Chapter 66, Home Run Contest
The national team’s first training session began in a relaxed atmosphere.
First, everyone introduced themselves.
Then we played light catch.
Basic warmups.
Nothing unusual happened during the early training.
However, reporters photographed almost everything we did.
Then again, this was the first national team training session.
Of course people would be interested.
The national team uniform felt slightly unfamiliar.
My number was still 30.
“Nice ball!”
I intentionally played catch with players from other clubs.
I had already played catch countless times with Kwon Geon-woo, Yoon Jae-jun, and Go Gyeong-tae.
“Hey, Choi Seong!”
One of the seniors playing catch with me called out.
His name was Ahn Hong-gyu.
He was a shortstop for the Seoul Triples and had performed quite well.
In both my previous life and this one, he had been a solid franchise star for the Triples.
“Yes, senior.”
I turned toward him.
“My son is a fan of yours. Could I get an autograph for him?”
“Of course.”
There were many situations like this on the first day of training.
Players kept approaching me for autographs.
I simply nodded and signed them.
“Hey, is it really normal for national team players to ask each other for autographs?”
“Are you jealous?”
“Of course... They’re all famous seniors...”
For reference, not a single person asked Kwon Geon-woo for an autograph.
I smiled slightly at him.
“You’re the stolen-base king too. You’re a great thief, a great thief.”
Kwon Geon-woo’s expression brightened slightly.
After everyone finished warming up, we began simple batting practice.
“All right, all right. Hitters, line up and wait your turn.”
At Manager Heo Jun’s words, the hitters efficiently prepared.
The pitchers only watched during the first round.
Instead, they did strength training.
The reason was simple.
The pitchers were already throwing during league games.
It would be awkward to drain their arms during training now.
Later, though, hell would probably begin.
Yoon Jae-jun was almost certain to be the starting catcher, so he would need to practice with every pitcher.
Actually, the real hell would probably belong to Yoon Jae-jun.
Crack!
Players stepped up one after another.
They had even brought in helpers for today’s training.
Apparently the pitcher throwing batting practice was expected to be the first overall pick in this year’s draft.
I did not remember him.
Countless players were selected first overall, then disappeared.
Meanwhile, undrafted or developmental players occasionally became stars.
“Good pitch, good pitch!”
Yoon Jae-jun encouraged the high school pitcher from the batter’s box.
The kid was only throwing batting practice, but his pitches looked surprisingly heavy.
Several veterans nearby spoke.
“Want to have a distance contest?”
“Loser buys dinner later?”
The team atmosphere was pretty good.
They were already turning batting practice into a competition.
“Seong, you joining too?”
Lee Byeong-hwan, cleanup hitter for the Daejeon Hawks, asked me.
I lightly nodded.
This training session had been created to check our hitting condition.
At this rate, every player would suddenly start trying to become a home run hitter.
“Fine. We’ll judge the distance roughly by eye, okay?”
At someone’s shout, Kwon Geon-woo went first.
Honestly, I did not expect much.
He was a contact-focused hitter.
As expected...
His ball landed around where a right fielder would normally stand.
“Hey, wait. I’ll show you how it’s done.”
Yoon Jae-jun swaggered into the box.
Everyone immediately looked at him.
He was currently considered one of the strongest hitters in Korean baseball.
The ball came in.
He swung.
CRACK!
The ball flew quickly toward center field and cleared the fence.
Players applauded.
“As expected from the future home run king.”
“Seeing it up close, his bat speed really is different.”
“What kind of medicine are you taking?”
“Distance... It barely cleared the center fence, so maybe around 123 meters?”
Yoon Jae-jun smiled confidently.
But there was something he had forgotten.
The other players here were national team hitters too.
Many of them were power hitters.
Crack!
Crack!
Power hitter after power hitter stepped forward.
Several immediately surpassed Yoon Jae-jun’s distance.
140 meters.
135 meters.
Those were the two longest distances so far.
Yoon Jae-jun’s confident smile had completely disappeared.
“Don’t underestimate a former home run king.”
“We used to have some power too.”
“Jae-jun, you still rely on strength a little too much. When you hit, try doing this...”
They even gave him friendly advice.
At this point, I wondered if Choi Seong School was even necessary anymore.
Eventually, my turn arrived.
Manager Heo Jun seemed unwilling to ruin the atmosphere and calmly watched the players compete.
I had been given the captain’s armband, but I did not feel nervous at all.
Even though I was primarily a pitcher, I was confident I could beat them.
“Whew.”
I lightly controlled my breathing before stepping in.
“By the way, last place buys dinner!”
The seniors shouted from behind me.
So far, Kwon Geon-woo was last.
His expression looked terrible.
He knew exactly how much these seniors could eat.
I shouted lightly.
“How about first place buys instead? If you’re number one in distance on the national team, doesn’t that basically mean you’re number one in Korea? It should be a happy occasion!”
Playful boos erupted around me.
“Boo! That bastard is just trying to protect Geon-woo.”
“Fine! Seniors are supposed to buy meals anyway.”
“We’re going for steak, okay?”
“Fine. Guys, I’ll buy it. I’ll buy.”
For reference, the current leader was Lee Byeong-hwan with 140 meters.
He shouted happily.
It was almost as if he had been waiting for an opportunity like this.
But I had no intention of letting him buy.
I was the captain.
Shouldn’t I pay for something like this?
Our high school helper threw the ball.
I swung without hesitation.
CRAAAAACK!
The ball flew far.
Farther.
I might have been physically weaker than Yoon Jae-jun and several other hitters.
No, I was almost certainly weaker.
Whenever I arm-wrestled Yoon Jae-jun, I lost almost every time.
But home runs were not created through strength alone.
Depending on swing timing and how cleanly the ball met the bat, distance could increase much more.
“Holy shit.”
Kwon Geon-woo shouted in surprise.
The ball kept going.
Even farther.
“Wow... It hit the scoreboard.”
It did not leave the entire stadium, but it comfortably struck the scoreboard.
No one else had reached the scoreboard.
“Then there’s nothing else to debate, right?”
I lowered the bat and looked toward the players.
“Yeah... Seong... You win.”
Yoon Jae-jun sighed.
Then Manager Heo Jun began applauding.
“Anything you guys want to eat?”
I asked.
Someone immediately shouted as if he had been treated unfairly his whole life.
“Eel!”
“All right!”
As captain, I could afford at least that much.
And because we needed to win the tournament, I planned to take them to the best restaurant available.
[Choi Seong Ranks First in Home Run Distance Among National Team, Leads from the Front]
[Captain Choi Seong Buys Eel for Seniors After Winning Home Run Distance Contest]
[How Much Did Choi Seong Spend at Dinner? Restaurant Confirms Around Ten Million Won]
[National Team Unites Thanks to Choi Seong, “We’ll Definitely Win”]
[Pitchers Joined Dinner Too, Choi Seong Says, “Everyone Should Enjoy It Together”]
Countless articles appeared.
Choi Seong’s home run had been enough to shock everyone.
He had defeated all of Korea’s best national team hitters and taken first place.
Even then, Choi Seong remained calm.
Manager Heo Jun could not help feeling more anticipation.
It was the best possible form.
“That swing looked like something from a veteran hitter. When he drove the ball, he removed exactly the right amount of strength, followed the natural path of the ball, and used a perfect uppercut swing... It was beautiful.”
Hitting coach Lee Jun-ho calmly applauded.
How could someone control his strength that well while matching the ball’s natural path?
“He really is something special, isn’t he?”
“Yes. I came here as the hitting coach, but there honestly isn’t much to criticize about Choi Seong.”
“I can’t wait to see him pitch too...”
“Same here...”
Expectations toward Choi Seong inside the national team were overwhelming.
Every player was aware of it.
“The other players need to support him just as much.”
“Exactly. Everyone needs to wake up and play for the country.”
Apparently, America and Japan had selected their best players mainly from their domestic leagues.
China had aggressively naturalized foreign players ahead of the Olympics.
Taiwan was also a country whose baseball level was steadily improving.
There was not a single easy opponent.
“The group-stage draw is soon, right?”
“Right. We’ll have to do our best.”
Everyone desperately hoped Korea would avoid the worst possible group.
At the very least, they wanted to secure a bronze medal and show the fans something.
Perhaps because of all these worries, the All-Star Game arrived quickly.
June 27.
Korean baseball began its break one week earlier than originally planned.
Of course, national team players would begin training from that day.
Midseason Standings
1st: Busan Oceans
2nd: Gwangju Jaguars
3rd: Seoul Triples
4th: Seoul Panthers
5th: Daejeon Hawks
6th: Daegu Cats
7th: Incheon Dolphins
8th: Masan Wolves
9th: Suwon Rangers
10th: Seoul Magicians
The most watched team was the Busan Oceans.
While the Daejeon Hawks suddenly began falling, the Gwangju Jaguars charged upward at frightening speed.
Only one game separated first and second.
The gap was close enough to touch.
Still, the Oceans had never surrendered first place even once.
That was because Choi Seong’s overwhelming ability as both a pitcher and hitter, the innings eaten by Wright and Norman, and the strong performances from lower-rotation starters such as Kim Byeong-hee had all fit together surprisingly well.
And now the All-Star Game was about to begin.
Manager Heo Jun’s attention returned to it.
If Choi Seong, who had finished the first half in excellent condition, suffered an unexpected injury...
Hell would begin.
