A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 88

People with a Lot of Greed (4)

*Thud.*

Ji-seop placed the ball back into the cart.

Seeing this from the batter’s box, Ryu Jang-ho immediately signaled to the stadium announcer for a time-out.

“Just a moment.”

“Ah, yes, of course.”

The stadium announcer tilted his head, puzzled.

And it wasn’t just him.

This was right after a tremendous home run. He *should* have been diligently hitting to maintain his pace, but suddenly he was requesting a time-out.

“What’s going on?”

“Why is he suddenly doing that?”

The audience also looked confused.

The umpires exchanged glances.

The other players and coaches participating in the All-Star Game Eve looked at each other, blinking.

“…”

Under everyone’s gaze, Ryu Jang-ho walked towards the mound and asked Ji-seop, “Bro, what’s wrong?”

“Do you remember our promise?”

Ji-seop answered.

“If I thought you guys were getting too greedy for home runs, and if I thought your batting balance might be disrupted… I said I’d immediately stop throwing batting practice.”

“Y-yes, I made that promise. But…”

Ryu Jang-ho looked around.

“So, you’re going to come down from the mound right now? With so many people watching?”

“Ryu Jang-ho, you’re the heart of the Cannons’ batting lineup, right?”

Ji-seop continued, “Frankly, our team’s strength isn’t that great. If you falter, it’ll have a big impact. It might become difficult to advance to the post-season.”

*So, what else can I do?*

Ji-seop continued, “Even if I get cursed at… I have no choice but to come down from the mound now.”

* * *

He said it convincingly, but in reality, Ji-seop was secretly anxious.

*I can’t really come down…*

Ji-seop had started to gain some recognition within the Cannons, but he was still just an employee.

The All-Star Game, which happens once a year, and the Home Run Derby, the highlight of the All-Star Game Eve… He couldn’t just casually cause a scene at such a large-scale event.

*Hehe, I’m getting nervous.*

*What should I do if Ryu Jang-ho says, ‘Okay, then come down’? Or what if he says, ‘No matter how the team does, I must win the Home Run Derby today’?*

On the outside, he wore a nonchalant expression, but inside, his heart was burning. Then, Ryu Jang-ho spoke.

“…Okay, bro.”

“Listening to you, I don’t think I can only think about my own greed.”

Ryu Jang-ho clicked his tongue.

“I won’t be greedy for the championship. I’ll just hit lightly. So, please throw the batting practice until the end. If you come down now, where am I going to find a pinch hitter?”

He would give up on winning the Home Run Derby, so please throw the batting practice.

“…”

For Ji-seop, it seemed like he had gotten the answer he wanted, but people’s hearts are strange things.

At first, he was only thinking of breaking Ryu Jang-ho’s competitive spirit against the ‘Super Rookie’ Lee Soo-bin by any means possible.

But seeing the guy looking dejected and saying, ‘Please throw the batting practice,’ he felt a little sorry for him.

*In a few years, he’ll be getting the best treatment and going to America… Why is he getting so dejected by just one word from me?*

He realized that this genius hitter was respecting him. Even without Ji-seop realizing it, he wondered if Ryu Jang-ho had grown into a player who thought about the whole team.

Whatever the reason, perhaps it was because he was impressed that Ryu Jang-ho had given up his desire for the Home Run Derby.

Ji-seop called out to Ryu Jang-ho as if possessed.

“Hey, Ryu Jang-ho.”

“Yes, bro.”

“I never told you not to win the Home Run Derby, did I? I said you shouldn’t overdo it because of your desire for home runs.”

“Yes?”

Ryu Jang-ho looked at Ji-seop with wide eyes.

“What do you mean? How can I win without wanting home runs?”

“Why can’t you? If a really good ball comes in… Can’t you knock it over the fence even with a light swing of the bat?”

*You’ve hit so many home runs like that until now.*

Ji-seop said very firmly, “I’ll throw you those kinds of balls, so that you can easily get it over that fence without overdoing it.”

“Y-you will, bro?”

The Cannons’ best hitter hesitated.

Ji-seop looked straight into Ryu Jang-ho’s eyes and asked, “Why do you have that look on your face? Jang-ho, don’t you trust me?”

* * *

The next moment, Ryu Jang-ho returned to the batter’s box, leaving behind only one word of greeting, “Please take care of me.”

“…”

Ji-seop, left standing alone behind the pitcher’s protective screen after sending Ryu Jang-ho back, had a perplexed smile spreading across his face as he fondled a ball he had taken out of the ball cart.

*Damn it, I’ve unnecessarily raised the bar too high.*

He chuckled to himself.

Originally, Ji-seop’s mission was just to prevent the young hitters from overdoing it. He could have received a ‘good job’ just for doing that, but he had created an absurd mission for himself.

*Batting practice that can win the Home Run Derby without overdoing it…*

He had a rough idea. He had practiced with national team catcher Cheon Jin-woo for almost a week: a course that slightly curves towards the body from the center of the strike zone.

But no matter how experienced Ji-seop was with batting practice, it was never easy to throw them consistently into that course.

*Well, what can I do.*

Ji-seop picked up the rosin bag that was on the floor and thought, *Since I’ve already said it… I have to throw it, whether it turns out good or bad.*

*Thud.*

Ji-seop threw the rosin bag on the floor.

Just as the white smoke that spewed out of the rosin bag was rising and then fading away…

“Hoo.”

A more cautious expression than ever before, a more serious expression than ever before, Ji-seop lightly lifted and lowered one leg, and then swung his right arm with all his might.

*Whoosh-*

The ball that left Ji-seop’s fingertips began to spin towards home plate. The slowly but accurately controlled ball was approaching the upper part of home plate when—

*Crack!*

A refreshing sound of batting emanating from the end of Ryu Jang-ho’s bat. The batted ball, created with a natural swing as if water was flowing, drew a sharp trajectory and stretched out towards the outfield—

*Thwack!*

Directly hit the right foul pole of Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium.

“Home run! It’s a home run! This time, Ryu Jang-ho hits the pole directly!”

Although there was a considerable ‘time-out’ in the middle, the result was two consecutive home runs.

The stadium announcer continued his commentary with a surprised expression.

“If the first home run felt like a cannonball, this one feels like a sniper’s bullet! It was a very sharply extended home run!!!”

A sharply extended home run, a line drive home run… Ji-seop knew exactly when these home runs came out.

*I think it was when Ryu Jang-ho’s batting balance was at its best, right?*

Ryu Jang-ho’s balance looked good. His condition was originally good. And now, Ji-seop’s control of the ball was at its best—

*This Home Run Derby championship… It might be worth aiming for?*

Raising one corner of his mouth, Ji-seop picked up a ball.

* * *

That day, at the All-Star Home Run Derby held at Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium, Ryu Jang-ho, participating as a representative player of KH Cannons, succeeded in hitting a total of 12 home runs.

“12… Is it 12?”

Ryu Jang-ho clicked his tongue as if he was disappointed, perhaps because it didn’t reach the 14 recorded by Cannons’ ‘Super Rookie’ Lee Soo-bin.

But his disappointment didn’t last long. After that, the best sluggers from each team challenged, but in the end, no one surpassed Ryu Jang-ho’s record.

“All-Star Home Run Derby held here at Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium! Now, we will announce the winner! A total of 12 home runs! The only participant who succeeded in recording more than 10 home runs… KH Cannons’ Ryu Jang-ho!!!”

*Wow!!!*

Amid the thunderous applause of the audience, Ryu Jang-ho went up to the stage. After receiving the plaque and prize money from the league’s president, he immediately ran down to the dugout.

“Congratulations, Ryu Jang-ho!”

Congratulations poured in on Ryu Jang-ho, who returned to the dugout.

“As expected, a guy aiming for the major league is different! How did you hit 12 home runs in that situation?”

“The number of home runs is one thing… But I was more scared of the trajectory. Did you see that all of them except the first home run were line drives?”

“It’s not that he overpowered them, but that he made proper contact with the timing? Wow… You’re a monster. You’re a real monster!”

That day was the All-Star Game Eve. The players who were chattering in the dugout were, when you think about it, people who were performing well in the league. Those people were clicking their tongues and pouring out words of congratulations, but Ryu Jang-ho’s reaction was indifferent.

“I don’t know if it’s something to be praised so much for. I just swung the bat as I always do, didn’t I?”

That’s what Ryu Jang-ho said to Ji-seop. “I think today’s victory is entirely thanks to you, bro. Thanks to you throwing the batting practice so well, I was able to win like this.”

*So, you know.*

Ryu Jang-ho held out a small object he was holding under Ji-seop’s chin.

“What… is this?”

“You can see what it is, can’t you? It’s a car key.”

Ryu Jang-ho shrugged his shoulders. “Did you see it during the awards ceremony? The car that was on the ground? It turns out that it was a prize for the Home Run Derby winner. I’ll give it to you, bro.”

Ryu Jang-ho put the car key in Ji-seop’s hand.

It would be a lie to say that he didn’t secretly want it, but Ji-seop was a little embarrassed to receive the car key like this.

“Hey, even so… What are you going to do if you give away this kind of prize so easily? This isn’t cheap…”

“Hey, why are you acting like this when you know everything? It’s a principle that the player takes the prize money from the Home Run Derby, but the injury is given to the batting practice pitcher. I’ve heard that bad luck will come if you don’t [share the winnings with those who helped you].”

“…”

“Besides, if you think about my salary that will increase thanks to you, bro… A car might be a cheap way to cover it up.”

“What are you talking about?”

To Ji-seop’s question, Ryu Jang-ho replied with a serious expression, “I was able to maintain my batting balance thanks to you, bro, right? Then I’ll be able to hit more hits in the second half, and if that happens… The team will generously raise my salary.”

The story that the salary increase would definitely be higher than the value of a car.

Ji-seop laughed in disbelief. “To think about your salary in that short moment… You really have endless greed, don’t you? Huh?”

“No, you keep calling me a greedy person, but…”

It was at this moment that Ryu Jang-ho, who had been obedient to Ji-seop’s words until now, made a sullen expression for the first time.

“When you know it, weren’t you the one who was full of greed in your stomach, bro?”

“What are you talking about?”

“No, isn’t that right? You made Lee Soo-bin win in the second team, and you made me win in the first team… And even a new car here.”

“…”

“To say that you’re a person without any greed… It seems like you’re taking too much today, aren’t you?”

“When I listen to you… That’s true too?”

Ji-seop smiled. “Living among greedy guys… It seems like I’ve become greedy without even realizing it.”

His own change that started unexpectedly… Ji-seop felt somehow good about that change.