Curve, a curve that hits the ground.’
A curve? I heard that the curve use rate is less than 1%…. Did you prepare for spring camp?
Did you mix the balls with the idea that you can be fooled or filtered here? I held the bat a little short, thinking of kicking it off.
Tick!
“Foul.”
“Are you aiming for a breaking ball as well? What’s your strategy for today? After all, Radet must be a threat.”
‘Sinker, body side.’
You don’t give four-seam even if you die, right? Yes, throw it body sinker? I’ve already seen it three times. Enough times to know the timing.
‘Come!’
A familiar trajectory into the strike zone! Following that trajectory, I swung my bat like lightning.
Ta-evil!
As soon asheheard the sound, the pitcher threw the glove. He’s hot because he’s from South America.
– Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maeng-ho!
– Who is the first homer of this season? This is WBC’s hero, Ji Maeng-ho, the greatest rookie of all time!
Was the cheerleader’s mic that big? He hadn’t heard well before….
‘I kept singing your cheering song, didn’t you hear me?’
‘Really? I couldn’t hear anything.’
Hehe, it’s a long way to see that he’s still nervous.’
Tension…. I thought I wouldn’t be nervous after going through the WBC, but maybe it was because it was my debut, so I guess I was a bit nervous.
“Hey, come back quickly.”
“Ah yes.”
The referee urged me on. I quickly threw the bat and ran to first base. After going around the diamond on the ground and entering the home, Kim Soo-ho greeted me.
“Good bet.”
“Thank you. And from the point of view of a left-handed hitter, the trajectory can be seen? It didn’t bend that hard.”
“I get it.”
But when I went into the dugout, the dugout was pretty quiet.
‘Is this again?’
After hitting a home run against Australia the other day, I heard that it was a ceremony from the major leagues. Boring. Boring. It was a ceremony that could only be enjoyed once in the league, so I decided to enjoy the ceremony this time.
“Downpour!!!!”
Then he started shooting high fives into the air.
“Thank you! Thank you! Seniors! Thank you!”
As we walked trembling from the entrance to the end, the expressions of the seniors, who were expressionless, began to crack.
“… Pooh.”
“If you enjoyed it, congratulations now!”
“Yeah, you bastard! Good job!”
Starting with the helmet massage of the weatherman, several players took turns tapping my helmet and back.
“Ah! Evil! Someone hit the bone!”
“[Hey, Ji. Congratulations on your first professional home run.]”
“[Thank you.]”
After receiving congratulations from the manager and all the dugouts were quiet, the manager came closer.
“Fierce tiger player, the ball is being sought by the staff.”
“Oh, thank you.”
The ball hit Ohtani with three runs in a come-from-behind first home run hit against Australia. And now, the first home run in his professional debut. One more ball that had been decorating the cabinet appeared to be added.
“Oh, you look good?”
As I was sitting on the bench with a smile, Kwan Woo approached me this time.
“Of course it is good. It’s a first-run home run.”
“You are the second high school graduate rookie to hit a home run in the first at-bat.”
“Okay? Who is the first?”
“Joo Seungcheol.”
“It’s a pity. If I had been born three years earlier, I would have been the first.”
“This child is not allowed to stand out like this. Anyway, the home run should make the game a bit easier. Let’s easily win the opening match and go.”
“Yep!”
Let’s just go ahead and win the first match!
*
“Oh, like you said, he hits really well. Even when I saw it on TV, it seemed like I was hitting something well.”
“Yeah, that guy is different.”
“Okay? Is it that different? Well, it must be because my brother, who is an expert, is like that.”
At the table, a pair of handsome men and women were sitting and chatting. She is a muscular man over 190cm tall and a pretty woman who looks about 155cm tall. And between the two of them, a woman wearing a uniform for one season approached.
“Uh? Aren’t you Joo Seung-cheol?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I’m a fan, so please sign me….”
“Yes, bring the paper with you.”
“My girlfriend next to me… ?”
“What are you talking about!”
“No.”
At the fan’s words, the two denied it out loud at the same time.
“Ah! Lord! Gia Tube! Ah! I couldn’t see well because of the hat. Maybe Gia….”
“… May I sign it for you too?”
“Then it’s me, it’s an honor! Thank you so much.”
The two of them felt bad about the word lover, but thanks to their father who talked about the importance of fans since they were young, the two finished the autograph without hardening their expressions.
“Thank you! I hope we win today!”
“Yes, take it easy.”
The two people sitting at the table were Joo Seung-cheol, a Grizzlies superstar Han-cheol, who was unable to travel due to an unfortunate injury, and Joo Ji-ah, an i-tuber who ran a baseball i-tube and achieved 200,000 subscribers.
“But aren’t you afraid of Joo Seung-cheol?”
“Call me brother. Before falling behind.”
“He’s handsome and he’s good at baseball. Joo Seung-cheol’s popularity is going to fade now.”
Right!
“Ah!”
“I told you to call me brother.”
“Chi! I’m going to tell Dad!”
“Are you still doing that as an adult? Tsk.”
Tired of dealing with his sister, Joo Seung-cheol turned his attention to the ground. At his at-bat, Kim Soo-ho, the second hitter of the AT Thunders, was in a batting stance.
“But, there is Ji Maeng-ho.”
“Yes?”
Just like that, when Joo Seung-chul was concentrating on the game, Ju Ji-ah asked a question from his side. He was annoying to deal with, but if he ignored him, he would become even more annoying, so Joo Seung-chul listened to Joo Ji-ah silently.
“Are you close?”
“Well, if you’re close, you’re close.”
“How could it not be on my iTube once? They are popular these days.”
As Joo Ji-ah said, Ji Maeng-ho was a hot blue chip in the baseball world. Handsome appearance. Big stature. Nice body. And the three runs against Ohtani. And a player wrapped in a veil who hasn’t had many interviews yet!
If you can get this player to appear on your iTube… !
‘If Zee Maengho appeared on My Eye Tube, would he be able to easily take 300,000 views? Also, Seungcheol Joo is currently resting, so if you put the two of them in your thumbnail…Hehe. Joo Seung-chul’s appearance is more than 150,000 on average. Add some AT fans to it… !’
“Ehh, I should be grateful just for filming this now.”
Joo Seung-cheol pointed to the recording camera on one side of the table seat and said, but it didn’t work for Joo Ji-ah, who was thirsty for views.
“Brother! My younger brother said he would eat and live!”
“Are you my brother only at times like this?”
“Ah! Oh brother!”
“Don’t act cute, look behind me. Really.”
“How not?”
Even if you don’t like it or hate it, it’s your family anyway. Seeing Joo Ji-ah’s earnest eyes, Joo Seung-chul spat out words as if he couldn’t help it.
“… Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow. We decided to have a drink together.”
Sunday tomorrow? Jujia’s eyes twinkled.
“Then, if you’re going to meet anyway, go get an interview at home.”
“Under…. For now, I’ll try to talk.”
While talking like that, Han-cheol’s starting pitcher, Ra-den, blocked it without conceding any more runs in the top of the first inning.
“Raden! I really think I picked the mercenary well this time too! Hanchul fans are like that too, right? He hit a home run, but seeing that he doesn’t waver, his mentality is also good!”
“My dear, I am surprised. Why are you getting up all of a sudden?”
“Ah! You can’t use this part because of your brother! It really doesn’t help.”
Joo Seung-cheol shook his head at his younger sister’s vlog.
“But oppa, even though the first point was taken, your expression doesn’t change much?”
Joo Ji-ah’s words brought a fishy smile to Joo Seung-cheol’s face.
“It’s about AT, because you can win anytime.”
