The Genius Pitcher Dad Throws for His Daughter - Chapter 92

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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 92
#92.
“Ho-jin!”
As the Wolves arrived, I heard my name being called.
Turning my head, I saw Byung-ho approaching with a bright smile.
One glance at his face told me everything.
The complications that had plagued him before my return to the past were gone, and he had recovered to health just as I had.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I received proper treatment and made it to camp.”
“I’m glad.”
Because he’d started treatment early, he’d been discharged around the end of last year, and through consistent rehabilitation and training since then, he’d managed to return to camp.
At least it wasn’t the face of my brother clutching his elbow in regret that I remembered—it was genuinely bright, and that made me happy.
“From now on, don’t hold back the pain. Tell us right away. We need to keep going for a long time.”
“Ha ha. You’re right.”
We moved past the injury talk and were exchanging stories about what had happened at camp when another person approached.
“Oh, who’s this? Isn’t this our team’s benefactor?”
I greeted Cha Moon-jin, who was welcoming me warmly.
“Be comfortable with me. Actually, am I being too casual with you?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“You be casual too. Ho-jin.”
“Yes, Moon-jin.”
Now that I thought about it, I rarely called my own teammates “brother,” but for some reason I often found myself casually calling seniors from other teams that way, which made me smile.
“Are you pitching today?”
“Yes, I’m going first.”
“Oh… Byung-ho was actually praising you a lot. I’m looking forward to it.”
I smiled slightly at that.
In truth, the me that Byung-ho remembered and the me now were quite different.
Well, if we’re talking about throwing left-handed with curves and four-seams as the main pitches, they’re similar, but I’ve changed a lot since then.
Above all, I now possessed a weapon that could touch the trauma of the Suwon Wolves.
“I’m looking forward to today’s game.”
“Yes, I’ll do my best.”
Byung-ho and Moon-jin.
Watching their retreating figures, I turned around with a quiet smile.
“Myung-su.”
It seemed I would need to throw differently than planned.
– Points are being used.
* * *
Champions, the Suwon Wolves.
They were aiming for another championship this year, tightening their grip from the first Spring Camp.
Their roster was the same as last year.
Or rather, while some players had aged a year and shown signs of decline, many promising rookies had been discovered to fill their positions.
As a result, the Wolves are a team that inspires hope this season as well.
However, they carried a slight trauma from their past encounters—none other than Byun Hee-su’s changeup.
Last year’s Korean Series.
The reason it went to Game 7, and Byun Hee-su was the one who turned Games 1 and 4 into nightmares for the Wolves. Despite throwing only two pitches—a four-seam fastball and a changeup—the Wolves couldn’t score a single run, surrendering both games.
Especially in the final Game 7, when they were winning and spotted him warming up in the bullpen, everyone said they got chills.
The batters, desperate to avoid that horrific changeup, executed a stunning comeback and created a big inning, ultimately winning the championship—that was the Suwon Wolves.
As a result, they developed a slight trauma toward changeups, particularly that kick changeup.
Time heals all wounds, they say.
Without seeing that dreadful kick changeup from Byun Hee-su, the Wolves’ batters’ memories had faded somewhat, and now they believed they could face it without trembling in fear like before, grinding hard in camp with that conviction.
But it didn’t take long for them to realize that was a miscalculation.
“Swing! Batter out!”
At the umpire’s call, silence fell over both dugouts.
And soon, questions emerged from the Wolves Dugout.
“No… that can’t be right…?”
His words trailed off as a question, but everyone’s faces showed not doubt, but something slightly frightening.
A strikeout pitch against the first batter.
It was clearly a dropping pitch, an off-speed ball, and there was only one pitch that possessed both horizontal and vertical movement.
Of course, they thought it was a coincidence.
But against the second batter, he buried a four-seam fastball down the middle, then threw three consecutive changeups to draw the bat.
“Wow… when did he learn that?”
Jin Byung-ho spoke with genuine admiration.
As someone who was in the hospital during last year’s Korean Series, Jin Byung-ho hadn’t felt threatened by the kick changeup.
But as memories of last year’s Korean Series flooded back—when most of the people sitting in that dugout were shut down by that kick changeup and couldn’t score, dragging out loss after loss—his entire body erupted in goosebumps.
The third batter took one count on a four-seam fastball, then swung expecting a changeup to follow.
Crack—!
But the changeup that should have shown both horizontal and vertical movement displayed only vertical drop, sinking smoothly and catching the upper part of the bat, floating into the air.
Pop—!
“Out!”
A catcher’s fly ball out caught so easily it was almost comfortable, drawing sighs from the Wolves Dugout.
Then someone voiced their concern.
“Wait! Where did he learn that?”
One of the Gwangju Wolves’ veteran pitchers—who had shifted to a long relief role and now led the pitching group—answered that question.
“Byun Hee-su probably taught him directly. He went to spring training a month before Spring Camp.”
At those words, everyone’s faces showed they’d heard something terrifying.
The fact that Byun Hee-su himself had taught him meant he’d thoroughly mastered that changeup that had tormented them.
“That’s not all.”
At the mention of more, all eyes focused, and he chuckled before speaking.
“Ga Jin-heo learned the slider, Kim Se-jin the forkball, Park Myung-hwan the curveball. At the very least, that guy will grow into an absolutely monstrous pitcher later.”
Though now veterans, the names that followed were all from the National Team and had once dominated the KBO League—hearing that he’d learned pitches from all of them sounded absolutely horrifying to those listening.
The oldest batter among them muttered to himself alone.
“Maybe I should just retire before my batting average drops any further….”
Even if he retired now, he would rank within the top ten in batting average, and everyone held back their laughter at his serious remark.
At least, this wasn’t the moment to be laughing given the current atmosphere.
“Well, actually this is good for us.”
In the midst of this, Captain Cha Moon-jin clapped his hands and shouted.
“Let’s approach the batter’s box seriously, thinking of Byun Hee-su as our opponent. And if we overcome this now, we’ll be able to hit Byun Hee-su’s pitches later, so let’s think of this as practice from now on and do this seriously.”
Everyone nodded at the captain’s words.
Though it was a pitch that had left them traumatized, they shouted that they should fight back against the thought that they could be dragged down all season if they couldn’t overcome it.
The morale that had plummeted because of Kang Ho-jin’s changeup ignited once more with fierce intensity.
After finishing the defense in the bottom of the first inning, Cha Moon-jin confidently headed to the batter’s box, declaring he would crack Kang Ho-jin’s pitches.
“I’ll hit it! I’ll hit it! I’ll hit it!”
He muttered to himself as if casting a spell, and now came the moment to look at the Mound to face Kang Ho-jin.
“Huh?”
Standing on the Mound with his characteristic smile was not Kang Ho-jin, but Kim Se-jin, throwing the ball.
Only then did he realize.
This wasn’t a practice game or a Regular League game—it was a training match.
Kang Ho-jin, who had pitched only one inning before coming down, was sitting on the Bench watching leisurely as if he found it amusing.
Cha Moon-jin’s enthusiasm deflated completely.
And the Wolves players felt the same way.
That day’s training match ended with a score of 0:6, a comfortable victory for the Dolphins.
The Wolves suffered both a loss and psychological damage.
* * *
After the training match against the Wolves, several more practice games followed in succession.
There were games against teams belonging to the KBO, and exchange matches were held with teams from the NPB as well.
Whether the games were predetermined wins or losses, the Dolphins didn’t concern themselves with the outcomes.
Rather, as if this were an opportunity, Manager Bong Jun-sik conducted numerous tests using the players under him in various ways.
The position of foreign mercenary Semi Jane was fixed as Third Base.
He was originally a corner infielder, and the laser throws from his strong arm surprised both allies and opponents alike during practice games.
Manager Bong Jun-sik, who had been deliberating over the remaining Shortstop, Center Field, and Right Field positions, made his decision.
He moved Ham Ji-ha from Left Field to Right Field.
Defense was far easier in Left Field than Right Field, so he decided to rotate a player with decent defensive ability but good offensive capability into that position.
With this, the corner Outfield positions were settled, but the real problem remained the centerline.
Two positions: Shortstop and Center Field.
Without a key player to anchor the centerline, gaps inevitably opened in the infield, and the transition from Outfield to infield wasn’t smooth.
They were filling the gaps to some extent through repeated training and practice, but the holes were unavoidable.
Ultimately, General Manager Park Ju-ho, who had no choice but to act, urgently stepped forward and began conducting trades with other teams.
The Front Office did its job.
Beyond supporting the players, they were continuously preparing event schedules and ceremonial first pitch schedules for the fans.
And once again they held a training match and broadcast for the fans, and this time too, the broadcast featuring the ever-lucky goddess Jung Ye-na and the novel’s heroine Shin Se-a boosted a certain company’s sales once more.
The second Spring Camp, with everyone from the players to the Front Office working hard, came to an end.
The KBO Office announced the Regular League schedule alongside the practice game schedule.
This year, the office distributed the schedule in advance with prior notice.
With the Premier12 taking place in November, there was consensus that the Korean Series would be completed before then regardless of circumstances, and the office announced in advance that double-header games would be interspersed throughout the second half of the season.
They promised to finish the season according to the schedule as much as possible and provide sufficient training time for the National Team players competing in the tournament, declaring their determination to challenge for the championship this year.
Manager Baek Hae-il, who took the helm for this Premier12, also promised that the selected players were not merely appointed—player substitutions could occur at any time during the season—and that he would select the National Team roster purely based on ability and generational transition.
With the KBO Office’s efforts for promotion through the Regular League and Premier12, the 2027 baseball season arrived, and a warm spring breeze descended upon South Korea.
It was March.

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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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