A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 217

Chapter 55: The Legendary Ace (4)

The Kongmoon University Baseball Team’s ‘OB [Old Boys] Alumni Night’.

Intoxicated, Ji-sub stood outside the restaurant with his senior, Gong Hyun-baek.

“Hoo.”

It was already late September.

Ji-sub cooled his flushed face in the increasingly chilly night breeze.

It was at this moment that his senior, Gong Hyun-baek, exhaled a puff of cigarette smoke and spoke to him.

“Wow, Ji-sub! You’re quite the talker now, huh?”

Gong Hyun-baek flicked off some cigarette ash.

“When did you get so good with words? You used to just keep your mouth shut and throw the ball!”

“It’s the alcohol talking, I guess.”

Ji-sub replied.

“Honestly, I’m surprised myself. It felt like my head was empty, but suddenly the words just flowed out…”

“For someone borrowing courage from alcohol, you were quite eloquent. Didn’t you see? The kids were looking at you with such respect.”

“Come on, respect is too much.”

Ji-sub gave a wry smile.

“More than that… what exactly happened?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m talking about this year’s graduating class.”

Ji-sub pointed his chin towards the restaurant.

“I heard that those guys all have their career paths set, but is that even possible? It’s only been a few days since the rookie draft ended.”

As Ji-sub remembered, college seniors usually started ‘exploring career paths’ after the rookie draft ended.

Whether it was joining a *yuksei* [minor league or developmental] team, entering independent baseball, or giving up altogether and choosing a career completely unrelated to baseball.

All those choices were only possible once it was clear that ‘there’s no room in the pros’.

With his past memories so vivid, Ji-sub couldn’t easily understand, but Gong Hyun-baek had a strange smile on his face.

“Looks like you didn’t know, Ji-sub? These days, kids are really smart. Completely different from our time.”

“Smart?”

“Yeah, smart. And they make decisions quickly.”

Gong Hyun-baek continued.

“A few years ago? When I first met this year’s graduating class… they were very clear about it from the start.”

*Realistically, we think our chances of getting drafted into the pros are very low.*

*Looking at last year’s draft alone, only 14 out of 110 rookies were college graduates.*

*So, we want to focus on finding career paths other than professional baseball. We hope the seniors can help us with that.*

“Really? They said that when they had just entered college?”

“Yeah, I’m telling you.”

“Isn’t it crazy?”

Gong Hyun-baek shrugged.

“It was much easier to help them when the underclassmen told us that. We even invited English instructors and found internship programs for them…”

The Kongmoon University baseball team moved one step, no, at least three or four steps faster than other schools.

Thanks to that, the graduating seniors this year were able to finalize their career paths even before the rookie draft took place, he added.

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

Ji-sub was genuinely impressed.

Regardless of their skills, they all would have been aiming for the pros since they were young.

To decisively cut off such a desperate dream and find a realistic path is no easy task.

Underclassmen who started doing what he could only do after turning thirty, from their freshman year of college.

While surprised by their cold-blooded judgment, Ji-sub couldn’t help but have a question.

“Then why did you call me?”

Ji-sub scratched the back of his ear.

“If everyone’s career path is decided, there’s no reason to call a senior who works in the pros, is there? I naturally assumed that they needed my help…”

“Ah, I’m sorry about that. I should have explained it better in advance… Ah, but honestly, I didn’t think you would bring such amazing information.”

“Didn’t you just start your second year?”

“Where did you get that information?”

Gong Hyun-baek, who was amazed as he looked at Ji-sub, soon opened his mouth with an embarrassed expression.

“Actually, the reason I contacted you this time was because of the graduating class’s earnest request.”

“Why? I thought they already secured jobs?”

“Well… damn, how should I explain this?”

Gong Hyun-baek scratched his head.

“To put it in their words, they wanted to show the underclassmen that there’s ‘a glimmer of hope’.”

Yes, a glimmer of hope.

Gong Hyun-baek emphasized those words.

“They made a realistic choice, right? Giving up on the pros early on. But since they kept hearing stories about you from everywhere… I guess they felt a little complicated.”

*Maybe there was a possibility for us too?*

*If we hadn’t given up and steadily aimed for the pros.*

*We could have been working in the pros someday, like that senior.*

Gong Hyun-baek said that the graduating seniors seemed to have some regrets.

“So, they wanted to show the underclassmen. There’s a senior named Kim Ji-sub at our school. A senior who persevered and persevered when others gave up and stepped back, and eventually entered a professional team.”

“……”

“So, don’t close off even that glimmer of hope. If you have even a little bit of lingering feelings, just close your eyes and give it a try… I guess they wanted to convey that kind of message to the underclassmen? By calling you here, Ji-sub.”

“Ah-ha.”

Ji-sub nodded as he listened to his college senior’s story.

It was the next moment that he reached out and took a cigarette from Gong Hyun-baek.

As he put the cigarette in his mouth, Ji-sub threw out a word as if throwing it away.

“Ah, it’s difficult.”

“What is?”

“It’s hard to judge. Whether me coming here today was a good thing or a bad thing.”

Ji-sub lit the cigarette and smiled bitterly.

“Honestly, I see it as a result of incredible luck. Me becoming the special assistant to the general manager of the Cannons.”

It wasn’t just because he could read other people’s minds.

It was definitely luck that ‘Sakhalin Park’ Vice Chairman Park Hong-joo visited the social baseball lesson where he worked.

It was also luck that Vice Chairman Park became the acting owner of the Cannons, and it was luck that he was liked by him and joined the Cannons.

The thought that it was also luck that there were colleagues like Go Chang-deok and Ryu Jang-ho at the Cannons’ minor league training camp that he entered.

“When you think about it, I was really lucky, but I don’t know if I should let anyone see that and follow it…”

Ji-sub looked at Gong Hyun-baek.

“Don’t you think so too, senior? If you only look at the probability, the graduating seniors’ choice is much better.”

“Hmm, that’s true. Now that I hear it, it’s a really difficult problem to judge.”

Ji-sub’s college senior looked down at the ground in the distance and continued.

“But Ji-sub, I hope you don’t worry about those things.”

“Yes?”

“Hey, think about it.”

Gong Hyun-baek poked Ji-sub in the stomach.

“If you go inside now and say, ‘Underclassmen, don’t follow me. I was just lucky’… Do you think they’ll listen? They’ll just think that senior is crazy.”

“……”

“Not only that? The underclassmen who come in next year, the underclassmen who come in the year after… There will definitely be someone who takes you as a role model. What are you going to do then? Are you going to come and persuade them every time?”

“You can’t do that,

You don’t have to.”

Gong Hyun-baek said very firmly.

“Ji-sub, you’re already the ace of our Kongmoon University baseball team. A superstar! So, the underclassmen who come into our baseball team in the future will have no choice but to think of you.”

“……”

“Some of them will do well like you, and some of them will experience a miserable failure. But everything that happens in that process is the responsibility of those who made the choice, not your responsibility, Ji-sub. That’s how I see it.”

Gong Hyun-baek raised one eyebrow.

“No, to be blunt! Did Tom Glavine, who was your role model, even call you after you retired? Saying sorry for making you go down a difficult path… Did he even apologize like that? He never did.”

“Hehe, well, that’s true.”

As Ji-sub smiled bashfully, Gong Hyun-baek finally showed a faint smile.

“So, Ji-sub, don’t worry about that. Worrying is the professor’s job, or at least my job since I come here often. But if you still feel uneasy about it…”

At that moment, Ji-sub’s college senior revealed his true feelings.

“Be more successful, Ji-sub.”

“Yes?”

“Go higher up quickly! There are many positions, right? Operations team leader, general manager, club president, acting owner… Yeah, how about the commissioner of the Korean professional baseball league while you’re at it?”

“C, commissioner of professional baseball?!”

Ji-sub had a dumbfounded expression, but Gong Hyun-baek’s eyes were serious.

“The higher you go, the higher the possibilities for our Kongmoon University underclassmen go.”

“……”

“Hey, do you think professional team scouts won’t come? This is the general manager’s alma mater, the president’s alma mater, and the commissioner of the Korean professional baseball league’s alma mater? If they block the school gate, they’ll break in through a dog hole to come and see!”

“Got it, Ji-sub?”

“That’s what you have to do!”

As Gong Hyun-baek clenched both fists, Ji-sub scratched the back of his head and had no choice but to say this.

“…I understand, senior.”

Ji-sub nodded.

“Acting owner or commissioner of the Korean professional baseball league feels a bit too much… But I’ll try to work my way up to that point.”

“Oh, yeah! Of course, you should! If you’re from our great Kongmoon University, you should have such ambitions! In that sense, shall we sing our school song for the first time in a while?”

“…Are you drunk?”

“Ah, why not!”

“Let’s sing it, huh?”

“The atmosphere is good right now!”

Just as he was about to shake off Gong Hyun-baek, who was annoyingly clinging to him, and move into the restaurant.

“Oh, Ji-sub! You were here?”

Someone inside the restaurant spoke to Ji-sub.

“Ah, yes, senior.”

He didn’t remember the name exactly, but it was one of the seniors who visited the alma mater that day.

He was either a founding member of the Kongmoon University baseball team or a second-generation member.

Anyway, it was that person who looked the oldest among the seniors.

“I was looking for you for a while… Looks like you were with Chief Gong?”

“You were looking for me?”

“Yeah, do you remember? I’m doing sign work near Gwangmyeong City…”

“Ah, yes, I remember.”

Honestly, he didn’t remember, but Ji-sub nodded anyway.

“I bragged a bit that I was going to meet Ji-sub today… And one of the presidents in our industry sent me this picture.”

“A picture?”

“Yeah, can you take a look?”

The senior took out his phone.

On the screen he showed, there was truly a bizarre object.

It was a very large electronic display board.

Judging by the fact that two men could barely hold it up, it was about 6~7m in size.

The large electronic display board was studded with colorful light bulbs, and in the center, the English capital letter ‘M’ was largely inscribed.

And what caught Ji-sub’s attention more than anything was ‘Podong-i’ engraved on one side of the electronic display board.

It was a characterization of a cannon, which was used as the mascot of KH Cannons a long time ago.

“What is this, senior?”

Ji-sub asked.

“Judging by the fact that Podong-i is on it, it seems like it’s something from our Cannons…”

“That’s right, according to that president, it’s an electronic display board that Cannons ordered a long time ago. But they never picked it up even after it was completed… So, they’ve been keeping it in the warehouse ever since.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Ji-sub stroked his chin.

“Do you happen to know the exact purpose? This is my first time seeing such an electronic display board…”

“Purpose? Hold on, I definitely heard it?”

“Ah, that’s right!”

The senior hit his palm with his fist.

“Magic number electronic display board! I think that’s what the president said.”

He continued.

“Ji-sub, you know, right? The electronic display board that records the number of wins remaining until the regular season championship!”