Chapter 14. Joining Ceremony (1)
Vrooom.
The bus traveled along the highway.
Our destination was Daejeon.
Hawks Park, the home stadium of the Hawks.
While the other rookies, dressed in suits, slept deeply,
I checked a message from Michael Kim.
Ding.
[Michael Kim: Kim Nahan. After checking, I don't think you'll be able to receive coaching from him immediately.]
As expected, his answer was, "not possible."
Of course, that did not mean it could never happen.
It simply meant Wilson had no free time right now.
That's probably natural. Even before my regression, this was around the time he started becoming famous.
Tyler Wilson.
Before my regression, he was the talented coach who helped me complete Father's batting form.
Many hitters who passed through his hands produced excellent results.
Because of that, people called him the "Hand of Midas."
He was a hitting instructor who specialized in using a thoroughly scientific approach to create the batting form best suited to each player.
That was Tyler Wilson.
At the moment, he was a hitting coach for a Double A team.
But before long, Major League clubs would compete to hire him.
That was how famous and capable he would become.
Even though I had asked Michael to arrange the meeting,
I had never expected to receive coaching from Wilson immediately.
I'd be more than satisfied if he can arrange it within two years.
So many people wanted Wilson's coaching that getting an appointment was extremely difficult.
But I believed an influential agent like Michael could somehow create an opportunity.
That was why I signed the contract.
Ding.
[Michael Kim: After talking with him, it sounds like next winter or spring may be possible. I'll contact you as soon as the date is fixed.]
[Me: Thank you.]
Unexpectedly, Michael was already talking about next spring.
He was probably thinking about Spring Training.
His work was progressing much faster than I had expected.
I was very satisfied.
If I could receive Wilson's help, I could adjust my batting form much more quickly.
"Our bus will soon arrive at Hawks Park."
Meanwhile, the bus reached Hawks Park.
Today, my family had come to Daejeon for the Hawks rookie welcoming ceremony.
"Nahan, your father and I are going to look around the club facilities, so do well at the ceremony."
"Ahem. Don't say anything strange during interviews."
"You're doing this again. There aren't many players who speak as well as Nahan!"
"No, well. It doesn't hurt to be careful."
My parents followed a club employee and left.
Members of the club's media team were already filming the rookies.
They recorded almost everything we did and occasionally asked us questions.
Since I was a first round pick, I received many questions too.
"Three double plays but your team wins, or three home runs but your team loses. Which would you choose?"
"The question is wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm going to hit three home runs and win the game."
"We like that confidence!"
We moved through the stadium in the middle of the hectic filming.
While waiting for the main event to begin, we also received the results of the medical examinations conducted by the club.
Fortunately, there were no unusual problems with my body.
"Wow, I've never gotten anything like this before, Nahan."
Minseok, who attended the same high school as me, flipped the papers back and forth in fascination.
Perhaps because I had been selected in the first round, Minseok, who originally should have been drafted by the Giants, had instead been selected by the Hawks in the sixth round.
Since we had joined the same team, it seemed we would be seeing each other much more often.
His eyes immediately lit up when he saw the room filled with sports drinks.
"Damn. Is this the power of a professional club?"
He had already finished several bottles before arriving.
Seeing his eyes change the instant he saw the drinks made me laugh helplessly.
"Look at you drinking things without even asking permission. You're in serious trouble now."
"It's fine. I got a hit off Jihoon in live batting before coming here. Later."
"You lunatic. Did you forget the six strikeouts?"
"I got a hit in the final plate appearance. The person who wins at the end is the real winner. Kang Jihoon was terrible."
There were several other familiar faces besides Minseok.
One was fourth round pick Park Gyumin.
Originally, he should've gone to the Wyverns.
A man who should have become the Wyverns' franchise right fielder was standing here instead.
I remembered that because the Wyverns had such deep outfield depth, he had entered military service immediately after finishing his first season.
As soon as he completed his service, he claimed a starting position and produced excellent results.
He was good enough to be selected for the national team.
Somehow, he had ended up with the Hawks this time.
I wonder how far the butterfly effect caused by me will spread.
Watching it happen might be pretty interesting.
"Players! We'll now go greet the manager!"
While we stood around making awkward conversation, an employee guided us toward the manager's office.
The club facilities are good. The players drafted this year aren't bad either. All right, that's good...
From the inside, the Hawks seemed like a fairly decent organization.
The manager who had completed the darkest period in Hawks history had already been told his contract would not be renewed.
The man chosen as the next manager also had plenty of potential.
Je Seokcheon. I don't remember him having a particularly strong identity during his time with the Hawks.
Unlike the old school former manager, he knew how to incorporate Major League trends and was flexible.
However, because this was his first job as a manager, he lacked experience.
The coaching staff also disliked recent trends built around data.
On top of that, the manager himself did not have a strong position inside the organization.
As a result, the season had been filled with problems.
The roster was not exactly suited for modern baseball either.
In the end, after clashing with the coaches, he had probably compromised with reality.
After that, well. It was the usual Hawks ending.
He was fired before completing his two year contract.
Afterward, he trained in the Major Leagues, returned to Korea, and led the Lions' revival.
He had followed the classic Hawks ending.
Fail with the original team, then go somewhere else and become successful.
But right now, when he's only just beginning as a manager, he probably hasn't been worn down yet.
His head was probably full of ideas for next season.
He would be studying the entire roster to understand the team's strength for a full year.
Soon, every rookie would receive the manager's cold evaluation.
The manager stared silently at me.
I met his eyes without backing down.
