On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 22

Taisei struck out three batters in a row.

The batters were just trying to make contact with Taisei’s fastball.

Three consecutive strikeouts without a single forkball.

Song Seok-hyeon felt fortunate that it wasn’t his turn to bat yet.

“Then I’ll go. Be ready.”

“Yes, good luck!”

Kim Jeong-ryul went to the mound, seeing Song Seok-hyeon off.

An unscheduled practice game.

A sudden underhand throw.

It was part of overcoming the yips [sudden and unexpected loss of skills in experienced athletes], but a pitcher’s heart always boils when they stand on the mound.

I don’t want to lose.

I can’t lose.

“Hoo.”

Kim Jeong-ryul rubbed rosin on his palm.

It was the same rosin, but he laughed as he faced the batter, with fielders behind him, and blew the rosin away.

“Fighting!”

With Song Seok-hyeon’s loud shout, the batter stepped into the box.

The batter was Hiroshi.

A player who handled infield utility for the SoftBank Hawks’ first team.

Judging by his build and physique, he looked more like a track and field or gymnastics athlete than a baseball player.

“The first batter is a pain in the neck.”

An NPB [Nippon Professional Baseball] first-team infield utility player is about the level of a KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] first-team regular.

Just by looking at him, he seemed like a fast, tactically skilled batter.

It gets complicated when a batter who knows how to harass pitchers comes up first.

“Heeup.”

Kim Jeong-ryul took a deep breath and wound up.

A pitcher shouldn’t have complicated thoughts.

He had to think about the next pitch before he even threw the ball.

Always keep the tempo fast.

That was Kim Jeong-ryul’s iron rule.

“Eucha!”

Kim Jeong-ryul threw the ball with a shout.

Kim Jeong-ryul’s arm angle had recently risen to be almost sidearm, but now it was so low that his hand was practically scraping the ground.

His intention was to throw the batter a pitch that was as dirty as possible.

Clench.

As the ball flew at the batter’s knee height, the batter gripped his bat.

Target the first pitch from the new pitcher.

A baseball adage.

If he were a leadoff hitter, he could watch the ball more, but this was an opportunity to get a hit against a pitcher with over 100 career wins.

Hiroshi lightly swung his bat.

Thwack!

The moment the bat met the ball.

The ball went through the gap between third base and shortstop.

“Damn, he hit that.”

Kim Jeong-ryul clicked his tongue.

A fastball that filled the bottom of the zone.

It was a pitch that they usually wouldn’t touch on the first pitch, but the batter aggressively attacked it.

“It’s okay, it’s okay! Fighting!”

Song Seok-hyeon raised his voice.

Kim Jeong-ryul faced the next batter.

As soon as he threw the first pitch, Hiroshi stole second base.

Kim Jeong-ryul ignored it and focused on the battle with the batter.

Bang!

The second batter walked.

Kim Jeong-ryul’s expression was relaxed.

“He’s probably aiming for a double play, right?”

Kim In-hwan nodded at Song Seok-hyeon’s question.

“Hyung [older brother or male friend] is originally a starting pitcher. He doesn’t go complicated. He likes to do things efficiently.”

Kim Jeong-ryul got a double play on the first pitch to the next batter.

Hiroshi stopped at third base.

“As expected, even in Korea, the pros are different.”

Ryosuke, who was coming up to bat next, carried his bat on his shoulder.

He heard that he was in rehab, but his know-how to increase the out count was exceptional.

He thought, as expected, veterans are different.

“I don’t want to give up even one point.”

Kim Jeong-ryul adjusted his hat when he saw Ryosuke.

If he was a potential cleanup hitter, his power was already guaranteed.

If he got ahold of a bad pitch, it would go over.

Kim Jeong-ryul threw a pitch close to his body from the first pitch.

Thwack!

Ryosuke knocked the ball away with his bat as the ball that came towards his body dropped.

Seeing this, Song Seok-hyeon sighed.

“His bat control is no joke…….”

“He’s good.”

Kim In-hwan stroked his chin.

He made a foul while the ball was dropping as he swung his bat.

If it were him, it would have been a guaranteed swing and a miss.

“He’s supposed to be a cleanup hitter, but his bat control is better than most leadoff hitters.”

“The Japanese have a solid foundation in baseball.”

“The depth is different.”

Korea is also producing top-class players at the level of Major League Baseball.

The problem is depth.

There are over 4,000 high schools that play baseball [in Japan].

That’s including clubs, but even including clubs, Korea probably doesn’t have more than a hundred.

Despite the overwhelming difference in foundation, Korea, which produces top-class players, is also great, but in the first place, the difference in the baseball foundation and baseball infrastructure between Korea and Japan was a gap that was difficult to bridge.

If it’s a Japanese pro second team, it’s good enough to be in the Korean first team.

“Hoo.”

Kim Jeong-ryul blew away the rosin.

Ryosuke’s bat control was unusual.

He had no desire to show a Korean pitcher with 111 wins giving up a point to a second-string batter.

“Ack!”

Kim Jeong-ryul threw the ball with a shout.

This time, a low outside pitch.

Ryosuke didn’t swing.

-Strike!

It was low and out of the zone, but the umpire called it a strike.

“Nice!”

Song Seok-hyeon clenched his fist.

Two strikes in an instant.

Ryosuke frowned.

One more ball and the inning would be over.

Song Seok-hyeon put his hands together.

Thwack!

Thwack!

Thwack!

Thwack!

He was expecting a finishing pitch, but Ryosuke stubbornly fouled it off, fouled it off.

A 13-pitch battle against Ryosuke.

Full count.

Kim Jeong-ryul, who didn’t have a suitable finishing pitch, was sweating.

Ryosuke gripped his bat short and spun it around.

“Ack!”

The moment Kim Jeong-ryul threw the ball, Kim In-hwan sighed.

It’s high.

A mistake.

Ryosuke’s bat swung fully this time.

Tap.

“Fly! Fly!”

Kim Jeong-ryul pointed to the ball that was high in the sky.

The second baseman moved his feet slightly to get into position.

Thud.

-Out!

Kim Jeong-ryul smiled and hit his glove.

“Good!”

When the inning ended, Song Seok-hyeon and Kim In-hwan came out and waited.

Song Seok-hyeon gave Kim Jeong-ryul a thumbs up.

“Wow, that last ball was art, wasn’t it?”

“Was it good?”

“Yes, I thought it was a mistake.”

“It’s a curve, a curve. I was originally trying to control it lower, but it floated too high.”

“The ball seemed to come alive upwards, didn’t it?”

“Right. The ball is soaring higher than I thought. This is fun, a curve? Because I throw it underhand, the ball goes a bit strangely.”

“You kept battling with low balls to throw a curve, right?”

Kim Jeong-ryul laughed.

“You little rascal, you can read a pitcher’s mind because you’re a catcher.”

“The ball mix was so good.”

“The sinker is more bland than I thought. I wonder if it will work for pros.”

Kim Jeong-ryul sat down.

Song Seok-hyeon grabbed his bat and walked to the front of the bench.

“Do you throw the sinker with a fastball grip?”

“I throw it with my fingers together. Why?”

“How about throwing it like a two-seam grip? A sinker is a falling ball, right? To drop a changeup [a pitch thrown with the same arm action as a fastball but with reduced speed], the spin must be low. Then, if you drop your fingers to reduce the spin, wouldn’t the effective spin rate decrease and it would drop more?”

“Two-seam?”

“Yes, I know that underhand pitchers throw sinkers with a two-seam grip a lot.”

“Ah.”

Kim Jeong-ryul, like an overhand pitcher, thought of the sinker as a reverse-spinning ball and threw it with a slider grip, giving it the opposite spin.

“Ah, why didn’t I ask that? I should have asked that yesterday.”

Kim Jeong-ryul hit his head.

“Then I’ll go out now. It’s my next at-bat.”

“Oh, oh. Okay. Do well. Hit a nice one.”

“Yes.”

Song Seok-hyeon went to the on-deck circle.

The previous batter was very nervous and stuck close to the plate.

The pitcher was still Taisei.

Song Seok-hyeon timed his swing to match Taisei’s pitching form.

Bang!

“The fastball is fast.”

At first glance, it was about 145 km/h [approximately 90 mph].

145 km/h in January meant that his fastball was a fire-baller exceeding 150 km/h [approximately 93 mph].

If you add a forkball to that…….

Whoosh!

The batter’s bat cut through the air.

He swung and missed the second pitch forkball without fail.

It was the pitcher’s first forkball.

“The forkball is fast too.”

The forkball speed was about 135~140 km/h [approximately 84-87 mph].

It was difficult to distinguish between the fastball and the forkball by speed.

-Strikeout!

The batter swung and missed another forkball.

The batter bowed his head without any regrets.

A clear difference in skill.

Song Seok-hyeon removed the bat ring and stepped into the batter’s box.

“Fighting! Let’s get a hit!”

“Seok-hyeon fighting!”

When Kim Jeong-ryul raised his voice, Kim In-hwan also cheered.

Song Seok-hyeon swung his bat and stepped into the batter’s box.

“Hmm?”

When Song Seok-hyeon took his stance, Taisei squinted.

His stance is short.

His hitting position is middle, which means he’s doing a level swing.

It was the form of a typical leadoff hitter aiming for a single.

Bang bang!

The catcher hit his mitt.