Became the Problem Child of MLB - Chapter 198



Only Noblemtl
Read Novel Noblemtl

Episode 198 That guy, that guy, that guy (7)

Baseball fans often sneer at teams that have underperformed despite their full investment, calling them “win-now tanking.”

Common sense tells us that the words “win now,” which means aiming for the championship right away, and “tanking,” which means intentionally targeting the lower ranks to collect promising players, cannot be combined.

So, it is not something that can be easily heard unless the team is quite unusual, and it is a title that can only be obtained when the front office and the players are playing separately like a doll with loose joints.

There are many such teams in the current major leagues. The New York Mets, who are wasting the prime of their star player, O’Neal Ryan. And the Boston Red Sox, who are showing signs of ‘running away’ as their high-salaried players are suffering from injuries.

Considering the cases of these teams, the Pirates, who declared rebuilding early last season, were somewhat fortunate. Now in the second year of rebuilding, they have successfully collected promising players and announced the beginning of a successful generational change.

The Pirates’ lineup was, accordingly, composed of young, vibrant players. And among the many prospects, left-handed pitcher Alec Ruiz, who once had the highest expectations of Yankees fans, stood at the forefront.

“What the fuck……?”

Pirates’ second year. Alec Ruiz, who had confidently made it into the starting rotation this season, muttered with a look of bewilderment. When he met eyes with Han Je-yi, who nodded as if to say, “What’s the problem?”, his bewilderment doubled.

-3 balls… No, it’s a miss! Finally, the yellow light on the scoreboard comes on. Haha. The count is 2 balls and 1 strike! Hehe, sorry. This is hard to hold back laughter.

– That’s right. In the top of the third inning, there was an interesting scene from the beginning of the game. In fact, Jay is one of the hitters in the league who is known for his good eye for pitches, right? But the ball just now… … .

-It seemed like he had no intention of hitting at all. He just sacrificed a count.

-What could it have been for? Hehe, I have a guess, but I will refrain from saying anything. It’s not like it went into his mind or came out.

“haha.”

Alec Ruiz said cheerfully, looking up at the sky and smiling brightly.

“What kind of fucking bastard is that……”

Even though they were on the opposing team, they had no choice but to admit that Hanjei was the most effective at spoiling people’s moods.

In the top of the first inning, Han Je-yi, who got on base with a walk, took two consecutive balls in his second at-bat and briefly stepped away from the plate. Then, he followed up with a changeup that went out of the zone, which was a disappointingly insincere swing.

The dugouts of both teams were in an uproar as the pitcher threw a ball to the batter, telling him to just walk away, and the batter refused to do so.

“Yeah. It would be a shame if even one day passed by without any notice.”

“I’m a lucky man, I get to watch these games for free every day.”

“That’s right at the front. And being able to jump in every now and then is a bonus.”

“Our team has good welfare.”

The Cubs players were smiling warmly as if they had made a promise, as if to say, “The loser is doing loser things again.”

“That son of a bitch ignored Alec.”

“You’re crazy. Aren’t you scared of the empty ball?”

“Alec! What are you doing? Just guess!”

“Fuck! What are you doing?”

While the Pirates players were spewing out the most offensive words, they were actually adding one more thing to their bucket list of things to do before retirement.

There was a very high chance that I would get kicked for following along, but to be honest.

└Ssb

└It was cheap

└Crazy guy… crazy guy… … .

Because it was true that even a man would think it looked cool.

[SPU TV) CHC 0 VS 0 PIT]

-Batter #3, Han Je-i.

-3 pitch swing strike.

-2 balls, 1 strike.

└What is it?

└?

└???

└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└This is ridiculous

└What is this swing without a hitch?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└Shit, this is seriously dizzyㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└Why did Hanje suddenly get hurt?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└???: Ah, I told you I won’t get a walk~

└???: Hey, hyung, do you have any other balls? If you have any other balls, give them to me.

└???: Wow, this is fun

└???: It feels special~~

└???: You thought you could just walk the ball? Oh, that’s not how you play baseball~

└Shit, are you all crazy?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└What is split ego?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└The real me is me, wow

└ He’s really one of a kind. I’ve been watching baseball for a long time, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone like him in my entire life.

└What are you talking about?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ If there’s one more guy like that in the league, we’re in big troubleㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└That’s right. There are two Hanjeis in the league? Then the two of them would fight and the game wouldn’t proceed.

└Extreme job judgement ㄷㄷㄷ

└My dad was watching the game and burst into laughter so I was wondering what was going on and s**tㅋㅋㅋㅋ is he crazy

└Hmm. I don’t know. Is that the correct answer?

└If you want to kill someone who keeps hitting the hot spots, I recommend it lol

└Heumchung, go and get some sleep

└Who threatened you with a knife to watch the game? Isn’t it disgusting that you’re watching it and then making a fuss?

└Han-kka-deul, who survives like a weed even when stepped on, proves Han-jae’s star power.

└Really ㅋㅋ At that level, it’s like showering Sprite with star qualityㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Even as a fan, I think he’s king, but I think the pitcher would want to kill himㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * Baca Novel Korean * *
* * * Noblemtl dot com * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The effect of Hanjei losing one count was clear. Alec Ruiz’s head felt dizzy as if someone had turned it over, and his breathing became a little faster.

‘Okay. Let’s try this, okay?’

As a pitcher and a fellow major leaguer, it would have been strange if my pride had not been hurt.

“Ugh!”

Alec Ruiz threw the ball coolly, determined to correct Hanjei’s arrogance.

Taaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah—!

“…….”

It was a really cool hit. It wasn’t a weak, empty swing like before, but a well-directed upper swing.

“Booooooooooo!”

“Go to hell!”

“Even hell would be a waste for you!”

The ball flew like a bullet and landed on the second floor stands, and Han Je-i circled the bases to the boos of angry Pirates fans.

The audience’s anger was certainly heightened by the sight of their wide-open eyes as if to say, “Oh my god. How could you say something like that?”

* * *

As the saying goes, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

I expected it to be a heated match since there were a lot of players I hadn’t seen before and many promising players on the Pirates team, but I guess I learned only bad things from somewhere.

Against pitchers who are sly, it is necessary to correct that habit at least once. Alec Ruiz must have felt it by now.

The world is wide, and what you see is not everything in this world.

“What should I do? Isn’t it time to pass on the title of Fighting Cock?”

Mikey spoke cheerfully, and laughter erupted from all over the dugout.

Fighting Cock is a pretty good nickname. When I think about my nickname now… … .

“Dudleongi, you’ve taken a step away from natural history today.”

Okay. I’m going crazy, so let’s stop thinking about it.

“What does that mean?”

“What does it mean? It means that even if a hole suddenly appears in your body one day, you should accept it as it is.”

What the heck are you talking about? You’re talking nonsense.

When I made a face, the old men, including Victor, started banging on the dugout fence and laughing, wondering what was so funny.

“Hey, let’s go together!”

“Come out quickly!”

Anyway, I scored the first point with my home run in the top of the third inning, and I went out to the field to play defense in the bottom of the third inning.

PNC Park, the home stadium of the Pirates, is, to put it simply, a stadium that requires two center fielders. It is not located on a high ground like Coors Field, but the outfield is larger than Coors Field, making it a difficult stadium for people.

In particular, this wide area is concentrated in the left-center, so even left fielders have a hard time at this stadium. Martin’s expression is so bad on days when the Pirates have away games, that goes without saying.

“Damn, I hate this so much. Why on earth did they build a stadium like this? I want to see the face of the designer.”

“What are you going to say when you see it?”

Martin said, taking up a defensive position.

“I think actions speak louder than words.”

… Everyone is really aggressive today.

-That’s not what you should be saying, is it? Alec Louise is still looking at you!

No, well. That’s partly my own doing. It’s not like I started it, right?

-That’s really rude… … .

anyway.

Today, our team’s starting pitcher is Garlicman. The combination of a stadium with a wide outfield and Garlic, a fly ball, strikeout pitcher, well.

Exactly!

Taaak!

Taaak-!

You don’t even need to look to see it. The outfielder’s fungo show has unfolded.

The game was only three innings in and Martin’s uniform was covered in dirt and dust, and he looked straight ahead with a look of disgust on his face.

Martin’s defensive skills have improved a lot compared to before. It seems that it was mainly due to psychological issues, but his movements have become much smoother and his steps have become more stable.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that Martin catches balls that are completely out of his catchable range.

Taaaaaaaah-!

Last year’s Rookie of the Year candidate, shortstop Eddie Reynolds, was at bat. The ball to left-center was a bit tricky for either Martin or me to catch.

And in any team, this kind of ball is usually the responsibility of the center fielder. Our team, well, it goes without saying.

I ran while looking at the fence, knowing where the ball would land. If I ran while looking back, I wouldn’t be able to run fast enough, so it would be dangerous. Fortunately, the wind was calm, so I was able to find a spot not too far from where the ball would land.

Taat!

“out!”

I don’t know how far I ran from the defensive position, but I ran a considerable distance and got the out. Since it was right in front of the warning track, I could see the spectators’ expressions quite well.

“Why on earth are you with the Cubs?”

What… because the Cubs scouts drafted me?

“Jay, you’re the midfielder we’ve been looking for.”

Well, that’s something fans of other teams often say too.

Whenever they boo, this one is quite sad. It makes people feel embarrassed.

“Hey, are you thinking of getting married soon?”

Marriage? Why all of a sudden?

“Have one son and send him to Pittsburgh. Then I will forgive you.”

“Yes! That’s the only way you can atone!”

“Son! Son! Son!”

… these crazy people. They are all out of their minds.

Read Novel Noblemtl
Read Novel Noblemtl