The Genius Pitcher Dad Throws for His Daughter - Chapter 50

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 50
#50.
All-Star Break.
The ten baseball teams pause their grueling pennant race.
Rather than competing fiercely and clawing for every additional win, this day brings all teams together to provide entertainment for the fans.
[2026 All-Star Roster Announcement!!]
[The Busan Dolphins—uniquely unable to produce a single representative!]
[A historic situation where not a single player from the organization famous for its lineup made the cut!]
Not a single Dolphins player participated in this All-Star Game.
To be precise, there were players whose names appeared on the All-Star ballot.
However, their market value paled in comparison to other organizations, and more importantly, the dismal first-half performance meant they received virtually no votes.
Yet the Dolphins fans did not react with disappointment or displeasure. In fact, the atmosphere was one of acceptance.
– Better to conserve energy than waste it unnecessarily.
– This is right. Save what strength we have for the second half.
– Let’s just rest and avoid getting injured by overexerting ourselves.
– This is a rebuilding year anyway, so let’s take it easy and look forward to next season.
– Exactly! That’s the right call!
Of course, some expressed regret about having no representatives in the All-Star Game, but most had already written off this season.
Recently, there had been talk that with their current form, they could certainly compete at a higher level, but objectively speaking, with their current roster, it was painfully obvious they would be eliminated early if they even made the postseason.
Following the General Manager and Manager’s direction, it was better to finish the season with rebuilding as the goal, creating harmony between veteran players and young talent to aim for next year—a sentiment shared even by fans of other teams.
So rather than watching the All-Star Game, Dolphins fans were enjoying a long-overdue vacation away from baseball.
– But not watching the All-Star Game feels kind of empty somehow…
└ For real lol
Still, for those for whom baseball had become almost a part of daily life, being unable to enjoy the All-Star Game unfolding right before their eyes left an unavoidable emptiness.
And so the 2026 All-Star Game opened with great fanfare.
* * *
With the All-Star Break, I decided to focus on conditioning training.
“How’s your condition?”
“Excellent.”
“Good. Shall we get started?”
“Thank you for your guidance.”
I was not alone.
Starting today, for one week, a trainer and physical Coach would be dedicated to overseeing my training.
To build stamina in such a short timeframe, I needed to combine high-intensity interval training with full-body strength work, and doing this alone carried too high a risk of injury, so the Manager personally assigned the Coach to me.
Though the Coach had come to work while everyone else was resting, he seemed delighted instead.
“Excellent! Let’s forge our future ace!”
His face radiated enthusiasm and excitement.
Before that, he produced my uniform from somewhere and asked for a large autograph, so I signed two copies for him, and he immediately took photos and sent them somewhere.
Soon his phone buzzed with a video call, and I could see the Coach’s wife and his beautiful daughter on the screen.
– Thank you so much, Kang Ho-jin. We’re rooting for you.
– Uncle, I’m rooting for you! I really hope my friend gets better soon so we can go to the Baseball Stadium together.
“Th-thank you so much.”
My sister-in-law and the Coach’s daughter’s cheers made my throat tighten slightly.
It was a scene I’d longed to witness, and being cheered on like this made me feel as though strength would surge through me from nowhere.
That’s when my determination began to ignite.
Even though they weren’t my Wife and Daughter, I had no intention of wasting this week for the fans who supported me.
Did the system sense my resolve?
It responded.
– The user’s will manifests within the system.
– Emergency Stamina Infusion Protocol activated.
– Gain an additional 10 Stamina when you reach the end without giving up even once, from start to finish.
As the system notifications that had lined up like a curtain before my eyes disappeared one by one and my vision brightened again, I cried out.
‘Accepted.’
Yes, let’s give it a shot.
After living a life more hellish than hell itself, would I really give up on mere training? That’s absurd. For me, the only thing worse than returning to the past would be failing to save my Daughter despite having been given this chance.
So there’s not a shred of doubt that I won’t give up on some hard training.
“Let’s begin.”
“Right.”
And so I started training with the Coach.
* * *
Kwon Byung-ho, who had taken on Kang Ho-jin’s training regimen, was frankly worried from the start.
‘No matter what, raising his stamina over just one week….’
His stamina would improve noticeably, but achieving dramatic transformation would be difficult.
Exercise is something that requires consistency to show real results.
Especially building stamina isn’t a short-term endeavor—it’s something that needs to continue indefinitely, and you should think of this as just the beginning.
‘But… something feels like it might work?’
Even without dramatic changes, I had a feeling there would definitely be progress.
And that feeling soon became certainty.
“Huff! Huff!”
Kang Ho-jin focused solely on the exercises without a single complaint.
Especially during high-intensity interval training, he didn’t waste a single second.
He knew well that even slight lapses in breathing or concentration would gradually increase injury risk, so he displayed tremendous focus.
Moreover, during circuit training for full-body strength conditioning, despite the intensity being so severe that his breath reeked and sweat drenched not just his body but the floor itself, he pushed through.
‘Insane… to this degree?’
The training he was doing now was intense enough that even seasoned professional athletes would groan midway through, and in extreme cases, would flee the scene entirely.
Even a professional preparing for a triathlon would be justified in vomiting right there on the spot.
Yet Kang Ho-jin gritted his teeth and steadfastly endured everything, pushing through the workout.
He strictly divided training time and rest periods, consumed larger portions of food than usual during meals despite the difficulty, and moved his body lightly for digestion to ensure the next training session wouldn’t be compromised.
“Tough bastard….”
Kwon Byung-ho’s murmur continued.
Two days passed, and when we entered the joint training session, the same reaction rippled through the others.
“Wow… how is he even doing that?”
“I don’t even want to try to keep up with that…”
“Isn’t he going to die doing that?”
“That guy’s absolutely insane….”
The Dolphins players stared at Kang Ho-jin with expressions of utter disbelief.
In their eyes, Kang Ho-jin had long ceased to be human.
“He’s a monster wearing a human mask.”
Spending half the day sleeping and the other half training—that alone left them breathless with amazement. But the real problem was that those who had volunteered to follow along with his training couldn’t even last an hour before dropping out.
That was just the beginning.
Especially during circuit training, everyone collapsed one by one.
Thirty seconds of all-out effort followed by thirty seconds of rest—repeated over and over. While most would manage ten to fifteen sets, Kang Ho-jin pushed through a staggering twenty sets without hesitation.
At least some players could keep pace with the cardio work.
Since running was essential for athletes, they could manage that much, but the problem was that once they moved indoors for high-intensity cycling, they dropped like flies.
Even Kang Ho-jin was excluded from team training.
Manager Bong Jun-sik had separated him precisely because he understood that combining such intense conditioning with team drills would lead straight to injury.
Additionally, he wasn’t doing separate bullpen pitching either.
Instead, thinking it best to keep him away from the baseball for a while, he made sure Kang Ho-jin didn’t even come near the field. As a result, since the final game of the first half, he hadn’t touched a baseball.
The Dolphins’ joint training session ran from Monday through Wednesday.
Over those three days, all players displayed their absolute best, and based on that, the Front Office, Manager, and coaching staff gathered Wednesday evening.
“Now then, let’s determine the second-half rotation.”
The beam projector illuminated one side of the Conference Room, displaying the faces of numerous players.
And beneath them, text appeared.
1st Starter.
2nd Starter.
3rd Starter.
4th Starter.
5th Starter.
This was the moment to select the five most crucial figures needed to carry the season.
The Foreign Pitcher was locked into the 1st and 2nd Starter positions.
Now, as they cycled through several players’ faces to fill the remaining three slots, the selection finally stopped on one.
Jersey number 12, Kang Ho-jin.
The meeting had only just begun.
* * *
“Thirty! Done!”
Wednesday evening.
I had completed every single assignment Coach Kwon Byung-ho gave me over six days without missing a single one.
Trembling. Shaking.
My entire body quivered.
Especially today, thinking it was the final session, I truly squeezed out everything from start to finish—exhausting not just my strength but even drawing on reserves I didn’t know I had to complete the training.
My chest swells with tremendous accomplishment and an indescribable emotion.
‘Something… my heart is racing.’
This wasn’t mere training—I had truly wrung out my body to its absolute limits.
It was never easy, and countless times the urge to surrender crept into my mind, yet I gritted my teeth and pushed through every moment.
Six days of relentless training bore extraordinary fruit.
– Training complete.
– You achieved your target without giving up.
– As a reward, 10 Stamina has been granted.
Unable to move a single finger, I lie here watching this notification, and a smile spreads across my face unbidden.
‘Status window.’
I summoned the status window directly to see the results.
[Kang Ho-jin]
– Maximum Stamina: 95
– Peak Velocity: 150km
– Pitch Arsenal: Four-Seam Fastball (B), Changeup (D), Curveball (B), Splitter (C)
– Skill: Healing (S)
– Special Status: Overloaded from extreme training.
– Remaining Points: 1
It had been a long time since a single line appeared in the Special Status section.
But that detail escaped my notice.
Stamina had increased by a staggering 30 points.
With the additional 10 granted for completing training, it meant I’d built 20 Stamina over these six days alone.
‘And now for this.’
Without hesitation, I moved my trembling fingers.
– Point consumed.
With this, I had become a Pitcher capable of throwing a full 100 pitches.
‘Excellent…’
Then, without warning, I collapsed into sleep right there.
The tension melted away—from the sense of accomplishment, the liberation, and the relief of having achieved my goal—and sleep claimed me.
In my dream, I saw my Daughter standing before me, her thumb raised high in admiration.
“Dad is the best!”
It was truly the most wonderful dream.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————