On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 180

“Strike! The umpire calls it a ball.”

“Seo Il-hyuk is arguing, but the first base umpire says he didn’t turn far enough.”

“That was really close. You could almost say he did turn.”

Hwang Gi-duk closed his eyes briefly.

Lee Baek-chan also closed and reopened his eyes once.

Fourth pitch.

Whack!

-Strike! Out!

A high fastball, right into the hitter’s zone.

Hwang Gi-duk flinched, unable to move.

“Strikeout! A strikeout! He strikes him out right there!”

“He strikes out the mighty Hwang Gi-duk! Lee Baek-chan is pitching the game of his life today. Amazing. He wasn’t even supposed to be a starter, just cleaning up garbage innings [low-pressure situations], and now he’s putting on a legendary performance.”

“He’s not the winning pitcher yet, but even if the game ends like this, the MVP today will undoubtedly be Lee Baek-chan.”

“Absolutely. He’s putting on an incredible performance. A truly amazing pitching display. It’s a shame we barely had time to appreciate it.”

“Haha, that’s right. We barely had time to appreciate it.”

“It was fast, so fast. Like watching a non-stop action movie. One that just keeps throwing punches without a break.”

“Lee Baek-chan is leaving the mound to a standing ovation from the Jamsil [a famous baseball stadium in South Korea] fans. Rightly so. Lee Baek-chan deserves this standing ovation today. What a brilliant game.”

The Goat players came out of the dugout to greet Lee Baek-chan.

“Well done.”

“You were the best today.”

“Good, good. Really good.”

“Awesome, Lee Baek-chan.”

Lee Baek-chan returned to the bench and sat down, his face blank.

He stared at the field, his face still flushed with excitement.

“I pitched to the end. I actually pitched to the end.”

Muttering to himself, Lee Baek-chan grinned.

“I also pitched to the end. I could pitch to the end.”

Bottom of the 9th.

As Song Seok-hyun stepped up to the plate, the Goat fans rose to their feet again.

Bottom of the 9th, cleanup hitter [the fourth batter in the lineup, typically a strong hitter].

The best chance possible, except for the lack of runners on base.

As Song Seok-hyun took his stance, Scorpion’s closer, Tak Gi-duk, took a breath.

“This scene could also be picked as one of the highlights of today’s game. Bottom of the 9th, closer Tak Gi-duk versus cleanup hitter Song Seok-hyun. Tak Gi-duk could walk Song Seok-hyun and play the matchups, but if he loads the bases, one big hit could change everything.”

“Tak Gi-duk is exchanging signs with the catcher.”

“He needs to be careful. Very careful. Song Seok-hyun isn’t just a good player. He’s more than just a good hitter; he’s also got great instincts. If he throws without thinking, it could lead to a big disaster.”

Tak Gi-duk hid the ball behind his back and watched the catcher’s signs.

The catcher’s sign for the first pitch was a forkball [a pitch that drops sharply as it reaches the plate].

Tak Gi-duk nodded.

“Tak Gi-duk, winding up!”

The ball left Tak Gi-duk’s hand and flew towards the bottom of the strike zone.

At the same time, Song Seok-hyun’s waist turned.

Just as Song Seok-hyun’s bat was about to come out, the ball began to sink.

Whack!

The catcher caught the ball, and the batter stopped his swing.

The catcher stood up and pointed to the first base umpire.

-No swing.

The first base umpire called it a no-swing.

“No swing. This time, the no-swing call goes to the Goat.”

“Song Seok-hyun held back well, even though he almost swung.”

“Is this the skill of a twenty-year-old? It’s unbelievable. He holds back against the league’s best closer’s forkball. How did he hold back?”

Tak Gi-duk opened his mouth and chuckled in disbelief.

The Scorpion bench was just as dumbfounded.

“He laid off that?”

“I’m going crazy.”

“Is he even human?”

The person with the darkest expression wasn’t the Scorpion’s manager or the pitcher.

It was the catcher who received the ball.

“This complicates the catcher’s calculations. The batter laid off the pitcher’s forkball. That means he laid off the put-away pitch [a pitch designed to get a strikeout]. This makes it difficult to use the forkball as a finisher.”

“By laying off Tak Gi-duk’s forkball, Song Seok-hyun starts with a ball [a count of 1-0, favoring the batter].”

Koo Seung-cheol’s sign for the second pitch was also a forkball.

This time, Song Seok-hyun didn’t even react.

“You’re really something, really something. How did you lay off that?”

“The bat almost went out.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It felt iffy.”

“……?”

Koo Seung-cheol shook his head.

Koo Seung-cheol changed the sign.

Outside fastball.

Song Seok-hyun watched a ball enter the zone.

“2-1. 2-1. Song Seok-hyun watched a fastball.”

“There’s no need to rush. If two balls have come in, unless it’s a hanging pitch [a poorly thrown pitch that is easy to hit], you need to calmly watch it. You shouldn’t touch a ball that’s riding the border like that before two strikes.”

Tak Gi-duk took a breath.

2-1.

Not bad, but a count favorable to the batter.

Tak Gi-duk focused on the catcher’s fingers.

“He got a strike with a fastball. The important thing is what happens now. Does he throw another fastball here, or can he throw another forkball since he showed a fastball?”

“He laid off two forkballs, can he throw another one here?”

“The pitch Song Seok-hyun is expecting is probably a fastball more than 80% of the time. Of course. Isn’t it natural to expect the opposing pitcher to throw a fastball after laying off a forkball?”

“Yes, I see.”

“Of course. It’s natural. Since Song Seok-hyun is expecting a fastball, it’s even better to throw a forkball to induce a swing. Let’s say he throws a fastball here. Unless it’s a strike, Song Seok-hyun is likely to get a hit in a situation where he’s expecting a fastball. The pitcher has to trust his pitch. He has to throw the forkball.”

‘Fastball. Throw a fastball.’

The catcher’s sign was an outside fastball.

Even for a top-tier hitter like Song Seok-hyun, it’s not easy to swing at a fastball riding the border in the bottom of the 9th before two strikes.

If it’s the same fastball as before, he can get to two strikes.

“……”

Tak Gi-duk puffed out his cheeks.

Tak Gi-duk is one of the pitchers who is second to none when it comes to fastballs.

Even if it’s not the fastest fastball, if you’re picking the heaviest fastball, Tak Gi-duk is definitely in the top three.

But.

Tak Gi-duk’s most prized pitch is still the forkball.

He has lived with the pride that he wouldn’t be outdone even if a Japanese forkball master came.

It’s the forkball that turned back major leaguers and NPB [Nippon Professional Baseball, the highest level of baseball in Japan] players in international competitions.

“Hmm.”

Tak Gi-duk hesitated for a moment and straightened his back.

The pitcher has to trust the catcher.

Trust is more than just skill.

“Hah!”

Tak Gi-duk threw the ball with a shout for the first time in a while.

The ball flew straight towards the border.

Song Seok-hyun’s waist turned in an instant.

Bang!

“Center field wall~~! Center field wall~~!”

The ball kept going. The center fielder’s sprint gradually slowed down and then stopped.

“It’s over! Song Seok-hyun’s solo home run! Song Seok-hyun’s solo home run explodes!”

“It was a home run that completely cleared the center field wall. I told you, throwing a fastball to a player waiting for a fastball isn’t a good choice. It would have been better to show a pitch inside and then throw an outside fastball, but if you throw the same pitch in the same course as the pitch that got a strike, it’s easy for the batter to distinguish it, no matter how good the pitch is.”

“Now the Goat have caught up with the Scorpion. Now a comeback is possible. Is the Goat finally going to make a comeback today?”

* * *

The game ended when Jung Dong-gyu’s hit went into the center fielder’s glove.

After Song Seok-hyun’s home run, walk, out, out, out.

The wall called Tak Gi-duk was not an easy wall to overcome.

“Wow, we almost died.”

“Good job. Good job.”

“Good work!”

The Scorpion players smiled brightly.

The Goat players sighed in disappointment and looked at the scoreboard several times.

Manager Ham Seong-hoon came out of the dugout and applauded the exhausted players.

“Good job. You all did well today.”

Ham Seong-hoon comforted each player and then finally came into the bench.

The Goat players dispersed with gloomy expressions, but the coaches’ expressions were bright.

In particular, pitching coach Yeon Woo-shik was smiling despite the loss.

“The potential finally exploded.”

“Yeah. The potential exploded.”

The first-round fireballer [a pitcher who throws with exceptional speed] showed the possibility of being a starter.

How long does it take to nurture a pitcher?

There was no bitterness of defeat.

A twenty-one-year-old fireballer who showed the possibility of being a starter.

Even in the Goat’s defeat, the Goat’s fans gathered in groups of three or five to talk about Lee Baek-chan.

“Still, our clutch hitting has improved, right?”

“Today was good. Wasn’t today’s game fun?”

“Was it fun?”

“It was fun.”

“Then that’s enough. We’re guaranteed a spot in the Korean Series [the championship series of the KBO League] anyway, so what do we have to be disappointed about! Beer, anyone?”

“Let’s go!”

Ace Catcher

Genius (7)

“Really?”

Song Seok-hyun smiled brightly.

“Am I really starting today?”

“Not just today, but today and going forward. We’ll adjust your appearances depending on the situation.”

Song Seok-hyun nodded at the battery coach’s words.

“I’m healthy. No problem.”

“Yeah, yeah. But you still have to be careful. It’s important to do well now, but you know you have to do even better in the postseason, right? You have to take good care of your body for that time. Got it?”

“Yes, I understand.”

After the meeting with the coach, Song Seok-hyun clenched his fist.

Team training time.

Song Seok-hyun began practicing pitching with starting pitcher Lee Chang-hoon.

Whack.

Whack.

Song Seok-hyun’s expression wasn’t bright as he caught the ball.

The pitching coach’s expression, who was watching from behind, was the same.

“……Not good, is it?”

At Lee Chang-hoon’s question, the pitching coach sighed deeply.

“Your condition isn’t coming up.”

“……I’m sorry. I’ve been taking care of my body like clockwork for the past few days, but it’s still like this.”

“No. This can happen at the end of the season. You’ve been rotating almost without skipping for the past few years. There’s a high possibility that fatigue has accumulated.”

“…….”

“Okay, that’s enough for now. Let’s talk about it again at the team meeting.”

“Yes.”

After the coach left, Lee Chang-hoon slumped to the ground.

Song Seok-hyun took off his catcher’s mask and approached Lee Chang-hoon.

“Are you okay?”

“As you can see.”

Lee Chang-hoon shrugged.

“I thought my condition would improve if I rested a bit……”

“But your control was better than usual today, wasn’t it?”

“That’s because I’m throwing softly.”

“Hey, there are a lot of people whose balls go wherever they want even if they throw softly.”

“Seok-hyun.”

“Yes.”

Lee Chang-hoon shook his head.

“That’s not very comforting.”

“……Yes.”

Lee Chang-hoon sat silently for a long time.

“Hit about four home runs today.”

“……Four?”

“Looks like I’m going to get hammered today. You hit home runs, bang, bang.”

“I’ll try, but can I do that as I please?”

“I guess I’m really becoming a has-been.”

“Hey, senior. Why is our team’s ace saying that?”

“Thanks for the words, just the words. You little punk.”

Lee Chang-hoon got up.

“Still, the word ‘ace’ always feels good to hear. Right?”