On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 149

Even as Jung Jin-woong wondered if he would actually throw to third base, he felt a surge of frustration watching Seol Jin-il take small, provocative steps.

Ignoring the runner, he pitched, and Seol Jin-il smacked a clean hit to left-center field.

“The runner from second scores! The batter is on second as well. Gote is scoring easily, so easily!”

Jung Jin-woong picked up the rosin bag.

As he rubbed rosin on his hand, his mind went blank.

He couldn’t believe they were giving up runs so easily.

With a runner on second, the batter was Kim In-hwan.

Knowing Kim In-hwan was weak against breaking balls, he considered throwing one, but his hand froze when he looked into Kim In-hwan’s eyes.

When had Kim In-hwan become so relaxed?

The Kim In-hwan who used to wait eagerly at the plate like an excited beagle was nowhere to be seen.

Instead of the Kim In-hwan who would fidget and wet his dry lips, he saw a Kim In-hwan who was composed, his eyes half-closed.

-Ball, low.

“A straight walk. Jung Jin-woong is avoiding the confrontation.”

“I’m not sure if he’s avoiding the confrontation or if he just lost control. The ball was way off.”

“Is he avoiding Kim In-hwan and choosing to face Song Seok-hyun because of a potential double play?”

“If not, there’s no reason to choose Song Seok-hyun over Kim In-hwan.”

The Bulls’ manager, Park Jong-cheol, blinked.

The pitching coach approached the manager and said,

“Should I go out there?”

“Already? No. He needs to handle this on his own.”

The pitching coach clicked his tongue at the manager’s refusal.

*As expected, a manager from outside the team was too unfamiliar with the internal dynamics,* he thought.

Jin Seong-cheol had been watching Jung Jin-woong since he joined the team.

Jung Jin-woong’s mentality wasn’t that strong.

He needed a stern talking-to when he was shaken like this.

The manager naively thought that simply giving opportunities to promising players would make them grow.

With such a naive mindset, he loosened the atmosphere too much under the guise of management, even with the team’s consistently low ranking.

“Stepping up to the plate is Jamsil’s King, Song Seok-hyun.”

“I never thought I’d hear a twenty-year-old player called a king, haha.”

“Looking at his stats, it’s fair to call him a king, isn’t it? A twenty-year-old catcher with a .300 batting average, .400 on-base percentage, and .600 slugging percentage.”

“Even if he weren’t twenty, achieving those stats in Jamsil [a notoriously pitcher-friendly stadium] is impressive.”

As Song Seok-hyun came out, Park Shin-eon’s fingers moved busily, calling the pitches.

Both Song Seok-hyun and Park Shin-eon were silent in front of home plate.

Park Shin-eon’s mind raced.

Song Seok-hyun was a composed batter.

He swung his own swing even at a full count.

He watched the ball multiple times to time it.

He tended to watch the first pitch, but sometimes he aggressively targeted it.

When the pitcher threw consecutive balls, most batters would take a pitch.

Would Song Seok-hyun take the first pitch?

Should he signal to just put the first pitch in the strike zone against Song Seok-hyun?

For a moment, he was tempted to walk Song Seok-hyun to first and face Yoo Seon-ho.

Wouldn’t a left-handed pitcher have a slight advantage against a left-handed batter?

He shook his head.

Neither Kim In-hwan nor Song Seok-hyun were slow runners.

Yoo Seon-ho’s hit could clear the bases.

Even if it wasn’t easy, he had to compete against Song Seok-hyun at the plate.

A half-hearted breaking ball wouldn’t work.

He would counterattack.

Jung Jin-woong’s go-to pitch was a curveball.

With his control wavering, a curveball was a choice that could catch Song Seok-hyun off guard while also helping him regain his balance.

He would get one strike with a curveball and then get two strikes with a fastball on the outside corner.

He didn’t know if he could strike him out, but he would focus on just getting two strikes first.

*Curveball. Into the zone.*

The pitcher couldn’t hide his nervousness.

*Throw the curveball into the zone.*

Jung Jin-woong’s curveball was a 12-to-6, orthodox curveball [a curveball that drops vertically].

The hand motion was large enough for the batter to recognize it when he threw the ball.

Of course, if everyone who recognized the curveball could hit it, the curveball wouldn’t have the lowest batting average.

Except for the knuckleball, the curveball had the most distinct trajectory among breaking balls, so it was a difficult ball to hit squarely even if you knew it was coming.

Throwing an orthodox curveball was practically announcing what pitch you were throwing.

Would his curveball work?

Jung Jin-woong swallowed hard and threw the ball.

Thwack!

The ball began to spin as it left his hand.

The feeling at his fingertips was good.

A pleasant spin.

With this much spin, it would drop perfectly.

Unless he was aggressively targeting the first pitch, it wouldn’t be easy to hit.

The reason Jung Jin-woong, who didn’t have blazing speed or exceptional control, secured the Bulls’ starting pitcher position was because he had a reliable curveball as his go-to pitch.

Even if he wasn’t good at anything else, his curveball was above average.

You couldn’t hit it unless you were looking for it.

“Hoo.”

Song Seok-hyun exhaled briefly.

Park Shin-eon unknowingly stopped breathing.

*No way, it couldn’t be.*

He wasn’t targeting the first-pitch curveball, was he?

Song Seok-hyun’s waist turned.

Even though his waist turned, his shoulders didn’t open.

A swing that was a beat later than usual.

Park Shin-eon felt a chill down his spine, realizing he had made a mistake.

He wasn’t hitting the curveball after expecting a fastball.

He was targeting the first-pitch curveball.

Bang!

Song Seok-hyun’s bat scooped the ball from low to high.

His elbows were tucked into his body, and his head was fixed on the ball.

“Left field fence!”

There was no need to watch.

The ball soared high into the sky as soon as it was hit and stretched out.

The left fielder had already given up chasing it.

Behind the pitcher, who had lowered his head, Seol Jin-il clapped once and ran towards third base.

“Home run! It’s a home run! Song Seok-hyun’s three-run homer explodes in the bottom of the first! A massive home run that hits the upper deck of Jamsil Stadium!”

“Just now, I thought it was going to be a fly ball because it went so high, but it cleared the fence.”

“Gote immediately chases after the 4 points they gave up in the first inning. He’s truly worthy of being called the King of Jamsil. The strongest hitter in Jamsil, Song Seok-hyun.”

“I wonder if this is really Jamsil. Has the fence in Jamsil always been this low?”

Where did the gloomy Gote fans from the top of the first inning go?

The Gote fans in the first base stands clinked beer cans and sang their cheers loudly.

“Oh, Song Seok-hyun of Gote. All-around talent Song Seok-hyun. Home run Song Seok-hyun. Fly! Away!”

The Bulls’ bench was silent.

They just watched Song Seok-hyun step on second base and then third base.

When Song Seok-hyun arrived at home, he flinched when he saw the camera.

After hesitating for a moment, Song Seok-hyun brought his index and middle fingers together to his lips and kissed them.

“Kyaaaa!”

Kim Na-young, who was watching TV at home, jumped up and down, not knowing what to do.

“What’s wrong with her?”

Na-young’s mother came running to check on Na-young.

Na-young quickly straightened her posture and sat down.

“No, Seok-hyun hit a home run.”

“You never watch baseball, but suddenly you’re overreacting today. Are you that happy that Seok-hyun hit a home run?”

“Of course. It’s good when a friend hits a home run.”

“How bland.”

The TV was showing replays of Song Seok-hyun’s home run.

Kim Na-young’s cheekbones twitched, a smile threatening to break out.

“It’s nice to see Seok-hyun doing well. I’m glad things are finally working out for Seok-hyun’s family too.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“You should take a break like this sometimes. Studying is good, but you’re going out early in the morning and coming back late at night; you’ll hurt yourself.”

“So, I’m going to try to eat dinner at home from now on. Staying in the study room for too long makes my back and neck hurt.”

“Okay, okay. You should study in moderation. Doing too much isn’t good either. You need to exercise too.”

“Okay, okay. I’m going to exercise while watching TV.”

Na-young got up from her seat and did lunges.

Her eyes were fixed on the TV.

Na-young’s mother went back to the kitchen.

“She always looks so gloomy; what’s going on?”

The TV showed Song Seok-hyun on the bench.

Song Seok-hyun was surrounded by his teammates, looking embarrassed.

Kim Na-young only saw Song Seok-hyun’s face and was beaming; her cheekbones wouldn’t come down.

“Hey, what was that just now? That cheesy stuff.”

“I felt like I needed some kind of ceremony.”

“What kind of ceremony is that?”

“I just made it up this time.”

“You didn’t get a girlfriend, did you?”

“No. Where would I have time to meet a girl…”

“If you suddenly do a weird ceremony, 99 percent of the time it’s because of a girlfriend…”

Song Seok-hyun was surrounded by his seniors and questioned, but he couldn’t answer.

How could he say it was because of his girlfriend of one day?

Bang!

Bang!

Following Song Seok-hyun’s home run, Yoo Seon-ho and Choi Jae-wan hit consecutive singles.

The Bulls’ young pitcher, Jung Jin-woong, finally put his hands on his knees and dropped his head.

Park Shin-eon went to the mound and gave Jung Jin-woong advice, but even that was useless.

The batting order turned over.

With two outs, leadoff hitter Lee Ji-sung stepped up to the plate.

“It’s still the bottom of the first inning. The score is 7-4, 7-4. It’s really turning into a slugfest today.”

“I thought it would be a battle between the starting pitchers, but both teams’ starters collapsed too early, so now it’s turned into a slugfest. Jamsil is like a furnace today. It’s hot. Very hot!”

Catching Fire

Unstoppable Momentum (3)

Bottom of the 3rd inning.

The scoreboard at Jamsil Stadium showed a score of 11-6.

The Bulls’ starting pitcher, Jung Jin-woong, had already been taken out, and sidearm pitcher Yoon Gi-jin had come in, but they still gave up runs.

The pitcher who came up in the 3rd inning was already sweating profusely.

“Who would have expected such a slugfest to unfold in Jamsil today?”

“That’s right. At this rate, it wouldn’t be surprising if the two teams combined for more than 30 points today.”

“In the top of the 1st inning, starting pitcher Han Min-seok collapsed, and it seemed like the Bulls would have the upper hand today, but Gote’s attack in the bottom of the 1st was even fiercer.”

“Han Min-seok gave up 6 runs through the 3rd inning. It’s definitely not a good performance for a starting pitcher, but Gote’s bullpen is still relaxed.”

“First of all, the large score difference is important, and the fact that Han Min-seok’s pitch count has decreased a lot since the 2nd inning seems to be effective. He’s giving up a lot of hits, but he’s giving up fewer runs compared to the number of hits.”

“You could say he’s taking advantage of the Jamsil advantage, right?”

“That’s right. You can’t deny that.”

“The Bulls’ pitchers are also pitching with Jamsil behind them, but Gote’s hitters don’t seem to be afraid of the Jamsil fence.”

Bang!

“It’s going! It’s going! Right field fence! It’s over! Kim In-hwan’s two-run homer explodes. 13-6. The score widens to a double score.”

“Yes, Gote is pulling away again.”

“It’s Gote’s third home run. The KS duo [likely referring to Kim and Song] is working non-stop today.”

In other stadiums, they’re already in the 7th inning, but it’s still only the 3rd inning in Jamsil.

The number of baseball fans switching channels to the Jamsil game increased as the game turned into an all-time fire show.

-Let’s assume the Bulls are always like that, but what’s wrong with Gote? Isn’t Han Min-seok out of it?

-It’s batting practice today, batting practice.

-Are they hitting with bouncy balls instead of baseballs? Why are they hitting home runs every time?

-We’re screwed. If Gote makes it to the postseason, there’s no answer. Who’s going to stop KSY [likely referring to Kim, Song, and Yoo]?

-Let’s assume S has always been good, but why are K and Y doing so well?

-Please, Wales bastards. Do well. Stop Gote from going up. You guys are their nemesis.

-You ×××s, give us some points.

-Are the Bulls’ fans already leaving? Are they giving up on today’s game?

-It’s worse than Phoenix today.

Top of the 4th inning.

Han Min-seok finished the inning without giving up any runs for the first time.

His pitch count was already eighty-eight.

Manager Ham Seong-hoon prepared the next pitcher.

“I’m sorry.”

Han Min-seok bowed his head to pitching coach Yeon Woo-sik.

The pitching coach could roughly guess why Han Min-seok was struggling today.

Until two years ago, they were players on the same field.

There was no way Yeon Woo-sik didn’t know Han Min-seok’s situation, and there was no way Han Min-seok didn’t know that Yeon Woo-sik knew his situation.

“Let’s do well, huh?”