Chapter 793 – Episode 780. How Can a Person’s Name…
What kind of DNA is flowing through Central and South America?
That sentiment suddenly came to mind when I saw Tatis and Machado, key players of the San Diego Padres, who are ranked last in the world, happily exchanging greetings with Soto.
It was because I thought that if my team were in last place, I wouldn’t be able to smile like that.
In fact, when I think about the day when AT Thunders was in the bottom tier, I was a bit sensitive enough to tell senior Jincheol to move down to the 2nd team.
At least, it was understandable that Machado, who had rejuvenated himself as a designated hitter this season, was smiling. He led the Padres’ batting lineup with a batting average of 0.894 and 15 home runs in a team where the batting was disastrous.
However, Tatis, who will be the center of the batting lineup, performed well last year with a batting average of .209 7 ERA, an OPS of 0.943, and hitting 41 home runs, but this season, he hit .205 9 ERA, 16 home runs, and an OPS of 0.840. While recording, he was achieving results that did not live up to the name Tatis.
But laughing with Soto like that…
Moreover, Soto, who was talking with the Padres’ key players, was not in a position to smile so brightly. Perhaps due to a slump again after the game against Pittsburgh, Soto’s performance was declining vertically.
The batting average, which had been fluctuating from .301, was around .299, the OPS, which was at 1.15, had dropped to around 1.06, and it had been more than 10 games since Soto had not hit a home run.
If it were me, I don’t think I would have been able to smile like Soto even if I met players from my country like Wonho and Seungcheol during such a slump.
In particular, Hall, who was the first baseman and 5th or 6th hitter in the last game, adding weight to the batting lineup, suffered a finger injury while returning to base and was out for about a month, so central hitters like Soto, Judge, and me need to provide more strength. But when I looked at Soto, it seemed like he wasn’t worried about any of that.
Stanton had practiced first base defense in the preseason, so he was showing his glassy body and taking responsibility for defending first base. Looking at this, Soto and Stanton were polar opposites.
‘Well, I get the feeling that the people there are a bit moody.’
Juliana, who is also from Central and South America, was also in such moods.
Juliana, who was passively attracted to me at first, became active enough to invite me to her house after meeting her on the first day, and after talking to her husband on the phone, she almost preyed on me.
She pushed her body to its limit for two days in a row, to the point where her nose was slightly bleeding as soon as she returned to her away accommodation after yesterday’s game.
So, after the game yesterday, I came here and just slept like a bad person. Luckily, I slept well, so I wasn’t that tired today.
‘Anyway, they are amazing people.’
As I was looking in wonder at the Dominican community having fun among themselves, Soto motioned to me and shouted loudly.
“Ji! Come here!”
‘What’s going on?’
Since it was break time anyway, there was nothing else to do, so I walked over to him and Soto smiled and introduced me.
“This is Ji. Everyone knows, right?”
“Of course I know. Because this guy brought down our country twice. I’ve been keeping an eye on him ever since, and I can’t believe he performed like this right after his major league debut. Isn’t it great? Ji? “You know who I am, right?”
“Of course. “Is it okay for a baseball player not to know Machado?”
“Haha. Just like Juan said, he’s a fun friend.”
After shaking Machado’s hand, the Padres’ Dominican players approached him one by one, introduced themselves and started shaking hands. And finally, Tatis approaches and offers his hand.
“Let’s have a good fight. Ji.”
But suddenly, when I saw Tatis, I thought of Seungcheol.
‘Now that I think about it, he also used drugs like Seungcheol, right? Honestly, if Seungcheol is as good as hyung or him, I don’t think he would need to take medicine. Is it really that effective?’
Since Tatis was a player who had taken banned substances like Seungcheol, he was curious.
Of course, I had no intention of doing that. There were widespread rumors that taking it would make you a eunuch.
Still, I was curious about whether the ball looked huge, whether it looked slow, and whether the bat speed was getting faster.
“What are you thinking like that? Ji.”
“Oh, I was just wondering if the medicine would work.”
“… !”
“… !”
“Oh, can’t I say this? Anyway, nice to meet you. Tatis. Is the medicine still effective? How does it feel when you do that? “I’m really curious.”
And when you have a question, you have to answer it right away.
Since I couldn’t ask Seungcheol this, I asked Tatis a direct question.
Haha. Didn’t I tell you that this guy is a real bastard? Haha.”
“Haha, Juan. As you said, he is a ridiculous guy. “You can’t believe you’re asking this in front of Nando.”
And at that question, Soto and Machado started applauding. … Except for the two, the expressions of the other players were rotting.
Of course, Tatis in front of me was also one of those people whose expression was rotting.
‘What? Why is your expression like this? ‘Everyone in the world knows.’
“… What does that mean?”
“I’m really curious. Oh, that doesn’t mean I’m saying Tatis is wrong.”
In fact, I didn’t care whether other players did drugs or not. Because in the first place, I was batting while listening to Mr. Rossby pitch.
So this is really pure curiosity.
I felt a bit sad if Tatis misunderstood my pure curiosity, so I added an afterword.
“If you’re that curious, why don’t you try it yourself? Oh, are you already doing it? Well, that means he’s already hit 46 home runs.”
“Hey, why am I doing that? If you do that, your dick will get smaller.”
But unfortunately, my sincerity did not come through.
“… Holy shit… !”
Tatis suddenly tried to swear at my sincere words.
“Haha, Nando, be patient. Juan said. “This guy is the guy who hits the goal.”
And Machado stops Tatis.
‘Tsk, looking at your narrow stomach, I guess the rumor that taking medicine makes your dick smaller is true. I should never do it.’
Perhaps it was because I had taken the medicine, but the good atmosphere suddenly subsided due to Tatis being narrow-minded and like a girl, and Soto took me to our dugout. With an expression that makes you want to die laughing.
Haha, Ji! Where do you practice stand-up comedy? I can’t believe you said that to Fernando. Haha, I saw an interesting scene today again thanks to you.”
“I asked because I was really curious. “I’m serious.”
“As expected, it’s fun. I hope you continue to enjoy it.”
“For that to happen, you have to win, right? “Soto, you know that your grades are bad these days, right?”
“It’s funny that you say this to me out loud. But, Ji. “Baseball doesn’t always work out the way you want.”
“Still, I tell you to put in some effort. “Effort.”
“Well, even if I can’t hit, our team doesn’t have the strength to lose to the Padres. So, please take care of me today as well. Ji.”
Anyway, this is why people shouldn’t succeed early. The reason why Soto played baseball with such a confident attitude despite his slump was simple. This dopamine addict became successful at such a young age.
Soto’s age here are 28 years old. But he still had 10 years left on his $40 million contract. So, I have no choice but to look for fun things like this and neglect baseball.
“Soto, if you do that, you’ll really regret it later. “You should do something more valuable while you are young.”
“At times like this, even the way he speaks makes him look like a Texas old man.”
“That’s not the point, Hall is also out for about a month due to injury, so Soto needs to provide strength.”
“Yes, yes. I’ll do my best today. This is an award that made me have fun.”
“… Anyone who sees it will think that you can play well if you put your mind to it.”
“But you can hit Shibali if you want to. “That guy is in the 5-point range.”
And when the name of today’s starting pitcher came out of Soto’s mouth, I burst out laughing without even realizing it.
“Phew.”
Although I heard it during power analysis class, it was still a name I couldn’t get used to. How can someone’s name be so funny?
“Why are you laughing all of a sudden?”
“No, ‘fuck’ in Korean means fuck.”
“And your name…” .”
“Yes?”
“… “It’s nothing.”
Why do you talk alone and trail off? The more I knew about Soto, the more strange he was.
Anyway, although the person was strange, Soto wasn’t wrong.
As Soto said, today’s starter, Sibali, was not a very good pitcher.
No, it was safe to say that none of San Diego’s pitchers, including Sibali, were good pitchers. Among the starting lineup, there was only one starter with a 4-point rating, a 23-year-old kid in his second season, and the only bullpen pitcher with an ERA in the mid-4-point range and a 2-point rating was Vazquez, the Dominican pitcher whom I had greeted earlier.
Is there a reason why San Diego is in last place in the NL West?
‘Soto is unreliable… I can’t lose to a pitcher with such a strange name.’
*
‘How can a person’s name be Man-Hoe?’
San Diego’s starting pitcher, Sibali, was astonished the more he thought about what kind of parent would name their child that way. But what was even more absurd than that was the fact that the guy with that funny name was currently sweeping the major leagues.
However, Sibali did not want to lose to a player with such a ridiculous name that could even feel the malice of his parents. Even if that guy is currently the best hitter in the major league.
‘But the performance in the last three games wasn’t that good.’
His performance in the last three games was 3 hits in 9 at-bats, 2 home runs, and 4 walks. Looking at the numbers alone, it was an incredible performance, but according to the numbers measured by the state-of-the-art equipment, Ji Maeng-ho’s swing was now slightly slower.
The two home runs he hit in the last three games were mistimed, but they were home runs that he forced through with his monstrous strength, and none of the three hits he hit were correct. In addition, the fact that he appeared as a designated hitter in some games meant that the guy who looked like a monster was slowly losing stamina.
He must have felt that too, as he seemed to focus on getting walks rather than being aggressive at the plate.
‘Yes, as long as you’re human, you can’t run around like that and not get tired. Moreover, his position is infielder.’
And the slower bat speed means that the time to judge the pitch is reduced as the slower bat is thrown faster than usual!
That fact was good news for Shivali, who throws six pitches, including a four-seamer.
‘I can’t be beaten by a batter with such a strange name.’
However,
Ta – Aak!
“Huh?!”
Shibali’s wild imagination did not become reality. The batter with that strange name hit a line drive into the fence from his first at-bat. It was a perfect hit that was so fast that it couldn’t even reach second base.
When the plan that he, the catcher, and even the coach came up with began to go wrong from the first step, Sibale had no choice but to falter,
Perfect!
-Waaaaa!!
Judge, the second batter, received a hit, and Soto had the opportunity to reach first and third base with no outs in the first inning.
