Peaceful Bullpen Life [EN]: Chapter 78

78. Spring Baseball

Not only had I subtly taken on the role of leader of the pitching crew, but this year I’d even become the team’s captain.

At the same time, the club took away all the uniform tops I would wear.

Without any clothes to wear, I had no choice but to wear a jacket with the club’s logo on it.

The very next day, I got my clothes back. But they were my clothes, yet not my clothes.

A black capital ‘C’ was stitched onto the left of my navel.

It was like advertising, ‘I’m the captain of this team!’ It’s just a patch sewn on, but strangely, my stomach hurt.

It must not be my imagination that the uniform hem tucked into my belt droops lower on the left side.

The view as an ordinary bullpen member, as the leader of the pitching crew, was definitely different from the view with the captain’s hat on.

I saw things I wouldn’t normally see, things I wouldn’t even think about looking for in the first place.

A particularly rude jerk.

A slick guy who avoids training.

A friend who is physically struggling.

A kid who feels a bit out of place with the team.

“Hey.”

I’m not a captain who’s just supposed to sit back and watch this kind of thing.

I moved without hesitation. I approached the friends who seemed to have slight problems.

I clearly pointed out the wrong things and praised the good things without reservation.

“Group 1, go!”

One of the conditions of being a captain: set an example.

Included in the pitching running group 1, I ran hard.

I was training hard for myself, for my body, but I also wanted the friends below me to see and follow along well.

Certainly… the captain’s hat was heavy.

* * *

The first camp was organized mainly around the characteristics of each position.

At this point, the justification for the training that pitchers have to do is mostly focused on physicality and mechanics.

Wouldn’t better results come out if we moved a stronger body with a better form?

Running isn’t just about running mindlessly.

It’s about maintaining tension in the body by running slowly but for a long time, and growing explosiveness by clenching your teeth and sprinting short distances.

Interval planks were a very good workout for developing the core muscles that are important to baseball players.

Maintain the position for 1 minute, rest for 30 seconds, then maintain the position again for 1 minute, then rest for another 30 seconds and 1 minute again.

This is not something a person should do [implying it’s extremely difficult].

Tubing is a training that pitchers should never skip.

Stimulating the blood vessels in the shoulder and expanding the muscles in the shoulder blades was something you couldn’t skip, even if you didn’t eat.

Half a day’s work is over.

Half of the day is over with just simple physical activity. It’s only half, but I’m already exhausted. Then what about the remaining half?

Pop!

“Good, good!”

Pop!

“Aaaargh, great!!”

The training that is closest to actual combat: pitching.

The bullpen was in full session. I deliberately threw myself into the very last group in the pitching crew, and I was catching the ball until the very end, watching the situation nearby.

Is there a friend who looks uncomfortable somewhere, is there a friend who is showing off somewhere?

“Minsu, don’t joke around.”

“Yes, yes!”

The era when my performance was directly linked to my salary is over.

Fortunately, last year I was the leader of the pitching crew. Having the experience of wearing even a half-baked hat makes a big difference.

“Senior.”

“Uh huh.”

“Um, could you teach me how to throw a changeup?”

A rookie pitcher approached and held out a ball.

“Sure.”

I took the ball as if I were stealing it and showed him the grip I use first.

I hold it like this, how do you hold it, why do you hold it like that, try it like this.

I rolled the round ball between my fingers and released all the tips I had.

Please, grow up quickly.

Click!

“Three!”

Bang!

“Ah, Hanul nice!”

Click—

“Two-two!”

“Second!!”

Bang!

“Kuh… friends, did you see Hanul! This is pitcher’s defense!”

Plus PFP [Pitcher Fielding Practice].

If you let go of your mind like this, the first camp period ends before you know it.

I felt scared when I thought that half of the camp had passed, even though I had just been running around like crazy without doing anything.

“Go carefully!”

“Yes, see you in Jamsil!” [A famous baseball stadium in Seoul].

Those who are in the bottom half of the relative evaluation so far will eventually take a plane back to Taiwan.

These guys will probably… start this season in the minor leagues unless there is a very big variable.

If pitchers have honed their physical and mechanical aspects in the first camp, the second camp will unfold in an environment that is no different from actual combat. The educational league starts right away.

Based on the stories I’ve heard so far, the skills of those who always occupy the top ranks in the relative evaluation have only increased, not decreased at all.

Very good story.

Among them, the most outstanding is Sung Hyun, who is the team’s starting right fielder and is fixed in the second batting order.

If he made a lot of money at once, he might be a little lazy, but that could never happen to a guy who lives with the two letters ‘pro’ engraved deep in his heart.

Well, he’s definitely the leader of the infielders.

Even if an infielder is the captain, they should manage the pitchers but not interfere with them.

Who do they think they are, what do they know to interfere with the pitchers.

Of course, this was the same even now that the situation was reversed. Who am I, what do I know to interfere with the hitters.

Therefore, the leader of the infielders naturally became necessary.

When the manager asked who would be good, I immediately recommended Sung Hyun without even the slightest filtering.

Hehe, I poked him thinking, ‘Taste this,’ but when I saw him looking happy instead, I wondered what I had done.

Thwack!

A hit.

Clack—

A double down the line.

Thwack—!!

A home run.

The first game of 2019 was a practice game against Dongseong Hornets, who were also staying in Japan like us.

11 to 2.

3 to 1.

8 to 0.

4 to 3.

5 to 1.

After that, we played a total of five games against a Japanese team, Visco, another Japanese team, and Sungwoon, and received a scorecard of 5 wins and 0 losses.

This year is different!

It was just a word I said once a year, but this year it felt really different.

After finishing the Miyazaki camp very well, I returned to Korea. The exhibition games that I took after a short break were also one of the factors that made me feel that we had changed.

6 wins and 2 losses.

The starting lineup remembered last year’s wandering and became even stronger.

The batting lineup became more explosive.

Minor league friends gave great strength to the bullpen.

The defense became tighter.

The good results so far were a very natural result.

During this period, I pitched a total of 6 innings in practice games and exhibition games. My ERA [Earned Run Average] was 22.5.

To record an ERA of 22.5 in 6 innings, the actual runs allowed would be 15 points.

Yes, I gave up a whopping 15 runs in 6 innings.

But everyone didn’t seem to care much.

It’s okay, it can happen.

Rather, you shouldn’t pitch well at this timing.

You have to do well in the regular season. Or the post season.

Thwack!

But even after entering the regular season, and even after entering April. That trend did not change.

“…Ah.”

7 games, 5.1 innings, 25.3. It was the same score as in the practice game and the exhibition game, but the reduced innings actually increased the ERA.

Why?

“Good job.”

“…I’m sorry.”

The pitching coach’s consolation of patting me on the back reminded me of myself in the second half of the 2016 season.

* * *

“…Why?”

It’s okay, you have to get hit now.

I took it for granted in that consolation. But seeing this continue even in the regular season, I couldn’t leave it alone any longer.

It can happen.

It wasn’t the time to do something like self-rationalization.

As of the end of April, the One Challenger is cruising in second place in the league, winning 14 times and losing only seven times.

The Sangsu Tigers above are 15 wins and 7 losses, and the Dongseong Hornets below are 13 wins and 8 losses.

Every game I pitched in, we lost, and every game I didn’t pitch in, we won.

It was a series of situations where my pride as a baseball player, let alone the team’s captain, did not allow it.

Pitch 1 inning without giving up a run.

Record a double play.

Get an out count.

Strike out a player.

Of course, all the quests that have appeared so far have failed.

Because of this, I couldn’t even grow, so I couldn’t do this or that, and I was really stuck in the middle.

I’m going crazy.

“Hanul, let’s go out in the 7th.”

“Yes.”

Currently, in the bottom of the 6th, the team occupying the top line on the scoreboard scored 3 points and the team below scored 7 points.

The chasing group.

The most reliable bullpen pitcher in the league, not just the team, has suddenly regressed to his appearance two and a half years ago.

The speed of the fastball continues to record around 140km [kilometers per hour]. The angle of the breaking ball is also no different from before, and the pinpoint command is still intact.

Even though my physicality has been significantly improved compared to my days as a scrub, if you only look at the results, it’s even worse than back then.

Pop!

“Hey, the ball is good!”

Gunyoung, the closest aide who knows the current situation very well, shouted even louder than usual to boost my morale.

Pop!

The catcher’s mitt is still popping.

Thwack—!

Wow!!

My mentality is still bursting.

I got hit by a home run by Kim Young-chul of Visco Runners, who had a batting average of .230 last year.

Even though I got two outs well, even though I got to two strikes well, the ball that I thought went perfectly inside was already outside the fence.

Son of a b*tch, haha.

All I could spit out in this situation was a curse mixed with self-deprecation.

I was angry, of course, and I was also dumbfounded.

Half-jokingly, I’ve been hearing people around me tell me to become a pitching coach soon. The words I casually blurted out became a turning point for them.

Then what about me? Who will help me?

“Hyukjoon.”

“Yes… hyung [older brother or respected male figure].”

“What should I do?”

“Uh… I don’t know…….”

Hyukjoon too,

“Jiho. When you look at me, why do you think I’m like this now?”

“Well, I don’t know?”

Jiho too,

“Should I try throwing while stepping on the first base side too?”

“Suddenly?”

“That’s what they said in the community [online forum].”

“Ah…….”

Junhyuk too,

“Hey. Say something. What should I do to overcome this?”

“You will overcome it well, senior.”

“No, so how do I overcome it?”

“I believe in you, senior.”

“Nooo!”

“…You are the best, senior.”

Hyunjin too,

“Hyung [older brother or respected male figure]. What should I do?”

“How about changing your career to a pitching coach at this opportunity?”

“F*ck!”

Hyung [older brother or respected male figure] Gyujin too,

“Should I throw underhand altogether?”

“…I don’t think it will be of much help.”

The pitching coach too,

“Oh, Hanul.”

“I think it would be better for me to go to the minor leagues for a while.”

“Why?”

“My performance is…….”

“No. Just doing the captain’s role is enough, you’re doing your role well.”

Even the manager, no one gave me direct help.

It was very daunting that I had to overcome everything alone.

Pop!

“…Ah.”

I didn’t even know the signal had changed and was spacing out, and I came to my senses at the sound of the car behind me urging me to go quickly.

I sighed and slowly stepped on the accelerator.

The car, which I had bought a little over a year ago, was still in perfect condition, looking like a new car.

Unlike me.