The Genius Pitcher Dad Throws for His Daughter - Chapter 95

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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 95
#95.
Media Day.
As the 2027 season got underway, teams revealed their goals and ceremonies to fans and media before the season began.
All ten teams brought their managers and key players to share various stories.
Of course, it wasn’t particularly entertaining.
The managers and players could only speak cautiously before the season.
They shouted about winning the championship this year and talked about what ceremonies they’d perform to delight the fans if they won—that was all.
But this year was somewhat different.
It was a Media Day where players born in 1993, who once dominated the KBO League, made a major appearance.
Park Myung-hwan, a pitcher for the Phoenix, and Gu Hyun-im, a batter.
Ga Jin-heo, a pitcher for the Elephants.
Byun Hee-su, a pitcher for the Dragons.
Wang Deok-ho, a batter for the Buffaloes.
Kang Tae-gyun, a batter for the Salamanders.
Kim Se-jin, a pitcher for the Dolphins.
Seven players born in 1993 appeared at this Media Day.
All of them had once made the National Team roster, and now they were all contemplating retirement.
“I’m planning to pitch thinking this is my last season. We have to win the championship.”
“I’m tired of dealing with Myung-hwan, so I want to win the championship quickly.”
“Huh? I can still play several more years as an active player. Those guys should retire.”
“Playing with those old-timers is fun, but we have to win the championship before we go.”
“I didn’t plan to come, but they called me. I’m living while getting pushed around by my juniors.”
“We have to win the championship here to see their sad faces. That’s the fun of it.”
Such jokes were only possible because they’d been clashing in the same league for over a decade.
While biting and snapping at each other, their remarks somehow brought laughter, and thanks to that, the quiet atmosphere of Media Day came alive.
Finally, the camera turned to Kim Se-jin.
“Our goal isn’t just the championship—we’re definitely going to trip up those bickering old-timers over there.”
When Kim Se-jin said that, Manager Bong Jun-sik beside him told him to at least voice the ambition to win the championship, and Kim Se-jin laughed and added,
“We’ll do what we need to do, and we’ll climb where we need to climb.”
The reporters burst into laughter at how he kept avoiding the word “championship” until the end.
After that, each team set their ceremonies, and when asked which team was their rival, most pointed to the defending champion Suwon Wolves.
Only Gwangju Elephants and Busan Dolphins pointed to each other.
“Our goddess of luck asked us to beat the Dolphins.”
“The heroine of the novel told us to beat the Elephants no matter what.”
At the captains’ words, the reporters’ hands grew busy.
Because they knew well the story of these two teams, who had drawn public interest and increased corporate sales by broadcasting together before the season even started, leading to increased investment in their baseball organizations.
Amid everyone’s laughter, Media Day proceeded with a more enjoyable atmosphere than ever, and now only the final question and answer remained.
– Now, to conclude, we’ll announce the opening game schedule along with the starting pitchers.
At the host’s words, the schedule appeared on the screen.
The first game of the 2027 season unfolded on Saturday and Sunday.
Suwon Wolves vs Gwangju Elephants
Seoul Dragons vs Seoul Buffaloes
Incheon Serpents vs Daejeon Phoenix
Changwon Griffins vs Busan Dolphins
Daegu Salamanders vs Gocheok Unicorns
They announced their starting pitchers in order, and most teams concluded their remarks by positioning a foreign pitcher as their ace, signaling their thorough preparation.
When it came time for the Busan Dolphins, Manager Bong Jun-sik squeezed his eyes shut before opening them again and spoke.
“Our starting pitcher is Kang Ho-jin. Kang Ho-jin.”
Everyone was astonished—among all nine teams, only the Dolphins had deployed a domestic pitcher as their opening day starter.
The media day concluded with the camera capturing Manager Bong Jun-sik’s expression of grave determination and Kim Se-jin’s solitary smile.
Kang Ho-jin, the pitcher who had troubled Manager Bong Jun-sik and brought a smile to Kim Se-jin’s face, was at the hospital where my daughter lay.
After gazing at my daughter for a long while, my lips parted.
“I’ll be back soon, sweetheart.”
* * *
Once the media day broadcast ended, the Dolphins Community was filled with worry.
– Is this right?
In response to someone’s question, similar thoughts flooded in with comparable posts.
– A pitcher who couldn’t record a single out and gave up four runs in the first exhibition game is now the opening day starter?
– And he hasn’t pitched a single game since then.
– What is the manager thinking? No matter what, this doesn’t seem right.
– Is the team rebuilding again this year? Or is the organization just that much of a mess?
– I don’t understand. Why bench the foreign pitcher?
– Kevin pitched on opening day last year too, so he’s not bad! Why would they do this?!
Baseball fans have remarkably short memories.
Among the Dolphins pitchers last year, Kang Ho-jin had compiled quite respectable numbers. He’d strung together consecutive saves and become the winning pitcher in crucial moments, carrying the team forward.
But last year’s record meant nothing.
They wrote their posts recalling only that disastrous pitching performance in the exhibition game, and simultaneously, posts expressing bewilderment at the manager’s decision flooded in.
Yet the controversy had strong momentum—as public interest intensified, Dolphins fans converged en masse on Changwon for Saturday’s game.
Busan Dolphins vs Changwon Griffins.
Griffins Park posted that all seats were sold out on opening day.
With the cheering sections divided evenly in half, the opening day ceremony began amid the roar of the fans.
* * *
“Play ball.”
With the umpire’s call, the opening game commenced.
Since the top of the first inning was our team’s turn to bat, I remained on the bench, watching the ground.
It was Senior Pitcher Choi Ji-ho stepping into the batter’s box alone against the opposing team.
For an opening day at-bat, one might expect some nervousness, but the senior was gazing intently at the Third Base Cheering Section instead.
“Choi Ji-ho! Choi Ji-ho!”
After briefly acknowledging the cheering section’s generous support directed at him, he stepped into the batter’s box.
Today’s weather was seventeen degrees above zero, though it felt over twenty.
With a gentle breeze, it was genuinely perfect baseball weather, and the fans who’d come to the Baseball Stadium seemed to share that sentiment.
On a day this beautiful, I had to repay it with equally beautiful play.
Choi Ji-ho fought through seven pitches against the opposing pitcher before being pulled from the game.
Against a Foreign Pitcher I’d never seen before, he displayed an aggressive approach and kept his eyes on the ball until the very end—even when he made an out, the fans in the Stands seemed impressed by his effort.
Next came Ham Ji-ha, who’d shifted from Left Field to Right Field.
When the Senior Pitcher changed positions, he’d laughed and said something.
“At home, the Dugout is close, but on the road it’s far away.”
He laughed, saying it was the opposite when he played Left Field, and he seemed pleased that with the Dugout now closer during home games, he could focus more on his hitting.
But I knew better.
That Senior had a competitive fire that was no joke, and he worked hard regardless of such things. Since he found Right Field awkward and had focused on fungo practice throughout Spring Camp, his defensive abilities had improved dramatically.
Crack!
He drove the fourth pitch—a fastball—straight into the Fence.
Because he’d hit the Fence so cleanly, he was forced to stop at First Base, but his start looked smooth.
Next came Semi, the foreign mercenary Batter.
He was two meters tall with a muscular, rugged physique, his long hair tied back and an impressively long beard.
Looking at his face, you’d think of a poodle, but his body made you think of an American pit bull—a Batter with that striking contradiction.
Most foreign Batters who came to Korea were ones who couldn’t make it in the Big League and had bounced around the minors.
Semi was a similar type, a Batter with a weakness against breaking balls.
Yet what made him dangerous was that he occasionally connected perfectly with those breaking balls and sent them over the Fence.
Crack!
He lifted a dropping slider like he was swinging at a golf ball, sending it straight over the Fence.
No—more precisely, he hit a grand slam that cleared the entire Baseball Stadium, performed a Korean-style bat flip, and began running the bases.
Thanks to the offense suddenly producing two runs, the weight on my shoulders as I sat on the Bench seemed to lighten slightly.
Following that, Han Seok-do and Captain Lee Ki-ha both made ground outs, ending the inning.
The Seniors each grabbed their gloves and rushed out onto the Ground, with me following last.
“S-Senior….”
Hyun Myung-su fell into step beside me.
Just minutes ago, he’d been making a fuss about playing in the opening game, but now he was pale as a ghost.
Watching his trembling hands and unfocused eyes, I couldn’t help but smile.
“Relax.”
“B-but….”
Well, I understood.
It made sense to be nervous about your first opening game. Especially since this wasn’t even a home game but an away game, there’d be pressure from the opposing Cheering Section, and pressure too from the fans who’d traveled all this way.
Of course, the most intense pressure came from within himself.
If he could overcome that, today’s game would flow smoothly.
“Myung-su.”
At my call, he looked at me with trembling eyes.
“From now on, clear your mind and think of only one thing.”
“Just one thing?”
“Well, just one thing. Catch my pitches.”
“Ah….”
“It’s what we’ve been doing since Spring Training through Spring Camp, right? Just focus on that one thing.”
“Yes, understood.”
His tension eased slightly, and his eyes steadied.
But that would pass soon enough.
Once he took his position at the Catcher’s Position and settled into catching my pitches, he’d naturally feel it.
In the end, this was just part of what we’d been doing all along—one game in a journey that would stretch across 144 games ahead.
And we were simply throwing that first pitch.
I threw warm-up pitches to find my range, waiting for the Batter to step into the Batter’s Box.
Then I paused to think.
‘The fans were worried….’
What could capture their hearts in one decisive moment?
So I made my choice.
– Points consumed.
I signaled Myung-su through the pitch com.
Four-seam fastball. Center.
Without hesitation, I threw my first pitch down the middle with everything I had.
Crack—!
“Strike!”
A brief silence.
Then the number flashed on the Scoreboard.
157 km.
My highest velocity right now.

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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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