The Prodigy Who Rejected the Major League Chapter 4

Episode 4

 

Coach Park Junseok called me aside.

The head coach told him to ‘turn me into something’ over the next three weeks.

“Not as a person. A pitcher.”

Even as he said it, Coach Park looked unsure if this was the right call.

“So? Want to give it a shot?”

“Yes, I will.”

I answered immediately.

There was no reason not to.

This is why I demonstrated that pitching was possible for me.

I’d meant for word to spread through Minsu, but I hadn’t expected it to reach the coach this quickly.

“I like that decisive answer.”

“No need to worry. I’m good at learning with my head… no, with my body.”

“Yeah. Please be.”

He let out a short laugh, probably thinking I was just joking.

 

***

 

After afternoon practice, I left school. Instead of night supplemental training, I was heading to my personal training session.

My mother was waiting in the car.

“You’re here?”

“I’m here too!”

Seunghye popped her head out from the passenger seat.

“Huh?”

“What’s with that face?”

“I just didn’t expect you to be with my mom.”

“We ran into each other at the grocery store.”

They’d ended up shopping together, cooking dinner, watching a variety show, and laughing, and then my mom drove over to pick me up.

“You’re not slacking off too much just because it’s break, are you?”

“He really has no filter when talking to girls.”

What? I didn’t think I’d said anything wrong.

“This is what my son’s like, Seunghye. You’ll have to understand.”

“Yes, mother.”

I stared at the two of them after hearing that form of address.

Even before my regression, my mother and Seunghye had been close. But I didn’t think she called her ‘Mother’ before marriage.

What had changed?

I’d returned a month earlier than before. I’d firmly decided to stay in Korea. And I’d been trying to talk to Seunghye as much as possible.

“That kid started calling me ‘Mother’ from the weekend.”

My mom brought it up as she grabbed the steering wheel.

“She’d never called me that before.”

Ahaha…

I let out an awkward laugh. Calling her ‘Mom’ felt strange now.

“I was surprised too. We had plans to watch a movie that night, but he insisted on seeing me earlier that day…”

Seunghye trailed off, her cheeks turning red.

“Insisted? What happened?”

“N-nothing. He said he wasn’t going to America.”

“Oh, that story. Your father was completely flustered because of that.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Up until the night before, he’d insisted he was absolutely going to the States. Your dad stayed up all night worrying. Then the next morning, do you know what he said?”

“That he wasn’t going?”

“Exactly. Your dad said he was so shocked he couldn’t even gather his thoughts.”

The two of them burst into laughter.

I had no idea what the punchline was.

Still… it wasn’t a bad feeling.

Listening to their cheerful chatter, we arrived at the building where the training center was located.

“Mom, do you have to head back right away?”

“No, your dad has a company dinner tonight.”

“Then do you want to come watch me train?”

It was my first day. I thought it might be nice to show her what I’d be doing. She secretly enjoyed these things.

“What about me?”

“You too. But it won’t be that interesting.”

“That’s fine. You don’t watch workouts for entertainment.”

Right?

We parked and went up together. The training center was on the third floor.

“Coach, I’m here.”

“Welcome. And the people with you?”

“My mom and…”

My eyes met Seunghye’s.

“My girlfriend.”

Her eyes curved into crescents. Haha…

“Oh? Did you bring them here to rub it in for a single guy like me?”

Coach Oh Jungjae’s eyes were smiling despite his words.

“Ha-ha… I thought I’d let them see how I train. Is that okay?”

I’d already brought them up, so I was basically asking after the fact.

“Of course. Watch as much as you like… and please spread the word for me.”

He’d only recently opened the place. Word of mouth mattered.

 

—

 

I changed into training clothes.

Time to focus.

“Athletes aren’t bodybuilders.”

Building muscle might be necessary, but it shouldn’t be the main objective.

“The core of my training isn’t weight. It’s speed.”

Coach Oh emphasized speed-focused training.

I nodded.

That was exactly why I had sought him out.

The baseball-specific methods he’d learned in the U.S.

I had learned and practiced those same methods every day during my playing career there.

“Let’s start with a warm-up.”

We began with planks.

Basic form first, then several variations.

About ten minutes in, I could feel my heart rate climbing.

Next came stretching.

“What we’re doing now is dynamic stretching.”

There are static stretches and dynamic stretches.

Since this was speed-focused training, it was obviously dynamic.

Hop steps into jumps.

Balancing on one foot while swinging the other forward and back.

Turns. Lunges. Finishing with medicine balls.

Then squats.

“This improves elasticity and explosiveness.”

From basic squats to squat jumps.

“Let’s try drop squats too.”

Most people think of heavy weights or jumps when they hear ‘squat,’ but drop squats were the opposite… just as the name implied.

‘When I switched to being a hitter, I did these all the time.’

And even afterward, throughout my career.

Each of these drills would reduce the disconnect between my body and my senses.

“When you hit, you step down with your left foot and press into the ground, right?”

That’s where ground reaction force is created.

In hitting, you have to use that force, the power of driving into the ground… efficiently.

That’s what this training was for.

‘I know. I know it too well.’

I crossed my arms over my chest and rotated my torso.

Lift the foot… plant… rotate.

Again and again.

“Faster! Faster!”

Coach Oh urged me.

If it wasn’t done at speed, there was no point.

“We’re not trying to build muscle.”

Once again, the key was speed.

 

***

 

After training, I got into the car.

Mom had already moved it and was waiting with Seunghye.

The moment I sat down, I felt like I was melting into the back seat.

“You worked hard, son. Was it tough?”

Mom asked. Seunghye nodded beside her.

“Yes, it’s tough. But it’s something I have to do.”

I knew better than anyone.

What if I’d started this earlier… while I was still growing?

Back then, I’d realized too late.

I hadn’t even known training like this existed until after I’d struggled in the U.S.

I thought swinging more, throwing more, and lifting more were the answer.

They’re important, of course.

But they’re not everything.

Now I had a chance to fix that regret.

How could I skip it just because it was hard?

Still, this time, I swore I wouldn’t make the mistake of obsessing over only that.

“Did you get the coach’s business card?”

“Yeah.”

“Keep it safe.”

“Huh?”

Seunghye tilted her head.

It was cute.

“It’s hard to be an agent without connections.”

Unless you’re already in the same industry, meeting players isn’t easy. You can’t just approach them at the ballpark asking for autographs.

And if you fail to sign a player within two years of getting certified, your license is revoked.

How did I know?

Before my regression, the person sitting next to me had started a sports agency.

That’s how I found out.

Anyway, Coach Oh would eventually gain attention after one of his trainees succeeded in the U.S. through posting.

That made him a valuable connection.

“Wouldn’t you be the one introducing players to me?”

“Huh?”

…Right.

Why hadn’t I thought of that?

“How did you know I was thinking about becoming an agent?”

Seunghye asked, puzzled.

Oh. That was a mistake.

I decided to put on a straight face.

“You told me before.”

“I did?”

“Yeah. You mentioned it briefly.”

“Did I?”

“You did. Otherwise, how would I know your dream is to be an agent?”

Once I committed to it, the lies flowed more smoothly than expected.

“Oh my! Seunghye wants to be an agent? That’s wonderful.”

“It’s just a dream for now.”

She laughed shyly.

“Is it really that hard to become one?”

This time, the question was directed at me.

“It is, from what I’ve heard. A senior alumnus visited the school and talked about it…”

I said I’d heard it there.

“And since I knew Seunghye was interested, I listened carefully.”

“I see~.”

Mom smiled at the two of us.

“Son~.”

Her voice even had a playful lilt.

“But you have to graduate from college before you get married, okay?”

“Mother?”

“Yes. We will.”

Just like before my regression, we’d married after Seunghye graduated.

“….”

“Oh? Oh my.”

Apparently, that wasn’t the answer she expected.

Meanwhile, Seunghye smacked my back, asking what that was supposed to mean.

 

***

 

I went to bed early that night.

Before my regression, I would’ve trained late into the night.

But now I knew…

Working hard means working efficiently.

One thing that changed immediately after my regression was my wake-up time.

I used to sleep late and wake late.

Now I slept early and woke early.

The alarm rang at 4 a.m.

As I got ready, Mom came out of the bedroom.

“You’re up?”

She looked tired.

Even if I told her she didn’t need to, she insisted on waking when I did.

Still, she said, waking at four to pack lunch was too much, so she prepared it before bed… just reheating the soup in the morning.

“Thanks, Mom.”

I’d gotten used to saying “Mother,” but somehow “Mom” slipped out.

Dad came out holding the car keys.

“Ready?”

“You’re driving me again? Aren’t you tired?”

“I’ve been waking up earlier lately. I’m fine.”

Because of me, my parents’ routines had changed.

I felt sorry.

“It’s okay,” Mom said, nudging us toward the door. “Sleeping early and waking early is healthy.”

“I’m off.”

“We’re heading out.”

“Have a good day. And train well.”

 

***

 

5 a.m.

“You’re out early again?”

“Yes, sir. Good morning.”

I greeted the security guard and went inside.

I changed into my workout clothes and started running.

It was the routine I always kept in the majors.

I learned in the minors why 5 a.m. workouts mattered.

After exercise, testosterone levels peak… and the younger you are, the greater the effect.

As for running—…

There’s a debate.

But I believe in running a lot.

Some might argue that baseball rarely leaves you short of breath.

Others might say lifting during that time is better.

To them, I’d say this:

In the majors, you play 162 games.

Add the travel and constant time zone changes… It’s brutal.

Running is cardio. It trains the heart.

A stronger heart pumps oxygen faster, which means faster recovery.

I didn’t manage to play all 162 games every season.

But I played as many as I could.

And I survived 15 years in the majors doing it.