The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 15

15. Opportunities Don’t Come Often (3)

Mokdong Stadium is often called the mecca of amateur baseball.

I heard there was a place called Dongdaemun Baseball Stadium about 20 years ago, but now there’s not even a trace of it.

Anyway, every high school baseball player can’t help but love Mokdong Baseball Stadium.

It was once used as a home stadium for a professional baseball team, so the facilities were better than Shinwol Baseball Park or Guro Baseball Park. Especially since it used the same electronic scoreboard that was used in the pros, it felt different from the start.

Today, we’re the away team, so we warmed up lightly for about 30 minutes, starting 50 minutes before the game.

– Ttaak!!

In the batting cage, Senior Gyu-hyeok’s baseball hit the fence.

Indeed, the physique is a gangster.

With that form and timing, it should be just a fly ball to the outfield at best. But still, it flew all the way to the fence.

After that, Senior Gyu-hyeok hit the ball a few more times. And among them, only one went over the fence. The senior came down from the cage and grumbled lightly.

“It’s not easy in Mokdong after all. The ball doesn’t extend.”

“Is there a headwind blowing a bit?”

“Yeah.”

Mokdong is synonymous with home run stadiums to KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] professional baseball fans, to the point where there’s a saying called ‘Mok-run’.

But the truth is a little different. Of course, the size of the stadium isn’t that big, and the fence is low, so at first glance, it seems like conditions are easy for home runs. However, that’s without considering the Anyangcheon Stream, which is close to the Mokdong outfield.

Strictly speaking, Mokdong is a neutral stadium slightly closer to a pitcher’s stadium. The park factor only came out slightly as a hitter’s stadium because the home run king at the time used Mokdong as his home. Well, actually, among Shinwol, Guro, and Mokdong, which we use in our district, Mokdong is the stadium where the fewest home runs come out.

– Tak!!

I lightly received the ball thrown by the fielder.

My body definitely turns a little better.

Of course, it’s only been a week.

There’s no way my body suddenly got better just because I worked out with Senior Gyu-hyeok.

But still, maybe because my body didn’t pay much attention to hitting in the first place, I feel like my body is a bit more relaxed.

After finishing practice, it was time to eat simple snacks like bananas.

Jo Yu-jin, who was sitting next to me, made a fuss and spoke to me.

“Crazy. Crazy. You hit 20 and 넘긴다고 [passed] 8 over the fence? Even in Mokdong?”

“Don’t make a fuss. Anyone who hears you would think I did something great.”

“It is great!!”

Of course, it’s great based on high school standards.

Yes, if you’re judging by high school standards.

Even earlier, every time I hit a home run in batting practice, the spectators who had entered the stands, even though there were still 30 minutes left until the game, kept exclaiming.

Honestly, it was embarrassing.

It felt like an adult was solving an elementary school test and being admired for how they could get a hundred points?

Anyway, so after that, I focused a little more on pushing rather than hitting long balls. Well, personally, the ball I pushed over at the end, I quite liked it.

“More than that, why are there so many people here today? When we were practicing earlier, there seemed to be almost a hundred people. At this rate, almost two or three hundred people will gather during the game, right?”

“Maybe even more will come?”

“More will come? Why?”

Usually, the number of spectators at a high school baseball weekend league game is at most around two hundred.

Of course, the number of spectators increases for games between prestigious teams. Is it because there’s that much buzz?

Of course not.

The reason is simple. It’s simply because prestigious teams have more team members.

In the case of our Joongang High School baseball team, the total number of members is only twenty-seven, but Cheonnam High School, which we played against just the previous week, had over forty members. And having a large number of members also means having a lot of acquaintances.

Usually, when there’s a game, one of the parents always comes, and parents generally think that if their children have similar skills, they’re more likely to put the child they care more about at home in the game. It actually has some influence.

Anyway, in that way, the audience for high school baseball is mostly parents, or family members or relatives.

But today was a little different.

Jo Yu-jin answered my question.

“It’s because of you, Choi Soo-won.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, the other day, the principal even held a morning assembly and said you had some kind of record or something. I saw it on the news too.”

“Ah… That assembly was about that?”

I remembered having a broadcast assembly a while ago. There aren’t many schools that don’t have assemblies these days, but our school has an assembly about once a month because the principal likes to talk.

It was a relief. I feel like I’m going to die of sleepiness if I train in the morning, but at least on the days we have assemblies, I can lie down and sleep soundly for an hour.

“Hey, wait a minute. Jo Yu-jin, are you watching all of that assembly? Without sleeping?”

“Of course. There’s so much to learn from the principal’s words.”

“Crazy… You’re the type who will do really well in social life when you go out into society.”

At this moment, I felt like I knew the secret to how this guy could stay in the pros for 10 years with that skill.

The guy continued.

“Anyway, the principal said you… So he told the kids to go watch the game and cheer you on.”

“What. The principal said that and the kids are coming all the way here to watch the game? No way. The kids must be busy studying.”

“Studying my ass. It’s been two weeks since the midterm exams ended. Besides, I heard Eun-jin from class 3 is coming too, so it seems like more kids are coming.”

“Eun-jin? Who’s that?”

“What? You don’t know Park Eun-jin from class 3? You know, the one who’s training to be an idol.”

“Idol trainee?”

In fact, high school was already more than 15 years ago for me. I can barely remember the faces of the guys in my class, so there’s no way I’d remember an idol trainee in the next class… But seeing as I don’t know her name at all, it seems like she hasn’t succeeded in the entertainment industry.

Well, if a trainee who’s already eighteen hasn’t debuted and has the mind to come watch high school baseball, it would be weirder if she succeeded.

“So other kids are flocking to see her? Not to watch baseball?”

“No, it’s not necessarily like that. Well, it’s a bit much to just tell them to go watch the game for no reason, but you… Anyway, we were even on the Goryeo Ilbo [a newspaper] and stuff, so they must have been curious.”

“But why have you been stopping mid-sentence since earlier? What did I do?”

“Sigh, never mind. Anyway, a lot of kids from school came to cheer us on, so let’s do well today.”

“Of course, I’ll do well. I’m even going for a new record.”

“Hey!! Hey!! You!!”

Jo Yu-jin was flustered for a while and stammered.

Honestly, it was too obvious that he was swallowing his words, so it was hard to pretend not to notice. It must have been for some reason like mentioning a new record brings bad luck.

Besides, the coach put me in as a designated hitter in today’s lineup, saying that my shoulder wasn’t good, so I should take a day off, but it was obvious to anyone that this was a record-conscious decision. He even grumbled all the way here about why today’s game was in Mokdong, so you’d be an idiot not to notice. Well, there’s not a big difference, but it’s true that fewer home runs come out in Mokdong than in Shinwol or Guro.

“Sigh, well. I guess you can’t help but notice when there are so many newspaper companies here.”

“A lot?”

“Yeah, I saw at least three places.”

Three places… Well, of course, this is a big deal based on high school standards. But I’ve achieved too much to make a fuss about that. And in the same sense, this 20-year-old record is a bit embarrassing. It feels like a record that I should have achieved too easily?

***

“Eun-jin!! Park Eun-jin!! Over here. Over here!!”

A pretty girl ran to the children waving at her.

‘Are they the player’s friends?’

Lee Ji-yeon of the Korea Daily turned her gaze back to the stadium.

The batting practice a little while ago was really amazing. The sight of a mere high school student hitting every ball over the fence.

She picked up her smartphone and checked the article.

The number of comments was 0.

There weren’t even any advertising comments attached to most tabloids. It was an article that had been buried without anyone’s interest, just like Team Leader Gong had said.

But despite that, her expression wasn’t that dark.

She wanted to be a reporter.

A real reporter who writes real articles, not a trash reporter who just churns out urakka [sensationalist gossip].

Of course, it wasn’t easy.

The era when newspapers delivered honest and accurate information was already over. Who subscribes to paper newspapers these days? The absolute power of the media was already the portal, and articles that were not exposed on the portal’s main page had no value.

But even so, there were still reporters who wielded power.

Reporters who attract people just by their name. This is especially true in the realm of sports.

So how can you become a reporter in sports who attracts people just by their name?

In the end, the answer is only high-quality articles.

Real articles, not urakka.

Of course, it will be very difficult. It’s not for nothing that all the seniors gather in the KBO press room, copy the data they hand out there, and search SNS on the Internet.

People all want the stories of stars.

However, it is like picking stars in the sky for her, a 2-year-old rookie reporter, to get exclusive interviews with such stars.

That’s why she ran on her own feet today as always to find a star.

Just like her seniors did a long time ago.

Top of the 1st inning.

Designated hitter Choi Soo-won came to the plate.

For the first time in 20 years, a great record

To challenge for 4 consecutive home runs.