episode_0360

“Please, please. Don’t run.”

Baek Gyeong-ho fervently prayed as he looked at Ji Maeng-ho standing on third base. And then the ball descended slowly. Each second felt like an hour to Baek Gyeong-ho. And when Choi Jae-hyun caught the ball,

“He’s running!”

Someone shouted. At that shout, Baek Gyeong-ho glanced briefly at third base. The figure of Ji Maeng-ho on third base was getting closer.

What truly terrified Baek Gyeong-ho about Ji Maeng-ho wasn’t just his home run ability or his skill in stealing bases at any moment. It was the absence of a sense of camaraderie, as if something crucial was missing. Knowing that this guy was capable of assaulting a catcher with a bat if displeased, or spiking an ankle with his cleats,

…Baek Gyeong-ho felt as though his future was unfolding before him. In a brief moment, memories from the past flashed through his mind like lightning.

There was a time before rules were established for preventing home plate collisions, where blocking a runner at home was a vital skill for a good catcher. Baek Gyeong-ho had started his career during those times. It was common to stop runners at home without holding back.

And he recalled some of the challenging runners from that time. Especially, foreign batters who existed even amidst the trend of only selecting foreign pitchers before the foreign player regulations changed came to mind.

Back then, there were few foreign batters, and some of them seemed almost superhuman in their pursuit of home runs. Baek Gyeong-ho had faced many such batters, but Ji Maeng-ho aiming for home plate now seemed more frightening than back then.

“Damn it…!”

But there was no time to dwell on that sight. He needed to confirm Choi Jae-hyun’s throw. The ball that had already left Choi Jae-hyun’s hand was nearing home plate. Though he knew it shouldn’t be this way, Baek Gyeong-ho found himself silently praying for Choi Jae-hyun’s throw to miss.

However, true to the reputation of Korea’s top defense, Choi Jae-hyun’s throw was heading straight for home. A flawless throw that could only come after countless hours of practice. Choi Jae-hyun’s throw was aimed at home plate.

Choi Jae-hyun’s throw, delivered to home like a package. There was no avoiding it now. Even if he wanted to dodge and tag with his arm, Baek Gyeong-ho, a veteran catcher who had received thousands, maybe tens of thousands of pitches at home, instinctively knew that with this kind of throw, he wouldn’t need to resort to home plate collision prevention techniques.

In this situation, he had to face off against Ji Maeng-ho charging towards home like a wild boar.

“Please, you’re good at sliding. Slide to avoid me!”

With a bang! and a solid sensation felt through the mitt. Baek Gyeong-ho’s body, honed through decades of training, defied its owner’s will and turned itself around. And there, a beastly figure loomed before him. And the nightmare of the Korean Series resurfaced. Just as he thought he might have collided with Ji Maeng-ho and lost consciousness for a few seconds back then,

“Argh!”

Ji Maeng-ho pounced on him like a four-legged beast. Along with the sensation of impact, the world momentarily went dark.

“Choi Jae-hoon’s throw! Baek Gyeong-ho caught it! Ji Maeng-ho! He threw his body…!”

“Huh?”

And the familiar sky of Moonhak Stadium came into view.

“Oh. Wasn’t today a day game…?”

But the anticipated pain didn’t rush in. …Or so he thought for a moment.

“Ugh, damn it.”

A dull ache rising from his back enveloped Baek Gyeong-ho’s entire body. Without even considering showing the ball to the umpire, Baek Gyeong-ho simply lay there. And then a shadow fell over him.

“Oh, the ball is out? Three outs, right?”

Ji Maeng-ho brushed dirt off his uniform and looked at the umpire. They had definitely collided, yet Ji Maeng-ho appeared perfectly unscathed.

“Don’t both players usually tumble together in a situation like this?”

Watching that scene, Jusim couldn’t help but feel perplexed. Typically, in situations where a pitcher and a batter collide, the person involved in the collision would be rolling on the ground in pain. However, Jimaengho looked perfectly fine.

“Surely he got hit hard from the shoulder? It was enough to send someone flying, yet he looks so unscathed…?”

“Did you get hit by a three-pointer?”

“…Safe!”

But Jusim couldn’t just stand there dumbfounded. Jimaengho was pressuring him with his gaze from the side.

“Uh, uh. This guy… Someone got hurt….”

Baek Gyeong-ho tried to respond to Jimaengho’s casual remark, but the pain coursing through his body prevented him from speaking. Breathing was difficult, making it hard for him to form coherent words.

“Ambulance! Ambulance!”

And the crowd gathering around. Though Baek Gyeong-ho couldn’t see clearly, they were the coach and the trainer.

“Oh? Injured again? Senior! Senior! Are you okay?”

And seeing Jimaengho’s bewildered expression, continuously calling him ‘senior.’

“Why is he pretending not to be hurt when the collision was this intense?”

Jimaengho’s thought that it seemed like a similar situation to last year didn’t take long.

“Tsk, he’s an interesting senior, but it’s a shame he’s physically weak.”

Although he was concerned, there was nothing more Jimaengho could do, so he turned back towards the dugout, ready to savor the lead.

“Kyung-ho! Kyung-ho! Are you okay? Can you walk?”

“Uh…. Uh. Yes, I’m… okay.”

As soon as he spoke, pain radiated from his ribs.

“Baek Gyeong-ho!”

Trying to stand up, Baek Gyeong-ho was forced to sit back down due to the pain in his ribs, eventually being carried off on a stretcher.

“Damn it, I said I shouldn’t have gone out like this….”

As he watched the ambulance doors close, all Baek Gyeong-ho could do was resent the battery coach who had put him in the starting lineup for this game.

While Jimaengho could have been blamed, Baek Gyeong-ho didn’t blame him. Blaming the earth for landslides, hurricanes, or tsunamis was futile. When faced with a natural disaster, one must endure the consequences.

Baek Gyeong-ho had tried to avoid natural disasters, ending up wearing a catcher’s mask because of the battery coach. So, he only resented the battery coach who caused him to wear the catcher’s mask.

“Sh…it.”

“Don’t speak right now! Stability! Stability!”

‘Oh dear….’

Thinking about his wife watching the game at home, Baek Gyeong-ho shed a single tear.

—

-Player substitution, catcher, Park Seung-jun. Catcher, Park Seung-jun.

The announcer’s voice echoed throughout the stadium. Was he finally being substituted?

“How can he be a catcher if he’s that weak?”

“That’s right. Back in our day, we didn’t even have protective gear, and there weren’t any weaklings who went down after a single collision.”

“Exactly. People need fighting spirit. It seemed fun, but here he goes again.”

Honestly, being carried off after such a collision? I think it’s ridiculous. I’m perfectly fine myself. Usually, in such collisions, it’s the one running in who gets hurt. But here, the catcher, who looked fine and well-protected, got injured?

There was one reason.

“He’s just pretending to be hurt. I was right to avoid him because he’s scary.”

It was an inexplicable situation unless he was avoiding me, so my worries vanished.

“But he’s playing dirty over there.”

“Yeah, out of the blue? What do you mean by that?”

Baek Jeong-jin, who was listening nearby, reacted to my muttering. Seeing his complete lack of understanding, it seemed like their strategy was working flawlessly.

“That’s right. Even though it doesn’t hurt much, pretending to be hurt to weigh heavy on my heart, isn’t that what they’re trying to do?”

“……”

“Hyung Jin, do you think the same way?”

“…Is that so?”

“That’s the only reason why someone would pretend to be carried like that. Honestly, even wearing protective gear.”

“Is that so?”

“Hey, Baek Jeong-jin. Why are you listening to that nonsense?”

“If Sang-joo senior had hit deeper in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened, you know? You just ended up feeling uneasy for no reason.”

“Yeah, it’s all my fault.”

As they conversed with their teammates, a cheerful cheer resounded once again. However, as Yoon Sung-tae struck out while at bat, the first inning came to an end. In the bottom of the first, although one batter reached base for UG, they couldn’t score, and the score difference remained in the 2nd inning.

And then, my second turn at bat in a one-out situation.

“Ball.”

“…Isn’t that too inside?”

Kim Seong-gyeol’s first pitch landed near the armpit. Despite protesting to the umpire about the pitch being too close to the body, the catcher nonchalantly returned the ball to the pitcher.

‘I see what he’s thinking. Let’s keep it reasonable, Seung-jun. There’s another catcher on the roster, right?’

I understand what he’s thinking. Since Baek Gyeong-ho got hurt, he probably intends to throw a retaliatory pitch. If I had really made a mistake, I might have been able to endure it, but this was not the case. It was a mistake born out of caution that I couldn’t send Baek Gyeong-ho further away after he overreacted, and I had no reason to endure it.

“What nonsense is this? My pitching is top-notch.”

Ha, what a ridiculous statement that doesn’t make any sense.

“Kim Seong-gyeol has poor pitching skills? You should make sense when you talk. If I get hit in this spot one more time, I won’t hold back.”

“A young punk talking informally and cheekily.”

“An old geezer talking informally and cheekily.”

“Enough, enough. If you two fight anymore, you’ll both be ejected.”

“…Understood.”

“Ugh.”

After the umpire’s warning, the home plate fell silent. Then, Rossby’s voice broke the silence.

“It’s a fastball.”

“Okay.”

Another fastball after the threatening pitch. It seemed like the catcher’s thoughts were discernible. Annoyed by the warning and insisting that the first pitch wasn’t a threatening one, he seemed like he might deliberately throw another pitch closer to the body.

“Time!”

Feeling like the next pitch would come near his body, I called for time briefly and swung the bat a few times outside the batter’s box. Then, I stepped back into the batter’s box, slightly farther from home plate than before. With the intention of calling a strike if it wasn’t a pitch near the body, I timed the inside pitch.

And here comes the second pitch.

“As expected!”

As I anticipated, the pitcher’s pitch followed a trajectory near the body. Having expected it, all that was left was to swing the bat until the end.

Thunk!

I felt a solid sensation in my hands, but I carried through with the swing until the end, then tossed the bat aside.

“Ha, did I look like an idiot? You’re just reading everything.”

“This, this is…”

Making a fuss over nothing. Walking to first base, leaving the bewildered catcher behind, felt good, indeed.

-AT Thunder’s Winning Series confirmed!

…Alongside Ji Maeng-ho’s performance, AT secured a 5:3 victory over UG. …Meanwhile, during an interview with Su-hoon player, Ji Maeng-ho expressed his support for Baek Gyeong-ho, who was taken out due to injury in the first inning, saying, “I want him to return to the field quickly and compete again. Senior, fighting!” …On Sunday, with nationwide heavy rain forecasted, the match between AT and UG unfolding in Munhak is likely to end with AT’s victory.

ㄴLet’s go for the top spot! 0.5 games behind!

ㄴWhy does this kid Ji Maeng-ho keep getting injured? lol Seriously, he’s like a walking disaster.

ㄴWasn’t Baek Gyeong-ho also taken out in last year’s Korean Series??

ㄴㅇㅅㅁㅎㅅ

– Man, it’s like hitting a home run every game in literature, haha. I wish we could play games in literature all the time. Jimaeng-ho would probably hit over 100 home runs, haha.

– Ah, it’s raining tomorrow just when I need to dry my UG sneakers, damn it.

-“Home Plate Collision” Baek Gyeong-ho, Suspected Minor Fracture. Reevaluation planned in a week. “Planning to take a rest.”

…During a first-inning outfield fly situation, Baek Gyeong-ho collided with third-base runner Jimaeng-ho and was diagnosed with a minor rib fracture. Baek Gyeong-ho, who is scheduled for a detailed examination a week later after being removed from the entry, plans to take a break. …Meanwhile, Baek Gyeong-ho showed heartwarming camaraderie by stating, “It’s not Jimaeng-ho’s fault,” embracing his young teammate.

-What? Why a fracture? They didn’t collide with each other, did they?

-Nope, upon review, it seems their arms extended and collided in unprotected areas. Poor Baek Gyeong-ho got the short end of the stick, haha.

-I hope you give birth soon…..

-No way, giving birth?

-Baek Gyeong-ho, poor guyㅠ

-No wonder it felt strange when they collided; Jimaeng-ho should be careful with these plays.

-??? It was a normal play with a third-base runner on an outfield fly. If you’re scared, don’t block home plate, haha.

-Their team’s level, haha. Getting cocky after winning once in 30 years? Let’s see who wins this year, haha.

-For real, they’re boasting after winning, haha. Well, they saw a spectacle they’ll only see once in a lifetime, so let them enjoy it, haha.

-Wishing you a speedy recovery.

-This sucks. There’s a different sense of stability with Baek Gyeong-ho on and off the field.

-That Jimaeng-ho guy targets someone every game, damn it.

-Even Baek Gyeong-ho doesn’t blame Jimaeng-ho, so let’s not criticize players from other teams. It was an accident during the game.