On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 114

He’s a smart hitter.

Unable to consistently hit fastballs, he baits the pitcher into throwing breaking balls.

He rarely misses the pitches he wants.

He’s a hitter with a similar style to Song Seok-hyun.

The key difference is that Song Seok-hyun conserves his swing as much as possible, carefully concealing his intentions.

A hitter’s swing becomes data for the catcher and pitcher to analyze.

If Song Seok-hyun is a hunter who patiently sets a trap and waits for the perfect opportunity, Yoo Seon-ho is a hunter who aggressively drives his prey before striking a decisive blow.

Song Seok-hyun possesses the highest level of hitting prowess among the professional players I’ve observed thus far.

Even though their styles differ, I have to acknowledge the completeness and effectiveness of his hitting.

I’m beginning to understand why the manager sent me to the Futures League [a minor league in Korean baseball].

Simply watching a hitter like that is incredibly educational.

* * *

After the game, Song Seok-hyun went to see the Futures League manager.

The Futures League manager, Gu Chang-hyun, smiled warmly when he saw Song Seok-hyun.

“Hello, Manager.”

“Yeah. How was your time with the first team?”

“It was good, thank you for your consideration.”

“Is your head doing okay?”

Song Seok-hyun touched his head.

“Yes, it’s fine now.”

“I watched the game, and I was quite concerned when you collapsed after getting hit.”

“I apologize for that. I felt dizzy from the impact.”

“What do you have to apologize for? The pitcher who threw the ball is the one at fault. Did you receive an apology?”

“Yes, the senior player apologized, saying it was unintentional.”

“I’m not sure if it was a mistake; that guy has quite a temper.”

“I’ve decided to put it behind me and not dwell on it.”

“Yeah, that’ll be better for your peace of mind.”

Gu Chang-hyun sat down and pulled out a file.

“The instructions were to monitor you here for a while to assess your condition. You’ll be doing individual training until the All-Star break.”

“……Yes, I understand. Does that mean I can play games after the All-Star break?”

“They said they’ll make a decision after reviewing the medical staff’s evaluation then.”

“Ah… If I’m healthy, it should be okay, right?”

“We’ll have to wait and see. You never know how or when your head might be affected. But you feel healthy now, correct?”

“Yes, definitely.”

“Good, health is the most important thing. We play to earn a living, but what’s the point of making money if you ruin your health?”

After speaking with the manager, Song Seok-hyun also greeted the Futures League players.

His time with the Futures League players, while serving as Kim Jeong-ryul’s exclusive catcher, was brief, but it felt like returning to his hometown.

The Futures League players expressed envy rather than jealousy toward Song Seok-hyun, who had returned as a rising star.

“Hey, can I have that bat?”

“The bat?”

“Yeah, I need to absorb some of that first-team energy.”

“Hey, *hyung* [older brother or male friend]. You have to pay for something like that. It’s bad luck if you just take it.”

“Really? Seok-hyun, then sell it to me. I’ll buy it.”

Human life is a series of ups and downs.

Song Seok-hyun looked at the players surrounding him as if he were seeing something unfamiliar.

Wasn’t he practically ignored just six months ago?

He returned to his dorm, unpacked his belongings, and headed to the cafeteria.

But something was more important than food.

Song Seok-hyun approached Yoo Seon-ho and Lee Ji-sung, who were sitting at a table, and greeted them.

“Hello, seniors. My name is Song Seok-hyun. It’s an honor to meet you.”

Lee Ji-sung and Yoo Seon-ho put down their spoons.

Yoo Seon-ho spoke first.

“Yeah, Seok-hyun. Nice to meet you. I hear you’ve been hitting exceptionally well lately?”

“No, sir. I’m just working hard.”

“Hey, I watch TV too. You’re always featured in the highlights, aren’t you?”

“Ah… Yes… Haha.”

“I heard you hit a home run out of the park at Jamsil Stadium? That’s incredible. Only a select few have ever accomplished that. Where does that kind of power come from? Looking at your physique, you seem like the type who should be running around like Ji-sung.”

Lee Ji-sung chimed in.

“He must have hidden muscles.”

“Muscles? Are you implying I have fewer muscles than him? It must be something very technical. You can’t achieve that with just brute strength. Otherwise, anyone could hit it out of Jamsil, right?”

Yoo Seon-ho pointed to an empty seat at the table.

“Sit down. Let’s eat together.”

“Yes, senior.”

Song Seok-hyun got his food and sat down at the table.

Before eating, Song Seok-hyun spoke to Lee Ji-sung.

“I watched today’s game, and you were truly amazing, senior. Hoffman’s mentality was completely shattered, wasn’t it?”

“Really? You watched?”

“Yes, I arrived a little early today.”

“Foreign players have a lot of pride, so if you just poke them a little, their mentality crumbles quickly. It’s amusing to watch.”

Song Seok-hyun glanced back and forth between his plate and Lee Ji-sung’s plate while eating.

The food… is different.

Song Seok-hyun’s plate was piled high with ribs, while Lee Ji-sung’s plate was filled with squid and salad.

“Was there squid today? I didn’t see it…”

“This is a special diet just for me. I requested it from the cafeteria staff.”

“Squid?”

“Yeah, I heard that seafood is the best source of protein. And among them, cephalopods like squid don’t contain heavy metals. They’re high in protein and healthy. Octopus is the best, but it’s expensive, so I eat baby octopus and squid.”

“Ah…”

Yoo Seon-ho said.

“He really takes care of his body.”

“I have to do this much. I can’t afford to be traded again.”

“Should I eat some squid too?”

“Senior, I’m supposed to eat *only* seafood, not *eat seafood too*. You’re going to eat everything, aren’t you?”

“Hahaha, hey. You have to eat a balanced diet to be healthy.”

“I’m going to stick to my diet.”

After the three finished eating, they went to the TV in the dorm hallway as if they had made a pact.

Today is the last game of the All-Star series against the Fox team.

As soon as they turned on the TV, the game was starting.

Success as a Catcher

Crisis is Opportunity (1)

“Wow, what’s wrong with the Goat’s pitcher?”

Jeong Cheon-woon, the Goat’s fifth starter, couldn’t withstand the Fox’s powerful hitting from the first inning and quickly fell apart.

He allowed four runs in the first inning alone, and one run in the second inning.

Manager Ham Seong-hoon brought in Kim Jin-seok, determined to close the gap, but he allowed two more runs with a single hit.

The Goat scored no runs in the first two innings.

The Goat bench’s helplessness was evident on the TV.

“……”

Song Seok-hyun let out a sigh.

The lineup without Song Seok-hyun was essentially ineffective.

Seol Jin-il and Kim In-hwan struggled, but the Fox team followed the strategies employed by other teams.

They simply avoided the dangerous hitters.

It was an obvious strategy, but it proved highly successful.

“Damn. It’s frustrating, so frustrating.”

Yoo Seon-ho clicked his tongue.

Lee Ji-sung jumped up from his seat.

“Shall we go hit some balls?”

“Yeah, that’s probably a better idea. Seok-hyun, you’re coming too, right?”

“……Yes.”

The three gave up on watching the game.

Two things are needed for a come-from-behind victory.

A pitcher who can protect the lead.

A hitter who can close the gap.

The starter collapsed, unable to protect the lead, and the lineup without Song Seok-hyun was like a deflated balloon.

Kim In-hwan had good plate discipline, but that was all.

Thwack!

Thwack!

Thwack!

Many players were already training at the Futures League training grounds.

Song Seok-hyun looked around in amazement.

“What’s wrong?”

“Usually, they watch the game, do laundry, and rest at this time, but today is completely different.”

“What’s the point of watching that? I have to improve to get promoted. Does diligently watching the game get me promoted?”

“That’s true, but…”

“I’ve only been with the Scorpions, so I don’t know the atmosphere in other places, but the Goat guys here work really hard. They see that if they work a little harder, there’s a spot they can break into. Usually, if you can see the summit far away, you lose motivation, but if you can see the summit right in front of you, you find strength you didn’t even know you had.”

Song Seok-hyun gave a wry smile.

“Is that how the Goat looks to other teams too? A team with many weaknesses?”

“Well… more than weaknesses. Of course, there are strengths too, but they’re not a very intimidating team. The Goat and the Whales have similar records, but the Whales are much more difficult to play against. They use a lot of tactics, have a good bullpen, and, most of all, their defense is solid. The whole team has a sense of cohesion. It’s tiring to win against them, but it’s even more tiring to lose.”

“They’re a tiring team. Not strong, but not easy either, that kind of team…?”

“The most important thing for winning the league is the center line, the core players in key positions. Do you know why the Pegasus are so strong? They also have a strong center line.”

“Well, that’s…”

Yoo Seon-ho grabbed his bat and slung it over his shoulder.

“Still, I think there’s hope for the Goat. I think they can cause an upset this season.”

“Our team?”

“Yeah. Look. The most important positions in the center line are the pitcher and the catcher, right?”

“…Is the pitcher part of the center line too?”

“If they’re in the center, they’re part of the center line. Anyway, the Goat brought in a really good pitcher this time. And what about the catcher? Young-soo and Dong-gyu may not be great hitters, but their defense is good. If Ji-sung can handle center field well, I think they have a chance, not as much as the Pegasus, but still.”

Lee Ji-sung had already taken his place and was preparing to train.

“Don’t put pressure on me. I’m satisfied if I just do my part. My goal is to surpass Byeong-seon. Byeong-seon is pretty good as a center fielder too.”

“He’s not a good hitter.”

“Am I a good hitter?”

“I think you have a chance. Your new form is really good. Didn’t you see how frustrated Hoffman was?”

“I was the one who was about to die of frustration. The ball that should have gone far kept going foul; it was killing me.”

“That’s also a strength.”

“What’s so great about a hitter who can’t get a hit?”

Song Seok-hyun had already joined the two in training.

The two watched Song Seok-hyun prepare as if they had been waiting for him.

“…Aren’t you going to train?”

“Can’t you see that?”

Yoo Seon-ho pointed with his chin to one side of the training ground.

As Song Seok-hyun took his place, the other players who had been training gathered around Song Seok-hyun in groups of twos and threes.

“Everyone’s gathered because they’re curious about how you do it.”

Song Seok-hyun scratched his nose.

“It’s not like a showcase or anything.”

“Wouldn’t everyone be curious? Show us. How do you train? How is a young guy like you flying around?”

“I don’t do any special training… I just do what I need to do.”

“Then do it.”

Song Seok-hyun picked up his bat and looked around.

More than ten players were watching him.

He started as a rehabilitation group exclusive catcher, not even a Futures League player.

If Futures League players are called unknowns, Song Seok-hyun was a player without a trace.

But now he is undoubtedly the best prospect.

Even if you remove the label of prospect, he is one of the league’s top power hitters.

He became a hitter who hits out of Jamsil with a weight of just over 80kg at 183cm [approximately 176 lbs at 6 feet].

Many players were curious about what kind of reason, what kind of secret, there was to becoming a star in such a short period of time.

What kind of training does Song Seok-hyun do?

“Ahem.”

Song Seok-hyun, ignoring the pouring attention, picked up his bat.

The first thing he did was basic posture.

He bent his knees at a 90-degree angle, then rotated his hips and stopped his bat.

The posture was generally slow and repetitive.

Each time he took a posture, he widened his swing range, but even that was increased little by little, very little by little.

“What are you doing?”

Yoo Seon-ho couldn’t stand it any longer and asked.

“Yes?”

“You train like that?”

“Ah, I check my lower body rotation first, then go up to my upper body and hands…”

“It’ll be sunrise if you do it like that. When are you going to hit the ball?”

“I do about 30 minutes of exercise and then hit about 30 balls with a tee, and that’s it.”

“Thirty balls? Is that enough training?”

“I tend to reduce training if there’s no problem with my swing.”

“Wow, so the only practical training you do is thirty tee swings?”

“No. The real training is this exercise. While doing this, I check if there are any imbalances and fix any bad spots.”

Yoo Seon-ho put his hands behind his back and laughed.

“Does that even take an hour?”