The Genius Pitcher Dad Throws for His Daughter - Chapter 74

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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 74
#74.
Phoenix Batter Bae Jun-sik was utterly dumbfounded.
He was a veteran who had played for Phoenix for quite some time, and while his FA contract wasn’t some astronomical sum like others, he had earned respect and favorable treatment throughout his tenure with the team.
He never imagined that simply offering a word of advice to a junior player would result in a brushback pitch coming his way.
“That bastard….”
Part of him wanted to flip the entire situation on its head, but the Pitcher had already made an apologetic gesture, then began rolling his shoulders and pretending to work out the kinks, as if his control had simply failed him.
“Damn it….”
Everyone knew—the Batter currently at the plate, both teams in the Dugout, all of them.
That display was pure theater, and the pitch had been deliberately thrown in the direction of his head.
Especially given that Kang Ho-jin’s control was renowned throughout the league as exceptional, there was no question it was intentional.
The problem was that because the opposing side had offered an apology first, Bae Jun-sik couldn’t raise his voice any louder without looking unreasonable—a frustrating position to be in.
“Damn it, just because you’re good at baseball doesn’t mean you get to play dirty like that. Did your Captain tell you to do this?”
In the end, the easiest target was the young junior Catcher crouched behind the plate.
He sat down with a flinch, and an apologetic voice emerged.
“I’m sorry.”
It was a natural response, but Bae Jun-sik had no intention of letting it end there.
“Sorry? Is that all it takes? Then why do we have police? Why do we have laws? Oh, I see—this is a Baseball Stadium, so if you’re good at baseball, you get treated like royalty and can do whatever you want?”
As he muttered from the Batter’s Box, the Umpire’s voice came from beside him, cautioning him.
“Batter, that’s enough.”
“Ah, yes. I’ll stop.”
There was no benefit in falling out of favor with the Umpire, so he left it at that.
Then, thinking the Pitcher would surely throw straight this time, he focused on the Batter’s Box, anticipating a curve ball that would enter the center of the Strike Zone.
But an entirely different pitch came flying in.
“Ugh?!”
He quickly twisted his body and stumbled backward to evade.
This pitch also came tight to his body, a natural reaction—and a lingering aftereffect from the earlier pitch that had come at his head.
“Strike!”
But the Umpire’s call was a strike.
So the pitch tight to his body had caught the borderline perfectly, and realizing he had flinched away from it out of fear, he felt his face flush crimson in an instant.
“Damn! That bastard.”
Since the pitch had entered the Strike Zone precisely, there was nothing to say.
He swung his bat in circles, preparing himself by opening his left foot slightly, thinking that if another pitch came tight to his body, he’d drive it right back.
And the moment the Pitcher released the ball, he knew.
‘What?! Damn it?!’
It wasn’t the tight pitch he’d anticipated, but an outside pitch, and because his mind was already committed to a full swing, his torso began to rotate.
Tick—!
A perfectly foul ball rolled toward the Pitcher.
It was so cleanly directed at the Pitcher that he knew he wouldn’t make it to First Base even if he ran, so he threw down his bat.
In that moment, the Pitcher caught the ball with ease, then leisurely wound up and threw to First Base.
Whoooosh—!
The infamous Arirang throw.
It looked like he was mocking the batter, and Bae Jun-sik felt a flash of irritation.
He wanted to flip out right then, but seeing no movement from the Dugout, he trudged over there instead.
Instead, he sent a signal to the Batter in the On-deck Circle to kill the next pitch.
A nod.
The Batter nodded and stepped into the Left Batter’s Box, and as he muttered something to the Catcher, Bae Jun-sik’s irritation eased slightly—until he looked at the Pitcher and saw it.
‘What the hell is that look in his eyes?!’
His eyes had transformed into something that looked ready to devour a man whole, then instantly reverted to normal.
The pitch that followed had the Batter so terrified he flinched back.
Crack—!
“Strike!”
But the ball was a docile curve that passed cleanly through the Strike Zone, and as a left-handed pitcher throwing to a left-handed batter, the curve came straight at his head—there was no choice but to be intimidated.
Five consecutive curves followed, and the Batter, his face twisted in frustration, extended his bat but managed only an infield fly.
Watching Kang Ho-jin slap the Catcher’s backside as he headed to the Dugout after the inning ended, I felt a chill run down my spine.
‘The guy’s insane… just because the Catcher got a little scratched up, he throws like that? Terrifying….’
Bae Jun-sik felt genuinely nervous.
He decided that at his next at-bat, if he didn’t start any trouble first, he’d let it slide quietly.
Getting injured meant reduced salary, and he wanted to maintain his current earnings so he could buy his family something nice.
That’s what it meant to be the head of a household.
Family came before pride.
* * *
I wanted nothing more than to drive a fastball into his ribs.
‘But that would only help the other team.’
If the starting Pitcher gets pulled early, the entire team’s operation falls apart.
Naturally, the opposing team could easily score against a shaken Pitcher and manage the game with confidence.
And today’s starting Pitcher is Myung-hwan.
“Damn… look at that vicious curve.”
“He’s rejuvenated. This is serious.”
“What the hell is he eating?”
“We’re getting destroyed again.”
From the first inning, Myung-hwan unhesitatingly unleashed his curve.
His signature slow curve, curves with varying drop depending on velocity—they came pouring out relentlessly. The curve dominated over fastballs, and his other pitches consistently attacked the corners of the Strike Zone to support those two primary offerings.
His pitch count was efficient.
Five innings had already passed with only 64 pitches, 4 hits allowed, 5 strikeouts, 1 walk, and he was maintaining a shutout.
I was similar—69 pitches, 3 hits allowed, 7 strikeouts, also scoreless.
We were both throwing around 12 to 13 pitches per inning, cleanly shutting down batters, and both defenses were maintaining high concentration, creating a masterclass pitching duel.
I suspected today’s game might end by one run or go into extra innings.
Of course, that wasn’t ideal for either side.
The Bullpen had taken heavy usage yesterday, and with the remaining schedule ahead, things were tight enough to be concerning.
He’d want to lead as many innings as possible as the starting pitcher, no matter what.
“Senior, it’s time to go out.”
Hyun Myung-su approached me and spoke.
I grabbed the glove beside me and stood up from my seat.
“Nothing else after that?”
“No, there are people asking about pitch types, but he doesn’t say anything else.”
“I see.”
The two senior pitchers who had been riding my junior hard since the first inning had quieted down.
I wasn’t entirely sure whether they’d simply gotten scared into submission, or if it was because they’d witnessed Gu Hyun-im saying something to the batters earlier.
One thing was certain—they were now approaching the batter’s box far more carefully and seriously than before.
I had a rough sense of what was happening.
I suspected it was a warning not to pull any unnecessary stunts in the matchup between me and Myung-hwan. The evidence was that Myung-hwan had shrugged his shoulders and nodded, so I could only infer from that.
Thanks to that, we weren’t distracted by anything else and were truly focused on pitching.
“Tell me if it gets tough. Ho-gun said he’s ready.”
“No, sir. I’ll absolutely hold on.”
Hyun Myung-su spoke with a clearly more serious expression.
When I asked why, he smiled slightly and answered.
“I bragged to my wife. That I’m starting against the Dolphins’ ace pitcher. That I’d hold my ground behind the plate until I collapse from exhaustion.”
He said he had no intention of leaving the catcher’s position, thinking of his wife who by now was probably watching the game with their son.
“That’s a good mindset.”
The sight of him playing baseball for his family looked genuinely impressive.
Though right now, this appearance was anything but pretty.
He’d thrown his body in all directions to catch balls that bounced into home plate, rolling around so much that he was covered in more dirt than any other player on the field today.
So much so that even the protective chest guard was marked with ball impressions and covered in hazy dust.
Perhaps unlike other sports, baseball was a discipline where getting this much dirt on you wasn’t a bad thing at all.
It was proof of how hard he’d worked and how much effort he’d put in.
‘I’m half-dead, but…’
Still, compared to when he first caught my pitches—no, compared to the first inning today—I could feel that Hyun Myung-su had grown tremendously.
As inning after inning passed, he wasn’t letting balls slip away; he was dropping them in front of his body as much as possible. There really was no training as effective as actual game experience.
I climbed back onto the mound.
The mound that had been torn up during the last inning had been raked smooth, and now only the fresh footprints that Myung-hwan had left were visible.
In that spot where traces of adjusting stride, velocity, and movement remained, I positioned myself, erasing my mentor’s footprints and beginning to carve my own.
“Swing! Batter’s out!”
Hyun Myung-su blocked the ball that bounced into home plate with his body, quickly scooped it up, brought it to the batter, and received the umpire’s out call.
At first, he’d been desperate just to catch the ball; in the middle innings, he’d offered his own input; but now he was completely focused on receiving the ball again.
Even this alone would probably earn Manager Bong Jun-sik’s approval, and with a backup resource available even if Do-bin got injured, future team operations would become easier.
For me too, this was necessary to earn points, so I was pleased to work in sync with Myung-su.
“Swing! Batter’s out!”
The sixth inning ended cleanly with three strikeouts.
I sat on the bench, hoping we’d score soon.
“Myung-su.”
“Yes, Coach!”
The Coach looked Myung-su over and patted his shoulder.
“You’ve done well. You’re coming out next inning, so make this at-bat count. Take a nice, full swing.”
“Ah… understood!”
Myung-su’s face fell with disappointment—he’d wanted to play through the entire game—but he still had one more chance at the plate. He quickly removed his catcher’s gear and headed to the on-deck circle.
The two batters ahead of him danced helplessly at curveballs and struck out. Now it was Myung-su’s turn.
And from the very first pitch, he unleashed a full swing with everything he had.
Crack!
The ball soared high into the air.
I couldn’t help but smile.
* * *
At that same moment.
Hyun Myung-su’s Wife watched the game on television with their son.
She knew it wasn’t ideal to show TV to a child so young, but today was an exception. Her son’s father was starting in the game—she couldn’t possibly keep it from him.
“Jun-woo, your dad is working so hard, isn’t he?”
Myung-su, Jun-woo’s father, was throwing himself into every play.
He dove for catches and sprinted after wild pitches, his body moving with desperate urgency.
Each time, watching her husband struggle yet smile as he adjusted his catcher’s mask, her heart raced without her realizing it.
She felt that same flutter of excitement she’d known when she first fell for him.
And seeing how exhausted he looked as he stepped up for his third at-bat, her eyes began to sting with tears.
She quickly pulled out a tissue to wipe them away, just as she was about to watch her husband’s at-bat.
“Ah, Dad?!”
Jun-woo had spoken his first word—”Dad”—and she was startled. She quickly grabbed her phone and started recording, and the same word came from Jun-woo’s lips again.
“Dad!”
At that very moment, Hyun Myung-su’s bat swung through.
Crack!
It was a towering home run—the only RBI of the entire game.
“Oh…”
Tears streamed down Mi-young’s face.
Her husband’s home run and Jun-woo’s first word of “Dad” coming together on this day—the joy was overwhelming.

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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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