Genius Pitcher Hides 170Km [EN]: Chapter 9

#8. Sweep Away the Trash in One Go

During the off-season, when there are no games, baseball fans’ attention is entirely focused on new players or coaching staff changes.

Rumors circulate about which player is in contract negotiations with which team, or which manager’s staff is moving to another team en masse.

Delighting in these speculations and indulging in wishful thinking about the arrival of new talent is one of the greatest joys for baseball fans.

﹂But the stove league [off-season baseball news and rumors] has started, and we’re too quiet, aren’t we?

﹂Yeah, there was so much noise about changing the general manager and the manager.

﹂There’s no news about trading the FA [Free Agent] trio either.

﹂That’s probably because no team wants to take them.

﹂We need to clean up the higher-ups first to bring in foreign players and make trades.

﹂No talk about the coaches either?

﹂Nope, it seems even harder to touch that area. They’re such deeply rooted trees.

﹂Honestly, I’m more scared of the coaches than the general manager or the manager. I’m worried they’ll mess up Han Su-hyeok by messing with him.

﹂Since we’re not doing anything with pitchers this year, we need to replace the hitting coach first. Otherwise, we might see Han Su-hyeok holding the bat short and pushing the ball to the opposite field.

﹂Dude;;; Seriously, don’t say such scary things. Who even talks about pushing the ball to the opposite field these days?

﹂I’m not kidding. Our team’s hitting coach is still playing baseball in the 90s alone.

﹂Sigh…

The particularly boisterous 2026 season came to an end.

The Incheon Rangers, who were considered strong contenders for the championship from before the season, easily defeated the Seoul Magicians 4-0 to become the Korean Series winner.

The Magicians’ quest to win their first championship in 32 years since 1994 ended in failure.

The Warriors fans, who were happy about their rival team’s misfortune, were now complaining about the quiet stove league.

Since the parent company had changed, a purge was expected, but the question was how far they could go.

Most fans and experts predicted that the Warriors’ reorganization would be minor. They thought it would be difficult to touch an organization that had been stagnant for 45 years.

However, on the first Monday of November, something happened that no one had expected.

﹂WTF, what is this… Is this real?

﹂Surprisingly, it’s a true story.

﹂Park Jae-cheol… Why is this guy showing up here?

﹂I think it’s okay? He has the biggest name value.

﹂Does name value make a general manager? Seriously, what can someone with no connection to Seoul do? He’ll be crushed by the factions and won’t be able to do anything.

﹂That’s true, but with Park Jae-cheol’s reputation, it seems like they can’t mess with him easily.

﹂They might not be able to mess with him, but the problem is that Park Jae-cheol can’t mess with the Warriors’ old guard either.

﹂Anyway, isn’t he much better than the current general manager?

﹂Well…

Opinions on the appointment of General Manager Park Jae-cheol were split evenly among fans and experts.

Some reacted with freshness and said that his name value was the highest ever, while others questioned what he could do coming to a team with no connection to him.

“Hey, General Manager Jeong Min-sik was crying. A guy over fifty years old.”

“Crying…?”

“He said he was so disappointed and frustrated, that this year was the perfect opportunity to win, and he couldn’t leave like this, so he grabbed his desk and cried. I barely managed to calm him down and send him home.”

“Hmm.”

He’s quite a character in many ways. I don’t know if he has a sense of the situation or not.

But what’s even more interesting is that Jeong Min-sik, who was dismissed from the Warriors, was appointed as the general manager of the rival Magicians just three days later.

He moved to our Warriors’ biggest rival team.

Seong-hoon hyung [older brother/friend] said that he ran into him in the hallway this morning since they use the same Jamsil Baseball Stadium, and he greeted him with a bright smile and no ulterior motives.

Anyway, what’s important now is not the guy who already left the team, but Park Jae-cheol, who has become the new general manager of the team.

The stove league has just started, but Seong-hoon hyung’s face already looks five years older.

“Why, what’s not working out again?”

“…He talks too much.”

“Ah…”

“He came to work for the first time yesterday and talked alone for two hours in the president’s office with me, and then for three hours with the team leaders, a total of five hours.”

“That’s impressive…”

“Anyway, he’s overflowing with passion, just like you said. He completely forgot that we’ve been in last place for years and was shouting that next year’s goal is to win, that he’ll make us win no matter what.”

“Hmm.”

It’s good to be motivated.

We needed a general manager who was a bit more combative and proactive, befitting the name Warriors, and Park Jae-cheol was the right person.

But this hyung must be having a hard time alone. I should listen to him carefully.

“Should I order another oden [Japanese fishcake stew] soup?”

“Hey, what kind of side dish do I need when I’m drinking alone… No, let’s order one more. I need to eat it all up for tomorrow morning too.”

The dinner that seemed like it would end quickly is getting longer.

I can’t eat anything other than the diet Jacob made for me, so I’m filling my hunger with chicken breast, cucumbers, and carrots even at this gathering.

“You’re tough… Were you always this tough? You can handle that with chicken skewers and oden soup in front of you?”

“Well, it’s just okay to eat.”

“Really? Where… Wow, this is completely boneless? And no seasoning at all?”

“Seasoned isn’t chicken breast.”

“…Yeah, you do you. Win Rookie of the Year and MVP this year.”

It might look different to other people, but it’s just an old habit that has continued since my Major League days.

After realizing that thorough self-management is necessary to overcome the barriers that come from race, I cleanly gave up my desire for delicious food.

Food is just about filling me with the energy to play baseball.

Maybe I’ve forgotten the joy of eating itself.

So I chewed on the tasteless chicken breast and listened to hyung’s complaints.

He must have had a lot built up, more than I thought.

It must be hard. Running a professional baseball team at only twenty-something years old.

This is how we grow little by little.

Seong-hoon hyung, and me too.

* * *

“Yes? General Manager Park. What are you saying now…?”

“This team is rotten.”

“No, first calm down a bit…”

“Is it even possible for a team that has been in last place for two consecutive years to have three factions? No, that’s probably why they were in last place. Anyway, we need to tear it all down.”

Park Jae-cheol, who had just been appointed as general manager for only a week, had finished a rough assessment of the front office staff, coaching staff, and players, and came to the president’s office with a flushed face.

Park Seong-hoon frowned as he looked at the new general manager.

He was right.

The inside of the Warriors, which had spent an enormous 45 years under a single company, was like a contaminated ant cave itself.

Groups united by school ties and regional connections were nesting here and there, while also linking together for survival. Now, we have to deal with such a huge group.

But this man, who has been sincere in everything since his Major League days, even when chatting, was about to risk his life for this.

“I’m going to tear it all down!”

“Well, your enthusiasm is good, but… if you push too hard from the beginning.”

“No, this is something someone has to do. The team I’m trying to create is not like this.”

The thought that if he was that determined, he should have just bought a baseball team and become the owner came up to Park Seong-hoon’s throat, but then went back down.

Well, that’s what he wanted from him anyway.

It seems like things will get much more extreme than he thought.

“First, we need to replace the manager, hitting coach, pitching coach, battery coach, quality control coach, and all of the minor league coaching staff!”

“Um… then who will play baseball?”

“I’d rather do it all myself. I’d be better than the people we have now, wouldn’t I?”

Park Seong-hoon nodded, thinking that might be true. But that wouldn’t work. This isn’t neighborhood baseball.

Knowing that he was saying something ridiculous, Park Jae-cheol didn’t say anything more and just stared out the window.

Then, as if he had made up his mind, he opened his mouth.

“First of all, I think we need to replace the manager. Mr. President.”

“The manager?”

“Yes, I don’t need to say how important the manager’s position is in professional baseball, oh, did I mention this before? It’s about when I first went to the United States…”

“Stop!”

“…The manager I first met in the minor leagues, hmm, that’s too bad. It would be easier to understand if you listened to this story first.”

Park Seong-hoon, thinking that if he listened to that story, he would have to replace the general manager again, urged him to continue with the next story.

“Anyway, we have to replace the manager no matter what. The reorganization has to start there.”

“Please continue.”

“We have a lot of good players who joined the team this year. Han Su-hyeok is a given, and there are a few other players who could become immediate assets if they are taught well.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Therefore, in order to properly prepare for the season, we need to get rid of that scarecrow manager and replace the entire coaching staff.”

“Is that… realistically possible?”

“It is possible.”

“Who is the managerial candidate that the general manager has in mind?”

“First of all, we need someone who is from the Warriors and can distance themselves from the existing members.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, think about it. Neither I nor the president have any connection to the Warriors.”

“That’s true.”

“So, the new manager needs someone with legitimacy that we don’t have right now, rather than ability.”

“That’s theoretically correct.”

Park Seong-hoon leaned back in his office chair, nodding without realizing it.

A rookie owner in his mid-twenties, and a Major League general manager with no connection to this team.

The manager who would coordinate between such a front office and the players needed legitimacy and power.

Also, he shouldn’t be someone who would be in cahoots with the existing rotten elements of the Warriors.

“But is there such a person? Someone who has influence in the Warriors and can distance themselves from the existing factions…”

“There is.”

“Who…?”

“To tell that story, I have to go back to when I first studied Korean baseball…”

“General Manager Park, please…”

“Hmm, yes, I understand. It’s a pity, but let’s save the details for next time. Anyway, there’s only one manager I have in mind.”

Park Seong-hoon listened to him, thinking it was fortunate that Park Jae-cheol was readily shortening his words today.

“Lee Dae-joon, he’s a commentator now. We need him, Mr. President.”

Park Seong-hoon’s face hardened slightly at the new general manager’s confident voice.

Lee Dae-joon, a legend who played for the Warriors for 15 years, starting with the Rookie of the Year award in his debut year.

Even at his peak, he was evaluated as being capable of .300 batting average, 30 home runs, and 100 RBIs every year, and he was a legendary player who had the absolute support of fans while guarding the Warriors’ first base for over 10 years.

Clearly, he is an unrivaled figure in terms of skill and name value.

The problem wasn’t that.

“Um… General Manager, do you know how Lee Dae-joon and the Warriors parted ways?”

“Of course. I know that he didn’t belong to any faction and retired after being caught up in a political fight.”

“Do you also know that he made enemies with all the players, coaching staff, and front office in the team in the process?”

“Of course.”

“Do you know that he didn’t even receive a coaching offer from the Warriors after his retirement because of what happened back then?”

“That’s crazy. In the Major League I played in…”

“Wait a minute. Let’s talk about what we were talking about first. But bringing in such a person means declaring an all-out war on everyone who is still in the Warriors, right?”

“What does it matter? We’re going to tear it all down anyway, right?”

“Huh?”

“I told you, Mr. President. I’m going to sweep away all the trash clinging to this club at once. Without giving them a chance to breathe, in one go.”

Park Jae-cheol, who once dominated the Major League mound, looked at the club owner with fire in his eyes.

‘What kind of eyes are those…’

The moment Park Seong-hoon saw the madness flowing in his eyes, he couldn’t help but flinch and take a step back.

A ominous premonition that something big was about to happen ran through his entire body.

‘Su-hyeok… I wonder if we’ve opened a seal that we shouldn’t have opened…’

* * *