A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 4

The Newbie in the Baseball Team is Too Good – Episode 4

Chapter 2: The Coach from Qingdao (3)

Baseball lessons at [Superstar Baseball] typically lasted 50 minutes.

The period from the hour mark to 50 minutes past was lesson time, and from 50 minutes past back to the hour was break time.

“Whew.”

A cup of instant coffee during that short break was becoming a precious routine for Jisub, but-

“Coach Kim! Hey, Coach Kiiiiim!”

On this day, Jisub couldn’t even grab a paper cup for his instant coffee.

As soon as the lesson time ended, the students, including CEO Choi Kyung-min, flooded into the consultation room.

“Coach Kim! Why are you being so difficult? I feel like I’m dying of frustration.”

CEO Choi shook the ‘Tavota Limited Edition’ glove, clearly agitated.

“This glove! What secrets are hidden in this glove? What did you do to this glove that makes it catch balls better than Andrelton Simmons’ glove?” (Andrelton Simmons is known for his exceptional fielding skills in baseball.)

“Yeah, Coach Kim! We’re curious too! How can changing gloves improve baseball skills?”

CEO Choi, who had used the glove himself, was naturally curious, and the other members who watched him were also showing their curiosity.

Jisub realized that not revealing the secret during the lesson and playing a little ‘push and pull’ was the right move.

‘Hehe, they’re all anxious.’

Based on his observations over the past three days, the middle-aged men who played social baseball had a very strong desire to improve their skills.

‘I want to be good!’

‘I want to be a starter!’

‘I want to be the cleanup hitter!’ (The cleanup hitter is typically the team’s best hitter, batting fourth in the lineup.)

In some ways, they had more passion than most professional players.

The problem was that their burning passion didn’t translate into diligent training and practice.

‘I want to be good (quickly)!’

‘I want to be a starter (easily)!’

‘I want to be the cleanup hitter (with as little training as possible)!’

Perhaps it was natural for them, as they couldn’t invest as much time in baseball as professional players.

In any case, for that reason, the Tavota Limited Edition glove seemed to be regarded as a kind of ‘holy grail’ by these men.

A mysterious item that dramatically improved fielding skills just by wearing it.

The very item they wanted to get their hands on, even if it was a bit expensive.

‘If I can successfully close this deal… people will be lining up to buy gloves from me in the future.’

He already felt like he had a plane ticket to the United States in his hand.

He already felt like he was at a high-stakes poker game in Las Vegas.

Jisub tried not to show those feelings and slowly began to speak.

“Why can you catch balls so easily after changing gloves? It’s simple. It’s a really simple principle.”

Toc toc.

Jisub tapped the Tavota glove and continued.

“This is… a custom glove that I adjusted to fit CEO Choi’s playing style.”

* * *

Custom glove.

Or a tailored glove.

Jisub was telling the truth in his own way, but CEO Choi’s reaction to hearing this was surprisingly displeased.

“Coach Kim, are you kidding me right now?”

“Excuse me?”

“How many years do you think I’ve been playing? Do you think I’ve never had a custom glove made before?”

Looking at him, that seemed plausible.

“I’ve had them made more than once or twice. I even went to Japan to meet a glove artisan!”

It was truly a deep love for baseball.

“But those custom gloves? Frankly, they weren’t much different from the ones I bought online. That’s why I searched and searched until I found Andrelton Simmons’ glove.”

But a custom glove.

At CEO Choi’s words, the other members standing next to him nodded.

It seemed they had all had similar experiences at least once.

Of course, Jisub just wore a faint smile when faced with such reactions.

“Hey, you can’t compare a glove made by simply measuring the size of your palm to this… I’d be disappointed.”

“Hmm?”

“Didn’t I tell you? I took CEO Choi’s playing style into consideration.”

Jisub straightened his back and asked CEO Choi.

“Tell me.”

“What?”

“Honestly, you’re scared of ground balls, aren’t you?”

“Hmm?”

“From what I can tell… when you first started playing baseball, you got hit in the face by a ball that bounced up while fielding a ground ball.”

At that very moment,

CEO Choi’s expression changed.

“Wait, h-how did you know that?!”

“Haha, well…”

Jisub didn’t feel the need to reveal the truth.

He simply replied like this.

“I can tell just by looking.”

“…….”

Feeling the gazes of the people looking at him with surprised eyes, Jisub spoke again.

“If you develop a trauma from ground balls, it’s hard to watch the ball until the end. Even if you think you’re watching it, you end up clenching your eyes shut at the last moment. Like this, with your glove just sticking out.”

As Jisub demonstrated the motion, the people nodded, saying, ‘That’s right, that’s right.’

“Of course, you can overcome it if you train steadily. The problem is that you’re at risk of getting injured again in the process.”

“Hmm.”

“So, I slightly modified the glove to compensate for CEO Choi’s weaknesses.”

Jisub briefly explained the glove’s adjustment process.

Changing the center of gravity of the glove so that it maintains its original position as much as possible even when the body is twisted.

Making the area where the ball enters wide and the area where the ball settles deep so that the ball can be caught easily.

There were a few other technical explanations added, but the conclusion of the members listening to them could be roughly summarized as follows.

[This is amazing!]

[I’ve never even heard of a glove being customized like this!]

[The glove is great, but… this guy has an amazing eye for baseball! He figured out CEO Choi’s weaknesses right away after seeing him just once or twice!]

The new coach’s skills were surprising, and they also wanted to have such a custom glove.

Each of them swallowed hard, staring at the Tavota Limited Edition glove.

“…….”

But it must have been at that moment.

When Jisub put the glove back into the storage box, with an expression that said, ‘Now you understand?’

“Hmm?”

CEO Choi reacted immediately.

“Coach Kim, why are you putting the glove away? Weren’t you going to sell it to me?”

“Sell it?”

Jisub feigned ignorance.

“Did I say I was going to sell it? I think I only said I would lend it to you for today?”

“Eyy, don’t be like that.”

CEO Choi nudged Jisub’s shoulder.

“You said it was a glove customized for me, right? Then you brought it with the intention of selling it to me in the first place, right? Isn’t that so?”

“Well, yes, that’s true. But…”

Jisub looked at CEO Choi.

“Looking at you now, it seems like you’re trying to lower the price of this glove.”

“Wh, what?!”

CEO Choi looked like he had been caught red-handed.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t just been thinking that.

[It’s a really tempting glove… but if it’s a glove made with that much skill, it’ll be quite expensive, right?]

[No? Maybe… I can lower the price a bit? If it’s a glove customized for me, it’s something that can’t be sold to anyone else, right?]

CEO Choi had been harboring such thoughts, not even dreaming that Jisub was reading his mind.

He said, flustered.

“C-Coach Kim, why are you like this? Can’t we haggle a little?”

“No, I’ve only ever played baseball my whole life, so I’m really bad at bargaining.”

Jisub said firmly.

“If I bargain with you, CEO, I’ll lose 100%. I don’t want to sell something that has my effort and skill put into it in that way.”

“Th, then what are you going to do with this glove? Aren’t you going to sell it to anyone?”

“CEO Choi, didn’t you just see my skills?”

Jisub smiled slyly.

“This Tavota Limited Edition… I can customize it for someone else and sell it again.”

As soon as Jisub finished speaking, several other members raised their hands.

“Coach Kim! Then me! Sell it to me! I’ve been having problems with my fielding lately…”

“Hey, you’re good at fielding, aren’t you? Coach Kim, sell it to me! I got a bonus today, so I can give you the money right now…”

Members swarming like bees.

CEO Choi, realizing ‘Oh no,’ pushed aside the members’ shouts and strode towards Jisub.

“A, alright! Coach Kim, I’m sorry! I never meant to belittle your effort and sincerity. It’s just that I’m a businessman, so I instinctively…”

“120!”

CEO Choi shouted.

“I’ll give you the glove’s original price of 100 plus 20! Will that be enough?” (He is offering 120,000 won.)

-30 from the target price.

However, Jisub didn’t need to react here.

The members watching from the side immediately started bidding higher.

“CEO Choi, you’re so stingy sometimes? Where else are you going to find such a good glove? Coach Kim! I’ll give you 130!” (130,000 won)

“I’ll give you 140!” (140,000 won)

“150!” (150,000 won)

The amount exceeded Jisub’s original target and kept going up.

CEO Choi, biting his lower lip and feeling impatient, finally shouted.

“200!!!” (200,000 won)

He held up two fingers.

“I’ll give you 200. Will you be satisfied then? If I give you 200, can I take the Tavota Limited Edition?”

“CEO Choi, are you sure? 200 for a glove is not a small amount…”

“Coach Kim, are you going to keep doing this? Stop teasing me, man!”

As CEO Choi shouted, Jisub finally stretched his neck and looked for the training center’s representative.

“Representative! Representative Oh!”

“Yeah! Yeah, yeah, Coach Kim!”

Representative Oh Soo-man, who had been gaping in disbelief, rushed over, and Jisub opened his mouth with his characteristic relaxed expression.

“Representative, please process CEO Choi’s payment.”

Doo-goo-doo-goo-doo-goo.

Today’s winning bid is-

“2 million won.”

* * *

About three weeks after the ‘Tavota Limited Edition Glove’ incident was settled.

Oh Soo-man, the representative of [Superstar Baseball], was meeting his army buddy Kim Ji-chang.

“…So, he sold a glove that cost 780,000 won for a whopping 2 million won.”

“You mean Jisub did?”

“Yeah, and that’s not all!”

Representative Oh took a ‘sip’ of his soju [Korean distilled rice liquor] and continued.

“After that, members lined up to buy custom gloves from Coach Kim Ji-sub… and now almost all the inventory that was piled up in the consultation room is gone.”

“Hehe, what did I tell you?”

Kim Ji-chang picked up the soju bottle and filled Representative Oh’s glass.

“Jisub, that bastard, his career got a bit twisted in a strange way, but… I told you he’s a useful guy, right?”

“He’s a useful guy. He’s a really useful guy. But…”

Chomp.

Representative Oh smacked his lips.

“I keep thinking, is it okay to keep him here…?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know much about baseball, but… I’ve been in the social baseball industry for quite a while, right?”

Representative Oh took the soju bottle from Kim Ji-chang.

“Your brother is the guy who knows baseball the best among the guys I’ve seen so far. What should I say, his eye for players is unusual.”

“…….”

Kim Ji-chang sipped his soju silently.

“Is it okay to let such a smart guy rot in a place like this? Shouldn’t he be sent to a professional team? Whether as a coach or a front office staff…”

“Well, I often tell him that, but…”

“But what?”

“Unless he can get paid about 100 million won a year, he doesn’t want to join a baseball team.”

“Y, yearly salary… 100 million?!” (Approximately $75,000 USD)

Representative Oh cast his gaze towards the ceiling.

“Are there people who get paid more than 100 million won a year in baseball teams…?”

“It’s not that there aren’t any.”

The coach and the general manager.

Kim Ji-chang chuckled.

“No team would use a player who played in China as a coach or general manager… so you should see it as him saying he doesn’t want to go.”

“Don’t just say that, Ji-chang, try to persuade him well. I’m saying this because I feel bad, because I feel bad.”

“Alright, I will.”

It was around the time when he said that and another ‘cheers’ and another glass of soju went down their throats.

Brrr- Brrr- Brrr-

A call came to Representative Oh’s phone.

Representative Oh, who was already quite drunk, pressed the ‘call’ button with bleary eyes.

“Ah, yes, this is Superstar Baseball! What’s the matter?”

The story heard through the receiver.

Representative Oh, who was listening with his ears perked up, quickly nodded his head.

“Ah, private lessons? It’s possible, it’s possible! But the person taking the lesson is…”

And the next moment,

Representative Oh’s eyes widened.

“Wait a minute, what did you say?”

Representative Oh switched the phone to his other hand.

“Who… is coming to our training center?!”