A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 196

51. Isn’t This Too Much? (2)

Mike Pontius. 30 years old.

That was the name of the foreign pitcher newly signed by the UB Guardians.

He had once been considered an ace, achieving 13 wins in the Major League, and had even participated in the All-Star Game in the same year.

Looking back a little further, he had also participated in the Olympics as a member of the US national team. Based on his performance at that time, he was honored with being selected in the first round of the Major League rookie draft.

However, Korean baseball fans were particularly interested in the fact that he had been playing as a starter for the Baltimore Orioles until recently.

This was the ambitious statement he made during his introductory press conference:

“I want to show Korean baseball fans what a ‘real’ Major League pitcher can throw.”

It was a declaration that surprised not only the reporters covering the event but also the Guardians front office staff watching from the sidelines.

He implied that all the Major League pitchers who had played in Korea until now were ‘fake.’

“Now that a ‘real’ Major League pitcher has arrived, I will prove my skills to you all,” he proclaimed.

A provocative statement he wouldn’t have made without considerable confidence.

As soon as this statement was reported, internet baseball communities exploded.

-King! Ti! Us! [A Korean internet slang expressing excitement or anticipation.]

-Wow, look at that guy’s confidence! A foreign player needs to have some of that, hahaha.

-You can feel the class just by looking at him! Didn’t we get a real jackpot this time?

-I can feel it. A feeling that we’re heading for the championship, not just being contenders!

-Excuse me, when do the Korean Series tickets go on sale?

These were the UB Guardians fans expressing their expectations.

-Pontius? What makes him think he can say something like that?

-Is it because his name is Mike? His mouth runs a mile a minute, hahaha.

-??? : Pontius needs to get his jawline fixed. [A sarcastic comment about his appearance.]

-Isn’t his career record not even close to Jimmy Morris’s? [Referring to a famous baseball player with a remarkable comeback story.]

-Agarius will be taken care of by Paul Owens. He’s just someone who couldn’t make it in the Majors and got kicked out, hahaha.

These were the fans of the other 9 clubs, including the Cannons, looking at him with dissatisfaction.

While the fans were arguing back and forth about the UB Guardians’ new pitcher-

“Heh…”

“No way…”

In the KH Cannons Field’s No. 1 conference room, sighs escaped from the field coaching staff.

“I thought we had been outmaneuvered by those Guardians guys this time…”

Said the head coach.

“Frankly, it was a very clever move, wasn’t it? They brought in a new pitcher from a Major League club before any other team could even sense it.”

“Heh heh, but…”

The head coach scratched his head with the end of his pen and smiled.

“Our front office had already finished analyzing the pitcher… I was honestly surprised! I’m glad I belong to the Cannons, you know?”

“What you say is right, sir.”

The hitting coach sitting next to him nodded, looking through the data provided by the scouting team.

“No matter how great a pitcher he is, if we have this much analysis data, it’s worth a shot. Leave the rest to our field staff.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“You’ve really worked hard.”

The Cannons coaching staff thanked Go Chang-deok of the scouting team, who was in charge of the presentation that day.

“Oh, you’re welcome!”

Go Chang-deok waved his hands and smiled awkwardly.

His gaze was directed towards Ji-seop, who was sitting at the back of the conference room.

* * *

“Hyung [Older brother or close male friend], have one.”

After the meeting with the coaching staff, Ji-seop handed Go Chang-deok a bottle of energy drink he had brought from the team manager’s office.

“Oh! Thank you, thank you.”

The scouting team employee took the energy drink while slinging his bag over his shoulder.

While he was opening the lid with a ‘click’ sound, Ji-seop also took out his share of the energy drink and said.

“As expected, you’re amazing, hyung.”

Ji-seop was looking at Go Chang-deok with a fresh gaze.

“Mike Pontius… I thought he would be a very difficult pitcher to analyze, but to figure out his ‘kuse’ [Habitual movements or tells] so quickly…”

Kuse.

These days, it is often referred to as ‘habit,’ but it was still a word commonly used in the baseball world.

It mainly refers to the habits or tendencies of players, especially the subtle movements that pitchers show when throwing the ball.

Once it is identified, it’s as good as having 80% or more of the pitcher’s strategy figured out, so it was also a key point that each team’s scouts were diligently searching for.

“Hyung, what’s the secret? Can’t you tell me a little bit?”

“You’re so greedy. Are you trying to squeeze blood from a stone?”

Go Chang-deok poked Ji-seop in the side with his chubby fist.

But only for a moment, he chuckled and opened his mouth.

“Hey, how can there be a secret to finding a kuse? It’s just manual labor.”

“Manual labor?”

“Yeah, you have no choice but to turn on the video and keep watching it. Whether it’s a hundred times or a thousand times.”

He said that at some point, the ‘perfect’ point comes into view.

When throwing a fastball, two wrinkles appear on the upper part of the uniform.

When throwing a changeup, the pocket part of the glove looks strangely distorted.

He said that catching Mike Pontius’s ‘kuse’ this time was also done through a similar process.

“If that’s the case, the person who should have been praised by the coaches today is not me, but you, Ji-seop.”

“Me?”

“Of course! It was crucial that you got the information from the Baltimore scout. Thanks to that, we were able to start analyzing Mike Pontius early.”

Go Chang-deok stretched his lips wide.

“When I look at you, Ji-seop, you’re completely talented in this area? A magical charm that captivates the hearts of middle-aged men, regardless of East or West…”

“Oh, what nonsense are you talking about again?”

It was when Ji-seop shrugged Go Chang-deok’s shoulder with a wry smile.

“Ouch!”

Go Chang-deok suddenly grabbed his shoulder.

At first, I thought he was joking, but when I looked closely, he seemed to be really in pain.

“Hyung, what’s wrong?”

Ji-seop had a worried expression.

Fortunately, Go Chang-deok waved his hand, saying, ‘It’s okay, it’s okay,’ and got up.

“It’s just muscle pain, muscle pain.”

Go Chang-deok rotated his shoulder.

“I’ve been doing weight training hard for a few days… Damn it, the muscle pain won’t go away.”

“Hyung is doing weights?”

Ji-seop’s gaze lingered around Go Chang-deok’s thick belly and then returned to his face.

“Suddenly… why?”

* * *

What is the reason why Mr. Go Chang-deok, who had been living a life away from exercise, suddenly started weight training?

Ji-seop couldn’t get the answer right away.

-Ah, that’s…

Just as Go Chang-deok was about to answer, a phone call came to his cell phone.

-Yes, team leader. The meeting ended a little while ago, but… Yes?!?

The news that Yuseong Warriors, the Cannons’ opponent that day, had notified them of a change of starting pitcher due to a sudden injury.

Since the game plan had to be redone from the beginning, Go Chang-deok had to rush to the scouting room.

In the end, it was half a day later that Ji-seop was able to bring up the weight training story again.

Waaaaah!!!

It was at the point when Ma Gang-sik, the Cannons’ starting pitcher that day, was continuing his scoreless pitching into the 6th inning.

“Ah… Miju Kindergarten?”

Ji-seop said, taking a bite of the sandwich he had bought for dinner.

“So, you’ve been doing weight training because of your daughter’s kindergarten event?”

“Yeah, there’s a ‘Dad Participation Class’ next Saturday. My wife went instead of me last time, but if I don’t go this time, Miju will never forgive me.”

“Ah…”

It was everyday life for baseball team people.

Since six games are held a week, not only the players but also the front office staff have no time to take care of family or household events.

If it’s a big event like a wedding or a funeral, colleagues will ‘fill in,’ but it’s hard to be seen leaving because of a daughter’s kindergarten event.

Still, he had never even dared to participate, but fortunately, the scouting team leader gave him consideration this time, he added.

“But if it’s a dad participation class… you don’t have to do weight training, do you?”

Go Chang-deok smiled at Ji-seop’s question.

“Look at this, look at this. When I see this, I can tell that you haven’t been married yet, Ji-seop?”

“Yes?”

“It’s called a class, but in reality, you have to hold the child, run, and roll… It’s an event that consumes a lot of energy.”

Although this was the first time he was actually participating, Go Chang-deok seemed to have found out about it from various sources.

“Our Miju has pride, so how can a dad come and not last even a few minutes and pant? I have to go at least halfway.”

“Wow…”

Ji-seop stopped eating the sandwich and gave Go Chang-deok a respectful look.

“You’re doing all the exercise you hate for your daughter’s pride… Our hyung, I see you’re a father now? A real father?”

“Then I’m a father! The father of Go Miju, an Emerald class child at Sunshine Kindergarten!”

Mr. Go Chang-deok, who was showing off his biceps with a proud expression, ended up groaning again.

Ji-seop started rummaging through the desk drawer for Go Chang-deok.

“Take it easy. Miju will know your heart even if you don’t try so hard, hyung.”

“Is she a little smart?”

When Ji-seop said that and held out a pain relief patch, Go Chang-deok nodded, saying, ‘Okay, okay.’

“Oh, I feel a little better now.”

Go Chang-deok, who had put a patch on his shoulder, turned his gaze to the data analysis room monitor.

“Gangsik’s pace is very good today? If he does well, he might even aim for a complete game?”

“Ma Gang-sik’s complete game… Then there will be another uproar on the internet.”

“Why?”

“Our fans and the Guardians fans… aren’t they always fighting these days? Saying thank you for sending Ma Gang-sik, or telling them to shut up and get lost.”

“Oh my, are they all in good spirits? It wouldn’t be easy to argue like that every day.”

While watching the game while talking about the comments he saw on the internet bulletin board.

Suddenly, the door of the data analysis room opened ‘wide’ and someone strode in.

“Chang-deok, Chang-deok!”

This person who came in and looked for Go Chang-deok without hesitation.

He was the team leader of the scouting team, Team Leader Kang.

“No, team leader. What’s wrong? Didn’t you say you were leaving work early today?”

“Yeah, I left work. I turned the car around and came back on the way home.”

“It’s an emergency.”

Team Leader Kang opened his mouth, looking back and forth between Go Chang-deok and Ji-seop.

“Mike Pontius, was it? The UB Guardians’ new foreign pitcher… I think we need to re-analyze him.”

“Yes? What do you mean…”