On The Rise As A Catcher [EN]: Chapter 89

Song Seok-hyun chuckled, “Ah.”

“I can’t tell you everything, but I can tell you this.”

The young players’ eyes sparkled.

“The bat. I use a bat that’s longer by more than an inch and heavier by more than 10% than others. It makes bat control more difficult, but it allows me to put that much more power into it.”

Even in amateur baseball, wooden bats are used, and home runs have recently disappeared from high school leagues.

It’s more advantageous to go with a small ball strategy than to aim for home runs with wooden bats, which have a significantly lower coefficient of restitution than aluminum bats.

Song Seok-hyun’s thinking was the opposite.

Small ball is just a fallback option for teams that lack home runs.

Home runs are always the top priority, and singles and tactics are just options.

Even if it means striking out, students should learn how to swing with all their might.

When they’re young, they may not have enough power, so even if they swing a wooden bat with all their might, it’ll be hard to even send it near the fence, let alone hit a home run, but they can build up their strength when they go pro.

A swing that becomes ingrained in your body when you’re young is hard to fix.

It’s easy for a hitter with a big swing to shorten their swing, but it’s hard for a hitter with a small swing to begin with to make their swing bigger.

A full swing is the process of putting all your body’s power into the bat, so you need to get a feel for putting all your body’s power into it with a full swing from a young age.

Until middle school, they use aluminum bats, but in high school, they have to grab a wooden bat.

Many young players give up on home runs altogether because of the reduced resilience [the ability of a material to return to its original shape after being bent or stretched].

They switch to lighter bats and grip the bat shorter.

They also reduce their swing width.

They prepare to run to first base before they finish their swing properly.

So, for the sake of young students’ futures, wouldn’t it be better to grip the bat longer and use a heavier bat? That was the conclusion Song Seok-hyun came to after much deliberation.

If the bat is difficult to handle, you become more careful about swinging it.

If you can’t just hit any ball and think about running to first base quickly, the only option left is to hit it properly.

Coach Lee Ki-sung and the young students didn’t understand Song Seok-hyun’s concerns, but they all nodded at the mention of using a special bat.

Isn’t that a pretty plausible reason?

“So, don’t use bats that are too light or grip them too short. Using a heavy bat is also part of training.”

The chestnut-haired boy who had asked Song Seok-hyun a question raised his hand again.

“Then can I hit a home run too?”

The other friends burst out laughing.

He was such a small friend that he could pass for an elementary school student.

While Song Seok-hyun paused, Coach Lee Ki-sung came to his side and whispered.

“That’s Hwang Geun-sung. He’s in the third grade of middle school, and he’s very stressed because he’s short. Please say something nice if you can.”

Song Seok-hyun nodded.

“What’s your name?”

“Hwang Geun-sung, sir.”

“Okay, Geun-sung. Can I ask you just one thing?”

“Yes.”

“Do you like a single, a double, a triple, or a home run better?”

Hwang Geun-sung blinked.

He seemed to be guessing what it meant.

“Home run?”

“Yeah, the farther you can send the ball, the better, right?”

“Yes.”

“A double is better than a single, a triple is better than a double, and a home run is better than a triple. Right?”

“Yes.”

“Then is there anything to worry about? Whether you hit a home run or not, you just have to send the ball as far as you can. Right?”

Hwang Geun-sung nodded.

“Yes!”

“Don’t be obsessed with home runs. Swing with all your might, with all your might.”

“I want to hit home runs, but the coach tells me not to. What should I do?”

Song Seok-hyun looked at Lee Ki-sung.

Lee Ki-sung smiled awkwardly.

Song Seok-hyun said.

“Well… you have to respect the coach’s words, but wouldn’t it be better to send the ball as far as possible, assuming you can hit it? If you can’t hit the ball at all, then hitting the ball is the priority, but if you can hit the ball, focus on sending it far.”

Hwang Geun-sung pursed his lips.

Song Seok-hyun burst into a hearty laugh because he was so cute, even though he was only four years younger than him.

“Yes, thank you!”

Hwang Geun-sung clenched his small fists.

Song Seok-hyun approached Hwang Geun-sung and stroked his chestnut hair.

“You’ll do well. Work hard.”

Then Hwang Geun-sung asked.

“Then can I go pro too?”

At the word ‘pro,’ the other friends snickered.

Song Seok-hyun bent his knees and met Hwang Geun-sung’s eyes.

“No.”

Hwang Geun-sung’s pupils trembled.

Song Seok-hyun grinned.

“You can go to the majors too. Work hard with the mindset that you’re going straight to the majors. If you swing with the intention of hitting a home run, you’ll get extra-base hits, but if you work hard with the intention of going to the majors, would going pro be a problem?”

“Me, the major leagues…?”

“Yeah, the major leagues.”

Song Seok-hyun got up from his seat.

He has a dinner appointment with Jung Mi-nam in the evening.

He needs to move diligently to go to Jung Mi-nam’s store, sign autographs, and have dinner.

Coach Lee Ki-sung also called Song Seok-hyun.

“Okay, that’s all for today, and our Song Seok-hyun will sign autographs for you. Get autographs and work hard so you can all go pro. Got it?”

“Yes!”

Song Seok-hyun signed autographs for each of the players and also signed the pile of balls that Lee Ki-sung brought.

Hwang Geun-sung held out his uniform and begged for an autograph.

“Here? No way. It’s your school uniform.”

“Please? Please?”

Song Seok-hyun looked at Lee Ki-sung.

Lee Ki-sung shrugged.

“He’s stubborn. It’s not just his name that’s ‘Geun-sung’ [Geun-sung can mean ‘stubborn’ in Korean].”

Song Seok-hyun took a pen and pulled on the uniform.

“Please write ‘Major Leaguer Hwang Geun-sung’.”

Song Seok-hyun laughed and signed on the side where the number 7 was written.

[Major Leaguer Hwang Geun-sung]

Hwang Geun-sung smiled contentedly.

“Thank you!”

Hwang Geun-sung ran off to the field.

Song Seok-hyun laughed once again at Hwang Geun-sung’s bouncy run.

“He’s a really cute kid, isn’t he?”

“He’s nice, but he’s a bit spoiled because his grandparents raised him. He’s also stubborn.”

“Ah… is that so?”

“I guess he’s not eating enough; he’s not growing tall, which is frustrating. But he has a good sense.”

Coach Lee Ki-sung patted Song Seok-hyun on the back.

“Anyway, thanks for coming all the way here.”

“No, I’m the one who’s sorry for coming so late.”

“Haha, thank you so much today. It’ll be a big boost for the kids. I’ve taken up a lot of your time, haven’t I? You must have a lot of appointments today since it’s a holiday. Go quickly. When I was single, Mondays were the busiest.”

“Then I’ll come again when I have time next time.”

“Okay, go safely.”

Lee Ki-sung went back to teaching the players.

Before leaving the school gate, Song Seok-hyun turned his head.

A boy who was particularly small and stood out even more, Hwang Geun-sung, was diving to make a play.

“Come to think of it, he’s a shortstop. He must have good athletic sense.”

Song Seok-hyun got into a taxi after leaving the school gate.

He leaned his head back in the seat and stuck out his tongue.

He still had two appointments left.

“Aish, it’s not a holiday, it’s an overwork day.”

Rising to Success as a Catcher

Friend

“Is it done?”

“Okay. Just right. We can use this to make a banner.”

“What banner are you going to make, you crazy bastard? How embarrassing.”

“Hey, is it because of the portrait rights [the right to control the commercial use of one’s likeness]?”

“No, it’s not about the portrait rights, it’s just…”

“Hey, you have to milk it for all it’s worth at times like this.”

After stopping by the middle school, Song Seok-hyun headed to Jung Mi-nam’s store.

At Jung Mi-nam’s store, he signed autographs, took pictures, and even held a small autograph session.

Jung Mi-nam’s father handed Song Seok-hyun a thick envelope.

“Oh, no, Father. It’s okay.”

“Hey, take it. You don’t refuse what an adult gives you. Quickly.”

“But this is too much. How can I accept this?”

“Take it, take it.”

Jung Mi-nam’s father forced the envelope into Song Seok-hyun’s hand.

“I didn’t do anything, but thank you for growing up so well. I’m so proud. I’m giving it to you because I’m so proud, so eat something delicious and take some health supplements. Being a pro must be so hard.”

“I’m really okay…”

“You must not use it for useless things, and you must use it to take care of your body. You can’t stray down another path already.”

“Where would I stray?”

“Okay, okay, go eat something delicious and play with Mi-nam. You have to play when you play. Don’t you think?”

Song Seok-hyun came out of Jung Mi-nam’s store and handed the envelope to Jung Mi-nam.

Jung Mi-nam pushed the envelope back to Song Seok-hyun.

“Take it, you idiot. My dad’s giving it to you.”

“It’s too much, the amount. You take it and give it back to him; don’t swallow it.”

“I don’t need it? Take it when I give it to you. Think of it as today’s promotion fee.”

“What promotion fee?”

“Just having your face plastered on it will earn me several times more than this money. So just take it willingly.”

“Aish, really…”

“Then buy me something delicious today. Buy me Korean beef [Hanwoo, a premium type of beef]. How about it?”

“Hoo, okay. What else besides that?”

“Let’s think about it while we eat. Why think about everything before eating?”

“I guess so. It’s funny for a wild boar to have a lot of thoughts.”

The two headed towards the restaurant.

Jung Mi-nam looked around.

“No one recognizes you on the street.”

“What, am I some great star that people would recognize me?”

“Aren’t you the star of Seoul, the star of Jamsil [a neighborhood in Seoul known for its baseball stadium]? They should recognize you.”

“Stop exaggerating so much. Don’t say that anywhere. I’m going to die of embarrassment.”

“But aren’t you meeting Young-seok and Na-young? Are they busy?”

Song Seok-hyun stuck both hands in his pants pockets.

“Young-seok said he had a department event today or something. I didn’t ask Na-young separately.”

“Are you and Na-young in a cold war these days?”

“What cold war? We just can’t see each other because we’re busy.”

“I heard Na-young is really busy these days. We don’t see her often either.”

“She’s preparing for the bar exam, so she must be busy.”

“She used to visit your mother often when she was sick.”

“…What, what! What, you idiot?”

“Ha, well, what can I say? It’s a problem between you two. But don’t get too serious. You’re friends. Keep a reasonable distance.”

“Okay. Aish, nagging.”

The two arrived at the restaurant and were about to go inside when Jung Mi-nam’s phone rang.

“Oh, Dad. Why? Number 5? Ah, it’s Number 5 again. Okay. I’ll go right now.”

Jung Mi-nam, who had hung up the phone, licked his lips.

“The machine in Room 5 is acting up again. I think I need to go take a look.”

“Should I go too?”

“No, it’s okay. You order the meat here and wait. It won’t take long.”

“You want me to eat meat alone? If that’s the case, I’ll just go with you.”

“I’ll have the meat grilled when I get there so I can eat right away.”

“Still, it’s embarrassing to grill meat alone, especially at a Korean beef restaurant?”

Jung Mi-nam blinked.

“Well, it is funny for you to eat meat alone. It would be even funnier if someone took a picture of you and it went viral.”

“I told you to just go together.”

At that moment, Song Seok-hyun’s phone rang.

The caller was Kim Young-seok.

“Oh, why? Me? I’m with Mi-nam right now. Near Mi-nam’s store. Why are you asking? Now? You want me to come now?”

Jung Mi-nam asked with his mouth.

‘Why?’

‘Young-seok’s seniors are calling me to see them. What should I do?’

‘Go once, to boost Young-seok’s spirits.’

‘Should I?’

“Okay, I got it. Send me the coordinates. I’ll find you.”

Song Seok-hyun hung up the phone.

“He said he had a department event, so what’s with calling me again?”

“I guess he wanted to show off his friend who’s a hot star these days. Show your face at times like this. Give Young-seok’s department life a boost. You know his personality, right? He was a total outsider when we were in school unless we were around, so it must be even worse in college. I’ve received a lot from Young-seok, so I should help him at times like this.”

“Sigh. Aish, what am I going to talk about when I get there? It’s not like I’m the type to be all chummy.”