Chapter 3
3. The Switch Pitcher Is Powerful
The skill test of the freshman who had caused such a disturbance was over.
But this was only the beginning.
Mornings for the Cheongryong High School baseball team started with light running.
Normally, the first day was used for introductions and basic physical training.
After that, the freshmen had their abilities tested.
Aside from unusual cases like Seo Ji-tae, everyone went through the same process.
Freshmen! Why aren’t you running faster?!”
The shouting of the upperclassmen reached Seo Ji-tae’s ears.
The freshmen struggled to follow from the back.
But Seo Ji-tae ran comfortably at the front of the group.
Huff! Huff!”
The freshman who had caused such a commotion ran at the front with only a light sweat.
Running was essential cardio training for a pitcher.
Seo Ji-tae knew better than anyone how important basic stamina was.
A-All right, short break!”
The problem came immediately after the run.
Choi Dong-il and the coaches gave instructions that made Seo Ji-tae doubt his ears.
Catch your breath and gather in front of the stands!
This isn’t enough! To build some real stamina, you’ll go up and down the stairs with bunny hops ten times.
Pitchers will throw one hundred pitches. Hitters will do fungo drills. Prepare to die!”
The freshmen turned pale.
Hell training.
They were already worried about such harsh training on the first day.
This kind of training was common for baseball teams in the 2010s.
But things like bunny hops and excessive pitching were not healthy.
You need to keep using your shoulder to develop good form. You have to sweat until you’re soaked and train like your life depends on it if you want to go pro. Understood?”
Their training methods had not progressed beyond the theories of the past.
Unfortunately, high school baseball was so slow to address pitcher abuse that a 130-pitch limit was not introduced until 2014.
Even after Seo Ji-tae’s time, Choi Dong-il would be criticized for things like making pitchers appear in five consecutive games and using them until they broke.
There were basically no restrictions preventing him from destroying pitchers’ shoulders.
Just as he was about to lead the players into hell training, someone suddenly stepped out of line.
Is that Seo Ji-tae?”
Seo Ji-tae had left the group.
Hey, freshman! Seo Ji-tae, at the end! Where are you going?”
Choi Dong-il slammed his bat against the ground and shouted.
Seo Ji-tae looked back and answered casually.
I’m going to do weight training.”
What? Can’t you see we’re doing team training? Get back here and start the bunny hops!”
Why should I?”
!”
At the freshman’s answer, Choi Dong-il could only stand there with his mouth open.
Seo Ji-tae’s thoughts had not changed.
Why would I repeat the same stupid mistakes I already experienced in the past?
He calmly explained his reasoning to the stunned Choi Dong-il.
I’m not doing unscientific exercises like bunny hops or duck walks that damage the knees.
And blindly throwing a huge number of pitches isn’t good either.
I need to pitch more efficiently, and before that, I need to build my body.”
W-What? What did you say? So you’re refusing?”
Yes. I’m going to start with weight training.”
Choi Dong-il’s face turned red, but Seo Ji-tae remained calm.
I’m going to do training a pitcher actually needs. It’s not like I’m breaking the rules just to go play somewhere.”
Seo Ji-tae knew excessive training was poison.
He was completely confident.
Japanese Major Leaguer David Jun did the same thing in high school. He refused stupid training. You have to protect your body!
Seo Ji-tae had no intention of being trapped by outdated traditions either.
He had absolutely no intention of destroying his precious body through old-fashioned training he knew was harmful.
Choi Dong-il pointed at him angrily.
Everyone else is doing it, but you’re saying you won’t?”
I won’t. I’ll do the training I need on my own.”
Have you lost your mind? Get the hell out!”
In the end, Choi Dong-il told him to leave.
It was meant as a threat.
Seo Ji-tae remained completely relaxed.
Then I’ll transfer to another school. I’ll report everything to the school administration too.”
You bastard!”
Choi Dong-il hesitated.
He had already seen Seo Ji-tae’s skill.
On top of that, Seo Ji-tae was a prospect Cheongryong High School had recruited with a scholarship.
He absolutely did not want the school administration interfering with the baseball team.
His own position could become vulnerable.
Y-You! You think you can solve everything like that? You think you’re special?”
I’m building my body so I can pitch on the mound. That helps the team.”
Hah. Fine. Do whatever you want. Go ahead.”
Choi Dong-il waved him away in disgust.
Seo Ji-tae ignored everyone’s stares.
He immediately headed toward the weight training room inside the facility.
Seo Ji-tae, what are you really planning to do?”
His classmate Lee Jin-woo asked with a worried expression.
Aren’t you supposed to be training?”
The seniors told me to watch what you’re doing.”
Perfect. Let’s build your body first.”
What? Me too…?”
You want to play baseball in the future, don’t you?”
W-Well, yeah, but… Isn’t this dangerous?”
Lee Jin-woo looked worried.
In a single day, Seo Ji-tae had already forced everyone to recognize his talent.
But to his fellow freshmen, his actions still looked dangerous.
Everyone’s talking about you. They keep asking why you’re acting like this. If you make even one mistake, everyone’s going to jump on you.”
Ignore them. I’ll handle my own training. Jin-woo, you shouldn’t do those exercises either. They’ll ruin your knees.”
I-I…”
If you don’t have the courage, go back.”
Seo Ji-tae lay down on the bench press.
His current body was 180 centimeters tall and weighed 80 kilograms.
That was an excellent physique for an ordinary high school student.
But on the Major League stage, where baseball geniuses gathered, it was not enough.
One hundred eighty centimeters in the Majors? That’s basically a kid.
That was a world dominated by muscular giants approaching 190 centimeters.
Seo Ji-tae’s goal.
Reach Major League Baseball?
No.
I’m going to become a legend in Major League Baseball.
Simply reaching the Majors would never satisfy him.
That was why Seo Ji-tae needed to start building his body now.
This was the most important time if he wanted to reach the complete form he had imagined.
I’m building the body my future self will use.
At his physical peak, Seo Ji-tae had been 185 centimeters tall and weighed 100 kilograms of muscle.
But his knees and shoulders had already been destroyed, making that powerful body useless.
This time is different. I’m going to throw 170 km/h with my left hand!
An 80-kilogram body was too small a vessel to contain the dream velocity of 170 km/h.
Seo Ji-tae lifted the barbell.
The cold metal touched his palms.
The heavy weight tore at his muscles, bringing the vivid pain of muscle fibers breaking down and rebuilding.
Seo Ji-tae continued training his body.
Next, my form.
After weight training came the real preparation for the velocity revolution.
Seo Ji-tae turned on his phone and checked his pitching form.
Then he recalled his memories.
The Driveline program he had learned from former Major Leaguer Antonio in the independent league before his regression.
At this time, many people in Korean baseball still treated such methods as dangerous training that would destroy a pitcher’s shoulder.
But Seo Ji-tae knew better.
He knew from the future that knowledge like this would trigger a velocity revolution and help baseball develop greatly in countries outside Korea.
He recorded himself with the camera and stood in front of a mirror, carefully checking his pitching form.
It was not about simply swinging his arm harder.
The rotation of the pelvis traveled through the spine before exploding from the fingertips at the final moment.
A chain reaction of energy.
It would be easier if I had proper training balls. I’ll order some as soon as training ends today.
[Reverse Throw]
Training for the rear shoulder and parts of the thoracic spine.
[Pivot Pick]
Helps develop efficient arm action and improves forward rotation while throwing.
Form correction and core training were more important than simply increasing pitch count.
The coaches of this era still refused to accept that.
Seo Ji-tae began performing parts of the program.
He divided the exercises into sets and trained until sweat poured from his body.
After finishing his left-arm training, Seo Ji-tae changed the glove to his other hand.
Now it was time to polish his secret weapon.
A right-handed submarine delivery.
It had been his lifeline during the miserable years before his regression.
And in the future, it would become a deadly weapon used to torment Major League hitters.
He dropped his right arm extremely low.
His delivery passed only a few centimeters above the ground.
The release point was even lower than that of an ordinary right-handed submarine pitcher.
Maintaining such a form required extreme lower-body flexibility and tremendous core strength.
Supporting his body on one leg, Seo Ji-tae twisted his upper body with the flexibility of a snake.
With my left hand, I’ll crush hitters from above. With my right hand, I’ll make the ball rise from the ground.
Making two completely different pitching mechanics coexist inside one body was painfully difficult.
But Seo Ji-tae knew how enjoyable that pain could be.
It’s different from before. Everything’s different!”
This was a battle where he could already see the result.
Sweat poured from Seo Ji-tae as he continued strengthening his body.
It’s rare for a switch pitcher to succeed in the Majors.
Even being a two-way player had once seemed impossible.
Then Japan’s Shotani appeared and expanded what people thought was possible.
Seo Ji-tae would do the same.
The ultimate hybrid pitcher.
A pitcher no one in baseball history had ever attempted to become, or perhaps had attempted and failed.
That complete form was slowly being shaped through Seo Ji-tae’s sweat.
Ten days passed.
For now, Seo Ji-tae continued training however he wanted under the silent tolerance of the coach and seniors.
He avoided every useless exercise and strengthened his body through individual training.
Naturally, very few people welcomed such an outsider.
Everyone, gather up!”
That afternoon, the entire baseball team participated in a shuttle run.
Was it comfortable training by yourself? Your seniors and classmates have been sweating like crazy.”
…I’ve been sweating too.”
Playing around with a few exercise machines is nothing special. If you perform badly, prepare to be punished.”
Choi Dong-il intended to embarrass Seo Ji-tae.
How dare a freshman skip team training in a high school baseball club obsessed with discipline and insist on individual training?
He wanted to humiliate him somehow and break his spirit.
Anyone who falls behind gets extra night training today! Start!”
At the sound of Choi Dong-il’s whistle, the players began running together.
Twenty-meter shuttle runs.
They had to repeatedly run the set distance while keeping pace with the time limit.
Haa! Haa!”
The freshmen groaned.
Even the second- and third-year players struggled.
Choi Dong-il’s gaze went toward Seo Ji-tae.
Naturally, he expected the freshman to fall behind.
But Choi Dong-il’s prediction was completely wrong.
What the hell is that?”
Seo Ji-tae touched the line during each shuttle as quickly as the seniors.
No, even faster.
He was completing the back-and-forth runs faster than many third-year players.
Why is he so good at this?”
A freshman is better than us?”
Shock appeared on the faces of Park Jin-cheol and the other seniors.
For people trapped in outdated training traditions, Seo Ji-tae’s methods were impossible to understand.
Yet the stamina he was showing in the shuttle run already exceeded that of the third-year players.
You useless third-years! You’re going to lose to a freshman?!”
Choi Dong-il shouted.
But that day, surprisingly, Seo Ji-tae finished first in the stamina test.
