A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 531

A Baseball Team’s New Recruit Is Too Good 531

A Baseball Team’s New Recruit Is Too Good 531

112. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (4)

Around 10 a.m. the next day.

Johannes van Benschoten, a 29-year-old pitcher, was at the public field near his accommodation.

He was preparing for a tryout. The previous afternoon, he had received welcome news from the Tampa Bay Rays.

‘They’re coming all the way to Louisiana to see me, so the chances of a contract must be pretty high, right?’

Given the situation, Johannes’ expression was very serious as he went through his warm-up routine.

He stretched more meticulously than usual, and when he hung the rubber tube on the wire mesh, it was almost like he was praying.

Every movement was full of care. Even Johannes himself thought it was a near-perfect warm-up.

It would have been even more perfect if it weren’t for the chattering old man beside him.

“Hey, Johannes! Are you really going to do this? You’re not going to tell me anything until the end?”

The man sitting on the desk, grumbling and complaining, was named Henry Wilkerson.

He had been Johannes van Benschoten’s agent for several years.

“Come on, did I ask a difficult question? Just tell me what you told your family yesterday! That’s all I’m asking!”

“Well, I mean…”

Johannes clicked his tongue.

“I told you everything already. I really didn’t say much. Just that Tampa Bay was interested, and that I was going to have a tryout today…”

Johannes thought he had explained the situation exactly as it was, but all he got in return was a snort from his agent.

“Oh, don’t make me laugh!”

He slammed his hand on the desk, seemingly frustrated.

“You’re telling me you only said that, and your father came to see me? He came to my office in the middle of the night, crying and thanking me over and over?”

“Oh, my father did?”

Johannes blinked.

“Do you think that’s all? Your mother sent a handwritten letter that was five pages long! Your uncles baked meat pies the size of drums and brought them over!”

The Benschoten family’s fuss didn’t seem to end there.

His cousins brought boxes of vegetables they had picked from the field to thank him, and his nephews brought a bunch of cookies to show their gratitude.

His agent glared at Johannes, telling him that the office was now almost like a grocery store.

“Johannes, be honest with me. What kind of tall tale did you spin this time? What did you say to make your family twice or three times as crazy as usual?”

“Well, that’s…”

At this point, Johannes must have had some idea of what was going on.

But he didn’t know where to start, and just as he was struggling to figure it out,

the trainer who was helping him warm up chuckled and opened his mouth.

“Mr. Wilkerson, don’t be too hard on him. Johannes’ grandmother was recently hospitalized, right? You should see it all as being because of that.”

He looked at Johannes and winked, as if to say, ‘Right?’

“Normally, his grandmother would step in to manage things, but she couldn’t this time. Since there’s no one to stop them, the Benschoten family’s hype has skyrocketed.”

“Oh, is that so? I thought this guy Johannes was telling some ridiculous story…”

For people who make a living as agents, the player’s family is something they are subtly concerned about.

Families have high expectations. They think their son is 100% going to the major leagues, and they think their nephew will naturally receive a huge salary.

Delusion is freedom, and expectation may be a right. But when that expectation is shattered, seeing the family’s disappointed faces is not a pleasant experience for an agent. It could even lead to troublesome things like lawsuits.

This is why Mr. Wilkerson was wary of Johannes’ tall tales. But the trainer seemed to have some confidence.

“Mr. Wilkerson, you can trust me. This guy Johannes wouldn’t have said much. There wouldn’t have been any problematic remarks later on.”

“You’re very confident, aren’t you?”

“Of course. Do I only know this guy for a day or two? Isn’t it obvious? The tall tales that Johannes would have told his family would be…”.

Swoosh.

The trainer turned his head.

“Wouldn’t he have said something like this to his father? ‘Dad, Dad! The team’s manager has been watching me for a long time!'”

“Ugh.”

Johannes van Benschoten flinched at the words that hit the nail on the head.

Seeing that, a strange smile appeared on the agent’s face.

“Hmm, then this would have come out too, right? ‘The manager might come all the way here to see me tomorrow!'”

“Wait a minute, Mr. Wilkerson!”

Johannes quickly reached out to stop them, but there was only one person trying to stop them, and two mouths to stop.

“Isn’t the next part obvious? ‘I think I can really go to the major leagues this time. The atmosphere is almost certain!'”

“Haha, right! Then this story would have come out too, right? ‘If things go well, I might get called up in a week, so everyone should clear their schedules early…'”

Johannes seemed to be a fun friend to tease.

Every time the agent and trainer threw out a word, he couldn’t bear the embarrassment and twisted his body back and forth.

‘The manager said, “You are the only hope for our team,” and I replied to that manager, “I will repay you with a cool strikeout.”‘

As the tall tales that he had mentioned countless times over the years, and that he would have said this time as well, continued to appear, Johannes’ face turned red and he didn’t know what to do.

“Stop, stop! Please stop! I was wrong! I won’t say those things anymore…”

When Johannes clasped his hands together and was at a loss, the agent and trainer finally took a step back.

Of course, they couldn’t just let it go. The agent gave a stern look and conveyed his words of caution.

“Johannes, I understand that you don’t want to disappoint your family. But you’re almost thirty now. That’s not a young age.”

Twenty-nine. Twenty-nine years old who has never set foot on the major league stage.

Johannes himself knew very well what this number meant.

“You’ve managed to hold on somehow, but it’s hard to guarantee in the future. You might be considering retiring next year.”

“Well, that’s what I…”

“If you think about the shock your family will receive then, it’s better to tell them exactly what your situation is from now on. You can’t always rely on your grandmother to mediate.”

Johannes van Benschoten looked even more dejected at the word ‘grandmother’.

Perhaps because he was worried about that, the trainer deliberately raised his voice.

“Mr. Wilkerson, that’s enough!”

He clapped his hands and said.

“Johannes seems to have understood enough, and more than anything, the tryout is the priority right now, isn’t it?”

“Ah, that’s right! Look at my mind. I’m talking about this with someone who has a tryout ahead of them…”

The agent scratched the back of his head with a slightly embarrassed expression.

“Well, yeah! The tryout is the priority! You never know? Maybe you’ll have some great luck this time… Oh?”

“Mr. Wilkerson, why are you stopping in the middle of your sentence? Did someone you know come to see you… Oh my god?!”

As if they had made a promise, the agent and trainer widened their eyes and opened their mouths wide.

Up until this point, Johannes seemed to think that the two were making fun of him.

“Hey, you don’t have to do that. I’m not that intimidated. It’s something I should naturally think about at my age.”

“No, no, Johannes! That’s not it. I’m not trying to make you laugh right now, but…”

The trainer pointed towards the entrance of the public field with a trembling finger.

“He’s… here!”

“Huh? Who are you talking about?”

“Kim, Jisub Kim! The general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays! The one who achieved two consecutive championships is here in person?!”

“What?!”

A Korean man was walking over from a distance.

He was accompanied by staff members wearing Tampa Bay team jumpers.

Johannes van Benshoten’s face was filled with surprise at his confident and dignified appearance.

‘It’s really him? The person I saw on TV.’

Johannes felt like he was possessed by a ghost.

‘He came all the way to Louisiana just to see me? The general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays? No, this is…’

What on earth,

was going on?

* * *

The Tampa Bay Rays’ general manager’s sudden visit to Louisiana.

This was clearly an unusual event. It was no surprise that everyone was shocked.

Of course, there were cases where the general manager would step in personally. Even if the player was released mid-season.

But that was a courtesy usually reserved for players who had been active in the major leagues for a considerable period. It was something a minor league player like Johannes could only dream of.

Perhaps that was why. Agent Wilkerson, who was usually more confident than anyone else, kept stuttering.

“W, w, welcome to Louisiana! I’m the agent in charge of J, Johannes…”

Mr. Wilkerson was a mid-level agent who had successfully negotiated several significant contracts.

But even for him, meeting the general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays was quite embarrassing.

He could have been annoyed that the conversation wasn’t progressing properly, but the Tampa Bay general manager was wearing a faint smile.

“Haha, Mr. Wilkerson. Why are you so nervous today? I remember you being very talkative when we met before.”

“Yes? Before, you say?”

“Yes. When was it… When Tommy Justice joined our Tampa Bay Rays, I was at the negotiation table.”

“Ah, Tommy Justice! That’s right. When I was working at CAB Agent Group, I led his contract.”

Wait a minute.

Mr. Wilkerson’s eyes widened.

“You remember something that happened so long ago? It’s been almost six years?”

“Haha, I remember. Of course, I remember. Mr. Wilkerson’s passionate presentation was very impressive.”

“Oh my, for Kim to say that…”

Heh heh, heh, heh heh heh.

Mr. Wilkerson was trying hard to hide his constantly rising mouth corners.

Ah, so Kim is the type to control his negotiation partner like this. Johannes was watching with curious eyes, and at that very moment.

The Tampa Bay general manager’s gaze turned to Johannes van Benshoten.

“Johannes, nice to meet you.”

“Ah, yes, nice to meet you!”

When Johannes greeted him politely, the Tampa Bay general manager nodded with a gentle expression.

“Manager Chun Jinwoo and Coach William Doran personally asked me to keep an eye on Johannes in Louisiana.”

“M, Manager and Coach did?”

“Yes. The two of them came all the way to St. Petersburg. I have a very special relationship with them.”

“Ah…”

Johannes, of course, and Mr. Wilkerson, who was standing nearby, began to nod in agreement.

They understood. The reason why the general manager came all the way here. The reason why he said he would come and see Johannes van Benshoten in person.

“The manager said he has been watching Johannes steadily. He also said that he is a player with excellent qualities. I wanted to see that for myself, so I came here…”

Swish.

The general manager stared into Johannes’ eyes.

“How about it, can I look forward to it?”

“Of course, Kim!!”

It was Mr. Wilkerson who answered.

“This guy is like a hidden gem. If the San Diego general manager hadn’t suddenly changed, he would be in the major league starting rotation by now! Right, Johannes?”

At this time, Johannes didn’t seem to have that much confidence.

He was released in the middle of the season. That alone was quite a shock.

But Manager Chun Jinwoo, who was usually taciturn, went all the way to Florida for him.

Even though he was kicked out of his managerial position, he made time to meet the general manager.

He received so much consideration, so much love, how could he give any other answer here?

“Yes, I’ll give it a try.”

Johannes nodded.

“I don’t know if I can live up to the manager’s expectations, but I’ll do my best to pitch.”

“Good. Shall we start right away?”

“Yes, sir!”

Johannes picked up his glove and slowly began to walk towards the mound.

He pressed down on his hat and fiddled with the rosin bag [a small bag filled with powdered resin used by pitchers for a better grip] in his back pocket.

Just as he was stepping onto the ground, bracing himself, he heard the voice of the Tampa Bay general manager from behind.

“Johannes?”

“Yes?”

Johannes turned his head.

“It’s a bit early to talk about this… If our Tampa Bay Rays were to sign you, how much time would you need from us?”

“Time?”

“Time to prepare for a starting appearance. Time to prepare for a major league starting appearance.”

And the next moment, Johannes felt like he was possessed by a ghost.

“Would a week be enough?”

“Yes?”

“If I give you about a week, can you pitch in the major leagues?”

The general manager’s bombshell caused an uproar around him, as expected.

‘What are you talking about? You haven’t even seen him pitch yet. There was no such talk in the first place.’

The Tampa Bay staff were shocked and couldn’t come to their senses, but at this time, Johannes was feeling a strange feeling in a slightly different context.

‘The manager has been watching me for a long time, the general manager came to see me in person, and then I’m going to pitch in the major leagues in a week?’

This is totally,

exactly what I bluffed about.