Chapter 26

Baseball is fun and powerful -1-

#

Among Kang Jin-ae's father, Kang Jae-in's colleagues, many were baseball fans.

Half of those fans were Ocean's fans, and the other half were people who, like Kang Jae-in, had switched from the Ocean to the Pirates.

Originally, Kang Jae-in was a leader-like figure among the Pirates supporters.

So, his position had changed a bit recently.

"Manager Kang. I'm disappointed..."

"Kim, why are you like this again?"

"Your son is flying in the Ocean, right?"

"What can I do? The Ocean was at the bottom, so they took my son."

"Can't you tell him to do a little worse?"

When such conversations took place, other Ocean fans would often chime in.

"Look at what he's doing now. It seems like he was holding back in high school?"

In recent years, the Ocean fans in the workplace had been completely overshadowed by the Pirates fans.

Of course, the Pirates had the better objective strength. The Pirates are currently in 5th place, but they've only played four games.

"Hey, Kim, and our Manager Kang, surely he's not still cheering for the Pirates? His son is making a big splash in the Ocean, right?"

"That's too much. Our first-round pick just went into elbow surgery..."

"Who told you to pick him?"

"Originally, it was said that we would pick Woo Dong-seok, but the Ocean pulled a draft strategy..."

"In the pro world, the one who gets fooled is the bad guy."

In fact, Kang Jae-in had also switched back to the Ocean, even if he didn't say it. How could he not, with his son in the Ocean uniform?

"Hey, Manager Kang! How does our Geon-woo look today?"

"Ah, Executive Director. My son looked good today. He ate a lot, went to bed early, and woke up early."

"Wow, just hearing that is a pleasure. Our Geon-woo is really diligent."

"Geon-woo is also very filial."

"I heard that as soon as he received his signing bonus, he got Manager Kang a health checkup? Our son... oh my."

To the Ocean fans at the company, he had already become "our Geon-woo."

His wife had also started to take a proper interest in baseball, going to games without him, and praising their son to everyone she met at work.

"Hehe. Executive Director."

"Yes?"

"Geon-woo sent ten tickets. How about today?"

"Manager Kang."

"Yes."

"You're the hope of our company."

Similar things were happening at the workplace of Jeong Yoo-ri's father, Jeong Jong-seok.

"Manager Jeong! Is it true that your daughter is Kang Geon-woo's girlfriend?"

"Ah, my daughter? Geon-woo is really struggling without her."

"Recently, she's been treated like a goddess in the Ocean?"

"It's a headache. She goes to games with my wife and even gets autographs?"

"Speaking of which, your wife got the legendary..."

"Banpo-dong twin flags?"

Jeong Jong-seok burst out laughing and started telling a story.

"I started dating my wife after I hit that flag."

"Wow, really?"

"Don't even talk about it. Back then..."

#

Many players fall into the trap between basics and excellence.

In the past, I thought it was a matter of talent. But now, I think it's also a matter of training methods.

Training is usually boring. So, Yoo-ri developed a training program for young baseball players.

Yoo-ri's program consists of an incredibly diverse range of parts.

Each training session isn't necessarily of high quality.

However, the methods keep changing, giving no time to get used to them.

When doing an infield defense drill for handling balls coming from the right, the speed and direction of the balls might change slightly, but players tend to get used to the drill.

When players get used to the drill, an illusion effect occurs. Even though practice and real games are clearly different, if they can solve problems well in practice, they tend to show a different face in real games with countless variables.

The program was designed to prevent players from getting bored with repetitive training and to prepare them for unexpected situations in real games.

"Ah... I hate this assignment!"

Actually, this wasn't a brilliant concept Yoo-ri came up with before the regression. Yoo-ri had been inspired by the youth soccer training methods in South America.

Yoo-ri is stronger in practice than in theory.

And I, the current Yoo-ri, don't want to take away Yoo-ri's opportunity for growth by talking about something Yoo-ri hasn't thought of yet.

Yoo-ri will come up with this method on their own eventually.

"Not going well?"

"Completely stuck..."

Yoo-ri looked sad. Glancing at it, it seemed to be about methods for developing young athletes.

I told Yoo-ri about how Senior Lee Hoon used to say some slightly embarrassing things with a very serious face and turned on a documentary about Brazilian youth soccer.

"Hmm."

"..."

"Hmm."

"Is it bothering you? Should I turn it off?"

"Hmm. No."

Is it okay to give a small hint?

Yoo-ri watched the documentary with half their mind. I got up from my seat.

"Want some coffee?"

"Sure."

Without asking, it's an iced dolce latte with an extra shot. I have to bring this and go to work.

#

We can't win every time. Today, we tasted our first defeat of the season.

As I mentioned before, the pitcher Lee Hyun-ho is a starting pitcher with no merits other than being left-handed.

His pitches are slow, his control is weak, and he can't throw strikes well. He's not mentally strong, and he doesn't excel in any particular pitch.

His four-seam fastball was relentlessly hit, his changeup was hit for a home run, his curveball hit the ground, and his slider was flat.

The manager's expression was serious. Even though I can't read minds, if I were the manager, I would be thinking something like this:

'Is this the pros?'

I know the pitching coach pushed for Lee Hyun-ho's inclusion in the starting rotation, saying he performs well in real games.

There are always coaches who go crazy for good-looking left-handed pitchers.

"Today could be the present, the future, or the past."

The manager seemed to be saying that we shouldn't dwell on past results. Still, we have a 4-1 record. The Meteors are on a five-game winning streak, and we've dropped to second place.

Anyway, the atmosphere was good. Senior Yang Dae-geun will soon return from his suspension, so things might improve a bit.

When I got home, my father looked a bit dejected.

"I'm back."

"Ah, Geon-woo. You worked hard today."

"Is something wrong?"

"What's wrong? Tomorrow's starter is Garfield, right?"

"Yes."

"How's Garfield's condition?"

"He should be fine."

"Really?"

Father brightened up.

"Are you going back to being an Ocean fan?"

"What? No way!"

Mother laughed from the side.

"Your dad was dancing with a wig on his head today."

"What? How did you know?"

"He was on TV. The commentator even explained that he was Kang Geon-woo's father."

"No wonder Jong-seok was laughing in the messenger..."

Actually, I knew. Yoo-ri had sent me a screenshot of the TV broadcast.

"So what? It's not strange to cheer for your son."

"No, that's not it..."

"I used to be called a bat by Ocean fans, and now I'm worried about being called a bat by Pirates fans."

"Bats?!"

Father shouted.

This is quite an amusing situation. Living again, many things are happening differently from before.

"Father."

"Yes?"

"Should I bring you Garfield's uniform?"

Father prefers pitchers to batters. From past memories, he always preferred foreign pitchers.

"No. I don't need it."

"Why not?"

Mother laughed loudly and explained.

"Do you remember when your father said he didn't need an Ocean uniform?"

"Yes."

"Ah, dear. It's a secret!"

"He was a bit embarrassed to ask, so he went and bought your uniform."

"What's wrong with a father buying his son's uniform?!"

He's not honest, but he is honest.

In that sense, I think he's definitely better than me.

Still, he can speak honestly.

"Thank you for cheering for me."

I'm also learning to speak honestly.

#

Lee Jae-yoon, a former Ocean player who wasn't a top-tier player but played for a long time, was running a chicken restaurant in front of Sajik Stadium.

Fourteen seasons with the Ocean. Mostly as a reliever, Lee Jae-yoon's chicken restaurant was a hot spot among Ocean fans, with a career ERA of 4.87 over 14 seasons.

"Boss, can't you just come back to the active roster?"

"Should I?"

"Can you do something about the bullpen?"

"Hehe. I'll do well. Don't worry. What would you like?"

"Half home run flavor, half walk flavor. Two extra timely hit sauce."

"Sure! Half home run, half walk chicken coming up! Two extra timely hit sauce!"

Despite not being an outstanding pitcher, Ocean fans missed Lee Jae-yoon so much when they saw the current bullpen situation.

[Bringing back the chicken shop owner would be better than the current bullpen]

-rlg

-Home runs were hit, but he didn't walk much...

-Miss him...

-I'll bet my fingers that they were cursing him...

-Ah, lol, brings back memories... chain allowed lol

-Honestly, if Lee Jae-yoon came back now, he could be the fourth reliever.

-But there's a rumor about trading for Go Eun-tae and a reliever?

-Bullpen??????

-What about Yi Yoon-ho??

-You're a scoundrel. To get Yi Yoon-ho, you'd have to give up Kang Geon-woo.

-To get Kang Geon-woo, you'd have to give up your entire starting lineup.

-Not buying Go Eun-tae.

-If it's Go Eun-tae, I'll trade him for Kim Jae-wook.

-Crazy. Even if Go Eun-tae can play second base full-time, Kim Jae-wook is not a good fit.

-How many relievers better than Kim Jae-wook do you have on your team?

-Three? Two?

-That's enough, I guess.

It was a well-known fact that the Ocean needed a catcher and a bullpen pitcher. In fact, any team would want a good catcher and bullpen pitcher. That's how hard it is to strengthen the roster.

Customers lined up early to order from Lee Jae-yoon's chicken restaurant. Despite his average skills, he was known for his diligence during his active years and developed his own chicken sauce, earning more money than he did as a player.

Fans waiting in line chatted about baseball. Most of the conversations were about Kang Geon-woo, and occasionally about No Gyeong-woo.

"No Gyeong-woo is really fast."

"Isn't his defense a bit shaky?"

"Why isn't Go Eun-tae being used?"

"How long until Yang Dae-geun returns?"

Suddenly, one fan looking at their smartphone shouted.

"Wow! Damn!"

"What is it?"

"Wow, cursing?"

The man looked around and shouted with wide eyes.

"Go Eun-tae went to the Irons!"

"What?"

"Trade?"

"Who's coming?"

The man showed his smartphone to the crowd.

"Park Eui-hyun!"

"Park Eui-hyun?"

"The Irons' backup catcher, Park Eui-hyun?"

"What? We got a catcher?!"

#

"Hello! I'm Park Eui-hyun, who picked the Ocean uniform at the first birthday party! Nice to meet you! Nice to meet you! I'm Park Eui-hyun!"

As expected, Go Eun-tae was traded. To the Irons, who had a second baseman injured in a game against us two days ago.

A quite lively person came. I don't really know who he is, but since he's a catcher, he should be better than our current catchers.

The trade was announced right after the three-game series with the Irons, probably to avoid the burden of trading during the series.

A young, post-military catcher born in 2004.

However, Senior Jang Jin-seok, a bullpen pitcher who came to the Ocean as a compensation player when Park Jeong-shin became a free agent, laughed in disbelief.

"Park Eui-hyun..."

"Ah! Senior Jin-seok! It's great to see you again! I've been looking forward to this day!"

"You said you picked the Irons uniform at your first birthday party when you joined the Irons."

"Senior! Isn't it the soul of the battery to cover each other's minor flaws?"

Jang Jin-seok laughed helplessly and muttered.

"Soul of the battery? You've never played with me in a real game."

"You don't have to play to know! Nice to meet you! Ocean seniors! Juniors! I'm Park Eui-hyun! I'll work hard!"

Personally, I don't dislike his style. He's a bit noisy, but the Ocean players seemed to think it was fun to have a lively new player.

-Yoo-ri: Park Eui-hyun came? ????????

-Yoo-ri: Wow

-Yoo-ri: Finally, we have a catcher ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

-Me: What kind of catcher?

-Yoo-ri: I don't know about hitting, but his defense is good.

-Yoo-ri: Combining all the Ocean catchers wouldn't work, right??

-Me: How many points if you combine all the Ocean catchers?

-Yoo-ri: 9 points?

-Yoo-ri: Out of 100.

Yoo-ri is quite harsh on the Ocean.

In terms of skills, any decent catcher should be able to secure a starting position on our team. The Irons' second baseman was reportedly out for three months with a serious injury, so we might have gotten a good catcher because of that.

The Irons have quite good catcher resources, and it was said that he rarely played as the team's third catcher.

He shook hands with me with a strong voice.

"Nice to meet you! Kang Geon-woo! You really play well! I've always wanted to play with you! Nice to meet you! I'm Park Eui-hyun!"

Since he greeted every player saying he wanted to play with them, I guess I can just take it as it is.

He was also very enthusiastic during training.

"Catcher Park Eui-hyun starting batting practice! Excuse me!"

After hitting a foul ball, he shouted.

"Personally, I'm a strong performer in real games!"

Then, with the next swing, he hit the fence and immediately changed his tone.

"Practice like a real game! Yes! I think my batting is good today!"

No Gyeong-woo, who had been quietly watching, said to me.

"Wow... my character is overshadowed in an instant..."

"If you're jealous, you can do the same."

"I should have done it earlier..."

"..."

"Wouldn't it be strange if I did the same?"

"Don't do it."

"..."

"Don't be greedy for strange things and get more hits."

"Yes, yes. That's right. I'll take your advice."