A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 183

48. Build the Pillars High (1)

The next day, in the morning.

Ji-seop, clutching the ‘commemorative T-shirt’ gifted by Director Iwata, headed to the KH Cannons’ marketing team.

Team Leader Seo Chang-gi, after inspecting the questionable T-shirt, had suggested, ‘This would be perfect for the marketing team.’

“Oh my, what’s this?”

Team Leader Lee Ja-young of the marketing team greeted Ji-seop, her expression shifting to one of nostalgic recognition as she unfolded the ‘commemorative T-shirt’ sent by Director Iwata.

“Ah, I remember now. Back then, designs like this were all the rage. It’s been so long.”

Team Leader Lee Ja-young picked up the T-shirt and meticulously examined every inch of it.

She placed the T-shirt on the desk and said to Ji-seop.

“Thank you, Ji-seop. This will make a great souvenir for our marketing team.”

Up to this point, Ji-seop’s expectations were met.

The twist Ji-seop didn’t foresee came the next moment.

“But it seems Director Iwata is a bit mistaken about something.”

Team Leader Lee Ja-young smiled slightly.

“Our marketing team did design this exactly 15 years ago… but it wasn’t made to commemorate advancing to the Korean Series [the championship series of Korean professional baseball].”

“I… is that so?”

Ji-seop blinked.

“Then this is….”

“All-Star. An All-Star commemorative T-shirt.”

Team Leader Lee Ja-young continued.

“Well, it’s an easy mistake to make. The commemorative T-shirt for advancing to the Korean Series had a very similar design.”

The design prominently featured images of the Cannons’ key players in the center of the T-shirt.

Team Leader Lee pointed to the T-shirt.

“But you can tell for sure by looking at the background. Anyone can see that this T-shirt has Jamsil Baseball Stadium as the background, right? The All-Star game was held in Jamsil back then.”

She added that the T-shirt made to celebrate advancing to the Korean Series had a different background.

At the time, KH Cannons Field was called ‘Yeongsan Citizen Baseball Stadium.’

“Ah, I see.”

Ji-seop felt like he was watching [Real or Fake], a show he enjoyed as a child.

He nodded slowly, taking in the details Team Leader Lee pointed out.

As Ji-seop listened to Team Leader Lee’s explanation, a question popped into his head, and he cautiously raised his head.

“Team Leader, then this T-shirt wasn’t sold, was it?”

“Hmm? Why?”

“Even though the Cannons didn’t advance to the Korean Series back then… the All-Star game would have been held anyway, right?”

“Ah….”

After hearing Ji-seop’s question, Team Leader Lee Ja-young quietly shook her head.

“No, we couldn’t sell it. We couldn’t even launch it and ended up handing over the entire stock to a professional disposal company.”

“Why?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Our players were shut out of the All-Star fan voting.”

Team Leader Lee smiled bitterly.

“Back then, the team’s performance was good, and the fans’ response was tremendous. I thought that even if it was difficult to sweep all positions, the players depicted on this T-shirt could definitely be selected….”

Team Leader Lee’s face was etched with regret.

Ji-seop looked at the T-shirt design and cautiously asked.

“How many of them were selected for the All-Star game?”

“……Three.”

Team Leader Lee said in a desolate tone.

“All three were manager’s picks.”

Not a single player was selected by fan voting.

* * *

The ‘Festival of Stars,’ the All-Star Game.

If you exclude the post-season, the All-Star Game was the biggest event in Korean professional baseball.

A hot summer night baseball festival where the best players selected from the 10 professional baseball teams are divided into two teams and compete.

There were many things to see and many things to enjoy, so baseball fans would eagerly anticipate the upcoming All-Star Game from the end of May-

“…….”

In reality, KH Cannons had a reputation for lagging behind in this excitement.

The reason was simple: the number of Cannons players participating in the All-Star Game was consistently low.

“Isn’t it inevitable? Frankly speaking, we can’t exactly call our Cannons a nationally popular team, can we?”

It was a sentiment Ji-seop had often heard since joining the team.

The KH Cannons primarily drew fans from the southern part of Gyeonggi Province, specifically the Yeongsan City area.

While the loyalty of each fan was comparable to any other team, their overall numbers were significantly smaller than those of more popular teams.

Consequently, they often faced disappointment in the All-Star fan voting.

‘Well, if it comes down to a vote battle… it would be difficult for our Cannons fans to outvote the Guardians or Bucks fans.’

Of course, the ‘manager’s pick’ system existed for the All-Star Game.

A system where the manager participating in the All-Star Game directly selects players for teams that underperform in fan voting, like the Cannons.

However, even with that avenue, it was still less thrilling than being selected by fan voting.

Therefore, with the All-Star fan voting just days away, the atmosphere in the Cannons front office was gloomy.

“That’s right, the All-Star fan voting! When does it start? Was it the week after next?”

“It starts next week, Team Leader.”

Even the usually meticulous Team Leader Seo Chang-gi repeatedly forgot the All-Star voting schedule.

“It’s All-Star season… I wonder if there will be a manager who voluntarily resigns this year? Any rumors going around?”

“There’s some chatter coming from the Future Kings side, apparently? They say Manager Choi had a major falling out with the Kings’ team leader….”

They seemed more interested in the managerial changes that often occurred around this time than the All-Star Game itself.

“But hasn’t the situation improved a lot these days? With the player voting being factored in, at least Jang-ho makes it to the All-Star game every year, right?”

“That’s right. Plus, Morris is having a great year… If things go well, we might be able to send two players, not counting the manager’s pick, right?”

Even when the topic of selecting All-Star players came up, they were content with the possibility of sending a couple of players.

“…….”

Surrounded by this atmosphere, Ji-seop gradually lost interest in the All-Star Game.

He wanted to see the Cannons players shine in the All-Star Game, but realistically, it didn’t seem likely.

In a way, taking a good rest during the All-Star break seemed like a better strategy for the upcoming second half of the season.

So, even on June 4, when the All-Star voting commenced, he was preparing for the game as usual-

“Wait a minute, what did you say?!”

That afternoon, unexpected news reached Ji-seop.

The KH Cannons’ first-team manager rushed over to deliver the news.

“Is that… really?”

Ji-seop couldn’t help but widen his eyes.

“Our Cannons… are in first place in all positions?!”

* * *

Around the time the game was about to start that day.

The KH Cannons’ team leaders were gathering in the team leader’s office.

It wasn’t a scheduled meeting, nor had Team Leader Seo Chang-gi summoned them.

Although it was only the result of the first day of voting, and the lead over second place wasn’t significant, the Cannons players were leading in all positions.

Unable to fully express their joy in front of their subordinates, the team leaders naturally gravitated towards the team leader’s office.

“Wow, I was really surprised! Even if it’s just an interim ranking, our Cannons sweeping all positions… isn’t this almost unprecedented?”

The power analysis team leader said, picking up a piece of jokbal (pig’s trotters), chosen as the ‘celebratory dinner menu’ for the day.

“Is it unprecedented? Didn’t we have something like this a dozen years ago? When we prepared a lot of All-Star merchandise….”

“Ah, you mean the year the Jin Yang Bucks won the championship? No, we didn’t sweep all positions back then either. I think we got a maximum of 7 in the first week?”

“Wow, then isn’t this truly legendary? What’s going on? What’s really going on! Hahaha.”

Looking at the jubilant team leaders, Ji-seop sensed their ‘true feelings.’

It wasn’t that they were completely uninterested in the All-Star Game.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to send the players they worked with to the All-Star Game.

It felt like the odds were so stacked against them that they had no choice but to focus their attention elsewhere.

“Hmm, that’s true….”

As the Cannons front office’s small celebration party reached a comfortable lull.

Team Leader Seo Chang-gi, who had been observing the team leaders with a pleased expression, spoke up.

“What do you think is the reason for this?”

Team Leader Seo continued.

“It’s understandable that the Jin Yang Bucks aren’t doing well this season, but the UB Guardians are right behind us. How were we able to take first place?”

With the Guardians, boasting a massive fan base, performing well, the question was how the Cannons managed to take the lead, even if only for the first day.

A slightly embarrassed smile appeared on the faces of the team leaders.

“To be honest… I think it’s just good timing.”

“Timing?”

“Yes.”

The KH Cannons’ scout team leader nodded.

“It’s true that the UB Guardians are doing well, but they’ve had some absurdly unlucky losses in the past few days.”

Two days ago, they were winning 7-0 but lost 9-11.

The day before, they suffered a 1-0 shutout loss to the Geosan Mariners, the lowest-ranked team this season.

“Isn’t All-Star voting heavily influenced by the fans’ mood on the day? So, we should assume that the participation of Guardians fans was low today.”

“Hmm, then….”

Team Leader Seo Chang-gi licked his lips.

“The current pace won’t last that long? If UB Guardians win, their fans will start voting again, right?”

“Yes. It’s a bit disappointing, but I think that’s probably how it will go….”

The Cannons players would soon relinquish their first-place position.

The scout team leader made this prediction with a disappointed expression.

“No, I don’t think that’s the case.”

The team leader’s office door burst open, and a firm voice rang out.

“Team Leader, you mustn’t give up on this All-Star… Our Cannons can build ‘pillars’!”

The person who had barged in.

It was Team Leader Lee Ja-young of the marketing team.

Perhaps embarrassed by her sudden entrance and outburst, she immediately bowed her head to everyone.

“I’m sorry. I was a little late because I was having a team meeting about the All-Star voting….”

“No, it’s okay. It’s just a gathering to celebrate, so there’s no need to worry about that, but….”

Team Leader Seo tilted his head.

“Building pillars in the All-Star… what does that suddenly mean?”

“Ah, it’s a saying fans have been using lately. Sweeping all positions in the All-Star is called ‘building pillars.’”

“Ah, is that so?”

Team Leader Seo Chang-gi nodded absently.

But sensing something, he turned his gaze back to Team Leader Lee.

“Wait a minute, then what? What Team Leader Lee is saying now is….”

“Yes, Team Leader!”

Team Leader Lee, usually gentle and soft-spoken due to the nature of her work.

But at this moment, her face showed unwavering determination.

“This All-Star… our Cannons can take all positions!”