Chapter 10 of 10

Chapter 10

9 min read2,292 words

The天才投手 hid a 170km fastball - Chapter 9 (10/412)

#9. Spring Camp

＞That anonymous official must be the chief coach.

＞Or the hitting coach.

＞Or the pitching coach or the battery coach?

＞It could even be one of the front office staff.

＞Damn, I don't know. There must be a lot of crazy people. Is this really okay? If he gets ostracized by the coaches, he'll end up being a plant manager, unable to do anything.

＞Lee Daejun has a temper.

＞They're not kids. What can they do with a temper? Are the coaches going to beat him up?

＞Sigh, I don't know. I'm glad to see Lee Daejun, but as a manager, it's a question mark. Besides, he left the team in a bad way.

＞For sure, the team won't function like this. There will be a power struggle, and it will turn into a mess.

In a baseball team, if we were to pick the person with the greatest influence, it would probably be the manager.

Most managers are former players, but sometimes they can be from the front office, such as a power analyst or a statistician, and occasionally, they can be foreigners of a different nationality.

While the general manager is responsible for the composition of the players in a professional baseball team, the manager is responsible for moving and operating the team.

Among the 50 million people in this country, only 10 are allowed to be professional baseball managers.

The Warriors, who appointed Park Jaecheol as the general manager, this time appointed the controversial Lee Daejun as the new manager.

It was a bold move that even the fans, who had been shouting to fire the manager and coaches while the team was struggling, found hard to accept.

Nonetheless, with the new general manager and manager in place, the Warriors entered the official stove league.

The first thing the new general manager and manager did was to start serious trade discussions about the catcher Hwang Seongmin, the shortstop Song Kitae, and the pitcher Han Jinwoo, who were already on the market.

Their performance was so poor that it was hard to believe they were free agents, and their personalities were already notorious, leading to continuous unacceptable offers.

However, General Manager Park Jaecheol declared that he would accept even such offers, and Manager Lee Daejun agreed.

It was important to clear out the trash first.

Surprised by this atmosphere, the three free-agent players, who had been leeching off the team, sought help from the coaches they trusted the most.

"Are you kidding, General Manager? Are you really going to sell our team's starting catcher, shortstop, and closer?"

In a state of emergency, the factions temporarily stopped fighting.

The chief coach, pitching coach, and hitting coach, representing each faction, stormed into the general manager's office and protested vehemently to Park Jaecheol.

"But... selling a catcher with a batting average in the late teens, a shortstop who barely hit .200, and a closer with an ERA in the 7s, you must be very angry, coaches?"

"That's... because the team's performance was so bad this year, the players were affected and fell into a temporary slump..."

"Ah, that's enough. I was going to call you three anyway, but you came at a good time."

"What do you mean? Us? Why?"

"Thank you for your hard work."

"..."

"Your relationship with the Warriors ends here. Please quickly clear your desks for the new coaches. Coaches."

"..."

The chief coach, hitting coach, and pitching coach, who had never imagined this situation, were speechless.

Their minds went blank.

While they had expected some restructuring, they never thought they would be dismissed simultaneously as the leaders of the three major factions in the team.

Is this guy even sane?

What about the backlash from firing us? What about the other coaches, front office staff, and players who are practically one with us?

"Can you handle it, General Manager?"

"Since I can handle it, I'm doing it. The club owner has already approved it, so don't act disgracefully and pack your bags quickly. The stove league has started, so if you don't want to be unemployed, you'd better move fast."

Park Jaecheol, who had reached the pinnacle of baseball as a major leaguer for over 10 years, had already accumulated enough wealth to live comfortably for the rest of his life. In other words, he had nothing to lose.

Seeing that their protests had no effect, the three coaches turned and disappeared somewhere.

The next day, the backlash they had predicted hit.

＞Look at the state of the team...

＞I must have watched too much baseball... I've seen everything.

＞Haha, you guys said to fire all the first and second-team managers and coaches. It happened just as you said.

＞But, even if that's the case, firing all the coaches at once...

＞Not all of them. They fired the manager and three coaches, and the faction members rebelled and left on their own.

＞Haha, the way he handles things is really refreshing.

＞You crazy bastard. Is being refreshing the problem? Even if they're just beans, you need coaches. Who will teach the players?

＞Except for signing Han Suhyuk, nothing is going well...

＞It's a good thing. This team needed a complete overhaul.

The Warriors dismissed the first-team manager, chief coach, hitting coach, and pitching coach, and suddenly, the first-team battery coach, quality coach, second-team manager, pitching coach, battery coach, and front office staff, including the scouting team deputy, operations team director, data analysis team leader, and chief statistician, all resigned and left the team.

In short, it was a deliberate act to say "screw you." It was a significant blow.

The complete collapse of the coaching staff and front office.

However, the club owner and general manager had prepared a contingency plan.

＞Crazy haha.

＞Phew~ It feels so good.

＞As expected of a former major leaguer. His class is world-class.

＞Is that person, the new first-team chief coach, the one who was Park Jaecheol's minor league manager?

＞Yes, that's right.

＞Oh... How did he bring such a person as a coach?

＞Anyway, this way, all the rotten elements are cleared out, and it's a completely new team.

＞The Warriors players will be forced to go to the U.S.... The pressure of English...

＞Only the interpreters will suffer. The players can't even speak English, let alone play baseball well.

＞I heard Han Suhyuk is almost a native speaker.

＞What can't that guy do?

"Bro, this is way more intense than I thought."

"I don't know... When I came to my senses, it was like this. Park Jaecheol is more amazing than I thought."

"Hmm..."

That stormy time passed.

Thanks to the active efforts of General Manager Park Jaecheol, Han Jinwoo, one of the three free-agent leeches, was traded to Busan.

They received a promising pitcher from the second team from last season, who, while not immediately useful, was expected to debut in the first team within a few years.

However, the other two leeches, Song Kitae and Hwang Seongmin, failed to be traded.

No matter how cheap they tried to trade them, the offers from the other side were simply unacceptable. Therefore, the trades for these two were put on hold.

Among the foreign players who played for the team last season, the two pitchers, Ryan Stark and Brooks Parker, survived.

They had recorded ERAs in the 3s while the team was at the bottom of the league last season.

Everyone agreed that it would be difficult to find better players than them immediately.

However, they sent away the first baseman who had been hitting ground balls all season and instead signed a giant foreign player named Max Walker for the outfield.

He is said to be a long-distance hitter with good contact, but he's a player I don't remember.

The Warriors also tried to sign new external free agents.

While they couldn't afford very expensive players due to budget constraints, they made offers to players with good cost-effectiveness.

Of course, they were flatly rejected by players who didn't want to join a last-place team.

Hmm.

We'll see.

Thus, the Warriors, who had replaced the general manager, manager, most of the coaching staff, and some front office positions with new faces, departed for Arizona, USA, for spring training.

Naturally, given the thin player pool, four of us rookies, including me, were included in the spring training roster.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Lee Daejun."

Manager Lee Daejun, who stood in front of the team for the first time, greeted the players with a heartfelt expression.

It was understandable.

After playing for the team for 15 years and being forced out without a proper retirement ceremony or a coaching offer, he had returned as the first-team manager.

Most of the players, including me, gave him a sincere round of applause.

Except for the two leeches who had lost their positions.

"Hey, are you Han Suhyuk?"

"Yes, Coach."

"Good, you're fluent in English. Can you show us the talent that the Seattle guys coveted?"

"Of course."

"Hehe, everyone, step back. Our rookie is going to show us a batting demonstration."

The new hitting coach, Noah Anderson, led me to the batter's box with a sly smile.

The players who were warming up on the field and all the staff members focused their attention on me.

A familiar scene.

It was exactly like when I first joined the Mariners before the regression. Of course, there were more disdainful looks back then.

"Hey, anyone want to throw a pitch? It's a chance to flatten the home run king's nose. Who's brave enough to volunteer?"

This time, the new pitching coach, Jackson Sullivan, called out to the pitchers.

The players' faces began to relax with the encouragement from the foreign coaches, who had no connection to the existing factions.

This is both a crisis and an opportunity.

For the players who were part of the dominant factions in the team, it's a crisis, but for those who were overshadowed, it's definitely an opportunity.

"I'll give it a try."

"Great, Rocket. Let's see what you've got."

Hong Youngsik, who played in the first-team closer role for the Warriors last season, stepped onto the mound with an excited expression.

With an ERA of 5.15 and a WHIP of 1.8, it's hard to understand how he was in the closer role, but he is one of the team's main bullpen pitchers.

He is four years older than me, right?

His fastball can reach 150km/h, but he has poor control, a typical fireballer. He seemed eager to impress the new manager and coaches by striking me out.

"Hmm."

"Hey, Han Suhyuk, take it easy. Don't put too much power into your swing, rookie."

As I stepped into the batter's box, Hwang Seongmin, wearing a catcher's mask, growled at me.

What a ridiculous act.

To try to crush the spirit of a top prospect, whom they paid 10 billion won to sign, at his first practice batting session.

How many younger players must this guy have crushed over the years?

"Yes, I'll take it easy, senior."

I want to punch him in the back and tell him to get out of my team right now.

Hmm.

But I need to use him as a trade card with other teams, so I have to endure.

But I need to make sure he can't talk back to me.

Athletes, in a way, have a very simple brain structure.

They start playing sports as early as 10 years old and spend their 20s and 30s with only the thought of beating their opponents in their heads.

As a result, they naturally hold their heads high in front of the weak and shrink back in front of the strong.

In other words, once I show them what kind of player I am, they won't talk back to me.

No matter how clear the seniority is, this is the world of professionals where everything is evaluated by ability.

Senior Hong Youngsik started his windup with a cautious expression.

I tightened my grip, adjusted my balance between my left and right feet, and timed it for a 145km/h fastball.

A massive uppercut swing, starting low and rising high, reminiscent of a golf swing.

Crack!

"Wow..."

The baseball soared high into the sky and flew far away.

I glanced back to see Hwang Seongmin staring at the ball with his mouth open.

Phew, I feel better now.

* * *