The Genius Pitcher Dad Throws for His Daughter - Chapter 67

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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 67
#67.
The final day of the three-game series against the Wolves dawned.
Once the weekend three-game series concluded, we would enter the remaining schedule phase.
Until this week, our away and home games had maintained a relatively stable rhythm, but starting next week, we would be constantly moving between locations—sometimes with just one game, at most two games between stops.
The front office had arranged the schedule to minimize wasted travel, but complaints still lingered.
The usual grumbling articles surfaced year after year, and several senior players nodded in agreement.
But what was far more pressing was today’s starting pitcher assignment.
To fill the void left by Senior Pitcher Se-jin, our Manager made a bold decision.
[Busan Dolphins deploying not a 1+1 starter but a 1+1+1 starter?!]
[Three rookies developed in the 2nd Team over recent months! Building experience for next year, not this one!]
[With little season remaining, the decision was made to give as many rookies as possible their chance!]
[A bold move! But will the Dolphins’ choice, still languishing in the standings, prove wise?]
Our Manager had pulled off a move that few other managers would dare attempt.
Three junior pitchers who would finally allow me, the youngest in the pitching rotation until now, to shed that title.
‘Oof… they’re all tensed up.’
These were juniors I saw frequently in the 2nd Team.
I knew their names, and I knew they had prepared diligently. Even now, they were warming up earnestly to prove that the sweat they had shed was no illusion.
The only problem was that they were so nervous their movements looked stiff as boards.
Watching them stirred old memories.
‘Nostalgia…’
That fresh, innocent feeling tickled something deep in my chest.
It had been a very long time since I looked like that.
I didn’t need to dwell on the time before I returned to the past—I could simply recall when I was younger than I am now.
It was a day I took the Mound and pitched like any other.
Except that day’s game decided the Weekly League championship, making it more important than usual, and it was a weekend when my school had come to cheer me on.
Most importantly, it was the day I threw the ball in front of Ye-jin’s Mother—or rather, Ye-ji, who was my girlfriend back then.
Perhaps because of that, my body was stiffer than usual, and my nerves got the better of me. I gave up a clean home run in the first inning right from the start.
A massive arc carried the ball beyond the Fence, and the opposing team’s Cheering Section erupted in jubilation, their enthusiastic roars pouring out.
At that moment, I covered my mouth with my glove and cursed soundly.
Ye-ji had come to watch, and I felt mortified. Even if I had shown the most perfect performance, it wouldn’t have been enough—and here I was, starting with a home run against me. The shame was overwhelming.
As the Batter crossed Home and the next one stepped up to the plate, in that brief moment of quiet, a loud voice rang out.
“Hey! Kang Ho-jin! Lift your head! If you’re my boyfriend, don’t lose your nerve—pitch well till the end!”
At that voice, my head, which had dropped without my realizing it, snapped up.
The voice echoing in my mind pierced my chest like a lance, striking home. My heart raced. In that instant, the stiffness that had gripped my body moments before melted away, and I felt myself returning to my usual form.
Gratitude flooded through me toward Ye-ji, and I resolved that from this moment on, I wouldn’t give up another hit—I would finish this game strong.
As the Catcher’s sign came and I nodded in acknowledgment, I set my stance with renewed determination.
The Stands rustled with murmurs.
The Cheering Section stirred, and suddenly another voice rang out.
“If you win! I’ll give you a kiss!”
At those words, my grip on the seams loosened without my realizing it, and the ball flew toward the batter’s body.
“hit by pitch!”
The pitcher who threw it, the batter who was hit, and even both teams’ Dugout and Cheering Section fell into stunned silence.
“Heh heh.”
A laugh escaped me unbidden.
As memories of that youthful freshness surfaced—how audacious Ye-ji was, and how pure I had been in those days—a smile bloomed across my face.
Perhaps because I’d dreamed of Daughter’s mother last night, I found myself wanting to see her even more today.
Having thought this far, I buried those feelings deep in my chest and rose to my feet.
Then I approached the Three Hitters, who were warming up their bodies.
After all, I’d been a 1st Team senior for a few months now, so I figured I should offer them a word or two of guidance. With Kim Se-jin, our spiritual pillar, gone, and everyone else busy preparing for the game, it fell to me—the one with the most free time—to step up.
“Warm up properly. In your current state, you’ll get injured.”
I spoke deliberately in a heavy tone while helping them stretch.
Ah, that game from back then—we won it.
Thanks to the batting lineup pulling through, we reversed the score in the very next inning, and I went on to shut down the Mound flawlessly without allowing a single hit or walk. It was also the historic day we shared our first kiss—not just a peck, but a real kiss.
That day too, I could see the blue sky just like now.
* * *
Manager Bong Jun-sik, sitting in the Manager’s Office, bounced his leg rapidly.
He trembled at such a frantic pace that merely listening to it unsettled the mind, and watching it was dizzying enough to make one’s head spin.
If there had been elderly folks around, it wouldn’t have been strange for them to smack his thigh with a flyswatter and shout, “Hey, you fool! You’re throwing away your luck!”
“Ugh… it should be fine, right?”
Though it was a decision I’d made myself, the worry was unavoidable.
I’d deliberately chosen three out of five pitchers from the 2nd Team—ones recommended by Jang Si-hwan, the 2nd Team Manager—to pitch in today’s game.
Two innings each.
I’d arranged the stage so they could pitch as few as one inning or as many as three, and even if they only got through three innings, I had another pitcher ready to handle the remaining innings.
I’d devised this strategy solely to prepare for next season.
Those who have felt the tension, the racing heartbeat, and the thrill that only comes from stepping foot on the 1st Team stage will never escape from this place.
Even a single pitch thrown draws a response from the Stands that drowns out any sound from the Dugout in an instant, making the heart pound wildly. That emotion brings an exhilaration found nowhere else.
It was a strategy to let them taste that feeling even once, so they’d crave it again and again.
“They’ll do well.”
I heard the Senior Coach’s words, but I still couldn’t calm down.
“In fact, I’m satisfied with your decision, Manager. I’ll report to the Restaurant Owner and the Chairman as needed. Let’s try to scout as much talent as possible during the remaining schedule.”
The cold-blooded General Manager said his piece and left without hesitation.
Left alone in the Manager’s Office again, Bong Jun-sik couldn’t settle himself. He suddenly stood up and gazed outside.
At the moment he rose, his entire body seemed to tremble rather than just his legs. The Senior Coach let out a quiet sigh at the sight of Manager Bong Jun-sik shaking so intensely.
But soon the Manager’s trembling ceased. Curious about what had happened, the Senior Coach looked outside and understood.
“Even without Se-jin, it looks like we’ll know who can lead the next pitcher rotation.”
At the Senior Coach’s words, the Manager murmured.
“No, not him. He’s already busy enough.”
At Manager Bong Jun-sik’s cold and firm words, the Senior Coach agreed.
They could see how much Kang Ho-jin was struggling, juggling both a sick Daughter and baseball, and those watching over him understood his burden all too well.
In the midst of all this, I realized there simply wasn’t enough time to look after both seniors and juniors at the same time.
“Still… we should let them step forward on their own.”
“That’s true.”
The Manager and Senior Coach watched with satisfaction as the Three Hitters, who had been rigidly tense, gradually loosened up their bodies.
Contrary to my worries, it felt like today’s game would go well.
Of course, that didn’t mean I was confident in victory.
Rather, I had filled most of today’s starting lineup with backups, reserves, and rookies.
It was a game played solely with next year in mind and to give fans confidence.
And surprisingly, the game remained competitive through the sixth inning.
Score: 4 to 4.
The Wolves fielded their 1st Team strength while the Dolphins matched them with 1.5 Team to 2nd Team strength.
But as the innings progressed, the Dolphins, unable to maintain their momentum and energy, collapsed entirely.
Final score: 11 to 5.
Though we lost by a large margin, the atmosphere in the Dolphins Dugout wasn’t bad.
Rather than focusing on immediate results, the seniors encouraged the juniors as the team looked ahead to next year, and the starters guided the backups and reserves, each offering their own advice.
The Dolphins were steadily building their foundation for next year’s leap forward.
* * *
The junior pitchers who started on Thursday’s replacement slot worked hard.
The three of them cleanly handled exactly six innings.
Each pitched two innings, and each gave up runs.
Yet they stubbornly continued throwing from the Mound, and when they finished their target innings, their faces were flushed with excitement and a sense of accomplishment.
‘If they keep improving, I’ll see great things from them soon.’
Looking at the results alone, it was disappointing.
2 innings, 2 runs allowed, 34 pitches, 4 hits.
2 innings, 1 run allowed, 27 pitches, 6 hits.
2 innings, 3 runs allowed, 25 pitches, 3 hits, 3 home runs.
For rookies throwing on the 1st Team Mound for the first time, the results were certainly disappointing.
The reason I viewed it quite positively was that none of the three gave up a single walk. Manager Bong Jun-sik also valued this point highly, telling them to prepare well as he’d give them another chance next time—their faces brightened after the game ended.
Though we lost to the Wolves, perhaps because we glimpsed next year’s hope, the community reaction wasn’t bad either.
– All three threw with spirit.
– At least they’re getting the ball in the Strike Zone, which is enough.
– With their lack of experience, they’ll improve quickly.
– I’m really looking forward to next year.
With decent results and reactions, the Manager continued to write experimental rosters frequently after that.
Though the results were more losses than wins, it was good that both fans and the Front Office viewed it positively.
We alternated wins and losses through the weekend three-game series.
Now, as we worked through the remaining schedule, the previously fixed schedule naturally underwent changes.
The first of these was a two-day rest from Monday through Tuesday.
On Wednesday, I’m scheduled to pitch against the Seoul Buffaloes.
After getting the Manager’s permission, I headed to Seoul first.
I arrived around noon and found the Hospital where Daughter was staying.
– Points consumed.
I spent 1 point out of the remaining 3 points.
With this, Daughter’s free time increased dramatically, and I now had more than enough buffer until the start of next season.
Remaining points: 2.
If I reserved 1 point for emergencies, I could use the other remaining point.
‘Where should I use it….’
I stared at my status window, lost in thought.

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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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