Chapter 15
Chapter 15
And if you slightly rephrased the question to ask what worried them most about the future, every single one would say the catchers.
The current starting catcher, Kim Min-gi, was a well-rounded player. Adequate hitting, adequate defense, adequate leadership.
But there was one glaring issue: his age.
The average retirement age for baseball players was in the mid-to-late thirties. Kim Min-gi had already passed that mark and was approaching forty.
His once-adequate skills were declining along the aging curve.
The real problem started now.
During the ten years Kim Min-gi had held the starting catcher position, no successor had emerged.
This issue had been hidden under Kim Min-gi’s consistency, but now it was glaringly obvious.
Breaking: Kim Min-gi Officially Injured
Thank you for loving the 2036 Marlins so far
Didn’t love them though?
Watching baseball is so frustrating, how is this “love”?
I’ve been watching since I was five, give me back my first love
First loves are always trash
Even just last season, the Marlins had been within one game of fifth place until Kim Min-gi’s injury sent them plummeting to last.
The reason was simple: without Kim Min-gi, there was no real catcher.
Amid this chaos, a video with a clickbait title for Marlins fans appeared online.
Catchers lining up at a famous Taiwanese restaurant
The catchers are eating again. This time they lined up, too.
The first wave of fan reactions was anger.
But the thumbnail looked off. The catchers were lined up, yes, but it wasn’t a restaurant—it was a training field.
Curiosity got the better of people, and they clicked the video. The truth behind the “line” quickly became clear.
Ugh, I can’t catch this. My knees or back will go first.
Wait, wait, hold on.
Ughhh.
The video showed normally composed catchers completely exhausted.
Is this real?
The catchers are volunteering to catch the balls? Is this AI?
Of course it’s AI, are you seriously believing this?
But even if the catchers are weaklings, is it really that intense?
It’s a knuckleball. The unpredictable movement makes it way harder for catchers.
Park Si-woo’s pitch is brutal How can anyone catch that?
That’s why they can’t.
damn
The reaction was fiery. Not just Marlins fans, but fans curious about Park Si-woo’s knuckleball also sought out the video.
Park Si-woo’s pitch is insane
Why did we even trade for him?
If we hadn’t, the next one to see that pitch would have been Choi Myung-jun.
Seems like people have already forgotten the hype when Choi Jun-woo’s trade happened
Our Choi Jun-woo video too, let’s go
But fans from Phoenix, who had just seen Park Si-woo’s video, couldn’t just see ordinary training.
And that reaction reached Phoenix’s GM, Oh Kyu-jin.
“...Have them upload a new video immediately.”
After news of Park Si-woo spread, Oh Kyu-jin scrambled to appease the angry Phoenix fans. Activating the team’s YouTube channel was part of that effort.
Luckily, it worked to some extent; Phoenix fans gradually calmed down.
But one video from Oh Na-eun undid all that effort.
Phoenix quickly uploaded a response video, but every time they did, Oh Na-eun also posted another.
This is how a knuckleball moves! Catcher POV with Park Si-woo!
Song Min-seok: So it moves left, then right, then back left.
Just reading it, you’d think Song Min-seok is spouting nonsense.
I saw it! It really moves exactly like that.
Knuckleball genius teaches how to throw a knuckleball!
???: I just throw it, and it works.
Ah Is it really that hard
In the U.S., I’m a genius trainer; in Korea, a rookie? Why Oliver White joined the Marlins!
Is this guy really that famous?
Didn’t know, but apparently he’s one of the top trainers in the U.S.
So he was part of the Park Si-woo trade too?
“Ahhhh! Who is this guy!”
Though unintentional, the upload timing coincided perfectly, and Marlins TV, always in the spotlight, was the focus.
Oh Na-eun couldn’t help but enjoy this moment, knowing she had thrown Oh Kyu-jin a curveball.
“From now on, anyone messing with Si-woo is dead.”
Whenever Park Si-woo was involved, Marlins fans flocked, bombarding views, often watching videos two or three times.
Content? Park Si-woo throwing pitches was the content.
But even this kind of attention fades if not constantly fueled.
Now the fans were demanding something more than videos.
When’s Park Si-woo’s real game?
Can’t wait to see it
Probably an intra-squad game, soon?
Finally, the self-organized intra-squad game that fans had been waiting for began—but Park Si-woo was nowhere to be seen.
Seeing the comments, Oh Na-eun inhaled sharply.
‘...This is why I get paid.’
The happy days were over.
“Today, Park Si-woo will not pitch.”
??
?
?????
Seeing the flood of question marks, Oh Na-eun panicked, but she had to explain.
‘...Will they even understand?’
Hoping to calm the furious fans as much as possible, she said:
“The catcher can’t handle the pitches, so Park Si-woo’s appearance in today’s game is… difficult.”
The chat exploded.
‘...Am I really okay?’
Catch Park Si-woo’s pitch, and you can become the backup catcher!
This seemingly absurd statement was, surprisingly, from Manager Kwak Gu-beom himself.
The catchers at spring camp immediately sought Park Si-woo.
And they quickly regretted it.
“Ughhh!”
Eden had said Park Si-woo’s knuckleball could work in the majors.
That meant even KBO catchers had to catch a pitch that would be hard for MLB hitters.
Even if catching was easier than hitting, it was impossible to get accustomed to it in such a short time.
Combine that with other training, and half the catchers gave up immediately.
Among those who didn’t give up, Song Min-seok stood out.
But even he hit a wall with the hard knuckleball.
“Ughh.”
When a missed knuckleball struck an unprotected area, Song Min-seok rolled on the ground in pain.
“Are you okay, senior?”
Park Si-woo rushed down to check on him.
“Phew… yeah, I’m fine. Let’s try again.”
But seeing Song Min-seok’s body, Park Si-woo was speechless.
Bruises covered him, and his left hand was swollen in spots from missed catches.
Oliver stepped in to assess the situation.
“This is impossible.”
“I’m really okay.”
“No, this isn’t training—it’s torture. Let’s stop here for today.”
Even Song Min-seok finally let go.
The news reached Manager Kwak Gu-beom.
“Hmmm…”
The feared scenario had come true.
If the catcher couldn’t handle it, Park Si-woo couldn’t pitch.
Even with the bold plan to make the catcher who could handle Park Si-woo the backup, the most likely candidate, Song Min-seok, had failed.
“How’s Min-seok’s condition?”
“With a few days of rest, he’ll be fine.”
Fortunately, his injuries weren’t serious.
But if Song Min-seok couldn’t catch the hard knuckleball properly, it could happen again.
‘Two choices.’
One: wait until Song Min-seok can catch the hard knuckleball.
But no one knew how long that would take.
Two: give up the hard knuckleball for a while.
Park Si-woo’s knuckleball alone was excellent.
Even throwing only that pitch, he could easily secure a starting spot.
But relying on just one pitch had limits, especially since even Park Si-woo wasn’t flawless.
That’s why he developed the hard knuckleball.
After deep thought, Kwak Gu-beom called both Park Si-woo and Song Min-seok.
“I’m fine throwing only knuckleballs.”
“Si-woo…”
“I’m not perfect at it yet, so it’s okay to take time to refine it.”
“Min-seok, what do you think?”
“…Yes, I think that’s right.”
“Then let’s focus on knuckleballs this season, practicing the hard one occasionally. Good job, both of you.”
After Kwak Gu-beom left, silence fell between them.
Song Min-seok broke it first.
“Sorry, Si-woo.”
“It’s fine. Why would you apologize?”
Song Min-seok had nothing to say.
After returning from the U.S. for the first spring camp, he had been confident he could catch any pitch Park Si-woo threw.
But that confidence had been arrogance, not reality.
Park Si-woo had worked tirelessly without him.
‘What have I even done?’
If he had trained as hard, things wouldn’t have ended up this way.
These thoughts lingered in Song Min-seok’s mind.
Park Si-woo looked at him and softly said:
“Senior.”
“…Yes?”
“Thank you.”
“…Huh?”
“Thinking back, I never properly thanked you. Without you, I would’ve struggled to learn the knuckleball, wouldn’t have played that game, and wouldn’t have met Eden. I wouldn’t have worried about these things either. Meeting you in the U.S. was real luck for me.”
“…Stop being so embarrassing. I’m really okay.”
“Yes. So I’m okay too. They say a knuckleballer and catcher are a pair until retirement, right?”
Song Min-seok, deep in thought, finally spoke:
“Si-woo.”
“Yes?”
“Can you give me just one month?”
“One month?”
“I’ll work my ass off this whole time.”
“Really? That’s fine.”
“No, I want to do this. I still want to catch that pitch haunting my eyes.”
Park Si-woo nodded at Song Min-seok’s sincerity.
“Yes. I’m good with it.”
“…Thanks.”
“Don’t we need to tell the manager again?”
“…Ah. I’ll go, just stay here!”
Song Min-seok rushed to find Manager Kwak Gu-beom, and Park Si-woo watched, amused.
Shortly after, Song Min-seok returned with the manager.
“One month is a long time at this stage. While you focus, someone else could take your spot. Still okay?”
“…Yes. I’ll do it.”
“Good. Si-woo, you have no objections, right?”
“Yes. I agree.”
One month until the season opener.
‘Tight, but doable.’
It was a bold gamble, but they were still young.
Even if they failed, the experience would fuel them to fly higher.
If they succeeded…
‘The team would gain a future ace and catcher.’
From that day on, Marlins TV no longer showed Park Si-woo or Song Min-seok.
Fans asked Oh Na-eun about Park Si-woo, but she remained silent.
'I don’t know either…'
While unintentionally “tanking” content, time flew.
Spring camp ended, and exhibition games began.
All that was reported was that they were training hard—Park Si-woo and Song Min-seok were nowhere to be seen.
As fans’ frustration peaked, a bullpen echoed with sharp catching sounds.
Whack!
“…Good.”
At Oliver’s words, Song Min-seok screamed in triumph.
“Ahhhhh! I did it! Si-woo!”
“Good job, hyung.”
After countless failures, they finally succeeded—five days before the season opener.