On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 250

His age and the team’s circumstances meant there wasn’t really a spot for him to squeeze into.

Ham Seong-hoon was subtly implying that anyone could play in the first team depending on their skills.

“January’s almost here. Do you two have any plans?”

“Not yet… not really…”

“You know that spring training isn’t preparation, but verification, right?”

“Ah, yes, yes.”

“Jeong-deok.”

“Yes.”

“It’s tentative, but In-hwan will be playing left field for us.”

“…Excuse me?”

“You’ll have to work hard. And show some grit.”

Kim Jeong-deok’s expression hardened.

He thought he’d have a free pass to the vacant left field position, but Kim In-hwan?

If Kim In-hwan could just avoid letting balls slip past him, any team’s manager would choose him over Kim Jeong-deok.

The center fielder is Lee Ji-sung, and the right fielder is Seol Jin-il.

Both players are undisputed starters.

Unlike Jeong Geun-gi, who came prepared, Kim Jeong-deok was shocked and couldn’t quite get his head around it.

“Alright, even during the off-season, don’t just laze around. Rest moderately, exercise moderately. Get in shape and let’s see each other at spring training. Got it?”

“Yes.”

The two men’s expressions were quite different as they left the manager’s office.

Kim Jeong-deok looked dazed, while Jeong Geun-gi wore a smile.

“Hyung [older brother or close male friend], what’s up? I was happy to come to the Goats, but it’s all gone wrong.”

“What’s gone wrong? You can break through with your skills.”

“I need a spot to break through. I can’t beat Kim In-hwan no matter what, and honestly, the center fielder and right fielder are pretty solid too.”

“Am I easy to beat? That’s how it is in the pros. Still, isn’t it great to be on the Goats? Do you want to go to a team like the Phoenix? You could waltz into a starting position there.”

Kim Jeong-deok frowned.

“Aish [expression of annoyance], hyung. You’re being a bit harsh. Are you cursing me or something?”

“I’m saying it’s better to be on a team that can win, even if it’s hard to become a starter, than to easily become a starter on a team that can’t win.”

“Ha. When I decided to come here, I thought we could win, so I was really happy. It’s all gone wrong.”

After welcoming the two players, Ham Seong-hoon also began to prepare to leave for the day.

The bullpen was a bit thin, but he could manage with the existing players.

It was comforting to have received three young pitchers in the trade with the Whales.

It was a bit precarious, but in a year or two, the bullpen resources would gradually become more abundant.

He had secured Go Jin-seok with 6.5 billion won as an internal FA [Free Agent], so Kim Jeong-ryul, Go Jin-seok, and Jeong Hong-min were confirmed for next year as well.

If he could just pick out the remaining 3-4 bullpen players, the bullpen worries would be over.

The outfield also became much richer with Kim In-hwan and Kim Jeong-deok coming in to replace Oh Jin-young, who had a WAR [Wins Above Replacement] of 1-2.

The offensive power of the second baseman and shortstop was a bit lacking, but Kim Wook, a large third baseman, could make up for it to some extent.

“Is it almost over?”

The outline of next year’s team composition was visible.

The rest could be tempered through spring training.

He knew it was premature to count next year’s rankings, but the competition between the weakest Phoenix, the mid-to-lower Astro Boys, Bulls, Whales, and the top-tier Goats, Pegasus, Wolves, and Scorpions would be similar.

The Astro Boys, Bulls, and Whales had replaced a large number of coaches, making next year’s prospects even more uncertain, but with this much power, they could aim for the championship again next year.

“Hoo, now I need to rest a bit. I can’t properly rest even after the season ends.”

Ham Seong-hoon sighed deeply as he left the manager’s office.

He was grateful that the chairman was fully supporting him, but with the president and general manager also being relatives of the chairman, the role of the general manager was being shared between him and the front office.

As the authority grew, so did the responsibility, and thanks to that, it felt like the season hadn’t ended even after it was over.

Click.

Ham Seong-hoon turned off the lights and closed the door to the manager’s office.

The thought of resting fully before spring training made him smile.

* * *

“…What am I misunderstanding? Is this spring training right now?”

On the day of departure for overseas training camp.

Song Seok-hyun chuckled as he saw familiar faces at the airport.

In addition to Kim Jeong-ryul, Kim In-hwan, and Yoo Seon-ho, who had already promised to come, there were players like Lee Ji-sung, who was close to Yoo Seon-ho, and Jeong Dong-gyu, Jeong Young-soo, and Seo Il-hyeok, who were close to Kim Jeong-ryul.

With newcomers Kim Wook, Kim Jeong-deok, and Jeong Geun-gi also joining, it was as if half of the team’s strength had gathered.

Even their families were gathered in groups of three or five, making it a scale reminiscent of an overseas package tour.

“I don’t know either. When did it get so big?”

Kim In-hwan clicked his tongue.

Song Seok-hyun scratched his sideburns and looked at Kim Na-young.

“This has gotten too big. I wanted to enjoy it leisurely, but it won’t be easy.”

Kim Na-young massaged Song Seok-hyun’s shoulders.

“It’s more important for you to train hard. You have time in the afternoon anyway, right? We can hang out then. It’s better than being together all day.”

“Tch. Sorry. I didn’t know it would turn out like this.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Go say hello quickly. You haven’t forgotten you’re the youngest, have you?”

“I forgot how wide Jeong-ryul and Seon-ho’s networks are. I didn’t know they’d call this many people… I’m just going to be running errands.”

Kim In-hwan chuckled.

“Who would make you run errands? They’d be too *b 부담스러워 [burdensome/hesitant] *to ask, right? You’re the chairman’s adopted son, aren’t you?”

“Hey, hyung. What adopted son?”

“You’re probably number three in our team’s hierarchy. Number two is the manager? No, are you number two?”

Yoo Seon-ho clapped his hands and gathered the players.

“Alright, everyone, let’s get ready and head to boarding. Let’s chat inside. Let’s go!”

Under Yoo Seon-ho’s guidance, the players lined up to go through departure procedures.

The scale, which was hard to tell whether it was spring training or personal training camp, made citizens busy taking pictures of the players with their cameras.

The players signed autographs and took pictures while standing in line.

Behind the long line, there was also a man who was a head taller than others.

Bushy beard, dark sunglasses, a deeply pressed baseball cap, and a long padding that looked like a curtain to others.

The man slightly lowered his sunglasses while looking at the noisy front.

“Hmm? It’s the Goats. Oh, man.”

The man immediately put his sunglasses back on.

At this time, a man in his 40s who was passing by with his family tilted his head as he saw the man briefly lowering and raising his sunglasses.

The wife grabbed the man’s arm, asking what he was doing and telling him to hurry up.

“What are you doing here?”

“Huh? No. It looked like a familiar face. Am I mistaken?”

The husband turned back at the man’s large physique wearing sunglasses.

The man wearing sunglasses heard the husband and wife’s argument and pressed his hat down further.

“Are we going to the same destination? This is fun.”

Catching Success as a Catcher

Stove League (4)

Okinawa was a blink of an eye.

Before they could fully enjoy the feeling of traveling, the plane landed.

“Alright, everyone, take your belongings. Check if you’ve forgotten anything.”

Yoo Seon-ho got up from his seat and took care of each of the players.

The players got up from their seats belatedly after all the passengers had left.

With so many people, getting out of the airport was a chore.

The players arrived at the accommodation, unpacked their luggage, and decided to rest completely on the first day.

Yoo Seon-ho and Kim Jeong-ryul left first, saying they were going to check the training grounds, and the players each had their own personal time.

Song Seok-hyun strolled along the beach with Kim Na-young, enjoying the feeling of a honeymoon.

“The seawater is clean and nice here too. Right?”

Song Seok-hyun nodded at Kim Na-young’s words.

“Hoo, my body feels warm, so I’m getting drowsy. Is it okay with the change in weather?”

“Yeah. I feel better too because my body is getting warmer.”

“That’s a relief. But aren’t you uncomfortable? Suddenly there are too many people, so I think you might be a bit uncomfortable.”

“It’s okay.”

“Or how about staying here for a few days and then going back to Korea? It’s okay to rest at your parents’ house instead.”

“My mom called anyway…”

“Really? What did she say?”

“She just told me to come over.”

“Then do that. Rest here for a few days and then go up to Seoul. I’m uncomfortable too, so how much more uncomfortable would you be.”

“Hmm, I’ll decide while watching the situation.”

“Alright. Ah, is there anything uncomfortable right now?”

“No. I just arrived, so what could be uncomfortable? And there are my sisters too. There’s nothing particularly uncomfortable.”

“That’s a relief. It’s a great relief that Jeong-ryul hyung and In-hwan hyung’s wives came too.”

The two had dinner and returned to the accommodation.

Training started the next day.

Under the training schedule set by Yoo Seon-ho, the first day started lightly.

They started with running and stretching and checked their condition with free batting.

Yoo Seon-ho pointed out the players’ problems like a coach, and he was so accurate that he didn’t miss habits or tendencies that even the players themselves didn’t know.

After the morning training, they had lunch and spent time getting to know each other.

Kim Wook was someone everyone knew and had a sociable personality, so he quickly became close to the Goats players, but Jeong Geun-gi and Kim Jeong-deok were still far behind as juniors.

They couldn’t refuse Kim Wook’s invitation, so they kept looking around.

Only when Kim Wook and Yoo Seon-ho eased the atmosphere did they start to open their mouths a little.

In the afternoon, there was fungo training [fielding practice].

It was only a condition check as it was the first day, but the players were soon panting from the diving defense.

“Aigo [expression of exhaustion], I’m going to die, I’m going to die.”

In particular, Yoo Seon-ho and Kim In-hwan had a hard time from the first day.

Both were playing unfamiliar positions, left fielder and first baseman, so their defense was unstable, and their stamina quickly dropped.

It was a great relief that they finished without a single error, even though it was light fungo.

Kim Jeong-deok and Jeong Geun-gi stood out in the afternoon training.

Kim Jeong-deok boasted a wide range of defense using his fast feet.

In particular, his judgment of batted balls was so fast that he caught them without sliding even when Yoo Seon-ho deliberately sent difficult batted balls.

“That’s a find.”

At Yoo Seon-ho’s words, the other players each said a word.

“His defense is as good as Ji-sung’s?”

“He could be at the level of Hwang Gi-deok or Shim Chang-gyu.”

“Kids with ‘Deok’ in their name do well.”

Jeong Geun-gi wasn’t as good as Kim Jeong-deok, but he showed a clean defense and proved that the nickname of a complete shortstop was not a lie.

After the afternoon training, the players gathered in groups of three or five for dinner.

Players who came with their families spent time with their families separately.

As the second day passed, the intensity of training began to increase in earnest.

After a week, Kim Na-young, Kim Jeong-ryul, and Kim In-hwan’s wives returned to Korea.

On the tenth day, seven players, including Lee Chang-hoon and Han Min-seok, joined.

It was a plan to warm up before spring training.

Five days before the departure for spring training.

The players were preparing to leave for Korea.

On the day of the last informal scrimmage.

Yoo Seon-ho invited a guest.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Hello!”

“Hello, senior!”

A person who made the players full of energy.

It was Gyeong Su-in, the national team’s fourth batter.

“What is this? Did you set up spring training here? Why are there so many people?”

Yoo Seon-ho laughed heartily.

“It just turned out this way. Why did you come all the way here and contact me now?”

“You didn’t contact me either.”

“Inma [term of endearment/exasperation]. I was busy because my sons were so *바글바글 [crowded/swarming] *.”

“I was busy too. The training was so intense.”

“Did you come alone?”

“Of course, I came alone.”

“You trained alone?”

“I didn’t train alone. I trained with three people, and one returned home. I was going to return home tomorrow.”

“Then there are two. Where did one go?”

“That’s… hehe. He’s a shy guy, so he doesn’t want to show his face.”

“Who is he to be so precious? So you came alone?”

“It’s his day off today, so he’ll wake up late. I sent him a text, so he’ll come if he sees it.”

“Anyway, that’s good. You should join us here too. We’re having a scrimmage.”

“Wow, a scrimmage. That’s awesome. How many kids did you bring?”

“Aigo, it’s not many. So, are you going to do it or not?”

“I have to. My body was already *근질근질 [itching/eager] *.”

“That’s good. Then let’s do it.”

It was called a scrimmage, but the defense and offense were the same regardless of *청백 [red and white team division] *.

When it was the infielder’s turn to attack, another player would take over the defense instead.

The pitchers focused on adjusting their condition by throwing balls at 120-130km/h, and the batters also focused on checking their batting form by consistently pushing the ball.

However, even in the midst of this, there were those who hit home runs, and Song Seok-hyun and Kim In-hwan were the main characters.

“Hit it softly, inma!”

Kim Jeong-ryul complained to Kim In-hwan as he watched the ball fly away.

Kim In-hwan lowered his head with an awkward smile.

“In-hwan’s batting form has changed.”

At Gyeong Su-in’s words, Yoo Seon-ho replied.

“He’s hitting with his center of gravity forward, and his contact has become *장난 아이게 [unbelievably] * good.”

“The lower body has its center of gravity on the front leg, but the upper body is completely an upper swing. The top and bottom are moving separately?”

“Jaga [slang for ‘really’], his power is the best. He’s almost only moving his upper body to hit, but the ball is *쭉쭉 뻗는다, 뻗어 [really flying/extending] *. I’ll have to see him hit a fastball later, but with his power, if he hits it, it’ll go over.”

“He’s really going to be in the top of the league in *똥파워 [raw power] * even if he goes to the major league.”