On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 260

The defense coach asked,

“Are we going tit-for-tat? Should we just…”

Ham Seong-hoon shook his head.

“I don’t plan to cripple one of their players. Not yet, anyway. They landed a few jabs and straights, so we need to return with hooks and uppercuts. We can’t just pull out a knife in the ring because we’re angry. If we don’t have public opinion on our side, things will go exactly as they want. We can’t let that happen.”

“So, do you have some kind of brilliant plan?”

“More like… we need to show them our claws a little.”

Ham Seong-hoon smirked.

“Let’s see how big their guts really are. They’re playing baseball like it’s war, so they must think they’re brave generals, right? Otherwise, I’d be very disappointed.”

* * *

Before practice, Ham Seong-hoon called a few players aside.

It wasn’t unusual for Ham Seong-hoon to give players short, one-on-one feedback sessions, so no one thought much of it.

The players called were four:

Yoo Seon-ho, Lee Chang-hoon, Kim Wook, and Kim In-hwan.

Lee Chang-hoon was a starting pitcher, and Yoo Seon-ho, Kim Wook, and Kim In-hwan were in the heart of the batting lineup.

Ham Seong-hoon called Yoo Seon-ho first.

“We’re going to initiate a bench clearing today.”

“…Should we step on them a bit?” [Meaning, should we escalate the situation?]

“No, no. If we do that, they’ll have the justification. We can’t do them any favors. If a bench clearing happens today, immediately run to the batter and stop him.”

“And then?”

“Keep him as far away from the Wales bench as possible. And drag out the time as much as possible, making a scene. That’s all you need to do.”

“…That’s it? Nothing more?”

“That’s it. That’s all you need to do.”

Yoo Seon-ho looked clueless, but Ham Seong-hoon sent him back to his place.

He told Kim Wook something even more puzzling.

“Create a menacing atmosphere and run towards Seon-ho. Swear, say you’re going to kill them, make the atmosphere as hostile as possible.”

“Are you telling me to pour oil on the fire? Are we really going to have a brawl today?”

“It won’t go as far as a brawl. It can’t. Just create the atmosphere. If our guys seem too excited, you and Seon-ho can moderate it appropriately. Absolutely do not touch the Wales players. Got it?”

“…Create a hostile atmosphere but don’t touch them?”

Next was pitcher Lee Chang-hoon, and then left fielder Kim In-hwan.

Both of them looked surprised after hearing what Ham Seong-hoon had to say.

“Really?”

“I’ll take care of the aftermath, so just do it.”

As practice began, reporters started to show up one by one.

Thanks to the unexpected incident, the Goats and Wales had formed a rivalry.

The fact that the top team from last year, the Goats, were on a five-game losing streak against Wales was enough to make headlines.

Ham Seong-hoon instructed the players to refrain from interviews.

The reporters naturally asked Wales for interviews, and Hwang Geun-seong not only accepted but was eager to be interviewed.

“It doesn’t look good when a young manager is so consumed by a victim mentality. It’s something that can always happen in a baseball game, but he needs to correct his arrogance, acting like he’s something special because of last year’s luck. A baseball career is long. If you’re that arrogant, you’ll get burned. I’m saying this as a senior, as a senior.”

Hwang Geun-seong, having found a pushover, had a solemn expression but his words were scathing.

He compared Ham Seong-hoon to a wet-behind-the-ears kid and held a talk show for the reporters.

As the game started, the players from both teams came onto the field and lined up.

The Wales players didn’t seem nervous at all, even though it was an away game at Jamsil [a well-known baseball stadium in South Korea].

The same was true for the fans, who waved large flags and sang enthusiastically from the start of the game.

-Play ball!

As the game began, Lee Chang-hoon took the mound in the top of the first inning.

Song Seok-hyun safely called for an outside fastball for the first pitch.

Lee Chang-hoon shook his head.

When Lee Chang-hoon shook his head, Song Seok-hyun changed the sign to a slider and a changeup.

All rejected.

The pitch Lee Chang-hoon chose was a curveball.

“Hoo.”

Lee Chang-hoon wound up and threw the ball.

The ball landed straight into the ground.

[Lee Chang-hoon doesn’t seem to be in good condition today. He’s usually confident in his control, but he’s all over the place.]

[It can happen on the first pitch.]

Song Seok-hyun tilted his head.

He had almost never seen Lee Chang-hoon with such erratic control…

The second pitch was an outside changeup.

This time, it was too far outside.

-Ball.

A walk due to consecutive balls.

The runner filled first base.

[Lee Chang-hoon needs to get a feel for it quickly.]

[Wales’s first and second hitters are really strong. They’re a table setter who compete for the top spot in the league in terms of punching power.]

Lee Chang-hoon threw two consecutive fastballs, but they were balls.

Song Seok-hyun signaled for a curveball.

It’s risky to have a fast runner on first base, but if he can’t control his fastball, he needs to increase the count with a curveball.

Lee Chang-hoon made eye contact with the batter.

The batter, Kim Jae-hong, was startled.

Lee Chang-hoon then threw the pitch.

It was a curveball, so the speed wasn’t fast, but it flew towards the batter’s head.

Kim Jae-hong, who was tense, immediately dodged the ball as soon as it came flying.

As Song Seok-hyun dove to catch the ball, Wales manager Hwang Geun-seong sent a signal as if he had been waiting for it.

“What are you doing, you bastards!”

The Wales players rushed towards the pitcher as if they had been waiting for it.

It was expected from the start.

Would the Goats keep getting beaten up?

It was obvious that they would provoke a bench clearing by starting a fight.

Hwang Geun-seong already had a plan.

If the opponent induces a bench clearing, he would pretend to engage and then back off.

Now that the opponent has given them the justification, even if Wales throws a beanball or makes a rough tackle, the Goats will have nothing to say.

If they’re going to play dirty, no manager can beat Hwang Geun-seong, who is more experienced than anyone.

Moreover, if it’s a young, two-year-old manager who is still a rookie, he’s just an easy target.

“Hey! You sons of bitches! You’re all dead today! I’m going to kill you all! Get out of the way!”

However, when third baseman Kim Wook ran while swearing harshly, unlike his usual self, the Wales coaches were shocked.

Perhaps the bench clearing could become quite violent and cause a big problem.

“Hey, hey, what are you doing? Go out there and stop them!”

The coaches sent the players who were standing awkwardly onto the field.

As the players became a mob and were buzzing, someone shouted and ran towards the Wales bench.

“Uwaaaaa!”

All You Can Do Is Play Your Own Baseball (2)

“Huh? Just run?”

“Yeah. Just run. Don’t do anything, just run to the 3rd base bench and come back to 1st base.”

Before the game.

Kim In-hwan blinked at Ham Seong-hoon’s words.

“Really, that’s all there is to it?”

“Yeah. But you have to, have to, touch the opponent’s bench.”

“…Really, is this all there is to it?”

“That’s right.”

Kim In-hwan looked like he had a lot of questions.

Ham Seong-hoon pushed Kim In-hwan’s back before he could say anything.

“What should you do if a bench clearing happens?”

“…Don’t join in, touch the 3rd base bench and come back to 1st base.”

“Okay. That’s it. Then just do it. But don’t hesitate even a little bit. You have to run right away. You have to run at full speed. Got it?”

Kim In-hwan groaned throughout practice, not knowing what he was talking about.

He couldn’t tell anyone else, so he had no one to talk to.

He repeated the manager’s words in his head, and the game began.

The timing came much faster than expected.

“Waaaaa!”

“You @!x%!x!”

A bench clearing broke out as soon as the 1st inning started.

“Uh, uh, uh…”

Kim In-hwan hesitated and stalled.

Run now?

Just aimlessly? To the opponent’s bench? Why?

His head was all messed up.

The center fielder and right fielder also ran onto the field for the bench clearing.

Kim In-hwan ran after them, but soon picked up speed.

The center fielder and right fielder ran towards home, but Kim In-hwan ran towards 3rd base.

He didn’t know why he was told to run, but he had to do what the manager told him to do.

“Uwaaaaaaaaa!”

He screamed out of embarrassment and shame.

The voice Kim In-hwan made was a disguise to hide his awkwardness, but it was completely different to the opponent.

Just as the coaches were going to stop the bench clearing, Kim In-hwan ran towards the 3rd base bench.

“Huh? Huh? Who is that?”

Kim In-hwan was also fast, unlike his size.

It wasn’t that his feet were the problem, it was that he didn’t have good base-running sense, so he didn’t steal bases.

From the outfield to the 3rd base bench, it was a single stride for Kim In-hwan.

As Kim In-hwan ran to the bench while shouting, the faces of the Wales coaches turned pale.

The best strongman in the league.

Kim In-hwan, built with muscles, was like an angry wild boar.

“Hey! Hey! Don’t come! Don’t come!”

The flustered head coach tried to stop Kim In-hwan, but Kim In-hwan couldn’t hear him.

The coaches couldn’t stop Kim In-hwan, who was running like he was flying, and they all ran away.

It’s impossible to stop Kim In-hwan with only three or four coaches on the bench.

Moreover, it’s right to give up on stopping Kim In-hwan, who is running with his eyes turned like now.

“You have to stop him, where are you going?”

Hwang Geun-seong, who was usually solemn, was completely different this time.

It was clear that Kim In-hwan would run up and invade the Wales bench right away.

Kim In-hwan, who doesn’t budge even if three or four ordinary players hold him back, who would stop Kim In-hwan with his eyes turned like now?

Moreover, there was no one on the bench to stop him together.

Everyone was already busy running away.

“No, I’m telling you to stop him, you idiots!”

Hwang Geun-seong pointed at Kim In-hwan, got up from the bench, and moved to the hallway.

It took less than 5 seconds to go from the bench to the hallway.

“Uwaaaaa!”

Kim In-hwan’s voice was still echoing.

Hwang Geun-seong thought Kim In-hwan was chasing him and hid deeper into the hallway after running away.

“Hey, hey! Get a hold of yourself! Get a hold of yourself, you crazy bastard!”

The Wales coaches said something to Kim In-hwan, who had his eyes turned, but Kim In-hwan didn’t slow down.

As soon as he reached the bench, everyone had already run away and there was no one there.

Thud.

Kim In-hwan lightly put his foot on the Wales bench, and then ran towards the Goats bench.

“Uwaaaaaaaaa!”

Kim In-hwan felt embarrassed.

Why is he doing something meaningless alone when everyone else is having a bench clearing?

He was overwhelmed with shame and ran straight to the Goats bench, even though the bench clearing was still going on.

“Huff, huff, huff, huff.”

As soon as he got to the bench, Kim In-hwan gasped for breath.

The bench clearing soon subsided.

Anyway, no one was hurt and the pitcher apologized, so there was no reason for it to get bigger.

It was a natural course of events because the Goats players and the Wales players were told to refrain from the bench clearing at an appropriate level.

“Wow… what is that guy.”

“Did you see his eyes turn? He was going to kill someone.”

“I was really surprised.”

The Wales coaches finally returned to the bench one by one.

Kim In-hwan’s sudden rush was absurd, but it ended without any problems, so it was something to brush off.

As the surroundings became quiet, Hwang Geun-seong finally came out.

The Goats players also returned to their respective fielding positions one by one.

“…Manager. Is this really all there is to it?”

Defense coach Ahn Young-jae looked at Ham Seong-hoon at the anticlimactic end of the bench clearing.

He meant to ask if this was all he had planned.

“That’s it for today. At this point, Hwang Geun-seong’s balls must be shriveled up.”

“This much bench clearing?”

The Goats coaches were busy stopping the players, so they didn’t know that Kim In-hwan had visited the Wales bench at 3rd base.

Ham Seong-hoon shrugged his shoulders.

“If we let it go like this, it’ll be a happening, but Hwang Geun-seong will understand what I’m saying at this point. If he still doesn’t understand, then we’ll have to make a big deal out of it.”

Hwang Geun-seong ran far away in the hallway for a long time, and then belatedly looked around.

“Oh, I’ve never seen such a crazy bastard.”

As the surroundings became quiet, Hwang Geun-seong finally returned to the bench.

The players looked ahead as if nothing had happened when they saw Hwang Geun-seong, who appeared late.