Chapter 690 – Episode 677. Are These Bastards Crazy?

‘Why the fuck doesn’t it break?!’

The moment the ball hit the bat, I felt that I had hit the top of the ball. And if you hit the top, you’re bound to get a ground ball. I could have penetrated the infield, but since you never know, I gritted my teeth and ran to first base.

‘What about the ball?!’

‘The shortstop caught it.’

‘Fuck!’

It’s now 3-4 steps to first base. If this is the timing, you’re out… ! I have the luxury of time to think about this now. I ran to first base as fast as I could,

“Safe!”

A different sound than expected came to my ears.

“What?”

“I stuttered. Meng Hao, you ran well.”

“Oh, a mistake?”

“Okay. “I think you were in a hurry because you ran too fast?”

“Thank goodness.”

And it was the first base coach who answered my doubts. A lucky mistake that occurred from the first episode.

‘Well, it’s a shame, but anyway, getting on base means getting on base.’

It was unfortunate that I didn’t get a hit, but getting on base meant getting on base. And for the first time in a long time, there was no runner to stop me from stealing base.

‘Okay, let’s run. Mr. Rossby!’

“Safe!”

“Safe!”

Senior Sangju watched the ball long enough for me to run, and I was able to reach third base before I knew it. Now the situation is 3rd base with no outs.

Perfect!

And he even scored by taking advantage of Sangju senior’s infield ground ball. Although it wasn’t a home run, we were able to start the game in a good mood by scoring the same 1 point and taking the lead like the previous two games we won.

No, rather, the blow to the pitcher seemed more severe. When I scored, the starting pitcher covered his mouth with his glove and swore.

‘Good. Shake it. ‘I’m shaking.’

For a moment, I thought that maybe I could go easily today.

“Out!”

“Out!”

The bottom of the first inning ended with Jincheol and Suho getting out in succession.

‘Okay. If it’s too easy, it’s not fun. See you next time at bat.’

*

[… Strike! Out! … Strike out! … Strike out! Tyler closes the inning with KKK! Block AT Thunders attack in the bottom of the 2nd inning!]

‘It’s easy as expected. This is correct. I was very unlucky during the regular season.’

Tyler, who struck out three batters in a row in the second inning, nodded that things were going according to plan.

‘Tsk, if it wasn’t for the mistake in the bottom of the first inning, we wouldn’t have given up the score.’

And after striking out three batters in a row, it was even more disappointing to give up a score in the bottom of the first inning. But bygones are bygones. Tyler knew that if he continued to worry about the situation, his condition would only get worse, so he sat on the bench using mind control.

Now the only problem is for the hitters to score points quickly.

“Out!”

“Out!”

“Out!”

But the news we were waiting for did not arrive. Now it’s time to get back on the mound.

As Tyler took his glove, Lee Yong-gi, wearing a catcher’s mask, approached with an interpreter.

“[You know you’re competing against Ji Maeng-ho this time, right? Regardless of whether there are runners on base or not, I suggest we skip this inning.]”

“[Hey. Tell the catcher. I take care of my pitching. You just have to take the ball.]”

“What?”

“Uh… He says he will take care of it himself?”

“Really? “Did you really say that?”

“Yes…”

Lee Yong-gi was taken aback by what the interpreter said, but Tyler was already walking to the mound.

‘That bastard… What are you thinking? Are you not planning on listening to the director?’

Skipping Ji Maeng-ho is a team promise. But Tyler’s answer was unusual.

“Strike! Out!”

Of course, Tyler’s ball was also unusual.

“Out!”

Tyler got the 8th and 9th batters out in one go and then faced Ji Maeng-ho.

‘Let’s skip it and go. Fastball as far out as possible.’

And Lee Yong-gi, who welcomed Ji Maeng-ho, pressed his mitt to the outside as originally planned,

“Strike!”

Tyler’s ball hit the strike zone in the corner of his body. This is a sure sign that you don’t want to skip it!

“Oh, what? “You weren’t skipping it, were you?”

Meng Hao also seems to have sensed such a signal and talks to him. Meng Hao’s tone of laughter mixed with laughter sends shivers down his spine.

‘Fuck, let’s skip it…’

I wanted to go up to the mound right away, but a pitcher in that state couldn’t stop me even if my parents came, so here I had to deal with Ji Maeng-ho. The most important virtue in baseball is to go with the flow. Here, he didn’t know what would happen if he went up and the flow was broken.

The director also knew that fact, so he was not giving instructions for automatic execution.

Plus, Tyler looked good today. He had one error, but he was blocking AT’s batting line anyway with a no-hitter.

‘Write it. This is because he showed one fastball. With a slider. If you look at the fact that you didn’t hit the slider that was a poor throw earlier, it could be that your batting condition is terrible.’

Lee Yong-gi consoled himself and placed his mitt in a low position on the outside. But why is this cold feeling running down my spine? Lee Yong-gi’s instinct was telling him to pull the mitt out further.

‘Let’s believe, let’s believe in the pitcher…’

Ta – Aak!

‘Oh, fuck… Let’s skip it.’

And that cheap feeling soon turns into reality. The slider ended up being two balls closer to the center than he wanted, and unlike before, Ji Maeng-ho did not miss the ball.

The batted ball flew out with a cheerful hitting sound and hit the top of the Jamsil outfield seats.

[This hit is to the left wall! Let’s go! Ji Maeng-ho’s home run! Third home run of this series! Score 2:0! AT Thunders get away with one more point.]

“No, have you lost your senses because you keep filtering? A slider after a fastball is too obvious.”

“… “Don’t talk nonsense and just go.”

“Yes!”

This was all the catcher’s own mistake. He should have stopped him, no, if he couldn’t be stopped, he should have focused more and put out a sign… This home run was his own mistake as his mind was too distracted.

“Sorry, my fault.”

“I Know.”

‘… ‘A shameless bastard.’

If he had followed his words in the first place, or rather, if the pitcher had sharper control or the power to overwhelm Ji Maeng-ho, then even though this did not happen, he thought of the pitcher and offered an apology, but he came back with a blame. It’s just a tone of voice.

Although Tyler’s attitude toward receiving the apology was dissatisfying, he said he was a catcher who received the ball. The catcher was like the team’s mother, and his mother had a duty to protect even the poorest children.

‘Hehe, I have to endure it.’

“[Go back to your seat and catch the ball.]”

“Huh? What? What should I say, Paden?”

“Go, three, yo. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Perfect!

“Out.”

After catching the next batter with an ordinary hit, regret comes flooding back.

‘Oh, if you skip it, it just ends without giving you any points…’

But it’s already too late for him to blame the pitcher. Although I didn’t like his attitude, he was the pitcher in charge of the team’s mound, and I had one more way to help the pitcher.

[Choi Si-woo’s double hitting right-center! … Schreiber gets on base on a walk. And the batter here is Lee Yong-gi, the best catcher in the country!]

And the opportunity to put that method into practice came quickly.

‘I will make up for my mistakes.’

Even if the pitcher didn’t listen to what he said, and even if he threw a shit ball and hit a home run, it was all his own mistake for signing. Lee Yong-gi went to bat with the determination that he would make up for his mistake in this at-bat.

The opponent is Jang Yoon, whom he has faced numerous times. And a fly ball type left pitcher.

Lee Yong-gi was just the person he liked.

‘In my first at-bat, I hit a fastball and sent it to the warning track… If it’s Kyung-ho, there’s a good chance he won’t throw a fastball here. He was out, but he was such a good hitter. Then, considering Jang Yoon’s pitch, maybe a slider?’

So Lee Yong-gi went to bat with only one slider,

Ta – Aak!

The thoughts of Lee Yong-gi, who was the best catcher in Korea and was the best Guess heater in the country until Ji Maeng-ho appeared, were exactly the same.

[Lee Yong-gi’s reversal of three runs! Reversal in an instant! Score 3:2! Lee Yong-gi does it again this time!]

[This is the scary thing about volcano cleanup, right? The Kangta line leads to Choi Si-woo, Schreiber, and Lee Yong-gi. We can’t stop this.]

[When the Hwasan Falcons signed Lee Yong-gi as a free agent to win the championship, he was often nicknamed the championship contractor, right? In this series, he lives up to his nickname and leads the team by hitting two home runs.]

[Lee Yong-gi, really a model free agent, right?]

So Lee Yong-gi returned to the dugout and approached Tyler, who was wildly happy about his home run.

“Now that the situation has been reversed, let’s take it slow and do as I say. Did you translate?”

“[Thank you for the home run, but hitting is your role, and pitching is mine. I will take care of it.]”

“What are you saying this time?”

“That…, I. He says thank you. And from now on, I will throw well as directed.”

And now that the situation was good after the turnaround, a white lie came out of the interpreter’s mouth because he didn’t want to cause trouble in the team.

“Okay, I guess I’ve come to my senses.”

Looking at his favorite Lee Yong-gi, Hwasan’s interpreter firmly believed that he had made the right choice,

[Bottom of the 5th inning, the leadoff batter is Baek Jeong-jin. … Baek Jeong-jin’s hit! The leadoff hitter is on base! Now at bat is number 9 hitter Jeong Hwi-cheol. … This batted ball! Exit! Baek Jeong-jin all the way to second base! Jeong Hwi-cheol is on first base! Safe 1st and 2nd bases!]

Ji Maeng-ho came to Tyler once again. In the desperate crisis of safe first and second base.

“Tyler, are you going to skip this time? “You know there’s no reason not to skip it because it’s 1st and 2nd base with no outs, right?”

“[No. Deal with it.]”

“Did I hear that correctly? Hyungjun. “It’s a different story from before, isn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s right… “I’m sorry.”

“Why? “Why don’t you filter it?”

“[Is it sane to intentionally send a runner to third base when the score is tied with just one more point? All runners should be fast runners. That’s not the baseball I learned. Rather, it is a situation where the opponent has to bunt. Isn’t it? Trust me. Lee. I hit a home run earlier, but I’m in the best condition right now.]”

‘What the fuck…’

And Lee Yong-gi’s mouth is blocked by the basic words. Here too, it was possible to send an automatic intentional throw, but it was the same situation as before, in which a mentally shaken pitcher could be hit by an automatic intentional throw without the pitcher’s consent, so Lee Yong-gi looked at the dugout and signaled.

And then I made eye contact with director Moon Ki-taek, who seemed resigned. Director Moon Ki-taek also knew this situation very well.

‘Yeah, fuck. ‘Let’s give it a try.’

*

“Ball.”

‘What, you don’t filter it here?’

No outs, 1st and 2nd bases. A situation where one base is empty. Every time this situation comes up in this series, the guys who were filtering me suddenly throw the ball. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting it, so if I had come into the zone, I would have contributed a strike.

And as soon as I saw that pitcher’s first pitch, I started laughing.

‘Are these guys crazy? Yeah, I look like a dick, right? Okay, let’s give it a try.’