Chapter 551 – 543. True Education. (2)

Perfect!

In the bottom of the 4th inning, the ball hit by senior Sangju, who was the leadoff hitter, went to the farthest part of Jamsil and sank, and Hancheol’s center fielder Kim Dong-jin jumped up and caught the ball. One out with this. It was a shame that the runner in front of me didn’t fall, but I felt at ease.

Because what I was aiming for in this at-bat was not getting on base.

‘It’s 0-0, but today’s starter is Krongs, so I guess I can do this.’

Kim Hyun-sik, who was promoted to Hancheol’s starting pitcher, was losing his pitching status, and Crongs, who took the mound as a starting pitcher today, was still throwing powerful balls. So, it doesn’t matter if I get out for at least one at-bat.

It would have been better if there were no runners like this. Because if there were runners, you had to aim for points.

-Ddu du du du~. Some legends are told, Some turn to dust or to gold, But you will remember me (Ji Maeng-ho!) Remember me, for centuries (Ji Maeng-ho!) And just one mistake, Is all it will take, We’ll go down in history(Jimaengho!) Remember me for centuries(Jimaengho!)

As I walked to the plate without even thinking about hitting in the first place, the song that appeared for the first time in a long time caught my ear. It feels like the magnificent melody inspires combat power…

‘Mr. Rossby, are you ready?’

‘Okay. ‘And you?’

‘I am always ready.’

We have already completed the recruitment of Mr. Rossby necessary for today’s plan. Mr. Rossby must have thought that he couldn’t miss out on such an interesting sight, so he readily accepted my request.

‘Then, let’s go.’

I had already finished practicing with Mr. Rossby in the dugout, and I had tried my hand at it once last year, so I wasn’t worried. And this time, I was ready because I had enough practice to make up for last year’s shortcomings.

‘The first pitch is a fastball.’

‘Okay. It must have been there before, right?’

‘The mitt is on the outside.’

‘Yes.’

Kim Hyun-sik’s speed is about 140, which is a speed that allows him to easily clear the bat even if he swings the bat slightly late… After waiting for a few seconds for his pitch, Kim Hyun-sik threw the ball and I swung the bat slightly late.

Perfect!

‘Now!’

And even putting down the bat the moment he takes the follow throw. The hand holding the bat felt empty, and a scream erupted from behind home plate, just as I expected.

“Ah!”

As I heard the scream, I turned around and saw the umpire who had been scolding me at the plate just before, holding his shins and losing his posture. It was hard to see the guy’s face hidden behind the referee mask, but just a glimpse of him looked like he was in a lot of pain…

But, this was just the beginning.

Something like this happened once last year, but the disappointing thing last year was that the referee was sent away with one blow.

Last year, because I couldn’t control the bat properly, I hit the head and sent the referee to the punch and couldn’t complete the training, but this time was different. The bat, which I perfectly controlled toward the referee’s legs, was exactly where I expected.

‘If I do this, I won’t get carried away, right? Fuck you, bastard. It starts now.’

However, in times like these, we must reduce actions that may be suspicious. As the referee looked apologetic as he was hit by the bat, the trainer coach ran over with an ice cream pad, and I also apologized to the referee as he fell to the ground.

“Are you okay? Ah! I’m sorry. The ball was too far away, so I tried to make contact and lost it. “I’m sorry.”

“Ugh…”

I offered an apology, but the referee was too busy moaning to respond.

“I’m sorry.”

“Hey! Use some spray, I almost got hit too.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. “This is really slipping.”

The catcher was irritated, but I continued to look sorry and took the spray from Jincheol, the back hitter, and applied it to the bat.

“Wow, Ji Maeng-ho! “Be careful of the bat.”

“I am truly sorry. Ah, I lost this out of hand.”

The referee, who got up with an air paste on his leg, spoke with an expression of pain, so I held back my laughter and offered an apology. After a series of commotions, the game started again.

‘This ball is also a fastball.’

‘Okay. It will be noticeable if you throw it right after you throw it, so just take it lightly this time.’

Perfect!

This time, an outside fastball came through, and I took a spin, pushing the ball with the tip of the bat. This time, without missing the bat.

“Foul!”

The batted ball, lightly pushed with the tip of the bat, headed toward the first base foul zone, hit the net installed in the stands, and fell to the ground. Two strikes with this. It was a situation where I could have struck out if I was not careful, but I was not afraid of striking out.

Because Kim Hyun-sik and I were good compatibility.

Last year, when the umpire hit the umpire with a bat, the opposing pitcher was Jang Woo-ju. Since the ball was so fast that I couldn’t cut it as I wanted, I had no choice but to teach him once, but I met Kim Hyun-sik a lot, and he was a left-handed pitcher whose ball was slow, so his trajectory was clearly visible.

As long as the pitcher didn’t hit a ridiculous grounder, I could cut his pitches all day. Plus, Mr. Rossby tells you the type of pitch? If I wanted to, I could continue today’s game until the end of the season.

‘This time it’s a change-up.’

‘Okay.’

This ball is a changeup that is slower than a fastball. The moment the guy threw the ball, I predicted the trajectory of his changeup and pulled his hips back and pointed the bat at him.

Perfect!

“Aaaaah!”

And the referee’s scream echoes once again. I didn’t throw the bat this time, but luckily it seemed like the foul ball flew toward the umpire.

“Oh my…”

“And…, I’m sorry. A foul ball flies there…”

The game was briefly stopped to spray air paste once again.

“You didn’t do that on purpose?”

The catcher asked in a low voice, but I responded by shaking my head.

“I’m not God, so how do I control a foul ball?”

I knew that if the timing was slightly delayed and the ball floated thinly with the bottom of the bat, it would go backwards, but there was no batter who could aim for that. If it was possible to control the batted ball like that, it meant that you could send the batted ball wherever you wanted, and that meant being a 100% hitter.

So this is luck. To make the most of that good fortune, I handed the referee another apology with an apologetic expression.

“Ah… I’m really sorry. Why are you like this today?”

“Kkeut, gwae, it’s okay. Because it’s a game.”

Of course, it wasn’t something I did to avoid being caught by the referee. There were cameras everywhere during the game, and it was clear that if he didn’t apologize in the stadium where it was being broadcast live, another unnecessary controversy over his personality would arise.

‘Shall I give you a hint?’

The reason I am acting like this right now is not because I have personal feelings like this bastard who made a shitty decision based on personal feelings. This is just referee training for the development of the KBA league.

“Because it is too far ‘outside,’ foul balls keep coming out. “I’m sorry.”

A true teacher should teach his student what he did wrong, so I gave him a hint. And when the outside zone was mentioned again, the referee’s eyes widened. Those eyes that seem to slightly doubt me are piercing me.

‘But, so what are you going to do? How can I stop it?’

However, there was nothing the referee could do. Are you leaving me here? Are you still offering apples? And me, the best hitter in the league? That couldn’t be possible.

‘It’s an outside fastball again this time.’

And the pitcher throws an outside fastball without noticing the strange atmosphere at all. A fastball on the edge of 140 once again flew out. Of course, there is only one thing I have to do here.

Tak!

He touched the ball lightly with the tip of the bat, then swung the bat again with a big swing, relaxing his hand when he got to the right spot.

“Aaaaah!”

And the referee’s scream echoes once again.

“Under… I’m really sorry. “The ball was too far away, so I missed the bat again.”

“Keuuuuu, you, you… !”

This time, the referee must have been so angry that he forgot the pain and pointed at me.

“I’m sorry. Mistake, mistake. My steak. “It’s so far away that the bat keeps slipping.”

“Hey, you bitch…”

“Ah, swearing is a bit… “What should I do if the bat slips?”

“Ugh.”

The referee, as if the pain had finally hit him, held his hips and frowned. And before I knew it, the trainer coach came running and started spraying air paste at the referee once again. Meanwhile, the catcher was running towards the pitcher to talk to him about something.

Taking advantage of that, I handed the referee a proper ‘apology’.

“Oh, I’m really sorry. As I cut the ball to the outside, my swing continues to increase. I’m sorry. Really, next time, I’ll just wait when the outside ball comes. I also lost money, haha… A real sin. Song. That’s why I do it. You know what I’m talking about, right? “I’m worried that it might be dangerous if I hit something wrong.”

At this level, you must have understood my intention.

Fortunately, the referee nodded his head as if he knew what I was talking about. It was a bit pitiful to see the pupils shaking back and forth, but since ancient times, the most effective way to teach a student is to give him the rod of love.

It seemed like the disciple who had gone astray due to the rod of my love had finally come to his senses.

‘Hehe, but what are you going to do if you get disciplined like this?’

‘Hey, there’s no rule that says you can’t throw the bat after swinging anyway. It’s just a natural connection movement that follows while swinging, right? There are a lot of people who throw bats besides me. But I’m just thrown back.’

‘What if I unplay?’

‘Who would say anything if I said it wasn’t intentional? Just curse a few times. Anyway, getting criticized doesn’t just happen for a day or two.’

Hehe, he’s really my student, but he’s worse than I.’

While I humbly accept Mr. Rossby’s praise, the treatment ends and the game resumes before I know it.

‘This time it’s a body fastball.’

‘Okay.’

Perfect!

The next ball is greeted by lightly kicking a fastball coming toward the body. The next ball Kim Hyun-sik threw was the ball I was waiting for.

‘Outside fastball.’

‘Good.’

The role of a teacher is to provide an opportunity to correct the student’s mistakes. There were a lot of at-bats left during this game anyway, so I decided to watch this ball. And the guy’s ball was thrown… Hyunsik Kim is a pitcher who makes a living off of his pitch control, and in his first at-bat against me, he threw the ball in the same position where he caught the strike,

“… Ball.”

This time the referee’s hand did not go up. A ball decision finally obtained after several fouls.

‘Ha, after all, the rod of love is the answer.’

… It was a ball decision that made me feel proud that my training so far was not in vain.