The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 260

260. The Ace’s Neighbor (1)

Jjoyu whispered. Even though the only ones present who understood Korean were himself, me, and Lee Jung-hoon, who was already mingling with people, he still whispered.

“Hey, this is supposed to be a party.”

“What? Were you expecting some major league bash with blonde models in bikinis by the pool or something?”

“No, not the pool, but come on, this barely qualifies as a party.”

On one side, men with bulging muscles were yelling “Yeah, baby!” while lifting barbells, and on the other, they were glued to today’s NFL game while chugging whey protein.

“I hope you’re enjoying the party? How’s the food? Does it suit your taste?”

“Oh, the protein has become even more bland. Did they switch to something with better ingredients?”

“Haha, you’re perceptive. It’s a new product coming out soon. What does taste matter when it comes to gains, right?”

Anthony Volpe smiled and casually spouted nonsense.

“Ah, but that friend over there is quite interesting. He’s talented. You said he’s your friend, right? Then he’ll probably be in the big leagues in about 4 or 5 years?”

“He’s thirty-one this year.”

“What? Thirty-one? Oh my gosh. I naturally assumed he was the same age as you or maybe a year or two older. Thirty-one with that face. It’s impossible to guess the age of Koreans just by looking at them. Then is this one thirty-one too?”

“No, this one is the same age as me. More importantly, you thought Jung-hoon *hyung* [older brother or male friend] looked that good?”

“I thought he was twenty. I thought if he gained some more strength and developed further, he’d be good enough for the big leagues. But thirty-one… He’s a corner outfielder, right?”

“Yeah, left fielder.”

“Then I think it would be better for him to gain more weight.”

“I don’t know…”

In reality, it’s not that simple.

It’s easy to say, ‘If you lack strength, increase your size to build muscle, even if it slows you down a bit.’ But the optimal point is different for everyone. It could actually worsen your performance. In other words, unless it’s a very special situation, it’s difficult to drastically change what you’ve been doing. Especially for someone like Lee Jung-hoon who has already achieved some success.

Before I came back in time, it took me about 13 years to go from 82 to 120kg [approximately 181 to 265 pounds]. Back then, I wasn’t a pitcher, so it was relatively easy to gain weight. Well, the reason I can gain 10kg [approximately 22 pounds] in one winter season now is because I’ve already been down that road, so I know that my body actually feels better when I reach that point.

“But his strength training is really well done. Honestly, it seems difficult to generate more power than that at that size.”

Anthony seemed to think that was Lee Jung-hoon’s natural talent, not the result of training. Was that why? He had a look on his face like his enthusiasm had fizzled out.

Why?

I didn’t like that expression very much.

“Jjoyu, don’t just stand here with me. Go do something.”

“Huh? Me?”

“You’re usually really good at getting along with people you’re meeting for the first time. Why are you suddenly being shy?”

“No, it’s just that those people speak the same language. Here, no one speaks the same language…”

“Hey, they don’t all speak the same language either. There aren’t many who can speak both Spanish and English. And hey? What does language matter when athletes meet? You communicate with muscles. You’ve come all this way, you should experience how great the major league guys you’re going to play with later are. Right?”

“I guess?”

I definitely don’t think Jjoyu’s baseball skills are major league level.

But this guy’s athletic ability is definitely major league level. No, maybe he has the potential to challenge the NFL.

Of course, this is based on the time of high school graduation. In the first place, the guys who become monsters with drugs in college are adding drugs to the talent of having the ultimate human physical, so when it comes to physical ability alone, it’s a level that elite athletes can’t possibly keep up with.

In Jjoyu’s case, he originally boasted considerable strength compared to his weight, but he had gained so much weight during the winter that he couldn’t really show a great performance when only considering weight. But the tools available here were not simple tools.

Jjoyu first stood out in an exercise that involved controlling a weighted bar while engaging his core on a round ball.

“Ooh!! Bro!! You can do it!! Good!! Go!! Go!!”

Anthony Volpe, who had looked a bit deflated after hearing Lee Jung-hoon’s age, got excited and screamed at the top of his lungs. The sound was so loud that even the guys watching the NFL game gathered around and cheered enthusiastically, almost as if they were supporting a sports game.

“Wow, that guy is really amazing?”

“What’s so amazing about that? You can do that much, no, you can do it much better.”

“No, I can, but he’s only twenty years old. I couldn’t do that much when I first did that.”

“He’ll be even more surprising if you have him do plyometric training.”

“Jumping?”

“No, jumping is a bit much right now because he gained a lot of weight quickly.”

In my opinion, Jjoyu’s greatest strengths were his agility and reflexes. And plyometric exercises are exercises to enhance agility, just like exercises to increase muscle mass have better performance when done by someone who already has a lot of muscle, it’s natural that someone with good agility will perform better.

“Wow…”

And Jjoyu showed almost the highest level of performance here. Everyone watching was speechless. Even if you look for a major league team right now, there are only about two or three people per team who can perform better than Jjoyu.

“Jjoyu, was it? He’s twenty years old, so if nothing goes wrong, he’ll be in the majors in 5 years.”

“I don’t know…”

Of course, my thoughts might change if I saw Jjoyu hitting, but I didn’t bother to say that.

Anyway, both Jjoyu and Lee Jung-hoon had a pretty good time, considering they were complaining about what kind of party this was at first. In particular, Jjoyu seemed to have gained some pretty strong hope, which I didn’t like to see, but since it was just a bubble of hope that would disappear during this year’s season, I didn’t bother to burst it myself.

“We’re leaving now. I’m glad you seem to be doing well. Still, keep in touch from time to time. We’re training in the US until next week, so come visit if you have time.”

“Okay, I’ll try to visit if I have time.”

With that, the two returned to the Marines’ spring camp.

Except for a few interviews requested by YES Network [Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network], I spent two weeks very routinely. However, I did not visit the Marines’ spring camp. At some point in life, there are times when you need to immerse yourself in a more monastic attitude than relieving mental stress. I thought this was one of those points.

And so, the Yankees’ spring training began.

Not too late in the morning.

My next-door neighbor, Tyler Bart, greeted me in the same manner as always. It had only been two weeks, but it was noticeable that he had lost some weight on his face.

“Good morning, Swan.”

“Tyler, you must have run hard again today?”

“Yeah, well. Swan, you’re joining today, right?”

“Yeah. The position players are called up next week, right?”

“Yeah, next Monday.”

Generally, the pitchers’ call-up date for spring training is about five days earlier than the position players. This is because the time required to get in shape is that much longer.

“Come over to my house when you’re done later. It’s cheat day today, so we’re having steak.”

“With lots of sauce?”

“Salt and pepper… But I’ll put lots of sauce on yours, so don’t worry and come over.”

“Okay.”

After receiving Tyler Bart’s greeting, I got into the car driven by Ted Park and headed to the spring training location. The distance from the house is about 10 minutes. Since it was a house that I had rented for spring training, it was not too far.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Jeff Clark.”

“I’m Choi Su-won.”

Jeff Clark.

A player who debuted in 1987 and played for the Baltimore Orioles for 11 seasons. He didn’t stand out much as a player, but he showed considerable talent as a coach. After ending his career as a player, he majored in sports physiology in graduate school while transitioning to coaching. It was a route that many people chose, but choosing a lot ultimately meant that it was a route that could be effective. And Jeff Clark had more talent in that area than as a player.

Based on before I went back in time, Jeff Clark had experienced being the manager of a total of 3 teams in the majors and was one of the famous managers who had won four championships.

He was one of the managers who met the times well. Many of the abilities that were required of managers in the past have been transferred to the front office, and the most important ability for current managers is ultimately ‘managing players.’ He really understood the condition of the players like a ghost.

Of course, some people may ask what’s so great about that ability. But this is a more amazing ability than you think, because players basically ‘lie’ about their condition. It is rare for a player to honestly say that they are in pain when they are slightly hurt. This is especially true for players who are not in good condition. Playing in the big leagues is an opportunity in itself.

Appropriate small talk came and went.

Jeff Clark patted my back a few times and nodded.

“You seem to have made your body very well as you said. Besides, your English is pretty good. Well, you can use an interpreter at important moments, but it’s better to be able to communicate to some extent if you want to talk to the players. You don’t have to be as close as family, but it’s more difficult for you if you can’t communicate with your teammates at all. Ah, I’ve been talking too much. First, get a tour of the locker room. Harold, the head coach here, will be in charge of today’s training.”

“……”

The giant standing behind Jeff Clark silently reached out his hand.

Harold Palmer. If you look at his career as a player, he is a much better man than Jeff Clark. He played as a pitcher in the majors for 17 years and achieved 140 wins in 2500 innings.

The locker room in spring camp was quite different from the team’s locker room.

The size of the locker room itself was a little bigger, but the number of people who had to use it in the beginning was almost three times as many. As a result, in severe cases, three people had to use one locker.

Of course, this also takes into account career and status, so veterans often use two lockers in a good spot by themselves in this crowded space.

In our team’s case, Domingo Rodriguez did.

“Nice to meet you.”

Black hair and bronze skin.

The ace from the Dominican Republic reached out his hand to me first.