A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 277

69. The Boss is Watching (3)

“Wait a minute… what?”

Tampa Bay Rays’ pitching coach.

Thomas Culkin stopped walking.

“What did you just say? Victor what? Not lacking confidence?”

“Yes, that’s what I said.”

Jisub nodded.

“I think you’re worried that Victor Johnson might fall into Blass Syndrome [a condition where a pitcher suddenly loses control], but I just wanted to say that you don’t have to worry about that.”

“B, Blass Syndrome? No, where did you even hear about that…”

Blass Syndrome.

Or Steve Blass Syndrome.

It refers to a condition where a pitcher who used to throw well suddenly loses control and can’t throw strikes.

As the term ‘syndrome’ suggests, the exact cause or treatment is unknown.

However, people like Thomas Culkin, who have been coaching players for a long time, seemed to know something empirically.

“Seeing you mention Blass Syndrome, it seems like you’ve heard about Victor’s story from last season…”

Thomas Culkin said.

“Did you hear it correctly? In the last game of last season, he gave up 7 runs in 1 and 1/3 innings. Seven runs allowed with only hits, no walks! The upper and lower lineups were all hitting Victor’s pitches at will… Damn, it was hard to watch from the sidelines.”

A typical case.

A typical sign.

The coach frowned.

“When a young fastball pitcher like Victor experiences a game like that, their confidence takes a big hit. They don’t know how to throw the ball, and they don’t know if their pitches are effective… If this state persists for a long time, then it manifests as Blass Syndrome.”

Having said this, Thomas Culkin patted Jisub on the shoulder.

“Yes, I’m sure you’re eager to stand out since you came all the way from Korea. But from now on, try to base your stories on more evidence. I don’t know how it was in Korea, but here at Tampa Bay Rays, we don’t just play baseball based on feeling… Got it?”

With that sharp piece of advice, he was about to turn around, but at that very moment.

The voice of the employee from Korea reached Thomas Culkin’s ear.

“I didn’t say that without evidence.”

“What?”

Thomas Culkin turned his head.

“You have evidence?”

“Yes.”

Jisub had a confident expression.

Of course, the biggest evidence was that he had stared intently into Victor Johnson’s eyes.

Since he couldn’t say that outright, Jisub mentioned the secondary evidence first.

“Isn’t Blass Syndrome usually a symptom that appears in pitchers with poor control? But I heard that Victor Johnson’s control is quite good.”

“That’s a result-oriented story. Victor’s style is to just throw it in the middle if he thinks he’s going to walk someone.”

Up until this point, Thomas Culkin’s expression was very relaxed.

He seemed to be secretly enjoying giving this eager Korean employee a ‘reality check’.

“Didn’t I say it before? There were no walks in the last game of last season either, according to the record? He just threw it in the middle because he couldn’t control it and got hit.”

“That’s right.”

However, the very next moment, Jisub began to exploit Thomas Culkin’s blind spot.

“Pitchers who have really lost their control, pitchers who have lost their minds…

They can’t throw it in the middle even if they try. Don’t you think?”

“…Huh?”

The smile disappeared from Thomas Culkin’s face.

“The fact that there were no walks in that game means that Victor had at least minimal control. It also means that he had the will to somehow solve the game.”

“Th, that’s…”

At this time, Thomas Culkin was feeling slightly embarrassed.

A memory that he had forgotten for a while began to vaguely resurface.

To be exact, it was the memory of when he went up to the mound to change the pitcher that day.

At that time, Victor seemed to be panting, and he seemed to be holding the ball tightly and not letting go.

‘Wait, then what was Victor saying to me all this time? That he couldn’t control it, that he was afraid to go up on the mound…’

Thomas Culkin was wavering between the revived memory and the player’s desperate plea.

The decisive blow to his confused mind came at this moment.

“And more than anything… Isn’t it strange that I know about Victor’s last game of last season?”

“Hmm? What are you talking about?”

“I met Victor Johnson for the first time today. We haven’t even talked for 10 minutes.”

But he knows about the last game of last season.

He also knows about the disastrous result of 7 runs in 1 and 1/3 innings.

“If that day’s game really left a big scar on Victor, if he’s even afraid to go back on the mound because of that memory…”

Smirk.

A faint smile appeared on Jisub’s lips.

“Is it common sense to ramble on and on about such a terrible experience to someone you’ve met for less than 10 minutes?”

* * *

About 30 minutes later.

Thomas Culkin was walking down the first-floor hallway of Tropicana Field.

Past the players’ clubhouse, past the training room, to the coaching staff office right next to the manager’s office.

“I’m back.”

The first person to speak to him when he opened the office door was the Tampa Bay Rays’ bench coach.

“Hey, Thomas! What took you so long? I was wondering if I should go home now?”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

Culkin Coach bowed slightly.

“Victor kept running away… I was so busy looking for him that I almost went around the stadium once.”

“Oh my, why are you wasting your energy like that? I told you to just leave it to the managers… So? Did you find Victor?”

The bench coach looked closely at Thomas Culkin’s face.

“You look more comfortable than before… You must have found Victor? Isn’t that right?”

“No, I couldn’t find him in the end. I thought I had almost caught him, but I lost him in front of the underground parking lot.”

“You couldn’t find him? No, but why does your expression look so much better?”

“Ah, that’s…”

Thomas Culkin sat down in his chair and continued.

“Senior, have you ever heard of the Future Strategy Planning Division?”

“Future Strategy Planning Division? Isn’t that the department that Benjamin Oznovich used to be in? Now the owner’s son is the main director…”

“Oh, you know it well?”

Thomas Culkin smiled contentedly.

“Well, there’s a very sharp employee who came in there?”

“Sharp?”

“Yes, his name is Kim? Anyway, he’s a friend from Korea, and thanks to him, I was able to put down one of my biggest worries… Oh?!!”

Thomas Culkin was about to tell the story of Jisub with a comfortable expression.

But at that very moment, his eyes widened.

“Ah, no, senior! What is that?”

“Hmm?”

What he pointed to was the list of players posted on one wall of the office.

From the highest level, Major League, to the lowest level, Rookie League.

The names and photos of all the players belonging to the Rays franchise were attached with magnetic nameplates.

Among them, there was one existence that caught Thomas Culkin’s attention.

“No, why is Victor…”

He couldn’t finish his sentence properly.

“Why is Victor Johnson on the Triple A list? He was on the Major League side until just now?”

“Ah, that?”

The bench coach sighed deeply.

“About 10 minutes ago? I got a call from the baseball operations department. The general manager has decided to demote Victor Johnson to the minor league.”

“Yess?!!”

Thomas Culkin almost got up from his seat.

“What are you talking about? We decided to watch Victor a little more, didn’t we? But why so suddenly…”

“Hey, it’s a bit much to say suddenly. It’s been over two weeks since the season started. There was a lot of noise about whether to put him on the roster from the beginning or not, right?”

The bench coach continued.

“The baseball operations department reviewed the data they had measured, and they concluded that it would be difficult for Victor to succeed in the major league for the time being. So, what can we do? We have no choice but to send him down to the minor league.”

“…”

“Geez, why the long face? Maybe it’s a good thing? If Victor shows signs of falling into Blass Syndrome, as you said, the standard procedure is to send him to the minor league and let him recover slowly. Victor also has a minor league option left.”

“That’s true, but I have a story I heard a little while ago.”

“Story?”

“Yes, the new employee in the Future Strategy Planning Division that I mentioned earlier.”

Thomas Culkin began to tell the story he heard from Jisub.

Last season’s last game. Even while giving up 7 runs, Victor tried to throw the ball until the end.

He wouldn’t have been as seriously affected as everyone says, to the point where his mentality was shaken.

And above all, he rambles on and on about what happened at that time even to people he met for the first time.

Combining all of this, Jisub’s conclusion is-

“He hasn’t lost confidence. Therefore, there is no need to worry about falling into Blass Syndrome… That’s what he said.”

Thomas Culkin was speaking in a confident tone, but the bench coach’s expression was not very pleased.

“Hmm, well? I think it’s a reasonable story, but… It would be difficult to overturn the decision of the baseball operations department with this, wouldn’t it?”

Baseball operations department.

The bench coach emphasized once again.

“Those guys have data, don’t they? The rotation speed of the ball, the shot group, the efficiency of the rotation… They’re talking about data that falls perfectly in numbers, but what you said is only circumstantial evidence. It’s clear which side the general manager will trust more.”

Besides.

The bench coach continued.

“So… Kim, was it? What’s that friend’s conclusion? If it’s not because of the shock he received in the last game of last season, then why is Victor Johnson refusing to play in the game? What did he say about that part?”

“Ah, that part?”

It was at this point that Thomas Culkin’s momentum subsided somewhat.

Of all the conversations he had with Jisub that day, it was the only part he couldn’t understand.

Why is Victor Johnson refusing to play?

What should be done to get Victor Johnson to play?

‘Damn it, I can’t tell you about such ridiculous conditions, no matter what.’

He couldn’t convey a story that he himself couldn’t accept to others.

It was at that moment that Thomas Culkin was about to change the subject while smacking his lips.

“Coach, why are you stopping in the middle of your sentence? You’re making the listener curious.”

A voice from behind.

Thomas Culkin turned his head without thinking and gasped.

“S, S, S, President?!!”

A middle-aged man leaning against the desk with a mug in his hand.

He was President Brian Spon.

The right-hand man of owner Jeffrey Taylor, the one who brought the Tampa Bay Rays to where they are today.

“Oh, when did you come? I don’t think I saw you when I came in earlier…”

“What do you mean you didn’t see me? I was waving my hand happily over there by the window.”

“R, really?”

Why don’t I remember?

Culkin Coach, who suddenly became someone who ignored the president, was sweating profusely, but the general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays was just smiling.

“Haha, it’s okay. It’s not like my presence is faint for just a day or two.”

Rather, please continue your story.

He gestured.

“What did that Korean employee, Kim, say? What did he say about how to fix Victor Johnson?”

“Th, that’s…”

Thomas Culkin hesitated for a long time before finally opening his mouth.

“30 minutes… it was.”

“30 minutes?”

“Yes, he said that if you give him a place where he can talk to Victor Johnson for only 30 minutes, he will make sure that he can play in next week’s game.”

It was a pitching coach who had a hard time speaking, but he was trying to erase the awkwardness by smiling again.

“Haha, it’s ridiculous! How can our club members solve something that they’ve been worrying about for almost a month in just 30 minutes…”

“Haha, it’s definitely an absurd suggestion. A new employee asked for a private meeting with our team’s ace?”

“Yes, so I wasn’t going to tell you. It’s such an absurd story…”

Thomas Culkin seemed to be trying to cut off his interest in Jisub at this point, but President Brian Spon seemed to have a completely different idea.

“But… isn’t it interesting?”

“Yes?”

“I can’t imagine it with my common sense. How stubborn are major league players, and he says he can fix it in 30 minutes…”

President Brian Spon seemed to be thinking for a moment.

He stretched his head out and looked back at the aide standing in the corner.

“Hey, Jimmy! Victor Johnson, did you say he’s taking a plane to Durham [location of Tampa Bay Rays’ Triple-A affiliate] tomorrow?”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

When the aide answered, he asked again.

“How long does it take to get from here to Tampa International Airport by car?”

“Assuming there is no traffic jam… It takes about 45 minutes.”

“Ah, really?”

Then that’s perfect.