On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 201

The umpire stepped in before the two could start arguing.

“Let’s continue the game.”

The game resumed under the umpire’s mediation.

From the first pitch, Lee Chang-hoon threw two outside fastballs to test the strike zone.

The result was two balls.

“Hoo.”

Lee Chang-hoon started touching his rosin bag from the beginning of the game.

“The umpire’s zone is tight today.”

“Umpire Lee Ki-young’s zone is always tight. Both teams’ batteries [pitcher and catcher] need to keep this in mind as they play.”

Two balls.

Lee Chang-hoon threw a changeup that started outside and then dropped.

-Ball.

The batter waited without swinging.

Lee Chang-hoon raised his eyebrows and sighed deeply.

“Kim Ha-kyun is being cautious with his swings today.”

“Kim Ha-kyun’s on-base percentage isn’t that high. He’s good at making contact, so he lacks patience, but today, he seems to be setting up to hit with a tight zone.”

“It’s already three balls. It’ll be troublesome if we let the fast-footed Kim Ha-kyun get on base.”

“It’s better to be aggressive. Kim Ha-kyun isn’t a power hitter.”

The catcher signaled for a curveball.

The goal was to steal his timing with a slow pitch, but it didn’t work out.

Thwack!

“Left fielder! Left fielder—a hit in front! Kim Ha-kyun cleanly gets a hit.”

“Usually, the ball goes to the newly substituted fielder, but today it goes right in front of Yoo Seon-ho, who came in as a substitute.”

“Another player might have tried to catch it with a slide, but Yoo Seon-ho plays it safe.”

“There’s no choice. Considering Yoo Seon-ho’s defense, it’s best to position him as deep as possible and just watch out for balls that go over his head.”

As soon as Kim Ha-kyun reached first base, he widened his lead.

Lee Chang-hoon quickly checked him, and he returned to the base standing up.

Kim Ha-kyun nibbled away at his lead, then shortened it, irritating Lee Chang-hoon.

Catcher Seo Il-hyuk signaled to pitcher Lee Chang-hoon to ignore the runner and focus on the batter.

Allves’s second batter, Jung Soo-young, is a .300 hitter.

As a hitter, he was a better player than Kim Ha-kyun.

Whack!

Whack!

Two fastballs that went outside were balls.

Lee Chang-hoon licked his dry lips.

It was time to jam him with an inside pitch, but Lee Chang-hoon hesitated.

Seo Il-hyuk signaled to jam him with an inside fastball.

Batter Jung Soo-young was standing close to the plate.

If he got any closer to the plate, there was a chance he could get hit.

‘Trust me and throw it.’

Seo Il-hyuk held out his mitt.

The ball thrown by Lee Chang-hoon was sucked into Seo Il-hyuk’s mitt.

Thudududududuk!

At the same time, Kim Ha-kyun ran to second base.

Seo Il-hyuk immediately caught the ball and threw it to second base, but his catching position wasn’t good, and Kim Ha-kyun was fast.

-Safe!

“Kim Ha-kyun successfully steals second base. Kim Ha-kyun finally steals second base.”

“That was really good, wasn’t it? He stole the base by taking advantage of the moment we went inside.”

Lee Chang-hoon took off his hat and wiped away sweat.

Lee Chang-hoon’s fourth pitch was an outside changeup.

The ball that the batter pushed to right-center became a ground ball.

“Second baseman! It got through! Kim Ha-kyun goes straight to third base and home, home, home! A play at the plate! Safe! It’s safe! The Wolves score a point right away with two hits. They score a point easily.”

The Wolves’ third batter is first baseman Jung In-ha.

Lee Chang-hoon gave up a stolen base to Jung Soo-young and then allowed a double to Jung In-ha.

“2-0. Lee Chang-hoon’s start today is rough.”

“I think Kim Ha-kyun and Jung Soo-young’s speed is the driving force behind the two points. They’re overshadowed by Pegasus and Scorpion, but the Wolves’ table setters [lead-off hitters] are just as fast.”

“The players who usually can’t even think about stealing when Song Seok-hyun is there are really running wild today.”

Manager Ham Seong-hoon took a deep breath.

The battery coach couldn’t look at Ham Seong-hoon, as if he were a sinner.

The Wolves’ fourth batter, Kang Je-gwan, was out on a fly ball, giving them a breather, but they gave up three runs on two consecutive hits.

The inning ended with a double play, but Lee Chang-hoon’s pitch count was thirty-two in the first inning alone.

“Ha.”

Lee Chang-hoon, who returned to the bench, covered his face with his hat.

Catcher Seo Il-hyuk also pursed his lips.

“It looks like the Wolves are trying to pay us back for what they suffered.”

Ham Seong-hoon nodded at defense coach Ahn Young-jae’s words.

“It’s no secret that Chang-hoon’s pitches have lost their edge. Isn’t it common sense to stand close to the plate and attack a pitcher who only attacks the outside? If the zone is narrow like today, there’s no answer. Hoo.”

“Should we activate the shift too?”

“…Do that. It seems like it would be statistically better for us to just abandon inside pitches and only attack the outside.”

“Yes, I understand. Then we’ll do that.”

Ham Seong-hoon looked for Song Seok-hyun with his eyes.

Seo Il-hyuk is a catcher with a balance of offense and defense, but even if you rate him highly, he’s just a decent backup catcher.

It’s a given that he’s a step behind when facing fast-footed and tactically skilled table setters like Pegasus, Scorpion, and Wolves.

Song Seok-hyun’s performance is welcome, but it’s unfortunate for the team that there’s no alternative to Song Seok-hyun.

He’d like to replace the catcher right away, but considering the postseason, he needs to give the rookie catcher who debuted this year more rest.

If Song Seok-hyun is exhausted again in the postseason like this time…

Ham Seong-hoon shuddered.

It’s a scenario he doesn’t even want to think about.

Top of the 2nd inning.

Gote started the attack with Song Seok-hyun.

Whack!

-Ball.

From the start, a pitch that stuck close to his body.

Song Seok-hyun shrugged his shoulders once.

“Suarez is aggressively jamming Song Seok-hyun with inside pitches.”

“Suarez isn’t fast, but he’s known for having heavy pitches. If you underestimate an inside pitch, you’ll often get pushed back.”

The next pitch was an outside curveball, ball.

The third pitch was a fastball that stuck even closer to his body than before.

-Ball!

“…”

Song Seok-hyun bit his lip.

Suarez is a pitcher with good control.

The precarious inside pitches that seemed like they would hit him were closer to intentional than mistakes.

“Suarez ends up giving up a walk.”

“He was shaken against Song Seok-hyun. He kept throwing dangerous pitches.”

Song Seok-hyun, who went to first base, took off his protective gear with a sullen expression and handed it to the coach.

The coach seemed to understand Song Seok-hyun’s feelings and patted him on the butt.

Thwack!

As soon as Song Seok-hyun got on base, Yoo Seon-ho took a swing at the first-pitch curveball.

The fast, low-flying ball hit the second baseman’s glove directly.

Song Seok-hyun quickly tried to return to first base, but second baseman Jung Soo-young reacted faster.

-Out!

“A double play! Gote hits into a double play here.”

“That’s too bad. Yoo Seon-ho hit it well, but still.”

“Gote isn’t having any luck.”

Gote didn’t score in the second inning either.

The Wolves scored 2 points in the bottom of the 2nd inning, including a solo home run.

The score was already 5-0.

Ham Seong-hoon took out Lee Chang-hoon and prepared Lee Baek-chan.

Lee Chang-hoon, who would normally have complained, didn’t say anything today.

A narrow strike zone, batters standing close to the plate to an extreme degree.

It was the worst combination for Lee Chang-hoon, who could only attack the outside because his pitches had lost their edge.

Top of the 4th inning, Gote’s attack.

Lead-off hitter Seol Jin-il stood close to the plate.

Suarez jammed him with another deep inside pitch from the first pitch.

Whack!

-Ball.

Seol Jin-il immediately pointed to his body.

“It looks like it hit my clothes.”

The catcher answered instead of the umpire.

“It didn’t hit you.”

“I heard it hit me.”

“I said it didn’t hit you. Why are you making a fuss when the umpire is staying still? Are you the umpire?”

Seol Jin-il muttered in a complaining voice.

“Can’t I even appeal?”

“What?”

Catcher Shin Min-ho raised his voice, but Seol Jin-il ignored him.

The umpire spoke to Shin Min-ho instead of Seol Jin-il.

“Let’s continue. Huh?”

“…Yes.”

Suarez’s second pitch was an outside curveball, strike.

The third pitch was an outside changeup.

Thwack!

Seol Jin-il stretched out both arms to hit the outside dropping ball.

The ball hit the end of the bat and spun towards the Wolves’ bench on first base.

At the same time, Seol Jin-il dropped his bat, which flew towards the first baseman.

“Watch out! Watch out!”

Bang!

The ball hit the wall of the bench.

The bat brushed past the first baseman’s side.

Seol Jin-il looked at his hand once, then trudged over and received the bat.

“That was a dangerous scene just now.”

“That’s why you can’t let your guard down at the ballpark. No one knows where a foul ball will go. It can even go to the players.”

“This happened because Seol Jin-il was trying to force the outside ball.”

As Seol Jin-il returned to the plate, catcher Shin Min-ho clicked his tongue.

“That’s ridiculous, ridiculous. Why? Why didn’t you just throw the bat at the pitcher?”

“What are you talking about? I dropped the bat.”

The umpire coughed to change the mood between the two.

“Focus on the game. I’ll eject you right away if necessary. So both of you be careful.”

Suarez aimed for a strikeout with an inside fastball, but Seol Jin-il pulled the inside pitch foul.

The next pitch was a low-dropping curveball.

This time, Seol Jin-il cut it and made it foul.

Thud!

The ball that Seol Jin-il cut hit the catcher’s mask.

Shin Min-ho’s body bent forward.

Seol Jin-il glanced at Shin Min-ho once and then took a half-step back from the plate.

“Are you okay?”

Shin Min-ho couldn’t answer right away to the umpire’s concern.

He just nodded once and straightened his body again.

“Why is it like this today? Anyone would think I’m hitting him on purpose.”

Shin Min-ho snorted, whether Seol Jin-il was saying it for him to hear or just muttering to himself.

He wanted to hit him with an inside fastball, but wasn’t Seol Jin-il strong against fastballs?

He asked for a curveball that dropped down again.

But the catcher pointed down with his mitt, but the pitcher’s ball didn’t drop.

Seol Jin-il’s eyes widened as he watched the ball.

Catcher to Success

Bad Neighbors

Thwack!

The ball that left the pitcher’s hand hit the batter’s head.

A curveball in the 130km/h range [approximately 81 mph].

The ball that hit the helmet squarely bounced up.

Seol Jin-il staggered for a moment, then quickly regained his senses and threw off his helmet.

“Hey!”

There was no time to stop him.

As Seol Jin-il ran to the mound, pitcher Suarez also took off his glove.

“Wooooooo!”

“Grab him! Grab him!”

“Protect the pitcher! Get Suarez back!”

“What are you doing! Get out here quickly?”

The crowd booed, and the players from both teams rushed out.

The coaches intervened to stop the fight, but Seol Jin-il and Suarez had already exchanged blows.

“Get apart! Get apart!”

The umpire stood far back and tried to stop the players, but it was no use.