On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 162

“Those batters must have splitting headaches. If it keeps up like this, they’ll definitely have to swing for the fences.”

Kim Seong-hyeon glanced at the umpire and sighed deeply.

The umpire glared back at Kim Seong-hyeon.

Song Seok-hyeon, without even turning around, sensed the subtle tension and spoke to the umpire in a low voice.

“You’ve got a good view of the strike zone, right? Should I set up a little closer to the middle of the plate?”

“I can see it just fine. It’s all good.”

Song Seok-hyeon called for an outside changeup.

The batter barely checked his swing, making the count 1-2.

The batter crowded the plate, his eyes burning with intensity.

The fourth pitch was……

Crack!

“Shortstop fields it and throws to second, second baseman relays to first! A textbook 6-4-3 double play! Change of sides. The Goats escape the inning with a double play.”

“He was late on that inside fastball. The batter’s reaction was sluggish, even though the pitch wasn’t particularly fast.”

Kim Seong-hyeon grabbed his bat and trudged into the dugout.

Kim Wook gave Kim Seong-hyeon a pat on the rear.

“When Song Seok-hyeon is behind the plate [wearing the catcher’s mask], don’t overthink things. If you start thinking too much, you’ll just tie yourself in knots.”

“If I hadn’t yelled that the missed call was a strike… sigh.”

“He’s got amazing receiving skills [referring to the catcher’s ability to frame pitches]. Don’t let him get rattled.”

Bottom of the 6th.

Kim In-hwan led off the inning.

Jo Jin-hee threw an outside fastball as the first pitch, but Kim In-hwan reached first base with a single that slipped past the first baseman.

Song Seok-hyeon blatantly signaled for an intentional walk.

Yu Seon-ho stepped into the batter’s box.

“No outs, runners on first and second. Yu Seon-ho is at the plate.”

“Ground ball, strikeout, fly ball. Yu Seon-ho is hitless today. Jo Jin-hee usually dominates left-handed batters, but a veteran like Yu Seon-ho can’t be feeling too confident.”

Yu Seon-ho tugged his helmet down low.

He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

“Why so nervous? Just swing easy; it’s not like you’re going to get a hit anyway.”

Yu Seon-ho shook his head at catcher Jeong Yong-wook’s taunt.

Jeong Yong-wook positioned his mitt on the inside corner.

Jo Jin-hee fired an inside pitch without hesitation as the first offering.

Bang!

“It’s heading past the right field line! A foul ball, but a sharply hit one.”

“Is Yu Seon-ho swinging for the fences?”

Jeong Yong-wook involuntarily exclaimed in admiration at Yu Seon-ho’s lightning-fast swing.

“Our Seon-ho’s still got some fight left in him. His back is still holding up.”

“My back is in better shape than most of these young punks. You wouldn’t believe how many women have swooned over this back of mine.”

“Then what good is it if you can’t even use it?”

‘Slider. Low.’

Jo Jin-hee delivers the pitch without delay.

Yu Seon-ho swings.

-Strike!

“That was a mighty swing. Yu Seon-ho looks frustrated?”

“It seems like Yu Seon-ho is going all-out aggressive? He’s really putting his back into it. It’s a completely different approach than before.”

Jeong Yong-wook chuckled.

“Hey, hey, you’re gonna throw your back out. Take it easy, old man. You’re not getting any younger, you know.”

“It’s fine. This is nothing.”

“This guy is all talk.”

‘Slider. Outside.’

“Alright, alright, let’s see how good our Seon-ho’s back really is.”

The ball leaves Jo Jin-hee’s hand and darts to the outside of the plate, away from the left-handed batter.

Yu Seon-ho swings, but the ball sails outside.

Yu Seon-ho clenched his teeth and checked his swing.

“Hoo!”

As Yu Seon-ho brought his bat back, Jeong Yong-wook stood up and waved his fingers, appealing to the umpire.

The umpire didn’t call a strike.

“No…….”

Jeong Yong-wook barely managed to stop himself from erupting in protest.

Arguing with the umpire never ended well.

“Hoo. Too bad, too bad.”

Yu Seon-ho tapped his back and returned to the batter’s box.

“Seon-ho, you’re going to hurt your back if you keep doing that.”

“Then tell him to stop throwing those kinds of pitches.”

“You need to be careful yourself. At your age, isn’t the best thing to do to retire without any injuries?”

‘Four-seam fastball. Inside.’

“Then give me one I can knock out of the park.”

“Okay, okay. You have to crush this one. You have to.”

Jo Jin-hee gritted his teeth and stretched his front leg out.

His torso twisted, his arm whipped through the air, and a white ball hurtled toward Yu Seon-ho’s body.

Bang!

Yu Seon-ho swung with everything he had this time as well.

“It’s going, going, gone! Over the right field wall~~~~~! It’s a home run! Yu Seon-ho blasts a three-run homer in the bottom of the 6th, breaking the tie! The score is 5-2. A game-changing moment!”

Yu Seon-ho tossed his bat aside and said without looking at Jeong Yong-wook.

“My back is still good enough to use, you know?”

As Yu Seon-ho rounded first base, relief pitcher Lee Chang-hoon stood in his place and applauded.

Clap clap clap.

Clap clap.

Yu Seon-ho returned to the dugout amidst the cheers.

Yu Seon-ho stared at Lee Chang-hoon without a word, and Lee Chang-hoon nodded once in acknowledgement.

“I almost broke my back trying to use it.”

Yu Seon-ho patted his back.

Jo Jin-hee, who had given up 3 runs, was immediately pulled from the game.

5 points allowed, including two home runs.

Jo Jin-hee couldn’t contain his anger and stormed behind the bench.

Ham Seong-hoon called the pitching coach and asked.

“Who do we have available today?”

“Jeong Ryul and Baek Chan are ready.”

“Get Baek Chan up right away, have him warm up and get ready to go.”

“Yes.”

The Pegasus couldn’t score any runs against Lee Chang-hoon, who pitched the 7th inning as well.

Lee Chang-hoon finished the 7th inning and left the mound.

7 innings pitched, 2 runs allowed.

Lee Baek-chan, who came in after Lee Chang-hoon, didn’t give Kim Jeong-ryul a chance to pitch.

-Strike! Out!

“Lee Baek-chan gets the save! No bottom of the 9th needed. Lee Baek-chan seals the victory with a 151km/h fastball, and today the Goats end their 4-game losing streak with a win against the Pegasus. With this win, the race between 4th and 5th place is heating up again.”

“Today’s MVP is undoubtedly Yu Seon-ho. That three-run homer was a game-changer.”

In the post-game MVP interview, Yu Seon-ho gave credit to Lee Chang-hoon when asked who he wanted to thank.

“I want to give the credit to Chang-hoon, who believed in me and cheered me on.”

Sports articles flooded the internet immediately after Yu Seon-ho’s interview.

[The Goats snap their 4-game losing streak. Teamwork leads to victory]

[The dignity of a veteran, Yu Seon-ho. Even has the grace to give credit to the starting pitcher]

[The Goats become a team that supports each other. How did this transformation happen?]

The Goats players regained their smiles after a long-awaited victory.

Except for one person: Han Min-seok, who was scheduled to be the starting pitcher tomorrow.

Success as a Catcher

Team Goats (5)

“Mumble mumble.”

Song Seok-hyeon’s house.

Song Seok-hyeon was fast asleep with his mouth wide open.

He didn’t know what he was dreaming about, but he kept waving his hands around.

“No, it shouldn’t be like this already…….”

Song Seok-hyeon tossed and turned.

“It’s not that I don’t like it…… Hehe. I like it too.”

What woke Song Seok-hyeon, who was sleeping so soundly that he was drooling, was a phone call.

Buzzz, buzzz, buzzz.

He tried to block his ears, but the vibration was too loud.

Hoping it was Na-yeong, he grabbed his phone.

“What is it……?”

It was a completely unexpected person.

“Hello.”

-Hey, what are you up to?

“Yes, senior.”

The person who called was Han Min-seok.

“I…… was sleeping.”

“Is that so……?”

The call ended abruptly.

Song Seok-hyeon checked the time on his phone.

10:36 AM.

It was a time when most people were still asleep.

Song Seok-hyeon was one of them.

“What’s this about?”

Song Seok-hyeon splashed water on his face to shake off the sleep and called back.

“Yes, senior. Is something the matter?”

-Are you awake?

“Yes. You don’t sound well, senior. Do you have a cold or something?”

-……Yeah. I feel achy all over.

“Really?”

-I got an IV drip a little while ago.

“Why the sudden body aches?”

-I’ve been feeling chilled since yesterday, and I just feel awful.

“Then will you be able to pitch in today’s game?”

-I don’t know……. That’s why I’m worried about what to do. Everyone else must still be asleep.

Song Seok-hyeon pursed his lips.

*Am I not everyone?*

“I figured you’d be up early, so I called you. Sorry for waking you up for nothing, man.”

-No, I was about to get up soon anyway.

“Ha, it’s not like we have anyone else to put in as a substitute pitcher. I have to play, right?”

-Senior, are you really feeling that bad?

“My shoulder is feeling good……. Well, until dawn today, I had a fever of 39.8 degrees Celsius [103.6 degrees Fahrenheit].”

“Isn’t that serious?”

-The fever has come down now. Down to 37 degrees [98.6 degrees Fahrenheit].

“Um…… Then I’ll head over there. Where’s the hospital located?”

-Here? You’re coming?

“I’m awake anyway, so I might as well.”

-There’s no need to come…….

“I’ll get ready and leave now, so please text me the address.”

* * *

“Did you get any sleep?”

Han Min-seok, whom Song Seok-hyeon saw, had pronounced double eyelids, making his eyes look even bigger.

“A little. Maybe about 2 hours? I think I dozed off a bit after getting the IV drip earlier.”

“Are you okay otherwise? Any other aches or pains…….”

“Everything hurts. But strangely, my shoulder feels fine.”

Han Min-seok rotated his shoulder.

“It’s weird. If my shoulder was acting up, I would have sat this one out without question, but my shoulder feels good…… Ha.”

“What did the doctor say?”

“They told me to rest. They said I should take it easy since it’s just a cold and body aches.”

“Did you tell them you were scheduled to pitch in the game?”

“I asked, but they told me to rest. Not to push myself too hard.”

“I see…… Um…….”

Han Min-seok tapped his head.

“I messed up my condition by overdoing it and practicing until dawn for nothing. Ha, I’m screwed. I really screwed up.”

“Did you make any progress, though?”

“Progress? What progress could I make other than getting sick?”

“If you practiced until dawn, there must have been something that changed, right? That’s why you did it, wasn’t it?”

Han Min-seok wrinkled his nose.

“I know what you mean by the feeling of driving through the ball and hitting your spot. It’s that feeling when you locate the ball perfectly when you’re in good form, right?”

“Yes, when you’re in good form, it doesn’t feel like the ball is just flying straight, but suddenly it feels like it’s ‘popping!’ and landing right in the mitt.”

“Yeah, that feeling. I’ve been too focused on preventing stolen bases, so I’ve been hunching my shoulders too much. Because of that, something felt off-balance. Since the balance wasn’t right, I had to throw harder, which made the balance even worse. When I practiced again this time, I felt something like the old feeling. I’ve been trying too hard. Since I felt like I was finding my balance, I overtrained too much. Who knew I’d catch a cold and get body aches in the middle of summer? Ha.”

“So, there was some progress?”

“Yeah, there was definitely some progress this time.”

“I see…….”