Chapter 253 – Chapter 251. Stop Ji Maeng-Ho! (2)

“Base on Balls!”

“Ha… Can we continue to compete outside like this? I will run right away.”

“…”

I tried to scratch the catcher somehow in the continued outside game, but the catcher was silent.

‘Chit. Well, it’s a walk, but a walk isn’t bad either.’

An outside game that continues from the first at-bat. In the first at-bat, he touched the ball, but in this at-bat, he waited for a better ball and ended up getting a walk. Of course, a walk wasn’t a bad thing. The front of me was empty, and the score is currently tied at 1:1, so the only thing left to do is to punish the guys who walked out of their minds.

One out 1st base. It’s a very difficult situation to score, but if I run and become a one-out third base, the story is different.

“Are you going to run again?”

As I walked to first base, Jin-mo Koo started talking to me.

“Of course.”

“You have had a history of injuries, so be careful. I just started running when I was young, but I struggled later.”

“You have to run while you are young. I should have stolen about a thousand bases before I get old.”

“When I talk to you, I feel like I am in another world. Units are different units.”

I exchanged a short greeting with Jin-mo Gu and got ready to run. And as soon as the UG pitcher threw the ball, he ran toward second base.

“Safe!”

The result is, of course, three leaves.

“I will run one more time.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you don’t want to be embarrassed, play properly from the next at-bat. … Will you tell me?”

“… Crazy bastard.”

Then he started running towards third base again. The match at third base was close, but my hand went in first by a narrow margin, and I was able to get a three-leaf decision.

Right!

And, taking advantage of Kim Soo-ho’s hit to the center fielder, I was able to step on the home plate more comfortably than before.

‘Is this a turnaround? If this is enough, I won’t insist on playing outside anymore, right?’

“Maengho, it was really good. Did you catch me today?”

“No, they only throw outside to get on base so that they can go out and run, but isn’t it polite to run at this level?”

“I am glad you are on our team. I have no confidence to stop you.”

“Yuncheol senior, I don’t have to block it, so please catch the other runners.”

“Kuhm, great. Grow old too.”

Right!

“Meteorologist Nice!”

While he was talking with his teammates in the dugout, a series of consecutive hits by the weatherman broke out, and the situation became one company, 1st and 2nd base. However, Choi Jin-cheol’s double play ended the third inning, and we were able to enter the fourth inning with a 1-point lead.

*

– HahaEven if you filter out the fierce defense, you will be trained as a stolen base, right?
It’s fucking fast

-Wow, UG these bastards won’t give me a record, they’re fighting so fucking stupidly
ㄴBut still, can’t you stop the fierce warrior?
Who’s going to stop that speed? It seems impossible for a Korean catcher
ㄴIt’s been a day or two since Moon Ki-taek’s stupidity?

– Seeing how you steal bases, I wonder if it will work in the majors.
I think galju speed will work?
ㄴI heard that Maeng-Ho Ji is 4 points and how many seconds goes to first base, but I have to be honest to get a 30% score even if I get a hit.
ㄴIt’s amazing how he’s so good at stealing third base?
ㄴThere is an analysis of this, let’s see (Link)

-The reason Maeng Ho-sin is good at stealing third base = He runs only at the timing of the breaking ball. I looked at all the games in which Ji Maeng-ho stole, but strangely, it only depended on the timing of the breaking ball. To be honest, I thought it was a coincidence at first, but I stole close to 60 bases, but it can’t be a coincidence. It’s probably over the head of the battery, so it’s just obvious what ball to throw. I’m pretty sure it’s got a really good head. And the checks aren’t going well either. Is it like a magician of psychological warfare?
ㄴㄹㅇ Looking at the video, does it only run at the timing of the breaking ball?
Wow, this kid is a real crazy kid. How does a rookie do that?
HahaThis is why you can’t walk Maeng Ho Shin
ㄴHonestly, if you want to, you can do home steel.

-Ha, fuck, I’d rather be beaten than give points like this
ㄴㄹㅇ I feel like I’m being played by Ji Maeng-ho if I allow base stealing and give points.

The public opinion of the operation, which insisted only on the outside to block Ji Maeng-ho, was not very good. The head coach of UG was also unaware of public opinion, but he had a strong sense of uneasiness.

“Is this really the right way? I already dedicated two points.”

“I can’t help it. Since we decided to do this before the game, we have to see the results.”

Coach Moon Ki-taek answered the head coach’s muttering of anxiety.

“Under… 2 points already. Bellingham looks good today, but I’m worried.”

As the head coach said, Bellingham, the AT starter, is giving up 1 run while blocking 3 innings, but he looked quite good today. In particular, the angle of the curve is sharp, and most batters are retreating by striking out. It was a situation where even empty words could not be said to be good.

However, director Moon Ki-taek had a slightly different idea. In September, due to the starters complaining of fatigue, an alternative starter, Song Ho-joon, who was inevitably raised as an extended entry, was appointed, but 2 points against the hard-hitting AT were more than expected.

In particular, considering Ji Maeng-ho, who shows a demonic appearance against pitchers whose velocity is below a certain level, two points was a save.

‘Song Ho-jun’s average velocity is 146. Considering Ji Maeng-ho, who openly beat pitchers with an average velocity of 150 or less, it’s fortunate that he didn’t hit a home run in two consecutive at-bats.’

In addition, Choi Jin-cheol, who came second in the league in home runs after entering the 5th hitter after Maeng-Ho Ji, felt that he was well protected without Maeng-Ho Ji.

‘Huh, considering Choi Jin-cheol’s performance last year, it’s normal for him to be like this. In the meantime, because of Ji Maeng-ho, I had a very difficult match against Choi Jin-cheol.’

Choi Jin-cheol’s performance last year was .23 with 28 homers. I think there are many reasons why Choi Jin-cheol, who everyone said was over, was able to bounce back by hitting 41 homers this season, but the biggest reason Moon Ki-taek felt was the existence of Ji Maeng-ho.

Ji Maeng-ho is a hitter that all pitchers should be wary of and put their soul into each pitch. Of course, after dealing with Ji Maeng-ho, as long as the pitcher is also a human being, he may lose his concentration, and he will not be able to show his true ability because of the runners on the floor. And Choi Jin-cheol was a veteran batter who could aim for such a gap.

The synergy between the two was the key to the AT lineup, but when Ji Maeng-ho came out as number 1, it felt like there was no synergy.

‘Will the batting order return to normal in fall baseball? Lee Soo-hyun, unless he’s an idiot. Well, I’ll think about that later and focus on the game for now. It’s a big win that the match didn’t break out even though I only played the outside ball against Ji Maeng-ho.’

Coach Moon Ki-taek was content with finding positive points even though he was losing. In fact, in the case of a crushing loss to AT, there were many cases where Ji Maeng-ho hit a home run or a timely hit from the beginning of the game and the big inning started, and the composition of the game was broken before he could use his hands. I was satisfied with just what was going on.

‘The question is whether the guard’s mentality will endure…’

Coach Moon Ki-taek took off his catcher equipment and looked at Baek Kyung-ho, who was taking a break in the dugout. In fact, not being able to catch a runner who was openly stealing was a lot of stress. If you are a rookie catcher, it is not strange even if your mentality explodes. Director Moon Ki-taek was slightly worried about Baek Kyung-ho, who always takes on the dirty work.

However, contrary to his worries, Baek Kyung-ho’s expression looked pretty good. A poker face that makes you feel the dignity of a veteran. If the catcher held up like this, it was clear that the replacement starter Song Ho-jun would not be shaken.

‘Today’s game feels good.’

The moment Moon Ki-taek checked the condition of catcher Baek Kyung-ho and turned his head to the ground, second baseman Won Joo-hyuk approached Baek Kyung-ho.

“Hyung, Ji Maeng-ho told me to fight properly? He seemed to be very upset because he kept fighting outside. Hey, I saw that bastard get pissed off too. Are you sure the operation is working today?”

“Okay? What did that bastard say?”

Ji Maeng-ho’s words from his junior. Baek Kyung-ho came to his senses at Won Ju-hyeok’s words.

‘What the hell was that crazy bastard talking about?’

“Did I tell you to fight properly if you don’t want to be embarrassed? Anyway, that was the nuance.”

“… Okay?”

‘Discredit? Maybe that psychopath…’

Baek Kyung-ho quickly thought about what disgrace meant. The first thing I can think of is a torso headbutt at home. After the home collision prevention regulations came into existence, home collisions were eliminated, but it wouldn’t be strange if that psychopath didn’t care about those regulations and would headbutt. When he was a rookie, he broke into a cold sweat remembering that he used his whole body to block big players before there were home collision prevention regulations.

‘If it wasn’t a head-butt, would you hit me with a bat? No, it’s not like that, so are you going to step on me when I’m running to second base?’

Any way you think about it is your own loss. I don’t know if it was a young age when there was nothing to be afraid of, but Baek Kyung-ho, who was at an age where it would be no wonder if he retired once injured, was afraid of Ji Maeng-ho.

‘Housing loan payments, school fees for children, retirement funds… It’s too early to retire.’

And he was afraid that he might retire due to an accidental injury. A house that is still paying off the loan. The first, who is now enrolled in a private high school and is picking up pillars for tutoring, and the second, who is entering elementary school. A foxy wife who is obsessed with stargrams while doing nothing, and even retirement funds after retirement.

Baek Kyung-ho did not want to lose his happy family to be bitten by his madman.

‘It’s not fall baseball, it’s just one game anyway. No, let’s take a break from this series. Our team is not a team that will lose if one of me is missing.’

Resolved, Baek Kyung-ho approached coach Moon Ki-taek, who was watching UG’s attack closely in the beginning of the 4th inning.

“… Director.”

“Yes, guard.”

“I am not feeling very well. It must have been a strange lunch.”

“Okay? What’s wrong? You, a veteran, fail to manage your condition.”

Moon Ki-taek was quite surprised by the words of Baek Kyung-ho, who had never said that there was something wrong with his body. For a silent veteran who always protected the team to say something like this during a game. Even if Baek Kyung-ho’s condition was wrong, it was firmly in the wrong shape.

“Sorry. Director.”

“Okay. I am old, so it must be difficult. I get it. From next inning, I’ll have to play Jeong-Wan. Kim Jeong-wan!”

“Yes, Director.”

At Moon Ki-taek’s call, candidate catcher Kim Jeong-wan ran.

“Get ready for the next inning. The security condition is not good.”

“Yes? Are you a senior guard? All right.”

“Do you know the plan for today?”

“Yes. Thorough outside competition.”

“Yes, it will be difficult, but persevere.”

“All right. Director.”

“Kyung-ho, leave the game to Jeong-wan and rest first. Because managing your condition is important.”

“… Thank you Director.”

‘You can’t ruin your life by being caught by a baseball psycho. I’m sorry to my teammates, but I still don’t know.’

Baek Kyung-ho, who misunderstood Maeng-ho Ji as a baseball-crazy psychopath, was replaced like that, and starting with AT’s attack at the end of the 4th inning, candidate catcher Kim Jeong-wan wore a catcher’s mask and sat at home plate.

And at the end of the 5th inning, when the 2:1 game was maintained, two outs. Ji Maeng-ho stepped into the plate again.