A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 234

59. The Season When Gizzard Shad Flounder (4)

Two days later.

The day of the first game of the semi-playoffs.

“We are conducting a baggage inspection! We ask for your cooperation!”

“Slowly! Please move in a single line! Yes, thank you!”

Forty minutes before the game started, the stadium was packed with spectators entering.

Kang Yu-seok, the head of the KH Cannons’ analysis team, was approaching a van parked in a corner of the parking lot.

‘Creak.’ As he forced the door open, the analysis team members who had arrived earlier bowed their heads.

“You’re here, Team Leader!”

“You’ve arrived?”

“Yes, good afternoon, everyone.”

The semi-playoffs between 3rd place SH Knights and 4th place Jinyang Bucks.

KH Cannons employees, as third parties, were not assigned a separate office.

Thanks to this, Team Leader Kang and the analysis team members had no choice but to hold meetings in the van.

“Is everyone ready? Did you bring enough batteries and memory?”

“Of course!”

As the team members raised their thumbs, as if they had made a promise, Team Leader Kang nodded lightly.

“Okay, let’s be a little on edge today.”

His voice was filled with determination.

“You might think the Guardians, who are in 2nd place, will make it to the Korean Series… but you never know with baseball until the end.”

Thoroughly film it.

Check it meticulously.

Team Leader Kang repeatedly emphasized.

“And I just got a call… The Guardians’ analysis team has set up right near us.”

“Yes? Is that true?”

The employees narrowed their brows.

“Ah, those Guardians… They’re subtly lacking in ethics, aren’t they? It would be easier for everyone to stay a reasonable distance away on days like this.”

“No, we should see this as the Knights trying to interfere, so that our two teams can’t film properly while keeping each other in check.”

“The camera will do the filming anyway, so is it really necessary to go that far? Anyway, when you look at them, they’re all petty.”

It was a subtle war of nerves between front office staff that often occurred during the postseason.

During the regular season, they play fair even if they lose a little, but when the championship trophy approaches, their insides burn up, which is human nature.

Perhaps that’s why subtle tricks and obnoxious behavior that are difficult to complain about run rampant during the postseason.

Of course, responding to this is the role of the general manager and the operations team. Team Leader Kang was the type to focus on his own work.

“I’ve already reported to Deputy Team Leader Cha, so let’s leave the complaints to them… Let’s focus on information security.”

Team Leader Kang continued.

“Pay attention to the camera position and monitor direction, and if possible, use messages rather than phone calls… Everyone knows, right?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Okay, then let’s all do our best today.”

Just as the meeting in the van was about to wrap up, an old bag came into Team Leader Kang’s view.

“Hmm? What’s that…?”

“Hey, Manager Ryu.”

Team Leader Kang nudged the shoulder of an employee who was diligently packing equipment.

“Yes, Team Leader.”

“Did Chang-deok come to work today?”

His finger pointed to the bag sitting alone on the car seat.

“That bag looks like Chang-deok’s, doesn’t it? Wasn’t today his day off?”

“Ah, yes, it is, but… He came in an hour or two ago. He said he had something to film urgently and went to the stadium?”

“Filming?”

Team Leader Kang tilted his head.

“What is he going to film? Is he filming some kind of vlog or something?”

“No, not that… What was it?”

The analysis team employee said.

“He seemed to have heard something from Special Advisor Kim Ji-seop. He mentioned something about autumn gizzard shad, but I couldn’t ask him properly because he ran out in a hurry.”

“From Special Advisor Kim?”

The mere mention of ‘Special Advisor Kim’ brought a hint of anticipation to Team Leader Kang’s face.

“Is our Special Advisor Kim… preparing something again?”

* * *

The first semi-playoff game was held at the SH Knights’ home stadium.

As many people had predicted, the game turned into a pitching duel.

Whoosh- Pow!

Whoosh- Pow!

Whoosh- Pow!

As both teams’ pitchers did their part, the scoreboard was filled with countless zeros.

When the score was 0-0 until the top of the 8th inning, as the monotonous ‘egg game’ [a game with a score of zero] continued.

Kang Yu-seok, the team leader who was watching the game from the central grandstand, heard a familiar voice.

“Team Leader, hello!”

“Oh! Hey, Chang-deok.”

The person bowing to Team Leader Kang was Go Chang-deok.

The ace of the analysis team, who had taken a day off because he was scheduled for a business trip to the countryside in two days.

What was the reason for his sudden appearance at the stadium?

Go Chang-deok’s answer to Team Leader Kang’s question was as follows.

“Ah, it’s nothing much.”

Go Chang-deok said.

“I received a call from Special Advisor Kim Ji-seop yesterday. He said that SH Knights’ Kwon Jeong-min’s video was missing from our team’s archive. I checked and it was really missing… so I came to film it today.”

“Kwon Jeong-min? The Knights’ backup catcher?”

In fact, it wasn’t uncommon.

The archive server stores video data of players from all 10 clubs.

Anyone who finds missing data on this server is supposed to notify the analysis team immediately.

But the person who informed them of this fact was none other than Ji-seop, and Go Chang-deok even gave up his day off to supplement the data.

As things turned out, Team Leader Kang couldn’t help but be interested in the two men’s movements.

“What’s going on, you two?”

Team Leader Kang poked Go Chang-deok’s chubby belly with his elbow.

“Something’s fishy, isn’t it? It looks like you two rookie buddies are up to something?”

“Hey, fishy? Why would you say that?”

Until this point, Go Chang-deok was just laughing with a sly expression.

But that was only for a moment.

As people’s attention focused on the ground as the bottom of the 8th inning began, he lowered his voice and opened his mouth.

“Actually, I haven’t said anything because I’m still not sure…”

“Hmm, what is it?”

“Yesterday, Special Advisor Kim suddenly told me to secure as much data as possible on Kwon Jeong-min.”

“Kwon Jeong-min?”

“Yes, this fall… He said that guy is likely to cause a big accident.”

Go Chang-deok scratched the back of his head.

“When I asked him why, he just smiled… But how can I ignore that? It’s Kim, no one else, who’s saying it.”

“Hmm, that’s right. I can’t ignore what Kim says. Look at how much that friend has done for our club so far.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Go Chang-deok said, tapping his equipment bag.

“So, I decided to come out and give it a try. I filmed the training scenes as he told me to, and I also filmed the scenes of him practicing in the dugout…”

“So?”

Team Leader Kang looked at Go Chang-deok.

“Were there any noticeable points? Has his batting form become cleaner, or has his swing become sharper?”

“No, there was nothing particularly impressive. Neither his swing nor his training.”

A sheepish smile appeared on Go Chang-deok’s face.

“To be honest, I don’t have any criteria to judge. Kwon Jeong-min… I’ve never paid much attention to him before.”

“Well, that’s true. How many people on the analysis teams of the 10 clubs would remember Kwon Jeong-min’s batting form?”

A backup catcher who had not shown any significant performance during the regular season.

But the Cannons’ special advisor pointed out this friend as a ‘person of interest’.

Why did he say that? What was the basis for it? Was such a performance even possible in the first place?

After being deep in thought for a while, Go Chang-deok spoke to Team Leader Kang some time later.

“Team Leader.”

“Hmm?”

“He’s out.”

Go Chang-deok pointed to the scoreboard.

“SH Knights… Kwon Jeong-min.”

* * *

Kwon Jeong-min came to bat in the bottom of the 8th inning with two outs and a runner on first base.

It couldn’t be said that he came to the plate with the expectations of the Knights’ coaching staff.

It was just that the Knights’ starting catcher had been replaced by a pinch runner in the previous inning, and Kwon Jeong-min, who was wearing the catcher’s mask in his place, had his turn to bat.

-In this situation, the pitcher shouldn’t pitch defensively.

Was it because a batter with a season batting average of 0.159 had come to the plate?

The commentator was urging the pitcher to compete aggressively.

-It’s right to attack the strike zone boldly. The worst thing to do here is to give up a walk, right?

-That’s right. If Kwon Jeong-min gets on base here, it will create a crisis with two outs and runners on first and second base.

The pitcher on the mound seemed to be thinking the same thing as the commentator.

End the inning here. There’s no need to obsess over precise control. Just look at the center and overpower him with the pitch.

The first and second pitches were filled with that thought.

Whoosh- Pow!

Whoosh- Pow!

Almost straight down the middle, a four-seam fastball in the early 150 km/h range [approximately 93 mph].

As the count quickly became 0-2, the sound of drums began to ring from the visiting team’s stands.

Boom! Strikeout!

Boom! Strikeout!

Boom! Strikeout!

The bottom of the 8th inning seemed to be coming to an end like that.

The pitcher’s face was filled with confidence as he received the ball.

The fielders around him seemed to be thinking about the next inning’s attack.

In fact, there was no need to look that far.

Kwon Jeong-min’s teammates were already reaching for the gloves they had thrown on the dugout bench.

But, right then.

“Hmm?”

Team Leader Kang Yu-seok in the central grandstand.

His eyebrows twitched slightly as he glanced at the broadcast through his tablet PC.

‘That guy just now…’

Literally for a moment.

It was a really short moment, but Kwon Jeong-min was seen licking his lips with his tongue.

Of course, many players show that behavior at the plate.

Most of them do it to calm their burning hearts.

But because he had heard the story earlier, Team Leader Kang felt a slight chill.

“This… I think we should take out one ball [analyze one pitch]?”

“Yes?”

When Go Chang-deok turned his head to look at Team Leader Kang, the pitcher on the mound was already in a set position.

He didn’t bother to drag out the time to block the movement of the runner on first base.

The pitcher simply took a slight pause as if he was riding the rhythm, and then immediately turned his body towards the catcher.

I’ll end it with this.

This is the last of this inning.

At the very moment when a ball filled with the pitcher’s will was thrown with all his might towards home plate.

Team Leader Kang could sense that the chilling sensation he had felt was by no means a delusion.

Crack!!!

A powerful sound of batting coming from the end of the bat of a batter with a season batting average of 0.159.

“Huh?!”

“Huh?!”

As all the spectators jumped up from their seats like meerkats, the ball hit by Kwon Jeong-min drew a large arc and flew over the left fence.

– Ho… Home run!

The caster’s voice trembled.

-Home run, it’s a home run! Bottom of the 8th, 2 outs, runner on first! The balance of 0 that has been maintained for so long is now broken! The main character is SH Knights’ Kwon Jeong-min!!!

Wow!!!

Wow!!!

Kwon Jeong-min, receiving the enthusiastic cheers of the home fans, clenched his fist and began to circle the diamond.

“No, what’s going on? How did Kwon Jeong-min hit a home run?!”

“Haha, you know you need a surprise home run in the fall, right? Don’t you think so?”

The UB Guardians’ analysis team was sitting around the Cannons.

They seemed to think that it was a home run that came out once in a while, so it was called a ‘surprise home run’.

They were clapping their hands, saying that baseball is fun because of this, and that the Knights were lucky today-

“…….”

“…….”

The KH Cannons’ analysis team was looking down at the ground with serious expressions.

“Chang-deok.”

“Yes.”

“You said you had all the filming of Kwon Jeong-min, right?”

“Yes, from batting practice before the game to scenes of him practicing his swing in the dugout… I filmed everything without missing anything.”

“Okay, that’s good.”

Team Leader Kang’s eyes lit up.

“If we have the training video, we can figure out how to make time [find a way to analyze it quickly].”

Analyzing a guy who will become a ‘fall gizzard shad’ [unexpectedly successful player in the fall season] and flounder this postseason.

And making sure his energetic floundering is stopped right in the playoffs.

“Team Leader, shall I send the data now? The operations team will be waiting in Yeongsan.”

“Hmm, that’s a good idea. Then we can split the frame as soon as we get back.”

Team Leader Kang nodded in satisfaction at Go Chang-deok’s suggestion.

Then, as if he had another thought, he said to Go Chang-deok.

“Ah, before that… make a phone call first.”

“Yes? To whom?”

“Who else would it be but Special Advisor Kim.”

A hollow laugh was already forming on Team Leader Kang’s face.

“What was the basis for picking Kwon Jeong-min… Shouldn’t we hear that explanation?”