On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 279

“Then I’m going to sleep. You should sleep soon too. Eating well and sleeping well is the best you can do.”

A moment later, Kim In-hwan’s light snoring could be heard.

Song Seok-hyun looked at Kim In-hwan and gave a bitter smile.

“A wall……”

He had been burning with the desire to win, to overcome, but could that be a burden instead?

If even the easygoing Kim In-hwan could see it, it was clear that he was different from his usual self.

Song Seok-hyun lay down on the bed as he was.

Right now.

The most important thing right now is getting a good night’s sleep.

* * *

Swish, swish, swish.

It rained from the morning.

Song Seok-hyun woke up to the sound of the rain and looked out the window.

“……It can’t be, right?”

He opened his phone and checked the weather.

The forecast said the rain would stop by lunchtime.

But the amount of rain falling was unusual.

If today’s game is canceled, the game will be postponed to tomorrow.

Being postponed to tomorrow means Kim Young-hoon gets another day to rest before coming up.

Kim Young-hoon also woke up to the sound of the rain and opened the veranda door.

“Hoo, is the sky trying to help us out?”

The heavy rain pounded against the window like a drum.

Ace Closer

Good bye (7)

The rain, which had been falling all afternoon, began to subside as evening approached.

The game supervisor announced the game would proceed, and the players belatedly began to warm up.

Kim Young-hoon stretched and looked towards the Goat bench.

The Goat players and coaches were also looking at Kim Young-hoon.

“Young-hoon is going to bore a hole through them with his eyes. They’re staring over here a lot, too?”

Kim Young-hoon chuckled at Kyung Soo-in’s words.

“I guess so. I must be a popular star here.”

“They’re probably nervous about you playing today.”

“It would have been nice to have yesterday as the finale, but I didn’t know they’d overuse me until today.”

“Overuse, when we still have the Postseason to play.”

“Ugh, I don’t know if I’ll even be able to play in the Postseason. Look at this, look.”

Kim Young-hoon showed his right arm.

“See it trembling?”

Other players glanced at Kim Young-hoon’s arm.

“It’s gone bad. I think I really don’t have much left.”

Instantly, the atmosphere became somber.

“Aish. Anyone would think I’m a terminally ill patient if they heard that. Why are you talking like that?”

“Hehe, I’m just saying. Well, if we make it to the Postseason, I think I can pitch until the Korean Series [the championship series of Korean baseball]. I’ll just need to rest a little longer.”

“We’re not telling you to play through the pain, just fill your rotation. We’ll take care of the rest.”

Starting pitcher Jung Kwang-woo said.

“Yeah. If you go to the Postseason, you can alternate between the 1st and 4th games, so you’ll have a much longer break for your arm.”

“So you’re confident you can win the 2nd and 3rd games?”

“We have to win. Somehow.”

“Then you’re confident today too, our Kwang-woo?”

“Damn it. Whether I’m confident or not, I have to pitch like I’m dying.”

“Okay. I believe in you, our Kwang-woo. Fighting! Let’s go for a shutout today!”

Jung Kwang-woo tapped Kim Young-hoon on the chest.

“You rest well today. I’ll finish it for you.”

“Ooh. You can strike out Song Seok-hyun and Kim In-hwan three times each today, right?”

“……Isn’t the important thing just getting them out somehow?”

“You’re confident you can get them out, right?”

“All I have to do is not give up any runs, right?”

Kim Young-hoon let out a hollow laugh.

“Why is our Kwang-woo’s tongue so long?”

The Phoenix players chuckled and laughed.

“Their atmosphere is good.”

At Yoo Sun-ho’s words, the Goat players sighed.

“Anyone would think they’re in first place.”

“We should have really latched onto Kim Young-hoon yesterday…… Ha.”

“If we lose today’s game, won’t we drop to third place?”

Yoo Sun-ho slung his bat over his shoulder.

“Let’s not think about losing. Let’s only think about winning, no matter what.”

Song Seok-hyun sat at one end of the bench with his eyes closed.

How many times had he repeated taking deep breaths in and out?

Before he knew it, the start of the game was approaching.

Despite the rain, the stadium was soon packed.

So full that it was almost deafening before the game even started.

Flags fluttered and cheers poured out.

Amidst the chaos, Song Seok-hyun’s chest only slightly swelled and then sank again.

“Hoo.”

With a deep exhale, Song Seok-hyun opened his eyes.

Drowsy, dim eyes.

Eyes without sharpness or spirit.

“That’s enough.”

Song Seok-hyun got up from his seat.

* * *

-Play ball!

The top of the 1st inning began with the Goat’s attack.

The Phoenix’s starting pitcher was Jung Kwang-woo.

A right-handed fastball pitcher with a fast ball, but not a particularly outstanding pitcher.

Unstable control and many mistake pitches.

On days when he was in good condition, he had the stamina to complete a game, but the problem was his software, which fell far short of his physical abilities.

[The leadoff hitter is Kim Jung-deok. He may be called the best leadoff hitter of all time.]

[Looking at his stats this season alone, you can say he is the best leadoff hitter of all time. Although he hasn’t played 100 games, that’s because he was platooning with Lee Ji-sung at the beginning of the season.]

[The best leadoff hitter with both on-base percentage and slugging percentage. He’s bound to be really difficult for the pitcher.]

[How you deal with Kim Jung-deok, that’s the key for Phoenix today. Goat has adjusted the batting order, right? Song Seok-hyun is coming up second. There’s talk of a strong second batter, but this is too strong.]

[Doesn’t that mean Manager Ham Sung-hoon is trying to force the issue early?]

[For Manager Ham Sung-hoon’s plan to succeed, Kim Jung-deok’s on-base percentage is important.]

Jung Kwang-woo took a breath.

A strong hitter with a good eye for the ball.

A leadoff hitter with better stats than other teams’ cleanup hitters.

He may be a little short on home runs, but his slugging percentage is better than any team’s cleanup hitter.

For a pitcher with erratic control, there is no hitter as difficult as a hitter with a clear zone [a hitter who is very selective about which pitches they swing at].

You have to pick well from the first pitch.

A hitter with a clear zone means he throws away ambiguous balls.

An ambiguous ball is a well-placed corner work.

Jung Kwang-woo is not a pitcher with strengths in corner work, but corner work is needed now.

If Kim Jung-deok gets on base, the next hitters are Song Seok-hyun and Kim Wook.

The catcher sent a sign for a fastball low and outside.

Thwack!

[A high fly ball~~~The center fielder caught it. One out!]

[He hit it well just now, but he was pushed back by the power.]

[It was a pitch close to Jung Kwang-woo’s mistake, but it flew too high.]

[Kim Jung-deok must have put too much power into it.]

The catcher wiped his chest.

The ball went three pitches deeper than the course he wanted.

In short, right in the middle.

Only the course was low, but it went completely into the center.

“Hoo.”

Jung Kwang-woo also wiped his chest.

The rain helped him.

On humid days, baseballs also become heavier.

Not only that.

On days with moisture, the ball doesn’t extend well.

It’s the best day for players who use breaking balls well.

Even if you don’t use breaking balls well, it’s not a bad day for pitchers.

The next hitter is Song Seok-hyun.

He takes his place at the plate with an indifferent expression.

Jung Kwang-woo swallowed dry saliva without realizing it.

There’s nowhere to throw.

He can’t see it.

He’s not aggressive, and he doesn’t show fighting spirit, but there’s no gap at all.

[Walk. A straight walk.]

[Jung Kwang-woo avoided him. He avoided the match. He’s going to compete with Kim Wook, right?]

Song Seok-hyun stood silently on first base.

Kim Wook smiled bitterly as he entered the plate.

He has been the fourth hitter for the strongest team in history, the Pegasus.

It’s no exaggeration to say that he is the best third baseman of all time.

He knows very well that Song Seok-hyun is the hottest hitter this season, but it is a very unfamiliar feeling to have someone passed over in front of him to face him.

“I know how Sun-ho hyung [older brother/senior] feels now.”

The teammates who watch KS’s [likely refers to Kim Seok-hyun] destructive power right in front of them know it best, but they can’t help but grit their teeth.

“Compete properly. I’ll hit it properly too.”

Kim Wook said loudly as if to be heard by the catcher.

As soon as the catcher heard Kim Wook’s story, he changed the fastball sign to a breaking ball.

If the hitter has the mindset to hit no matter what, you have to use it in reverse.

Shaking his head.

But the pitcher shook his head in the opposite direction.

He gave the sign himself.

‘Fastball.’

That too, on the body side.

The catcher gave the sign again, but the pitcher’s stubbornness did not change.

“Hoo.”

The importance of the catcher in the battery goes without saying, but in the end, the pitcher is still the main character.

If the pitcher is stubborn, the catcher has no choice but to follow.

The catcher put his mitt on the body side.

First pitch foul.

Second pitch foul.

Third pitch foul.

All were fastballs on the body side.

[0-2. Jung Kwang-woo makes three fouls with only fastballs.]

[Jung Kwang-woo seems confident in his fastball today.]

Jung Kwang-woo’s fourth pitch is a fastball on the body side.

This time, Kim Wook abandoned his greed and took a swing with less power.

The moment he tried to hit the ball for the last time, the ball suddenly curved inward.

High-speed slider.

Thwack!

[The second baseman catches and tosses, the shortstop to first base! Double play! It’s a double play!]

[Phoenix has created the best-case scenario. They finished the inning with a double play without facing Song Seok-hyun.]

[Kim Wook can’t leave the plate easily with disappointment.]

Kim Wook looked at his bat.

The ball that hit the handle of the bat broke the bat.

A high-speed slider close to a cutter.

He knew that Jung Kwang-woo sometimes threw a high-speed slider, but was it this powerful?

If it’s this kind of high-speed slider, today’s game could become more complicated than expected.

“Be careful of the high-speed slider. It comes in like a cutter.”

Kim Wook showed his bat and urged the players.

Ham Sung-hoon crossed his arms when the first inning ended without a score.

The goal was to score at least one point from the first inning.

Anyway, if Kim Young-hoon comes out, he has to make him come out as soon as possible and tire him out.

“Kwang-woo’s pitching is so good today.”

Ham Sung-hoon had no choice but to agree with the pitching coach’s words.

“There are no easy teams in the world, but I was thinking a little too easily. They’re also pros, so it’s natural that they’re doing it to the death.”

“Once Kwang-woo’s tension rises, he becomes really difficult. If it doesn’t work out in the second inning, I think it’s not bad to go with a tactic.”

“……Let’s watch until the third inning first. Originally, that friend’s condition is so severe that it goes back and forth within one game.”

It wasn’t just the Goat’s attack that went awry.

The Phoenix also ended the bottom of the 1st inning without a score.

Top of the 2nd inning.

Jung Kwang-woo shut down Seol Jin-il, Choi Jae-wan, Kim In-hwan, and Yoo Sun-ho with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts.

The curve that caught Yoo Sun-ho last was so different that it was reminiscent of Kim Young-hoon’s curve.