The Genius Pitcher Dad Throws for His Daughter - Chapter 103

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 103
#103.
Monday morning.
Though I’d given the team a day of rest, surprisingly, some players had made their way to the Training Ground.
“Well…”
Remarkably, the first to arrive at the Training Ground was none other than Senior Pitcher Jung Ji-hoon.
I thought I’d come early enough, but seeing him already drenched in sweat before I even arrived, it seemed yesterday’s game was weighing on him.
“Senior…”
“Ah… Ho-jin, you came?”
The senior greeted me with a faint smile and a wave.
From the scattered drink bottles around the area, I could tell he’d been sweating since quite early in the morning.
“Senior, don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Right.”
Jo Sang-hyuk seemed unusually downcast today.
As if to prove that I’d arrived during his break time, he stood up again and resumed his workout. Seeing him completely focused, I figured I should get moving too and started jogging lightly.
After some time had passed, faces began appearing one by one, and by lunchtime, I could tell everyone had shown up.
“Here we go! Dig in.”
At lunch, Se-jin brought around pizza.
To give each player on the team a slice, we’d need at least one pizza per person, and somehow fifty pizzas arrived all at once—he must have made a reservation in advance.
“Please make sure the Front Office staff get some too.”
“Thank you for the meal, Kim Se-jin.”
The Front Office employees happily gathered up armfuls of pizza with smiling faces.
Since I’d given the team the day off, the restaurant had closed as well, forcing the Front Office staff to eat out. They seemed delighted that pizza had arrived just when they needed it.
What was it they said? Something about how the recent good performance and positive atmosphere made work feel rewarding—though maybe it was just my imagination that their happiness seemed tinged with something bittersweet.
Anyway, thanks to Se-jin, we were eating pizza, but Senior Pitcher Jung Ji-hoon was the only one barely touching his.
“Come on, just eat. It’s just one game.”
“Yeah, it’s just one loss. Why worry about it so much?”
Jo Sang-hyuk and Choi Sung-hyuk were looking after Senior Pitcher Jung Ji-hoon from the sides.
“But honestly, that fastball that day was a bit half-hearted, wasn’t it?”
“What are you talking about? You should’ve thrown a slider.”
“Exactly. If it were me, I would’ve guided it gently to the side.”
“That’s right. Shim Yeon-woo, that guy’s a volunteer, you know? If you’d baited him with a dropping pitch, it would’ve been over.”
I wasn’t sure if this qualified as “looking after” him, but apparently that’s what they were doing.
What had started as anger directed at himself and dissatisfaction gradually transformed into various other emotions, and now had settled into annoyance.
“You bastards!”
He threw punches at both seniors’ sides, then picked up his pizza and started eating.
This was their usual style.
If one person gets hit, another starts digging a hole. Then the other two jump in, piling on dirt from the sides while tormenting him. Eventually, the hole-digging stops, and they all bicker back and forth before returning to normal.
This was only possible because the seniors hadn’t been getting beaten consecutively or ruining games in a row.
Especially last year, since they’d been splitting innings in clearly winning situations, they rarely found themselves digging holes together.
‘How did things end up like this?!’
A few days later.
The number of people digging the tunnel had increased to three.
The reason the number of tunnel diggers increased was simple.
‘We lost three in a row.’
First, the opening game of the week on Tuesday.
Se-jin took the mound for six innings.
Though he allowed two runs, he struck out nine batters and achieved a quality start. The score stood at 2-3 in our favor.
The problem erupted from behind.
Jo Sang-hyuk, who came in next, gave up a hit and recorded two outs cleanly, but then took an unexpected blow.
A home run that robbed Se-jin of his victory, and the Daejeon Phoenix surged ahead in one fell swoop.
Jo Sang-hyuk had never hidden his admiration and respect for Se-jin, openly supporting him as a fan. Yet having given up that home run with his own hands, losing the victory, it was only natural that he began digging the tunnel.
The next day, Wednesday.
This time, Choi Jin-ha took the mound.
His characteristic tempo-controlling pitches continued, allowing many hits as he worked through seven innings, giving up three runs and sufficiently achieving his goal as a starting pitcher.
The eighth inning was held by splitting the pitching duties, and in the ninth, Choi Sung-hyuk took the mound to earn a save opportunity.
Crack—!
A walk-off home run for the second consecutive day, and with his first blown save of the season, the team failed to score in the bottom of the ninth and lost.
The first-place team that had been performing well and achieved a seven-game winning streak suddenly fell into a three-game losing streak, and their first-place ranking instantly dropped to second.
“Sigh….”
“Ugh….”
“Groan….”
The Three Hitters, who could be said to be the cause of the three-game losing streak, were crouched in a corner, digging at the ground.
My turn to pitch came during this losing streak.
* * *
The Daejeon Phoenix have been on a roll lately.
They started the season with one loss in the opening game, but since then, victories have outnumbered defeats. As a result, their ranking climbed, and they currently maintain good momentum with a fourth-place record.
On top of that, by flipping games with home runs over two days, they’ve properly stirred up the atmosphere, playing with the fans’ emotions.
And today was Park Myung-hwan’s turn to pitch.
Park Myung-hwan’s first start came late.
Originally, he was supposed to start as the third pitcher, but a sudden fever caused him to skip his turn. Instead, he appeared in the home opener and showed a much better performance than during his comeback last year, completely capturing the fans’ hearts.
And on today, his second start, numerous Phoenix fans came to Sajik Baseball Stadium.
Compared to the previous Gocheok Unicorns, it wasn’t just a handful of supporters—they properly set up and completely filled the Third Base Cheering Section.
With the cheering squad joining in as well, energized by the winning streak, the atmosphere was already building before the game even started.
Especially for the Phoenix players, simply having secured a winning series was enough to enjoy this moment. Even if we lost today, there were still many games remaining, and with the current team atmosphere, we felt confident about handling the weekend three-game series well.
With Park Myung-hwan pitching today, the worries seemed to fade even more.
“The guys seem relaxed, but you look uncomfortable?”
At Gu Hyun-im’s words as he approached Park Myung-hwan, I let out a slight laugh.
“Playing against him is exhausting.”
“That’s true.”
When Park Myung-hwan and Kang Ho-jin shared the Mound, the Pitchers suffered far more than the Batters.
The reason was simple.
They were two people who were far too similar, even if they weren’t.
First of all, both were left-handed Pitchers.
On top of that, they threw a Curve as their decisive pitch based on a Four-seam fastball. Of course, neither of them threw only three pitch types.
Park Myung-hwan had learned other pitch types to survive on the Ground for a long time, and Kang Ho-jin also had a Splitter learned from Kevin, and a Slider learned from Ga Jin-heo not long ago.
What mattered was that they threw a Curve based on a Four-seam fastball, and their Curves were so similar there was barely any difference between them.
Moreover, these two threw Curves with complete freedom—from ordinary Curves to Curves emphasizing drop, and even Curves with controlled velocity.
In terms of velocity alone, Kang Ho-jin’s Four-seam fastball was in the upper 150km range, his Curve ranging from 110~130km, while Park Myung-hwan’s Four-seam fastball was in the early-to-mid 140km range and his Curve ranged from 90~110km.
In a situation where Park Myung-hwan’s pitches were relatively slower and thus more visible to the Batter’s eye, similar pitches continued from the first inning onward, making the Batter’s eye quickly accustomed to them.
Though it was a game between a good mentor and a good student, when they shared the Mound together, they ended up tearing at each other’s throats.
“For someone saying that, you’re smiling though?”
“Leave it be. Maybe I’m having a good dream.”
At Park Myung-hwan’s nonsense, Gu Hyun-im also let out a slight laugh.
And so the game began, starting with the passionate cheers of both Cheering Sections.
Top of the first inning, Phoenix’s turn at bat.
From the first Batter to the third Batter, all were swept away by Curves. It was such clean pitching that if the second Batter hadn’t hit a single foul in between, he might have achieved a perfect inning.
“Let’s go! Should I take a turn?”
“Do your best.”
Unlike Gu Hyun-im, who sat on the Bench as a designated hitter, Park Myung-hwan moved toward the Mound.
It was still early in the season, so his body felt light.
Having ended the season earlier than others and prepared thoroughly, and having built up his stamina through Spring Training to match his previous levels, he headed to the Mound with a vibrant expression.
A grin.
Kang Ho-jin smiled.
A grin.
Park Myung-hwan smiled back.
Between two people who shared the Mound like this with smiles rather than words.
Two who shared similar pain—family suffering—one lived in bitter regret, the other lived with hope.
Park Myung-hwan was immensely proud of how Kang Ho-jin lived faithfully according to his advice not to become like him, precisely because he understood that pain and suffering.
‘Hee-gyung… I’m doing well too, aren’t I?’
He looked up at the sky and asked his Wife, who had departed before him.
There was no answer, but if she had been by his side, she would have smiled and said yes.
Thinking of his Wife, Park Myung-hwan wiped the smile from his face and stepped onto the pitcher’s mound.
“Whoosh….”
He took a breath and began his pitch.
“Strike!”
Now it was time for them to tear at each other’s throats.
* * *
Myung-hwan’s pitching was remarkable.
“Wow… he really sharpened his skills too.”
Se-jin nods in admiration from beside me.
I can’t help but marvel at it myself.
It’s real.
Myung-hwan has come prepared today, throwing with intent.
He’s always favored curveballs, using fewer fastballs while strategically mixing in two-seamers to induce ground balls—that’s Myung-hwan’s pitching style.
But today, he’s almost completely eliminated the two-seamer, throwing only fastballs and curveballs. And the knuckle curve he’d been perfecting during spring training begins dancing like it’s possessed.
“Wow… the ball’s running away?”
“What the—! Why is he pitching like that?!”
“Where’d he pick up that magic? He’s absolutely sharp today.”
The three batters who faced him mutter as they return to the dugout.
Their extended bats sliced through empty air, and though a foul ball escaped mid-at-bat, it ended with three consecutive strikeouts.
The first inning saw both sides retire three batters with three strikeouts each.
As Myung-hwan descends from the mound, he looks at me with a grin and nods, and I nod back in response.
‘He’s really fired up now.’
At the mention of coming prepared to compete, I can’t help but laugh.
No, this is more like he’s ablaze.
The anticipation and excitement make my motivation surge naturally.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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