A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 126

Several hours later.

A video conference of the KH Cannons front office was taking place in a hotel suite near the Winter Meetings venue.

It was a meeting arranged to share the results of negotiations with the Boston Red Sox that had been ongoing throughout the afternoon.

“How’s the weather in Korea these days? I saw on the news that it’s a record-breaking cold wave or something?”

-Oh, don’t even mention it! Yeongsan is completely frozen over right now. I’m almost envious of the General Manager in San Diego!

The video conference began with light greetings.

The representative for the team remaining in Korea at this meeting was Deputy General Manager Cha Yoonjin, who took over the operations team this season.

She was the same person who had been the acting Deputy General Manager of the International Affairs Team until last season and was infamous within the Cannons as ‘Black Curtain Cha Cha’ [a nickname suggesting she keeps things secret or hidden].

-G, General Manager?

Deputy General Manager Cha Yoonjin was known for not batting an eye at most things.

However, after receiving the report from the U.S. delegation that day, the expression on her face on the screen was one of disbelief.

-Are you sure about what you just said…? Is it really fixed? The Boston Red Sox promised this much support?

Deputy General Manager Cha Yoonjin turned her gaze to the tablet PC she was holding.

-Providing training programs for front office staff, renting a spring camp location in Florida… Yes, I had discussed these to some extent when I was in the International Affairs Team. But…

“But what?”

General Manager Seo Changgi smiled.

“Sharing the Boston Red Sox’s scouting reports… It seems Deputy General Manager Cha didn’t even think of that?”

-Rather than not thinking about it… it’s more accurate to say I didn’t dare to ask.

Deputy General Manager Cha Yoonjin continued.

-Scouting reports are core information for a team, aren’t they? Depending on what information you have, the direction of the team’s operations can completely change…

Drafting and developing rookies.

Recruiting foreign players.

The merits that the Cannons could gain by securing scouting reports were numerous.

-To request that level of information, a really strong relationship of trust is needed between the two teams. But our Cannons and the Red Sox had only just started talking…

Even ‘Black Curtain Cha Cha’, who once had Japanese teams in the palm of her hand, couldn’t easily bring it up.

Deputy General Manager Cha clicked her tongue and asked.

-General Manager, how on earth did you do it? Boston is known for being high-nosed among Major League teams, and I heard that many other teams didn’t even get to see their General Manager’s face this time…

“Hehe, is that so?”

A satisfied smile spread across General Manager Seo Changgi’s face.

“Is there any special secret? It’s thanks to the groundwork that Deputy General Manager Cha laid when she was in the International Affairs Team, and thanks to the hard work of the staff here. Ah, of course…”

General Manager Seo Changgi ‘tapped’ Jiseop’s shoulder, who was sitting next to him.

“The fact that I’ve been particularly blessed with good fortune this year… can’t be ignored either!”

-…Ah.

Deputy General Manager Cha Yoonjin could only see General Manager Seo’s face because it was a video conference.

However, she didn’t bother to ask who was sitting next to General Manager Seo.

-I see, that must be it.

It was at this moment that Deputy General Manager Cha let out a light sigh.

-The ‘good fortune’ that the General Manager has with him… should have come to our operations team in the first place.

“Hey, that’s not going to happen.”

General Manager Seo Changgi was speaking very firmly.

* * *

The video conference with the KH Cannons domestic team ended about an hour later.

The KH Cannons U.S. delegation headed out into the now completely dark streets of San Diego.

Afterward, they headed to a seaside restaurant not far from the Winter Meetings venue.

Boston Red Sox General Manager David Perkins had offered to treat them to dinner.

“Welcome! Mr. Seo! And Mr. Kim!”

General Manager David Perkins greeted the group with a bright expression.

Here too, Jiseop couldn’t help but scratch the back of his head.

KH Cannons General Manager Seo Changgi and Boston Red Sox General Manager David Perkins.

The two General Managers from Korea and the U.S. surrounded Jiseop and showered him with compliments.

“Thank you so much, Mr. Seo! Thanks to your subordinate, our Boston Red Sox were able to acquire an ace who will lead the team for the next five years or more!”

“Haha, no thanks needed! When you think about it, I’m in a similar position to General Manager Perkins. If it weren’t for this friend, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve any results at this Winter Meetings either!”

“I see! We were in pretty similar situations! Haha, in that sense, would you like a drink?”

“Sure! Why not! Why wouldn’t I? Hehehe!”

The two General Managers kept emptying their champagne glasses.

Jiseop, who was stuck between them and couldn’t move, finally found freedom after the two General Managers had become somewhat tipsy.

“Oh my, what’s going on…”

He was overwhelmed by the constant flow of alcohol, and he didn’t know what to do with the endless stream of compliments.

Jiseop went out to the terrace where the cold sea breeze was blowing and finally took a breather.

“….”

Jiseop stood by the terrace railing and quietly reflected on the events of the past few days.

As he was blankly enjoying the sea breeze, a familiar voice called out from behind him, ‘Hey, Kim!’

“What are you doing here all alone? The Kim I know isn’t someone who would show such weakness in a place where he can drink free alcohol.”

Then, this man, Tommy Damon, ‘slid’ over and handed him another glass of alcohol.

Jiseop smiled wryly and accepted the glass from his former colleague.

“Don’t say things you don’t know. I’m not the same as I used to be. If I drank like I used to, I’d be bedridden for days.”

“That’s a shame. Not many people on our team like to drink… I was hoping to go all the way with you this time.”

Jiseop chuckled inwardly at Tommy Damon’s words.

He thought he should bring this guy to the Cannons players someday.

He wondered what he would say after dealing with monsters who never get drunk no matter how much they drink.

Of course, at this point, Jiseop had more important things to talk about than such trivial thoughts.

“Thanks for this time, Tommy.”

Jiseop continued.

“Thanks to you introducing me to General Manager Perkins, I can return home with a light heart.”

“Ah, that?”

Tommy Damon smiled faintly.

“Hey, I should be the one who was helped. If you hadn’t provided the idea, Ruben Acosta would be wearing a New York Yankees uniform by now.”

“….”

“But since you’re thanking me…

Isn’t there any room to change your mind?”

Tommy Damon asked with a serious expression.

“I heard from the boss. Our boss offered you a job with the Red Sox… and you turned it down flat, right?”

“….”

“Isn’t there any willingness to reconsider?”

* * *

A serious word from an old colleague.

Jiseop’s answer to this was as follows.

“No, man! I didn’t turn it down flat. I said I’d think about it.”

This was definitely true.

“Besides, General Manager Perkins’ offer wasn’t to join right away? It was more like… he’d like to work with me in the near future.”

Jiseop thought he had given a reasonable answer, but Tommy Damon sighed deeply.

“Whatever the specific expression was… you didn’t say ‘I’ll join right away’ on the spot, did you?”

“That’s… right.”

“Hey, you frustrating bastard!”

Tommy Damon’s voice rose.

“You should have said ‘I understand!’ there! You should have said, ‘I’ll prepare to come to America right away!’! No, who in their right mind would say ‘Okay, I’ll think about it’ there?”

Hey, this is the Major League.

It’s the best baseball league in the world.

Tommy Damon raised his voice, banging on the railing.

“You saw it at this Winter Meetings, didn’t you? Thousands of people come to us every year saying they want to work for a Major League team.”

“….”

“Of course, some of them have played in the Major League, and some of them are from famous universities that everyone knows. But those people? 90 percent of them don’t even get an interview and go home.”

That’s how fierce the competition is.

Jiseop began to vaguely understand why Tommy Damon was so heated.

“Are you saying that if I miss this opportunity… I don’t know when I’ll get another chance?”

“That’s right. Major League General Managers are all similar, but our boss is also quite fickle. I can’t guarantee what he’ll do later.”

Tommy Damon didn’t mention it, but there was a possibility that Perkins could step down before Jiseop returned to the Major League.

Because there were so many talented people, there were hardly any cases of a single General Manager holding office for a long time in the Major League.

“So I’m telling you to think about it again. Working in the Major League, and working with a friend you get along with… it’s a rare opportunity, isn’t it?”

Tommy Damon was persuading him with a desperate expression.

Here, Jiseop threw out a joke.

“A friend I get along with… who is that? Was there anyone like that on the Red Sox?”

“Hey, I’m not in the mood to joke around?”

“I know, I know…”

To be honest, that was the case.

It wasn’t that Jiseop wasn’t tempted by Perkins’ offer.

As Tommy Damon said, it was an offer from the Major League, the best baseball league in the world.

He also wanted to compete with smart guys, and he wanted to beat them and receive that ‘spotlight’ once again.

However,

Just one thing.

“Right now, I only want to think about leading the KH Cannons to the Korean Series championship.”

“…What?”

Tommy Damon blinked.

“No, why? You can win in the Major League too, right? Whether it’s a championship bonus or whatever… isn’t it better to do it in the Major League?”

“Of course, that might be the case if you’re just looking at the money. But…”

Swoosh.

Jiseop turned his gaze to his old colleague.

“After deciding to retire as a player… it’s the first goal I’ve had. Winning the KH Cannons championship.”

“After… retirement?”

Tommy Damon’s expression changed slightly.

“Tommy, you know? My goal during my playing days was to become a professional. I never made it a reality.”

“….”

“Something I really wanted to achieve, but never did… That’s why I want to achieve the first goal I’ve had since retirement.”

You know, even if no one else does.

Jiseop continued, looking at Tommy Damon.

“For people like us who have spent our playing days, the goals we have after retirement have a very special meaning, right?”

“….”

Tommy Damon didn’t answer.

It wasn’t ‘YES’, and it wasn’t ‘NO’.

He just stared at the pitch-black night sea where only the sound of the waves was loud, and then spat out a curse, ‘Damn it’.

Then he said one thing.

“Then are you coming after that?”

“Huh?”

“After winning the championship with the KH Cannons… are you coming to the Major League then?”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking. I made up my mind while looking back on this Winter Meetings.”

“Really? Then that’s good.”

Tommy Damon seemed to have made up his mind, and he shook off the champagne left in his glass and said.

“Do whatever you want. I’ll take care of the situation with the Boston Red Sox…”

“Take care? What do you mean take care?”

“What, is there a law that says I have to live while only receiving a regular salary? Now that I’ve joined a Major League team, I have to aim for the fucking General Manager position, and I have to aim for the CEO position.”

Hmph.

Tommy Damon snorted.

“I’m going to work hard too. With the spirit of taking away Perkins’ position. If I work like that, by the time you come to America…”

“You’ll be able to prepare a decent position for me?”

“Yeah! That’s right!”

Tommy Damon clenched his fist and held it out to Jiseop.

“I’ll be waiting here.”

He continued.

“For the day when our San Rafael Pacifics aces… reunite in the Major League.”

“Yeah, it won’t be long.”

Jiseop lightly raised his fist and bumped it against Tommy Damon’s fist.

It was at this moment that a strange smile appeared on his face.