Chapter 13
13. Attention Pours In
A live interview broadcast nationwide.
Normally, winning a national high school baseball tournament was not something big enough to turn every online community upside down.
At least, it would not have been if the interview had ended normally.
[Did you see this? That freshman gave an insane interview.]
The first-year player who had conquered the Golden Lion Tournament had declared without hesitation that he would go directly to America.
The aftermath was enormous.
Inside a dark room.
A baseball fan, his eyes bloodshot in the glow of his monitor, hammered on his keyboard hard enough to break it.
“That arrogant little brat said he’s above the KBO? Who the hell does he think he is, looking down on our league?”
Comment sections on online communities and sports news portals exploded.
They filled with direct insults and mockery aimed at Seo Ji-tae.
[Is this guy insane? Says he won’t go to the KBO and will head straight to the Majors this year. Says his talent isn’t at KBO level, lol. He’s completely lost it.]
, He learned baseball using Korea’s infrastructure, then immediately runs away. Great personality.
, He throws 150 in high school and thinks Major League Baseball is a joke?
, He hasn’t tasted the tears of minor league life yet.
, With that arrogant attitude, he’ll lose his control in Single-A, get destroyed, and have a mental breakdown.
, I knew what kind of person he was when he started ignoring his coach and seniors. I bet he comes back crying within three years.
, To be fair, if he throws 154, maybe the KBO really is too small for him. Everyone’s just jealous.
, Did his PR team start defending him? The normal path is proving yourself for two or three years in the KBO, then going through posting.
, Looks like he’ll brag about his velocity, then spend years stuck in rookie ball.
Immediately after the interview, clips of Seo Ji-tae’s statement spread across countless communities.
His name reached number one on real-time search rankings and community wiki searches.
The public finally learned the name “Seo Ji-tae.”
People in the baseball industry also scoffed at the arrogant freshman’s attitude.
“Just how good is this kid that he’s acting like that?”
“It’s always the ones who don’t understand their own level who say things like that.”
Baseball YouTubers immediately started emergency livestreams, analyzing Seo Ji-tae’s pitching clips and interview.
“He’s got no manners.”
“Can a freshman really act like that? The discipline on that team must be terrible.”
“Major League Baseball with a form like that? Ridiculous.”
Everyone evaluated Seo Ji-tae, criticized him, and shook their heads.
But beneath all that anger and criticism was one common emotion.
Shock.
A first-year high school student was throwing a 154 km/h fastball?
At that same time, inside the dugout at Mokdong Baseball Stadium.
Head Coach Choi Dong-il’s phone would not stop vibrating in his pocket.
“Yes, Team Director. I’m telling you, I only heard about it from that interview too. Hello?”
The moment one call ended, another arrived.
Scouts from all ten KBO teams were calling him.
Even general managers had started calling directly.
, Coach! You need to convince him somehow! Tell him that if he stays in the KBO, he’ll be the guaranteed first overall pick with the largest signing bonus in history! No, I’ll grab our general manager by the legs myself and force him to offer even more!
, What is a first-year high school student supposed to do alone in America? This kind of talent appears once every ten years, maybe once every fifty years! If America takes him like this, it will be a painful loss for Korean baseball!
Choi Dong-il was sweating under the endless calls.
He also wanted Seo Ji-tae to enter the KBO.
If a player he coached became the number one draft pick, his own reputation and coaching prestige would rise.
Major League Baseball, my ass. That place is full of monsters. That damn brat!
The attention he had received from the baseball world in a single day was greater than what he had received throughout his entire career.
But there was nothing he could do if the player himself wanted to leave.
Over the past several months, Choi Dong-il had learned very well that Seo Ji-tae was not someone who could be controlled through seniority or intimidation.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere among the Major League scouts gathered behind the backstop was completely different from the KBO teams.
They urgently contacted their headquarters in America.
The invisible war to sign Seo Ji-tae had begun.
After his bombshell declaration, Seo Ji-tae himself remained calm.
He quietly packed his equipment in one corner of the dugout.
He cleaned his glove and brushed the dirt from his spikes.
Whatever happened outside, his routine did not change.
“Ji-tae.”
Head Coach Choi Dong-il approached after spending so long dealing with phone calls that he had begun holding his head.
His face contained complicated emotions.
Regret.
Confusion.
And a little resentment.
“Do you really intend to do exactly what you said in that interview? Going to America isn’t a joke. If you entered the professional draft right now, you could become the number one pick.”
“Coach.”
Seo Ji-tae zipped up his bag and looked up.
Coach or not, he was going to walk the path he had already chosen.
“I already told you. I’m going to Major League Baseball. I’m not changing my decision.”
“Haa…”
Choi Dong-il stepped back in frustration.
Then Kang Tae-ho, who had nearly become the reason they lost the championship, stepped forward.
