The Genius Pitcher Dad Throws for His Daughter - Chapter 69

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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 69
#69.
High velocity is a blessing for any pitcher.
It reduces the batter’s reaction time, making it easier to induce swings and misses or poorly struck balls, while shortening the time the ball takes to reach the catcher’s mitt. When batters struggle to time their swings, the pitcher gains a decisive advantage in controlling the game’s flow.
Typically, as the season wears on and fatigue sets in, velocity drops—but Kang Ho-jin was different.
“What the hell is this guy? His velocity keeps climbing with every game.”
“It’s not like he’s doping or anything, but his speed goes up every single outing?”
“And it’s not just his fastball—his splitter’s gotten absolutely insane too.”
“He’s not even trying to let us make contact.”
“Damn it… at this rate, he’s going to set a record!”
The Seoul Buffaloes’ batters voiced their frustrations one after another.
They’d stepped up to the plate armed with solutions compiled from the Strategy Analysis Team’s scouting reports.
But the results were disastrous.
Three innings, zero runs allowed. Forty-three pitches thrown. Nine strikeouts.
Looking at the numbers alone, it seemed I was deliberately hunting for strikeouts.
And knowing this, the batters’ faces burned with frustration.
The only silver lining was that I hadn’t given up a scoreless inning—if I had, the Buffaloes would’ve suffered far worse psychological damage.
But with only three innings in the books, the thought that I might surrender a record performance in the remaining innings naturally crept in, making their stomachs churn even more.
“Damn it! We can still win this!”
All eyes turned toward the player who’d uttered something that wasn’t quite a curse but wasn’t quite normal either.
He was the same age as Kang Ho-jin—an eccentric junior who was so obsessed with internet streaming that he’d keep YouTube and Twitch running nonstop even during training.
This peculiar junior suddenly began swaying his hips side to side.
“I think all of this is because my pelvis won’t stop moving. Next at-bat, I’ll hold it perfectly still and get a hit!”
And with that, he continued swaying his hips left and right.
While it didn’t look particularly impressive on the surface, it did help lift the sagging morale of those who’d been on the receiving end of Kang Ho-jin’s dominance.
As his teammates began laughing and watching, his roommate—a senior—suddenly smacked the back of his head and said:
“Hey! Hwang Jun-in! That trend died ages ago!”
“Does that matter?! What matters is getting a hit!”
“You’re insane!”
“That’s right! I’m a madman for baseball! Today I saw the divine face in the afternoon broadcast, so I’m unstoppable!”
“And yet you struck out on three pitches last at-bat!”
As the junior continued his frantic outburst, the senior stuffed a glove in his mouth and dragged him out toward the field.
At that sight, the other players felt their spirits lift slightly from the heavy atmosphere, each grabbing their gloves. Then the captain among the remaining fielders spoke up.
“Alright! Our rookie put on a show to cheer us up, so let’s get fired up! Defense first!”
“Yes! Let’s go!”
The Seoul Buffaloes’ dugout ignited with determination.
Hwang Jun-in sprinted to the foul line and leaped off the wall to snag a hit-looking fly ball, while Kim Hyun-jae, the roommate who’d silenced him, dove to rob a double-play ball between first and second base, extending the out count.
And then came the next inning’s turn at bat.
Crack!
Hwang Jun-in, having kept his hips perfectly still this time, swung and drove a double, then resumed swaying his hips toward the Dugout.
“Seniors! It’s my pelvis!”
The Buffaloes Dugout erupted in laughter at the sight.
Whether the youngest’s antics had worked or not, consecutive hits from the next batter gave the Buffaloes a tie.
The game returned to 1-1.
* * *
The atmosphere had shifted.
I’d thought a dark cloud hung over the Buffaloes’ batting order, but suddenly the mood changed and they tied it up.
It wasn’t a bad pitch, exactly.
The feel at my fingertips was solid, and my control moved to the exact spots I wanted.
Under normal circumstances, I could’ve earned a strike to build a favorable count or struck them out cleanly.
But they hit it and strung together consecutive hits—which meant their batters simply executed well.
With no outs and runners on Second Base again, the game slipped away with two fly balls, and I eventually gave up the lead before stepping off the Mound.
“Yeah, sometimes you need a little humanity like that.”
When I returned to the Dugout, Senior Pitcher Choi Sung-hyuk handed me a towel and spoke.
I looked at him questioningly, and he just smiled.
Instead, he turned his gaze toward the fielders.
The batters gathered briefly shouted encouragement as we switched to offense.
“Right. The Pitcher’s doing his part, so the batting order needs to do theirs.”
He seemed unusually grumbling today, so I looked again, and this time he spoke with a slight cough.
“It’s been a while since our organization had a Rookie of the Year race, so the Front Office told everyone to give it their all.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You didn’t see it because you were focused, but the General Manager came by before the game started. Told us to do well. And he passed around red ginseng for everyone.”
“Ah….”
“The General Manager said he’d give you yours separately, so you’ll probably get it after the game.”
Apparently, everyone—regardless of seniority, the Manager, the Coach, and even Front Office staff—had shared red ginseng.
But the red ginseng didn’t seem to be working.
Crack!
The sharp crack of the bat rang out, and I saw the ball get sucked into an Outfield glove, while the two foul balls landed squarely in infielders’ gloves.
What could I say.
It was as if they hadn’t even tasted the ginseng essence, let alone the roots.
Still, they’d scored from the first inning, and just now the batted ball went straight at us—they weren’t lacking power or showing signs of fatigue.
So all I had to do was settle in and eat up the innings.
Since their momentum had shifted and they were swinging eagerly, I just needed to mess with their timing again.
“Do-bin, I’m going to mix up the set positions.”
“Ugh… okay.”
Do-bin’s expression darkened.
He was struggling even to catch the wind-up pitches. I understood. At the start of this season, he’d begun in the 2nd Team, and he didn’t have much 1st Team experience. He’d suddenly been called up from the 2nd Team to start in the second half, so you could see the physical strain.
Mixing up the set positions on top of that was wearing him down even more.
It would be fine if there were runners on Base and I had to throw from the set, but when I mixed it up on my own, his concentration doubled when receiving, which exhausted him further.
Well, there was no helping it.
It’s a deceptive pitch meant to fool the batter, but seeing that even the Catcher falls for it proves it’s definitely worth using before it gets analyzed. Probably by next year, once the KBO flow settles, some level of analysis will emerge.
‘I’m not just going to sit idle either.’
My body still hasn’t fully matured.
Or more precisely, I’m lacking significantly in muscle mass and stamina compared to my prime. Once the season ends and I tighten everything up, my pitching form and delivery will change again, so analyzing that will be quite the headache.
And the curveball I perfected with Park Myung-hwan will be even tougher. Even though it was described as slightly lacking, considering it worked in the Big League, I think it could dominate in the KBO.
‘Well, that’s a problem for later.’
Right now is the time to focus on the game.
So, to silence the Buffaloes’ lineup now that their momentum is up, what would be best?
Actually, there’s only one answer.
‘Invest Point 1 in velocity.’
That leaves me with no remaining points.
Thinking of my Daughter, I should save even a single point, yet I’m making this investment for a certain victory, hoping the lineup that consumed the ginseng will find their strength and mount a comeback.
Splitter, inside and low.
I shook my head at the Catcher’s sign.
Instead, I manipulated the pitch com and pressed the four-seam fastball in the center, and without objection, the Catcher extended his mitt.
Knowing that where I hold in my hand right now is its destination, I aimed and threw with all my might.
Crack!
“Strike!”
– 153 km.
In the top of the sixth inning, despite already throwing over 80 pitches, the opposing batter’s face hardened at the even higher velocity.
Against such a batter, I threw another four-seam fastball catching the inside of the Strike Zone to get a strike, and finishing with a changeup where I dropped the velocity significantly, the batter swung in a glorious yet futile manner.
Whoosh.
At that sight, I smiled slightly and checked the Scoreboard.
83 pitches thrown. My tenth strikeout.
Well, I’m not aiming for the most strikeouts in a single game, but still, my previous record is eleven, so I don’t think I’ll exceed that.
And when this inning ended, I’d tied my existing record.
Remaining are the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings.
How much I’ll accumulate over three innings even I’m slightly excited about, my heart racing.
Ah, System.
Being happy through baseball is fine, right?
Instead of an answer, the fact that my hand isn’t tingling suggests this is acceptable.
Grateful to the System for letting me enjoy baseball purely and alone, I began preparing for the next inning.
Remaining pitches are seventeen, plus two additional.
If the offense drags on a bit, one more might be added.
Let me trust the batters.
* * *
Kang Ho-jin’s faith was rewarded.
The Dolphins, entering the remaining game schedule, managed to get some rest.
During six innings, the quality of contact wasn’t poor, so we pushed forward and reaped the results.
Crack!
Line drives that would have gone straight to the fielders suddenly transformed into hits that pierced through the infield and outfield, and with three consecutive hits, we pulled off a stunning reversal in an instant.
Naturally, the Stands erupted in thrilling celebration, breaking into song, and the world’s largest karaoke bar reopened for business.
Empowered by the fans’ roar, our batters refused to let the momentum die, and we unleashed four runs in a single inning to achieve a big inning, finishing the sixth at 2-5.
In the seventh inning that followed, Kang Ho-jin threw eleven pitches and completed the inning with one strikeout and one flyball from the infield and outfield combined.
Bolstered by the Pitcher’s performance, our batting lineup hammered the opposing pitcher once more, burning through three pitchers and achieving another big inning, stretching the score to 2-9.
With a seven-run gap, the Buffaloes finally began pulling their starting players one by one, and the Dolphins in turn began deploying bench players and rookies called up from the 2nd Team.
Taking the Mound again in the eighth inning, Kang Ho-jin threw nine pitches and came down.
Though it seemed like a quiet inning without a single strikeout, the Stands erupted even more intensely when the Third Baseman made a jumping catch.
Eight innings, two earned runs, 103 pitches thrown. Twelve strikeouts. Zero walks.
Kang Ho-jin descended from the Mound with confidence, having silenced the roaring Buffaloes offense, and though the score was already decisively in our favor, Choi Sung-hyuk came in as a precaution and cleanly shut down the ninth inning, earning the victory.
And the Heroes surrendered today’s game as well, tying the Dolphins for ninth place.

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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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