On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 226

There were no signals from the bench.

“Manager, substitution—.”

“Let’s watch a bit more.”

Choi Young-il bit his lip.

“We can’t help it if he pitches like that…….”

Pegasus also considered a substitution, but Manager Choi Sung-yeon stopped it.

Even the players on the bench couldn’t figure out what was going on.

Choi Young-il threw the ball outside repeatedly.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Four fastballs. Walk. A bases-loaded walk.

“Walk-off. Goat scores 1 point without a hit.”

“Still bases loaded with no outs. Goat continues to create chances.”

“Next batter is Yoo Sun-ho. We need to be careful of Yoo Sun-ho’s big hit, right?”

“Of course. We have to acknowledge Yoo Sun-ho’s home run ability. If he connects properly, he’s a player who can easily clear Jamsil’s [a famous baseball stadium in Seoul] fences.”

“Is this Manager Choi Sung-yeon’s stubbornness? He’s just going to keep pushing through.”

“He’s a left-handed batter, so I guess he’s giving him a chance… I don’t know. Is it because he hasn’t given up a long hit yet?”

Choi Young-il’s first pitch was a cutter that missed far outside.

Jung Yong-wook dove to catch the ball, but it would have been dangerous if it had gone further.

“Hoo.”

Jung Yong-wook swallowed hard and returned to home plate.

Yoo Sun-ho stepped back from the plate.

The next pitch was a fastball coming inside.

It was close to the center, so Yoo Sun-ho swung with all his might, but it wasn’t a fastball; it was a splitter [a type of fastball with a sharp downward break].

The ball hit the bottom of the batter’s bat.

“Second baseman fields it and tosses to second, second baseman to first! Double play!”

“Finally, an out count. Goat gives up a double play and scores one more run.”

“The score is 2-0. Goat is off to a good start from the beginning.”

“Pegasus avoided the worst-case scenario.”

Two points in the first inning of the Korean Series was not a small score.

Despite the run that should have been celebrated, the atmosphere on the Goat bench was subdued.

Kim In-hwan had gone to the hospital, unable to overcome the pain in his calf.

“He got hit right on the spot.”

“……Hoo.”

Ham Sung-hoon shook his head.

If it had been next to his calf, it would have hit his protective gear, but if it hit the muscle directly, the pain would last a long time.

“This series?”

“We’ll have to go to the hospital to know for sure, but it will be difficult to run properly.”

“Even as a DH [designated hitter]?”

“If he can’t put power into his lower body properly, it will be difficult to hit a long ball. He can make contact, but if he can’t send it far, wouldn’t that be a problem in itself?”

Tap-tap hitter Kim In-hwan is meaningless.

Ham Sung-hoon nodded.

“Okay. Well, let’s see what the hospital results say.”

With the score at 2-0, two outs and a runner on third, the batter is Choi Jae-wan.

Goat still has a scoring opportunity left.

Choi Jae-wan finished preparing to push the ball to the first base side.

The first pitch was a fastball on the outside.

He should have swung, but it was too fast.

-Strike!

Choi Jae-wan swallowed hard.

The ball is heavier than it looks.

The second pitch.

A fastball coming inside.

It was right in the middle.

-Strike!

“Two strikes. Is Choi Young-il finding his rhythm? He’s gotten two strikes in a row.”

“Choi Jae-wan needs to be aggressive. That last pitch was a mistake he shouldn’t have missed. It was right in the middle.”

“0-2. Will Goat’s attack end here?”

The third and fourth pitches were splitters that missed a lot on the outside.

2-2.

The next pitch was another one coming inside.

This time, it was a pitch coming close to his body.

As Choi Jae-wan swung his bat to hit the ball, the ball suddenly broke towards his body.

It wasn’t a fastball; it was a slider [a type of pitch that curves sideways].

Thwack!

“Argh!”

Choi Jae-wan collapsed, clutching his hand.

“Hey, you son of a bitch!”

“Take it easy, you bastards!”

“What are you doing?”

The Goat players couldn’t take it anymore and rushed out.

The Pegasus players protected Choi Young-il and surrounded the Goat players.

“What, you punk! Get lost!”

“Come here! Come here!”

“What! What!”

The Goat players couldn’t take the consecutive hit-by-pitches anymore.

It wasn’t just a war of words; they were grabbing each other by the collar, getting grabbed, and fists were flying.

Lee Ji-sung was the first to run out and was almost surrounded and beaten up.

It was Seol Jin-il who saved Lee Ji-sung.

He grabbed Lee Ji-sung by the scruff of the neck and pulled him back, then headbutted the faces of the rushing players, kicked their groins, and pinched their nipples.

“Aaaah! Let go! Let go! Let go!”

The heated fight wasn’t going to cool down easily.

The game, which had turned into a brawl, was delayed for more than 10 minutes.

The players returned to the bench.

Choi Jae-wan complained of pain even with the coach’s first aid and was sent to the hospital immediately.

“His finger is too swollen.”

Ham Sung-hoon squeezed his eyes shut at the coach’s words.

He swung and got hit by the ball, and unfortunately, his finger was injured.

If it had hit his finger, even if there were no problems with the bone, he wouldn’t be able to field because of the swelling.

Of course, he can’t hit either.

“First and third basemen…… ha.”

Unfortunately, both corner infielders collapsed.

Kim In-hwan of the KS Four [likely a nickname or group affiliation], and Choi Jae-wan, who had been hitting home runs in succession and had recently been at the peak of his game.

They lost two players and gained two points.

It’s heartbreaking.

It hurts in my chest.

They lost two players in the first game of the Korean Series.

Is it a trick of fate? A curse? Is it the will of heaven to grab his ankles?

Everything was resentful.

“Now take him out. That’s enough, at this point.”

“……Pardon?”

“No. I said take him out.”

Only then did Manager Choi Sung-yeon change the pitcher.

The pitching coach questioned the words ‘at this point,’ but because of the tense atmosphere between the two teams, he had no time to think about anything else.

Manager Choi Sung-yeon nodded to Choi Young-il.

Choi Young-il looked down at the ground with his head bowed.

The game resumed.

Two outs, runners on first and third.

The batter is Oh Jin-young.

The changed pitcher, Jang Ji-hoon, had his shoulder cooled down due to the bench clearing, so his control was shaky.

Oh Jin-young’s double made it 4-0.

Goat added two more points to make it 6-0 and entered the bottom of the first inning.

-Strike! Out!

“Ace Fish’s strikeout show! Today, the Pegasus lineup is completely tied up.”

“Pegasus isn’t good today. They’re not good at all. The opener strategy completely failed, and the lineup is also sluggish. I wonder if it was Manager Choi Sung-yeon’s overreach.”

Two starting hitters were missing, but they had 6 points on their backs from the first inning, and the pitcher was Ace Fish.

Goat led the game naturally without giving up any big runs.

When the bottom of the ninth inning ended, the score was 8-2.

Goat’s complete victory.

The fans were happy with Goat’s first win in the Korean Series, but the players couldn’t be happy without reservation.

Ham Sung-hoon and the coaching staff had completely indifferent expressions.

“Our Manager Choi is having a fun game, huh huh.”

Pegasus’s general manager, Yoon Nam-il, turned off the TV.

The Game 1 loss is painful, but it wasn’t a loss.

Goat’s strength is the cleanup’s slugging ability.

Kim In-hwan of the KS Four is out, and Choi Jae-wan, a young power hitter who has recently been on the rise, is also out.

Starting first and third basemen out.

In addition, Pegasus only put in the mop-up crew, saving all the pitchers.

They lost big when they lost, but they also inflicted deep wounds on the opponent.

Whether it’s Manager Choi Sung-yeon’s strategy or not, it’s such a subtle strategy that even he himself doesn’t know.

However, Goat also has a history of injuring Wolves’ starters and sidelining them for the season, so they couldn’t blindly push Pegasus.

Since Choi Young-il is known for his poor control, there was no justification for holding on.

Who would say anything if they called it an opener strategy [a strategy where a relief pitcher starts the game instead of a traditional starting pitcher]?

Who would suspect that they had made such a big bet with the intention of giving up one game of the Korean Series?

They knocked out two of the opponent’s starters without being suspected.

It would have been perfect if Song Seok-hyun had been out, but it would have been difficult because he was standing away from the plate.

If they had forced it, it would have been an even bigger problem.

Goat’s strengths have been diluted, and Pegasus’s power has been preserved.

Give up one game and take the next six games advantageously…….

If it’s the semi-playoffs or playoffs, it’s a 5-game series, so it’s burdensome to give up one game, but if it’s a 7-game series like the Korean Series, it’s more advantageous to give up one game and lead the next six games advantageously.

Everything could be his misunderstanding.

It could really be a coincidence, an accident.

Anything is fine.

As a result, it’s enough if Pegasus can definitely gain an advantage in the next six games.

“I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.”

Although they lost, Pegasus’s general manager, Yoon Nam-il, smiled.

Catcher’s Success Story

Cliff Edge

Tuesday, October 29, 2013, Game 5 of the Korean Series.

People were fastening their clothes in the chilly wind from the morning.

Tock, tock, tock, tock.

A room where only the sound of the clock ticking echoed.

The source of the sound was Goat’s manager’s office.

“Hmm…….”

Ham Sung-hoon sat deep in his chair in front of the computer.

On the monitor, windows with news articles were open.

[Shock. Goat loses 3 in a row after 1 win]

[The 余裕 [leeway/margin] of a strong team. Pegasus smiles brightly.]

[Lonely home run hitter Song Seok-hyun.]

[Already in the mood to win the Korean Series? Pegasus fans are smiling.]

Ham Sung-hoon only fiddled with the mouse and turned off the computer.

Creak.

At that moment, the door opened and someone came in.

“Team Leader Kim.”

“Manager, were you here? The light was on, so I came to see if you were here.”

“Come in.”

Ham Sung-hoon offered a seat to Kim Hak-in, the operations team leader.

The two sat on the sofa with a cup of coffee in front of them.

“Are you having a hard time?”

“No. How can I be having a hard time? The players are having a hard time.”

“The manager must be feeling terrible. But we still think the game isn’t over yet. There are still three games left.”

“That’s right. It’s not over yet.”

“I know there’s a lot of chatter going around. But don’t worry about it, manager. Just making it to the Korean Series is a great achievement. It’s been 10 years since then.”

Ham Sung-hoon gave a bitter smile.

“Thank you for the consolation, but the president and general manager are doing their jobs. Is Goat such a big team that they wouldn’t have a list of manager candidates and only have me set up?”

Team Leader Kim Hak-in gave an awkward smile.

“I don’t know if you’re generous…….”

“I’m not attached to my position. I haven’t made a lot of money, but I’m still young and capable. Do you think I’m going to starve to death somewhere?”

“Hey, that’s not what I meant.”

“All I do is do my best every game. If the results aren’t good, it’s my fault. I should have created backups for In-hwan and Jae-wan, but I overlooked that part.”

“That’s not true. You built the team after three starters had already left. The manager has been doing a good job of leading them so far.”

“I can’t say that. The manager has to take responsibility anyway. I should have given Ji-ho and Jong-il more opportunities and developed them…….”