A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 22

## The New Recruit of the Baseball Team is Too Good – Episode 22

Chapter 8: Until It Works (1)

That night, Ji-seop returned to the dorm and applied a pain patch to his shoulder.

“Hoo, that feels a little better.”

Tap tap.

Ji-seop’s face held a wry smile as he tapped his right shoulder.

The reality of his retirement from active duty hit him anew.

‘I used to be fine even after throwing over 100 pitches in the bullpen, but now my shoulder aches just from throwing batting practice.’

Damn it, I need to work out.

Should I go tubing tomorrow?

With that thought, Ji-seop plopped down on the sofa.

“Anyway…….”

Ji-seop gulped down a bottle of water he found on the floor and picked up a piece of A4 paper from the table.

“A training chart, huh.”

It was something he had received from the KH Cannons’ minor league hitting coach a few hours earlier.

Ji-seop carefully read the paper, which was filled with detailed information about the players’ batting training policy.

After studying the training chart for a while, Ji-seop came to a conclusion.

‘Hehe, that old man…….’

He was referring to the minor league hitting coach.

‘He’s very different from what he seems, isn’t he?’

He seemed more meticulous than Ji-seop had thought.

In addition to the detailed training policy on the chart, there were also notes that the hitting coach seemed to have written himself.

For example: “The leadoff hitter tends to open up his body too quickly, so this needs intensive correction.”

Or: “The second hitter seems to be hesitating at the plate these days, so he needs to be encouraged to swing more aggressively.”

The hitting coach seemed to be preparing advice for each player in advance before coming to the training field.

‘There are a total of 17 fielders in the minor league camp… That’s not a small number.’

Even if he spends just under 10 minutes per player, that’s at least 2 hours a day.

He always strolled around the field looking annoyed and shouting at the training assistants, “Aren’t you going to pick up the balls!” Who would have known he had this side to him?

‘If you think about it, coaches are also on a one-year contract… They have no choice but to work hard to keep their jobs at the end of the year.’

The training assistant has a three-month limited life.

The coaching staff has a one-year limited life.

Only the guaranteed period is different, but aren’t they all essentially in the same boat?

Lost in these trivial thoughts, Ji-seop turned his eyes back to the training chart when suddenly—

Click, squeak-

Just as he thought he heard the hotel door opening, a familiar voice reached Ji-seop’s ears.

“Ji-seop! Hey, Kim Ji-seop!”

The voice echoed through the room.

It seemed that Ji-seop’s roommate, Go Chang-deok, had come home from work.

“Oh, you’re here?”

Ji-seop greeted him, sticking his head out towards the entrance.

Just as he was about to add, “You’re coming home late these days,” Go Chang-deok took off his backpack and said:

“Ji-seop, I heard you did a great job today?”

“Yes?”

“The senior members of the power analysis team were saying that you threw batting practice so well that the manager was very pleased.”

Go Chang-deok had been working with the power analysis team all day.

He must have heard about Ji-seop’s batting practice from them.

“I was a little uneasy because I was assigned to other tasks… Ugh, I feel relieved now!”

Go Chang-deok’s large body sat down in front of Ji-seop with a ‘thud.’

“If this goes well, won’t the two of us receive a formal offer of employment? The balance is perfect, isn’t it? One non-athlete and one athlete!”

Go Chang-deok pointed to himself and Ji-seop alternately, grinning.

Ji-seop, quick to notice, didn’t miss the other meaning hidden in that smile.

“Something good must have happened?”

“Huh?”

Go Chang-deok’s eyes widened.

Ji-seop thought, ‘He’s so easy to read,’ and continued.

“Didn’t something good happen to you in the power analysis team? ‘I wish someone would ask me’… It’s written all over your face.”

“R, really? Was it that obvious? I was trying to hide it.”

Ahat, ahahahaha.

Go Chang-deok scratched the back of his head and laughed, then opened his eyes and spoke.

“Actually, I suggested a way to overcome a player’s slump yesterday? But that… got approved by the team leader today!”

“Really?”

This time, Ji-seop’s eyes widened.

He had noticed that Go Chang-deok was quite smart, but he didn’t expect him to achieve such results within a few days of being assigned to the power analysis team.

“Yeah, the team will officially make a proposal to that player tomorrow… and if the player agrees, they will proceed with training in that direction.”

“Oh, that’s amazing, isn’t it?”

As Ji-seop chimed in, Go Chang-deok couldn’t hide his joy.

From Go Chang-deok’s point of view, someone who dreams of becoming a data expert, there could be nothing better than this.

But there seemed to be another reason why he was so happy.

“But… do you know who that player is? You’ll be surprised if you know!”

“That player? Who is it?”

Instead of answering, Ji-seop looked into Go Chang-deok’s eyes.

‘…Hmm?’

Just as Ji-seop tilted his head slightly, the answer that Ji-seop had already guessed flowed from Go Chang-deok’s mouth.

“It’s Ryu Jang-ho.”

The best superstar of the Cannons.

Go Chang-deok’s eyes sparkled.

“The team leader didn’t say his name until the end… but there’s only one player in the Cannons who could record such data!”

* * *

Go Chang-deok was also a training assistant.

Because of this, the power analysis team staff kept quiet about what specifically happened to the best hitter in KH Cannons.

However, Go Chang-deok, who had been recording and organizing players’ data since high school, seemed to see something others missed.

“If I’m right, Ryu Jang-ho’s batting balance seems to have been gradually collapsing since the second half of last season.”

“Can you even tell that?”

To be honest, Ji-seop hadn’t given much thought to Ryu Jang-ho’s slump at this time.

In Ji-seop’s experience, baseball is just something that good players do well.

He figured that if he left it alone, Ryu Jang-ho would find his way back eventually.

Rather, Ji-seop was more interested in the “썰 [sseol] (story)” that Go Chang-deok was telling.

To Ji-seop, who had only seen baseball from a player’s perspective, the stories of people who ‘play with numbers’ were both amazing and interesting.

“Just by looking at the data… can you figure out when the batting balance was disrupted?”

“No, that’s easy. These days, the equipment is so good. It comes out with just a few clicks.”

“…That’s amazing.”

Go Chang-deok smiled at Ji-seop, who was nodding his head.

Even from the perspective of someone who ‘plays with numbers,’ the reaction of a former player was interesting.

“Anyway, it seems that Ryu Jang-ho has had a hard time since then. I can see traces of him trying to change his batting form, and traces of him trying to adjust his batting timing.”

“…….”

“If this had happened at the beginning of the season, he might have recovered naturally, but the season ended while he was still struggling.”

Ji-seop could roughly grasp the story behind it.

“He tried various solutions during the off-season… and his batting balance completely collapsed?”

“Hmm, I think that’s it.”

Go Chang-deok nodded.

“Isn’t the fact that Ryu Jang-ho’s contract renewal was delayed in the same context? I heard that Ryu Jang-ho is the biggest idiot who only knows baseball.”

“That might be true.”

Ji-seop had encountered that type of player many times.

‘Baseball fools’ who don’t see anything else when baseball doesn’t go as planned.

In that case, a series of stories surrounding Ryu Jang-ho, such as ‘it’s just a formality’ and ‘he’ll naturally go up to the first team in a few days,’ all seemed to be just rumors.

“So… what did you do?”

“Hmm?”

Go Chang-deok raised his head.

“You said you found a way to overcome Ryu Jang-ho’s slump? I was wondering how you did it.”

Ji-seop was curious about this part.

“If it’s a player like Ryu Jang-ho, there must have been many people around him who could give him advice… So you’re saying that you found a solution that those people couldn’t find?”

“No, you don’t have to make it sound so grand.”

Go Chang-deok waved his hand.

“I’m not trying to be humble, it was just a basic solution that anyone in this field could come up with. I just happened to be looking at useful data in that direction.”

“So, I’m asking what that ‘basic solution’ is.”

“Hmm, so…….”

After thinking for a moment, Go Chang-deok opened his mouth again.

“To put it simply, instead of focusing on the angle of the batted ball, focus on the exit velocity of the batted ball and create muscle memory in the direction that allows as many barrel hits [hitting the ball squarely on the sweet spot of the bat] as possible…….”

“……Yes?”

Ji-seop blinked.

“Exit… what did you say?”

* * *

The next morning.

Ji-seop got on the hotel elevator and pressed the button for the 4th floor.

Ding-

As the door opened with the sound of a bell, Ji-seop’s steps became slightly cautious.

During the spring camp, the 4th floor of this hotel was used by the KH Cannons’ staff.

The coaching staff’s dorms, except for the minor league manager, were located here, and the rooms used by the development team leader and other front office staff were also gathered on the 4th floor.

Further inside were conference rooms, coaches’ rooms, and offices for each front office department.

“…….”

In a place where staff members gather, stories that would be difficult to keep secret were bound to be exchanged.

Therefore, training assistants were strictly prohibited from setting foot on the 4th floor of the hotel.

From that point of view, the fact that he was walking down the 4th-floor hallway could be considered a significant moment for Ji-seop, but—

“Haaam.”

Frankly speaking, Ji-seop didn’t have the mental 余裕 [yeoyu] (room; capacity) to be impressed by the fact that he had set foot on the 4th floor.

He was just tired and sleepy.

He had stayed up all night listening to Go Chang-deok’s explanation of the ‘basic solution.’

‘Damn it, my eyes are closing on their own.’

Ji-seop had been playing baseball all his life, so it didn’t take him long to understand the general context.

However, the specifics of the training, why it should be done, and the basis for the final solution being certain…

As he questioned each and every detail, it was already past 5 a.m.

‘Cutting-edge scientific baseball… It wasn’t as simple as it sounded.’

How do the power analysis team people do this complicated thing every day?

And how do the junior players understand that complicated explanation and incorporate it into their training?

Thinking that, he was walking towards the ‘Coaches’ Room’ sign at the end of the hallway when—that must have been the moment.

“Do you understand what I mean?”

A voice was heard from the hotel room in front of him.

The voice was leaking out through the slightly open hotel door.

It seemed that someone was having a meeting early in the morning.

“To put it simply, it’s this. Until now, we’ve been paying attention to the angle of the batted ball, but from today, let’s focus on the exit velocity of the batted ball!”

Exit velocity.

Ji-seop’s ears perked up at the phrase he had heard somewhere.

‘That’s right, that’s what Chang-deok hyung [older brother/friend] said when he was explaining the solution…’

Then it seemed that the people in that room were the power analysis team staff.

Could it be that they were explaining Go Chang-deok’s solution, which was approved at the team meeting yesterday, to the player?

‘Wait a minute, then does that mean Ryu Jang-ho is also in that room right now?’

Half expectation and half curiosity.

Ji-seop turned his head slightly as he passed in front of the hotel room in question.

“…….”

“…….”

The next moment, he made eye contact with Ryu Jang-ho, who was sitting in a chair and listening to the explanation seriously.