Gil Thorp by Henry Barajas and Rachel Merrill for May 12, 2022

P3: Point to your head…what’s the abbreviation for mountain?

Yeah, this guy’s got a fastball inside that no one could ever duck away from….he’s got that 64 mph heater.

P2: Which one is dumb and which one dumber?

… because a high school player throwing BEANBALLS is going to work out well. Right. Sure. (Never mind the jerka$$ nature of “Wow, you came up with a successful legal tactic to use against us, so in retaliation we’re going to deliberately try to injure you.” Is this high school sports or MMA?)

The strike zone over the plate belongs to me. If he is leaning over the plate, I toss it hard inside under his chin or inside his fists, even if it is a ball.

Put the next pitch right here? Have these guys heard of Juan Marichal and Johnny Roseboro? Has the Valley Conference adopted the DH yet or does Hamm have to hit and get hit?

P4 “Bring it on, you lippy little pr**k, we’ll bunt whenever we want, he can’t stop us, tell your boy to keep his head on a swivel, hope he can see liners coming back at his head.”

P2 Shadow monkeys wearing hats?

Well, they probably also didn’t bunt on Nolan Ryan because even a bad fielder without debilitatingly bad eyesight can still field and throw out runners pretty easily on bunts far more often than not. But sure, Scooter, make threats about causing traumatic brain injuries in response to legal batting techniques, that’ll definitely work out well for Gregg and yourself.

Where was Eli the Scooooter when Prank needed threats and innuendo to collect betting debts last story arc?

“Spread the word”? And this is a HS team using threats of violence against an opponent because they’re getting on base. Sportsmanship by intimidation. What a great message to send to kids. I’m surprised the editors step in here.

P2- Spoiler alert. Looks like The Fist Pump Family is located in other parts of The Valley. A cousin plays at VT?

No, you don’t throw at somebody’s head because they bunted. That’s almost as insane as having a blind pitcher.

The bunt-fest continues, Magoo throws at an opposing batter’s head, benches clear, punches are thrown, Scooby and Greggy end up with broken hands, and Gil sez ’what’s going on out there?’

We can only hope Scooter gets drilled in the ribs his next time up.

Way to set the stage for a benches clearing brawl, you meathead.

P2 shows us the game as Greggg Hammm sees it.

It’s too bad Milford doesn’t have a manager to make a pitching change.

Do high school leagues have rules on how many batters a pitcher can hit before he’s taken out? I know that in some leagues, that once a pitcher hits a batter twice, you are automatically disqualified from continuing to pitch in that game. I would take this mouthy pipsqueak up on his threat if that’s the case. And Scooby here should brush up on his MLB knowledge. Pitchers go for the ribs, butt, arm, or legs (not the head) when they want to send a message.

So, to recap: A baseball trivia nerd with a classic case of Little Man Complex decides the best way to help his sight impaired friend is to offer up vengeful and illegal tactics that could lead to on field mayhem and ultimate suspensions, all in pursuit of second in The Valley. Put a fork in it, this story is done.

Where did VT get those hats with the letters that light up? Pretty cool.

And after that happens twice, the kid will be ejected.

Maybe Gil will somehow come out of his coma and find out that Scooby is making threats that Gregger will be beaning opposing batters who dare to bunt and throw his a$$ off the team. Then Scooby can become a GT trivia answer himself. “…Who was the last baseball player to get kicked off of a team coached by the great Gil Thorp?..” The first person to answer correctly gets a free milk shake

So what Scooooter is implying in P3 seems plausible. If VT keeps bunting Gregggg will bean Scooooter in the head out at second base. Although that might happen whether anyone bunts or not, if he gets even slightly disoriented walking back to the mound.

Good to see the VT runner shorten his 1 foot lead off from yesterday

P 2.5: “…nope…don’t care either…”

Is that true, did Nolan Ryan just intentionally bean players because they bunted? It’s not like it was guaranteed that you’d get on base if he fumbled them once in a while. But of course, Scooooter’s “what we thought was stupid trivia knowledge” saves the day as the VT players are terrified of bunting again and Milford pulls it out. Is this the point that Gil or Kaz finally notices something they should have noticed on DAY ONE of practice? Or will it take something even stupider? And speaking of stupider, anyone who isn’t reading Mopped Up Thorp is stupider than this plot.

https://moppedupthorp.wordpress.com/

Eye chart? What eye chart?