Ch 38
Episode
13 . Fish hunting (1).
One.
Scouts belonging to professional baseball teams usually work closely with the second team rather than the first team.
It is natural.
The role of a scout is to recruit players, and the place to develop those players is the second team.
Therefore, it was not unusual for second-team coach Woo Ji-wook to talk with Scout Byung-chae Byun.
– I saw the video you sent me a while ago.
“How do you feel?”
– Is this real?
“I don’t have the ability to manipulate images.”
– Oh My God.
The strange thing was that he was the subject of their conversation.
– Is this the real Lee Jin-yong threw?
Jinyong Lee.
After watching the video of him throwing the ball in the last inning of the last game of three consecutive games against the Devils, Scout Byung-chae’s surprised feelings could be felt clearly even through his smartphone.
However, second-team coach Woo Ji-wook did not give Scout Byun Byun-chae time to calm his shocked heart.
“I called for advice.”
The fact that the second-team coach and the scout were talking was not a matter of public or private matters intervening.
Naturally, second-team coach Woo Ji-wook was not interested in increasing his intimacy with Suhyeon-chae’s scout.
All you need is his skills and his eyesight.
– I don’t know if my advice will help.
“What do you think of this ball from Jinyong Lee, which he calls a two-seam fastball?”
– If you give a score for just one two-seam fastball, I’ll give you 65 points.
“It’s 65 points, so I’m only asking one question. Do you have a two-seam fastball that you think is 80?”
– I don’t give 80 points to any pitch for any pitcher. I only gave 79 points to Greg Maddox’s two-seam.
Major League Baseball scouts grade players on a scale of 80 points.
“By the way, it’s 65 points…”
– If the speed of the two-seam fastball that Jinyong Lee threw was only in his mid-130s, he would have given it more than 70 points.
In that sense, Byung-chae’s words were truly praiseworthy.
It was so highly praised that the listeners were more than skeptical of the praise and had a reaction against it.
However, in front of this praise, 2nd team coach Woo Ji-wook did not ask any questions.
“I think the same.”
The second team manager Woo Ji-wook saw that Jin-yong Lee’s two-seam fastball was a huge ball, except for the speed of 122.
– It’s an amazing ball. It is unbelievable that the speed is only in the early 120s and shows such a movement.
“Why didn’t you include this in your scouting report?”
– I saw it for the first time.
The problem was this part.
“You didn’t even know, that’s it.”
– Director Woo, you’re not the kind of person to have a surprise party with something like this.
“Junhyung Park is a good hitter. He has excellent power, bat speed, and physical ability, and he is producing results that match them. It’s not hard to expect him to be able to show results like this.”
At that moment, 2nd Army coach Woo Ji-wook mentioned Park Jun-hyung as the topic of conversation.
However, Byung-chae soon realized that it wasn’t because he really wanted to talk about Park Jun-hyung.
– But Jinyong Lee is unpredictable, you mean.
Jinyong Lee, he was an unpredictable pitcher.
“I wanted to see the limits. I mean the bottom. So I purposely put it on a difficult stage over and over again…”
In the first place, the reason that Lee Jin-yong was raised at a desperate moment was in order to judge him more clearly.
“On the contrary, it only raises questions.”
However, on that stage, Jin-yong Lee raised a bigger question, far from being measurable.
“The problem is that my role is not to win a trophy in the second team, but to develop players who will go to the first team.”
And for the second team coach Woo Ji-wook, who has to judge the players and train them accordingly, there is no player more troublesome than an unpredictable player.
That was the reason why he called Byung-chae Byung-chae and asked for help. In order to develop a player named Jin-yong Lee, it was necessary to measure him somehow.
However, there was nothing particularly helpful about this fact.
Because in the first place, the longevity of the player was to identify and attack the players, not to nurture them.
– It’s off topic, but…
Instead, he cautiously expressed his opinion.
– How about checking if Lee Jin-yong really works in the first team?
“Is it possible to check whether it is an immediate feeling of power or not?”
– Yes.
At that advice, 2nd team coach Woo Ji-wook wrinkled his expression.
“Send Jinyong Lee to the first team, is this this?”
Calling up players from the first team is entirely the first team role.
Of course, if the second team coach Woo Ji-wook begs him to call up this player and use him, the first team who knows his abilities will gladly call him up.
However, it was an indescribable privilege to send a player who had not already been verified and had to be verified to the first team.
2nd team coach Woo Ji-wook had no intention of doing things like that.
– There is no way the 1st team will accept that request.
The transformation is also unaware of that fact.
– Isn’t there a team close to the first team in the Futures League instead?
At those words, 2nd team coach Woo Ji-wook remembered.
“It’s the police department.”
– Yes. Moreover, the police department doesn’t have that trio right now? Last season, the hitter who stole 35 bases, the hitter who hit 24 home runs, and three hapless monster rookies who recorded 3/4 pennies. If Jinyong Lee produces results even against those three…
Only then did the 2nd team coach Woo Ji-wook release his expression.
“It must mean that he has a skill that will pass to a certain extent in the first team.”
The call was there.
2.
“ah······.”
Icheon in April when the sun is exceptionally warm.
Jinyong Lee sat blankly on the ground of the Angels’ 2nd team in Icheon.
A grumbling came out of Lee Jin-yong’s mouth.
“Oh, I threw so well, why didn’t you take me to the expedition?”
After three consecutive home matches against the Devils 2nd team, the Angels’ next game was a 3rd consecutive match against the Gocheok Rangers’ 2nd team.
Naturally, the players who will participate in the away game boarded the awesome bus and headed to Hwaseong, where the Gocheok Rangers’ second team stadium is located.
Unfortunately, Lee Jin-yong was not included in the list.
“It was a tough save for two games in a row!”
It was difficult to understand easily for Lee Jin-yong, who had an amazing performance against the Devils.
“I got 6 hitters in a row!”
As Jinyong Lee said, he appeared in two games in three straight games and made two saves.
It was a save at an important moment, and he didn’t throw a lot of balls in the process.
“I also threw a special attack!”
He even showed a ball that surprised him by mixing his A-ranked two-seam fastball and rising fastball skills.
But did you take him out?
“What did I do wrong?”
Jin-ho Kim answered Lee Jin-yong’s question.
– There was no problem with your skills.
“Yes?”
– Then there was a problem outside of skills.
“What is it?”
Jinyong Lee asked again with a firm expression, and Jinho Kim answered with a serious expression.
– He was talking to himself during the game and watching him rant on the mound, he had a mental problem, so it is highly likely that he decided to leave it alone and send him to a psychiatric hospital sooner or later.
Jinyong Lee frowned at that answer.
“Whoa….”
Such a frown on his face contained a feeling that he could not deny Kim Jin-ho’s words.
“Should I take a medical certificate and submit it to a real psychiatrist?”
– Wouldn’t it be better to just play less on the mound?
“What the hell are you doing?”
– Heavy rain every time you catch a hitter on the mound! I mean this shit For the other players, it’s embarrassing. In the major leagues, if you do that, the bat flies all over your mouth when you hear a torrential downpour.
“Do not worry. Because you can do it in Korea.”
– On what grounds?
“In Korea, what’s wrong with every hitter hitting a home run doing a dungeon?”
– Dude? bat flip?
“Yes. If Kim Jin-ho played in a league where batters were allowed, would you strike out and stay still?”
– Even if there is a bastard who hits me with a home run and throws a bat, I don’t celebrate on the mound.
“Really? Is it Kim Jin-ho?”
– If you have the power to hold such a ceremony, you should save it, and then use it to hit the ass of that bastard the moment he stands at the plate, a 100-mile shot that can never be experienced again. If you look at it that way, I understand your feelings. What’s wrong with getting a 120?
“You interpret it that way again.”
– It’s an interpretation, I’m just stating the facts.
“Yeah, you will.”
– Even if you tell the truth, what do you say? Oh, what kind of thing you saw on the internet, is this fact assault? huh?
Jinyong Lee spit out a complaint at Jinho Kim’s laughter.
Then, as if to change the topic, he immediately activated his stats window.
[Lee Jinyong]
– Max HP: 78
– Max Restraint: 126
– Retained pitches: Four-seam fastball (E), Two-seam fastball (A), Change-up (B), Slider (F), Curve (B)
-Owned Skills: Before Planting (E), Daily Express (E), Rising Fastball (E), Magical 1 inning
[Due to the daily special effect, the pitch quality of the curve has risen to B rank.]
development of the family.
‘I’m still not good enough to play professionally. So I have to get as many points as possible…’
However, Jinyong Lee did not intend to be satisfied with this fact.
As Jinyong Lee said, there were still many things that were lacking to become a pro.
And even if not, Lee Jin-yong had no intention of abandoning his greed.
It was the same with Jinho Kim. He emphasized whenever necessary, even in the midst of non-stop chatter.
Don’t be satisfied with the present.
Be a greedy monster.
‘Whatever it is, we have to increase the number of matches.’
To satisfy that greed, I needed to go to more games somehow.
‘I need a certain impression, an impact. The moment the coaches and coaches shout someone, there is an impact that makes my face come to mind.’
Therefore, at this moment, Jinyong Lee had in mind something more than a simple result.
With that thought in mind, he raised his head and looked at Jinho Kim.
– What?
Kim Jin-ho showed a blunt reaction.
“Is there a way to impress people other than just being good at it?”
At that question, Jinho Kim said with a deep smile as if he had waited for the question.
– Do you know what comparison is commonly used when comparing Japanese baseball or Korean baseball to Major League Baseball?
“It is said that the major leagues play games without avoiding them under any circumstances.”
– okay. In the major leagues, you don’t avoid your opponent just because he’s a great player. Then why?
“Does that make you a man?”
– Being a man doesn’t mean anything. Just because you’re a man, you don’t use a hitter with a 10% ERA or a pitcher with an ERA of 10, right?
“sure?”
– It’ll be great if you catch it. If you strike out against the best hitter in the world’s best baseball league, or hit a home run against the best pitcher, I’m sure it’s bigger than winning the lottery in Korea. Are you playing the lottery these days?
Kim Jin-ho, who was speaking, pointed to himself with his outstretched thumb.
– It’s just me. The people who hit me with a home run have been my name and Nabal since then. Because he’s just called a great guy who hit a home run against Kim Jin-ho. And that fact alone gives you a huge opportunity. The guy who doesn’t know when he’ll be kicked out of the minor leagues is also the guy whose hitting coach hit a home run against Kim. Can you give me one more chance? Then the director oh, okay? Because I gave you a chance. And the guy who hit a home run against me deserves it.
“The further back you go, the more sloppy, but in summary, show something against a player with a name, right?”
– yes. Right now, even if you only have 100 points, what you say is that you hit a home run against Chan-seop Ahn, right?
“But there is no way that a player with a name worth is in the Futures League……”
At that moment, Jinyong Lee remembered.
“Ah, there is.”
– I have? who? where?
“It’s the Police Department. Do you know what I mean?”
– Oh, the Police Department!
“Jinyong Lee!”
At that time, I heard a voice calling for Lee Jin-yong from somewhere, and Lee Jin-yong stopped chatting and jumped up from his seat and shouted.
“Lee Jin-yong! Here it is!”
Then, he ran to the person who called him with all his might.
“Coach Park, what’s going on?”
“Go to Goyang in three days.”
“Yes?”
Go to the cat!
Kim Jin-ho was pleased with those words.
– It’s finally here! Release to Stars! No, it hasn’t even been a month since I came to the Angels, so it’s not a release, it’s a return.
At Jinho Kim’s words, Jinyong Lee’s expression hardened.
“It’s a cat, maybe…”
At this moment, the worst picture was drawn in Lee Jin-yong’s mind.
The coach, unable to understand Lee Jin-yong’s feelings, continued talking without stopping.
“Yeah, I’m going to the National Police Agency baseball field in Goyang.”
“Yes?”
– What?
“The coach’s advice to play in three consecutive matches with the National Police Agency in three days.”
At those words, Jin-ho Kim and Jin-yong Lee’s expressions changed like magic.
3.
Korean men are obligated to do military service.
And where there is an obligation, there is always a preference.
It was the same with baseball.
Professional baseball players had the privilege of being freed from this duty of military service.
Olympic medals or Asian Games gold medals were that privilege.
However, not everyone was entitled to this privilege.
As always, there are those who are unlucky even if they have skills, or who are not favorably received by several other factors.
The next best thing for them to be chosen was to play baseball in the military’s business team or the National Police Agency baseball team and serve in the military.
For this reason, it was common for young players who were already active in the first team to play as the main players in the Sangmu team or the National Police Agency baseball team.
If I exaggerate a bit, it is sometimes thought to be better than the first team of a lower-ranking team in the professional baseball league.
Among them, the National Police Agency baseball team, which welcomed 2017, had a lineup that is hard to find.
At the center were the three.
“Oh, I must have eaten too much yesterday.”
A 185 cm tall man with a strong physique that gives off the feeling of a slugger who hits a home run the moment he sees it.
My name is Jaeho Park.
As a member of the Gocheok Rangers, he hit 26 home runs in the pro league in the 2015 season, four years after graduating from college.
“Eat in moderation. If I eat everything the fans give me, I will become a pig after I am discharged.”
“Still, you can’t leave behind what the fans gave you, right?”
“Senior, did my fans give me that?”
“Yeah, I hope you get a lot of food from your fans because you’re handsome!”
Next to such a man, a young-looking man with a slim body that reminds him of a model rather than a baseball player.
My name is Seon Moon-hyuk.
As a member of the Busan Titans, after graduating from high school, he has stolen countless bases from his debut season with his fast feet and precise hitting since his debut season three years after graduating from high school.
“More than that, where did Jinhoon go?”
“I’m practicing batting in preparation for the Angels.”
“No, how much better is a guy who made three or four pennies in a pro practicing with this clenched fist?”
The name of the player who became the subject of their story is Jinhoon Oh.
A batting genius who recorded a batting average of 3/4 penny in the 2016 season as a member of the Gwangju Dolphins!
The nickname H Trio was given because Ho, Hyuk, and Hoon all had an H in their names.
“From tomorrow onwards, it’s a three-game battle with the Angels, right?”
“Yes.”
Those are the ones the Angels had to face now.
“Let’s catch some angels soon.”
Talented players who have proven that they are not lacking enough to become the main players in the professional baseball league.