Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Rookie Season Prep and the Pitchers
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Winter, the players' one and only off-season. Choi Seung-taek visited the Daejeon MacPhies' office.
"Well, if it isn't Choi Seung-taek! What brings you here today?"
"Haha, hello!"
A friendly front-office staffer greeted Choi Seung-taek warmly.
She was on the operations team and had been present when Choi Seung-taek signed with the team, so she recognized him right away.
"Did you find a place to live that's working out?"
"Not yet. But I'm planning to move to Daejeon before spring camp."
Choi Seung-taek had signed with the Daejeon MacPhies on exceptionally favorable terms. A 300 million won signing bonus and a 20 million won annual salary—it was better than what a first-round pick would get.
Plus, while rookies typically had to live in the team dorms after joining, Choi Seung-taek had negotiated a lower signing bonus in exchange for living off-site.
Requests like this weren't usually granted due to fairness concerns, but when he explained his family situation and his desire to live with his mother, they were persuaded enough to approve it.
Of course, right now, Choi Seung-taek wasn't rushing the move because he wanted to keep meeting Park Ga-young in Seoul often.
"Ah, got it. So, what brings you to the office?"
Choi Seung-taek had come to the team office for a different reason.
"Nothing major—just wondering if I could visit the strategy analysis team right now?"
Know thyself, know thy enemy, and you shall win every battle. True to those words, Choi Seung-taek had won the President's Cup by analyzing Suseok High's players and their opponents.
But now, he was sorely lacking in information.
He'd spent four years in the pros from 2015 to 2018, but back then, he rarely made the first-team roster and knew little about power analysis.
As a result, even as an active player, he had scant knowledge about the other players.
If he'd gone back to the Busan Sea Gulls, at least he'd have known their roster well enough to have a decent grasp on his own team's pitchers.
But now that he was with the MacPhies, he didn't know the players on his own team, let alone the opponents.
So, to overcome that, he was visiting the MacPhies' power analysis team to gather intel.
The problem was...
"Ah... We don't have a strategy analysis team right now."
The operations staffer looked extremely troubled.
"What? No power analysis team?"
"Well..."
At this point in time, the Daejeon MacPhies' power analysis team was essentially a non-entity.
Manager Han Geun-seong had confirmed there was no proper strategy team after taking over and was only now hiring staff and reorganizing the data.
"Damn..."
Choi Seung-taek was at a loss. He'd have to scour and analyze data from scratch, just like back in high school.
'Oh no... This is bad. I'll be glued to data all winter.'
Pro players' stats changed by the minute.
Sometimes they'd expose a weakness, only to overcome it in a flash—or use the "fixed" flaw as bait to fool opponents.
That's why preparing with a solid, up-to-date database was crucial. This was not a good sign.
'No wonder they finished last place.'
Screech.
Someone else entered the office.
"Hello, Manager."
"Good day, Manager."
The newcomer was Manager Han Geun-seong.
"Right, Choi Seung-taek. What are you doing here...?"
"I came to check out the strategy analysis team, but they said it doesn't exist yet, so I'm just waiting around."
"Strategy analysis...? Why would you need that?"
"Well, I'm the catcher, right? I figured I'd get a head start on our pitchers' info and tendencies."
"You can do that at spring camp. Why start now?"
"I want to focus purely on training during camp."
Manager Han Geun-seong nodded at Choi Seung-taek's response.
"Fair enough. Good thinking for a catcher. But looks like a wasted trip?"
"Yeah, so I was thinking of heading home and reviewing last year's games to analyze them myself."
"A rookie fresh off joining us doing analysis? The chief coach is upstairs right now. He's sorting pitcher info with the new scouts. Go help out and learn while you're at it."
"Yes, sir! Thank you. I'll head up right away, Manager."
"Go on."
Choi Seung-taek immediately went upstairs to find the chief coach.
One office was being newly set up—that was the new power analysis team's space.
The other scouts must have been off on other tasks, leaving only the chief coach behind.
"Oh! Choi Seung-taek! Our blocking machine. What brings you here?"
"Hello, Chief Coach. I wanted to study up on our MacPhies pitchers, so I came. The manager said I'd find out here."
"Is that right? You're a funny one. Thinking about this stuff in the winter instead of resting?"
"Better to study now so it's easier later."
"This is your last chance to rest, and you're skipping it? Fine. Wait here."
The chief coach looked at Choi Seung-taek with a hint of admiration before getting up to fetch some materials.
"How much data do you need?"
"Just the pitchers' info for now."
"Hmm... It's over here. I'll give you what we have on the guys still with the team."
"Thank you."
After some time, the chief coach handed Choi Seung-taek the info on the pitchers currently with the Daejeon MacPhies.
Choi Seung-taek dove right in and started reviewing it on the spot.
Having seen highly advanced data in his previous life, digesting this level of material was no challenge.
'Whoa... This is... pretty bad, huh?'
Choi Seung-taek felt a bit dizzy looking at the dismal stats from starters to relievers alike.
No matter the role, every pitcher's ERA was over 5.00, and 4.00 made you the ace.
BABIP, WAR, WHIP—the numbers were grim even by modern standards. Worst of all, there was no proper starting rotation or reliable closer setup.
The plight of a last-place team. That explained the MacPhies' three-year basement dwell.
"So, what do you think? See the problem?"
"We don't have three starters who can handle the workload. The bullpen's weak too, so no closer committee either."
Of course, any fan who'd watched could spot that much.
But Choi Seung-taek noticed something odd in the data.
Park Hyeok, Ki Yeong-bae, and Song Geum-ho.
Park Hyeok and Ki Yeong-bae were pitchers from the 2014 champion Daegu Eagles, and Song Geum-ho was currently with the Gwangju Phoenix.
"Huh? But aren't Park Hyeok, Ki Yeong-bae, and Song Geum-ho not our players?"
"Ah... That?"
The chief coach glanced around, then put a finger to his lips as he looked at Choi Seung-taek.
"Shh. This is just between us. Don't breathe a word anywhere. They're FA targets we're bringing in."
Free Agent (FA) refers to players who've met the qualification criteria. Any team can sign them freely, with multi-year deals and signing bonuses allowed.
Usually, they negotiate with their current team first; if it falls through, they move elsewhere, with compensation rules applying—like cash or players.
By the time Choi Seung-taek returned, the FA tier system existed with varying compensation levels per player, but this was before that.
"We're signing these three."
'I see. So this is when they joined the MacPhies.'
"What, it's stove league season. You're a rookie, but the vets and ops team are swamped."
Stove League.
The period after one pro baseball season ends and before the next begins, when contract renewals and trades happen.
It comes from fans huddling around the stove in winter, treating the trade market like a game.
But as Choi Seung-taek pondered FAs for a moment, his expression hardened.
'Park Hyeok, Ki Yeong-bae, Song Geum-ho. Didn't two of these signings flop?'
That was his memory.
The pitching staff was indeed thin right now.
But if these were transfers that wouldn't help much in the end...
'Should I try to stop it?'
But what evidence did he have that they wouldn't work out?
If these were the manager's picks, what backlash would blocking them cause?
What if he stopped the signings and they thrived elsewhere?
Choi Seung-taek's head spun.
"Something wrong? Not looking good?"
"Haha, no. Just a bit worried. Park Hyeok and Ki Yeong-bae are Daegu Eagles guys, right? The Eagles are hot right now—think they'll come?"
Choi Seung-taek threw in Park Hyeok's name too, not wanting to seem suspicious by only mentioning Ki Yeong-bae.
The chief coach chuckled good-naturedly.
"The hotter the team, the more grudges build up quietly. I spent a long time with Manager at the Incheon Cranes, and players felt it even more there."
"Even more there?"
"Yeah. The quiet, hardworking guys who deliver get overlooked by the club—until they realize how vital they were."
"Ah..."
"That makes them easier to sway. Especially if we can meet their goals."
'Fair point. I wouldn't know—I never experienced it.'
"The manager's positive on them too, and the players gave good responses. I think we can land all three."
"All three? That's great!"
Choi Seung-taek smiled outwardly, but inside?
'We're screwed.'