On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 48

Kim In-hwan scratched his head and entered the room.

“What were you doing? Watching baseball?”

“Yeah, I was checking up on the first team.”

“Aren’t you tired of watching baseball all day?”

“Not yet. I’m a rookie who joined this year, I can’t be tired already.”

Kim In-hwan gave a bitter smile.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Sit down, *hyung* [older brother or male friend]. Want something to drink?”

“No, I’m okay.”

Kim In-hwan sat on the bed.

Song Seok-hyun turned off the TV and swiveled his chair.

“What’s wrong? Something on your mind?”

“I’m always worried. Why am I so bad?”

“Hey, come on, anyone can have a bad game like today.”

“Not everyone hits three sacrifice flies in a game, let alone three by themselves.”

“That’s… well…”

Song Seok-hyun couldn’t deny it.

“Ha, why am I so bad at baseball?”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Don’t you think I’m pathetic? Am I really that bad?”

“*Hyung*, you just need a breakthrough. You’re definitely not bad.”

“I thought I could make it when I went to Japan, but it’s all gone to waste since I came back to Korea. I haven’t improved at all.”

“No, you’re doing the in-and-out swing automatically now. Keeping your elbows in is now second nature.”

“What’s the point if I only hit three sacrifice flies? Inside pitches, outside pitches, all sacrifice flies. Ha, it seems like the problem isn’t the swing, it’s me.”

“Your timing was just off today. You’re changing your stance too quickly. You need to modify your batting form little by little, but you’ve been changing it too drastically since the beginning of the year.”

“But I can’t go back to how I was before; I couldn’t hit then either.”

“Hmm.”

Song Seok-hyun rested his chin on his hand.

Kim In-hwan lowered his voice.

“Honestly, do I even have any talent? Wouldn’t it be better to just quit early?”

“*Hyung*, are you that desperate?”

“Of course, I am. If I end up going to the military late because of this, I’m really done for. Imagine going to the army at twenty-six or twenty-seven. I could get rejected from Sangmu [military sports team] and the Police Agency [another avenue for military service through sports] and have to go as an active-duty soldier. Then I’ll be thirty when I come back; who would want a hitter who hasn’t shown anything until thirty?”

“Why would you get rejected from Sangmu and the Police Agency? You could go right now.”

“This is just a fluke. Look at today, three sacrifice flies. If I start playing poorly from next year, I’ll really be screwed.”

“But it’ll be even harder if you keep changing your batting form.”

“I don’t think it can get any worse than it is now.”

“*Hyung*, your stats are good right now.”

“My batting average and everything else has dropped recently. Pitchers have started targeting my inside.”

“But your batting average is still around .300…?”

“It’s over .300 as of today. If I can’t even hit .300 in the minors, would they call me up to the majors?”

Song Seok-hyun licked his lips.

Kim In-hwan glanced at Song Seok-hyun and asked.

“Is there no way?”

“What am I, a doctor? How can I give you the perfect prescription?”

“You know more than I do. You’re better than me too.”

“Hey, *hyung*. It’s just a fluke for now.”

“What fluke? I have an eye for talent. Do you think I can’t tell the difference between a fluke and skill? Seok-hyun, tell me anything that comes to your mind. What should I do now? Huh?”

“*Hyung*, you’re just making it more stressful. This isn’t good for either of us. If you keep changing your batting form like this, it’ll be hard to adapt, and you’ll just end up blaming me.”

“Wouldn’t it be more rational for you to decide than for me to think about it? Either way, I’m hopeless if I keep going like this. If I fail, it’s my fault, and if I succeed, it’s thanks to you.”

“Ugh, seriously. You’re putting so much pressure on me.”

“Just help me out. I’ve improved this much because I listened to you. Just help me a little more while you’re at it. If I do well later and hit the jackpot with free agency, I’ll do whatever you want.”

“I don’t need any empty promises. I don’t want anything like that.”

“Seok-hyun, please help me one more time.”

“You should ask the coach. Why are you asking a junior about this?”

“Have I only been burned once or twice? The moment I ask the coach, they’ll tear apart my form. You’re telling me I change my batting form too often, but I’ve changed it dozens, hundreds of times since I joined this team. I don’t hate the coaches, but it’s hard because they all change my batting form too much. Even the coaches’ teachings are all different.”

“Ah… well… is it that bad?”

“Even if I leave it to the coaches, they’ll have to tear apart my batting form anyway. And I’ve never had good results from fixing it that way. It’s a hundred times better to trust you. I did well because of your advice.”

“Hoo.”

Song Seok-hyun squeezed his eyes shut.

“It’s just like stocks.”

“Huh?”

“It’s like recommending stocks. If the stock does well, I just get a meal out of it, but if it doesn’t, I become an enemy for life. I don’t want to drift apart from you, *hyung*.”

“Hey, do you think I’d blame you? Look at me. You know I’m not that kind of guy.”

Kim In-hwan’s eyes sparkled like a character in an animation.

Song Seok-hyun turned his head away from Kim In-hwan’s cow-like blinking eyes.

“You’re something else, *hyung*.”

“You saw my batting today. You see the problems, right? You see what needs to be fixed, right?”

Song Seok-hyun crossed his arms and frowned.

Kim In-hwan clenched his fists and waited for Song Seok-hyun’s answer.

“I’m not a miracle worker… First, get out of here, don’t do this here. I’m not a coach or anything, but if you ask me to talk about your batting from a catcher’s perspective, I have something to say. Let’s go out, *hyung*.”

Kim In-hwan nodded.

“Okay, I understand. That’s all I need. Thanks.”

A Catcher’s Rise

Simultaneous Hatching (6)

The time when even the players doing individual training had returned to the dorm.

Song Seok-hyun and Kim In-hwan turned on the lights in the indoor practice field.

“*Hyung*, give me your bat.”

“This one?”

Song Seok-hyun received the bat Kim In-hwan handed him.

“There’s no major problem with your current batting form. You’ve fixed the extreme closed stride, and you’ve fixed the habit of standing too close to the plate…”

“But now I can’t hit inside or outside pitches.”

“To be honest, it’s not a problem with your batting form, it’s because of your style. You swing as soon as you see the ball, right?”

“Th… that’s right.”

“The in-and-out swing is good, but your eye and contact aren’t that great. You might not be able to fix your eye and contact at all, or it might take a long time to fix them.”

“Then there’s no way?”

“It’s not orthodox, but there’s a workaround.”

“A workaround?”

Kim In-hwan’s voice grew louder.

“What kind of workaround?”

“It’s a trick, but you can use a lighter bat. If you use an 850g bat, it might get better.”

“850g? That light?”

“Yes, if you use a bat that a leadoff hitter uses, your swing speed will increase, right? If you do an in-and-out swing with a light bat, you can watch the ball longer and hit it, right? You can react faster to inside pitches too.”

“Will I still be able to hit home runs?”

“You could hit a home run even if you held the bat upside down. I don’t think you know your own power.”

Song Seok-hyun imitated Kim In-hwan’s stance.

“If it’s hard to have a good eye and make contact, let’s not be greedy and just focus on what we can do. Throw away the pitches that are just outside the strike zone, but hit any pitch that comes into the strike zone. Since you can’t hit pitches that are just outside the strike zone if you keep your elbows in, you’ll get a feel for it quickly. Put the hitting point one or two balls behind where you think it should be, and hit every ball you see. Don’t think, just watch and hit. Watch and hit, watch and hit.”

Kim In-hwan blinked his big eyes.

“Don’t think about the count?”

“Yes, you should just hit instinctively. Swing with all your might even if it’s 0-2 [no balls, two strikes]. Don’t think, just react, only react. There’s no major flaw in your batting form. Just don’t spread your stride too wide and hit like you do now. Oh, it won’t be easy to find an 850g bat, so try to find one tomorrow.”

Song Seok-hyun handed the bat to Kim In-hwan.

Kim In-hwan swung the bat around.

“There really isn’t a problem with my batting form?”

“Yes, you’re just too thoughtful, which makes your body sluggish. Clear your head and just focus on hitting the ball accurately. Watch the ball and hit it. Oh, but make sure to stand in front of the plate. Don’t stand behind to watch the ball longer. You have to stand in front to hit breaking balls before they break. That’ll be more advantageous for you. Well… that’s all. The end. Completely the end. Anything else is unnecessary.”

“…That’s really the end?”

“Yes, that’s the end. You don’t need anything else.”

“That easily?”

“It’s easy to say. It’ll take you a long time to get used to an 850g bat.”

* * *

The next morning.

Song Seok-hyun was told that he would be a substitute again.

“I think you’ll be coming up after the 7th inning. Got it?”

“Yes, I understand.”

During morning practice.

Kim In-hwan searched for an 850g bat by asking the other players.

After promising to buy them more bats when the ordered one arrived, he started practicing with the 850g bat.

Thwack!

Thwack!

Thwack!

Song Seok-hyun stood behind the batting cage with his mouth wide open.

“He’s not human…”

Kim In-hwan pushed the ball with the 850g bat and hit a home run.

As the ball stretched out, Kim In-hwan pulled the hitting point back, further back.

He pulled the hitting point back as much as he could, but Kim In-hwan’s balls still drew parabolas and went over the fence.

“He’s really amazing too, isn’t he?”

Kim Jeong-ryul was suddenly next to him.

Song Seok-hyun nodded.

“I don’t think In-hwan *hyung* knows it. That crazy power is the best talent ever.”

“Only he doesn’t know, only he doesn’t.”

“If I had that much power, I would have gone to the majors right away.”

Kim Jeong-ryul put his hand on Song Seok-hyun’s shoulder.

“You’ll get into trouble if you think like that. You have to have a conscience.”

“Huh? What conscience all of a sudden?”

Game 3 against Wales.

Kim In-hwan started as the 4th batter.

Gote created a bases-loaded situation with consecutive hits from the start.

Kim In-hwan’s at-bat.

The pitcher was a pitcher who had returned to the team this year after being discharged from the military.

He was a promising starting pitcher who was being groomed early on in the strong pitching team of Wales.

“What do you think? Will he hit?”

At Kim Jeong-ryul’s question, Song Seok-hyun raised his eyes.

“His curve is good, and his changeup is decent. In some ways, he’s the most difficult pitcher for the senior. If it were a slider, he could accidentally hit it while trying to hit a fastball, but the curve and changeup often result in a swing and a miss. That pitcher’s changeup control isn’t great, but the drop is good.”

“I just got a call from the first team, and Daegyu got hurt a bit today. He’s being examined at the hospital, but if the injury is serious, there might be a call-up to the first team?”

“Daegyu… you mean Max Daegyu *sunbae* [senior]?”

“Yeah, our team’s first baseman.”

“Then In-hwan *hyung* will be going to the first team today or tomorrow.”

“It’s not confirmed yet.”

“Why? Isn’t In-hwan *hyung* going up?”

“His performance wasn’t that great when he went up last time. Maybe Myeongseong or Taeyoon will go. Taeyoon, in particular, needs to gain experience in the first team.”

“Taeyoon *hyung*… is good. He has a good eye, and a left-handed first baseman with good defense fits the current trend.”

“His power is a bit lacking, but he’ll do his part if he goes to the first team. He’s not a gamble pick like In-hwan.”

Kim Jeong-ryul looked at Kim In-hwan, who was down 0-2.

“In-hwan needs to be on fire even in the minors to get a lot of experience in the first team. He doesn’t hit enough home runs these days, even here. Even if he raises his on-base percentage here, the first team doesn’t look at on-base percentage, they look at home runs.”

No sooner had Kim Jeong-ryul finished speaking than the Wales pitcher threw the ball.

The ball was a curve that fell from above.

It was a ball that came to the center and then dropped sharply.

Kim In-hwan had already started his swing.

“Oh dear.”

Kim Jeong-ryul expected a strikeout, but Kim In-hwan knelt down and scooped up the ball.

A swing with a collapsed center of gravity.

The ball floated at a high angle towards the right fielder and center fielder.

“Mine! Mine!”

The center fielder shouted loudly that it was his ball.

The center fielder leisurely took a step back and held out his glove.

“Huh? Huh? Huh?”

The center fielder’s shout.

The ball that should have fallen went over the fence 30cm above the fence.

“Wow!”

“Waaaaaa!”

“Home run! Home run!”

“Was that a home run? Was that really a home run?”

It was a ball that he hurriedly scooped up with his lower body collapsing.

The launch angle was at least 30 degrees, maybe even over 40 degrees.

The ball, which crossed the longest distance in the baseball field, between home plate and the center fence, went over the fence.

“…It worked?”

Kim In-hwan had a bewildered expression, then picked up his bat and ran to first base.

The coach was horrified and shouted.

“Hey! The bat!”

Kim In-hwan was startled by the coach’s voice and hesitated to throw the bat.

Kim In-hwan gently placed the bat on the ground as if he were putting down a child, then stepped on the base.

“…He’s not human.”

“That power is definitely not from the human realm.”

Gote’s bench was boiling with excitement.

The excitement was about the fact that the ball hit with a kneeling stance went over the center fence, rather than the grand slam itself.