The Water Ceremony and the New Weapon
The player of the game was senior Shin Jaemin, who had delivered the game-winning hit.
On top of that, word spread that senior Jung Woo-young, who had just made his debut and turned in a memorable performance, would be giving an interview too — and the dugout suddenly bustled with activity.
"Hey, hey. Fill the ice box to the brim with ice and water and bring it over."
"There's plenty of Gatorade left. Should we use that instead?"
"Then the Gocheok fans will get mad at us. They'll say we're being stingy with drink money."
"Who's gonna pour it?"
"Stuff like this is the rookie's job."
And so, suddenly drafted into water-ceremony duty, I crept behind the interview backdrop with the ice box in hand.
Through the wall came the voice of the female interviewer.
"Jung Woo-young, congratulations on your first-team debut! You gave us a striking performance, striking out three on just ten pitches even in a tough situation. Could you share your thoughts on today's game?"
Soon after, senior Jung Woo-young's voice rang out, sounding a little shy.
"It's an honor to play in Daejeon Ballpark, the stadium I've dreamed of. To the fans who cheered us on, to the coaches, and above all to Kang Hyuk, who called my games so I could pitch with confidence — thank you."
"You showed extremely aggressive pitching today. Was that an order from the coaches in the dugout?"
"I talked it over with my catcher beforehand. He told me to trust my fastball and attack the zone early. Thankfully, it worked out."
"Haha. It sounds like Kang Hyuk was a big help. There's talk that the slider you threw today is reminiscent of Kim Hyun-woo's. Was your senior involved at all?"
"Of course I respect him, but we haven't really had the chance to talk much yet... Actually, after my rehab, my feel for breaking pitches disappeared. It was Kang Hyuk who corrected it for me."
What is this senior even saying?
Why did every single answer somehow circle back to me?
My plan had been to wait until the interview ended before dumping the ice water. But I had the sudden feeling that if I kept listening, my hands and feet might simply vanish from embarrassment — so, unable to bear it any longer, I flung the water from the ice box.
SPLASH—!
I bolted for the dugout. Sneaking a glance back over my shoulder, I caught sight of my senior, drenched from head to toe, staring after me with a look of pure betrayal.
Unfortunately, the image was all too much like a puppy promised a treat who'd just been given a bath instead.
The marketing team manager reviewing the comments found himself realizing, all over again, just how popular Kang Hyuk had become. It stood to reason — the brighter a player's star rose, the more inevitably the haters came out of the woodwork.
"So Kang Hyuk really is that popular, huh."
The deputy at the next desk answered without looking up.
"Kim Hyun-woo used to be number one in jersey sales, but this season Kang Hyuk's already pulled ahead."
"Well, the popularity makes sense. He's talented, and he's genuinely a good person."
"They say he stayed at the ballpark for three hours after a game just signing autographs for fans."
"No wonder YouTube's been flooded with requests for him to film content."
"Really? Should we try a special feature, then?"
The mood in the marketing department had been positively sunny lately. Back when the team was struggling, they'd routinely finish editing a video only to shelve it over public backlash. But with results improving and the clubhouse atmosphere lifting right along with them, it was impossible not to feel motivated.
"Then let's reach out to Kang Hyuk. Ask if he'd be willing to film his training routine as a vlog."
And so the shoot began.
I scratched my head.
"Um... just start whenever you're ready?"
"Don't worry about the camera. Just train like you normally do."
Easier said than done. There were four people standing right in front of me, cameraman included.
"Kang Hyuk, what does a typical training day look like for you?"
"Mornings I loosen up and do batting practice. After games, I focus mostly on weights."
With the crew in tow, I headed to the weight room — and found it already occupied.
"Romero."
"Oh. Kang!"
Caught mid-workout by the crowd, he didn't show the slightest fluster at the sight of a camera. Adaptability, as always, was his specialty.
"Bro! Heard the news. You fixed Wooyoung's slider?"
"I just gave him a few clues. He did the rest himself, senior."
"Kang. We agreed we're calling that coaching."
I'd been chatting with Romero for a good while before belatedly remembering the camera existed. The crew was watching me with curious expressions, apparently fascinated by my English.
"Ah — sorry about that."
"You two seem close."
"We're workout partners. I'm interested in American culture, too."
"Could it be you're already considering a move to MLB...?"
"No, no. I just did my winter training in the States, that's all."
Sensing a misunderstanding brewing, I waved my hands hastily.
"Alright, I'm going to focus on my workout now."
Lifting without a thought for the cameras, I soon picked up the murmurs of the marketing staff around me.
"Wow. How many plates is that?"
"Those are 20-kilo plates, right? Not 10?"
Since the season started, I'd been training with somewhat lighter loads than usual — and apparently even that was enough to leave people gaping.
I was deep into my routine when I noticed Romero still hadn't left.
"Didn't you finish your workout?"
"Ah, the marketing team asked me to do a quick interview. And I had something to talk to you about anyway, Kang."
"What is it?"
"Actually — could you catch for me for a minute?"
"Of course."
My workout was finished anyway, so I nodded readily. Frankly, footage of me catching would probably do better numbers than footage of me lifting weights, too.
We made our way to the pitching practice room. Once I'd strapped on my gear, Romero laid out what was on his mind.
"Honestly, after hearing about Wooyoung, I wanted to ask you to take a look at my stuff too."
"You, Romero? You're already throwing great."
My recent performances tended to steal the spotlight, but Romero was playing like an elite-tier import ace right now. A fastball averaging nearly 150 km/h, a knuckle curve, a sweeper on top. The changeup he occasionally flashed could stand some polish, but even so, it was more than enough to overpower KBO hitters.
"Still, you've got eyes that came back from the Drivetrain lab. Maybe you'd see something I can't."
"Hmm..."
He'd tried to visit Drive Baseball before and failed over money issues, so I supposed a lingering regret had been eating at him.
"Hmm. Honestly? There's really nothing..."
"Yeah?"
"If I absolutely had to pick at something — the angle on your sweeper could be sharper."
"The sweeper?"
"Yes."
The sweeper, a variant of the slider, is a pitch built around horizontal movement. For a right-handed pitcher facing right-handed hitters, the key is that sharp, sudden drop away toward the outside corner.
Romero already owned a superb vertical-movement pitch in his knuckle curve. If the sweeper's angle got just a little nastier, there'd be nothing left to ask for.
"Could you show me your grip?"
"I throw it like this."
"Hmm. That's the textbook grip."
That was all I knew of the grip, too. Out of ideas, I scratched my head again — then a thought surfaced.
"Well, there's not no way..."
"What is it? What is it?"
"I'd rather not recommend it, honestly."
The rise of the sweeper as a fad pitch was closely tied to how pitchers' deliveries had changed. It was widely known that an inverted delivery — one that maximized velocity — favored bringing velocity up, while the once-dominant overhand pitchers had gravitated toward pitches with vertical movement: curves, splitters, and the like.
But arm slots had been steadily lowering across the league. And within the walls of Drive Baseball, it had become accepted doctrine that pitches with horizontal movement were where the real value lay now. In modern baseball, the sweeper's moment in the spotlight was all but inevitable.
"Plus, there are recent stats showing that the lower the elbow angle, the lower the injury risk."
"Is that so?"
"For now, want to throw a few as practice? Start with your usual sweeper."
Whoosh—
THWAP—!
"Nice ball!"
His existing sweeper was already a fine pitch. The horizontal break was a touch plain, but it carried vertical drop alongside it.
"This time, think about your arm slot and try bringing it down just a little lower."
"Okay."
Whoosh—
THWAP—!
"...Whoa."
The cameraman, filming the whole process, let out an involuntary groan.
It actually changed!?
The other marketing staff wore blank, uncomprehending expressions. But the cameraman, a man who lived and breathed baseball fandom for a living, knew instantly.
This pitch would be hell on right-handed hitters.
A ball that seemed bound for the plate, then broke violently away to the outside. It was tailor-made for strikeouts — and even a batter who barely got the barrel to it would likely foul it off at best.
A satisfied smile had crept across Kang Hyuk's face as he caught the ball.
"The trajectory definitely changed, right?"
"...It did, didn't it?"
"It's very different from your normal delivery, so I wouldn't recommend throwing it this way every time. But as a way to train the feel of it, or to mix in as an off-speed surprise, it should work nicely."
"Kang!"
Flushed with the thrill of discovering a new weapon, Romero's face had gone positively pink.
"Want to practice this a little more?"
"...You do remember you're pitching in two days, right?"
"Damn it. Teach me a pitch like this and then tell me I can't throw it."
"One of my Drive Baseball colleagues said he's coming to Korea soon. When he does, we'll study your whole delivery together."
"Wait, that wasn't just talk? I'm absolutely in!"
Startled by how quickly the practice room had heated up, the cameraman was struck by a sudden thought.
Hold on... should we really be releasing this footage?
Passionate about baseball, genuinely skilled, fluent in English, beloved by his teammates. Would it really be so strange if Major League scouts came sniffing around any day now?
Of course, the posting window is still a long way off...
But the cameraman could see it as clearly as fire in the dark: the moment this video aired, Kang Hyuk's price tag was going to skyrocket.