Chapter 32. Cutting Wind
Two wins and three losses.
Ranked sixth.
The actual quality of our games had been pretty clean.
Norman started as our third pitcher, but he kept throwing balls all over the place and ruined our chance to sweep an Opening Series for the first time in eight years.
There was no need to even talk about our fourth and fifth starters.
They were miserable.
At this point, it honestly seemed better to use one of the rookies we had drafted this year instead of relying on our domestic starters.
Whenever they managed to throw the ball inside the strike zone, they got hit.
Then afterward, they just kept throwing balls.
It was the textbook example of a bad team.
The Last-Place Oceans already starting their DTD collapse?
What the hell are these guys doing? Playing baseball drunk?
Ahhh, the fraud rocket is gone. It's flown far, far away.
Fire the manager already? The Oceans are always funniest in spring. Damn, they're terrible at baseball.
Day 3 of praying for Sajik Baseball Stadium to burn down.
And in the middle of all that, the starting rotation came back around to me.
Two wins and three losses.
The tiny flame that had made the fans start believing in the team again had already gone out.
Now I had to light it again.
Manager Rodriguez didn't say much despite our three-game losing streak.
He simply watched the players hit and pitch.
There had been a few changes to the lineup.
“Park Seunga is going down to the second team.”
Park Seunga, who had ended up batting in the low .200s, was quickly demoted.
Another second baseman was called up to take his place.
Manager Rodriguez had already been watching him unfavorably, and after his defensive errors piled up, he was sent down.
Park Seunga was no longer with the first team.
The decision had been made suddenly the previous evening.
People rarely changed unless something serious happened.
Park Seunga never managed to change.
And the professional world was cold.
Starting Lineup
1st Batter: Kwon Geonwoo (Center Fielder)
2nd Batter: Park Hyeonghwan (Left Fielder)
3rd Batter: Choi Seong (Pitcher)
4th Batter: Yoon Jaejun (Catcher)
5th Batter: Kim Hakseong (First Baseman)
6th Batter: Daniel Sanchez (Third Baseman)
7th Batter: Yoo Gam (Right Fielder)
8th Batter: Go Gyeongtae (Second Baseman)
9th Batter: Kwon Seonho (Shortstop)
The batting order had changed as well.
Kwon Geonwoo and Park Hyeonghwan had managed to survive on the roster thanks to batting averages in the upper .200s and decent speed.
As for me, I had no choice but to move up from the ninth spot.
There was only one reason for that.
[Choi Seong Leads League in ERA and RBIs... Has Korea Produced a True Two-Way Player?]
[With the Choi Seong Rule Revised, Will Korea Produce an All-Time Great Player?]
[Even During Their Three-Game Losing Streak, the Oceans Still Have Choi Seong and Yoon Jaejun]
Yoon Jaejun and I were being recognized as the league's best rookie battery.
Yoon Jaejun had already hit three home runs and was ranked second in that category.
Daniel Sanchez and Kim Hakseong being out of form was a problem, but at least they were better than our pitchers who kept setting games on fire.
“Yoon Jaejun! Keep your head straight and hit the ball! This is nothing!”
While I was helping Yoon Jaejun with batting practice, I noticed Yoo Gam staring intently at us.
He was still striking out in nearly half of his plate appearances this season.
He had a few extra-base hits, including doubles and home runs, but he was still considered an all-or-nothing slugger.
Fans had even started making fun of him again this season by saying, His skills really are a regret.
Yoon Jaejun noticed Yoo Gam and waved at him.
He looked fairly exhausted, but his power and contact were gradually stabilizing.
I had taught him from time to time in high school as well, and now that I was teaching him step by step, his skills were slowly improving.
...Still, if I wanted him to bring out his prime form at this year's Olympics, this wasn't nearly enough.
“Again.”
I kept pushing Yoon Jaejun without mercy.
The surrounding players sometimes tried to stop me because of how intense it was, but Yoon Jaejun stubbornly kept taking part in my training.
He would take hundreds of swings before the game and then go over the technical details again even after it ended.
Since we were already doing this from the beginning of the season, the other players seemed to have trouble understanding it.
Even so, if he wanted to raise his level properly right now, this process was necessary.
Even after our thirty-minute session ended, Yoo Gam was still carefully watching me and Yoon Jaejun train.
He'd probably be better off spending that time studying the opposing pitcher's movement.
Only after we started resting did Yoo Gam finally approach us.
Yoon Jaejun smiled brightly when he saw him.
“Senior!”
Yoo Gam was easygoing, just like his large build suggested.
Maybe I should say he reminded me of a panda.
He had a good personality.
His performance just wasn't very good.
“Oh, hey!”
He greeted us cheerfully.
“Do you need something from us?”
I asked while wiping away my sweat.
I had been warming up myself while helping Yoon Jaejun with batting practice.
Yoo Gam's eyes widened before he grinned.
“Do you think I could get this kind of training too?”
I calmly scanned his body.
What did Yoo Gam need right now?
It didn't take me long to figure it out.
“First, you need to watch more pitches. This is a moment where you need patience.”
Otherwise, his swing-and-miss rate would only keep getting higher.
Yoo Gam nodded.
“You don't seem to have a good feel for it yet, so step into the batter's box first.”
With that, I threw him a few light batting practice pitches.
Yoo Gam sent them flying far away.
One even reached the outfield stands for a home run.
He definitely had plenty of power.
“Now try not to swing.”
Even when I threw perfectly hittable batting practice pitches, I told him to hold back.
Part of his problem was pitch recognition and failing to follow the ball's path properly.
But an even bigger issue was his lack of patience.
Yoo Gam's shoulders kept twitching.
“Hold it. Patience is going to be the key to raising your batting average.”
He seemed relaxed in everyday life, but the moment he stepped into the batter's box, he became impatient.
If he fixed that, he would improve.
After throwing him a few more pitches, I brought Yoon Jaejun back in front of me.
“You. Let's work on improving your quality of contact again.”
Beside us, Yoo Gam kept taking practice stances by himself, looking as though he wanted to swing while thinking deeply about something.
I didn't have enough time to properly teach Yoo Gam right now.
What mattered most was training Yoon Jaejun.
Our cleanup hitters had to produce today if we wanted to finish this game properly.
“Today, for the first time, we sent Park Seunga down to the second team.”
Thirty minutes before the game, Manager Rodriguez gathered everyone again.
His opening line wasn't exactly pleasant.
Even so, Manager Rodriguez's expression remained fairly bright.
“It's still early in the season, but considering your physical conditions, mentality, and other factors, there will be additional changes to parts of the lineup.”
Park Seunga probably wouldn't return to the first team again.
No matter how terrible the pitchers were, how could he also fail to handle an ordinary infield ground ball once every game?
It was simply a lack of ability.
