The Genius Pitcher Dad Throws for His Daughter - Chapter 49

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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 49
#49.
After spending time with my Daughter, the next day arrived.
I headed to Busan.
Upon arriving at the Baseball Stadium, I went straight into a massage session.
Next came recovery training. Even if not today, I was preparing to be ready for a game tomorrow or the day after, while simultaneously awakening my body so I could dive into training the moment the first half of the season ended.
‘Thank you, System.’
In truth, this bordered on recklessness.
No matter how few pitches I threw, stepping onto the Mound and climbing back up without properly recovering fatigue was essentially grinding away my consumable shoulder and elbow.
For an ordinary player, that would be the case. But I was different now.
With the System’s aid, my shoulder and elbow weren’t merely completely refreshed—they were like brand new. Even pushing myself somewhat wouldn’t show obvious wear.
Of course, continuing this indefinitely would eventually become reckless, but I had my reasons for doing it.
– Maximum Stamina: 42
My stamina as displayed in the System was now a remarkable 42.
That meant I could comfortably throw at least 42 pitches. Considering it was currently 4 PM, by tomorrow’s game start it would be 66, so I was essentially fully recovered.
‘Physical stamina and mental fatigue are different things, though.’
If there was a difference, it would be the exhaustion from the long journey.
On top of that, the mental toll from staying glued to my Daughter’s side was indescribable.
Despite these various issues, the fact remained that I could throw right now.
Pitches with clear limitations.
“Hello!”
When I entered the Locker Room before the game, my seniors were gradually gathering and preparing for the match.
Everyone’s faces were etched with exhaustion.
At this halfway point of the long Pennant Race, feeling this level of fatigue wasn’t ideal from a team perspective, but I couldn’t help feeling bitter about it being our reality.
“Oh, you’re here?”
“How’s the kid doing?”
“If there’s anything we can help with, just say the word anytime.”
The three people welcoming me were none other than Captain Lee Ki-ha, Han Seok-do, and Ham Ji-ha.
They were three of the married men on the team, and unlike the other seniors, they were also fathers raising daughters.
Perhaps because of that, they occasionally asked about my Daughter’s wellbeing.
Not formal questions or superficial inquiries, but genuine concern from three people who truly cared for me. Especially the Captain—he was a senior prone to tears—and he’d said that if he were in my situation, he wouldn’t have just avoided the Mound; he’d have been unable to leave his daughter’s side. He looked at me with something bordering on reverence and admiration.
“Yes, she’s doing well.”
My Daughter still had over 200 days remaining.
But that wasn’t a good thing.
According to the doctor, the longer the coma lasted, the worse it was for the patient.
Brain damage progresses first, apparently.
A coma is typically a state of severe cerebral dysfunction, so it worsens with time.
Combined with lying immobile and unconscious, there’s a high risk of complications throughout the body. Muscle atrophy and joint stiffness especially. Nutritional imbalances can develop too, which isn’t good for my Daughter during her crucial growth years.
And most importantly, the probability of waking up decreases with each passing day.
My situation might be somewhat different, but considering everything comprehensively, it was definitely better for my Daughter to wake up sooner.
’20 to 25 points per year. Four years.’
By simple calculation, that’s four years.
And that’s only if I maintain consistent performance every single year—if I suffer an injury or something else happens, it could stretch even longer.
My Daughter is four now, which means she won’t wake up until she’s eight. The worry is crushing.
When she wakes, she’ll be confused and disoriented. Just thinking about how to fill those lost four years makes everything feel impossibly dark.
If only her mother were here, I could at least discuss it with someone, but that’s not an option either.
‘I’m going to lose my mind.’
I’d give anything for even the smallest clue or lead to surface.
Perhaps my expression had grown noticeably grim. The Senior Pitchers caught on, gave my shoulder a few reassuring pats, and headed off to warm up.
As I lingered alone in the Locker Room for a moment, another group of seniors came rushing in.
“You here?”
I returned Choi Sung-hyuk’s greeting.
Unlike the others before him, he didn’t bring up my Daughter. Instead, he handed me the materials he and the team had prepared for today’s game.
“We put this together… take a look and let me know if there’s anything to fix.”
“Sure, I will.”
There probably won’t be much to revise.
Before Deok-hwan joined, I would’ve cross-checked and verified everything myself, but our resident genius does such thorough work that I can just reference it as is.
Any adjustments would only address minor details that shift during the actual game anyway, so there’s no real problem.
“Hey! Bro!”
I could see today’s starting pitcher had finished his preparations and was making one last trip to grab his gear.
“How are you feeling?”
“Good. Seeing your face before we start just makes it even better.”
Fortunately, his condition looked excellent.
“That so? Then about the batters today—”
I pulled out a few key points from the materials Deok-hwan and the Senior Pitchers had prepared and laid them out specifically for Kevin.
“Oh! Thanks, bro.”
“It’s not me—it’s the Bullpen pitchers and Deok-hwan’s work.”
“Still, I’m grateful to you for breaking it down one more time for me.”
“Then go out there and earn yourself a win.”
“Leave it to me.”
Kevin’s face radiated confidence, and he made good on every word he’d spoken.
“Whoa!!”
Eight innings, two runs allowed.
He hit exactly 100 pitches and came down from the Mound with complete assurance.
Our batters contributed just enough firepower to secure a 3-2 victory.
* * *
The Dolphins’ final midweek three-game series ended remarkably with a 2-1 record.
The loss came on the day Al took the mound after Kevin.
Al pitched well.
Over five innings, scattered hits and walks came, but he gutted through them.
Just as focus had emerged in defense, it emerged in batting as well, and Al had met the conditions to be the winning pitcher before stepping down.
However, the Bullpen had been off for the first time in a while, allowing runs to score.
It wasn’t from the fleeing pitching that triggered fans’ trauma—excessive walks or hits taken on full counts—but purely because the batter hit exceptionally well and sent the ball over the wall, making it an unavoidable loss.
And the final game.
Despite it being Thursday, Sajik Baseball Stadium saw many fans returning for the first time in a while.
Though they had lost yesterday, the team’s overall performance remained respectable, and as fans’ interest revived from watching the recent month of games rather than the entire first half, attendance naturally increased.
Moreover, it was the day the Dolphins’ former ace Kim Se-jin was taking the mound.
Kim Se-jin threw with full power for the first time in a long while.
Not the blazing fastballs exceeding 150km from his glory days, nor the early-130km pitches he’d been throwing to eat longer innings on the current mound, but early-140km fastballs.
It was the best velocity he could manage without overexerting himself, and as the speed increased, so did the ball’s power.
Combined with the know-how accumulated through countless games, he displayed extraordinary pitching for the first time in ages.
Six innings, no runs, ten strikeouts.
He descended from the mound confidently with double-digit strikeouts for the first time in a long while, and the fans repaid the franchise star’s performance with thunderous applause and cheers.
And for the remaining innings, Manager Bong Jun-sik demonstrated aggressive baseball, determined to secure the victory.
In the seventh inning, he brought in Kim Jin-ho and Jo Sang-hyuk to shut them down, and in the eighth inning, Jung Ji-hoon and Choi Sung-hyuk each allowed a hit but kept it scoreless.
The final ninth inning saw the Dolphins’ new ace and the pitcher receiving the hottest response recently take the mound.
Kang Ho-jin! Kang Ho-jin!
He started on Sunday and came up on Thursday.
Not as a starter but as a closer, and by showing his face once more at the point of finishing the first half, he firmly imprinted the name Kang Ho-jin into the fans’ minds.
One inning, no runs.
Ten pitches, three strikeouts. Save.
With Kang Ho-jin’s perfect finish, a great cheer echoed through Sajik Baseball Stadium.
Now~ from anywhere~ the strongest! Dolphins!
The Dolphins’ first-half finish was perfect.
* * *
“Thank you all for your hard work in the first half!”
With Captain Lee Ki-ha’s shout, everyone raised their glasses into the air.
The sound of clinking glass rang out, and everyone savored their drinks.
“Wow! This is amazing!”
“How long has it been since we had a proper drink?”
“This is the best, absolutely the best!”
With exclamations ringing out from all sides, everyone began emptying their glasses repeatedly in joy.
From this point onward until Sunday, it was vacation. Tomorrow I’d rest comfortably, and the weekend had the All-Star Game with no scheduled training.
Instead, training was scheduled from Monday through Wednesday.
Joint training with both the 1st Team and 2nd Team. The Manager had said everyone without exception must participate and come back well-rested.
It felt clear that it was for discovering new players in line with the word “rebuilding.”
As I was thinking such thoughts, a voice came from beside me.
“Ho-jin, aren’t you drinking?”
“No, I’m planning to do stamina training starting tomorrow.”
I answered that way to Senior Pitcher Kim Se-jin’s question.
While others will rest, this week is crucial for me. To properly cycle through the starting rotation in the second half, I need stamina, so I’m determined to push myself hard over these seven days.
My current stamina is at 70.
Even if I invest the points I earned on Sunday, that only brings me to 75. To be a starter, my stamina needs to exceed at least 100, so I have to maximize my gains.
“Take at least one day off.”
That’s what Kim Se-jin, my senior, always says.
He’s not wrong, but since I joined near the end of the first half, compared to the other seniors who took the field from the start, I’m still relatively fresh, so it should be fine.
“To pitch long on the Mound, I need to build my stamina seriously.”
“Well, you’re not wrong, but… still, pace yourself. You’ve got to make this last.”
“Yes, Senior.”
A senior who fills my glass with cola instead of alcohol.
Clink!
I clinked my glass against the soju glass he was holding and drank refreshingly.
The team gathering gradually warmed up, and when the Chairman’s secretary came by to hand over a card for payment, everyone cheered so loudly they might as well have told Sajik Baseball Stadium to get out of the way.
As the gathering was winding down, Kim Se-jin tapped my shoulder gently.
“Thank you.”
“Pardon?”
Wondering what he meant, I looked over to see my senior smiling softly, his face flushed from alcohol.
“Since you came up, the atmosphere in the 1st Team has improved a lot. Let’s keep doing well together.”
“Yes, Senior.”
I won’t just try to do well—I will do well.
Not for the team, not for my senior.
I’ll do well for my Daughter.
Because that’s everything in my life.

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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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