Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 44

“Oh… oh, ooh……”

“How is it?”

Though matte, it has a subtle sheen. Long fingers, a web woven in a simple yet perfect checkered pattern.

The Rolling Stones’ signature red rectangle is embroidered on the back of the hand, and the silver emblem on the pocket gleams brilliantly.

Most of all, my name, Kim Han-Wool, is embroidered on the thumb.

[4. Kim Han-Wool]

“C-Can I even use something like this?!”

“Of course. It was made for you to use.”

“…Why is it glowing?!”

I said it sincerely, but the production manager seemed to take it as a compliment and just chuckled.

“I-I can’t use this.”

“Huh?”

“No, how can I use such a work of art… h-how?”

“Ah, hahaha!!”

I’m serious. Manager, this isn’t the time to laugh. I really can’t use it; this should be put in a case and displayed in a well-lit place.

“Don’t worry and use it comfortably. I’ll make another one just like it for you to keep as a souvenir. Consider it my personal gift, so don’t feel burdened.”

“Really?!”

“Yes, yes. Don’t worry.”

“Oh, my god……”

In truth, pros often have less specific knowledge about gloves or glove companies.

Which brand, which grade, what kind of leather is processed with what method, made with what pattern, and so on… I know nothing.

I just receive it, wear it, touch it, and after catching with it a few times, I can tell if it’s good or not.

I was no different.

What’s a glove? As long as it catches the ball well.

But I think I understand the feelings of amateur baseball enthusiasts who are crazy about gloves. This isn’t just a glove. It’s a work of art.

I carefully took it and put it on my hand. It fit snugly without any sense of foreignness.

It doesn’t feel right to try to break it in yet. That’s why I felt even more reverence.

“Then use it well… Ah, could you possibly give me the glove you were using before?”

“Ah, the one I used before? Yeah, sure…….”

…Ah.

“…Ah.”

“Is it difficult?”

“…Yes. Would there be any breach of contract or anything if I didn’t give it to you?”

“No, it’s not that. I just wanted to keep it in our workshop. To have that feeling of, ‘We made Kim Han-Wool’s glove,’ you know?”

“Ah.”

“Or are you planning to sell it?”

“No. It’s not like I’d get much for selling it… I’m going to gift it.”

“Oh, that’s good too.”

The production manager nodded as if he understood.

“I didn’t break it in separately. If it were for another infielder, I would have done it to some extent, but since you’re a pitcher, it’s hard to mess with it. Pitchers are very sensitive, after all.”

“That’s true.”

Come to think of it, the production manager said he played baseball until high school. Moreover, his position was pitcher.

A young man and a middle-aged man sat in a cafe, chatting away.

Although he didn’t pursue a professional career, he was a senior in baseball experience, so I showed him all due respect, and the manager smiled kindly and talked.

Although they were two older men, there was no lull in the conversation. They discussed what the recent glove leathers are like, what the wood of the bats is like.

The story went back to when the manager was playing elite baseball.

Although there was a nearly 20-year age gap between us, there were quite a few relatable stories. Especially…….

“…Excuse me. Manager.”

“Yes.”

“Um… there’s something I’d like to ask.”

“Yes, yes. Go ahead.”

Hmm. Should I even be saying this?

“About the grade you mentioned earlier? Roughly what level is it?”

“Hmm… in terms of grade… Golden Glove level? It’s Rolling Stones’ highest grade. The order price is around 800,000 to 900,000 won [approximately $600-$700 USD].”

“Ah, then. What’s the minimum grade that ordinary baseball players can use?”

“Ordinary baseball, you mean amateur? Or professional?”

“Elite?”

“You have to use HOH, at least. Even though it’s our company, the difference between HOH and the grades below it is too big. Those are for kids.”

“How much does HOH cost roughly?”

“About… 300,000 won [approximately $225 USD], I guess.”

Hmm… how many kids are there?

“Um, Manager.”

“Yes.”

“Is bulk purchase possible?”

“Bulk purchase?”

“About… about… about 30? No, 40? Around that much.”

“It’s possible… but what are you going to use them for?”

“Ah, I’m going to give them to the baseball team.”

“Oh……”

Clap clap clap—

The manager clapped with a surprised expression. I was also taken aback and clapped along.

“Then let’s do this.”

“Ah, yes.”

“First, I’ll give you a quote. Then Han-Wool can decide. You mentioned elite earlier, so you’re planning to donate to the high school kids?”

Donate?

“…Ah. It becomes a donation.”

“What? Did you just do it without thinking?”

“I tend to live… without thinking much……”

“It’s good to be thoughtless in this way. It’s good for our company, and it’s good for Han-Wool.”

He laughed heartily and took out a small notebook and pen from his bag. Every time he flipped through the pages to find a blank space in the notebook, it was filled with glove designs.

“Let’s see… for elite kids……”

He muttered to himself and scribbled with the pen. About 3 minutes passed.

“Here, like this. How is it? The prices vary slightly depending on the position, but let’s ignore that and give it to you all at once. What about mitts…?”

“Catchers are a bit……”

“Takakeyama is too strong [referring to the brand/style of mitt].”

Hehe.

“Then let’s just look at first base for mitts.”

40 gloves. 2 full sets of catcher’s gear. 40 bats. A total of ten million won [approximately $7,500 USD].

“…Oof.”

Did it get bigger than you thought?

“Can you really give it to me like this?”

No, it’s much cheaper than I thought.

“Hehe, am I not a manager? I have this much power. Don’t worry.”

When I was in the baseball team and when I was an unknown player, the most difficult thing was baseball equipment.

It’s expensive.

Even if you buy something reasonable, it’s not cheap.

Now, the used market is very active, and price competition has started with the emergence of various brands, but…….

Back in my day, there was nothing like that, huh? I went to Dongdaemun Baseball Stadium [a famous baseball equipment market in Seoul], huh? I tried it on myself and asked, ‘How much is it?’ ‘Can’t you give me a little discount?’ Huh? I did it all!

If you manage it well, you can use it for 5 years, 10 years, that’s a story for amateurs.

It was different for elite players or players who had to live with gloves, shoes, and bats. Especially infielders and catchers.

The glove strings break almost every day, the leather tears, and the bats break.

You have to cover that with your own money. Pros get paid, so that’s one thing, but where do elite players get that kind of money? It’s all their parents’ money.

The misery of having to ask your parents to buy you a glove without any hesitation…….

If you calculate the sum of the items the manager gave me at the list price, it’s about 20 million won [approximately $15,000 USD]. Almost half the price.

“…Oh my god.”

My legs straightened on their own, and I stood up from my seat. My waist bent involuntarily.

“T-Thank you, Manager.”

“Oh, don’t do that. We’re all doing this for the good of everyone.”

“Wow……”

“Just think of it as us getting rid of our old stock. We’re a company, so it’s hard to just give it away. So think of it as us giving it to you cheaply.”

“Oh my, thank you anyway.”

“Then how about we go together soon? Preparation will only take a few days.”

“Ah, yes. Let’s go together next Monday.”

“Good, good. We’re meeting right after the end of the year.”

The manager laughed heartily and got up from his seat.

“I have to talk to the company about it first, so I’ll talk to them and get back to you.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Then go in carefully [a polite way of saying goodbye].”

“Yes. You too, Manager.”

I said goodbye to the manager and got into the car.

Even after pressing the start button, my chest was pounding, and I sat there blankly for a few minutes before I could release the side brake.

* * *

The very next day, I received a text message from the manager while I was in Daegu. He said the okay sign had been given.

Even the company had made the matter bigger. Not only did they cut the price of about 20 million won worth of goods to 10 million won, but they also added additional support for other items.

Oh my god.

“Oh my, Manager.”

My alma mater, Yangan High School. Today is Monday, and the time is 1 PM. It’s the time when the kids are done eating lunch and slowly starting to move around.

I arrived at the school gate first and waited, and then I saw a familiar face in a large truck.

“This is something. The matter has become bigger than I thought.”

“It’s always welcome when things get bigger in this way.”

He laughed kindly and took me to the back of the truck. He roughly told me what kind of gloves came, what kind of equipment came, and what kind of bats came.

In addition to the equipment that had been discussed earlier, there were also arm guards and foot guards for hitters, as well as protective gear including helmets. And there were also plenty of training supplies that would be helpful for various kinds of training.

Heart, stop pounding.

I took out a few of them myself and put them on or touched them. He said they were old stock, but I was surprised that they were still in good condition and of good quality.

“Let’s go.”

After getting in the passenger seat of the truck, I carefully entered the school. The story had already been completed with the school’s coach, so we were able to arrive without any obstacles.

As expected, the kids were slowly coming out and warming up.

“Senior!”

“What.”

As soon as I entered, I saw a senior from my elite days. He is now in charge of the pitching coach part at Yangan High School.

“What, didn’t you hear the story, Senior?”

“What story?”

Instead of answering, I pointed to the truck. He glanced at the truck, and then the senior’s mouth dropped open.

“…What is it?”

“Donation.”

“……”

“Where’s the coach?”

“Ah… he’ll be out soon. This is the production manager of Rolling Stones, who helped us.”

“Oh my, thank you.”

The senior’s waist bent involuntarily. The manager gently grabbed the hand that was extended to him and shook it up and down. It was a heartwarming sight.

“Ah, you’ve arrived, Han-Wool.”

“It’s been a while, Coach. I haven’t been able to contact you……”

Coach Lee Seung-Jae.

He was the coach of Yangan High School when I was in high school, and he also briefly served as the coach of Wonha.

He didn’t get very good results and came back as the coach of Yangan High School again, and he has been there ever since.

“Anyway, I was surprised, Han-Wool. What’s going on?”

“I made some money, so I have to manage my image.”

The coach laughed loudly as if the joke worked.

“Coach, this is the production manager. He helped us a lot this time.”

“Nice to meet you, Manager. I’ve heard about you.”

“No, you’re working hard. I heard you helped Han-Wool a lot when he was a player? Thanks to you, I’m doing such a good thing. Thank you.”

“I’m more grateful. Kids, come here!”

The coach called out loudly to all the kids.

Idol.

For elite players, pros are idols and objects of envy. Because they are the people who have arrived at the place they are aiming for.

From afar, they were just hesitating, saying, ‘Huh?’ but when they were finally allowed to approach, they gathered quickly.

“You all know him, right? This is Kim Han-Wool. He’s from here. He was a pretty good pitcher when he was a student, but he only shat when he went pro……”

“Ah, Coach.”

“But he’s doing well now. Anyway, you know him, right?”

Yes!

“This senior has come to donate to you. Say hello.”

Thank you, Senior!

About 50 kids took off their hats and bowed their heads. My chest swelled up for no reason, and I wiped under my nose.

“And here, this is the production manager of Rolling Stones. Thank him too. He’s the one who helped us a lot.”

Thank you, Manager!

Say hello one more time.

“Han-Wool, you have to say something.”

“Yes?”

Suddenly, a speech was prepared.

“Well, he’s a senior to these kids. And he’s doing this kind of thing, so he has to say something.”

“Um……”

Even though I was stammering, it was difficult to refuse when I saw the kids shining their eyes at me.

I smiled awkwardly and opened my mouth.

“Well, don’t think too hard about it. Just remember a few things. Eat well, sleep well, and if you’re sick, tell someone right away. Just stick to the basics. Then you can definitely go pro.”

Yes!

I looked at the coach with a ‘That’s it, right?’ look, and he seemed to like the speech quite a bit. He closed his eyes and nodded in satisfaction.

After that, I had a few kids take the luggage off the truck. The truck was bigger than I thought, so it must have been heavy, but they happily carried the luggage without any such feeling.

As I was watching the scene with a happy smile, the coach approached me.

“Han-Wool, don’t worry. I’ll write about it big in the article.”

“Yes?”

“Well, I think I should mention Rolling Stones too.”

“Ah, no, no, Coach. Please leave my name out of it.”

“Why? You said you were going to manage your image?”

“No, that’s a joke. I just gave it because I thought of my elite days. No, I have to write the article.”

This donation is not just my donation. Rather, Rolling Stones’ share of the donation is bigger.

“…Just leave my name out and just mention Rolling Stones. Just say they did it alone.”

“That’s difficult, Han-Wool.”

“Ah, Manager, please.”

The coach and the manager seemed to be on the same page and laughed.

I tried to persuade them a few more times, but when it didn’t work at all, I just gave up and decided to enjoy it.

Hehe, I’m the donation king.

During afternoon training, the manager disappeared somewhere, saying he was talking to the coach separately.

I remained on the ground and watched the training.

On the ground, infielders and catchers were gathered, playing live fungo [a baseball drill where a coach hits balls to fielders].

The defense coach hit an apparent hit in front of the left fielder, and the left fielder and center fielder ran.

Just as the left fielder caught the ball, the center fielder immediately called out the position, and the third baseman, who would receive the relay, adjusted the position of the catcher.

As soon as the catcher received the ball and took a tag motion at home, he immediately threw the ball to second base.

The sharply flying throw was received by the second baseman, who took another tag motion at second base.

I was impressed by the clean rounding.

These kids are good these days.

When I turned my head, the pitchers were warming up. They seemed to be about to throw the ball, so I headed to the bullpen. The senior came earlier.

“Why?”

“Let me see.”

“That’s good, coach the kids.”

“Me?”

“You’re a pro, so there must be something different.”

Coach, isn’t this dereliction of duty?

But I gladly stood next to the kids. They seemed nervous to have a pro next to them instead of a familiar coach. It reminded me of my days, and I laughed.

Back in my day…….

“Don’t make latte [a Korean slang term for꼰대, meaning ‘don’t act like a condescending old person’].