The Genius Pitcher Dad Throws for His Daughter - Chapter 57

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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 57
#57.
The game ended in victory for the Busan Dolphins.
[No two-game losing streak here! Native ace Kang Ho-jin snaps the skid!]
[Pitching that toys with batters by throwing three different curveballs! And still possessing a powerful slider and splitter!]
[9 games, 2 wins, 7 saves. The Dolphins fans’ faces light up at Kang Ho-jin’s remarkable performance!]
[The father throwing for his daughter was strong!]
After the game, the Fan Community was naturally filled with praise for Kang Ho-jin.
– Kang Ho-jin, as always, you can count on him!
└ I was counting on him!
└ A father is strong!
└ May you walk only on flower-strewn paths!
└ Though the trick is they’re paths of fire lol
– Wow, that curveball is no joke.
└ He was already throwing a great curve, but it’s gotten even better.
└ He throws three different types of curves, and he’s got perfect control on all of them.
└ Fast one, slow one, dropping one.
└ The opposing batter’s like ‘Is this even baseball?’ lol
The fans’ chat was brimming with joy.
Especially unlike other players, the chat related to posts about Kang Ho-jin was particularly filled with encouragement, as many fans had become supporters after learning his story.
Of course, if his performance had been poor, the community would be a place of criticism, but Kang Ho-jin had yet to show any real slump.
Rather, he continued to grow.
– He’s really become a curveball master.
└ When he threw nine straight curveballs, I thought he was insane….
└ Fly ball, fly ball, ground ball. The guy’s crazy.
└ What’s funny is that once you think you’ve figured out his curve, he immediately pulls out a different pitch and gets the batters swinging at air.
└ No wonder the Manager treasures him—he pulls him out right after 100 pitches.
└ Right. That’s how you manage an ace.
└ You can definitely see the team’s changed a bit.
From the fans’ perspective, the Dolphins had a genuinely good atmosphere overall.
Gone were the days of players enforcing harsh discipline, the cliques that fractured the team, and even after games when they’d grab drinks, you couldn’t find players staying out until dawn like before.
Especially with the energy pumped into the Dugout, everyone giving their all when given a chance, and fresh faces appearing now and then, it was impossible for watching fans not to feel excited.
With both fans and players in good spirits, the second half of the season continued on.
* * *
After finishing a week of away games, I returned to Busan.
If the weekend game had been near Seoul, I could have visited my Daughter, but since it was in Gwangju, there wasn’t enough time to make the trip.
I thought I’d see my Daughter at the Seoul game coming up next week or the week after, and by then I’d have accumulated another 2 or 3 points, so I could visit with confidence.
Today is a Monday with no baseball.
It’s been two days since I pitched on Saturday, so I came to the Baseball Stadium to loosen up.
Since we were playing away games until yesterday, the Senior Pitchers who usually visit in the mornings aren’t here. I worked out leisurely alone, and it was around lunchtime.
“Oh? Ho-jin was already here.”
“Looks like he’s already finished his workout.”
“So diligent.”
The fielders arrived at the Baseball Stadium one by one and greeted me.
Since we’d just returned from an away series, today was a voluntary training day, and with the second half barely underway, the players had started trickling in around lunchtime.
Before long, everyone had gathered and begun warming up. After we’d gotten through some training, Se-jin approached me.
“By the way, you all gather every night to study, right?”
“Oh, yes. You knew about that?”
I hadn’t expected Se-jin to know about it.
We usually met during everyone’s sleeping hours, so there was no chance of running into anyone in the hallways. And when we were on away trips at hotels, nobody paid attention to what we were doing anyway.
“Deok-hwan was carrying a stack of materials, so I got curious and asked. If there’s something good, shouldn’t I get a share too? Things are already tough enough as it is.”
I chuckled at Se-jin’s exaggeration.
He said it wasn’t really complaining, just that he needed a lot of sleep, so while he couldn’t participate in the study sessions, he asked if I could share the materials. I nodded in agreement.
“Of course, hyung. Here you go.”
I handed over the analysis sheet on the Salamanders’ batting lineup for tomorrow’s game.
I’d added my own research notes to what Deok-hwan had provided, so it should be quite helpful. As Se-jin looked through it piece by piece, his expression shifted to one of surprise.
“You’re a tough one. You prepared all this?”
“I just made it to the 1st Team… I have to do whatever it takes to survive.”
“That’s true, you’re right… but still, take it easy. In the end, our bodies are our greatest asset.”
“Yes, I’ll make sure to get plenty of rest too.”
Se-jin said he’d use it well and walked away.
He mentioned he’d read it comfortably at home before tomorrow’s game, so I had a feeling tomorrow wouldn’t be an easy one.
“Oh! Ho-jin. Try some of this.”
“There’s a new pizza place nearby, and it’s pretty good.”
“We ordered a lot. The other seniors are eating too, so help yourself.”
Three seniors who’d come up from the 2nd Team with me found me carrying pizza boxes.
I ate pizza with the seniors, laughing and joking around. We also talked about pitching in preparation for tomorrow’s game, and discussed how the team’s atmosphere had improved recently.
‘This feels strange…’
Before I returned to the past, I was always alone.
When someone spoke to me, it was usually just the Coach or the Manager. And even then, it was only about my pitching appearances, never anything personal or casual.
I’d lived a life thinking of nothing but throwing the ball, and because everyone respected my routine as necessary for my performance, it was possible.
Though I suppose I had a difficult personality too.
Anyway, compared to back then, now I’m surrounded by the warmth of human connection.
There are seniors studying with me, people who look after me like older brothers, and even the Coach and Manager greet me casually about things other than games.
Before I returned to the past, it was like walking through a pitch-black night. Now it feels like early dawn.
It’s still dark, but I’m certain that morning will arrive soon.
The next day.
We faced the Salamanders at home and took the field.
And Kim Se-jin, who’d taken my materials with him, pitched eight innings for the first time in a long while.
98 pitches, 2 runs allowed, 4 strikeouts, 3 walks.
Even though I could have pitched through the ninth inning, I came down early to manage my stamina and prepare for the remaining games in the second half of the season.
“Swing! Batter out!”
Closer Choi Sung-hyuk sealed the victory in the first weekday game of the series.
And for tomorrow’s game, Senior Pitcher Choi Jin-ha prepared himself thoroughly.
“Let’s keep the winning streak alive.”
If the Senior won, escaping last place would be within sight, so I burned with determination to firmly hold down the Mound and lift us to a tie for ninth place.
But the Senior’s hopes didn’t materialize easily.
Crack!
The leadoff Batter’s home run in the first inning sent the Senior’s head drooping.
The Salamanders Batters countered the Senior’s aggressive pace with a strategy of their own.
When the pitcher prepares quickly, the batter prepares quickly too.
They simply stepped out of the Batter’s Box, completed their preparations, then stepped back in and swung deliberately as soon as they settled.
It worked surprisingly well, and Senior Pitcher Choi Jin-ha was pulled early.
Meanwhile, the recently surging Gocheok Unicorns entered a winning streak, steadily closing the gap with eighth-place Phoenix.
Both the upper ranks fighting fiercely for postseason baseball and the lower ranks flowed with equal intensity.
“Sigh…”
A deep shadow fell across the Manager’s face.
The problem was that shadow only deepened.
The next day, Kevin took the mound.
As the ace, fans held great expectations that we wouldn’t fall into a losing streak.
But those expectations turned to disappointment.
[Kevin Owens’ Worst Outing! 0⅔ Innings, 5 Runs, Loss!]
[Worst Pitching Since Joining the Dolphins and Most Runs Allowed!]
Kevin Owens, who had held up well until now, collapsed from the start.
The reason was the heat he’d absorbed while warming up during the day, which suddenly overwhelmed him the moment he stepped on the Mound and began moving.
As a result, the Dolphins Bullpen was deployed rapidly.
However, the Bullpen had already been heavily taxed since Wednesday, and two consecutive days of heavy usage only deepened the shadow on the Manager’s face.
Worse yet, we’d burned through the Bullpen without securing a victory, and with the remaining three-game series being away games, the atmosphere was utterly grim.
The Manager’s face was no longer shadowed—it was turning ashen with despair.
* * *
A losing streak.
In truth, losing streaks were familiar to Dolphins fans.
It had been happening for the past decade, and with losses far outnumbering wins, fans often didn’t even bother hoping.
Of course, even in defeat, fans always hope to salvage something.
Especially for the Dolphins, where nothing had changed amid countless defeats over the past ten years. The players stuck together and caused various incidents, while the coaching staff, Manager, and Front Office divided into factions, each scrambling to look after only their favored players.
But this year was different.
With the coaching staff, players, and Front Office completely overhauled, a genuine rebuild took shape. That change was unmistakable.
The Ground was filled with rookie players.
Especially whenever we lost by a large margin, new faces stepped onto the Ground and made themselves known, and each player securing a position showed their best effort, unwilling to miss this opportunity.
When struck out, they’d shake it off; on routine grounders, they’d sprint to First Base with full force, and for fly balls overhead, they’d chase desperately and make the catch.
Thanks to this, even as the Dolphins Community faced consecutive losses, the atmosphere wasn’t as harsh as it had been before.
– Damn, he missed that one.
└ Wow, the Dolphins Community posts are this clean?
└ Back in the day, we’d have been hunting for someone to blame.
└ If it’s just blame, we’re lucky lol
└ It’s frustrating and disappointing, but… he’s a rookie. This is how you build experience and develop him.
└ It’s nice when they’re good from the start. But watching him grow like this is entertaining too.
└ The rebuild brought a lot of new faces, and that’s been refreshing.
└ I’m just glad there aren’t guys crowding into bars after games anymore.
With visible changes in the roster, fans remained lenient in their comments despite the losing streak.
Of course, leniency was rare among baseball fans—notorious for their emotional swings. Soon enough, a flood of critical posts appeared, along with countless complaints about players’ abilities and their parents.
It was just as the first away game was about to begin.
Whoooosh—!
Rain that hadn’t fallen in ages began pouring across the nation, and the team finally got their first rest day of the second half.
However, the Gocheok Unicorns—the only domed stadium—played against the Daejeon Phoenix and won.
Park Myung-hwan, who had suddenly rejuvenated against the Dolphins, was moved up to start, and once again shut down the opposing lineup with eight innings and one run allowed, but unfortunately didn’t earn the win.
The rain that began continued pouring from Friday through Sunday without stopping, and the Dolphins, who had traveled for the away series, didn’t play a single game before returning to Busan.
In the meantime, the Unicorns swept the Daejeon Phoenix in a three-game series to reach a tie for eighth place, opening up a five-game gap with the Dolphins.

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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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