A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 122

About an hour later.

Seo Chang-gi, the general manager of the KH Cannons, was sitting face to face with a guest.

It was Hwang Young-joo, a reporter who had come to the United States to cover the Major League Winter Meetings.

The head of the baseball department at [Sports Hanseong], and the veteran reporter known in the industry as ‘Jomi’ (a nickname).

“Oh, memories are flooding back.”

That was Hwang Young-joo’s first reaction after hearing Seo’s story.

“A business card exchange mission… I used to do that when my seniors told me to. Was it right after I got rid of my trainee badge? When I first came to cover the Winter Meetings.”

Hehe, I sweated a lot back then.

Hwang Young-joo had a nostalgic look on her face, as if she was reminded of her rookie days.

She asked Director Seo.

“But… what’s the main point?”

“Hmm?”

“There must be a reason why you called me here, Director. You’re a busy man; you wouldn’t have called me just for a cup of coffee.”

Reporter Hwang put down her coffee cup.

“Judging by the fact that you started talking about exchanging business cards as soon as we met, is it something… related to Ji-seop?”

“Oh my, I can’t even drink a glass of cold water in front of our Reporter Hwang.”

Seo Chang-gi clicked his tongue at Hwang’s sharp remark.

“That’s right, you saw right through me.”

Director Seo nodded.

“The reason I called Reporter Hwang here today is because of our Special Advisor Kim.”

“Why, is there something wrong with Ji-seop?”

“It’s not a problem, but… um, how should I put it.”

Seo Chang-gi stroked his chin for a moment, then looked at Hwang Young-joo and continued.

“I just want to make our Special Advisor Kim an immediate asset as soon as possible.”

“An immediate asset?”

Director Seo asked Hwang Young-joo, who was tilting her head, a somewhat unexpected question.

“Reporter Hwang, when you received the business card exchange mission from your seniors in the past… where did you go?”

“Me? Well, of course… hehe, it was the lobby on the first floor of the Winter Meetings venue.”

Hwang shrugged her shoulders.

“That place is crowded with people throughout the Winter Meetings, right? So I thought that was the best place to exchange business cards.”

“I see, Reporter Hwang did that too?”

“Hey, am I the only one?”

Hwang waved her hand.

“Everyone did that, right? Our director and manager too… I think you, Director, would have gone to the first floor lobby to exchange business cards when you were a rookie?”

At Hwang’s words, Director Seo gave a bitter smile and agreed.

“That’s right, I was no exception.”

“It can’t be helped. How would a rookie who came to the Winter Meetings for the first time know that the first-floor lobby of the venue is full of duds.”

Hwang continued.

“There seem to be a lot of people… but in reality, there are only college students looking for jobs, peddlers selling strange things, and tourists who came to see famous players. Oh my, I was so dumbfounded when I checked the business cards I received later… Ah.”

It was at this moment that Hwang Young-joo snapped her fingers.

“Now I understand. Why you called me all the way here, Director.”

“Oh, really?”

“You want me to help Ji-seop, right? So that he can avoid the trial and error that you and I experienced in the past?”

“You hit the nail on the head.”

Yes, that’s right.

Director Seo nodded.

“Normally, I would have just watched. Because Special Advisor Kim needs to experience various trials and errors. But I want Special Advisor Kim to be helpful to me right now, rather than shining in 3 or 4 years.”

“So, an immediate asset?”

Director Seo gave a short answer, ‘That’s right,’ to Hwang’s question.

“I want Special Advisor Kim to make good use of this Winter Meetings. Now that he’s come all the way to the United States, I want him to get to know the key personnel of Major League clubs and build relationships with leading agency companies…”

“If that’s what you’re thinking, wouldn’t it be better for you to connect him directly? Instead of going through me?”

“Hey, is it any good if your direct superior feeds you? Besides, I just said it. I want an immediate asset!”

Director Seo picked up his coffee cup, which had gone cold, and continued.

“Sharing my connections is meaningless. Special Advisor Kim has to bring in new connections on his own to be of help to our club.”

“Wow, our director… you’re so eager to suck up Ji-seop’s abilities?”

Hwang joked.

“Does Ji-seop know that his boss is such a tough person?”

“It’s not just for my own good. It’s something that our club desperately needs, and at the same time, it’s something that will help Special Advisor Kim’s career.”

I won’t ask you to help too much.

Director Seo refilled Hwang Young-joo’s empty coffee cup and spoke again.

“Just give Special Advisor Kim a little hint. That he shouldn’t exchange business cards in the lobby. That the really useful people are somewhere else.”

“Can I tell him the location? Like a bar near the hotel, or a swimming pool, or a casino…”

“Hmm, that would be good. The key personnel of each club must be hiding in such places by now.”

“Okay. Then…”

While sipping the coffee Seo had refilled, Hwang Young-joo took out her cell phone.

“Ah, Ji-seop? Yes, this is Hwang Young-joo. I’d like to see you for a moment… where are you now? It sounds noisy around you; are you in the first-floor lobby?”

At this time, a strange smile was spreading across Seo Chang-gi’s face.

That’s what I thought.

I thought, ‘Even smart Kim Ji-seop is a rookie at the Winter Meetings.’

He must have felt a little proud of himself for extending a helping hand to his clumsy subordinate.

But,

What?

Hwang Young-joo ended the call much earlier than expected.

‘You shouldn’t be there,’ or ‘You should exchange business cards somewhere else.’

The call ended without mentioning any of the advice she had originally planned.

Seo Chang-gi tilted his head.

“Reporter Hwang, what’s wrong? Why are you hanging up already?”

“No, that’s… Director…”

Even the great Hwang Young-joo seemed a little dumbfounded at this moment.

She widened her eyes, which were usually narrowed, and said one word.

“Ji-seop… he’s not in the lobby?”

“Huh?”

“He said he’s in the hotel’s underground casino.”
Hwang continued.

“He said he’s exchanging business cards with people from Major League clubs there?”

* * *

About 10 minutes later.

Ji-seop was quietly watching ‘Jomi’ Hwang Young-joo rummaging through all his business cards.

“Yankees, Cardinals, and this is… Baseball Armory? Isn’t that a very famous private training center?”

Reporter Hwang was constantly surprised as she looked at the business cards Ji-seop had exchanged.

She turned her gaze to Ji-seop.

“Ji-seop, how did you do this?”

“Yes?”

Ji-seop, not knowing what was going on, only blinked his eyes.

However, Hwang Young-joo, who knew the industry well, could not hide her surprise.

“Usually, when you’re told to exchange business cards, ten out of ten people do it in the first-floor lobby… how did you even think of coming here, Ji-seop?”

“Ah, is that what you mean?”

Ji-seop knew how the Major League Winter Meetings worked.

That’s right.

From a long time ago.

“I heard a story when I was in the American Independent League.”

That was Ji-seop’s answer.

“One of my teammates went to the Winter Meetings every year after the season ended.”

“To the Winter Meetings? Every year?”

“Yes, he didn’t participate as a player… I think he went because he wanted to join the Major League front office, probably.”

It was a fairly common sight in the Independent League.

Since there was no special way to improve their baseball skills, many people turned their attention to the front office early on.

“I heard from my teammate at the time. If you want to meet the right people at the Winter Meetings, you have to go to the hotel’s underground casino.”

A place where people who were tired of their busy schedules gathered to take a break.

They had a drink or two, and they were in a good mood after a light game, so surprisingly, conversations with strangers went well.

Ji-seop’s teammate had advised him to ‘be sure to visit the casino if you ever go to the Winter Meetings.’

“I just followed the advice I heard back then… there was nothing special.”

Hwang Young-joo, after hearing Ji-seop’s words, let out a hollow laugh as if she was dumbfounded.

“There’s nothing special… the fact that you knew such high-level information in advance is special.”

Hwang returned the business cards Ji-seop had collected and continued.

“I received a special mission from Director Seo, so I was going to help you a little and get it back later… but if this is the case, there’s nothing I can do.”

I give up.

I can’t beat Ji-seop.

Hwang shook her head and looked at Ji-seop and asked.

“But… are you still in contact?”

“Yes?”

“I’m talking about the teammate who told you the Winter Meetings know-how.”
Hwang swept her fallen hair back.

“If it was when Ji-seop was playing in the American Independent League… would that be about 6 or 7 years ago? Then wouldn’t that teammate be doing well somewhere by now? If he hasn’t left the baseball scene.”

“That could be the case…”

It was at this moment that an awkward smile appeared on Ji-seop’s face.

“To be honest… I can’t even remember that friend’s name now.”

“You weren’t very close?”

“No, we were close. But as you know, Reporter, American friends’ names are all the same.”

Ji-seop scratched the back of his head.

“After forgetting about it for a few years… I can’t remember exactly what that friend’s name was.”

“Think about it, Ji-seop.”
Hwang said in a serious tone.

“You never know what will happen. What if that friend is working for a Major League club… it could be helpful to Ji-seop, right?”

“…”

“KH Cannons is aiming for a business agreement with a Major League club, right? In this situation, even someone you only know by face can be a great help.”

When Hwang said this, the entrance to the stairs leading to the first floor of the hotel became noisy.

Without knowing for sure, it seemed that a fairly prominent figure had appeared at the Winter Meetings venue.

Hwang quickly readjusted her bag.

“I’m going to go now. I’m curious about what happened upstairs, and it’s almost time for the managers’ official press conference.”

Before Ji-seop could answer ‘Okay,’ Hwang disappeared up the stairs.

Left alone, Ji-seop stroked his chin as he recalled her advice.

‘That’s right. If he’s been participating in the Winter Meetings every year since he was a player, it wouldn’t be strange if he was doing well somewhere now…’

If I could just remember his name exactly, it would be much easier to proceed with the work.

I could probably get the club’s internal organization chart without much difficulty by using Director Seo’s information network.

‘What was his name…?’

Was it David?

Was it Davis?

Just as Ji-seop was tilting his head and pacing in front of the casino entrance-

“…Huh?!”

A black man who was entering the casino entrance looked at Ji-seop and widened his eyes.

“H, hey! Aren’t you… Kim? The one who threw the damn slow ball…”

The black man continued.

“The San Rafael Pacifics’ Bonfire Pitcher!!!”

Bonfire… what?