On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 195

“Who does Pegasus have catching? It’s Jung Yong-wook! He’s a master at catching batters off guard. I don’t think Yoo Sun-ho expected him to use a curveball as a finishing pitch instead of a decoy.”

The next batter, Choi Jae-wan, grounded into a double play.

End of the inning.

In the bottom of the 2nd, Han Min-seok also ended the inning with three consecutive groundouts.

“Both teams’ pitchers are performing at a high level today. The batters aren’t finding it easy to get hits.”

“Roy Scheber is a pitcher with excellent control. That’s what makes him so reliable. But Han Min-seok, while capable of brilliance, is also inconsistent. It seems like today is one of his good days.”

“So, you’re saying Han Min-seok has the advantage?”

“I’m saying they’re evenly matched. At least for now.”

Both teams remained scoreless through the 3rd inning.

Pegasus’s manager, Choi Seong-yeon, made the first move.

Bottom of the 4th.

Lead-off hitter Shim Chang-gyu attempted a surprise bunt towards first base.

Han Min-seok caught the ball rolling towards third and threw to first, but it was a very close play.

Shim Chang-gyu raised both hands and roared.

“A surprise bunt! A surprise bunt here!”

“Manager Choi Seong-yeon is taking a gamble. He manages the regular season well, but he’s even stronger in short-term games. That means he’s good at using tactics. Han Min-seok’s bunt defense isn’t that great. The tactic came at a time when he didn’t expect the lead-off hitter to attempt a surprise bunt.”

Han Min-seok frowned.

There’s no attack more demoralizing than a bunt single.

Manager Choi Seong-yeon’s strategy didn’t stop there.

The next batter was power hitter Kim Seong-hyun.

The runner was the speedy Shim Chang-gyu.

It was another moment for a tactic.

Shim Chang-gyu shortened and lengthened his lead at first base, trying to provoke Han Min-seok.

Shim Chang-gyu looked Han Min-seok straight in the eye and swayed his body.

Manager Ham Seong-hoon muttered with his hands behind his back.

“Such psychological warfare……”

Pitcher Han Min-seok is a left-handed pitcher.

He has to glance at first base while pitching.

For the impatient Han Min-seok, having the runner sway his body in front of him is a way to get under his skin.

It’s not a major tactic, but it’s cost-effective.

Han Min-seok’s pitches have good velocity, but his control isn’t always perfect.

If he’s distracted by the runner at first base, he might make a mistake in his battle with the batter.

Even if there’s no mistake, it’s a success if they can rattle the opposing pitcher.

Thwack!

-Safe.

“Han Min-seok attempts a pickoff.”

“Shim Chang-gyu is taking a pretty long lead. That’s going to annoy the pitcher, right?”

Song Seok-hyun briefly got up and signaled.

‘Inside. Fastball. High.’

“Hmm……”

Han Min-seok tilted his head from side to side.

Demanding an inside high fastball to a home run hitter as the first pitch…

It’s a location that both the catcher and pitcher find *burdensome* [risky/uncomfortable] unless they have a lot of guts.

But if you think about it the other way, now is the perfect chance to throw the ball to that location.

Because a daring gamble becomes more difficult when the count is against you.

“Hoo.”

Han Min-seok smiled slightly.

Usually, he’s like a nerdy and clueless rookie, but when he’s on the mound, he becomes a sly fox.

Sometimes his pitch selection is daring, and sometimes it’s persistent.

As Han Min-seok was about to throw the ball, first base runner Shim Chang-gyu increased his lead and ran towards second base.

It’s impossible to know if he’s really stealing or doing a fake steal, but it was perfect for provoking the pitcher.

Thwack!

The ball, thrown far inside towards the batter, made Kim Han-sung flinch back.

As the batter retreated, Song Seok-hyun was seen taking the ball out of his mitt.

Shim Chang-gyu, who was returning to first base after attempting a fake steal, was startled.

Wasn’t Song Seok-hyun about to throw to first?

“Song Seok-hyun to first!”

Shim Chang-gyu stretched his arm towards first base.

Song Seok-hyun’s throw landed right in first baseman Kim In-hwan’s mitt.

First baseman Kim In-hwan grabbed the ball and immediately tagged Shim Chang-gyu’s hand.

The umpire paused for a moment.

-Safe!

“Safe! He’s safe. It was close, but he’s safe.”

“Shim Chang-gyu’s heart must have skipped a beat just now. Han Min-seok’s quick motion isn’t usually that fast. So, he confidently increased his lead, but how would he have known the catcher would try to pick him off at first? Moreover, it’s standard to throw a fastball outside to check the runner, but this time he threw the ball inside towards the batter. This makes it even easier to let your guard down. Thanks to Kim Han-sung flinching back, he also helped Song Seok-hyun’s throw.”

“Shim Chang-gyu won’t be able to extend his lead easily now. Isn’t Song Seok-hyun’s throw already the best in the league?”

“It hasn’t been officially confirmed, but he was a pitcher who threw over 150km/h [93 mph] in high school. There are even stories that he threw 160km/h [99 mph]. Even in Major League Baseball, it would be hard to find a player with a faster throw than Song Seok-hyun. Song Seok-hyun’s pop time [time from catch to throw to second base] doesn’t exceed 1.9 seconds. This is A-class even in the major leagues.”

Pegasus’s manager Choi Seong-yeon’s eyebrow furrowed slightly.

If another catcher had made the pickoff attempt to first, he would have cheered.

It’s rare for a catcher to catch a runner at first with a pickoff attempt.

A catcher’s pickoff attempt to first isn’t usually to actually catch the runner, but to keep him honest.

Attempting a pickoff to first with a runner like Shim Chang-gyu means the catcher’s mindset is immature.

But the catcher they’re facing now is Song Seok-hyun. They have to think differently from typical catchers.

Shim Chang-gyu almost got out.

Demanding an inside ball can’t be seen as a coincidence either.

In addition to causing the batter and runner to let their guard down, he may have even calculated that the batter would flinch out of the batter’s box.

If this series of events is true, the range of tactics that Pegasus can use is reduced.

No matter how good a catcher’s arm is and how short his pop time is, the pitcher’s ability accounts for 70% of preventing the steal.

If it were Han Min-seok, who doesn’t have a fast quick motion, a steal would be worth trying, but Shim Chang-gyu froze after the pickoff attempt to first.

The mere fact that he could throw the ball to first at any moment forces Shim Chang-gyu to reduce his lead by half a step.

“Huh. Hehehe.”

A hollow laugh burst out.

A twenty-year-old is designing the game.

It’s a tactic that even a veteran manager can’t easily come up with.

It’s impossible for Gote’s Ham Seong-hoon to devise and convey the tactic in less than a minute; it’s a complex tactic.

In conclusion… Song Seok-hyun came up with and implemented it all by himself in that short amount of time.

“……How did a guy like that end up on Gote?”

“Pardon?”

“No. It’s nothing.”

Choi Seong-yeon changed the signals again.

The signal was to reduce the lead and focus on the battle with the batter.

“Hey, junior.”

Kim Han-sung spoke to Song Seok-hyun.

“Take it easy on me. I’m still sore from where I got hit, you know? If I get hit again, I might really lose it.”

“Senior.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you better at fighting than In-hwan hyung?”

“What?”

While he was momentarily stunned by the sudden question, Han Min-seok’s ball came in along the outside edge of the plate.

The bat swung in a hurry, but it only cut through the air.

Changeup.

-Strike!

“1-1. Han Min-seok induces a swing and a miss.”

“Han Min-seok’s changeup has improved a lot. It fades away when the batter tries to hit it.”

Kim Han-sung narrowed his eyes.

“What are you talking about?”

“If your body gets hit by the ball, I’m going to hide behind In-hwan hyung.”

“……Ha.”

There’s no guarantee he won’t throw inside.

Kim Han-sung raised his bat high.

“If you’re going to hide, hide well, before I catch you first.”

“But if the ball comes this time, it’s going towards your head, so you won’t have time to catch me.”

“What, you punk?”

As Kim Han-sung gritted his teeth, Han Min-seok’s ball flew in.

The ball is coming right down the middle.

Kim Han-sung was about to swing the bat, but the ball curved inside, inside.

Slider.

A slider aimed at the batter’s body.

As Kim Han-sung flinched, the ball was already in the mitt.

-Strike!

“1-2. Han Min-seok gets two consecutive strikes after giving up one ball.”

“That was a dangerous ball just now. It looked like he was aiming for a back door slider [slider that breaks from outside to inside], but it went too far inside.”

Kim Han-sung gripped his bat tightly as if he would break it.

He was just trying to give a warning, but that young punk is toying with him.

He was furious, but he decided not to say anything.

He realized why Kim Wook told him not to mess with him if possible.

He’s the type to pay you back double if you mess with him.

He’s an extremely cautious guy when he’s a batter, but he’s a thug when he’s a catcher.

“Changeup is coming. Try to hit it.”

The anger that Kim Han-sung had been suppressing resurfaced.

The ball that Han Min-seok threw came along the outside edge of the plate.

His reaction was faster than he thought.

He swung the bat, but it was empty.

Thwack!

-Strike! Out!

“Strikeout. Han Min-seok strikes out Kim Han-sung.”

“152km/h [94 mph]. His highest speed today.”

“Kim Han-sung couldn’t react to the fastball.”

Kim Han-sung broke his bat over his knee.

Why did he fall for the word changeup and swing at the changeup timing?

He was frustrated because he felt like a fool and pathetic.

“Whoa, whoa. Calm down, you punk.”

When Kim Wook said a word, Kim Han-sung picked up the broken bat and headed to the bench.

Kim Wook spoke to Song Seok-hyun as he stepped into the batter’s box.

“What did you say to him? Why is he acting like that when he never does?”

The umpire chuckled when he heard that.

“There’s something going on, right?”

“There’s nothing. Han-sung sunbaenim [senior/older player] seems to have a lot of pent up anger.”

“What do you mean, Han-sung? He’s the nicest guy in the world.”

“Ah, sunbaenim.”

“Why, why.”

“Changeup is coming. Hit one.”

The umpire made a sound.

The ball that Han Min-seok threw came along the outside edge of the plate.

Kim Wook didn’t swing.

Thwack

-Strike.

“How can you not hit it even though I put the changeup right in the strike zone for you?”

“……He’s really throwing a changeup.”

“This time it’s a fastball. Be sure to hit it.”

Before Kim Wook could even answer, Han Min-seok threw the ball.

The ball is coming right down the middle.

As Kim Wook swung, the ball curved sharply inside.

Clang!

The ball, hit off the end of the bat, rolled in front of the pitcher.

Han Min-seok grabbed the ball and threw it to second base.

The second baseman stepped on the base and threw it to first.

It was a double play.

“I told you it was a fastball. It’s so fast that the ball curves.”

Song Seok-hyun muttered as if he wanted Kim Wook to hear him.

Kim Wook looked sideways at Song Seok-hyun in disbelief.

“Wow…… Huh. Hehehehehe.”

He’s not even angry.

How did he end up like this with that young punk?

He was trying to tease a young junior with jokes, but he’s getting backstabbed instead.

It would have been better if he hadn’t said anything in the first place.

Getting angry now would only make him look ridiculous.

“I’m pissed…….”

Kim Wook tossed his bat onto his shoulder and returned to the bench.

Top of the 5th.

Oh Jin-young, who came up as Gote’s 7th batter, turned Roy Scheber’s curveball into a home run.