Cheat Hitter Eats It All 604

Chapter 604 – Episode 591. A South American Powerhouse. (2)

Perfect!

‘Fuck… !’

Joo-tae Choi cursed inwardly without realizing it as he heard the cracking sound coming from the bat and the sensation of his palm being torn apart. Of course, Choi Joo-tae’s palm, who had been swinging the bat for over 20 years, could not have been torn to this extent, but that was the price of touching Alcantara’s ball incorrectly.

‘… Was it a sinker?’

He thought it was a four-seamer and swung, but the ball he hit turned out to be a sinker. Incongruous with the curved trajectory of the ball, the electronic display displayed an overwhelming speed of 98.9 miles (159 km/h). Obviously, the velocity of the ball thrown by Jang Woo-joo during Dominica’s attack in the top of the first inning was similarly recorded on the electronic display, but from the opponent’s perspective, this ball made even more sense. Because it came toward my body at a similar speed.

‘Phew… Still, I didn’t go inside.’

I was lucky that it was a foul. If he had come inside the ground, he would have gone into the dugout after just two balls.

“Time!”

So Joo-tae Choi walked to the dugout, shouting time. The sound coming from the bat told me that it was cracking from the inside.

“Mine, uh, that.”

“What do you think?”

As he goes back to the dugout, his classmate, Ki Ki-joo, hands him his bat and asks how the starting pitcher’s pitch is today.

“I think that kid took medicine?”

But that’s all I can say to my classmates. The pitch of the guy who threw the ball without paying attention to things like speed control within the 80-pitch limit was at a level that raised suspicions that he might actually have been drugged.

“Senior, how are you?”

“I think that guy is weak.”

“Useup…”

As he was returning to bat, Ji Maeng-ho, who was standing by at bat, asked a similar question, but Choi Joo-tae’s answer this time was the same.

Honestly, it was unthinkable to hit against the current Alcantara. However, even if it was the same out, how the out was done was quite important. In particular, as the number one hitter, he had an obligation to inform the hitters behind him about the velocity of the ball thrown by today’s starting pitcher and how curved its trajectory was.

‘… This makes it feel like high school.’

Just like in high school.

When Choi Joo-tae was a high school student, baseball was like that. Batter number 1 does the work of hitter number 1, and hitter number 4 does the work of hitter number 4. And he had to be able to bat for the team with any batsman.

After entering the major league, the best team bet was to hit a home run, so coaches and managers always told me not to be afraid of striking out and to aim for a home run, but now I prefer the type of baseball I learned in high school rather than major league baseball, which is an advanced baseball. I was more attracted to it.

And there is only one reason why Choi Joo-tae feels that way.

‘Meng Hao, I’m sorry. ‘I’ll ask you a favor again.’

This was because the batter behind him was Ji Maeng-ho. If the second batter had not been Ji Maeng-ho, Choi Joo-tae would have believed in his batting ability and gambled on a 1% chance, but the batter behind him was Ji Maeng-ho.

Ji Maeng-ho led the team to the finals in the 2023 WBC, and in the 2024 Olympics, he gave his country the championship by performing a performance that would not be strange to call a one-man carry against numerous major league pitchers.

There were times when some people said that he was a frog in a well who could not play in the major league and only played in the KBA league, but every time Choi Joo-tae snorted inwardly. Ji Maeng-ho, whom I saw during practices and games while playing for the national team together, was a more reliable hitter than any hitter I had ever seen.

In particular, in moments when the team was in danger, he was more reliable than Trout or Ohtani, who had won numerous major league MVP awards. Choi Joo-tae thought that there was no such thing as clutch ability, but every time he saw Ji Maeng-ho, his opinion was shaken.

And for Ji Maeng-ho, he had to endure no matter how difficult it was. So that Ji Maeng-ho can understand the pitcher as much as possible.

Watching a pitch on video and seeing a pitch with your own eyes are two different things, so Choi Joo-tae used this at-bat to reduce his own odds and increase Ji Maeng-ho’s odds.

Perfect!

“Ball.”

Perfect!

[Choi Joo-tae clears Alcantara’s fifth ball! They are showing tenacity and determination. Doesn’t that mean he won’t step down easily?]

[You can also say that he is Choi Joo-tae. Spending 7 seasons as a starting pitcher in the major league is not something everyone can do!]

‘Now, all you have to do is look at the changeup…’

Four-seam, sinker, slider. Looking at all the balls, the situation is two balls, two strikes. Now, the only pitch left for Alcantara is a changeup that goes well over 90 mph.

‘It’s a two-two, so it’s time for a changeup…’

So Joo-tae Choi greeted Alcantara’s sixth ball, hoping that this ball would be a change-up.

“Swing~! “Strike out!”

“Ah…”

However, the ball Alcantara chose last was a 99.6 mph fastball. I couldn’t keep up with Choi Joo-tae’s bat, which had a change-up in my head.

“Sorry. “I should have even seen Chen Zheng.”

“Okay, that’s enough. Yes, it’s a changeup. “It was a four-seamer just now, right?”

“Uh.”

“Okay. Confirm.”

Now all that’s left is to believe in and support Ji Maeng-ho.

‘Please, Meng Hao.’

Although he couldn’t cheer in person for fear of being a burden to his junior, Choi Joo-tae went into the dugout with words of support in his heart.

[Choi Joo-tae strikes out and the second batter, Ji Maeng-ho, comes to bat. Ji Maeng-ho has a batting average of .701.4, 3 home runs, and 9 RBIs in this WBC.]

Ji Maeng-ho came to bat.

*

‘Whoa, is this our second meeting?’

If there’s one thing I still remember about him, it’s that Alcantara’s changeup was a nonsensical pitch. During the last Olympics, the feeling I felt when I saw that guy’s ball was pure fear. To be honest, she was a little scared because it was the first time in her life that she had seen a changeup over 150.

‘Well, since then, Woo Joo has thrown a high-speed changeup a few times in the league, but compared to that guy, it’s rude.’

It is true that Mr. Rossby had a hard time when he first met him, as he had never seen such a ball in his life. But now he had some data, and he had practiced enough before dealing with him, so he wasn’t as scared as he was then.

… Of course, even though I wasn’t as scared as I was back then, it was true that I was scared to some extent. There were a few pitchers in the league who were around 160, so I was confident that I would be able to hit a fastball no matter how fast it was, but it was honestly true that if the ball curved over 150, it would be difficult to hit.

Therefore, the ball to aim for this time is a fastball. I don’t know how many fastballs he would throw since his sinker also fluctuated between 160 and 160 degrees, but I had to guide him to throw the fastball that was easiest for me to hit as much as possible.

‘The first pitch is a sinker.’

‘Okay.’

But contrary to my wishes, the first pitch was a sinker. Well, it wasn’t a strange thing. Because he was a pitcher with a higher ratio of sinkers than four-seamers.

‘The angle of the sinker was a bit sharp earlier, so wouldn’t it be better not to touch it?’

The sinker he threw against senior Joo Tae was just incredible. There was a high chance that he would be out if he touched the ball like this, so he decided to lightly hit the guy’s ball and waited for the first pitch.

“Strike!”

And, true to its name, Alcantara, the ball goes straight into the zone from the first pitch. At that moment, the guy’s ball quickly curved towards my body and I almost flinched without knowing, but I was able to barely hold it in.

‘… Did this guy really drink the medicine?’

‘It’s a sinker again.’

‘Okay.’

The second ball he chose was also a sinker. I was aiming for a fastball, but if I let the ball hit the zone this time, I could have ended up with a three-pitch strikeout, so this time, I wait for the guy’s ball with the intention of hitting it if it comes good.

‘Two, three… Uh… ?’

The moment the bat was about to go out, I felt a strange feeling, held it in, and waited for the umpire’s decision.

“Ball.”

Fortunately, the ball’s destination is low towards the body. I actually got to feel his pitch, and I saw a few of Joo-tae’s at-bats combined, so I felt like I could pick out the inside pitch to a certain extent. The speed recorded on the electronic display board was 100.6 miles (161.9 km/h).

I was thinking about it before I went to bat, but it was the kind of ball I didn’t want to touch.

‘Ha, just throw a four-seam.’

‘It’s a change-up.’

‘Here?’

‘Yes.’

Throw a change-up in a one-ball, one-strike situation. Although the power of most pitchers’ pitches was similar, the way they threw the ball changed depending on the situation. Throwing a changeup with one ball, one strike? Then, since there was a high probability that it would be a missed ball, I decided to wait until the third ball,

“Ball.”

Before we knew it, the count had become a two-ball, one-strike situation in which the batter had the advantage.

‘Hmm, should I just walk out like this? Since it’s one out anyway and Seungcheol is behind me, I think I can score at least one point.’

Alcantara was the type of pitcher who did not often walk, as he was the type of pitcher who would drive ground balls in the zone, so from the beginning, he came to the plate with the intention of erasing the walk and hitting, but when the count was favorable like this, there was no need to take on a game with a low probability. 〈 Br〉

‘It’s a sinker.’

‘Sinker again? Are you planning to plug it into the zone this time?’

And as the options increase, it becomes easier to induce fastballs. The pitches he’s throwing now are sinkers and changeups. A slider is a ball that flows outward, and if you throw it toward your body, there is a high risk of getting hit by a big hit. If you show that you are clearing the sinker here, there is a high probability that the deciding ball will come as a four-seamer.

Since the count was favorable, I can now bet on the easy choice of throwing a four-seamer or getting a walk…

Perfect!

The guy’s sinker misses beautifully, resulting in a foul at third base. He would have been happy to go outside, but he couldn’t avoid kicking a ball like this, so the count was two balls, two strikes. After that, a slider flew in, but as expected, it went to the outside and the situation soon became a full count.

The only pitch left now is the fastball. The situation I had hoped for has come,

‘It’s a change-up.’

I hear Mr. Rossby’s words different from what I expected.

‘… ‘Change-up?’

The ball he chose was a change-up. I have a four-seamer that I have never shown here, and choosing a change-up meant that there was some respect for me, but it didn’t feel good to be respected by a Cy Young Award winner.

Hitting a strangely curved changeup with a velocity over 150 vs. Just praying it goes out. Now he’s walking the easy line. It’s a fight with low odds no matter what you choose. If the probability of both is low, there is only one choice here.

‘Whatever it is, let’s swing it and die, damn it.’

As I made up my mind, he also lifted his leg as if he made up his mind. And the guy’s ball was thrown as his body shot forward.

‘… Outside!’

His ball flies toward the outside from the beginning. If you didn’t know it was a change-up, you would have thought it was a ball, but this ball was a change-up!

After making a quick decision, I set up a hitting zone on the outer borderline and swung the bat.

Perfect!

‘Fuck, please!’

The feeling in his hand was not the same as when he hit a home run, so he quickly throws the bat and runs toward first base. The batted ball passed the second baseman’s height, but right fielder Tatis Jr. Was running…

‘Don’t catch me, you fucking drug bastard!’

And as if he heard that prayer, the batted ball fell in front of the right fielder’s glove. If it were in the league, I would have run straight to second base, but I heard about his shoulder during the meeting, so I stopped at first base and the situation was one out and first base.

-Wow!!!!

-Ji Maeng-ho! Ji Maengho! Ji Maengho!

The voices of Koreans heard in Australia were not much different from those heard in Gocheok. The number was smaller, but the passion was the same.

‘Wow, we’ve come a long way. It tastes like this. I was lucky though.’

I was lucky that the Dominican outfield was conscious of my power and was positioned behind their usual defensive position. And it was creepy that the guy behind me ran right in front of the batted ball at an unbelievable speed.

But no matter what, a hit is a hit. And there was no runner to block my path.

‘Fuck you, you’re throwing the ball. Now it’s my turn.’

Limited pitch, pitch clock, and wider base.

Now it was truly my time.