On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 280

“……Ha.”

Ham Seong-hoon bit his lip.

Synergy.

He’d thought Phoenix was holding Kim Young-hoon back, but Phoenix had also been developing him.

‘They have the best pitcher on the same team.’

‘There’s so much to learn just by watching and listening.’

If Jung Kwang-woo had thrown that curveball consistently, he would have been a top ten pitcher this season.

‘If the curveball is working well today, this game is going to be really tiring.’

The game remained scoreless for both teams through the 4th inning.

Both Goat and Phoenix were equally anxious.

The leadoff hitter in the top of the 4th was Song Seok-hyun.

Jung Kwang-woo dusted off his hands.

[Jung Kwang-woo is really on his game today. He’s given up three walks, but he’s also struck out four.]

[This scene really highlights Jung Kwang-woo’s style. He’s a pitcher with a lot of walks and strikeouts, meaning his pitches are good, but his control is lacking.]

[Song Seok-hyun is up as the leadoff hitter. Will they walk him here?]

[There’s a high chance they’ll walk Song Seok-hyun and face Kim Wook, just like the last at-bat.]

[If they do this, will Song Seok-hyun end up with over one hundred and ninety walks this season?]

[The record for the most walks in a single season is one hundred and thirty-eight, and he’s setting a record that will be hard to break in the future.]

[Which pitcher wants to face Song Seok-hyun?]

[It’s amazing that they’re walking him even with Yoo Seon-ho behind him. Yoo Seon-ho is also a living legend. His career OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging) is well over 0.9, a truly great hitter.]

In the meantime, the count was already three balls.

He repeatedly threw the ball outside.

Jung Kwang-woo threw the last ball.

A pitch just off the outside corner.

It was two balls further inside than the courses he had thrown so far, but it was a ball that ordinary hitters couldn’t hit.

Tang!

Good bye (8) [A slang term for a hit that barely makes contact with the bat].

A bat with fingers one or two joints longer than others [referring to the feeling of the bat vibrating uncomfortably in the hitter’s hands after a weak hit].

It’s usually not noticeable.

Small differences shine in moments of carelessness.

The ball caught on the end of Song Seok-hyun’s bat spun awkwardly.

[First baseman! Kyung-soo missed it! The ball is getting past the first baseman! The right fielder is running, but he was too far back. Song Seok-hyun rounds first and easily makes it to second.]

[I thought that was an unhittable ball, but Song Seok-hyun got a piece of it. If it were Song Seok-hyun’s usual style, he would have just taken the walk.]

[Song Seok-hyun hits a ball that was going out of the zone on a three-ball count. But it’s a double! Song Seok-hyun is on second base. Now, one hit will score a run. He’s in scoring position.]

“He hit that.”

The next batter, Kim Wook, shook his head and stepped into the batter’s box.

He’s different from Song Seok-hyun.

But thanks to that, he can swing without worrying about a double play.

“He hit that pitch.”

Kim In-hwan chuckled at Yoo Seon-ho’s words from the bench.

“It might look like a desperate swing for someone else, but when Seok-hyun does it, it becomes team batting.”

On the mound, Jung Kwang-woo rubbed rosin on his hands.

It’s not just that 1 or 2 points are scary.

Once Goat starts scoring, they usually pile on 4-5 points in an instant.

It wouldn’t be strange for Goat to score 10 points in one inning.

You have to nip it in the bud, but the batter is Kim Wook….

The catcher and pitcher exchanged signs for a longer time than usual.

A hitter who is strong against specific pitches.

What pitch is Kim Wook anticipating now?

Fastball? Curveball? Or slider?

Jung Kwang-woo’s nerves were on edge after getting hit after throwing the ball he was planning to throw.

-Curve.

The catcher’s final sign was a curveball.

It’s rare for a hitter to anticipate a curveball on the first pitch.

Most of them are thinking about the fastball and timing it.

There are cases where you hit a slow ball after anticipating a fast ball, but it is rare to hit a fast ball after anticipating a slow ball.

Today, Jung Kwang-woo’s curveball is… A-class.

There is a reason to push forward with it.

Jung Kwang-woo glanced at Song Seok-hyun on second base.

Song Seok-hyun doesn’t steal often, but his baserunning is excellent.

He doesn’t take unnecessary risks because he’s a catcher, but with a decent hit, he’ll score.

You have to get him out for sure.

You can’t give up a hit by throwing an ambiguous ball like before.

[Pitcher, first pitch.]

The ball thrown by Jung Kwang-woo drops from eye level.

At the same time, Kim Wook swung.

An upper cut swing that leans back and lifts up.

It was a swing that didn’t take much force, but as soon as it made contact, it sent the ball deep into left-center field.

[Hit! It’s a hit! Kim Wook with consecutive hits! Song Seok-hyun rounds third and heads straight home! Goat scores the first run! The score is 1-0. Kim Wook advances to 2nd base. No outs, runner on second. Goat continues to have a scoring chance.]

“He read it.”

Kim Young-hoon, who was watching the game in the bullpen, said.

“Anyway, Wook-hyung’s mind is really something else.”

The Phoenix battery made a safe choice of a first-pitch curveball because Jung Kwang-woo’s curveball was good.

They judged that it was rare for a hitter to anticipate a curveball on the first pitch, and even if they did, it wouldn’t be easy to hit Jung Kwang-woo’s curveball today.

Kim Wook used this against them.

He anticipated a ball that the pitcher thought he couldn’t hit or wouldn’t hit, not a ball that he hit well.

It is a confidence that cannot be achieved without flexible hitting and a concise swing.

It is the true mark of a hitter who has been constantly breaking the record for RBIs (Runs Batted In).

The next batter is Seol Jin-il.

Kim Young-hoon smiled.

“It’s obviously a targeted appearance….”

Jung Kwang-woo threw a slider inside to Seol Jin-il, who loves first pitches.

Seol Jin-il frowned as soon as he swung.

The bat broke and the ball rolled to first base.

-Out!

[1 out, runner on third. Anyway, Seol Jin-il grounded out.]

Seol Jin-il shook his head as he returned to the bench.

“The ball suddenly drops.”

It is not uncommon for a right-handed pitcher to throw a high-speed slider inside to a right-handed batter to induce a ground ball.

It means that the slider has a sharp vertical movement.

The hitting coach briefly called the players together.

“Today, Jung Kwang-woo’s breaking balls are all good. So, swing from the front of the plate. Attack the ball before it drops. Got it?”

“Yes.”

The next batter, Choi Jae-wan, struck out.

With 2 outs and a runner on 3rd, Yoo Seon-ho came up to bat.

At 2-2, Jung Kwang-woo’s deciding pitch was a high-speed slider inside.

Yoo Seon-ho swung with his arms close to his body.

-Tang!

[Second baseman! Can’t catch it! The runner on 3rd scores! 2-0. It’s 2-0. Yoo Seon-ho stops at first base.]

[They’re giving up points little by little. Goat is strong at this. It’s nothing for Goat to score 3-4 points even with 2 outs.]

Jung Kwang-woo bit his lip.

The Phoenix pitching coach approached the manager.

“It seems like it’s not working well anymore as the batting order turns over. What should we do now that it’s Kim In-hwan’s turn?”

If they get a big hit here, it’s 4-0.

Goat’s bullpen isn’t solid, but if they squeeze everything out of the bullpen, the Phoenix hitters won’t be able to do anything.

Considering Phoenix’s offensive power, it’s realistic to expect them to score 2-3 points in a game.

Today, whether they can move up to 4th place in one game depends on how they manage the mound like a short-term series, but….

“We have three in the bullpen now, right?”

“So-woon, Oh Ki, and Soo-young.”

“Are they better than Kwang-woo right now?”

“…….”

The pitching coach couldn’t answer easily.

Today, Jung Kwang-woo is pitching like a league ace.

Jung Kwang-woo on a so-called ‘hot’ day is not far behind any team’s ace.

Today is that day.

“If we’re going to change, there’s only one person left. Right?”

“…Yes, it’s time for Young-hoon to come out.”

“Phew, so it ends up like that again.”

The manager sighed.

He wanted to avoid using Kim Young-hoon if possible.

Realistically, it’s difficult, but he wanted to use him as little as possible.

He wanted to get through the 5th inning and hand over the mound, but the manager’s intuition shouted that now is the time.

“Make the change.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Manager Ahn Yong-deok closed his eyes.

He watched Kim Young-hoon’s overuse even in the season before last.

They won the championship, but Kim Young-hoon groaned in pain due to injury.

He feels pathetic for pushing Kim Young-hoon to overuse again.

“I should be the one retiring.”

Just as Kim In-hwan was about to step into the batter’s box, the pitching coach headed to the mound.

Change sign.

The bullpen door opened and Kim Young-hoon slowly walked out.

“Waaaaaaaah!”

“Kim Young-hoon! Kim Young-hoon! Kim Young-hoon!”

People shouted Kim Young-hoon’s name until their throats were hoarse.

A 2-point difference, but with Kim Young-hoon coming on, those 2 points will likely be the last points Phoenix gives up.

“Ha.”

Kim In-hwan sighed.

Following that, sighs and complaints erupted from Goat.

“Again?”

Song Seok-hyun stared at Kim Young-hoon with indifferent eyes.

If you think of him as an insurmountable wall, he really becomes one.

All he has to do is watch and watch again and learn Kim Young-hoon’s pitching rhythm.

If you think too complicatedly, it becomes even more complicated.

-Out!

[Kim In-hwan strikes out! Looking strikeout!]

…He struck out with three pitches without even having time to think.

Kim In-hwan immediately stepped down from the plate without showing any regret.

Phoenix’s attack in the bottom of the 4th.

As soon as two hits were made, Goat also started to change pitchers.

[Hong Dae-sung is coming up. Starting pitcher Hong Dae-sung is coming up.]

[Bringing up Hong Dae-sung now means they’re going to use Hong Dae-sung as a reliever in the post-season.]

[This also complicates Phoenix’s calculations. Hong Dae-sung can throw 3-4 innings.]

A left-hander who throws fast balls.

It was difficult to adjust to the ball approaching the maximum speed of 155km/h (96 mph) before one batting order turned around.

The bottom of the 4th was also scoreless.

The 5th inning was a massacre.

The bottom of the batting order couldn’t even touch Kim Young-hoon’s ball.

Kim Jung-deok, the number one hitter, struck out with two swings, making his nickname of the best number one hitter of all time seem almost ironic.

Kim Jung-deok, who returned to the bench, was dejected.

“The left-handed hitters… can’t see it at all. The ball suddenly explodes out of his hand.”

“I’m telling you. You can’t hit this.”

Yoo Seon-ho also shook his head.

“I’ve seen a lot of left-handed pitchers who are strong against left-handed hitters, but this is a difficulty level that goes straight from hard to hellfire, straight. There’s no answer.”

In the bottom of the 5th, Phoenix got off to a good start with the leadoff hitter getting a walk, but the inning ended with a strikeout and a double play.

Goat’s attack in the top of the 6th.

Song Seok-hyun was at the plate and Kim Young-hoon was on the mound.

Kim Young-hoon took off his hat and wiped away sweat.

Song Seok-hyun closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

First pitch, fastball.

Song Seok-hyun watched the ball go by.

-Strike.

[A ball that paints the outside corner. The batter doesn’t even flinch.]

[You have to be careful with those pitches when they come as the first pitch.]

Song Seok-hyun rotated his shoulder once.

A pitcher with good deception has good control and is fast.

In short, there are no weaknesses.

Even if you only anticipate the fastball, the chances of connecting for a hit are slim.

It’s not just that one fastball is good.

The vertical slider that drops straight down is a magical pitch.