On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 45

“You picked the ball just by looking at that?”

Song Seok-hyun shrugged. “No, that was just to be sure.”

“Then you knew before?”

“Yes.”

“How? What was the tell? What kind of tell does he have?”

“He doesn’t have a tell. Forkballs aren’t really a pitch that has many tells to begin with.”

“Then?”

“He doesn’t have a tell, but he has expressions. His emotions are easily read on his face. I guess he’s like that because he trusts his pitches. But for a hitter, a pitcher’s diverse expressions are a gift. It’s all information.”

“Ah, my head hurts.” Kim In-hwan massaged his temples.

Another player whispered to Kim In-hwan to get ready to bat. “Hyung [older brother or respected male figure], think about it after the game. Just focus on the game right now.”

“……Ha, alright.” Kim In-hwan left his seat.

Kim Jeong-ryul sat next to Song Seok-hyun as if he had been waiting. “Thanks to you, I think I’ll be playing hooky [skipping practice] today.”

“What does that mean?”

“Looks like Jin-oh is going to pitch the whole game today. There’s only one guy half-heartedly warming up in the bullpen now.”

“It just means Jin-oh hyung is pitching well. I didn’t do anything.”

“Come on, tell me. What trick did you use to make Jin-oh fly like that?”

“Trick? Jin-oh hyung is just pitching well.”

“Come on, tell me. There must have been something.”

Song Seok-hyun scratched his forehead. “It’s not a trick… I looked at the stats, and Jin-oh hyung’s RPM [revolutions per minute] goes up to 2,600 at its highest. It averages over 2,400~2,500. That means his spin rate is good. But the fact that he can’t exactly overpower with his pitches means it’s a problem with deception, control, or repertoire. So, I left the deception and control, which I can’t change right away, alone and changed the repertoire.”

“So that’s why you called for a lot of inside pitches?”

“A high spin rate means breaking balls will be effective. So, the curveball should be good. I knock the hitter off the plate with a high inside pitch and then get the count with an outside curveball.”

“What about the slider? He barely threw any sliders today. Shouldn’t you use the slider?”

“I was planning on using it starting from the next inning anyway. It’s already the third time through the lineup, so I have to change the repertoire.”

“So you were saving it to add to the repertoire?”

“I was going to decide whether to add the slider or not after seeing if the curveball was working.”

“Ha, you little punk.” Kim Jeong-ryul put Song Seok-hyun in a headlock.

“Ah, ah. It hurts.”

“There’s nothing for you to learn here. You need to go to the first team quickly.”

“I can only go if they send me.”

“You have no choice but to go, no matter what.”

The next pitcher after Gu In-sun was a pitcher with a top speed of 155km/h [approximately 96 mph]. A typical bullpen fastball pitcher who goes for the win with fastballs and sliders.

The problem was that his control was erratic, so he was stuck in the second team in Wales, which boasted a solid pitching staff.

Kim In-hwan’s at-bat.

-Strike!

-Strike! Out!

Kim In-hwan was struck out, unable to do anything against the inside fastball after getting two consecutive strikes with outside fastballs and sliders. Three-pitch strikeout.

Kim In-hwan walked to the bench with his bat in hand. “No matter how much I look at it, I don’t understand.” Kim In-hwan muttered in a dejected voice.

“Hyung, the location was too good.”

“I don’t think it’s the location or anything else, for me.”

Song Seok-hyun wanted to say a few more words to Kim In-hwan, but it was time to switch sides.

The opponent’s first batter was Shim Soo-kyung. He was a hitter that Jeong Jin-oh was having a hard time with today.

Song Seok-hyun called for a high inside pitch for the first pitch.

Jeong Jin-oh flinched for a moment but ended up throwing the ball.

-Strike!

Shim Soo-kyung didn’t move. There was no flinching or expression of regret for missing it.

Song Seok-hyun looked at Shim Soo-kyung and sent the sign again. ‘Fastball, high inside.’

Jeong Jin-oh adjusted his hat and hesitated. He expressed his feelings indirectly, but Song Seok-hyun was firm. ‘Fastball, high inside.’

“Ha.” Jeong Jin-oh sighed once and threw a high inside pitch. It was an inside pitch, but it was a bit of a mistake.

Jeong Jin-oh squeezed his eyes shut.

-Strike!

This time too, Shim Soo-kyung didn’t move. Not even a flinch.

“Hoo, you’re going to make my heart drop.” Jeong Jin-oh stroked his chest and then hiccuped after seeing the next sign. ‘Curveball, inside.’

Left-handed pitcher Jeong Jin-oh, right-handed hitter Shim Soo-kyung. It’s unheard of for a left-handed pitcher to throw a front door curveball [a curveball that starts outside the plate and breaks back in] to a right-handed hitter, let alone a backdoor curve [a curveball that starts inside the plate and breaks further in].

Jeong Jin-oh shook his head firmly this time. ‘No way.’

‘Curveball, inside.’

‘I said no way.’

‘Curveball, inside.’

‘I said no.’

‘Curveball, inside.’

After four consecutive signs, Jeong Jin-oh couldn’t bear it this time either. He wanted to lash out at Song Seok-hyun.

“Pitcher, continue!” Jeong Jin-oh nodded at the umpire’s shout.

Song Seok-hyun didn’t send another sign. He just sat there silently, but it was suffocating.

He wondered if he should throw a different pitch, but he hesitated because he didn’t know what kind of expression Song Seok-hyun was making inside his catcher’s mask.

“Ah, damn it.” It would be nice to have a shutout, but even if he gets hit, it’s just one point.

He thought that Song Seok-hyun had led him well today, so he should turn a blind eye to one act of stubbornness.

Pit.

Jeong Jin-oh threw a curveball, twisting his wrist as much as possible. The more he twists his wrist, the easier it is for the hitter to notice that it’s a curveball.

The use of orthodox curveballs has decreased in recent years, but a good curveball is hard to hit even if you know it’s coming.

-Strike! Out!

Jeong Jin-oh was surprised after throwing the ball. Looking strikeout.

Shim Soo-kyung stepped away from the plate without a word.

“……What?” He struck him out, but he had an expression that he didn’t even know himself.

It was a curveball that was full on the inside, so it should have been even more visible to the hitter. Was it because of the unfamiliar pitch combination, or because he didn’t expect it at all?

Jeong Jin-oh felt like running to the hitter and asking him.

“……That’s obviously the catcher’s sign, right?” The coach of Goat asked the battery coach [coach specializing in pitchers and catchers].

“……I guess so?”

“……Seok-hyun is crazy.”

“But it worked.”

“Coach Kim.”

“Yes.”

“Would Coach Kim be able to give that kind of sign?”

The battery coach shook his head firmly. “I would never do such a crazy thing.”

“Coach Kim wouldn’t do it, and I can’t do it either, so what would our manager think if he saw that?”

“…….” The battery coach closed his mouth.

The manager sighed deeply. “Aigo [expression of frustration], my head. Coach Kim, teach him the pitch combination again. If he gives signs like that, he’ll be out right away in the first team. You know that, right?”

“……Hoo, I understand.”

While the manager and coach were talking, Jeong Jin-oh finished the inning with a hit and a double play.

The manager looked back and forth between Jeong Jin-oh, who was making a dumbfounded smile, and Song Seok-hyun, who was smiling.

“He’s something, but…….”

Success as a Catcher

Simultaneous Emergence (3)

“Hoo-ooo-ooo.” Jeong Jin-oh was sitting alone, separated from the bench.

He closed his eyes and gently rotated a ball in one hand.

No one came near Jeong Jin-oh. It was already the bottom of the 8th inning. The number of pitches was ninety-two.

“So, is today his first complete game?” The manager glanced at Jeong Jin-oh and asked.

“Yes, it is.” The pitching coach repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fist.

“He’s in his fourth year, and his first complete game is in the second team—it’s too late.”

“Complete games are rare these days, aren’t they?”

“Still, if he wants to survive as a starter, he should have had a few complete games in the second team a long time ago.”

“Jin-oh’s style is a bit…….”

“Yeah, I know, he’s always been a guy who avoids contact.”

“It’s late, but I think he’s found his own way.”

“It’s funny to see Jin-oh being so aggressive like that. He’s a guy who throws a hundred pitches in the 5th inning even in the second team.”

“Surprisingly, Seok-hyun seems to be stubborn. I saw earlier that Jin-oh was shaking his head, but he didn’t seem to change the sign.”

“You mean that inside curveball from earlier?”

“Yes, that’s not Jin-oh’s style at all, no matter who looks at it.”

“It’s a relief that it worked, but it was too dangerous.”

“Still, I think Jin-oh has finally taken a step forward as a starting pitcher today. He’s always been a guy who didn’t have much faith in his pitches…….”

The manager looked at Song Seok-hyun. Song Seok-hyun was getting ready to go out, taking care of his protector [catcher’s gear].

“He’s definitely got a strong presence even though he’s young. You could say he has charisma.”

“Seok-hyun, you mean?”

“Yeah, he was a national ace until he was a high school freshman, right? It’s true that the guys who are good at baseball are good at everything.”

“Seok-hyun won’t be here for long.”

“You never know. It’s different for other positions, but the catcher position only has one spot, right? Unless Seok-hyun is incredibly talented, can he beat Shin Eon-i?”

“Still, he’ll be good enough as a backup.”

“You know what kind of situation Il-hyuk is in. Our manager is trying to get Il-hyuk game days, so would he include Seok-hyun?”

“Still, it doesn’t make sense not to use a guy like that.”

“Well, it might be different for other teams, but it’s not easy for our team right now. We don’t know what will happen to Il-hyuk next year, so he’ll probably go up next year if possible.”

“It’s a waste to keep a guy like that in the second team for a year…….”

“This is professional baseball. Prospects are just prospects, and performance is the best. Our team is even more like that. Isn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s true.”

Top of the 9th inning.

Jeong Jin-oh took off his jacket and stood up from his seat.

His first complete game win.

It’s not a perfect game, a no-hitter, or a shutout.

It’s an insignificant record for some, but it was unfamiliar to Jeong Jin-oh.

He could count on one hand how many times he had gone past the 6th inning since joining the pros. Moreover, this was the first time he had gone past the 8th inning.

“Haa.” It’s an insignificant record for pitchers, but it’s a special record for Jeong Jin-oh.

The fielders also didn’t say anything to Jeong Jin-oh so that he could focus on the game. They just moved their feet more, lowered their waists, and looked at the pitcher’s back.

Whack!

-Walk. Runner advances.

Jeong Jin-oh’s pitches kept going outside.

Song Seok-hyun immediately went up to the mound.

“Hyung.”

“Oh, why? I’m okay. I’m okay, so why did you come up?”

“Hyung.”

Song Seok-hyun puffed out his chest.