The Genius Pitcher Dad Throws for His Daughter - Chapter 107

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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 107
#107.
I had made plans to eat with Jin-heo and Se-jin.
‘But… what is this…’
The Manager is sitting at the table right next to us.
And not just any manager—it’s the one we have to face the day after tomorrow.
I’m wondering how to handle this awkward, suffocating situation, but surprisingly, my two seniors pay it no mind and focus entirely on eating.
I’m eating too, but honestly, I can’t tell if the food is going into my mouth or my nose.
‘Should I just go for it?!’
Normally in a situation like this, I’d be scrambling to escape, but instead, I see it as an opportunity.
I’ve been curious about the Manager’s two-seam fastball anyway, and I want to learn its trajectory—and here’s a master instructor sitting right beside me.
I cautiously tore into the duck, watching for any sign of disapproval.
“Wow… this is delicious?”
At my words, Jin-heo grins and says,
“My mom’s cooking is the best.”
“Yeah, I’ll give you that.”
Se-jin agrees from beside him, tearing into his food with enthusiasm.
Apparently, whenever the ’93 generation seniors visit Gwangju, they always stop by this restaurant. Especially for those who’ve spent so long together in the league, it’s a good way to nourish their bodies and support their friend’s business.
Both managers seem to visit occasionally too, eating with obvious enjoyment while exchanging various stories.
I thought they might be discussing something serious, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
“How’s your team doing?”
“How about yours?”
“Ours? Well, you know.”
“Same with us, you know.”
It turns out the two managers are classmates from their playing days.
They say they faced each other frequently back in high school, and now they occasionally meet like this during the season to grab a meal together.
Seeing how naturally Jin-heo’s mother greets both managers, it’s clear this has been going on for more than just a year or two.
“Is this some kind of hidden gem in the KBO?”
“Well, I’d say that’s fair.”
Jin-heo laughs as he says this, and I simply nod along.
The food really was exceptional.
Once the meal finished, I tried to stand up from the table.
We had only planned to eat anyway, and since Jin-heo and Se-jin are both starting pitchers who need to pitch on Thursday, proper conditioning is essential.
“Manager, we’ll be heading out now.”
As I say this, the Manager raises his hand in acknowledgment.
For some reason, it felt like now was the moment, so I just went for it.
“Manager. I’d like to learn your two-seam fastball.”
At my words, the Manager looks at me with surprise, while the Elephant Manager across from him suddenly wears an expression as if he’s witnessed something terrible.
“That?”
Then his expression hardens, and he continues speaking.
“Hey, don’t teach him that dirty stuff.”
He spoke as if genuinely exasperated, and the Manager looked amused before responding.
“I see Se-jin told you about it. Let’s meet briefly tomorrow.”
I bowed my head in gratitude.
“Yes, Manager. Thank you.”
The thought of learning the Manager’s two-seam fastball tomorrow made my steps feel lighter as I left the restaurant.
“When we go to Busan next time, you’re buying.”
“Sure. Just show up.”
“See you next time, Ho-jin.”
“Go on in, hyung.”
On the way back to the hotel.
I noticed Se-jin’s smile hadn’t faded since earlier, so I asked him about it.
“Huh? You’ll understand once you spend time with the Manager tomorrow.”
He had a face full of anticipation, but I didn’t quite understand, so I let it slide, thinking it would be tough.
The next day.
This wasn’t tough at all.
‘Wow… what is this?’
The Manager’s two-seam fastball seemed to exist in a realm I couldn’t comprehend.
* * *
First, I have to say the Manager’s two-seam fastball was astounding.
– You can acquire Bong Jun-sik’s two-seam fastball (S) by consuming Points.
It was my first time.
Seeing an S-rank pitch type.
I couldn’t help but be delighted, and wanting to make it my own, I silently cheered with joy.
But it was the Manager who shattered my thoughts.
“Tsk… wait until you’re my age. Do you remember back then?”
A pitch he’d thrown over twenty years ago.
He was saying even he was getting hazy about it now that he was trying to recall it.
“Usually with a two-seam fastball, you know the movement changes depending on the width between your index and middle fingers, and which finger you apply more pressure with, right?”
“Yes, but I’m curious about the two-seam fastball you used to throw.”
“But I can’t remember it.”
The Manager truly couldn’t remember, and this created an obstacle to my learning.
“Tsk, I guess there’s no help for it. I’ll tell you if I remember next time.”
The Manager left the Bullpen in less than five minutes.
In truth, the Manager was busy with today’s starting lineup and game preparations, so I couldn’t keep him longer anyway.
I had no choice but to leave the Bullpen empty-handed.
“Play ball.”
Unlike my lack of progress, the game started right on time.
Top of the first inning, Dolphins’ turn at bat.
After a long time, the Dolphins’ offense started hot from the opening.
Crack—!
Choi Ji-ho, who had just hit the season’s first home run and the Dolphins’ lead-off homer of the year, quickly rounded the diamond on the ground.
The opposing team’s third starter was a homegrown ace, and though he spat in displeasure at giving up a home run from the start, he surrendered five runs in quick succession to consecutive hits and another home run.
Fortunately, he managed to record the final out of the top of the first inning himself.
The Elephants’ bullpen was already in motion, and seeing this, Meck pitched with the mindset that he would need to cover more innings.
Pop—!
“Hit by pitch!”
The problem was Meck, who started with a walk on the first pitch against the leadoff batter, beginning with no outs and a runner on first base.
Still, he managed to get through five innings, and after going into the sixth and recording two outs, he came down from the mound with three earned runs.
With the score at 5:3 and the outcome still uncertain, the Dolphins’ Clutch Team began operating at full capacity for the first time in a while.
Kim Jin-ho took the mound to record the third out against a left-handed batter.
His signature two-seam fastball moved with a sinuous motion, and the batter retreated with a feeble swing.
The seventh inning that followed was solidly shut down by Jo Sang-hyuk, and the eighth by Jung Ji-hoon.
“Ohhh—!”
Each time they closed an inning, they roared out loud.
Thanks to this, the handful of Dolphins fans who had come to Elephant Park called out the pitcher’s name from the mound.
“Jo Sang-hyuk! Jo Sang-hyuk!”
“Jung Ji-hoon! Jung Ji-hoon!”
And in the top of the ninth.
A pinch-hitter was sent in for the quiet offense today.
Hyun Myung-su stepped into the batter’s box in place of Kang Do-bin, who had been wearing the catcher’s mask all day, and swung hard right from the first pitch.
Crack—!
In an instant, the ball cleared the fence, providing the turning point of today’s game, and affectionate hands poured down on Hyun Myung-su as he entered the dugout.
“Ah! Ah! It hurts! It really hurts!”
Under the merciless head strikes from his seniors, he couldn’t even remove the helmet he was wearing.
Hyun Myung-su, now beginning to put on catcher’s gear, achieved the year’s fifth save in the bottom of the ninth with Choi Sung-ryuk, breaking the losing streak.
The two teams split the 1:1 score.
What remained now was Thursday’s matchup between Ga Jin-heo and Kim Se-jin.
Though not sold out, numerous fans still flocked to Elephant Park.
And surprisingly, that day was also when rain fell in the upper region while only the lower region held games.
Most happened to head up to the upper region, and ultimately only a single broadcast made it on television.
The two starting pitchers that day pitched as if they themselves were the protagonists.
It was a sight reminiscent of a film.
* * *
The 2027 season—something I would have known nothing about before returning to the past.
But now that I’m playing through this season, I’ve come to realize the level is far higher than expected.
And at the center of it all were my ’93-born peers, and with those seniors and older brothers, it’s no exaggeration to say I can witness the finest games possible.
‘This is seriously no joke.’
Today, the game between Se-jin and Jin-heo was nothing short of art.
Jin-heo took the mound first and brought out an array of sliders.
From the start, he dominated the Dolphins’ batting lineup, freely throwing sliders that forced lateral and vertical movement, along with sweepers that scraped across Home Plate.
Se-jin refused to be outdone, hurling fog balls in rapid succession.
Even as the balls embedded themselves in Home Plate and struck the Catcher’s protective gear as a matter of course, Do-bin never let a single pitch slip past him.
The attacking batters were so overwhelmed by the starting pitcher’s presence that they seemed to forget their own swings, flailing wildly at everything.
Naturally, countless fans gathered in the broadcast chat.
– Wow… what a magnificent battle.
– They were the dynamic duo that once led the National Team.
└ Wasn’t Park Myung-hwan part of the trio too?
└ That’s not wrong, but let’s be tactful.
└ Ah, got it.
– What’s this? It reminds me of Ga Jin-heo in his prime.
– I almost got angry. We’ve missed so many wins because of the umpire.
– That’s just because your team is weak.
Gwangju Elephants fans, along with Busan Dolphins fans, flooded the chat with heated discussion.
The two pitchers on the Mound paid no attention to such external judgments and continued their own pitching battle.
0:0.
The decisive moment between the two men, both determined to pitch as many innings as possible, came in the seventh.
“Ah…”
A short, heavy sigh.
Not from the fans filling most of Elephant Park, but from the sparse group of Dolphins supporters.
The ball rolled toward the shortstop, bounced irregularly off the front of his glove, and ricocheted backward—the shortstop had suffered the humiliation of an ‘unlucky hop.’
It happened with no outs, and the Elephants Manager wasted no time capitalizing on it.
He stole on the first pitch and reached Second Base.
Two fly balls later, the first run scored, and a roar erupted through Elephant Park.
In the next inning, the one who broke through was Captain Ki-ha.
Crack—!
A home run sailed far into the outfield, striking a fan’s table in the grass seating area.
The game was tied.
One team squeezed out runs through small ball, while the other played for the big swing, and the game continued to flow.
But when the ninth inning arrived, neither took the Mound, as if by agreement.
As the two sat on the Bench icing their arms, exchanging glances of mutual respect for their efforts, the Dolphins began to pull ahead.
Starting with a foreign batter and continuing through the heart of the lineup, back-to-back-to-back home runs put the Dolphins in front.
The Elephants’ players confidently stepped up to the plate determined to reverse it, but Sung-hyuk, fully recovered, held the lead, and the game ended.
The Dolphins took the winning series.
With the team rising back into a winning streak after the losing streak, the community filled with praise for the players, and Busan’s economy revitalized once more.
The Dolphins headed to Seoul for their next matchup—a three-game series against the Seoul Dragons, currently leading the league, followed by away games against the second-place Suwon Wolves.
The Dolphins, whose pitching and hitting had failed to harmonize and led to a losing streak, now faced a crisis as they encountered strong teams in succession.

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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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