A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 548

The New Recruit of the Baseball Team is Too Good 548

116 The Last Step (1)

Exactly four days later.

The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Houston Astros and advanced past the first stage of the postseason, the Division Series.

The final series record was 3 wins and 0 losses.

Wow!!!

Wow!!!

The starting pitchers, Victor Johnson Jr., Warren Livingston, and Johannes van Benshoten, each secured victories and fulfilled their roles.

The batting lineup, spearheaded by the Alex Montero-Dwayne Hosner duo, also achieved double-digit hits in every game, contributing to the three-game winning streak.

Some American sports media outlets released various analytical articles about the Tampa Bay Rays, highlighting the team’s perfect blend of veteran and emerging players and praising manager Brett Evans’ steady game management.

-Well, isn’t that obvious?

It seemed that the articles didn’t particularly resonate with baseball fans.

The Tampa Bay Rays had already won the World Series for two consecutive years. Advancing past the Division Series was perhaps a very natural outcome.

Thus, the most attention throughout this series was focused on something else.

-By the way… have you seen [Awesome Boy]? That vending machine!

That’s right. It was [Awesome Boy].

The special vending machine that Jisub received as a gift from the KH Cannons [a fictional Korean baseball team] .

The very vending machine that Tampa Bay players could use whenever they hit a home run.

The sight of players who hit home runs taking drinks from the vending machine was surprisingly popular.

-Tampa Bay is great, but their home run celebrations were a bit weak, right? But this year is different!

-Is there any talk of it being installed at Clockwise Field [Tampa Bay Rays’ home stadium]? I want to try it too!

Videos of players using [Awesome Boy] on the Tampa Bay Rays’ internet fan page garnered quite high views.

Thanks to this, on days when there were no games, people lined up in front of the vending machine to film it.

As it became such a hot topic, the people from the company that supplied the drinks to the club were also beaming.

Of course, not everyone associated with this vending machine was happy.

-Hello, subscribers! I’ve finally come here! The hottest item in the baseball world these days, [Awesome Boy]!

It was Jimmy Morris who visited Clockwise Field to film a personal broadcast.

-Tampa Bay’s general manager is famous for holding fun events for the players every postseason. [Awesome Boy] is one of those events! But everyone, did you know?

He raised a finger.

-If you trace the origins of this interesting tradition back… surprisingly, it turns out to be me, Jimmy Morris!

Watching the comment window fill with question marks, he smirked slyly and strode towards the vending machine.

-There are many people waiting besides me, so I’ll tell you the detailed story later. First, I’ll try using [Awesome Boy] myself! Now, if you put a one-dollar coin in here, you’ll get a drink… Hmm?!

Even after inserting the coin, [Awesome Boy] remained silent and unresponsive.

Where’s my drink, where’s my drink? A look of dismay appeared on Jimmy Morris’ face as he examined the vending machine’s dispensing slot.

“Damn it, what is it…”

He blinked.

“Am I the only one who doesn’t get a drink again?!

Ah, why?

Why are you doing this to me?!

At that very moment, as Jimmy Morris’ voice echoed through the empty grounds of Clockwise Field-

“I’m curious about your impressions.”

Jisub was meeting an old colleague in the general manager’s office for the first time in a long time.

“How was it? The field you’ve been longing for, the Major League managerial position?”

“Well, I don’t know. I don’t know how one season passed, and I don’t know how the postseason ended…”

Hoo.

The person sitting across from Jisub and sighing deeply was David Wilson.

* * *

David Wilson, who was once Jisub’s right-hand man in the Tampa Bay Rays’ future strategy and planning division.

Now the manager of the San Francisco Giants, he visited Clockwise Field that day at Jisub’s request.

‘Well, the Championship Series is the key for now…’

Jisub is the general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays. He always had to keep the next step in mind.

If they advance past the Championship Series, it’s straight to the World Series. They will compete against the team that won the National League for this season’s championship.

Which team is likely? What are the team’s strengths? There was data coming up from the baseball operations division, but he wanted to hear the evaluation of someone who had been active in the field throughout the season.

In that case, there was no one better than David Wilson. He was the manager of the San Francisco Giants and had played in the National League Division Series until just two days ago.

Of course, David Wilson himself had been pouting his lips since earlier.

“Kim, aren’t you being too much? There should be a limit to rubbing salt in the wound. Do you want to make a manager who was eliminated just two days ago talk about baseball again?”

“Haha, baseball players should talk about baseball. What else would we talk about?”

Jisub was grinning slyly.

“Don’t be like that, just tell me a little bit. Since David, who always helped me by my side, left the team, I feel like my eyes for baseball are blocked…”

“Ugh, you always talk so well.”

At Jisub’s whining, David Wilson made a deflated sound.

“To be honest… I got the impression that it could be a surprisingly uneventful World Series.”

“Uneventful?”

When Jisub raised an eyebrow, David nodded quietly.

“The two teams with the best power in the National League this season were the Mets and the Cardinals. But coincidentally, neither team made it to the Championship Series, right?”

The New York Mets suffered an unexpected blow in the Division Series.

The St. Louis Cardinals withdrew early in the Wild Card Series.

“If this was the result of some great tactic, I wouldn’t say this… but this time, anyone could see it was because of injuries. Both teams had too many injuries.”

“Hmm.”

“As a result, the Miami Marlins and the Cincinnati Reds made it to the National League Championship Series… Of course, they are great teams, but frankly, they are no match for Tampa Bay or the Yankees. Their regular season winning percentage was also barely .500.”

That’s what he concluded.

It may be a bit of a hasty conclusion, but it is a very cautious point-

“In my opinion, the ALCS, the American League Championship Series, is the key. The team that wins here is likely to take the World Series as well.”

At David Wilson’s firm declaration, Jisub remained silent for a while.

In fact, the Tampa Bay Rays’ baseball operations division was also putting out a similar analysis.

The key is the ALCS, if they beat the Yankees, their third consecutive World Series victory is just around the corner.

The news that they have a clear advantage in terms of power over the National League clubs is welcome. However, I felt that the tension for the Championship Series was increasing almost as much.

‘Hehe, the New York Yankees… it will be quite a noisy game.’

Since Jisub joined the Tampa Bay Rays, the New York Yankees have been the team with the most contact.

Sometimes they fought fiercely, and sometimes they formed a subtle cooperative relationship.

That long relationship continues like this again. As Jisub was smiling quietly inside, David Wilson raised his head.

“Kim, can I ask you just one thing?”

“Yes?”

When Jisub turned his gaze, David gave a subtle expression.

“Is he coming out?”

It was a question without rhyme or reason.

“Who?”

“Hey, you know.”

It was at this moment that David Wilson moved his hand as if conducting.

Waving his hands here and there, humming a tune like a lullaby.

Bbambababam Bbambababam Bbambabam~

Bbam Bababam Bbaba Bbambababam~

Jisub wasn’t very interested in music, but he could immediately recognize this tune.

[Eye of the Tiger], the theme song of a once-popular boxing movie.

But for people working in Major League Baseball, this famous music was being received with a slightly different meaning.

There was no other reason. It was Vincent Hiyama’s entrance music.

“Is he really coming out? The reporters are making a fuss about that story right now.”

Director David Wilson asked, his eyes sparkling.

In any case, the Championship Series roster would be announced in a few hours.

Jisub slowly nodded with a meaningful look.

“…As expected!”

Expectation slowly filled David Wilson’s face as he confirmed Jisub’s gesture.

* * *

-Wow, the baseball world will be turned upside down today?

That was David Wilson’s words.

-After the Championship Series roster is announced, there will be a commotion.

In fact, Jisub had expected it to some extent.

Officially, Vincent Hiyama was out for the season due to injury.

The news that he would be joining the postseason was enough to surprise everyone.

Without a doubt, the media would be in an uproar. The club would also receive a lot of inquiries.

So, Jisub had instructed the media response team early on. How to answer reporters’ questions, and how to respond to fans’ questions.

In that state of thorough preparation, Jisub was waiting for 4 p.m., the roster announcement time, but-

“…Hmm?”

To put the conclusion first, the Tampa Bay Rays’ club office was surprisingly quiet that afternoon.

There were a few phone calls along with the roster announcement. A few messages from reporters also came to Jisub’s cell phone.

But compared to what he had expected, it was too quiet. Jisub couldn’t help but tilt his head.

‘Do people who know already know about it? Damn it, I wanted to bring the atmosphere to our side from the beginning…’

Jisub clicked his tongue and returned to his seat.

He habitually opened his laptop and shook the mouse to wake up the screen that had been turned off, just then.

Brrr-

A message coming to Jisub’s cell phone.

It was Pablo Rodriguez from the Future Strategy and Planning Division.

-Kim, have you checked the article?

Article?

Jisub picked up his cell phone.

-What article?

-You haven’t seen it yet. Just a moment.

And a little later, a few article links that Pablo Rodriguez sent.

After checking one of them, Jisub was able to grasp why the Tampa Bay club office was so quiet.

[Yankees GM, “This Championship Series Won’t Be Easy… Tampa Bay’s Power Advantage Is Clear”]

[“Minimum 2 Losses, Worst Case 3 Losses Possible”… GM Nicholas Weiner]

[A Declaration of Surrender Before the Series Even Starts? Yankees “Buzzing” Over GM’s Remarks]