Chapter 4
4. Live Pitching
The early stages of sports training in South Korea usually followed a predictable pattern.
Stretching.
Then physical conditioning.
Only after improving basic fitness could the players move on to the next stage.
That period usually lasted around ten days.
They pushed the freshmen hard for ten days to build stamina.
After that came positional aptitude training, depending on which positions the freshmen wanted.
Choi Dong-il shouted at everyone.
Don’t start saying things like, ‘I played this position in middle school,’ or, ‘I was an outfielder.’ We’ll watch you and decide your position. Understood?”
Just as Choi Dong-il said, their middle school positions did not matter anymore.
The positions decided from now on would become their real positions.
The tests officially began.
The freshmen ran around the field, doing everything they could to earn the positions they wanted.
But there was one exception.
Coach, I’m obviously going to be a pitcher, right?”
The arrogant freshman Seo Ji-tae walked up beside Choi Dong-il.
This bastard really has lost his mind.”
Normally, telling the coach what position you were going to play was completely forbidden.
But Seo Ji-tae was the one exception.
Choi Dong-il and the other coaches glared at him.
Outsiders were never welcomed.
Still, they could not argue.
Warm up. We’ll test you with live pitching right away. If you’re bad, you’re dead.”
Yes.”
Seo Ji-tae calmly stepped away.
That afternoon, all positional selections were completed.
Seo Ji-tae wiped away some sweat and headed toward the mound.
Standing beside him was Lee Jin-woo, another first-year catcher.
Before the regression, Lee Jin-woo had once formed a battery with him.
Naturally, he had been assigned as a catcher again.
Ji-tae, they said you’re doing live pitching right away?”
Lee Jin-woo adjusted his mitt nervously.
Seo Ji-tae shrugged.
Let’s decide our signs first. You’re going to have to catch a lot of my pitches from now on.”
Seo Ji-tae whispered something to Lee Jin-woo.
The contents sounded absurd.
Lee Jin-woo stared at him in disbelief.
D-Does that even make sense? There’s no precedent for something like that…”
There will be once I do it. I’m planning to use it during official games.”
E-Even if it’s real, if you allow runs or make a mistake, the seniors who already hate you will tear you apart.”
Trust me. Trust between a pitcher and catcher is important.”
Lee Jin-woo could say nothing in response to his smile.
Seo Ji-tae began tossing the ball lightly.
At first, it was only a casual catch.
Then the velocity gradually increased.
The ball left his fingertips, cut through the air, and slammed into the mitt.
Lee Jin-woo’s eyes widened.
Ugh…”
The force passing through the mitt was beyond imagination.
The pitch clearly followed a fastball trajectory, but the ball stayed alive at the end, moving like a snake as it attacked the mitt.
Whoa.”
Lee Jin-woo repeatedly exclaimed in amazement and gave Seo Ji-tae a thumbs-up.
His catching hand felt numb.
But Lee Jin-woo was smiling.
For a catcher, receiving a pitch this incredible was thrilling.
Ji-tae, this is seriously amazing! I’ve never caught anything like this in my life!”
Seo Ji-tae shook the sweat from his face and smiled at the response.
Near the end of training, Head Coach Choi Dong-il gathered the entire baseball team.
All the positions had been decided, and the players had finished positional training.
Now the real work would begin.
But Choi Dong-il was obsessed with one thought.
Somehow, he needed to break that arrogant freshman’s pride if he wanted to restore his authority.
All right. Today, we’re going to work on our game sense. We’re doing live pitching.”
Live pitching.
A training method where a pitcher throws against an actual batter.
It created far more pressure than bullpen pitching into an empty strike zone.
It was one of the best ways to prepare for actual games.
Choi Dong-il nodded toward the mound and called Seo Ji-tae.
Seo Ji-tae, you’re facing the lineup once through. Normally, the pitcher has the advantage the first time hitters face him, right?”
Seo Ji-tae silently looked toward the batter’s box.
The third-year starters were warming up with bats in the bullpen.
Park Jin-cheol’s expression was especially frightening.
He was desperate to repay the humiliation of being struck out on the first day.
They admitted Seo Ji-tae’s fastball was fast.
It was only hard because we faced him for the first time. We’re definitely going to crush him this time.”
In a first meeting between pitcher and hitter, the pitcher usually had the advantage.
But the more times a hitter faced the same pitcher, the more that advantage shifted toward the hitter.
Once the lineup turns over, we’re definitely hitting him!”
We need at least one hit. This is about our pride!”
Even if Seo Ji-tae threw 152 km/h, he was still a high school pitcher.
And it was not as though no other high school pitchers could throw 150.
Once they became familiar with his pitches after seeing enough of them, they believed they could hit him.
Under the eyes of the third-year players, Seo Ji-tae slowly climbed onto the mound.
He adjusted the glove on his right hand.
Then, hidden behind his waist, he lightly loosened the finger joints of his right hand.
Live pitching. Perfect timing for a test.”
It finally felt like real baseball team training was beginning.
Then shall we start?”
Seo Ji-tae climbed onto the mound before the seniors who were burning with determination.
Our freshman throws pretty fast, huh?”
The batter stepping into the box was Song Min-soo, Cheongryong High School’s leadoff hitter and a third-year student.
He was a contact hitter known for his speed and ability to put the ball in play.
Rather than swinging wildly, he gripped the bat short and prepared to do whatever was necessary to get a hit.
Oh, right. On-base percentage becomes more important as baseball develops. I just have to make sure you don’t get on base.”
But none of that mattered against Seo Ji-tae’s overwhelming stuff.
Seo Ji-tae’s left arm cut through the air.
The terrifying speed of the rising fastball was enough to make Song Min-soo completely miss the proper timing to swing.
The explosive sound of the pitch echoed through the baseball field.
S-Strike!”
The manager acting as umpire had a trembling voice.
The pitch was difficult even to follow with the naked eye.
Hoo… Right. The first one is always difficult.”
Song Min-soo wiped away cold sweat and waited for the next pitch.
But then.
The second rising fastball came in just as violently.
No way the third one is…”
Third pitch.
Surprisingly, Seo Ji-tae threw the same pitch three times in a row.
Song Min-soo swung angrily.
But the ball arrived faster than he expected.
No way!”
Three pitches.
Strikeout.
Song Min-soo’s bat cut through empty air, and he walked away helplessly.
What the…”
The second hitter, Kim Tae-young, immediately stepped into the box.
He also choked up on the bat and bet everything on fastball timing.
So you’re so confident in your fastball that you threw it three times? I’m not missing it.”
But the pitch Seo Ji-tae threw only pretended to be a fastball.
Starting from the same trajectory, it fooled the hitter by suddenly dropping.
Strike!”
Kugh!”
