On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 50

“Then call. Kim In-hwan looks good today. It won’t be easy.”

Jeong Yong-wook chuckled.

“I’m Jeong Yong-wook. What do you take me for?”

On the bench, Song Seok-hyeon held his mitt and moved his hand around on his own.

He imitated Jeong Yong-wook’s catching motion in his head.

Kim In-hwan wiped his sweat and sat next to Song Seok-hyeon.

“What are you doing by yourself?”

“Ah, I’m trying to see how Senior Jeong Yong-wook catches the ball.”

“Is there a difference? Isn’t it all the same?”

“It’s different. Senior Jeong Yong-wook doesn’t move his body and only moves his arm to catch the ball. It’s really difficult. Especially catching the ball diagonally as it goes outside and lifting it up, that’s an advanced technique.”

“Really? Well, I don’t know much about that.”

“I’m not quite there yet. It’s also not easy not to cover the falling ball.”

“It’s refreshing to hear you say you can’t do something. I thought you were good at everything.”

“Hey, *hyung* [older brother or senior male]. Don’t joke around like that. It’s too much pressure.”

Kim In-hwan emptied his drink in one gulp.

“Ha, it feels so good to swing the bat lightly. It definitely works well. It’s all thanks to you.”

“It’s because you’re good, *hyung*. It’s not because of me. No matter which hitter in Korea you put in, they can’t hit a home run with that bat on a ball close to the body. It’s just because it’s you, *hyung*.”

“Oh, Coach Song, is that so? Still, isn’t Coach Song’s share half of it?”

“Coaches are listening. Don’t talk like that.”

“Ah, sorry. I’ll be careful.”

Song Seok-hyeon focused on the game with his mitt on.

Jeong Yong-wook didn’t have any hits after the first-inning home run, but he got a walk.

Song Seok-hyeon picked up his pen every time Jeong Yong-wook caught a strike call.

He recorded how he moved his shoulder when catching a ball close to his body, how much he lifted his heels during normal times and when catching, and how much he pulled in the ball that was going outside with framing.

“Ha.”

Song Seok-hyeon shook his head after looking at the record.

Then Kim Jeong-ryul asked.

“Why? What’s wrong again?”

“If the pitcher throws ten balls that go outside, Senior Jeong Yong-wook makes at least two or three of them strikes. It seems like he makes it a strike unless the ball goes out by more than one ball [width of a baseball].”

“Yong-wook *hyung’s* mitt work is famous. He even gets strikeouts with his mitt work in international competitions.”

“Ah, *sunbaenim* [senior], you must have played in the national team together.”

“*Hyung* was on the national team too. It’s just that I’m a bit far from it now.”

Kim Jeong-ryul held out his hand to Song Seok-hyeon.

“I don’t know much about catchers, but as a pitcher, I can talk about Yong-wook *hyung*. Look at Yong-wook *hyung’s* body tilt. That’s the key point. Sometimes he tilts his body slightly to the right, and sometimes to the left. The first reason is to create a good angle for throwing, but if he tilts his body like that, the umpire also gets confused about the strike zone. Imagine the catcher tilting his body towards third base, and a ball that’s full on the outside comes in for a right-handed batter. Even if it’s in the strike zone, it looks like it’s a bit off to the umpire’s eyes. Yong-wook *hyung* does this well. He’s a master, a master.”

“Wow, I didn’t even think about that.”

“You won’t find this in books. It’s a know-how.”

“Oh, I have to write that down. Shake the strike zone by tilting your body left and right.”

“And one more thing, *hyung* tends to have a lot of small movements before receiving the ball. He doesn’t just calmly signal and receive the ball. This way, even if his body moves slightly when receiving the ball, it’s not noticeable. Whether it’s because of the mitt work or as part of a natural movement. That could also be a know-how. Of course, Yong-wook *hyung*, in addition to this, does small steps before receiving the ball, and then fixes his body and only moves his arm when receiving the ball. Then the umpire gets even more confused.”

“Wow, *sunbaenim*, you really know a lot.”

“Well, I was his soulmate for a while. It’s just that I’m out of the picture now.”

Song Seok-hyeon wrote diligently in his notebook.

“No matter how I look at it, I’m too lacking as a catcher. Compared to Senior Jeong Yong-wook, ha……”

“Everyone would be like that if you compare yourself to the number one catcher in the national team. You’re just a kid being too much. Anyway, your eyes are at the top of your head.”

Song Seok-hyeon closed his notebook.

“Still, I want to try it once. I’m going to ask the coach to let me play as a catcher tomorrow.”

“You’re going to have a one-on-one with Yong-wook *hyung*? That would be interesting. The current number one national team catcher versus the next number one national team catcher.”

“If you talk like that, my hands and feet will curl up [I’ll be so embarrassed I’ll curl up].”

“Haha, I’m going to go to Yong-wook *hyung* later and tell him too. That the next number one national team catcher wants to fight with him.”

“……Are you kidding?”

“Who knows…… maybe?”

Success as a Catcher

Synchronicity (8)

“Wow, I’m going crazy.”

Kim In-hwan’s record up to the 6th inning was 3 hits in 3 at-bats, 2 home runs.

Jeong Yong-wook’s warm smile disappeared.

He just watched Kim In-hwan running towards home plate with a stiff face.

“……Did he take some kind of drug?”

Jeong Yong-wook tilted his head.

The game that day was a 9-5 victory for Goat.

The MVP went to Kim In-hwan, who scored 5 RBIs alone.

“Now, you’re going to do it without any complaints. Huh?”

Jeong Yong-wook had no choice but to agree with the coach’s words.

“Okay, okay. Who’s saying anything?”

Jeong Yong-wook was packing his things when someone came next to him and tapped him on the shoulder.

“*Hyung*.”

“Oh, Jeong-ryul. Long time no see. You were here too?”

“Well, this is my hometown now. What about *hyung*? Is your body okay? If you collide at home at that age, your bones will break.”

“You brat, you have no respect for your *hyung* after seeing him for the first time in a while. Why didn’t you come to say hello earlier?”

“I didn’t see *hyung* earlier?”

“Ah, I went to the bathroom. How are you doing these days? Is your arm okay?”

Kim Jeong-ryul rotated his arm.

“So far, so good. It’s still usable.”

“It’s a shame, a shame. If you were on our team instead of Goat, you would have won several championship rings and received crazy management [good support from the team].”

“Hey. What’s the point of talking about the past? I’m not doing badly now. I’m throwing well these days.”

“Really? That’s a relief. How about today? Shall we have dinner?”

“Shall we?”

That evening.

Kim Jeong-ryul and Jeong Yong-wook chatted about their recent lives over drinks at their favorite restaurant.

“Why is In-hwan doing so well? Is it a good cycle for him these days? He’s usually a bit inconsistent.”

“In-hwan met a benefactor, Coach Song. He’s been hanging out with him a lot lately, and it seems like he’s changed.”

“Coach Song? Who is it? Who is it? Is it someone I don’t know?”

“There’s a new coach who came in this time.”

“It doesn’t seem like your Taco [team name] has changed.”

Kim Jeong-ryul laughed.

“He’s our youngest catcher. Song Seok-hyeon, a guy with a lot of brains. He’s smart, good at baseball, and a commendable guy. He’s a talent who will become the next number one national team catcher.”

Jeong Yong-wook frowned.

“What, you punk? How dare you bring up the national team in front of *hyung*?”

“Just wait and see. *Hyung* will be surprised when you see him too. He’s good enough to play in the first team right now. He’s a really smart guy.”

“Hey, who is he? When did he come in? Was he the first pick in the draft?”

“No, he’s an undrafted player. An undrafted high school catcher.”

“An undrafted high school catcher?”

Jeong Yong-wook burst out laughing.

“Are you kidding me? You’re bringing an undrafted high school catcher in front of *hyung*? You’re asking for it.”

“Don’t underestimate him, *hyung*. He’s the real deal.”

“Real deal or whatever. Why would he be an undrafted high school catcher? There’s almost no place where catchers can’t go.”

“Things just turned out that way. His skills are genuine.”

“That’s enough. I’m not interested. What Coach Song, Coach Song.”

“Seok-hyeon might come out tomorrow…… *hyung* should get a taste of him too, hehe.”

“Don’t exaggerate. Even if a truckload of guys like that come, they won’t even reach my toes.”

* * *

That night, Song Seok-hyeon opened his notebook and wrote something on A4 paper.

The paper, filled with small letters line by line, was soon filled with characters.

Song Seok-hyeon put down his pen and looked down at the paper.

“Ha, the only thing I’m ahead in is my shoulder…… The batting is good on this side too, so I can’t necessarily say I’m better just because I have more power.”

Song Seok-hyeon circled the word shoulder repeatedly.

“I have to win in at least one of those many things. Yes.”

Song Seok-hyeon got up early the next morning and ran.

After sweating a lot, he washed his body with warm water.

During the morning training, battery coach Kim Tae-woo came and told Song Seok-hyeon that he was starting.

“Give it a try. Everyone is reluctant to go out because they’re being compared to each other, but I pushed more actively because I admire your courage.”

“Thank you, coach.”

Jeong Yong-wook, the current number one catcher and one of the top three catchers of all time.

It’s a distant mountain to climb over right now.

Who climbs to the top from the beginning?

Song Seok-hyeon was curious about how much he could climb on the big mountain called Jeong Yong-wook.

The starting pitcher for Goat was Jeong Cheon-woon.

A sidearm pitcher who goes back and forth between starting and bullpen.

On the other hand, Pegasus’s starter was Jeong Je-seong.

A first-round draft pick from last year.

A two-pitch left-handed fireballer.

In terms of the weight of the starters, Pegasus was one step ahead.

-Play ball!

The game started.

Song Seok-hyeon sat behind home plate and looked at the batter in the batter’s box.

The first batter was outfielder Son Young-seok.

He goes back and forth between the first and second teams in Pegasus, but in terms of objective skill, he was good enough to be a starter or a first-team backup in any team.

It was Son Young-seok’s misfortune that Pegasus, who had won three championships in the last five years, was his team.

‘Inside slider.’

Song Seok-hyeon held out his mitt in the middle.

The pitcher threw the ball without hesitation.

He didn’t hesitate because he had seen Song Seok-hyeon’s ball combination [pitch call/sequence].

“Ah!”

The batter stepped back while pulling his body away.

-Strike!

A strike coming inside.

The batter looked at the umpire, but the umpire didn’t budge.

“It’s tough from the first pitch. Let’s go easy, let’s go easy.”

Son Young-seok was a 27-year-old, 8-year veteran.

He was also a distant senior to the 1-year rookie catcher.

“Yes, I understand.”

Song Seok-hyeon asked for another inside slider for the next ball.

This time, the ball was a little closer to the body.

The batter couldn’t stand it and hit the ball.

“Damn it.”

A ground ball in front of the shortstop.

The batter ran to first base a little and then went into the dugout.

“Ah, seriously.”

The batter who came to the dugout scratched his head.

Jeong Yong-wook asked.

“Why are you hitting a ball like that?”

“Ah, it’s frustrating when they keep throwing inside balls.”

“No one can hit a good ball with that kind of ball. You know that, right?”

“I know. But I thought they wouldn’t throw two consecutive balls inside.”

“Hmm.”

Jeong Yong-wook looked at Song Seok-hyeon with his arms crossed.

“That ball combination, is the catcher doing it, not the bench, right?”

“I think so? I don’t see any separate bench signs.”

“So the catcher asked the sidearm pitcher to throw two consecutive inside sliders to the right-handed batter…… His guts are amazing. Is he out of his mind?”

On Goat’s bench, the manager and battery coach were talking.

“The sign is bold.”

“……It seems difficult to fix his tendency at once.”

“Well, we’ve entrusted him with the start, so we have to trust him too. If Seok-hyeon works against Pegasus, then it’s his skill, regardless of style, and we have to shut our mouths.”

“With Yong-wook there, will that happen?”

“Isn’t Yong-wook a person too?”

“Still, Yong-wook is too much for Seok-hyeon, even if he flies and jumps [tries his best].”

“Well, what if it doesn’t work? I’ve already strongly argued to the first team, to use him as a pinch hitter even if they don’t use him as a catcher. Wouldn’t it make a big difference whether he gets to breathe the air of the first team in the first half of the season, even if he goes up in the second half?”

“So Seok-hyeon is going to the first team soon?”

“Our team is on a losing streak right now, so there’s no room, but on the other hand, we can raise the second team members to innovate. If he does well, he’ll go up in 1-2 weeks, and he’ll be able to go up before the first half of the season at the latest.”

“It would be nice if that happened. Seok-hyeon is a guy who will grow as much as he eats experience [gains experience].”

-Strike! Out!

While the manager and coach were talking, Goat’s battery struck out the second batter with a high fastball.

The batter was frustrated that he missed the opportunity and grabbed the bat and kept panting.

“Why are they like that today? The ball combination is strange?”

“Did he throw a high ball with a 140 [km/h] fastball?”

Jeong Yong-wook pushed his glasses up.

The battery coach came and said to Jeong Yong-wook.

“What do you think? Even if you look at that ball combination, it didn’t come from the bench, right?”

“Yeah, I know Kim Tae-woo’s tendency, and he would never give that kind of sign. He’s crazy. He struck out with a high ball after getting 2 strikes.”

“Song Seok-hyeon…… How does a guy like that suddenly pop out? What is it, he’s only twenty years old now.”

Jeong Yong-wook clicked his tongue.

“Our junior is bold. Very bold.”

Goat’s pitcher Jeong Cheon-woon made a ground ball out with a ball falling outside.

Change of attack.