The Genius Pitcher Dad Throws for His Daughter - Chapter 36

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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 36
#36.
Park Ju-ho, General Manager of the Dolphins.
He said nothing, merely observing the four individuals seated before him with an unwavering gaze.
The faint aroma of alcohol wafted through the air. Combined with the sweatsuit reeking of grilled meat—evidence of an all-night drinking session at a meat restaurant—it was clear they had been running around all night without proper rest before coming here.
The air purifier had been running ceaselessly since earlier, a testament to just how much they had consumed.
Park Ju-ho, his head beginning to throb from the overwhelming stench of alcohol, decided to resolve the situation quickly.
“There was clearly a drinking ban in place, wasn’t there?”
Following a previous drunk driving incident, the organization had imposed a drinking prohibition.
Of course, by this point in time, after some time had passed, it was an unspoken rule that the ban had been lifted. The team’s performance had been excellent, and with the winning streak momentum, everyone had been casually drinking beer.
Moreover, once today’s game ended, the drinking ban would be officially lifted along with the team dinner, making it essentially moot.
The problem was that three of the four individuals present had already heavily indulged once and fallen out of the Manager’s favor, and this was their second offense. With additional personnel involved, no less.
The main culprits of this incident remained silent in response to Park Ju-ho’s words.
“Fine. I’m not so idle that I need to dwell on such matters. Being General Manager keeps me quite occupied, after all.”
In fact, the sudden crisis had doubled Park Ju-ho’s workload.
He had removed those from the 1st Team and hastily brought up replacements from the 2nd Team. Somehow, word of this process had leaked to the outside, and an elder statesman of the baseball world with deep ties to the Dolphins had called him.
He told Park Ju-ho to handle those players carefully, saying that the current Dolphins existed because of them.
Those words had chilled Park Ju-ho’s mind.
‘The Dolphins being in this mess is their fault!’
The lingering traces of the previous General Manager that never seemed to disappear, and the forces around him constantly trying to manipulate the Front Office with nonsensical claims.
To Park Ju-ho, currently overwhelmed dealing with all of this, these players were nothing but useless garbage.
“You’re all independent contractors, and I’m the one running this organization, so let me be straightforward. It’s business—go down to the 2nd Team. That’s the answer.”
With that, Park Ju-ho rose from the sofa where he had been sitting with the offending players.
Of course, this wasn’t the end.
“You won’t be coming back to the 1st Team. As for your salaries, I’m sure you understand without explanation. Out of consideration for our past relationship, I’ll put you on the trade block. I trust you’ll conduct yourselves properly until you’re traded to another team. If you want to keep making a living from baseball, that is.”
Then, with ease, he opened the door to his office and issued the order for them to leave.
“….”
The four of them left without saying a word.
Once called the Dolphins’ backbone and the Clutch Team, their departure was a pathetic sight.
Not a single staff member felt sympathy for them.
Though they had visited the stadium for years in service to the Dolphins, their actions had been far more malicious than virtuous, and the staff members who remembered this could only respond with indifference.
Moreover, when the team was trying to undergo change, they had not only thrown cold water on the effort but had overturned the table entirely—there was no reason for warm feelings toward them.
In fact, not immediately releasing them was the Front Office’s sole gesture of mercy.
* * *
The drinking scandal that erupted before the game threw both the Front Office and field staff into chaos.
But the turmoil was brief.
No matter how much commotion arose or problems emerged, what mattered was preparing for the game that would take place in the afternoon.
“In times like this, focus on your warm-ups. If you get flustered just because things are chaotic, you’ll only end up injured.”
The Senior Coach led the players in place of the Manager, who had stepped away with the offending players.
The Pitching Coach and Battery Coach were already busy gathering information on the newly promoted players, while the Physical Coach was massaging the starting pitcher in preparation for the game.
Kim Se-jin, still recovering from yesterday’s game, stared blankly at the stands, while Kang Do-bin chatted beside the starting pitcher receiving a massage about today’s pitching matchups.
And I
“Wow… it looks like they installed an air purifier in the Dugout.”
“Honestly… it was really uncomfortable before.”
“Now I can finally breathe easy.”
I listened to the idle chatter of three seniors beside me.
Just as the seniors said, the atmosphere in the Dugout had completely transformed.
With those who had poisoned the Dugout’s mood—denying their loss in the starting rotation competition—now gone, it felt as though I’d entered a purified space, clean and refreshing.
Without those who unconditionally demanded obedience from juniors and exploited them, the time spent preparing for games naturally increased, and I too began warming up slowly and meticulously.
Thanks to this, if I threw today, I felt I could minimize wild pitches.
‘Though there are still a few left.’
To put it bluntly and harshly, the pests in the Dugout hadn’t been completely eradicated.
A few seniors who’d been demoted to the 2nd Team and had built decent relationships with me remained. Still, there seemed to be no cause for concern. At least they showed some awareness, quietly preparing for the game.
They knew better than anyone.
That stepping forward here would gain them nothing, and that being sent down to the 2nd Team would only hurt themselves.
Knowing that their salaries would be cut in half, they understood they had to cling desperately to survival in the 1st Team, so they were warming up on their own.
‘Still, the General Manager sure handles things decisively.’
I’d picked up the story from a Front Office staff member’s casual remarks.
And what impressed me most was that he’d come to the field, said a few words to keep the playing roster from wavering, and left. That image looked cool to me.
Still, there was one person I couldn’t help but worry about—none other than Choi Jin-ha, scheduled as today’s starting pitcher.
“Hmm….”
He seemed somewhat out of it.
On top of that, he’d been receiving a massage for a while now, and whether his body wasn’t loosening up or something was bothering him, his expression wasn’t good.
In contrast to Choi Jin-ha, the three seniors warming up in front of me were different.
“Phew… I can’t wait to see the effects of studying until dawn.”
“I’d say I’m confident today will go perfectly.”
Jo Sang-hyuk and Jung Ji-hoon had studied late into last night.
Choi Sung-hyuk proved he’d studied a day earlier by coolly ditching the two seniors and going to bed first, but I, for the sole reason that it was my room, helped the two seniors study and went to bed late.
With the studying that lasted until late hours and the two seniors continuing to review even before arriving at the stadium today, they radiated confidence.
‘Sigh…. The starting pitcher needs to hold up well….’
For both me and the seniors to take the mound, we need either a winning game or a close score.
For the sake of yesterday’s study efforts, I hoped today’s game would go smoothly.
But my wish wasn’t granted.
Crack—!
As the white ball flew beyond the fence, Choi Jin-ha’s face turned as pale as a baseball.
“Ah….”
A sigh escaped through Sajik Baseball Stadium.
* * *
“Choi Jin-ha has just completed the inning. We’ll be back with you at the top of the sixth.”
The screen changed with the Caster’s call.
The cleaning break after the fifth inning.
This was the only timing when the Caster and Sports Commentator could slip away to the restroom, so the two hurried along.
“What a shame for the Dolphins.”
The Sports Commentator nodded at the Caster’s words.
“Tell me about it. The momentum was good, and after winning streaks, taking one loss meant if we’d gone on another winning streak, we’d have really seized the moment, you know?”
Sports Commentator Choi Dong-yeon.
A former Dolphins player who threw on the Dolphins Mound for ten years before retiring, and has been working as a Sports Commentator for over ten years now—a former player turned analyst.
He remained a devoted Dolphins fan, and if the Dolphins ever requested technical consultation, he would drop everything and rush over, caring for the team that deeply.
What he desired was a Dolphins championship.
He never achieved it during his playing days, and he still hadn’t witnessed it as a Sports Commentator—yet he yearned for that championship desperately.
“And of all times, internal issues had to surface too.”
“Sigh… alcohol is really the problem, alcohol.”
Both the Caster and Sports Commentator couldn’t help but know.
Anyone involved in baseball would have noticed immediately—the sudden changes in the 1st Team roster made it obvious to anyone looking at who was removed and who was registered.
Four problematic players disappeared and were replaced by rookies, after all.
“Still, this should be good for the Dolphins, right?”
“Good? Rookies are inherently unreliable, that’s the reality.”
Choi Dong-yeon’s expression grew complicated.
Even if they show decent performances in the 2nd Team, anyone in baseball knows there are countless players who struggle in the 1st Team.
It’s reality that even those called generals in the 2nd Team become timid once they reach the 1st Team, so just because someone was suddenly promoted from the 2nd Team doesn’t mean they’ll all become generals.
Ultimately, position shapes the person, and momentum determines the tide.
The problem was that the Dolphins’ current situation was far from ideal for that.
“When you think about it that way, Kang Ho-jin and those three are really impressive.”
“Ah… those guys?”
A faint smile crossed Choi Dong-yeon’s face.
He’d been anxious about the suddenly promoted players from the 2nd Team, but remarkably, each time they took the mound, they demonstrated their abilities and naturally settled into the Clutch Team—as a Dolphins fan, he couldn’t help but feel good about it.
“If even just one of the four moves up to the starting rotation, it would ease the pressure somewhat….”
Looking at it coldly, today’s game had partially collapsed, but Choi Jin-ha had barely held the innings together, and with Kim Se-jin aging past his prime, acquiring new pitching talent was urgent.
Even with two foreign mercenary pitchers securing wins, the win rate hovered around forty percent, so naturally, one solid card was needed to break fifty percent.
In Choi Dong-yeon’s view, Kang Ho-jin was the player best suited for that role.
‘Looks, story, everything about him is perfect.’
Anyone could see his unfortunate circumstances, yet the way he accepted them and faced them head-on with confidence was admirable. Moreover, as a father with a daughter himself, Choi Dong-yeon couldn’t help but empathize with Kang Ho-jin.
“So… I hope this opportunity becomes the definitive turning point for the team.”
The Caster nodded at Choi Dong-yeon’s words.
The recent games—less than ten matches—had been far more entertaining and enjoyable than the Dolphins’ performance over the past several years, and he’d become completely absorbed in watching baseball.
With their business finished, the two returned to the broadcast booth.
“The top of the sixth inning—the Incheon Serpents’ offense begins.”
The broadcast continued, and the Dolphins found themselves surrendering the game once again.
* * *
[Eight-game winning streak followed by two consecutive losses. The Dolphins, helplessly on the receiving end!]
[Sudden Roster Changes? What on Earth Happened?!]
[A Baseball Legend Speaks: Small Mistakes Should Be Forgiven, Veterans Deserve Respect. What Does This Mean?!]
[The Dolphins’ Momentum—Once Capable of Shifting the Standings—Begins to Falter!]
[Chaos Descends Upon the Standings as the First Half Draws to a Close!]

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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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