Chapter 238 – Chapter 236. Comeback. (One)
On the day when the long suspension was lifted and I was playing in a game for the first time in a while, the nostalgic atmosphere of the locker room that I felt before the game started welcomed me. I smelled it, feeling the atmosphere.
‘Wow, that’s good too… It’s not, but it’s still fucked up.’
It didn’t smell like it was because I took a simple shower after training, but it still didn’t feel good when the boys smelled shampoo, body wash, and perfume. When I was feeling the atmosphere of the locker room, the weather manager approached me.
“This guy, maybe it’s because he’s been resting, so his personality is clear.”
When I wasn’t going to away games, I kept watching them at the training ground. What are you talking about?
“What are you talking about? We trained together yesterday.”
“… Done.”
“Sangju-hyung, Meng-ho still don’t know? He’s crazy.”
Laughter spread throughout the locker room at the words of a senior. What the heck why are you laughing
“Hey, Ji Maeng-ho. Eat this.”
At that time, Choi Jin-cheol approached and held out a white object to me.
“Huh?”
“Tofu bastard. Eat tofu and play with a new heart.”
What Choi Jin-cheol offered me was white tofu in a bowl.
“What? It’s not even getting out of prison. Well, that’s not too bad.”
I replied bluntly, picked up the tofu, and ate it in one bite. The taste wasn’t bad.
“Maengho, from now on you must play healthy and for a long time without getting into trouble.”
“… Do you feel bad about something?”
“Anyway, the Maeng Tiger is back today, so let’s win. If you win today, you win. Know? Let’s win cleanly and take a day off.”
“Okay.”
“Yes!”
I tried to protest the strangely unpleasant tone, but the mood had already changed, so I let it go. Because it didn’t matter anyway. What really matters is today’s game.
During the 10 games without me, the AT Thunders continued to maintain 3rd place, but there was something disappointing about that. Even before I was suspended, the team was on the rise, and the team was able to hit and climb, but my suspension stopped the flow and it felt like we were stuck in the 3rd to 5th place.
‘If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have hit him.’
I was drunk with the blood of the moment and swung my fist, but after seeing it, I regretted it a little because the flow of the team was broken. There was also a method of just seasoning and then dipping the base cover, but I was too stupid.
‘Right, Mr. Rossby?’
Damn, this guy went to see cheerleaders again. Rossby had stopped peeping at the crowd and had been hanging out in the cheerleader’s lounge since he found out there was a separate one. Well, it doesn’t matter because it comes back when the game starts.
“Maengho, it’s been a while since we’ve had a match, are you feeling okay?”
“Yes I’m okay. You saw it in training.”
“Well, I was worried about a 40% hitter for nothing.”
“I’m in the best shape today, so look forward to it.”
There were seniors who were worried about my performance, but I was in the best condition because I took a break for 10 days in this hot summer.
“Maengho, then can I make you a winning pitcher today?”
Today’s starting pitcher Park Joon-hyung, who is currently winning 9 games, came to me as if he had heard me.
“Senior, only throw up to 5 innings. It doesn’t matter how many points you give.”
To Park Joon-hyung, I answered with a smile.
“Sweetie, please. Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
On the way from the locker room to the dugout, this feeling that I haven’t felt in a long time was making my heart race.
*
[The 14th match of the season between JT Gold Eyes and AT Thunders, AT Thunders and JT Gold Eyes. It takes place in Jamsil. Hello, this is caster Lee Han-won.]
[Hello, this is commentator Jang Myeong-jun.]
[Jamsil is full today, right? It’s a Sunday game, but it’s not easy to gather a full crowd, probably because today’s game is that special, right?]
[You’re right. Today’s match is the match where Ji Maeng-ho’s punishment will be lifted. It seems that many fans have gathered to see Ji Maeng-ho’s comeback.]
[The third base side is also full of fans wearing AT uniforms, and it seems that AT fans have high expectations.]
[Yes. The team, which has not even stepped on the threshold of fall baseball for over 20 years, has almost been confirmed for fall baseball under the leadership of the team’s legendary manager Lee Soo-hyun. As long as you don’t lose all games starting today, you should consider going to fall baseball. And at the center is this player, Ji Maeng-ho.]
[You can see Ji Maeng-ho warming up on the screen. Seeing him smiling, he doesn’t look nervous at all?]
[Actually, Maeng-Ho Ji has passed the stage where he would be nervous. Although he is a rookie, he has more courage than most veterans because of Ji Maeng-ho. He hit 45 home runs in 40’s. If he’s a nervous player, he’s a performance he can’t record, right?]
[That’s right. Baseball fans are interested in Ji Maeng-ho’s comeback match. At the beginning of the first inning, it starts with JT Gold Eyes’ first attack.]
10,000 spectators gathered in Jamsil. What the spectators were expecting was Ji Maeng-ho’s performance. The game began with everyone watching with interest to see what kind of performance Ji Maeng-ho would return after completing his disciplinary action.
The first attack was the visiting team, JT Gold Eyes. Batting first, center fielder Lee Jun-shik stepped into the plate.
‘I’m a left-handed hitter type, so let’s hit it with the pitch.’
Pitcher Park Jun-hyeong, who was on the verge of winning 10 games, threw the first pitch with such thoughts in mind. The first ball is a strike that pierces the body of the batter.
‘Are you in a good mood today?’
It’s already been three games since I’ve accumulated 9 wins, and I was thinking that if I couldn’t accumulate more wins, I might get caught in 9 and not reach the 10-win mark, but fortunately, I was in good condition today. And regardless of his condition, the biggest good news for his 10-win win was standing behind him.
‘Besides, there are fierce tigers.’
Park Jun-hyung glanced behind him to see Ji Maeng-ho, who was positioned between first and second base to catch a left-handed hitter. Ji Maeng-ho grinned, perhaps feeling his gaze. A confident smile.
‘I didn’t expect that guy to be this level of a hitter.’
The first rookie hitter I saw when I went to broadcast the second team game on the Internet. Even then, he was a rookie who showed outstanding hitting, but he never dreamed that he would do so well in his first year. No, he went beyond being good and became an indispensable player on the team.
As long as Ji Meng-ho is holding out at the plate, he has only one job for a pitcher to do. Trusting Ji Maeng-ho and throwing the ball. Park Jun-hyung was well aware of that fact, so he trusted Ji Maeng-ho and threw the second ball.
Right!
Lee Jun-sik pulled Park Jun-hyung’s second ball, and the ball rolled toward second base.
“Second!”
Park Joon-hyung saw the ball rolling and shouted. But there was no urgency in the call. This is because not only batter Ji Maeng-ho, but also fielder Ji Maeng-ho were reliable players. The flamboyant defense that comes from his unique beast-like motor nerve was also a player that gave pitchers confidence.
‘I want this… Laugh?’
Park Joon-hyeong, who was thinking that way, saw an unfamiliar sight. The ball hit the ground suddenly bounced up, and Ji Maeng-ho was unable to handle it.
“Uh?”
[Ji Maeng-ho missed the ball! The batter and the runner are already on first base. Oh, there is such a mistake.]
[As expected, is there a problem with the sense of the game? Of course, there were irregular bounces, but these balls should have been handled, unfortunately.]
[Now, runner 1st base is safe. Park Jun-hyung gets into trouble from the first episode.]
“Ah, senior, sorry.”
“… No.”
Ji Maeng-ho apologized to Park Jun-hyung with a confident face. Park Joon-hyung was a little irritated by that expression of not thinking about making a mistake, but he accepted the apology with an expressionless expression.
‘Hoo, there are several victories gained thanks to Maengho, but let’s stay calm, Junhyung. Nothing.’
Park Joon-hyung was mind-controlling, but the pitcher was a sensitive creature, and if he gave up first base in a situation where he could easily get an out count, he would be shaken. If it’s only once, even more so.
[Baek Min-seok’s surprise bunt! Ah, this time Park Joon-hyung fumbles the ball. To second base, give up second base! Throw to 1st base! Ah, Baek Min-seok who entered first! Now you are 1st and 2nd base! JT Gold Eyes getting a chance from the beginning of the first episode!]
[It seems that Park Jun-hyung was affected by the previous mistake, right? He would have done it if he had simply thrown to first base, but the judgment is unfortunate.]
“Money Mind! Money Mind!”
Ji Maeng-ho shouts at Park Jun-hyung, who made a mistake, to not worry while clapping with his glove.
‘Shit, you made a mistake first!’
Seeing Ji Maeng-ho like that made Park Jun-hyeong run hot, but this time, too, he persevered.
‘Whoa, number nine is terrible. Patience, patience.’
And JT’s third hitter, Jang Hyeon-ho, entered the plate. Park Joon-hyung felt a little relieved at the appearance of a hitter who had been eating rice in one pot until last year.
‘Hyunho hyung said he went to JT and played well… Well, it must be Jang Hyeon-ho.’
The basis of that relief was because I knew the player Jang Hyeon-ho well. He had a .300 batting average and double-digit homers every year, but he was weak in scoring and had a poor starting pitch, so his saber stats were much worse than his classic stats. He is the type of player that fans call ‘Schi’ (statistic idiot).
Jang Hyeon-ho, whom he watched from the dugout, was a player who played double strokes at every moment like this. He felt that the record sheet he saw during the meeting was not the Jang Hyun-ho he knew, but Park Jun-hyung, like most players, believed in his senses rather than his records.
‘Well, it seemed to be the same when we met before.’
He catches Hyun-ho Jang in double play and catches Bell, a foreign batter, to end the inning. Park Jun-hyung, who finished the calculations quickly, decided to throw the ball low to his body to induce a double hit.
However, Park Joon-hyung did not know. How Jang Hyun-ho was traded to JT and what efforts he made.
Today’s Jang Hyeon-ho has already exceeded 18 home runs, a career high, and his batting average is close to 30%.
Ta-evil!
In that way, Jang Hyun-ho’s batted ball went off the fence, and Park Joon-hyung came back to the dugout after finishing the inning without knowing how he had finished it.
“… Fuck.”
“Senior.”
While sitting on the bench and swearing, Ji Maeng-ho came up to Park Jun-hyung and started talking to him.
“Anyway, self-accusation is one point. Both runners made mistakes.”
The look of comforting yourself clumsily. The guy who made a mistake from the beginning of the first episode said that, so I was dumbfounded and my words didn’t come out well.
“Ha, self-blame points are the problem now. 3 points in 1 inning Shit, this is how I ended up losing.”
“Sir, I am here. I must have lost my senses because I was suspended from business trips, but I am Ji Maeng-Hop.”
The image of Ji Maeng-ho talking while tapping his chest. He was a junior who had made mistakes, but somehow he seemed reassured.
‘If this guy…’
Park Joon-hyung had a strange belief that if it was Ji Maeng-ho, he would be able to overturn the 3-point lead at any time and give himself victory. And Park Joon-hyung looked around. The surrounding players were just calmly preparing for the next attack.
If it had been last year, there would have been an atmosphere of defeat in the dugout the moment there was a three-point gap in the first inning, but not this year. It was because the idea that they could turn the tide at any time with Ji Maeng-ho was in the consciousness of the team members.
It was only 5 months, but Ji Maeng-ho’s performance was enough to put such thoughts into the consciousness of the team members.
“… Yes, please.”
“Please leave it to me.”
The starting pitcher’s earnest request. At that request, Ji Maeng-ho, full of confidence, smiled.
‘This bastard gets hit like a home run and is fucking whining.’
… While hiding his true feelings.
