On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 164

“Why is it thanks to me?”

“I realized that this world isn’t a place where people go easy on each other.”

Kim Seong-hoon’s second pitch was a fastball outside.

-Strike!

Song Seok-hyun licked his lips.

“Ah… close, close.”

“Seong-hoon’s control is truly an art.”

“Seong-hoon hyung [older brother/male friend] should go to the majors.”

“Hey, that’s a terrible thing to say. What about our team if Seong-hoon leaves too?”

Kim Seong-hoon threw his third pitch.

Thwack!

-Strike! Out!

Song Seok-hyun swung and missed.

It was a slider breaking away outside.

“Hoo.”

Song Seok-hyun pursed his lips and stepped away from the plate.

A slider that breaks from outside to even further outside.

Song Seok-hyun came to the bench and sighed deeply.

“Tough, tough.”

Kim In-hwan asked.

“Isn’t Seong-hoon sunbae [senior/older colleague] really fierce today? He’s throwing so close to the body, he’s not kidding around today.”

“The fastball is good, but that slider is impossible for right-handed hitters. The way it curves outward is like a sidearm pitch.”

“It’s going to be hard to score today.”

“We need to score quickly on a day like today…”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

The two men’s eyes turned to Han Min-seok.

Han Min-seok put a towel over his eyes and wheezed.

Thwack!

Yoo Seon-ho hit Kim Seong-hoon’s fastball and reached second base.

Kim Seong-hoon’s expression hardened.

“Number 6 hitter, Jo Ji-ho, is coming up. He’s been mostly a backup player recently.”

“As Choi Jae-wan’s performance slowly improves, Jo Ji-ho’s position has become ambiguous. He can play first and third base, but it’s hard to say he’s good at either. Not having a definite position is fatal in the competition for a starting spot.”

“While we’re talking, the first pitch is a strike.”

“Looking at Jo Ji-ho’s swing, his timing is way off. His bat can’t keep up.”

“His recent batting average is .211… His performance is very disappointing.”

Since his bat couldn’t keep up with Kim Seong-hoon’s fastball, the slider was out of the question.

Three pitches, three strikes.

The next batter, Kang Ha-young, was out on a ground ball after four pitches.

“It’s turning into a pitching duel today. Neither team has scored.”

5th inning, top of the order.

Han Min-seok blinked.

“What inning is it now?”

“5th inning.”

“Already? I haven’t thrown many pitches.”

“Sunbae-nim [term of respect for a senior colleague], let’s go out for now. It’s time to switch sides.”

“Already? I haven’t rested much yet?”

The lead batter in the top of the 5th inning was number 4 hitter, Kim Wook.

Kim Wook shook his head as he stepped into the batter’s box.

“Didn’t they say he was sick today?”

“He’s touch-and-go.”

“Then he should be at home resting, why is he here?”

“It’s like a last wish.”

“That’s a scary wish. Why is his pitch so intense today?”

“If you can’t hit the pitch of someone who’s touch-and-go, you shouldn’t be a home run king.”

Thwack!

-Strike!

A fastball digging into the body.

Kim Wook stuck out his tongue.

“No joke. Is he not sick, but a Super Saiyan?”

“Hey, Min-seok sunbae is practically throwing in his sleep right now.”

“Is he sleepwalking?”

Thwack!

-Strike!

Kim Wook looked at his bat, which had turned after the ball passed.

The speed on the scoreboard was 152 km/h [approximately 94 mph].

“I thought it was like 160 km/h [approximately 99 mph]. Give me a ball.”

“Yes, yes. Of course.”

As Song Seok-hyun gave the sign, Han Min-seok threw without hesitation.

Kim Wook swung, and the ball went into the mitt.

-Strike! Out!

“Three-pitch strikeout! Kim Wook swings and misses at a high outside pitch.”

“That was a dangerous high pitch, but the location was good. It’s a slightly breaking ball that hitters can’t stand.”

Kim Wook returned to the bench and stuck out his tongue.

“His fastball is no joke today. Wow, is he really sick? It seems like his pitch is getting better.”

-Strike! Out!

“Strikeout! Strikeout! Today, a K! K! K! show is unfolding. Kim Wook, Kim Seong-hyun, and Jung Yong-wook, three consecutive strikeouts! He overpowers the hitters with only his fastball. This is Han Min-seok. This is Han Min-seok’s fastball.”

“Kim Wook, the best hitter when it comes to targeting pitches, Kim Seong-hyun, a .300 hitter for 10 consecutive years, and Jung Yong-wook, the best catcher in the league. To strike out three of the best hitters in the league in a row? Wow, this is… Han Min-seok’s pitch is different today. It seems better than usual.”

Han Min-seok returned to the bench immediately after getting the strikeouts.

He drank water, put a water-soaked towel over his eyes, and slumped down.

Perfect through 5 innings.

Whether Han Min-seok knew it or not, he just opened his mouth with a blank look.

-Strike! Out!

“Three strikeouts for Kim Seong-hoon as well! Today, the fierce battle between the two pitchers is amazing. Neither of them shows any signs of backing down.”

“Kim Seong-hoon is a player who was called the national team’s right-handed ace, but Han Min-seok’s performance today is surprising. He usually shows inconsistent skills, but today he seems to be performing even better than his usual best.”

“Didn’t they say that Han Min-seok had a cold before the game today?”

“Haha. I definitely heard that too… It must have been a very mild cold.”

Han Min-seok removed the towel from his eyes at the sound of the players’ footsteps.

“Do I have to go out already?”

“No. Keep resting. Not yet.”

“Ah, really?”

Han Min-seok covered his eyes with the towel again.

The bench is usually noisy during cleaning time, but today it was like a temple.

The players moved quietly, and even then, they sat back down, conscious of the other players’ eyes.

“Ah, damn… we need to score at least one point.”

“This is driving me crazy. We have to win today…”

The person involved, Han Min-seok, was carefree, but the hitters were getting impatient and stomping their feet.

Manager Ham Seong-hoon asked the pitching coach.

“It looks like Kim Seong-hoon will pitch a complete game today, too?”

“He’s only thrown sixty-two pitches through the 5th inning, so a complete game is possible.”

“Hoo, I want to take Min-seok out, but I can’t…”

“It doesn’t make sense to take him out when he’s pitching a perfect game.”

“How’s his fever?”

“When I checked earlier, it was 36.9 degrees Celsius [98.4 degrees Fahrenheit]. Within the normal range.”

“But why is he like that? Is it because he still has a cold?”

“I don’t know. Anyway, I don’t think we need to worry too much about his fever.”

“Let’s go as far as we can. A perfect game… I also want to see it in person.”

After the cleaning time, Song Seok-hyun tapped Han Min-seok’s knee twice.

Han Min-seok silently took off the towel and got up.

“Aham, let’s go.”

He yawned widely and went to the mound.

Pegasus changed their strategy to increase the number of pitches by holding the bat short and hitting to the opposite field, but it was useless.

Pegasus’s lower batting order couldn’t stop Han Min-seok’s heated fastball.

Strikeout.

Six consecutive strikeouts.

Pegasus’s manager Choi Seong-yeon’s brow furrowed.

The manager’s mood was conveyed to the bench as it was.

All the Pegasus players shut their mouths and watched carefully.

“Hoo, this is fun.”

Only one person on the Pegasus bench, Kim Seong-hoon, smiled as he looked at the opposite Goat bench.

-Out!

As Kim Seong-hoon got three batters out, Han Min-seok came up and struck out three batters in a row.

“Nine consecutive strikeouts! Only one away from the KPBL [Korean Professional Baseball League] record!”

“I’m already starting to sweat wondering if Han Min-seok can set a new record against Pegasus.”

“Moreover, today’s game is still perfect.”

“Today… the reporters should be paying attention to Jamsil [stadium in Seoul].”

Kim Seong-hoon came up in the bottom of the 7th inning and gave up two hits, putting himself in a pinch, but then increased the out count by mixing in two strikeouts.

Top of the 8th inning.

As Han Min-seok went to the mound, tension flowed through the ground.

Still a perfect game.

One more strikeout to tie the record for consecutive strikeouts.

One more to break the record.

The Goat players on defense and the Pegasus players on offense all had dry lips.

The lead batter in the top of the 8th inning was Kim Wook.

Kim Wook didn’t even joke with Song Seok-hyun.

Han Min-seok threw the ball as soon as Kim Wook stepped in.

Beeeep!

With a loud whistle, the ball went over the left field fence.

“Foul! It’s a foul. A foul that narrowly misses the foul pole.”

“That was dangerous. It looks like Kim Wook aimed for it properly.”

“One batter away from tying the record.”

Han Min-seok’s next pitch was an outside fastball.

Kim Wook swung his bat, but the ball was already in the mitt.

“154km/h [approximately 96 mph]! The highest speed of the day comes in the top of the 8th inning.”

“Isn’t that Han Min-seok’s highest speed? I thought Han Min-seok’s highest speed was around 150 [approximately 93 mph].”

“Kim Wook steps away from the plate to catch his breath.”

Kim Wook loosened his grip on the bat.

Lightly, lightly.

Relax your body and just watch the ball.

Just watch the ball-.

-Strike! Out!

“Strikeout! It’s a strikeout! The record for consecutive strikeouts by a batter has been tied!”

“What was that changeup just now? Suddenly a 136km/h [approximately 85 mph] changeup flew into the middle.”

Kim Wook looked at Song Seok-hyun instead of Han Min-seok.

“You, you sly bastard.”

Kim Wook smiled and stepped off the plate.

Song Seok-hyun also laughed it off.

Five outs away from a perfect game.

One out away from a new record.

As a catcher, Song Seung-joon

Battery (2) [baseball term for pitcher and catcher]

In the stands, the fans lowered their voices one by one.

Both Goat fans and Pegasus fans held their breath.

Han Min-seok on the mound was motionless.

“Kim Seong-hyun is at the plate.”

“Kim Wook is also a tricky player, but in some ways, Kim Seong-hyun is the most difficult hitter to face. He has the ability to hit twenty home runs a year, but he is one of the best hitters in the league in terms of accuracy, hitting .300 for 10 consecutive years. It’s a great thing to have a career batting average of over .300.”

“You’re saying he’s a hitter with power and accuracy.”

“He’s right in front of achieving a new record, but it’s not easy. The Goat’s battery will have to play carefully.”

New record.

Song Seok-hyun took a deep breath.

Kim Seong-hyun, who stepped into the plate, took his stance.

‘Four-seam. Outside.’

In today’s game, Han Min-seok never shook his head once.

Quickly, quickly.

As Han Min-seok lifted his leg, Kim Seong-hyun also lifted his leg.

Thwack!

With a cool sound, the ball flew like lightning.