On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 243

“Hoo.”

The coach put his hands on his hips and shook his head.

“You’re stubborn. Fine. I’ll replace you immediately if I see anything strange.”

“I’m not hurt anywhere. Please don’t replace me, okay?”

While Seo Il-hyuk was talking to the coach, a war of nerves broke out between the Pegasus and Goat players.

Third baseman Park Jong-il called Song Min-joon, who was about to enter the dugout, and scolded him to keep it moderate. Song Min-joon frowned and turned his head away.

Park Jong-il, angered, tried to approach Song Min-joon, but the Pegasus coach grabbed Park Jong-il. The Goat bench shouted at him to let go.

Choi Young-seok and Shim Chang-gyu took the coach’s side, and it almost turned into a big fight, but it was settled when Seo Il-hyuk shook himself off and stood up.

“Are you really okay?”

Seo Il-hyuk nodded at the umpire’s question.

In reality, his whole body was writhing in pain.

It wasn’t a major injury, but he had absorbed the impact with his whole body, so his head was dizzy and his body ached.

Still, he couldn’t give up.

When else would he be in Game 7 of the Korean Series [the championship series of the KBO League, South Korea’s professional baseball league]?

Even if he were to die here, he could never back down.

“The game will resume. Thanks to Seo Il-hyuk’s devoted play, the score of 7-6 is maintained.”

“The game has been interrupted for quite a while. This can cool down the pitcher’s shoulder. This at-bat is for Kim Han-sung, number 3. Kim Han-sung is a homegrown hitter who can hit it over the fence anytime, anywhere. If we get hit with a big one here, the game is practically over.”

Go Jin-seok clenched and unclenched his fist.

One bad pitch here would be a lifelong burden.

It was self-evident without even having to think about it.

No bad pitches.

Accurately, more accurately.

Go Jin-seok threw the first pitch with all his might.

Whack!

-Ball.

The ball missed by about half a ball.

Go Jin-seok took a breath.

The next ball was an outside fastball, ball.

2-0.

Unfavorable count, Seo Il-hyuk signaled for a forkball.

It was a gamble, but the batter was just as anxious.

The ball thrown by Go Jin-seok extended like a picture below the zone, but the batter didn’t swing and just stared blankly.

“Three balls! It’s three balls! Kim Han-sung watched the ball.”

“Since it’s a two-ball situation, the batter is likely to be aggressive, but Kim Han-sung had no intention of hitting it at all? It seems like he waited until one strike came in, or the team ordered him not to hit.”

3-0.

Should they fill the bases and aim for a double play, or should they go head-to-head?

The next batter, Kim Wook, was in top condition.

Seo Il-hyuk waited for the bench’s signal.

‘Go for it!’

The Goat’s choice was a frontal attack.

Seo Il-hyuk brought his mitt close to his body.

Go Jin-seok aimed for the body with his fastest ball.

“Ah.”

As soon as he threw the ball, Go Jin-seok realized he had made a mistake.

It was a little shallow.

The ball curled slightly into the center.

Kim Han-sung swung his bat as if he had been waiting for it.

Clang!

“Left field fence! Left field fence! Left field fence~~~!”

The ball went high but went far.

Left fielder Kang Ha-young ran towards the fence with all his might.

Kang Ha-young turned on the warning track with clenched teeth.

A dark night sky, a spotlight falling like a pin, and a baseball falling from there.

It was enough to go over the fence, but Kang Ha-young stretched out his arm.

A cool autumn breeze brushed Kang Ha-young’s cheek.

Instantly, the Goat fans frowned.

The autumn breeze blew like a whirlwind, and the ball gradually lost its power.

Kang Ha-young tiptoed and moved left and right.

“Please, please, please, please!”

Perhaps he didn’t hear Kang Ha-young’s cry.

The ball mercilessly went over the fence.

“No!”

-Foul.

Only then did Kang Ha-young realize that his foot was on the foul line.

“Foul! The ball curves at the end and becomes a foul. A close call for the Goat. A very disappointing situation for the Pegasus.”

“That was really dangerous. It was really dangerous.”

Go Jin-seok stroked his chest.

Kim Han-sung also closed his eyes tightly in disappointment.

The two stood facing each other again.

3-1.

Go Jin-seok’s choice was a forkball.

Kim Han-sung’s choice was to wait.

Walk, bases loaded with one out.

The Pegasus fans cheered with joy.

The next batter was Kim Wook, the cleanup hitter.

Like a scene from a movie, the camera zoomed in on Kim Wook.

Ham Sung-hoon jumped up from his seat.

“The Goat is making another pitching change.”

“The Goat really has nothing to lose. It’s really bold.”

Kim Jung-ryul opened the bullpen and ran out.

When they saw Kim Jung-ryul, the Goat fans also stood up and applauded.

It was a moment of desperate crisis, but the Goat fans firmly believed.

Although he was called a has-been, Kim Jung-ryul was now the guardian deity of the Goat.

-Goat’s Kim Jung-ryul! Goat’s Kim Jung-ryul! Goat’s Kim Jung-ryul! Oh oh oh oh! Oh oh oh oh!

It was a trivial cheer, a trivial cheering song.

But if it was longer than this, it would be superfluous, and if it was shorter than this, it would be incomplete.

Kim Wook also smiled bitterly at Kim Jung-ryul’s appearance.

They were the same age, and both were star players, but one was the cleanup hitter of the dynasty and was on a roll, while the other was pointed at as a has-been on a declining team.

It was a scene that neither of them had ever imagined in their lives.

If someone had told them that they would meet as a pitcher and batter in Game 7 of the Korean Series, they would have dismissed it as nonsense.

But now.

A man who was once a hero but was now a has-been and now a closer was on the mound.

The usually good-natured and playful expression was nowhere to be found.

His eyes were full of determination.

Pitching coach Yeon Woo-shik patted Kim Jung-ryul on the shoulder.

“I’m sorry for calling you in a difficult situation.”

Kim Jung-ryul slowly shook his head.

“I’m supposed to come out at times like this. That’s what makes me an ace. Isn’t that right, hyung [older brother or close male friend]?”

Kim Jung-ryul winked.

Yeon Woo-shik’s nose tingled.

“I’ll finish it. I won’t give up a single point, so don’t worry and go down.”

“Okay. Let’s do it, us. We’ve come this far, we have to go all the way.”

Kim Jung-ryul looked at home plate.

“I guarantee it. From now on, not a single person will be able to step on that home plate. Even if it wears out my shoulder, I will never let them get there.”

To Home Plate

Korean Series Game 7 (12)

Whack!

Kim Wook stuck out his tongue while watching Kim Jung-ryul’s practice pitches.

The speed fluctuates around 140km/h, but the sound of it hitting the mitt sounds like it’s over 150km/h.

Just watching from the side, the ball seems wild like a wild horse.

He can’t just stare blankly.

Kim Wook stepped into the plate, timing Kim Jung-ryul’s pitching.

“One out, bases loaded. The Goat is in the ultimate crisis.”

“If they give up a point here, the game is practically 90% over.”

Kim Wook took his stance and looked at Kim Jung-ryul.

The first pitch is important in important at-bats.

The first pitch is a compass that shows the direction of the pitching.

A pitcher who comes in aggressively from the first pitch tends to come in aggressively with the decisive ball as well.

A do-or-die moment where one hit can give up more than 2 points.

Will Kim Jung-ryul be able to compete aggressively?

For a double play, the probability of an outside sinker is 80%.

Kim Jung-ryul exchanged signs with Seo Il-hyuk and shook his head twice.

Could it be that the pitcher is thinking differently?

Kim Wook steeled his mind once again.

He has to calculate the probability.

He has to aim for the outside sinker.

He will respond with a short and concise uppercut swing without being greedy.

Kim Jung-ryul, who had finished exchanging signs with the catcher, threw the first pitch.

Kim Wook swung his bat from the first pitch.

Whack!

Strike!

“Swing and a miss! Kim Jung-ryul induces a swing and a miss with a curveball.”

“He’s throwing such a high breaking ball from the first pitch. Kim Wook was completely fooled.”

Kim Wook adjusted his helmet.

The moment he thought it was a falling ball, the ball soared into the sky as if it had a rocket attached to it.

The so-called UFO curve.

It’s a curve that you can’t get used to even if you watch it over and over again.

“0-1. Now that he’s got one strike, he can throw another breaking ball. Kim Wook has to pick it well.”

Kim Jung-ryul’s second pitch was an outside fastball.

Kim Wook swung as if he had been waiting for it this time.

Whoosh!

Strike!

“Two strikes! Kim Jung-ryul induces a swing and a miss with a slider.”

“Kim Wook can’t get the timing at all. In this case, it’s 0-2. It’s a very unfavorable situation. He has no choice but to be dragged out by the breaking ball.”

Kim Wook tapped his helmet.

He was being foolish.

He should have thought about the breaking ball, but he only had the outside sinker in mind.

Kim Wook cleared his mind.

Now that he’s got two strikes, he’s going to pull out one breaking ball with a deep sinker on the body side, a high curve on the outside, or a slider.

Then he has to choose.

If it’s a decisive ball… it’s still the outside slider.

Even if the ball on the body side is a sinker, it’s a big burden for the pitcher right now.

After throwing the outside slider, he has to throw the outside sinker to make it more fatal to the batter, so the probability of this ball being a slider is high.

Wait a minute.

But has the probability that he thought of today been correct…?

Kim Jung-ryul’s ball was on the outside course.

Even if it misses with a slider, it’s a ball that’s a little bit in the zone.

Kim Wook swung his bat without even thinking.

Swoosh.

At that time, the ball gradually lost its power as if it had brakes on.

The bat is accelerating and flying, but the ball is getting slower and slower.

‘Ah, there was a changeup!’

Thud.

“Shortstop! The shortstop catches it and throws it to second base! From second base to first base! It’s a double play! Kim Wook’s double play!”

“As befits the best ground ball league pitcher, Kim Jung-ryul ends the inning with a double play. That ball was a really good changeup. At 124km/h, the batter can’t help but be fooled.”

“7-6. The Goat is still one point behind, but they have managed to keep the one-point difference.”

Kim Wook looked at the sky and sighed.

Kim Jung-ryul’s sinker, slider, and curve were so special that he didn’t think about the changeup at all.

Kim Jung-ryul’s changeup has a good speed difference from his fast ball, so it’s an above-average A-class ball in the league.

Even when he was a right-handed fireballer, his curve and changeup were excellent, so even after switching to underhand, his curve and changeup remained the same.

“Sunbaenim [senior/mentor]!”

“Hyung [older brother or close male friend]!”

“I didn’t know you could stop that!”

As Kim Jung-ryul returned to the bench, the players rushed over and hugged Kim Jung-ryul.

“Let go, let go! You’re disgusting!”

“Kim Jung-ryul! Kim Jung-ryul! Kim Jung-ryul!”

“Worship Kim Jung-ryul!”

“Oh! God of baseball!”

“Don’t overdo it, you punks!”

Kim Jung-ryul pushed the players away and said with a serious face.

“We’ve only overcome one hurdle. If we don’t score this time, it’s over, it’s over. Do you know what I mean?”