Chapter 230 – Chapter 228. What Are These Bastards Doing Today? (2)

“What, why did you fail to steal?”

When I entered the dugout, the weatherman spoke first. Maybe I’m saying this because I’m afraid I’ll be shaken by a base steal failure.

“Seniors.”

When I called for the weatherman in a serious voice, the weatherman’s face, which had a mischievous expression to lighten my mood, also became serious.

“What?”

“Are those bastards a little weird today?”

“… As expected, it was a bit strange starting from the at-bat for some reason.”

“Did you feel it too?”

“I didn’t say anything because I was afraid you would die, but you don’t seem to be particularly downhearted?”

It seemed that the weatherman was also noticing the strange air currents. Well, there’s jjambab, but I’m not blind, so there’s no way I won’t notice.

“Ah, am I going to faint at this level?”

“Well, you are not that kind of character. So, is that why you withdrew one hand when stealing bases?”

“Yes.”

“Under… These guys…”

“Senior. Can I do whatever I want?”

“Once, when Kwan-hyung comes in.”

“All right.”

The reason I said yes was simple. Woo Kwan-hyung was quite a gentleman, but he wasn’t one to stand still when a colleague was suffering like this.

Right!

Choi Jin-cheol’s batted ball flew far, and the left fielder couldn’t catch it. As Choi Jin-cheol went to second base, his annoyance came to the fore.

‘Fuck, if I wasn’t out, I’d have followed him.’

If I had known those bastards would come out like this, I would have gone into the Bentleg sliding (leg first sliding) instead of head first sliding (sliding where the legs enter first) and shot them with spikes. I was too complacent.

“Swing Strike Out!”

And unfortunately, Woo Kwan-hyung failed to save the chance of 1st out and 2nd base and struck out and withdrew.

“Brother. Wait this way.”

The weather manager approached Woo Kwan-hyung entering the dugout and led him to the dugout aisle that was not caught on camera. After a short time passed, Woo Kwan-hyung’s expression, which returned to the dugout, looked quite angry. And Woo Kwan-hyung, with an angry expression, started talking to the director.

“Somehow, Kim Seong-gyeol isn’t the kind of guy to do that, but he put it toward his body like that…”

“Perhaps he was trying to discourage him and make him shrink.”

“I can’t just be suffering. Tell Yoongi.”

“All right.”

Today’s starting pitcher is Jang Yoon. And in this situation, there was only one thing to say. Retaliation right away. Baseball is a pretty camaraderie sport, and it’s not about standing still when a teammate could get hurt.

Right!

“Nice!”

“Seongtae! It was good!”

Yoon Seong-tae’s timely hit that happened just in time. It even created a situation where it was easy for Jang Yoon to throw a retaliatory pitch.

‘Are you going to finish with that?’

Rossby, who grasped the situation, spoke with regret. A tone that subtly urges me on.

‘No? Are you saying I’m crazy? Retaliation is retaliation, and we have to show who we offended.’

And I didn’t particularly hate Rosby’s impulsiveness. As Rossby said, it was not a good calculation to end with retaliatory measures. In this situation, if it ends at the level of retaliation, it is obvious that there will be many cubs who want to dip me in future matches, so I had to let them know that I am not easygoing.

“It was good.”

“Now, let’s reverse slowly.”

“Gather together for a moment.”

“Seniors… ?”

When the innings were over and all the players gathered, Woo Kwan-hyung called them together.

“Did you guys see the fierce tiger at bat earlier?”

“Yes. Your sanctity has been shaken a bit, right?”

“Will such a bastard get his first ball from my at-bat? I also saw it in the waiting at-bat, but I thought something was strange.”

Choi Jin-cheol, who was watching my at-bat in the standby at-bat, added a word to Woo Kwan-hyung’s words.

“Have you ever seen a fierce tiger steal a base? Those bastards, it seems like they came out looking for a fierce tiger today. All of you, be prepared.”

“… All right.”

The atmosphere of the team, which was slightly excited as they caught up with Woo Kwan-hyung’s words in a tie, became cold.

“And if Won Joo-hyuk comes out this inning… Do you know what I mean, Yoon Chul-ah?”

“Okay.”

Won Joo-hyeok was the second baseman of UG who aimed at me when I was stealing base. If you catch the two batters coming out at the end of the second inning, Won Joo-hyuk will be at bat with two outs, and if that happens, it was a perfect situation to throw a retaliatory pitch.

“Then go and show us what happens when you mess with our team.”

Sometimes the words of the same player communicated better than the words of the coach, and the effect would be greater if the player who said that was a player who was the mental support of the team. Just like now Looking around, it seemed that the other players were also on fire.

Besides, the players who made eye contact with me looked at me and nodded once or patted my shoulder.

‘Cheeks, they searched.’

Receiving such unspoken encouragement, I made up my mind.

*

[Player Jang Yoon, you gave up 1 point at the end of the first inning, but you look good, right? I catch a two-out lightly.]

[Jang Yoon, transferred to AT Thunders through free agency, has definitely improved from this season. As much as he uses Jamsil as his home stadium, he can throw the ball boldly, and it feels like the effect continues on the away side.]

[That’s right. It can be said that the player who clearly has a large stake in AT’s good performance is Jang Yoon. Now, UG’s 8th hitter, 2nd baseman Won Joo-hyuk, steps in.]

‘Write. It can’t be helped.’

When Won Joo-hyeok entered the plate, Jang Yoon, who was on the mound, took a deep breath.

In fact, Zhang Yun didn’t like the current situation. To Jang-yoon, UG Overlords was his family’s team that he had been in for 8 years, and the players of UG were colleagues who cried and laughed together, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t stop throwing retaliatory gear.

Because it was the role of the pitcher standing on the mound to make the same threat if a teammate was threatened.

‘Of course, this happened during my game…’

Jang Yoon, who had bowed his head in his apologetic heart, grabbed his heart and raised his head. Then, Won Joo-hyuk, who entered the plate, met his eyes. Seeing Jang Yoon’s cold eyes, Won Joo-hyeok shook his head slowly.

‘Brother, isn’t it?’

A conversation through the eyes. Jang Yoon of Poker Face didn’t answer anything, but that was enough.

“Fuck…”

Won Joo-hyeok spat out a low curse. And as expected, the ball flew towards the body.

“Cheek.”

“Sorry, the body was deep.”

Jung Yun-cheol’s dry tone, wearing a catcher’s mask. Won Ju-hyeok, who has been playing baseball since elementary school, instinctively realized that this situation would not end until he was hit by a ball. And Jang Yoon’s second ball was thrown.

Puck!

“Ugh.”

Won Joo-hyeok accepted the ball with resignation at the ball coming towards his hip.

[Did Jang Yoon catch two outs and lose control? Here comes the ball that fits your body. Now the runner is two out on first base.]

[Player Jang Yoon, you have to concentrate until the end.]

“Let’s play fair. Fair play.”

When Won Ju-hyeok arrived at first base, Choi Jin-cheol muttered, covering his mouth with a glove.

‘Fuck, I must have noticed.’

From Beanball to Jincheol Choi. It seemed that all the AT players noticed that they were aiming for Ji Maeng-Ho today. Now, just when he feels he has to be careful, he signals from the dugout to put in a large runner.

“Yes?”

“Replacing the main runner, Kim Ki-bum.”

“Me?”

“Yes, come with me.”

He got hit by a beanball, but it hurt his butt and didn’t affect his playing, but he was replaced. Won Joo-hyuk walked into the dugout with a curious mind.

“Coach, I’m fine…”

He opened his mouth to tell the director that he was fine, but Won Joo-hyuk had no choice but to close his mouth. Because director Moon Ki-taek’s eyes were unusual.

“What are you doing.”

And the director’s ice-cold words fell.

“… Yes?”

“What are you doing? From defense.”

“…”

“Are you kidding? What did I say before the game started?”

“… Make sure you don’t look down on us.”

“But what is your play? Did you think I wouldn’t notice even on defense? You threw the pitcher’s sacrifice on the ground. Do you know huh?”

At Moon Ki-taek’s words, Won Ju-hyeok bit his lip. Because what Moon Ki-taek said was true. If Won Joo-hyeok put his mind to it, he was in a situation where he could injure Ji Maeng-ho. But at that moment, his heart was shaken and he couldn’t see the end.

“And that play just… If I was right, I should have run. 내가 경기 전에 비루먹은 개새끼처럼 꼬리말고 도망치라고 말했었나? Huh?”

“… No.”

“Listen up everyone! Speak now, coward not ready for war. I’ll let you rest. Any bastards who want to rest more?”

“…”

“Doesn’t exist.”

“Won Joo-hyuk.”

“… Yes, Director.”

“You get off work today. I don’t need cowards on my team today.”

“… Sorry.”

Won Joo-hyeok hung his head and walked out of the dugout. Of course, he didn’t really go to work. Because in this situation, he wasn’t an idiot to get off work.

“This is your last chance. You bastard who isn’t ready to fight, speak up now. Is there?”

“Doesn’t exist!”

As Won Joo-hyuk left the dugout, the UG players, who had cooled slightly, began to burn again. As the two teams engaged in a strange battle of nerves, the innings went by without a score, with all players maintaining maximum concentration, and Ji Maeng-ho returned to bat in the top of the 4th inning.

“Oh, I want to hit a home run.”

Ji Maeng-ho, who smiles brightly, and UG’s battery with a hardened face. Ji Maeng-ho didn’t care about the atmosphere and spoke to UG’s catcher, Baek Kyung-ho.

“In literature, it’s a loss if you don’t hit a home run. Right?”

“Take it off right away.”

Baek Kyung-ho gritted his teeth and said, but Ji Maeng-ho did not know how to stop. Ji Maeng-ho smiled and pointed his bat at the left wall.

“I’ll pass it to the left fence. OK?”

[Uh… ! Out! Ji Maeng-ho’s announced home run! Ji Maeng-ho’s notice home run, which boasts a 100% hit rate so far, is now out!]

[Maengho Ji, it means you have the confidence to hit a home run! It seems that the analysis of Kim Seong-gyeol is all over!]

“Ha, this bastard is going crazy.”

“That’s what’s crazy.”

“Okay, let’s see how long you’re giggling.”

To Baek Kyung-ho, Ji Maeng-ho has been an offspring that he did not like since he was selected for the national team and practiced.

‘You ungrateful bastard. A bastard like this who doesn’t know respect for his seniors deserves to be hurt.’

That’s why he didn’t have any hesitation in asking for a beanball. He was just a threat in the previous at-bat, but not this one.

‘Holiness, insert one toward your body.’

Kim Seong-gyeol winded up, and the ball was thrown toward Ji Maeng-ho’s body. And Ji Maeng-ho swung the bat without blinking at the ball coming toward him.

Puck!

“Aaaaagh!”

It’s also slower and louder than usual. As soon as the ball hit Maeng-Ho Ji’s body, Maeng-Ho Ji’s chest turned so loudly that it almost headed toward third base, and a scream rang through the stadium. And that scream was not Ji Maeng-ho’s.

[Uh, huh? Ji Maeng-ho, even though he was hit, his swing was, ah! The tip of the bat on the catcher’s arm… ! Player Baek Kyung-ho collapses!]

[Ah, Maeng-Ho Ji, even though he was hit by the ball, he kept his swing until the end, but his follow-up swing was too big, probably because he was too conscious of the home run. Baek Kyung-ho, you shouldn’t have been hurt. Fortunately, Ji Maeng-ho looks fine even though he was hit by the ball.]

The tip of Ji Maeng-ho’s bat hit Baek Kyung-ho’s arm, and Baek Kyung-ho screamed as he collapsed, grabbing his elbow.

“… Strike.”

“Eh? Hit by the ball, is it a strike? Isn’t this a buy? Wow.”

And Ji Maeng-ho spat on the ground without looking at the fallen catcher, appealing for sand dunes.

Ji Maeng-ho, who appealed for the sand dunes without showing any signs of pain even after being hit by a ball in the mid-to-late 140 range on his stomach, and Baek Kyung-ho, who rolled on the home plate clutching his elbows, contrasted with each other.

Ji Maeng-ho’s gaze turned to Baek Kyung-ho, who was rolling on the floor.

“Oh, did you get hit by a bat? Sorry. The ball was so good that I swung it even though it hit me.”

Unfortunately, Ji Maeng-ho’s insipid apology was not heard by Baek Kyung-ho, who was screaming and rolling on the ground holding his elbows.