On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 168

“Ha, hahaha. What’s with the cheesy joke?”

“I’ll take your advice to heart, *sunbae* [senior/mentor].”

“Good, let’s work well together from now on. We should make something happen this season. We’ve come this far, shouldn’t we go even further?”

“Of course. I’m planning to be ambitious, too.”

“Let’s get a ring. I want to retire with a ring on my finger.”

“I want to be a ring collector, too.”

“I promise you this. If we win the Korean Series, I’m willing to buy you a car.”

“Ah…! I’m so grateful, but why would I get a car when our team wins?”

“Because if our team wins, it’ll be thanks to you doing well.”

Song Seok-hyun rolled his eyes.

“*Sunbae*, you’re being too serious.”

“I am serious. Let’s do well. I can even look at the foreign car lineup for you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Oh, of course, a new one, not a used one.”

“Surely not a used car… Wow, were you thinking about a used car?”

“No, I’m just saying.”

“*Sunbae*, your generosity… is surprisingly shocking… to think you were considering a used car.”

“I’m telling you, no. *Hyung* [older brother/male friend] will get you a good one. Just hit home runs like crazy.”

The two stood up.

“See you tomorrow. You can’t come out for a few days, right?”

“Yes, my forearm is swollen, so I can’t put as much power into my mitt and bat. I think I need to rest for a few days.”

“Don’t rest for too long. And make sure to come out when I’m pitching.”

“I’ll try my best.”

“Okay, okay.”

The two parted ways.

Han Min-seok and Song Seok-hyun both disappeared into the crowd with faint smiles.

Success as a Catcher

We Can’t Be Stopped Easily (1)

[Can Song Seok-hyun’s Absence Be Filled?]

[Gote: Will They Defend or Lose 4th Place?]

[Gote in Crisis Again at Jamsil Stadium Without the King]

Ham Seong-hoon folded the sports newspaper.

The coaches gathered in the manager’s office burst into hollow laughter.

“It’s a complete uproar just because Seok-hyun is gone.”

“I know, it’s a total frenzy.”

“It seems like there are too many people who want us to fail.”

Ham Seong-hoon chuckled.

“That just means we’re getting a lot of attention. Seok-hyun has become a national star, so it can’t be helped. Right now, who else on our team can be considered a national star besides Seok-hyun… there aren’t many, are there?”

“Hmm.”

“Aren’t In-hwan and Seon-ho good enough?”

“In-hwan isn’t quite a star yet, and Seon-ho is good, but his recognition doesn’t match his skill. Being consistently good doesn’t really help with recognition, does it?”

“How did our team become the Song Seok-hyun one-man team?”

“How fortunate is it that Seok-hyun is doing so well? I, for one, think it’s fortunate.”

“Manager, Seok-hyun is doing well, but if we only promote Seok-hyun like this, it could cause problems with team chemistry.”

Ham Seong-hoon shook his head.

“That’s only the case when Seok-hyun is an outsider or has personality issues. A native of Seoul, a Gote franchise star, the youngest at twenty, starting catcher, and a diligent personality. Who would be jealous of Seok-hyun? Rather, the more we’re perceived as a Seok-hyun one-man team, the better for us. People can’t judge us objectively, can they? Prejudice is a scary thing.”

The pitching coach said.

“But will this three-game series against the Scorpions be okay? Aside from Seok-hyun being out, it seems like a waste to bring up Cheon-woon and Jin-oh in succession… Isn’t that essentially a six-man rotation? Considering we have a day off on Monday, it’s a seven-man rotation. This is a luxury for our team. Wouldn’t it be better to move Jin-oh to the bullpen to maximize our strength?”

Ham Seong-hoon sighed deeply.

“Do you think our team is sailing smoothly without any problems right now?”

“Yes?”

“We’ve only won two games after breaking the losing streak. No one knows when Chang-hoon or Min-seok might have a dip in their condition again. It’s much easier to pull up a starting pitcher than to bring up a bullpen pitcher as a starter. Above all, do you know that we’ve hardly had any rest this season? We haven’t had any games canceled. I counted only three games. It’s rained so much, but only three of our games have been canceled. Both the starters and the bullpen are overloaded. This is just a temporary measure. We’ll watch the situation for another two to three weeks, and if Chang-hoon and Min-seok are okay, we’ll move one of Cheon-woon or Jin-oh to the bullpen, and if there’s someone who’s not doing well, we’ll replace them.”

The pitching coach nodded.

“I understand. I was too hasty. It just seems like the bullpen is very short these days…”

“Well, isn’t the bullpen always short no matter how many pitchers you have? Still, our bullpen can still hold on.”

“If only Man-seong, Seok-hyun, or Hwan-yoon were here, we could at least rotate them…”

Ham Seong-hoon suddenly lowered his head.

“I’m sorry. I pushed for the surgery.”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

“Still, we have to do things according to nature. Even though athletes live with injuries, we should let them rest when they’re in pain and fix them when they’re hurt. Hwan-yoon will be back next year, and Man-seong and Seok-hyun are rehabilitating quickly, so they’ll be back by the year after next at the latest.”

“The year after next… Hah, that’s far, far away.”

“Man-seong and Seok-hyun are both in their thirties now. If we’re greedy and rush them back, they’ll retire in one or two years. But if we wait and endure those one or two years… well… they might not even be able to play for a year because of their age, but they could play for three or five years.”

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Gote is your team. You have to cherish it for it to become a strong team.”

The coaches cleared their throats and bowed their heads.

“Alright, alright. Let’s start the meeting for the three-game series against the Scorpions. We need to be well-prepared before the players come in, don’t we?”

“Yes, first, let me tell you about how to attack Kang Gu-il, who will be pitching in today’s game…”

* * *

The three-game series without Song Seok-hyun.

It felt awkward for Song Seok-hyun to be sitting on the bench instead of on the field.

“It feels like I’ve gone back to my backup days.”

“You’re having all sorts of thoughts while resting comfortably.”

Kim In-hwan nudged Song Seok-hyun’s foot.

“Why did you come out instead of resting at home?”

“A company employee has to go to work.”

“Are you a company employee?”

“If you work, you’re a company employee, I guess.”

“Even though you can’t play in the game anyway.”

“Think of me as a victory totem, then.”

“Ah, a victory totem? That’s not bad.”

Kim In-hwan touched Song Seok-hyun’s nose.

“Please let me have a son~”.

“*Hyung*, do you have a kid?”

“Just kidding, just kidding. Ugh, you’re no fun.”

“I’m just kidding too, just kidding. Ugh, you’re so serious.”

Song Seok-hyun exchanged jokes, but soon became gloomy.

What it feels like to not be able to play in the game and just watch it.

As Song Seok-hyun became depressed, a hand suddenly offered him a drink.

“Have a drink. Watching the game also requires a surprising amount of energy.”

“Ah, thank you, *sunbae*.”

It was Jo Ji-ho who offered the drink.

“I was too preoccupied to congratulate you. Congratulations on the walk-off home run.”

“Congratulations for what? If I didn’t have something like that, would I be able to eat here? I have to occasionally hit a lucky shot like that to avoid getting cut and to hang in there.”

“I belatedly saw the highlights, and your home run was amazing. It was awesome.”

“That wasn’t even a clean hit. Honestly, I thought it was an out too.”

“Isn’t it even more amazing that it went over even though it wasn’t a clean hit?”

“Amazing? You’re more amazing for hitting balls out of Jamsil Stadium. Hehe. How can I hit like you? Do you eat something good?”

“I wish I could learn if there was a secret.”

“Hey, don’t be like that, tell me something. You must have some know-how.”

“Know-how? Hmm…”

Song Seok-hyun raised a finger.

“Well, doing anything has five steps. You set a goal, then make a plan, execute it, analyze what’s wrong, and improve it. Ah, four steps. Goal, plan, execution, feedback. You have to set a good goal first.”

“Goal? The goal is to play baseball well.”

“That’s not a goal, it’s just… um… so, a goal is a specific number. Like raising your batting average by .010, or raising your on-base percentage by .010, something like that.”

“Then for me, it’s batting average. I wouldn’t have any regrets if I could just hit .250.”

“Why do you think you can’t hit .250, *sunbae*?”

“Me?”

Jo Ji-ho raised his eyes.

“Because my eye isn’t very good, and my contact isn’t very good, I guess?”

“That’s too broad… For example, what do you think is your biggest weakness?”

“Being weak against breaking balls? I can hit fastballs reasonably well.”

“Then you should start with that first. After filling in the most lacking part, another lacking part will come out. If you keep filling in the lacking parts like that, your skills will naturally improve overall.”

“No, so how do I fix being weak against breaking balls?”

“What kind of breaking ball are you weak against? Outside breaking balls? Curveballs?”

“Both?”

“You have to pick one.”

“Then it’s definitely outside breaking balls.”

“Then the answer is simple. Stand closer to the plate.”

“Huh? What’s that? Then I’ll be weak against inside pitches.”

“You’ll definitely have a weakness. But you’re weighing your options. Giving up on inside pitches and aiming for outside pitches, or keeping your weakness against outside pitches as is. Honestly, if you stand close to the plate, most pitchers won’t be able to throw inside pitches. Especially in Korea, they can’t throw inside pitches very well. There aren’t that many pitchers with good control, and we all know each other, so if you hit someone, it’s not good.”

“…Is that so?”

“First, give up on inside pitches and stand close to the plate.”

“Then if I get attacked with inside pitches, I move back and hit?”

“No, you can’t do that. Then you’ll be attacked with your existing weakness again. In that case, you can slightly open your stance, use a lighter bat, drop the inside pitch to the ground with an inside-out swing, or pull it foul. There are many ways. First, focus on the weakest part, then improve it every day. Even if it’s a goal, it doesn’t have to be grand. How will I compensate for my biggest weakness? Then a plan will naturally come up. If you have a plan, you have to execute it, and as you do, you’ll see the strengths and weaknesses, and you’ll deal with it accordingly. It’s a repetition of that. Every day after the game, you review it. What is my biggest weakness? How should I compensate for it? Is this compensation correct?”

Jo Ji-ho shook his head.

“Ugh, my head hurts. Do you play baseball like that? Isn’t it hard?”

Song Seok-hyun blinked.

“We’re professionals.”

At the word ‘professional,’ Jo Ji-ho couldn’t say anything.

“Shouldn’t professionals be different? It’s not like high school or college where you do what the coach tells you to do, you have to coach yourself.”

“Is… that so?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been messed up since high school, so I’ve been doing things on my own. Maybe that’s why it’s natural for me… Well, everyone has their own style.”

Jo Ji-ho was lost in thought.

Song Seok-hyun finished his drink and left to go to the bathroom.

The bench where Song Seok-hyun had been was quiet.

It wasn’t just Jo Ji-ho who had heard Song Seok-hyun’s story.

“…Tsk.”

Jo Ji-ho smacked his lips.

Infielder Jung Baek-seon patted Jo Ji-ho’s shoulder.

“We can do well from now on, right? Isn’t that right?”

“Hoo, I guess so.”

Jo Ji-ho leaned back on the bench.

“It feels like I’ve wasted my time… Haha.”

* * *

The three-game series without Song Seok-hyun.

Jung Cheon-woon, Jung Jin-oh, and Fish, the 5th starter, 6th starter, and 1st starter.

Both the starting lineup and the weight of the batting lineup were weakened, but the results were remarkable.

The first game was a come-from-behind loss, but Jung Cheon-woon showed the potential of an innings eater by pitching a complete game.

The second game was a 1-0 victory with Jung Jin-oh’s 112-pitch shutout.

The third game was a 9-2 victory led by Fish’s dominant pitching with seven scoreless innings.

Two wins and one loss, a winning series.

With two wins against the second-place team, the Scorpions, Gote rose to third place alone.

As the team gained momentum, Ham Seong-hoon made an even bolder decision.

He didn’t take Song Seok-hyun, who was able to hold a bat, on the road trip to the Foxes.

He was still not fully recovered enough to hold a mitt, so he was considerate of him so that he could return to his starting catcher position in perfect condition.

There were many external criticisms that it was excessive confidence, but Ham Seong-hoon did not waver.

Three weekend games on the road in Busan.

Gote won three consecutive games and continued their new five-game winning streak.

Everything comes down to results.

Ham Seong-hoon’s decision to leave out Song Seok-hyun was evaluated as a bold decision through meticulous calculation, and he was nicknamed the strategist of the ground.

Three consecutive wins against the Foxes.

Second place alone.

The next game was also a three-game series in Busan during the week.

The Foxes cursed their luck as they faced Gote again after three consecutive losses.

Above all, the most troublesome thing was the fact that Song Seok-hyun was returning.

* * *

First day back.

Ham Seong-hoon greeted Song Seok-hyun.

“How is holding the mitt? Is it okay?”

“Yes, there’s no problem at all. I’m perfectly fine.”

“That’s a relief. I heard from the hospital and the coaches that there’s no problem. Show me your arm.”

“Here…”

“Wow, the bruise is still bad. The swelling hasn’t gone down completely either.”

“Well, it couldn’t be helped since I was hit by a baseball. But there’s no problem playing the game.”

“At this point, you still have to be careful. Let’s postpone holding the mitt a little longer.”

“Yes? I’m okay?”

“The forearm isn’t a large muscle, so there’s not much muscle mass. If you catch a lot of balls over 140 km/h, it can put a strain on your arm. Then the recovery will be slower. I’d like to let you rest more if I could, but it’s difficult given the circumstances. Let’s go out as a designated hitter for now.”

“Then what about Yoo Seon-ho *sunbaenim*… [senior player]?”

“I’m going to send him to left field for now. I’ve been practicing him since last week anyway.”

“…Isn’t he famous for his defensive blunders?”

“I’ve told him to just go back no matter what. He has to play retreating defense.”

“Will it work…?”

“He likes playing defense himself. Unless it’s a complete disaster, we have to trust Yoo Seon-ho’s offensive power.”