Ace of Ace

Chapter 5

Rehab (3)

“Break for 10!”

Gun once again dropped to the floor at the Trainer’s call for a break .

“This is bloody hard”

He let out a deep sigh and thought to himself .

‘can you show me a comparison of my stats before and after the rehab program?’

– displaying User’s general stats –

Health: C -> B

Strength: C -> B

Agility: C -> C

Responsiveness: B -> B

Trust: C -> C-

Luck: B -> B

Mental Strength: A+ -> A+

Health and Strength showed signs of improvement, but his trust had deteriorated .

‘What, what did I do wrong? Is this because I didn’t reply to the second division rookies’ questions properly?’

He shrugged his shoulders and moved on .

‘show me pitcher stats’

– displaying pitcher stats –

Pitch Speed: C -> B+

Pitch Control: C -> B+

Movement: D- -> C

Pitch Type 1 – Fastball: E -> C

Pitch Type 2 – Slider: E -> C

Pitch Type 3 – Change Up: E- -> D

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Pitch Type 4 – Knuckle Ball: E -> E

O Skills: Level 1 “Beast’s Blood”

Gun shifted his attention to the stagnant growth of his knuckle ball .

‘Rank E? it’s exactly the same as prior to the rehab program… I won’t be able to use knuckle balls at all in actual matches’

Prior to his return flight to Korea from the US, he met up with the retired Knuckle Baller Tim Wakefield . Tim Wakefield saw the bandage around Gun’s arms and commented .

“Do you know how many players in the likes of you approach me every year?”

Gun replied, “About a 100 people?”

“no, it’s actually not as many as you’d think . The number sits closer to 10 . What that means is that not many players want to compete by mastering the Knuckle Ball . ”

“oh I see”

“Gun Choi, right? Would you be interested in vesting your life on your knuckle ball?”

Gun replied with intensity, “if I can return to the major league and avenge Thompson for what he did to me, I’d do anything”

Tim Wakefield let out a smirk .

“You mean to say Thompson from Boston? Who do you think I am?”

Gun soon realised that he had made a big mistake .

‘oh, no . Wakefield is one of Boston’s legends…’

“You don’t have to be too concerned, I’ll teach you everything I know about the Knuckle Ball . But promise me that after you become a knuckler baller, if someone approaches you just like you are approaching me, seeking to master the knuckle ball, you’d teach them regardless of the circumstances . The responsibilities of a knuckle baller don’t end at throwing good knuckle balls, the spreading of the craft’s knowledge is also included .

Gun replied with certainty, “that, I give you my word”

“Alright, then from today I shall teach you all about the knuckle ball”

“Thank you very much”

Tim Wakefield replied as he spun the ball in the air .

“gratitude should probably come after you’ve made the knuckle ball part of your arsenal . There are more than 100 players who I’ve taught, but only one was able to throw the knuckle ball on the major league’s mound . ”

The knuckle ball . It is a killer pitch type which even some of the most skilled and experienced veteran Major League batters have a hard time dealing with .

But reaching the maximum level of fluency and being able to pitch a knuckle ball perfectly as desired was one of the most challenging obstacles for pitchers .

But Gun could not give up the knuckle ball . For if his elbow was to not heal to its 100%, then he would lose his main pitch type, the fastball forever . He needed a back up plan, and a plan that would carry him to the top .

“let’s begin”

Tim Wakefield taught all the fundamentals about the knuckle ball during the first few days . On the last day, he added .

“I hope you discover, learn and adopt the rest on your own . The rest of the journey cannot be taught, but only discovered”

“okay, thank you so much”

Gun told Tim Wakefield that he would do whatever it takes to stand on the Major League’s mound eventually and returned to Korea .

And 2 years had past .

Gun continued practising the knuckle ball and had reached a recognisable standard . However, the 2 years of practice was thrown down the drain as he received an “E” rank after the accident .

Gun could not stop the wave of disappointment overwhelming him .

“Is it the way I throw? Or perhaps I’m putting the spin on the ball incorrectly?”

Whatever the problem may be, they both weren’t easy obstacles to overcome .

“Let’s begin!”

And with that, his break ended, and the rehab training recommenced .

Rehab Training had entered its final stages, and based on the System’s estimated time, it was practically finished .

Gun picked up his phone and called a number nervously .

The basic phone ringing sound filled the room…

Soon, a man’s voice in an uplifted tone responded on the other end of the call .

“Mr . Choi! It’s been a while, how have you been”

David’s voice over the Pacific was bright . He was Gun’s agent, who was English, Korean bilingual .

“My rehab is nearly over, and I was looking for a new team to play for in the next season . ”

“That’s fabulous news! Could you tell me basic information of your current status, such as the speed of your fastballs and etc… I need information to advertise to the teams . ”

Gun’s rehab stage was the level right before he got back on the mound, ready to pitch . Therefore, he hadn’t yet measured his pitch speed properly .

However, Gun was confident .

“Although I haven’t measured it properly, I’d assume that it is at the very least 142km”

142km/hr was a decent number, but no where near the standard at which Major league teams expected .

“That’s not too bad . I guess we could expect at least 145km/hr when you fully recover . I’ll look for a decent, and a suitable minor league team for you Mr . Choi”

David thought that since Gun was enlisted in the top 40 Major League Roster not too long ago, a AAA or a AA team would be relatively easy to find .

To this, Gun had the same thought .

But he decided to take an extra step .

“David, do you think I can make it to the show case?”

As expected, David’s response was negative .

“Show case? No way Mr . Choi . That’s only possible for players with Major League experience”

“I know that, but there is something I want to show to the Major League teams”

Gun’s profound confidence triggered David’s interest in his proposal .

‘Hm… he must’ve developed a new type of pitch form or something during his rehab, or else where would his confidence come from? Maybe I should try and trick teams that urgently need replacement pitchers’

David hesitantly continued .

“hmm… how about, Mr . Choi, we try and get you into the mini show case held towards the end of December? During the winter meeting, teams that yet need to work on their pitching will definitely show interest . ”

Gun was delighted by the news .

“Is that possible?”

“If it’s a mini show case, then I think there may be something I can do . There won’t be as many teams attending though”

“That is fabulous . Thank you very much . I will be ready by December”

“Very well then Mr . Choi, I will contact you again in December . Until then, please concentrate on your full recovery”

Gun ended the call and lied down on his bed .

Everything worked out easier than expected .

‘Maybe if I’m lucky, I could make it straight into the top 40 roster again!… Although, there are always conservative teams that tend to refrain from risking and stick to more certified players from safer and stable backgrounds . ’

In the case of Gun, he only had a record of earned run average (ERA) rate of 3 . ?? from the AAA league to show to the conservative teams .

And even this record was achieved before he got injured .

Gun got up, grabbed his phone and rang up his trainer .

“Player Gun, What’s up?”

“I want to stand on the mound tomorrow . Can you prepare for some pitching practice please?”

“Sure thing! I will be looking forward to the pitching training tomorrow”

As he hung up, a new message popped up before his vision .

– accelerated rehabilitation training has ended –

And at the moment, he could feel the daunting heaviness that had been dragging him down being lifted and removed, and his body felt as light as feather .

‘wow… is this what the training has done?’