"Okay, so you decided to do it."
The coach nodded only after hearing my words to the end.
Then he laughed lightly and said.
"You thought well. Then we should proceed immediately. Since you warmed up lightly, let's do it in earnest."
The coach picked up a ball and continued explaining.
"Since you seem to know how to throw a fastball, let's try throwing some breaking balls now. Throw sliders against right-handed batters and sinkers against left-handed batters."
A slider was a basic pitch type that every pitcher went through at least once.
And the sinker was effectively an essential pitch for an underhand pitcher.
It's a stable combination without overdoing it.
"Yes, understood."
I held the ball in my hand and tried gripping it.
Slider grip... like this.
And sinker grip...
Finger position a little more inward.
Checking the sensation touching my palm one by one, I imagined the feeling of the ball slipping out.
Hmm... It's a grip I've held before, but thinking about throwing it underhand feels a bit awkward.
But suddenly, something caught in my mind. I put the ball down and looked at the coach.
"Coach."
"Huh?"
"But doesn't the ABS zone catch the high and low a lot, while the left and right aren't caught much? Then I think sliders and sinkers might be slightly disadvantageous pitches."
As soon as my words ended, the coach looked at me for a moment, then smiled rather contentedly.
It was an expression as if he had been waiting for such a question.
"That's a very good point. You said you rested from baseball, but you know everything there is to know."
The coach nodded and continued his explanation.
"That was true until last year. But pitchers kept requesting that it was disadvantageous, and accepting that, they adjusted the left and right a bit wider starting this year. Of course, it would have been a problem if the umpires' calls varied, but now since AI handles everything, there isn't a big problem."
I swallowed a breath naturally.
"So..."
The coach gestured with his hand as if drawing the strike zone and said.
"Sliders and sinkers have become usable pitches again. Especially for a pitcher like you who takes control as a weapon, even more so."
The coach paused for a moment and added.
"And once a new standard is established, they don't change it easily. It will go with this standard for at least 2-3 years. Then you can practice stably, right?"
I nodded slowly.
"Alright, so let's try it."
I grabbed the slider grip again.
Checking the finger position and being conscious of the wrist angle, I threw the ball a few times.
Shhh-wiii-k
Pop
Shhh-wiii-k
Pop
Once, twice, after throwing about ten times like that, the trajectory of the ball began to take shape little by little.
It couldn't be called perfect, but at least it showed movement breaking away like a slider.
Seeing that, the coach marveled in a low voice.
"Ho-oh... not bad? There's already a bit of a feel."
Then he immediately attached one more condition.
"Then now let's do it thinking there is a batter. Think there is one right-handed batter. So bottom left. Meaning, throw a fastball to the outside low corner strike zone based on a right-handed batter, and next, throw a slider that breaks away as if grazing that spot. It's the pitching that runs away, which is basic for a pitcher."
Hearing the coach's words, the catcher extended his mitt to the outside and took his position.
I nodded and stood on the mound.
The first ball was a fastball.
Without getting too greedy, I threw it exactly where the catcher's mitt was.
Shhh-wiii-k
Pop
A sound rang in the catcher's mitt.
Immediately the next ball, I threw a slider starting on the same trajectory.
It looked like a strike in the beginning, then broke slightly outside at the end.
The catcher caught the ball without moving his body much. At that moment, the coach's expression changed completely.
"Wow... it works."
The coach clenched his fist tight and spoke without hiding his emotions.
"No, this works right away? Ah! Wait a minute."
Then the coach suddenly walked toward the batter's box and stood there without even a helmet.
"Alright, throw it again."
I was momentarily tense because the coach suddenly entered the batter's box, but I nodded as is.
The first ball was a fastball again.
Shhh-wiii-k
Pop!
It went into the strike zone.
"Good. Next."
And the second ball, I threw the slider.
The ball started at the same height and flowed outside at the end, and the coach's bat cut through the empty air.
It was a swing and a miss.
The coach stopped his bat and said with a laugh.
"Hey... this works."
And he added with a voice filled with certainty.
"This will actually work. If you just raise the velocity a bit, maybe real game deployment is possible too?"
( ❋ ❋ ❋ )
Like that, today's training ended.
The baseball team members train more, but I, who am still a temporary member and a pitcher, prepared to go back as my training was over.
"Jeong-ui."
When I finished preparing to leave, the coach called me.
And he pointed to two people standing next to him and introduced them.
"Here, this is Kim Na-seong, who caught for you today. He's a second year like you."
"Hi."
Kim Na-seong said while taking off his helmet.
"And this side is Lee Seung-min. He's an outfielder, and the best hitting batter among the current second years."
I nodded naturally and greeted them.
I looked at Lee Seung-min's face once more. It was strangely familiar.
It felt like a face that had often brushed past in the hallway in front of our class.
I didn't remember clearly, nor did it come to mind exactly when I saw him.
Thinking there was no need to pretend to know him for no reason, I just greeted him lightly and moved on.
"Nice to meet you."
"Yeah, me too."
Lee Seung-min also answered with a smile.
As I was wrapping up and leaving, I heard the coach's voice from behind.
It was a report to the Manager.
I slowed my steps unconsciously.
"Kim Jeong-ui is better than expected."
The coach was calm, but his tone was mixed with certainty.
"Since his control works, calculations stand quickly. If the sinker also goes in decently and can just provide minimal resistance against left-handed batters. Bringing him up quickly and letting him stack experience will be much more helpful in the long run."
The Manager's voice followed immediately.
"He said he'd play baseball, so we have to make him play. It might be a bit much, but still, let's put him in quickly."
I could feel the coach nodding.
"For now, this week seems like a stretch though."
And after a brief interval, the decisive words came out.
"Let's just take him along starting from next week's game."
"Good, first we need to register him on the roster."
( ❋ ❋ ❋ )
The next morning, when I came to school, the sound of a violin came from the familiar place.
It was the violin sound I always heard, but something was different.
Hmm...?
The song changed?
Is she playing something else?
Then the performance stopped.
I naturally walked into the classroom slowly.
Inside the classroom, Yu Se-ra was putting down her bow after finishing the performance.
She looked at me when I entered, but she had a face with a slight frown.
Is her expression stiff because she was concentrating?
Or... because she isn't satisfied?
"Uh... the piece you were playing changed?"
I brought it up carefully.
Yu Se-ra nodded.
"Yeah. That's right. You knew right away? This is the piece I'm going to play at the Concours now. I'm practicing it now."
"Then aren't you going to play what you played before anymore?"
"Mm... Probably? Since doing this properly comes first."
Then she clenched and opened her fingers once.
"But my hands aren't getting used to it as much as I thought... My head knows, but my hands are a little late."
"Mhm. I know what that feels like."
I nodded and said.
"Hmph. You know what it feels like? This frustration?"
"Yeah. That's why I quit baseball."
"Ah! Hey~ How can you say it like that."
Slightly flustered, Yu Se-ra naturally changed the subject.
"How did it go with you?"
"Me?"
"Yeah. Did you decide to join the baseball team?"
I thought for a moment, then spoke honestly.
"I think I'll probably join. And... I think I'll participate in games faster than I thought."
Hearing those words, Yu Se-ra's expression relaxed completely.
"Wow, then that turned out very well. You mean playing in the game, right?"
"Uh... I didn't hear the details, but seeing as they said they'd take me along... there's a possibility, right?"
"Whoa. A second year piercing through the third years and playing right away!"
She laughed for a moment, then continued.
"Ey. Not yet. That... our Captain hyung is a starter, and there is one more pitcher among the third years, so maybe it's still too early?"
"Still, since there is something they expect, that's why they're taking me along. That's great. I was planning to go watch anyway, so I'll be able to see you too. It's hard to match the schedule, but maybe it'll be possible after the Concours."
I nodded immediately at those words.
"Then I'll go watch the Concours too if I get the chance."
Then Yu Se-ra answered immediately.
"Really? It's a promise."
Then suddenly, she narrowed her eyes, looked at me, and spoke playfully.
"But the baseball team has games every weekend. Then isn't it difficult? You won't be able to keep the promise?"
...
Is that so?
I was momentarily stuck for words.
It was a realistic problem.
The baseball team has more games than one thinks.
The High School Weekend League opens every weekend, and when the Weekend League isn't happening, tournaments like the Golden Lion Championship are held.
If games are scheduled every week like that, it was clear that keeping the promise wouldn't be easy.
"Uh..."
After hesitating for a moment, I eventually laughed and said.
"I'll manage somehow. If I do incredibly well and be stubborn, won't they let me off once?"
"Ey, you shouldn't do that! Anyway, thanks for saying that."
...
Same here. Thanks for giving me the confidence to play baseball again.
(End of Chapter)
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