The Genius Hitter Who Conquered America - Chapter 55

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 55
The game ended without fanfare.
Team A’s victory was overwhelming.
Soo-ho, Casey, and Mark each took only two at-bats before being substituted out.
With so many players on the roster, it was necessary to give everyone equal opportunities.
Yet the atmosphere in the Dugout after the game felt peculiar.
There was neither the jubilation of victory nor the regret of defeat—only an awkward silence hanging in the air.
Most of Team B’s players were certainly dejected.
They had lost without showcasing anything of value.
But was Team A satisfied with their decisive win?
Not in the slightest.
Despite the wide margin in the score, every memorable moment had been created by those Low-A guys.
It was as though the true protagonists were elsewhere, while they merely filled the background like painted screens.
‘We dismissed them as Low-A players.’
We thought we had them beaten from the start.
We were wrong. It was a miscalculation.
An unsettling discomfort from witnessing genuine talent.
These three weren’t mere supporting cast—they were real competitors who could threaten our own positions, and that reality had sunk into our bones.
It was Harry who broke the tension.
He entered the Locker Room and spoke.
“Here’s tomorrow’s schedule. After morning training, we’ll have lunch. In the afternoon, you’ll conduct individual training according to your routines, but there will be meetings with the Coordinator in between. The schedule will be posted at the Dormitory, so check it.”
The players nodded.
Harry continued.
“You’ve all worked hard today with the travel and the game. Go rest. Staff members waiting outside will guide each of you to your Lodging. Dismissed.”
Soo-ho’s group had been assigned to a Luxury Apartment Complex ten minutes by car from the Stadium.
The moment they opened the door under the staff member’s guidance, an exclamation burst from Mark’s lips.
“Wow! Insane. The facilities are incredible, right? The Dodgers really do it right?”
Mark threw himself onto the living room sofa and shouted.
It was understandable.
The floor was laid with luxurious marble tiles, and one corner of the living room featured a 65-inch flat-screen TV and the latest gaming console.
The Kitchen had a fully stocked refrigerator, a dishwasher, and a spacious island dining table.
For temporary lodging, it was excessively lavish.
Even the taciturn Casey opened his room and raised an eyebrow.
A king-sized bed and an attached dressing room.
Not bad at all.
His eyebrows lifted in evident satisfaction, and he casually tossed his luggage onto the floor.
Soo-ho slowly surveyed the apartment himself.
Opening the Bathroom door, he found dry tile without a trace of moisture and a spacious bathtub.
‘The treatment really is different here.’
Memories of Minor League Dormitory life back in Korea came flooding back.
Wallpaper permeated with the stench of mold.
A cramped room crammed with a bunk bed, nights tormented by the snoring of the player next door.
Of course, coming to the United States hadn’t changed much.
The Dormitory provided by Low-A looked to be forty or fifty years old.
A weak shower pressure that trickled pathetically was routine—but this place was different.
The air itself felt refreshing.
Everything was new, and everything was abundant.
Is this the treatment reserved for prospects worth watching?
Soo-ho sank into contemplation, running his fingertips across the leather texture of the Living Room sofa.
Truth be told, I’d always excelled at baseball even in my amateur days.
I’d made quite a name for myself in High School.
People around me called me a baseball prodigy, and I’d basked in that praise.
But that was merely honor—not tangible treatment.
Being good at baseball didn’t change the School Dormitory meals.
A hard mattress never became as soft as a cloud.
But the Professional Baseball World was different.
Especially this upper-level realm was different.
Skill was rank, and rank was quality of life.
A strange emotion stirred in my chest.
The sweetness this comfort offered.
What people call the taste of power, the sense of achievement.
Things I’d never experienced before.
If the Arizona Fall League is like this…
This is the treatment for a mere educational league of prospects.
Then what about higher levels?
The Major League…
I couldn’t even imagine it.
Private jets, five-star Hotels, meals prepared by personal chefs, and astronomical salaries.
That place wouldn’t simply be where baseball is played—it would be a garden where chosen emperors frolic.
I clenched my fist.
I want to stand there.
Not merely for the honor of being a Major Leaguer.
To savor this sweet treatment.
It was a primal desire to experience this comfortable life even more.
So this is why people crave success.
I can’t be satisfied here. I need to show more.
I have to be so relentless that this plush sofa feels like a bed of thorns.
Only then can I play baseball with an even better house, even better treatment.
I gazed at the Bathroom with its bathtub and made a vow.
I would excel—no matter what.
I was determined to devour this place with everything I had and claw my way up to the next level.
To do that, I needed information.
With information, I could prepare one step ahead of everyone else.
“Hey, Mark.”
“What? You like this place too? Well, who wouldn’t?”
“It’s great and all, but I’m curious about something.”
“About what?”
“What’s this Coordinator meeting the Manager mentioned?”
Earlier, the Manager had said there would be a Coordinator meeting tomorrow.
Mark’s expression turned indifferent.
He found it utterly ridiculous.
‘No way…’
Today they had played in the intrasquad game.
And the players they’d faced or played alongside—were they ordinary talents?
They were players at a significantly higher level than themselves.
Yet today’s stars were undoubtedly them.
Because, as Soo-ho had mentioned earlier.
They had certainly earned exceptionally high marks for unexpectedness.
So on a day like today, wasn’t it normal to be satisfied and enjoy the moment?
Yet Soo-ho was already searching for the next path forward.
But Mark knew him well by now.
Even though they’d only spent a few months together.
“The Coordinator meeting is exactly what it sounds like,” Mark said.
He buried himself deeper into the sofa, speaking with indifference.
“They give us direction on how we can improve. It’s a kind of consulting.”
“So if I tell them what I want, I can get it?”
“Hmm… well, that’d be tough, I think.”
Mark shook his head.
“It’s not really about you telling them what you want… it’s more that they tell you what to do based on that. They’ll conduct the meeting based on our data so far and what we showed today. Honestly, they understand baseball way better than we do.”
The Baseball Club possessed vast amounts of data.
Trackman data, biomechanics analysis, scouting reports, and more.
They might know my body better than I knew it myself.
So when they diagnosed that I needed to fix something.
The typical response was for the player to say understood and comply.
Mark’s logic was like a doctor prescribing medicine—the patient simply takes it without question.
My questions continued.
“Does the meeting actually help you improve?”
“Probably, right? This is my first time here too, so I’m not entirely sure about that part.”
Mark gave a slight shrug.
Mark shrugged his shoulders.
That was when it happened.
Casey emerged from unpacking his belongings in his room, pulled water from the refrigerator, took a sip, and casually dropped a remark.
“It’s not just advice.”
Casey’s voice was low and measured.
Both Mark and Soo-ho’s gazes snapped toward Casey simultaneously.
Casey closed the water bottle cap and fixed Soo-ho with a direct stare.
“It’s a briefing on your assignment.”
“Assignment?”
“Yeah. During this Arizona Fall League and the winter offseason that follows, the front office has set guidelines for what we need to fix and how. That’s what this meeting is about.”
Casey clearly had already gathered information through his agent.
“It’s not just about correcting your form. They’ll present specific metrics. Increase your average exit velocity by so many miles per hour, adjust your launch angle by so many degrees, or raise your contact rate by this much—that kind of thing.”
….
“And this Arizona Fall League right here is where they determine whether you can actually accomplish those assignments.”
Casey continued.
“If we fail to follow the direction they set out, or if we don’t demonstrate results worth their consideration, there won’t be a Spring Training invitation next year.”
Only then did Soo-ho’s eyes shift with understanding.
This wasn’t simply a meeting to find a good baseball instructor.
It was the front office’s ultimatum to a player, essentially equivalent to drafting a contract for the next season.
Whether I could grow in the direction the organization wanted.
It felt like the first gate of a test—to see if I was someone who could understand instructions or not.
‘So it’s a place where I just passively listen.’
Like Mark said, you go in, say yes, understood, and come out.
Soo-ho’s mind raced.
‘But here’s the thing….’
If I’m the same as everyone else, could I really make an impact?
Because we’re Low-A.
How could being the same as others work?
‘It won’t. Especially because we’re Low-A.’
Unlike the other Double-A and Triple-A prospects.
We weren’t yet close to the Major League.
We weren’t ready assets for immediate deployment.
The focus would definitely be more on development.
Development? It’s certainly important.
I wanted to grow more through development too.
But.
‘Jumping up the stairs is faster than climbing them one by one.’
I can’t afford to take it one step at a time.
Time waits for no one.
Of course, I naturally preferred going slowly.
I believed the right way was to make something completely mine before taking the next step.
That’s why when I first learned the mechanism, I focused on making it completely mine rather than just moving forward.
‘But here is….’
I can only come once a year.
And for a player who’s come once, the chances of returning to this stage were slim.
In other words, this Arizona Fall League might be my first and last opportunity.
‘So I need to make an impact.’
I didn’t know how the Coordinator would respond.
But one thing was certain.
Beyond the level they presented.
‘I’m going to say I’ll achieve that higher goal.’
That alone would be enough to leave a good impression.
If the results turned out well too, it would be perfect.
Of course, if I failed, I might be branded as someone with flashy words but no substance.
‘Anyway, I’m at the very bottom here.’
I had nothing to lose.
Rather than keeping pace like everyone else.
I just wanted to sprint at full speed on my own and stand out.
‘That’s the only way…’
I could reach the Major League, which is narrower than the eye of a needle.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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