The Genius Pitcher Dad Throws for His Daughter - Chapter 24

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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 24
#24.
“Swing! Strike one!”
With the Umpire’s call, the ball that had nestled into the Catcher’s glove came back to me.
‘That’s unexpected. A curveball on the first pitch.’
I’d naturally assumed the Catcher would request a fastball for the opening pitch.
Since Kevin, who’d pitched before me, was a right-hander, I figured when I took the mound as a left-hander, they’d request a fastball as an opening salvo to exploit the difference between throwing from opposite sides and draw the batter’s swing.
But what they requested from the first pitch was a curveball—and not just any curveball, but one with maximum drop.
‘Well, thanks to that, I got the first count easily.’
Why wouldn’t there be?
Target the first pitch from the relief pitcher.
It’s simple.
When a pitcher first takes the mound, he has no choice but to throw his most confident pitch with the first ball. The reason is that even after warm-up throws, throwing with an actual batter in the Batter’s Box is different, and with the fresh entry onto the mound, proper concentration is still lacking, making velocity, control, and spin inevitably chaotic.
And above all, getting a strike count instead of a ball count makes a world of difference from the pitcher’s perspective, so fastballs are frequently chosen to maintain a favorable count.
On top of that, I’m a rookie who just got called up to the 1st Team.
Of course, if I consider my past-life memories, I’m not a rookie but a monster, but from the opposing team’s perspective, I’m just a new pitcher who just made it to the 1st Team and threw a ball once in the early morning.
So they swung recklessly from the first pitch, and the result was a whiff into empty air.
A curveball low and inside.
The second pitch is also a curveball.
I understood throwing a curveball on the first pitch.
But requesting two curveballs in a row? I didn’t understand the intention, but I figured there had to be one as I gripped the ball.
Of course, as I prepared the second pitch, I observed the batter.
‘Hmm… is that it?’
The batter looked completely stiffened.
Well, his body seemed to have tensed up after whiffing on the curveball from the first pitch, so if that were the case, a fastball instead of another curveball would be sufficient for the second pitch. Yet seeing them request a curveball didn’t make sense.
Still, since the Catcher is best positioned to observe the batter in the Batter’s Box, I respected Do-bin’s judgment and threw another curveball without hesitation.
“Swing! Strike two!”
Again, the bat swung with a ridiculous margin of error.
With a body that tense, he could either take a fastball or hold back, but seeing him swing suggests his mind is completely muddled.
Down by one run in this situation. A rookie pitcher takes the mound and throws, and it’s the other side showing urgency—so it seems they deliberately held back on the pitch.
But the next sign came quickly.
Center fastball.
Without hesitation, I nodded and immediately took my stance.
With the batter panicked, I had to finish him off quickly. So without hesitation, I threw my best fastball.
Crack—!
“Swing! Batter’s out!”
Out of the fifty-one outs I’d recorded so far, over forty had been called by the Umpire’s voice alone. Though my throat was half-hoarse, the Umpire still swung his arm with passionate intensity, making the gesture look fervent.
Thanks to him sweating profusely and giving his all, the Busan Dolphins fans who’d come to Daejeon erupted in cheers.
“Kang Ho-jin! Kang Ho-jin!”
Buoyed by their support, I waited for the next batter to step into the Batter’s Box.
“Time! Pinch hitter!”
The Daejeon Phoenix demonstrated they wouldn’t surrender the game so easily, pulling out their substitution card.
Among the Phoenix batters, he was one of the veterans who excelled in hitting alone and possessed impressive power—I understood he’d been benched from the starting lineup due to a shoulder issue.
‘Yet he’s coming in anyway… which means he still underestimates me.’
What particularly irritated me was that smile on his face and the complete absence of tension in his composure.
Then he glanced back and forth between Kang Do-bin and me before letting out a smirk and laughing.
He was clearly underestimating both the Catcher and the Pitcher, and as if to engage in some psychological warfare, he deliberately dragged out his time before stepping into the Batter’s Box with exaggerated leisure.
In the meantime, I checked the scoreboard for the batter’s name.
‘Jeon Gwang-hyun… definitely a player I don’t know.’
Originally, I wouldn’t seriously take the Mound until two years from now.
At that time, I wouldn’t remember the name Jeon Gwang-hyun against the Daejeon Phoenix or any other team. That meant he’d either retire or get cut in the near future—one or the other.
‘So what does that mean?’
It meant that relaxed expression was more than enough to smash.
Dead center fastball.
I’d drive it right down the middle from the first pitch.
A 150km fastball.
This batter had gone beyond carelessness into outright disrespect toward us. Without a proper batting stance, he looked as though he’d merely observe the first pitch, so I shoved it straight down the middle without hesitation.
“Strike!”
With the Umpire’s call, the batter glanced over in surprise, then raised his hand to the Umpire and swung the bat as if to find his timing.
He was deliberately dragging out the time. Kang Do-bin and I had already been in position since earlier, watching the batter with complete readiness.
“Batter, to the box.”
Only after the Umpire spoke did the batter step into the Batter’s Box, and the moment he set his stance, I threw the second pitch.
“Swing! Two!”
Not a fastball, but a changeup.
The circle changeup I dropped against the right-handed batter glided smoothly past his bat and settled into the Catcher’s glove.
Pushed to a two-strike count in an instant, the batter’s face showed a hint of tension, and since he remained standing in the Batter’s Box, I didn’t even wait for a sign from the Catcher and immediately took my wind-up position without hesitation.
“Time, time.”
The batter hurriedly called time, but I was already in my wind-up. Kang Do-bin, my Catcher, hadn’t even received a pitchcom signal and flinched in confusion, but his glove was positioned precisely at the bottom center of the Strike Zone, so I threw toward that spot.
“Swing! Batter’s out!”
The Umpire called the out loudly and dramatically.
In the rapid exchange, the batter tried desperately to pull the bat through and make contact, but the drop on my curve wasn’t something easily hit just from seeing it once or twice.
After briefly observing the batter’s dumbfounded expression, I turned my attention to the next batter stepping into the box.
‘Jin Young-soo. Vulnerable to breaking balls. His body instinctively reacts first to pitches inside. But once he connects, it’s definitely gone over the wall.’
A batter with tremendous, heavy power stepped up to the plate.
However, his weaknesses were clear, and Jin Young-soo was a player I’d faced several times when I was actively competing in the KBO League.
Therefore, though I threw pitches inside, I threw four consecutive changeups instead of fastballs.
Tick—!
The poorly-struck grounder rolled toward the shortstop, and the shortstop charging forward threw to first base with a running throw.
“Ah!”
The throw was inaccurate because it came from a forward charge with a body rotation, sailing slightly over the first baseman’s reach, and a few Dolphins fans let out sighs of disappointment.
However, though the Busan Dolphins are known for committing many errors, they occasionally display remarkable defensive prowess.
And today, they demonstrated solid defense rather than their usual mistakes.
With the ball caught high above his head, the First Base umpire shouted.
“Out!”
I managed to secure a nail-biting one-run victory, and I extended my glove toward Do-bin as he climbed onto the Mound.
I firmly grasped the closer position, earning my first save and my second save in my playing career.
2 innings pitched, 19 pitches, 6 strikeouts.
I was steadily building my record.
* * *
“Kevin! Kevin! Kevin!”
After the game ended, the Player of the Game interview commenced.
Though I harbored hopes of receiving it myself, today’s star was none other than Kevin.
While I had delivered a spectacular save, it was only natural that Kevin, who had pitched eight innings for the first time since joining the KBO League, would draw attention.
‘I expected this to some degree.’
No matter how clutch my one-run victory was, the odds of me becoming Player of the Game were slim.
Especially since today was Kevin’s first time pitching eight innings—naturally, the spotlight belonged to him, and there was no reason to resent or envy that.
‘I’ll earn proper points starting in the second half.’
I never expected to accumulate points from the closer position from the start.
Rather, it made sense to build my stamina now and prepare to perform steadily in the second half.
Well, human greed being what it is, I did wish I could earn points, but regardless, I was delighted that the team had achieved back-to-back wins. If the Bullpen’s overload gradually eased, we could gain the momentum to surge upward from our current tenth-place position.
Though I didn’t earn points, the team’s atmosphere was steadily improving, so there was no problem at all.
“You worked hard.”
“You threw well.”
“You need to solidify your position and stay for the long haul.”
My senior teammates passed by one after another, patting my shoulder and offering words of encouragement—a stark contrast to their demeanor when I joined on Monday.
These seniors had been mired in a losing streak, and accumulated fatigue made it difficult to create a welcoming atmosphere for anyone new.
But after winning yesterday’s grueling battle and securing a clean victory today, the mood had no choice but to improve.
“Tch.”
….
Of course, not everyone felt that way.
A senior who had previously worked in the Bullpen and been part of the winning squad regarded me with evident displeasure.
Even today, he seemed somewhat resentful that I had taken the mound in a situation where he should have pitched.
Well, player selection was the Manager’s prerogative, so there was nothing I could do about his grievances.
In the midst of this, Kevin, having finished his Player of the Game interview, suddenly approached me and pulled me into a tight embrace.
“Hey! Bro! That was awesome!”
What? When did I get a brother?

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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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