Became the Problem Child of MLB - Chapter 237



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Episode 237 Problematic Typing (5)

There are no ifs in baseball. And there are no absolutes. There is no ace who never gives up a run, and even franchise stars who say they will never leave the team often change teams for various reasons.

In fact, it’s quite natural. Just as no team that made it to the playoffs was confident that Han Je-yi would never hit a home run.

The opponent was too much to be optimistic about the future. As a result, Wrigley Field quickly became a scene of chaos when Han Je-yi scored a run in the first at-bat of Game 1.

And the Giants had been preparing for the game with all this in mind. If you were to assign probabilities to scenarios, it was clearly the most probable scenario. So the Giants bench’s decision that followed wasn’t all that sudden.

-The Giants probably didn’t expect this situation at all. As proof… Yes, as expected. Jay is walking to first base after being intentionally hit by a pitch.

In the bottom of the 3rd, an intentional walk in the second at-bat.

-Jay, who took off his protective gear, is talking to Curtis. What do you think the conversation was between the batter and the catcher?

-Well, I don’t know for sure, but given the nature of the batter, he probably wouldn’t have exchanged greetings with the opposing catcher.

-Haha, you’re so sure.

-Yes. It’s not just his grades that have shown us consistency.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Giants attempted an intentional walk to Hanjei in his third at-bat. It seemed like a pretty successful move, as starting pitcher Ronan Franklin was in good shape and the other Cubs batters couldn’t hit his pitches.

-The Cubs batting lineup, which showed an extremely strong batting sense in the last division series, is unusually quiet today. Could the four-day break have been a poison?

-Well, it’s too early to tell. Rather than saying the batters are bad, I think Ronan Franklin is pitching well.

There is no denying that Han Je-yi is the current star hitter for the Cubs, but other hitters besides him also did their part to achieve 120 wins. As the Cubs have been competing with the cohesion of their batting lineup, it is clear that the decision to intentionally walk Han Je-yi was a bad thing.

But, strangely enough, as time went by, the expressions on the Cubs players’ faces brightened, while the mood on the Giants’ bench, which had succeeded in its strategy, became increasingly darker.

Taaah!

“out!”

A high-flying ball into the outfield. Han Je-yi, who took two steps back, easily handled the ball, and Yandy, who watched the whole process, picked up his rosin bag and walked to the dugout. He consciously took each step slowly.

“YANDY!”

“YANDY!”

“I love you, Yandy!”

“Thank you for coming to our team!”

“Hey, listen carefully! You are a blessing to us just by existing!”

“You know? Phyllis will regret letting you go in 20 years!”

It was giving the audience time to say what they had been unable to say. He barely managed to keep his expressionless face, but it was hard to contain his joy. The corners of Yandy’s mouth trembled as he crossed the threshold of the dugout.

In the bottom of the seventh, unlike the Giants who had already activated their bullpen, the Cubs’ mound didn’t seem to be changing for the next inning. Manager Sean Tillaherty approached Yandy Franco and pointed to a phone installed in the dugout.

“Should I call and ask everyone to come up except Dennis?”

It was a story about bullpen pitchers warming up in the indoor bullpen. It was a joke-like display of the trust a manager has in his starting pitchers.

And Yandi answered firmly to that belief.

“No, I think it would be better if Dennis came up too.”

He also has no intention of handing over the mound to closer Dennis Washington. Manager Sean Tillaherty laughed quietly as Yandy showed his strong determination to take responsibility for the game until the end.

Ultimately, the final decision on everything is made by the coach. The player’s opinion is rarely reflected in that decision, but Yandy’s case was different.

“Are you confident you can finish it within 20 minutes?”

“Of course.”

As Yandy answered curiously, Casey Martinez slyly muttered to herself out loud.

“Hmm. Maybe we don’t need to go as far as Hit for the Cycle?”

“Hoo, it’s not that I can’t hit, it’s that I don’t want to hit?”

“Yeah. You need to save up your strength on days like this so you can fly tomorrow.”

“It feels like my mouth is still flying…….”

A walk was all Casey Martinez had today, let alone a hit for the cycle, but it was still okay.

“Strike! Out!”

Because the Cubs needed just two runs to win Game 1 of the Championship Series.

* * *

It was a day in mid-October, with a cool breeze and a cloudless sky clearly indicating autumn. Around this time, Cubs fans were feeling a little strange.

Fans who were intoxicated by the overwhelming victory in the first game returned to the stadium the next day and began to add their comments while sitting in the stands.

“I had a thought while watching the game yesterday, I’m so glad Jay showed up at this time.”

“What is this time period?”

“It means that the team was structurally sound at the time without any major holes.”

The ace of a weak team, and the youngest of the family, is always lonely. However, the players and fans are only looking at him, and the burden he carries is too great for him to express his loneliness.

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Fans who have such an ace also feel uncomfortable. Half of them think that they have a player who is not fit for the team. And the other half thinks, ‘Why now?’

So, the complaints from Cubs fans in the stands that day had to be seen as happy grumbling.

“Fuck you! What kind of pitcher is a pitcher who can’t even throw a strike!”

“Coward! Idiot! Useless brat!”

“Why on earth are there intentional walks in baseball?”

Han Je-yi was still the target of the Giants’ concentration in Game 2. In his first at-bat, he walked a pitch that was almost intentional. Then in his second at-bat, he threw a quick intentional walk that left no room for reconsideration.

“Maybe it’s Jay’s problem. So you should have done a little better.”

“Couldn’t you have hidden your skills a little? Like deliberately swinging and missing?”

They didn’t even realize that they were spouting nonsense. They were just filled with regret at not being able to see the exciting swing of their beloved rookie.

* * *

The regular season and the playoffs are essentially the same in that they are both baseball games, but they are different in many ways. In the regular season, you need to be confident that if you don’t do it today, you can make it up tomorrow, but in this period, you have to approach every game with the mindset that it’s your last.

It’s an all-out war, so to speak. And the all-out war that the Giants have put me through for two seasons may be a mechanical automatic intentional walk to me.

“Still, it’s not an easy decision.”

I nodded slightly at the words of the first base operations coach who handed me the base running gloves.

No matter how bad their matchup has been against me, I didn’t expect the Giants’ first and second starters to meekly accept an intentional walk order. If I had to guess, I’d say it means they’re desperate for a win.

‘No individual is better than the team.’

It’s a famous phrase among fans of team sports. Well, in fact, our fans sometimes change that phrase and use it as they please.

‘There are players who are greater than their team.’

It’s usually a little embarrassing to hear that, but baseball is a team sport.

Even the ace of a team sometimes has to compromise his opinion for the sake of the team, and even if he wants to hit a home run, he has to hold the bat short and go to the plate to plan his strategy.

And I sent a signal to Sezai, who was waiting for instructions at second base.

‘Double steal.’

The opponent can intentionally try to walk the batter. They are doing their best from their perspective. So we have to take their soul out of them so they can’t do their best.

The manager seemed to have had similar thoughts to me. Victor blinked after receiving a sign from the bench at the plate. It meant he understood the plan. Then it was time to get busy and move his body.

Double steals are a little different from regular steals. When stealing alone, you try to increase your lead as much as possible and upset the opposing pitcher.

However, when trying to steal at the same time as a runner on second base, you must act calmly as if you have no intention of stealing at all.

“cheek!”

Now that the double steal sign is on, Victor won’t swing unless it’s a perfect pitch. If he hits a triple play in the Championship Series… … .

Hmm. Just thinking about it gives me the creeps. Maybe even ‘that’ Victor would have to hide in the back alley to get off work.

“strike!”

The fastball landed exquisitely in the upper part of the strike zone. Victor seemed dissatisfied with the decision, but he didn’t show it. Blaming the machine would only bring ridicule from the media.

Anyway, considering that we were in the same league as Ronan Franklin, we met quite often. We met three times in just two years.

This means that we know enough about each other to know everything about each other.

If he gets a strike with a high-seam fastball, he’ll likely throw a big changeup next. It’s hard to say for sure, but that’s just how baseball is. Nothing is 100% certain.

If you have just a little bit of possibility and the ability to execute it, you should go all-in on it.

Ronan Franklin winded up like he had no intention of a double steal. It could be because I haven’t stolen bases in recent games, or it could be because he thought the middle of the order would not take a gamble like a double steal.

If the opponent lets their guard down, we’ll be grateful. Sezai and I exchanged signals and ran toward the next base at the same time.

“cheek!”

I didn’t have time to listen to the umpire’s call on the ball. At this moment, all I had to look at was second base.

“Safe!”

The ball the pitcher threw flew right in front of Victor’s nose and crashed into the ground, and neither the home plate umpire nor the third base umpire raised their fists.

It was perfect timing, I thought. I could hear Sezai squirming on third base, the fans cheering, and the players yelling in the dugout.

He stood up, dusting off the dirt from his uniform. Then he signaled to Sejay, who had received instructions from the dugout.

“Are you trying to steal a home?”

“Do you want it? If you want, I can show you.”

The Giants second baseman finally shut his mouth. Those guys are always like that. They must be single-celled animals. They come to their senses every time after being hit.

A home steal in the playoffs would have killed the Giants’ momentum, but unfortunately that didn’t happen.

Taaaaaaaah!

“See? You ignorant little kids! This is a veteran!”

Victor, who had run around the bases with great pride and stepped onto home plate, put his hands on his hips and shouted.

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