On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 51

Jeong Cheon-woon walked to the bench and held out his fist.

“Call the signs however you want. I’ll just throw it right away.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Jeong Je-seong stepped onto the Pegasus mound.

A highly touted prospect.

A left-handed fireballer.

Jeong Je-seong proved his reputation with his skills.

-Strike! Out!

-Strike! Out!

-Strike! Out!

Three consecutive strikeouts.

His fastball, approaching 150 km/h [approximately 93 mph], and his hard slider, approaching 140 km/h [approximately 87 mph], ended the inning before the batters could even get a feel for it.

“Good job.”

“Thank you, senior.”

Jeong Je-seong grinned at Jeong Yong-wook’s praise.

Praise from Jeong Yong-wook, considered the best catcher right now.

Jeong Je-seong couldn’t contain his laughter.

“…….”

Jeong Yong-wook turned his head.

From the Goat bench, Song Seok-hyun was putting on his catcher’s gear.

Top of the 2nd inning.

The first batter for Pegasus was Ha Seong-jun.

A 24-year-old promising hitter with speed, who had completed his military service.

He was a strong candidate to join the Pegasus first team soon.

Jeong Yong-wook watched Song Seok-hyun’s signs with his arms crossed.

The first pitch was a curveball inside.

A curveball that flowed from the inside to the outside for a right-handed batter.

Ha Seong-jun flinched at the ball coming inside but lightly pushed it for a hit.

No outs, first base.

The next batter was number 5, Heo Il-tae.

One of the biggest prospects in last year’s draft, a power hitter who was being discussed as the next cleanup hitter [the batter who typically hits fourth in the lineup and is expected to drive in runs].

A fast runner on first, a long-ball hitter at the plate.

Jeong Yong-wook held his breath and enjoyed the tense atmosphere.

The first pitch was a curveball outside.

The runner took off as if waiting for the slow breaking ball.

Bang!

The catcher stood up as soon as he caught the ball.

Jeong Yong-wook shook his head.

Too late. There’s no need to throw it at that late timing.

Throwing it here is greedy.

Out!

“……What the hell.”

Jeong Yong-wook couldn’t believe his eyes.

The Pegasus bench was also buzzing.

“What? Why was that caught?”

“What kind of throw is that?”

“Damn fast. No joke.”

“Crazy. It looked like a rocket was flying.”

Ha Seong-jun, who was out at second base, tilted his head as if he couldn’t believe it.

Jeong Yong-wook unconsciously touched his shoulder.

With his current shoulder, it’s impossible.

No, even if he went back to his younger days, it would be impossible.

Kim Jeong-ryul’s words from when they parted yesterday echoed in his ears.

-Tomorrow will be quite fun. Hahaha.

“Fun, my ass.”

Jeong Yong-wook swallowed hard.

Pitcher Jeong Cheon-woon made it 3-2 with an outside slider, fastball, curveball, and curveball.

Full count.

The pitcher’s choice was a fastball at the batter’s chin height.

-Strike! Out!

The batter swung at the pitch that was nowhere near the strike zone and hit his head.

“Ah, idiot.”

A pitch that missed the strike zone by several balls.

A pitch that he regretted swinging at as he swung.

“Ha.”

The batter lowered his head and went to the bench.

Jeong Yong-wook now straightened his back and looked at Song Seok-hyun with a serious face.

A catcher who challenges a power hitter with a high inside pitch.

He had to acknowledge him not as a junior but as a professional catcher.

Success as a Catcher

Hatching from Within and Without (9)

The Pegasus second-team lineup was currently one of the strongest in the entire second league [minor league].

Thanks to the thick depth of the Pegasus first team, skilled hitters frequently moved in and out of the second team, and they consistently acquired fast, good-hitting long-ball hitters in the upper rounds of the draft.

Due to frequent competition for the championship, good pitchers were often used as relievers, so the second-team pitching staff was inconsistent, but the lineup was competitive even compared to lower-ranked first-team teams.

-Strike! Out!

-Strike! Out!

Kim Myeong-jin, a candidate for the next Pegasus left fielder, struck out, and Heo Il-young, a versatile utility player who went back and forth between the 1st and 2nd teams, also struck out.

Goat’s pitcher, Jeong Cheon-woon, continuously turned away batters with pitches that didn’t discriminate between left, right, up, and down.

“…….”

The batters coming into the bench looked at the coach, heads bowed.

Jeong Cheon-woon was a promising player that Goat was carefully nurturing, but he was a sidearm pitcher who barely reached 140 km/h [approximately 87 mph] at his highest speed.

Speed isn’t everything for a pitcher, but there were continuous swing-and-misses against a 140 km/h sidearm pitcher.

The Pegasus batters had no excuse.

“Aigo, how are you going to get to the first team like this?”

The Pegasus second-team manager’s grumbling made the players’ mouths dry.

The players gathered together and complained.

“What day is it today? Why is he throwing like that?”

“Ah, I’m going crazy. He keeps going head-on with those slow balls.”

“And what are you if you can’t hit those slow balls?”

“I’m telling you, it comes in unexpectedly.”

“If you suspected it, you should have prepared for it.”

Before they knew it, the batters from both teams had made a full rotation.

Goat’s attack.

The lead batter was Lee Myeong-seong.

A 20-year-old rookie who was marked as the next starting first baseman.

‘Fastball, inside.’

Jeong Yong-wook knew how to handle rookie batters well.

Make the batter step back with an inside pitch, then a fastball outside for one strike.

Another fastball outside for two strikes.

Finally, a slider dropping from the outside for three strikes and out.

Jeong Yong-wook struck out the batter with four pitches.

“Hoo.”

Song Seok-hyun replayed Jeong Yong-wook’s pitch selection in his mind.

Against a pitcher with a good finishing pitch, the batter tries to go for an early win from the first pitch.

The opposing battery [pitcher and catcher] also knows the batter’s psychology.

The catcher wasted a count by giving up a fastball as a ball, but this was a build-up for the remaining three balls.

After an inside pitch, the outside pitch tends to look farther away.

Even if the next outside pitch comes, as long as it’s not a hanging pitch, a fastball approaching 150 km/h [approximately 93 mph] is not easily attacked.

A 1-2 situation is the pitcher’s count.

Aim for 2-2 or 1-3 with a slider.

It’s textbook, but there’s nothing to criticize.

Song Seok-hyun would have mixed in one inside pitch to intimidate the batter if the pitcher was a fastballer with a good finishing pitch.

“As expected.”

A smile came to his face as he concluded that his thoughts were similar to those of the best catcher.

His studying wasn’t in vain.

Bang!

Kim In-hwan stepped up to the plate.

Two outs, no runners on.

Jeong Yong-wook called for an outside pitch.

Bang!

-Ball, outside.

2-0.

Jeong Yong-wook threw the ball to the pitcher with a blank expression.

The batter didn’t react to the outside pitch at all.

‘Slider, down.’

Jeong Yong-wook called for a slider that dropped in the middle.

The course of the ball was good, but it dropped too early and bounced.

3-0.

Jeong Yong-wook glanced sideways.

He could see Song Seok-hyun sitting in one corner of the Goat bench.

‘High ball.’

At the catcher’s request, the pitcher swallowed once.

He had given a strong hitter a 3-0 count.

‘Shouldn’t we not compete here?’ The thought crossed his mind.

If it were another catcher, he would have shaken his head here [disagreed with the pitch call].

The catcher sitting at home plate was Jeong Yong-wook.

Jeong Je-seong, who hadn’t yet shed his rookie status, was not someone he could shake his head at.

Swish.

If he had to throw it, he had no choice but to press down with the best speed.

Jeong Je-seong’s fastball recorded his best speed of the day, 151 km/h [approximately 94 mph].

Clang!

The ball went over the fence as soon as it was hit.

The pitcher’s eyes widened in surprise.

Foul.

A foul that narrowly missed the foul pole.

“Wow, seriously. In-hwan hyung [older brother/respected senior] is not human.”

“It’s a relief he’s on our team. If he were on another team, it would be a horror movie, a horror movie.”

“Where would you even throw it, scared?”

Song Seok-hyun didn’t join in the players’ conversation.

However, he didn’t take his eyes off Jeong Yong-wook.

‘Slider, outside.’

Judging by Kim In-hwan’s reaction speed, today is not a day to compete.

Jeong Yong-wook’s choice was a decoy.

The pitcher threw the ball towards the outside.

“……!”

Even before the ball left his hand, the pitcher’s brow furrowed.

The ball wasn’t gripped properly.

The ball flew with its spin undone.

Kim In-hwan didn’t miss the ball that came into the zone.

Clang!

Kim In-hwan’s bat, swung powerfully, flew to the ground.

With the bat flip, the ball went over the right fence.

“That real power…… ha.”

Kim In-hwan came to the bench with the applause of the Goat players.

Kim In-hwan, his face flushed, held out his fist to Song Seok-hyun.

“I think it’s become clearer now. I got a good feel for it this time.”

“Hyung [older brother/respected senior], you just have to hit it. If you hit it, it’ll go over.”

The pitcher who was hit with a home run by Kim In-hwan looked at Jeong Yong-wook, fidgeting.

Jeong Yong-wook didn’t look at the pitcher.

He stared silently at the base of the home plate.

-Strike! Out!

The pitcher immediately struck out the next batter, as if the previous home run was a mistake.

The pitcher, coming to the bench, suddenly bowed to Jeong Yong-wook.

“I’m sorry, senior.”

“Huh? About what?”

“About the bad pitch earlier…….”

“It’s your earned run that’s going up, why are you apologizing to me? It’s okay. It can happen. Be more careful when you throw in the future.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Jeong Yong-wook’s expression was different from the beginning of the game.

He was expressionless and blunt.

Pegasus’s attack.

The first batter was hit by an inside curveball.

No outs, first base.