The Returned Catcher Wants to Win the Championship – The Bullpen Reinforcement Project Begins
The players of the Magpies were out on the field training at the usual time, but inside the clubhouse meeting room the atmosphere was anything but casual.
“Everyone here?” Seungtaek asked the moment he stepped through the door.
“Yes, sir,” a voice answered. “We’re all accounted for.”
Manager Han Geunseong had been replaced by the head coach for the session, and the room was packed with scouts, coaches, and front-office staff. The conversation had already turned serious.
“Well…” Han Geunseong’s stand-in began, voice clipped and authoritative, “how’s the team feeling lately?”
“The record isn’t great, but the vibe is shifting. We’re starting to look like we might climb out of the hole.”
The head coach gave the short answer.
Seungtaek had known the Magpies had looked decent at the start of the season, but last week’s three-game losing streak had dropped them to tenth. A single victory yesterday had clawed them back to ninth place. That small rebound was enough to make everyone in the room exhale.
“It’s lucky the new team, the Parrots, is having trouble staying competitive. We’d be last place without them right now.”
The general manager spoke with a sigh that carried real weight. He had poured serious money into the roster to avoid finishing dead last, and the results had still fallen short of expectations.
“There was no choice. So many of our key players were injured right from spring training.”
“Exactly. The coaching staff has been carrying us. Now it’s time to figure out what we can actually give the players.”
“The squad is in better shape than you’d expect,” the head coach continued. “Injured players are trickling back, and the team is finally starting to feel stable. The catcher room was a mess, though. The new guy—Choi Seungtaek—has held his own like a veteran.”
“That’s actually good news. Three hundred million for a catcher? That investment feels like a steal.”
The general manager nodded, half-smiling at the memory. They had filled the catcher spot with bodies because it was the weakest position, then every single one of those bodies had gone down with injury. He had not expected the rookie to step in and play so cleanly.
“So the catcher situation is basically stabilized?”
“Yes. If Jo Oosoo returns, we’re done worrying about the position. Of course, Seungtaek has to stay healthy in the meantime… but with four catchers on the roster now, we may need to move one.”
The general manager gave a single nod, already turning the idea over in his head.
“Let’s keep that on the table for later. First, though, we need to lock the roster down.”
“Understood. There’s also a push to swap out two foreign players.”
“Two?”
“Wolf and Damon. They’re not delivering enough value for what we paid. Damon was a fourth- or fifth-starter level at best, and Wolf is still nursing a long-term injury. We gave them big contracts for a reason; we can’t afford to let them drag the team down.”
The general manager’s face tightened. The numbers had been clear in the reports, but hearing it spoken aloud still stung.
“We’ll table the foreign-player trades for now. We don’t have the money to make it happen yet. April is barely over, and we’re only ninth. The parent company probably won’t throw more cash at us anytime soon.”
Realistic answers quieted the room. Everyone understood the hard truth.
“So where do we actually need to strengthen?”
“Obviously pitchers,” the head coach answered without hesitation.
“Two of the three players we signed with free agency are underperforming. Honestly, after excluding Park Hyeok, both of them are situations we can’t trust in the majors right now.”
A low “Hah…” escaped the general manager. The news that even the free-agent signings were already trending toward failure had darkened his expression again.
“We stole two guys from a championship team, added Han Geunseong’s top draft pick, and the whole thing is coming up short. That’s not a great feeling.”
He looked around the table. “What do you think we should do?”
One of the scouts spoke up immediately. “We should trade the catcher we mentioned earlier.”
“Trade?”
“Yes. And we’re ready to move the prospect Lee Chung-seong.”
The general manager raised an eyebrow. He had already seen the reports on Lee Chung-seong, so the news did not shock him, but the question still needed asking. “You really think we can move him?”
“The first- and second-team pitching coaches both gave negative feedback. It’s going to be tough, but not impossible.”
The head coach backed the scout up with a nod.
“All right. We’ll figure it out later. Right now, who are we looking at as trade targets?”
The scout slid a list across the table. “These are the options we narrowed down.”
The general manager scanned the names, then pointed at one. “This one looks good.”
“Same here. He’s heading to a different team, so Lee Chung-seong won’t feel burned, and the player is from Gwangju, so the front office might actually accept the deal.”
“But will they even take it? Lee Chung-seong’s stuff has dropped off lately.”
“That’s why we’re going to give him a show-up call-up today. We’ll see if he can still dominate.”
The general manager smiled. “Good plan.”
“And we still need to clear out the catcher spot.”
“Obviously. What does the player-operations team say?”
Another scout answered without missing a beat. “We have to send either Gyeok-po or Jung Kyungho.”
The decision was unanimous and logical. Sending the promising rookie catcher Choi Seungtaek would be wasteful, and Jo Oosoo was the best catcher and playing coach they had. The two veterans left were the obvious choices: veteran backup Gyeok-po, who was still serviceable but aging, and the franchise-developed Jung Kyungho, whose hitting had always had a question mark and defense had never been elite.
The general manager nodded. “Between the two, who should we actually move?”
“As a pure player, Gyeok-po is the better one—better bat, better glove. Jung Kyungho has some consistency issues and is still a little raw in the field.”
“So we send Jung Kyungho?”
“That would be ideal… but he’s been with the team a long time, and—”
“Just say it.”
“It’s the shoulder injury. The fracture is too big to risk moving him right now. We’re really sorry about Gyeok-po, but he’s the only one who can go. We can send him now and bring him back when he’s healthy in a few months.”
The general manager nodded again. “Then we trade Gyeok-po to start the rebuild. We’ll start scouting teams that need catchers and pitchers.”
“I’ll have the target list ready by tomorrow,” the scout said.
“Anything else?”
“No, sir.”
“Then we’re done for today. Good work.”
The meeting broke up, and the bullpen-reinforcement plan was officially under way. * * *
The next morning, Choi Seungtaek walked into the Daejeon ballpark with his shoulders back and a grin already forming.
That went better than I expected.
He had not been able to run his own scouting report against the Sparrows, but the information he had pulled from Song Gol-mae the night before had been pure gold. He felt confident, focused, and ready.
“Choi Seungtaek!”
“Yes, Coach!”
He had just stepped into the locker room to check his equipment when the pitching coach caught up to him.
“Come here a second.”
Seungtaek followed without question.
“Listen, you have to pitch like your life depends on it today. You hear what I’m saying?”
“Huh? What news?”
Seungtaek’s face went blank for half a second.
“What? You don’t even know who’s pitching today?”
“I don’t?”
He had not been told, so he had no choice but to answer honestly. Better to admit the mistake than get caught lying when it mattered most.
“I’m sorry, Coach. I missed the announcement.”
“You missed it?! The manager scheduled an extra scouting session and you still don’t know who’s on the mound?!”
The pitching coach’s eyes flashed. Seungtaek felt the warning immediately.
Crap. One wrong move and I could end up doing special batting practice instead of analyzing today’s starter.
But he had a secret weapon.
“That’s… I actually saw Senior Song Gol-mae yesterday. He gave me some advice.”
“Ah…”
The pitching coach suddenly had nothing left to say. Song Gol-mae had been a first-team pitching coach until 2014; the man now standing in front of him had only just been promoted from the second team. Timing words carefully was mandatory.
“Right… who were you supposed to meet yesterday?”
“Oh! It wasn’t a meeting. He just happened to see me and pulled me in.”
“Hmm…”
Yeah. A rookie getting summoned by a legend—he couldn’t have turned it down.
The pitching coach gave up on the scolding. “But it worked out. You heard a ton of valuable stuff.”
“What? Really?”
“Song Gol-mae has been with the organization longer than almost anyone still in the majors. He knows our pitchers better than most of the current staff.”
Seungtaek had gained more than just a scouting report. He had a map of the entire staff’s strengths and weaknesses, plus advice on two free-agent pitchers who were still finding their footing. Yesterday had been a masterclass.
“Anyway, the starter today is Lee Chung-seong. We’re giving him one last look before the trade goes through. So you need to pitch like you mean it. Front office won’t like it if you lose to the guy they’re about to send away.”
Seungtaek’s mind spun. Oh, so today’s the day. And the opponent is the struggling Sparrows. This should be easy.
“I think we can handle it. I haven’t seen the pitcher’s stuff, but I’m solid on the batters.”
“You hit a double yesterday, right?”
“That was… I’m sorry, Coach. Senior Song wasn’t feeling great.”
“Injury?” The pitching coach’s eyes narrowed. “You saw that too?”
“Haha… yeah.”
The pitching coach studied him for a moment. Sharp kid.
“All right. I believe you. Figure Lee Chung-seong out and show him why he’s leaving.”
“Yes, Coach.”
Seungtaek pulled up the scouting sheet he had memorized.
C+ Grade Starter Pitcher
Velocity: B+
Command: B+
Stuff: B+
Stamina: B+
Preferred Pitches: Fastball, Slider
Least Preferred: Curveball
Damn. He really was a high-upside prospect. Impressive stuff.
The weakness was obvious once he read the mental notes.
Mental fragility—very, very fragile
That one line from Song Gol-mae had been the missing piece. Pure ability was B+; the mental game kept him locked at C+.
Easy fix? No. But one solid outing and he can still look like an A-grade arm on paper.
Seungtaek started drawing up the game plan right there in the locker room. Perfect. Today’s theme is “scam pitching.”
He finished the scenario with a grin, already tasting victory.