Ch 74
5.
Whoa!
The moment the sound of thunder and lightning penetrated the Gocheok Dome Stadium, the reporters who heard the sound let out sighs and intuition at the same time.
“ah!”
The moment the perfect game was broken, it was a sigh of relief.
“It’s Park Junhyung.”
And I immediately understood.
“Actually, if it’s Park Junhyung…”
The fact that it was Park Jun-hyung, not anyone else who broke The Perfect Game made it possible to convince me.
No, some have already been prepared.
“Rather, I thought Park Jun-hyung would hit one here.”
“Because I am a guy. Especially the clutch heater temperament. In times of crisis, when you need one, he’s the one who gives you one.”
Reporters who expected that Park Jun-hyung would not be the victim of Han Kang-hoon’s perfect game had written an appropriate article in advance.
After seeing the result, the reporters who spit out sighs quickly performed their original roles.
Kick!
The sound of tapping on the keyboard began to spread through the press seat, which had been stained with sighs.
Of course, not everyone was faithful to their original mission.
“ah! Wake up!”
“Ugh, I can move a little now.”
Some just stood up without writing an article.
The reporters who happened like that exchanged glances.
A cigarette or a cigarette, signaling the end of a long tension, was a signal shared by all smokers around the world.
“Reporter Hwang!”
One of them called Hwang Seon-woo.
“I’ve seen everything we’re going to see today, but let’s smoke one.”
“for a moment.”
However, Hwang Seon-woo raised his hand instead of getting up at the reporter’s words.
“why? What’s up?”
A reporter asked such a question about Hwang Seon-woo.
“Did you break the record?”
As long as the Perfect Game was broken, the story that could actually come out of the Gocheok Dome Stadium was almost over.
All that’s left now are wins and losses that don’t really matter.
On the other hand, smokers were desperate for cigarettes more than ever because they could not leave their seats and endured and put up with cigarettes.
“Wait a minute.”
However, Hwang Seon-woo still did not stand up despite the reporter’s words.
‘There’s something.’
Because my senses told me
‘There’s still something.’
There is still something great about this Gocheok Dome Stadium, something that can be called a scoop.
“Uh, by the way, isn’t Park Junhyung his first hit today?”
Then someone who was checking today’s match record to write an article said:
“right. First hit today. Perfect is broken?”
Then why is someone talking nonsense? replied with a nuance.
“No, that’s not it…”
“That or what?”
“Isn’t this the first game today? What about the record?”
At that moment, everyone remembered.
“uh.”
“uh?”
“uh!”
Another new record hidden in the perfect game.
“It’s a hit, a hit! No hit! Jinyong Lee No-Hit Face!”
Lee Jin-yong’s No-Hit Norun.
6.
The infield floats.
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The moment the ball went into the shortstop’s glove, Han Kang-hoon, who was on the mound, took off his hat and stole sweat.
“Whoa.”
However, there was not much sweat.
Now that there is no reason to be nervous anymore, and now the reason to concentrate all the concentration to catch an out against all batters, Han Kang-hoon’s condition is like standing in front of a cool breeze after a long sauna.
‘finished.’
It’s cool, but it feels like your body is melting.
That’s how the 8th inning ended.
And for the end of the 8th inning, which will now begin, the Angels started heading to the ground.
“Whoa.”
Jinyong Lee, he also left the dugout and walked towards the mound.
His gait was narrower and slower than ever.
Chubb…
Like a slave with chains tied to his ankles.
Like walking through a muddy swamp.
It’s like carrying an infinitely heavy load on your shoulders.
Chubb…
Slowly headed towards the mound.
Kim Jin-ho said at that appearance.
– Jinyong Lee, you are also human. Seeing him nervous in this kind of situation, he doesn’t seem like a ghost.
Kim Jin-ho, who spoke, smiled faintly.
no hit no run.
The fact that Jin-yong Lee, who had the opportunity to win this glory, which is worth cherishing for the rest of his life, felt pressure and nervous in front of that opportunity, was both fun and proud of.
– Yeah, that’s normal.
It was also cute to see this in Jinyong Lee, who always ran like a crazy dog on the mound.
“What kind of bullshit?”
At Kim Jin-ho’s words, Jin-yong Lee said while covering his mouth with a glove.
– yes? No, you’re nervous right now, so your steps are slow, right? Anyone who saw it was scared.
“Are you walking slowly on purpose?”
– What?
In response to Jinyong Lee’s subsequent words, Jinho Kim naturally asked a question.
– Intentionally? why?
“Isn’t that so that the audience will pay more attention to me and cheer louder as they focus?”
Jinyong Lee! Jinyong Lee! Jinyong Lee!
As soon as Jin-yong Lee finished his words, cheers for Lee Jin-yong began to flow from the third-base crowd, filled with Angels fans.
They also realized
At this moment when Han Kang-hoon’s perfect game was broken, Gocheok Dome Stadium was no longer his stage, but a stage for Jin-yong Lee’s current no-hit no-run.
Jinyong Lee! Jinyong Lee! Lee Ho!
Jinyong Lee shrugged at the same name as the cheers of the fans.
– Wow.
Kim Jin-ho, who saw it, looked at Lee Jin-yong as if there was no absurdity.
– You’re a real absurd bastard.
In this situation, are you deliberately walking slowly to the mound to receive more cheers?
Even the expression “Torai” is at a level that is disrespectful.
Of course, Lee Jin-yong smiled deeply instead of refuting Kim Jin-ho’s words.
‘It has finally become my stage.’
It was a smile to express the joy of the fact that the mound has now become his stage.
Naturally, at this moment, there was no word of tension or burden in Lee Jin-yong’s dictionary.
‘Now, shall we start a no-hit?’
That’s how the Rangers hitters’ nightmare began.
7.
The moment when Han Kang-hoon gave the Angels the lead with a solo home run in the early 8th inning, the Rangers hitters thought.
‘Somehow I have to score.’
Apart from breaking Han Kang-hoon’s monumental record, for the team to win, you have to score points somehow.
“What? Jinyong Lee No-hit no-run?”
For them, the news of Jinyong Lee’s no-hitter was shocking news.
“Uh, is that so?”
“God, why didn’t you know that?”
There were quite a few Rangers hitters even unaware of that fact.
The first reason was that most of the Rangers hitters focused on Han Kang-hoon’s perfect game pace, and the second reason was that those who knew the fact kept silent because they did not want to burden the batters by mentioning it.
It was obvious that batters would recognize that Jinyong Lee was a no-hit-no-run pace and would focus only on breaking that record when he stood at the plate.
Because it was never a good thing in a situation where points were needed rather than breaking records.
But the situation has changed.
Han Kang-hoon’s perfect game is broken, and now it’s time to stop Lee Jin-yong’s no-hit no-run.
“As you know, Jinyong Lee is currently playing a no-hit game.”
That was the Rangers’ top priority.
And it was reorganized into a new operation suitable for it.
“Of course, such a Jin-yong Lee will pitch to set a record.”
First of all, it was analyzed.
“It’s natural to say, but I’d rather pitch a walk, but not a hit.”
The no-hit no-run is maintained even if you give up a walk.
Even if you give 10 walks, if there are no hits and no runs, it is a no-hit game.
Therefore, it was very reasonable to analyze that Jinyong Lee is more likely to pitch for a walk than to get a hit for that record.
“Of course, the pitching style will aim outside.”
Jinyong Lee’s pitching was not much different from before.
Outside the strike zone, there is a high probability of a walk, but I expected that the batter would focus on only the course where it is difficult to hit.
“It’s good to walk. Once you’re on base, Once the runner is out, it can be rocked somehow. No, Jinyong Lee is at most a first-year professional. There is a runner on the base and there is no way not to shake it, so the end of the 8th starts from the 9th. When the runners go out . . . the runners shake them somehow.”
The Rangers decided to use that pitching rather than rejecting Jinyong Lee’s pitching.
If he gave me a walk, I thought I would be grateful.
“More than anything else, Lee Jin-yong will not be able to pitch properly now because of the pressure on the record. If you aim for that point, you can fully reverse it. We can win today.”
Based on the walk he received, it was intended to draw points for victory rather than a hit from Jinyong Lee.
Son Woo-hyung, who came up as a substitute in place of the 9th batter, was the first to put that determination into practice.
A left-handed hitter with quick feet and precise hitting ability, he got close to home plate the moment he stood at the plate.
It was an expression of will.
‘Somehow it survives.’
Lee Jin-yong, who will repeatedly stab the outside, and the will to fight head-on without backing down.
Such a will soon became a resolution, and he began to sharpen and sharpen Seonwoo-hyung’s senses.
And Lee Jin-yong also suited Son Woo-hyung’s determination.
Without spending a lot of money, the moment Son Woo-hyung finished all preparations, Jin-yong Lee also started preparing for pitching.
He pulled his left leg back, and while staring at the catcher’s mitt, he lifted his left leg and twisted his body like a twist. He made his body like a tornado, like that storm.
‘come!’
Soon, Jinyong Lee’s right hand spewed the ball.
The ball flew toward Son Woo-hyung’s body.
‘uh?’
The first body ball that appeared today.
Son Woo-hyung, who had already been close to home plate with the ball, was startled and stepped back.
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Naturally, the ball that the batter gave up hit the catcher’s mitt as it was, and the referee shouted at the sound.
“strike!”
super ball strike.
A sweet strike a pitcher can catch.
Conversely, a bitter strike that a batter can take.
However, at this moment, no such sweetness or bitterness came to mind in Son Woo-hyung’s mind.
He just looked at Lee Jin-yong on the mound with a surprised and blank eyes.
Lee Jin-yong answered with his eyes to Son Woo-hyung’s eyes.
“I got a no-hit, it’s Tom Glavine style, Nabal, what do you know!”
For the no-hit no-run record and to catch the Rangers hitters, I will mobilize all means and methods.
Jinyong Lee smiled with those eyes.
8.
Just as there is no business in the face of time, even the players who dominated the times collapsed in front of time.
Tom Glavine, so did he.
While always maintaining a poker face like a terminator on the mound, he seemed to sag while biting only the outside of the strike zone, but his skills declined as he got older, and he had no choice but to change.
Tom Glavine started throwing the body ball at some point.
Major League Baseball is a change of style, such as one’s pride, in order to survive in the world of wild beasts.
And through that change, he was able to become a pitcher who recorded an absurd number of wins in his career, 300 in the major leagues.
That was it.
The fact that a pitcher who relentlessly aim for the outside throws his body was so powerful that even a toothless tiger could catch a wild beast.
That fact was felt by the Rangers hitters in 2017, 10 years after Tom Glavine retired, on the land of Korea, far from the major leagues.
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“strike!”
It was not someone else’s advice or advice, but I was feeling it with my body and with my heart.
Of course, the teaching was not free.
The pitcher who gave them the bone and flesh lesson paid them very well.
“Aww!”
three outs.
“downpour!”
And hearing this sound three times was the price.
The Rangers hitters who paid the price looked at the mound pitcher, Jin-yong Lee, with blank eyes.
I looked and thought.
‘Crazy bastard!’
The pitcher on the mound can never be normal.
It wasn’t just that the pitcher didn’t concede a single hit in eight innings.
‘How can I not be shaken in a situation like this?’
Eight times ahead of the no-hit-no-run record.
I’ve seen the pitcher in front of me fail in the perfect game.
In such a situation, the game starts from the 9th batting order with a pinch hitter.
It’s like stepping into the back of the head.
A situation in which the popliteal cavity cools, hands and feet tremble, and the head turns white just by breathing.
There is nothing strange about shaking, and it is a situation that deserves to be shaken.
However, in such a situation, Jinyong Lee put the ball precisely into the course he wanted without a single loss of performance, let alone shaking.
It also skilfully crossed the body and the outside, even up and down the strike zone.
‘Absolutely insane. If you’re sane, you can’t pitch like this.’
He was also good at pitch, but the fact that he wasn’t shaken by that control was the reason why Rangers hitters looked at him like a monster.
– After all, you’re right, you bastard.
It was the same with Jinho Kim.
– I wonder what’s in your chest.
Kim Jin-ho, too, had no choice but to put his tongue out in front of the mentality and heart that Jin-yong Lee showed.
Even Kim Jin-ho never said anything.
– And I never told you that Tom Glavine mixed body balls in his later years, how did you know that?
That Tom Glavine shuffled the body ball at the end of his baseball career.
For Kim Jin-ho, Jin-yong Lee’s match today was not pitching to get results, but a stepping stone for him to reach a higher level, so Kim didn’t teach it.
But Jinyong Lee took it out and wrote it himself.
Even the reason was very simple.
“Hey, don’t you get tired of peeing and take a step backwards if you throw your body at those who are close to home plate?”
And for the very reasonable reason, Kim Jin-ho laughed.
– You’re just playing baseball with a no-hit, you’re playing baseball together.
At those words, Jinyong Lee made a V with his right hand and bent his index and middle fingers like that.
“I haven’t even opened it up yet, what?”
Kim Jin-ho did not continue to speak as he saw Lee Jin-yong smiling with a fishy smile along with those words.
I just look at Lee Jin-yong like a monster.
So the monster came down the mound and finally informed everyone that the eighth act was over.
And now the last curtain has come.
Episode 9 started.
9.
“Strike, out!”
9 seconds.
The end of Han Kang-hoon’s long journey was a strike created by a 150-kilometre four-seam fastball.
Even though he was deprived of his glory by a single dagger, Han Kang-hoon did not lose his self-esteem until the end.
“Aww!”
Therefore, the moment Han Kang-hoon caught the last out, he shouted cheers on the mound.
Han Kang-hoon was here!
From episodes 1 to 9, Han Kang-hoon was there!
It was such a cry and at the same time a scream.
That was it.
Han Kang-hoon’s cry, which was like the end of a valuable result of 9 innings and 1 run and a complete throw, remained just his cry.
Those who filled the Gocheok Dome Stadium did not pay any attention to Han Kang-hoon’s cry.
‘ah.’
Only then did Han Kang-hoon know.
Every time he came down the mound, the heat that covered him disappeared, and the fact that the mound, which was his stage, is no longer his stage.
“Lee Ho-Woo is coming!”
“The heavy rain challenges a no-hit!”
The fact that this place, the stage of the Gocheok Dome Stadium, now belongs to a small man waiting for him to go down the mound.
At that fact, Han Kang-hoon went down the mound with his head bowed.
And Jinyong Lee took a step towards the mound that has now become his stage.
Naturally, this step was also as slow as the 8th.
slowly.
Jinyong Lee slowly moved towards the mound as if he was savoring his steps.
“Lee Ho-woo fighting!”
“Only believe in you!”
“Whoa! woo woo woo woo!”
Toward such Jin-yong Lee, the Angels fans from the dugout on the 3rd base went beyond enthusiasm and spouted out mad cheers.
In that atmosphere, Jin-yong Lee, standing on the mound, began to take a long breath.
“ah.”
Then he vomited up what he inhaled.
“It feels great.”
A deep smile hung on the corner of Jinyong Lee’s mouth, which could not be drawn any more.
Seeing that, Jinho Kim stuck out his tongue.
– In a 1-0 situation, if you hit a home run with a hit, the record isn’t the problem, but is that sound in a game that might lose? And now it’s not even the beginning of the 9th, it’s the 9th. If you concede two points here, you lose in the end. Don’t you feel burdened?
Jin-yong Lee questioned Kim Jin-ho’s words.
“Is Jinho Kim burdened in such a situation?”
– Could it be?
Kim Jin-ho, who answered the question, already had a smile similar to that of Lee Jin-yong.
– On the contrary, it’s awesome. So I originally liked away games. In a situation where they lead by one point like this, when they come up at the end of the ninth and strike out, the atmosphere gets cheaper…
Because Kim Jin-ho was the pitcher who enjoyed this stage more than anyone else.
And Jinyong Lee was also a pitcher who enjoyed this stage.
– Well, it was.
Therefore, Kim Jin-ho did not have to give a long explanation.
Because what I needed now wasn’t such an explanation, but something to tell Jinyong Lee.
– Then take care of yourself.
you know how to do it
It was an expression that Kim Jin-ho was no longer involved in Lee Jin-yong’s pitching, and at the same time meant that Lee Jin-yong was now using the mound exclusively.
Jinyong Lee, who had a monopoly on the mound, closed his eyes.
‘The batting order starts from number three, and I’m sure I’ll swing the bat to stop my record somehow.’
I closed my eyes and analyzed and predicted.
But I wasn’t prepared.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter what you do.’
Jinyong Lee, because he had the most powerful weapon he had yet to bring out.
10.
At the end of the ninth, the Rangers dugout atmosphere was heavier than ever.
No one spoke a word and remained silent.
The appearance of Han Kang-hoon, who bowed his head toward the floor with icing on one of the benches, made the silence heavier and more desperate.
“Play Ball!”
At the beginning of the 9th inning with the referee’s declaration, the Rangers hitters focused all their senses toward the mound in silence.
‘What are you going to throw in the first pitch?’
At this moment, the Rangers hitters had only one thought: Jinyong Lee’s first pitch.
Are you really going to go outside?
Or will you dig into the body?
high ball?
Or the low ball?
Jinyong Lee’s first ball thrown in the midst of such interest was beyond everyone’s expectations.
‘uh?’
In the middle of the strike zone, Jinyong Lee’s ball started flying towards the center.
‘midst?’
It was a course that Jinyong Lee never threw today.
But on the other hand, no one was embarrassed by that fact.
For a brief moment, some batters thought.
‘You can hit it!’
Obviously, the course in the middle of the strike zone was the course Jin-yong Lee was aiming for for the first time today, but on the contrary, it was also the course that all batters were aiming for.
‘If it’s Jeonggeun, you can hit it!’
Above all, the Rangers’ third hitter, Park Jeong-geun, who is now at bat, was one of the best hitters in the Rangers.
In the 2016 season, he recorded a batting average of 30, 2 pennies, 3 ri, 21 home runs, and 12 stolen bases, one of the most representative hitters in Korean professional baseball!
He was a hitter who lacked nothing in talent, skill, or career, and was able to hit the ball rather than just stare at the ball in the middle and miss it.
‘Come into the zone.’
In fact, Park Jeong-geun reacted properly to the ball on the course that Jin-yong Lee threw for the first time today.
It was not a reaction through thought, but an instinctive reaction.
The reaction of the instinct created by swinging the bat for over 20 years since elementary school!
That’s why the swing was more perfect than ever.
Timing, bat speed, body balance!
It was a perfect swing that was difficult for Park Jung-geun to do multiple times in one season, enough to use this hitting video as a textbook later.
Whoa!
Even the sound of the bat splitting the wind was perfect.
Even the flying ball, which Park Jung-geun saw, Lee Jin-yong’s ball was flying in the trajectory of a typical four-seam fastball.
A 130-year-old fastball was flying into the middle of the strike zone.
‘it’s over!’
Naturally, Park Jeong-geun did not doubt the fact that he would send Lee Jin-yong’s ball to a distant place, over the fence.
Far from being suspicious, Park Jung-geun got the feeling he had when he hit 155 home runs on a pro.
‘It’s a home run!’
It feels like a home run before you even hit it!
Whoops!
Because of that, Park Jung-geun’s bat is not the ball, but the moment he just cuts through the pitiful air.
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The moment when you hear the sound of a ball hitting the catcher’s mitt instead of the sound of a thunder that shakes the ground.
I couldn’t believe such a moment.
‘uh?’
I couldn’t believe it and it was frozen.
“uh······.”
And everyone who was watching the game was frozen.
‘Awesome.’
It was the moment when the Master Rank splitter made their debut for the first time.
11.
harness (魔球).
If you are interested in baseball, it is a magical word that will make your heart pound.
Because of this, countless people have been looking for the harness.
Of course, magic doesn’t exist.
There is no such thing as a perfect ball on its own. No matter how powerful a ball is, it is a ball in the end.
However, when the circumstances are harmonized, a ball like a harness can be created.
For example, a 144-kilometer high-speed slider is a ball that is powerful enough to be called a harness, but no one calls this high-speed slider itself a harness.
But if Randy Johnson throws a 144-kilometer high-speed slider, it could be a harness.
Not only can he throw a 101-mile, 161-kilometre fastball from lefty, but his stature and long arms make that ridiculous ball come from a completely different place than any other pitcher.
Magura is like that.
The pitch itself is excellent, of course, when the elements that make the pitch even better are combined.
Only then does the magic come out.
In that sense, Jinyong Lee’s splitter was enough to be called a Magu.
“Swing Strike!”
First of all, the situation was special.
From the 1st to the 7th, the eyes of the batters who were attacked only by the ball outside their strike zone were naturally used to the outside ball.
In a situation where you are closer to the home plate than usual in order to attack the outside ball, you can’t help but be surprised by the ball that suddenly sticks to your body.
In such a situation, what if the ball enters the center of the strike zone at the end of the ninth inning, and what if the ball is a splitter that creates an absurd trajectory?
If that’s the case, it shouldn’t be a problem if you hit it and go to sleep.
‘The ball disappears…’
It’s just a matter of whether you can see the ball properly or not.
Rangers hitter #5 Ji Sung-hyun was like that.
Jinyong Lee’s splitter reflected in his eyes was not the splitter he saw.
‘Does this make sense?’
Because Ji Sung-hyun had never seen a splitter literally disappear near home plate.
‘Are you even using real magic?’
something like magic.
It is no exaggeration to say that Ji Sung-hyun was insane in front of the ball.
‘driving me crazy.’
There was only one thing reflected in his eyes, an electric billboard.
Only the 2 outs and 1 ball and 2 strikes situation at the end of the 9th caught my eye through the electronic display.
‘ah.’
And the moment it caught his eye, he was frozen.
He eventually gave up on the fight.
He gave his neck to the beast in front of him and wanted to become a sacrifice and prey for him.
Jinyong Lee threw the ball at him.
A low place outside the strike zone.
A ball heading towards the vertex of the strike zone.
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The place where Jinyong Lee got the most strikes against batters today.
“Straaike, out!”
There, Jinyong Lee took the glory.
12.
Jinyong Lee.
When he first played baseball, he was king on the mound.
Obviously it was.
He was an extraordinary player, an extraordinary genius.
So I played baseball.
Because on the mound, I could feel and get something that I couldn’t feel anywhere else.
So I started dreaming on the mound.
The dream of becoming a professional baseball player and climbing on the mound of a professional like this, and the dream of acquiring historical glory on the mound that has been climbed like that.
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“Straaike, out!”
Therefore, when Jinyong Lee’s dream came true, he did not hesitate at all.
The dream was reproduced in reality.
‘come.’
Jinyong Lee raised his right hand on the mound.
‘The day has finally come!’
The hand that made all the glory is lifted high in the sky.
‘Yes, let’s go as we dreamed of, Jinyong Lee!’
With that flashing right hand, he pointed to the 3rd base crowd and shouted.
“Say heavy rain!”
Then, a surprisingly thick silence began to subside in the Gocheok Dome Stadium.
The Angels fans who filled the third base stand and the Angels players and coaching staff who filled the dugout below looked at the pitcher on the mound with blank eyes and distorted expressions.
‘what?’
It was a sight I had never seen in a dream, and Jinyong Lee said again to change the sight.
“Say heavy rain…….”
said in a crawling voice.
Then, finally, a response was heard.
[No-hit no-run was successful. Bonus points will be paid.]
[You have succeeded in shutting down. Bonus points are paid.]
[Succeeded in no-hit-no-run for the first time. A diamond roulette ticket is paid.]
[The first shutout was successful. Platinum roulette tickets will be paid.]
[Currently, the accumulated points are 28,321 points.]
– God, save this bastard.
Baseball manager and Kim Jin-ho responded positively.
And that was all there was to the response.
“Say Ho・・・・・・.”
– Jinyong-ah, can’t you just shut up and go to the bench? huh? This is why I’m sulking and I’m going to pay for it.
“······Yep.”
In this way, Jinyong Lee decorated his historic no-hit-no-run moment as a black history.
End