episode_0274

A baseball weighs between 140g to 150g, with a leather exterior and a cork-filled interior, making it a tightly packed ball. Most people are often surprised when they first touch a baseball because it’s harder than they expect.

The balls used for catch games by ordinary people or for neighborhood baseball played by children are usually made of rubber, lighter in weight, and provide a soft, bouncy feel when touched. The main difference between the familiar baseball used by the general public and the professional-grade baseball used in games lies in the degree of hardness. Unlike the relatively safe rubber balls, professional-grade baseballs pose a risk of causing significant pain upon impact, potentially leading to bone fractures or even death.

In reality, incidents where professional players suffered broken bones from being hit by baseballs were common, with some cases resulting in fatalities. The introduction of helmets in baseball was primarily due to the dangers posed by baseballs. Even with helmets, a blow to the head could lead to fatal brain hemorrhages, emphasizing how baseballs themselves could be considered weapons.

Hence, one of the most crucial virtues among professional players was not fearing the ball itself. Batters had to face the risks posed by baseballs without flinching, while pitchers, despite being aware of the dangers, had to target the batter’s body.

Avoiding flying objects is instinctual for humans, especially when they are aware of the danger these objects pose. Chen Tsujong, the third batter from China running towards second base, possessed this instinct.

With two outs already, a routine ground ball was hit, and the situation demanded that no outs be conceded. Running towards second base to disrupt the Korean second baseman as much as possible, Chen Tsujong instinctively felt the menacing gaze of Korea’s second baseman, Ji Maeng-ho, as he caught the ball and stared at him.

“Oh no!”

As Ji Maeng-ho straightened up and swung his arm, completely disregarding Chen Tsujong running towards him, Chen Tsujong instinctively raised both arms to shield his face. His eyes widened, nose flared, and forehead wrinkled as he quickly tried to crouch down.

…Forgetting the coach’s instructions to disrupt the defense as much as possible.

However, someone acted faster than Chen Tsujong in crouching down. It was Ji Maeng-ho.

“What? Scared?”

Seeing Chen Tsujong raise his arms, Maengho swiftly adjusted the trajectory of the ball. His pitching skills from his high school days shone through, and…

“Aargh!”

[Oh! First base runner Chen Tsujong has been hit by the ball and fallen down!]

Chen Tsujong collapsed, experiencing intense pain. The ball hit his mouth and bounced into Maengho’s glove. Before the umpire could call it a dead ball, Maengho quickly approached the fallen Chen Tsujong and tagged him with his glove.

[Chen Tsujong, you got too close to the fielder. Maengho looks puzzled. Didn’t expect that, right? Nevertheless, you managed to catch the ball that hit the runner and tag him out successfully. Maengho couldn’t avoid the runner due to the sudden turn of events.]

Approaching the fallen Chen Tsujong, Maengho wore a concerned expression as he spoke.

“[Hey, are you okay? How do I say in Chinese?] Páoliàng? Hǎo tōng? Tādā?”

Seemingly trying to inform the umpires that he got the runner out, Maengho awkwardly used Chinese, raising his glove. The Chinese words he used were phrases like ‘pretty, hurt, too big,’ learned from the women he dated.

“What’s he saying, this punk.”

Chen Sujong tried to curse in frustration at the clumsy Chinese he heard, but the pain in his mouth prevented him from speaking. Touching his lips with his hand, red blood oozed out, accompanied by a sense of emptiness in his front teeth.

“Aaaah!”

As he confirmed his injury, another wave of pain hit him, causing Chen Sujong to collapse on the ground.

[Chen Sujong is bleeding and collapsed. It seems to worry Player Jimangho a lot.]

[Even so, there shouldn’t be any injuries.]

While it was common for a ball thrown by a pitcher to hit a batter, hitting the face accurately enough to break the front teeth was an unusual situation. The broadcasters were unsure of what to say in such a scenario. Even though the inning had ended due to this unprecedented incident, the local cameras continued filming Chen Sujong bleeding on the ground.

Naturally, Korean fans watching the game also witnessed the event.

– Haha, what’s up with Jimangho? Did he just snipe him?

– Ouch, must be really painful.

– He’s fiery, haha.

– Damn, did he do that on purpose?

– It seems difficult to aim like that intentionally.

– No, catching the out count is more important. Any player could make a mistake, so throwing like that isn’t intentional.

– The runner was too close to the batter; he was blocking the first baseman, so it doesn’t seem intentional, haha.

– Haha, Jimangho is hilarious even in accidents, lol.

– Wow, isn’t that dangerous?

– Is he Chinese? Worried about it?

– No, I mean, aren’t those Chinese guys more reckless and dangerous?

– Don’t start talking like that from the beginning.

– Jimangho is quite educational, haha.

– Looks like he broke a tooth?

– That’s what you call being rude to someone.

– But what if he actually broke a tooth?

– Oh…

– Haha, when Jimangho was on the opposing team, he was a pain, but now that he’s on our team, it feels reassuring, lol.

– True.

– Wasn’t that payback from Yongpo? This is the essence of reconciliation between two families, haha.

– But honestly, it doesn’t seem intentional. The runner was too close.

– Still, it feels satisfying, haha. How does Jimangho get into these situations so often?

– So who’s the culprit…?

The situation where the runner got too close to the batter was subtle, but since accidents like this could happen, most fans simply enjoyed the moment. However, amidst this, there was someone who saw through the situation.

“Indeed, that guy was a psychopath. How can such a psychopath play baseball?”

“Oppa, what are you talking about?”

During a short vacation period after the season, UG’s starting catcher Baek Kyungho watched the Asian Games with his family. Based on his experience, Baek Kyungho was 100% convinced that Jimangho intentionally threw the ball.

“I know him well; he did it on purpose.”

“The broadcasters are calling it an accident and apologizing. Oppa! Are you jealous because I kept saying how handsome he is earlier?”

“No, it’s not that…”

“It’s okay, I only have you. And I trust your words, but I’m worried I might make a mistake with reporters later.”

However, not even his wife could be convinced. In Korea, Jimangho’s current image was that of a young, handsome player leading the domestic sports scene, loved by almost everyone except fans who supported specific teams. He consistently ranked high in popularity surveys among sports stars and even made it onto the list of popular celebrities.

‘That guy is really a psycho….’

Baek Kyungho had no choice but to swallow the words even his wife wouldn’t believe.

“[He didn’t do it on purpose, right?]”

“[Yes, that’s right. Did you see it? The batter is coming too close.]”

“Yeah, he did. Hm… Be careful from now on.”

“Got it.” Oh, hey! “A tooth fell out! Pick it up!”

After finishing talking with the umpires, I picked up the Chinese guy’s front tooth that had fallen on the ground and handed it to the trainer. Even my after-service is solid. They say I’m too nice, but what can I say?

The trainer took the tooth and walked away as the umpires gradually moved further.

‘Phew, this shouldn’t get me caught, right?’

I threw it with a mindset of making one mistake, but luckily the ball bounced towards me, allowing me to make an out.

“Wow, insane pitching power. Should I try pitching again at this point?”

“If that guy pitches, even I in the grave could hit a home run.”

“Cough.”

“More importantly, impressive. How can you make such a remorseful expression?”

“Of course, it’s thanks to experience. There were times when I sat on the bench just making apologetic faces. Utilizing those experiences helps with facial expressions, no big deal.”

I even added some acting to my expression in case of getting ejected or penalized, but I was satisfied with the results.

“This should be dirty enough, right?”

“You never know.”

Well, it could be considered a real accident.

“Hyung, but you didn’t do that on purpose, right?”

“What?”

“Well, when I saw it, it seemed like you did it on purpose…”

Woojoo, who knew me well while we were together, spoke to me on the way to the dugout.

“No, seriously, dude. And if I did it on purpose, what would you do? Are you Chinese?”

“No, if I give up runs, my record will suffer. You asked me to trust you and throw, but if it’s like this, I won’t send the ball your way next time. Do it when I’m benched.”

“What are you going to do? It was an accident.”

Ignoring Jang Woojoo, who looked suspicious, I headed into the dugout, and this time Coach Lee Geumhyun approached me.

“Mangho.”

“Yes, coach.”

“I believe you.”

“It really wasn’t intentional.”

“Hmm. Actually, whether you did it intentionally or not isn’t that important. What’s important is how those guys will come out now.”

Coach Lee Geumhyun seemed to believe my words. Or maybe he was pretending to believe even if he didn’t.

‘From the nuances, it seems like he’s pretending to believe, but does it matter? The coach seems to be favoring me.’

In reality, Coach Lee Geumhyun tended to favor me. He must have known for sure that I went out every night since my days in the athlete village, but he didn’t say anything. That’s because I was so focused during training hours that there was nothing to criticize.

Anyway, Coach Lee Geumhyun’s argument made sense. Whether China would come out dirtier or heed my warning and come out calmly was uncertain. In fact, I was curious about how they would come out.

“Strike!”

‘The strike zone seems consistent. The home plate umpire also seems unsure how to handle it. If it were first or second base umpire, you could handle it with a ball…’

In the top of the second inning, despite the wide strike zone on the Chinese side, our players were adapting to it and attacking the Chinese pitchers.

“Nice!”

“Great! Just score 11 more runs and it’s a mercy rule! Let’s finish this quickly and rest!”

We scored another run before getting the first out, and it was Kim Hwanyeong’s turn at bat.

Thud!

“It’s a ground ball to the infield!”

Kim Hwanyeong’s hit from second base ended up trapped in the infield. I observed how China would respond.

“Oh, damn! Hey! Don’t block first base.”

‘Well, that’s true.’

And once again, instinctively, the Chinese first baseman blocked first base. He still hadn’t come to his senses. It’s harsh, very harsh, that he didn’t heed my warning.

“He still hasn’t snapped out of it. Tsk, I warned him, yet he’s stubborn.”

In the Asian Games, I wanted to set a record of not getting a hit in a single at-bat, but it seemed like the world didn’t want such a record.

“I guess I need to give it one more shot.”

I mentally prepared myself to be out in at least one at-bat and walked towards the on-deck circle.