Chapter 13
Chapter 13
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Scout
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Swoooosh
Thwack
The ball sailed into the catcher's mitt.
'It's so flat.'
"Hmm... Again!"
"Sorry, Senior!"
The first guy who'd thrown the ball headed back.
Swoooosh
Thwack
'As expected. This one's flat too.'
"You gonna keep half-assing it?"
"No, sir! I'll throw properly!"
I knew it. He wasn't half-assing it. I was just left wanting more.
Swoooosh
Thud
'Tch. At least this guy's the best of the bunch.'
Suseok High School had crushed Chuncheon High School 9-0 in the round of 16 of the President's Cup and was now training for the quarterfinals.
Choi Seung-taek was analyzing the pitchers other than Kang Tae-pung and I San.
'This is bad. Having Tae-pung and San is great, but the rest are all so-so.'
The coach wasn't using them as closers for no reason. The problem was...
'The one with the best stuff is a first-year.'
Gu Tae-jin would follow I San as the next ace. By then, he'd be starting instead of closing, but it was questionable if the other players could back him up.
Changeups at 120 km/h and fastballs in the late 130s. Pretty good, but at this level, they'd be hanging by a thread from the semifinals on.
That basically meant I San or Tae-pung would have to pitch complete games for the semis and finals.
As Gu Tae-jin finished his last set and they moved to another training area, a commotion broke out behind them.
"Hello, Coach!"
"What is it? You're back already? Why do you come so often?"
"I'm here to scout your players, of course."
"Our players? Not yet, they're not."
"Aw, Coach, don't be like that."
I recognized the voice from before, along with the coach's.
"Hey! Hello!"
"Oh! Hey, our new ace, Kang Tae-pung!"
A scout from the Gangdong Falcons had shown up at the training field.
"Hey, Kang Tae-pung! Your stuff looked killer in the round of 16."
"Nah. I could throw harder, but I'm holding back to beat Buma High."
"Is that right? You gotta rematch Go Tae-san before he leaves. This kid's got ambition!"
'Lucky bastard.'
Seeing the scout and Kang Tae-pung laughing it up wasn't new; I'd witnessed it a few times before.
The bat, glove, and spikes he was using were all gifts from the Gangdong Falcons.
'Lucky bastard. That stuff must cost a fortune.'
Baseball gear is surprisingly expensive.
You can get by with decent stuff, but pricey gear is worth the money.
'Even the spikes are Xjino at 300,000 won, glove's WilX at 700,000 won, and he's gotten like ten bats in the 100,000-won range.'
On top of that, he'd signed as a first-round pick, so he was set to pocket a massive 300 million plus 20 million won.
'So damn jealous. For real.'
Once the money math ran through my head, the envy hit hard.
The scout, who'd been chatting with the coach and Kang Tae-pung, suddenly dropped an unexpected name.
"Oh, right, Coach. I heard you properly raised a catcher here. Choi Seung-taek, right?"
My name.
'Huh?'
Kang Tae-pung's face stiffened the moment he heard Choi Seung-taek.
'What's with his expression?'
"That guy's right over there. See the one in catcher's gear?"
"Ah! Got it."
With that, the Gangdong Falcons scout walked over to Choi Seung-taek.
"You must be Choi Seung-taek. Everyone's been talking about you lately."
A shift in status.
Thanks to my hot bats in the round of 32 and now 16, a scout had finally come calling.
'Whoa. This actually happens. Never even dreamed of it before.'
He'd spotted Kang Tae-pung first and I'd tagged along second, but a scout showing up still felt pretty damn good.
'Hey, it means I'm getting recognized for real. Gotta be satisfied with that.'
"Yes, I'm Choi Seung-taek."
"Good. Got a team you wanna go to?"
"Teams call you up, right? I go where I'm called."
The scout looked puzzled at that.
"What? No other teams have reached out yet?"
"No. You're the first to come in person."
"Oh, really? You're mid-round material for us, just so you know."
My heart pounded.
This was straight-up intel. Unless something crazy happens, we'll draft you.
"Mid-round" meant anywhere from rounds 4 to 7.
"Me? Good enough for that?"
"Of course. Who doesn't love a catcher who can hit? In the pros, if you swing like that, they'd use you as a DH even if you couldn't catch."
Lightning struck my brain at the Falcons scout's words.
'Holy shit. Right. That's an option.'
Pro baseball rosters have 28 players on the active lineup.
For pitchers, there's usually a five-man rotation of starters.
Then bullpen arms for closers, setup, long relief, etc.
For hitters, it's position players plus defensive replacements, pinch runners, pinch hitters for injuries or strategy.
That's what the scout meant.
Even if your defense behind the plate sucked, if you rake, they'd grit their teeth and play you as a pinch hitter, DH, or even shift you to first base.
That's why bats are so crucial.
Once again, Choi Seung-taek silently thanked Park Wan-gyu, the Incheon Cranes second-team manager.
'Talks me up but doesn't send scouts. Tch.'
"You got more training, right? Keep it up, and know we're watching."
"Yes, sir. Thank you."
Then the Gangdong Falcons scout headed toward I San.
'Figures. They only check the prime cuts.'
If I hadn't popped off this tournament, he'd have gone straight to I San.
'Tch. Still, this ain't bad.'
"Whoa, Choi Seung-taek! What was that?"
"What? Means I've basically boarded the pro train."
"Whoa... You're insane. Jealous, Choi Seung-taek! The guy with skills, career, and girls!"
"You idiot. Coach might hear."
"Not denying the girl part!"
"No, that's not it either."
Kim Min-jae's jab landed effectively.
As Choi Seung-taek and Kim Min-jae bantered, the coach beckoned from afar.
"Switching your form sure helped. You were always a defensive catcher, but now you hit too, so pro teams are sniffing around. Good for you."
"All of them after me?"
"This is the first scout in person, but I've gotten plenty of calls. No way to reach you, so they come to me. I don't pass on everything since you're not full of yourself."
"Ah..."
I got what the coach meant. Late bloomers who soar too high often flame out.
"That 5-for-5 game was huge. Four extra-base hits, two off the wall. You were crushing it."
"Knew the opposing pitcher's tells, so I attacked."
"Tells?"
"Yeah. He sniffed when throwing fastballs."
"You little punk. Reading signs?"
"My fault, Coach? Blame the pitcher for not fixing it. If he doesn't know his own tells, he deserves to get lit up."
"Fair enough. You're right."
5-for-5 perfection. Especially with the extra-base power.
A homer would've been icing, but I still needed time to adjust to the new swing.
Thanks to pro training, my contact skills were solid.
Pairing that verified pro form with high school pitching? I was devouring the league.
'Problem is, this blowout style works to quarters. Real battles start in semis.'
To prove it in pros, I'd need to beat Gwangju Hana High's I Tae-yang in semis and presumed finalist Go Tae-san.
Late that night, Park Ga-young showered and headed to her room.
But her mom sat on the bed with a terrifying aura.
'Huh? What's with Mom?'
"Park Ga-young, what's this?"
"Huh? What's wrong, Mom?"
Park Ga-young's mom thrust her phone forward.
"Your phone's got all these weird searches!"
Mom's sharp tone caught Park Ga-young off guard.
"Oh, that. Just helped a classmate. No big deal, why?"
"Helped how? With a high school senior boy? Already thinking of dating?"
"No!"
"Don't lie. You texted!"
Park Ga-young knew a long talk was coming.
The next day, during morning classes, Park Ga-young waited for Choi Seung-taek.
"Seung-taek, whatcha doing tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow? Game. President's Cup quarters."
"Oh, Saturday game?"
"Yeah. Busy evening."
"What after the game?"
"After? Sunday, you mean? Probably rest."
Park Ga-young's eyes narrowed slightly.
'Why keep asking?'
"I got chewed out because of you. Ruined my mood."
"Huh?"
"Said it's because of you."
"Me?"
"Yeah. Mom asked if I'm already playing around with boys. You think that too?"
Her words cut deep.
Had to play this right.
"No way! You're not like that! Smart girl who just studies!"
"Wrong."
"Huh?"
"See you Sunday then. Good luck in the game. Text after."
Park Ga-young slid right in front of him.
'Huh? What'd she say?'
Choi Seung-taek, not getting it, stared blankly until he felt eyes from the side and turned.
There was Kim Min-jae, devil mode activated once more.