Chapter 7: Spring Camp (3)
Though his expression wasn't one of complete conviction, Hyeon Myeonghan beamed as he handed the first baseman's mitt to Jihun.
"Starting today, you'll receive first base defense training from Coach Mark Defense. For now, your positions are first baseman and backup catcher."
Coach Mark Defense offered a greeting of welcome.
"Heh heh heh. Gang, you've got a Family name that suits your looks. Welcome to hell."
After Jihun left the manager's office, Hyeon Myeonghan posed a question to the coaches.
"What do you all think about Gang Jihun?"
Bang Yeongcheol, the battery coach, was the first to speak his mind.
"It's truly surprising. To think a young player who just graduated high school has such a mindset. There's nothing to teach him about catching defense either. Embarrassingly, I think he's far better than I was in my playing days. He's a kid who already makes you wonder how effective he'll be in actual games."
Go Jeonggwan, the batting coach, chimed in as well.
"His batting form has nothing that needs fixing either. A compact swing, torso rotation and weight shift, wrist strength—there's nothing to criticize. His body is flexible, and he hits very smoothly without forcing it. He's like a friend who has lived as a pro player for over ten years."
Hwang Igun, the head coach, asked Hyeon Myeonghan,
"But Manager, why are you having him practice first base defense? Sorry to say this about Mancheol, but you could probably make him the starting catcher right away."
Hyeon Myeonghan nodded as if he had anticipated that question.
"Jihun exceeds my expectations. But isn't he the youngest on the team? The pitchers need time to acknowledge Jihun as the starting catcher. Only then will they follow his lead without complaint. It's the same for Mancheol. He has to accept on his own that Jihun is a better catcher so that even when he plays first base, his performance won't drop. In my view, it won't take long. While acclimating him to the pro stage, I plan to debut him as the starting catcher at the appropriate opportunity."
***
Jihun was utterly exhausted day after day from receiving first base defense practice on top of everything else.
Fortunately, Gu Junhae would sneak out at night and return at dawn.
Thanks to that, Jihun could use the room like a single and rest comfortably without worry.
Whatever secret training Gu Junhae was doing every night, his changeup was breaking sharply almost daily, and its drop grew progressively larger.
"Junhae, that's it! You've finally got the feel for it."
As pitching coach Go Jinseok poured out praise, Gu Junhae glanced at Jihun and said,
"Yes. If I practice a bit harder, I think I can make it completely my own."
Go Jinseok nodded repeatedly.
He looked at Gu Junhae with the eyes of a master watching his disciple who had fully absorbed his teachings and was ready to descend the mountain.
Gu Junhae's attitude toward Jihun had completely changed.
Needless to say, he acted friendly, didn't nag Jihun about watching dramas, and even bought snacks that Jihun liked whenever he came back at dawn.
But then trouble struck.
Head coach Hwang Igun had abruptly banned sneaking out of the dormitory.
Gu Junhae had left the lodging to do his secret training, but some players including No Jiseong had gone out drinking and gotten caught.
As expected, there were always people who drank and caused accidents during camp.
Gu Junhae stared at his smartphone, restless, pacing around the room continuously.
A notification sound came from Gu Junhae's smartphone.
-Mi-seon: Junhae, aren't you practicing your changeup today?
-Gu Junhae: I have to. If I skip even a day of practice, I lose the feel. Wait just a little. I'll find a way to sneak out somehow.
-Mi-seon: Today will feel a bit different. I paid special attention for your practice, Junhae. Haha.
-Gu Junhae: Gasp! I'm coming out right now. Wait for me. I'll be there in 30 minutes.
***
The first Blue-White game held after spring camp began. They were divided into Team A and Team B to compete.
Jihun appeared as Team B's catcher and faced the ball of Choe Jongbo, who had taken the mound as Team A's starting pitcher, for the first time.
Choe Jongbo: Right-handed pitcher and batter, age 25, 185cm, 90kg.
Four-seam velocity A, two-seam B, slider B, curve B, control B, mentality F, previous season minor league ERA 2.28, major league ERA 7.45.
He possessed a four-seam that came in tight to the body, a slider that broke sharply to the outside, a two-seam that fluttered its tail and curved slightly into a right-handed batter's body, and a curve that tumbled down from the batter's eye level to the ground.
Jihun, stepping into the batter's box as the fifth hitter, went through his routine at the plate to compose his mind.
He glanced at his batting gloves once, took a sniff, then looked at the end of his bat once before setting up his hitting stance as if giving himself some kind of cue.
No matter that he was his brother-in-law from before the regression, there was no yielding in competition.
Pitch 1, tight outside four-seam. Strike.
Pitch 2, a ball that curved slightly and bit near home plate.
Pitch 3, tight inside four-seam. Foul.
Pitch 4, slider running away outside. Foul.
Pitch 5, high inside fastball, swing.
His timing was late, and he got jammed, resulting in only a grounder to shortstop. With this level of ability, no matter that he belonged to the Smiles, he was fully capable of achieving ten wins.
Choe Jongbo was replaced after recording three scoreless innings, receiving applause from the coaching staff, but he showed no signs of happiness whatsoever.
It was a powerful pitching performance that made the nickname "Minor League Kershaw" not strange at all.
Just how bad was his mentality that he became a completely different player the moment he reached the majors?
Jihun's curiosity grew by the day.
Today was the day he would part ways with Gu Junhae and become roommates with Choe Jongbo. He planned to actively attempt deep conversation while sharing a room.
After the practice game ended, in the ensuing training session, he caught Gung Byeongil's pitches for the first time.
Gung Byeongil, a pitcher selected in the third round of the rookie draft. The only pitcher participating in spring camp alongside Gang Jihun.
Height 183cm, weight 100kg.
In appearance, he had the physique and conditions that made you think he could throw a fastball around 160 km/h.
He was incredibly curious what kind of pitches he would throw.
'The ball is fast but his control is bad? Is that why he's a third-rounder?'
Jihun waited for his pitches with anticipation but also strong doubts.
"Byeongil, let's start with the four-seam."
As soon as pitching coach Go Jinsik's words fell, Gung Byeongil went into his windup.
The ball thrown by left-handed pitcher Gung Byeongil with all his might hit Jihun's mitt.
Thwack.
Jihun's hand trembled violently from the shock, and his head spun with dizziness.
A famous line from some drama flashed through Jihun's mind.
'Is this the best you can do? Are you sure?'
The velocity was one thing, and the movement was another—it was at a level that only made him sigh.
"122 km."
Coach Go Jiseok announced the velocity captured on the speed gun.
"Byeongil, your pace is too fast. You shouldn't overpace it; you have to go slowly."
Jihun thought 'maybe' after all. It was still early in spring camp. He must be the type whose body loosened up late. But the coach said his pace was fast?
"The goal of this camp is the slow curve. Let's make sure you master just this one thing."
"Yes, I'm confident."
Gung Byeongil answered energetically without being discouraged in the slightest.
While Coach Go Jinsik went to another pitcher, Jihun caught about 50 more pitches from Gung Byeongil.
Four-seam velocity C, curve B, slow curve C, slider C, splitter B, control C.
His ball was slow, and his control wasn't good either.
In trying to gather maximum power to increase his velocity, his backswing motion looked too large, and his pitching balance was uneven and shaky.
It seemed that focusing too much on velocity was affecting his control.
Coach Go Jinsik had told him to learn the slow curve for pace adjustment, but Gung Byeongil's interest was entirely focused on velocity.
Jihun could fully understand Gung Byeongil's feelings. But velocity was, to some extent, a matter of talent; it wouldn't be an easy path for Gung Byeongil.
During a short break, Jihun ended up alone with Gung Byeongil.
Jihun scrutinized Gung Byeongil carefully. That same rustic, wretched look. Perhaps because it was before retirement, the desperate wretchedness of his car salesman days didn't seem so pronounced yet.
'If your ball is slow, you need to be smart to survive. But he really doesn't look like he has a high IQ.'
Sensing Jihun's gaze, Gung Byeongil glanced at him.
"What? Did I get something on my face?"
"No, I'm asking because I'm genuinely curious. What's your IQ?"
"Hey. Why are you asking that? I'm smart."
"I know, I know. You look smart, that's why I'm asking. Above 120? Below?"
"Below."
He complained with his words but answered obediently.
"Then. Above 105? Below?"
"Hey! How can you suddenly narrow the range like that? My EQ is high, I tell you."
It was certain. Seeing him bring up EQ, max 104, worst case two digits.
Jihun couldn't bring himself to check further.
'Then the way to survive is through control and pace adjustment. It's bleak. So bleak. But he's my only peer; I can't pretend not to know.'
Jihun changed the subject and asked what he was curious about.
"How much do you get if you throw max?"
"I can hit 130 at least by summer."
His voice somehow sounded dejected. Right now, Gung Byeongil would probably want to make a deal with the devil if it meant increasing his velocity by even 5 km.
One question that arose was that if they had drafted Gung Byeongil in the third round, it meant there was something there, but at present there was simply no way to gauge it.
Did they see development potential because of his physical condition? But velocity doesn't increase that easily.
Or, though this was a thought to be avoided, perhaps it was 'connections'?
"What are you planning to do?"
"About what?"
"I mean, if you came to the pros with this clusterfuck, you must have some kind of plan to survive, right?"
"Stop saying clusterfuck, clusterfuck. Hearing clusterfuck feels bad."
So he knew his own showing was a clusterfuck. He was mentally tough and knew how to accept reality.
Moreover, his simple personality meant that if Jihun coaxed him well, something might come of it.
"If you learn the slow curve like the coach said, what are you planning to do next?"
With Gung Byeongil's characteristic bright expression, the answer came immediately.
"Palette of eight colors. Doesn't it sound cool just hearing it? A master who freely throws every breaking ball that exists on Earth. First pitch, curve. Second pitch, show them a four-seam. Third pitch, slider. Fourth pitch, sinker for the deciding ball. Next batter: first pitch two-seam, second pitch splitter, third pitch backdoor slider, fourth pitch changeup for the strikeout. Ka-k, it's killer."
He's talking crazy. Signs of delusions of grandeur.
"Palette of eight colors is nice. But when are you going to learn all that? Right now, the only pitches you can throw are the curve and splitter. Your slider is basically a home run waiting to happen, and you're barely managing to learn one slow curve—are you going to grind it out in the minors for ten years?"
"….."
Gung Byeongil quickly turned sullen.
Perhaps before the regression, he had clung to some ridiculous direction like this and ended up retiring early.
The Smiles were absolutely lacking pitchers right now. They had to make him into a pitcher who could throw even just a single inning, even if he couldn't start.
Jihun judged that now was the time to gently coax him.
"Byeongil, don't get down because of that. I have a long-term and short-term plan that fits you perfectly. Want to hear it?"
"What is it? Tell me quickly."
Gung Byeongil's expression brightened in an instant as he stuck close to Jihun's side.
Seeing Gung Byeongil express such urgent interest, Jihun felt somewhat relieved.
'As expected, this guy was frustrated too. To see him light up like this when I'm not even a coach.'
"First, let's definitely master the slow curve like the coach said. That way your slow ball will look a bit faster, you know."
"Okey dokey. I was thinking the same thing. But is that all?"
"And let's practice your splitter a lot. If you mix four-seam, curve, and splitter like that, I think you'll be able to manage somehow."
"Nice. Nice. If it's that, there's nothing difficult about it. But wouldn't that be lacking? Isn't there a way to boost velocity dramatically?"