On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 160

-Strike!

“Wow. What was that? I totally got fooled.”

“Senior, if you can’t hit a fastball like that, your junior is going to be disappointed.”

“Was it really that weak? It looked like a changeup to me.”

“No, it was a pretty hittable fastball. Senior, I think I need to buy you some lutein [a supplement for eye health].”

Kim Wook chuckled and tightened his grip on the bat.

Again, a fastball on the outside corner.

It was even further outside than the last one, so he held his swing.

-Strike!

Kim Wook turned to the umpire, a questioning look on his face.

“Tsk.”

Kim Wook didn’t press the issue.

It was a similar location to the first pitch, but this time it was called a strike.

*This strike zone is all over the place.*

Once more, the same location with a fastball.

Kim Wook tried to slap the ball for a hit, but it suddenly lost steam and dropped.

“Ah, damn it.”

Thwack.

The ball, hitting off the end of the bat, dribbled right to the second baseman.

Second baseman Jung Dong-gyu scooped up the ball and tossed it to shortstop Jung Young-soo.

Jung Young-soo stepped on second base and fired the ball to first.

Kim Wook trudged toward the dugout.

“4-6-3. A textbook 4-6-3 double play. Fourth batter Kim Wook grounds into a double play, killing the rally.”

“He got impatient with two strikes. He was geared up for a changeup.”

“The Pegasus created a scoring opportunity but failed to capitalize. Runners stranded on first and second. The score remains 0-0. It’s still a tie game.”

Kim Wook returned to the bench and grabbed his glove.

“Chang-hoon’s changeup is working well today. Make sure you take note of it.”

Bottom of the first inning.

Jo Jin-hee took the mound.

The Pegasus fans erupted in applause for their ace, Jo Jin-hee, even though it wasn’t an offensive play.

“The Pegasus sends their ace, Jo Jin-hee, to the mound. Jo Jin-hee has a great track record against the GOAT, doesn’t he?”

“Haha, is there any team Jo Jin-hee *doesn’t* have a good record against? Jo Jin-hee doesn’t discriminate between teams or players.”

“But he has shown some vulnerability against Song Seok-hyun. Statistically, it’s not a huge sample size, but wouldn’t you say it’s significant?”

“Well… you could argue the opposite. How many pitchers *have* had good results against Song Seok-hyun?”

“So, is this a battle of the unstoppable force versus the immovable object?”

“I guess so. Today’s main event will be the clash between the shield, Jo Jin-hee, and the spear, Song Seok-hyun.”

Jo Jin-hee struck out the lead-off hitter, Lee Ji-sung, on three pitches.

The next batter, Seol Jin-il, grounded out to a curveball on the first pitch.

Ham Sung-hoon sighed deeply.

“His fearless attitude is great, but if he could just break that habit of swinging at the first pitch, he’d be even better…”

Hitting coach Kang Yeon-tae chimed in, “Still, Jin-il is a consistent hitter. Doesn’t he hit around .300 against almost any pitcher?”

“Yeah, well, it’s just my own high expectations. If he develops more patience, he’ll be unstoppable.”

When the third batter, Kim In-hwan, stepped up to the plate, Jo Jin-hee threw an inside fastball on the very first pitch.

Jo Jin-hee is even more dominant against left-handed batters.

Kim In-hwan anticipated the inside pitch but swung and missed.

Kim In-hwan shook his head.

“154 km/h [approximately 96 mph]. Jo Jin-hee is gradually ramping up his velocity.”

“That’s ace Jo Jin-hee for you. He can range from the mid-140s km/h [around 87 mph] to a blistering 160 km/h [approximately 99 mph]. A pitcher who can control his speed like that is incredibly rare. That kind of pace variation is what makes Jo Jin-hee so special. I guarantee he’d be a top-five starter even if he went to the major leagues. That style of pitching is a rarity even in MLB.”

Kim In-hwan shortened his grip on the bat and moved closer to the plate.

Catcher Jung Yong-wook signaled for an outside fastball.

Bang!

-Strike!

Two strikes in a row.

This time, Kim In-hwan didn’t even offer at the pitch, letting it pass.

*Slider. Low.*

A breaking ball that dives after two strikes.

It’s a textbook pitch selection against Kim In-hwan, who struggles with breaking balls.

Jo Jin-hee unleashed his signature pitch, the league’s most feared vertical slider.

A pitch that starts in the strike zone and then plummets sharply.

Kim In-hwan swung.

Clang!

“……?”

The ball didn’t land in Jung Yong-wook’s mitt.

The ball, weakly hit by Kim In-hwan, trickled into center field for a single.

“Kim In-hwan gets a hit! The GOAT’s first hit of the game!”

“He manages to get on base after hitting a weak pitch, giving Song Seok-hyun an opportunity.”

Jung Yong-wook let out a hollow laugh.

*Did he intentionally hit the ball like that?*

If Kim In-hwan was actually trying to hit that breaking ball, it’s more concerning than giving up a clean hit.

Hitting a ball on purpose…

*I’ve seen this before somewhere…*

Jung Yong-wook’s thoughts were cut short.

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

“Oh, Song Seok-hyun of the GOAT! All-around Song Seok-hyun! Home run Song Seok-hyun! Fly! Away!”

“King! Of! Jamsil! [Jamsil is the name of the stadium] Song! Seok! Hyun! Fly! Away!”

The stadium was deafening.

The more the GOAT struggled, the more the fans placed their hopes on the GOAT’s cleanup hitter.

“It won’t be easy today. Jin-hee has come prepared.”

Jung Yong-wook gave Song Seok-hyun a knowing look.

Song Seok-hyun tapped his cleats with his bat and nodded.

“I’ve also come prepared.”

Catcher’s Intuition

Team GOAT (3)

Sharpened the knife.

Those words carried weight coming from Song Seok-hyun, not just any player.

Jung Yong-wook pushed his cheek with his tongue.

*Four-seam fastball. The hardest one. Inside. High.*

*If he’s trying to intimidate us, we’ll respond with even greater intimidation.*

Jo Jin-hee liked Jung Yong-wook’s sign.

It was Song Seok-hyun, after all.

He couldn’t let a rookie derail his major league aspirations.

Today, there were major league scouts in the stands behind home plate.

He was going to put on a show for them.

*What does it mean to be an ace?*

Jo Jin-hee powerfully raised his leg.

After his leg kick, his body surged forward like an arrow.

The ball exploded from Jo Jin-hee’s hand, aimed right at Song Seok-hyun’s body.

Bang!

“Left field foul pole! Ah! Foul! A foul ball just outside the left field line!”

“That was a monstrous hit!”

“Jo Jin-hee’s fastball clocked in at 158 km/h [approximately 98 mph]!”

“He fouls off a 158 km/h fastball! This is a true battle of the unstoppable force versus the immovable object! It’s neck and neck!”

A corner of Jo Jin-hee’s mouth quirked upward after the foul ball.

His eyes remained intense, but his mouth betrayed a hint of a smile.

It was a perfectly executed inside pitch.

“Take it easy, you bastard,” Jung Yong-wook muttered.

If he can hit a well-placed inside pitch like that foul ball, it makes it difficult to decide what to call next.

“You know our team’s situation, right? This isn’t the time to be taking it easy.”

“Give Jin-hee a little credit. There are a lot of scouts here, so let’s protect the reputation of Korea’s star pitcher.”

“Senior Jo Jin-hee is an ace even without my help. A national ace.”

*Slider. Outside.*

“Still, it’s not good to make an enemy out of you. Just take it easy on him. Should we just walk him?”

Jo Jin-hee delivered the ball.

Song Seok-hyun swayed his body and started to swing.

His right elbow and left armpit, tightly tucked against his side, didn’t fully extend.

Bang!

“Whoa.”

Song Seok-hyun checked his swing and stepped away from the plate.

Jung Yong-wook immediately glanced at the umpire, but the umpire didn’t call a strike.

“Ah…”

Jung Yong-wook clicked his tongue in disappointment.

No swing.

“Song Seok-hyun holds up! He holds back the slider!”

“That was a nasty slider, but he checks his swing! Wow, how does he do that?”

“1-1. Now the count is even, and the batter and pitcher are back to square one.”

Song Seok-hyun dusted off his hands.

He barely managed to hold back because he was anticipating the outside low slider.

The GOAT bench was even more impressed by Song Seok-hyun’s checked swing than the Pegasus bench.

“How does he hold that back?”

“I thought he was going to swing, but how does he stop like that?”

“What is that? It’s getting scary now, really scary.”

Only Yoo Seon-ho, who was on deck, nodded in acknowledgment of Song Seok-hyun’s incredible control.

It was the most impressive display of upper and lower body separation he had ever seen.

For a powerful hit, the lower body must rotate first to generate force, and then the upper body rotates to initiate the swing.

The reason why Song Seok-hyun can swing with such power despite his relatively short stride is due to that unbelievable flexibility and elasticity in his waist.

Because his stride isn’t long, his swing path is shorter, allowing him to track the ball for a longer period.

The reason why Kim In-hwan eventually reverted to his original form after trying to imitate Song Seok-hyun is also related to this.

Kim In-hwan might be stronger than Song Seok-hyun, but Song Seok-hyun’s flexibility, elasticity, and reflexes are otherworldly.

He was also the top high school pitcher in Korea, so his athletic ability must be innate, but at this point, it feels like too much.

Contact, eye, power, he has it all.

Even though he’s a rookie, his OPS [On-Base Plus Slugging] is over 1.000.

I can’t even imagine what kind of stats he’ll put up next year when he’s fully adapted to the league.

“His wife has to be ugly.”

With those stats, there’s no way his wife will be unattractive, but if his wife is beautiful too, I think I’ll fall into a pit of self-loathing.

Jung Yong-wook and Jo Jin-hee exchanged signs.

Would they walk Song Seok-hyun and face Yoo Seon-ho, or would they challenge Song Seok-hyun head-on?

Jo Jin-hee chose to face him head-on.

The pride of the national team’s ace starter was on the line.

Once again, he threw his fastest fastball, aiming inside.

A left-handed pitcher throwing across his body to a right-handed batter.

Song Seok-hyun’s waist coiled, and the bat whipped down from above.

Song Seok-hyun’s body leaned back, his arms and bat extending almost 180 degrees.

Whack!

“Wow…”

The announcer was speechless.

As soon as it was hit, the ball rocketed into the sky.

The ball soared leisurely into the night sky, disappearing from view.

“The ball… the ball…”

The announcer and commentator frantically searched for the ball.

It was even more difficult to spot the white ball against the darkening sky.

“There! There!”

The spectators at the top of the stands whispered excitedly.

The ball was still climbing.

The end of Jamsil Baseball Stadium was right in front of them, but the ball was still too high to come down.

“……”

It was clear that the ball had been launched into the stratosphere, but few people actually saw it land.

Song Seok-hyun tossed his bat aside and slowly jogged toward first base.

A moment later, the umpire emphatically signaled a home run.

“Home run! It’s a home run! It’s a towering home run! I think that might be the longest home run ever hit here! Ah, the data is coming up now… The ball… ah, it landed here. Just to the left of the center field fence. The ball cleared the fence and went completely out of the stadium! That’s an incredible distance! Song Seok-hyun hits an out-of-the-park home run, the first out-of-the-park home run in Jamsil in a long time! And he did it against Jo Jin-hee!”

“This is… wow… I’m speechless. If I were the pitcher, I’d walk off the mound right now. That’s an unbelievable home run. And against Jo Jin-hee, no less? He was throwing 160 km/h [approximately 99 mph]! Maybe in the major leagues, but in Korea, a hitter who can take a 160 km/h fastball, especially an inside fastball, and hit it for a home run? As far as I know, there’s only one person who can do that: Song Seok-hyun. This is truly… wow…”

The home run call and the cheers erupted belatedly.

The GOAT fans leaped to their feet.

“Oh, Song Seok-hyun of the GOAT! All-around Song Seok-hyun! Home run Song Seok-hyun! Fly! Away!”

“King! Of! Jamsil! Song! Seok! Hyun! Fly! Away!”

The Pegasus players stood back and watched Song Seok-hyun round the bases.

Kim Wook chuckled as he watched Song Seok-hyun pass third base.

“Sorry for ever considering you a rival.”

Song Seok-hyun wanted to laugh, but he held it back out of respect for his senior.

Kim In-hwan was waiting for him at home plate.

The two high-fived.