Talented FA Catcher - Chapter 298
Only Ranovel
Episode 298 Cheese Steak – 1
#
“Of course, when you come here, you have to eat this cheese steak.”
“Surely you bought it yourself?”
“uh. why? Would you like a bite too?”
Stroud took a bite of the cheese steak with a calm expression and handed it to me.
It was closer to a sandwich than a cheesesteak, but the smell was nice.
No, not this.
“You saw that scene yesterday and still went out? “What if the Phillies fans catch you?”
“are you okay. I heard you liked it because you cursed at Lynch while waiting in line. And if you don’t wear a uniform, you won’t be recognized anyway.”
Well, Stroud stands out because he’s with other players, but it’s hard to think of him as a baseball player when he’s around ordinary people.
And if it’s Arizona, how much interest will the people of Philadelphia have in our team?
Anyway, doing something like that means that Stroud wasn’t intimidated by the hellish sight he saw yesterday.
Why hell?
40,000 Phillies fans wearing red clothes run wild and if that’s not hell, what is?
“Kim, let’s go take a quick break.”
I headed to the bullpen with Stroud, who finished off the remaining cheesesteak in one bite.
Then the Phillies fans welcomed them warmly.
“kid! “This is not school!”
However, unlike Lynch, who finished practice yesterday, Stroud threw all the sounds and threw until the end.
“are you okay?”
“what? “Did you have a bad ball?”
“no. The ball is good. Other than that, are you okay with Phillies fans doing that?”
“Oh, that? “Well, it’s not much different from what Lynch usually says.”
He shrugged his shoulders as if asking what was the problem, but there wasn’t even a trace of tension.
“By any chance is your hometown Philadelphia?”
“no? What a strange sound all of a sudden. Rather, Kim, I think you’re strange?”
And it was ridiculous that he was worried about me.
I suddenly wanted to see Lynch.
For your information, Lynch did not come to the stadium today.
The reason was mental fatigue from yesterday’s game.
“More than that, Kim, since you hit back-to-back home runs yesterday, you’re going to hit three home runs in a row today, right?”
“Then I might not be able to get out of here?”
“I saw yesterday that he criticized the Phillies catcher more than you did?”
“That’s right.”
As a fellow catcher, I sympathized.
But originally, being a catcher is a position that only carries responsibility without pleasure.
“Jim Allen hasn’t even played here for a year or two, so he’ll take care of himself. “Let’s just worry about ourselves.”
“okay. “What is today’s operation?”
“Well, that’s what you’re best at.”
Just insert it in the middle.
Citizens Bank Park is a place where home runs are common, so I’m nervous, but I’ll give it a try.
I learned well from watching the Phillies yesterday what happens if you lead by saying you won’t hit a home run.
After all, Stroud is not a pitcher who will be discouraged by hitting a home run or two.
“So do you want another steak?”
As I say that, I feel like I need to lose my temper a bit.
#
Jim Allen has played for the Phillies for only five years, and yesterday was the worst day of his baseball life.
The problem was the mentality that went out after back-to-back home runs.
Normally, I would have calmly accepted that level of criticism, but the images of fans comparing me to Kim Soo-ho came to mind and I ended up letting go.
After that, insisting on going outside to avoid home runs led to a large number of runs being conceded.
Worse still, the Phillies’ manager was so worried about his mental health that he replaced him right after cleaning time, so the aftereffects were likely to be long.
But Jim Allen sat in the catcher’s box again today, wearing a catcher’s mask.
“If you’re going to lead like yesterday, just get out of there!”
When he came in, boos and criticism poured in as if they had been waiting for him.
When I hear that sound, yesterday comes to mind and my heart starts pounding.
But he soon regained his composure.
‘I was right about my mistake yesterday.’
As a catcher, I couldn’t monitor the pitcher’s condition, and I was stuck in my own thoughts and couldn’t properly understand the opposing batter.
His stake was also high as he gave up a large number of runs after back-to-back home runs.
If the pitcher behind him had been well led, there might not have been a catastrophe like yesterday.
But it has already passed.
‘Fuck. Get ready to cheer.’
Instead of booing like this when you do poorly, Phillies fans respond accordingly when you do well.
I believed it would be the same today, and preparations were completed.
“Play ball!”
The game started with a call from the umpire.
The D-backs’ number one hitter is Kris Bryant.
Yesterday, there was a home run in the first at-bat, but there was no particular activity in the remaining at-bats with only a walk.
On the other hand, George Brady, the Phillies’ starting pitcher, was one of the prospects that the Phillies nurtured with great care.
‘It’s almost ridiculous to compare.’
The problem was, of course, the Phillies fans.
Phillies fans don’t give a damn because he’s a rookie.
But that’s something you can do if you lead it well.
George Brady looked a little anxious on the mound, constantly clenching and unclenching his fist, but the ball was real.
-Whoops!
“strike!”
“That’s it! That’s the lead! “Keep doing that!”
Just one strike brings cheers.
‘Please, always say that.’
Jim Allen swallowed the words right up to his chin and actively took the lead.
“Strike out!”
-Taaaah!
“out!”
As a result, Bryant struck out and McCoy was out.
‘It was a little dangerous.’
If it weren’t for the second baseman’s good defense, he would have faced Kim Su-ho with a runner on base.
In any case, I ended up facing Kim Su-ho in the best situation.
When Kim Soo-ho came to the plate, Jim Allen’s heart pounded.
Although he is not as physically overpowering as other home run hitters, I experienced firsthand yesterday how great the power hidden inside that uniform is.
‘If the count gets too high, let’s send it out even if it means getting criticized.’
We already talked to George Brady before the game.
Still, the first pitch selection was inside the zone.
‘High outside.’
The ball came in on a trajectory that straddles the outside, just as Jim Allen wanted.
However, the ball met Kim Su-ho’s bat, not Jim Allen’s mitt.
-Taaaaagh!
The ball disappeared with a loud noise.
“Foul!”
Fortunately, it went to the outside of the pole and was called a foul, but the sound struck Jim Allen’s heart.
“Uh, uh.”
Yesterday’s nightmare comes to mind.
Suddenly I can’t think of anything to ask for.
To make matters worse, the person on the mound is a rookie pitcher.
Jim Allen’s anxious appearance soon affected the pitcher as well.
As time passed like that.
“cheek!”
The ball was called for a pitch clock violation.
“Alan! what’s the matter!”
A voice came from the Phillies bench as if they were urgently trying to check Jim Allen’s condition.
Fortunately, that shout brought Jim Allen back to his senses.
“Yes, yes! it’s okay!”
While the Phillies manager looked at Jim Allen with suspicious eyes and called the coaches to talk, Jim Allen could barely get the sign out of his blank mind.
This time, the ball goes completely outward.
I don’t know if this was the right choice, but the only thought in Jim Allen’s mind was to let him go.
But Jim Allen wasn’t the only one affected by the foul.
George Brady on the mound was also shaken by the massive foul and the criticism from Phillies fans that sounded like an echo.
‘uh?’
The ball hit the ground instead of outside, and it struck Jim Allen in the neck.
“Queuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
Normally he would have blocked it, but it was impossible for him, who was half sane, to block that ball.
‘Soo, I’m suffocating.’
The impact of the ball hitting his neck and the equipment being tightened so as not to be intrusive when playing defense made it impossible for him to breathe.
Just like that, Jim Allen’s new brother falls down, and a moment later.
Suddenly, Jim Allen lost consciousness with the feeling that something that had been blocked had been cleared.
“Are you out of your mind?”
And the place where he opened his eyes was not the ground, but the hospital.
#
Looking at the results alone, it was a pleasant expedition, but the process was very eventful.
Suddenly, the catcher was hit in the neck by a bounced ball, fainted, and was carried away.
At that time, even Phillies fans could not pour out criticism.
It seems like it was poured out to the changed catcher instead.
Anyway, we won two days in a row by attacking a pitcher who collapsed early on.
Actually, even if it’s just me, I don’t think it will be easy to keep my mentality if the catcher faints from the ball I threw.
They have already achieved 5 wins in 9 consecutive games away to the East, which was expected to be a critical juncture.
I was satisfied with only half a hit, and thanks to that, the team atmosphere was the best.
In this atmosphere, it seemed possible to win all 9 away games.
As I was preparing for the final game of the Phillies away game, Jim Allen, who had passed out yesterday, came to see me.
“thank you.”
“yes?”
“I heard. “I heard you released my equipment?”
“Oh, that?”
When I saw Jim Allen gasping for breath when he fell, I loosened the fasteners on the waist belt and back protector.
I also had a similar experience when blocking, and thanks to that, I was able to quickly recognize what the problem was.
“I don’t remember much about that time, but I do remember that it was painful to breathe. And that it suddenly became easier.”
“Are you feeling okay?”
“Thanks to. “The doctor said that if action had been taken late, there would have been sequelae.”
“thank god.”
“It’s hardly a repayment, but is there anything you want? “If there’s anything I can do, I’ll do it.”
Just by looking at Jim Allen’s eyes, you could tell that he was sincere.
Of course, I couldn’t make an unreasonable request.
I didn’t even have the heart to do it.
I thought about it for a moment, but I couldn’t think of anything else.
“Cheese steak.”
“huh?”
“Would you like to buy me a cheesesteak? “Why should I go alone?”
Stroud probably wouldn’t have been caught, but it was a bit too much for me.
There was some karma(?) I had committed over the past two days and it was a little scary.
But it looked delicious.
Anyway, Jim Allen was embarrassed when he heard what I said, but then laughed out loud.
“Cheese steaks are delicious. Now that we’ve said that, let’s go right away. “I’ll serve you the best cheesesteak.”
I didn’t mean to ask you to go and buy it, I meant to ask you to buy it and bring it to me.
However, I couldn’t stop Jim Allen, who was already excited, and eventually I was led by his hand and arrived at a cheese steak restaurant near the stadium.
And of course, the place was full of Phillies fans.
“Alan?”
“Is it really Alan? hey! “Are you okay!?”
“Thanks for your concern, I’m okay.”
“But who is that Asian next to me?”
“Kim? “Is it really Kim?”
I thought I might not get caught, but since I was next to Jim Allen, I got caught right away.
The atmosphere was about to get strange when Jim Allen shouted.
“Kim said she wanted a Philly cheese steak, so I brought it here!”
“what? “Cheese steak?”
There was a lot of noise, and soon the road opened.
“Go quickly and try it. “It will be the best food you’ve ever eaten!”
It was a bit tiring.
Until just yesterday, when I went to bat, the fans who were booing me like crazy were staring at me intently.
Still, thanks to Jim Allen, I completed my order safely and got my cheese steak.
Now all I have to do is return to the stadium safely.
“for a moment! “Where are you going?”
It has come.
Perhaps tomorrow, there will be a news article saying that Mr. K, the baseball player who was captured by Philigan, has gone missing…
“We have to eat here and talk about it! Basically, you have to eat a Philly cheese steak as soon as it comes out!”
“that’s right! Eat quickly and tell me what you think!”
Uh, um.
Although I overdid it a bit, this reaction was still different.
Every Phillies fan around me is just waiting for me to eat a cheesesteak.
I bit into the cheese steak with more nervousness than when I was at bat, chewing the intense meat seasoned only with cheese, salt, and pepper.
“how is it!? “It’s the best!”
I didn’t know what to say, so I gave a thumbs up.
It was a simple action, but the reaction was the best.
“Of course you know something!”
“I like you! Come to Phillies next year!”
Seeing them cheering for my simple reaction, I can see why Gukbbong YouTubers are doing so well.
This is fun.
“Okay, see you at the stadium!”
As people gathered, Jim Allen hurriedly shouted and ran out of the scene.
That was the end of my first intense cheesesteak experience.
“sorry. “I didn’t know it would turn out like this.”
“no. “It was fun.”
“okay?”
I’ll have to talk to Hayul when I get back to Arizona.
Anyway, now I have received my reward, all I have to do is play well.
“It will be different from the last two games.”
“I will expect.”
I shook hands with Jim Allen and finished eating the remaining cheesesteak.
Hmm, it’s delicious too.