Chapter 52

Baseball isn't his strong suit, but he's a good friend -5-

#

After a loss, when fans shout “Break up, you bastards!” it means that while today's loss is infuriating, they will still demand a breakup if the team doesn't secure a win with blazing hits, sharp pitching, and perfect defense tomorrow.

It wasn't a serious defeat. The team's performance was still good, and they were still in first place.

It just triggered the fans' PTSD.

When Cho Hyung-oh recorded a blown save, many fans were reminded of the five consecutive blown saves by the Oceans' bullpen last season, which had been a festival for fans of other teams.

After the game, Cho Hyung-oh bowed his head deeply in the locker room and looked around nervously.

It was his closer comeback game, and he had messed it up.

“Hyung-oh.”

While he was sitting hunched over, team captain Yang Daegun approached him.

He recalled a past memory. A day when a series of errors by the infielders led to a big inning for the opposing team, almost causing the game to fall apart.

The pitchers and infielders had bickered, and the team's already poor performance plummeted.

Of course, the main culprits of that chaos weren't here. Yang Daegun didn't seem like he would curse, but Cho Hyung-oh flinched and looked up at his senior, who was a year ahead of him.

“You’ve worked hard.”

No way.

There was no way such a warm word would come out.

“Just win tomorrow.”

The team's atmosphere seemed to have changed a lot.

Who would have thought that Yang Daegun would be the team captain?

The coach approached. He looked big and intimidating. The coach spoke directly to him without the interpreter.

“Nail the jail hey man day.”

For a moment, Cho Hyung-oh stared blankly at the coach, unsure if it was Korean or English. The interpreter cleared his throat and translated.

“He said you just need to do better tomorrow.”

Cho Hyung-oh thanked him and looked around. The coaches, including the head coach, were nowhere to be seen. They used to talk more than the coach last season.

The players didn't look as gloomy as expected despite the loss.

“Hey, I'm not hitting any home runs.”

“Do weight training.”

“No, not that.”

“Do core exercises.”

“No, not that.”

“Do lower body training.”

“No. I'm trying to adjust my swing angle.”

“Sure.”

“Help me.”

“Ah, do you think adjusting your swing angle is that easy?”

Even the two rookies were chatting away without worrying about the seniors' reactions on the day of the loss.

“Sorry! I've tarnished your reputation! I'm Park Euihyun! Crazy about baseball but still lacking! If I had just tried a little harder! Huh...”

And what about this guy? Cho Hyung-oh couldn't speak, feeling how unfamiliar the team had become during his injury absence.

Anyway, the day was coming to an end.

#

“Ah, I didn't realize I was swearing.”

Yuri was grumbling, narrowing her eyes and looking sullen.

“What were you thinking when you threw that inside cut fastball? Against Yoon Sehwan, just throw a two-seam fastball low and outside, and he'll ground out on his own.”

Yuri kept muttering, still upset.

“Don’t you know Yoon Bongsa has a great eye? Why did you challenge him head-on?”

No, at least in my opinion, Yoon Sehwan's eye is much better than Senior Choco Siwook's.

But instead of arguing, I just agreed.

“Yeah, I don't get it either.”

“Especially since he just came back from an injury and his stuff isn't at its best.”

Ironically, this shows how much Yuri loves the Oceans.

Yuri knows the habits of the Oceans players inside out. Not only that, she has her own ideas on how to attack the opposing team and players.

“If you were the coach, you wouldn't have done that, right?”

“Of course not. But Cho Hyung-oh has the best stuff in the bullpen. He just tends to blow up like a fireworks show in the middle of the season due to his lack of stamina. He needs to be used carefully, building up his condition slowly. Actually, Cho Hyung-oh is better suited as a setup man. He needs to be used with guaranteed rest.”

It's strange. No matter how good Yuri might become as an instructor or coach in the future, she seems to understand things better than the real coaches.

“Yuri.”

“Yes.”

“Do you really like the Oceans?”

“Hate them.”

I burst out laughing at her answer.

“Hate them the most in the world.”

Her serious expression looked cute, making me wonder why she hated them so much.

“Then help me correct my pitching form.”

“Right. The only solution for the Oceans' bullpen is that.”

Yuri, with a serious expression, was ready to correct my pitching form.

Actually, creating a pitching form is more difficult than a batting stance.

When a pitcher throws a ball, their body undergoes much more strain than when hitting.

It's natural for bones and muscles to twist in ways that seem impossible when throwing a ball at 90 or 100 miles per hour.

But if it can be done according to my ideas, a pitching form that significantly reduces the risk of injury might be created.

I'll minimize the number of times I throw the ball by twisting my arm and focus on pitches that fit well with the created form.

Yuri was muttering.

“Ganwoo as the closer... Cho Hyung-oh and Kim Jeonghyuk sharing innings as setup men... Retire Lee Hyunho...”

It sounded a bit cruel.

“Park Eunsu as a long reliever or spot starter...”

She must have been thinking a lot on her own.

It might be better to make her the manager instead of a coach.

When I stared at her, Yuri looked up and said,

“Show me your form.”

“Can't move, I'm so smitten looking at you.”

“Smitten or not, do it before your heart bursts.”

Her pouting face, which didn't suit her, was so cute that I walked over and hugged her.

“Hey! Let's save the Oceans' bullpen!”

Yuri struggled for a moment but then gave up and hugged me back, pretending to sob.

“Ganwoo... Save the Oceans...”

“Do you want to see the Oceans win the championship?”

“Yes...”

“Did you want to marry me that much?”

While still hugging, Yuri hit my back.

“Hey! If you want to marry me, bring me a championship ring!”

#

As soon as I arrived at work, I handed over the data Yuri created to Kukmin Sung and watched the swings of Nok Kyungwoo and Park Euihyun during training.

No matter how good Yuri's data is, it's not easy to perfect a two-seam fastball just with data. I wanted to help by looking at the data together, but since Kukmin Sung was starting today, I didn't delve too deep. I also told him to just use the data as a reference, as Yuri agreed to update it after analyzing the game.

“Don't consciously lift your wrist too much. It ruins your balance.”

Nok Kyungwoo wants to hit more home runs, but I think he's better suited as a gap hitter. However, I thought it wouldn't be bad to slightly increase his launch angle, so I told him to maintain his wrist angle when swinging.

And Park Euihyun...

“Expect a 40-home-run catcher in Park Euihyun!”

...Actually, he's good enough just by being a solid defender, but he has some hidden batting talent.

“Wouldn't a .400 on-base percentage and double-digit home runs be better for a catcher?”

This was Yuri's opinion.

So far, Park Euihyun has a .240 batting average with 18 hits in 75 at-bats.

But he has 16 walks, giving him a .373 on-base percentage, which is 130 points higher than his batting average.

Of course, the lineup effect could play a role.

After the Wolfpack and Senior Lee Siwook, Nok Kyungwoo is up, followed by this talkative catcher.

The 9th batter, Kim Sung-hoon, is almost treated like a plant, so in a tough situation, teams might prefer to face the 9th batter.

“.400 on-base percentage? Indeed, the genius hitter Kang Ganwoo! My soulmate! To see through my life goal so sharply!”

Actually, to learn how to get on base, you should go to Senior Yang Daegun...

Plus, it might look a bit strange for a high school rookie to learn from me.

The problem is that Senior Daegun tends to avoid Park Euihyun.

“Why don't you ask Senior Daegun to teach you the secrets of getting on base?”

“King Daegun! Senior! Ah...”

An uncharacteristic sigh.

Did he get rejected when he asked for help?

“Why are you like that?”

“He seems to be avoiding me... Why? Did I do something wrong? Baseball genius Kang Ganwoo, do you know why? With your sharp insight...!”

No, does it really require that much insight?

“There's a way.”

“Oh! Indeed!”

“Don't yell in front of Senior Daegun.”

Park Euihyun looked at me with a stunned expression, as if he had been hit on the back of the head.

And his response surprised even me, who is living a second life.

“I've never yelled, though?”

#

When Kukmin Sung takes the mound, I feel quite comfortable, even if the fans might not.

It feels like he won't give up a lot of runs, even if he takes a few hits. Of course, there will be times when he gives up a lot of runs during the season, but there's a sense of stability.

Thwack!

Of course.

“Out!”

On Kukmin Sung's starting day, I get a bit busier.

According to Yuri's statistics, ground balls to the shortstop increase by 40% compared to other games. Of course, this needs to be confirmed with more data.

One thing is certain: despite his seemingly weak stuff, he doesn't easily give up extra-base hits and doesn't throw sinkers or two-seam fastballs, which are typically used by ground ball pitchers.

He does induce ground balls with his changeup, but most of the time, Kukmin Sung chooses a four-seam fastball.

“Ball!”

He tends to walk batters by working the edges of the strike zone. The catcher's sign indicated that the next pitch would be a two-seam fastball.

At the plate was Song Byungjae, who had a great performance yesterday. A two-seam fastball is a great pitch for a right-handed pitcher to induce a ground ball against a left-handed batter.

However, the pitch selection took longer. Park Euihyun received the pitcher's sign and sent another sign to the bench, seemingly deciding on the first pitch as the pitcher intended.

Looking at the catcher's mitt position, I was confused about what Kukmin Sung was thinking.

A two-seam fastball down the middle.

Kukmin Sung himself had said that his two-seam fastball was incomplete. Yet, he was intentionally throwing it down the middle to the batting champion from last year?

Thwack!

Song Byungjae, whom I observed yesterday, was a smart hitter. He hits accurately without a leg kick. His swing speed is naturally fast, and his wrist strength makes the ball travel quickly. He takes his time to read the pitch and hits it accurately.

He hit it perfectly again.

Since he doesn't use an uppercut, he often hits line drives. The ball was heading straight for Nok Kyungwoo.

“Hmm!”

Nok Kyungwoo made a strange sound, caught the ball heading straight for him, and quickly threw it to first base to get the runner who couldn't return.

“Out!”

A perfect double play.

“Okay!”

Nok Kyungwoo was very happy, but Kukmin Sung showed no signs of joy.

Despite inducing a double play against a tough batter with runners on base.

He usually doesn't show much emotion, but this time it was different. He tilted his head, looking like something didn't go as planned.

“Why did it go there?”

Hmm.

He was even trying to control the direction of the batter's hit.

He's a very tiring type.

If things don't go his way, he might get mentally shaken even if he gets an out.

“Genius second baseman Nok, Kyung, Woo!”

I looked at the happy Nok Kyungwoo with a disdainful expression and followed Kukmin Sung.

“Don't ever look at me with that expression again, genius hitter Kang Ganwoo.”

“Rather, gouge out my eyes.”

#

[Isn't Kukmin Sung amazing?]

He throws really slow, but it's surprising he doesn't get hammered.

What's amazing? Shouldn't we investigate if the umpire is his nephew?

It's true, the strike zone is terrible.

It's all noise. When he walks a batter, the third pitch is clearly a strike, but the umpire calls it a ball.

Buy the Angels.

You guys probably bought them.

The Oceans don't buy players; they just finish last like idiots.

If the Oceans paid the umpires, they would have hit 101010, lol.

The Oceans are a volunteer group, not a baseball team. Look at how much they pay Cho Hyung-oh and you'll see.

I find it more surprising that they pay Lee Hoon. Cho Hyung-oh does have some good moments.

Leave Hoon alone.

Right, I'm an Angels fan, just leave Hoon alone.

Come on, without Hoon, where would you hit home runs?

Shut up, turn it off, I want to see Ganwoo hit a home run.

Do your comments play as audio? What's so noisy?

Turn it off.

Okay, leave Hoon alone and turn it off.

Why leave Hoon alone? You guys take him.

Just leave Hoon alone.

If you give Hoon and take Jo Young-ho or Baek Min-su, would that work?

Just keep him until he retires.

If you use Jamsil as your home field, Hoon might give up fewer home runs.

Hey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just leave Hoon alone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are you the moderator? Why are you so angry?

How can you not be angry when you ask for Hoon and get Jo Young-ho or Baek Min-su? Damn it.

Hoon is really nice.

What's the point of being nice if he can't play baseball?

No, but Hoon is really nice.

I get that he's nice, just leave him alone.