Chapter 840 – Episode 826. After the Yangtze River, Before the River, After the Yangtze River. (1)
It was quite refreshing because it was my first time experiencing the feeling of being pushed from front to back while entrusting my body to a large body measuring 190 and 180 cm. I had the experience of being pushed back and forth like that, but since the other women except Hyuna were short enough to cover my body, it was the first time I felt like my entire body was completely covered, so I didn’t want to get out.
Moreover, the combination of soft-skinned Hyuna and smooth Juliana was also quite refreshing, so we ended up spending a night so intense that we wondered if we had polluted the couple’s bedroom too much.
Thanks to this, it seemed like Hyuna and Juliana’s once faceless relationship had become closer to some extent. Just as men become friends after going to a sauna together, do you think women also become friends just by taking off their bodies and getting to know each other’s true colors?
Since the setter and opponent, the most important players in volleyball, have become this close, teamwork will no longer be a problem.
But the unfortunate thing was that I didn’t have time to care about Hyuna’s team forever.
There was training starting tomorrow, and with Detroit taking the second game against the Angels and the wild card record set at 1:1, we had to prepare for Detroit’s pitchers.
If Detroit comes up, the player who will probably start is Skubal, who started in the first game. Skubal was one of the top five starting pitchers in the American League. He was a left-handed pitcher with a fastball in the mid to upper 90s, so I couldn’t let down my guard.
Moreover, the first game of the short-term war was quite important, so now we had to prepare for unexpected situations.
‘Well, since Hyuna helped me this much, I’m sure she will take care of it. Umm… But I think it would be good if the Angels, who have a weak pitcher, come up…’
My personal wish is that Ditmus, who can be said to be the Angels’ ace and the only 3-point starting pitcher, is out with a calf fracture, and I also want to show some respect to Trout, who took away my consecutive Player of the Month record. I thought it would be good for the Angels to come up, but since they lost the second game, the probability of the Angels coming up in the fall was quite low.
After putting the good times I spent with Hyuna behind me and going to work at the club and spending time training, it was already time for the third game to start.
“Oppa, you came early?”
“Uh, well. Now it’s time to start the game. “I just came because I wanted to watch it comfortably at home.”
When I returned home, Jia, who had been guarding the house alone, came over and naturally sat next to me.
“Hmph, then shall we watch it together?”
“Well, I’m fine.”
And after sitting next to me, I felt like she was being held in my arms, and then her hand gradually moved down.
Of course, watching baseball had nothing to do with receiving Jia’s affectionate touch, so I accepted Jia’s hand, and by the time the first inning started, the touch had turned into a breath.
*
[We will broadcast Game 3 of the ALWC between the LA Angels and Detroit Tigers. Today’s match will be a match between Leeds and Griffin Canning, right?]
[Yes, Leeds, the starting pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, appeared in 32 games this season and recorded 10 wins, 14 losses, and an ERA of 4.62. Griffin Canning, the starting pitcher for the LA Angels, appeared in 33 games and recorded 14 wins, 10 losses, and an ERA of 4.29. I’m recording it. Although there is a slight difference in the records, it can actually be seen as a starting matchup of almost the same level.]
[Which team will win today’s game? . Now, let me call you the defensive position of the Detroit Tigers. Rogers at catcher… Now, let’s call out the LA Angels’ lineup. 1st hitter Arosemema, 2nd hitter Nolan Chanuel, 3rd hitter Heston Custard, 4th hitter Mike Trout…]
[The hitters you need to watch out for in the LA Angels are Custard and Trout, who are placed at numbers 3 and 4, right? Custard, who hit 30 home runs this season for the first time in his career, and Trout, who hit 25 home runs with an OPS above 0.9, are the only Angels hitters with an OPS above 0.8, so we need to be careful.]〈 Br〉
[Now, let’s start the LA Angels’ attack in the top of the first inning. Batter number 1 at bat…]
…
…
[… Detroit is ahead 5:4 in the top of the 8th inning. With 2 outs and runners on first base, the 4th batter, Trout, comes to bat. Trout’s performance today is 1 hit and 1 strikeout in 4 at-bats.]
[In the first game, Trout had 2 hits in 4 at-bats, including the game-winning hit, and 2 RBIs, so I was hoping to break the prejudice among baseball fans that he is weak in the fall. But the previous game was pretty bad, going 0-hit in 4 at-bats? What kind of performance will he show in this at-bat? .]
[This situation where we are losing can be turned around in an instant with just one home run…]
Wild card series with the series score set at 1:1, top of the 8th inning, and the team is losing 5:4. The eyes of the LA Angels players turn to one person standing at the plate. Trout, the giant who has protected the Angels in one place for over 15 years.
And the only emotion the players felt was that they did not want Trout’s fall baseball season, which could possibly be his last, to end like this.
With that mindset, he somehow managed to score 4 points, but in the end, the goddess of victory cruelly gave Trout the arrow. Now it’s up to Trout to fire the arrow toward the Division Series.
The players instinctively felt that if Trout could not solve the problem, the Angels’ fall would end here.
“Please, Mike…”
Someone mutters Trout’s name as if praying.
The voice heard in the dugout was only one voice, but other players probably felt the same way.
And the feelings of Angels fans who flew all the way to Detroit to watch fall baseball for the first time in 13 years were no different.
Trout, who has been ranked among the top hitters throughout the long history of the Major League Baseball, has been criticized a lot over the years, asking why he can’t lead the team they love into the fall, but I hope Trout’s fall doesn’t end like this, and that his beloved star It was because he was hoping to lead the team to the top with his hands.
“Trout! “Hand it over!”
Someone’s shout from the audience suddenly spreads throughout the ground. Trout’s name was being shouted so loudly that Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers, felt like the home of the Angels, but Trout remained calm as if he could not hear anything.
And anyone who has watched Trout closely for a long time could tell that Trout is now in a state of extreme concentration. And among those few people was Joo-Tae Choi, who has been with the Angels for nearly 10 years since 2019.
‘Please…’
Choi Joo-tae held Trout’s hands together tightly as he looked at him like that.
There was a high probability that this fall’s baseball season would be the last fall with Trout, a player I respect and a close friend.
Maybe he won’t be here next year or the Angels won’t be able to go up in the fall.
So, he and Trout earnestly prayed that fall would not end like this.
Even if you only end up on the bench.
“Strike!”
“Ball.”
“Strike!”
However, Trout soon finds himself with two strikes.
Perfect!
“Foul!”
Perfect!
“Foul!”
The sight of Trout, who was caught with two strikes, continuing to kick the ball away, seems pitiful.
At that miserable sight, Joo-tae Choi’s eyes turn red as he remembers Trout’s younger days, when he first came to the Angels and took care of him as a rookie even though he was already a star player.
And then,
Ta – Aak!
Trout’s bat, which had only made a dull sound, gave off a clear sound that silenced the stadium.
The players, who are sure what the sound is, stand up and watch Trout hit the ball.
Trout’s batted ball headed toward the fence in a perfect parabola…
The moment the batted ball passes over the fence, the once static stadium vibrates. Choi Joo Tae-tae surrendered himself to the vibration and screamed like a crazy person.
“Choi! Get ready!”
After a series of disturbances, the director called Choi Joo-tae.
Choi Joo-tae’s batting was now insignificant compared to the days when he was hitting .300 and double-digit home runs like a meal, but Choi Joo-tae’s second base defense, which he also saw as a shortstop in the major leagues, was still at an active level, so Aro made an error today and gave up a point. It was to put him in the stadium instead of Semema.
Choi Joo’s attitude: Because he knew that fact, he held up his glove and waited for the inning to end.
[In the bottom of the 8th inning, the Angels bring in big defense. The player who replaced second baseman Arosemema was Choi Joo-tae. … Sharp hit! Second baseman! Catch it! Angels overcome the crisis of bases loaded with 2 outs!]
[By the way, baseball is amazing when you see sharp batted balls hit by Daesubi like this. Choi Joo-tae stole a hit and prevented a run.]
[… This is how the game ends! The LA Angels advance to the Division Series thanks to Trout’s comeback two-run performance in the final, which ended the prejudice that they are weak in the fall! Going to New York, where the Yankees are waiting!]
In this way, Choi Joo-tae fulfilled his role by blocking hit balls and enjoyed the joy of advancing to the next round. When he returned to the locker room, Choi Joo-tae received dozens of congratulatory messages on his cell phone, as well as one nerve-wracking call.
-Ji Maeng-ho: Senior. See you in New York. But will there be a game?
The main character of the nerve-wracking message is Ji Maeng-ho, whom we will meet in the next round.
Upon receiving that call, memories of Ji Maeng-ho’s performance in the national team and this season flash through my mind.
However, if Trout showed what he showed today, it wasn’t that scary.
Although Ji Maeng-ho had a season that will be remembered in Major League history this season, Trout was a hitter who reigned at the best position in the Major League for several years during his prime, and he showed a glimpse of his prime in his last at-bat today.
Because it was a short-term game, there was nothing to fear if Trout performed like he did today in the game against the Yankees.
-Choi Joo-tae: Wait. Don’t be too sad because you’re upset.
-Ji Maeng-ho: Haha, I’ll wait. Still, if you lose to me and go back to Korea, I won’t be so embarrassed. There are a truckload of players like that in Korea too haha
‘… As expected, I’m a bit unlucky.’
How funny would it be if Ji Meng-ho, who has won every competition, including international competitions such as the Olympics, suffers his first loss since his debut, except for finishing second in his first WBC?
When I thought about Meng Hao crying after hitting his first home run in the 2023 WBC, their first international game together, I thought that this surprisingly soft guy could cry.
‘Well, that might be worth seeing.’
So Choi Joo-tae prepared for the Yankees game, imagining making fun of a crying Ji Maeng-ho,
“Choi. You are the starter for the next game. As expected, Arosemema’s defense is still unstable. Please do this series.”
“… All right. “Director.”
I laughed a little at the thought that I could lend a hand to Ji Maeng-ho’s crying.
