Proof (3)
└No, what is the Wolves manager doing? Why isn't he sending Han Min-woo up there and sending Song Jun-yeol instead? His pitcher management really f*cking sucks --
└I was dumbfounded watching it too lololol. A manager who brings in a 3-point era pitcher while leaving a 1-point era pitcher in the bullpen?? In a situation where even 1 run means we lose? lolololol
└Tbh, if they had held them scoreless with Han Min-woo in the top of the 7th, Myeong Sang-woo wiped them out in the 8th, and Kim Deok-min came out in the 9th, it would've at least gone to extra innings; This basically means the manager gave away Game 1, sigh...
└Lololol the armchair experts are here lol. If you're going to be like that, why don't you be the manager tsk tsk. Couldn't it be that they intentionally gave Han Min-woo a 3-day rest to transition him back to a starter?
└Honestly, I understand how people feel. They've built a sure-win strategy around the Han Min-woo - Myeong Sang-woo - Kim Deok-min line until now. They won seven games that way, but they didn't use that sure-win strategy today and ended up losing, so I think it's natural to feel upset.
└Lololol Is DTD coming out? Aren't they going to drop like a ghost in the second half at this rate? lol
└I came to watch the game in person today, and Han Min-woo not coming out was because of Ryu Hyun-jae. He suddenly grabbed Han Min-woo who was warming up, took him to the bullpen, and made him throw a crazy amount of pitches ㅠ Eventually Han Min-woo couldn't come out ㅠ
└Who is Ryu Hyun-jae?
└Wolves 1st team pitching coach.
└F*ck, no wonder something felt off -- Yeah, if it were a manager with his head screwed on right, there's no way he wouldn't send Han Min-woo out. F*ck, I'm going to go kill Ryu Hyun-jae or whatever his name is.
└??? But can you know this just from going to watch the game? You even know the pitching coach's name?
└Lololololololololololol Come to think of it, aren't you a Wolves official?
└I'm someone who bet on sports today and got wiped out. That's besides the point, I'm looking for party members to go kill Ryu Hyun-jae.
The Wolves, who had built up momentum with a three-game winning streak against the Dolphins.
But in Game 1 against the Gladiators, who possessed the original iron-wall bullpen, they couldn't do anything.
They ultimately failed to catch up to the three-run lead that opened up in the 7th inning.
And Game 2, which started the next day.
To avenge the defeat of Game 1, Chief Coach Kim Young-seung began to actively deploy tactics from the early innings.
"Tell the first base runner to take a larger lead. With the mindset that he'll receive at least four pickoff throws."
"Understood."
"Send a sign to Yoon Je-hyun to take a surprise bunt motion on the first pitch, and then watch the ball as much as possible."
"Yes."
"The opponents will be keeping the fake bunt and slash in mind. So make sure to mention to focus on letting Cho Woo-chan make contact with the ball."
"I'll tell them right away."
Chief Coach Kim Young-seung tried to shake up Baek Ha-jin, who was starting for the Gladiators today.
Kill the starter. It's the most basic strategy in baseball.
Nevertheless, most managers and players find it tricky to attack the starter. In most cases, the pitchers who throw the best on the team take the starting pitcher role.
However, Kim Young-seung was confident.
'Baek Ha-jin has weaknesses in his set position and pickoff moves. He's the type who feels pressured just by seeing a runner looking like they're going to steal.'
While the physical abilities of individual players are important, in baseball, the battle of information and wits is just as important.
Last night, he constantly researched Baek Ha-jin's weaknesses while watching his past games.
As a result, Chief Coach Kim Young-seung knew exactly the strengths and weaknesses of the player named Baek Ha-jin.
'If I just shake his mentality, there's a good enough chance of winning.'
There was a high possibility that an opportunity would arise if they kept shaking him up by not creating situations the opponent liked and only inducing situations he disliked.
However, the opponents were a traditional powerhouse, the strongest team that had defended first place every season.
The situation did not flow according to Kim Young-seung's intentions.
-A pulled hit... Oh! Shortstop Bok Gi-cheol catches it!
-It was a very exquisite defensive shift. As Acting Manager Kim Young-seung pressured them with brilliant moves, Manager Ahn Myeong-su found a way to survive within that.
-It feels like the two managers are playing chess! A high-level masterpiece of a game is unfolding here at Jamsil Stadium today!
In the bottom of the 1st, they caught Yoon Je-hyun's surprise bunt with an infield-in defense, in the 3rd, they countered the fake bunt and slash with a defensive shift, and in the 5th, they gave an intentional walk and ended the inning by getting Moon Cheol-woo to ground into a double play, leading the game in such a manner.
If Game 1 continued with great pitching from both teams' starting pitchers, Game 2 was progressing as a battle of wits between the two managers.
"Damn, they catch that? Aren't the Gladiators kids stealing signs?"
"The ball has no intention of leaving the infield. It keeps getting caught in the Wolves' defensive shift today."
A constant back-and-forth.
However, the goddess of victory ultimately raised the Wolves' hand.
-Struck out looking! Myeong Seok-hoon doesn't swing the bat... Oh, did it hit him? It hit him! Myeong Seok-hoon steps on first base after getting hit by a pitch on the elbow!
-A bloop hit! The second baseman, center fielder, and right fielder all run at the same time... Ah! All three just stare blankly at the ball! Ha Yoon-min with a lucky hit!
-Kang Seong-han with a pulled hit! The wall! The wall! Ah, it hits the top of the wall and bounces back! Meanwhile, the third base runner heads home... The first base runner also comes home! The Wolves extend their lead to 2-0!
-Ah, this run is huge. Manager Ahn Myeong-su's worries will only deepen from here.
The two-run lead that appeared in the bottom of the 6th.
At that moment, the Wolves started up their bullpen.
"Han Min-woo, get ready. It's from the 7th inning."
'Finally, my turn has come.'
At the coach's words, Han Min-woo stood up from the bench to head to the bullpen.
It was then.
"Oooooh...!"
The fans watching the baseball game stirred.
Turning his head, he saw the electronic scoreboard shining on a middle-aged couple.
Han Min-woo let out a chuckle.
-Hahaha, they're here again today. They're the truly famous passionate fan couple of the Gladiators.
-Seeing as they show them as soon as the Gladiators give up a run, the situation is quite subtle.
└(Wolves) Who are those people that they keep showing them since yesterday?
└(Gladiators) You don't know the Half-Rip Couple?
└(Wolves) Half-Rip Couple? Why are they called the Half-Rip Couple?
└(Gladiators) Lololol They're called the Half-Rip Couple because whenever they come to watch a game and the team loses, they rip the players' pictures in half lololol
└(Wolves) The husband? He did look a bit scary yeah
└(Gladiators) Lolololol Surprisingly, the wife is the one who rips them lolololololololol
└(Gladiators) They are the avatars of victory for the Gladiators
└(Gladiators) Lololol They put in effort to win. Ripping (Physical)
└(Gladiators) They even did the ceremonial first pitch last year lololololol The officials were shivering on the mound afraid they'd rip the owner's picture
└(Wolves) No, still, isn't ripping pictures a bit much?
└(Gladiators) It was like that at first, but they always won the next day after they ripped the pictures, so they got super famous lololol Now it's almost become like a superstition lol
└(Gladiators) They're so famousㄷㄷ How crazy is it that even though they're away fans, if you go to the Jamsil Stadium parking lot area, they've prepared a separate place for them to throw away the ripped pictures lololol
└(Gladiators) Still, I'm glad they're our team's fans lololol If they were Wolves fans, how much would the paper cost beㄷㄷ A team that only loses every dayㄷㄷ
└(Wolves) Bullshit?
The Gladiators' dugout.
Jung Tae-woong, who checked the scoreboard, smirked.
"They brought my picture today."
The surrounding players glanced at Jung Tae-woong.
The Gladiators' superfan couple, the Half-Rip Couple.
They are famous for ripping the players' pictures in half every time they come to watch a game at the stadium and the team loses. Since they invariably win the next day after they burn the pictures, it has now solidified into a superstition at the team level.
Because of that, the players now just let it be and watched.
However, on days like today when they brought a picture of a veteran player on the team, the other players couldn't help but be tense.
'We absolutely have to win today.'
'Thank goodness. At least I got one hit today.'
'I'd rather they brought my picture.'
Because if they messed up, the picture with their senior's face on it would be ripped.
"You guys. Are you going to lose this helplessly? Are you going to end up burning Tae-woong sunbaenim's picture?"
"Hey, hey. Don't be like that. My face recognition goes up, so it's good, right?"
"Everyone, let's play a bit harder. The kids who couldn't get a hit, don't sit here and go stand over there with your hands up."
"Should I raise my hands too?"
"Ah, sunbaenim... you should stand with your hands raised too. Didn't I hit a home run yesterday to protect your picture?"
"What? You little punk."
The Gladiators' dugout was filled with laughter.
Seeing that, some smiled, and others burned with determination.
'Very good.'
Manager Ahn Myeong-su nodded his head.
This was exactly the reason why the front office further marketed the Half-Rip Couple's actions.
There was also the improvement in the players' performance, and it wasn't like the Half-Rip Couple were fans who committed any other violent actions besides that.
From then on, the Gladiators' counterattack began.
Smack!
In the top of the 6th, the 9th batter Mok Jeong-gyu hit the 4th pitch of the relief pitcher Kwon Dong-min, creating a falling hit in front of the right fielder.
And the next batter, Bok Gi-cheol, created a ball that whizzed past the third baseman, recording back-to-back hits.
With this, the Wolves fell into a crisis with no outs and runners on 1st and 3rd.
The Wolves fans, who fell into a similar situation to yesterday, cried, and the Gladiators fans cheered.
-Ah, the Wolves change their pitcher here. Kwon Dong-min goes down without being able to get a single out.
-His velocity and the angle of his breaking balls weren't bad. But he had bad luck. No, I should say the Gladiators batters hit it well.
-Hahaha, the Gladiators are gaining strength as soon as those fans appear on the scoreboard. There really must be something there. Oh, they're on the scoreboard again now. Hahahaha.
-Their brightly smiling faces are very nice. Ah, a new pitcher is coming up for the Wolves. It's Han Min-woo.
-He's one of the core bullpens that led the Wolves' rise in the first half. I still wonder why the Dolphins gave up a player of this caliber.
Han Min-woo, who came out of the bullpen and headed to the mound, glanced at the scoreboard.
'Haa...'
The sight of his parents, still wearing the Gladiators' uniform today, entered his eyes.
As if they noticed Han Min-woo's gaze, his father and mother were waving both their arms.
[Ting!]
['Han Min-woo' takes the mound!]
[Since you have taken the mound as a pitcher in an official game where baseball rules apply,
[Since you have taken the mound as a pitcher in an official game where baseball rules apply,
[You have pitched after 4 days.
As he climbed the mound, familiar notification windows scrolled up.
Han Min-woo, who was checking the contents, smirked.
'I didn't think this would activate again.'
Honestly, he thought there would be no more activations of
But perhaps because he ended up pitching after 4 days unintentionally, the special ability was turned on this time as well.
Han Min-woo adjusted his cap as he looked back and forth between his parents sitting in the outfield cheering section and the 2nd batter Kwon Yoo-han stepping into the batter's box.
'I guess I'll have to be a bit unfilial for the first time in a while.'