Chapter 6 – Rehabilitation Training 04

Gun Choi put on gloves used for official matches and took to the mound.

The glove for pitchers were covered with webs, specially between thumb and index finger. It was so that a pitcher could hide his grip from others.

And there were also color regulations for pitcher gloves. White and grey leather were not allowed and even the color of leather, web, and thread had to be the same color. This could be a distraction to batters.

“Whiff….”

Gun Choi took a deep breath.

It had been two years since his last pitching on the mound. 

He felt unfamiliar with every motion he took.

Gun Choi swung his arms and stretched his body, but he felt good.

n.o.body knew what the result would be but Gun Choi was confident.

‘I’ll just do my best.’

Gun Choi gripped the four-seam ball and threw a pitch.

A satisfying sound was heard as a ball hit the mitt.

Gang-Han Kim, a bullpen catcher for 2 years at AT Communication, smiled and threw back the ball to Gun Choi.

“Nice ball.”

Gang-Han Kim really felt that the quality of the pitch was perfect.

‘I keep making a fastball. I need these fastb.a.l.l.s to enter the Major League.’

Gun Choi’s body condition was at its peak after the completion of acceleration.

He just thought he could throw a ball at the speed of 160 km.

The trainer who watched his pitching applauded.

“Nice pitching.”

The pitching was powerful, and speedy enough.

‘It is enough with the four-seam.’

Gun Choi took off and put on his hat again. And then he made a sign for next ball, breaking ball.

Gang-Han tensed up and prepared for the breaking ball.

‘He must have a good breaking ball because he did good at AAA. I gotta get this ball.’

It was rare to see a sharp breaking ball at second string where he belonged.

So he worried about missing the ball and focused on catching it.

It was his first time ever in seeing this type of breaking ball.  He was puzzled as to what to do.

Gang-Han Kim missed the ball and glanced at Gun Choi. And Gang-Han saw a discontented look on Gun Choi’s face. Is it because I couldn’t catch the ball? How can I catch a ball that I’ve never seen before.

But the reason behind Gun Choi frowning was contrary to Gan-Han’s.

‘My ball didn’t reach the home plate. If I can’t control the ball, it is useless.’

Gun Choi threw a knuckleball which he had practiced for two years.

The movement was good enough for a real game, but the ball control wasn’t good.

Practicing on the roof of the city hall and with a real catcher were totally different.

‘I didn’t make a mistake…’

Gun Choi just accepted the grade E on his knuckleball from the system.

‘s.h.i.+t, I don’t have enough time until December. How can I improve the quality of my knuckleball?’

As he took a deep breath, the trainer came and talked to him.

“No worry, Gun Choi. You did a good job at your first pitching. And you threw a knuckleball, right?”

Gun Choi was conscious of being watched and said a little loudly,

“For this uncontrolled ball, it was not a knuckleball. The ball was just released from my hand by mistake. The feeling of my hand is not like before.’

The trainer smiled and replied.

“It was the first trial. You will get better.”

“Are you sure?”

Gang-Han realized he had misunderstood after listening to Gun Choi’s words.

He rapidly returned a ball to Gun Choi.

“What will be the next ball?

The most confident ball for Gun Choi, slider.

The slider ball made a sharp curve into the mitt.

 Gang-Han caught the ball and made a signal to him.

 “The angle of the slider was wonderful!”

‘If he made 10 wins in the domestic league, he would deserve a salary of million. I am a just bullpen catcher.’

But the trainer’s thought was totally different to Gang-Han’s.

‘I don’t know how the higher-ups think but I’m sure it will be hard to recruit him into our team. He is 25 years old. If he can get in the 1st string next year, he will need 9 more years for FA. It’s too far. There’s no other way for player Gun Choi than to challenge the Major league.’

He was of the opinion that even if AT Communication were to offer good conditions, it would be a stretch to catch Gun Choi. 

Gun Choi also had the same thought.

He had already dismissed the option of staying in AT Communication.

The trainer brought a speed gun.

“Gun Choi, if you don’t mind, can I check your ball speed?”

Gun Choi smiled and replied.

“That was what I wanted. I need to see the speed to check how well I recovered.”

The system had already transmitted a message that the rehabilitation was done.

Then he should get at least the same speed prior to his injuries.

Gun Choi threw a ball with power.

A face of the trainer turned cheerful.

‘148km…This is the same speed as before. Am I perfectly recovered?’

Gun Choi asked the trainer.

“What ‘s the speed?”

“148km.”

Gun Choi was slightly startled at the answer.

“That much?”

“The result is pretty good.”

148km was equal to 92miles.

His best speed at AAA was 94miles.

This speed was enough to consider that he was done with rehabilitation as the system showed.

‘The system got the exact number. It predicted everything.’

In the beginning, this system was designed for angels who use the power of the G.o.d.

It was natural that this system could predict the ability of a human being.