The Genius Pitcher Dad Throws for His Daughter - Chapter 20

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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 20
#20.
As the pitching change was made, a commercial naturally began to air.
The chat reactions were scorching.
– Huh? Kang Ho-jin?! Who the hell is this guy?
└ Wow… he’s a complete nobody?
└ He’s one of the guys called up this time.
└ Is the Manager insane? The guys who came out before are regulars in the 1st Team, but Kang Ho-jin isn’t.
└ No 1st Team record? And he’s the youngest on the team right now?
└ And they’re bringing him up last of all?!
└ This is ridiculous.
Naturally, the fans’ reactions were filled with curses and criticism directed at the Manager.
Of course, the fans understood.
That Kang Ho-jin was the only pitcher left in the Entry. So they were questioning whether he should have been brought up in an earlier situation, or at least when there were no runners on base.
The game was already chaotic with a slugfest. Was this the end? The problem was that they hadn’t recorded a single out and the bases were loaded.
Sending a rookie—someone who had just been called up to the 1st Team—into this worst-case scenario didn’t look like an attempt to win the game, but rather an admission of defeat.
– Insane, the Manager’s throwing the game.
└ For real lol
Everyone seemed to agree as the chat flooded in.
Of course, there were those who didn’t just send negative comments.
– Still, he’s a 1st Round draft pick from our team.
└ A left-handed pitcher who can throw up to 150km at his fastest, with an impressive four-seam fastball, changeup, and curveball.
└ The downside is his shoulder blew out during Spring Camp in his first pro year, and after injury, recovery, and rehabilitation, he’s now making his 1st Team debut for the first time.
└ His top velocity is in the late 130km range, throwing a four-seam fastball, changeup, and curveball.
└ He’s one of the prospects to watch.
Someone’s information came up as if they were part of the Scouting/Analysis Team. Naturally, the reactions grew even more heated.
– What? He’s injured, he’s damaged.
└ We know that, so why would we have expectations?!
└ Is he an idiot? How much brain damage is he suffering?!
└ At this point, they must be family.
True to being an internet powerhouse, Kang Ho-jin’s information spread in an instant.
Of course, the exact reason for his injury—the incompetence of the 1st Team Pitching Coach at the time—was omitted, and his recent performances were left out. For fans who didn’t know the details, the Manager’s decision seemed nothing short of insane.
– And the opposing batter is Baek Hak-do?!
└ Of all people, the league’s best hitter.
└ We’re facing that bastard who’s gone 10 for 14 with 4 home runs in 14 at-bats including today’s game?!
└ He’ll crumble on the first pitch.
└ Looks like we’ll end with a grand slam walk-off.
The problem was who was stepping up to bat.
Baek Hak-do—the current best hitter in South Korea and captain of the national team. He had already racked up 10 RBIs in this series, and he was the batter who mercilessly drove daggers into the Dolphins’ heart.
Moreover, his batting average at Sajik Baseball Stadium was a full point higher than at other stadiums, earning him the nickname “Busan Dolphins Killer.”
– The game’s over.
└ Turn off the TV.
Everyone acted as though there was nothing left to see.
* * *
The path toward the Mound.
Since I had to walk out from the Bullpen, the distance was considerable.
As I jogged out with a light heart, the Right Fielder Senior caught sight of me and offered a word.
“Don’t be nervous.”
“Yes, Senior.”
Honestly, I was a bit surprised.
He was famous on the team for being taciturn, and in the three days since I’d joined the 1st Team, I hadn’t heard his voice once—I never expected to hear it on the way to the Mound.
Passing by that senior, I arrived at the Mound where several people had gathered.
The Manager with an anxious expression, Kang Do-bin Senior with a somewhat frightened look, and the infielders who appeared exhausted.
Bases loaded with no outs.
And the league’s best batter on top of that.
Given the situation, everyone was overflowing with worry, so I couldn’t help but smile slightly.
“This guy. You’re smiling right now?”
“Yes, it’s strange—it just came out.”
I answered Bong Jun-sik’s sharp remark that way.
When I first met him in the Manager’s Office for our interview, I seemed to struggle with my words, but strangely, now that I was on the Mound, answers flowed naturally from my lips.
“I don’t think I’m nervous…”
“Rather, I want to throw as soon as possible.”
Me, nervous?
To be honest, if I were to feel nervous at my current level, I’d need to be in a bases-loaded situation with only the final out remaining in the Korean Series before I’d truly feel it.
Thinking of my daughter’s death and the years I’d spent striving to become the greatest player afterward, a stage like this didn’t bring nervousness—rather, it brought a slight exhilaration.
“I’m sorry for putting your debut on such a stage. It’s okay if you lose, so pitch with spirit and confidence, then come down.”
Seeing the Manager’s apologetic expression and the exhausted faces of my seniors, the atmosphere felt deflated, so I spoke with sincere intent, not as a joke.
“If I shut them down perfectly today, buy me meat, sir. Then I think I can do well.”
“Huh?”
At my words, not just the Manager but the other seniors looked at me in disbelief.
The Manager laughed with an air of exasperation, then placed a hand on my shoulder and nodded.
“Go ahead. I’ll feed you until you’re stuffed.”
“Yes!”
As the Manager stepped back slightly, Kang Do-bin Senior approached.
Seeing the senior’s somewhat frightened expression, it was amusing how different he looked compared to Sangdong. Unlike the 2nd Team, I wouldn’t need signs here—the pitching computer would handle that instead.
“Senior.”
“Huh? Yeah.”
Since he seemed to be stammering, I said something to ease his tension.
“Think of this as Sangdong, hyung. You remember we didn’t give up a run in Sangdong, right?”
“Huh? Hyung? Sangdong?”
“Think of it as a familiar place and compete. I won’t throw a single pitch outside the Strike Zone.”
“Right, let’s do that.”
The tension seemed to ease from before as he moved behind Home Plate.
Once the senior took his position, I threw the first pitch with the mindset of giving it everything, not just a practice throw.
Crack!
With the sharp sound of the ball hitting the glove, I glanced at the scoreboard—149 kilometers per hour.
Some might not understand throwing a practice pitch with full power, but the situation right now was bases loaded with no outs. Perhaps they were being considerate since I was a rookie, and while I’d thrown many practice pitches, I needed to quickly regain my game sense.
And considering my stamina, throwing full power on practice pitches wouldn’t be a problem—I had plenty left in the tank.
Crack!
Crack!
As three fastballs embedded themselves in the center and left-right edges of the Strike Zone and I felt my control lock in, I threw a changeup next.
Just as I’d felt in the Bullpen, my fingers definitely had sensation today. It drops decisively and breaks to the side.
Then I threw another curve and drove it into Home Plate, and seeing the senior block it well by positioning his glove between his legs, the tension seemed to ease from him too.
“Great stuff!”
Unlike before, his voice came out clearly now that his tension had relaxed, and after receiving a fresh ball, I signaled to the Umpire.
No more practice pitches were needed—that was my judgment—and the Umpire immediately announced the start of the game without hesitation.
“Play ball.”
At those words, a batter stepped into the Batter’s Box.
Baek Hak-do.
The league’s strongest left-handed batter, a thirty-two-year-old who boasted mature batting technique and hit thirty home runs every year.
‘And next year, he’ll hit the jackpot with free agency.’
Next year, facing his second free agency.
Baek Hak-do would hit fifty home runs for the first time, claiming the home run title along with RBI king, batting average king, and MVP, leading his team to a Korean Series championship.
He’d become the star of a staggering 15.5 billion won contract, eventually becoming the core batter who would build the Seoul Dragons dynasty.
By the time I’d regained my senses and took the Mound in that future, he’d grown older and his skills had declined from before, but he displayed what veteran dignity truly meant with absurdly powerful hits, and I remember he retired at forty.
And there was one more thing that mattered most.
‘Looking at his swing form, he hasn’t modified his batting stance yet—that’s the key.’
To be precise, this was Baek Hak-do before next year’s Spring Camp, when he’d slightly adjust his batting form to swing more smoothly and quickly, producing home runs and extra-base hits in abundance.
Of course, even now he was recording terrifying statistics, keeping the Seoul Dragons in first place.
For anyone else, facing Baek Hak-do in a bases-loaded situation would be absolutely terrifying.
But I deliberately elevated my emotions and filled myself with excitement instead.
I had no confidence whatsoever.
A fastball low and inside.
With bases loaded, I entered my windup without hesitation and threw the ball.
Crack!
“Strike!”
With the Umpire’s call, I watched Baek Hak-do’s face register surprise and muttered to myself.
‘I had no reason to lose confidence.’
Especially since he hadn’t yet modified his batting form and still used a pulling style, he had a clear weakness to pitches low and inside—so I had no hesitation.
I jammed the second pitch to the same location.
Whoosh—!
“Swing! Strike two!”
But unlike before, this wasn’t a four-seam fastball—it was a changeup, and because I’d gripped it with a circle grip, the ball drifted even closer to his body before dropping, leaving it considerably far from the bat.
Kang Do-bin Senior bent so far that he barely caught it at the edge of his glove, and I could see him breathing heavily, as if startled by his own catch.
Then the two of them seemed to exchange some words, and when their conversation ended, he gave me a thumbs up.
Heh.
I found myself smiling without realizing it.
Now that I think about it, I can’t remember the last time I smiled on the Mound. Ever since my Daughter fell ill, I don’t think I’ve smiled once.
Her pain was my pain, her suffering was mine. Since she became a star in the sky, I’ve only longed for her, only wanted to see her, only apologized to her memory.
There was no reason for me to smile on the Mound.
But today, I’m smiling.
Is it because I can treat my Daughter in this life? Or because I can stand on the Mound again? Or is it because of the Manager watching me with anxious eyes, and my seniors’ earnest efforts to push through their exhaustion and maintain their focus?
It’s probably all of it.
So now it’s time to show my true self clearly.
– Will you consume a Point to increase your fastball velocity?
The single remaining Point.
I invested that Point—the one I’d saved just in case for my Daughter—into velocity.
Kang Do-bin Senior signaled for an inside high fastball with the pitch-com, so I nodded and slowly entered my wind-up again.
My full-power pitch, the one that would change the second digit of my velocity, flew precisely into the Catcher’s glove, and I drew a swing and miss from Baek Hak-do, called the league’s greatest batter.
“Swing! Batter out!”
150 kilometers per hour.
Reclaiming my high school peak velocity, I recorded my first out.
I wished I could show Ye-jin this magnificent moment, and that regret cut deep.
Ye-jin, isn’t your dad cool?
There was no answer coming back, but thinking of my Daughter—who would have given me a thumbs up if she could have seen—I smiled.
I love you, my Daughter.

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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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