On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 111

Song Seok-hyun took a short breath.

Bang!

Leaning back, Song Seok-hyun launched the bat toward third base.

The bat spun and clattered to the ground.

“Left field fence! Left field fence~~~~! It’s over! A towering home run that clears the left field fence! Song Seok-hyun! He lifts a forkball for a massive home run, breaking the 0-0 tie!”

“Are the Gote hitters specifically targeting Gu In-seon’s forkball today? They’re really attacking the forkball well.”

“Song Seok-hyun! Is he becoming Wales’s nemesis? He’s a nightmare for Wales fans.”

Gu In-seon adjusted his cap.

Seol Jin-il, Kim In-hwan, and Song Seok-hyun had all squarely hit his forkball in succession.

His stomach churned at the thought that every home run was a solid hit off his signature pitch.

He felt like he was on his game today, the kind of day where he should be cruising to a quality start [a pitching performance of at least six innings with three or fewer earned runs], so why was everything going wrong?

“Oooooh!”

“Seok-hyun! I knew you could do it!”

The Gote players rushed out to greet Kim In-hwan and Song Seok-hyun.

Song Seok-hyun took off his helmet and wiped away the sweat.

“But were you really trying to lift that one on purpose?”

Kim In-hwan asked, handing Song Seok-hyun a drink.

“Yeah, I took a shot at it.”

“What’s gotten into you? You usually don’t do that, do you? I thought you didn’t like changing your swing?”

“I just tilted my body a bit. It’s a little easier than changing my entire hitting position.”

“So you’re keeping your upper body still and adjusting the launch angle with your lower body?”

“Well… I guess so?”

“You should have done that sooner. I was so focused on just hitting the ball that I didn’t think of it.”

Song Seok-hyun began gathering his catcher’s gear.

While they were talking, Choi Jae-wan was already out.

The only thing the team could rely on was… the mound.

He realized anew why Manager Ham Seong-hoon was so keen on reinforcing the pitching staff.

The game moved into the bottom of the 3rd inning.

On a Roll as a Catcher

Awakening (3)

Thwack!

-Strike! Out!

“A three-up, three-down inning. Michael Fish is showing the presence of an ace.”

“Wales has already gone through their batting order once, right? They need to adapt now. If they can’t hit for power, they should shorten their bats and try to get on base with singles.”

The Wales lineup was frozen solid by Michael Fish’s powerful pitching.

To overcome a pitcher who overpowers with physicality, the lineup needed an ace hitter to get on base and disrupt the rhythm.

Wales had Lee Jae-hoon and Kim Jae-hong, national team veterans, as their leadoff hitters, but they couldn’t deliver when they needed one or two runs.

Getting on base was difficult, and even when they did, they lacked hitters who could drive runners in.

Top of the 5th, 2-0.

Gote’s turn at bat started with Jung Byung-sun.

Tap.

“Jung Byung-sun, a surprise bunt! The pitcher fields it… ah, he couldn’t throw the ball! He didn’t catch the ball cleanly. The batter-runner is safe at first! Jung Byung-sun’s surprise bunt worked.”

Gu In-seon slumped and hung his head.

“This has to be the pitcher’s fault. You can’t just pick up a bunt like you’re grabbing an object. Even though it’s slow, the ball has spin on it, so you need to grab it firmly in one motion. He must have been too rushed to think about catching the ball properly.”

“No one expected Jung Byung-sun to try a surprise bunt.”

“Wales needs that kind of play. They can’t just give up because the pitcher is throwing well; they need to think about how to get on base.”

Gu In-seon dusted himself off and stood up.

Next up was Seol Jin-il.

There was no need to throw a strike to a first-pitch hitter on the first pitch.

He showed a fastball that tailed outside, then dropped a forkball down.

He doubted they’d hit it again this time…

Clang!

Seol Jin-il drove the falling ball to the opposite field as if he had been waiting for it.

“A ground ball towards the second baseman! The second baseman fields it and tosses it! The shortstop to first! First… he dropped it! An errant throw by Jo Yang-sun!”

“This is not good. The fielders should be lifting the pitcher’s spirits, but instead, they’re tripping him up at this crucial moment. There was no need to rush, but Jo Yang-sun was too hasty.”

“This turns a potential double play into a situation with a runner on first and one out. Unless a double play happens, Song Seok-hyun will get another chance.”

“This is the worst-case scenario for Wales. No matter how scary Song Seok-hyun is, they can’t load the bases and then face him, can they?”

Gu In-seon clasped his hands behind his back and gritted his teeth.

He was in top condition, but his teammates weren’t helping him.

Frustration washed over him like a wave, threatening to drown him.

“Now, Kim In-hwan is at the plate.”

“He seems to have a good feel for his swing today. It won’t be easy to pitch to him.”

Gu In-seon cleared his mind.

There was no need to overthink it.

He was a pitcher who was stronger against left-handed hitters than anyone else.

He still had the slider he’d been saving, and even if he just threw fastballs, the hitters would have a hard time getting a read on him.

So first…

‘Slider.’

Gu In-seon signaled to the catcher first.

The catcher hesitated for a moment.

It had already been decided that Gu In-seon’s slider wasn’t great today, so they would focus on fastballs and forkballs.

But if they stuck to forkballs, they kept getting hit today for some reason.

In his opinion, the forkball had good movement.

It was just that the pitch selection was too predictable, so the hitters were anticipating it.

Thwack, thwack.

The catcher tapped his mitt with his hand.

It was a signal to throw whatever he wanted.

Gu In-seon glanced at the runner on first base.

He needed to throw a slider to gauge the hitter’s reaction.

Gu In-seon threw the ball.

Swish.

Kim In-hwan’s shoulder twitched.

The bat reacted to the ball coming near the strike zone.

As Kim In-hwan’s bat came around, the ball started to break away to the outside.

Kim In-hwan’s eyes followed the ball.

The perceived color of the ball appeared different depending on the spin of each pitch.

Kim In-hwan leaned back and extended his bat further.

Tap.

The ball hit the end of the bat and soared high into the air.

“Behind the shortstop! Behind the shortstop! The left fielder is also coming! The shortstop raises his hand… he dropped it? The shortstop didn’t catch the ball! A Texas Leaguer [a weak hit that falls between an infielder and outfielder]! A lucky hit!”

“The left fielder should have been in position to catch that, right? The shortstop kept his hand up until the last moment, which isn’t good. The left fielder would have hesitated because the shortstop had his hand up.”

“With the lucky hit, Gote has runners on first and second with one out. Does this mean they’ll have to go to a bases-loaded strategy?”

“They have no choice. They have to load the bases.”

Wales intentionally walked Song Seok-hyun to load the bases.

Choi Jae-wan was still struggling to adjust to Gu In-seon’s pitches today.

Wales’s decision was logical, but baseball is a sport of variables.

“Towards right field! The right fielder catches it! Third base runner Seol Jin-il scores, making it 3-0. Gote takes a 3-0 lead. Runners are now on first and third.”

“Choi Jae-wan comes through in the clutch. He didn’t need a big hit just now. Driving in the run was what mattered. And he did it.”

“So Choi Jae-wan is doing his part, too, right?”

“That’s right. He’s taking it one step at a time.”

Ham Seong-hoon applauded Choi Jae-wan.

Choi Jae-wan smiled for the first time in a while as he entered the dugout.

“Jae-wan is starting to get his groove back.”

The hitting coach responded to the manager’s words.

“He’s always had the talent, hasn’t he?”

“He was too intimidated compared to his ability, but now that he’s getting opportunities, his skills are starting to show.”

“He must have been under a lot of stress because Seok-hyun was intentionally walked to face him, and the results weren’t good.”

“In-hwan’s eye is getting better, and Jae-wan is becoming more composed… Time is the solution.”

“Seok-hyun is holding his own, so there seems to be a synergistic effect before and after him. Because of Seok-hyun, In-hwan and Jae-wan have had a lot of chances, right?”

“Seok-hyun is a lucky charm. Without Seok-hyun, a spot in the final four would be unthinkable.”

Gote didn’t score any more runs and ended the inning with a 3-0 lead.

Gu In-seon threw his glove down on the bench and went behind it.

Three runs through five innings wasn’t a bad result, but things weren’t going his way today.

The team wasn’t helping him, and his pitches kept getting hit.

He was definitely in good condition today…

Bottom of the 5th.

Michael Fish gave up a home run to Wales’s second batter, Kim Jae-hong, but finished the inning with a 3-1 lead.

Gu In-seon’s pitch count was eighty-one.

Michael Fish’s pitch count was sixty-four.

Michael Fish had a pitch count that made a complete game possible.

“Top of the 6th. Gu In-seon is coming back to the mound.”

“He has about twenty pitches to spare, right? He should be able to pitch through the 6th and then come out.”

Gote’s batting order started with the 7th batter, Jung Dong-gyu.

Jung Dong-gyu hit Gu In-seon’s first-pitch fastball, but the bat broke, resulting in a routine ground ball.

“Gu In-seon gets an out with one pitch. The 6th inning is off to a good start.”

“It looks like the hitter was overpowered just now.”

Next up was shortstop Jung Young-soo.

He was an A-level shortstop defensively, but his batting average barely reached .250.

Jung Young-soo was retired on an infield fly ball in just two pitches.

“At this rate, Gu In-seon might be able to pitch through the 7th.”

“Gu In-seon’s pitches are definitely good today. It’s almost strange that he gave up three runs, his pitches are so good.”

Next up was the 9th batter, Jo Ji-ho.

Gu In-seon struck out the 9th batter on three pitches.

“Wow!”

Gu In-seon roared as he walked off the mound.

In the bottom of the 6th, Michael Fish allowed only one walk and pitched a scoreless inning.

While Gote’s lineup, excluding the core hitters, was notorious for being weak, Wales’s lineup, after the first and second batters, was nicknamed ‘a bunch of dwarfs.’

Gu In-seon was back on the mound in the 7th.

Pitchers were warming up in the Wales bullpen.

They were ready to bring in a pitcher as soon as he got into trouble.

“Gu In-seon’s pitches today are good enough for a complete game, but it’s a shame he’s thrown so many pitches.”

“It’s so hard to get past Gote’s core hitters.”

Gu In-seon struck out the first batter, Jung Byung-sun, on five pitches.

“Gu In-seon! He still has life in his pitches.”

“That’s right. That’s what it’s all about. A pitcher should have the fun of overpowering hitters like that. That’s what makes it enjoyable for the spectators, too, right?”

“The sound of the ball hitting the mitt is terrifying.”

Gu In-seon clenched his fist.

He was definitely in good condition today.

He only had a few days a year when his pitches were this good.

Seol Jin-il went for the first pitch again.

The first-pitch fastball went past the first baseman and into right field, allowing him to advance to first base on the error.

Next up was Kim In-hwan.

Clang!

-Strike!

“He aggressively throws the ball inside from the very first pitch.”

“He’s being aggressive. That makes things complicated for the hitter.”

Kim In-hwan moved about half a step away from the plate.

If he got hit by another pitch in the ribs, he’d be bedridden.

He had to avoid the worst-case scenario.

Clang!

-Strike!

“This time it was a fastball on the outside.”

“A fastball inside, then a fastball outside. Textbook. It’s a problem because it’s hard to do that consistently, but if you can throw it like that, that’s how you should throw it.”

It was a predictable sequence, but Kim In-hwan couldn’t do anything about it.

His body was already reacting.

A fastball coming inside is the worst pitch for a hitter.

Kim In-hwan gripped the bat lightly.

Two strikes.

It was forkball count.

Would the pitcher throw another forkball here-.

-Strike! Out!

“A three-pitch strikeout! He gets the strikeout with a high fastball!”

“Kim In-hwan couldn’t do anything this time.”

“Gu In-seon is relentless.”

Gu In-seon finally smiled.

He had given up three runs, but he had proven that his pitches were good today.

When he was in top condition, he wasn’t afraid of any hitter in Korea.

“Song Seok-hyun is coming to the plate.”

“What will Gu In-seon choose this time? Will he walk him again?”

“He only needs to get one more out, so he probably won’t, right?”

Gu In-seon picked up the rosin bag.

Now he could face him properly.

Even if he gave up a home run, it would only be a two-run shot.