A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 134

New Recruit Is Too Good at Baseball 134

Chapter 35: Thump-Thump-Thump-Thump (3)

The atmosphere was great.

It was really great.

It was about Mr. Hong Daejong’s interview.

“Hahahaha!”

“Hehehehe!”

Just a few minutes ago, the interview room was filled with tension.

The interviewers threw sharp questions, and the applicants sweated profusely while struggling to answer.

But the moment the veteran English teacher from Youngsan High School opened the door and entered, the atmosphere inside the interview room changed in an instant.

“Hehehe, is that really true?”

“I’m telling you, isn’t it? I’m only telling 100% true stories right now.”

It was truly a friendly atmosphere.

In fact, this was also because the results of this open recruitment were somewhat determined through the document screening process.

A person who has fluent English skills, a good sense of baseball, and knowledge of high school baseball at the same time.

Among all the applicants, Mr. Hong was the only one who met all these conditions.

However, the fact that laughter never stopped in the interview room was also largely due to his meticulous ‘interview preparation’.

“Mr. Hong Daejong, I’m going to ask you a slightly tricky question.”

It was a question from the head of the power analysis team.

“Can you tell me the WAR [Wins Above Replacement, a baseball statistic] rankings of our KH Cannons players from last season?”

“That’s easy. Chun Jinwoo was first, Ryu Jangho was second with 8.76, Jimmy Morris was third with 5.14, and Jo Minseong was fourth with 2.98…….”

“Oh, it’s really amazing that you even mentioned the specific figures, but the ranking is a bit off. Chun Jinwoo is…….”

“Hehe, I know. His WAR was 3.65, ranking fourth overall. But our ‘Captain Chun’ is always number one in my heart.”

“Oh, no, are you revealing your fanboy side here?”

He even made the interviewers chuckle with such brazen answers.

“Mr. Hong Daejong, now it’s my turn to ask a question.”

It was a question from General Manager Seo Changki.

“As the season progresses, there may be conflicts between the manager and other members of the team. What would you do in this case, Mr. Hong Daejong?”

It was a question that had been asked to all the other applicants, but Mr. Hong’s answer had a slightly different angle.

“Could you be more specific with your question? Is it a conflict between the manager and the coaches? Or is it a conflict with the players?”

“Well, does the answer change depending on who the conflict is with?”

“Of course, it does.”

Mr. Hong nodded.

“If it’s a conflict with the coaches, I’ll be waiting across the street at [Jeonju House]. If it’s a conflict with the players…… especially with mid-level players, the answer is to wait at [Dr. Oh’s Charcoal Ribs] across the intersection.”

“……Jeonju House?”

“……Dr. Oh’s?”

“No, did you even investigate things like that?”

He even surprised everyone by mentioning the names of the restaurants that Cannons members often visit.

“This will be the last question.”

And the decisive blow.

“Mr. Hong Daejong, what do you think is your biggest strength compared to other applicants?”

“There are many things, but…… personally, I have a strong sense of pride in having run a high school baseball team.”

Mr. Hong was appealing to his experience as a ‘baseball manager’.

“I have been watching the growth process of student-athletes for a long time. I know how the players trained, how they studied, and how they avoided the manager’s eyes to slack off…… inside and out.”

“Hmm.”

“My experience will be helpful to Korean managers, but I think it will be even more helpful to Manager Freeman, who came from the United States. To accurately understand the present of the players, isn’t knowing their past the best way?”

An answer that seemed to accurately grasp what the KH Cannons front office expected from Mr. Hong Daejong.

The moment this answer came out, Jisub could sense that his successor was almost 90% confirmed.

The head of the power analysis team and the head of the scouting team looked at each other and stuck out their tongues, and even the picky ‘Black Curtain Chacha’ Department Head Cha Yoonjin quietly nodded her head.

General Manager Seo Changki, who was the leader of the interviewers that day, was taking off his magnifying glasses as if there was nothing more to see.

“Hmm, I guess we can start wrapping things up.”

The atmosphere was that Mr. Hong would be the manager’s exclusive interpreter.

The feeling that all that was left was General Manager Seo’s announcement of the results.

Jisub, who had some doubts about Mr. Hong, was wondering ‘what to do’-.

“But, Mr. Hong.”

Right then,

The head of the scouting team casually threw out a question.

“You said you’re a fan of Chun Jinwoo, right? May I ask why?”

“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

It was the power analysis team leader’s indifferent reaction.

“The interview is over, why are you asking more questions? Is there any reason why Mr. Hong shouldn’t like Chun Jinwoo?”

“No, it’s not that…….”

It’s just that it’s a very rare thing.

The head of the scouting team continued.

“Isn’t Chun Jinwoo from Namgyeong High School? Youngsan High’s biggest rival. So, people at Youngsan High usually don’t like Chun Jinwoo.”

“Ah, is that what you mean?”

Mr. Hong Daejong smiled.

“I used to be like that too. Namgyeong High’s fourth hitter, Chun Jinwoo, was really terrifying. But my mind changed after Chun joined the Cannons.”

Because I’m a Cannons fan.

Mr. Hong Daejong continued.

“Where can you find a player like that? A player who steadfastly stays in his position whether the team is doing well or not……. He’s been reliably taking care of the Cannons’ home base for over 10 years, how can I not be a fan?”

Mr. Hong showed a happy smile, but the eyes of the Cannons team leaders looking at him were quite different from before.

“What…… did you just say?”

“Yes?”

“You said he stayed in his position whether the team was doing well or not? For over 10 years already?”

“Well, that’s what I said……. Is there any problem?”

Mr. Hong Daejong blinked, not knowing what was going on.

The head of the power analysis team took a step towards him.

“Mr. Hong, Chun Jinwoo transferred as a free agent and left the team for a while. Then he rejoined the Cannons through a trade last season.”

No, didn’t you know this?

You said Chun Jinwoo is ‘number one in your heart’?

The Cannons team leaders, who were about to leave after the interview, began to return to their seats one by one.

* * *

Several hours later.

Jisub was in [Jeonju House], a haejangguk [Korean hangover stew] restaurant, with the people who had attended the interview that day.

Boil-boil-boil.

[Jeonju House] was by far the best restaurant near the KH Cannons field.

A hot haejangguk was laid out as a base, and around it were dishes such as yukhoe [Korean beef tartare], boiled beef slices, and bulgogi [Korean BBQ beef], which they usually couldn’t afford to order, but “…….”

“…….”

The Cannons interviewers who visited [Jeonju House] that day were not able to focus on the good food.

Barely picking up a spoon, barely picking up a slice of boiled meat.

While everyone was picking at their food like chewing sand, the head of the Cannons power analysis team put down his chopsticks with a ‘thud’.

“I’m against Mr. Hong Daejong.”

The head of the power analysis team, who always used to call him ‘teacher’, was now using the title ‘Mr. Hong Daejong’.

“There is no disagreement about his skills. His experience is also excellent. But that man…… there are too many unsettling things about him.”

It wasn’t just because he didn’t know about Chun Jinwoo’s free agent transfer.

In the subsequent ‘additional questions’, Mr. Hong Daejong had exposed many unexpected aspects.

“He said he frequents the stadium, but he doesn’t even know a single line of our cheer song. And that’s not all. A person who said he can’t live without the Cannons doesn’t remember our last postseason game at all…….”

It was the first fall baseball in 12 years.

It was also heavily reported in the media every day as an ‘all-time great match’.

If you claim to be a passionate fan of the Cannons, you should remember at least one impressive scene.

But even that didn’t seem to be the decisive reason why the head of the power analysis team opposed it.

“I’m also concerned about what Team Leader Kim said before we came in here.”

“Me…… are you talking about me?”

The head of the scouting team turned his head.

“Yes, Team Leader Kim said that Mr. Hong Daejong has a very good reputation within Youngsan High School, right? He teaches the kids well, and the parents’ evaluations are good too.”

“Yes, the manager of Youngsan High School said so. He also said that there’s talk of him being promoted to vice-principal soon…….”

“That’s right! That’s the part I’m especially concerned about.”

The head of the power analysis team continued.

“He’s a person with a stable job as a teacher. He’s getting recognized in his own way, and he’s about to get promoted……. Isn’t it strange that this kind of person is trying to join the baseball team?”

“…….”

“The treatment isn’t good either. He’s basically a contract worker, and if he doesn’t do a good job, he’ll leave the team when Manager Freeman steps down……. He’s trying to come to this position? Someone who’s not young?”

It would be understandable if it was a young man just starting his career in the baseball world, but it’s not a rational choice for someone approaching 50.

The head of the scouting team cautiously raised his hand at this moment.

“Team Leader Kang’s words make sense, but…… I actually thought it might be okay to go with Mr. Hong for that reason.”

“What are you talking about?”

“No, isn’t that right?”

The head of the scouting team continued.

“I’m honestly worried too. I don’t know if someone who’s been treated as a teacher all his life will be able to adapt well to the rough baseball world. But Mr. Hong…… wasn’t the enthusiasm he showed in the interview today amazing?”

“Enthusiasm?”

“When we asked about the WAR rankings of our players, he rattled off the specific figures. He even investigated and came in with the names of the restaurants that the coaching staff and players often go to.”

Isn’t that not an easy task?

It was the opinion of the head of the scouting team.

“There were some inconsistencies, but……. Judging by the preparation he put into the interview, it seemed like his desire to work at the Cannons was genuine. Shouldn’t we at least acknowledge that?”

“Well…… memorizing the specific figures isn’t an easy task. It’s hard to believe that he only memorized one WAR and came to the interview.”

Starting with the head of the power analysis team muttering ‘damn it’ in a low voice, a heavy silence fell on the group seating area of the local 맛집 [mat-jib, a popular or famous restaurant] [Jeonju House].

How should we view Mr. Hong?

Should we see him as a person who has both skills and experience, but has many 불안한 [booh-rahn-hahn, unsettling] aspects?

Or should we see him as a person who made quite a few mistakes, but has a strong desire to become an interpreter?

“When you look at it like this…… the words of the old people are always right.”

It was General Manager Seo Changki who broke the silence that had been going on for a while.

He poured the half-remaining soju [Korean rice wine] into his mouth, and then looked around while making a ‘크으’ [keu-euh, a sound of satisfaction] sound.

“You can know ten fathoms of water, but you can’t know an inch of a person’s heart……. Isn’t that roughly the situation? The current situation.”

Then there’s nothing to worry about.

General Manager Seo Changki picked up a piece of yukhoe with a soft smile.

The Cannons team leaders surrounding him tilted their heads at the same time.

“General Manager, what do you mean by that?”

“What do you mean there’s nothing to worry about? Considering the manager’s return schedule, we have to make a decision within a day or two…….”

The team leaders had quite serious expressions.

But General Manager Seo was chewing on the yukhoe with a relaxed expression.

“Have you all forgotten already? We have a definite expert in this area in our Cannons.”

“……Expert?”

“……Ah!”

As the team leaders’ expressions brightened a little, General Manager Seo nodded lightly.