A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 184

48. Build the Pillars High (2)

This All-Star game, KH Cannons could sweep all positions.

At the ambitious declaration of Marketing Team Leader Lee Ja-young, everyone in the team manager’s office tilted their heads in unison.

“Our Cannons…….”

“Sweep the All-Stars clean?”

“No, is that even possible?”

People were generally unconvinced.

Team Manager Seo Chang-ki spoke on behalf of those people.

“Team Leader Lee, explain it step by step.”

Team Manager Seo said.

“Wasn’t Team Leader Lee the one who knew best? That our Cannons…… have difficulty achieving good results in All-Star fan voting.”

“That’s certainly been the case until now.”

Team Leader Lee Ja-young replied.

“But this year is different. Our Cannons fans have really done something big.”

“Cannons fans?”

“Yes, would you like to take a look at this first?”

Team Leader Lee took out a USB memory stick from her pocket.

It seemed she had even prepared presentation materials in that short amount of time.

Approaching Team Manager Seo’s laptop and setting it up, the Cannons’ marketing team leader continued the explanation.

“First, you need to understand the reason.”

She spoke with a rather serious expression.

“Although it’s only the first day of voting, how could our Cannons players be ranked first in fan voting?”

“Isn’t it because the UB Guardians fans didn’t participate much in the voting? The Guardians kids have been showing such unsightly performance these past few days…….”

“Of course, that influence wouldn’t have been absent. But according to our team’s research, there was one more decisive cause than that.”

A decisive cause.

Team Manager Seo Chang-ki’s expression also began to turn serious.

“What…… is it?”

“Our Cannons fans have secured very strong support. With their help, today our Cannons were able to beat the Guardians and take first place in the Western League All-Star voting.”

“Support?”

“Yes, that support is…….”

Having said this, Team Leader Lee Ja-young tapped the laptop keyboard.

Then, a large logo appeared on one side of the team manager’s office wall.

“These are the friends you’re seeing now, called ‘Jenny’.”

“Jenny?”

“Yes, Jenny!”

Team Leader Lee smiled slightly.

“They are the ardent fans of the currently trending male idol group…… ‘Genius’.”

* * *

Male idol group ‘Genius’.

Their reliable supporters, ‘Jenny’.

Was it because words that were never expected popped out?

A moment of silence fell in the KH Cannons’ team manager’s office.

“…….”

“…….”

The operations team leader, who was about to turn down the baseball broadcast volume with the remote control.

The public relations team leader, who was about to pick up a piece of *jokbal* [braised pig’s trotters] with chopsticks.

And even the management support team leader, who was reaching out vigorously towards the cola bottle placed on the opposite table.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and blinked, staring at Team Leader Lee.

Then, it seemed that one garlic clove, dipped generously in *doenjang* [Korean soybean paste] from the lettuce wrap held by the power analysis team leader, fell ‘plop’ onto someone’s cell phone.

“Hey, Team Leader Kang, what are you doing? Garlic fell, garlic!”

“Ugh!! I’m sorry, Senior Cha! Ah, I suddenly became dazed…….”

Bring a tissue. No, there must be wet wipes. Damn it, my phone is going to smell like *doenjang*.

After such a commotion occurred and was barely being cleaned up.

“So, Team Leader Lee…….”

Team Manager Seo barely opened his mouth.

“The fan club of that singer called ‘Genius’ is voting for our Cannons players, is that what you mean?”

“Yes, it’s not an uncommon occurrence these days.”

Team Leader Lee turned the presentation page.

“Idol fans consider album sales and streaming rankings very important, you see? If our Cannons fans help in that area, Genius’s fans will provide support for All-Star voting.”

“Hmm, a kind of mutual aid, I see.”

Team Manager Seo Chang-ki nodded slowly, looking at the screen.

He looked at Team Leader Lee and asked again.

“What is Team Leader Lee trying to say? I wonder if there’s anything the club can do in this situation?”

“Actually…… there are a few things.”

Team Leader Lee’s expression became slightly cautious.

“Listening to the stories of our marketing team staff, the alliance that was difficult to create is said to be creaking a bit.”

“Creaking? Why?”

“Perhaps because the size difference between the two fandoms is so great…….”

Genius’s fandom, which is among the top five in Korea.

The Cannons’ fandom, which is rated in the middle to lower ranks in Korean professional baseball.

Among Genius fans, the negative view of ‘alliance’ with Cannons fans was increasing.

“They seem to think it’s not worth it. There’s a limit to the help that Cannons fans can give.”

“Hmm, so?”

“At times like this, if our club steps in and shows some ‘sincerity’, I wonder if we can turn the hearts of Genius fans.”

Team Leader Lee’s eyes lit up.

“Slightly exposing our players listening to Genius songs on the YouTube channel, or frequently playing Genius songs at the stadium……. If we’re more ambitious, we could push for a ceremonial first pitch within this month.”

Team Leader Lee, raising her momentum even further.

“Moreover, the color of our Cannons’ alternate uniform is the same as the symbolic color of the Genius fandom. If we hold a ‘Uniform Day’ and dye Cannons Field in Genius’s symbolic color for a day, wouldn’t those fans naturally react…….”

It was added that while it is common for baseball fans to attract idol fandoms in All-Star fan voting, there has never been a time when the club has supported such a move.

If the Cannons were to try such a thing for the first time, there was also persuasion that a considerable ripple effect would return.

Above all, if the idol fans actively participate in the voting, even a large number of Cannons players being ‘elected’ is not a dream.

“What do you think, Team Manager?”

Team Leader Lee looked at Team Manager Seo.

“If you give me permission, I will prepare a specific implementation plan within a day or two…….”

“Wait a minute! Wait a minute, Team Leader Lee!”

Before Team Manager Seo Chang-ki could give an answer, the power analysis team leader raised his hand and stepped forward.

“I understand Team Leader’s intention to send our players to the All-Stars, but isn’t that a bit…… too far?”

It seemed that it wasn’t just the power analysis team leader alone.

The other team leaders didn’t have particularly good expressions either.

“To be honest, mobilizing idol fan clubs to collect votes? If you look at it strictly, isn’t that close to fraudulent voting?”

The power analysis team leader continued.

“It’s meaningful for the players only if our Cannons fans vote for them directly. All-Stars created by people who don’t usually watch baseball……. What meaning would that have?”

“Well, it’s not that I haven’t thought about that.”

Team Leader Lee seemed to have been somewhat prepared for this backlash.

“If you think about it, isn’t this a way to attract more support from Cannons fans?”

“Yes?”

“Team Leader Kang, don’t you know? Our Cannons employees……. Everyone votes on the first day of All-Star voting. But how many days does that last? Did it last about three days?”

“Th, that’s…….”

All-Star voting, which can be done once a day.

However, even among Cannons employees, there were hardly any people who participated in the voting until the last day.

“Why is that? Is it because their feelings for the Cannons have cooled? Is it because the desire for our kids to go to the All-Stars has disappeared?”

That’s not it.

Team Leader Lee continued.

“Because the vote difference is too big. Because it seems like we won’t be able to send our players to the All-Stars even if we vote now……. So, they no longer show interest in voting, right?”

“…….”

“If idol fans participate in the voting, so that the vote battle becomes equal to national popular teams like UB Guardians……. Wouldn’t Cannons fans, who had given up halfway, vote until the end?”

“Will…… that happen?”

The power analysis team leader, who was subdued and retreated.

However, another team leader appeared in front of Lee Ja-young.

“Everything is good…… Team Leader Lee, aren’t you looking at the issue too much from the fans’ perspective?”

It was ‘Black Curtain Cha Cha’.

Operations Team Manager Cha Yoon-jin.

“From the fans’ point of view, they would want to see our players play in the All-Star game, right? Because they haven’t been able to go there much until now. But shouldn’t we think a little about the players’ position too?”

“The players’ thoughts?”

Because the opponent was who she was, even Team Leader Lee, who had confidently expressed her opinion, seemed a little intimidated.

“We can’t say it openly to us, but wouldn’t there be players who want to take a break during the All-Star period? Because a few days of rest would be very important to prepare for the second half.”

“…….”

“And to show ‘sincerity’ to that idol fandom, we have to hold various events for a month in June……. I don’t know what effect that will have on the players’ performance?”

Do you remember?

Team Manager Cha Yoon-jin looked at Team Leader Lee.

“All-Star games are good, but our Cannons’ goal this season is to win the Korean Series.”

“…….”

In a baseball team, the right to speak of the baseball-related departments, especially the operations team leader, cannot be ignored.

Especially if you bring up performance, ‘non-baseball departments’ like the marketing team have no choice but to take a step back.

When Lee Ja-young, who had been gaining momentum, was hit by ‘Black Curtain Cha Cha’ and shut her mouth.

The arrow flew to Ji-seop, who had been quietly watching this situation.

“What does Special Advisor Kim think?”

It was Team Manager Seo’s question.

“Isn’t Special Advisor Kim the one who gets along most closely with the players among the people gathered here? Then we can’t help but ask for Special Advisor Kim’s opinion.”

Ji-seop used to sweat profusely when faced with this kind of situation.

But it’s already been half a season since he started working as a special advisor to the team manager, so how long can he just be embarrassed?

“Well…….”

Ji-seop, who had been quietly recalling the usual appearance of the players for a while.

He opened his mouth, looking back at the team leaders who were staring at him intently.

“To be honest, I don’t know what the players are thinking about the All-Star game.”

Rather than not knowing, it was closer to the fact that each person was so different that it was difficult to say in one word.

While there were guys like Ryu Jang-ho who were indifferent to the All-Stars, there were also guys like Jimmy Morris who were eager to go to the All-Stars, making their butts wiggle.

“But one thing is certain…… our players react very sensitively to numbers.”

“Numbers?”

“Yes.”

Ji-seop nodded.

“Rather than saying that the batting balance has improved, it’s better to just show the increased ball speed as a number. Rather than saying that the control has worsened, it’s better to show the lowered first-pitch strike rate as a number.”

“What does that have to do with All-Star voting?”

Team Manager Seo asked, but Ji-seop did not forget his composure and answered.

“In the same context, I sometimes had this thought.”

Ji-seop looked at Team Manager Seo.

“The manager and coaches often tell the players to ‘think about the fans’ and ‘repay the fans’ support’……. I wondered if there was a way to show this more clearly.”

Ah.

Feeling a strange smile blooming on Team Manager Seo Chang-ki’s face, Ji-seop continued.

“The fans’ love, the fans’ support. If these things can be expressed as numbers, our players will be able to accept more clearly that they have to repay them.”

“Hmm, our players are sensitive to numbers…….”

Team Manager Seo stroked his chin quietly.

“In that context, All-Star voting would be quite a useful tool, wouldn’t it? If you look at the number of votes, you can see exactly how much support the fans have as a number.”

Saying that, Team Manager Seo glanced over the faces of the team leaders.

They were also people who had spent a long time with the players.

As if understanding what Ji-seop meant, they slowly nodded.

Confirming that appearance, Team Manager Seo turned to Team Leader Lee Ja-young.

“Team Leader Lee.”

“Yes, Team Manager.”

“Let’s try it.”

Team Manager Seo continued.

“Let’s let our players feel the fans’ love…….”