On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 136

Han Min-seok’s light warm-up pitch clocked in at 145 km/h. As expected of one of the league’s top left-handed fireballers, his fastball was exceptional.

The batter in the box was Hwang Gi-deok.

Han Min-seok threw his most confident fastball as the first pitch.

Thwack!

Hwang Gi-deok smacked the 148 km/h fastball, which came right down the middle, to left-center field.

“Hit! Hwang Gi-deok gets a hit on the first pitch.”

“Hwang Gi-deok is going even more aggressively today. I thought he would watch a few pitches, but he didn’t miss that one down the middle.”

“This makes Goat’s [referring to the team] head spin too. With a fast runner like Hwang Gi-deok on first, both the pitcher and catcher have to be on edge.”

Han Min-seok was already squinting.

Giving Hwang Gi-deok first base meant…

Swish!

-Safe!

“Stolen base! Hwang Gi-deok takes off right away! Hwang Gi-deok is at peak performance today.”

“Song Seok-hyun couldn’t even throw to second just now. The pitcher was completely thrown off.”

“Isn’t it usually difficult to steal aggressively against a left-handed pitcher?”

“That’s right. But Hwang Gi-deok says he actually prefers left-handed pitchers. He says he can watch and then run.”

“With a runner on second and no outs, it’s like the Scorpions are just starting the game.”

“This is the power of the Scorpions.”

Han Min-seok tapped the mound with his foot.

The second batter was Kang Gyun-seung, a .300 hitter.

Han Min-seok threw balls on the first two pitches.

‘Changeup.’

Song Seok-hyun held his mitt low.

The ball kept rising.

He couldn’t have lost his strength, so that meant he was rushing and not catching the ball properly.

He needed to find his control with a changeup or other breaking ball.

Han Min-seok’s changeup was well-controlled this time.

Thwack!

But Kang Gyun-seung hit it well.

“Right fielder! A hit in front of the right fielder! Hwang Gi-deok rounds third and heads for home… but he can’t make it. He’s back to third.”

As soon as Seol Jin-il caught the ball, he fired it home.

The throw to home, without a relay, drew a low arc and landed in Song Seok-hyun’s mitt.

Hwang Gi-deok saw Seol Jin-il’s throw and didn’t dare to run home.

“That throw from Seol Jin-il just prevented a run. Seol Jin-il has a great arm.”

“I heard he used to be a pitcher. There are usually a lot of fielders who used to be pitchers among the pros, right? But not all of them have arms as good as Seol Jin-il. Seol Jin-il’s arm seems especially strong.”

Runners on first and third, no outs.

The batter was Jeong Dae-han.

The cheers of the Scorpions fans supporting Jeong Dae-han were already deafening.

Whack!

Whack!

Whack!

Whack!

Song Seok-hyun caught the ball and hung his head.

“Walk. A straight walk. Is Han Min-seok faltering?”

“This means they’ll face the cleanup hitter with the bases loaded.”

“Homerun King Jo Yang-cheol is coming up. And Jo Yang-cheol is strong in clutch situations, isn’t he?”

Bases loaded, no outs.

In a crisis situation, the pitcher is bound to get anxious.

When you lose your composure, you become stubborn.

Han Min-seok was no exception.

‘Slider.’

Song Seok-hyun called for a breaking ball, but Han Min-seok chose a four-seam fastball.

Since his most confident pitch was the four-seam fastball, he planned to overpower the batter.

Whack!

The first pitch was a rising four-seamer.

The second pitch was also a high four-seamer.

Han Min-seok pressed his lips together after the consecutive balls.

‘Changeup.’

Song Seok-hyun called for a changeup to lower his release point, but Han Min-seok shook his head.

He remembered getting hit hard when he threw a changeup to Kang Gyun-seung.

‘Slider.’

Song Seok-hyun called for a backdoor slider.

He had to get at least one strike.

Jo Yang-cheol was obviously waiting for a fastball.

He had to get at least one strike to disrupt the batter’s plan.

Han Min-seok threw a slider as Song Seok-hyun wanted, but…

The slider came right down the middle of the zone.

Jo Yang-cheol didn’t miss the pitch.

Thwack!

Jo Yang-cheol abandoned his desire for a home run and just swung smoothly, but Han Min-seok’s slider was as fast and sharp as a fastball.

The ball didn’t go into the air but became a ground ball toward the shortstop.

The shortstop, Jeong Young-soo, caught the ball and threw to second.

The second baseman stepped on the base and threw to first.

“Ah! A bad throw! A bad throw there! The ball sailed wide!”

The first baseman, Kim In-hwan, frantically grabbed the ball and threw it home, but the runners from second and third had already crossed the plate.

Han Min-seok shouted at the second baseman, Jeong Dong-gyu.

“Hey!”

Jeong Dong-gyu avoided eye contact, not knowing what to do.

“So, a situation that could have been two outs became one out, and a runner on first. The score is 2-1, 2-1.”

“This is where the difference between Goat and the Scorpions shows. In a scoring crisis, the Scorpions shut it down, but Goat couldn’t handle the crisis due to an error.”

“Why was Jeong Dong-gyu so rushed? Jo Yang-cheol isn’t that fast of a runner.”

“It’s not easy to play calmly.”

One out, runners on first and third.

Han Min-seok was seething, unable to control his anger.

Jeong Dong-gyu pulled his cap down further.

Han Min-seok walked the fifth and sixth batters in a row, then gave up a grand slam to the seventh batter.

“With the grand slam, the Scorpions are leading by 5 points in the first inning!”

“Ah, the price of one error is too high. They should have ended it with giving up just 2 points because of that error, but the pitcher got rattled.”

“Today’s game won’t be easy for Goat. The Scorpions’ momentum is really building!”

Han Min-seok prevented any further runs after that, but he had set a record of allowing the entire batting order to come to the plate in the first inning.

Bang!

As soon as Han Min-seok entered the dugout, he threw his glove down.

He didn’t say anything, but the players held their breath.

“Haa…”

Han Min-seok stood in the middle of the dugout with his hands on his hips, breathing heavily.

“Help me out a little, huh?”

Han Min-seok glared at the surrounding players.

Then someone picked up Han Min-seok’s glove and handed it to him.

“Are you throwing a tantrum?”

It was Yoo Seon-ho.

Han Min-seok snatched the glove and turned his head.

“Are you a kid? Stop whining.”

“Excuse me? What did you say?”

As Han Min-seok’s voice rose, Yoo Seon-ho’s brow furrowed.

“What? Are you going to grab my collar or something?”

“…Haa.”

“Haa? Where did you learn such disrespect?”

Then Seo Il-hyeok grabbed Han Min-seok by the back of the neck and dragged him behind the dugout.

“Let go! What is it?”

“Come quietly if you don’t want to get beat up.”

Yoo Seon-ho clicked his tongue.

“What a mess, what a mess.”

Seo Il-hyeok pushed Han Min-seok against the wall.

“Hey, are you out of your mind? Are you trying to fight Seon-ho hyung [older brother/senior]? Do you not want to play baseball?”

“Who said anything? When did I say I was going to fight Seon-ho hyung?”

“And why are you getting angry at the others? Aren’t you thinking about how you’re throwing the ball like crap and only thinking about the others’ mistakes?”

“What? Crap?”

Han Min-seok’s eyes narrowed, but Seo Il-hyeok didn’t back down.

“What? Do you want to get beat up by me here?”

Han Min-seok’s personality was fiery, but he couldn’t take on Seo Il-hyeok.

He was a mainstay of the Goat team and also known as a tough fighter in the baseball world.

“Why are you doing this too, hyung? I just got a little angry, jeez.”

As Han Min-seok backed down, Seo Il-hyeok also softened his tone.

“Are you the only one who can get angry? Control yourself. You have to manage your anger. What will happen to the team atmosphere if you act like that?”

“Okay, I’ll be careful.”

“We’re a team. Don’t forget that we’re all teammates running to win together. It’s bad for the team and bad for you if you get angry.”

“Okay, okay.”

“I won’t tolerate you ruining the team atmosphere anymore. You know what I mean.”

Seo Il-hyeok returned to the dugout first.

Han Min-seok scratched his forehead.

“Aish, seriously.”

Ace Pitcher

Choi Seon

Top of the 2nd inning, Goat’s attack.

Goat’s lower batting order couldn’t handle Jo Sang-woong’s pitches, which were on fire.

“Jo Sang-woong’s pitches are very powerful today. He’s already struck out two in this inning.”

“Jo Sang-woong’s short, sharp breaking ball is living up to its reputation. On days when he’s in good condition, the batters are helpless. There’s no way to tell if it’s a fastball or a breaking ball.”

“Goat’s bats, which cooled down in the first inning, continue to be cold in the second, and they can’t turn the tide.”

“This puts a lot of pressure on the starting pitcher. Manager Ham Seong-hoon’s head must be spinning right now. The key is when to activate the bullpen. He can only pray that Han Min-seok will last as many innings as possible.”

Bottom of the 2nd inning.

The Scorpions’ attack started again.

The batting order started with Hwang Gi-deok after a full cycle.

Han Min-seok walked the first batter.

He also walked the next batter, Kang Gyun-seung.

Manager Ham Seong-hoon sighed deeply.

“Consecutive walks. This means there will be runners on first and second with no outs, and the third batter will come up. It means it will definitely lead to the fourth batter, Jo Yang-cheol.”

Song Seok-hyun stood up and walked to the mound.

Han Min-seok took off his cap and wiped away sweat.

“Why?”

“Sunbae [senior/respected colleague].”

“What, you little punk. You think you saw something somewhere. Did you come up here to nag? I’m going to shove it into the zone whether it kills me or not, so don’t worry and go down.”

“No. It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

Han Min-seok frowned.

“Since you can’t control your pitches anyway, why don’t you just throw whatever you want.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“They’re going to wait until they get a favorable count anyway, right? They’ll be watching your pitches until they get a good count, so throw whatever you want, fastball or breaking ball.”

Han Min-seok scoffed.

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“You’re not the type to pitch to contact, sunbae. I’m telling you to strike them out. Throw with all your might and strike them out.”

“Strikeout, that’s great. It sounds good, but can I do it now?”

“With your stuff, sunbae, there’s nothing you can’t do.”

Song Seok-hyun went down from the mound.

Han Min-seok put his cap back on and grabbed the rosin bag.

“He saw something weird somewhere and came to lecture me, lecture me.”

Han Min-seok looked back and forth between first and second base.

Hwang Gi-deok and Kang Gyun-seung.

Both are top runners in the league.

One hit and they’ll easily give up 1 or 2 points.

“Strikeout. I wish I could do it as I please.”

Jeong Dae-han came up to bat.

Han Min-seok opened his eyes wide and stared at the catcher’s mitt.

Song Seok-hyun signaled for a changeup.

A changeup right down the middle.

“This punk.”

Han Min-seok took the power out of his arm and swung lightly.

Jeong Dae-han watched the first pitch go by.

-Strike!

Jeong Dae-han licked his lips at the changeup down the middle.

“Jeong Dae-han is watching the first pitch.”

“It’s best not to swing at the first pitch from a pitcher who’s having trouble with his control. It’s good to watch the ball and time it.”

Han Min-seok loosened his arm.