On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 235

Song Seok-hyun signaled for a back door slider as his first pitch.

Han Min-seok smacked his lips, seeing Song Seok-hyun’s sign.

Using a back door slider, typically a finishing pitch, right from the start?

It seemed a bit wasteful, but he didn’t want to spend too long exchanging signals for the first pitch.

“Han Min-seok, first pitch coming!”

A slider that started along the outside edge of the plate and then sharply curved inward—a classic back door slider.

Han Min-seok’s back door slider had a sharp break.

*Whoosh.*

At that moment, Song Seok-hyun heard the sound of the ball cutting through the air.

Kim Wook’s bat connected perfectly.

“Center-right! Center-right! A hit screaming through center-right! Kim Wook makes it to first and keeps going to second! He’s on second base. Kim Wook creates a no-out situation with a runner on second.”

“That was a back door slider. And he hit it on the first pitch? That’s a tough pitch to hit unless you’re specifically looking for it. It seems Kim Wook was definitely anticipating that pitch.”

“The Pegasus is creating opportunities every inning. If the score widens further from 3-0, it’ll be tough for the Goat to catch up.”

Kim Wook, after reaching second base, handed his protective gear to the coach and made eye contact with Song Seok-hyun.

Wink.

Kim Wook winked, as if telling Song Seok-hyun to watch him.

*So this is Kim Wook….*

Song Seok-hyun understood why Kim Wook was the Pegasus’s cleanup hitter [the batter in the lineup who is expected to hit with runners on base and drive them in].

A batter who, even in Game 7 of the Korean Series [the championship series of the KBO League], has his sights set, swings his own swing, and doesn’t lose his composure.

He’s not a huge power hitter, but he must have hit 40 home runs because of his innate sense.

“Tch.”

Song Seok-hyun sighed.

With no outs and a runner on second, the 5th, 6th, and 7th hitters were coming up in succession.

All three players easily batted over .300.

Han Min-seok induced a ground ball against the 5th hitter, Kim Seong-hyun, resulting in one out and a runner on third.

After a tenacious at-bat, Jung Yong-wook earned a walk, creating a situation with one out and runners on first and third.

The 7th hitter was shortstop Kim Hyung-woo.

Han Min-seok threw consecutive balls, putting the count at 3-0.

The next pitch headed outside the strike zone.

*Clang!*

The batter’s hit didn’t leave the infield.

Second baseman Jung Dong-gyu ran forward and caught the ball.

Kim Wook, who was on third base, charged towards home.

“Second!”

Song Seok-hyun pointed to second base.

Jung Dong-gyu hesitated and threw the ball to second base with a regretful expression.

The shortstop caught the ball and threw it to first.

Double play. Safe.

“4-0. 4-0. The Pegasus adds another point. The Pegasus is adding points every inning.”

“It’s fortunate that they got an out, but they’re giving up too many runs little by little. It’s hard to decide whether to change the pitcher in this situation. It’s not like Han Min-seok’s pitches are bad, and it’s a bit early to take the starter out.”

Han Min-seok got the next batter out with a ground ball and then walked off the mound.

4-0.

The Goat bench fell silent.

They were being pushed back little by little by the opponent.

The Pegasus was getting on base and scoring every inning.

In a gloomy atmosphere, Goat started their attack in the top of the 4th inning.

The leadoff hitter was Song Seok-hyun.

Pitcher Kim Seong-hoon threw a pitch close to his body right from the start.

*Bang!*

It was a pitch that just barely missed inside, but Jung Yong-wook moved his mitt naturally, like flowing water.

-Strike!

Song Seok-hyun didn’t move an inch.

It was easy to assume that Jung Yong-wook gave one ball per at-bat when he was catching.

The second pitch was an outside slider, ball.

Jung Yong-wook was lost in thought for a moment.

*The fact that he didn’t react to the outside ball means he’s aiming for the inside pitch?*

The umpire today was generous with the strike zone, both left and right.

If you add Jung Yong-wook’s framing [skillfully catching the ball to make it appear as a strike to the umpire] to that, the inside pitch gets an extra ball’s worth of leeway compared to most umpires.

Even the great Song Seok-hyun would have difficulty with a ball that sticks so close to his body, right?

So, even if Song Seok-hyun is waiting for an inside pitch, is it right to call for one?

In a fleeting moment, Jung Yong-wook’s mind raced.

Jung Yong-wook’s choice was an outside changeup [a slow pitch designed to deceive the batter].

Logically, it would be right to challenge him inside, but it’s burdensome to keep throwing inside pitches against Song Seok-hyun.

Kim Seong-hoon dusted the rosin bag in his hand and wound up with all his might to throw the ball.

A ball that started inside the edge of the plate and then dropped.

It was a textbook changeup.

A ball that lowers itself just enough to be annoying if the batter swings.

However, this time it failed to evade the batter’s bat.

Song Seok-hyun effortlessly pushed the ball.

“It’s up in the air!”

The ball, floating high in the sky, flew towards the center field fence of Suwon Stadium.

It was a hit that looked like a coach hitting outfield fungo balls [practice hits], but the ball stretched and stretched, passing far beyond the center fielder.

*Thud.*

The ball went over the fence and landed in the upper part of the stands.

“Waaaaaaah!!”

“Song Seok-hyun! Song Seok-hyun! Song Seok-hyun!”

Both the pitcher and catcher were speechless.

Song Seok-hyun stepped on first base as it was.

“Good grief.”

Kim Wook let out a hollow laugh with his hands on his hips.

*He hits it over the fence with that kind of swing?*

What looked like an ordinary fly out to anyone turned into a home run that traveled well over 120 meters [approximately 394 feet].

The most dumbfounded was the pitcher himself.

A changeup isn’t his main pitch, but the changeup he threw a moment ago was a well-executed pitch that anyone could see.

Hitting a home run by aiming for a ball that was out of the zone.

He would have been less upset if he had been hit with a fastball.

“Song Seok-hyun’s home run! The score is 4-1. Goat has been trailing all along, but has finally made up one point.”

“It’s a shame that it’s a solo home run for Goat, but it’s fortunate that they made up at least one point. Even if it’s the same 3-run difference, 4-0 and 4-1 are different. There’s a different atmosphere between scoring at least one point and not scoring at all. If you start scoring one point, you can start from that one point and follow up with another point.”

After allowing a home run to Song Seok-hyun, Kim Seong-hoon threw five consecutive pitches inside to the next batter, Yoo Seon-ho, running the count full.

The finishing pitch was a back door slider.

Yoo Seon-ho was helpless and struck out.

“Oh my, this is driving me crazy.”

With Yoo Seon-ho flustered, there was no need to see the next batters.

The inning ended with two consecutive ground outs.

In the bottom of the 4th inning, Goat also made a move.

“It’s pitcher Fish. Pitcher Fish is coming to the mound.”

“He’s coming up today after resting for three days. At this point, you can say he’s rested enough in a short-term game.”

“It won’t be easy for Pegasus either. Isn’t Fish the ace of the team after all?”

“Although they’re behind by 3 runs, it seems like Goat is declaring that they won’t give up any more points.”

Fish did some practice pitches on the mound.

*Bang!*

*Bang!*

The sound of the ball hitting the mitt was thunderous.

The speed shown on the scoreboard was 150km/h [approximately 93 mph].

It was hard to believe that he was a player who had come up after resting for three days.

-Strike! Out!

-Strike! Out!

Fish finished the inning with only one walk, two strikeouts, and one ground out.

In the top of the 5th inning, the 7th hitter came up as the leadoff hitter for Goat.

“Goat has replaced the batter. Oh Jin-young is out and Kang Ha-young is in. Isn’t Kang Ha-young mainly a defensive replacement?”

“He’s a player who is in charge of solid defense in the outfield. Oh Jin-young, on the other hand, is a medium-to-long distance hitter.”

“Why did they take out Oh Jin-young when they’re losing? Is there something wrong?”

“Well, Oh Jin-young didn’t have a great performance today, but right now they need a player who can get on base.”

Kang Ha-young gave up two strikes from the start.

The next ball was a slider, foul.

Changeup, foul.

Fastball, foul.

0-2.

Jung Yong-wook brought his mitt to the inside.

*Bang!*

As Jung Yong-wook caught the ball, he naturally dragged his mitt into the strike zone.

At the same time, Kang Ha-young was startled and stepped out of the batter’s box.

His movements were so exaggerated that even Jung Yong-wook flinched.

-……Ball.

Jung Yong-wook was dumbfounded and looked at Kang Ha-young.

Kang Ha-young shook his head, looking troubled, and returned to the batter’s box.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Senior, please take it easy. I might get hit.”

“What?”

The umpire said.

“You two, focus on the game.”

Jung Yong-wook realized that everything was Kang Ha-young’s trick.

Since Kang Ha-young was so over the top, it wouldn’t be easy for the umpire to generously call an inside strike like before.

Kim Seong-hoon is a player who can basically get an ERA [Earned Run Average, a measure of pitching performance] of 2-3 even if he only throws outside, so there won’t be any problems, but he was annoyed that he was being toyed with by an outfield backup player with no name.

-Outside fastball.

*There’s no need to make it difficult.*

*Push through with power.*

Kim Seong-hoon didn’t like Kang Ha-young’s overreaction either, so he threw the ball with all his might.

*Clang!*

-Foul!

“Foul. Kang Ha-young is holding on tenaciously.”

“It’s not easy to hit those fouls either. Kang Ha-young is battling well. The opponent is Kim Seong-hoon. There are many players who have difficulty even getting the bat on the ball.”

Only then did Jung Yong-wook take a closer look at Kang Ha-young’s batting form.

The stride and stance are focused on accuracy.

However, the hitting position was a bit unique.

Low.

A position lower than the shoulder.

Jung Yong-wook examined Kang Ha-young’s shoulder as he called for an outside slider.

*Bang!*

-Ball.

2-2.

*It’s certain.*

Kang Ha-young’s hitting position was low, at best, similar to his shoulder.

The stride is narrow, the stance is closed, and the hitting position is low.

He felt a sense of incongruity, and it turned out to be similar to Song Seok-hyun with a closed stance.

The hitting position is a bit lower than Song Seok-hyun.

The lower the hitting position, the wider the range of possible hits.

The lower the hitting position, the harder it is to put power into the ball.

Song Seok-hyun combined accuracy and power with a heavy bat, innate core strength, and a spinning force reminiscent of a top.

Kang Ha-young compensates for his lack of power with a closed stance, which is rare these days.

He’s a catcher, but Jung Yong-wook has extensive knowledge of baseball in general.

Kang Ha-young’s batting form was not an improvisation, but a high-level form that showed traces of deliberation.

-Four-seam [a type of fastball].

Jung Yong-wook brought his mitt to the inside.

*As expected, you have to challenge him with power.*

The ball thrown by Kim Seong-hoon…….

*Swish.*

A slight sound of something brushing past.

Kang Ha-young immediately raised his hand.

“I got hit!”

The sound just now was the sound of the ball brushing against the elbow guard.

“Kang Ha-young advances to first base after a tenacious battle.”

“That’s good. As a batter, you have to hold on like that until the end.”

Ham Seong-hoon applauded Kang Ha-young’s on-base.

There are many players in Goat who can hit home runs even if it’s not Oh Jin-young.

However, today, none of the 5th, 6th, and 7th hitters are getting on base.

He trusted Kang Ha-young, who has a high on-base percentage recently, and replaced him, and the result is better than expected.

He thought of him as just an outfield defensive replacement, but he’s making remarkable progress.

Is the outfield comforting him because the infield is causing him trouble?

*Tuk tuk.*

Ham Seong-hoon moved his hand.

No outs, runner on first, down by 3 runs.

It’s time for a strategy.