A Rookie in the Baseball Team is Too Good

Chapter 21: A Thorn in the Pocket (3)

It was Ji-seop.

The person who had called for the batting coach.

“I used to throw batting practice frequently on my previous team. If you give me a chance, I’d like to give it a try.”

“You?”

The batting coach knew every detail about the training assistant’s background.

Having spent so many years in baseball, it wasn’t difficult for him to figure out what someone had been up to if he just knew their name.

From the batting coach’s perspective, the 32-year-old training assistant standing in front of him was clearly below the standard.

‘A guy who was even released from a team in China doesn’t know when to butt in and when not to.’

The coach felt like yelling, “Know your place,” but if he did, the job of throwing batting practice would fall entirely on his shoulders.

‘Damn, why did Pan-soo have to be away today of all days?’

Clicking his tongue in frustration, the batting coach thought about the second-team manager who had left to check on injured players.

In the end, he had no choice but to give the underqualified training assistant a chance.

“Alright, give it a try.”

He figured he’d let him on the mound, and if he didn’t perform well, he’d give him a scolding that would bring him to tears.

But the reaction of this training assistant from China was impressive.

“Thank you, Coach.”

The thanks were to be expected.

“By the way, would it be possible to see the players’ training chart for today?”

“What?”

The batting coach’s eyes widened.

“What chart?”

“The training chart.”

Ji-seop tilted his head, as if wondering if he had said something wrong.

“At the Cannons, do you call it a performance check list? Or maybe a training checklist? Haha, the names for these things vary from team to team.”

“…….”

“Anyway, you know what I’m talking about, right? The list of the players’ training items for the day.”

“Yeah, we do call it a training chart…….”

The batting coach raised an eyebrow.

“What do you plan to do with it? Are you saying you’re going to throw batting practice according to the coaching staff’s training plan?”

Ji-seop’s response was a masterpiece.

“Isn’t that how it should be done?”

“What did you say?”

The batting coach looked flabbergasted.

But Ji-seop was calm.

“If it’s batting practice before a game, just adjusting their timing would be enough, but this is spring training, isn’t it?”

“…….”

“It could be training to overcome weaknesses or to further enhance strengths. Shouldn’t I know that to throw proper batting practice?”

“Proper batting practice?”

The batting coach chuckled.

‘This guy… seems like he’s done his homework. Can you find this kind of information on the internet these days?’

‘But theory and practice were different.’

“Listen, very few people on our team can throw batting practice at that level. We don’t expect that from a mere training assistant, so there’s no need to overdo it.”

‘Still, while others were avoiding the job, this guy at least made an effort to study.’

The coach wasn’t so twisted as to ignore such effort, so he gave a light laugh and patted Ji-seop on the back.

“Don’t overthink it. Just throw pitches that the batters will enjoy hitting today.”

“Like batting practice before a game?”

“Yeah, just like that.”

After nodding in agreement to the batting coach’s instructions, Ji-seop headed toward the pitcher’s protective net.

Since he had already been moving around diligently as a training assistant, it didn’t seem like he needed to stretch much.

He just rotated his shoulders a few times, stretched his arm, and that was it.

After watching Ji-seop pick up a white ball from the ball cart, the batting coach walked over to the dugout refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water.

‘Even if he’s just some guy who rolled around in some no-name team, he’s got the will to work hard. Maybe teaching him a bit wouldn’t be so bad.’

With that thought in mind, he took a sip of water.

Just then—

*Whoooosh— Baaaang!*

A crisp batting sound echoed across the main field of the Changhak Stadium.

The batting coach quickly turned his head in surprise, just in time to see a white streak from the bat soaring over the outfield fence.

It was the first refreshing home run of the day.

“Nice batting! Nice batting!”

“Jun-ho’s in good form today!”

While voices praising the batter rang out from the sides of the batting cage, the batting coach’s gaze was fixed on the area behind the pitcher’s protective net.

‘…Wasn’t his name Kim Ji-seop?’

The batting coach blinked.

‘That guy’s got something, doesn’t he?’

* * *

In American Major League clubs, they often play lively music during batting practice.

It’s great for refreshing the mood of the players during grueling training, and swinging the bat to the beat of exciting music helps them find their batting rhythm.

Thump-thump, bang!

Thump-thump, bang!

Do-do-do-do, baaaang!

Although more and more teams in Korean professional baseball were adopting this system, unfortunately, the KH Cannons’ second team was completely out of touch with such modern trends.

-What? You want to play music during training? Did you come here to have fun? Are you here to mess around?!

The second-team manager was so conservative that he couldn’t accept the idea of playing music during training.

While the second-team coaching staff had their own complaints about the manager’s stubborn attitude, that day was—

Different.

“Coach Park, if today’s batting practice is like this… there’s no need to play lively music, is there?”

“Haha, you’re right.”

There was one reason.

Ji-seop’s batting practice.

The batting practice thrown by the 32-year-old intern was truly exceptional.

“Alright, let’s go for one more!”

“Okay, okay!”

First of all, his ball control was excellent.

No matter how experienced the coach, it was inevitable that one or two out of ten pitches would go off course.

But all ten of Ji-seop’s pitches flew precisely to the designated spot.

Because of this, the batters didn’t lose focus, and the training flowed smoothly, like water.

*Whoooosh— Bang!*

*Whoooosh— Bang!*

*Whoooosh— Baaaang!*

He also had a knack for catching the batters’ preferred pitch locations.

For a batter who liked to pull inside pitches, he threw inside. For a batter who preferred to hit outside pitches, he threw outside.

And the natural reaction from the batters?

‘Wow, my hitting feels great today! Is my training finally paying off?’

‘I’m hitting every pitch! Maybe I can make it to the first team on opening day this year!’

His rhythmic batting practice enhanced the batters’ concentration, while his precise pitch location boosted their confidence.

This alone would have been nearly perfect for a batting practice pitcher in the second team.

However, from the coaching staff’s perspective, there was something even more impressive about Ji-seop’s batting practice that day.

“Hey, um… Mr. Training Assistant, could you throw a few more for me?”

“Hey, Assistant! Just ten more pitches! Your batting practice is too good!”

The second-team batters, eager for a taste of that ‘good batting practice’ they hadn’t had in a long time.

When they encounter such good pitches, batters become desperate to keep hitting.

If it were any other training assistant, they might have felt flattered by the compliments and eagerly nodded their heads, saying, “Sure thing!”

But Ji-seop remained coldly rational.

“You’re starting to put too much power into your swings. If you keep going, it’ll lead to overtraining, and overtraining leads to injury. Let’s stop here.”

“But, just a little more… I’m really on a roll right now.”

Batters pleading with clasped hands, begging for “just a few more pitches.”

But Ji-seop was as strict as a knife.

“See you tomorrow.”

He waved his hands as if shooing away a bug.

And then he added—

“Next batter!!!”

* * *

That day’s batting practice at the KH Cannons lasted about 30 minutes.

A time that could be considered long or short, depending on how you looked at it.

But in that time, Ji-seop completely changed the way people looked at him.

“Hey… Ji-seop hyung! It’s okay if I call you hyung, right? Are you throwing batting practice tomorrow too? If so, could you throw me just five more than today?”

“Hey! Don’t you know that batting practice pitchers need to take care of their shoulders? Ji-seop, ignore what these guys are saying… but throw me ten more, will you? I’ll treat you to some sashimi!”

“Didn’t you say you preferred machine batting practice? And now you’re doing this?”

“Hey, that’s because Pan-soo hyung’s batting practice was too hard to hit…”

A player asking Ji-seop’s name.

A player offering to treat him to a meal.

Another player picking up a ball and handing it to him, trying to get in his good graces.

There was no need to mention how the other training assistants felt as they watched these players.

[What the hell? Since when was the batting practice pitcher treated like this by the hitters?]

[Damn, if I’d known it would be like this, I would’ve given it a try no matter what… ]

[But seriously, that guy Kim Ji-seop… he’s no joke when it comes to throwing batting practice.]

A reaction he had never experienced before.

Ji-seop didn’t feel bad about it.

‘Independent teams and semi-pro leagues… I never thought working for low-level teams would come back to help me like this.’

Whether it was in the U.S., Japan, or even China, naturally.

The teams Ji-seop had worked for couldn’t afford to hire a professional batting practice pitcher.

Having rolled around in such places for over ten years, it was no wonder Ji-seop was skilled at throwing batting practice.

‘I can tell what kind of pitches the batters like… just by reading their body language.’

Ji-seop smiled inwardly as he watched the players buzzing around.

Just then, he heard a small cough behind him.

“Good job… today.”

It was the batting coach.

Just 30 minutes earlier, this was the same man who had been shouting, “You just fetch the balls!”

But after seeing Ji-seop’s skills, he now had a somewhat embarrassed look on his face.

“Sorry about earlier.”

The batting coach scratched the back of his head.

“Damn, I must’ve been out of my mind not recognizing someone as skilled as you…”

So far, Ji-seop had expected this.

After all, he had seen through the batting coach’s attitude from the start.

But the next words that came out of the coach’s mouth made Ji-seop feel a sense of pride he hadn’t expected.

“The manager was really impressed with your batting practice. He said it’s been a long time since we’ve had such a productive training session.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, so…”

The coach reached into his back pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.

“Here, study this.”

“This is…”

“The training chart.”

It was a document meticulously recording the players’ training items.

The one that was decided during the coaching staff’s meeting every morning.

“This is for today, so just use it for reference, and from tomorrow, come to the coaches’ office to get the chart from me.”

“The coaches’ office…?”

Ji-seop tilted his head.

“I heard training assistants are not allowed in the coaches’ office. Something about security…”

“That’s true, but you’re an exception.”

The batting coach continued.

“The manager’s orders, who’s going to argue with that?”