Chapter 19. Super Rookie
The day we won the championship, we didn’t have a champagne party.
Instead, we had a pizza party.
The parents took the initiative and brought all the players to a nearby pizza place.
Even I allowed myself to enjoy the day.
“We actually set quite a few records, didn’t we?”
I said that while reading an article written by reporter Kim Yujin, whom I had met before.
Everyone’s faces were flushed, whether from drinking too much cola or from still being drunk on the feeling of victory.
Yoon Jaejun, who was sitting beside me, chimed in.
“There’s our school’s first-ever winning streak. And wasn’t this the first time a team that finished last in the first-half weekend league ended up winning the championship?”
Kwon Geonwoo excitedly added,
“And among players who hit at least five home runs, you’re the first one to rank first in ERA too.”
I nodded.
I had hit plenty of home runs and reached base on walks in most of my other plate appearances.
If I had been on another team, opponents probably wouldn’t have focused on shutting me down so aggressively in the first place.
“Yeah. I was able to do it because you guys were there.”
I kept it simple.
They looked like they wanted some praise.
On the day we won the championship, countless articles poured out.
Saeum High’s Miracle… Players to Watch: Choi Sung, Yoon Jaejun, Kwon Geonwoo
Park Seonghyeon: “It’s All Thanks to Choi Sung”
Perennial Last-Place Team Creates a Summer Miracle
A Story More Like a Fairy Tale Than a Fairy Tale… This Is the Charm of High School Baseball
Choi Sung, Once Called ‘Arrogant,’ Proves Himself With Skill
KBO Teams Expected to Send Love Calls to Choi Sung… Key Question Is Whether the Oceans Draft Him
MLB Joins the Race… Interest Growing Around Choi Sung’s Future
Will Choi Sung Enter the Draft? MLB Scouts Unanimously Call Him ‘Major-League Ready’
I calmly read through the flood of articles, then closed my eyes for a moment.
At this point, becoming the first overall pick was practically guaranteed.
What I needed to think about came afterward.
In this life, I had to give the Oceans their second championship.
They had only won once before.
Honestly, isn’t Saeum High the greatest underdog story in school history?
ㄴ Why?
ㄴ Reporters posted their stats. Until last year, their team batting average was in the .100s.
ㄴ No way… How can kids preparing to go pro be that bad?
ㄴ It’s true. Their team ERA was over 10 too.
Statement from All 10 KBO Clubs: “Choi Sung, Just Go to the Majors”
ㄴ It’s simple. We can’t waste any more emotional energy fighting over you.
ㄴ Just go to the Yankees and hit it big.
ㄴ Can’t he go to the Korean Dodgers?
I couldn’t help but chuckle while reading all sorts of comments.
When the me from my previous life was posted from the KBO, baseball fans argued over the simplest things.
Some said I had to go to the Dodgers.
Others insisted I should go to the Yankees.
There had also been endless arguments about the posting fee.
In the end, I went to the Seattle Mariners.
I liked the beautiful night view of the city.
And I found it amusing that a city I had heard of before had never won a championship.
“Sung… even if you become successful after going pro, you’re not allowed to abandon me, okay?”
Every time one of the guys I had played baseball with walked past while eating pizza, I heard something like that.
That was already the eighth time.
“Don’t worry. That won’t happen.”
Once people got older, classmates barely kept in touch anyway.
Who was going to look for me?
Sure, I sometimes got calls from old classmates.
But most of them were just trying to sell me insurance.
And so, we celebrated our championship.
My third year of high school passed quickly.
There were no more official games left for us to play before the draft.
But we had already shown everyone.
The miracle of the underdogs.
A few third-year students left the team early.
They were seniors in high school.
Those who had no realistic chance of going to university through baseball or turning pro had already gone to look for different career paths.
I felt a little bitter about it since we had gone through quite a lot together.
But there was nothing that could be done.
The day that would decide my future approached before I knew it.
Which team would I end up with?
Because of the draft rules, if the Busan Oceans didn’t select me, I planned to go to university.
[Main Mission: Enter the Professional League as the First Overall Pick.]
Description: Having received a second chance, Choi Sung must prove that he is the greatest baseball prospect in South Korea.
Reward: Potential [Super Rookie], Hidden Mission Unlocked
Failure Means Death!
The faint ringing in my ears was sometimes loud and sometimes quiet.
In other words, it was random.
I had no idea what determined it, but I had already played my hand.
I had shown everyone the best version of myself.
I calmly checked my converted stats.
It wasn’t as though I had spent the past month doing nothing but resting and watching what happened.
My stats had increased quite a bit in just one month.
Choi Sung
Pitcher Stats
Stamina: 95/200
Fastball: 70/100
Slider: 40/100
Circle Changeup: 15/100
Injury Risk While Pitching: 0.2%
Batter Stats
Power: 60/100
(Breakthrough possible after exceeding 100)Contact: 50/100
(Breakthrough possible after exceeding 100)Speed: 14/100
(Breakthrough possible after exceeding 100)
Potential
(Activates after fulfilling certain conditions in specific situations)
Indomitable Will: Choi Sung from his previous life created miracles no matter the situation. Emotional fluctuations are reduced.
Sweet Revenge: Activates after being hit by a pitch, intentionally walked, or similar actions during a game. Triggered when Choi Sung experiences emotional agitation. All stats increase by 20%.
Championship Mercenary (Screwball): Activates when the team finished near the bottom of the standings in the previous season. One desired breaking ball can be used throughout that season without increasing injury risk.
The important question now was how each team—
No.
How the Busan Oceans, who currently held the first overall pick, viewed me.
Busan Oceans scout Kim Minsu and general manager Kim Sangwon were calmly holding a meeting.
Kim Sangwon’s expression was stiff.
They were confirmed to finish last this year.
They had finished last the year before too.
The fans cared more about the upcoming draft results than who would win in fall baseball.
Of course, that was sarcasm.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before Sajik turned into a sea of fire.
“We need extraordinary measures.”
Kim Minsu nodded at Kim Sangwon’s words.
“We’ll choose players who are ready to contribute immediately next year.”
The draft board they had originally prepared had already been overturned several times.
And there was only one reason for that.
Saeum High.
They weren’t local-region players, but several players from that school had strangely continued improving their stats throughout the season.
“Next year, we need to finish at least fifth. We obviously can’t expect rookies to carry us immediately, but still…”
Kim Minsu nodded with a determined expression.
“I’ll bring back the Oceans’ golden era from the early 1990s.”
“Good. And make sure we offer the maximum signing bonus so they don’t choose university instead.”
When it came to the draft, finishing last made you royalty.
The player they needed most urgently right now was Choi Sung.
“Kim Minjin, Park Soran, and Kim Deokbae, whom you also liked, will probably end up going to other teams.”
“That’s fine. Choi Sung has already proven with his own performance that he’s better than them.”
Kim Minsu nodded.
“We’ll make sure we get him and change this team.”
“That’s the spirit.”
The two Oceans front-office executives, who held tremendous authority during this period of the year, bumped fists.
Then they headed toward the draft hall.
Their goal in this draft was simple.
Win now.
Because tampering—contacting players in advance—was prohibited, it was difficult for me to predict exactly what my future would look like.
Even so, several third-year players from Saeum High had entered the draft.
The applicants were me, Park Seoha, Yoon Jaejun, and Kwon Geonwoo.
The reason there were only four of us was simple.
There were only six third-year students on the team, and the other two had chosen not to enter the draft.
They had left to pursue different paths.
“How much time is left?”
“About an hour?”
Our parents hadn’t come with us.
They were probably watching the draft broadcast on television.
The rookie draft was one of the most important annual events in Korean baseball.
I could even see the younger faces of several famous players whose names I remembered.
When we approached the seats assigned to us in the draft hall, everyone moved out of our way.
I could hear people whispering.
“So that’s Choi Sung…”
“He’s even bigger than I expected. Should we talk to him?”
“That guy’s crazy. Don’t bother. If we get mixed up with him as rookies, the veterans might mark us too.”
Everyone seemed to be avoiding me.
Yoon Jaejun looked ready to step forward like some kind of enforcer and say something, but I grabbed his hand.
“There’s no reason to waste your energy on guys like that.”
They were deliberately speaking loudly enough for me to hear.
They were trying to provoke me.
But they were people I didn’t even remember from my previous life.
In other words, no matter what they did, they were the kind of players who would quietly play baseball for a while and then disappear when their careers ended.
“People are picking fights over the dumbest things.”
