A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 231

59. The Season When Gizzard Shad Flounder (1)

‘Gizzard Shad’ Ham Jun-ik.

Position: Catcher. Bats left, throws right.

He retired from the Yuseong Warriors three years ago, a player whose performance throughout his career was unremarkable.

His career batting average was .219.

Even for a catcher, his stats were so poor that he was known as the ‘bane’ of opposing teams’ left-handed relief pitchers.

“No, why the bane? From a pitcher’s perspective, there wouldn’t be anything particularly scary about him, would there?”

“Yes, he’s scary. Very scary! Just imagine getting hit by a batter with a .219 average. Do you think the manager would let it slide? He’d be furious and send you straight to the minors.”

“……Ah.”

His stats were so bad that any other player would have been released within 2-3 years, but Ham Jun-ik was famous for continuing his active career for nearly 20 years.

This was partly due to his defensive skills as a catcher being top-notch in the league, and partly due to his exceptional sociability, allowing him to adapt to any team within three days.

And above all, the decisive reason why club officials couldn’t turn a blind eye to baseball player Ham Jun-ik was this.

Thwack!

Thwack!

Thwaaaack!

He was one of the league’s premier ‘postseason men’.

During the regular season, he seemed almost invisible, swinging at ridiculous pitches and missing.

But as the weather gradually cooled and the postseason arrived, he would miraculously come alive and put on an incredible performance.

-Ah, that’s huge! This hit is huge! Left field fence, left field fence, it goes over the left field fence!!! Ham Jun-ik’s leadoff three-run home run!!!

With his first team, the Jin Yang Bucks, he set a rare record of being named the semi-playoff [a round before the final playoff] MVP for two consecutive years.

With his second team, the SH Knights, he led the team to victory with a postseason batting average of .400.

With his fourth team, the Future Kings, he hit 5 home runs, including a 3-run home run in one game, and was named the Korean Series MVP [the championship series of the KBO League] – truly a clutch performer.

Mr. October, Autumn Man.

Like a fish that fattens up in the fall, his batting skills improved only in the fall, earning him the nickname ‘Gizzard Shad’ [a type of fish known for being in season during the fall].

Now, Ham Jun-ik is more often called by his nickname ‘Ham Gizzard Shad’ than his real name.

The reason why the captain of the KH Cannons wanted to meet him was as follows:

“Ji-seop also knows, doesn’t he? That there are hardly any players in our Cannons who have experienced the Korean Series.”

Some players had been on the roster as backup members, but Ma Kang-sik, who played for the UB Guardians, was the only one who had experienced the Korean Series as a starter.

Even Ma Kang-sik was completely shut down in last year’s Korean Series, so he wasn’t quite enough to be a reliable pillar in this series.

“I was quite worried about this part… but I heard that Ham Jun-ik has opened a new training center.”

“Ah, that’s a good opportunity. We can congratulate him on opening the training center and hear various stories about the Korean Series.”

At that moment, a sliver of curiosity was rising in Ji-seop’s mind.

‘A player who went crazy only in the fall… wouldn’t it be good to meet him?’

Ji-seop was already curious.

What is different about the players who perform well in the fall?

How do they prepare for the game, and what thoughts do they have when they go out to play, that they can show such amazing performances?

If he could find some ‘secret’ here, it would be of great help not only in this Korean Series but also in Ji-seop’s future front office life.

So, he said one thing.

“Senior, then could you take me with you? To that… Ham Jun-ik’s training center.”

“Ji-seop? That’s good. I won’t be bored, and it will be helpful to Senior Ham.”

Cheon Jin-woo nodded coolly.

“No, now that we’re talking about it, it would be good to gather some more people to go together. It would be better for several players to hear the story.”

* * *

Three days later.

Ji-seop was visiting Ham Jun-ik’s training center with his Cannons teammates.

“Hyung [older brother or male friend], I think it’s here? On the first basement floor of this building… RB Baseball!”

A newly built 5-story building not far from the apartment complex.

After parking the car in the parking lot and going down the stairs, a large banner caught his eye on one wall.

A batter wearing a black helmet pulled down low, holding a red bat in his hand and swinging powerfully.

“Isn’t that the photo from that time? The game where Ham Jun-ik hit three consecutive home runs in the Korean Series.”

“Ah, that’s right! Hehe, as expected, the best thing to hang in a place like this is the highlight of your baseball career!”

Unlike Cheon Jin-woo, who was smiling contentedly and moving forward, Kyung Sun-woo, who was following behind, grabbed Ahn Young-chan and whispered.

“But Senior, isn’t the name of the training center too ordinary? ‘RB Baseball’… I think it would have attracted more attention online if it was called ‘Gizzard Shad Baseball Training Center’.”

“Don’t tell Senior Ham that, okay? Autumn Gizzard Shad, Mr. October… Senior doesn’t like those nicknames very much.”

Ji-seop had a vague idea of the reason for this.

The fact that his performance in autumn baseball is particularly noticeable implies that the player’s regular season performance was insignificant.

People’s greed is endless, so the evaluation of ‘only doing well in the fall’ wouldn’t be particularly pleasing to hear.

‘Hmm, I need to be a little careful when talking about the Korean Series in front of Ham Gizzard Shad. If he gets sulky and shuts his mouth, it will be tiring in many ways.’

As he was thinking about how to win over Mr. Ham Gizzard Shad, he heard a ‘jingle’ sound from below.

And soon, the person who appeared, boasting the plump figure typical of retired players, was this person.

“Oh, Jin-woo! You’re here?!”

It was former player ‘Gizzard Shad’ Ham Jun-ik.

* * *

“Wow, Senior! You’ve completely succeeded! The training center is shining!”

“Hey, don’t say that. It’s all debt! Every ball is a debt, damn it!”

The players looked around the newly opened training center with the guidance of Mr. Ham Gizzard Shad.

To put it bluntly, it wasn’t that difficult to get him to talk about the Korean Series that day.

“Ah, the Korean Series?”

Of course, Mr. Ham Gizzard Shad was initially smacking his lips and making an unpleasant expression.

“Hey, why are you asking about that again? If you search the internet, you’ll find all the stories about the Korean Series.”

However, what worked like a charm here was Ji-seop’s experience at the training center.

As Chun Jin-woo took out the items he had prepared based on Ji-seop’s advice, Ham Gizzard Shad’s large mouth dropped open.

“My goodness! How did you even think to bring something like this?”

Mr. Ham Gizzard Shad’s mouth gaped.

“Signed balls, signed bats, player-issued items… Goodness, the members were already clamoring for me to get them something like this! Wait a minute, what’s this?”

“It’s the uniform I wore during my Yoosung Warriors days, Senior.”

Chun Jin-woo replied.

“I heard that you need something like this hanging on the wall of the training center. That way, the training center members will listen to the coach better, or so they say.”

“That’s right, the members are very particular about that! If something like this is up, they’ll think, ‘Ah, he’s not an outdated coach,’ or ‘He still has connections with active players!'”

As expected, Chun Jin-woo is different.

His sense is different, so different!

As Mr. Ham Gizzard Shad got up to “go put the uniform away,” Chun Jin-woo turned to Ji-seop and gave a faint smile.

“Ji-seop was right.”

“Hehe, isn’t experience a scary thing?”

The situation that followed was something anyone could have predicted.

Mr. Ham Gizzard Shad received the items necessary for running the training center from Chun Jin-woo.

After stashing those items in the office, he returned and began to tell stories about his Korean Series [championship series in Korean baseball] experiences one by one.

“When I look back on it… dealing with mistakes! I think that’s what determined the direction of the entire series.”

“Dealing with mistakes.”

“That’s right. When you’re playing in a big game like the Korean Series, the thought of ‘I won’t make any mistakes’ is the most dangerous. Mistakes happen. They’re bound to happen. There are so many guys who can’t even eat properly because of the pressure, so how can mistakes not happen?”

“I guess… it’s more realistic to look at it that way.”

“Well, the important thing is how you deal with mistakes after they happen. I’ve had similar experiences three or four times…”

At first, Mr. Ham Gizzard Shad relied on vague memories to continue his story, but later he even brought out his laptop and the personal journal he used at the time.

He replayed the broadcast footage from that time on his laptop and meticulously recited his emotions and coping strategies recorded in his journal, like the old gambler he was.

“So at that time, I felt like I was gambling. Because if it wasn’t for this guy, there wasn’t a pitcher in our bullpen that I could trust to hand the game over to.”

“Even if you pay attention to the bullpen rotation… it seems like this kind of situation is inevitable.”

“Of course, where does everything go according to plan? To be blunt, 80% of a short-term series is improvisation. What do I mean 80%, it’s gotta be 90%!”

The vivid testimony of a senior who had experienced the Korean Series firsthand, and even won several championships.

Chun Jin-woo, who would be starting as the main catcher, as well as veterans Ahn Young-chan and Ji-seop, and even Lee Soo-bin, were listening to the story with serious expressions-

“Haaam.”

“Chomp chomp.”

It seemed that this conversation didn’t particularly resonate with the two rookie-level players, Kyung Sun-woo and Shim Sung-joon, who had been trailing after their seniors that day.

They kept yawning and smacking their lips, and at some point, they quietly got up and wandered around the training center.

Ji-seop thought it was inevitable for the two youngsters who hadn’t accumulated much experience yet, so he just chuckled once and left them alone.

“S-Senior!”

“Senior, Senior, Senior!”

About ten minutes later, the two guys, who had been wandering around like lost puppies, suddenly shouted.

“What is it?”

Ahn Young-chan asked, leaning back.

“What’s all the fuss about?”

“No, Senior! This… this bat inside the glass case here!”

Kyung Sun-woo continued.

“Senior! This… that’s it, right? That bat in the picture hanging outside!”

“Bat?”

“Yes, the legendary red bat that Senior Ham Jun-ik used when he hit three consecutive home runs in one game!”

Three consecutive home runs in one game.

Hence, the legendary red bat.

When the word ‘legend’ came out of the mouths of the juniors, the seniors also got up and approached them.

“Ah, that’s right. This is the bat in the picture?”

“Wow, Senior! I can feel the aura! It feels like there’s an extraordinary energy?”

Everyone was saying something as they looked at the bat in the glass case.

The seniors were just looking and passing by, but the two rookie-level players were sparkling with excitement.

[I wonder… if I could ask Senior to lend it to me for a few days?]

That was Kyung Sun-woo’s inner thought.

[Even if I just touched it a few times before going into the game… no, even if I just put it in the dugout, I feel like good energy would come in.]

That was Shim Sung-joon’s inner thought.

“…”

“…”

They must have been dying to borrow it, but the other person was a senior who was more than twenty years older than them.

They couldn’t bring themselves to say it, and they were just swallowing their saliva while looking at the radiant red bat.

It was then that an unexpected offer popped out from that very senior.

“…Want to borrow it?”

At Mr. Ham Gizzard Shad’s generous words, not only Kyung Sun-woo and Shim Sung-joon, but also the other veteran players widened their eyes.

“No, Senior… Is that okay? This precious bat?”

“Isn’t it because of this bat? The secret to Senior’s success every fall!”

“What does it matter? They’re not going to actually hit with this old bat; they’re just going to use it as a lucky mascot.”

Chun Jin-woo’s uniform had made him feel so good, so this was a predictable story.

It was right after that that Ji-seop heard something he hadn’t expected.

[It might break while they’re practicing, but I guess it doesn’t matter.]

That was Mr. Ham Gizzard Shad’s inner thought.

[The legendary red bat… I have several others besides this one.]

…Several others?

Ji-seop tilted his head slightly and looked at Senior Ham Jun-ik.