A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 18

The New Recruit of the Baseball Team is Too Good – Episode 18

#The New Recruit of the Baseball Team is Too Good Episode 18

Chapter 6: Going to Work at the Baseball Team (3)

The oldest of the new training assistants.

A married man with a daughter.

But the voice coming from his phone was that of a cute girl.

“……”

In fact, at this point, Ji-seop was thinking, ‘Whatever.’

From the start, he wasn’t the type to criticize other people’s hobbies.

He was just surprised that a girl’s voice came out in the quiet room.

However, for Go Chang-deok, it seemed like it wasn’t such a simple matter.

[Wh, what should I do about this?]

[I’m pretty sure that guy is a former player, right?]

[Don’t people who work out usually hate Japanese anime?]

[Let’s say that’s true. What if rumors spread around the company?]

[My wife told me to make sure to act like a normal person here, but I didn’t expect this to happen on the first day…….]

Had he had a similar experience before?

Go Chang-deok looked so flustered that it made Ji-seop feel sorry for him.

His face was pale, and he was sweating profusely.

Ji-seop’s choice was to stare intently into Go Chang-deok’s eyes.

And then he said,

“Ah, isn’t that Magical Girl Yuri-chan?”

“Huh?!”

Go Chang-deok’s eyes widened.

“Ah, no……. How does Ji-seop know about Yuri-chan?”

“Didn’t I mention it during the self-introduction? I played in the Japanese independent league a few years ago.”

Ji-seop continued.

“There was a guy on the same team who liked anime… I remember watching it with him a few times.”

And then he added,

“It was pretty fun, you know?”

“Re, really?!”

At that moment, Go Chang-deok had the face of someone who had met an angel in the depths of hell.

* * *

The next morning.

Ji-seop had breakfast a little later than his colleagues.

It was good that he had done a light morning workout at the training field attached to the 선수 [seonsu – athlete] dorm, but just as he was finishing his workout, his mother called.

Is he eating well, has he made many friends, is the work hard?

As he answered his mother’s worried questions one by one, breakfast time was almost over.

‘Oh dear.’

His colleagues had already finished eating, so there was hardly any food left in the cafeteria.

Just a little bit of scrambled eggs that had reached the bottom of the tray, and a few slices of bread that were starting to harden.

‘……I can’t help it.’

Just as he was about to pick up a 식판 [sikpan – cafeteria tray] while clicking his tongue, an unexpected voice reached Ji-seop’s ear.

“Ji, Ji-seop! Ji-seop! Over here!”

The owner of the voice was Go Chang-deok.

“I got your food in advance, Ji-seop! Come and eat!”

“Yes?”

It was true.

There were two 식판 [sikpan – cafeteria tray] in front of Go Chang-deok.

One was for Go Chang-seok. Then the other one must be for Ji-seop.

“Ah…….”

An unexpected favor.

Ji-seop bowed his head while sitting across from Go Chang-deok.

“Thank you.”

“Haha, no need to thank me.”

Go Chang-deok scratched the back of his head.

“I saw you talking on the phone near the entrance of the cafeteria… and it didn’t seem like you would be coming in anytime soon. So I thought I’d get one just in case.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“Hey, you can’t skip breakfast. It seems like they’re going to work you hard as soon as you go to Jeju this afternoon.”

Go Chang-deok took out a fork and knife from the 수저통 [sujeotong – utensil holder] and handed them to Ji-seop.

“I didn’t know what you liked, so I just 담아왔어 [dama wasseo – filled it up with] everything that was available. Eat up. You have to get ready for work.”

“Thank you.”

After giving a slight nod, Ji-seop quietly started his breakfast.

Go Chang-deok, who was staring at Ji-seop, checked to see if there was anyone around and then opened his mouth.

“Ji-seop.”

“Yes?”

“Actually, Ji-seop… you’ve never seen Magical Girl Yuri-chan, have you?”

“Yes?!”

How did he know?

Ji-seop tilted his head.

Go Chang-deok smiled bitterly and continued.

“I was too flustered yesterday to realize it… but when I thought about it, Yuri-chan is a new anime that came out in the second half of this year.”

“Ah, I see.”

Ji-seop, who had only seen Slam Dunk at best, learned for the first time that new anime came out every year.

“You were in Japan eight years ago, right? So it doesn’t make sense that you watched Yuri-chan with your colleagues.”

“Ah, th, that’s…….”

To be honest, Ji-seop was a little embarrassed, but Go Chang-deok’s face had a warm smile as he looked at Ji-seop.

“Ji-seop, thank you.”

“Yes?”

“You lied to me because you saw that I was flustered, right? I have that much sense, my friend.”

A new teammate who had considered him and told him that story in that short moment.

Go Chang-deok seemed to really like Ji-seop’s thoughtfulness.

‘Was that why he got my breakfast in advance……?’

Ji-seop felt proud that his choice was right, and that the first teammate he had properly talked to was a good person.

As he finished his meal and went up to his room, Ji-seop suddenly realized something and asked Go Chang-deok.

“Hey, Chang-deok 형 [hyung – older brother or male friend].”

“Hmm?”

The two had decided to call each other ‘형, 동생 [hyung, dongsaeng – older brother/friend, younger sibling/friend]’ while eating.

“How did you know that I played in the Japanese independent league eight years ago…? Did I mention that during the self-introduction?”

“Hmm? Didn’t I say it?”

Go Chang-deok tilted his head.

“I’ve been working at [Baseball Finders] for almost 10 years, you know.”

“Baseball Finders is…….”

It was one of the top three baseball statistics sites in the United States, along with [Baseball Reference] and [FanGraphs].

The player evaluation data created there was even reflected in the salary calculation of Major League players.

“Well, at best, I was just leaving 악플 [akpeul – malicious comments] on other people’s analysis articles… but how could I not know that your name comes up when you search for it?”

“Ah, so…….”

As his thoughts reached this point, Ji-seop also had something slightly bothering him.

“Then maybe…….”

As Ji-seop carefully opened his mouth, the answer came back as if he knew everything.

“What? Are you wondering if I know about your Chinese career… or something like that?”

Is this how other people usually see him?

Ji-seop was ‘startled’ by Go Chang-deok’s words that ‘stabbed’ right to the point.

However, Go Chang-seok simply smiled faintly and poked Ji-seop’s side with his elbow.

“I knew it……. But is there any reason to bring it up? If you didn’t say it, there must have been a reason.”

Until now, Go Chang-deok had always had a screw loose.

It was the very next moment that seriousness appeared on his face for the first time.

“I think it was a wise choice not to talk about your Chinese career. It’s true that the baseball world has a bad habit of dividing people’s ranks based on that.”

“……”

“But I hope you don’t even feel ashamed of your experiences in China in your heart.”

“It’s a good career.”

Go Chang-deok said firmly.

“What is the culture of other leagues like? What kind of players are there? And to what extent is future development possible…… Even if it’s just a player, shouldn’t someone who’s going to work as a baseball team 프런트 [peuronteu – front office] in the future know that information?”

“……”

At this time, Ji-seop thought.

It wasn’t just Go Chang-deok who had met a good 동기 [donggi – colleague/peer], but Ji-seop had also met a good 동기 [donggi – colleague/peer].

Of course, right after that, he heard an unexpected story.

“But wait a minute, hold on?”

“Why?”

“You’ve never even seen anime… how did you know the title Magical Girl Yuri-chan?!”

Tell me honestly.

Go Chang-deok continued with a strange smile on his face.

“Ji-seop, you… you actually watch anime, don’t you? Right? Huh?!!”

……I’m telling you, I don’t, you old man.

* * *

And so, the second day began.

The new training assistants went to the KH Cannons Field in the morning to take additional orientation.

After lunch, they moved to the airport and boarded a plane to Jeju Island.

After taking a bus for another hour, they arrived at 강창학 [Gangchanghak] Stadium in Seogwipo City, Jeju Island.

This was where the KH Cannons’ second-team spring camp was set up for this season.

“From now on, you need to move quickly! Because spring camp starts tomorrow, there’s no time to delay!”

Go Chang-deok’s words that they would be worked ‘hard’ if they went to Jeju Island in the afternoon seemed to be true.

As soon as they got off the bus, work started pouring in without any time to catch their breath.

“Training assistants, please hurry!”

Some were lucky enough to be assigned to the public relations team and 빠진 [ppajin – escaped/slipped away] towards YouTube video shooting, but most of the training assistants’ tasks were manual labor.

Large equipment such as batting machines and large nets were already in place, but small training equipment such as 야구공 [yagugong – baseballs], 티(Tee) [tee – batting tee], temporary bullpen, and pitcher protection net had not yet arrived.

‘They say 90% of baseball team work is carrying luggage…….’

After filling the warehouse with training equipment, they took 고무래 [gomurae – rubber rakes] and went to the ground to flatten the ground.

Then, they went around the 강창학 [Gangchanghak] baseball stadium and installed flags, placards, and facilities to create a so-called ‘atmosphere.’

Ji-seop and a few other large people stepped up to install a large 통천 [tongcheon – banner] with [Let’s go, Cannons! Stand up, KH!] on the outfield net, and before they knew it, the sun was setting.

“Thank you for your hard work, everyone.”

The people who greeted the training assistants, who had become 파김치 [pagimchi – completely exhausted], and returned to the bus, were a person named Manager Kim from the KH Cannons’ development team.

He was the person who had been running around the most diligently at work that day, so he was already familiar to the training assistants.

“The 숙소 [sukso – lodging] where you will be staying for about 50 days is about 20 minutes away by car from this 강창학 [Gangchanghak] stadium.”

Manager Kim continued.

“Today, please get enough rest at the 숙소 [sukso – lodging], and come back to work at 6 a.m. tomorrow.”

The training assistants’ expressions began to darken at the words ‘6 a.m.’

Even though they were people who started working at the baseball team because they liked baseball so much, they didn’t seem to know that it would be running on such a tight schedule.

“And a general guide to this spring camp has been placed in front of your seats. I hope you will always keep it with you and refer to it for your work. Thank you for your hard work today!”

As Manager Kim turned off the microphone ‘툭 [tuk – thud]’ and sat down, the training assistants picked up the manual inserted in front of their seats as if they had agreed to it in advance.

‘48 players participating in the first-team camp, 27 players participating in the second-team camp…….’

Including the coaching staff, 프런트 [peuronteu – front office] staff, and training assistants, the total number of people in the first and second teams is close to 150.

Just as he was newly recognizing how important spring camp was to the baseball team,

“Hmm?!”

Go Chang-deok, who was sitting next to Ji-seop, started pointing at the guide with his finger as if something was wrong.

“What’s wrong?”

“Huh? No, the second-team spring camp roster is a little strange…….”

Go Chang-deok pointed to the player list in the guide.

“Look at this. Ryu Jang-ho is on the second-team roster.”

“……Ryu Jang-ho?”

Ji-seop had also heard of the name.

“If it’s Ryu Jang-ho…….”

“Yeah, the Cannons’ cleanup hitter.”

Go Chang-deok continued.