Became the Problem Child of MLB - Chapter 224



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Episode 224 Visible Moment (3)

Youth is blundering, middle age is struggle, old age is regret (Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881).

Victor Araswell was not the type of person to take to heart the ramblings of famous scholars and writers. However, this passage struck him as soon as he saw it, so he remembered it.

From his days in the minor leagues to his debut in the major leagues and growing into a franchise star for a team, I thought it was a single sentence that perfectly represented his 20-year career as a player.

I had no desire to look back on my youth. It was time that had already passed. I didn’t want to summon the boy with acne scars on his face and face the immaturity of that time again.

The same was true of my middle age, which I spent more combatively than anyone else. Even if I could go back 10 years, I couldn’t have worked harder than that. The outcome of everything in the world is up to heaven. Since I had no shame in the process, I didn’t regret it either.

And exactly one year ago, I was lying in bed, counting the patterns on the ceiling and thinking.

‘This is the old age of my career as a player.’

Arrogant. Terribly arrogant. Not regretting it. He was just a baseball player, not a wise man. He was willing to face any kind of shame again, as long as he could get back on the field.

Now, it didn’t matter how it ended. Whether it was the ending where he was applauding the World Series-winning team from the opposite dugout, or the ending where he was pushed into retirement by fans who slowly lowered their expectations when he appeared at the plate. At least it was a better ending than watching his teammates on TV from his hospital bed.

Now, a year later, Victor Arouswell is back at the plate with his bat in hand.

Today’s starting pitcher is Yandy Franco. I don’t know him well as a person, but he is trustworthy on the field and a role model for young pitchers, including Garlick. That was enough.

Rather than a colleague who is kind to those around him and who is a waste of time on the field, I would rather have a colleague who throws a shutout in the postseason even if he throws his glove in the dugout. This is a fact that cannot be reconsidered. There are already plenty of colleagues who can keep an idler company after retirement.

“JAY! JAY! JAY!”

“MY JAYYYYYYYYY!”

And perhaps, one of those companions, Han Je-yi, was standing at the plate with his back to him.

In the top of the first inning, with two outs and no runners on base, Han Je-yi, who came to bat after the previous two batters had hit a ground ball and struck out, was no different than usual.

After swinging the bat leisurely, he tapped the plate with his foot and spoke to the catcher. When the catcher responded, he smiled and took a batting stance.

He is a character who shows no weaknesses to the point that it seems cruel to the opposing team. You could bet your entire retirement savings on the fact that even the occasional gap he shows is a thoroughly calculated action.

So it wasn’t surprising that I often had thoughts like this.

‘Maybe there is no such thing as youth in that life.’

He was like a soldier who had skipped trial and error and was thrown straight into combat. That was what Victor Arraswell had thought until he had witnessed Hanjei’s uncalculated weakness the day before.

Taaak!

The first pitch was foul. The crowd scrambled to pick up the foul ball, and Hanjei watched them for a moment before returning to the plate.

‘Han Jae-i has a secret.’

His intuition was telling him so. He didn’t know what the secret was, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that Hanje had also been riding the same rough waves as he had.

“strike!”

“cheek!”

“cheek!”

“Foul!”

The batteries were exchanging signs. The pitcher shook his head six or seven times before finally nodding to one sign. His pitching stance was smooth. The ball came out of the pitcher’s hand with power.

Taaaaaaaaaaaaaah-!

The ball stretched out in a cool parabolic arc that made the long meeting seem meaningless.

Ronan Franklin, who the Giants started in the first game, did not even bother to follow the ball with his neck bent. He just looked up at the sky with a dejected expression, as if he had already accepted the result.

The atmosphere in the stadium was a bit strange. Instead of those who were silently gloomy, people sang the happy birthday song excitedly, breaking the silence.

Victor Arouswell headed to the plate, looking out at a crowd of fans chanting his name.

* * *

[SPU TV) CHC 1 VS 0 SF]

-Han Jae-yi solo home run.

-Season 72, distance 140m.

└Yashin! Yaashin! Yaashin! Yaashin! Yaashin! Yaashin! Yaashin! Yaashin!

└Wow

└It was an art of judgment… … .

└Crazy guy… crazy guy… … .

└Hey hey, just how far do you plan on growing!

└Damn, it’s Hanje again. I’m going crazy again. My family will wake up in the morning. I have no choice but to hand wash this. I’ll cry while washing my wet panties. Okay, let’s start the laundry.

└Hyo-nom-chu

└Classic templateㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└Breaking News) While biting a handkerchief at Yakz’s house, he shouted out loud toward the front

└Get rid of the pharmacists!

└Farewell stuffed animal ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ

└If you ask Cubs fans right now, 99% of them would probably agree with the farewellㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└Where did the 1 percent go?

└Missed the voting period while worshipping Hanjei

└Standing ovation is so fucking cool ㅅㅂ

└But what is that guy holding the Taegeukgi in the stands? Why is he like thatㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└Don’t you know OEM?

└It was manufactured in the US, but the capital came from Korea.

└Fuckㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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└This is Han Ki-tak, the 35th generation descendant of the Cheongju Han clan. It was worth praying hard during the Chuseok ancestral rites.

└Oh, deposit seat

└Hanjae, I haven’t seen it like that, but you use cheats. Helping your ancestors is cheating;;

-4th batter Victor Arouswell.

-First pitch hit (153 km/h).

-Double hit in the middle.

└ㅅㅅㅅㅅㅅㅅㅅㅅ

└This is the Cubsㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└San Francisco is sinking! San Francisco is sinking! San Francisco is sinking!

└Baseball is so easy, is this right?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└If something someone else does looks easy, it means they are a fucking expert.

└It’s a famous school that touches the hearts of fans of similar baseball teams… … .

* * *

Top of the fifth. Victor Arouswell scores, the Cubs are leading 2-0. Yandy Franco comes to the mound with his neck cracked. He closes his eyes, and the salty wind from McCovey Bay tickles his cheek.

It was a game where the team’s most wins were at stake. Yandy was purely delighted that he was the pitcher who appeared in this game.

It was a chance to write the Cubs’ greatest record with his own hands. Through the gaps in his closed eyes, he saw his fans cheering and his teammates shedding tears of joy.

“Huh huhu…….”

Yandy, who had pictured them running towards him, smiled with one corner of his mouth raised.

‘It’s a match fit for Yandy.’

Meanwhile, the umpire asked Zimmerman, who was looking at his fingernails at home plate and making excuses.

“Did you fall asleep while standing? Shouldn’t you go and check?”

“…No. I think I’m just taking deep breaths. It won’t take long.”

Anyway, Yandy, who woke up from a hopeful dream, struck out the leadoff batter and roared at the packed stands.

“YANDY!”

“14 left, Yandy!”

“Yandy! Yandy! Yandy!”

The corners of Yandy’s mouth relaxed in a pleased curve. In the stands, there were often fans wearing uniforms of teams other than the Giants and Cubs. It was a part that showed the topicality of the game.

And among the fans watching Yandy’s future rise to become a national star, there was also this person.

Jiing- Jiing-

“Is it time to go to work already?”

An office worker wearing the Hanjei Players uniform, muffler, and headband from last season was seen shoving his smartphone into an anti-theft bag.

If it were normal, I would have been annoyed by the work-related chat that ignored my seniority, but today, I was able to let it go with a generous heart. As she laughed, hehe, hehe, and hoo-hoo, the Cubs fans sitting around her pretended to know her.

“Hey lady, are you a fan of Jay’s?”

“Yes. I liked him since he debuted!”

“We too! Probably everyone here!”

The excited Cubs fans didn’t care about the frowns on the faces of the Giants fans sitting around them. They were just busy giving a thumbs up to the Korean who came all the way to San Francisco to watch the Cubs game and talking about how lovable and great Han Je-yi was and how happy they were because of him.

“Then are you going to watch the final home game?”

“No, I’d like to, but I can’t take that long of a vacation. It’s too far from here to Chicago.”

“That’s true. It’s hard for us to go watch the games because of that huge piece of land.”

In fact, it was an outrageous act to fly over 2,000 miles from Chicago just to watch a baseball game, but the office worker nodded his head in astonishment. He had flown more than twice that distance.

Then, satisfied Cubs fans ordered their own beers and gave some to the office workers too, saying that their hands looked empty.

The office worker, who had been sipping the beer in each hand alternately, was already tipsy when Han Je-yi’s turn at bat finally came.

Hiccup-

Her heart was pounding. Maybe it was because of the alcohol, but she felt like crying a little. She didn’t know if it was because she was so touched to be together at this time and place, or because she was proud of Han Je-yi who was about to set a record, but whatever it was, it was enough reason for her to become emotional.

“Haaaaaahh …

“JAY! JAY! JAY!”

“MY JAYYYYYY!”

As she stood up, crushing an empty plastic cup, and shouted, the surrounding Cubs fans also raised their voices in protest. It was a fervor that made it impossible to sit still.

* * *

In the previous at-bat, I struck out looking on a cutter-type fastball. Maybe that’s why I got a lot of nagging from the older guys before I came up to bat.

He said, “Why did you hold back just now when you can swing the bat with your eyes closed?” and “If you just do 3 full swings, you’ll get at least one.” Oh, Sejai asked to see a bunt home run and got caught by Andy.

Even if we ignore the fact that bunt home runs are meant to be a joke, ‘at least’ one? Does that make sense? That’s why they say that people who know enough are scarier.

The mound that Ronan Franklin left was taken over by left-handed middle reliever Pedro Tyson. He is also a good pitcher. Although he has not been in the game for long, he has grown as the season progresses, and most importantly, he has a strong heart that is not shaken by big games.

This kind of pitcher is a small consolation to managers and coaches. At least it means that there is a low chance of a mental breakdown during the game. Of course, it is not very good news for me as a batter.

“hey.”

“Why, again? What are you trying to say?”

“You’ll thank me after today’s game. Because of me, the pitcher will have improved several levels.”

“…Here it goes again. What are you thanking me for, it’s your dick.”

“Damn it, don’t act up. It makes me sick.”

Instead of the calm pitcher, I felt relieved when I saw the panicked expression on the catcher’s face. What are you looking at? Is this your first time seeing the home run king?

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