#The Baseball Team’s New Recruit Is Too Good Episode 55
16. Throwing with All His Might Towards the Center (3)
Ji-seop moved nimbly.
Since explaining everything one by one was a hassle, he decided to move independently of Go Chang-deok this time.
“Ji-seop, are you sure you’ll be alright on your own?”
“I live alone anyway, but you have a family, *hyung-nim* [older brother or respected male figure]. Leave the coach persuasion to me.”
After appeasing Go Chang-deok, Ji-seop stared intently into Coach Do Jin-cheol’s eyes as the game was nearing its end.
‘Okay, today it’s the *sundae* soup [Korean blood sausage] restaurant across the intersection over there.’
After figuring out Coach Do Jin-cheol’s destination, he went ahead and carefully lay in wait nearby.
He would initiate his plan just as Coach Do arrived at the restaurant, ordered his meal, and it was about to be served.
“Oh, aren’t you Coach?”
“Ah, well, you are…….”
An uninvited guest barged in just as he was trying to quietly end his day alone.
Coach Do Jin-cheol’s face was filled with annoyance, but it was difficult to leave since his meal had already been served.
Ji-seop seized this moment to say,
“Would you mind if I joined you, Coach?”
“Why, yes! Go eat over there by yourself!”
“Oh, Coach! I heard this place is very popular. If we share a table, the owner can get at least one more team of customers, right?”
“Well, that’s true, but…….”
Coach Do Jin-cheol reluctantly nodded at the earnest look on the owner’s face.
Of course, Ji-seop didn’t bring up the ‘center forkball’ story to Coach Do Jin-cheol while they were eating.
“I heard you’re a well-known gourmet in our team, Coach…… Is that really true?”
“…….”
“I’ve been looking for good restaurants around here lately, but how come I keep running into you every time I visit a place…….”
“…….”
“Ah, Coach! Should I get you some more cubed radish kimchi? Oh, it’s running out so fast since two people are eating!”
“……It’s okay.”
Coach Do Jin-cheol waved his hand.
“I only need kimchi.”
“Oh, what are you saying? I already noticed that you like cubed radish kimchi, Coach! Haha.”
With that, Ji-seop hurried off to get more cubed radish kimchi.
“…….”
At first, Coach Do Jin-cheol seemed to think it was just a simple coincidence.
[Well, yeah…… These coincidences can happen in life.]
Even the second time they met, he seemed to accept Ji-seop’s excuses at face value.
[Well, the restaurants around here that are known for being good are all pretty much the same.]
But this pace continued for a day, two days, and then three.
On the exact week anniversary of Ji-seop starting to follow him around, Coach Do Jin-cheol finally flared up and shouted.
“Hey, you little rascal!”
Thump.
He slammed the table with his fist and shouted.
“Why are you doing this to me? Why are you making my life so miserable?”
Let me eat in peace!
Coach Do Jin-cheol was furious.
But Ji-seop just feigned ignorance with a nonchalant expression.
“No, Coach, why are you being like this? I just came here thinking of having a late dinner…….”
“Do you think I’m stupid?”
I’m going crazy, really.
Coach Do Jin-cheol scratched his head nervously, then let out a long ‘sigh’.
It wasn’t as if Coach Do Jin-cheol had no idea why Ji-seop was so persistently following him around.
“Aigo [expression of frustration], you persistent bastard……. Alright, I give up. I give up!”
Thud.
Coach Do Jin-cheol kicked the chair opposite him.
“Sit down for now. Let’s talk.”
“Then…… should I?”
Ji-seop sat down across from Coach Do Jin-cheol without a word.
And added,
“Auntie, please give me the same thing as the coach here!”
Since he had been invited to join the table like this, he took good care to repay the favor.
“One assorted *sundae* [Korean blood sausage] and one boiled pork slices…… Ah, and a bottle of *soju* [Korean distilled rice liquor], please!”
* * *
Frankly speaking, the assorted *sundae* and boiled pork slices were bribes to ease Coach Do Jin-cheol’s mind.
And the bottle of *soju* added later was a means to prolong the conversation as much as possible.
“…….”
But surprisingly.
It seemed that Coach Do Jin-cheol had no intention of having a long conversation with Ji-seop at all.
“Okay, let’s do this.”
Even before the food Ji-seop ordered came out, Coach Do Jin-cheol said this definitively.
“Tell Manager Freeman. Tell him I’m always ready to give up the position of first-team pitching coach.”
“What…… are you talking about?”
“I told you before, I’m not stupid.”
Coach Do Jin-cheol opened the bottle of *soju* that had arrived first and continued.
“I don’t know how you found out my destination. Frankly, I don’t even want to know. But I know why you’re following me.”
“…….”
“It’s because of that story that came out of the coach’s office last time, right? About trying to get Jung-gyu to throw a forkball right down the middle…….”
“That’s right.”
“Seeing as you, the manager’s translator, have come forward like this, it means that Manager Freeman knows everything too…….”
Then there’s no need to make things complicated, right?
Coach Do Jin-cheol filled Ji-seop’s glass with *soju* and said.
“I’ve told the scouting team repeatedly, but I have no intention of advising a player to throw a forkball right down the middle. But if the manager also thinks that’s the right thing to do…… it would be cleaner for me to just step down in many ways.”
Then he brought up one word.
“This is a matter of conscience.”
“Conscience…… you say?”
“Yeah, I don’t know what the other guys will say, but I pride myself on being a coach who is trusted by the players.”
This was true.
Having worked his way up step by step from the rehabilitation team’s pitching coach, Coach Do Jin-cheol was someone who had the full trust of the Cannons pitchers.
Even amidst the turmoil of ‘Sakhalin Park’ taking over as acting owner and the appointment of the first foreign manager in the team’s history, his position as the main pitching coach remained unshaken.
“They’re players who trust and follow me. How can I teach such players carelessly? I have to teach them only what I think is best.”
“…….”
“Am I supposed to teach the kids in a way that I can’t be sure of, just because others are pushing me, just because the manager is demanding it? I can’t do that in good conscience.”
At that moment, Ji-seop was able to read the strong pride that had risen on Coach Do Jin-cheol’s wrinkled face.
[Cut me if you want. I’m a person who has nothing to be ashamed of.]
It was truly strong pride.
[I’ve done my best for this team. I’m someone who has raised players while cutting back on sleep and skipping meals.]
[To think that people are questioning my player coaching methods…… Hmph, there should be a limit to how rude people can be.]
The pride that only someone who has truly done their best for a long time can have.
At this time, Coach Do Jin-cheol’s face looked like an impregnable fortress without a gap for a knife to enter, but Ji-seop, who was facing it, did not waver at all.
“It seems that the conscience you think of and the conscience I think of are a little different.”
“……What?”
Coach Do Jin-cheol widened one eye.
Ji-seop continued without paying attention to it.
“You seem to think of ‘conscience’ as pushing your own beliefs stubbornly without being swayed by those around you…….”
Ji-seop looked at Coach Do Jin-cheol.
“In my opinion, the real conscience is leading the players to achieve good results.”
* * *
Ji-seop didn’t give Coach Do Jin-cheol time to refute.
“Take Kim Jung-gyu as an example.”
It was the story of the Cannons’ closer.
“As far as I know, that guy can throw a four-seam fastball with a top speed of 156 km/h. He’s a player who is evaluated as being able to rise to the top closer in the country if he just equips himself with a proper breaking ball. Isn’t that right?”
“……That’s right.”
“You’re teaching that Kim Jung-gyu a slider, Coach. You can’t not know that such attempts have already failed several times.”
Doesn’t that prick your conscience?
Ji-seop strongly pressed on.
“A slider is a good choice for a right-handed orthodox pitcher. It’s also the most orthodox breaking ball. That’s why you’ve been pushing the slider, Coach. But as a result, Kim Jung-gyu has been living with the nickname ‘Writer’ for several years now.”
“…….”
“If you’re really acting according to your conscience, if you’re really thinking about the players, shouldn’t you be looking for other options now?”
“So you’re saying I should make him do the crazy thing of throwing a forkball right down the middle?”
Coach Do Jin-cheol didn’t seem to have any intention of backing down either.
“A ball that comes in the middle is a mistake…… that’s common sense! You and the armchair analysts on the scouting team are talking about something that goes against the common sense of the baseball world!”
“No, why are you making such a big deal out of going against common sense?”
Ji-seop strongly countered.
“When I first learned baseball, they said you were crazy if you did an upper swing. They said it only produced fly balls and didn’t help at all in getting hits.”
“…….”
“But what about now? Don’t all the major league hitters use upper swings to crush it?”
“Well, that’s because they have good natural power…….”
Coach Do Jin-cheol tried to make his own rebuttal, but Ji-seop didn’t bother to listen.
“What about the number 2 hitter? In the past, it was common sense to place a player who was good at executing plays at number 2. But now, isn’t it common to entrust it to the person with the most batting talent on the team?”
“Hmm…….”
The story that the common sense of the baseball world has been changing little by little.
Looking at Coach Do Jin-cheol, whose momentum had subsided a little, Ji-seop continued.
“I don’t think you didn’t know about this trend, Coach. I think you knew it even better than I did.”
“…….”
“That’s also true of the scouting team’s data. Even if their suggestions seem a bit radical, you can’t not have known that they’re quite persuasive…….”
Ji-seop lightly scratched his chin.
“The fact that you stubbornly refused their suggestions despite that……. In my opinion, there seems to be only one reason for that.”
“……What is it?”
“It’s fear.”
Ji-seop continued.
“The fear of trying something new, the fear of going against common sense, the fear of the backlash that will come when this goes wrong.”
“……Fear, huh.”
“Of course, it’s not easy. But Coach, if even you, who have experienced all kinds of hardships, are like this, what about the players who are throwing the ball on the mound?”
They’re more afraid,
They hesitate more.
“Except for a few really tough guys, there’s no one among the players who can make this kind of decision on their own. It’s only when someone like you, Coach, supports them from the side that they’ll finally dare to take a chance.”
That’s why I’m telling you.
Ji-seop continued in a more earnest tone than ever before.
“It may be difficult, you may not feel like it, but…… please try it boldly for the sake of the players.”
“…….”
“If you’re really someone who follows your conscience, and if you’re thinking about the players who trust and follow you.”
Please, Coach.
Ji-seop bowed his head towards Coach Do.