Chapter 360 – Episode 352. Fall of a Dynasty? (4)

‘Please, please. ‘Don’t run.’

Baek Kyung-ho prayed earnestly when he saw Ji Maeng-ho standing on third base. And the batted ball comes down slowly. To Baek Kyung-ho, each second felt like an hour. And when Choi Jae-hyeon caught the batting ball,

“Run!”

I heard someone shouting. At that shout, Baek Kyung-ho glanced at third base. The image of Ji Maeng-ho at third base is getting bigger.

What Baek Kyung-ho felt was terrifying about Ji Maeng-ho was not his home run or his base running ability that allowed him to steal a base at any time. The absence of a spirit of partnership seems to be missing somewhere. I knew that this guy was a guy who could hit the catcher with a bat or break his ankle with a spike if he didn’t like it,

… Baek Kyung-ho seemed to have his own future drawn out. And for a brief moment, what he experienced in the past passes by like a flash of light.

Before home collision prevention laws were created, there was a time when blocking runners at home was a prerequisite for a good catcher. And Baek Kyung-ho started his career at that time. It was common for him to stop a runner at home without sacrificing his body.

And I remember some runners who were difficult to block at home back then. In particular, I remembered the foreign hitters who existed even during the trend of hiring only pitchers as mercenaries before the foreign regulations were changed.

At that time, the few foreign hitters were all aiming for home runs, and some of them were at a level that made you wonder if they were human beings. Baek Kyung-ho had blocked many such batters, but he was more scared of Ji Maeng-ho, who was aiming for home now, than back then.

‘Fuck… !’

But there was no time to look at it. He had to check Choi Jae-hyeon’s throw. The ball has already left Choi Jae-hyeon’s hand and is getting closer to home. Although he knew he shouldn’t do this, Baek Kyung-ho prayed that Choi Jae-hyun’s throw would miss.

However, as Choi Jae-hyun boasts of the best defense in the country, Choi Jae-hyun’s throw was coming straight to home. A perfect throw that can only be made after countless hours of practice. Choi Jae-hyun’s throw heads to home plate.

Choi Jae-hyeon’s apology is delivered to your home like a courier. If this happens, he can’t avoid it. I wanted to dodge my body and tag with only my arms, but Baek Kyung-ho, a veteran catcher who has caught tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands, of balls at home instinctively knew that a throw of this size would not be subject to the home collision prevention law even if he stayed still. Br〉

Now that things are like this, we have to compete with Ji Maeng-ho, who runs towards home like a wild boar.

‘Please, you’re good at sliding. ‘Slide to avoid it!’

Phut! A heavy sensation felt from the mitt along with the sound. Baek Kyung-ho’s body, which has been trained for decades, rejects the will of its owner and turns around. And the shape of the beast before my eyes. And the nightmare of an emerging Korean series. Even then, when he bumped into Ji Meng-ho and thought he had lost consciousness for a few seconds,

“Ugh!”

Ji Maeng-ho attacks him like a four-legged animal. The world goes dark for a moment with the sensation of hitting something.

[Choi Jae-hoon’s apology! Baek Kyung-ho caught it! Ji Maengho! I threw myself… !]

‘Huh?’

And the familiar sky of Munhak Stadium.

‘Ah. Was it a daytime game today? ?’

But the pain I expected didn’t come. … I thought that for a moment.

“Ugh, fuck.”

A heavy pain rising from his back enveloped Baek Kyung-ho’s entire body. Baek Kyung-ho just lay down without even thinking about raising his mitt to check the ball to the referee. And he is a shadow cast upon himself.

“Oh, there’s a ball out there? “It’s three leaves, right?”

Ji Maeng-ho shakes the dirt off his uniform and looks at the referee. We obviously collided together, but Ji Maeng-ho looked very fine.

‘Normally, if this is the case, shouldn’t the runner also roll around?’

The referee couldn’t hide his bewilderment when he saw that. Normally, when a runner and a fielder collide like this, the person who collided would also end up rolling around. But Ji Maeng-ho looked very fine.

‘It looks like he hit me from the shoulder, right? It was so bad that people flew away, but they were so fine… ?’

“It’s three leaves, right?”

“… Safe!”

But he couldn’t continue to be embarrassed. Because Ji Maeng-ho was looking at him from the side and putting pressure on him.

‘Uh, uh. This bastard…, A person was injured…’

Baek Kyung-ho tried to say something to Ji Meng-ho’s calm words, but he could not open his mouth because of the pain he felt all over his body. He had a hard time breathing and couldn’t speak properly.

“Ambulance! Ambulance!”

And people flocking around. Although he couldn’t see it clearly in Baek Kyung-ho’s eyes, he was a coach and trainer.

“Uh? Are you hurt again? Senior! Senior! Are you okay?”

And Ji Maeng-ho, who was embarrassed by that sight, started calling out ‘senior’ over and over again.

‘What, why are you pretending to be in pain when you’ve been hit this hard?’

I think there was a similar situation last year… It didn’t take long for Ji Maeng-ho to come up with this idea.

‘Wow, it’s a fun band, but it’s a shame my body is weak.’

Although he was worried, there was nothing he could do, so Ji Maeng-ho turned around and returned to the dugout and began to enjoy the first goal.

“Guard! It’s security! Are you okay? “Can you walk?”

“Eww… Eww. Yeah, it’s kind of okay…”

Pain felt near the ribs as soon as the mouth is opened.

“Baek Kyung-ho!”

Baek Kyung-ho, who stood up and stumbled, had no choice but to sit down again due to the pain he felt in his ribs, and in the end he had no choice but to lie down on the transport bed.

‘Fuck, I told you I wouldn’t go out because of this…’

As he watches the ambulance door close, all Baek Kyung-ho can do is resent the battery coach who selected him as the starter for this game.

Ji Maeng-ho may have felt resentful, but Baek Kyung-ho did not hold any resentment toward Ji Maeng-ho. It was no use blaming the Earth for a landslide, typhoon, or tsunami. If you encounter a natural disaster, you must avoid it.

Kyung-Ho Baek tried to avoid a natural disaster, and because of his battery coach, he ended up wearing a catcher’s mask. So he just blamed the battery coach who put the catcher’s mask on him.

“City… Feet.”

“You can’t talk now! Stability! Stability!”

‘Honey…’

And Baek Kyung-ho shed a tear as he thought of his wife who was watching the game at home.

*

-Player replacement, catcher, Park Seung-jun. Catcher, Park Seung-jun.

The announcer’s words echo in the hall. In the end, will it be replaced?

‘Wow, how can you be a catcher when you’re that weak?’

‘That’s right. In our time, there was no protective equipment, and there were no weaklings who fell to the ground after being hit once.’

‘I see. People must have fighting spirit. I thought it was fun, but it’s that guy again.’

Honestly, would a person be carried away after being hit that hard? I don’t think it makes sense. Right now, I’m fine too. Normally, in a collision like this, the person running away would get hurt. But I’m fine and the catcher wearing a protector is injured?

There was one reason.

‘Just pretend to be sick. As expected, it was right for me to avoid it because I was scared.’

Since it was a situation that couldn’t be explained unless they were avoiding me, all my worries disappeared.

“But they are being cowardly too.”

“Huh, suddenly? What does that mean?”

Baek Jeong-jin, who was listening next to me, reacted to my self-talk. Seeing that they didn’t understand what I was saying at all, it seemed like their strategy worked.

“That’s right. “Aren’t you trying to make my heart heavy by pretending to be sick when it doesn’t really hurt?”

“…”

“Jeongjin, you think so too, right?”

“… Is that so?”

“Otherwise, why would you pretend to be carried away like that? Honestly, someone is wearing protective gear.”

“Is that so?”

“Hey, Baek Jeong-jin. Why are you listening to all his bullshit?”

“Do you know that if Sangju senior had hit deeper in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened? “I just felt uneasy for no reason.”

“Yes, it’s all my fault.”

While I was talking with my team members, the cheerful sound of the ball resounded again. However, the top of the first inning ended when Yoon Seong-tae, who came to bat later, struck out. In the bottom of the first inning, UG’s offense failed to score, although one batter got on base, and the score gap was maintained in the second inning.

And my second at-bat came with one out.

“Ball.”

“… “Isn’t it too deep?”

Kim Seong-gyeol’s first pitch landed near his armpit. Even though the umpire was complaining about the ball being thrown too close to his body, the catcher paid no heed and returned the ball to the pitcher.

‘This bastard.’

“I know what you’re thinking, but let’s do it in moderation. Seungjun. “Isn’t there one more catcher in the entry?”

I know what you’re thinking. Since Baek Kyung-ho is injured, he must be thinking of throwing Bo Bok-gu. If I had made a real mistake, they could have tolerated it, but not in this case. It was Baek Kyung-ho’s fault and Gyeong-gi-ju’s fault for not sending the ball farther, but I had no reason to endure it.

“What are you talking about? “I just lack control.”

Ha, that sound doesn’t even work.

“Kim Seong-gyeol lacks command control? I have to say something that makes sense. I really can’t stand it if I’m stuck in this position one more time.”

“The little cub spoke informally and made a squeak.”

“The old bastard spoke informally and made a squeak.”

“Stop, stop. “If we fight anymore, we’ll both be kicked out.”

“… I understand.”

“Eh.”

After the referee’s warning, home plate becomes quiet. And Rossby’s voice breaks the silence.

‘It’s a fastball.’

‘Okay.’

After the threat ball, it’s another fastball. It seemed as if the catcher’s thoughts were being read. I’m annoyed that I received a warning, and it feels like I’m going to intentionally throw one more time to claim that the first pitch isn’t a threat?

‘Right, Mr. Rossby?’

‘Hehe, well?’

Rossby’s answer somehow seemed to confirm my feelings.

“Time!”

Feeling like the ball was going to fly towards me, I called out time and swung the bat a few times outside the batter’s box. He then comes back to bat, slightly further away from home plate than before. After that, he timed the inside ball with the mindset that he would get a strike if it wasn’t an inside ball.

And the second ball flies in.

‘Of course!’

As I expected, the pitcher’s pitch flies toward the body. Since I had already guessed it, all that was left was to swing the bat.

Ta – Aak!

I felt a heavy sensation in my hands, but after swinging to the end, I threw the bat.

“Ha, did I look like a dick? “I just read everything.”

“… This, this.”

I’m making fun of something that’s nothing. As expected, it felt good to walk to first base, leaving the embarrassed catcher behind.

*

-AT Thunders winning series confirmed!

… With Ji Maeng-ho’s performance, AT won 5:3 over UG. … Meanwhile, in an interview with the decorated player, Ji Maeng-ho said about Baek Kyung-ho, who was taken out due to injury in the first inning, “I want to quickly return to the field and compete again. He left a message of support, saying, “Senior, fighting!” … Meanwhile, with heavy rain forecast nationwide for Sunday’s game, there is a growing possibility that the match between AT and UG that took place in Munhak will end in a win for AT.

Wow~! Let’s rise to first place! 0.5 game kick!

ㄴJi Maeng-ho, why is this bastard not doing anything lol ㄹㅇ Geumgangbulgoe

ㄴWasn’t Baek Kyung-ho also taken out of last year’s Korean Series?

ㄴㅇㅅㅁㅎㅅ

ㄴㄴㄴ, maybe because it’s Munhak, there’s 1 home run per game haha. I wish we played in Munhak all the time. I think Ji Maeng-ho will surpass 100 home runs haha

Ah, UG, I should put it on while I’m fucking, but it’s raining tomorrow

-‘Home collision’ Baek Kyung-ho, suspected of microfracture. A re-examination is planned in a week. “I plan to take a break.”

… Baek Kyung-ho, who collided with third base runner Ji Maeng-ho during an outfield fly situation in the first inning, was diagnosed with a microfracture in his ribs. Baek Kyung-ho, who plans to undergo a thorough examination in a week, plans to take a break after his entry is canceled. … Meanwhile, Baek Kyung-ho showed his warm spirit of partnership by making a protective statement toward his young protégé, saying, ‘It’s not Ji Meng-ho’s fault.’ …

What is it? Why is it fractured? Didn’t people bump into each other?

When I turned it around, it seemed like the arm was open and the part without protection collided, so I just pity Baek Kyung-ho haha

ㄴI hope to give birth soon…

Are you having a baby?

ㄴPoor Baek Kyung-hoㅠ

ㄴFor some reason, it was unusual when we collided. I think Ji Maeng-ho should be careful of this kind of play.

No? Was it a normal play with a runner on third base on an outfield fly? If you’re scared, don’t block the home screen.

ㄴㄴThat team’s level haha ​​Were you excited to win once in 30 years? Let’s see who wins this year haha

ㄴㄴㄹㅇ I’m so upset after winning haha ​​Well, I’m excited because I saw a sight I’ll see once in my life haha

ㄴI wish you a speedy recovery.

Nothing works. The sense of stability is different when Baek Kyung-ho is around and when he is not.

ㄴJi Maeng-ho, that bastard dips someone every time he plays

No, Baek Kyung-ho doesn’t blame Ji Maeng-ho, but let’s blame the other team’s players as well. It was an accident that occurred during the game.