Countryside Ace

Chapter 4 : Miners (1)

Miners (1)

Five years ago, the Jeonju Rangers and Gangwon Miners both entered the first league together, and the KBO transitioned to a two-league system: the West Sea League and the East Sea League.

Although the two new teams operated quite differently, one thing was the same—they ranked at the bottom every year for five years.

[Who the hell came up with a team name like this ㅡㅡ Needs to get beaten with a bat]

└ The owner named it

└ Is he senile or what lolololol

└ Since GW is a group that started with mining in Gangwon Province, they insisted on naming the team after miners

└ So it's "Miners" because of miners? I thought it was because their win-loss margin was minus, lololol

└ Well, then the people who didn't stop the owner from naming it "Miners" also need to get beaten with a bat

└ Apparently, everyone tried to stop him

└ Still, they should've tried harder ㅡㅡ

└ There's a rumor that when they said "We can't name the team Miners," he told them to go work for another company with a cool baseball team name

└ The employees must have been so frustrated

└ Thanks for understanding......

Well, that's the rumor.

And as far as I know, it's true.

Anyway, like other newly established teams, Gangwon Miners had a hard time gathering fans.

Unlike others, they weren't city-based but were uniquely allowed a broader regional base—but since their area was Gangwon Province, it didn't help much.

Maybe that's why they tried to build the team's core with star players who had become free agents.

When the club was founded, they even abolished the salary cap and started throwing money around.

The atmosphere in the club felt like it favored players with star quality.

The season was still ongoing.

And, as far as I knew, the head coach would soon voluntarily resign due to poor performance.

The next coach to come had a huge reputation in Korean baseball, and the coaching staff members also had impressive careers as players.

But being a big name as a player doesn't necessarily make you a good coach.

"Was the original pitching coach Kim Jun-ho?"

"Yes."

"And the manager was Manager Song Moon-jung?"

"That's right."

Winning the Korean Series five times, the Olympics once, the Asian Games twice, the WBC once, and the Premier12 once—Manager Song Moon-jung had an overwhelming career but had been away from baseball for a while.

Next year, manager Song Moon-jung would be coming to the Miners.

Coach Kim Jun-ho was a pitcher with over 120 career wins in the KBO. But as a coach, he was just so-so.

"So, what were they like?"

Hmm.

Not great, but for different reasons.

"The manager was quite elderly..."

"Too old-fashioned?"

"It wasn't that. He collapsed during his first season. Eventually, he stepped down midway through his second season."

"Because of results?"

"I guess so. I don't know if there were any other reasons."

"Was he in poor health?"

"He remarkably improved once he quit."

"Did he pretend to collapse just because he didn't want to do it? And what about Kim Jun-ho as pitching coach?"

"He had his pros and cons."

"Tell me the cons first."

"He was the type who couldn't understand why other pitchers couldn't throw like him. How should I put it? A genius who can't understand ordinary people?"

"He's not even a genius, is he?"

My father's serious reaction made me laugh.

"He wanted all the pitchers to change their form to match his. Those who matched well did grow."

"Did he try with you, too?"

"No. The club told him not to mess with me."

"Hm."

Father pondered for a moment, then clapped his hands together.

"Then if I become the pitching coach, everything's solved, right?"

"Pardon?"

"I'm better than Kim Jun-ho, aren't I?"

"Are you really going to be the pitching coach?"

"Manager Song Moon-jung owes me from my national team days. Honestly, if it weren't for me, he wouldn't have won those medals."

"So if you ask, he'll let you?"

"That's not what I mean."

"Then what?"

Father smiled, as if wondering why I was asking something so obvious.

"The manager will step down because of the poor record, right? Then I'll step in as pitching coach and deliver results. Won't that work?"

I found my jaw dropping without realizing it.

That confidence...

Seriously...

"Two birds with one stone. Help my son, help the old man."

"......."

"What?"

No, nothing.

* * *

I decided to go back to the pitching form that worked best for me.

I might lose a bit of velocity, but the risk of injury would be lower, and my release point would be more consistent—giving me an edge in control.

I had also learned how to subtly adjust the pitching rhythm, including deception, so I had a fair amount of success with that.

Father started coming to school regularly.

There was probably no sports media outlet that hadn't published an article about him.

Mother said the process of settling his shares was nearly done.

The school didn't pay much attention to my sudden change in pitching form, probably assuming it was Father's influence.

I was guaranteed to be drafted into the pros anyway.

I spent an hour or two a day on technical training with Father, and devoted the rest to weight training and stamina conditioning.

"Are you not dating anyone?"

"Whew, huff, whew!"

"Come on, it's not like you're lacking in anything."

"Hiyoot!"

"You look fine—handsome like your mom, tall, too. Even before you came back to the past, you said you weren't married, right? Don't tell me..."

"Euuuuurp!"

When I yelled and stood up, father looked at me with a meaningful smile.

I wanted to tell him not to look at me like that, but I burst out laughing at the whole situation, more than at Father's expression.

"So..."

"What?"

"No, it's nothing."

"There shouldn't be secrets between us."

It was funny to think about what kind of relationship we had.

A father and son sharing the same secret. The kind no one would believe if we told them.

"But Father."

"Yeah?"

"I, inside, am in my mid-30s, but anyone my age here would be 19."

"That's true."

"Would it be okay for me to date someone that young?"

"You're not saying that me meeting your mom was criminal or anything like that, are you?"

"That's not it. Feeling guilty?"

Father wrinkled his nose and answered.

"I don't know, I never thought about it. For me, it's always only been your mother. Anyway—"

Apparently, he didn't think it was a big deal, and quickly changed the subject.

"Hey, who's the real power at Gangwon Miners?"

"The real power among the players? Or in the club?"

"In the company. According to you, even the general manager's just a figurehead."

"President Jo is probably the owner's direct line. The rest are just..."

"President Jo?"

"There's someone named Jo Woo-jin."

"Do you have his number?"

"Why do you need that? I have his business card, I think."

Father didn't really answer my question.

"I just need it for something."

Without a word, I searched my bag and handed him the card. Father smiled meaningfully as he snatched it away.

* * *

Gangwon Miners built their team very differently from others.

To put it simply, it was old-fashioned.

The owner's influence was huge.

Executive director Jo Woo-jin wasn't extremely interested in baseball, but if it was an order from the club owner, he would carry it out to the letter.

He had just sent a report to the chairman about handling the manager's "voluntary resignation".

In name only—it was really an order from the owner.

This was how the industry worked; no surprise. The general manager would pack up as soon as the season ended.

"So, they said they'd run a major-league-style front office, but it's nothing special, huh?"

Losing one's job due to poor results was also common in this industry.

Gangwon Miners had already clinched last place in the KBO's East Sea League.

Still, this situation wasn't solely due to performance.

Chairman Kang, a rich baseball fanatic, was displeased that the current manager had utterly failed to control the team.

So he'd already found a top expert for the next manager.

"Everything's settled with Manager Song Moon-jung, right?"

"Yes."

"But, tell me—"

"Yes?"

"Can't we do something about Seo Tae-seung? Didn't he come back to Korea and is teaching kids for free now?"

Executive director Jo didn't really know baseball well.

Still, even he knew who Seo Tae-seung was.

When his boss said he wanted a baseball team, Jo had spent a few years in the industry, picking up enough baseball knowledge as he went.

The chairman was a huge fan of Seo Tae-seung.

This season, the veteran free-agent players simply wouldn't listen to the manager.

The manager and general manager were on the same page and shared similar ideas, but they were completely out of sync with the squad.

The manager would soon announce his voluntary resignation, but thanks to the parent company's consideration, he'd get the rest of his salary; as for the general manager, his contract would naturally expire at the end of the season.

In that respect, Song Moon-jung was quite a suitable choice. He was a baseball legend.

You can't talk Korean baseball history without mentioning Song Moon-jung.

He'd been away from fieldwork for a while, but if nothing else, he would have a commanding grip on the squad.

Many veteran free-agent players had learned under Song Moon-jung anyway.

Seo Tae-seung?

In terms of career, he'd be unrivaled anywhere in the world, not just Korea.

No matter how seasoned a player, no one would dare talk back to him.

But there was a problem. Seo Tae-seung was too young and had no field experience.

Still, since the chairman mentioned his name, at least he had to do something about it.

"How about a system with Song Moon-jung as manager and Seo Tae-seung as pitching coach?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking. Executive director Jo, you studied baseball hard, huh?"

"Thank you. I'll try to set something up."

"No, executive director Jo, arrange for a meeting with you and me both."

Executive director Jo Woo-jin felt things getting a bit complicated.

But Jo's nature was always to follow orders.

He was just relieved the chairman hadn't said to cancel Song Moon-jung and make Seo Tae-seung the manager.

Career managers usually had their own coaching staff.

Most of the notable coaches from Song Moon-jung's circle were already managers of other teams, so the rest of the staff would have to be discussed gradually.

"Understood."

The chairman absolutely hated hearing "it'll be difficult" from the very start.

You had to try first and think about what came next later.

At least, since they'd drafted Seo Ye-sung, maybe he'd be able to pull some strings.

After the private meeting, executive director Jo Woo-jin took a deep breath outside.

He really wanted a cigarette.

The baseball-mad chairman had wanted Seo Tae-seung as his company's exclusive model from way back, but Seo Tae-seung had never agreed.

He'd even asked him to just show up for a season without playing, just to get his salary — and been ignored.

How would he persuade the proud Seo Tae-seung?

It was a headache.

He was even thinking he'd have to camp out at Seo Tae-seung's school where he was coaching, when suddenly his smartphone vibrated.

Jo didn't usually answer unknown numbers, but he picked up this time without thinking.

— Hello.

"Yes."

― Is this Executive director Jo Woo-jin?

"Yes, this is Jo Woo-jin, though I'm not a president yet..."

― This is Seo Ye-sung's father.

He wasn't a president yet.

Since Seo Ye-sung had returned to the past, he'd gotten Jo Woo-jin's job title mixed up, but that wasn't important.

"What?

― This is Seo Tae-seung, father of this year's Gangwon Miners first-rounder Seo Ye-sung. Sorry to impose, but I got your business card from my son and decided to call.

He didn't know what was going on, but something unbelievable was happening.

He'd been wondering how to make contact, and out of nowhere, the very person he needed to meet had reached out first.

Jo Woo-jin steadied himself and spoke with authority.

"Nice to meet you. This is Jo Woo-jin, executive director of Gangwon Miners. I actually had something I wanted to discuss with you as well. Yes, if you're available... Of course. Thank you so much for calling. I'm available anytime."