On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 126

“Over and over. It’s not some grand scheme, but you need to give each other opportunities to help things run smoothly, like greasing the wheels. Even though baseball can feel like an individual sport, there have to be chances to connect as a team. I breathed a sigh of relief when Seon-ho arrived.”

“Aren’t you sad that the senior is stepping down from being the top dog?”

“Sad? I’m too young to be the top dog at my age. Our team is just… unique. Seon-ho is someone I can trust; you’d understand if you saw him in action.”

“Yes. He seemed very diligent and thoughtful.”

“Now our team is finally becoming a team. I’m in the pitching crew, Seon-ho is in the fielding crew, and Il-hyeok is the catcher. Sorry to Il-hyeok, but no matter how hard Il-hyeok tries, a team leader needs skills and charisma. There’s no team leader like Seon-ho. Who would dare to challenge Seon-ho’s experience?”

“Well, that’s true.”

Kim Jeong-ryul dusted off his hands.

“Okay, let’s all go home, wash up, and get some sleep. Let’s win tomorrow and the day after. Our starting lineup is solid, isn’t it?”

“Yes, I understand. Then, good night, senior.”

“Yeah. See you tomorrow.”

Song Seok-hyun took a taxi home.

He hadn’t had a moment to breathe.

Due to a series of unfortunate events on the team, he felt like he was walking on eggshells every day.

Team.

Now it feels like a team.

It feels like only yesterday that he was grateful just to get through the day safely.

He’s already looking forward to tomorrow’s game.

“Kim Seong-hoon… Hah, tough.”

* * *

The next day.

Briefing time before the game.

There was an all-team meeting before dividing into fielding and pitcher-catcher groups.

“As you all know, Kim Seong-hoon is coming up from the Pegasus team today. You all know he’s even more annoying to face as a right-handed hitter than Jo Jin-hee. Today, our team’s strategy is a pitching duel. Since our ace, Michael Fish, is pitching, we’re going to squeeze everything out of our pitchers. Don’t try to swing for the fences at the plate. It’s okay to strike out, just try to make him throw a lot of pitches. If we can get Kim Seong-hoon out before the 6th inning, we’ll achieve our goal. You all know Kim Seong-hoon is a nightmare for our team, right?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s trust Michael today. We’ll have three bullpen pitchers on standby, so Michael, focus on minimizing runs rather than pitching a long inning. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Then let’s break into groups for meetings. Let’s beat Kim Seong-hoon today. How many wins have we given him already?”

Song Seok-hyun joined the pitchers in analyzing the Pegasus hitters.

“As I said yesterday, Pegasus is the best team in the league in terms of having a balanced and strong lineup from the 3rd to the 6th hitters. Make a definite decision on how to handle the cleanup hitters. Whether you walk them or challenge them, choose one. We have to win every game, but we especially have to win today. Let’s shake off being pushovers to Kim Seong-hoon today. Got it?”

“Yes, we understand!”

The start of the game was approaching.

Song Seok-hyun reviewed Kim Seong-hoon’s record against the Daegot.

ERA [Earned Run Average] 2.11

More than 1 point lower than Kim Seong-hoon’s career ERA.

An even more difficult pitcher against right-handed hitters than Jo Jin-hee.

The manager knew this and didn’t ask Song Seok-hyun to swing aggressively.

Kim Seong-hoon’s strengths, as written in the scouting report:

-Rare, authentic horizontal slider.

A horizontal slider that breaks sharply from outside to even further outside against right-handed hitters.

He’s one of the top five domestic pitchers based on skill alone.

Plus, he’s extremely effective against right-handed hitters.

He was a more difficult pitcher for Song Seok-hyun than Jo Jin-hee.

Success as a Catcher

Right-handed Fireballer Kim Seong-hoon

Kim Seong-hoon took the mound in the top of the 1st inning.

The leadoff hitter was Lee Ji-seong.

Kim Seong-hoon threw a 140km/h [kilometers per hour] fastball for his first pitch.

-Strike!

A pitch that caught the outside corner.

Kim Seong-hoon threw his second pitch, also a fastball on the outside.

Clang!

Lee Ji-seong made contact, but it was a foul ball behind the catcher.

Song Seok-hyun crossed his arms and pursed his lips.

“His velocity is 142km/h, but the bat is getting pushed back.”

“His fastball is well-known. That’s why he’s hard to hit even with just one pitch type.”

Kim In-hwan was already preparing to go up to bat.

“Hyung [older brother/senior], hit one out of the park. I don’t think I’ll have a good day today.”

“You think it’ll be easy for me?”

“Swing hard, hyung.”

Lee Ji-seong had already brought the count to 2-2.

Kim Seong-hoon threw a changeup as his finisher, but Lee Ji-seong hit a ground ball that went through the shortstop-third baseman gap and reached first base.

“Gote has a leadoff hitter on base. Kim Seong-hoon’s head will be complicated from the first inning, right?”

“Considering Lee Ji-seong’s speed, it will be quite difficult for Kim Seong-hoon to throw breaking balls. Seol Jin-il also needs to focus on the fastball on the first pitch.”

Lee Ji-seong, who was on first base, widened his lead as usual.

He wiggled his butt while staring intently at the pitcher.

Kim Seong-hoon glanced at Lee Ji-seong once and then threw an outside fastball for his first pitch.

Clang!

Seol Jin-il swung as if he had been waiting for it, but the ball was a fly ball straight to the right fielder.

Lee Ji-seong couldn’t run and returned to the base.

“150km/h. Kim Seong-hoon is shifting gears.”

“That’s Kim Seong-hoon’s charm. He adjusts his fastball speed from 140km/h to 155km/h. If he mixes in a changeup, the hitter can’t tell if it’s a fastball or a changeup. Usually, adjusting the fastball speed makes it hard to control, but Kim Seong-hoon’s control is like a knife.”

“Yes. He’s a pitcher who represents Korea.”

Kim In-hwan had already entered the batter’s box.

Song Seok-hyun also held his bat in the on-deck circle.

60% of Kim Seong-hoon’s pitches are outside fastballs.

The remaining 30% are sliders and changeups.

He throws inside pitches sometimes, but the ratio doesn’t exceed 10% at most.

Unless it’s a mistake, he rarely throws inside fastballs.

He only throws outside fastballs, but he’s a right-handed fireballer who represents Korea.

A fastball with adjustable speed, an A-grade slider, and knife-like control.

Bang!

-Strike!

“Kim In-hwan is quite disappointed to miss the first pitch.”

“There’s nothing you can do when a pitch like that catches the corner.”

Kim Seong-hoon got a strike by throwing an outside fastball that caught the corner on the first pitch.

Kim In-hwan licked his dry lips.

He knows that a fastball is coming on the outside, but he can’t swing easily.

Kim In-hwan moved closer to the plate.

Bang!

-Strike!

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

Kim Seong-hoon’s pitch was a fastball.

The bat was late.

“Hoo.”

Song Seok-hyun exhaled.

Kim In-hwan’s eye for the ball has improved by putting the hitting point further back, but it’s only a temporary measure.

Against pitchers like Kim Seong-hoon who throw fastballs on the outside, you have to put the hitting point forward.

If you bring the hitting point forward……?

-Strike! Out!

“Swinging strike! The changeup dropped perfectly.”

“Kim In-hwan was too impatient. The changeup location was a little off too.”

“Kim Seong-hoon gets two consecutive outs even with a fast runner on first base.”

“Kim Seong-hoon’s quick motion is the best in the league. It’s easily within 1.3 seconds. It’s not easy for Lee Ji-seong to steal. If you make a mistake trying to steal a base against a pitcher with a quick motion and an outside fastball as his main weapon, you’ll just waste an out.”

Song Seok-hyun entered the batter’s box.

Song Seok-hyun stood close to the plate and opened his stance further.

Kim Seong-hoon threw the ball to the outside without paying attention to it.

Bang!

-Strike!

“Kim Seong-hoon gets a strike with a slider.”

“Song Seok-hyun was completely fooled, right? That’s Kim Seong-hoon’s slider. The ball curves sharply to the outside like a sidearm pitcher throws it.”

Song Seok-hyun adjusted his helmet.

It’s an unbelievable trajectory.

It breaks even more than what he saw in the video.

It feels like the ball is running away from the bat.

Song Seok-hyun recalled Kim Seong-hoon’s pitching in his head.

Unlike Jo Jin-hee’s rough pitching form, Kim Seong-hoon’s is textbook itself.

However, one unique point is that the release point is low enough to be called a three-quarter rather than an overhand.

A textbook form and a low release point not only improve control.

It doubles the power of the slider that curves to the outside.

“Tough, huh?”

Jeong Yong-wook smirked.

Song Seok-hyun took a breath instead of answering.

‘Slider.’

Jeong Yong-wook called for a slider again.

He wanted to see how many Song Seok-hyun could pick out.

-Strike!

“Song Seok-hyun! Another swing and a miss! It’s Kim Seong-hoon after all. He’s like a nemesis to right-handed hitters.”

“He’s a nemesis to right-handed hitters and a grim reaper to Gote. He’s the worst pitcher for Gote’s right-handed hitters.”

Song Seok-hyun took a step back from the batter’s box.

It’s a truly unbelievable ball.

It flies like a fastball until it reaches home plate, but suddenly breaks to the outside.

Could a slider be so sharp and have such a big angle, unless it’s a cutter [a type of fastball]?”

Song Seok-hyun moved to the front of the batter’s box.

“Is Song Seok-hyun completely giving up on the inside?”

“If he stands like that, the strike zone will definitely narrow.”

Hit the slider before it breaks.

Jeong Yong-wook called for a slider again.

Clang!

The slider, caught on the end of Song Seok-hyun’s bat, became a foul that grazed the first baseman.

Jeong Yong-wook stuck out his tongue.

“Hey, isn’t that a cheat code? Can you even touch that?”

“That ball seems more like a cheat code.”

Song Seok-hyun adjusted his gloves.

He managed to get a piece of it, but it’s a tricky slider.

Jeong Yong-wook called for a changeup.

Kim Seong-hoon frowned for a moment but soon agreed.

Clang!

“Center fielder! Center fielder! Center fielder! He missed it! The ball bounces off the fence! The center fielder catches it and throws it to second base! The runner can’t make it to second base and stops at first. The ball’s speed was too fast for the runner to reach second base.”

“He lifted the falling ball and hit it. What’s scary is that it was almost a line drive, but it hit the center field fence at Jamsil Stadium.”

“Kim Seong-hoon must be feeling a chill. He almost caused an accident after getting a favorable count.”

Jeong Yong-wook looked at Song Seok-hyun on first base and licked his lips.

“I’m telling you, that bastard is the biggest cheat code. How can he hit a changeup there?”

Two outs, runners on first and third.

Despite the scoring opportunity, there was no change in Kim Seong-hoon’s expression.

As Yoo Seon-ho entered the batter’s box, he spoke to Jeong Yong-wook.

“Give me one good pitch.”

“I gave you a good pitch last time, but you couldn’t hit it.”

“That’s why I’m asking for one this time too.”

“Okay. Then I’ll give you a fastball, a fastball. Okay?”

Bang!

-Strike!

“153km/h! He’s increasing the velocity again. Yoo Seon-ho couldn’t even swing his bat.”

“If you can throw a ball that catches the outside corner like that, who can hit it?”

Jeong Yong-wook threw the ball to the pitcher and said.

“Okay?”

“Aigo [expression of frustration], it’s okay. How can I hit that ball?”

“You’re old enough to know better, stop whining.”

Kim Seong-hoon threw another fastball to the outside.

Clang!

“Foul ball. The bat is getting pushed back.”

“That’s Kim Seong-hoon’s characteristic. His ball gets even better in crisis situations.”

The third pitch, a changeup, was a ball.

Yoo Seon-ho swung and missed the fourth pitch, a fastball.

-Strike! Out!

“Yoo Seon-ho had a good opportunity but fails to score.”

“In my opinion, Yoo Seon-ho’s condition hasn’t fully recovered yet. Especially since it’s hard to see fastballs like that in the minor leagues.”

“Gote misses a scoring chance and the first inning ends.”

Yoo Seon-ho shook his bat back and forth and returned to the bench.

Kim Jeong-ryul was sitting on the bench, chewing gum.

“Hyung, is it because you ran too hard yesterday?”

“I didn’t drink yesterday. I only went to the second round and stopped, you rascal.”

“Really, hyung?”

“I’m old enough, I need to take care of myself first.”