episode_0072

“So, does the upper management want Jimaengho to go to the national team?”

The foreign coach who had been in charge of AT Thunder’s command for the past two years, Tony Sands, spoke with a dissatisfied tone. Of course, Sands’ words were in English, fitting his nationality.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Upon hearing the response from his assistant coach, with whom he had spent two years, Sands pressed his head firmly. It seemed that even the assistant coach he brought from the United States was not pleased with the situation.

“Ugh, as if dealing with this trash-like team wasn’t stressful enough, now it’s getting worse. These guys who don’t even know the basics of baseball keep messing things up.”

In truth, whether Jimaengho had any potential or talent was not particularly important to Coach Sands. He simply disliked being told what to do by the front office.

“But what can we do? We have to do as we’re told from above.”

“Damn it! I should just go back to my hometown quickly. Coming here has completely ruined my career.”

Although he spoke in such a manner, life in Korea was important to Coach Sands. When Sands first took over at AT Thunder, he had grand dreams.

Leading a team like this one in Korea to victory, akin to Chicago Cubs in Korea, and then returning home in triumph! Given the current interest in fringe baseball even in Major League Baseball, he thought that a championship in the KBA league would be recognized back home.

Initially, when Coach Sands assumed his position at AT Thunder, the team seemed quite appealing. The individual players’ performances were decent, and so were their salaries. Moreover, the history of the team not winning a championship since 1994 served as a device to make him stand out more.

During his first year, Coach Sands led AT Thunder to a 6th place finish. A year is an adaptation period. He never thought he would lag behind these fringe coaches, so he simply considered it an issue of adaptation.

“Yeah, it was my mistake to try to play power baseball with these poor physical abilities of these guys. Plus, there was the peculiarity of Jamsil Stadium.”

Coach Sands believed that the cause of his experienced failure lay in his oversight of the physical limitations of Asians and the widely spacious Jamsil Baseball Stadium, which was renowned worldwide, during his stint in Korea.

And in his second year at the helm, Coach Sands led the team with what he thought was a fantastic pitching strategy, and…

…received a ranking of 7th. Even though two key bullpen pitchers got sidelined during the season, grinding the team, the results were brutal.

“Damn it! These idiots can’t follow my tactics.”

Bunt galore and extreme inning splitting! His tactics were flawless. However, the players couldn’t follow. And the root cause was the glaring lack of training. The players in this country acted as if they didn’t understand the concept of autonomous training.

Coach Sands was a type of coach who guaranteed autonomous training for the players, but he came to see it as a fatal flaw. In reality, except for a few players, after team training ended, they didn’t engage in individual training.

“Training! Ultimately, only training can lead the team to victory! I’ve been foolish all this time. Trusting players… was my mistake in trusting those fools who only care about money!”

If he had thoroughly trained his desired picture at last year’s spring camp, Coach Sands believed that the disaster of finishing 7th wouldn’t have occurred.

“For now, the players in this country lack fundamental skills too much. Let’s focus on defense training, bunt training, and base running training during the spring camp program.”

“Understood.”

Of course, the current trend in modern baseball was quite different from Coach Sands’ directives. Especially diverging from Major League Baseball’s trend of increasing launch angles and disregarding batting averages to solely pursue home runs.

The trend in baseball nowadays was for bunts to disappear, but Coach Sands didn’t subscribe to that notion. He completely abandoned the idea of playing big-ball baseball, aiming for home runs while using the vast Jamsil Stadium. It was a baseball led by the coach, thoroughly discarding the individuality of players.

That was the appearance of Coach Sands in his third year of pursuit.

“Next year is my final year under contract. At the very least, we must make it to the autumn baseball.”

If they failed to make it to autumn baseball, the path to employment on the mainland would be completely blocked. Therefore, this year required even more thorough preparation! Only then could they secure a chance for re-contracting and another shot at challenging.

Of course, the reason AT Thunders appointed Coach Sands was to introduce trendy baseball from the mainland and improve the rifle brigade’s physique, but Coach Sands was unaware of that. What mattered most to a pro team was performance.

“Well then, Coach. Let’s talk about the starting lineup for next year from now on.”

In any case, Coach Sands stopped complaining and brought up the reason for summoning the head coach. How they would run the next season was a crucial issue to address before spring camp.

“Understood.”

“Well, let’s start with the players we acquired this time… Gisangju and Jang Yoon are good, but Choi Jin-cheol might find it difficult to play at Jamsil…”

Gisangju was a solid player who played in the Major Leagues until last season. Despite a lackluster performance last year with 373 plate appearances and 0.241/0.303/0.357/0.660 with 5 home runs, he excelled in the KBA league, using Jamsil as his home stadium, with a .338 batting average, .953 OPS, and 181 home runs as a designated hitter. The reason for trading the team’s core hitter Jang Hyun-ho was largely due to Gisangju.

Furthermore, Gisangju was a type of hitter optimized for medium to long distances at Jamsil.

Then there was Jang Yoon, a solid starting pitcher who played eight seasons with UG Overlords, recording 1351 innings, 1085 strikeouts, and a 4.22 ERA. Notably, despite being a flyball pitcher, he achieved these stats in the small home ballpark of Munhak.

Although expensive, Coach Sands was unaware of that.

“Still, since they were acquired by the front office, we have to use them, right? They are also from our team. Besides, he plays first base…”

“That’s the issue. It would have been better if he were a third baseman.”

“That’s also a problem. We have Kim Soo-ho on the team.”

However, Choi Jin-cheol was different. He was a type of hitter unsuitable for Jamsil. Moreover, his record last season was dismal: a slash line of 0.230/0.311/0.475/0.786. Although he hit 28 home runs, moving to Jamsil meant his home run count would inevitably decrease.

If his performance had been as a third baseman, it might have been salvageable. However, last season, Choi Jin-cheol’s position was designated hitter. Since this contract required him to change positions to first base, the advantages of being a third baseman were now nonexistent. A washed-up hitter. Nothing more, nothing less.

“The problem is, since he was acquired through free agency, we have to use him this season… To think we have to pay him 600 million won. It’s not my money, but it’s a waste.”

I wish they had given me that money instead…

“Now is not the time.”

Coach Sands quickly erased unnecessary thoughts from his mind. What mattered now wasn’t the money but the team’s performance. The crucial point was that Choi Jin-cheol’s acquisition had created problems for the team.

Choi Jin-cheol’s biggest issue wasn’t his declining performance or the fact that he was 37 years old by Korean standards.

“The biggest problem is the foreign player we acquired this time, who primarily played first base in the minor leagues. The front office said they signed the best-hitting foreign player, but it seems their positions overlap.”

The mercenary batter recently acquired by AT Thunders is the young 27-year-old player Roberto Bour. He was a player who barely made it with a hefty sum of $1 million, combining transfer fees and salary, after achieving an impressive performance of 0.307/0.372/0.517/0.889 in the minor leagues last year.

However, according to scouts, he is an unstable defensive player. The report recommended using him as a designated hitter.

AT Thunders’ designated hitter position was firmly held by the franchise star Woo Kwan-hyung, the coach. Although he declared that he would return to the outfield this season, uncertainties still lingered.

Moreover, Choi Jin-cheol has played first base in the majors before, but fundamentally, he is a third baseman. Besides, he is older. Just last year, he was a designated hitter for the Future Buffaloes. A player whose return to the designated hitter role is uncertain.

In short, there was an overlap in the designated hitter position.

“Woo Kwan-hyung, Choi Jin-cheol, and Bour.”

Can Woo Kwan-hyung really make a comeback as an outfielder? Can Choi Jin-cheol adapt to first base? It was an unpredictable situation where all these assumptions could easily fall apart without knowing the players’ abilities.

“But we can’t just not use those players, can we?”

“That’s the problem.”

Not greater than the team but almost equivalent to the team, Woo Kwan-hyung. If this player were removed from the lineup, the office would have turned into chaos.

The high-priced free agent Choi Jin-cheol was in a similar situation. Going against the front office’s wishes could jeopardize his future.

“Planning the lineup is indeed challenging.”

“Yeah, the pitching staff is somewhat sorted out, but…”

Two foreign mercenaries, Jang Yoon and Park Jun-hyung, for domestic starters. Finding five starters at spring camp wouldn’t be too difficult, and bolstering the bullpen from last year’s bullpen and the second string should keep the season rolling smoothly.

“The issue lies with the position players.”

Especially the infielders. Strictly speaking, the centerline of the infield. The outfield wasn’t a big problem for now. With center fielder Kim Ju-yeop, corner outfielder Han Sang-kyu, and outfielder Lee In-hyuk capable of all outfield positions, combining one of them with Ki Sang-ju and Woo Kwan-hyung would solve the issue.

“Indeed, the infield seems challenging this year as well. No standout shortstop. Oh, I heard Yoon Sung-tae and Ji Maeng-ho performed well in the closing camp.”

“Still, they are young. Can’t consider them constants.”

There was a significant gap in the center infield. Not finding regular shortstops and second basemen in the past few years led to rotating through four to five players.

“Hmm. Third baseman Kim Soo-ho’s performance is deteriorating gradually.”

“How old is he this year?”

“He’s thirty-three in Korean age.”

Even though the lifespan of baseball players has increased nowadays, hitting a rough patch at that age wasn’t unusual.

“Still, if Choi Jin-cheol can perform at an average first baseman level, wouldn’t that be acceptable?”

“That’s true. Last year’s mercenary, Pares, was truly frustrating.”

Thinking about last year’s mercenary batter, Pares, who played for a month, got injured, rested for two months, played for another month, and then ruined the season due to injury, Manager Sands still felt boiling inside. In the KBA league where mercenaries play a significant role, such disruptive mercenaries were a big blow.

“So, Kim Soo-ho at third, Choi Jin-cheol at first. How about Ji Maeng-ho at second? Being a first-round pick, the front office seems to have high expectations for him.”

“If that guy lives up to the expectations placed on him by the front office.”

“Haha, that’s true. I’m not expecting much either. How remarkable can you be as a first-round pick in a small country like this?”

“I guess we’ll have to stick with Jung Yoon-chul as the catcher, right?”

“It seems unavoidable. Even if his performance wasn’t great last year, the catcher position isn’t easy to change.”

“Sigh. This year will probably be a tough season.”

“If everyone performs at their best, it might not be so difficult, right?”

As the head coach had said, the players’ reputations were not bad. Catcher Jung Yoon-chul and third baseman Kim Soo-ho had both received Golden Glove awards, while Choi Jin-cheol, Woo Kwan-hyung, and Ki Sang-joo had dominated the league.

“Haha. Mason, do you still believe in this ragtag team? Do you think such a miracle will happen?”

“Haha, I’m sorry, boss. I was just talking about something that seems like a dream.”

“There is no player greater than the team… That’s what I’ve realized sharply since coming to this country. The players on this team need my guidance one by one to act like human beings. Haha.”

There was a bone-chilling quality to Coach Sands’ laughter. How many betrayals had he faced over the past two years, leaving the players to themselves?

“Make sure to push them hard during this spring camp. You trash kids!”

*

“Still, there are a few familiar faces at the spring camp.”

“Heh heh, if even your pitiful brain can remember them, they must be quite remarkable individuals.”

“Well, there are people like that too.”

Players like Ki Sang-joo, Choi Jin-cheol, and Kim Soo-ho were indeed considered impressive within the KBA league. Excluding those players, they were just like the athletes from elementary and middle school that one would see in AT. And what about my fellow newcomers to the spring camp, Jun-ho and Hyun-seong?

“First of all, congratulations on joining the spring camp. Train with hope because you are the players with the highest potential to perform in the first team next year.”

The interpreter was faithfully translating the coach’s words. Well, thanks to Rosby, I could hear the coach’s words even without an interpreter.

“…Lastly, training starts today, so leave your luggage and gather back here. We’ll start with lower body exercises on the first day.”

Didn’t Woo Kwan-hyung mention ensuring autonomy? Well, it’s a spring camp, so training from the first day is also possible.

After the boring orientation session ended, I headed back to the dormitory. The first spring camp was held at the Ichon 2nd Division Baseball Stadium, so it felt familiar.

“Oh? Sung-tae hyung?”

“Did they call you Keystone?”

“It seems like they did.”

Fortunately, my roommate this time was Yoon Sung-tae. We got along somewhat well, so there weren’t any complaints.

“Wow, I was worried about who my roommate would be, but this turned out well. Hey, do my laundry.”

…Could this get annoying?

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Kim Soo-ho, Third Baseman, Right-handed pitcher, Left-handed batter.

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