On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 275

Sometimes, he possesses a magic that constrains hitters even more than the impeccable Song Seok-hyeon.

“What are you doing here?”

Gyeong Su-in stood next to Kim Young-hoon.

“Just watching.”

“Whew, it flies so far. I’m glad I’m not a pitcher.”

“Still, isn’t the setup good for the last game? They seem like final bosses, don’t they?”

Kim In-hwan’s batting practice ended, and Song Seok-hyeon stepped up.

Song Seok-hyeon lightly tapped the ball, but it kept flying near the fence.

“That KS [Kim In-hwan and Song Seok-hyeon] will be the strongest lineup ever. I think I retired at the right time.”

Gyeong Su-in patted Kim Young-hoon’s shoulder.

“To be honest, you’re the final boss to them. They haven’t been able to do anything against you so far.”

“What are you talking about? Didn’t you see Seok-hyeon hitting my pitches last time?”

“That’s because you weren’t going all out. If your arm was still in top shape, would they have hit it?”

“The moment you add ‘if,’ it becomes wishful thinking. Well, if I were healthy, they wouldn’t be that scary. That’s the honest truth. Hehe.”

Gyeong Su-in sighed deeply.

“It’s a shame. It doesn’t seem right for you to retire like this.”

“I think it’s right to retire when I still have a romantic view of baseball. That’s my style, from start to finish.”

“Romance. It sounds cool, but honestly, I’m really sad. It feels weird that you’re retiring when I’m still playing.”

“Hyung [older brother/senior] is an old pro. I don’t have that ability.”

“You’re full of it, you little punk. Hehe. I’m still going strong. I ‘pitch a tent’ every morning.”

“Geez~ Nothing to brag about. You brag about everything.”

Kim Young-hoon offered his fist to Gyeong Su-in.

“Let’s do well today, Hyung. Hit a *meot-it-neun* [cool/stylish] home run for the last time.”

Gyeong Su-in bumped his fist.

“You too. Make sure to win today’s game. That way, we’ll have hope for tomorrow.”

“Of course. We have to win. We have to finish the last game *meot-it-ge* [coolly/stylishly].”

Kim Young-hoon pointed at Kim In-hwan and Song Seok-hyeon with his finger.

“Even if they become legends later, I’m the main character today, and they’re supporting roles. No, too strong to be called supporting roles… Bosses. Let’s call them bosses. I’m going to win in the end.”

“Okay. Let’s win *meot-it-ge* [coolly/stylishly] today and make it to the Postseason. Who knows what will happen after that?”

* * *

The game start time approached.

Phoenix put forward enthusiastic fans for the ceremonial first pitch and first hit.

[The ball went quite accurately. Excellent control.]

[Haha. You’re right. Looks like they practiced a lot.]

[It was the first pitch and first hit by Kim Tae-min and Han Sang-pil, enthusiastic fans of Phoenix.]

Kim Young-hoon went up to the mound.

Phoenix fans applauded at Kim Young-hoon’s appearance alone.

Kim Si-yoon watched the game on TV in the team manager’s office.

-Play ball!

[The game has started. The match between Goat and Phoenix, Phoenix and Goat. Today and tomorrow’s two games can have a huge impact on the league standings.]

[If Goat plays at full strength, they are definitely superior. Goat is currently in first place, but in the worst case, if they lose two games in a row, they can drop to third place at worst.]

[That’s possible if Bulls and Astro Boys win all their remaining games and Goat loses all their games.]

[Phoenix is currently in 6th place, but there is still a possibility of 4th place. That’s possible if Wolves and Scorpion both lose and Phoenix wins. That’s how closely the teams from 1st to 6th place are this season.]

[Both teams have a reason to do their best.]

[Of course. The last two games of this season will solidify the rankings.]

-Strike! Out!

Kim Young-hoon struck out Kim Jeong-deok, the first batter, with three pitches.

[Strikeout with three pitches! Kim Jeong-deok is currently the strongest lead-off hitter in the league, but he is no match for Kim Young-hoon.]

[Most players can’t adapt after seeing that curve a few times. You have to go through at least one round of the batting order to see anything.]

The second batter, Seol Jin-il, grounded out on the first pitch.

When the third batter, Kim In-hwan, came up, Goat fans stood up from their seats.

-Goat’s Hulk Kim In-hwan! Kim In-hwan! Kim In-hwan!

The cheering was so loud that it made my ears ring.

Kim In-hwan took a breath and stepped into the batter’s box.

[Kim In-hwan is the first player in Korean professional baseball history to reach 60 home runs.]

[The modifier ‘strongest hitter of all time’ has been attached since he joined the team, but he struggled for quite a while. But he finally unleashed his potential. He opened an unprecedented era of 60 home runs.]

[That’s about one home run every two games. Who would have expected a hitter who uses Jamsil [a stadium known for being difficult to hit home runs in] as his home stadium to hit 60 home runs?]

Kim Young-hoon picked up the rosin bag.

White rosin powder fluttered.

The first pitch was a fastball inside.

It was 144km/h, but a swing and a miss.

Kim In-hwan tilted his head.

[Swing and a miss! Strike! Was the timing off?]

[That was a really good pitch, but he missed it.]

[Kim Young-hoon is the only pitcher who goes inside against Kim In-hwan from the first pitch.]

Kim Young-hoon smiled.

A chilling tension.

Tension is a burden to some, but a stimulus to others.

The greatest hitter of all time.

Kim Young-hoon was a pitcher and a gambler.

The stronger the opponent, the more his competitive spirit grows.

The second pitch was a curveball.

Kim In-hwan swung at the ball that came in looking like a fastball and then dropped sharply.

Whoosh!

-Strike!

[Swing and a miss! Two swings and misses! Kim In-hwan still hasn’t gotten a feel for it.]

[At this point, it’s like Goku [from Dragon Ball] on Buddha’s palm. Even Kim In-hwan, who is said to be *nanda ginda* [a big deal/someone who is very skilled], can’t get past the wall that is Kim Young-hoon.]

Song Seok-hyeon, who was watching, swallowed hard.

Kim Young-hoon’s pitching, watched as a third party, is a work of art.

I want to copy it, but I can’t.

Despite the simple combination of fastball and curveball, the tricky deception, the perfect control, and the ball with a lot of spin transform into an impregnable fortress.

He is an idol beyond a respected senior, and that makes my heart burn even more.

I want to win.

I want to hit that ball.

I want to send that ball over the fence.

Then Kim Young-hoon threw the third pitch.

A *sil-tu* [mistake pitch] coming right down the middle.

Kim In-hwan clenched his teeth.

*Poseuro Seungseungjanggu* [idiomatic expression for continuous success as a catcher]

Good bye (3)

A swing that turned his helmet around with all his might.

Kim In-hwan’s bat was no different from *baldosul* [a sword-drawing technique known for its speed and precision].

The sharp and fast trajectory swept through nothing but thin air.

The ball went into the mitt only after the swing was over.

Thud.

Eyes that couldn’t believe it.

Kim In-hwan turned his head back.

-Strike! Out!

[Strikeout! Swing and a miss strikeout! Kim Young-hoon strikes out Kim In-hwan with a swing and a miss.]

[What was that pitch just now? The speed was only 111km/h.]

[I think it’s a pitch I’ve never seen before.]

[Looking at it again… is it a palm ball? Can a palm ball be that slow?]

[From the batter’s point of view, it must have looked like the ball stopped completely. That’s how slow the ball was.]

The TV screen showed Kim Young-hoon’s pitching again from the beginning.

The scene of flicking the ball with his fingers was zoomed in.

[Ah! Knuckleball! It was a knuckleball! I didn’t know it was a knuckleball because it had spin.]

[Does Kim Young-hoon throw a knuckleball too?]

[It was hard to see it as a knuckleball because it had spin this time, but it was a completely unexpected pitch.]

Kim In-hwan shook his head.

Not a fastball, not a changeup, not a curveball, but an *Arirang ball* [a very slow pitch].

Song Seok-hyeon patted Kim In-hwan’s shoulder as he came to the bench.

“Let’s try again next time, Hyung.”

“Hoo.”

Kim Young-hoon smiled brightly as soon as he returned to the bench.

Gyeong Su-in nudged Kim Young-hoon’s foot.

“Yikes. You scared me to death.”

“I know. I was scared to death too. Knuckleballs are still difficult.”

“Why a knuckleball there?”

“I wanted to throw it once. I’ve been practicing a bit, but the actual game is different.”

Kim Young-hoon winked at Gyeong Su-in.

“But it worked, didn’t it? Who would have thought a knuckleball would come in here?”

“Still, be careful. I was really nervous just now.”

“Shouldn’t I do everything I want to do on a day like today?”

Gyeong Su-in could only smile bitterly at Kim Young-hoon’s smile.

In the bottom of the 1st inning, Phoenix’s attack.

Goat’s ace, Fish’s pitch was heavy.

He allowed one walk but broke two bats and pitched a scoreless inning.

Phoenix players kept complaining.

“Why isn’t he going to Japan or the majors?”

“Ha. We’re screwed today.”

In the top of the 2nd inning, Goat’s attack.

Kim Young-hoon stood on the mound and adjusted his hat.

The batter is Song Seok-hyeon.

Goat fans were already standing up and singing the cheer song with all their might.

Kim Young-hoon took a deep breath as he looked at Song Seok-hyeon stepping into the batter’s box.

[It is a match between the best pitcher and the best hitter in Korean professional baseball.]

[In terms of head-to-head record, Kim Young-hoon is overwhelmingly superior, but Song Seok-hyeon is also the player who hits Kim Young-hoon’s pitches the best in Korean professional baseball. Their recent record of five at-bats is also very good. You can say that he has gotten a feel for it.]

[He hasn’t given up a home run yet, right?]

[Yes. No extra-base hits yet, but it wouldn’t be strange if a home run came out in a game like today.]

Song Seok-hyeon stood with his legs apart.

He closed his eyes and breathed slowly.

When facing a good pitcher, you have to empty your mind and thoughts.

You have to choose the ball according to your swing rather than *matchwo* [adjust to] the opposing pitcher’s swing.

When Kim Young-hoon throws with his right hand, he mixes high fastballs and curveballs, low fastballs and changeups.

If you divide it by the strike zone, he mainly uses the high left and right corners and the low outside.

He also throws fastballs low and inside from time to time, but you have to give up on that.

If you hit Kim Young-hoon’s ball with a lot of spin wrong, it can lead to a ground ball, and foul balls can bounce towards your legs or feet.

Kim Young-hoon knows this well, so he refrains from using low inside pitches as much as possible out of consideration for the opposing player.

Kim Young-hoon was the pitcher who used low inside pitches better than anyone else in the Asian Games.

I witnessed two hitters collapse from foul balls.

Give up on inside pitches.

The odds are 50/50.

Outside fastball or breaking ball.

Kim Young-hoon took his stance.

[Pitcher’s first pitch.]

After lifting his leg slightly, Kim Young-hoon leans his body forward.

Like a meticulously drawn picture, Kim Young-hoon’s hand is not revealed to the hitter’s eyes until the end.

The ball suddenly appears only after the body is twisted.

It feels like the pitcher is throwing the ball right in front of you.

Thwack!

-Strike!

[First pitch strike. Kim Young-hoon easily gets the first pitch strike.]

[It was a full outside fastball. You can’t hit those kinds of pitches even if you know they’re coming. Who can swing aggressively when the first pitch comes in like that?]

Song Seok-hyeon takes his stance again.

I’m not even sad that I can’t hit those kinds of pitches.

A fast and low outside fastball.

Even if you hit it, you won’t get an extra-base hit, and the probability of becoming a *beomta* [routine out] is only high.

“Hoo.”

Kim Young-hoon whistled softly.

It’s thrilling.

What could be more fun than seeing a hitter flinch at the pitcher’s ball and not react?

Kim Young-hoon exchanged signs with the catcher.

The catcher’s sign is a curveball.

Kim Young-hoon nodded.

[Pitcher’s second pitch. Ball. It’s a ball.]

Song Seok-hyeon’s waist was half turned.

Song Seok-hyeon showed a sigh of relief, and Kim Young-hoon showed a regretful smile.

[The two players’ mind games are fierce.]

[Kim Young-hoon often shows a fastball and then gets a strike with a curveball. The curveball came into the high course just now. The hitter could have been fooled enough, but Kim Young-hoon’s curve angle is so large that the ball that goes into the high course often falls to the ground. Song Seok-hyeon held back his swing at the end.]

[This is also due to the influence of matching the battery together, right?]

[After all, hitting the ball as a hitter and receiving the ball while breathing with the pitcher as a catcher are different. As Song Seok-hyeon has directly experienced Kim Young-hoon’s style, the two players’ mind games have become more fierce.]

Kim Young-hoon’s third pitch is a fastball.