Chapter 17. Spring Training (1)
Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan.
The Hawks players participating in Spring Training were fully focused on training.
BOOM!
"Nice ball!"
BANG!
"Good!!"
Hawks starting catcher Choi Beomcheon kept shouting encouragement.
He was currently catching pitches from Kang Hyunwoo, the closer who had transferred from the Giants.
Several coaches stood behind them, watching his pitching.
The Hawks' new manager, Je Seokcheon, was among them.
Pitching coach Lee Jaehyuk nodded.
"His slider really is excellent."
"There's a reason he's so strong against right handed hitters."
"Can't he throw a cutter?"
At Seokcheon's question, Jaehyuk shook his head.
"He tried learning one even when he was with the Giants, but it didn't work. Apparently, he just can't get comfortable throwing it."
Kang Hyunwoo had one major weakness.
He was very poor against left handed hitters.
However, Seokcheon was not too worried about it.
He believed they could solve the problem somehow by using defensive shifts properly.
Besides, Kang Hyunwoo had been the only closer available on the market anyway.
And if he were strong against left handed hitters too, we never would've gotten him for four years and two billion won.
Some people were apparently mocking the deal as an overpay.
But Seokcheon thought it was acceptable.
"Don't you think we might actually have a chance this year?"
"Maybe..."
Jaehyuk gave an uncertain answer to Seokcheon's question.
Even the coaches had become used to losing by now.
But Seokcheon thought differently.
No, we're in better shape than I expected.
They had strengthened the roster without losing any major players through free agency.
The young pitchers tended to keep to themselves, but none of them caused real trouble.
The bullpen outside the closer role was still weak.
Still, there was one positive point.
The players they had collected over the past few years were developing fairly well.
The two newly signed foreign pitchers also had good balance.
One was the type who could overpower hitters with pure stuff.
The other specialized in producing ground balls.
They might not become one of the best pitching staffs in the league.
But Seokcheon believed they could at least perform around league average.
The real problem is the hitters...
Kim Taeyoung's influence was smaller than Seokcheon had expected.
It was good that they had filled some weaknesses through free agency, but the overall atmosphere among the hitters was messy.
Because the previous manager always used the same trusted players, the backups had lost most of their motivation.
They formed their own little groups and stayed away from the rest of the team.
After watching them closely, Seokcheon realized that backup third baseman Jeong Cheolmin and backup first baseman Choi Myeongguk were not helping the team's chemistry at all.
If anything, they were making it worse.
But replacing them immediately would require a proper reason.
Taeyoung probably won't step forward either.
Kim Taeyoung was undoubtedly a Hawks legend and a great player.
But if someone asked whether he was a great leader with strong leadership skills, the answer was no.
To put it positively, he gave players freedom.
To put it negatively, his attitude was close to leaving everyone alone.
In the past, he probably would have passionately stepped forward to fix the team's atmosphere.
But after enduring so many difficult years, it seemed a lot of that passion had been worn away.
In the end, I'll have to rely on the younger players.
If he wanted to naturally replace the current backup players, then the young players needed to perform.
Especially Kim Nahan.
The third baseman the Hawks had selected in the first round of the 2024 KBO Rookie Draft.
Depending on Nahan's performance, the entire season could change completely.
What if they put Kim Nahan at third base and moved Kim Taeyoung to designated hitter?
Reducing Taeyoung's defensive burden might improve his offensive numbers.
Taeyoung was simply too old to keep handling the demanding third base position every day.
Everything was falling into place for Nahan.
The stage had already been prepared.
Now, it was Nahan's turn to prove himself.
He looked good in training, but actual games are different.
Seokcheon left the pitchers' training area and headed toward the hitters.
The rookies happened to be taking batting practice.
Crack!
"Nice, nice!"
Neither Park Gyumin nor Kim Minseok looked bad.
Gyumin had an average build, but his wrist strength was excellent.
He had the potential to become a hitter with solid gap power.
His defense was not good enough for center field, but he could handle a corner outfield position.
Compared to the power that came from Kim Minseok's naturally large frame, Minseok did not hit as many deep balls as expected.
Still, if he developed properly, around twenty home runs a year did not seem impossible.
Their turns ended.
Kim Nahan stepped into the batter's box.
Then he began hitting as though he intended to split the baseball in half.
CRACK!
"Move your contact point a little farther back!"
CRACK!
"The contact point!"
CRACK!
"Farther back!!"
The hitting coach moved his hands around while repeatedly giving instructions.
He did the same thing during finishing camp. Here he goes again.
Even though nearly every ball Nahan hit was clearing the fence, the coach continued asking him to change his hitting mechanics.
"Ah, it'd be better if he'd just let the ball travel a little deeper before hitting it."
Seokcheon could not allow conflict to begin before the season even started.
It seemed he would need to step in and mediate soon.
Fortunately, Nahan stubbornly continued following his own path.
And the coach, at least, was not trying to forcibly tear apart Nahan's batting form.
Players like this appeared every once in a while.
A rookie would arrive already looking mostly complete, with very little adjustment needed.
And Seokcheon knew very well that players like that often became the stars who defined their era.
I'm looking forward to the practice games.
Seokcheon smiled slightly.
[Success Probability: 60%]
After focusing on training throughout camp, the success probability of my next quest had risen a lot.
I had gotten to know Choi Gukyoung and Kim Taeyoung during finishing camp.
Still, there were far more players I had never spoken to before.
That was only natural.
Finishing camp was usually attended mostly by younger players.
If anything, it had been unusual for veterans like those two to participate.
The Hawks seen from outside, through the eyes of a fan, and the Hawks seen from inside the team were...
Worse than I expected. No wonder this team kept failing.
The sense of helplessness among the hitters was stronger than I expected.
Except for a few positions, the difference in ability between starters and backups was not that large.
Yet somehow, the lineup had remained completely fixed.
Quite a few players had started training halfheartedly because they believed nothing they did would ever earn them a starting job.
Then were the regular starters training hard?
Well...
If you could keep your starting position even without working that hard, would you really push yourself?
Around half of them did not seem particularly serious.
"This year, there are no guaranteed starters and no guaranteed backups. If you want a position, prove you deserve it with your ability."
Fortunately, the manager's declaration of unlimited competition caused some players to start working harder.
The manager actually followed through during training.
He alternated between praise and criticism without caring whether someone was a starter or a backup.
Because of that, the doubtful looks toward him gradually decreased.
That was probably why several starters who usually produced average results were now training with serious expressions.
