A Rookie in the Baseball Team is Too Good

Chapter 4: The Coach from Qingdao (3)

The baseball lessons at [Superstar Baseball] were generally 50 minutes long.

From the hour to 50 minutes past was the lesson time, and from 50 minutes past until the top of the hour was break time.

“Phew.”

A cup of instant coffee during that short break was becoming a cherished routine for Ji-seop, but—

“Coach Kim! Hey, Coach Kiiim!”

On this day, Ji-seop couldn’t even grab a paper cup to mix his coffee.

As soon as the lesson ended, President Choi Kyung-min and the lesson members flooded into the consultation room.

“Coach Kim! Why are you playing so hard to get? I’m dying from frustration.”

President Choi waved the ‘Tabota Limited Edition’ glove in question.

“This glove! What secret does this glove hold? What did you do to this glove to make it catch the ball better than Andrelton Simmons’ glove?”

“Yeah, Coach Kim! We’re curious too! How can changing a glove improve baseball skills?”

Not only was President Choi, who had personally used the glove, curious, but the members who watched him were also curious.

Ji-seop realized that it was the right decision not to reveal the secret during the lesson and to play a bit of a ‘push-and-pull’ game.

‘Heh, everyone’s anxious.’

Based on his observations over the past three days, the men playing amateur baseball were extremely eager to improve their skills.

‘I want to do well!’

‘I want to be a starter!’

‘I want to be the cleanup hitter!’

In some ways, they had more passion than most professional players.

The problem was that this intense passion didn’t translate into diligent training and practice.

‘I want to get good quickly!’

‘I want to become a starter easily!’

‘I want to be the cleanup hitter with as little training as possible!’

It was understandable, given that they couldn’t invest as much time in baseball as professional players.

In any case, for that reason, the Tabota Limited Edition glove seemed to be regarded as a kind of ‘rare item’ by those men.

A mysterious item that dramatically improved fielding skills just by wearing it.

An item they wanted to have, even if it was a bit expensive.

‘If this deal goes well… people will be lining up to buy gloves from me in the future.’

He felt as if he already had a plane ticket to the U.S. in his hand.

As if he had already stepped into a poker table in Las Vegas.

Ji-seop, trying hard not to let that feeling show, slowly began to speak.

“You want to know why you can catch the ball so easily just by changing the glove? It’s simple. Really, it’s a simple principle.”

Tap, tap.

Ji-seop touched the Tabota glove in question as he continued.

“This is… a custom glove that I adjusted to match your playing style, President Choi.”

* * *

A custom glove.

Or a tailored glove.

Ji-seop was merely stating the facts, but President Choi’s reaction was unexpectedly lukewarm.

“Coach Kim, are you messing with me?”

“Pardon?”

“I’ve been playing baseball for years… do you think I’ve never had a custom glove made?”

Come to think of it, that made sense.

“I’ve had them made more than a few times. I even went to Japan to meet a so-called glove artisan at one point!”

It was a sign of true love for baseball.

“But those custom-made gloves? Frankly, they weren’t much different from the ones I bought online. That’s why I ended up looking for Andrelton Simmons’ glove in the first place, isn’t it?”

And now you’re talking about a custom glove?

Other members standing beside President Choi nodded in agreement.

It seemed like they had had similar experiences at least once.

Of course, Ji-seop, faced with such a reaction, merely smiled faintly.

“Come on, comparing a glove made with just the size of your palm to this one… that’s not fair to me.”

“Hmm?”

“Didn’t I tell you? I took into account your playing style, President Choi.”

“President Choi.”

Ji-seop straightened his posture as he asked.

“Tell me.”

“Tell you what?”

“Honestly, you’re scared of infield grounders, aren’t you?”

“Hmm?”

“From what I can tell… it seems like you got hit in the face by a bouncing ball when you first started playing baseball while trying to field an infield grounder.”

At that very moment,

President Choi’s expression changed.

“Hold on, how… how did you know that?!”

“Haha, well….”

Ji-seop didn’t feel the need to reveal the facts.

He just answered like this.

“Anyone can tell just by looking.”

“…….”

Feeling the surprised gazes of those around him, Ji-seop spoke again.

“If you develop a trauma from infield grounders, it becomes difficult to watch the ball until the end. Even if it seems like you’re watching it, you tend to close your eyes tightly at the last moment. With your glove just sticking out like this.”

As Ji-seop demonstrated the motion, the others nodded in agreement, saying, “That’s right, that’s right.”

“Of course, with consistent training, you can overcome it. The problem is that there’s a risk of getting injured again during that process.”

“Hmm.”

“So I made some adjustments to the glove to compensate for your weakness, President Choi.”

Ji-seop briefly explained the process of adjusting the glove.

Changing the glove’s center of gravity so that it maintained its original position as much as possible, even if the body twisted.

Widening the area where the ball enters and deepening the part where it settles to make it easier to catch grounders.

There were a few other technical explanations as well, but the conclusion among the members who heard it all could be summarized like this.

[That, that’s amazing!]

[A custom glove like this? I’ve never even heard of it before!]

[The glove is great, but… this guy’s got an incredible eye for baseball! How did he pinpoint President Choi’s weakness after just watching him a couple of times?!]

Amazed at the new coach’s skills and wanting a custom glove of their own.

Each member swallowed their saliva and stared at the Tabota Limited Edition glove longingly.

“…….”

But it was at that very moment.

When Ji-seop, with a ‘Now you see?’ expression, placed the glove in its case.

“Huh?”

President Choi reacted immediately.

“Coach Kim, why are you putting the glove away? Weren’t you planning to sell it to me?”

“Sell it?”

Ji-seop feigned ignorance.

“Did I say I was going to sell it? I think I only mentioned lending it to you for the day.”

“Hey, don’t be like that.”

President Choi lightly tapped Ji-seop on the shoulder.

“You said this glove was made for me, right? So you brought it with the intention of selling it to me in the first place, didn’t you? Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, well, that’s true. But….”

Ji-seop looked at President Choi.

“Judging by your reaction, it seems… you’re trying to haggle over the price of this glove.”

“W-What?!”

President Choi looked as if he had taken a hit.

After all, he had just been thinking exactly that.

[It’s a really desirable glove… but if that much technique was poured into making it, the price must be quite high, right?]

[No, wait… maybe I can negotiate the price a bit? Since it’s a glove tailored specifically for me, it’s not something that could be sold to someone else, right?]

President Choi had been harboring such thoughts, never imagining that Ji-seop could read his mind.

He stammered in response.

“Co-Coach Kim, why are you like this? Can’t we at least haggle a bit?”

“No, I’m really bad at haggling since I’ve only ever played baseball my whole life.”

Ji-seop firmly said.

“If I haggle with you, I’m 100% going to end up at a loss… I don’t want to sell something I’ve put my effort and skills into that way.”

“Th-Then what about this glove? You’re not going to sell it to anyone?”

“President Choi, you just witnessed my skills, didn’t you?”

Ji-seop grinned.

“As for this Tabota Limited Edition… I can just custom-make another one for someone else.”

As soon as Ji-seop finished speaking, several members raised their hands.

“Coach Kim! Then me! Sell it to me! I’ve been having trouble with my fielding lately….”

“Hey, but you’re pretty good at fielding, aren’t you? Coach Kim, sell it to me! I got my bonus today, so I can pay for it right now….”

The members swarmed around like bees.

Only then did President Choi realize his mistake, and he hurriedly pushed through the crowd to get to Ji-seop.

“Okay, okay! Coach Kim, I’m sorry! I wasn’t trying to downplay your effort and dedication. It’s just that, as a businessman, my instincts kicked in….”

120!

President Choi shouted.

“I’ll give you 120! On top of the glove’s original price of 100, I’ll add 20 more! Is that good enough?”

-30 from the initial target.

But Ji-seop didn’t need to respond here.

The members watching immediately began to outbid each other.

“President Choi, sometimes you can be so stingy. Where else are you going to find such a good glove? Coach Kim! I’ll offer 130!”

“I’ll go with 140!”

“150!”

The price soared, surpassing Ji-seop’s original target.

Biting his lower lip anxiously, President Choi finally shouted.

“200!!!”

He held up two fingers.

“I’ll give you 200. Will that satisfy you? 200, and I get the Tabota Limited Edition, right?”

“President Choi, are you sure? 200 is not a small amount for a glove….”

“Coach Kim, will you stop it? You’re killing me here, man!”

When President Choi shouted, Ji-seop finally stretched his neck and called for the lesson center’s director.

“Director! Director Oh!”

“Yes! Yes, Coach Kim!”

Oh Su-man, the director, who had been standing there with his mouth agape, hurried over, still in disbelief.

With his characteristic leisurely smile, Ji-seop spoke.

“Director, could you please process President Choi’s payment?”

Drum roll.

Today’s final sale price—

“2 million won.”

* * *

About three weeks had passed since the ‘Tabota Limited Edition Glove’ incident.

Oh Su-man, the director of [Superstar Baseball], was meeting with his army buddy, Kim Ji-chang.

“…So you’re saying that Ji-seop managed to sell a glove that originally cost 780,000 won for a whopping 2 million won.”

“Our Ji-seop did that?”

“That’s not all!”

Director Oh took a sip of his soju and continued.

“Since then, there’s been a line of members wanting to buy custom gloves from Coach Kim… so much so that the inventory we had in the consultation room is almost gone.”

“Heh, what did I tell you?”

Kim Ji-chang poured another glass of soju for Director Oh.

“Ji-seop, that kid, his career got a bit tangled up, but… I told you he was a useful guy, didn’t I?”

“He’s definitely a useful guy. A really useful guy. But….”

Smack.

Director Oh smacked his lips.

“I keep wondering if it’s okay to keep him here.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know much about baseball… but I’ve been in the amateur baseball scene for quite a while, right?”

Director Oh took the soju bottle from Kim Ji-chang.

“Your younger brother… he knows baseball better than anyone I’ve seen. It’s like he’s got a special eye for spotting talent.”

“…….”

Kim Ji-chang silently sipped his soju.

“Is it really okay to let a smart guy like him waste away here? Shouldn’t we be sending him to a pro team or something? Whether as a coach or a front office staff….”

“Well, I’ve suggested it many times….”

“And?”

“Unless he can get a salary of around 100 million won, he’s not interested in joining a baseball team.”

“Sa-Salary… 100 million won?!”

Director Oh stared at the ceiling.

“Are there even people in baseball teams who get paid over 100 million won?”

“There are.”

Managers and general managers.

Kim Ji-chang chuckled.

“No team would hire a player who came back from playing in China as a manager or general manager… so essentially, he’s saying he won’t go.”

“Don’t just say that. You should try to convince him. I’m worried about wasting his potential.”

“I’ll give it a shot.”

Just as they were downing another shot of soju with a ‘cheers,’ it happened.

Bzzz— Bzzz— Bzzz—

A call came through on Director Oh’s phone.

Already quite drunk, Director Oh squinted and pressed the ‘Answer’ button.

“Ah, yes, this is Superstar Baseball! What can I do for you?”

Listening closely to the voice on the other end of the line, Director Oh quickly nodded.

“Oh, a private lesson? That’s possible, definitely possible! And the person receiving the lesson is….”

Then, in the next moment,

Director Oh’s eyes widened in shock.

“Hold on, what did you just say?”

He switched the phone to his other hand.

“Who… did you say is coming to our lesson center?!”