Chapter 3

Chapter 2

He has become much more mature.

This is what the people in the club think about Jungwoo Rie.

Rie, a promising player who was once highly regarded by the club and is still being watched, is originally a quiet and diligent player. Recently, however, he has exuded an inexplicable air of maturity.

This was somewhat worrying. It seemed as if he was tidying up his surroundings.

Packing his belongings in the club dormitory, looking around the stadium with a blank expression, or thanking his teammates and coaches.

Anyone could see that he seemed to be thinking about the end.

‘He must have been deeply hurt. After all, he is being pummeled in a place where he used to dominate with ease.’

Though he doesn’t know much about pitching, the batting coach understood him.

If he had gone through such an experience, he probably wouldn’t have been able to bear it.

Perhaps the sense of loss might even make him quit baseball?

Everyone was worried about him. Even the upper management seemed tense.

A promising player they had brought in for $2.5 million.

A so-called bonus baby, and if he fails, it would be a significant mistake by the general manager.

That’s why recently, more people from the scouting team have been coming down.

‘The scouts didn’t look good. There’s a difference between seeing someone on paper and seeing them in person.’

With the situation being like this, the pitching coach was on edge.

He hovered around Jungwoo Rie, trying to encourage him.

“Rie, everything okay?”

“Yes.”

“Everyone goes through this as they grow. It’s your first season, so you need to give it more time. You know that, right?”

Rie nodded, but the batting coach was certain.

Rie definitely didn’t know.

He seemed to have almost given up.

There was no passion for baseball in his eyes.

‘It would be a waste to let him go. Even if he doesn’t have the talent to be a pitcher, he definitely has potential as a batter.’

The batting coach frowned slightly as he thought this.

There was a glimmer of hope.

Though it might not be the path he wanted, there was another way. The potential as a batter.

This stemmed from something that happened in the past.

xxxx

“Rie, what are you doing?”

Late at night.

The batting coach, entering the lit batting practice area, tilted his head in confusion.

There was Rie, a highly regarded prospect in the club, setting up a pitching machine.

Was he thinking of switching to a batter?

The coach got excited.

‘With his good physique and athletic ability, if he’s polished well, he’ll definitely become a good batter. Yeah, Rie will finally taste the true joy of baseball—’

As he was lost in his daydream, Jungwoo Rie waved his hand, as if to say it wasn’t that.

“I just thought I’d take a breather.”

“Breather?”

‘Ah, right. Some pitchers do this to relieve stress by batting.’

Hitting the balls hard makes one feel relieved.

Since some pitchers do this to relieve their stress, the batting coach put aside his inflated expectations.

It would be better if he could let off some steam this way.

Better than drinking, smoking, or even worse, drugs.

‘Since he was bought for a high price, he won’t get hurt by the pitching machine. The safety equipment is properly installed, and he’s wearing the glove well.’

The batting coach, who remembered the price because the manager had boasted about it, trusted the pitching machine. The safety equipment installed by the club staff and the thick batting glove.

After the pitching machine was installed, accidents like balls flying off course or injuries during practice batting completely disappeared.

So, he wouldn’t catch an innocent prospect.

With his worries and expectations fading, curiosity arose.

‘Is he going to try batting? His body balance is fantastic.’

Just looking at his physique, he seemed like he could excel at anything, not just baseball.

His core balance was well-developed, and his physique, though not the best among pitchers, was still good and flexible.

So, he was a bit hopeful.

“Rie, have you ever batted before?”

“In Korea, I stood in the batter’s box. I was a slap hitter, though.”

“Yeah, just looking at your physique, you’d hit far. How about your pitch speed?”

“85 miles per hour.”

The coach nodded at the low speed and stood behind to watch, as if he was going to take a look. Rie, as usual, held the bat with a stoic expression and stepped into an unexpected place.

‘Left batter’s box? Rie is right-handed, isn’t he? And he’s holding the bat wrong.’

He thought it might be a mistake due to not batting for a long time, so he pointed it out lightly.

“Rie, you’re in the wrong place. That’s the left batter’s box. And you’re holding the bat backward.”

“I’m a left-handed batter. In middle school, the baseball coach taught me to bat with my opposite hand because I’m a pitcher and I shouldn’t hurt my throwing hand.”

It’s a common case. Pitching and batting with different hands.

While most pitchers use the same hand for both, there are many who don’t, so the batting coach nodded.

“Ah… that’s a good coach. Give it a try.”

Rie nodded and adjusted his stance.

It was better than expected.

Though not perfect, it wasn’t bad if you consider him a high school player.

After Rie took his stance and pressed the button, the pitching machine started.

Despite being an expensive machine, the ball it threw was far from what a real pitcher could do.

His first swing, as he had claimed, was a weak one.

It was a powerful swing that felt like a gust of wind.

The batting coach chuckled.

‘Well, if he were good at batting too, that would be a real cheat.’

Seeing the imperfections in this machine-like perfect player.

It made him feel more human, and he felt better.

So, he threw in a joke.

“Amazing? It’s not easy to swing that far off. Haven’t you batted since high school?”

Though Rie’s face remained stoic, the batting coach could tell he was a bit embarrassed.

You could see it in his eyes.

He smiled lightly again and habitually scanned Rie’s batting stance.

It was a kind of occupational habit.

Unless requested, he wouldn’t correct it directly.

But he needed to know the flaws, so it became a habit.

‘Closed stance. Poor weight transfer. A full swing that pulls up and over is a mess. He must have been a strikeout machine.’

He watched carefully, hoping for something better.

But the disappointing batting made the batting coach give up, with a slightly disappointed look.

He could see it clearly. Rie’s own words about being a slap hitter were probably accurate.

As a top pitcher in high school, he probably wasn’t used as a batter much. Hitting the ball over was good, and striking out was fine.

So, his stance was probably fixed like that.

‘Still, he has quite a bit of power.’

His unusual stance.

He wanted to see a proper power shot.

As if to prove it, Rie hit the ball properly.

Thwack—

‘Oh, that’s pretty good.’

Determined, his next hit was quite strong.

A well-hit ball flew straight.

Though the direction was close to a foul, it wasn’t bad.

‘Just in terms of power, it’s stronger than Kahl or Gibson.’

Impressed by the powerful hit, he watched more seriously, and Jungwoo Rie alternated between swings and powerful hits, as if to meet his expectations.

Among them, there were some surprisingly strong hits.

‘Once he hits it, it goes far. Though he doesn’t hit it often.’

The batting coach was impressed.

Rie’s batting was technically very poor.

But thanks to his stance and natural physique, his power was exceptional. Well-hit balls were of good quality.

‘This… even if not as a pitcher, he might have talent as a batter?’

A faint hope. But he shook his head.

‘If polished well, he could become a decent slugger, but… the club won’t convert him to a batter unless they’re crazy.’

Though he didn’t see much, it was enough to know.

Jungwoo Rie is just a born pitcher.

With a powerful two-seam fastball that could make a batter’s legs shake, along with a curveball and a changeup, he is a monster with a three-pitch arsenal.

The club will likely promote him to Double-A soon.

‘He just needs to focus on pitching. Once he finds his rhythm, he could move up immediately. If he adds another pitch, he could fit into the big league starting rotation without any issues.’

So, the batting coach put aside his unnecessary thoughts and tried to forget this as just a minor incident.

But after some time, he faced an unexpected situation.

The memory came back.

xxxx

Jungwoo Rie slowly stretched his body.

Though he wasn’t pitching, it’s good to stretch well for training.

Especially for an injured player like himself.

It doesn’t matter much now.

But out of habit, his body moved naturally.

‘Training should be done with full preparation. Well, it doesn’t matter much now.’

While he was warming up, someone approached and spoke to him.

“Rie, warming up? Good stance. It’s good to stretch well before exercise.”

It was the batting coach, Scott.

A coach who receives good evaluations from batters.

Jungwoo Rie tilted his head.

There was no reason for him to approach.

‘What’s going on?’

“Yes, I’ve been injured before, so I need to be careful.”

“Yeah, good stance. But… haven’t you been batting lately?”

“Batting?”

Strange.

Jungwoo Rie tilted his head. It was odd for the batting coach to ask a pitcher if he was batting.

“I used to do it occasionally to take a breather.”

“Ah, I’ve been holding back lately. I might get injured if I bat left-handed. My muscles might be shocked.”

“Hmm, that’s a shame. It was refreshing to watch.”

“Well, if I get stressed, I might do it again.”

As he walked away, Jungwoo Rie’s eyes lit up.

He finally realized the reason for the strange behavior.

There was still a choice left.

Before the regression, it was already over.

But now, there was still something that hadn’t happened.

‘Batter conversion. Was he testing the waters from the start?’

He was definitely going to receive a proposal next summer.

After a miserable season, the club no longer viewed him optimistically.

Anyway, he still had time, so he thought it was just a distant possibility.

But it seemed the club was starting to seriously consider it now.

‘If I receive the proposal, what should I do this time?’

His head became a bit complicated.

xxxx

The three people sitting at the table had different expressions.

The manager listened calmly and quietly.

The batting coach expressed his opinion with a serious face.

The pitching coach, with a red face, shook his head.

“So, you’re suggesting converting Rie to a batter?”

“Yes. There’s definitely potential. It might be better to explore this option rather than leaving him as he is.”

The pitching coach shouted in response to the batting coach’s words.

It was absolutely unacceptable.

Even if there was potential as a batter.

The potential as a pitcher was far greater.

“It’s absurd. He’s a born pitcher. Even at 80% of his pre-injury level, he’s a big league starter. The club’s original expectations were for a Cy Young winner.”

The Atlanta Braves evaluated Jungwoo Rie as a first-round pick in the Major League Baseball draft, not in Korea but in the major leagues.

In other words, he was evaluated as having at least All-Star level talent.

Converting such a player to a batter out of the blue.

It wasn’t just because he was a pitching coach; as a baseball person, he was absolutely against it.

‘Batter conversion…’

In the heated atmosphere, the manager maintained a calm face.

Honestly, he was a bit surprised. The topic had already been discussed at the upper levels.

A player they brought in for $2.5 million.

If he fails, it would be a painful mistake by the general manager.

So, the club had done everything to help his rehabilitation.

But they had also considered a second option.

‘The scouting team gave a good evaluation. Though not as high as a pitcher, he has the potential to be a decent batter with his good basic physique.’

The National League doesn’t have a designated hitter system.

If he were to be used as a batter, he would need defensive training.

But the evaluation wasn’t bad.

Just as the batting coach said.

“Flexible and athletic, he could handle ground balls and line drives well. According to his high school records, his bunt defense was also good. If trained well, he wouldn’t be a liability defensively.”

A good physique is advantageous in all aspects.

Not only did he have good movements, but Jungwoo Rie, with his quick reaction and flexibility, was a top-notch defensive pitcher. So, if he adapts to a position, he wouldn’t be the worst as a fielder.

Of course, the pitching coach scoffed.

“Really, you’re not making sense. He could be a wall on the mound. And 20 home runs? As I said, the original expectation was a Cy Young contender. If he regains his form and grows sufficiently, he could win 15 games in the big leagues. You’re comparing apples to oranges. Scott, you’re suggesting converting a top-tier pitcher to a C-level batter.”

This time, the batting coach got angry.

Cy Young? 15 wins? That’s a story from before the injury.

Right now, Jungwoo Rie, Rie, can’t even get through one inning.

And that’s in Single-A!

It’s a waste of his physique and potential.

It would be better for the player to find a different path early.

Better than ending his baseball career.

“Before the injury, maybe. But now, the current situation is important. Honestly, how is Rie now? Big league 15 wins? Can he even win one game in Single-A now? In six games, he gave up 25 runs in 10 innings. Do you really believe his current potential as a pitcher is higher than as a batter?”

“It’s his first season after the injury, so it’s natural. You don’t know much about pitching. And that’s the domain of the pitching coach, not the batting coach.”

As the atmosphere heated up, the manager raised his hands to calm the two coaches.

“I understand both of your opinions. And Scott, I understand why you’re making this suggestion. The topic has already been discussed at the upper levels. But it’s still too early.”

The batting coach Scott shook his head.

He originally thought the same. So, he would have given it more time.

But Rie’s recent behavior was strange.

“Rie… might be thinking of quitting baseball. You all saw it, right? His recent behavior is concerning. It would be better to open a new path for him as soon as possible, rather than letting him end like this.”

This was something the pitching coach had already noticed, so he remained silent.

“Though it’s a bit early, I think it’s good to make the proposal. If he’s going to convert to a batter, he needs to start adapting now for his own benefit. Ultimately, it’s up to the player. Making the proposal isn’t a bad idea, is it?”

The manager, hearing Scott’s words, fell into deep thought.

Though not entirely reasonable, it wasn’t a wrong suggestion.

It wouldn’t be bad to at least understand the player’s thoughts.

‘Maybe the proposal itself could be a good motivation. Even if he doesn’t want to be a batter, it might make him work harder to stay a pitcher.’

Thinking this, the manager nodded.

“First… I’ll talk to the upper management.”

By doing so, the new path came closer than ever before.