A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 154

The New Recruit of the Baseball Team is Too Good – 154

The New Recruit of the Baseball Team is Too Good 154

40. Game Without Time Limit (4)

Eric McConnell.

The captain of the Boston Red Sox.

He stepped up to the plate right after the score of the practice game changed to 5-2.

The Boston starters had relentlessly attacked the Cannons’ changed pitcher, scoring 2 points in an instant.

‘Hmph, they were just mediocre guys after all.’

Eric McConnell snorted inwardly, smoothing the dirt on the batter’s box.

In fact, he wasn’t laughing at the skills of the opposing pitchers.

Giving up 2 points was acceptable.

The Boston starting members possessed top-notch offensive power in the entire major league.

What baffled Eric McConnell was a word from the Cannons catcher after giving up those 2 points.

“Oh, Mr. McConnell! Boston Legend! I love your play!”

“……What?”

The Cannons’ starting catcher gave him a thumbs-up.

This alone was enough to elicit a hollow laugh, but what was even more absurd was the behavior of the pitcher on the mound.

“Mc……McConnell? The real McConnell?!”

The young Korean pitcher stared at him with wide eyes, as if amazed.

He suddenly took off his hat and bowed deeply to him.

‘Seriously, don’t these guys have any pride? How can they react like that to an opposing batter? Especially right after giving up points?’

Eric McConnell felt his energy draining away.

He couldn’t get excited.

He resented the backup members for giving up 5 points to these foolish guys.

He also regretted his decision to jump into the game, startled by the 5-0 score.

‘Tsk, I need to turn the game around quickly and end it. It’s better to endure boring training than playing against these guys.’

Barely suppressing a yawn, Eric McConnell gripped the bat tightly with both hands.

But,

It must have been right then.

“Play ball!”

The moment the umpire declared the resumption of the game, Eric McConnell could feel the atmosphere on the field completely changing.

‘What, what is it?’

A chilling sensation behind his back.

He couldn’t turn around due to the rules, but Eric McConnell sensed that the catcher’s movements had changed.

And that wasn’t all.

“Two outs! Two outs!”

“Infield in! Infield in!”

The movements of the loosely relaxed fielders were now filled with a taut tension, as if a string had been pulled.

The fleeting glances exchanged showed how fiercely they had worked together last winter.

And above all, this person.

“…….”

It was the pitcher on the mound.

The young pitcher who, just a few seconds ago, had been blinking his big eyes with an innocent expression.

The awkward guy who was shy and took off his hat to bow.

But the moment the ‘resume game’ declaration came, his eyes were filled with a sharpness as if looking at a venomous snake.

‘I’ll get him!’

The moment he went into his pitching motion, Eric McConnell could feel it.

‘That guy… I’m going to get him!’

The young Cannons pitcher threw the ball with all his might, with exactly that expression.

Was he momentarily intimidated by the intense spirit emanating from him?

Or was it because the fastball that left his fingertips came right into the deep inside course?

‘Damn it!’

Eric McConnell’s swing came a beat late than usual, resulting in hitting the ball with the handle of the bat.

Thwack!

The wooden bat broke in two and scattered.

A white ball bounced weakly towards the opposing shortstop.

Eric McConnell couldn’t help but curse inwardly.

‘Son of a bitch!’

But giving up wasn’t his style.

Besides, the ball’s speed was slow, so he thought he might be able to get a safe call if he was lucky.

Eric McConnell gritted his teeth and started running at full speed.

‘I can do it, I can do it, I can do it!!!’

But the Cannons shortstop’s movements were also formidable.

He approached the ball ‘swoosh’ like a ghost in a horror movie, then picked up the ball and connected it to first base with a smooth throw.

At this rate, it was 100% out. Eric McConnell’s next choice, whose heart seemed to drop for a moment, was – whoosh!

A head-first slide towards first base.

‘The…… the call?’

Feeling the gritty taste of dirt entering his mouth, the Boston Red Sox captain raised his head.

Still, he was a veteran with 2,000 hits in his major league career. If he showed this much passion in a practice game, they might subtly favor him.

“Out! Ooooout!”

The first base umpire made the call sharply.

The next moment, as Eric McConnell slammed the ground with his fist in disappointment, a thick hand reached out to him.

“Huh?”

At first, he thought it was the base-running coach.

But the Boston base-running coach was a black man from Puerto Rico. The hand that suddenly appeared in front of Eric McConnell at this time belonged to an Asian.

‘Then who is it?’ As he raised his head, what came into Eric McConnell’s view was the Cannons’ young pitcher.

“M-Mr. McConnell! Are you okay? No problem?”

“……”

Eric McConnell was momentarily speechless.

Just when he was throwing the ball, he had the eyes of a venomous snake, but now he was back to the expression of a naive country boy.

It wasn’t just the young pitcher. The Cannons’ shortstop, second baseman, and even the catcher who had been exuding a fierce aura were now looking at him with worried eyes.

‘What…… what are these guys?’

Eric McConnell was confused.

In some ways, he seemed to be slightly intimidated by the name value of a major leaguer.

In other ways, he seemed to be gritting his teeth even more because he was a major leaguer.

But then again, in some ways, he seemed to be just enjoying a baseball game, regardless of who the opponent was.

‘Seriously…… these are strange guys.’

Eric McConnell kept tilting his head, unable to put it into words, but it seemed he wasn’t the type to dwell on things for long.

“I’m okay, don’t worry.”

As he grabbed the Cannons pitcher’s hand and got up, only one thought remained in Eric McConnell’s head.

‘Well, I don’t know about anything else…….’

A thought that filled his head at some point, as if ink was seeping into paper.

‘They’re fun to play against? These Korean friends, I mean.’

* * *

About 30 minutes later.

Ji-seop came out of the VIP room and looked around the third base stands.

He had briefly taken a phone call and returned to the VIP room, but Director Seo Chang-gi was nowhere to be seen.

‘No, where did the director suddenly go…… Ah, he’s over there.’

Director Seo was sitting in the bottom row of the third base stands.

More precisely, the seat closest to the ground.

Why did he leave the VIP room without a word and head to that seat?

Ji-seop could easily guess the reason.

“Director, you were here?”

Ji-seop went and sat next to him.

“Being here means…… you felt the VIP room was too stuffy?”

“That’s right, there’s only so much I can do to manage my expression. I couldn’t sit there quietly any longer.”

Director Seo continued, his eyes fixed on the ground.

“Although it’s a practice game, a shortened 2-hour match…… aren’t our Cannons on the verge of defeating the Boston Red Sox?”

His words were true.

Currently, 1 hour and 51 minutes into the game, the score is 5-3.

If they could hold this inning scoreless, KH Cannons would win.

“I don’t know about Kim, the special advisor who used to be a player…… but I was a bit skeptical? Whether our Cannons had gotten stronger, whether our skills had improved enough to aim for the Korean Series [Korean baseball championship series].”

Director Seo’s voice was slightly trembling.

“But seeing the Boston players today, I definitely have a feeling. Our Cannons can definitely aim for the championship.”

“You saw the Boston players?”

At Ji-seop’s question, Director Seo nodded with a serious expression.

“Yes, to be exact, I was watching the Boston Red Sox starting players.”

“……”

“At first, they all seemed indifferent? As if they didn’t like playing against Korean players.”

But you know.

Director Seo turned to Ji-seop.

“The atmosphere seemed to change little by little, and then at some point, those guys’ expressions brightened up.”

“Expressions?”

“Yes! Wouldn’t you say those guys were having fun too? They must have recognized our Cannons players as opponents worth playing against.”

Director Seo stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“Of course, after the Boston starting members were put in, they gave up 3 points…… It’s a bit disappointing, but the difference in skill can’t be changed overnight.”

“That’s right.”

“If players recognized even in the major league acknowledged them as ‘pretty good guys,’ it means we can expect them to perform well enough in the Korean league.”

Director Seo had a satisfied expression.

He was satisfied that he had confirmed the improvement in the Cannons players’ skills.

He was also satisfied that he had gained confidence in the upcoming season.

But if you look closely, Director Seo Chang-gi is also a very ambitious person.

Even in this situation, he seemed to harbor some regrets.

“Is it because our players’ performance is better than I thought? Now I feel like today’s time limit is a shame.”

Director Seo clicked his tongue.

“Although it’s a 2-hour game, the Boston starting players haven’t even played for an hour…… If there was no time limit, our players could have learned more by watching those guys’ play.”

In fact, Ji-seop felt the same way.

At first, he was only thinking about how to win by using the 2-hour time limit.

But seeing the Cannons players firmly enduring Boston’s onslaught, his mind had changed slightly.

He had enough confidence in his existing skills, so now he wanted to use this opportunity to improve his skills further.

“It’s definitely a rare opportunity to meet major league players…… It’s a bit of a shame to end it in 2 hours.”

Ji-seop said to Director Seo.

“What should we do, Director? Should I talk to the Boston people again now?”

“No, didn’t you say that the Boston team strongly opposed even a 2-hour game? We can’t do everything to suit our tastes.”

As Director Seo waved his hand, a ‘thwack!’ sound of a hit came from the ground.

The ball seemed to stretch out with good momentum, but eventually went into center fielder Ryu Jang-ho’s glove.

With this, the last out count. Game over.

“We won.”

The corners of Director Seo’s mouth went up.

“Well, let’s go and encourage the players. Isn’t this a historic moment when KH Cannons defeated a major league team for the first time since its founding?”

“Yes, let’s go.”

“Ah, don’t forget to tell the players about tonight’s dinner menu. What was it? Beef steak?”

“Yes, grilled barbecue. Prepared with unlimited servings.”

“Good. Let’s go quickly.”

Squeak-

Ji-seop and Director Seo Chang-gi headed to the ground, opening the side door attached to the infield fence.

First, they offered congratulations to Manager Arthur Freeman, and then told the coaching staff that they had worked hard.

And just as they were about to return to the dugout and announce the dinner menu prepared for the players that day, along with a word of encouragement.

Yes, it must have been right then.

“Wait a minute! Wait a minute!!!”

A voice came from behind.

Ji-seop, who was turning around without much thought, couldn’t help but tilt his head slightly.

“You are…….”

It was Eric McConnell.

The captain of the Boston Red Sox.

The man who had vehemently opposed the practice game with KH Cannons was standing in front of Ji-seop, panting.

“Mr. McConnell, what’s going on?”

“What’s going on? No, do you not know and ask me that now?”

Eric McConnell widened his eyes.

“Do Korean people just stop and leave when the time is up while taking a dump? You have to finish your business, and you have to finish the game!”

Eric McConnell was shouting out strange things in an excited voice.

Ji-seop could see clearly why he was so excited, but he pretended not to know and played dumb.

“What are you talking about? Stop the game halfway. Isn’t this a game that started with a 2-hour time limit from the beginning?”

And then one more word.

“As far as I know, that 2-hour time limit…… I heard it was definitely because of Mr. Eric McConnell’s protest?”

“Ah, no, that’s true, but…….”

At this time, the Boston captain’s facial expression was quite a sight to see.

He seemed a little embarrassed, angry, and very frustrated.

Just as he was stomping his feet alone, he finally closed his eyes and shouted like this.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

It was a word that didn’t need an interpreter.

“It’s true that I underestimated your skills. So it’s also true that I opposed the practice game! But even so, how can you end it like this when the game is getting interesting!”

Let’s do a little more!

Eric McConnell seemed to be anxious.

“There’s still more than a week left for the exhibition game! If you guys leave like this, we’ll have to spend days and days bored again.”

“…….”

“I’m not the only one thinking this way! My colleagues think the same way! Is it just my colleagues? Our manager also said that he regrets ending it like this…….”

Eric McConnell with a desperate expression.

Ji-seop, who had been listening to his story quietly, turned around with a sly expression.

“It seems like the Boston players want to continue the game with us a little more…… What do you think we should do?”

Sparkle.

It was at this moment that the eyes of the Cannons players lit up.