Chapter 550 – Episode 542. True Education. (1)

“It’s hot, it’s hot. Isn’t it hot? “I think it would be difficult to sit there wearing a catcher’s mask in this weather, right?”

“… Just focus on the game.”

Mid-August, the middle of summer. It was one of those days when I could definitely feel my stamina declining due to the sweltering heat. I’m not really the type to enjoy summer, but this year’s summer was hotter than usual, so no matter how hard I was, I guess it was hard.

Although batting performance declined due to the hot weather, it was not all bad. Because my batting performance was lower than usual, even the shitty pitchers were competing.

… Like now.

“Strike!”

The twelfth game of the season against Hancheol in Jamsil. Kim Hyun-sik, Hancheol’s fifth starter, was throwing strikes at me from the first pitch without any fear. I wondered if the strategy for dealing with me had changed since the manager changed after the All-Star Game, but since Kim Hyun-sik was a pitcher who had been hitting me well for three years, it was highly likely that he put me in the zone after seeing my performance.

‘Yes, this is because you’re a veteran, right? I wasn’t scared and came right in.’

When I debuted, Kim Hyun-sik was active as the number one starter in Korea for the Hancheol, but now, seeing him pitching in the low 140s and being a 5th starter, I can feel the passage of time, but that’s it, a game is a game.

‘The first pitch was a 140 shit ball, um… I’m not going to throw a fastball again… Then the curveball game would come in… Then it would be a curveball or a changeup, right?’

Since the second half of the season, there have been more pitchers throwing curveballs or changeups against me, with the occasional hit or strikeout on a curveball or changeup, so I couldn’t rule out the possibility of those balls coming into the zone.

But the opponent is Kim Hyun-sik. Since he was a pitcher who had been struggling against me since his debut, there was a high probability that this ball would be a ball.

“Ball.”

And the second ball had a curve that fell low, just as I expected. From the moment I threw it, I felt the ball rise and curve, so I didn’t even react to his ball and was able to set the ball count to one ball, one strike.

‘Hmm… Do you want to come in third?’

Kim Hyun-sik was slow at hitting the ball, but he had a bold approach style based on his unique ball control. He looked at this ball and there was a possibility that he would hit it in.

‘If it comes in, it’ll be a fastball rather than a breaking ball, right?’

The third ball that was expected to be a fastball.

‘… It’s far!’

A fastball was thrown as I expected, but the ball thrown by the left pitcher tended to come from the outside, so I held back the bat.

‘Okay, with this, two balls, one strike…’ .’

“Strike!”

But what you hear is a ridiculous strike call.

“Yes? This? No, this is a strike? I entered the batter box line, so I have to do it in moderation.”

“Are you dissatisfied?”

“No, then I guess there won’t be any. “You have to do it in moderation.”

I questioned the referee about the ball decision, but the referee was looking at me with her eyes raised, wondering what was so good.

“So this keeps happening?”

“Under… “I’m sorry.”

‘… Should I kill him?’

I decided not to take any more punishment this season…

‘… This fucking guy keeps messing with my temper. Whoa, fuck. Let’s hold on just this once.’

I almost raised my fist for a moment, but I am a baseball player. Since I wasn’t a gangster, I decided to just endure it for once. The fourth ball thrown after such a commotion.

Perfect!

Veteran Kim Hyun-sik used his unique ball control to throw the ball in the direction I had caught earlier, and I had no choice but to clear the ball and make a foul.

‘Fuck, I can’t hit a good ball here…’

Perfect!

Perfect!

However, Kim Hyun-sik persistently aimed for the zone that the referee had pointed out and continued to throw the ball to the outside.

“Hey, Mr. Let’s stop throwing things here.”

“Is it hard? It’s hot, so you should get a haircut and go home quickly.”

“Fuck you.”

And the catcher also seemed to have no intention of quitting the outside strategy.

‘Fuck, I’m so dirty I’ll have to make a hit or something.’

As long as the referee holds it wide on the outside, there is only one answer. The only solution was to push the outside ball against the grain and make a hit.

‘As light and light as possible.’

The fifth ball of the guy who prayed and waited as if he was casting a spell on me. This time too, I felt his ball hit the outside, and I swung the bat lightly…

‘S-slow!’

… However, Kim Hyun-sik’s ball slowly began to sink.

“Jitterbug! Strike! Out!”

If it was a mistake to be too absorbed in the course and not look at it calmly, it would be a mistake. However, more than that, I resented the referee who ruled the shitty outside course.

“Oh! Fuck!”

“Did you just swear at me?”

“Oh, I’m just talking to myself. Talk to yourself!”

“Be careful from now on.”

The referee, who incredibly understood the curse I had sworn at, asked me if I had sworn at him, but there was nothing worse than striking out and being sent off, so I had no choice but to nod when he told me to be careful.

I entered the dugout after striking out like that.

“Hyeonseong!”

As soon as I entered the dugout, I called out Hyunseong, who had gone on defense in the previous inning.

“Uh, bro.”

“You just saw my at bat. Did you hold him to the outside when we were on defense? When I look at it from behind, it doesn’t seem to be that wide. That bastard is only being mean to me, right? Right? “What did you think when you saw it?”

“Speak slowly, slowly. “Brother, calm down!”

“Fuck, do you really look like you?”

“Ah, I understand. Calm down. “If you look at me right now, I’m ready to beat someone up.”

“After… Because I calmed down. Talk to me. When you look at it, does it look generous on the outside? “Did I just not see it?”

Honestly, there was almost no chance that I wouldn’t have seen it. Because when pitchers and batters compete, it is not just the battery and three batters that they focus on. The fielders also had to move their defensive positions according to the signs given by the catcher, and in the case of infielders, there were times when the catcher spilled the ball and had to go back up, so they had to concentrate even more until the end.

This is just confirmation.

“No, you don’t catch it well? Even if you look at it from here, it’s really far away.”

“Right? I’m feeling victimized right now, right? “That guy is weird.”

“Uh, … Uh. I really think so.”

“Ha, what should I do with this fucking bastard?!”

“Meng Hao. “Calm down.”

“Ah, senior.”

As I was getting angry in the dugout, senior Gwanhyeong suddenly came in front of me.

“Senior, even if you look at it, you’re really far away, right?”

“Yes, it is far. “If I had been standing at bat, I would have been hit.”

“And… Fuck, balls like that. Senior, no matter how wide the zone has become, that’s a bit harsh, right?”

Honestly, because the zone was widened, I was able to tolerate a lot of strange balls coming in. When I didn’t swing the bat at a ball near the borderline, there were many cases where the umpires were worried and gave me the ball. However, today was a bit harsh.

… And I was annoyed because the pitcher kept targeting that direction.

“Calm down, Meng Hao.”

“Under…”

“Do you have something against that referee? “I’m not catching the ball to Jincheol right now.”

Huh? After listening to Senior Kwan Hyeong’s words and focusing on the plate where Senior Jin Cheol was standing, Hyun Sik Kim threw in the same position as before, but the umpire’s hand did not rise. With this, the count is two balls, no strikes.

Kim Hyun-sik was also voicing his disappointment as he made a pose of collapsing on the mound when he didn’t catch the ball even though it was a strike against me just now.

“It’s true… Then that bastard is only for me…”

“No, no. It’s Meng Hao. Think about it carefully. “I wonder if that referee did anything wrong.”

I was about to get angry again, but I took a deep breath at Senior Kwan Hyeong’s words and looked at the electronic display board. The referee’s name on the electronic display board is ‘Kwon Hyo-joong.’

‘… ‘Who is it?’

… Honestly, I couldn’t remember. Because I wasn’t free enough to memorize the name of a guy I happened to see. Moreover, there were few players with as many manners as me, so there was no way the referee would dislike me. … Isn’t it?

Anyway, it wasn’t in my memory.

“Normally, there’s a lot of trash like that among referees. People who continue to be disadvantaged in ball decisions if they protest once.”

“… Protest?”

… Has that ever happened? Anyway, that wasn’t the point. The fact that senior Jin-cheol, who is a right-handed hitter like me, did not catch that ball means that he made a shitty ball call only to me.

‘You bastard. You are behind Really.’

“Meng Hao? Is it Meng Hao? “Don’t you think it’s strange?”

“Yes? Me?”

“Your eyes look strange… Meng Hao, do you know that clearing the bench and hitting the referee are completely different levels of disciplinary action? Even if you shake your fist a few times while clearing a bench, it’s not a criminal case. But if you assault a referee, not only will you be disciplined, but you can even go as far as becoming a criminal. “You know, right?”

Senior Gwanhyeong had some bad thoughts and was worried that I might assault the referee. But those worries were truly absurd.

“… “I’m not a gangster, so why do I beat up people?”

Of course, it’s not that I didn’t want to beat it.

“Then I’m glad. “Don’t think anything strange, Ji Maeng-ho.”

“Yes. Of course.”

After answering Senior Kwan Hyeong like that, I went out into the passage and called the manager.

“Manager. Kwon Hyo-joong, can you find me a game where that person was the referee? During our game.”

If the referee had misread John because it was a hot day, he was going to do something that would make him feel a little sorry, so I wanted to check if he was someone who had bumped into me like I heard from senior Kwan.

“Uh? Uh? Suddenly?”

“Yes. Because it’s important. “I’d like to ask you something quickly.”

“Okay, well, it comes right away with a few clicks.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Meanwhile, our offense ended scoreless, and when I went out to the field to play defense in the top of the third inning, the manager called me.

“You were the referee when we faced Silla in the first series of the second half last season? The day of Kim Won-ho’s starting game.”

“Wonho’s starting game. … Ah, that bastard back then.”

And as soon as I heard the manager’s words, I immediately remembered what kind of bastard he was. When Wonho and I were having fun competing, he was the one who ruined the match.

And that day, I vividly remember how many times I protested against the referee’s ridiculous strike call.

‘Fuck, are you going to give me that ball just because I protested that much? You little bastard. ‘I need to give you some education.’

It seemed like it was my turn to bring out the ‘hawk of love’ that I had brought out once last year.