The Genius Pitcher Dad Throws for His Daughter - Chapter 104

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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 104
#104.
Daejeon Phoenix versus Busan Dolphins.
Though it was a three-game series midweek, a match scheduled for the awkward timing of Thursday drew an unexpectedly large crowd.
Park Myung-hwan versus Kang Ho-jin.
The showdown between two starting pitchers bearing the title of master and disciple unfolded exactly as anyone would have predicted—a masterclass pitching duel.
“Strike! Strike! In the top of the second inning, Kang Ho-jin strikes out two batters in succession, recording a perfect three-up, three-down inning.”
“Wow… that last pitch proves even the batter barely made contact—he didn’t even run to first base before being called out. That’s how difficult it is to predict the ball’s trajectory.”
In the top of the second, Ho-jin completed the inning with just eight pitches.
Against the cleanup hitter and the fifth batter in the heart of the lineup, he struck them out on three pitches each. Fans were hopeful for the next batter, but the second pitch thrown to the sixth batter was slightly off, resulting in a ground ball out to second base.
Naturally, the fans were disappointed, and two more K’s were added to the scoreboard in the outfield.
Next came Park Myung-hwan.
“Strike! Strike! Park Myung-hwan also strikes out two batters, completing his inning.”
“Remarkable—his curveball is far superior to what he threw during his prime years. Especially today, the angle on his knucklecurve is simply artistry.”
Park Myung-hwan likewise completed his inning with two strikeouts.
The Dolphins’ cleanup hitter tapped the ball gently, extending the pitch count to five before grounding out, and the remaining two batters struck out.
In the third inning, both Ho-jin and Myung-hwan threw twelve pitches each and recorded three strikeouts apiece.
The pitch count increased as curveballs dug into home plate rather than catching the edge of the strike zone, but despite throwing more pitches than in other innings, both maintained an excellent pace through the frame.
Sajik Baseball Stadium thundered with the intensity of the two elite pitchers’ duel.
“Ho-jin! Ho-jin! Ho-jin!”
“Myung-hwan! Myung-hwan! Myung-hwan!”
Each time the starting pitchers took the mound, fans roared their support.
Though the number of Phoenix fans in the Third Base Cheering Section was noticeably smaller, their voices rose to rival those of the Dolphins fans, who had turned out in far greater numbers.
As the game progressed through three innings without a single hit or walk from either pitcher, the players taking the field for defense began to feel the mounting tension.
‘God… this is killing me…’
‘Please! Don’t let the ball come to me.’
‘I can barely breathe.’
‘Why! Really!’
One by one, they shifted their focus from offense to defense with heightened concentration.
The thought that a historic record might be in the making consumed their minds.
In truth, it was premature speculation.
The game had only just entered the fourth inning. To truly achieve ‘that’ record, they would need to maintain this same dominance through many more innings.
Statistically, it was an extraordinarily difficult feat, and even for the league’s greatest pitcher, it was far from easy.
History bore this out.
The KBO was established in 1982. Now in 2027—across forty-five years—this record had never once been achieved.
Of course, it hadn’t been completely absent from baseball.
It occurred once in the 2nd Team in 2011, and the closest anyone had come was in 2022 when the Incheon Sharks shut out the Changwon Griffins perfectly through nine innings, but the record went unachieved because the team’s batting lineup failed to score.
‘That’ record doesn’t come from just pitching excellence alone.
The team’s batting lineup must perform, and the defense must hold up as well.
Naturally, the match between the two teams captured everyone’s attention, and even the broadcast team could not hide their tension.
“Top of the fourth inning… Kang Ho-jin takes the mound. His pitching seems different today?”
“That’s right. In recent games, Kang Ho-jin has frequently relied on slider-heavy pitching, displaying both vertical and horizontal movement to read the batter’s intentions. Today, however, the curveball is his primary weapon.”
Indeed, unlike Kang Ho-jin’s last two outings, today the curveball comprised a significantly larger portion of his arsenal.
Even though batters knew a curveball was coming, the pitch’s actual trajectory diverged from what they anticipated, resulting in consecutive swings and misses.
“Park Myung-hwan is in a similar situation, wouldn’t you say? His breaking balls are quite varied today?”
“Exactly. Normally he mixes four-seams and two-seams to induce ground balls while using the curveball to catch batters off-guard. Today, however, he’s emphasizing the curveball, which must be confusing the batters’ minds.”
The Caster proceeded with cautious analysis of both pitchers’ approaches, while the Sports Commentator drew upon professional expertise to decipher their intentions.
By the end of the fourth inning, both had completed their frames with three strikeouts each.
K! K! K!
As if orchestrated between them, they each recorded three strikeouts and raised their pitch counts to eleven.
Counting consecutive strikeouts, Kang Ho-jin had struck out six consecutive batters, while Park Myung-hwan had struck out eight in a row.
The KBO record for consecutive strikeouts stands at ten consecutive batters, achieved in both 1988 and 2024.
Kang Ho-jin needed four more strikeouts to tie the record, while Park Myung-hwan needed just two more to match it.
Top of the fifth inning.
Kang Ho-jin took the mound and recorded three more strikeouts.
“KKK! With fifteen pitches thrown, Kang Ho-jin continues his consecutive strikeout streak.”
“That makes nine consecutive batters. The next inning should be exciting.”
Though his pitch count had risen considerably, Kang Ho-jin recorded nothing but strikeouts.
He displayed the composure of someone for whom this was routine, and as he departed, Park Myung-hwan took the mound with strikeouts on his mind.
“Strike three, you’re out!”
“Wow… the batter never saw that two-seam coming.”
He’d established two strikes with curveballs before finishing with a two-seam fastball. The batter, caught off-guard by the contrasting pitch from the previous inning, could only watch helplessly.
However, the next batter connected solidly.
Crack!
A hit drops in front of the Right Fielder.
It fell nearly straight ahead, making it impossible to reach Second Base—the batter was forced to stop at First Base.
“Ah….”
“Waaaaah!”
One side exhaled in frustration while the other erupted in joy at the first hit.
With the consecutive strikeout streak broken and the historic record within reach now out of reach, the Phoenix fans’ sighs of regret echoed through the stadium.
A single hit can shift team momentum and shake a pitcher on the mound.
Just as the Phoenix Bullpen was about to call time, Park Myung-hwan waved his hand, signaling his intention to continue the inning.
And Park Myung-hwan proved he wasn’t rattled by striking out the next two batters.
“Strike three, you’re out! With that, Park Myung-hwan records fourteen strikeouts and completes the inning.”
“He had every reason to falter, but Park Myung-hwan’s composure is truly remarkable.”
Though Park Myung-hwan had fallen short of the record first, he descended from the mound without any sign of wavering.
The cleaning break followed.
A moment when more time was allotted than usual, and the two starting pitchers sat on their respective benches, facing each other.
Grin.
Their exchanged gazes and smiles appeared on the scoreboard split between both sides, and the fans roared in approval.
“Kang Ho-jin! Kang Ho-jin!”
“Park Myung-hwan! Park Myung-hwan!”
The cheers for the two starting pitchers grew even louder.
* * *
Crack!
The pitch I threw was met with a hit.
The ball cleanly threaded through the infield gap and rolled toward left field, while the batter sprinted swiftly to second base.
“Waaah!”
A roar erupted from the Third Base Cheering Section.
The batter, now in scoring position, raised both hands toward the Third Base Dugout, where an enormous wave of cheers washed over him.
Myung-hwan clapped and cheered along with them.
I felt a slight dizziness from getting hit on the first pitch with no outs, but it was fine. I hadn’t given up a run yet. The opposing team had simply increased their probability of scoring.
“So that’s how it is.”
I’d honestly thought it was a well-placed pitch, but my first-pitch curve must have been too predictable.
Seeing the bat come out so naturally suggested they’d either anticipated it or were confident enough to time their swing knowing a curve was coming next.
Perhaps because of the double, our team’s bench began to stir.
I raised my hand to signal I was fine, and the Pitching Coach, who had been about to step out, returned to his position.
‘Damn. I can’t let them score.’
Of all situations, it had to be no outs with a runner on second.
Two fly balls to the outfield would score a run. Even without that, one bunt to move him to third would allow us to play smart baseball with a fly ball, and two bunts could also result in a score.
This was definitely a crisis situation.
But I could handle it.
I was confident I could get out of this.
With that resolve, I waited for the next batter.
As expected, he took a bunting stance, and Myung-su and I allowed the bunt.
He made solid contact with the slightly elevated pitch, deadening the ball perfectly, and was thrown out alone.
One out, runner on third. I went into my windup again and threw a four-seam fastball.
Thwack!
“Swing! Batter’s out!”
I threw two four-seamers—one inside, one outside—then challenged him inside again.
The batter, expecting a curve, swung upward, and thinking of a slower pitch than a fastball, he flailed at it. The ball buried itself in his glove, a completely fooled swing.
Two outs, runner on third.
Still a tense situation, but less dire than before. I comfortably struck out the next batter on three pitches and finished the inning with a runner left on third.
“Phew!”
Having escaped the crisis, I felt considerably relieved.
As I stepped off the mound, Myung-hwan took his turn on it.
He continued throwing with an elevated curve ratio, removing his four-seam and throwing a two-seam instead. As a result, he was getting a lot of ground balls.
When I took the mound again, I naturally had to resort to my changeup.
It was an off-speed pitch designed for perfect timing disruption. But perhaps because it was less intimidating than a curve, quite a few batters managed to make contact, and naturally my pitch count climbed.
By the eighth inning, we hadn’t struck out a single batter and had burned through far too many pitches, so we were pulled from the game.
And then came the final inning of regulation play—the ninth.
“Swing! Batter’s out!”
We came down from the mound having surrendered just one run through nine innings.
We each struck out fourteen batters, and though Myung-hwan and I gave up four and five hits respectively, we didn’t allow a single earned run.
In the end, we had no choice but to leave the mound with no decision.
Though we couldn’t settle the game, we showed enough of our abilities out there that neither of us felt any regret walking off.
Still, the result was disappointing.
Crack!
A home run exploded the moment Senior Pitcher Kim Jin-ho took the mound and threw his first pitch.
Senior Pitcher Kim Jin-ho took the loss, and I walked away with nothing.
The number of players digging holes increased to four, and we sank deeper into a four-game losing streak.
And our bid for three consecutive complete-game shutouts ended here.

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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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