Chapter 368 – Episode 360. True Senior.

-Williams is injured again! It turned out to be a micro fracture of his ribs.
… AT Thunders’ foreign hitter Don Williams was lowered to the second team after being found to have microscopic damage to his ribs as a result of a medical examination. …

ㄴHa, it’s a shame it’s a glass body. How many weeks does this part last?

ㄴㄴIt varies from person to person, but baseball players are healthy, so you should see them for about 4 weeks.

-[Sorry. I was really sick, so I went for a checkup and found that my ribs were cracked. I will come up through steady rehabilitation training in the 2nd team. Furthermore, I’m not really faking it this time, so please forgive me just this once. -Don Williams]

‘… Did I hit him too hard?’

I hit him in the side, but I can’t believe it cracked his bone this much. Aside from the feigning illness, his body seemed weak. Still, should we say that it is fortunate that this injury gave him grit? Perhaps when I return, I will emerge as a new person.

How can you rehabilitate another human being like this? I should have become a teacher. As I turned off my phone and put it in the locker, today’s starter, Krongs, approached me. Yesterday, we went to the club together, and when I came out after teaching Williams, he was already gone, but if you look at his expression during training today, he seemed to have put all his troubles away.

“[Hey, Ji. What on earth happened yesterday? I could hear fighting.]”

“[Nothing to know, just throw the ball well today]”

“[… You’re not really a fan of Zuo, are you?]”

“[Are you curious?]”

“[Hehe, as expected of a man. Ji, you know what I like, right?]”

“[Fuck, you’re saying something strange again. Get out of here!]”

“[That strange old Texas old man’s way of speaking is also attractive.]”

His fist would have been blown if he hadn’t cleared up the misunderstanding about this asshole last year. Why is this guy doing this to me?

Still, he’s a kid with solid skills… On days like today when the opponent’s ace comes out, there is no pitcher as reliable as Crongs. He seemed to be in good condition as he was talking nonsense.

‘It’s ridiculous that the space guy is Ace.’

I’ve seen this guy since high school, but he’s the ace of one team. In fact, he was a bit dumbfounded. Of course, he had good results last year, but his pitching this season was nothing short of an ace. It was a grade he couldn’t help but admit.

Last year, Wooju’s record was 10 wins, 6 losses, and an ERA of 2.71, and except for Crongs, there was not a single starting pitcher on our team who had better results than him. In addition, his performance this season was 7 wins, 2 losses, and an ERA of 2.11, leading the future Buffaloes along with Lee Jin-hong, who returned from injury.

‘Have I really grown? Last year, the ball was light… Well, you’ll know if you watch today’s game.’

To be honest, it was true that I was worried. Even when watching the video, his ball has clearly improved. At the professional level, he had his own assortment of curveballs, which were considered useless, and the slider he had been throwing since last year was said to be powerful enough to rank first in pitch value even though the season had only just begun.

‘I didn’t feel like this until the Asian Games. Is it because I was young? ‘Every year is different.’

In particular, last year, there was no curve, so it was possible for a player with a class like Ki Ki-joo or Choi Jin-cheol to target Jang Woo-ju. Because the slider is usually similar to other pitchers’ fastballs, there were cases where I got caught accidentally. However, the common assessment of hitters who faced Jang Woo-joo was that as the curves became more diverse, the pressure felt by hitters was considerable.

Of course, it was of no use to me. However, I was worried about his fastball reaching 100 mph. Last year, my ball control was terrible, so I just swung when I felt I was in the zone, but this season, my ball control was said to have improved, so honestly, I thought it would be a difficult game.

… Actually, I was afraid.

‘Ha, if this guy happens to strike out once, he’ll be so upset.’

I was afraid of the guy who would scoff if I happened to throw a no-hitter. He was a guy who would always call and brag if he pitched well, even during the break, but if he had a no-hitter against Wooju today, he wouldn’t be able to handle it. No, even if I hit a hit or a home run, it was clear that if I became the winning pitcher in today’s game, I would be upset.

As a true teacher who taught him about women and baseball, he couldn’t just watch something like that happen. We must win today.

But fortunately, the locker room atmosphere did not seem to be particularly bad just because Jang Woo-joo appeared. In particular, Ki Ki-joo and Jin-cheol Choi, who were the most important hitters except me today, seemed not particularly conscious of Jang Woo-joo appearing.

“Ha, Williams was strong against fast balls.”

“I know. Even in the U.S., I had a weakness for breaking balls, but I was evaluated as good at hitting fastballs.”

“I’m saying this because I don’t have one, bro, but honestly, I thought that guy Williams was sabotaging it, right? But it looks like it really hurt. How did he break his ribs and still play? It’s not easy for a mercenary to do that… Maybe it’s because he ate tear-soaked bread in the minors, but he definitely has a work ethic. Honestly, if it were like kids these days, I would have fallen for it right away.”

“I broke my ribs. It’s just a micro fracture. If it’s that much, it’ll be better if you apply spit. Honestly, isn’t there a professional player who doesn’t have one of those injuries? “It hurts me too, dude.”

“Your face looks like it hurts the most.”

“What? “This bastard.”

As I was listening to the two of them talking, there were a lot of things I wanted to correct, but I just held back because I felt like Ki Gi-ju would nag me if I interrupted the conversation for no reason.

“And even if it was a micro fracture, it would hurt every time I took a breath. Kyungho hasn’t returned yet… Oh, was Meng Hao there too? I’m sorry.”

‘Fuck, I got caught.’

“… “Why are you sorry to me for that?”

“No, you broke Kyung-ho.”

“That can happen when you play baseball. Honestly, it’s strange for men to break things by bumping into each other. Could it be that the injury was discovered in advance because of me? It was originally a painful area, but I found it early.”

It was still a mystery why Baek Kyung-ho was injured that day. He was sorry that he bumped into me and hurt me, but no matter how I thought about it, it wasn’t that bad. … Same with Williams. I can’t believe I just lightly touched it, and it caused a problem with my ribs.

‘Tsk, how can I endure the tough world of professional baseball when I’m so weak?’

“… “Have you gone to visit the hospital?”

“I was about to go, but my senior security told me not to come. Never mind that he could do that in the game. “I heard you said you didn’t get hurt because of me.”

He didn’t really want to go, but when the club contacted him and gave him his contact information, that was Baek Kyung-ho’s reaction.

“Well, back in our day, it was okay to get body-slammed at home, but is it because Kyung-ho is too old? I have become very weak.”

“Yes. Ha, I miss those days.”

“You weren’t able to hit it back then. Of course, when I was playing a little, I was hitting well. “If it weren’t for my brother, I would have won MVP, right?”

“With your skills?”

“Ah, I deserved to be MVP for 16 years.”

“I hit 51 home runs back then, bastard.”

“Bro, I hit 29 home runs in Jamsil. To be honest, I also…, Was it Mudeung Stadium at that time? “If I had hit it in the middle of nowhere, I would have hit 50 home runs.”

“That must have been so. “You know I hit 44 home runs last year, right?”

“I hit 30 home runs last year too? Honestly, my brother is a home run hit. Meng Hao gives me autographs and fills in the runners.”

“I don’t think that only good balls come in front of a losing tiger. Have you ever hit 20 home runs in the majors?”

“Did you hit .300 in the majors?”

“It was a shortened Corona season at that time.”

“Even the shortened season is recognized as regular.”

The two were playing childishly, inappropriate for their age, but the content of their conversation was bloody. And it was reliable.

In order to attack Jang Woo-joo’s balls, it seemed like it was necessary to have either a contact ability like Ki Ki-joo’s or the power to pass by like Choi Jin-cheol. Senior Suho is also reliable, but honestly, it didn’t feel like Suho was at the post-KBA level, so those two were the core of today’s batting lineup.

… Except me.

“I believe today. Seniors”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden? Anyway, Meng Hao. If you really played during our time, you would have been taken to the hospital last year. Right, bro?”

“That’s right. In our time, if you didn’t look at the second baseman’s ankle and slide, you would get slapped by the coach.”

“Did you get hit on the AT? We didn’t hit you? “The seniors gave me some spirit.”

“You only hit AT? Honestly, I’m glad it’s our team. “I wouldn’t have been able to stand it if I was watching another team play baseball.”

“Hyung, I thought this guy was crazy when he was doing the ceremony. I thought something had changed in Korea while I was in the United States. I’m really lucky. If we had had a ceremony like that in our time, our ankles would have spun right on second base. “Maybe he got around in a wheelchair?”

‘… ‘You bastards.’

Whatever we do, it’s our time, our time.

“… Do you think I was just suffering?”

How can you say such a thing to me, who learned the killing tackle directly from Rossby? Does the Major League in the early 20th century look like shit?

“…”

“…”

“… “You’re lucky you’re playing baseball right now, really.”

“Look at how injured the guard is. If only Maengho had played baseball during our time…”

“In that sense, I hope you enjoy today’s game. “You know that Woo Joo and I are in sync, right?”

“Uh? What does that mean at this moment? Hey?! Hey! Ji Maengho! Where are you going?!”

It was difficult to listen to the help of the elderly anymore, so I went into the dugout, leaving behind the voice of the weatherman calling me. In the dugout, Kim Soo-ho, who had already completed all preparations, was staring intently at the empty mound, as if he were doing image training.

‘Of course, that’s my senior. It also has a heavy taste.’

Maybe I will look like that in the eyes of other juniors, right? A heavy and cool look. When I saw that my juniors treated me with respect, it was definitely true.

“Ah, bro. “Are you here?”

As the youngest, Jeong Hwi-cheol comes out to the dugout first and puts away his equipment. He looks at me and says hello. My thoughts were not wrong, seeing as even Hwicheol, my classmate, was treated with such respect. After all, a senior should have a strong taste like me.

“Okay. Hwicheol. “You got on base a lot today, too.”

“I will try my best.”

“Don’t try too hard, just do well. Ha, this is the problem with kids these days. As a professional, you have to do well. It’s been two years now, are you still in high school? “No.”

“… Yes. I will do well.”

“Okay, let’s do it well.”

I can’t believe you say words that become your bones and flesh to your juniors like this. There will never be another senior like me.

“Then can I ask how to attack it?”

“Okay, ask.”

“The ball is so fast that I don’t know how to hit it. “I met him once last time, and although I don’t have a slow bat speed, I didn’t hit the ball well.”

“Swing faster, asshole.”

“… Yes?”

“Swing the bat faster.”

“… Yes.”

“I can’t do it. You need to exercise more. From now on, come to work an hour early and hit some weights.”

“I already go to work an hour early…”

“Then I come to work two hours early and hit some weights. When I was the youngest, I never went out of the practice range. Well, kids these days don’t have grit. Williams, too.”

If he followed my advice and gained a little more strength, he could have become a free agent. I can’t believe you generously give me advice that becomes my blood, flesh, and muscles. They say there is no senior like me, really.

‘If this is the advice, Hwicheol should give me a few percent when he becomes a free agent. ‘Hehe.’