A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 160

The New Recruit of the Baseball Team is Too Good – Episode 160

The New Recruit of the Baseball Team is Too Good, Episode 160

Chapter 42: How to Choose a Trading Partner (2)

9:30 AM the next day.

The top of the sports pages of the three major domestic portal sites featured the following articles:

[Exclusive] KH’s Lee Yong-gi Booked by Police for Drunken Assault and Property Damage

[Exclusive] Injured Player Drinks and Assaults in Broad Daylight… KH’s Player Management Under Scrutiny

[Exclusive] KH Front Office “Assessing the Situation”… Remains Silent on Disciplinary Action

This was an article by reporter Hwang Young-joo of Sports Hanseong.

In fact, from the moment they realized she had caught the ‘scent,’ the KH Cannon’s PR team, as well as Ji-seop and General Manager Seo Chang-gi, sprang into action.

Efforts to somehow block the article.

However, the opponent was someone known in the industry as ‘Hwang Young-joo is crazy for views,’ or simply ‘Hwang-jo-mi.’

All they got back from her was a single text message.

-I’m sorry. Due to instructions from the desk, it seems difficult to prevent the publication of this article. I will contact you again soon. Sincerely, Hwang Young-joo, Sports Hanseong.

Since the infamous ‘Hwang-jo-mi’ had made a direct appearance, the situation that followed was obvious.

The internet baseball community was buzzing with posts about the incident, and Cannon’s fans left angry comments about the front office’s poor player management.

Other media outlets hurriedly began follow-up coverage, causing the Cannon’s front office’s phone to ring off the hook, and eventually, the incident reached the ears of ‘Sakhalin Park’ Vice Chairman Park Hong-joo-

“Are you people out of your minds?! Winning the Korean Series is something that should be constantly fueled by good news, but you’re creating this mess as soon as the season starts? Is this really how you’re going to do things?!”

A scolding so severe that it made the listeners’ minds go blank.

“We’ve taken a real hit here, haven’t we?”

That afternoon, General Manager Seo Chang-gi’s expression upon returning to his office was needless to describe.

“Heh, it feels like we’re possessed by a ghost. I never imagined Hwang Young-joo’s reach extended all the way to Yeosu.”

“I-I’m sorry, General Manager!”

The PR team leader bowed deeply.

“It seems Hwang-jo-mi has been investigating the operation of the second-string teams of all 10 clubs.”

It was belatedly discovered that she had visited Yeosu several times.

It was also speculated that she had secured her own sources within the Yeosu Police Station.

“I think I was negligent. I thought Hwang-jo-mi was quite favorable to our Cannons. She’s been the secretary of our Cannon’s press corps for quite some time now…….”

“Wait a minute, Team Leader Bae. I understand how you feel, but…… you should still call her Reporter Hwang, no matter what.”

General Manager Seo Chang-gi began to gently admonish the PR team leader.

“Reporter Hwang has experience, so we can’t just call her ‘Hwang-jo-mi, Hwang-jo-mi’ like that, can we? That’s not respectful to our press corps secretary.”

“W-Well, that’s true, but…….”

The PR team leader seemed quite hurt and bitter from Hwang-jo-mi’s attack, but General Manager Seo’s thoughts seemed a bit different.

“Of course, I’m not exactly thrilled either. There’s no mention of a successful agreement, and no mention that the police decided not to make a big deal out of it……. It’s not like that wasn’t investigated, so she probably deliberately omitted it to make the article more sensational.”

General Manager Seo continued, fiddling with his phone screen.

“But the content that follows seems to be something our Cannon’s front office needs to pay close attention to.”

“The content that follows…….”

“Special Assistant Kim has seen it too, right? The content about the Cannon’s second-string operation.”

General Manager Seo put down his phone.

“Compared to other clubs, the Cannon’s development team is severely understaffed. The small number of people are given an excessive workload. That led to poor management of the second-string players…….”

Hearing that, I realized it was true.

General Manager Seo looked at Ji-seop.

“I guess because we thought it was a season to challenge for the championship, we didn’t provide proper support to the development team compared to the operations team or the scouting team. Come to think of it, it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen the development team leader’s face.”

“Then, to the development team leader…….”

At Ji-seop’s question, General Manager Seo gave a wry smile.

“Now that things have turned out this way, I can’t just let it go without saying something, can I? But let’s just keep that short and discuss the staffing of the development team.”

It was clear that Hwang-jo-mi’s article had poured cold water on the Cannon’s previously good atmosphere.

However, it wasn’t without its useful aspects. Is this what they call a silver lining? Ji-seop nodded and asked General Manager Seo again.

“Then, General Manager, what will you do about the disciplinary action for Lee Yong-gi?”

As the general manager’s aide, this was something he needed to check.

“According to the team’s internal regulations, we could settle it with a fine of around 1 million won [approximately $750 USD], but……. Now that this has been made public, there’s also the opinion that we need to increase the level of disciplinary action.”

“That’s right. We can’t just brush it off with a fine anymore. There are too many eyes watching.”

Even if the same mistake is made, the level of disciplinary action increases the moment it becomes known outside the club.

This was a matter of common application not only to the Cannons but also to the 10 clubs in Korean professional baseball.

Within the industry, it is often criticized as ‘are the team’s internal regulations made of rubber bands?’

However, it was also something that professional clubs, which always have to be mindful of public opinion, couldn’t help.

“I’ll visit the manager after the game and finalize that part. I think we should increase the fine a bit and add a suspension…….”

It was right at that moment, when a shadow was cast over General Manager Seo’s face as he felt complicated, that it happened.

“Um…… General Manager?”

The PR team leader, who had been silently listening to the two men’s conversation with his mouth firmly shut for a while.

He checked his phone, and then suddenly called out to General Manager Seo with a bright expression.

“What’s wrong, Team Leader Bae?”

“I just received a message from Deputy Manager Kwon Dae-woong from our team……. If things go well, we may not have to impose additional disciplinary action on Lee Yong-gi.”

“We may not need additional disciplinary action?”

General Manager Seo tilted his head.

“No, why?”

* * *

The news that Deputy Manager Kwon Dae-woong had sent a message to the PR team leader.

It was that [Korea Sports] had published an article with the following title:

[Why Did the Cannon’s Young Pitcher Drink During the Day? An Excuse for Lee Yong-gi]

When he first saw the title, General Manager Seo Chang-gi cast a sharp gaze at the PR team leader.

“Team Leader Bae, did the PR team ask [Korea Sports] to do that? To give Yong-gi some cover?”

The PR team leader, upon receiving General Manager Seo’s question, literally jumped.

“No! How could we do that? If we tried to provide a clumsy cover, we’d only get twice the criticism!”

“That’s what I’m worried about. This kind of article could 오히려 [rather] provoke public opinion.”

“Yes, so I was a bit uneasy at first, but…… after reading it, the content is quite good.”

“The content is good?”

General Manager Seo put on his reading glasses and began to read the article carefully.

Ji-seop also received the link from Deputy Manager Kwon Dae-woong and began to read it.

How many minutes was it that a heavy silence fell in the general manager’s office?

The face of General Manager Seo Chang-gi, who raised his head again, had a strange expression on it.

“What should I say, it’s quite a sentimental article?”

“Yes, it feels more like a novel than an article…….”

The PR team leader continued.

“But I think it properly covers the parts that Reporter Hwang Young-joo didn’t.”

Ji-seop had the same thought.

While Hwang-jo-mi dryly described the facts she had investigated, the [Korea Sports] article covered the story behind the story.

The story that the Lee Yong-gi in question was planning to hold his wedding this winter.

So this spring camp, he had been training harder than ever.

He had been recognized for his efforts and was on the verge of making the opening game roster, but he was frustrated by another injury.

“They even included a comment from the store owner. The Cannons gave him enough compensation, and I hope baseball fans will forgive Lee Yong-gi……. The man who had the altercation with Lee Yong-gi also gave an interview.”

“That’s right. I was the one who started the fight. I regret it now.”

“With this level of content, I think we can 충분히 [sufficiently] aim for a reversal of public opinion. General Manager, let’s wait and see.”

“Hmm, a reversal of public opinion…….”

Before long, the PR team leader’s bold statement became a reality.

After the [Korea Sports] article was uploaded, public opinion on the internet bulletin boards began to move.

-It’s 넘은 [too much] for an injured player to drink during the day, but……. Lee Yong-gi’s situation is a bit unfortunate.

-That’s right, there are times when people want to drink during their lives! If I were in that situation, I would have 까다 소주 [cracked open a soju – a Korean distilled beverage] first!

-And Lee Yong-gi didn’t start the fight first? The other person asked about his parents’ well-being?

-Anyway, these 기자 새끼들 [reporter bastards]! If you’re going to write an article, you should write it properly. What are you going to do if you cut off all the circumstances? We’re the only ones who look like fools?

Less than 3 hours after the article was posted, the atmosphere among baseball fans completely changed.

The sharp comments that had been pouring in towards Lee Yong-gi and the Cannons front office could no longer be found.

Instead, the main trend was support and encouragement for Lee Yong-gi, and criticism of [Sports Hanseong], which had posted the previous article.

With the situation like this, the KH Cannons front office couldn’t just sit still.

“Our general manager told me to express his gratitude to the reporter.”

An hour before the game started that day, Ji-seop was meeting with the [Korea Sports] reporter who wrote the article, under the direction of General Manager Seo Chang-gi.

“You’re Reporter Kwak Dae-joo, right? I heard that you’ll be in charge of our Cannons starting this season……. Is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s right! Haha, it’s really nice to have a 독대 [private meeting] with the famous Cannon’s Special Assistant Kim!”

Kwak Dae-joo of [Korea Sports] leaned back and laughed loudly, ‘Hahaha.’

“But there’s no need for the special assistant to be grateful. I’ve only done my duty as a reporter.”

“Ah.”

“Pursuing the truth hidden within the surface rather than the 드러나 [revealed] facts……. That’s what I think a reporter should have as their duty.”

Thinking back, it’s a bit embarrassing, but at this time, Ji-seop thought this.

‘Is this person…… the ‘true reporter’ I’ve only heard about?’

A person who really tries to keep the duty of a reporter.

A person who always tries to dig into the truth with an objective attitude.

Ji-seop thought so for a short moment, but soon he had to revise his judgment of him a little.

“Looking at it that way, there was a bit of a problem with Hwang Young-joo’s senior’s article this time. When I investigated, there were quite a few parts that were intentionally omitted.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Ji-seop, pretending not to know, took a step back.

And from that moment on, he began to look at his two eyes ‘intently.’

What does this person want? With what intention did he write an article defending Lee Yong-gi?

“Not only in terms of coverage, but also considering where that senior is currently located, there was a problem.”

“Currently…… located?”

“Yes, Senior Hwang has been the secretary of the Cannon’s press corps for several years now, hasn’t she? She’s the representative of our press corps, that senior!”

Reporter Kwak Dae-joo sighed.

“The representative of the Cannons 담당 [in charge of] reporters suddenly released such an article without prior consultation with KH Cannons…….”

It was the very next moment that Kwak’s eyes turned to Ji-seop.

“What do you think, Special Assistant Kim?”

And the voice that came to Ji-seop’s ear.

[Don’t you think that I, Kwak Dae-joo, am more suitable as the secretary of the Cannon’s press corps than Hwang-jo-mi?]