Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 65

65. Media Day, Again

“We will now begin the 2018 season’s semi-playoff media day between the Wonha Challengers and the Sungwoon Hawks.”

The media day commenced under the direction of Kwon Myung-hoon, MBS’s star baseball commentator and one of Korea’s leading baseball announcers.

As the start was announced, reporters requested various poses, similar to last year.

Show your fists, point a finger at your opponent, put your hands on your hips, and so on.

Only after the initial flurry of photos was over could the six main participants sit down.

I wondered what all the posing was about, but then I thought, ‘Oh, this is just how it is.’

“First, from the Wonha Challengers, we have Manager Lee Han-joo, along with players Kim Han-wool and Kang Sung-hyun. Manager, please say a few words to the viewers.”

“Ah, yes. Hello, this is Lee Han-joo, manager of the Wonha Challengers. I am honored to be here again this year, following last year. Thank you.”

“Thank you. Next, we have Sungwoon Hawks’ Manager Kim Kyung-ho, and players Choo Bong-gi and Choi Woo-seok. Manager Kim Kyung-ho, please say a few words.”

“Eh, hello. This is Kim Kyung-ho, manager of the Sungwoon Hawks. It feels new to be back in this position, even though I only briefly experienced it during my coaching days, hahaha.”

A very comfortable atmosphere.

Commentator Kwon Myung-hoon continued the introductions. I wasn’t really listening, so I looked around and made eye contact with someone.

Is that you?

It’s me.

Woo-seok.

We were drinking together at my house until last night and came here together. There was that kind of connection, but the feeling now was different.

I didn’t expect to see you here like this.

Would I have known?

Almost ready to play, an ordinary promising player.

It didn’t take long for the treatment of the two people, who were quite different in high school, to be reversed.

A released bullpen pitcher, versus the national team’s leadoff hitter and center fielder.

But regardless of the individual situations, the teams’ situations were very similar.

Bottom of the league. Always at the bottom.

Like our team’s postseason appearance last year, Sungwoon’s postseason appearance this year is also their first in six years.

In our naive days,

Hehe, let’s win the Korean Series [the championship series of Korean baseball] together!

The two people who used to say such things were now facing each other on a narrow bridge.

“First of all, Manager Lee Han-joo, the team has advanced to the postseason for the second consecutive year. What are your thoughts?”

“Actually, I think we had a bit of luck this year. There were many areas where our shortcomings were clearly visible. However, in terms of teamwork, we were able to make up for those shortcomings, so I think we achieved good results.”

“Thank you. Manager Kim Kyung-ho also mentioned earlier that this is Sungwoon’s first postseason appearance in six years, similar to Wonha.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“What do you have to say about this?”

“Eh… Actually, similar to Manager Lee Han-joo’s words, I think we also had a bit of luck this year. There are definitely areas where we have grown compared to last year, but there are also areas where we are still lacking.”

The reason why the two managers are being so cautious.

The Sangsoo Tigers renewed the record for the most wins in a team season with 81 wins. Dongsung also had a considerable number of wins with 74.

The 1st and 2nd place teams showed overwhelming performances, causing a lower win threshold for the other teams.

Wonha, which barely exceeded 50%, was in 3rd place, and Sungwoon, which couldn’t even get close to 50%, was in 4th place.

“It’s a cliché question, but I can’t help but ask it. Which players from the opposing team are the managers and players most wary of?”

The first right to speak was given to our side.

“It’s Choi Woo-seok. Whether we can block Choi Woo-seok well or not will directly affect our team’s chances of victory.”

“For me, it’s pitcher Choo Bong-gi. His pitches were scary in the second half of the season. We’ll meet him first, and if it goes long, we’ll meet him again, so we’ll analyze him a lot.”

Manager, Sung-hyun, and then my turn.

“For me, it’s Myung-gyu… no, Kwak Myung-gyu.”

“Ah, not Choi Woo-seok?”

“This guy…….”

Sigh…….

Showmanship, one of the virtues to have as a professional.

In front of all the baseball-loving people, I openly provoked him. The audience, as well as the person who was suddenly ignored, laughed at the playful jab.

“Manager Kim Kyung-ho, which Wonha players are you most wary of?”

“Eh… I’m Kang Sung-hyun.”

“Ah, Kang Sung-hyun. You have a smile on your face.”

“He’s been hitting home runs a lot. I wish I could just send him to first base with an intentional walk in every at-bat.”

“What about Choo Bong-gi?”

“I’m very scared of Senior Yoon Seung-joo.”

“Yoon Seung-joo. He has great clutch ability.”

“Yes. The people in front of Yoon Seung-joo should be nervous.”

A different kind of provocation. It was effective.

“So, what about Choi Woo-seok?”

“Let’s skip him for now.”

He skips me once and starts.

“I also need to analyze Wonha’s first starter, Hwang Hyuk-joon, a lot.”

“Okay, thank you all for your comments. Now, for the next question. Are there any players on your team that you think we should pay attention to? Manager Kim Kyung-ho, please start.”

“Eh… Young-bin was a bit sluggish in the second half. But I think his sense came back near the end of the season.”

“You mentioned Oh Young-bin. What about Choo Bong-gi?”

“Lee Song-in’s pitches are scary. You should be prepared.”

Sungwoon Hawks’ closer, Lee Song-in.

He has a good record of 30 saves for three consecutive years until this season. In some ways, he is one of the people our lineup should be most wary of.

“What about Choi Woo-seok?”

Instead of answering, Woo-seok glanced at his teammates and manager before grabbing the microphone.

“I was wondering why Tae-hoon’s name wasn’t mentioned.”

“Kim Tae-hoon.”

“Yes. Myung-gyu is so good that he moved up the batting order, but it’s not like Tae-hoon went down because he wasn’t good.”

Originally Sungwoon’s 3rd batter. However, due to Myung-gyu’s rapid rise, he was slightly pushed down to 5th.

“You each pointed out Oh Young-bin, Lee Song-in, and Kwak Myung-gyu. Kim Han-wool, who would you like to pay attention to?”

“Senior Shin Kyung-seok. Senior Shin Kyung-seok wasn’t good only in the beginning of the season, but he was a very good closer in the middle, and he was really strong in the second half. I think that will continue.”

“His ERA [Earned Run Average, a measure of pitching performance] in September was in the 0s. That’s right. What about Kang Sung-hyun?”

“I’m Hyuk-joon.”

“Hwang Hyuk-joon?”

“Yes.”

“I thought you would mention a hitter. Is there a reason why you chose a pitcher?”

“I’m an outfielder, right? Even from far away, he looks good when he throws. Last year was our team’s… no… our generation’s? first postseason, and Hyuk-joon had a complete game, right? Ah, a complete game. He seems to do well in big games.”

“You mean he has the qualities of a big game pitcher.”

“Yes.”

“Okay. We’ve heard from Shin Kyung-seok and Hwang Hyuk-joon. What do you think, managers?”

“I think Joo-ho might do something.”

“Jang Joo-ho?”

“Yes. Kyu-hak’s defense is so good that it might be difficult for him to start, but his clutch ability when he comes up as a pinch hitter is very high.”

The intensive lectures on defense that started like a cram session from the end of the season have continued until recently.

I heard it’s quite good, so if he does well, he might be able to play in a game as a starter.

“Shall we say a word of blessing to the opposing team? First, Manager Lee Han-joo.”

“Ah, yes. Isn’t Sungwoon a team that we often met in the bottom ranks with Wonha for the past few years? We met at the top this time, and I hope we can meet here often in the future.”

“Ah, that’s a really good blessing. Kang Sung-hyun, would you like to say a word?”

“Um… strangely, I feel a bit of affection for Sungwoon. I don’t know if I can say this, but I want to say that it’s right to play a winning game, but I want to play a fun game.”

“This is also a really good story. What about Kim Han-wool?”

“No, the two people in front of me already said what I was going to say, so I have nothing to say…….”

Hahahaha!

No, I’m not saying this to be funny, I’m serious.

Unlike other teams, I strangely just liked Sungwoon. It feels like a sister team.

Is it because we were always stuck together in the bottom ranks that we became attached?

I always had the desire to play together at the top in the future.

But because it happened to be my turn last, the two people before me took all my lines.

“…See you again next year.”

In the end, I kept it short.

I think I know what Kang Sung-hyun said. I feel the same way.

Let’s have a fun game.

Woo-seok started by saying that, and Choo Bong-gi said he was happy to meet a good opponent.

Manager Kim Kyung-ho gave us a really grateful message that the most important thing is not to get hurt and to compete in fair play.

“I raised the atmosphere like this for a reason. Now, let’s ask each team to say a word of provocation to the opposing team.”

Commentator Kwon Myung-hoon had a strange smile.

The reporters in the audience were all expecting a super fun time.

The six of us on the stage were nervous.

Many emotions were mixed in one space.

“First, Manager Kim Kyung-ho.”

Fortunately, the first right to speak was from Sungwoon’s side. Their manager didn’t expect this kind of question, so he hesitated, but then,

“We, we will win!”

He offered a cute provocation. Then, Choo Bong-gi showed his ambition by saying,

“I’ll show you a no-hitter no-run.”

And…….

“I don’t know about the others. You, really be prepared.”

Woo-seok openly pointed at me.

Ahahaha!

In response, I filled the venue with laughter through abdominal breathing.

“Ah, Kim Han-wool is laughing as if he finds it ridiculous. Kim Han-wool, please respond immediately!”

I grabbed the microphone right away.

“You’re crossing the line?”

Ah, I nailed it.

I summarized everything in three words.

Sung-hyun pointed at Choo Bong-gi and told him to be careful, and the manager left a short and impactful comment saying that they had a hard time coming all the way here.

After that, I received several questions from reporters. As in last year, the expected score, which is a must.

The detailed scores themselves were all different, but one thing was unified. Everyone’s team’s score was 3.

There were several questions that followed, such as what special things have you done to prepare for the semi-playoffs, and what kind of personal training are you doing.

Unlike last year, I was glad that there were no thoughtless questions to Sung-hyun about what he was going to do with his FA [Free Agency, allowing a player to sign with any team] after this year.

The last part of today’s schedule.

We all watched the highly anticipated teaser video together. Last year, we watched the video like an opening video and started, but this one seems cooler.

After that, everyone got up from their seats and took a few more pictures for the last time, and then the entire schedule was over.

After saying things like, ‘Good job,’ and ‘See you tomorrow,’ I shook hands with Woo-seok.

“You’re the one crossing the line.”

“Want me to show you what really crossing the line is?”

“You’ve already crossed it a lot.”

“Ah, damn it.”

After exchanging hearty farewells, we parted ways.

Now that we’ve really started as opposing teams, he’s not following me and will be staying at the team’s dorm.

After gesturing for him to get lost, I stuck with the manager and Sung-hyun.

“Sung-hyun.”

“Yes, Manager.”

“Tear them up.”

The manager unleashed a gangster on the lineup!

“Han-wool, you’re crossing the line a lot too.”

“Yes. I’ll show you properly.”

“You have to step on at least the playoffs. One elimination is enough.”

I laughed at the joke. However, on the faces of me and Sung-hyun, who were nodding, there was also an emotion other than laughter.

Determination.

“Hyung [older brother or male friend],”

“What.”

“Don’t accidentally fall down the stairs when you go home. Take care of yourself.”

“Are you cursing me?”

“Because Hyung is important. Take care of yourself.”

Hyuk-joon said that to me last year. He said I was a tsundere [a character who is initially cold but gradually shows a warmer side]. Isn’t that guy the real tsundere?

After saying affectionate words as if it were nothing, he coolly disappeared.

I had a smile on my face as I watched him leave the venue in his car, which he got after winning MVP [Most Valuable Player] at the All-Star Game.