Ace of Ace - Chapter 6

Rehab (4)

Gun put on the glove that he uses for official games and stepped on the mound . The distinct feature of a pitcher’s glove is that the crotch is completely sealed up in a web .

This meant that once the ball was inside the glove, nobody else could see the ball through the glove . This was a special consideration for pitchers to hide their grip of the ball from other players such as the batter .

Pitching gloves also had colour restrictions; a restriction that is exclusive to pitching gloves .

White and grey leather were always banned; and the leather, the web and even the thread had to be the same colour .

This was to prevent pitchers using their gloves as a distraction for the batters .

Gun took a deep breath as he got ready to pitch .

This was the first time pitching on a mound in 2 years . It would be weirder to feel comfortable after such a long hiatus .

Gun tried waving his arms about, and jumped lightly on the spot .

Ever since last night, his body’s been feeling a slight as a feather . He felt like he could pitch better than he’s ever done before .

‘alright… here goes nothing’

Gun embraced the four-seam fastball grip .

And he pitched with all his might .

POW!

The sound of the ball hitting the back of the catcher’s mitt echoed the stadium .

Kang Han, a bullpen catcher of 2 years at AT telecom, returned the ball to Gun with a smile, shouting “nice ball!”

He honestly thought Gun’s ball was good .

‘his fastball is good… the ball comes straight into the mitt . Is this the level you need to be at to aim for the Major League…?’

Ever since the acceleration program ended, Gun’s conditions were at an all time high . He felt like he could easily pitch above 160km .

POW!

Trainer, who was keeping an eye on Gun’s second pitch, applauded as he yelled, “nice pitch!”

The pitch was at such a speed that even spectators could feel its power .

‘Alright, this is enough for four seam fastball’

Gun fixed his hat and sent out a sign for his next pitch; sign for a Breaking Ball .

Kang Han nervously put up his mitt .

‘if Gun was successful in the AAA league, then his breaking ball will be good . I better concentrate so I don’t miss this ball’

In the second division that he primarily trained in, not many pitchers had critical breaking balls .

Kang Han focused on the ball that was leaving Gun’s hand .

But the next moment, he was stunned and amazed .

‘What the…’

It was a pitch he’d never seen before .

Kang Han could see the ball dance its way towards the mitt, but did not know how to react .

He put up his mitt towards the ball but the ball flew by the mitt, as if it simply ignored its presence .

After missing the pitch, he looked at Gun .

Gun didn’t seem too satisfied .

‘Was it because I couldn’t catch the ball?’

But catching a pitch which he had never seen before on his first attempt was too much to ask… for anyone .

But the reason behind Gun’s dissatisfaction was different to what Kang Han presumed it to be .

‘the ball didn’t even go near the home plate, if I lack this much control then I cannot use it during an actual match . ’

The ball the he had pitched was the knuckle ball that he mastered over the period of 2 years before the injury .

Movement of the ball was definitely good .

It was enough to be used in an actual match .

But Gun lacked control and aim .

Throwing the ball at a wall, like he did in the 2 years, was greatly different to throwing it at an actual catcher on a mound .

‘Maybe the stats are accurate after all’

Gun had to accept the E rank that he received for his knuckle ball from the system .

‘Damn… there’s not much time until December . Could there be a way for me to drastically improve my control?’

As he let out a sigh, the trainer approached and said,

“Player Gun, don’t be too discouraged . First pitch at this standard is brilliant! And also… wasn’t the last pitch a knuckle curve?”

Gun could acknowledge other spectators around the stadium so he raised his voice enough for them to hear .

“the reason why I lost control of the aim of the ball wasn’t due to the knuckle curve, but rather it felt like it simply slipped out of my hand . It doesn’t feel like the way it did before the injury”

Trainer broke a smile and replied,

“That’s okay, it’s only the first pitch . It will gradually get better”

“I hope so”

Kang Han realised that Gun was not dissatisfied because he failed to catch his ball .

He quickly threw the ball back at Gun .

“let’s move onto the next pitch form!”

Gun nodded and prepared his next pitch form .

This time, it was his main form, the slider .

The ball swiftly curved in the air and flew right into the mitt .

POW!

Kang Han was amazed by the slider .

“your slider is on point, player Gun!”

Kang Han thought that with a fastball and slider at this standard, Gun could easily thrive in the first division .

‘In the national league, he could aim for more than 10 wins with his skill set . He’d be easily making more than $100k a year . ’

However, the trainer’s thought was different to Kang Han’s .

‘Hm… not sure about other teams but it would be hard to draft him into our team . He’s 25 years old now, even if he gets drafted into the 1st division next year, he has 9 years till FA… that’s too distant . Gun’s only option is to try out for the major league . ’

He figured that it would be difficult to draft Gun even if AT telecom is able to offer their best possible conditions .

Gun thought likewise .

He had already eliminated AT telecom from his potential destinations .

After the slider, the trainer brought a speed metre .

“Player Gun, would you mind if I measured your speed?”

“no not at all! I was actually going to ask you to measure the speed for me . I’m assuming the speed will give me quantitative measure on how much the rehab has done for me”

His internal system already announced the end of his rehab .

If that’s true, then he should at least be getting the speed he was at before the injury .

Gun pitched the ball with all his might .

POW!

Gun could notice the shift in the trainer’s face .

“What does it say?”

“It’s saying 148km… isn’t this the same speed as prior to the injury? Does that mean you’ve fully recovered player Gun?”

“oh wow… that’s so good to hear!”

“your rehab results are outstanding, player Gun”

148km was equivalent to 92 miles . Even during his prime in the AAA league, his best speed was 94 miles .

It was safe to say that, as the system announced, his rehab stage had officially ended .

‘even got my pitching speed correct, is the system really able to examine every detail of my bodily conditions?’

The system was initially created for angels working under God’s omnipotence . It was almost natural for the system to accurately see through the capabilities of a mere human being .