On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 106

“The atmosphere feels a bit chaotic today, doesn’t it?”

“I hope the players don’t get too excited. This is professional sports. They need to show professionalism.”

Song Seok-hyun signaled for an outside slider as the first pitch.

The batter, tense and focused, grounded out.

“……”

Song Seok-hyun paused, considering, then glanced at the Wales bench.

The atmosphere there was heavy, with everyone silent.

The next batter was veteran Kwon Ho-joon, who came in as a pinch hitter for Shim Soo-kyung.

A thirty-five-year-old veteran suddenly stepping up to the plate.

Song Seok-hyun immediately signaled for a high fastball.

Kim Jin-seok frowned briefly but nodded.

Thwack!

The batter swung with all his might at the first pitch, but the thirty-five-year-old veteran’s bat, caught off guard, couldn’t handle the high-speed pitch.

“Infield fly ball.”

“He rushed it too much just now, didn’t he? It would have been better to wait a bit.”

“Since he came in as a pinch hitter, he should have watched the ball a bit and then picked up the pace.”

Song Seok-hyun closed his eyes, frozen like a statue.

The Wales batters kept their mouths shut, but you could feel them꾹꾹 [a Korean onomatopoeia for suppressing or holding back] suppressing their annoyance and anger.

When you get impatient, the bat tends to follow.

The next batter, Jung Ki-soo, also came out aggressively from the first pitch but weakly hit a slider on the second pitch and was out.

Kim Jin-seok, coming into the dugout, offered Song Seok-hyun a fist bump.

“Your signs are pretty good?”

“Thank you.”

Top of the 7th inning.

Gote’s batter is Song Seok-hyun, the third batter.

Song Seok-hyun headed to the plate with his bat on his shoulder.

The Wales battery also had a lot to think about.

Song Seok-hyun steps up at a perfectly delicate timing.

“Song Seok-hyun is coming up as the lead batter.”

“He’s Gote’s hope and future. Fans have been deeply troubled by the recent unfortunate events, but Song Seok-hyun’s performance is comforting them a lot.”

“Fans and players must be very confused by the shocking trades yesterday and today. They traded the three hitters, Choi Dae-gyu, Lee Nak-kyun, and Kang Moon-gyu, who formed the cleanup [the 3rd, 4th, and 5th batters in the lineup, typically the team’s best hitters] until the beginning of this year, right? And they brought in many pitchers, but only one hitter, Yoo Seon-ho.”

“It seems like they’re planning to create a KSY cleanup instead of the Lee-Choi-Kang trio… but that won’t be easy.”

“Why is that?”

“Kim In-hwan and Song Seok-hyun haven’t had success for very long, so there are big question marks. No one knows if they’ll continue to do well in the future. Besides, Yoo Seon-ho is a legend in professional baseball, but he’s been repeating surgeries and rehabilitation, and he’s not young. He hasn’t been playing properly recently. There are question marks attached to Yoo Seon-ho’s skills as well.”

“You’re saying the cleanup is full of question marks?”

“Yes, Kim In-hwan’s performance is a bit inconsistent, and Yoo Seon-ho needs time to improve his game sense, so Song Seok-hyun’s shoulders are heavy. If Song Seok-hyun is sluggish, the cleanup itself could collapse.”

“That’s too much of a burden for a twenty-year-old young player.”

“On top of that, veteran catcher Park Shin-eon was also traded, so Song Seok-hyun has to play catcher as well. He’s already burdened with the role of a central hitter, but he also has to be a catcher… Hmm. It must be very difficult for a young player.”

“While we’re talking, the count has already become 2-2. Song Seok-hyun is calmly picking his pitches without swinging once.”

“Song Seok-hyun tends to look at the ball more calmly when the pitcher changes. He’s originally a hitter who sees a lot of pitches, but even more so then.”

Wales’ pitcher is Go Young-gyu.

A sidearm pitcher who uses various pitches such as fastball, curve, slider, and sinker as a setup man [a relief pitcher who usually pitches in the 7th or 8th inning].

Wales’ catcher Jo Jin-yeol persistently signaled for an outside pitch.

The count is 2-2.

It wasn’t a bad count, but Song Seok-hyun’s refusal to swing was giving them a headache.

A hitter with many strategies doesn’t budge at an outside pitch against a sidearm pitcher?

Is he thinking about an inside pitch?

Or a fastball?

The more Song Seok-hyun didn’t swing, the more complicated the battery’s [pitcher and catcher] thoughts became.

‘Sinker.’

The catcher signaled for an inside sinker.

Since they’ve been throwing only outside pitches so far, aiming for a ground ball with a sinker is a good choice.

Even if the batter walks, they can aim for another outside pitch since he’s been watching outside pitches so far.

‘Okay.’

The pitcher nodded.

The pitcher wound up greatly.

Whizz!

The ball, leaving the pitcher’s hand, went slightly inside and then fell further inside and downward at the end.

The angle wasn’t big, but the control was decent for a sinker.

Whoosh.

The catcher felt a heavy wind near his ear.

He saw the batter tilting his head towards the third base outfield while leaning back.

The sweet spot of the bat, swung with all his might like a golf swing with both arms tightly attached to his body, met the ball.

Looking at Song Seok-hyun’s batting form, the pitcher, no, the catcher himself felt a chill down his spine.

It was a full swing, throwing his whole body into it.

Bang!

“Left field fence! Left field fence! Left field fence! It goes over! Song Seok-hyun solo home run! It’s a game-tying home run!”

“Did that ball… really go over the stands?”

“The scary rookie Song Seok-hyun hits an outside-the-park home run not only in Jamsil but also in Incheon Stadium! An incredibly huge home run has been hit!”

“Amazing. It was a well-placed ball, but he turned on it properly.”

“Song Seok-hyun, who waited and then sent it over the fence of Incheon Stadium and beyond the stands with a full swing! Is this already his second outside-the-park home run?”

“He hit his first outside-the-park home run in Jamsil, right?”

“It’s really scary. That player is twenty years old. The future of Korean professional baseball is so bright.”

With Song Seok-hyun’s outside-the-park home run, Gote fans cheered.

The chaotic atmosphere from a moment ago seemed like it never happened.

“Oh, Gote’s Song Seok-hyun. All-around Song Seok-hyun. Outside-the-park home run Song Seok-hyun. Fly! Away!”

“……”

The injury of military-finished prospect Shim Soo-kyung and the outside-the-park home run of twenty-year-old rookie Song Seok-hyun.

The atmosphere of the Wales bench could be expressed in just two letters.

Silence.

The Wales players and coaching staff were seething inside, but there was nothing they could do.

-Out!

Although they tied the score with Song Seok-hyun’s solo home run, there were no subsequent hits.

It was difficult to immediately target Go Young-gyu’s pitches, who is in charge of the setup in Wales, which has a strong bullpen [a team’s relief pitchers], with just one at-bat.

“The flow is strange.”

The pitching coach nodded at the mumbling of the coach.

“That’s right. Games like today are tough. There are many injured players, and the atmosphere is sharp.”

“Experientially, games like today have the deepest aftereffects. I know it’s not your style, Manager, but how about operating the bullpen for short stints today?”

“You’re saying to bring up the must-win group even though it’s still a tie?”

“Looking at the batting order, it seems like Seok-hyun will have a chance in the 9th inning.”

“Hmm……”

Manager Ham Seong-hoon crossed his arms and pondered for a moment.

“If Jin-seok seems shaky, have Jung-ryul ready immediately.”

“Understood.”

Wales had a military-finished hitting prospect injured, but Gote had the only first-team catcher who could play full-time injured.

The extent of Seo Il-hyuk’s injury is still unknown, but if he’s seriously injured, Gote’s catcher position is as good as vacant.

Even if he’s a hitter, Song Seok-hyun, there are many question marks attached to catcher Song Seok-hyun.

It’s naturally better for a professional to win any game, but victory is even more desperate in games like today.

If there’s no victory amidst the misfortunes, the players’ morale will plummet, and the plummeted morale will lead to a losing streak.

-Out!

“Ah, Gote players can’t muster strength either. There are no additional points.”

“That’s the problem with Gote’s lower batting order. Once they get the momentum, they continue the momentum, but the problem is that it’s difficult to get the momentum in the first place.”

“The funny thing is that Gote doesn’t have few hits today either.”

“Gote’s slugging percentage is 6th in the entire league. It’s 6th, not much different from 7th and 8th. This also went up thanks to Song Seok-hyun and Kim In-hwan recently, and if it weren’t for them, they would have been competing with Phoenix for 8th place.”

“Gote’s lack of scoring ability has always been a problem, right?”

“That’s right. Looking at Gote’s seemingly unreasonable trades recently, a large hitter named Yoo Seon-ho catches the eye, but in the end, it’s mostly pitchers. Manager Ham Seong-hoon seems to be trying to overcome the crisis with the strength of the mound by reinforcing the pitching staff instead of the batting lineup.”

“It’s not an easy problem.”

“The batting lineup has a cycle, so it can slump and then rise again, but if the slump is too long, a vicious cycle can occur. They have to somehow squeeze out points at least enough to win.”

Bottom of the 8th inning.

Kim Jin-seok gave up a solo home run.

The score is 4-3 again.

Manager Ham Seong-hoon frowned.

“Hoo, let’s go for a change.”

“Yes, understood.”

The pitcher insisted he could throw more, but the pitching coach shook his head.

“I know you still have plenty of stamina, Coach.”

“I know. Save your stamina and throw again next time.”

“……Ha, yes.”

Kim Jin-seok finally handed over the ball and came down from the mound.

The changed pitcher was Kim Jung-ryul.

Kim Jung-ryul, who went up to the mound, winked at Song Seok-hyun.

Whack!

Kim Jung-ryul swung as if scraping the ground and threw the ball.

The ball, soaring from below, was caught straight in Song Seok-hyun’s mitt.

“Oh.”

Song Seok-hyun, who received the ball, pursed his lips.

The end of the ball is good, but the ball follows the mitt that Song Seok-hyun held out.

The control has become sharper.

It means he’s more used to the underhand.

“Genius, genius.”

Song Seok-hyun took the ball and threw it to Kim Jung-ryul.

It’s been less than half a year since he switched to underhand.

It’s more difficult to control than overhand because he has to bend his waist to throw, but Kim Jung-ryul quickly adapted.

People’s expectations have lowered now that he’s stepped down from the star’s position, but the innate talent doesn’t disappear.

The pitches of pitcher Kim Jung-ryul, who throws his own ball, were not at a level that Wales’ weak batting lineup, especially the lower batting order, could handle.

-Out!

“Kim Jung-ryul! Three consecutive outs! Amazing.”

“He caught three batters with seven balls. This is really… Wow, I can’t help but applaud.”

“The sharp sinker is working properly.”

“It’s a ball you can’t hit even if you know it. These days, there are almost no orthodox underhand pitchers. It’s that unfamiliar to hitters, so it’s more difficult, but Kim Jung-ryul’s sinker even has a sharp angle. The scary thing is that Kim Jung-ryul’s ball is getting better. The more he throws, the sharper Kim Jung-ryul’s ball becomes.”

“Does this make the back door [the late innings of a game, when the closer and setup men are pitching] solid?”

“If Bulls’ closer Go Jin-seok and Wales’ left-handed hitter specialist Jung Hong-min join, Gote’s bullpen level will be quite good. Two bullpen pitchers, Park Man-seong and Kang Seok-hyun, have already undergone surgery, so it was quite bleak, but if Kim Jung-ryul does his part, Gote’s pitching staff is quite good. Considering the performance of the starting lineup, the pitching staff level is top-tier even if you look at it conservatively.”

Kim Jung-ryul waited for Song Seok-hyun before going to the dugout.

“How was it, the ball today?”

“It’s as good as its name. You killed it.”

“Is it usable?”

“You saw it, the batters can’t even hit it properly.”

“I guess I won’t hear the word ‘washed up’ at this level?”

“I think you can do it for another 10 years?”

“You rascal, flattering me, hehe.”

The score was 4-3, but Gote’s atmosphere was rather alive.

Along with the performance of Gote’s crown prince Kim Jung-ryul, the top of the 9th inning starts with the 9th batter.

It means the batting order isn’t bad.

Tap!

“Center fielder~ Easily runs and gets the out.”

“It must be disappointing for Gote. They saw a lot of pitches but couldn’t connect it to a score.”

The next batter is the 1st batter, Seol Jin-il.

Wales changed the pitcher.

The changed pitcher is closer [a relief pitcher who specializes in pitching the final inning of a game] Hwang Si-wan.

He was a thirty-five-year-old veteran, but he was still a veteran who used a variety of curves, sliders, and changeups along with a fastball exceeding 145km/h [approximately 90 mph].

“Hwang Si-wan is coming out.”

“They definitely have to win here.”

“It’s a 1-point difference, and Gote’s central hitters are coming out one after another. Hwang Si-wan needs to be careful not to go to the 3rd batter, Song Seok-hyun.”

“That’s right. Song Seok-hyun is in full swing today after hitting a home run.”

Hwang Si-wan loosened his shoulder with practice pitches.

A closer shouldn’t have many thoughts.

Only one.

Think only about the batter.

Seol Jin-il, who is entering the plate, is a very aggressive batter.

It’s best to watch the batter’s reaction while taking out one ball.

‘Slider.’

Hwang Si-wan signaled directly to the catcher.

Aim for a swing and a miss with a slider that falls downward.

Even if it’s not a swing and a miss, you can narrow down the choices of whether to take the ball outside or take the ball down while watching the batter’s reaction.

A plan that can come out because he’s a veteran who’s played in the pros for over 10 years.

Hwang Si-wan watched Seol Jin-il’s reaction with a slider that fell downward.

Thwack!