On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 121

“Foul. Lee Ji-sung barely manages to draw a foul.”

“That pitch was really good just now. Really fierce, wasn’t it?”

Jo Jin-hee scratched his nose.

It’s just a foul, not even a hit.

Jung Yong-wook signaled for another slider.

Jo Jin-hee shook his head.

Why be afraid of a batter who can’t hit long balls?

‘Fastball, inside.’

Overpower him with a fastball.

Jo Jin-hee threw the inside pitch with all his might.

Clack!

Lee Ji-sung pulled the bat towards first base.

The ball went foul again.

Four pitches.

Jo Jin-hee, who always smiles, had a fleeting look of annoyance on his face.

“Ji-sung’s batting stance seems a bit different…?”

Goat’s hitting coach, Kang Yeon-tae, tilted his head.

He was a batter who used to push the ball to the opposite field even before the injury, and after the injury, he consistently focused on hitting to the opposite field.

But against Jo Jin-hee, he completely pulled the inside pitch.

“That guy is scary, too.”

As Yoo Sun-ho muttered, Kim In-hwan next to him asked,

“What is?”

“I’m saying he absorbs anything that looks good right away.”

“Absorbed what?”

“There’s something like that, there’s something like that~ There’s something called a synergy effect~”.

Yoo Sun-ho chuckled.

Lee Ji-sung started pulling the ball.

For a guy who cherishes his body so much to start pulling the ball means…

“He’s found a way to hit far without hurting his wrist.”

Synergy

Clack!

Clack!

With the continuous fouls, Jo Jin-hee also lost his smile.

Jung Yong-wook groaned when the inside pitch didn’t work.

Since the wrist injury, inside fastballs were practically Lee Ji-sung’s official weakness.

Jung Yong-wook threw three inside pitches, but Lee Ji-sung pulled them all.

He was fouling off due to Jo Jin-hee’s powerful pitches, but his timing was right.

You can tell just by looking at the foul balls going outside the line.

Thwack!

Lee Ji-sung timed Jo Jin-hee’s curveball well.

The ball escaped towards second base.

“Shortstop! Shortstop Kim Hyung-woo! Catches it and tosses! The second baseman to first! First~~~~~~ Out!”

“Amazing. A tremendous play right from the start of the game. It’s amazing that he caught the ball, but even more amazing that he tossed it to the second baseman with just his glove to get the speedy Lee Ji-sung out.”

“Lee Ji-sung can’t hide his disappointed expression.”

“This is Pegasus. A team that deserves the title of the best center line in professional baseball history.”

Tans [exclamations] of admiration poured out from the Goat bench.

As Lee Ji-sung returned, Manager Ham Sung-hoon came out and offered his hand.

“Good job. Better than expected?”

Lee Ji-sung smiled awkwardly and shook his hand.

“If you do like today, it’s 120 points. You’re living up to my expectations.”

“Thank you.”

The second batter, Seol Jin-il, aimed for the first-pitch fastball but grounded out to the second baseman due to the power of the pitch.

The third batter, Kim In-hwan, struck out on three pitches.

“Ah……”

Kim In-hwan hung his head.

Jo Jin-hee was like the Grim Reaper to left-handed batters.

Moreover, it was difficult to even touch the ball in the first inning before getting used to it.

“Jo Jin-hee ends the inning by shutting down three batters. Song Seok-hyun’s turn didn’t even come up.”

“It’s a shame for Goat, isn’t it? If Song Seok-hyun comes out as the lead-off hitter, Pegasus can face him with ease.”

Having overcome the crisis in the first inning, Jung Chun-woon ended the second inning with three ground balls.

The sinker that sticks inside, the changeup and curve that fall outside, the slider, and the fastball all drew the batters’ bats.

“Ah, I can see it, but when I hit it, it keeps turning into a ground ball.”

“There’s no feel, no feel.”

The Pegasus batters licked their lips.

Maximum speed around 140km/h [approximately 87 mph].

It’s not a fastball, and the breaking balls aren’t flashy.

The pitches don’t target every corner of the strike zone, so the bat goes out on its own.

You swing confidently, but a ground ball comes out.

“Here comes the black magician again.”

Jung Yong-wook put on his catcher’s mask.

He’s the type of pitcher he hates the most.

A pitcher whose speed, control, and pitch quality are nothing special, but keeps making you mess up.

The fans call him the black magician because he throws black magic balls.

Some days he throws pitches that are impossible to hit, and other days he throws pitches that even a high schooler could hit.

Today is going to be a long day.

“Bottom of the 2nd. Goat, having overcome the crisis, sends Song Seok-hyun out as the first batter.”

“It’s a shame for Goat that Song Seok-hyun is coming out as the lead-off hitter, but they have to break the ice here. It’s difficult to target Jo Jin-hee from the start. They have to create opportunities little by little by getting hits.”

“Even if it’s Song Seok-hyun, whose stock has been soaring recently, you’re saying Jo Jin-hee is not an easy opponent?”

“Of course. The praise of being the best pitcher in Korea isn’t for nothing.”

“Yes, limited to this season.”

“……Yes, this season.”

Song Seok-hyun stepped into the batter’s box.

Jo Jin-hee tapped the rosin bag.

He saw Song Seok-hyun glancing at him with the white smoke.

Jo Jin-hee smiled.

Twenty years old.

He’s at an age where he doesn’t know the world and runs wild.

It’s when you don’t know how scary the world is.

He was like that too.

Until last year.

Was it beyond the heavens?

A crazy bastard popped out of nowhere and ruined his chance to win.

How frustrated he was back then.

He has a duty to teach this young rookie too.

That the professional first-team stage is not easy.

‘Fastball.’

Jo Jin-hee shook his head at Jung Yong-wook’s sign.

‘Slider.’

Shake, shake.

Jung Yong-wook puffed out his cheeks.

‘Curve?’

Jo Jin-hee finally nodded.

You don’t usually throw a curveball from the first pitch.

Jo Jin-hee’s third pitch, the curveball, is less complete than the fastball and slider.

He’s honing his curveball for the major leagues, but it’s only useful when the opponent is focused on the fastball.

‘Fastball.’

Jung Yong-wook changed the sign again, but Jo Jin-hee was adamant.

He’s a player who usually smiles, but Jo Jin-hee is more stubborn than anyone else on the mound.

Jung Yong-wook pointed the mitt at home base, telling him to drop it down.

“Jo Jin-hee, winding up!”

Jo Jin-hee lifted his leg.

Jo Jin-hee’s unique, rough pitching form, throwing his whole body.

Unlike his aristocratic appearance, his wild pitching form was Jo Jin-hee’s trademark.

Song Seok-hyun held his breath.

Jung Yong-wook felt a chill down his spine.

Song Seok-hyun is… relaxed.

It’s a curveball that has increased its drop to be used in the major leagues.

It’s difficult to make solid contact unless you have a specific plan.

Jo Jin-hee’s curveball usage rate is only about 10%.

Since the probability of a batter having Jo Jin-hee’s curveball as a target is low, Jo Jin-hee’s curveball was an efficient and useful third pitch.

“……”

Song Seok-hyun repeated Yoo Sun-ho’s words.

Look at the pitcher’s mouth, feet, and hands.

Jo Jin-hee’s mouth is tightly shut.

The feet… you can’t feel a big difference yet.

But only the hand was different.

The ball briefly bulged above the hand.

It was a typical curveball.

Bang!

“Left field fence! Left field fence! Left field fence! Left field fence! Completely over! Song Seok-hyun hits a solo home run! In the second inning, Song Seok-hyun hits a solo home run against Jo Jin-hee! King is back! The king of Jamsil is back!”

“He just supported it and hit it just now. It was a home run as soon as it was hit.”

“Song Seok-hyun swung his bat aiming from the first pitch. It’s an amazing distance. It was almost an out-of-the-park home run this time. A huge home run that hits the top of the stands!”

“The curveball is difficult to hit accurately, but if you make solid contact, it’s a ball with topspin, so it’s easy to lead to a long hit. If you wait and hit like that, it’s bound to lead to a long hit.”

“Our commentator Jung said that we should face Jo Jin-hee step by step, but Song Seok-hyun didn’t have step by step. He just went over it in one go.”

Jo Jin-hee received the catcher’s ball with a stiff expression.

Jung Yong-wook sighed deeply.

“That stubbornness.”

As Song Seok-hyun returned to the bench, the players raised their hands for high fives.

“A proper initiation ceremony, huh?”

“Good job, Song Seok-hyun! Good job!”

“Give me some of the home run king’s energy. Let me hit some too.”

The players welcomed Song Seok-hyun with a buzz.

Song Seok-hyun put down his bat and wiped his sweat.

“No, how did you know it was a curveball and hit it?”

Kim In-hwan came next to him and asked.

“I can see the curve. I was going to watch the first pitch anyway, but suddenly the ball popped up, so I waited and hit it.”

“What if a fastball came then?”

“Then I’d give up a count, I guess. Senior Yoo Sun-ho told me to watch the pitcher’s hands, mouth, and feet, so I paid more attention.”

“Really? I was out of my mind, the ball was so fast.”

“If you can’t see the ball, watch it until you can see it. Hitting when you can’t see it is luck. You have to accumulate data even if you strike out, how can you rely on luck?”

Song Seok-hyun watched the match between Yoo Sun-ho and Jo Jin-hee.

Habit.

Every pitcher has a habit.

The key to a batter’s know-how is how well they catch it.

Yoo Sun-ho didn’t talk about any special secrets, but after meeting Yoo Sun-ho, he became more confident.

There are no hitters or pitchers without weaknesses.

You have to watch.

Until you see a weakness.

You have to dig in.

Until the opponent collapses.

-Ball.

Yoo Sun-ho advanced to first base with a walk after 8 pitches against Jo Jin-hee.

It was thanks to avoiding the deciding slider.

It was a different sight for Song Seok-hyun, who had seen the batters behind him fall out like automatic outs.

The batting order continues.

“Interesting.”

Song Seok-hyun smiled brightly for the first time in a while.

K.I.S.S-Keep It Simple, Stupid!

Although he gave up a walk to Yoo Sun-ho, Jo Jin-hee showed his power by striking out three batters in a row.

“Jo Jin-hee gave up a solo home run, but he held it to one run.”

“The curveball is a shame. It was a well-dropped ball, but he didn’t know he would aim for it and hit it.”

Jo Jin-hee, who went to the bench, bowed his head to Jung Yong-wook.

“I’m sorry, senior.”

“It’s okay, you.”

“I won’t be reckless again.”

“Yeah, right. They say you’re close to death if you suddenly change. Are you the type to break your stubbornness? Do what you’ve been doing.”

“……”

“Instead, don’t make the same mistakes again. That’s how natural enemies are born. Got it?”

“I understand.”

In the top of the 3rd inning, Jung Chun-woon gave up two walks, but he held it scoreless with a double play and a ground ball.

The Pegasus manager put his hands behind his back and left the bench.