Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 63

63. Jang Ju-ho

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

Not long after the game started, I nudged Gyu-hak, who was sitting next to me, staring blankly at Ju-ho.

“Honestly, what do you think of Ju-ho’s defense?”

“Ju-ho’s defense…”

Hmm…

He seemed to be struggling to find the right words.

It was obvious that if he told the truth, no good words would come out, so the necessary filtering seemed more difficult than he thought.

“…Just tell me honestly. I know everything.”

“It’s not good. Seriously.”

“Where? No… everywhere. Especially what? What seems the worst?”

Ball!

Swack!

Ball!

“That.”

Ball!

Following his finger, I saw the catcher’s mitt stopped in an ambiguous position.

“Anything else?”

“Hmm… Actually, blocking is a formula.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. If a certain bounce comes, you move to a certain coordinate. That’s all you have to think about. In the end, the goal is to drop the ball in front of you, as close as possible.”

“Right.”

“It’s easiest for infielders to catch ground balls on a short hop. That’s why they take steps to meet the short hop. It’s the same thing. It’s just harder for us to move our bodies before we even see it.”

Um… I get it.

“So, you’re saying it can be done with practice.”

“It’s not just practice… you have to do it a lot.”

“…You’ve grown up tough, haven’t you.”

“I guess… our Wonha pitchers…”

He swiped under his nose once and continued.

“They’ve really grown a lot.”

Gyu-hak, who has been the starting catcher for our team for the past 5 years, is one of the few people who is qualified to say this.

Back then, the club manager was a bit foolish and sold off all the good players in trades as soon as we advanced to the post-season.

Thanks to that, or because of that, Gyu-hak was forced to wear the starting mask. He was the best defensive catcher among the remaining catchers.

No, I know Moon Gyu-hak is good at defense, but what about his hitting? You’re using a guy who hits .200 in the minor leagues as a starter?

It wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t right either.

The manager at the time had a theory that hitting will definitely improve… but rather, he really had no choice, so he improved.

“But if blocking is a formula like you said, there shouldn’t be any passed balls.”

“That’s just a saying. Baseball isn’t math, so how can you apply it to every situation? Even if you exclude external factors like runners on base and the count, even a small pebble right in front of me can make the ball bounce in a weird direction.”

Two strikes!

No, stop!

The curveball dropped more sharply than expected and landed on the ground.

Even if it wasn’t Gyu-hak’s level of blocking, it was a block that could have been stopped with just a tap of the knee, but he awkwardly followed it with his hand and let it go behind him.

He immediately got up, picked up the ball, and got ready to throw to second base. Fortunately, it didn’t bounce too far, so it didn’t lead to a runner advancing.

“I actually think his throwing is good?”

“Throwing?”

“Yes. Ju-ho’s legs are shaking right now, so the ball is flying high, but you know? Ju-ho has a good arm.”

“Well… yeah.”

“And you know better than anyone else, right? Velocity doesn’t increase that easily.”

“Do you have to hit me with the facts so suddenly?”

“H-Hyung [older brother/term of endearment for a close male friend], I thought you’d know best!”

“…So.”

“Ju-ho’s arm is already complete. Just his arm, when you look at it.”

He’s running!!

“Ju-ho has a good arm. It’s amazing.”

Clack―

“Yeah. If his steps were good, he’d have an average pop time of 1.8 seconds.”

Out!!

A great throw to second base… or rather, a great tag by the second baseman.

He barely managed to tag the runner’s thigh by throwing his body and rolling to catch the ball that he could only catch by lifting his heels slightly.

“Then what… is the problem the lead? But isn’t leading really about experience?”

“Actually, you know better than anyone else that there’s no right answer for leading, right?”

“That’s… right.”

“Following the line, the vertex, the diagonal, high-low, in-out, it’s all useless. In the end, it’s all luck.”

“It’s so different to hear you, who’s said to be the best at leading pitchers in Korea, say that.”

“But it’s the truth.”

“That’s not wrong…”

“You can get a strikeout on a 140km fastball inside in the previous at-bat and then hit a 155km inside pitch over the fence this time. Conversely, a hitter who hits a 155km pitch to the opposite field can get caught looking on a 140km pitch in the very next at-bat. There are countless reasons, of course.”

“Then? Is Ju-ho’s lead good enough right now?”

“No. Of course not.”

“Then what is it?”

“Even if there’s no right answer, there’s still a standard. It’s not right for the ball to be leaking like this, but you should at least be able to create a minimum guideline. That’s how you make a game plan.”

“That’s right.”

“Or, he’s late on an outside fastball right now. He’s way too late. Are you going to throw an outside changeup next?”

“…I think I’d throw an inside fastball.”

“That’s it. It’s not that this is the right answer… it’s probability.”

Thwack―!

“A probability of getting hit a little less. You also develop a sense. Ah, if I throw it here, he’ll hit it. That also comes from experience.”

“That’s right.”

“The real problem with Ju-ho is…”

Tsk―

Go go!

Two strikes, two balls!

Three strikes, three balls!!

Run!!

Not short, right to third!!

“Catching.”

“And mentality.”

He missed the curveball that was only low and didn’t bounce.

The runner started for second base, but the ball didn’t bounce too far, so it looked like he could be caught if he picked it up and threw it accurately.

However, the ball flew so far that Jin-hyung had to catch it instead of Myung-jin, and as soon as he caught it, he threw it to third base.

“Safe!”

The runner had already touched the base with his hand first.

Fastball.

The announcer kindly explained that it was a fastball, even though he didn’t need to tell us.

Ju-ho, who was standing at third base and staring blankly at the runner brushing dirt off his belt, sat back down.

“Ball.”

“Baaall.”

“Low ball!”

“Ball!”

If the catcher is shaken, the pitcher is naturally shaken. If the pitcher is shaken, the defense is shaken.

“Time!”

To prevent the obvious formula, the pitching coach called time and showed up early.

The battery [pitcher and catcher] was just nodding silently to what he was saying.

“Then what do we do? We have to make him practice catching.”

“But it doesn’t seem to be working out. The battery coach seems to be thinking about that too… but it won’t be easy.”

Whether it was effective to break the flow or not, Gyu-jin hyung’s head, which had been following only Ju-ho, moved more from side to side than before.

Tsk!

Two balls!

An intention to prevent the catcher from catching the ball at all. An intention to quickly make an in-play.

The result was that the ball, which was hit well and hit the top of the changeup on the second pitch, rolled to the ground and was connected to a textbook 6-4-3 double play.

It’s true that they finished the inning without giving up a run. Moreover, it was a scoreless inning that was even more valuable because they overcame the crisis.

However, Ju-ho’s face looked quite dark as he returned to the dugout.

* * *

Let’s go home.

The game was over and it was almost time to go home. I was about to change my clothes, sling my bag over my shoulder, and leave when Ju-ho and Gyu-hak caught my eye.

From the pitcher’s point of view, they live most closely with the catchers, more than anyone else. So, they can’t help but be most interested in them.

I wondered what was going on and approached them.

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Is Gyu-hak okay?”

“Yes. I’m okay.”

It wasn’t just the two of them, but three.

“What are you doing?”

“Haven’t you gone home yet?”

“I was about to, but I saw you guys. I was wondering what was going on.”

The two catchers currently registered in the Wonha Challengers’ first team, and Coach Park Eun-jong, who is in charge of them.

“What were you guys doing?”

“Just some defensive practice…”

“Aren’t you going home?”

“Uh…”

“He can practice a little.”

Why are you discouraging him!

Gyu-hak’s expression said that.

“No. I’m not saying anything. Aren’t you tired?”

“Leave him alone. He said he wants to do it.”

“Ju-ho said he wants to do it?”

“Yeah.”

“Hoo.”

I became interested.

“Coach. Can I come along too?”

“Why are you here?”

“I’m just curious?”

“Aren’t you going home?”

“I have nothing to do even if I go home. I’ll just watch. I’ll help if there’s anything I can do.”

“Okay. Come on.”

That’s how the party of four was formed.

We packed our bags and arrived at the indoor practice field where Seo-yeon had received pitching lessons a while ago. I sat quietly and watched the two active catchers put on their equipment.

He attached the caterpillar-like leg guards to his left leg and began to fasten the four clips one by one. The same on the other leg.

After that, he puts on a protector as if he were putting on a thick hoodie. He clips it on again in the same way.

After that, he puts the catcher’s helmet on his head and covers it with a mask to complete the look.

Just thinking about wearing that full makeup every moment makes me feel suffocated. I can’t do it.

The two catchers who had completed their transformation squatted down with their backs to the wall. There was nothing I could do, so I stood next to the coach and watched.

“Ju-ho, what do you think you lack the most?”

“I… I lack everything.”

“You know it.”

Coach, if you suddenly hit him with the facts like that…

“Then what is the basis of a catcher? Han-ul and Gyu-hak, stay still.”

“Uh…”

Suddenly a quiz. The kneeling position looked like a position for confession rather than a position for training.

“Isn’t it… pitcher… lead?”

“No. Catcher. What does that word mean? What Chinese characters is it made of? Receive and hand. Receiving hand. You know? A catcher is someone who catches the ball. Throwing and blocking. Huh? How to throw comes next. Catching. A catcher is there to do that.”

“Ah, yes!”

“Then, if you want to catch the ball well, what do you have to do well?”

“Do you have to have good eyes?”

“That’s obvious. No, what’s the standard for catching well?”

“Without dropping it…”

“That’s obvious too.”

“Uh…”

Ju-ho couldn’t find a good answer.

“Not making a strike a ball.”

“That’s right. Han-ul knows.”

I’ve been through a lot with him…

“Gyu-hak, catch it.”

“Ah, yes.”

A light toss went to Gyu-hak. The point was right in the middle of Gyu-hak, about knee-high vertically.

Whack!

“Did you see that? Just stay still as you catch it. You don’t have to do anything. A ball is a ball, and a strike is a strike. Ju-ho, should I show you how you catch it? Gyu-hak.”

“Yes!”

Tsk―

This time, Gyu-hak tossed it to the coach. The mitt was shaking due to the large movement. It was exactly Ju-ho’s catching.

“Ju-ho, that’s how you are. Gyu-hak, again.”

“Yes.”

The tossed ball didn’t move after entering the mitt. It stayed there, in the same place where it was caught.

“Ju-ho. Don’t try to do anything. You’re a catcher. A catcher has a role to play. The moment a catcher tries to do something, the game is ruined at that moment. You know?”

“…Yes.”

After that, several tosses followed. The coach said “No!” much more often than “That’s right!”

As time passed, the ratio began to reverse little by little, and later he even heard the praise that it was enough.

“This is just a simple practice, so it works. Actually going into the game is another story. It probably won’t work. You know?”

“Yes, I understand!”

Even though catching was just over, it was already well past 11 o’clock.

There are many defensive requirements for a catcher.

Catching is just the basics, and there’s still blocking, throwing, and situational leads left. There’s still a long way to go.

Maybe this kind of extra work will be needed for a while.

Even though it was clearly unpaid, Ju-ho seemed willing to pay the passion pay [working hard without expecting immediate reward].

After a little finishing touch, the coach suddenly started asking philosophical questions.

“Ju-ho. Do you want to be a catcher?”