On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 230

A home run by me?

Against Jo Jin-hee?

Is this a dream?

Lee Ji-sung felt strange even as he stepped on first base.

It felt unfamiliar as he stepped on second base.

Only when he stepped on third base and heard the voices of fans and teammates shouting his name like crazy did he snap out of his daze.

Lee Ji-sung, having reached home, finally smiled.

A home run?

A home run was great, but there was something even better.

It doesn’t hurt.

My wrist doesn’t hurt at all.

Maybe… maybe I….

“Am I completely healed?”

Lee Ji-sung clenched his fist.

Success as a Catcher

All-out Attack

“What… should we do?”

The Pegasus pitching coach asked in a barely audible voice.

Manager Choi Sung-yeon took a deep breath.

Top of the first inning, lead-off home run.

It’s not a common occurrence, but it happens from time to time.

For the Pegasus, as well as the Scorpions and Whales, the lead-off hitters have enough power to be expected to hit 10 home runs per season.

Among the top-ranked teams, there isn’t a single team with a weak table setter [lead-off hitter].

However, the lead-off hitters for the Goats and Wolves focus on on-base percentage and baserunning.

Lee Ji-sung was once synonymous with a power-speed threat, but since returning from his injury, he had remained a typical singles hitter.

Even if he did hit for extra bases, it was either because the hit landed in a good spot or he took advantage of the opponent’s sloppy defense to make it to second base.

In the countless plans and predictions he had made, there wasn’t a single scenario where Lee Ji-sung would hit a home run, especially not in the first at-bat of the game.

“……”

Choi Sung-yeon couldn’t say anything.

He wanted to say something, but pull a pitcher after facing only the first batter in the top of the first inning?

Moreover, the pitcher is Jo Jin-hee.

The club is watching, Major League scouts are watching, and the media is paying close attention.

He wanted to say something, but…….

“It was a mistake.”

“Yes? Ah, yes.”

The pitching coach didn’t say anything more.

“……Haa.”

Jo Jin-hee sighed.

His face was as red as it could get, as if it would explode.

Shame.

He was already furious about giving up a home run, but the batter who hit it was Lee Ji-sung.

To be humiliated in such an important game where they could clinch the Korean Series championship.

“Next up to bat is Seol Jin-il.”

“Jo Jin-hee, the home run is already in the past. You need to refocus. Your hands are fidgeting right now, which means you’re not focused. You need to take a deep breath and calm down.”

Jung Yong-wook pointed to the ground with his hand.

It was a signal to calm his breathing.

Jo Jin-hee took a few deep breaths and then threw the ball.

-Ball.

-Ball.

-Ball.

-Ball.

“A straight walk! Not a single ball entered the strike zone. This puts a runner on first with no outs. Seol Jin-il isn’t slow either.”

“Jo Jin-hee is rattled right now. The ball is high. It’s not just that he’s throwing balls, but the landing point is inconsistent, which is a bigger problem.”

“The number three hitter is none other than Song Seok-hyun. This isn’t a good flow for the Pegasus, is it?”

“No, it’s not. It’s difficult for them to walk Song Seok-hyun in this situation. Yoo Seon-ho’s condition has also improved as much as it can. What’s scary about a veteran like Yoo Seon-ho is that he knows how to keep the momentum going. Once his condition improves, he’ll find a way to keep the good flow going. You could argue that it’s better to face the left-handed hitter Yoo Seon-ho than Song Seok-hyun, but in a short series, matchups are often ignored. You know, a player who’s on a hot streak? A single player in good condition can turn the game around in a short series.”

As Song Seok-hyun headed to the plate, the Goat’s cheering squad and cheerleaders began to chant.

“Oh! Oh!”

-The! King! Of! Jamsil [a neighborhood in Seoul known for its baseball stadium]! Has! Come!

“Oh! Oh!”

-The! King! Of! Jamsil! Has! Won!

Filling the stadium with nothing but their voices, without a single amplifier.

The cheerleaders would start the chant, and the fans would echo it.

“Ugh, it’s so noisy.”

Jo Jin-hee stomped on the mound with his foot.

As Song Seok-hyun took his position, Jung Yong-wook sent a sign to Jo Jin-hee.

‘Slider.’

Starting with a breaking ball to induce a chase.

It was a sign from a respected senior, but a surge of anger welled up inside him.

It’s only the first inning, and I still have plenty of energy, but you want me to start by pitching around him?

But from the catcher’s perspective, the pitcher’s control is shaky, and the batter is the league’s best cleanup hitter, so it was necessary to throw away the first pitch to gauge the opponent’s reaction.

Jo Jin-hee took another breath.

He couldn’t ignore Jung Yong-wook’s sign, so he had no choice but to throw as instructed.

Clang!

-Ball.

“Song Seok-hyun is patient. He’s not fooled by the breaking ball.”

“That was a pretty good breaking ball that broke away, but he laid off it. Maybe he was planning to take the first pitch.”

Jung Yong-wook frowned.

Seeing Song Seok-hyun relaxed, he might have been planning not to swing at the first pitch, given the pitcher’s wild control.

If he had thought a little deeper, he might have anticipated that the batter would take a pitch and just thrown it in there.

Considering Song Seok-hyun’s tendency to save his swing whenever possible, the latter was more likely.

Because it was Song Seok-hyun, he reflexively chose to take a pitch off the plate.

It was just one pitch, but Jung Yong-wook felt a sense of frustration, thinking he had been outmaneuvered.

‘Four-seam [four-seam fastball].’

This time, Jung Yong-wook held his mitt on the outside corner.

It was a signal to overpower him with force, and Jo Jin-hee threw the ball with all his might.

Clang!

-Strike!

“1-1. Jo Jin-hee really placed the ball in a good spot.”

“Song Seok-hyun is nodding slightly. I think the batter means there was nothing he could do about that one. That’s how well the ball broke to the outside.”

Gulp.

Jung Yong-wook swallowed and then widened his eyes in surprise.

Am I nervous? Me? It’s only the first inning and we’ve only given up one run?

‘Slider.’

Jo Jin-hee’s slider flew to the bottom of the zone and then dropped sharply to the ground.

Jung Yong-wook blocked the ball and looked towards first base.

Seol Jin-il returned to first base without trying to steal.

Song Seok-hyun glanced at Jung Yong-wook once and then just signaled the runner not to advance.

“2-1. Song Seok-hyun isn’t fooled by Jo Jin-hee’s breaking ball.”

“I think the problem is that his control is too good.”

“Yes? What do you mean by that?”

“The slider goes to a low location that’s difficult for the batter to hit, and then it breaks even lower, so the batter can’t easily swing at it in the first place. If the fastball keeps going to a low location, then they’ll have no choice but to swing at that kind of slider, but since the fastball is going high and the breaking ball is going low, the batter isn’t fooled by the good breaking ball.”

“Ah, that’s what you meant.”

“Jo Jin-hee needs to throw the ball low, low. If he throws the fastball high and the breaking ball low, he’ll just be wasting his energy.”

Jung Yong-wook looked at Song Seok-hyun.

Expressionless.

He’s a guy whose thoughts you can’t read at all.

The catcher looks at the batter’s reaction and figures out the batter’s intentions.

The batter also tries to hide his intentions from the opponent, but there are times when he can’t hide them.

The swing.

If you only look at what kind of ball the batter swings at and how he swings, the batter’s intentions are revealed nine times out of ten.

But Song Seok-hyun is a batter who saves his swing.

Saving his swing means that the catcher has less data to collect.

It’s not the sense of unease that comes from giving up just one run.

It’s the sense of unease that comes from not being able to figure out the batter’s intentions at all.

Song Seok-hyun was always a difficult batter to read, but an indescribable anxiety keeps rising.

‘Slider.’

Another breaking ball.

Jo Jin-hee shook his head, maintaining a blank expression.

Why does he keep calling for breaking balls that he’s not even swinging at?

Jung Yong-wook called for another breaking ball.

“……”

If he wasn’t his senior, or rather, if it wasn’t Jung Yong-wook, he would have thrown whatever he wanted.

There isn’t a pitcher in the league who can ignore Jung Yong-wook’s words.

Not even the great Jo Jin-hee can go against the words of Jung Yong-wook, who is considered one of the best catchers of all time.

Jo Jin-hee threw another slider.

Thud!

The ball thrown by Jo Jin-hee bounced in front of home plate.

Jung Yong-wook is considered the textbook example of blocking, but there was no way he could catch a ball that bounced in front of the batter’s lead foot.

“Ah, a wild pitch! A wild pitch by Jo Jin-hee! Seol Jin-il goes straight to second! Safe at second! He doesn’t go to third.”

“This isn’t good. It’s good that he’s trying to control the ball low, but he’s putting too much power into it.”

“This puts a runner in scoring position. A single hit could immediately lead to a run.”

Jo Jin-hee barely managed to hold back a curse.

3-1.

A favorable count for the batter.

Especially for Song Seok-hyun.

Jung Yong-wook hesitated for a moment and then raised his thumb twice.

It was a sign to throw inside, even if it meant hitting the batter.

Jo Jin-hee’s eyebrows twitched.

Not again?

He already injured Kim In-hwan and Choi Jae-wan, now Song Seok-hyun too?

Is he doing this because he doesn’t know how he’ll save face if he wins like this?

Jo Jin-hee didn’t shake his head.

Head-on confrontation.

Right down the middle is fine. Overpower him with force.

With no runners on first, Jo Jin-hee lifted his leg with all his might and threw the ball.

Clang!

The ball flew towards the third base stands as soon as it was hit.

Jo Jin-hee turned his head sharply.

The ball, which was flying far, far, farther, went over the wall of the Suwon Stadium.

-Foul.

“Foul. It’s a foul ball. Song Seok-hyun is showing off a massive foul home run.”

“Song Seok-hyun was greedy just now. It was too close to his body. But just seeing him hit that ball like that shows that he’s a very technical player.”

“Full count. The game is flowing very tightly from the top of the first inning today.”

Jo Jin-hee breathed a sigh of relief.

If the ball had gone just one more inch towards the middle, it would have been a home run without a doubt.

Jung Yong-wook gave another sign.

-Four-seam. Outside. High.

High pitches are often considered dangerous, but Jung Yong-wook sometimes mixes them in on purpose.

Since there are many batters who try to lift the ball, a high pitch is suitable for disrupting the timing of an uppercut swing.

Batters with uppercut swings know that high-pitched balls are their weakness, but they don’t just stand there and watch.

High pitches are better for hitting home runs than low pitches, so the batter swings consciously or unconsciously.

What Jung Yong-wook wanted from Jo Jin-hee was a fastball that was out of the zone.

With Jo Jin-hee’s deception, velocity, and the previous inside pitch, it was the perfect location to induce a swing and miss from the batter.

If he doesn’t swing at that, then they can just load the bases and aim for a double play.

‘Okay.’

Jo Jin-hee knew that the current sign was the best option.

After seeing the massive foul home run from before, he couldn’t recklessly push through with force.

“Hoo.”

Manager Choi Sung-yeon kept swallowing dry saliva.

He was suffocating.

It wasn’t even the fifth inning yet, it was only the top of the first inning, but he was suffocating.

It felt like watching a kite string stretched taut in a strong wind.

Jo Jin-hee kicked his leg and stepped forward.

A dynamic pitching form that hides the ball and then slams it down from above.

The ball went straight towards the border line of the strike zone.

“Ha.”

The batter started his motion.

Song Seok-hyun’s hips were twisted, but his bat remained in place.

Perfect separation of the upper and lower body.

The moment the pitcher’s ball dove into the catcher’s mitt, the batter’s bat flashed.

Bang!

* * *