On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 71

“It’s going over! It’s going over! It’s going over!”

The white ball sailed through the dark night sky.

Success Story of a Catcher

Phoenix Game (4)

The commentator sighed.

“Ah, it’s a foul ball. It just barely missed the foul pole.”

“Did you see that? The ball went completely out of the stadium.”

“Even though Daejeon Stadium is relatively small, he still managed to hit it out.”

“You can’t just let anyone be the cleanup hitter [the batter who bats fourth in the lineup, typically a strong hitter]. He’s incredibly strong.”

“It looked like he really put his mind to that swing, didn’t he?”

“I think he was expecting a fastball and swung accordingly.”

Veron muttered, “What the f*ck,” over and over again.

Before he even had a chance to turn his head, the ball was soaring into the sky.

Even if it had gone to the center fence, it would have easily been a home run.

“He’s only twenty years old?”

In America, there’s no way someone would debut in the pros at twenty.

That’s the age when you’re munching on peanut butter sandwiches in the rookie league, wondering if you should even keep playing baseball.

He almost gave up his first hit and first home run in his debut game.

‘Slider, outside.’

The pitcher nodded in agreement to the catcher’s second sign without hesitation.

Thwack!

-Ball, outside.

Having seen Song Seok-hyun’s power, the catcher didn’t take any risks.

He threw one ball outside with a breaking ball and then tempted the batter with a ball that dropped low.

-Ball, low.

“Song Seok-hyun is picking the pitches well.”

“Veron is essentially a two-pitch pitcher. Fastballs account for over 50%, and sliders account for 30%. He adds a changeup, but it’s mainly for show. Veron’s fastball is fast and powerful, but his slider isn’t that great. The slider is only effective when the fastball supports it; if he throws sliders consecutively, it’s hard to deceive the batter.”

The catcher felt a sense of frustration, as if something was weighing on his chest.

Kim In-hwan is a batter you should obviously avoid.

Even more so when the next batter is a rookie in his first game today.

Is there any need to be afraid of a rookie high school catcher who came undrafted?

That’s what he thought until he saw Song Seok-hyun’s first hit.

But now?

It’s a different kind of fear than facing Kim In-hwan.

Kim In-hwan’s power is undeniable, but he also has clear weaknesses.

A bad-ball hitter.

He often self-destructs if you don’t give him good pitches.

He doesn’t have much patience, so the fewer swings he takes, the more he expands his strike zone and swings aggressively.

Kim In-hwan is a batter who collapses on his own if the battery [the pitcher and catcher working together] is patient.

Song Seok-hyun is a different type of batter.

His strategy is clear.

The swing on the first pitch wasn’t a reaction but a response.

A batter with a strong strategy isn’t a difficult opponent if you avoid that strategy.

Having a strong strategy also means having clear weaknesses.

Why would a batter without weaknesses need to have a strategy?

It’s a common assumption, but… he doesn’t react to breaking balls.

Veron has a good fastball, but if he throws a fastball into the strike zone now, something bad is bound to happen.

If the batter’s aiming for a fastball, what should he call for right now?

“Veron walks the batter.”

“It was practically an intentional walk. All the pitches after the first one were far outside the strike zone.”

“This is interesting. Isn’t Veron a pitcher with a strong sense of pride?”

“Haha, that’s right. He’s proud and has a fiery temper.”

“But he’s walking two batters in a row. Has this ever happened before?”

“That’s how much he acknowledges the power of Kim In-hwan and Song Seok-hyun. I was really nervous when Song Seok-hyun hit that foul home run. And I’m not even a pitcher.”

“It was a foul home run, but the ball went out of the stadium.”

“So, it’s runners on first and second with no outs. A good scoring opportunity, right? If Goat scores here, the game will definitely tilt in their favor.”

Song Seok-hyun took off his gear and handed it to the coach.

The coach patted Song Seok-hyun’s butt.

“Good job. You didn’t rush and picked the pitches well.”

Manager Ham Seong-hoon watched Kim In-hwan and Song Seok-hyun on first and second base and gave a short round of applause.

The hitting coach came to his side and said.

“It’s going according to your plan, Manager. The strategy of having In-hwan bat third and Seok-hyun bat fourth seems to be working well.”

“Song Seok-hyun is doing even better than I thought. As you said, he’s calm and has a clear strategy.”

“In-hwan is also being very patient today. The synergy is good.”

“Kim In-hwan’s biggest problem is that he’s impatient, but with Song Seok-hyun behind him, you can see that his impatience has decreased. I was wondering if it would work, but it’s having a better effect than I thought.”

“In-hwan relies on Seok-hyun a lot. He has faith in Seok-hyun.”

“Relies on him?”

“Seok-hyun is quite diligent and knowledgeable about baseball theory. I heard he’s read all the baseball books that have come out in Korea. He’s given In-hwan various pieces of advice, and it seems to have worked well for In-hwan.”

“Is that so?”

Ham Seong-hoon looked at Song Seok-hyun on first base.

“To think that a catcher like that would come in as an undrafted player…”

“I know, right.”

“Hmm.”

The hitting coach asked when Ham Seong-hoon made a serious expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“I guess there’s no way for a person to die. Maybe I can wear a jacket and play baseball.”

Two consecutive walks.

Runners on first and second with no outs.

Goat didn’t call for a play.

The pitcher was shaken, and the two runners were the 3rd and 4th batters, who weren’t good at base running.

The manager concluded that it was better to aim for the pitcher’s self-destruction.

‘Slider, low.’

As the catcher signaled, the pitcher threw a dropping ball.

Choi Jae-wan, who came up as the 5th batter, hit the top of the ball.

“The batter hits! Shortstop! Shortstop! Catches it! Ah, ah, ah! The shortstop is juggling it over there. He couldn’t throw the ball!”

“The shortstop couldn’t get the ball out of his glove properly. That was a double play course if he hadn’t rushed.”

“Veron isn’t getting any help from the defense.”

“Phoenix said they focused on defense this season, but it’s a shame. There’s an error every game. The pitcher isn’t getting any help from the fielders.”

Veron looked at the sky and cursed.

A defense that shakes a shaking pitcher even more.

Oh Jin-young, the 6th batter, sent the pitcher’s errant pitch to the outfield.

“1-0. Goat takes the lead with an outfield fly.”

“Phoenix has avoided the worst-case scenario. They exchanged 1 run and one out and kept the runners tied up. One out, runners on first and second. They could end the inning with a double play.”

Even though Veron is hot-tempered, he has over 10 years of professional experience.

He can understand and move on from a fielder’s mistake once.

One out, runners on first and second.

It’s a situation where they can concentrate and end it by giving up only 1 point.

“Jung Dong-gyu! Sends the ball to the outfield… Ah! It floated too high. The right fielder reaches out… He missed it! He misses it! The runners start running!”

“Ah, that one… that wasn’t a ball he should have missed. How can he make such a mistake?”

“In the meantime, Song Seok-hyun steps on third base and heads home, comes home. Goat’s extending score. The score is 2-0. The situation continues with one out, runners on second and third. Goat’s continued attack situation. Goat can make a big inning in the 4th.”

“In the end, Phoenix is self-destructing with walks and errors. It’s not that Goat is doing well, but Phoenix is doing poorly. Phoenix fans must be very disappointed.”

“They won the championship last year, but the depth issue is inevitable.”

“There’s a joke that Phoenix pitchers should have 1 point deducted from their ERA [Earned Run Average, a measure of pitching performance], but it seems like it’s not just a joke to laugh off lightly.”

As Song Seok-hyun entered the dugout, the players welcomed him with applause.

The hitting coach tapped Song Seok-hyun’s helmet.

“You could have taken your first home run ball. It’s a shame, isn’t it?”

Song Seok-hyun returned to the bench and took a breather.

His hand still tingled.

He was too greedy.

As he was aiming for a fastball, his shoulder turned faster when he saw a fastball coming inside. If his shoulder had turned just a little less, he would have hit a home run.

“Good job. You pick the pitches well as expected.”

Kim In-hwan patted Song Seok-hyun’s shoulder.

It’s a common foul, but a foul that misses a home run by a hair’s breadth leaves a lingering regret throughout the game.

Kim In-hwan knew Song Seok-hyun’s feelings better than anyone.

“I was too hasty; it would have been a home run if I had done it as usual.”

“It’s natural. The first game always ends with you not knowing how it’s going and just going ‘Uh-oh!’”

“Will I come to my senses after today is over?”

“You’ll feel better after a day. Well, there are some guys who never adapt, but you’re not one of those cases, are you?”

Song Seok-hyun tapped his cheeks.

There are many players who fly around in the minor leagues but fail miserably when they come to the major leagues.

This is sometimes due to the difference in skill between the major and minor leagues, and sometimes due to being weak in big games.

Professional baseball games are played amidst the cheers and jeers of thousands, or even tens of thousands, of fans.

Even if a player has outstanding natural talent, they can easily collapse if they are weak under pressure.

Could he be one of those cases?

Song Seok-hyun fell into his own thoughts.

Is he just out of his mind because it’s his first game, or is he really the type to shrink in front of an audience?

While he was lost in a tunnel of worries, Goat made the 4th inning a big inning.

“Goat scores 7 points in the 4th inning alone.”

“Ah, Veron is taken off the mound in the 4th inning. He was pitching well today. He was definitely pitching perfectly until the 3rd inning.”

“Veron… Ah, he can’t control his anger. He throws his glove and leaves the bench.”

“Even if he’s a foreign player, he shouldn’t act so recklessly, but I can understand Veron’s feelings today. There were three errors in the 4th inning alone. Veron’s two consecutive walks were the starting point of the massive loss of points, but there were definitely several opportunities to end the inning easily.”

“Phoenix’s defensive instability is not easily fixed.”

“Phoenix’s championship in 2012 will remain the greatest mystery in the history of professional baseball. Who would look at the current Phoenix and think of them as last year’s championship team?”

“There’s a joke that Phoenix pitchers should have 1 point deducted from their ERA, but it seems like it’s not just a joke to laugh off lightly.”

Bottom of the 4th.

Han Min-seok, who received support for 7 points, gave up three walks in the 4th inning.

It was a disadvantage of a big inning, that is, the pitcher’s shoulder cooled down, so the zeroing and the strength of the ball slightly decreased.

“Shortstop! Shortstop, catches it and throws to 2nd base! Back to 1st base! Out! It’s out! 4-6-3 double play!”

“Goat! Prevents any points from being scored in a bases-loaded situation.”

“They’ve fallen to 5th place now, but Goat was definitely a team that could compete for the championship until the beginning of the season.”

“The depth and potential are definitely different. Three starting hitters have left, but the defense seems as solid as ever.”

“If you ask if the offense has weakened, today’s game is not at all.”

“Kim In-hwan’s use as the 3rd batter was a good choice today. As the opposing pitcher walked Kim In-hwan, his on-base percentage increased, and Song Seok-hyun, the 4th batter, continued to get on base with a calmness that didn’t seem like a rookie making his debut.”

“It was lucky, but it’s also good that there were consecutive hits after getting on base, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. There are many cases where they collapse after piling up runners, but Goat took advantage of the opportunity. Veron’s ball was good today. If they had safely passed the 4th inning, Phoenix could have continued well until the 6th inning, but they self-destructed with consecutive errors in the 4th inning.”

“You mean Goat escaped the crisis with good defense, and Phoenix caused the crisis with bad defense?”

“Yes, that’s right. If Goat maintains such a solid defense, they have a higher chance of moving up after the starting players return.”

“If Kim In-hwan and Song Seok-hyun, who are showing good performances today, join them, the depth will become thicker.”

“Haha, since the combination of the two players is the first time today, we’ll have to watch them more for the time being to get a clear picture.”

When the score widened to 7-0, Seo Il-hyeok watched the manager’s reaction.

In the 5th and 6th innings, Phoenix added more points and widened the score to 10-0.

As they entered the 7th inning, Manager Ham Seong-hoon called Park Shin-eon, the catcher.

“How is it? Should we take a break?”

Park Shin-eon glanced back at the bench.

“Yes, I understand.”

“You’ve worked hard today. I’ll manage your innings from now on, so feel free to tell me whenever you need to manage your stamina.”

“I always maintain my stamina well thanks to Il-hyeok, right? I’m fine.”

The manager called the battery coach.

The battery coach was flustered after hearing the manager’s instructions and asked again.

“Seok-hyun as a catcher?”

“Yes, we should give him a catcher debut in a game like this, shouldn’t we?”

“But…”

The battery coach looked at Seo Il-hyeok.

Seo Il-hyeok kept glancing at the manager and coach.

“Il-hyeok is a backup catcher.”

“I know. But we should use a rookie in a game like this.”

“…You know that Il-hyeok is a free agent this year, right? It’s not easy to fill the number of games, so wouldn’t it be better to use Il-hyeok if possible? Seok-hyun is showing everything he has to show today.”

“I know what you’re worried about. It’s because of the players’ factions, right?”

“It’s not exactly that, but…”

“The way to overcome factions is not through the distribution of factions but through the standard of skill. What manager wouldn’t use Song Seok-hyun as a catcher in a game like today?”

The battery coach lowered his head.

“I’m sorry. I overstepped my bounds.”

“It’s okay. You must have said that for the team. Please talk to Seo Il-hyeok well. This season is long, not just today’s game.”

“Yes.”

Kim Tae-woo, the battery coach, finished talking to the manager and turned around.

Seo Il-hyeok was already fidgeting.

The battery coach didn’t make eye contact with Seo Il-hyeok and went straight to Song Seok-hyun.

“Seok-hyun, get ready. You’re going out as a catcher in the next inning.”

Song Seok-hyun’s eyes widened.

“Me?”

The players’ gazes naturally turned to Seo Il-hyeok.

Seo Il-hyeok looked back and forth between the battery coach and Song Seok-hyun.

“Yes, get ready.”

“Ah, I understand.”