A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 145

38. Carrots, Carrots, Carrots! (2)

Florida Spring Training Camp.

The KH Cannons’ fielding practice was scheduled after lunch.

“Alright, everyone had a good meal, right? Now, let’s digest a bit with some light fungo!”

“…Yes.”

Starting with basic infield and outfield fungo drills, followed by relay throws from the outfield to home, and situational defensive shift drills, etc.

The training menu seemed to proceed as usual, but 20 minutes before the end of the session, the fielding coach gathered the players.

“Okay, everyone worked hard in this heat! The last event of today’s fielding practice is, like yesterday… this!”

The fielding coach took something out of a large equipment bag.

In his left hand was a small ping pong ball, and in his right hand was a ‘web glove’ shaped like a frog’s webbed foot.

The fielding coach held up the training equipment and continued.

“We did this drill yesterday, but starting today, we’re adding an option. Mr. Kwangmin, that thing we talked about earlier.”

“Yes, Coach.”

The training assistant, following the fielding coach’s instructions, took something out of his back pocket.

Soon, the training assistant appeared before the players wearing a black eye patch over one eye.

“C-Coach?!!”

“What… is that?”

“Why are you suddenly doing a pirate cosplay?”

The players looked dumbfounded.

However, the fielding coach confidently wore the black eye patch.

“Catching with one eye covered! This is the option we’re adding starting today.”

The fielding coach stood facing the training assistant and began to demonstrate catch.

It was ridiculous enough to see a grown man playing catch with a tiny ping pong ball.

But adding a ‘web glove’ that looked like a frog’s webbed foot and a black eye patch that looked like it came straight out of a pirate movie?

“Ah, Coach…”

“As I said yesterday, this is…”

The players’ reactions were lukewarm.

Some players chuckled, some scratched their heads, and some whispered among themselves, ‘What is this all about?’

Up to this point, the atmosphere was similar to the previous day.

However, the KH Cannons’ fielding coach had a ‘secret weapon’ for this day.

“Alright, we’re doing this thirty times!”

“Yes?”

“Freely choose your partners. Anyone is fine! Whoever succeeds in this ‘web glove catch’ more than 30 times first will receive…”

The fielding coach paused and looked at Jisub, who was watching the training.

When Jisub nodded silently, the fielding coach cleared his throat and declared.

“A prize of $1,000!”

The fielding coach spread out his hands.

“The acting owner has personally prepared a prize of $1,000 in cash for each person!”

“Eeeeeh?!!!”

At the fielding coach’s bold declaration, the players’ eyes widened.

“O-One thousand dollars?”

“In cash?!!”

It was only a brief moment, but Jisub couldn’t help but smile wryly.

Just by ‘slyly’ looking at the players’ eyes, he could feel their inner thoughts intensely.

[Wow, a thousand dollars? Then I can buy that game console I saw earlier and still have $300 left over, right?]

[King crab! Lobster! Steak! And… what else can I eat?!]

[An opportunity to stash away some secret funds without my wife knowing… Hehe, I can’t miss this!]

Literally, everyone had different dreams.

Each with slightly different inner thoughts.

However, the actions that followed were completely identical, without anyone being able to tell who was who.

“I’ll do it!!!”

The players raised their hands enthusiastically.

“I’ll go first! Right now!”

“No, it looks like this requires some practice… Coach, can I borrow this set for a bit?”

“Senior is right! Please lend it to me too! I’ll practice enough at the dorm and then challenge it!”

Carrots, carrots, carrots!

It was like watching a herd of wild horses running fiercely to seize delicious carrots.

* * *

The white envelope that ‘Sakhalin Park,’ Vice Chairman Park Hongjoo, handed Jisub on the day he departed for Florida.

The plan to offer a portion of the ‘gift money’ inside as a prize to the players worked perfectly.

From around evening that day, players engrossed in ‘web glove catch’ could be found all over the KH Cannons’ lodgings.

Whoosh- Tok.

Whoosh- Tok.

Average height 183.4㎝ [approximately 6 feet].

Average weight 93.6㎏ [approximately 206 pounds].

To see people of such stature catching a ping pong ball the size of a fingertip with such serious expressions.

Not only the Cannons’ front office staff but also the hotel staff and other guests stopped in their tracks and watched with amazement.

At first, the players seemed to think that a winner would emerge within one night, but surprisingly, completing 30 catches was not an easy task.

“Ah, seriously! Let’s do it properly! How are we ever going to reach 30 at this rate?”

“Hey, this isn’t easy? Doing it with both eyes open is manageable, but… covering one eye makes it hell, doesn’t it?”

Catching a small ball with a small glove is difficult enough, but adding the option of covering one eye on top of that.

Perhaps because their sense of distance was dulled by covering their eyes, the players seemed to struggle quite a bit even to reach 10 catches.

“Coach, was it because of the prize money?”

It was the third day since the players’ ‘catch challenge’ began, and Jisub asked the fielding coach.

“The instruction to cover one eye… Was that an option added to delay the timing of giving out the prize money?”

Jisub had been inwardly surprised by the players’ enthusiasm.

If they were going to train this hard, he thought, maybe he could increase the size of the prize money a little.

‘Sakhalin Park’s’ gift money was still plentiful, so he thought it might be okay, but-

“Hehe, it’s true that I wanted the effect of the prize money to last a little longer, but…”

The fielding coach said very firmly.

“That’s not the main reason.”

“Then what is?”

“Mr. Kim, do you happen to know? Last season for our Cannons… what type of defensive error occurred the most?”

“Wasn’t it throwing errors towards first base? I think that’s what the data showed…”

At Jisub’s answer, the fielding coach nodded approvingly, ‘As expected of Mr. Kim,’ and continued.

“Yes, that’s correct according to official records. But if you include things that weren’t recorded as errors during the game… a slightly different type rises to the top.”

“A different type?”

“Catching errors at the cross-timing.”

The fielding coach looked at Jisub.

“Mr. Kim has seen it a lot during games, right? Situations where infielders overlap, situations where an infielder and an opposing runner overlap.”

Hence, ‘cross-timing’.

“There were many cases where they couldn’t catch the ball properly in those situations. Dropping the ball, letting it slip behind them, etc.”

There was no need to ask why that happened.

‘It must be because their vision narrows.’

Because of a fellow infielder who didn’t get out of the way in time.

Or because of an opposing runner running fiercely towards the base.

Defensive errors occur because they fail to properly catch the incoming ball.

The fielding coach seemed determined to improve this somehow.

“If you play catch with one eye covered, you can learn how to cope when your vision suddenly narrows.”

The fielding coach continued.

“Of course, it won’t be easy to see improvement in the short term, but isn’t it worth trying? That’s what I think.”

“Wow, as expected of the KH Cannons’ fielding coach… It’s not something just anyone can do, huh?”

Jisub said with a calm expression.

“To have the players’ vision in mind! Wow, I really didn’t think of that?”

“What, what is it?”

Anyone could tell it was a compliment.

Of course, the fielding coach knew the intention behind it.

“So, Mr. Kim, don’t set your sights on this position.”

The fielding coach poked Jisub in the side and said bluntly.

“I’m planning to be the Cannons’ fielding coach for ten thousand years. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes, yes, I understand.”

Jisub also chuckled.

“I won’t even glance in that direction.”

* * *

That day, the last words the fielding coach said to Jisub were as follows.

-I’m not being greedy.

-It will be difficult to improve the ability to cope with narrowed vision in the short term.

-If the players can just have fun with fielding practice, wouldn’t that be a significant achievement in itself?

Jisub agreed.

Defense is prone to errors even with both eyes open, so it couldn’t be easy to do it with one eye covered.

But,

What kind of harmony was this?

Several days later, the KH Cannons’ fielding practice session produced a ‘fine play’ that far exceeded Jisub’s expectations.

Thwack!

It was a defensive drill assuming a situation with runners on first and second with one out.

It was good that the third baseman caught the fielding coach’s strong hit, but then a bad throw came out.

“Oh, oh no?!!”

“Hey, Lee Soobin!!!”

Right in front of the third baseman was a runner running fiercely.

Right next to second base was the shortstop who hadn’t left his position yet.

And behind them was another runner running towards second base.

Tangled and intertwined, a typical ‘cross-timing’ situation. And a bad throw happened to come out at this moment.

‘Oh no, it’s going to go behind.’

Jisub, who was watching, couldn’t help but think that at that very moment.

Veteran second baseman Ahn Youngchan made everyone doubt their eyes.

“Euracha!” [Exclamation of effort or surprise]

The bad throw seemed to be completely off, but Ahn managed to snatch the ball by stretching out his glove with all his might.

Even as he threw himself, his foot was firmly planted on second base, so the call was naturally-

“Out! Oooooout!”

When the training assistant raised his fist high and declared out, exclamations of ‘Oooooh!’ erupted on the field.

“No, senior! What was that? How did you catch that?”

“Right! Wasn’t your vision completely blocked just now? I think the runner on second base was blocking you?”

The players gathered around the senior who had made the fine play and began to ask questions.

In fact, even Ahn Youngchan didn’t seem to remember the play exactly.

“Well, I don’t know? How did I catch it? I don’t think I even saw Soobin throwing the ball…”

Ahn Youngchan tilted his head.

But soon, he made an ‘Ah’ sound and turned his gaze towards the fielding coach, who was holding the fungo bat.

“Coach, I think I just saw some results? That… that ‘web glove catch’ training!”

Ahn Youngchan seemed to have had a pretty thrilling experience himself, making a ‘Kuh’ sound.

“My vision narrows, but I don’t panic like I used to! It’s effective! This is effective, Coach!”

“Hehe, is that so?”

The veteran second baseman, who had shown the most lukewarm reaction before the prize money was offered.

As he waved his glove around and rejoiced, a sense of pride began to fill the fielding coach’s face.

“It seems to me that had some influence just now. Good job.”

“Good job, right? I did really well, right? Haha!”

Ahn Youngchan burst into laughter.

But that was only for a moment, as he tried to ‘deal’ with the fielding coach with a sly expression.

“Coach, I showed you a fine play like this… Don’t you have something for me?”

“What?”

“For example, give me 30% of the prize money for this training?”

Ahn Youngchan winked.

“Coach, you know, Soobin and I haven’t even passed 10 catches yet…”

He had shown some training results, so he was asking if he could get a portion of the prize money.

Of course, the KH Cannons’ fielding coach was not someone who would respond to such a ridiculous ‘deal’.

“That’s that, and this is this.”

The fielding coach said.

“Go and practice some more. That’s the only way for you and Soobin to get the carrot.”

“…Carrot?”

Ahn Youngchan blinked.

“What do you mean?”

“There’s something like that, you rascal.”

The fielding coach turned to Jisub and smiled gently.