A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 169

44. Hunting for Prey at the Baseball Field (3)

“I think they were really good at first.”

It was Go Chang-deok’s words.

“What are you talking about?”

“Hey, what else could it be? Ryujangho and Gyeongseonwoo… I’m talking about those two.”

Go Chang-deok narrowed his eyes.

He seemed to be trying hard to recall faint memories.

“Was it the first week of the opening [of the season]? At that time, Seonwoo had a meeting with our power analysis team, right? Then Jangho would always come and sit next to him.”

“…Jangho did? Really?”

“I’m telling you, he did. It was just like seeing Jisup looking at you. You know, like you used to do? When Jangho fell into a slump and went down to the minor league camp.”

He would sit next to the power analysis team and give various additional explanations.

He would also ask questions on behalf of the player.

The story was that Ryujangho was now doing for his junior what Jisup had done for him a long time ago.

Jisup smiled inwardly.

‘Hehe, I’m hearing all sorts of things as I live. Ryujangho, of all people, is investing his time for his junior.’

It was admirable.

He was the kind of guy who got all sorts of backhanded comments, like he was cold-hearted, or that you couldn’t get a drop of blood out of him even if you pricked him with a needle.

But no matter what, he was definitely fulfilling his role as a senior player.

However, almost at the same time, this question also arose.

“If Jangho went that far… it means he really cherished Gyeongseonwoo, so how did their relationship go wrong?”

“Ah, that’s…”

Here, Go Chang-deok scratched the back of his head.

“I think I made a slip of the tongue.”

“A slip of the tongue?”

“Yeah, I was having a meeting with Jangho… and we were talking about the Cannons’ players’ 50m dash records.”

The 50m dash record.

It was an item that the club measured every year to check the players’ running ability.

“Originally, you shouldn’t say such things to the players, but because I was so close to Jangho, I unconsciously…”

“What did you say?”

“That Gyeongseonwoo is the fastest in our Cannons. That his 50m record is much better than Jangho’s.”

Go Chang-deok smacked his lips.

“I didn’t realize it at the time, but when I quietly traced back my memories, I think Jangho’s expression wasn’t good at that time.”

He wasn’t a three-year-old child, so his expression wouldn’t have hardened simply because someone was faster than him.

“Jangho was usually worried. He said Seonwoo’s outfield defense was unstable. That the speed of chasing the ball seemed a little slow.”

“…”

“So he told us to pay more attention to that part. He also said that he would take on a wider range of defense until Seonwoo was fully adapted…”

But as it turns out, the junior’s speed is better than his own.

If that’s the case, what is Ryujangho thinking about Gyeongseonwoo right now?

“Isn’t he thinking that he’s playing baseball half-heartedly…? That he’s just a rookie who just came up to the first team?”

Go Chang-deok continued.

“Then wouldn’t that explain the awkward relationship between the two? Jisup, you know, the person Jangho hates the most is…”

“Yes, I know.”

Jisup was also nodding his head.

“It’s someone who plays baseball half-heartedly.”

* * *

That evening, Jisup decided to watch the game from the third-floor stands of the KH Cannons Field outfield.

Director Seo Chang-gi was away on business at the head office, and there was no better place to quietly immerse himself in thought.

Cheer! Strong! K! H!

Perhaps because they were on the verge of taking the sole lead for the first time in 13 years, many spectators came to KH Cannons Field that day as well.

Although it was not comparable to ‘nationwide’ popular clubs such as the UB Guardians, Cheongyang Bucks, or Geosan Mariners, it was still a considerable number compared to the past.

While listening to the cheering slogans shouted by the Cannons fans, Jisup was quietly lost in thought for a while.

-Jisup, please do me a favor.

It was a word Go Chang-deok gave to Jisup just before entering the power analysis team meeting that day.

-Jangho is the type who doesn’t change his mind once he makes a decision… But Jisup, he listens to you well, right? So I thought it would be good if you could explain it to him.

There is a clear difference between a 50m full sprint and the speed during outfield defense.

Go Chang-deok emphasized this point several times.

-This is a part that has already been proven by data. Running blindly ahead and running while watching a flying ball… Of course, there has to be a difference! Don’t you think?

So don’t jump to conclusions.

New players need to be watched for a little longer.

Go Chang-deok nodded, saying ‘I understand,’ but Jisup didn’t go to see Ryujangho right away that day.

It seemed a bit unreasonable to follow Go Chang-deok’s words to the letter.

‘Jangho doesn’t have little experience, does he?’

Ryujangho had been playing on the first team stage since his debut, so he had been the Cannons’ starting center fielder for seven years.

How many and how many different styles of players had he worked with during that time?

Among them, there would have been outfielders who were incredibly fast, and outfielders who were as slow as snails.

‘He’s worked with so many different players… Wouldn’t Jangho know that? The fact that there has to be a difference between sprinting and playing outfield defense?’

Before Go Chang-deok brought up the story about the 50m dash record, Jisup thought that Ryujangho had sensed something.

Players who run around the ground almost every day are very quick to sense things like this.

Gyeongseonwoo is not doing his best in outfield defense.

Gyeongseonwoo is not using even half of his ability.

Ryujangho had a vague sense of it from the beginning, and Go Chang-deok’s words were the final blow, weren’t they?

‘Hmm…’

As his thoughts reached this point, Jisup’s interest naturally shifted to Gyeongseonwoo.

‘Does this make sense?’

He had been in the minor leagues all along, and he was a player who had barely gotten a chance to join the first team roster.

His name was gradually becoming known to the fans, and he was slowly increasing his playing time.

Is that kind of player playing baseball half-heartedly? Is he not showing 100% of his skills? Is this logically possible?

‘Is his family super rich? Do his parents own buildings? Damn it, if I had known that, I would have shown him a little more… No, that’s not it.’

He was sitting alone and struggling, so his concentration seemed to be dropping little by little.

He thought it would be good to have a cup of coffee, so Jisup got up from his seat in the stands.

And just then, cheerful music was heard from the infield cheering section.

‘Ah, it’s a change of attack and defense.’

The opposing team’s players, who had been occupying the ground, retreated like a tide, and the Cannons’ players began to fill the empty space.

Center fielder Ryujangho and right fielder Gyeongseonwoo also appeared, so Jisup had no choice but to stop heading to the store for a while.

“…”

Jisup leaned against the railing of the outfield stands and stared blankly at the ground.

Was it because he was aware of the problem? Ryujangho and Gyeongseonwoo definitely looked awkward.

They didn’t gather to talk, and they didn’t play catch together.

Until the opposing team’s batter entered the plate, Ryujangho only turned his gaze to Gyeongseonwoo when adjusting his defensive position.

“Okay, there! Stop there!”

“T, thank you, senior!”

The atmosphere of the Cannons’ outfield, where cold winds were blowing even from a distance.

Ah, I can’t leave it like this. I have to do something quickly.

Jisup thought so in his heart and tried to move towards the store, but at that very moment.

Yes, that’s exactly what happened at that time.

“…Hmm?”

It was right fielder Gyeongseonwoo.

He was showing a strange movement.

“…”

The moment when the outfielders’ concentration reaches its peak. The moment when everyone’s eyes are focused on the infield.

Gyeongseonwoo looked up at the direction the flag was fluttering for a moment, and then carefully began to move his steps.

One step, two steps, three steps, and four steps.

The Cannons’ rookie right fielder, who had deviated quite a bit from the defensive position designated by Ryujangho in a short time.

Jisup let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.

‘That guy must have skipped school a bit when he was in school, right? How can he sneak around like that…’

A movement that Jisup, who had been watching the game all along, was only able to grasp in the top of the fourth inning.

He also had a knack for catching the timing when everyone’s attention was focused on something else, but what was more absurd than that was something else.

‘What kind of confidence is that? A rookie who just came up to the first team is independently adjusting his defensive position…’

This seemed to be a part that needed to be pointed out later.

It might be different if he was an experienced veteran, but it was a very dangerous defensive method for Gyeongseonwoo, who was no different from a rookie.

Isn’t that why he’s sneaking around, avoiding the eyes of other players, because he knows that too?

‘I thought he had a gentle personality, but it turns out he’s a crazy friend… Uh?’

But the next moment, Jisup had an expression as if he had been hit on the back of the head with a hammer.

Thud!

A strong hitting sound coming from the infield far away.

It wasn’t hit properly, but rather, it was a hit with a lot of spin.

Once it falls to the ground, it’s a hit that can be at least a double, or even a triple if it’s more-.

Thump.

It was really a ‘thump’.

The tricky hit was already in Gyeongseonwoo’s glove.

“One out! One out!”

Gyeongseonwoo’s appearance, returning the ball to the infield indifferently, without any change in expression.

Perhaps around this time, the broadcast would have said, ‘The right fielder caught the ball lightly,’ but Jisup could sense that it wasn’t.

‘That, that guy… Could it be?’

Jisup stopped going to the store and went back to his original seat.

The thought of ‘I want to have a cup of coffee’ had completely disappeared.

* * *

“…”

Exactly three hours later.

Jisup was standing in front of the KH Cannons Field’s entrance for officials only.

“Jisup hyung [older brother/friend], you worked hard!”

“Yeah, you guys worked hard too!”

Jisup’s appearance, showing the players who greeted him the most affectionate expression in the world.

But in fact, at this time, Jisup was not even able to properly grasp who he was greeting.

Even if he tried to calm down, his heart kept pounding, and he couldn’t hide his excitement.

‘Maybe… there was a player with really absurd talent in our Cannons.’

Really absurd talent.

Unbelievable talent.

It seemed that there were quite a few words that could explain this talent, but at this time, there was only one word that came to Jisup’s mind.

‘……Ramen.’

Ramen defense.

A defense that casually approaches and snatches the ball as if going to the neighborhood supermarket to buy ramen [a type of instant noodle] in the late afternoon.

A long time ago, a player who is now called the best outfield legend in Korean professional baseball showed this kind of defense.

Depending on who is watching, it may seem lackluster or insincere, but in fact, this is only possible with great talent.

‘It means that you can accurately predict which direction the ball will fly.’

The batter’s tendencies, aim, and condition.

The pitcher’s pitch, speed, and control.

In addition, the direction and speed of the wind, and even the game situation.

A defensive method that is only possible when all that information can be synthesized in a short time.

So at this time, Jisup was a little impatient.

‘Is he really doing that kind of defense? Am I mistaken? No, it’s not just once or twice, if he continued to do that kind of defense throughout the game…’

One spoonful of expectation and one spoonful of doubt.

It was exactly with that kind of heart that he was pacing in front of the entrance when he heard a voice he had been waiting for from behind his back.

“You worked hard, Special Correspondent Kim!”

It was Gyeongseonwoo’s voice.