The Genius Pitcher Dad Throws for His Daughter - Chapter 98

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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 98
#98.
The Dolphins entered Seoul in high spirits.
The atmosphere couldn’t have been better.
Kang Ho-jin had secured a complete-game shutout victory on opening day, and the next day, the starting pitcher had eaten up a respectable number of innings while the Bullpen’s stellar performance had carried them to another win.
On top of that, they’d proven their offensive prowess by combining for thirteen runs over those two days.
The final flourish was the winning bonus that had been distributed since the season’s start.
With all of this combined, the team’s atmosphere and momentum seemed to pierce the heavens themselves.
But that momentum shifted in an instant into something sharp and ominous.
“….”
A pitcher resting in one corner of the Dugout.
He was emanating every shade of melancholy imaginable, his eyes carrying a murderous intensity that was utterly chilling.
As if Moses himself had parted the sea, no one dared approach that spot. Besides, most players were out on the Ground warming up before the game anyway, so it made sense that he sat alone.
“Senior Pitcher Ho-jin, did something happen?”
“You’ve changed so much in just one day.”
“Shh. I think he’s looking this way.”
The Three Hitters, treated as the team’s youngest members, nervously shifted sideways.
They were Song Moon-jung, Hwang Seung-tae, and Yun Jung-woong, who had come up through last year’s expansion draft and saw brief action at the end of the season.
With their performance from last year and notably diligent efforts during this year’s Spring Camp, they had made the team roster for the regular season following the exhibition games.
Of course, their position was as precarious as a fly’s life.
They knew better than anyone that they could be sent down to the 2nd Team at any moment, from anywhere, for any reason, and they trained diligently every day while assisting their seniors.
Naturally, they had to read Kang Ho-jin’s mood carefully, and they remained on standby, ready to move at a moment’s notice if called from a safe distance.
“But… is something really wrong?”
Song Moon-jung, his face etched with concern, called out to Hyun-su as he passed by.
“I don’t know either.”
Hyun-su, equally clueless, glanced briefly at Kang Ho-jin before quietly slipping away as if frightened.
Everyone knew where Kang Ho-jin went after each game once he’d recovered.
He went to see his sick Daughter, and each time, Kang Ho-jin displayed one of two reactions.
Either he emanated an overwhelming dark pressure like what was visible right now—an atmosphere so deadly it seemed he might kill someone—or he prepared for the game with a subtle smile, no different from his usual self.
But since he showed this sharp demeanor far more often than not, everyone made a point of avoiding that area early.
If it ended here, that would be fortunate.
The problem was that Mack Skitch, scheduled as today’s starting pitcher, caught a glimpse of Kang Ho-jin and suddenly began joining in from the side.
It took barely ten seconds for his sharp features to transform into something menacing, and he began radiating a fighting spirit as if he were ready to step into the ring and battle at any moment.
The scouting report in his hand was destined to become tattered in no time.
“Damn! Why’s he like that again?!”
Kevin emerged from the Dugout after receiving a massage and jumped back in surprise.
But his expression quickly shifted to one of familiarity, and without hesitation, he handed over the tablet he’d been holding to Mack.
“Hey. Here’s the intel on that team I know.”
“OK.”
Mack accepted it quietly and began comparing it with the scouting report, sharpening himself as he waited for the game to begin.
“A mad dog has appeared in Korea.”
Though spoken in English, the combination of words was simple enough that anyone nearby could understand, and they gradually retreated from the Dugout.
As the sharp atmosphere doubled, naturally everyone kept their distance from the Dugout, and at that sight, Yun Jung-woong, the team’s youngest member, muttered under his breath.
“They should’ve done this in the Locker Room or Conference Room instead….”
It was a frightened remark that emerged from an atmosphere so tense it felt suffocating, and everyone who overheard it as they passed by nodded in agreement.
The atmosphere that had been warm and friendly right up until arriving in Seoul had been honed sharp, creating a murderous tension.
* * *
Opening weekend.
The opening game results showed the Busan Dolphins with 2 wins and the Changwon Griffins with 2 losses, while the remaining teams all split 1 win and 1 loss.
The KBO Office was most pleased with this result.
They understood that when victories weren’t concentrated on one side alone, but rather when teams traded wins back and forth, fan interest surged.
One side had won in the Dolphins game, but that was fine for a different reason here.
A complete game shutout had been recorded in the very first game of the 2027 season.
This alone was certainly a hot topic, and with enormous fan interest converging, the viewership ratings skyrocketed from the opening game itself.
Amid such anticipation, the Administrative Office wondered how they could generate another sensation, but unexpectedly, another hot topic erupted within the Dolphins.
And it burned quite fiercely.
* * *
The Pitcher’s ball headed toward the Batter’s body.
“Inside pitch! A ball buried deep. A 159 km fastball—the Batter seems excited, glaring at the Pitcher.
The call is ball.
Had it been just slightly deeper, it surely would have struck the Batter’s body somewhere, and the Pitcher who threw such a close pitch still maintained a sharp gaze, receiving the ball from the Catcher before stepping onto the mound to wait.
The Batter, who had actually grown angry at such brazen confidence, now seemed deflated—the problem was that the next pitch was also a deep inside pitch.
“Strike!”
But this time it’s a strike.
The pitch he threw was a cutter.
When Meck, a right-handed pitcher, threw it toward a right-handed batter, the ball curved outward. It certainly felt like it was heading toward the inside, but due to the cutter’s movement, it entered the Strike Zone.
Meck’s primary pitches were the fastball and cutter, and there was one more.
This pitch too seemed to head toward the Batter’s body, and the Batter, thinking he might actually get hit this time, twisted his body to dodge.
But the ball passed faster than that, sweeping across Home Plate and burying itself in the Catcher’s glove.
“Strike! Batter out!”
The Umpire’s call and the Batter’s expression of disbelief.
And at that sight, the Caster cried out.
“A looking strikeout on the breaking ball! It curved at an incredible angle.”
“Wow, Meck’s sweeper is top-tier. I also thought just now that he’d hit the Batter, but surprisingly it was pulled perfectly into the Strike Zone.”
Looking at just this, no one could understand why Meck was pitching in the KBO rather than Major League Baseball.
Decent looks, skill, a fastball close to 160 km with movement, and a breaking ball equipped as well.
But the problem revealed itself immediately with the next Batter.
“Two pitches! Ah! He’s been hit!”
“Ugh… even if it hits the protective gear, it still hurts. We can only hope he’s okay.”
The inside pitch he’d thrown was so tight that it struck the Batter’s body.
This is Meck’s game management style.
He aggressively pitches inside to batters, and without hesitation, he throws directly at them even if the ball hits their body—all in service of controlling the game.
Countless walks had haunted his career, and they were precisely why he’d made the move to the KBO.
For Meck, this was a familiar scene, one he’d witnessed countless times before.
He didn’t apologize. He viewed it as simply part of the game.
Fortunately, the ball had struck the protective gear, so the impact wasn’t severe, but the batter’s grimace spoke volumes of pain as he cried out.
“Hey! Damn it! If you can’t control your inside pitches, you shouldn’t throw them at all!”
At that outburst, Meck hurled his glove to the ground.
Then he strode purposefully toward the batter.
Knowing the curse was an insult, he approached the batter without hesitation, spewing vicious profanities.
It was clearly a situation that needed intervention, and players from both dugouts came pouring out.
“Hey! Break it up! Break it up!”
“What the hell! Why is this guy so strong?!”
“Break it up! Break it up!”
Fortunately, the players from both sides swarmed in and separated them before the pitcher and batter could meet.
Looking at just this moment, one might not understand, but considering the results so far, the opposing team had every right to be angry.
In five innings, there had been four walks alone.
Nearly one per inning, and since he’d pitched inside regardless of whether the batter was right-handed or left-handed, this Buffaloes batter felt threatened and had become agitated.
“This is ridiculous! If you can’t control your inside pitches and keep hitting batters, how are we supposed to play without fear?!”
“Who wants to hit batters? Especially a pitcher making his first KBO appearance? Even if his control is a bit wild, you can see he handles other batters just fine.”
“Those are threatening pitches! Threatening pitches!”
“Then don’t crowd the plate!”
The two managers faced off with the umpire between them, trading heated words.
The umpire was compressed like a meat patty between two slices of bread.
Both sides were spitting as they argued, and the umpire bore the brunt of it all, yet he remained composed and acted with cold professionalism.
“You’re both right. So let’s be careful, shall we?”
The umpire issued a warning to the pitcher first.
It was a message that he was being sufficiently threatening and should exercise some restraint. Through the interpreter, Meck looked displeased but acknowledged the warning.
Then he addressed the Buffaloes lineup.
He warned them that if they crowded the plate and got hit, he would consider it intentional, and told them to back off accordingly. With that, the game resumed.
After completing the fifth inning, when the sixth began, the first pitch thrown struck the batter’s body once again.
This time, there were no words.
The moment the ball made contact, both dugouts erupted simultaneously.
“You’re out!”
The umpire called for ejection.
It wasn’t just the pitcher.
The batter was ejected as well.
Though the umpire had warned both the batter and pitcher, neither had complied. The starting pitcher vanished from the mound, and the cleanup hitter disappeared from the batter’s box.
The game descended into chaos, and after a grueling extra-inning battle, the Dolphins secured a one-run victory.
Combined, the two teams burned through ten pitchers, with substitute batters used recklessly and defensive positions thrown into complete disarray as countless errors mounted in the game’s final stages, creating an absolute circus.
* * *
The Dolphins Community was gripped by worry rather than joy over the winning streak.
– Is this right? It feels like we brought in a control pitcher with issues.
– Damn. Five walks is seriously legendary.
– The real problem is his cutter and sweeper angles got sharper when he was recording outs.
– Wow… watching that sweeper curve, I thought it was a whip.
– Watching it, I got a little excited.
– Is the guy above insane? I respect different tastes, but not here.
A post filled with concerns about the second Foreign Pitcher appeared.
Everyone understood that no matter how brilliant his pitching looked, that many walks spelled trouble in countless ways.
– (Link) Check this out. This is supposedly why Meck was called a “fighting pitcher” and couldn’t get promoted.
The video showed Meck with the same furious expression as today, engaging in an inside battle against opposing batters in highlight footage.
His sweeper and cutter bent wildly, recording outs with spectacular flair.
But then came footage of the sweeper hitting a right-handed batter’s hip, the cutter snapping sharply to strike the batter’s wrist instead of the bat, followed by Meck raising his fists and charging into a fight—and fans watched with expressions of utter dismay.
Then came a single comment.
– The pitcher’s a fighting dog and the batter’s a poodle? When did this team turn into a mess?
The Community fell cold at the joke that wasn’t funny.

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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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