Monsters (2)
Park Byung-hyun unleashed a massive home run. As expected from our cleanup hitter. When I'd gathered the players and ranted about the umpire's strike zone, Byung-hyun had shown them himself—how to hit it. Sure, the players had listened to my speech but missed the key demonstration, but just gaining that one spark of confidence was enough.
Snyder, stepping up next, put on a gritty at-bat too. He ended up popping out to right field, but he battled relentlessly on outside pitches, fouling them off and working the count full. He lured a hittable pitch and swung, but it died in the air—a solid process, even if the result stung. What mattered was our hitters in the on-deck circle and dugout, eyes locked on Lindblom's stuff.
In Park Won-dong's at-bat, he deftly poked an inside pitch for a single. Crack! Lee Geun-taek followed with a hit of his own, and Kim Seong-min walked, loading the bases again with one out in the second. Lindblom had already surrendered one to Byung-hyun and was now sweating bullets. Up next: Kim Kang-jun, striding to the plate with the look of a wounded beast. He had a shot at revenge from the first inning—just one frame later.
Lindblom, sensing the ump's wide strike zone, kept peppering the outside corner. Kang-jun's usual stance was open, optimized for contact. But now? He was in a closed stance, front foot way ahead of the back.
"Coach Shim Jae-han. Does Kang-jun use a closed stance too?"
"Huh? Oh... no? I never taught him that."
Our hitting coach, Shim Jae-han, startled by my question, peered at the plate.
"Whoa, he really is. What's he doing?"
Kang-jun was using a stance no one had taught him. His fundamentals were shaky, so he'd always stuck to what the coaches drilled. But unlike the first inning, here he was in closed stance. I was wondering the same thing when Lindblom hung an outside slider. Kang-jun's bat followed it.
Thwack!!!
He shifted his weight outward, driving it with an uppercut swing. The defense froze in place. Launch angle, exit velocity—everything screamed one outcome.
"Wooooaaahhhh!!!!!"
The crowd erupted the instant contact was made, leaping to their feet.
"No way..."
An awe-struck whisper escaped my lips. It was the realm of talent—a domain I'd never touched.
Kang-jun circled the bases leisurely, tipping his cap to the roaring fans. His first grand slam—and off a fading outside pitch, no less. Epic.
Park Won-dong, Lee Geun-taek, and Kim Seong-min mobbed him at home. Back in the dugout, the team went wild. That blast made it 5-0. We'd seized total control.
"Kang-jun. What was that? Why the closed stance?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
After the celebrations died down, I pulled him aside, but he looked genuinely puzzled.
"Closed stance. You brought your front foot way ahead of your back."
"Oh! That? Lindblom kept going outside, so I just adjusted to reach it. Turned out that way."
He hadn't even realized he'd done it. Changing stances takes a month at best, half a year at worst—and he'd pulled it off untrained. His rock-solid lower body made it possible.
Lately, hitters were shifting from closed to open for better visibility and contact. Closed stance closes off the body, making breaking balls tougher. But it loads power better, keeps the head steady—and with elite plate vision, contact can actually improve. Kang-jun's vision was top-tier; closed might suit him even better. I'd trained him open for contact, not power, but as his pop grew, he was showing slugger traits too.
Lindblom gave up seven in the second, taking more damage from Kang Hyun-jun, Kim Seong-ha, and Byung-hyun. Lee Ji-seung, relieving him, was rock-solid. I'd thought the ump's zone favored them early, but nope—it was tilting our way big time.
Our three-game sweep of the Giants in Busan was total domination: 16-0, 14-8, 15-2. Double-digit runs every game.
But I had worries. No fifth starter emerging. Choi Tae-won and Ha Min-young weren't clicking. Veterans like Song Young-shin, Kim Min-chul, and Lee Yang-hoon weren't rotation material either. We ran a four-man rotation with a long reliever spot. Hitting carried us, but off days meant losses. No quick fixes—we couldn't conjure arms.
Other teams pegged pitching as our weak spot, stonewalling trades. A first-place squad hunting starters? They locked down tight. We leaned on scouts: pitchers only in the first-round rookie draft. Managers skip drafts by tradition, but I'd sweet-talk the GM into letting me go. Couldn't see status windows on TV. He trusted me implicitly—he'd say yes.
Through July's first half, we topped the standings: 60-33 in 93 games, .645 winning percentage. Five games up on second-place Lions. Bears and Dinosaurs trailed, Eagles fifth. Eagles overperformed, thrilling their fans. Rookies faded in the summer heat—young legs needed managing, especially full-time debuts.
Good news: deep bench. Plenty hungry for 1st-team spots. Rehabbing Seo Geon-cheol was ramping up in Double-A too. Promising.
Minor drama: nothing major. Kim Kang-jun's Player of the Game interview—"The manager always buys us drinks; so grateful"—sparked a fuss. Front office griped about "manager-funded drinks" when they provided them. I admitted dropping ten million won out-of-pocket; they promised support. Damn... do it from the start if you're gonna. Penny-pinching rep precedes them, then they act generous. I'll push a proper team dinner soon. Bought samgyeopsal during All-Star break—my dime again. They devoured it. Wonder where the cash from selling Gang Ho-jeong went.
June's 2016 KBO first-round draft: Seoul-rights pick. IMF hangover from '97? Weak class. Lee Ha-young showed pitching promise, but Bears snagged him. We took Joo Hyo-seong. Park Won-dong's our catcher, but no solid backup. Kim Hyun-jae filled in okay, but the drop-off was huge. Needed defense-first—no bat required. Not a gem by my eye, but scouts raved. Slim pickings anyway. Choi Jun-won was decent, but catcher > bat priority.
Now, second-round draft loomed. GM and scouts huddled, hunting rebuild targets. Their sales pitches fell flat—"This kid will lead KBO someday," "All-time talent"—despite meh status windows. Joo Hyo-seong got the same hype. Kim Seong-ha was luck; otherwise, scouts underwhelmed. Better to scout with my own eyes.