Ch 188

One.

July 20.

Citi Field, where the first game of the second half of the Mets was played, the atmosphere was hotter than ever this season and at the same time splendid.

At first glance, the scenery was different.

In various places in the stadium, placards and pickets made by the spectators were showing their presence with their own phrases, and the spectators close to the ground were embroidered with fans in Mets uniforms.

Their existence was clear evidence.

“there! there!”

“Come out!”

A solid proof that today’s match is none other than Jin-yong Lee, his back-up match!

“It’s Howman!”

“Hawman has appeared!”

Jinyong Lee appeared on the ground of such a city field.

At that moment, all the spectators in City Field shouted at the same time as if they had made a promise.

downpour!

A sight that is hard to see even in a concert hall.

What was even more surprising was the behavior that Jinyong Lee showed in response to that cry.

Jinyong Lee, who appeared, waved his right hand holding a hat toward the crowd while running.

Then, suddenly, with his left hand, he pointed to one of the stands on the first base side.

Then the designated crowd tilted their heads.

Jinyong Lee looked at him and frowned slightly, and this time he pointed to the other side with his finger.

He pointed to the five men who drew the alphabet and HOWOO one by one on their bare body.

Of course, the reaction was different.

“downpour!”

“Whoa!”

“Hawman saw us!”

As if waiting, the five Mets fans who were nominated exclaimed enthusiastically.

Seeing this, Jinyong Lee nodded and immediately approached the audience eagerly.

Immediately after that, the five men came down from the crowd as if jumping and met Lee Jin-yong.

“Hey, Howman!”

“Hero of the Mets!”

“Whoa!”

Lee Jin-yong said with a smile to the enthusiastic ones.

“The enthusiasm is great. Aren’t you cold?”

“No!”

“I can’t sign your body, but it seems like you already got my autograph, right?”

The five nodded eagerly, and after Jinyong Lee signaled them to wait for a while, he went straight into the dugout and showed up with five baseballs.

On the baseball, Jinyong Lee’s signature and HOWOO were written in large letters.

Jinyong Lee gave the five balls one to each of the five men and said,

At that moment, the faces of the five men had changed like Gollum who had the absolute ring in his hand.

“I won’t disappoint you this year, so please support me.”

“downpour!”

“downpour!”

Instead of answering Jinyong Lee’s words, the five only exclaimed with crazy cheers.

Kim Jin-ho, who saw the scene, sighed.

– Oh, sooner or later the world will be full of idiots. I knew that the end of mankind would come someday, but this is how the human race would end.

Even the ghosts are absurd.

What’s more, the Cincinnati Reds, who visited Citi Field for today’s game against the Mets, couldn’t understand it.

“I can’t tell if we’re here to play baseball or to be in a movie.”

All of the Reds players had ridiculous expressions on their faces.

The expression of the Reds team started to harden as Jinyong Lee, who is now starting to run big on the ground for running, came closer to the 3rd base dugout and the Reds team.

Now, when the distance was enough to check Jinyong Lee’s eyes, nose and mouth, the Reds players could clearly feel it.

“In a way like this, you have to deal with that monster…”

“Even in City Field.”

“It would be better to face Hades in Hell.”

The fact that today they face a monster who is rewriting the history of Major League Baseball.

At the same time, the Reds players remembered their plight this season.

‘I met the worst monster in the worst season.’

The Cincinnati Reds, their 2018 season was not much different from last year.

As a result of the combination of a below-average batting average in the league and the worst mound in the league, the Reds are currently 5th in the district and 14th in the National League in win rate.

In fact, it was no different than the last team in the major leagues.

‘I don’t even have a bot…’

Even Joey Votto, a top-ranking Major League Baseball hitter, who took the lead in the Reds’ batting line, was unable to play in this game due to an injury.

‘Yes, this is better.’

Is that so?

Rather, the Reds players who saw Lee Jin-yong’s face began to feel more comfortable.

‘Even if you lose here, you won’t lose anything, right?’

‘Even if you give out 10 points, it’s a great game if you only give 1 point, isn’t it? Let’s just take it easy.’

Even if we were shut down against Jinyong Lee today, the Reds honestly had nothing to lose.

It was around that time.

Now, around the time when the Reds players had forgotten the burden, Jinyong Lee passed the dugout where the Reds had gathered.

And at that moment, Jinyong Lee looked at the atmosphere of the Reds team, their eyes and their senses.

– No poison.

As Kim Jin-ho said, there was no poison in the eyes of the Reds team toward Lee Jin-yong.

It was the moment when the game didn’t even need a preemption.

– Do you want to go to today’s game easily? Jinyong-ah, I think you can do it in moderation, would you like to take a rest?

However, Jin-yong Lee did not smile at Kim Jin-ho’s words.

Rather, Jin-yong Lee was constantly looking at the atmosphere of the Reds team with a squinting glance, as well as constantly watching the entire field.

Those eyes were the eyes of a beast preparing for a fierce hunt no matter who looked at it.

– boy.

With those eyes, Kim Jin-ho did not speak any more.

Now I could tell just by looking into your eyes.

What the other person is thinking, what they are looking at, and what they are aiming for.

– You look like you’re pooping.

“Ah, really. How can this expression be like a poop? It’s a sad face, isn’t it?”

– Normally, when people want to poop, their expressions become gloomy. Come on, let’s go! Fuck shit!

“Shut up.”

So Jinyong Lee finished running.

The game started.

2.

There is a saying that baseball starts with two outs at the end of the ninth inning.

If interpreted differently, it means that the first inning is not particularly important, so most of the reporters at the beginning of the game just watched the game leisurely.

“It started.”

“Let’s check the condition of both teams first.”

There is no such thing as a great record to keep reporters busy at the beginning of a game, except in the very unusual case of a batter hitting a full-base homer twice against the same pitcher in one inning.

“Well, do you have anything to check? If you don’t know the details of today’s match, the result would be obvious.”

“right. It’s not easy for the Reds to beat the Mets in the current situation.”

Moreover, if it was a matchup between the team currently recognized as the strongest team in the National League and the team at the bottom of the league, the content of the match was more obvious.

“Besides, it’s a game with Howman, so the content must be obvious.”

In addition, Jinyong Lee’s match was, in a sense, the most obvious match.

In terms of movies, is it the same movie as Home Alone?

“I can’t hit a 104 mile ball.”

Furthermore, Jinyong Lee’s 104 mph fastball with his left hand in the All-Star Game was similar to holding an M16 gun in the hands of Kevin McCallister, the protagonist of Home Alone.

“It’s a pity that Joey Votto is out with an injury.”

“Yeah, he’s one of the few hitters who can hit a home run on Howman.”

Even Major League Baseball’s representative hitter, Joey Boto, who can properly strike a dagger against Lee Jin-yong, is out with an injury.

Therefore, all the reporters gathered in the press room had the same thoughts.

“For reds hitters, the only option is to look at when Lee throws with his right hand.”

“right. The moment the left hand throws 104 mph, the inning is practically over.”

In a situation where their power is inferior in many ways, the only thing the Reds can do is aim for the moment when Jinyong Lee uses his right hand.

In fact, the thinking of the Reds hitters was exactly what the reporters expected.

‘I can’t hit a 104 mph fastball.’

‘Lee’s left hand is 100 miles by default. In addition to the slider, the movement is more than restraint.’

Reds batters decided to just ignore Jinyong Lee’s left hand.

Instead, he decided to attack Lee Jin-yong’s right hand.

‘I’d rather have my right hand than that.’

‘I can’t ignore my right hand, but a 95 mph fastball is better than a 104 mph fastball.’

It was absolutely not ignoring Jinyong Lee’s right hand.

It’s just that the presence of the 104 mph fastball was so strong that even major league hitters gave up on the game.

In front of them, Jinyong Lee appeared with a glove on his left hand.

‘Okay, let’s go aggressive.’

‘It’s better to get away with a strikeout than to get away with a strikeout.’

Naturally, the Reds hitters attempted aggressive strikes against Jinyong Lee’s right-handed pitching.

Of course, Jinyong Lee’s pitching did not allow such reds batters to easily get on base.

– Ground ball in front of shortstop!

– The ball floats high!

– out! lee! He finishes off the first inning with a neat triplet!

Three-way kick in the first inning, 5 pitches.

Jinyong Lee, who finished the inning with a really neat pitching, came down the mound.

The Mets fans who filled City Field reciprocated with cheers.

“downpour!”

Truly a festive atmosphere.

In such an atmosphere, the Mets batters started pouring oil as hard as they could from the end of the first inning.

– Hit! consecutive hits!

At the end of the first inning, the Mets took the lead by hitting consecutive hits against Mike, the Reds starting pitcher.

– Hit it! big! The batted ball stretches straight out!

– It’s over.

Even at the end of the first inning, the Mets hit a home run that put Mike and the Reds in despair.

It was the fifth batter who hit a home run.

– lee! He hit his ninth home run this season as a two-run homer!

The 5th hitter is Lee Jin-yong.

Now placed in the center batting line instead of the 9th, he made the game one-sided early on.

At that scene, the press room that was watching the game burst into laughter.

“It’s over.”

“I’ve already scored three goals in one inning alone.”

“It would be more convenient for the Reds. Now I just have to prepare myself to sleep well.”

It was a laugh at the fact that the match was so easy.

“Oh, the game is over.”

A junior reporter who came with Hwang Seon-woo also had a similar smile.

“Are you going to easily add another win today? Shall I write an article in advance? Jinyong Lee, perfect pitching without a score!”

However, Hwang Seon-woo, on the other hand, had a nervous expression without showing any smile.

A junior reporter who confirmed the hint asked cautiously.

“Senior, what’s the matter?”

Hwang Sun-woo answered that question.

“Probably at the beginning of the second inning, Jinyong Lee will pitch with his left hand.”

“Yes? What is that…”

Hwang Sun-woo continued to speak to a junior reporter who questioned him with an expression that he did not understand the English language.

“And I’m going to throw a ball over 102 miles off the mound. Maybe throw a 104 mile ball. After that, Jinyong Lee will pitch again with only his right hand.”

After those words, Hwang Seon-woo pointed to the junior reporter’s laptop and said.

“Record every pitch, pitch, and course that Jinyong Lee throws today.”

And at the beginning of the second inning, Jinyong Lee appeared on the mound.

“It’s left-handed!”

“This time it’s left-handed pitching!”

“Yeah, I have to show you 104 miles!”

with a glove on his right hand.

At that, the junior reporter looked at Hwang Seon-woo with a surprised expression, and Hwang Seon-woo smiled at that gaze and said:

“If you were satisfied with your current situation, you wouldn’t be Lee Jin-yong.”

3.

In the second inning, Jinyong Lee’s pitching started with a 103 mph fastball from his left hand.

– Out 103!

– Hey, it’s just 103 from the beginning!

– Are you going to 104 now?

Everyone watching the game was thrilled by that fact.

“It’s different from what you see on TV.”

“The restraint is also restraint, but the pitching form is also unique, so the tangible restraint is faster.”

“It’s a 103 mile ball, but the feeling is faster… it means don’t just hit it.”

“Conscientiously, shouldn’t there be only Chapman for such a monster?”

“Looking back, I miss that time. When Chapman was on our team, I didn’t have any of these concerns.”

The Reds’ hitters, on the other hand, were cold.

“Changed.”

“Only one batter plays with the left hand, right?”

To such reds, Jin-yong Lee, who immediately changed his gloves and prepared for pitching with his right hand after facing one batter, looked more like an angel than a monster.

“Somehow, when Houman throws his right hand, he has to create a result.”

Naturally, the Reds hitters tried aggressively against Jinyong Lee’s right hand.

And the results came out.

In the first out of the second inning, the Reds’ 5th hitter Smith got his first hit today.

“Look, you can aim!”

After that, the inning ended immediately with a shot, but the Reds hitters were satisfied with that fact.

“For now, there are no no-hits and no perfects.”

“Now I just have to stop hitting the record for most strikeouts.”

It was thanks to the fact that Jinyong Lee’s new trophy had no worries about the name of the Cincinnati Reds going up.

Moreover, the moment the Mets scored an additional goal at the end of the second inning, the Reds gave up their victory.

So did the coaching staff.

‘I don’t know about the other team, but the 5 point difference against Lee is practically the end.’

The Reds’ coaching staff were prepared to lose early and started preparing for a better defeat.

While sending the pitchers in the pursuit group to the bullpen, he ordered the batters to attack aggressively.

“If you stand still, you will only be struck out. It is better to be out with a ground ball or a floating ball than to be struck out. So, if you think you can hit at bat, hit it aggressively.”

It was not only the basic of the basics that it is better to somehow roll the ball to the ground than to be struck out, but the record of striking out was not good for the batters themselves.

One of the most important things that clubs and fans look at when analyzing a batter’s performance is how many strikeouts he has struck out.

‘If you can’t get a hit or RBI, you shouldn’t even strike out.’

The active hitting of such reds hitters had their own results.

In the 4th and 5th innings, the Reds hitters against Jinyong Lee in every inning.

Of course, every time a hit was drawn, the inning ended with a blow, but the Reds hitters were satisfied with the fact that the hit came out.

“Do you think it’s okay today?”

“After all, it was the right answer to just give up the left hand. If you only prepare your right hand, you will get results, right?”

In particular, the hitters who hit Lee Jin-yong were already looking full of satisfaction.

‘It’s not a hit against Howman, you’re a leftover soldier.’

‘This is enough for my annual salary.’

‘I wish he was just replaced with one hit in two at-bats.’

The Reds’ coaching staff didn’t even bother to place a new order in a situation where there was a hit every inning.

Naturally, even in the 6th inning, the Reds hitters actively tried to attack.

– out! Liga closes the inning with a triple strike!

And Lee Jin-yong finished the Reds batters who were aggressively attacking them with a triple strike.

It was around that time.

– Howeman, are you weird today?

ㄴ Originally Howman was weird?

B Has Howeman ever been weird?

B It must be strange, isn’t it Homan?

B No, I’m talking about the Howman pitcher now. I think I got it wrong.

B pitcher? Wait, how many pitches do you have right now?

b 39 phrases until the 6th.

Those who watched the game started to feel strange.

“Isn’t the electric sign broken?”

“Is it possible to do this in 39 innings in 6 innings?”

“No, today’s Reds hitters actively swing the bat in the first pitch, and even though there were 4 kills…”

And the mood of those who felt it began to change.

The atmosphere of City Field, which was enthusiastic about Lee Jin-yong’s pitching and sometimes shouted 104 miles, began to subside.

Kim Jin-ho approached and said to Lee Jin-yong, who was descending the mound through the subdued atmosphere.

– 19 pitches left.

Jinyong Lee replied to that.

“No, 18 pitches left.”

Jinyong Lee and Jinho Kim, who were about to enter the dugout with that conversation, turned their heads and looked at the dugout of the Reds.

With the face of a beast with a bloody prey in front of him.

End