Scout Visits and the Power of the Bat
The muffled *whish* of air slicing through the air, followed by a solid *thud*, filled the field. The ball had slid deep into the catcher’s mitt.
“Ugh… flat as a pancake.”
“Hmm… again!”
“I’m sorry, senior!”
The pitcher who had thrown the first pitch trudged back to the mound.
*Whish…*
*Thud.*
“Same thing. This guy is no better.”
“You keep throwing half-hearted pitches?”
“No! I’ll throw it properly this time!”
*I know.* It wasn’t that he was half-assing it. It was simply that he was disappointed in himself.
*Hiss…*
*Thwack.*
“Tsk. At least this one felt decent.”
President’s Cup quarterfinals were underway at Suseok High, already having dismantled Chuncheon High 9-0 in the round of 16. Now they were in full preparatory mode for the quarterfinals.
Choi Seungtaek was studying the other pitchers on the mound—everyone except Kang Taepoong and Lee San.
“This is bad news. Having Taepoong and San is a real blessing, but the rest are all mediocre options.”
The manager would never have kept them in the bullpen if they weren’t useful. The real problem…
“At least the best one of the bunch is a first-year.”
Gu Taejin was next in line to become the ace. Once he took the mound in the rotation, Seungtaek would no longer be the last man out of the bullpen—he would be a starter. Whether the other pitchers could support him as depth was anyone’s guess.
A sharp 120 km/h slider paired with a high-130s fastball. Not bad, but under this level they would be fighting tooth and nail for a quarterfinal spot.
In that case, the reality was simple: the semi-final and final would require Kang Taepoong and Lee San to combine for a perfect game. No room for error.
He was about to move the team to the next training ground when the sudden clamor of voices echoed from behind.
“Coach! Good morning!”
“What now? Another one?”
“I’m here to see our players, of course.”
“Of course? We don’t even have any players yet.”
“Coach, you wound me.”
The voice belonged to someone he had heard before, and it was the manager’s reply.
“Yo! Hello!”
“Oh! Looks like our new ace, Kang Taepoong!”
A scout from the Gangdong Falcons had arrived at the training field.
“Hey, Kang Taepoong! That stuff you threw in the round of 16? Insane.”
“No, no. I could throw better, but I was saving it for Buma High. I’m saving my best for them.”
“Really? Before Go Tae-san comes, we need a rematch. Kid’s got fire!”
*Damn… he’s something else.*
Seungtaek had watched scouts and prospects like Kang Taepoong banter many times before. The bat, glove, and spikes the kid was wearing had all been donated by Gangdong Falcons.
*This guy is so jealous it hurts.* How much money did that equipment cost?
Baseball gear was surprisingly expensive.
If you could make do with decent stuff, fine. But the expensive gear always paid for itself in the long run.
“Xino 30,000 won spikes if I didn’t have them—glove is a Will-X 700,000 won, and the bat? He’s already dropped ten of the 10,000-won variety. And now, with a first-round pick and contract, he’s pocketed over three hundred million won.”
“Son of a… he’s really lucky.”
The numbers were still ringing in his head when the scout suddenly pulled out an odd name.
“Oh, right. I heard you’ve developed a catcher well here, Coach. Choi Seungtaek, right?”
His name.
*Huh?*
When Kang Taepoong heard the name, his face froze.
*What’s with that look?*
“There he is. See the guy in the catcher’s gear over there?”
“Oh, got it.”
The Gangdong Falcons scout walked straight toward Seungtaek.
“So you’re Choi Seungtaek. Everyone’s been talking about you lately.”
The shift in status.
After smashing through the round of 32 and the round of 16, a scout had finally come calling.
*Wow. This is what it feels like.* He had never even dreamed of this back in high school.
Even though the scout had spotted Taepoong first and Seungtaek had crashed the party, the mere fact that the scout had noticed him felt good.
*Well, it means they’re finally taking me seriously. I’ll take it.*
“Yes, I’m Choi Seungtaek.”
“So, which team are you looking at?”
“Teams usually come to you, right?”
The scout’s eyebrows rose in surprise.
“So no other teams have contacted you yet?”
“No. No one has visited directly.”
“Oh? That’s rare. We’re actually interested in you. Consider yourself warned.”
His heart pounded.
This was a direct offer. If things went well, they would draft him.
The phrase “mid-tier” meant something broad—likely a player they would target in the fourth to seventh round.
“Could I really be drafted that high?”
“Of course. Who wouldn’t want a catcher who can hit? In the pros, if a catcher can’t hit, they use him as a designated hitter or pinch-runner anyway.”
A lightning bolt struck Seungtaek’s mind.
*This is insane. That’s right.*
A Major League roster only had twenty-eight players.
Starters usually rotated five deep.
Then there were the relief arms—chase relievers, come-from-behind relievers, and the loss relievers.
On the hitting side, every position had its own players, plus bench depth for injuries, strategic pinch-runners, and pinch-hitters.
The scout’s point was clear.
Even if a catcher’s defense wasn’t elite, if he could hit, they would stick him in as a pinch-hitter, designated hitter, or even move him to first base.
That was why the bat mattered so much.
Once again, Seungtaek silently thanked Manager Park Wangyu of the Incheon Cranes second team.
*Still, the coach praised me in person but never sent a scout. Tsk.*
“You still have more training left? Just know we’re watching closely and we’ll keep an eye on your progress.”
“Thank you.”
The scout then walked over to Lee San.
*He only visits the important pieces, huh?*
If Seungtaek hadn’t shown up, the scout would have gone straight to San.
*Tsk. Even so… this is something.*
“Wow, Seungtaek! What was that move you just did?”
“What move? I basically rode the pro-train all the way here.”
“Wow… you really are something. I’m jealous, Seungtaek! You’ve got skill, career, and women lined up!”
“Shut up, Coach is listening.”
“You’re not denying you have a woman!”
“No, that’s not what I meant!”
Kim Minjae’s teasing was perfectly timed.
As Seungtaek and Kim Minjae bantered, the manager waved him over from a distance.
“You’ve definitely improved your form. Before you were just a defensive catcher, but now that you can hit too, every pro team is after you. Good job.”
“Really? Everyone’s after me?”
“Scouts. This is the first time I’ve heard from them in person, but I’ve gotten calls. Since you don’t have a way to contact them directly, they come to me. And I’m not sugar-coating it—I’m just telling you the honest truth.”
“Ah…”
The manager’s words landed like a heavy punch. Seungtaek had a feeling he knew exactly what the manager meant.
The saying that a late breeze could lift a man was true. The guys who got a big head at the wrong time usually ended up crashing hard.
The five-for-five performance in the last game had been huge. Four of them were extra-base hits, and two had even cleared the fence. They were really flying.
“It was because I knew the pitcher’s tendencies. I could attack the zones I wanted.”
“Tendencies?”
“Yeah. When he throws a fastball, he tends to let his nose run.”
“Cut it out. You’re making excuses now?”
“Isn’t this my fault, Coach? The pitcher couldn’t fix his bad habit. And if you don’t even know your own habits, how are you supposed to get hit?”
“Yeah. You’re right.”
Five-for-five was perfect. Hitting for power only made it better.
It would have been great if he could have cleared the fences too, but the new swing still needed more work.
Thanks to the experience he had gained training in the pros, Seungtaek’s contact hitting was already solid. Adding a proven swing had let him devour high-school league pitching like it was nothing.
*The real problem is that this kind of practice only gets us to the quarterfinals. The real fight starts in the semi-finals.*
He would need to beat Lee Taeyang of Gwangju Hana High, who was expected to meet in the semi-finals, and Go Tae-san, who was the favorite to win the championship.
* * *
Late that night, Park Gayoung stepped into the bathroom, freshened up, and headed to her room.
But the room already had her mother sitting on the bed with a terrifying presence.
*Huh? Why is Mom like this?*
“Gayoung-ah, what is this?”
“Mom? Why?”
Park Gayoung’s mother held up her daughter’s phone.
“These weird things keep popping up in your phone search!”
The sudden sharpness of her mother’s voice made Gayoung pause for a second.
“Oh, that. I was just helping some of the kids in our class. It’s nothing serious—why are you acting like this?”
“What do you mean ‘nothing serious’? A third-year high-schooler already thinking about boys?”
“No!”
“That’s not the point. You’re exchanging texts with them, aren’t you?”
Park Gayoung could already see the long conversation coming.
The next morning, during homeroom, Gayoung waited for Seungtaek.
“Seungtaek, what are you doing tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow? No game. President’s Cup quarterfinals.”
“Oh, it’s Saturday, right? You’re playing?”
“Yeah. So I’ll be busy in the evening.”
“Then what do you do after the game?”
“After the game? If you’re asking about Sunday, I’ll just rest, I guess.”
Gayoung’s eyes narrowed.
*Why does she keep asking?*
“I got in trouble because of you. So I’m in a bad mood.”
“Huh?”
“Because of you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Mom already asked if I was thinking about boys. Do you think that too?”
There was real weight in Gayoung’s words.
This was the moment to speak carefully.
“No! You would never do that! You’re the kind of girl who studies so hard!”
“No.”
“Huh?”
“Then see you on Sunday. Play well. Text me after the game.”
Gayoung leaned forward in her chair.
*Huh? What did she just say?*
Seungtaek, who had no idea what she meant, stared blankly until he felt eyes on him. He turned his head.
There, with an evil grin, stood Kim Minjae once more.