The Genius Pitcher Dad Throws for His Daughter - Chapter 77

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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 77
#77.
Saturday dawned.
Normally I would prepare for a 5 o’clock game, but today’s matchup was scheduled for 2 p.m.
With the cooler evening weather setting in, games that could be moved up were being rescheduled accordingly.
Just observing this alone made me acutely aware that we were in the final stretch of the season.
Thanks to the early start, I woke earlier than usual and moved through my routine at a leisurely pace.
‘My body feels light.’
Perhaps because it had been six days since my last appearance, my body felt remarkably fresh.
Judging by my condition alone, I sensed I could execute today’s game flawlessly.
After finishing my preparations unhurriedly, I arrived at the stadium to find Coach and Hyun Myung-su moving about busily.
Curious about what was happening, I asked Myung-su, who immediately grabbed several tablets and exclaimed.
“Senior! Their lineup has changed.”
“What? Really? Let me see.”
I then scanned through the list carefully.
The lineup I had anticipated was completely absent, replaced entirely by rookies and backup players.
As a result, all the meticulous data our nerd Deok-hwan had prepared became useless, and everyone was scrambling to reorganize everything hastily.
This was why multiple tablets now lay before me.
“Hmm… Myung-su.”
I set down the roster I was holding onto the table and called to him.
“Yes, Senior.”
Watching my junior stare at his densely filled notebook with glistening eyes—clearly containing the materials he had prepared—made me feel sympathetic. He had studied diligently for my appearance, only to have everything rendered useless in an instant.
Moreover, seeing Deok-hwan’s slumped shoulders as he continued analyzing the Salamanders batters using three monitors simultaneously filled me with pity.
So I spoke up.
“I’ll call them out now. Write them down.”
“Sir?”
“Number one Kim Ju-guk has a weakness on the outside low—he’s vulnerable to breaking balls, so I’ll use a changeup as my finishing pitch. Number two batter Park Min-jun needs three fastballs inside, and number three batter Ha Dong-ha will get two high fastballs followed by a changeup. He’s got raw power, so once I elevate his eyes and drop the pitch, the bat will come out every single time.”
At my words, not only did Deok-hwan—who had been enthusiastically typing until moments ago—stop, but even Myung-su, who was writing down what I said, froze alongside him.
Even the Pitching Coach and Battery Coach who had come in to deliberate beside me ceased their movements and stared at me.
“I faced them in the 2nd Team.”
“Ah…”
Everyone nodded in understanding.
Actually, this was a lie.
The current lineup was essentially the batters’ lineup that would emerge starting from about three years in the future and reach completion by the sixth year.
It was something that happened as backup players rapidly seized the starting positions from the regulars—and thanks to this, the Salamanders would create a sensation that season, advancing to the Korean Series for three consecutive years.
I too had returned from injury and faced them day and night during that era, so I remembered what they looked like when fully developed and their weaknesses.
And since they were still underdeveloped now, those weaknesses were far more pronounced, so I didn’t need to layer multiple pitching designs.
Less than ten minutes after entering the meeting, we emerged outside.
Everyone’s faces had grown noticeably more relaxed as they began preparing for the game.
And the most relaxed face of all belonged to me.
* * *
Dolphins Dugout.
The Three Hitters—rookie pitchers called up from the 2nd Team—cast a sidelong glance at one corner.
Then they whispered quietly among themselves.
“His atmosphere is different today, isn’t it?”
“Right? Today it’s not so much that he’s on edge, but… how do I put it? He looks like he’s looking forward to something?”
“Hmm… from what I can see, it looks like he deliberately relaxed his tension after seeing the opposing lineup and is trying to stay composed.”
The three of them were scheduled to take the mound next Tuesday and enter the first game of the Saturday doubleheader.
They watched the starting pitchers throw as much as possible to study, threw their bullpen pitches during off-game hours, and before the game started, they remained near the starting pitcher like this, continuing their studies.
In truth, the one who puzzled them most was Kang Ho-jin.
They were now observing his third appearance, and those three times were vastly different.
The first time, he emanated a cold, sharp atmosphere.
An atmosphere so frigid—as if sitting in the Siberian Wasteland—that approaching him felt daunting.
The second time was sharp in a different sense.
He had the momentum of someone ready to kill, and the atmosphere near him was almost fearful, as if your neck might snap and you’d be sliced.
But today, the third time, was slightly different.
Even as he concentrated as usual, there was something subtly excited about him, and he displayed a composure as if he had already prepared exactly how to unfold today’s game.
The opposing lineup had clearly been hastily modified, and the coaching staff, the Catcher, and even Deok-hwan showed signs of bewilderment. Yet the pitcher actually throwing the ball displayed such composure that it raised questions.
“Myung-su.”
In the end, they sought out Myung-su, the Catcher.
When they asked what was going on, Hyun Myung-su simply shrugged and explained.
“He faced them often in the 2nd Team, so he knows them all. When Deok-hwan compared the data he provided, he said he didn’t need to analyze it himself and stepped back.”
At those words, they felt a slight doubt.
Half of today’s Salamanders starting lineup, they had never seen in the 2nd Team this year. The remaining half frequently moved between the 1st and 2nd Teams, so they hadn’t seen them easily either.
Hyun Myung-su nodded as if he understood the doubt they carried.
“But Senior Pitcher knew them all.”
Even if they harbored doubts, there was no reason for them to question what Senior Pitcher Kang Ho-jin said. Instead, they asked Myung-su to show them what he had written in his notebook to obtain that information.
“Wow… seriously…”
“This is no joke. What kind of analysis…”
“There’s not just one pattern—there are at least two basic ones, and up to four if there are many?”
Not only was the analysis detailed, but every pitch was written down according to the batter’s reaction.
The materials Deok-hwan provided were similar, but these were even more detailed, and the reasons were written out as well. Looking at this, it naturally became clear in their minds how to attack the opposing batters.
“Oh, you know what?”
At Hyun Myung-su’s question, all their heads turned from the notebook to Myung-su.
“After the seniors’ games, he doesn’t sleep even when he goes to the hotel. He doesn’t sleep until he finishes analyzing all the next game’s players, and he studies late into the early morning, they say.”
They knew it too.
That there was some oddly-named gathering on the team, and about those who didn’t rest at the dormitory after games but studied the rest as well.
They wanted to join in their hearts, but being juniors, the Three Hitters couldn’t easily approach them.
“I’ll ask to be included. I already mentioned it to Senior Pitcher Kang Do-bin.”
At Hyun Myung-su’s words about participating, the Three Hitters felt genuine envy.
“I wish I could go too….”
“I want to as well….”
“I’m scared I might get in the way of the senior pitchers, so I can’t say anything.”
The three of them smacked their lips regretfully and stepped back.
They were waiting on the Bench while Hyun Myung-su was starting, so they watched his retreating figure with envy.
“I want to go too….”
It was Song Moon-jung speaking, the same age as Hyun Myung-su among the three.
Hwang Seung-tae and Yun Jung-woong nodded in agreement with his words.
“Oho….”
And Choi Sung-hyuk, quietly observing from behind, watched them with an anticipatory smile.
Song Moon-jung, Hwang Seung-tae, and Yun Jung-woong had no idea.
Behind the back of Choi Sung-hyuk, who was watching them now, a demon was trumpeting in welcome—and they would later be dragged away by another’s hand rather than their own will, experiencing hell and beating their chests in regret from within.
* * *
“Play ball!”
With the Umpire’s call, the game began.
Since we were at Home, I took the Mound for defense in the top of the first inning.
There’s something special about stepping onto a Mound that no one else has touched yet. I especially appreciated that it was set up just for me.
The footplate for brushing away dirt and the tools were positioned to the right rear, and the rosin bag was attached right beside the pitcher’s rubber, making it convenient to use anytime. Most importantly, thanks to the ground crew laying it with the exact cushioning I preferred, I could extend my feet safely.
All of this was possible because we were at Home, and I expressed my gratitude to the diligent ground keepers.
‘So there’s only one way I can repay them.’
To decisively shut down the opposing batters from the Mound.
Looking ahead, I could see Kim Ju-guk.
He was my classmate, drafted the same year as me, and a player I’d faced several times during high school. Since I recognized his face, I tipped my cap in greeting, and he likewise lifted his helmet.
While there was joy in seeing a classmate after so long, I didn’t hesitate from the first pitch—I attacked his weakness.
Four-seam fastball, low and away.
I pressed the pitch com and threw to his weakness.
Whoosh—!
“Strike!”
Apparently thinking it was too far, he didn’t swing.
But what if I threw to the same spot again? He made a decent attempt to follow with his swing, but the distance between ball and bat was too great.
“Swing! Two!”
Now I had planned to throw a changeup as the finishing pitch.
His weakness was the far outside, but since I’d targeted that spot intensively twice, I threw the ball to the opposite location, anticipating the batter would be thinking of the same course.
Changeup, low and inside.
Whoosh—!
“Swing! Batter’s out!”
The ball and bat never connected, going straight into the Catcher’s glove.
I smirked slightly at Kim Ju-guk spinning around in a full circle, and my classmate retreated regretfully, his eyes full of lingering disappointment as he looked between me and the Batter’s Box.
Even if he was my classmate, now that I was on the Mound and he was in the Batter’s Box, the competition had to be conducted coldly.
Park Min-jun, the number two batter, stepped up to the plate.
This senior will break out as a slugger next year. Originally, he was a senior who could only push outside pitches, but as he changes his batting form and adapts to inside pitches, he transforms into the type who delivers respectable hits and drives in runs from the heart of the lineup.
Since his batting form hasn’t changed yet, I simply jammed three fastballs inside on him.
Crack—!
The third pitch caught the edge of the bat and flew into the stands.
After three consecutive fastballs jammed inside, he seems to be adjusting, but there’s no need to escape to a different location.
The same course again.
Thwack—!
“Swing! Batter’s out!”
All I need to do is steal his timing by adjusting my velocity.
Next up is number 3, Ha Dong-ha, stepping into the Batter’s Box.
This one’s a classic strikeout candidate—once you catch him, he goes down, but if you don’t, that’s all there is to it.
I raised the batter’s eyes high with a high fastball.
Since he takes a full swing on every pitch, it takes time between throws, but the moment he steps into the box, I fire it like lightning and draw another whiff.
And finally, I planted a changeup right on the Home Plate.
“Swing!”
The Umpire calls the swing, and Hyun Myung-su, who blocks the loose pitch with his body, tags the massive batter on his thickest part—his belly.
“Out!”
The top of the first inning is over.
Delighted that the inning flew by so quickly against familiar opponents, I came down from the Mound.
For some reason, I have a feeling I’ll put up better numbers than usual today.

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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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