A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 461

The New Recruit of the Baseball Team is Too Good 461

The New Recruit of the Baseball Team is Too Good 461

98 Black and Yellow (5)

Around 11 a.m. the next day, Ji-seop was visiting the Montgomery Biscuits’ manager’s office.

The reason was simple: Coach Cheon Jin-woo hadn’t answered Ji-seop’s calls until then.

Ji-seop thought about the wild ginseng liquor he had taken out. He recalled the enormous size of the container holding the wild ginseng liquor and the terrible hangover that would follow the next day.

‘Wait a minute… Could they be passed out drunk? Both of them?’

Once the thought reached this point, he couldn’t just stay put.

Coach Cheon Jin-woo was in a period of self-reflection, but he couldn’t let Coach William Doran be disciplined as well.

He had to go and cover for them appropriately. He had to add some seasoning to get them understanding for being late. When else would he use the deputy general manager’s power if not now?

That’s what he was thinking as he went to the Biscuits’ manager’s office, but-

“Ah, so that’s what happened!”

When Ji-seop explained the situation, the Biscuits’ manager showed a surprisingly favorable reaction.

“I thought something was strange. The two of them came to the manager’s office early in the morning, and I wondered what was up… It seems our deputy general manager was behind it all!”

“The two of them… Are you talking about Coach Cheon Jin-woo and Coach William Doran? Those two came to see you, Manager?”

“Yes, who else would it be?”

The Biscuits’ manager stroked his prickly stubble and grinned.

“I had just come to work and turned on the computer when those two friends suddenly came into the manager’s office. Reeking of alcohol.”

“What was their purpose in visiting?”

“Haha, that’s the funny part.”

The manager picked up a document on his desk and handed it to Ji-seop.

“Deputy General Manager, do you know Tyler Bugley on our team? He’s a 26-year-old left-handed relief pitcher.”

“Yes, I know him.”

He was the player Cheon Jin-woo had introduced as a promising prospect.

He was also the player William Doran had been trying to teach a hard slider to.

“They came up with a development plan for that Tyson Bugley. What was it? They said they would send him to the major leagues in two months?”

“Two months, you say? Hehe, that’s quite an ambitious project.”

At first, Ji-seop thought it was just baseless confidence from drunk guys.

However, as he turned the pages of the document he received, Ji-seop’s expression began to turn serious.

“…A cutter, huh.”

“That’s right.”

The manager nodded.

“The sweeper’s popularity has swept through the entire major league, and some say the cutter is outdated… But in my opinion, the cutter is still a powerful pitch. I think it’s worth trying.”

“That’s true. After all, it was a pitch that dominated an era.”

Compared to the hard slider, the amount of change is somewhat less, but it has the advantage of putting less strain on the wrist.

The power of the pitch itself has been verified, so if he learns it properly, it could be of great help to Tyson Bugley.

“To be honest, I was personally surprised. I didn’t expect William Doran to revise the development plan and bring it in.”
The Biscuits’ manager said.

“He’s a very stubborn person. To put it nicely, he’s persistent, and to put it badly, he’s uncommunicative… So, as a manager, he wasn’t easy to deal with.”

“I’m relieved.”

The manager stroked his chest.

“I think putting him with Cheon Jin-woo will create a pretty good synergy effect. Maybe it’s because he’s a former catcher, but Cheon Jin-woo tends to get along well with other people, doesn’t he?”

“Yes, he’s someone who can be a good friend to anyone. He needs to improve his English skills a bit, though.”

“Haha, that’s true! That’s true.”

Listening to the Biscuits’ manager’s hearty laughter, Ji-seop was also smiling quietly inside.

It seemed like the best outcome had been created. For Coach Cheon Jin-woo, for Coach William Doran, and for the Montgomery Biscuits.

Now he felt like he could leave Montgomery with a much lighter heart. Of course, there was one thing he wanted to do before that.

“Manager, where are the two coaches now? Isn’t it about time for the meeting to start?”

“I sent them to the infirmary. They seemed to have stayed up all night, so I thought I should let them rest for a while.”

He said he was also thinking of letting William Doran skip the meeting today.

Since he had brought the Tyson Bugley development plan, he thought that much rest would be okay.

Hearing that, Ji-seop opened his mouth with a subtle look in his eyes.

“In that case, Manager, may I borrow the two coaches for a while?”

“Borrow them? Where to?”

“Haha, where else would I go?”

Food, food.

Ji-seop grinned.

“We’ve finished a difficult task, so shouldn’t we fill our stomachs?”

* * *

About an hour later.

Ji-seop was looking for a Korean restaurant in downtown Montgomery with coaches Cheon Jin-woo and William Doran.

“Uncle, here’s your kimchi stew! The rolled omelet will be out soon, too.”

“Ah, thank you!”

The bubbling, radiant appearance of the kimchi stew unfolded before Ji-seop’s eyes.

He put a little broth in his small plate and took a sip, feeling a thrill all over his body.

‘Ah, this is it! This is kimchi stew!’

It was the same taste he had in Korea.

It was the taste Ji-seop had been longing for for the past few days.

Eating Korean food in a restaurant where Korean is spoken.

In fact, that alone was enough to make someone working abroad happy, but what made Ji-seop’s mood even lighter that day was something else.

“Hey, Kim Ji-seop! Are you listening to my story? Are you even listening?”

It was Coach Cheon Jin-woo.

Watching him confidently tell the story of what happened the day before made him feel good.

“I’m listening, I’m listening.”

Ji-seop put down his small plate.

“So… Coach William Doran knew about [Jeonju House]? The famous restaurant in front of our KH Cannons field?”

“Yeah, that’s right? Man, I was so surprised when I heard that…”

Coach Cheon Jin-woo conveyed his words through a mobile phone translation app.

Confirming this, Coach William Doran smiled faintly and opened his mouth.

“When my brother was playing for the Jinyang Bucks in the Korean professional baseball league, he visited that restaurant with the team staff. I remember the boiled beef dish being very delicious.”

“Ah, boiled beef slices?! I was also crazy about Jeonju House’s boiled beef slices. It’s really delicious, that!”

Ji-seop was also feeling a strange feeling.

It was Alabama and Montgomery, far away from Yeongsan, Gyeonggi-do.

Would he have ever imagined that an American coach he met here would know about [Jeonju House]?

He also felt that it was no ordinary relationship, and that meeting such a person was no ordinary luck for Cheon Jin-woo.

“Coach, please treat Doran well. Treat him to meals often, and if possible, drive him to and from work.”

“…Why?”

Coach Cheon Jin-woo blinked as he received the rolled omelet that had just come out.

Ji-seop raised one corner of his mouth with a subtle expression.

“You never know what might happen, right? William Doran might become the first member of the ‘Cheon Jin-woo Division’.”

“Ch, Cheon Jin-woo Division?”

In the baseball world, a division meant the coaching staff that moved with the manager.

They were people who shared the manager’s philosophy and helped the manager achieve good results in every way.

Cheon Jin-woo was someone who was aiming to become the manager of the KH Cannons someday, so shouldn’t he secure members to join the division in advance?

“….”

After hearing Ji-seop’s words, Cheon Jin-woo stared intently at Coach William Doran with the rolled omelet plate in his hand.

However, he didn’t say anything. Starting with the rolled omelet in his hand, he began to push side dishes such as seaweed, quail eggs, and seasoned dried squid towards William Doran.

“Hey, yellow monkey! Why are you suddenly sending the plate my way?”

“Shut up, blackie. This hyung [older brother or friend] has a reason for giving it to you!”

“…Reason? What reason?”

Coach William Doran tilted his head as if he didn’t know what was going on.

Cheon Jin-woo was sending him a meaningful smile, right at that moment.

-Babbabam! Babbabam!

Loud music was heard in Ji-seop’s ear as he was taking a big spoonful of white rice.

-Hello, baseball fans all over the country! This is Tony, hosting today’s MLB Today!

The voice of the caster was coming from a large television hanging on one side of the restaurant.

It was a preview program for Major League Baseball.

The program announced the expected players for the day’s game and highlighted noteworthy points.

Since it wasn’t far from the baseball stadium, it seemed they had turned on this broadcast.

-Today, games that will heat up the hearts of fans will be held in ballparks all over the United States! The first place to look at is probably Boston! A game between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, traditional rivals!

And the next moment,

Ji-seop’s ears perked up.

-Today, the starting pitcher for the New York Yankees is ‘Natural Disaster’, Vincent Hiyama, as you all know!!

* * *

Natural Disaster.

‘Natural Disaster’ Vincent Hiyama.

The moment he heard his name, Ji-seop couldn’t help but let out a short sigh.

The feast of flavors created by the golden combination of a piece of well-ripened kimchi on white rice and a yellow rolled omelet also subsided in an instant.

‘Ah, Vincent…’

The Tampa Bay Rays were also taking their own measures.

While Ji-seop was looking at Joe Holtzman’s rehab appearance, front office staff at Tropicana Field were working together to devise a way to defeat Vincent.

He also heard news that new training equipment had arrived, and he heard stories that they had made a plan, and probably Tampa Bay scouts would be dispatched to Boston’s home stadium again today.

However, since no specific measures had yet been taken, Ji-seop felt his heart heavy.

“….”

Was it because that feeling was revealed in his facial expression? Coach Cheon Jin-woo, who was sitting across from him, opened his mouth.

“Hiyama, he’s really amazing.”

Cheon Jin-woo continued, focusing his gaze on the TV screen.

“He did well with the Tampa Bay Rays, but he’s become even scarier this year? His speed is speed, and his control is control, but this year in particular…”

Stamina.

Cheon Jin-woo tapped the table.

“His stamina has become incredibly strong? He’s already had two consecutive complete game shutouts?”

“Yes, I’m actually most surprised by that part.”

Ji-seop said, scooping up the stew.

“When he was on our team, stamina was always a problem. He has a complete game shutout in the World Series, but basically he’s a player who does both pitching and hitting…”

Even if he only focused on pitching, it was common for his stamina to run out, but Vincent was a player who was even hitting.

Therefore, managing stamina was one of the biggest tasks of the Tampa Bay training department.

But this season, Vincent Hiyama was truly showing steel stamina, showing game content that didn’t shake at all even in the 7th and 8th innings.

“Probably Tampa Bay is doing a lot of research on that part right now. How can he show such stamina, how can he have two consecutive shutouts?”

“Hmm, that’s right. You need to know the reason to come up with a solution… Is that what you mean?”

Cheon Jin-woo picked up the ladle and took out a few large pieces of pork and placed them on Ji-seop’s plate.

“Eat a lot. Eat a lot and go. Our minor league staff can just watch with pleasure, but you’ll be at war as soon as you get back.”

“Hehe, you’re the best, Coach. Thank you.”

Ji-seop smiled brightly and bit into a piece of meat that Cheon Jin-woo had given him, right at that moment.

Ji-seop’s eyes met those of Coach William Doran, who was staring intently at him.

“Coach, what’s wrong?”

“No, that’s…”

Coach William Doran, who seemed to be contemplating something for a long time with a spoon in his hand.

It was the very next moment that he put down the spoon with a ‘clatter’ and straightened his back.

“Deputy General Manager.”

“Yes?”

“Regarding Vincent Hiyama… May I say something?”

And the following remark.

“Among our minor league coaching staff… there is a story going around. It may sound like an old opinion in this era where everything is analyzed with data.”

“A slightly old opinion?”

Clatter.

Ji-seop was also putting down his spoon.

“What… is it?”