A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 123

Human memory is truly peculiar.

The name of a former colleague, which I couldn’t recall no matter how hard I tried…

The name of a former colleague I thought I had completely forgotten.

But the moment Ji-seop heard the words ‘Bonfire Pitcher,’ he felt the puzzle pieces in his head falling into place.

‘That’s right, Bonfire Pitcher… That’s what my colleagues in the independent league used to call me?’

The nickname originated from calling a fastball pitcher a ‘fireballer.’

Back then, Ji-seop couldn’t even exceed 128 km/h even when gritting his teeth, so it was more like a warm bonfire than a gentle flame.

‘So… Bonfire Pitcher.’

And there was someone who gave Ji-seop that slightly mocking nickname.

A guy who would shiver and come up to him whenever the weather got a bit chilly, saying, ‘Hey, Kim! I’m so cold! Throw me some pitches!’ Nonsense like that.

A damn guy who would steal handfuls of Ji-seop’s precious red ginseng sticks that he cherished and ate.

Yet, as soon as Ji-seop received his release notice, he cried his eyes out, whining, ‘Don’t go! Stay with me!’ That black infielder’s name was-

“…Tony? Tony Damon?!”

The black man’s face lit up as Ji-seop spoke the name that had been buried in the depths of his memory.

“Yeah, it’s me! Tony!! Oh, brother! It’s been so long!!!”

Tony Damon rushed over and grabbed Ji-seop’s hands.

“How have you been? Are you still playing baseball? Damn, what kind of amazing things have you been doing that I couldn’t get in touch with you?!”

Boundless joy and delight, with a hint of resentment.

Tony Damon poured out all sorts of emotions to his old colleague whom he had met after a long time.

Before Ji-seop could even answer, Tony Damon began to pull Ji-seop’s arm.

“We can’t just stand here like this. Look, Kim! Loitering in front of the casino means… you’re free right now, right?”

With an expression that looked like he would burst into tears at the word ‘no’.

Ji-seop, overwhelmed by his energy, reluctantly nodded, and Tony Damon waved his fist, saying, ‘Okay!’

“Great, then let’s go together! If you go to the bar across the street, there will be plenty of whiskey that our team has stocked up.”

“…Our team?”

Perhaps because it had been almost a full year since he started working for the baseball team.

Even in the midst of all the chaos, Ji-seop was able to accurately catch the words ‘our team.’

“Our team… Tony, did you join a Major League team?”

“Ah, right! They say it’s polite to exchange business cards first when you meet at the Winter Meetings, right?”

With that, Tony Damon began rummaging through his jacket pocket.

The next moment, what he pulled out of his back pocket was a crumpled business card.

“I work for the Red Sox.”

“Re, Red Sox?”

The Boston Red Sox.

The very team that KH Cannons was trying to establish a business partnership with.

Ji-seop stared at the business card Tony Damon handed him with wide eyes.

The business card read:

Tony Damon.

Senior Manager, Baseball Operations.

It was by far the highest-grade business card Ji-seop had obtained that day.

* * *

“Come on, let’s have a drink!”

“Good to see you, Tony.”

Ji-seop and Tony Damon moved to a quiet bar near the Winter Meetings venue.

The two, who had seen each other’s faces after a long time, brought out a good bottle of liquor and began to share old stories.

They talked about their terrible baseball skills and the current status of the people they used to play with.

The old memories that came to mind were not unwelcome, but what caught Ji-seop’s attention was the story about Tony Damon himself.

“Hehe, I was just lucky.”

That was what Tony Damon said.

“As you know… I’ve been participating in the Winter Meetings almost every year, right? So, I got to know some people.”

It was the fourth year he had participated in the Winter Meetings, feeling like he was banging his head against a wall.

One of the Boston Red Sox team employees introduced Tony Damon to a three-month internship.

“After the three-month internship, it was a one-year contract position. After that contract ended, I became a full-time employee of the Red Sox. As I kept working hard… I came to my senses and realized I had come this far.”

And now, he is the Senior Manager of Baseball Operations for the Boston Red Sox.

A key position equivalent to the operations team leader in a Korean professional baseball team.

Ji-seop couldn’t help but be surprised at the achievements of his former colleague.

‘He used to be a player who only came out as a defensive replacement in the late innings… Now he has become a key member of a prestigious Major League team.’

He kept saying, ‘I was just lucky,’ but Ji-seop could vaguely grasp how much hardship he had gone through.

Major League Baseball is a place where all the smartest guys in America gather, so how many people can survive there with just ‘luck’?

Ji-seop was proud of his friend who had survived the fierce competition, and on the other hand, he was also envious.

“That’s enough about me…”

Tony Damon picked up the bottle.

He filled Ji-seop’s empty glass and opened his mouth.

“Kim, how have you been? Looking at your slightly chubby face… it doesn’t look like you’re still throwing the ball as a player?”

“That’s right, I retired too. Last year.”

Ji-seop took the bottle and continued.

“Now I’m working as a front office employee for a professional baseball team in Korea.”

“A Korean professional baseball team? Where?”

“KH Cannons.”

The moment Ji-seop mentioned the team name, a slight look of embarrassment appeared on Tony Damon’s face, who had been talking with a relaxed expression.

“Ca, Cannons… Isn’t that the team that proposed a business partnership with our Red Sox? Am I remembering correctly?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Ji-seop took a sip of whiskey with a nonchalant expression.

“I’m having a hell of a time these days anyway. Because your team keeps postponing the meeting…”

“Th, that’s what happened?!”

In fact, strictly speaking, Tony Damon had nothing to be sorry about.

Work is work, and life is life.

In Ji-seop’s experience, Americans can be very strict about this.

However, Tony Damon had been strangely fond of Ji-seop since his days in the American Independent League.

He seemed quite concerned that Ji-seop was having difficulties because of his team.

“Damn it, what are the odds that you’d be working for that team…”

Tony Damon clicked his tongue as if frustrated.

He suddenly made a serious expression and leaned towards Ji-seop.

“Don’t tell anyone.”

He must have thought it was a bit absurd himself.

Ji-seop’s old colleague quickly corrected his expression.

“No, you can tell them… but you should never say that I told you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Our boss, the Red Sox general manager… has no interest in a business partnership with Korean professional baseball teams at all.”

“No interest… at all?”

At that moment, Ji-seop felt like the alcohol was wearing off.

“Wh, what do you mean? I heard that our Cannons and the Red Sox have been in discussions for quite some time…”

“That’s right, we were. Until the former general manager was in charge of the Red Sox operations.”

The story was that the team’s direction itself had changed with the change of general manager.

Tony Damon continued.

“I don’t know if you know this… but what the Red Sox originally wanted to gain through the partnership with the Cannons was specific information about Korean players.”

Specifically, information about players who were likely to advance to the Major League.

Not just quantified information such as batting average or home runs, but also information about mental aspects such as personality and attitude.

Ji-seop was already familiar with this part.

“But after the new general manager took office, our team’s information system… Ah, it would be faster to just give you an example.”

Tony Damon took out his cell phone from his pocket and handed it to Ji-seop.

“Take a look. You’ll see what I’m talking about.”

Ji-seop tilted his head and took the phone.

And the next moment, Ji-seop was able to experience what it felt like to have his eyes go blank.

“Th, this is…”

It was Ryu Jang-ho’s data.

The Cannons’ undisputed best hitter.

The very guy who was likely to advance to the Major League through posting [a system where a team makes a player available to other leagues] after the end of this season.

In fact, it was perhaps natural for a Major League team to have Ryu Jang-ho’s data, but what surprised Ji-seop was the amount and quality of the information.

‘Is this… even possible?’

How he swings the bat, how he reacts to batted balls, and how he moves on the bases.

Who he is close to in the team, how he spends his leisure time, and who he seeks advice from when he falls into a slump.

It even stated that he had recently broken up with his girlfriend.

‘That bastard… had a girlfriend?!’

The Major League team across the Pacific Ocean knew information that even he, who was right next to him, didn’t know.

As Ji-seop, who had been hit hard, blinked his eyes without saying a word, Tony Damon quietly took back his cell phone.

“You get the picture, right?”

He continued.

“After the new general manager took office, our Red Sox’s information power has improved dramatically. We can not only identify the strengths and weaknesses of players, but also approach ways to overcome those weaknesses in a very comprehensive way. No matter which league that player is in.”

So, there was no reason to push for a business partnership with a Korean team.

Here, Tony Damon cautiously made a suggestion.

“I think it would be better to aim for a connection with a private training center. It tends to be too commercially driven, but that’s why they would be more interested in a connection with a Korean team…”

The old colleague was giving sincere advice, but at this time, Ji-seop was not listening to his words.

Rather, he was more interested in the information power of the Boston Red Sox that he had seen a little while ago.

‘Major League… is amazing.’

Ji-seop had been lukewarm when he first heard about the business partnership from General Manager Seo Chang-gi.

He knew that he would learn something from the Major League team, but it wasn’t clear what it was.

But now that he knew that the Boston Red Sox had such a powerful system, Ji-seop couldn’t care less about private training centers.

‘If I can get even a part of the information that the Red Sox have… the Cannons will gain a great weapon.’

It will also help to overcome the weaknesses of key players, including Ryu Jang-ho.

It will also provide a new turning point for the recruitment of foreign players, which was always a gamble no matter what he did.

Furthermore, if he could learn the Red Sox’s know-how in operating the information network, the Cannons’ rookie selection and the development of promising players could be on a different level.

‘Yes, this is something I have to do no matter what.’

It felt like looking at a temptingly ripe apple.

It felt like having a perfectly grilled piece of steak in front of him.

Ji-seop turned his gaze to his old colleague, who was looking at him with a worried expression.

“Hey, Tony.”

“Hmm?”

“Is there… no way?”

You must know.

Ji-seop stared intently into Tony Damon’s eyes and continued.

“A way to change your boss’s mind.”