On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 21

And here is….”

Hiroto pointed to Kim In-hwan.

The Japanese players’ eyes changed.

Kim Jung-ryul also had a solid build like a baseball player, but Kim In-hwan’s entire body was thick and solid, making him look like a heavyweight bodybuilder.

“This is Kim In-hwan. In terms of strength alone, he’s the best I’ve ever seen. Ryosuke, wouldn’t you say Kim In-hwan is on a completely different level, like comparing an adult to a middle school student?”

Taisei and Hiroshi were even more surprised than Ryosuke.

Ryosuke didn’t seem displeased; rather, he seemed to acknowledge it.

“You can tell just by looking that his body is solid, right?”

“Currently, he’s modifying his batting form, so he might not be able to show you any long hits today. But once he starts hitting home runs, they’ll all be out-of-the-park home runs.”

“Is it that serious?”

Kim In-hwan was at a loss for what to do with the praise.

The Japanese players carefully examined Kim In-hwan’s thighs and biceps.

“This is a rookie, Song Seok-hyun, who hasn’t even graduated high school yet. He has the cleanest swing of any player I’ve ever seen. His batting talent could succeed even in Japan.”

Upon hearing the translation, Song Seok-hyun raised both hands to make an X, indicating refusal.

“No. No, I haven’t even been drafted yet.”

“He’s a catcher, so he won’t be able to play much in today’s game. But still, watch him later. If you pay close attention, you’ll have a lot to learn.”

After the introductions, the players shook hands.

The Japanese players left first, and then Coach Hiroto said to the three of them.

“Today, we’ll be playing against the Okinawa Bears team. They’re a pretty good team in Okinawa. Players often transfer to professional leagues from there. Our other opponent is Hero Magic, an independent baseball team. They’re also quite good. Players who used to play in the Korean professional league have also played on that team.”

Kim In-hwan said.

“Yes, I think I’ve heard of them.”

“We’ll decide on positions when we get there, but Kim In-hwan will probably play as first baseman or designated hitter. Kim Jung-ryul will play as a middle relief pitcher.”

“Understood.”

“Then let’s go warm up and say hello.”

The three followed the coach and met the Okinawa Bears team manager.

The manager seemed to know Coach Hiroto and greeted him warmly.

“The manager said he’ll definitely give Seok-hyun one or two at-bats. It would be nice if he had more at-bats, but I think we’ll have to be satisfied with this today.”

Song Seok-hyun bowed to Coach Hiroto and the Okinawa Bears team manager.

“Thank you for the opportunity.”

The players gathered and warmed up, combining it with simple training.

The players buzzed at the news that a pitcher with 100 wins in Korea had arrived.

Even with all the attention focused on him, Kim Jung-ryul continued his training without changing his expression.

Although it was just a practice game, the players’ faces were tense, knowing professional players were participating.

The game started with Hero Magic at bat.

-Play ball!

Song Seok-hyun, Kim Jung-ryul, and Kim In-hwan sat on the bench and watched the game.

Hero Magic’s starter was a tall right-handed pitcher.

Thwack!

-Strike!

“His pitch is good?”

“It looks like it’s about 140km/h [approximately 87 mph].”

“If it’s 140 now, that means it’ll be 145 [approximately 90 mph] once his shoulder is warmed up… I knew Japanese amateur baseball was strong, but this is no joke.”

The pitcher was a typical two-pitch pitcher.

A fastball that came down from his tall height, and a curveball.

Simple but effective and efficient.

He used the fastball to get ahead in the count and the curveball as his finishing pitch.

-Strike! Out!

Two outs in an instant.

Kim In-hwan, who was assigned as the fourth batter, headed to the on-deck circle.

“Ouch!”

Just as Kim In-hwan put on his batting gloves and swung a few times,

the pitcher’s ball hit the third batter in the side.

Kim Jung-ryul clicked his tongue.

“His pitch is powerful, but his control is already wavering.”

“The curveball has a good break, but if it’s already missing like that, it’ll be hard to use as a finisher, right?”

“From what I can see, these guys are at a professional level in some areas, but in other areas, they’re just like amateurs. The balance isn’t right.”

“Isn’t that amazing enough? If they’re at a professional level, that means they can go pro if they just fix their weaknesses.”

“Yanma, do you think weaknesses are that easy to fix? If they were, everyone would go pro, right? That’s why they’re playing here. Anyway, In-hwan and I are in big trouble. They said a Korean professional baseball player came, but what if we embarrass ourselves?”

Kim In-hwan stepped into the batter’s box.

Kim In-hwan stood right at the front and inside of the plate.

The catcher checked Kim In-hwan’s position and scanned him up and down.

Rumors that he was the next fourth hitter in Korea had already made the rounds.

The pitcher didn’t even look at the runner and only stared at Kim In-hwan.

“He’s not going to throw another beanball [a pitch intentionally aimed at the batter], is he?”

“That last one was a missed pitch. Surely not.”

The pitcher threw a fastball that broke away outside.

Kim In-hwan’s shoulder twitched, but he held back.

“Oh, he held back.”

“The pitch selection is good. He knew he was looking for an outside pitch, but he induced a ground ball with an outside pitch that broke away.”

“You’re looking at the pitch selection first because you’re a catcher. I thought it was a good pitch too. What would you call for next?”

“Definitely an outside curveball. A breaking curveball.”

“But that would make it two balls?”

“It doesn’t matter if he walks him. It’s already two outs, so if he just gets one more batter out, it’s over. There’s no need to face the fourth batter head-on.”

Kim Jung-ryul nodded.

“All the other catchers think like you, so that’s why In-hwan has had such a hard time. No one wants to face him.”

The catcher called for another outside fastball.

Whack.

-Ball.

Kim In-hwan twitched again.

“What pitch would you call for this time?”

“A curveball. He’s already shown two fastballs, so a curveball that bounces in the middle of the zone.”

“With a runner on base?”

“It doesn’t matter since he only needs one more out. He needs to focus on getting the fourth batter out.”

As if the catcher had heard Song Seok-hyun’s words, the pitcher threw a curveball.

A perfectly breaking curveball.

Kim In-hwan’s bat swung through the air.

“Ha, he can lay off the outside pitches, but he can’t pick up the breaking balls.”

“…He can’t be perfect from the start. Senior will gradually fix it.”

The catcher and pitcher took a long time exchanging signs.

“It looks like his weakness has been exposed. The batter is sensitive to outside pitches, and his bat swings easily at curveballs, so they’re going to avoid facing him.”

“It’s the same here as it is in Korea.”

“In this situation, the best thing to do is to just swing the bat wildly without actually swinging, as if you’re ready to take a called strike…”

“If he could do that, he wouldn’t be struggling in the minor leagues. He’s usually quiet and timid, but as soon as he grabs a bat, he gets impatient and restless. As soon as he sees the ball, his bat goes out.”

Poor minor league performance that didn’t match his title as the KPBL’s [Korean Professional Baseball League] greatest prospect.

Kim In-hwan was a bad-ball hitter.

Usually, bad-ball hitters make up for their lack of plate discipline with their contact ability.

Kim In-hwan was a bad-ball hitter with poor plate discipline and poor contact.

Bad-ball hitters swing according to the situation, such as full swings, hitting to the opposite field, fly balls, and line drives, but Kim In-hwan always took a full swing.

It was a style that couldn’t possibly produce good results.

Kim In-hwan was driven to a full count with consecutive breaking curveballs.

“If this happens, it’ll be a shame about all the training he’s done.”

As Kim Jung-ryul clicked his tongue, the catcher held his mitt outside.

The mitt held at knee height clearly signaled for a fastball.

“Don’t swing, don’t swing.”

Kim Jung-ryul clasped his hands together.

The pitcher wound up without paying attention to the runner and threw the ball.

The ball was a fastball that broke slightly outside the outer edge of the strike zone.

Kim In-hwan’s bat swung.

“Oh no.”

Kim Jung-ryul sighed without even looking.

Thwack!

“…?”

“…!”

The ball, caught on the end of Kim In-hwan’s bat, shot straight toward left field and went straight over the fence.

Ryosuke, who was standing in left field, didn’t even think about chasing it and just turned his head to look at the fence.

A line drive with no arc.

He pushed an outside fastball to make a line drive home run to left field.

The runner watched the ball, wondering, ‘Huh?’ and only started running to second base after seeing Kim In-hwan running.

“…Wow.”

“…I was surprised too, that was something.”

“In-hwan is really scary. It’s like he’s not human.”

“Being too good is also a problem. If he gets a hit, it goes over, so they don’t even bother facing him.”

“Amazing, super amazing. Is he really human? Shouldn’t he be going to the majors?”

“He’s a strikeout machine even in Korea, so if he goes to the majors, they’ll use him instead of a helicopter propeller, man.”

The two came out of the bench and gave Kim In-hwan a high five.

Some of the other Japanese players on the bench had blank faces, while others laughed loudly.

The pitcher who gave up the home run shook his head in disbelief.

“Phew, I can definitely hit outside pitches.”

Kim In-hwan smiled brightly as soon as he sat on the bench.

Kim Jung-ryul said.

“Well, it’s a relief if you can get something out of it.”

After Kim In-hwan’s home run, the pitcher gave up two more runs.

As the third inning came, it was Kim In-hwan’s turn again.

The pitcher threw only outside pitches without a single strike.

There wasn’t a single breaking curveball that dropped from the middle of the strike zone.

“He’s relentless.”

“I wouldn’t give that kind of hitter any good pitches either.”

After that, Kim In-hwan continued to get walks.

As the sixth inning came, the manager called Kim Jung-ryul.

“He’s asking if you can pitch in the next inning.”

At the translator’s words, Kim Jung-ryul gave an okay sign.

“He says to warm up.”

“Okay, okay.”

While Kim Jung-ryul was warming up, Song Seok-hyun stared blankly at the field.

It was already the sixth inning.

Fortunately, the Okinawa Bears team was winning.

At the latest, he would have to enter in the seventh inning to get two at-bats instead of one.

“Hoo.”

Song Seok-hyun clasped his hands together and lowered his head.

Tap tap.

Kim In-hwan lightly tapped Song Seok-hyun’s arm.

“Substitution. You’re going in for me next at-bat.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you warm up too. You have to go in next inning.”

Song Seok-hyun smiled brightly.

He stood up and bowed to the manager, and the manager nodded with a kind smile.

“I’ll cheer for you. Do well.”

Kim In-hwan patted Song Seok-hyun’s shoulder.

Success as a catcher

HIT!

“Pitcher change.”

Top of the 6th inning.

The score was 7-4.

The Okinawa Bears maintained the gap they had created from the first inning.

Hero Magic could no longer afford to let the score difference widen.

“Ah…”

Song Seok-hyun exclaimed while warming up.

The pitcher was Taisei.

A forkballer who Softbank [a Japanese professional baseball team] is currently developing as their future closer.

Japanese forkballers are at a world-class level that can even work in Major League Baseball.

Even if he’s in the minor leagues, if the team has marked him as their future closer, he’s at least as good as any bullpen pitcher in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization], if not better.

“Why does it have to be my turn…”

Song Seok-hyun made a face.

He was hoping to get a feel for it, but it had to be Taisei.

The Okinawa Bears manager also seemed to regret taking Kim In-hwan out early when Taisei came out.

Whack!

As soon as Taisei came out, he struck out the first batter with three pitches.

Even at a glance, his fastball was over 140km/h [approximately 87 mph].

Maybe even 145km/h [approximately 90 mph].

Strikeout!