Breaking the Cycle: Small Steps to Land the Starting Spot
Setting a goal is important.
Start by committing to a grand ambition that will carry you forward. Then break that big dream into smaller milestones you can actually achieve. Finally, launch with even tinier steps so momentum never stalls.
[Main Goal: Become a starting player in a professional league and win a championship!]
[Reward: ???]
After leaving the team office and stepping back into his apartment, Choi Seungtaek suddenly had a new System message floating before his eyes.
The returned catcher had just been handed an incredibly difficult target, and the moment he read it his shoulders sagged.
“Is this really the goal I’m supposed to reach? Doesn’t it sound a little too on-the-nose?”
Choi Seungtaek voiced his complaint aloud.
Defeat the target and fulfill your dreams.
“Ugh…”
He let out a long, weary sigh.
Of course this was the dream he had wanted, yet he already knew the road ahead was long.
One single objective, though, was really two overlapping goals.
Win the championship in the professional league and secure a starting role.
The round-one pick he had received the day he returned looked easier by comparison. Back then the opponents had still been high-school level players whose skill gaps were wide open. Even someone like Go Tae-san, the C-grade prospect, or Lee Tae-yang, the fiery lefty with mid-150s heat, hadn’t been terrifying.
But this was the big leagues now. Gangbuk Sparrows was a professional team. A player like Kang Taepoong or Lee Tae-yang could climb or fall from Triple-A to the minors in a single season. Even Choi Seungtaek had once held on long enough to make the cut only to retire in the end.
The professional stage was different. Getting one of the final major-league roster spots was already a miracle; holding the starting job was nearly impossible. Some players chased being drafted; others simply wanted to see one day in the 1st team lineup.
“And now they want me to step into the lineup as the starter and win a title? Way too steep a condition.”
Especially his position as catcher. It took a decade of grinding to master blocking and framing. He had only four years left on his contract; even if he somehow caught on, five solid years in the minors felt like the realistic timeline.
That was the bitter part of joining the Daejeon Magpies. A top-tier squad would leave him benched by veterans already fighting for every plate. A rebuilding team at least offered a chance to play. But that meant a perennial cellar-dweller where winning felt like grabbing a Spirit Bomb with one hand and an anchor with the other.
“The Magpies can’t win. They’d need a miracle draft haul just to sneak into the postseason.”
So the System had handed him a target he couldn’t realistically achieve. Why not simply join a genuine contender and work his way into their catching rotation?
Every respectable team already had two or three battle-tested catchers. He could never just sign a trade and move; front offices controlled that. Free agency was still far off. So Choi Seungtaek decided to ignore the championship goal for now. Winning it would probably still be out of reach even when he retired.
Instead he focused on the nearest targets.
1. Improve my own skills through training.
Catcher Grade: C+
Batter Grade: C+
Blocking: C
Framing: C
Pickoff Defense: C
Batting Form: A
Contact: C
Power: C
He scanned his own status. Everything except batting form looked subpar.
“There’s still a lot I don’t know.”
If he stepped onto a real major-league field, those numbers would rise fast. Training was the fastest way to test the System’s theories.
2. Get a spot on the 1st-team roster.
Choi Seungtaek pulled out the scouting report the head coach had handed him and zeroed in on the catchers.
He had watched the entire minor-league camp; now he only needed to focus on the Triple-A roster.
The Magpies’ current 1st-team catchers were Jung Kyungho, Park Gyeok-po, and Jo Oosoo.
He began with Jung Kyungho.
Longtime Magpies product who had only broken into the starting lineup last season. Hitting was his weakest area—he barely cleared .200 and could drop to .100 at any moment. Defense was shaky too, but Jo Oosoo’s arrival had given him new coaching and a slight uptick.
Catcher Grade: C
Batter Grade: D
Blocking: C
Framing: C
Pickoff Defense: B
Batting Form: C
Contact: D
Power: C
“I can’t figure out why he’s the starter when we’re so close in ability. Maybe I could overtake him with real work.”
At least there was one catcher he didn’t have to worry about being permanently locked out.
Next came Park Gyeok-po.
Veteran backup who shuttled between minors and majors. Solid defense, but his hitting hovered just below .200 and injuries were a constant nuisance. The same Jo Oosoo coaching had improved his pickoff defense.
Catcher Grade: B
Batter Grade: C-
Blocking: B
Framing: C
Pickoff Defense: B
Batting Form: D
Contact: C
Power: C
“A bit of a stretch, but I could close the gap with effort.”
Finally, Jo Oosoo.
The veteran with the legendary sit-and-throw style. Still carrying the weight of age, his hitting had slipped into the B-minus range. His blocking and framing were still elite, and his pickoff defense was a force to be reckoned with.
Catcher Grade: A-
Batter Grade: B-
Blocking: A-
Framing: B
Pickoff Defense: A
Batting Form: B-
Contact: B-
Power: B-
⚠ Aging has begun to decline his performance.
“Wow… but he’s old. His stamina will be a real issue soon.”
Still, the Stat had kept most of its power. Combined with Han Geunseong’s trust, Jo Oosoo would almost certainly be the starter before long.
Choi Seungtaek decided to play the long game. He would bide his time as backup until the veteran hung it up, then earn the starting job the old-fashioned way—by outworking everyone else. He could never afford to lose that backup spot.
He turned to the pitchers.
Seoul Falcons and Gwangju Pigeons drafts had produced a surprisingly deep rotation. Shin Jeong-woo was a C-grade lefty in his second year. Oh Myeongwol was the franchise hope—a B-grade right-hander with a three-quarter delivery and a nasty splitter. Two starters who could actually pitch meaningful innings.
He sighed again. The front office was clearly planning to test the remaining slots. Madness.
Now the bullpen.
Yoon Jeong-jin, the lefty closer with A-minus control. Kwon Gyu-jin, the right-hander whose forkball was money in the late innings. Seo Choong-sung, the wild but controllable swingman.
That was a solid group: two usable starters and three workhorse relievers. Everything else would only see mop-up duty.
The cellar dweller had good reasons, but at least the pitching staff looked like it could keep the team in games.
He wiped the sweat from his brow, recalling the small victories he already had.
Average fastballs hovering around 140 km/h. Changeups and sliders that could be controlled. And those FA signings coming in were essential—someone had to eat innings even if they couldn’t win outright.
Choi Seungtaek rolled his shoulders, determined. The long climb had only just begun, but the first rung was firmly under his grip.