Chapter 300 – Episode 298. Spear VS Shield. (3)
“Hwan, are you confident?”
“Director, how can I finish if I don’t have confidence?”
“Is that right? Then, Ji Maeng-ho, you should decide and win.”
“Yes, please leave it to me.”
Before going up to the mound, Ko Young-hwan confidently responded to the coach’s words, showing no sign of his anxiety. … And it was unpleasant.
‘Wow, even the director reacted like this. Really. How many games have I defended so far?’
It wasn’t that I couldn’t understand the director’s anxiety. The hitter he was about to face was Ji Maeng-ho, who is considered the best hitter in Korean history and who will be a hitter even if he goes to the majors right away.
However, Go Young-hwan was also a pitcher. Also aiming for the major leagues. I knew that Ji Maeng-ho was the best hitter in the league and a hitter who would be difficult to come back to in Korea, but I was uncomfortable with the manager’s anxiety. Because Go Young-hwan believed that his own work was the best.
‘Yes, I knew this situation would come someday. Because we never competed properly during the season.’
Just before going to the major league, Go Young-hwan went up to the mound, determined to have a proper match with Ji Maeng-ho.
[At the bottom of the 9th inning, Ko Young-hwan comes on the mound to keep the score tied at 2:2 and go to extra innings. He may be a pitcher who needs no explanation, but if I were to explain it, Ko Young-Hwan is a pitcher who can hit a heavy ball in the mid-150s and a slider in the mid-140s where he wants.]
[That’s right, since Ko Young-hwan’s debut in 2015, he has never missed the top finisher position in Korea for 7 years, except for 2019 when he was unable to play the season due to injury, and except for his debut season and the 19th and 20th seasons, he has an ERA of 1 point and 40%. He is a pitcher who has always recorded more than just saves. Furthermore, he is a pitcher who appeared in 57 games this season, allowing only 6 runs in 58.1 innings and recording an ERA of 0.93.]
[After this season, Go Young-hwan announced that he would advance to the U.S. As a free agent, right?]
[You’re right. Even during the season, many major league scouts came to Korea to see Ko Young-hwan’s pitches.]
[So this inning’s game will be more interesting. AT’s batting order starts with the third hitter, Ki Ki-joo, and this batting order is Ki Ki-ju, Ji Maeng-ho, and Choi Jin-cheol. And Gi Ki-ju and Choi Jin-cheol have played in the major league.]
[You’re right. Ki-joo Ki recorded a batting average of .301 and 8 for the San Francisco Giants in 2020, and hit 11 home runs in 2021, right?]
[Yes.]
[And Choi Jin-cheol has a record of hitting 23 home runs for the Seattle Mariners in 2017. Both players have played in the major league.]
[It was really great back then. Also, Ji Maeng-ho, the number 4 hitter, is also a player who is not at all behind the two hitters, right?]
[That’s right. Number 4 hitter Ji Maeng-ho is a player who could make it to the major leagues right now. I personally know a scouter, and he even says that he is keeping an eye on Ji Maeng-ho. Therefore, it will be a good match that will make many baseball fans’ hearts beat, whether Ko Young-hwan can prevent AT’s batting order well.]
[AT’s batting order is sluggish overall today, but we can’t ignore it at all.]
[Yes. Rather, this situation is scarier.]
Ko Young-hwan, who has reigned as the league’s best closer for the past few years, and AT’s cleanup, which is considered the best of all time. While many fans’ hearts were pounding at the victory achieved in the playoffs, Ki Ki-joo stepped into the batter’s box.
[Gi Sang-ju is coming to bat. This season’s record against Ko Young-hwan is 2 at-bats and no hits.]
‘Sangju Senior…’
Go Young-hwan made eye contact with Ki Ki-joo as he came to bat. The weather watcher’s eyes were eyes that were properly focused. Ki Ki-joo, a human being whom I met a few times while playing for the national team or during the off-season, was a very talkative and fun senior. However, the batter, Ki Ki-joo, was not such a soft person. A batting champion three times, an RBI champion once, and a slugger who hit 20 home runs five times in Jamsil.
In addition, he was a hitter who recorded career highs this season, hitting .300, 6.6, 30 home runs, and 115 RBIs, making it difficult to understand why he returned from the United States.
But that didn’t make him scared or anything. His position as a closer was one that he could not do without faith in his own ball, and Ko Young-hwan was a player with a firm belief in his ball as he was the best closing pitcher in Korea.
‘Let’s say hello to the first pitch with a fastball toward the body.’
‘Yes.’
Ko Young-hwan nodded without saying a word to the autograph sent by Park Joong-hyun. In fact, no matter what kind of credit he had asked for, Ko Young-hwan would have nodded. This season, Go Young-Hwan felt that his balls this year were better than ever. It never occurred to me that no matter what ball he threw, he would get hit.
‘If you want to hit, hit!’
[Go Young-Hwan’s first pitch! Body! Strike! The arrest pictured on the electronic display board… 157.9 km/h! This is his highest velocity this season.]
[I threw a perfect ball. It was a ball that I couldn’t hit, and even if I hit it, I would never get a good hit.]
A 157 km/h fastball hitting toward the body. That fastball made me break into a cold sweat during the weather warning.
‘Fuck, Younghwan, this bastard always gives me blood.’
A heavy blow that can be felt with the whole body. A ball you don’t often see even in the major leagues. In addition, the pitching form was not normal, so it was more difficult to get the timing right. But he couldn’t give up.
‘Okay, let’s just get on base. Just on base. As long as I go out, Meng Hao will do something.’
Ki Ki-joo looked at Ji Maeng-ho, who was in the standby batter’s box, kneeling on one knee, holding the bat, and watching the match between himself and Ko Young-hwan with scary eyes. Ji Meng Hao was usually playful and had shining eyes, but now, as he watched the match, Ji Meng Hao seemed to have a young ghost energy in his eyes. An expression that I haven’t seen many times during the season.
‘A fierce tiger with an expression like this would definitely solve the problem. … Even if you don’t get on base, you have to see as many balls as possible to make it easier for Maengho to win.’
Gyeonggi-ju, who had made up his mind, moved closer to home plate. So much so that he steps on the line of the batter’s box. And veteran Park Jung-hyun also caught the movement of meteorism.
‘Hey, do you see this guy? Even if you see the ball near your body, it sticks like this. Is this it? Did you think that would scare me?’
Park Jung-hyun again asked Go Young-hwan for the ball inside. This time, slightly out of the zone. This was a warning to the batter.
“Ball.”
“Ugh.”
“Are you so attached to me? “It hurts my body.”
“I’m usually like this? “You know it too.”
However, the meteorologist did not even flinch at the warning. This is a situation where you can’t back down. In that situation, the third ball was thrown. The third ball was also a fastball, and Ki Ki-joo was not the kind of batter who would just watch the same ball three times in a row.
Ta-ah!
‘It’s done!’
The feeling of a well-placed hand and the sound of the shot that resonates in your ears. Ki Ki-ju was happy inside, but the joy was short-lived. Ko Young-hwan, who was standing on the mound, raised his finger and pointed to the sky without even looking at his batted ball.
And Go Young-hwan’s attitude was not bravado.
“Center!”
Center fielder Yang Ji-hyuk, who came slightly forward from his defensive position, handled the hit. Seeing that, Ki Ki-ju had no choice but to stop on his way to first base and mutter.
“It seemed like I got it right…”
Lately, I feel pain throbbing in my palm. When he looked at his hand in pain, his palm was trembling without his knowledge.
“Senior, how do you like the ball?”
As he was about to return to the dugout, Ji Meng-ho, who was waiting for his turn at bat, approached him.
“Useup…”
“I think I can tell without you saying it. “It was three fastballs, right?”
“… Yes.”
“Okay.”
“… Please.”
“Get ready for work.”
He says it playfully, but his expression is not playful at all. He was a junior who I wanted to hit, but he was more trustworthy than anyone else when it came to baseball, so he patted Ji Maeng-ho’s shoulder a few times and then walked to the dugout.
‘Meng Hao, I believe.’
[Now Ji Maeng-ho comes to the plate. Ji Maeng-ho has 5 hits in 8 at-bats and two home runs in this series. This season, his record against Ko Young-hwan recorded one intentional missed ball.]
[Go Young-hwan and Ji Maeng-ho. These are two players who have never had a proper confrontation this season, and in this situation, the two players clash.]
*
“Whoa…”
As he approaches the match against Ko Young-hwan, his heart starts pounding slightly. No, he was shaking from the moment he was watching from the standby plate. However, the identity of this trembling was not fear but anticipation.
The anticipation of facing off against the best pitcher in the league.
In fact, there weren’t that many encounters with each team’s finishers throughout the season. When the team won, it was usually by a large margin, and most of my at-bats came in the 8th inning. Therefore, I was very excited about this match with Go Young-hwan. In fact, this is the first time he has faced Ko Young-hwan.
Ko Young-hwan was currently the closest pitcher to a major-leaguer. Ko Young-hwan was one of the few KBA players recognized by Rossby, who is picky about evaluating players. No, in terms of pure ability, Ko Young-hwan was almost the only one. This is because Woo Gwan-hyung recognized self-management ability, and Lee Yong-gi recognized BQ.
His heart couldn’t help but pound as he competed against Go Young-hwan.
‘A person like Ko Young-hwan would be successful in the major leagues, right?’
‘Yes, if it is a team with a weak back door, it will be possible to finish. Even when I was the manager, there weren’t many bullpen pitchers like that.’
‘So, if I hit Ko Young-hwan’s ball, does that mean I can play in the majors?’
‘Well, you could say so.’
‘It sounds like fun.’
There have been several matches against major-leaguers so far. At the WBC or Asian Games. However, it was March and the WBC was not fully in shape, and Chen Jianhao, who competed in the Asian Games, was not a top-level major league pitcher. Therefore, I was more looking forward to the match against Ko Young-hwan.
‘The first pitch is a fastball.’
‘Okay.’
When it comes to Ko Young-hwan’s fastball, I saw it a lot while at bat. Because all three pitches thrown today were fastballs.
‘It was 157, 154, 156, so I set the timing in the mid 150s…’
As I was thinking about the timing, Ko Young-hwan finally threw the first pitch.
“Ball.”
The first pitch is a ball that hits high and outside.
‘Fast… ‘Heavy.’
Go Young-hwan’s ball seemed to float more and felt heavier than Jang Woo-joo’s stick-like ball, which throws a ball of similar speed.
‘You have to be at this level to aim for a major, right?’
“Were you scared? Wow, you’re not swinging?”
“I guess I was scared.”
“It’s worth it. “I also don’t do live betting with Hwan.”
I respond appropriately to Park Jung-hyun’s words and keep in my mind Go Young-hwan’s contribution that I saw just before.
‘It may be difficult, but not so much that you can’t play.’
And I feel more confident in my hitting. Go Young-hwan’s ball was clearly threatening. But he wasn’t bad at it.
‘It’s a fastball.’
‘Again? It seems like you really see me as a dick.’
Go Young-hwan doing the windup again. He seemed to fly to a slightly lower position than before. He swung the bat timing its trajectory,
Ta – Aak!
The batted ball curves to the right. A foul falling into the stands near first base.
‘Did you get pushed a little?’
The thing that made my hands tingle was that I could immediately feel Go Young-hwan’s pitch.
‘If you don’t hit it right, it will be difficult to hit a home run.’
But you have to aim for a home run. Even if I got to third base, it was unclear whether Choi Jin-cheol would be able to call me in.
‘It’s a slider.’
‘Slider? Okay.’
Ko Young-hwan’s slider was not a ball that could hit a home run in the first at-bat. Because the angle was big and it was fast. No matter how lucky you get a hit, you still need one point. Filtering was the way for the team.
“Strike!”
And Ko Young-hwan’s slider hit the low side of the body amazingly, and a strike was declared.
‘With this, two strikes, one ball. It will probably be a tough fight.’
And as expected, the fastball came deep into the body and the count became two strikes, two balls.
‘It’s going to be tricky if I go out with a walk. If it’s a three-ball, you’re probably anxious. So, if I were to bet now… ! … Right?’
‘Okay, now I’m good at reading the flow.’
‘But I had over 500 plate appearances this season.’
‘Fortunately, the learning speed is fast. On the topic of orangutans. It’s a fastball.’
‘Yes.’
If you are Go Young-hwan, this is where you come in. A battle of strength and power. Knowing that fact, Ko Young-Hwan probably chose the fastball. And I was confident that I would not be pushed back if I had the strength.
‘Come.’
Go Young-hwan slowly winds up. And the fifth ball thrown. Now, the guy’s fastball, which I’m used to, flies outward. As I feel like the world is stopping, the swing I practiced countless times goes out to meet the ball.
The moment the bat impacted the pitch, Ko Young-hwan’s hand felt numb, but he pulled it back without losing strength.
Ta – Aak!
“Huh?!”
Park Jung-hyun’s voice sounds embarrassed and Go Young-hwan turns his head and raises his hand high. The left fielder runs backwards and chases the batted ball.
The left fielder, who was chasing the batted ball, stopped in front of the fence, and at the same time, Ko Young-hwan’s head, who was chasing the batted ball, fell to the ground.
-Waaaaa!!!
-Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maengho! Ji Maengho!
Jamsil’s shouts resonate in the eardrums.
“Fuck! This is it!”
I just threw down the bat, pointed at the fans gathered at first base, and ran toward first base. And colleagues running out holding water bottles.
It’s a ground I’ve been to countless times, but today I wanted to get home faster than usual.
“Ji Maengho!!!”
“Fuck! What is it really?”
“Koshi Kazua!!!!”
Now there is only one step left to win. It was a night in Jamsil where I didn’t think I was going to lose.
