Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 52

Small Wing Flapping Causes Butterfly Effect (4)

“I think it’s around here.”

Following the navigation, I arrived at a residential complex.

It was a neighborhood where detached houses formed a small village.

Checking the address attached to the wall, it matched the address Oh Seok-hoon had given me.

“I guess this is the house.”

First, I took a few steps back to see if the lights were on in the house.

The lights were on in the living room and one other room.

It was certain that someone was home.

However, I was a bit concerned about visiting without prior notice,

but I wasn’t in a situation where I could afford to be so meticulous.

There was no guarantee that I would be able to meet him if I came back tomorrow morning.

As I approached the gate to press the intercom,

“Huh?”

I heard a noise from the side.

I turned my head without thinking and saw someone approaching.

At first, it was hard to recognize who it was because it was dark.

But as the distance closed, I could see the face little by little.

It was Coach Kim Yong-min.

As soon as I recognized his face, I bowed.

“Coach, hello. This is my first time greeting you in person. I’m Kang Hyun-woo.”

“Ah, so you’re Kang Hyun-woo. Yes, I’ve heard a lot about you. Nice to meet you.”

Kim Yong-min smiled and offered a handshake.

-He feels that his capabilities are insufficient and needs to study more.

-He received an offer from the Buffaloes to train in the American minor leagues.

To think that someone who is already recognized as the best in Korea in terms of hitting theory and coaching ability feels the need to study more.

Is this why he was able to become the best?

“I have something to talk to you about. Do you have some time?”

“To me?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, come on in.”

Kim Yong-min opened the gate and gestured for me to come in with a bright smile.

That’s how my first meeting with Coach Kim Yong-min began.

* * *

“Wait here for a moment. I’ll bring you something to drink.”

“Yes.”

As Kim Yong-min went to another room for a moment, I sat on the chair and looked around.

The bookshelf was filled with books related to baseball and psychology, as well as theses [academic papers].

I carefully took out a book that caught my eye.

Important pages had neatly attached sticky notes of different colors.

I could see several books in English as well.

On the desk, there was Statcast data [a high-tech system for analyzing baseball player movements and ball flight], which has been actively used in the United States to analyze hitters and pitchers.

I could feel that he was trying not to miss the changing latest trends.

As I heard footsteps approaching from afar, I quickly sat back on the chair.

The door opened and Coach Kim Yong-min came in.

“Did you wait long?”

“No, not at all.”

Kim Yong-min handed me a warm cup of tea.

“This is my favorite tea. It will probably warm you up. Go ahead and drink it.”

“Thank you.”

I blew on the rising steam a few times and took a sip of the tea.

I felt like my body was warming up with the fragrant scent.

“But what’s going on? Coming all the way here.”

Kim Yong-min put down his teacup and asked me.

“There’s something I really wanted to say.”

The moment I carefully opened my mouth, Kim Yong-min also opened his mouth at the same time.

“Oh, right. There was something I wanted to ask you when we met.”

“To me?”

“I heard that you advised Seong-ju that a level swing might be more effective than an uppercut swing. How did you come up with that idea? I think it’s necessary to increase the launch angle with an uppercut swing for a power hitter like Seong-ju.”

I was worried about how to start the conversation, but I was grateful that he brought it up first.

“It’s certainly a good idea to increase the launch angle of the ball with an uppercut swing, which has a high probability of hitting a home run, especially for a player with good power like Seong-ju.”

As I had seen for myself, it was clear that he had the power to hit an out-of-the-park home run on a good day.

But,

“I thought this method would not be effective for Seong-ju.”

“In what way?”

Interest spread across Kim Yong-min’s face.

“What hitter doesn’t like home runs? Besides, Seong-ju is a player with tremendous power, so he must have wanted to hit more home runs.”

Perhaps any player with good power would have the same thought.

“Because that kind of player tries too hard to uppercut, he can hardly cope with high courses. Naturally, the accuracy of hitting the ball continued to decline. For that reason, he became a low-average hitter who only hits home runs when he’s lucky. No team would like a player like that.”

After listening to me and organizing his thoughts, Kim Yong-min crossed his arms and tilted his head, asking.

“Hmm… But isn’t it a fact that the higher the angle you send the ball, the higher the probability of hitting a hit, which can be proven by data?”

It was the fly ball revolution theory that had received a lot of support from many players and coaches in the major leagues.

The logic is that in order to increase the probability of hitting a hit, you have to somehow send the ball high.

Of course, there were several hitters who benefited from accepting this theory.

However, just as trends come and go, it was natural for baseball strategies to change with the flow.

And even if it is a popular strategy, it may not be the right method for some players.

“Among the fly balls, the highest batting average is the line drive. A ball that extends straight and strongly is the most difficult for the defending side to deal with.”

I was confident in my center field defense, but a ball flying in a straight line at a fast speed was the most difficult to deal with.

“Hmm…”

“And I thought that if it was Seong-ju’s power, he could make it a home run even if it was a line drive.”

Interest spread across Kim Yong-min’s face as he nodded.

I was so engrossed in this conversation that I was having an in-depth baseball conversation with a hitting expert.

“And one more thing I want to ask. What happened to Seok-hoon? He didn’t seem to have changed that much in the way he hit.”

“There was nothing wrong with Seok-hoon’s hitting.”

“Then?”

Kim Yong-min’s eyebrows twitched as if he hadn’t expected that answer at all.

“The biggest reason Seok-hoon had difficulty hitting was that he was intimidated because he couldn’t provide stability in defense. After Seok-hoon was fixed as a right fielder, which is his most confident defensive position, he shook off the pressure and showed his hitting ability on the field without regret.”

“Huh… I didn’t think of that at all?”

“I learned about it while talking to Seok-hoon.”

“Thanks to having a great agent by his side, he made a dramatic change.”

“You flatter me.”

Kim Yong-min, who had let out a short exclamation, smiled at me as he made eye contact.

“Come to think of it, you said you had something to say to me earlier, didn’t you?”

Finally.

“Ah, it’s not that, but I came to tell you because I think you’re misunderstanding something.”

“What misunderstanding?”

“As you already know, I heard that there were many things going on in the club because of what Seong-ju said on SNS [Social Networking Service].”

As soon as the club’s story came out, the smile disappeared from Kim Yong-min’s mouth in an instant.

I swallowed once and continued.

“I’m sure you felt bad when you heard that, but Seong-ju didn’t say that with any intention. Seong-ju is more grateful to the coach than anyone else. He just brought it up on SNS to explain the process of finding a hitting stance that suits him, and it was just a misunderstanding. He never said that the coach’s role was meaningless.”

After my story was over, there was an awkward silence for a while.

“…Did you come here today to talk about that?”

“Yes. Of course, I know that Seong-ju should come and tell you in person. But Seong-ju’s psychological state is so bad because of this. Besides, I heard that the coach is resigning. I thought you were misunderstanding a lot, so I thought it was right for me to visit you as soon as possible and tell you.”

Kim Yong-min seemed to be organizing his thoughts as he took a sip of tea.

I sat still and waited for his answer.

“Of course, I’m also human, so I wasn’t happy after hearing that. But I’m not resigning simply because of that.”

“Yes? Then what’s the reason…?”

“After talking to you today, I was able to solidify my decision even more.”

Did I make a mistake while talking just now?

I couldn’t tell at all just by looking at the coach’s expression and reaction.

“After thinking about it alone for a few days. I thought that there were still many things I didn’t know about baseball. I thought I had researched and thought about it a lot.”

“Yes? If the coach says he doesn’t know baseball, not anyone else…”

“Didn’t you show me? Twice.”

“Me?”

Are you talking about Oh Seok-hoon and Park Seong-ju?

“I think I still have more to learn. Fortunately, the club said they would create a good opportunity, so I’m going to go to the United States for a while to learn.”

“Then, will you come back after training in the minor leagues?”

“Do you already know that far?”

Oh, no… It came out again.

“I happened to hear about it.”

I’ve experienced it several times, so I was able to get over it as if it were nothing.

“Well… If I think it’s a situation where I can join when I come back, there’s no reason to refuse. But I don’t want to get in the way of the Buffaloes changing.”

“No one will think that the coach is a hindrance. Rather, everyone will try to scout you.”

There were more than one or two players who grew into players representing the league through his coaching.

“It’s the first time we’ve talked today, but we’re talking about everything. Haha.”

“It’s an honor for me to be able to talk to the coach like this.”

“What honor.”

Kim Yong-min looked at me and burst into a hearty laugh, then asked another question.

“By the way, how is Seong-ju? Is he okay?”

“He’s having a hard time because it’s the first time he’s experienced something like this.”

“Go and tell Seong-ju not to worry too much and to train hard like a professional.”

“Yes.”

“If you have such a great agent next to you, you don’t have to worry.”

After that, our conversation on the theme of baseball continued almost all night.

It was the first time in a long time that I was able to have a serious conversation about baseball to my heart’s content.

It seemed that the misunderstanding with Coach Kim Yong-min had been resolved.