Countryside Ace

Chapter 7 : Miners (4)

Miners (4)

Head Coach Song Moon-jung.

Pitching Coach Seo Tae-seung.

Executive Director Jo Woo-jin.

General Manager Jeong Tae-hyun.

Operations Team Leader Woo Seung-jin.

Scout Team Leader Kim Hyun-woo.

In the meeting room where these six were gathered, the loudest voice belonged to Head Coach Song Moon-jung.

"Well, am I even needed here? From the looks of it, the real head coach is this rascal Seo Tae-seung anyway..."

Though he spoke like that, his expression was rather bright. Clearly, it was a joke.

"Oh, no, sir, not at all."

When the operations team leader waved his hands, Seo Tae-seung scratched his nose as he spoke.

"If you're struggling from all the makgeolli you had last night, just head out. I can take care of things."

"Look at that brat, just look at him."

As the new head coach and new pitching coach bickered, the new general manager slyly interjected.

"It's great to see you two getting along so well. Haha. The reason we gathered here today is to discuss the new head coach's inauguration gift."

A head coach inauguration gift meant acquiring a free agent player. If there's a new head coach, the club goes out and brings in an expensive player—"Here, get us some results."

Five days after the end of the Korean Series, the number of players who had earned FA qualification was announced: 23 in total.

A few of them wouldn't actually apply for FA, but those players weren't under consideration anyway.

The newly seated general manager Jeong Tae-hyun had been promoted from public relations manager to general manager.

As someone who followed Executive Director Jo Woo-jin's lead, he was a personnel choice meant to give full authority to Head Coach Song Moon-jung and Pitching Coach Seo Tae-seung.

Gangwon Miners were criticized every year for their wasteful spending, but none of the management cared about those criticisms.

In short, General manager Jeong Tae-hyun planned to bring in the biggest, most attention-grabbing FA on the market, and today, he'd let everyone know who was in his shopping basket, aiming to delight the new head coach.

"We'd like to add Park Seong-hoo and Yoon Dae-yoon to the roster for you."

He could say it with absolute confidence.

Seoul Fighters' all-round outfielder Park Seong-hoo.

(Batting average .318, 25 home runs, 21 steals)

Seoul Archers' left-handed ace Yoon Dae-yoon.

(16 wins, 8 losses, eRA 3.45)

With players like these, any head coach would be moved. The general manager's confident expression contrasted sharply with the look on the head coach's face after hearing the two players' names, but the general manager didn't even consider the possibility of being turned down.

"Well, not bad, but..."

"Excuse me?"

"Tsk."

Head Coach Song Moon-jung clicked his tongue and shot a glare at Seo Tae-seung.

Seo Tae-seung acted oblivious, and Song Moon-jung scowled.

"One's a slacker, the other's a coward. Coach Seo, do you know any better candidates?"

"Yes. Compared to those guys, I think Hwang Seung-tae and Kim Jae-beom would be better."

As the two traded rehearsed lines, everyone else was taken aback—except the ones involved.

Still, as long as the guy plays good baseball, who cares if he's a slacker?

And calling the pitcher who clinched the Korean Series a coward?

"Hwang Seung-tae and Kim Jae-beom?"

"Yes."

Unlike the confident Seo Tae-seung, head coach Song Moon-jung's expression tightened a bit.

Song Moon-jung swallowed his words inwardly.

'Damn brat. We're offering him a BMW but he's picking a Daewoo instead, what the hell.'

* * *

Future information is unimaginably valuable.

While there's more valuable info out there than just knowing how a baseball player will turn out in a few months or years, Seo Tae-seung decided to use what he knew of the future simply to make the game a little more fun.

In other words—

"Ye-sung, you remember the debut season FA players, right? Try listing them all."

That meant he would ask his son, who lived through those times, which player was a huge hit and which became a bust.

"FA? Well, for our team, Yoon Dae-yoon pitched two or three games then collapsed, and Park Seong-hoo did okay stats-wise, but got into a fight with a substitute driver, decided to drive himself, then got caught by the police..."

That basically meant a complete bust. Sure, with good management things could be different, but whether that risk was worth it was questionable.

"What about for other teams?"

"Hmm... The biggest breakout was Kim Young-ju, I think."

"Kim Young-ju?"

Seo Tae-seung turned on his smartphone to search for info.

First baseman for the Gwangju Vipers. Last season's stats: .269 batting average, 19 home runs. On-base percentage .351.

"Did his stats jump up?"

"He hit about .340 with 35 home runs that year, I think."

"Oh, which team did he go to?"

"Daegu Dragons."

The Daegu Dragons, who placed 5th in the East Sea League and missed the postseason this year, were facing the wrath of their fans.

And their acquisition of this FA didn't please fans either—at least, not before the season started.

"But he's a first baseman, of all things."

"Yes."

"We can't sign a first baseman. We already have too many guys who'd have to play first or DH... Anyone else in weak positions?"

"Father."

"Yeah?"

"What about a pitcher?"

You can never have enough pitchers.

But the Miners would be using two foreigners as starters, and could fill out the starting rotation with pitchers previously acquired through FA.

And then, there was Seo Ye-sung.

"You're right, we should bring in a starter."

"So, am I heading to the bullpen?"

"No."

"Then?"

"I plan to send all our current starters to the bullpen."

"What?"

Seo Tae-seung answered with a smirk.

"If someone can pitch better than me, let him start."

"......"

"So, pick one pitcher and one hitter."

* * *

... That was how they landed on Hwang Seung-tae and Kim Jae-beom.

Hwang Seung-tae, sidearm pitcher, age 30, from the Changwon Moonwalkers.

His career ERA was an unimpressive 5.01, but in his last two seasons he put up 3.76 and 3.32, earning reputation as a late-blooming swingman.

Last season, he contributed as a spot starter and long reliever.

Kim Jae-beom, center fielder, age 32, from the Incheon Flamingos.

Last season: .267 batting average, 11 home runs.

His recent hitting has steadily declined, and he's considered to have hit his aging curve head on.

But his fielding skills are still top-notch.

"If it's those players..."

General manager Jeong Tae-hyun looked at Executive Director Jo Woo-jin—the man with the final decision—with a worried expression.

Their plan had been to grab the best hitter and best pitcher available in the market and offer them as the new director's welcome gift.

Executive Director Jo Woo-jin adjusted his glasses and thought for a moment. The Chairman had said to let the new director have whatever he wants.

But to pass on the biggest pitching and hitting names in the FA market and go for players who, at best, are B-tier?

Executive Director Jo cleared his throat softly to focus everyone's attention on him.

"Have the director and pitching coach fully agreed on this?"

Head Coach Song Moon-jung, arms crossed, replied.

"Look, this guy says if you don't sign them, he'll quit as pitching coach?"

"Is that so?"

"That's why I told him to go ahead and quit."

"Haha..."

"But of course, he says now he won't quit. Thinks he's the boss."

He sounded like he was grumbling, but it was his way of saying to do it Seo Tae-seung's way.

Executive Director Jo Woo-jin carefully spoke again.

"Can I trust that this isn't about money, but about improving team performance?"

"Of course. You'll see for yourself."

With Seo Tae-seung's confidence, executive Director Jo nodded to the general manager. The Chairman might prefer star players, but since the club had hired star director and coach, maybe he'd let it slide.

"Then let's proceed as discussed..."

"Well, if the starting rotation blows up after bringing in a bullpen guy, he can pitch himself."

To the director's words, executive Director Jo answered sincerely.

"I'll look forward to it."

It sounded like a joke, but just saying it would surely please the Chairman.

* * *

Winter was long, and just because Geoje Island was in the south didn't mean it wasn't cold.

The sea wind was much sharper than expected.

Exercising in the cold risked injury, but the surprisingly well-equipped indoor training center made things all right.

"As long as you keep your body warm, you can work out."

If your sweat-soaked body cooled off in the cold too quickly, you could catch a cold.

"Just keep moving so your body doesn't get cold."

So—

"Please stop, you muscle monster!"

"You'll never get a body this beautiful if you stop now!"

"I don't even want it!"

"You need to have it!"

"Why the heck! And it's not even beautiful!"

"Ha ha! Your taste is appalling!"

... We just worked out until we died.

It was what I'd wanted, but at this point, you start to go a little crazy.

One morning, I woke up, and I'd unconsciously lifted myself into a lunge position using my core strength and went back to sleep that way for a bit.

"At last, the boy is becoming a man..."

That was Timothy Goldberg's reaction to my words.

He's a madman. Truly, a madman.

I spoke to Father.

"How am I supposed to interpret being locked in here and forced to exercise, while at the same time being told to get a girlfriend?"

Father dug at his ear as he answered.

"If a guy's meant to do it, he'll do it even if you throw him into the Arctic."

I thought to myself that was a bit—no, a lot—old-fashioned, but I wasn't planning to say it out loud...

"That's kind of old-fashioned, you know."

But the words just slipped out on their own.

"You'll understand when you get older..."

"I mean, I'm a little older myself."

"You need to live at least sixty years for those words to even be convincing, don't you think?"

How should I put it?

We'd both come back to the past, and knowing that about each other, there's something kind of unique about us.

The relationship between Father and me had changed a lot.

Mother had been busy even though she hadn't appeared on any TV shows for a while. I wondered what she was up to, then the other day she sent me a photo.

[Mother: (photo)]

It was her KBO-certified player agent license.

[Mother: You're going to sign an agent contract with your mom, right?]

No matter old school ties or regional connections, nothing beats blood ties, does it?

Our team's next pitching coach, scheduled to become the next manager, is my father, and my mother is my agent.

"Geez, your mom never bothered when everyone told her to be my agent..."

"Maybe she likes her son more than her husband."

"......"

... At long last, I won one!

"Timothy!"

"What!"

"The kid's resting! Push him harder!"

"I was waiting for those words!"

I will not be defeated by such petty revenge. Even if I feel like I might die from squats!

"Ugh!"

"That's the cry of your soul getting stronger!"

"That was a scream!"

"The more you scream, the stronger you get!"

"Aaaaaargh!"

Most of the training focused on stamina, weights, and core workouts. Pitching practice was brief, so I focused on every single throw.

That's how I spent all winter: devoted to working out.

For Christmas, because Mother liked it, father made an enormous Christmas tree in the yard.

"Hey, this looks just like the tree at Rockefeller Center! Just a bit smaller."

"That's right. My wife likes that tree, so I tried making something just like it for her."

I respected his single-mindedness.

With the lights twinkling in the tree, we ate cake and enjoyed Christmas together.

And Mother shared a little secret with me.

"Actually, I don't really like Christmas trees that much."

"Really? Father says differently."

"Since we can't be together during the season, I mentioned that I wanted to at least spend Christmas as a family. He just took it literally, you know?"

Even if you've lived twice, you don't catch everything. Memo: Father thinks he knows everything, but he doesn't. Memo that too.

"Still, since he's making the effort, I try to act like I like it."

Mother said that with a smile. I decided to keep her secret close to my heart.

On New Year's Day, we ate rice cake soup together.

The Americans found the rice cakes' texture baffling, but they seemed happy enough with the food the chef prepared from their homelands.

That didn't mean Timothy skipped the soup. He tore kimchi to shreds and put it on steaming dumplings, then burned the roof of his mouth.

"Oh my gosh!"

... I guess he didn't plan on training his palate muscles too.

Anyway, I worked out that day too.

And the next day, and the next.

Even when Father and Timothy were away for team business, I stayed focused on training.

And as time passed,

The spring camp roster was announced, and I was one of only two rookies named to the first team camp, along with Byeong-ju, my old high school battery mate.

"Son, as I've said countless times..."

"If I fail, I'll die?"

"People don't die that easily. It's just..."

"You mean, you could end up unemployed?"

Father grinned widely and said,

"But you know, I don't think you'll fail. Still, people will probably complain I only favor my own kid. Are you okay with that?"

"Don't let online trolls get to you, either."

"I won't. I'll just sue them."

Mother, who'd been listening while reading her book, turned the page gracefully and said,

"I'll cut you a deal on the fees."

Maybe she could actually make more from lawsuits than Father's salary.