On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 190

“Kim In-hwan draws a walk. His first time on base today.”

“Most batters stand a bit further from the plate against Gu In-seon, right? It’s because Gu In-seon’s control isn’t great, and his pitches aren’t that fast. But Kim In-hwan is crowding the plate, showing his determination to get on base somehow. It’s inspiring to see him sacrifice his body like that when the team is in danger of a losing streak.”

As Song Seok-hyun stepped up to the plate, the Goat fans stirred.

“Ah, Song Seok-hyun is also crowding the plate. Is this a signal to throw inside?”

“Wales has been avoiding Song Seok-hyun all series, but this makes things difficult.”

Gu In-seon’s first pitch was inside.

The ball hit Song Seok-hyun in the butt.

“……Haa.”

Song Seok-hyun didn’t say anything, just put down his bat.

The Goat fans hurled insults at Gu In-seon, but he just wiped his lips once.

“Runners on first and second, no outs. Yu Seon-ho steps up to the plate.”

“Gu In-seon walks a batter and hits another, creating a crisis for himself in the bottom of the 6th.”

When Yu Seon-ho also crowded the plate, Gu In-seon bought some time by fiddling with his rosin bag.

“If you hit me, you know what’ll happen, right?”

Yu Seon-ho’s words made the Wales catcher swallow hard.

“That last one slipped. I didn’t really mean to hit him.”

“Enough. Stop talking nonsense and compete fairly. Anyway, I can’t hit your pitches either.”

The catcher signaled for an outside slider.

Gu In-seon’s first pitch missed by a mile.

The second and third pitches were also balls.

With a 3-0 count, Gu In-seon walked him.

“Bases loaded, no outs. Gu In-seon is in a bases-loaded situation without giving up a hit.”

“Next up is Choi Jae-wan. He’s been doing well at third base this year, right? He hasn’t gotten on base today, but he’s shown a tenacious approach.”

The catcher went to the mound.

“Hyung [older brother/senior], are you okay?”

“I’d rather face him than Seon-ho hyung a hundred times over.”

“How should we pitch him?”

“Let’s just overpower him.”

“He hits fastballs well. He’s weak against breaking balls.”

“Let’s focus on fastballs until we get two strikes. We can’t let him push our fastball around.”

“You confident, hyung?”

“He’s just a kid.”

Choi Jae-wan narrowed his stance slightly.

Seeing this, the catcher said,

“Are you copying Seok-hyun? How are you going to get power like that?”

Choi Jae-wan didn’t answer.

The catcher called for an outside fastball.

The pitch Gu In-seon threw was right down the middle, but it came in at over 150 km/h [kilometers per hour, approximately 93 mph].

Thwack!

“To deep center! It gets through! Choi Jae-wan’s timely hit! The runner from third, the runner from second, both score! The runner from first~~ comes in too! Choi Jae-wan to second! He stops at second! Choi Jae-wan’s 3-RBI double!”

“Choi Jae-wan really timed that one well. A concise and clean swing.”

“The Goat finally breaks the 0-0 tie in the 6th, scoring 3 runs. This shows that they can score even when the Goat’s cleanup hitters are silent.”

Wales’s manager, Song Jeong-nam, ran his hands over his bare face.

“They’re not all Fronde [referring to Song Seok-hyun]. We can’t just avoid Song Seok-hyun.”

Song Jeong-nam gave a wry smile.

Pischy, backed by 3 runs, allowed only a solo home run and shut down Wales’s offense for 8 innings, allowing only 1 run.

Kim Jeong-ryul got the save, making it 4-1.

Manager Ham Seong-hoon breathed a sigh of relief.

“Pegasus lost today. The gap is down to 3 games.”

The news delivered by the front office staff was a bonus.

“Pischy.”

When Ham Seong-hoon called out to Pischy, Pischy pointed at himself.

“Today, that was your best pitching.”

Pischy smiled at Ham Seong-hoon’s words.

To Be a Successful Catcher

Number One is Mine (1)

Monday.

For office workers, students, and housewives, it’s the end of the sweet weekend rest.

For baseball players, it’s an official day off.

It’s common to spend time with family or enjoy time with a lover or friends.

Jamsil [a district in Seoul known for its stadium] on Monday should be quiet, but today was different.

The practice field echoed with the cheerful sound of batting, and rough breaths poured out incessantly.

“Should we take a little break?”

“Yes. Let’s rest for a bit.”

When Yu Seon-ho stopped training first, the other players also stopped.

From core hitters like Yu Seon-ho, Lee Ji-seong, Kim In-hwan, and Song Seok-hyun to backup hitters like Park Jong-il, Jeong Baek-seon, and Jo Ji-ho, the practice field resembled a training camp.

“Hoo.”

“…….”

The players sat down and rested silently.

How long had they rested?

When Yu Seon-ho stood up, the other hitters also stood up.

“Let’s do one more cycle and then rest for today. Okay?”

“Yes!”

After finishing practice, they gathered in groups of twos and threes and left work.

Yu Seon-ho waved to the players leaving.

“See you tomorrow.”

“Good night.”

“Good work today.”

When Song Seok-hyun and Kim In-hwan finished cleaning up and came out, Yu Seon-ho put his arms around their shoulders.

“Good job.”

“You worked hard.”

“Shall we grab a bite to eat?”

Kim In-hwan scratched the back of his head as if he was in trouble.

“Well, that is…….”

Honk honk.

At that moment, a foreign car honked its horn, and a person got out of the car.

The person who got out of the car was short, but her face was even smaller, immediately catching the eye.

The woman shook her arms, her long hair fluttering.

“Here, here.”

Kim In-hwan lowered his head.

“Um…… I’m sorry. I don’t think I can. I have a prior engagement.”

“Okay. It looks like it. Hoo. Go on. It looks like she’s been waiting a long time.”

“I’m sorry. If there’s another chance next time…… Yes……. Then I’ll go first.”

“Okay. Go on.”

Kim In-hwan walked quickly away from Yu Seon-ho and walked to Han Ga-yeon.

Han Ga-yeon came to Kim In-hwan, put her arm around his and hugged him tightly.

“……Those were the days.”

Song Seok-hyun said, watching Yu Seon-ho’s expression.

“Sunbaenim [senior/respected colleague], I also have plans today…….”

“Okay. How could you not have plans at your age? Go on.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No. It’s okay. Go quickly.”

Han Ga-yeon put Kim In-hwan in the car and left.

Song Seok-hyun had already disappeared outside the stadium.

Only Yu Seon-ho stood on one side of Jamsil Stadium with his hands behind his back.

“Oh? Hyung, what are you doing not going home?”

“Jeong-ryul? What are you doing not going home?”

Kim Jeong-ryul was packing his bag and coming out of the stadium.

“I had something to do, so I came out late. What about you, hyung?”

“I’m about to go now too.”

“What were you doing not going home until now?”

“Shall we eat together?”

“Me?”

“Why? Do you have plans too?”

Kim Jeong-ryul laughed heartily.

“Understood. It’s obvious, the wedding is after the season ends. I have a lot to do, hyungnim [another term for older brother/senior].”

“……Why is everyone getting married so early? Didn’t they say kids these days get married late?”

“You know that baseball players all get married early. You’re the one who’s late. Look around you. Who your age hasn’t gotten married yet? You’re unusually late.”

“Wow, I heard that office workers these days get married when they’re my age.”

“Hyung, get married while you can still swing a bat. If you get married after you retire when you’re old, the wedding hall will be empty. If you’re going to do it, you should get married when you’re at your peak, so it looks good.”

“Do you get married for show? You, this guy, your thinking is all wrong.”

“I mean, it’s better to do it when it’s best. No, more than that, hyung. Do you not want to get married?”

Yu Seon-ho smacked his lips.

“Who doesn’t want to? The problem is that it doesn’t last long even if I date.”

“Ugh. If you keep coming out to play baseball even on holidays and playing baseball on weekdays and playing baseball during the spring season, who’s going to like that?”

“If I don’t do this, my skills won’t be maintained. What can I do?”

“Even if you go on blind dates, it’s always like that……. Still, do it in moderation. You have to date a little. Look at In-hwan. He’s flying around even more because he’s dating.”

“Rubbing salt in the wound, rubbing salt in the wound. Go on. I’m going now too.”

After Kim Jeong-ryul left, Yu Seon-ho went back into the stadium.

The place Yu Seon-ho headed to was the practice field.

He picked up the bat again and stood in his place.

“If I’m not skilled, I have to at least try hard. What else can I do?”

In the practice field, the sound of the bat turning didn’t stop for a long time.

* * *

Tuesday.

Suwon Stadium.

Suwon Stadium, which was usually crowded, was sold out from the start of the game today.

Fans wearing Pegasus uniforms and Goat uniforms filled every corner of Suwon Stadium.

“We have to step on the Goat this time and solidify our first place.”

“If we sweep Pegasus this time, we might be able to take first place.”

Among the fans pouring out their hopes, a woman wearing a hat pulled down low passed by.

Behind the woman followed a burly man and a small man.

“Here it is.”

“Good seats. You got them well. Good job, Young-seok.”

“I clicked like crazy again. It was so popular. The server was lagging.”

The three people sitting in the infield table seats were Kim Na-young, Jeong Mi-nam, and Kim Young-seok.

Jeong Mi-nam put chicken in his mouth and drank beer as soon as he sat down.

“Ah, good.”

“Are you already drinking?”

“I always drink before the game starts. Do you want a drink too?”

“I’m okay. Later.”

Jeong Mi-nam laughed.

“Is this your first time watching your boyfriend’s game in person?”

Kim Na-young glared and lowered her voice.

“Don’t talk about that in crowded places. Huh?”

Jeong Mi-nam flinched.

“Okay. You’re sensitive.”

Kim Young-seok chuckled.

“I was surprised by that bombshell statement yesterday. I can’t believe you two are really dating.”

“Well…… it just happened.”

“Na-young, are you shy too? Look at your red face.”

“Hey, are you teasing me?”

“I’m congratulating you. I thought you’d date someday, but I didn’t know it would be this fast. Right, Mi-nam?”

“Well, yeah. But when is Na-young’s boyfriend coming out? He’s going to hit a home run today since his girlfriend came.”

“Hey, Jeong Mi-nam……!”

As the game start time approached, all the players came out onto the field.

After the national anthem, Pegasus’s starting pitcher, Kang Hyung-chan, came to the mound.

“Kang Hyung-chan? Who’s that?”

Kim Young-seok answered Kim Na-young’s question right away.

“He’s a multi-position player who starts and pitches in the bullpen. His pitches are fast, and his control is decent……. Other than being a bit old, he’s a good pitcher.”

“Really? So he’s a good pitcher?”

“It’s a bit ambiguous. His pitches are good, but he lacks a finishing pitch, so he gives up a lot of fouls. There’s a reason why he hasn’t settled down even though he’s almost thirty now.”

Kang Hyung-chan gave up a hit to leadoff hitter Lee Ji-seong after 5 pitches.

He induced a double play with a changeup against the next batter, Seol Jin-il.

The Goat fans sighed.

“Is Seol Jin-il going to die if he doesn’t hit the first pitch?”

“I’m going crazy. Please stop!”

When the 3rd batter, Kim In-hwan, came out, the fans sang the cheer song.

“A strong man under the heavens! Kim In-hwan made of iron!”

Kim Na-young covered her ears.

“My ears are going to fall off. Why is the cheering so loud?”

“He’s a popular star. It’ll be even louder when Seok-hyun comes out later.”

“Have you been here before? To the baseball stadium?”