On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 172

Fish also pitched the bottom of the 4th without allowing a run, heading into the 5th.

In the top of the 5th, the Goat’s batters came to the plate, starting with the 7th batter, but all three were retired in order.

“…….”

Manager Ham Seong-hoon closed his eyes.

The coaches also sighed repeatedly.

Only the pitching coach cautiously spoke.

“Still, Fish is doing well, so we can come back in the later innings.”

Bottom of the 5th.

The Fox’s attack was up to the 9th batter, catcher Park Jin-hwan.

Fish quickly got two strikes on the 9th batter and then threw a changeup for the final pitch.

Tuk.

“The batter’s hit ball is rolling towards the shortstop. The shortstop… oh? He misses it? The ball rolls behind his glove. Park Jin-hwan safely reaches first base.”

“Just now, it should have bounced, but it didn’t bounce properly and just rolled through. An irregular bounce, right?”

“A disappointing play here leads to a runner on first with no outs.”

Fish narrowed his brow.

Shortstop Jung Baek-seon raised his hand to the pitcher, signaling his apology.

“Even a good defensive player like Jung Baek-seon makes mistakes like this.”

“Jung Baek-seon is like salt to the team [essential and reliable] as an infielder who can play multiple positions, but the expectations for the shortstop position are high. It was an unavoidable ball, but it makes the pitcher think a lot. If it were starting shortstop Jung Young-soo, wouldn’t he have caught it? That’s the kind of thought that goes through your head.”

“Manager Ham Seong-hoon is rotating starters and backups a lot in the Fox game, and it seems like that’s leading to defensive instability.”

“There’s nothing you can do. Baseball isn’t a game you can play with just nine starters.”

Runner on first with no outs.

The runner is a slow-footed catcher.

Fish threw two outside fastballs for the first two pitches.

-Ball. Outside.

-Ball. Outside.

After two consecutive balls, Fish turned around and cursed.

“Two good pitches, but they’re just barely called balls.”

“It’s a shame for the pitcher. It’s a pitch that could easily be called a strike.”

Fish threw the next pitch right down the middle of the strike zone.

-Strike!

Another changeup outside.

On the TV strike zone, it was clearly a strike.

-Ball. Outside.

Fish kicked the mound with his foot.

“Ah, Fish… he needs to calm down a bit.”

“That kind of behavior won’t look good to the umpire. It’s a shame, but there’s no point in getting worked up.”

Ham Seong-hoon gestured to the pitching coach.

The pitching coach went to the mound with the interpreter.

“FUCK! The umpire is a moron!”

As soon as the interpreter came up, Fish vented his anger as if he had been waiting.

“The umpire’s blind! Even my grandmother would call that a strike!”

“Yeah. That umpire sucks.”

Fish nodded at pitching coach Yeon Woo-sik’s reply.

“Do I have to put up with this crap?”

“Then should we throw a ball at the umpire’s head? How about it? Il-hyeok, don’t catch it if Fish throws the ball. Okay?”

Seo Il-hyeok’s eyes darted back and forth between the coach and Fish.

He was trying to figure out their true intentions.

“…Really?”

Fish suddenly closed his mouth after hearing the interpreter’s words.

“Let’s throw a ball at that umpire’s head and replace him with the standby umpire. Sounds good, right? Fish, are you okay?”

Fish asked.

“Really?”

“Yeah, throw it. I’ll tell the catcher to set up outside, so let’s make it look like the ball slipped. How can they do anything without evidence?”

“…Hoo.”

“Il-hyeok, did you hear that? Go down and get ready. Fish, walk this batter and then throw it right at the umpire’s face on the next at-bat. It’ll be obvious if you throw it right now. Got it?”

As Yeon Woo-sik was about to leave the mound, Fish grabbed Yeon Woo-sik’s shoulder.

“Whoa, whoa, is this for real? Are we really going to do it?”

“Why not? You have to break things when you’re angry. If the umpire gives us trouble, let’s just withdraw from the game. We’ve already won 5 in a row anyway, so what’s one game? It’s much better to save our energy and forfeit than to play all the way to the 9th.”

“…….”

Fish licked his dry lips.

“Forfeiting is also an experience, so what? Let’s just give up a walk and do it right away. Okay?”

“Wait, wait, wait a minute. Forfeit?”

“You have to be prepared to do that much before you throw it.”

“Are you serious?”

“Sure. Why not?”

Fish shook his head.

“What the…….”

“Umpire’s head. Okay?”

“I get it, so just go down, Coach.”

Yeon Woo-sik left the mound.

Seo Il-hyeok looked at Yeon Woo-sik, not knowing what to do.

Yeon Woo-sik winked at Seo Il-hyeok.

Seo Il-hyeok nodded once and said to Fish.

“You can do it.”

Seo Il-hyeok also left the mound.

Fish took off his hat and muttered.

“There are too many crazy people.”

When Yeon Woo-sik returned to the bench, Ham Seong-hoon called him.

“What did you talk about that took so long?”

“I told him to hit the umpire in the head if he was upset.”

“……Huh?”

The coaches next to him also stirred.

“What are you talking about?”

“Why make things bigger?”

Yeon Woo-sik chuckled.

“If he’s going to cause trouble anyway, I’m just giving him a stage to do it on, and if he’s not going to cause trouble, he’ll just ignore it.”

Fish’s choice was a strikeout.

-Strike! Out!

“Fish’s fastball is too fast for the bat to keep up.”

“A fastball over 150km/h with control. It’s tough. It’s tough. That’s Fish.”

In the top of the 5th, Fish maintained a 3-0 lead without allowing a run.

Pitching coach Yeon Woo-sik approached Fish and frowned.

“Why didn’t you throw it? I was going to have a drink and rest today.”

Fish silently shook his head.

Seo Il-hyeok approached Yeon Woo-sik and asked quietly.

“What were you going to do if he actually threw it?”

“He wouldn’t throw it. Guys like that never throw it.”

“Why?”

“Even though those foreigners seem hot-tempered, they’re quick to calculate. Isn’t this a capitalist country? If a forfeit record is clearly left behind, everyone knows that he doesn’t like the majors or Asia because he’s hot-tempered, so if he has a forfeit record, his value will plummet, right?”

Seo Il-hyeok clicked his tongue.

“Did you say all that thinking about that?”

“Is this my first day dealing with foreign players? There are different types of temperamental guys. I can’t deal with guys who are just plain nasty. But in Fish’s case, where he has a strong desire to win, you can still handle him if you coax him gently.”

Cleaning time [break between innings].

Yu Seon-ho called the batters together separately.

“I’m sorry for causing trouble today, but we’re all generally a bit too relaxed, right?”

“Yes.”

“The batting tempo is too fast. The pitcher wants to finish quickly. The batter, on the other hand, needs to go slowly and leisurely. Let’s see a lot of pitches. Got it?”

“Yes.”

“Ah, but if there’s a chance, you have to swing from the first pitch. I’m telling you to pass on pitches that are hard to hit, not to fill the count no matter what. Do you all understand what I mean?”

“Yes!”

Across the way, on the Fox bench.

While Jung Jung-guk went to the bathroom, catcher Park Jin-hwan called the players together.

“Let’s get Jung-guk a win today. Right?”

“Yes.”

“How many days in a season will Jung-guk be on his game?”

The players laughed.

“You all know that Jung-guk is timid and introverted. He’s a guy who could do great things if he just had confidence, but he doesn’t have confidence.”

“Let’s pay Goat back for sure today. They brought out their backups, so we can’t lose.”

Park Jin-hwan gestured for the players to come closer.

“We can’t lose 6 straight in Sajik [stadium name]. Right?”

“Yes!”

“Okay, hands in.”

The players put their hands in.

“Fox!”

“Aja [Let’s go]!”

Top of the 6th.

The first batter for Goat was Kang Beom-jae.

“Goat is sticking with the same lineup today. They’re not bringing up the starters.”

“The score difference isn’t that big yet, and it seems like they’re giving them more rest to prepare for the Scorpion game starting tomorrow.”

“Kang Beom-jae hasn’t been effective today.”

Jung Jung-guk chose an outside fastball for the first pitch.

The moment Jung Jung-guk was about to throw the ball, Kang Beom-jae raised his hand and grabbed the middle of the bat.

“A surprise bunt!”

The Fox fielders ran forward.

The ball that Jung Jung-guk threw went straight into the zone, and Kang Beom-jae bunted it.

The ball bounced towards third base.

Kang Beom-jae ran straight to first base.

“The pitcher catches the ball! Right to first! At first! Safe! It’s safe! Kang Beom-jae’s speed made the surprise bunt successful.”

“Is that safe? I thought the pitcher caught the ball easily and it was an out, but Kang Beom-jae is really fast.”

“Is Kang Beom-jae opening up a path like this? His speed is really charming.”

Jung Jung-guk sighed as he looked at the sky.

Runner on first with no outs, a fast runner.

“The situation that pitchers hate the most is when there’s a fast runner on first with second base open. You have to worry about steals, it’s hard to get a double play, and if you give up a hit, they’re on third, and if they hit it a little harder, they can even score. Honestly, from a pitcher’s perspective, it’s more comfortable to have a runner on second where you can’t see them at all.”

“Kang Beom-jae has created a good opportunity for Goat by getting on first with no outs.”

“The next batter is Kang Ha-young. He’s been pushed to the backup role by the emergence of Seol Jin-il. But he’s always a part of Goat’s outfield options. He has a particularly good eye.”

Jung Jung-guk chose an outside fastball for the first pitch.

Tang.

“The ball went over the pitcher’s head! A hit! It’s a hit! The center fielder caught it, but Kang Beom-jae goes all the way to third! Kang Beom-jae’s speed was really fast.”

“That was too honest. Jung Jung-guk was worried about the runner, so he threw an outside fastball. Usually, when a fast runner gets on base, you throw an outside fastball to create a good situation for the catcher to throw to second, but that has the disadvantage of making the pitching pattern too simple. I said that Jung Jung-guk’s control was good today, but that pitch was honestly right down the middle.”

“Goat is not easy either. There’s a reason why they took out the starters.”

“Goat has used a lot of backup players in the Fox game, but they haven’t touched the cleanup hitters [best hitters in the lineup]. They’re saying they’re going to score no matter what.”

“Hulk Kim In-hwan is at the plate.”

As Kim In-hwan stepped up to the plate, the players on the Goat bench shouted in unison.

“Yahwang [wild king]! Yahwang! Yahwang! Yahwang!”

“Yahwang fighting!”

A blood vessel stood out on Kim In-hwan’s temple.

Success as a catcher

Wall

Bang!

“It’s up! It’s high! The center fence! The center fence! The center fence! Ah! It doesn’t go over. The ball went into the center fielder’s glove.”

“Kim In-hwan was aiming for a big one, but the ball happened to fly to the center fence, which is the farthest place. It would have been a home run if it had been a little more to the side.”

“Kim In-hwan is dropping his head. That was really a shame.”

Kim In-hwan sighed deeply and went to the bench.

Seo Il-hyeok gave Kim In-hwan a thumbs up.

“That was a shame, you hit it well.”

“Ah, it was just a hair off. The timing was late.”

“It was a chance to become a real Yahwang. What a shame.”

“Ah, hyung [older brother/term of endearment].”

The players chuckled.

Song Seok-hyun stepped up to the plate.

As Song Seok-hyun stepped up to the plate, the Goat fans shouted his cheer in unison.

“Oh oh, Goat’s Song Seok-hyun. All-around Song Seok-hyun. Outside the park home run Song Seok-hyun. Fly! Away! With! It!”

“Fly! Away! With! It!”

Jung Jung-guk licked his dry lips with his tongue.

The catcher’s sign was a breaking ball from the first pitch.

The plan was to load the bases and compete with Yu Seon-ho.

Jung Jung-guk hesitated for a moment and shook his head.

“…….”

The catcher pursed his lips.

The sign exchange between Jung Jung-guk and the catcher was prolonged.

“Time.”

Song Seok-hyun stepped away from the plate to catch his breath.

Fox’s manager Kim Young-sik gave a sign.