On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 113

Song Seok-hyun’s expression darkened at the mention of the Futures League.

Ham Seong-hoon peeled open a soy milk and handed it to Song Seok-hyun.

“If you can’t play in the KBO League [Korean Baseball Organization, the highest level of professional baseball in South Korea], staying in Seoul will only fill you with false hope. It’s better to go to the Futures League, eat well, sleep well, and take care of your body. Think of it as a short break. Once we get into the second half of the season, you won’t have time to rest, so think of it as resting in advance and you’ll feel better.”

“……”

“You’re still young, so you don’t know. Resting is important. You need to rest to work harder.”

“I understand.”

“And… while you’re there, watch Yoo Seon-ho from the side. A hitter like Yoo Seon-ho—just watching him will be helpful to you.”

Song Seok-hyun’s eyes lit up at the mention of Yoo Seon-ho.

“Is he in the Futures League now?”

“Yes, he’s getting his condition up. He’ll be back up after the All-Star break. If your body is okay, you might be able to come up with him then.”

Only then did Song Seok-hyun smile.

“I understand. Then can I go to the Futures League tomorrow?”

“You need to stay in the hospital for a few more days. We need to see how it goes.”

“……Tch.”

“There’s no need to be impatient. The season is long, and it’s only halfway over.”

Kim In-hwan and Kim Jeong-ryul came to visit during lunchtime.

Kim Jeong-ryul took out a soy milk and sat on Song Seok-hyun’s bed.

“Seok-hyun, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“We were so scared yesterday. You know it was a mess yesterday, right?”

“I don’t know if I should be lying here like this when I wasn’t hit directly.”

“Hey, hey. This is a time to take a break. Rest when you can. That’s the best thing.”

“……The manager said the same thing.”

“Everyone knows it, that’s why they’re saying it. The season is long. No need to overdo it.”

Kim In-hwan examined Song Seok-hyun’s head.

“Are you really okay?”

“Yes, I was just a little dizzy when I got hit, but I’m fine now.”

“You collapsed and couldn’t get up back then, right?”

“I think it was because I got hit near my ear, so I felt dizzy.”

“Phew, that’s a relief, it’s not a big deal. What did the doctor say?”

“He said I’m okay now, but he wants to keep an eye on me. So I’m going to stay here for a few more days and then go to the Futures League. The manager will call me after the All-Star break, I guess.”

Kim Jeong-ryul pointed at Kim In-hwan.

“Wasn’t it crazy yesterday because of In-hwan? His eyes rolled back and he was ready to beat everyone up. Thanks to that, the Wales guys were completely scared and we beat them up yesterday.”

Song Seok-hyun looked at Kim In-hwan’s forearm and nodded.

“When In-hwan hyung [older brother or respected male figure] gets angry… I don’t even want to think about it.”

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

“Take a good rest while you’re at it. I’ll be working hard while you’re gone.”

“I’m sorry I can’t be of help.”

“Just come back healthy, okay?”

After lunchtime, Koo In-seon came with reporters to apologize and left.

Getting photographed was a bonus.

In the afternoon, Jung Mi-nam, Kim Young-seok, and Kim Na-young came and went, and in the evening, his younger sibling and mother came and volunteered to take care of him.

A day without rest passed, and after two, three days, Song Seok-hyun was able to be discharged from the hospital.

As soon as he was discharged, Song Seok-hyun headed to the Gote Futures League stadium.

It was also the day of the game between Pegasus and Gote at the Gote home field.

Song Seok-hyun arrived just before the game started.

And there… he saw an interesting sight.

“Wow……”

Rising High as a Catcher

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Pegasus versus Gote.

On the mound was Pegasus’s foreign pitcher, Steve Hoffman.

He was adjusting his condition after rehabilitating in the Futures League due to a recent injury.

He would be called up to the KBO League soon, so his pitches must have improved quite a bit, but he threw as many as eight pitches to Gote’s leadoff hitter and couldn’t get the batter out.

Gote’s leadoff hitter was Lee Ji-seong, a hitter drafted this time from the Scorpions.

Tak!

“Wow, he hits that……”

Lee Ji-seong’s hit became a foul.

The pitcher’s face turned red as he pursed his lips.

Steve Hoffman’s information flashed through Song Seok-hyun’s mind.

A right-handed fastball pitcher.

A typical Caucasian pitcher with a tall height and good power.

A style that overpowers with pitches based on fastballs, curves, and sliders that drop from top to bottom.

The fastball around 150km/h [approximately 93 mph] is not special in the Major League, but it was a rare fastball in Korea.

In Korea, there are many hitters who can’t even follow balls over 150km/h with their bats.

Not to mention in the Futures League.

The speed on the scoreboard is 149km/h,

A fastball with decent control.

He picked out nine balls against such a ball.

Song Seok-hyun focused on the two’s battle.

Bang!

Hoffman threw a curve that fell as a finishing pitch.

Lee Ji-seong barely stopped his bat and looked at the umpire.

There was no strike call.

“……”

Hoffman received the ball thrown by the catcher and bit his lip.

Ten pitches to the first batter in the first inning, but a walk.

It’s a more exhausting result than giving up a hit.

As soon as he got out, Lee Ji-seong moved five steps away from first base.

Hoffman glanced at Lee Ji-seong.

Lee Ji-seong felt Hoffman’s gaze and took another step away.

Bang!

-Safe.

Hoffman threw the ball like lightning, but Lee Ji-seong’s return was faster.

Hoffman blew air out of his nose and received the first baseman’s ball.

“……”

As soon as Hoffman took the set position, Lee Ji-seong moved away from first base again.

He lowered his body as if he was going to steal outright and glared at Hoffman.

Hoffman checked again, but this time Lee Ji-seong’s return was faster.

Lee Ji-seong got up from his seat and dusted off his chest.

From the first inning, his uniform was covered in dirt.

Lee Ji-seong prepared to steal again, moving away from the base as Hoffman took the set position.

The catcher, looking at Hoffman’s reddened face, signaled him to throw the ball.

Hoffman threw a fastball to the outside, keeping the throw to second base in mind, but Lee Ji-seong had already arrived at second base.

“@x$@%%!”

Hoffman pointed to second base, swearing in an unintelligible language.

It must be a protest as to why he couldn’t catch the steal.

“No, no. 70% of steals are the pitcher’s fault.”

Song Seok-hyun shook his head.

He gave Lee Ji-seong too much distance.

Considering Lee Ji-seong’s fast feet, he should have thrown the ball faster.

Even without measuring with a stopwatch, it is certain that Hoffman’s sliding step did not come within 1.3 seconds.

There is always a reason why a pitcher with good pitches and a lot of innings comes to Korea.

Foreign pitchers in Korea are scouted because they have fast balls or special breaking balls, but there is a reason why they cannot go to the Major League despite that.

Most of their shortcomings are largely two things: basics and personality.

Personality can be appeased to some extent by coaxing them somehow and giving them a lot of money.

The problem is the basics.

There are many cases where the sliding step is slow, or bunt defense is not good, or they are not aware of what position the pitcher should be in each situation.

In particular, foreign players’ sliding steps were close to a chronic disease.

Stealing has decreased a lot in the Major League due to efficiency and injuries, so the importance of sliding steps has decreased accordingly, but Korea was different.

Instead of lacking power, they still rely a lot on tactics.

“Still, that kind of case is rare……”

Stealing is gradually decreasing even in Korea.

The risk of injury is high, the stamina consumption is high, and above all, the efficiency is low.

As there are more hitters in Korean baseball who are increasing their physique to increase power, the number of fast runners is decreasing.

It was the first time to see a case like Lee Ji-seong, who openly provoked the pitcher by widening the distance and saying he would steal like that.

-Strike! Out!

Hoffman took a breath after striking out the second batter.

He gave up a short outfield fly to the third batter.

Lee Ji-seong dashed to third base the moment the right fielder caught the ball.

The right fielder also threw the ball towards third base.

Chwaaaak!

Lee Ji-seong safely slid in with a bent-leg slide.

Hoffman’s bluish face was a bonus.

“……Isn’t he amazing?”

He’s fast, but above all, his sense is extraordinary.

If it was the Pegasus KBO League right fielder, it would have been a close tie.

Lee Ji-seong must have calculated the throwing ability of the Pegasus Futures League right fielder and entered with a bent-leg slide instead of a head-first slide.

The evidence is that there was plenty of time in the timing even though he entered with a bent-leg slide.

After two outs, it was the fourth batter’s turn.

Yoo Seon-ho came out as the fourth batter.

Although he is a legend of the KPBL [Korean Professional Baseball League, now known as the KBO League], Yoo Seon-ho has not been highly regarded for a long time.

His defense was a mess, and he had few home runs for a slugger.

He rarely hit more than 30 home runs while using Daegu Stadium, which is not a large stadium.

In addition, his kind heart and inability to tolerate injustice also created problems.

Yoo Seon-ho took on the role of chairman of the Players Association, which everyone avoided, and had heated arguments with baseball seniors and elders, saying that he was ignoring his juniors.

The club treated Yoo Seon-ho coldly because of the Players Association issue.

Some Scorpion fans also sneered, saying that he was helping players from other teams during training time.

Recently, he has not even been able to play in the KBO League due to injuries, rehabilitation, and discord with the manager and the club.

The internal and external situation led to an atmosphere of belittling Yoo Seon-ho’s skills, and eventually, the evaluation that he was an outdated hitter was dominant.

Bang!

-Strike!

Hoffman’s first pitch was over 150km/h.

Yoo Seon-ho expressed his regret by swinging his bat after the ball passed.

“As expected……”

The gap is big.

As hitters get older and their sense of the game deteriorates, they complain of difficulty in hitting fastballs.

Fastballs from a high release point like Hoffman’s tend to look 3~5km/h faster.

Ttak!

The second ball was a foul.

He made a foul, but Yoo Seon-ho’s bat broke.

Yoo Seon-ho made an awkward expression and brought a new bat.

Bang!

The third ball was a ball.

He watched a changeup as it was.

Hoffman tilted his head and threw a falling curve.

Yoo Seon-ho shook his body as if he was going to hit it, but in the end, he held back his bat.

Bang!

The fourth ball was also a ball.

Song Seok-hyun admired quietly.

“His eye for pitches is amazing.”

The unique form of swaying as if he was going to hit it.

Many people pointed fingers at his large body, saying it was ridiculous.

Bang!

The fifth ball was a high fastball on the high course.

This time too, Yoo Seon-ho picked the ball.

Two strikes, and now a full count.

Hoffman frowned and threw a fastball towards his body.

Ttak!

-Foul.

He hits the ball that comes towards his body.

Hoffman took a deep breath.

This time, he goes the other way.

A falling curve.

A curve that drops from a high release point is a good ball to induce a hitter’s swing.

If you lose the timing once, a looking strikeout is a bonus.

Kwang!

Yoo Seon-ho swung with his unique swaying form.

Some call it the hurricane hitting method, and some call it the rag-squeezing hitting method.

That unique form of swinging at once as if twisting his whole body.

As soon as it was hit, the ball went straight over the fence.

Clap, clap, clap.

Although no one was watching, Song Seok-hyun applauded.