On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 46

“Just take two deep breaths in and out.”

“Huh? No, it’s okay.”

“Hyung [older brother or close male friend].”

“……Hooo, haaa. Hooo, haaa.”

“Good. Your first pitch is a front door slider [a slider that appears to be heading straight for the batter’s front door, then breaks sharply across the plate].”

“Huh? Front door?”

“Don’t worry about the runner. Forget the runner and just watch the batter.”

Song Seok-hyun didn’t answer.

He walked off the mound towards home plate.

Jeong Jin-oh frowned.

His pitch selection had been aggressive the whole game.

Just when he thought he was getting used to it, it became even more aggressive.

He wanted to say something, but the game was going well, so he had nothing to say.

“Hooooooo.”

Jeong Jin-oh breathed out.

Song Seok-hyun didn’t say anything.

He just held up his mitt.

Thwack!

The ball that left Jeong Jin-oh’s hand went towards the center of the zone, not inside.

The height was low, but the batter just pushed it.

“Third base! Third base! Cover third!”

The ball passed over the second baseman’s head, but the right fielder’s dash was fast.

The runner tried to go to third but returned to second.

“Ah…….”

Jeong Jin-oh kicked the innocent mound.

The first pitch inside slider was reckless. Moreover, he wasn’t a pitcher with precise control.

A pitcher with unstable control throws inside pitches often, but good results can’t continue to come out.

As he thought that the game that was over was going wrong, frustration surged.

“Damn it, Jo Yang-sun.”

No outs, runners on first and second.

The batter is Jo Yang-sun, who is fast and has a good eye.

He’s the most difficult type of batter to induce a double play.

‘Slider, inside.’

Jeong Jin-oh shook his head firmly.

He gave up a hit with the first pitch slider, so he’s going to throw it again?

Song Seok-hyun didn’t give the next sign.

He just held out his mitt.

Jeong Jin-oh waited for the sign, wondering.

“Pitcher, continue.”

Song Seok-hyun didn’t give a sign.

Jeong Jin-oh didn’t know what to do.

What is it? Why isn’t he giving me a sign? Does that mean I should just throw it like the last sign? Or does it mean I can throw it however I want?

The catcher can’t come up to the mound again, so he can’t ask Song Seok-hyun.

Jeong Jin-oh took off his hat and wiped away sweat.

His head is confused.

The catcher is motionless.

After much deliberation, Jeong Jin-oh threw the ball.

Whack!

“Wow, damn.”

A ball that was slightly off the strike zone.

Jo Yang-sun stepped away from the plate and stroked his chest.

If a left-handed pitcher throws a slider inside to a right-handed batter, the ball gets closer and closer to the batter.

“Hey, what, are you trying to hit me?”

Jo Yang-sun complained as he entered the plate.

“The ball was a little deep.”

“Hey, if you’re going to throw a beanball [a pitch thrown intentionally at the batter’s head], you should have thrown it earlier. And don’t throw it at me even if you do. This is the first and last warning.”

“I have no intention of throwing a beanball at all.”

Jo Yang-sun raised his bat.

Song Seok-hyun’s eyes looked at Jo Yang-sun’s feet.

It was about a finger’s width further away from the plate than the footprint initially marked.

Whack!

-Strike!

Jeong Jin-oh’s outside fastball was a little bit off, but Jo Yang-sun watched it.

Just as Jo Yang-sun was thinking about the next ball, Jeong Jin-oh threw the ball right away.

“Ah, damn it.”

-Strike!

Song Seok-hyun didn’t give Jo Yang-sun time to think.

Outside fastball followed by a high inside fastball.

It wasn’t even a ball that was close to his body, but Jo Yang-sun flinched and stepped back.

“Damn it.”

Jo Yang-sun stepped away from the plate and swung his bat.

The catcher’s intention is visible.

Intimidate the batter to make him nervous, then push him without giving him time to think.

A rookie catcher who is barely able to catch the ball is running the game.

It’s absurd and hateful, but he can’t help but admit it.

Jo Yang-sun, who had sorted out his thoughts, entered the plate.

No outs, runners on first and second.

What the battery [pitcher and catcher] wants is a double play.

Since a left-handed pitcher can’t throw a breaking ball that flows outside against a right-handed batter, it was obvious that they would induce a double play with a fast inside ball.

If so, the next ball is…….

Thwack!

The ball that Jeong Jin-oh threw comes outside.

He expected an inside ball, but he can induce a double play with an outside fastball.

The fastball was a little off, but if he pushed it, he was confident that he could at least make a sacrifice hit.

Tap.

Jo Yang-sun hit the ball and sighed as he ran to first base.

-Out!

-Out!

4-6-3 double play [the shortstop (6) fields the ball, throws to second base (4) for one out, and the second baseman throws to first base (3) for the second out].

The ball that Jo Yang-sun hit was not a fastball but a slider.

A falling backdoor slider [a slider that starts outside the plate and curves back over it].

“Hoo.”

Jeong Jin-oh, who was relieved of tension, finally found a smile.

He had doubted Song Seok-hyun for a moment.

If the result is good, the process also looks good.

He gave up a hit with an aggressive pitch, but he also got an out count.

Song Seok-hyun’s lead wasn’t Jeong Jin-oh’s style, but he had to admit that it was better than his own style today.

‘Fastball, high inside.’

Jeong Jin-oh now laughs at Song Seok-hyun’s appearance, demanding an inside ball from the first pitch.

One out count is all it takes to end the game, but Song Seok-hyun demands aggressive pitching until the end.

Jeong Jin-oh no longer complained.

“Hap!”

Jeong Jin-oh put a lot of energy into throwing the ball.

The ball went a little deeper than the inside strike zone.

It was a difficult ball to hit, but the batter touched the ball.

“Fly ball! Second baseman! Second baseman!”

“Mine! Mine!”

The ball flew high into the sky, but it was only slightly out of the infield.

The second baseman caught the ball and got the last out count.

“Yesss!”

Jeong Jin-oh clenched his fist.

Thanks to the last batter who touched the bad ball on his own, he achieved a complete game victory.

Jeong Jin-oh took off his hat and smiled brightly.

“Good work.”

Song Seok-hyun didn’t say anything special to Jeong Jin-oh.

Jeong Jin-oh shook his head at Song Seok-hyun.

“Good job, you too.”

The players and coaches on the bench came out to welcome the players who had just finished the game.

The players were packing their bags and leaving the Wales bench.

“He was off today.”

“I agree. He was a bit off today.”

It was a conversation between Shim Soo-kyung and Jo Yang-sun.

“I got a hit and got on base, but the game itself seemed a bit off today. Right?”

“Yes, something felt strangely off.”

Goo In-sun put both hands in his pockets and left the bench first.

“Bench sign, right? The pitch selection today.”

“Probably.”

“The pitch selection today was unique. It’s not Goat’s style.”

“Well, Jin-oh throws so cautiously, so maybe he was trying to be bold?”

“I guess so?”

“I guess so.”

Shim Soo-kyung also packed her bags and left the bench.

Jo Yang-sun, who was the last to remain, stared intently at the Goat’s bench, enjoying the victory.

“Something’s bothering me…….”

* * *

“Here.”

While Song Seok-hyun was taking off his protector, Jeong Jin-oh handed him a drink.

“Thank you, hyung.”

“Sigh.”

Jeong Jin-oh sat next to Song Seok-hyun and crossed his legs.

“You were reckless today.”

“Was I? Sorry.”

“Sorry, geez. It was absurd, but it worked. You were thinking about the pitch selection, right?”

“I don’t pick pitches without thinking.”

“Why did you keep asking for inside pitches today?”

“That’s because hyung’s pitches are good.”

“No, really. Not just saying that.”

“Really. Hyung’s fastball is good. It’s good. Not all fastballs with high spin rates are good, but hyung’s fastball is above average.”

“I’m not good enough to overpower them with my fastball. But demanding inside pitches so persistently was a bit much, wasn’t it?”

Song Seok-hyun took off his protector and wiped away sweat.

“What do you think of hyung’s control?”

“Me? I’m…… average?”

“What do you think the batters think about hyung’s control?”

“They’d think it’s average.”

“Neither good nor bad. The fastball is a bit good……. That’s why I asked for inside pitches.”

“……What does that mean? Why throw inside pitches if your control is bad? It’s going to be a home run if it’s a mistake.”

“Batters are all sensitive to inside pitches. They’re careful because it could be a beanball. If hyung throws an inside pitch, there will be balls that go into the zone, but conversely, there will also be balls that stick to the batter’s body. If hyung’s control is very good, the batter will have a plan to hit when the inside pitch comes, and if the control is very bad, they’ll just give up on the inside pitch, but about 50-60% of hyung’s pitches are strikes. It’s hard to give up, and it’s a high inside pitch, so they’re more sensitive to beanballs than pitches to the side. When hyung throws an inside pitch, it’s hard for the batter to come out aggressively from the first pitch unless the count is unfavorable or the pitch is a mistake.”

Song Seok-hyun got up from his seat and dusted off his butt.

Rising as a Catcher

Simultaneous Emergence (4)

Song Seok-hyun said.

“Hyung’s fastball has a high spin rate, so it’s more powerful when you throw high fastballs. If the spin rate is high, the breaking ball works better, and if you throw an outside curve after throwing a high inside fastball, it looks further and slower to the batter, so the combination is good.”

“So you took a gamble with the inside pitches? It worked because it was Wales, but if there was a slugger, you would have given up a few home runs today.”

“If a lot of sluggers come out, we’ll deal with it accordingly then. Today is Wales.”

Jeong Jin-oh bit his lip.

“That’s true. It’s the Wales game. Still, asking for two consecutive first pitch sliders was too much. Especially against Jo Yang-sun.”

“You have to compete even more inside against Jo Yang-sun.”

“He has a good eye and contact, so he picks out my pitches. He’ll see the inside pitch and pick it to hit.”

“Even if he hits it, a good ball won’t come out anyway.”

“Why? Because he doesn’t have power? Still, if you hit an inside pitch along the grain, you’ll get a lot of extra-base hits.”

“Jo Yang-sun puts a lot of power into his top hand. He’s unusually good at pushing the ball, but he prefers to pull it in the first place. If a player with a lack of power pulls the ball, a weak hit often comes out.”

“How do you know that he puts a lot of power into his top hand?”

“You can tell by looking at the bottom hand’s armpit. If the bottom hand’s armpit widens more before hitting the ball, it means that a lot of power is put into the top hand.”

“You look at the armpit?”

“Yes.”

Jeong Jin-oh burst into a hollow laugh.

“You can see that?”

“I can see it. I look at the batter’s feet, then the knees, then the shoulders and armpits, and finally the head. Then the batter’s style comes out.”

“……Is that so?”

Jeong Jin-oh frowned and said nothing.

Song Seok-hyun packed his bags and winked at Jeong Jin-oh.

“Aren’t you going?”

“Seok-hyun-ah.”