On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 159

Han Min-seok spoke calmly, but Song Seok-hyeon felt a pang of guilt.

He would have felt better if Han Min-seok had been annoyed or cursed at him.

“It’s not like I haven’t tried it before. I did it for a bit and stopped. But these past few days, I’ve been trying it again, and it feels better than I thought.”

“So, you want to throw now?”

“Yeah, can you help me out?”

“Yes, throw comfortably.”

Song Seok-hyeon took his position and sat down.

He could have asked another catcher, not necessarily him.

The reason he specifically asked him wasn’t because he was young or easy to deal with.

The starting catcher’s acknowledgment meant something.

The battery’s [a pitcher and catcher pair] synergy isn’t just on the field.

Thwack!

Han Min-seok lightly threw the ball.

The ball flew in an arc, but the force as it hit the mitt was considerable.

“Good.”

“Just hold the mitt out. I’ll throw it there.”

“Yes, let’s start with the center.”

Song Seok-hyeon placed the mitt right in the center.

Han Min-seok’s release point was slightly higher than a sidearm.

Thwack!

Thwack!

The speed was around 110km/h, but the sound of it hitting the mitt was thunderous.

“How is it? Should I increase the speed a bit?”

“The game is the day after tomorrow, so don’t overdo it and increase it slowly.”

“Okay.”

Han Min-seok gradually increased the speed.

The ball followed wherever the mitt went.

When the speed exceeded 130km/h, the ball started to drift.

Each time that happened, Han Min-seok tilted his head and threw the ball again.

Thud!

When the ball completely missed to the outside, Han Min-seok put his hand on his waist and sighed.

“It keeps drifting.”

“Sunbae-nim [senior/respected colleague], can I say something?”

“Yeah, go ahead. Anything is fine.”

Song Seok-hyeon opened his mask and stood up.

“As the speed increases, your center axis keeps tilting.”

“Tilting? How?”

“You’re tilting to the right when you throw.”

“Ah… really?”

“It seems like your body is tilting because you’re trying to force the release point higher.”

Han Min-seok tapped his head.

“Hoo, I guess it’s too much, in such a short time… I must be doing it unconsciously.”

“Don’t worry about lowering the release point, and how about pulling the release point forward a bit more?”

“That’s even harder and takes longer, right?”

“Even if you can’t pull the release point, I think just having that feeling will help.”

Han Min-seok frowned.

He looked like he couldn’t easily understand.

Song Seok-hyeon grabbed a bat and took a batting stance.

“Whether it’s hitting or pitching, it’s similar. In the end, it’s about rotation and linear motion, and the optimal swing is an ellipse. The longer the ellipse, the higher the accuracy. This is instinct, so if you tell people to throw a stone tied to a string accurately, they’ll rotate it in a circle and then throw it in an ellipse.”

Song Seok-hyeon put down the bat and grabbed a ball.

“Increasing the accuracy of pitching is the same mechanism. The closer the trajectory of the hand holding the ball is to an ellipse, the higher the accuracy. To make the trajectory an ellipse, the stride must be long, and the release point must be as far forward as possible. It’s difficult to increase both the stride and the release point while maintaining balance in a short period. But even if you don’t lower the release point, just having the feeling of throwing it as far forward as possible will eventually create an elliptical trajectory, which will help with control.”

“Ellipse…”

Han Min-seok chuckled.

“You really are a baseball expert, just like I heard. How do you know that stuff?”

“I just picked it up here and there. But I also used this method to improve my control in high school, so I thought it might help you, Sunbae-nim.”

“Then how do you do it? There must be a method, right?”

“You have to go back to basics. First, stand facing a wall and mark the point where the release point will be. Then, tie a towel to your finger and hit the point accurately with the towel. If the trajectory of the towel spreads out, it’s proof that your swing is spreading out. The towel needs to go out like stabbing with a spear for you to swing properly.”

“Ha, shadow pitching during the season.”

“It can also help improve your aiming, Sunbae-nim.”

“What’s aiming?”

“It’s the fixed posture where the upper body finishes preparing for the pitch before the pelvis rotates. It’s not easy to correct aiming, but it definitely gets better when you do an elliptical swing.”

Han Min-seok nodded.

“Okay, I’ll give it a try. It doesn’t seem like it can get any worse than it is now.”

“I recommend discussing it with the coach first. The coach will suggest more detailed training.”

“Hoo, yeah. I should. I’ve been ignoring the coach’s words until now, so it’s a bit…”

“You know Coach Yeon’s personality, right? He won’t mind that.”

“Yeah… Still, just tell me how to do that shadow pitching, so I can practice a bit today.”

“Yes, here’s how you do it…”

Rising High as a Catcher

Team GOAT (2)

Game 2 against Pegasus.

Pitching coach Yeon Woo-sik looked at Han Min-seok, who had come to see him, with a curious expression.

“You’re going to change your pitching form now?”

“Yes, I think my control has been too erratic lately, so I’m trying to straighten my center axis a bit more.”

“Really…? You used to say it was fine.”

“That’s… I’m sorry. I’ve changed my mind.”

“The game is tomorrow. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“I’m not going to overhaul everything, just improve it little by little… Is it going to be difficult?”

“Let’s try it out first. There must be a reason why the pitcher himself thinks so. In the end, you know yourself best.”

“Thank you, Coach.”

Before the game started.

Song Seok-hyeon was catching Lee Chang-hoon’s pitches in the bullpen.

It was common for the manager and pitching coach to observe bullpen pitching, but Lee Chang-hoon seemed especially nervous.

Thwack!

Thwack!

Song Seok-hyeon nodded each time he caught a ball.

After the practice throws, Manager Ham Seong-hoon called Song Seok-hyeon over.

“What do you think?”

“It’s true that the fastball’s power has decreased a bit. Even in bullpen pitching, I can’t feel the rotation.”

“So, it’s not just a simple condition issue…”

“But his changeup is really good. It’s on another level.”

“Really? What about the other pitches?”

“In contrast, the curve and slider feel a bit dull, probably because the fastball’s rotation has decreased. But they’re still good enough as third pitches.”

“Then, it seems right to only use the slider when the changeup isn’t working and use the curve as the third pitch. What does the catcher think?”

“I think so too. The slider is sensitive to rotation, so there’s no need to use it. The curve can be used to disrupt timing if you show it one pitch at a time.”

“Good. Let’s go with the changeup master concept for Chang-hoon today. Let’s increase the proportion of changeups significantly. That way, the curve and slider will work better from the next game onwards.”

“Ah, yes. That’s right. I understand.”

Manager Ham Seong-hoon left first.

Pitching coach Yeon Woo-sik put his arm around Song Seok-hyeon’s shoulder.

“Our manager is definitely smart, right?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“But Seok-hyeon.”

“Yes, Coach.”

“I heard you caught Min-seok’s pitches separately yesterday?”

“Yes, did Min-seok Sunbae-nim tell you?”

“Yeah, he said you taught him how to correct his form with shadow pitching.”

“I just showed him the method I used. I told him it’s best to ask the coach and decide… I’m sorry, Coach.”

Yeon Woo-sik shook his head.

“No, no. I’m not scolding you. I just wanted to ask you something.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, when did Min-seok start asking you about that stuff?”

“He suddenly grabbed me and asked me yesterday.”

“Yesterday… He’s definitely impatient. Seeing him run to me today. It’s a relief.”

Yeon Woo-sik patted Song Seok-hyeon’s shoulder.

“He’s a good pitcher, so he’s stubbornly strong-willed, but after getting beat up a few times, he realized he was in serious trouble. It would have been better if he had realized it sooner, but it’s a relief that he’s changed now. If Min-seok bothers you in the future, tell me. It’s right for me to stay and train him. I can’t make our ace work overtime.”

Song Seok-hyeon scratched his head.

“No, I don’t mind catching his pitches…”

“Min-seok may seem rough, but he has a good heart. So, don’t think too badly of him.”

“Yes, of course.”

“How is Chang-hoon today? Do you think he can handle Jin-hee?”

Song Seok-hyeon looked down at his mitt.

“With that changeup, definitely.”

* * *

Before the game started.

Despite being a weekend home game series, many seats in the first base infield were empty.

With a four-game losing streak and negative articles dominating the news rankings, fans who didn’t want to witness another defeat didn’t come to the stadium.

-Play ball.

Lee Chang-hoon took the mound first.

Pegasus’s first batter was the undisputed leadoff hitter, Choi Young-seok.

A player mentioned as a candidate for the best second baseman in professional baseball history.

“GOAT has fallen into a four-game losing streak, even with foreign players Fish and Mackenzie, taking the blame for the losses. Normally, we would expect ace Lee Chang-hoon to turn things around, but recently, GOAT’s team atmosphere and Lee Chang-hoon’s performance haven’t been great.”

“The gap between Pegasus has widened to four games. If they can’t win even one game in this three-game series, it will be virtually impossible to regain first place. A four-game difference is not easy to close.”

Lee Chang-hoon threw an outside fastball as his first pitch.

Choi Young-seok nodded once and moved closer to the plate.

“So, he’s not afraid of inside pitches?”

“Chang-hoon is going to be pissed.”

Worries and concerns poured out from the GOAT bench.

The first batter moved closer to the plate against ace Lee Chang-hoon.

It was a declaration that he would hit any pitch, regardless of inside fastballs.

“Seriously.”

Lee Chang-hoon smiled wryly and threw the ball outside again.

Clang!

Choi Young-seok hit the ball, but it was a ground ball to the second baseman.

He ran hard to first base, but it was an easy out.

-Out!

“Lee Chang-hoon gets the first batter, Choi Young-seok, out with two pitches. Lee Chang-hoon is off to a good start.”

“Choi Young-seok swung at the changeup too hastily just now. Since it came in the same course, he seems to have thought it was too easy.”

As soon as Choi Young-seok returned to the bench, he shook his finger.

“His fastball isn’t good today. Just aim for the fastball.”

The leadoff hitter’s first task is to gather information about the opposing pitcher as quickly and accurately as possible.

They either watch the pitches a lot and provide information about the opposing pitcher to the team’s hitters, or they directly face the pitcher and let the team know.

Choi Young-seok was not only an excellent second baseman in both offense and defense but also a smart and quick-witted player.

He had an eye for catching the characteristics and details of not only opposing fielders but also pitchers, which is why he was evaluated as Pegasus Dynasty’s undisputed leadoff hitter.

“Okay. So, his fastball isn’t good…”

The Pegasus players focused on Lee Chang-hoon’s fastball.

Any pitcher throws at least 50% fastballs.

Saying the fastball isn’t good was like saying the batter had a 50% advantage.

Clang!

Second batter Shim Chang-gyu hit Lee Chang-hoon’s first-pitch curve and reached second base.

Fourth batter Kim Wook, who saw the trajectory of the curve, shrugged his shoulders.

“I should hit a home run today?”

Lee Chang-hoon allowed a walk to the third batter after a full count, sweating profusely from the first inning.

“Lee Chang-hoon is having trouble with his control today.”

“He’s trying to throw the ball very carefully, but I don’t know. Trying to throw too well often leads to things getting twisted.”

“You’re a former pitcher, so you know that well.”

“Yes, when I was active, my power and control were best when I thought, ‘Hit it if you can.’ Trying to throw too well makes your body tense.”

“Is Lee Chang-hoon’s body too tense right now?”

“I don’t think his power is that good today. So, he’s trying to throw carefully, which makes his body tense, and conversely, his control gets worse.”

“In this moment of crisis, fourth batter Kim Wook comes up. One out, runners on first and second. It’s a tough situation for GOAT.”

Kim Wook greeted Song Seok-hyeon as soon as he entered the plate.

“Seok-hyeon, Seok-hyeon. Stop hitting home runs. You have to give the home run title to your hyung [older brother/male friend].”

“Of course. Sunbae-nim should take the home run title. You know I haven’t been hitting home runs lately, right?”

“So, you’re giving the home run title to your hyung?”

“Yes, yes. Take it as much as you want.”

Thwack!

-Ball. Outside.

“Isn’t Chang-hoon’s pitch too weak today?”

“Didn’t you know he’s throwing it for Sunbae-nim to hit a home run?”

“This kind of pushing is collusion… But I’ll gratefully accept it.”

The next pitch was a fastball that came in more inside than before.

Kim Wook swung with all his might.

Whoosh!