Chapter 566 – Episode 558. The Old Man’s Rebellion. (2)

“What is the ball on your body? “I want to hit you.”

‘Do you want to hit me? You crazy bastard. Now I’m going to boldly announce a murder, right? As expected, this guy is a psycho. Psycho!’

The second at-bat after Ji Maeng-ho was lucky enough to catch Ji Maeng-ho while throwing his favorite ball.

As soon as he came in, Baek Kyung-ho trembled at the sight of Ji Maeng-ho saying that he wanted to beat him up. What Ji Maeng-ho said was simple. Today, the condition is good for the outside ball, so if you don’t want to get hit, throw the outside ball.

‘For some reason, my grades were ridiculous… Did you get those grades by threatening the catchers like this? ‘You piece of trash.’

If he had the will to extend his active duty, he would have ignored such comments. Maybe it was no different from match-fixing. However, the person he is now has already been advised to retire by his team, and the team’s ranking has not been decided.

‘… So, this one time is okay, right?’

The team that has already recommended retirement and the state of his body that will last the rest of his life. It wasn’t worth worrying about. Baek Kyung-ho’s choice was, of course, to use outside balls. Baek Gyeong-ho continued to ask for the ball outward as Ji Maeng-ho wanted to ensure a comfortable retirement.

And the result is,

Tick.

“Out!”

Pitcher ground ball following check swing.

‘Uh… ?’

I can’t believe Ji Maeng-ho made such a ridiculous mistake…

“What are you doing? “Don’t you catch the ball?”

“No, no. “Give me the ball.”

Baek Kyung-ho was so shocked that he even forgot to receive the new ball.

Perfect!

“Out!”

The result was so shocking that I can’t remember how the next batter, Choi Jin-cheol, was put out. Ji Maeng-ho wasn’t a god either, so there were times when he got hit or struck out, but the result of a check swing leading to an out was something he couldn’t remember.

Therefore, Baek Kyung-ho’s worries had no choice but to continue even after entering the dugout.

‘Ji Maeng-ho gets out with a swing like that?’

When a ball is different from what the batter expected, a check swing is performed to watch without swinging the bat. And the fact that the bat hits the ball while making a check swing means that the batter’s prediction was completely wrong.

And Ji Maeng-ho was the most outstanding hitter among those hitters. A batsman with the greatest hit-hitting ability in the league, or perhaps even on the planet.

But a batter like that got out while making a check swing? No matter how much I thought about it, it was something I couldn’t understand. Moreover, in the first place, he did as Ji Maeng-ho told him to mix the outside balls…

‘What, why on earth did Ji Maeng-ho take a check swing at an obvious ball? Uh, wait…’

At that time, an old memory came to mind. The words to never talk to Ji Maeng-ho while wearing a catcher’s mask appeared in Baek Kyung-ho’s mind.

‘Then that bastard, since he can’t talk to the catchers, is he using it as a threat to control the ball mix as he wants?’

It was a ridiculous idea, but it didn’t make any sense. Otherwise, those grades would have been absolutely ridiculous. Rather than reading the pitcher’s thoughts, it made more sense to manipulate the catchers in this way.

Countless bench clearings, assaults by gangsters, and beasts that are broken and carried away when hit… And even throwing the bat at the umpire. The method of planting a violent image and then cleverly asking for an outside ball…

In fact, Ji Maeng-ho’s walks this season were at an absurd level, and as Ji Maeng-ho accumulated years of experience and his image became stronger, his on-base percentage was increasing day by day.

“Coach, what was Ji Maeng-ho’s on-base percentage per season?”

“That? Why suddenly?”

“Oh, I’m a little curious.”

“Okay. I’ll ask the manager. … “It is 0.528 in the first year, 0.601 in the second year, and 0.623 this season.”

“Oh, I understand.”

And as a result of the verification, it was discovered that the on-base percentage jumped significantly higher in the second year than in the first year.

‘Did your on-base percentage rise dramatically last year? What happened? … Ah! Olympics! When I think about throwing the bat at Cole in the Olympics…’

It felt like the secret of Ji Maeng-ho’s grades was gradually being revealed. Unable to bear it any longer, Baek Kyung-ho left the dugout and looked at Ji Maeng-ho’s records in person.

‘Last year, last year… Last year, it was 0.592 in May, 0.536 in June, 0.500 in July, and in August… 0.688? Has it exceeded 60% since then? He also had 0.611 in September and 0.634 in October… Since going to the Olympics, my on-base percentage has definitely increased significantly… And this is after I threw the bat at Cole…’

The secret of Ji Maeng-ho’s performance has now become clear.

Of course, that was not the reason why Ji Maeng-ho’s on-base percentage increased. Simply because he proved his batting ability against major league pitchers at the Olympics, the rate at which pitchers avoid him has increased. However, Baek Kyung-ho, who had already decided on the outcome and was looking for a reason, could not think of such a thing.

‘Well, that baseball-crazed psycho bastard won’t go around beating up people for no reason. Are you saying it was all calculated? Well, a guy with a genius baseball intelligence wouldn’t go around doing something like that because he couldn’t control his anger. It was all just calculation.’

Now all that’s left is to find out why he didn’t hit properly this time. However, after learning about his technique, I could quickly understand why he made a clumsy check swing this time.

‘If you think about his head, it would be simple. Catchers who use intimidation and those who do not use it are categorized and calculations are made based on that. Since I was a catcher who didn’t like threats until now, I thought it was time for the body to hit, so I aimed for the ball to the body. However, he probably didn’t think that I would purely follow his words this time. Because I was preparing for retirement!’

When Baek Gyeong-ho realized the truth(?) Revealed by Ji Maeng-ho’s appearance and records he observed, Baek Gyeong-ho just laughed.

“What, why are you acting like that, Senior Kyungho?”

“Brother, is something good happening?”

The juniors were worried because the laughter did not stop even after returning to the dugout, so they tried to talk to Baek Kyung-ho, but Baek Kyung-ho did not respond and just smiled. The smile that only those who realize the truth of the world can see.

Funny enough, after I realized the truth, I was no longer afraid of Ji Maeng-ho.

‘Yes, that was it.’

True fear is the fear of something you cannot even understand. There was a fear that this guy could suddenly change and submerge himself, but after understanding Ji Meng-ho, I was no longer afraid of that guy.

And, after meeting Ji Maeng-ho, the passion for baseball that I had gradually lost seemed to be rekindled. The pleasure that comes from perfectly analyzing the world’s best geth heater! That drug-like feeling was bringing back the passion of my youth when I would stay up all night analyzing others.

‘If I give it just one year, one more year, I can catch him… Why did I notice this in the last game?’

The desire to challenge the best once again… But he had no time left. The team was already treating him as a retired player, and the direction of the team was clearly heading toward rebuilding. He said there was no more room for an old player like him.

‘After… Let’s calm down for now. It’s not too late to think like this after dealing with Ji Maeng-ho one more time and proving that my thoughts are right.’

Ji Maeng-ho’s third at-bat after calming himself down like that.

“Hello.”

“What happened? Mr. Kyung-ho said all the greetings.”

“Just. Because it could be the last time.”

“Hey, I guess it’s a little early to retire, don’t you think? “Why don’t we do more?”

“I’m thinking about it.”

‘Now, tell me what you think. What kind of ball combination are you going to guide me into?’

Baek Kyung-ho spoke normally and tried to find out what Ji Maeng-ho was thinking when he came to bat.

“Is it so? Then I’ll have to make sure he retires. “If I go out this time, I’ll run all the way to home steal in one go.”

Ji Maeng-ho’s words that he would let him retire… If I had heard it before, I would have been shocked and shocked, but the important thing was not the threat. What is important is that we will run until we steal home. In other words, the guy said he would aim for a walk this time.

‘And the fact that you told me you were going for a walk means you have no intention of going for a walk this time, right? He’s a pitcher whose threats don’t work in his head. So this time, if you lure him into thinking he’s going to give you a walk or not, you can induce a missed swing.’

For a guy who is intent on hitting, the most effective thing is a breaking ball that falls near the zone. Fortunately, the pitcher on the mound had a fairly powerful curveball. Throwing a curveball to Ji Maeng-ho as the deciding ball was a ball combination that could have been dangerous at first glance, but it didn’t matter as long as I knew what the guy was aiming for.

“Ball.”

“Ball.”

“Foul.”

“Ball.”

“Strike!”

And if it’s long, it’s a long game, if it’s short, it’s a full count obtained after a short game. Baek Kyung-ho asked for the curve he had in mind. The pitcher looked embarrassed when he saw his autograph, but Baek Kyung-ho stuck to his opinion.

‘Curve, slightly away from the zone. This absolutely works.’

There was no pitcher who could go against the words of Baek Kyung-ho, the most senior member of UG Overlords. A curveball thrown like that…

Ta – Aak!

“Huh?”

Contrary to Baek Kyung-ho’s expectations, Ji Maeng-ho seemed to have expected the curve and hit it over the fence.

‘Ha, fuck. What’s wrong? My expectations were perfect…’

Baek Gyeong-ho tried to find out what was the problem by watching Ji Maeng-ho fly the bat and round the bases. And it didn’t take long to figure out what was wrong.

‘That was the problem. Because the pitcher doesn’t have a poker face. In that brief gap, Ji Maeng-ho found out. I was perfect… Even if you know it, does that mean Ji Maeng-ho is Ji Maeng-ho? Even analyzing the pitcher’s facial expression in that short moment…’

If there wasn’t even that brief gap, it was clear that I would have missed the swing. And he felt a little mortified. He demanded the best pitch, but all his efforts were in vain because of the pitcher’s mistake.

‘But that doesn’t mean I haven’t gained anything. Because I pushed Ji Maeng-ho to a full count.’

Baek Kyung-ho consoled himself by blaming the pitcher for the home run.

‘In the next at-bat, I will absolutely block it.’

After making that decision, Ji Maeng-ho’s next at-bat came.

“I enjoyed the home run. Please take care of me this time too.”

“Okay. Enjoy it.”

“Well, maybe because it’s time to go, people’s feelings have improved.”

‘Does asking for a favor this time mean that you’re aiming for a walk this time? Haha, I can clearly see your move now, you guy. Seunggi. Let’s hit a fastball from the first pitch.’

Ji Maeng-ho’s analysis is over. The guy who is looking for a walk is unlikely to swing the bat from the first pitch, and even if he does, his reaction is slow, and he is bound to end up with a bad hit. Baek Kyung-ho again requested the best ball of his choice.

And,

Ta – Aak!

Ji Maeng-ho’s bat spins like lightning from the first pitch.

[Ji Maeng-ho’s hit! Fence! Fence! Fence! Let’s go! Ji Maeng-ho’s 72nd home run of the season! Ji Maeng-ho is now just one step away from tying the world home run record! Ji Maengho! Ji Maengho! This is Ji Maeng-ho!]

Without even having time to do anything, Ji Maeng-ho’s batted ball went straight over the fence.

‘… Was I wrong? Ah, no, no way… Did you expect me to change the pattern after just two at-bats today? So, did you deliberately tell the truth?’

His genius psychological warfare gives me goosebumps all over my body and cold sweat pours out from my back. However, at the same time, he felt proud of himself for having figured it out.

‘I really wish I had just a little more chance…’

Baek Kyung-ho wanted to prove that what he was thinking was right. But he doesn’t have much time left to play. … In UG Overlords.

‘Now, wait a minute. If you postpone retirement… If the team doesn’t accept it, try somewhere else…’

Even though it meant leaving the team he had been with for 19 years, the 39-year-old began to burn with a passion to compete with the best hitters.

And…,

‘Wow, it’s really time for Kyung-ho to retire. I don’t think I was like this when I was a rookie… Is it because he is stuck in the 2nd group? If you’re going to give the ball away like an idiot, wouldn’t it be better to get an autograph from Coach Battery? Well, since it was time to retire, they probably encouraged me to do it on my own. Anyway, thank you for issue 72!’

Baek Kyung-ho was unaware that Ji Maeng-ho, who was watching the scene, was feeling pity for the aging veteran.