A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 220

56. The Day the Count Began (2)

It was indeed a tricky situation.

For the KH Cannons, on the verge of winning the regular season, securing cooperation from lower-ranked teams was proving difficult.

The idea that every team ‘mathematically’ still had a chance to advance to the playoffs was essentially a polite fiction.

They couldn’t say it outright due to fan scrutiny, but in reality, those teams were already preparing for the next season.

‘Isn’t it obvious, considering the next season’s manager has already been appointed?’

That was the real reason lower-ranked teams were reluctant to negotiate with the Cannons.

It was more a case of ‘why bother attending someone else’s party?’

Whether the Cannons won or not, the lower-ranked teams didn’t have any particular reason to care.

Considering how thoroughly they had been defeated by the Cannons this season, they might have secretly hoped to see them collapse in the Korean Series.

In some ways, it was only natural.

In other ways, it was just human nature.

So, many regular-season-winning teams often prepared for the Korean Series with just internal scrimmages because they couldn’t find practice game opponents—but Jiseop had his own plan.

“Hello!”

“Oh, Jiseop hyung [older brother or respected male figure]!”

“You’re here early today?”

There were no special preparations.

There was no need to worry seriously.

He simply showed up on the field about 30 minutes earlier than usual.

Doing just this much, no more and no less, was enough for Jiseop to bring the ‘key man’ of the day to his side.

“Oh, Mr. Jiseop!”

It was Baek Seung-nam.

The person who was working as a commentator for the local broadcasting station GBS this season.

And the person who had been appointed as the next season’s manager of the Yuseong Warriors, although it hadn’t been officially announced yet.

As soon as he saw Jiseop, he raised one hand high and strode over.

“No, Mr. Jiseop! What brings you here today?”

Commentator Baek Seung-nam asked.

“Shouldn’t you be in the manager’s office right now? That coffee time with the manager… you always keep it, right?”

“Ah, yes, that’s true… but today my meeting ran a little longer than usual. The operations team leader went in for the coffee time instead.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Jiseop’s words were just a convenient excuse, but Commentator Baek Seung-nam had a beaming expression as he listened.

There was a good reason for that.

For a broadcasting station commentator, the special advisor to the general manager was a highly valuable interview subject.

A few words with Jiseop before the game could become stories to use during the broadcast.

“But you know, Mr. Jiseop.”

Sure enough.

Commentator Baek subtly approached Jiseop and began.

“Why was Jinwoo substituted yesterday?”

“Jinwoo? Ah, you mean senior Cheon Jinwoo?”

“Yeah, Jinwoo was suddenly replaced after the 7th inning yesterday, right? I can’t find the reason for it even if I search the articles.”

Stories that don’t appear in articles have to be figured out by poking around the club staff like this.

That is one of the important tasks of a broadcasting station commentator.

Jiseop would usually gloss over such questions, but this time he readily revealed the facts.

“Senior Cheon Jinwoo had a slight cold. I understand that the manager decided it was best not to push him too hard.”

“Ah, a cold? Well, the weather has suddenly turned chilly these days.”

Commentator Baek was subtly raising his phone to take notes of Jiseop’s answer.

“The weather has turned chilly… Ah, then isn’t it about time for the players to get vaccinated? I mean, the flu vaccine.”

Commentator Baek seemed to have stumbled upon another story.

“The Cannons will do it too, right? All the teams that have advanced to the postseason are doing it. You can’t have the flu going around the team during the Korean Series.”

“Yes, we also have a plan scheduled for sometime next week.”

“This, this… it looks like there’s going to be another uproar?”

“Hehe, you know it well. I’m already worried. There are players who act like they’re playing a game just at the sight of a needle…”

After that, Jiseop subtly leaked stories that the broadcasting station commentator would find appealing.

Commentator Baek Seung-nam, who was becoming increasingly pleased as he eagerly accepted Jiseop’s stories.

When Jiseop judged that the atmosphere had matured to a sufficient extent.

He suddenly looked out at the outfield and let out a short sigh, ‘Haa.’

“Mr. Jiseop, what’s wrong all of a sudden?”

Commentator Baek Seung-nam, who had been relieved of his broadcasting worries that day thanks to Jiseop, looked at Jiseop with concerned eyes.

* * *

“It’s nothing much.”

Jiseop replied.

“I was just watching the players train and suddenly… I’m worried about what will happen after the regular season ends.”

“After the regular season ends?”

Commentator Baek Seung-nam was also someone with considerable experience in the baseball scene.

He immediately grasped what Jiseop meant.

“Ah, practice games to prepare for the Korean Series… It seems like you’re not getting opponents easily, right?”

Commentator Baek clicked his tongue.

“That can’t be helped, can it? For the Cannons, that’s the period to prepare for the Korean Series, but the lower-ranked teams will be in the middle of their finishing training.”

He, who had been appointed as the new manager of the Yuseong Warriors, seemed to be thinking about thorough finishing training.

“Finishing training is really important for lower-ranked teams. It’s almost the only opportunity to narrow the gap with the top-ranked teams. While other teams are distracted by the postseason, we have to train intensively.”

Without realizing it, Commentator Baek Seung-nam used the word ‘we.’

However, Jiseop pretended not to notice and instead brought up these words.

“Yes, you’re right.”

First, he agreed.

“I’ve thought that way until now… but after working with Manager Arthur Freeman, I see things a little differently.”

“Manager Freeman?”

It was from this point that Commentator Baek showed interest.

Arthur Freeman, the manager who brought KH Cannons to the championship level in a short period of time.

For Commentator Baek, who was about to take over as manager, it was a topic that he couldn’t help but be interested in.

“M, Manager Freeman… he must have been thinking something different?”

Commentator Baek carefully asked, trying to hide his true feelings.

Jiseop, who was fully aware of that, smiled and replied.

“Yes, the thing I’ve done the most while working at the Cannons is setting up practice games.”

“Hmm.”

“Figuring out the players’ weaknesses, conversely, finding their strengths, or motivating them to train hard during the offseason… he said that all of that is possible through games.”

Up until this point, Commentator Baek Seung-nam had an unenthusiastic expression.

However, Jiseop’s persuasive argument had only just begun.

“Especially these days, players really hate simple repetitive training, right? Practice games are the best way to instill motivation in such players.”

“Well, these days young players…”

Commentator Baek was showing some interest.

Jiseop quickly continued.

“Besides, the thing I was most concerned about when preparing for practice games was the level of the opposing team.”

“Level?”

“Yes, there were quite a few opposing teams that gave me a hard time by frequently lining up with second-string players, or even if the first team came out, they would send out bench members.”

The Boston Red Sox did that, and the professional teams in Okinawa, Japan, also showed such tendencies.

“In that sense, what better practice game opponent is there than our KH Cannons? Since we’re preparing for the Korean Series, we’ll only come out with 100% starting members, and the individual players’ concentration and seriousness will be considerable.”

“…….”

“If I were the manager of a lower-ranked team, or even just a staff member of that club, I would try to arrange a practice game with the Cannons… Ah, it’s a pity that I’m not in that position.”

It’s good, it’s really good for lower-ranked teams.

There’s no way to say it directly.

I can’t just go and say it directly.

After saying exactly up to this point, Jiseop could feel that Commentator Baek’s thoughts had shifted.

[Well, that’s true… Training isn’t everything. Forcing players to work hard was a method that only worked in the 90s.]

[Besides, wasn’t Arthur Freeman someone who had a lot of experience in the minor leagues?]

[If it’s his method… it might not be bad to introduce it once?]

Of course, being a professional baseball manager is something you can’t even dream of without considerable awareness.

Commentator Baek was no exception, so he narrowed his eyes and asked Jiseop.

“But Mr. Jiseop, why are you telling me this story?”

“Yes?”

“No, that’s right. I’m just a broadcasting station commentator, but you’re going on and on about practice games like this…”

Commentator Baek seemed a little suspicious.

However, Jiseop had anticipated that this question would come up.

“Ah, well… didn’t the manager ask me yesterday?”

“Hmm?”

“What is Arthur Freeman’s secret, and how did he bring the Cannons to the championship?”

Jiseop had an innocent expression.

“I was sorry that I glossed over it yesterday, so I told you… Haha, I guess it wasn’t a very suitable story for broadcasting?”

“Ah! That’s right, that’s right! I asked you something like that yesterday, didn’t I?”

Commentator Baek Seung-nam clapped his knee with a refreshed expression.

But just for a moment, he lowered his voice as much as possible and asked Jiseop.

“Mr. Jiseop, by any chance…”

“Yes.”

And the next moment, Jiseop could sense that his ‘negotiation’ had been successfully concluded.

“Have you talked to Yuseong Warriors General Manager Hong about that practice game… at all?”

* * *

Even in a team where the general manager’s influence is strong, it is difficult to break the influence of the new manager.

Jiseop once again felt the long-standing common sense of the baseball world after the game ended that day.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Oh, you worked hard!”

Just as he had received the game reports from the operations team and the power analysis team and uploaded them to the club’s internal network, a call came from General Manager Seo Chang-gi.

-Special Advisor Kim!!!

The KH Cannons’ general manager was shouting so loudly that his ears were ringing.

He soon laughed heartily and conveyed the following news.

-I just got a call from Warriors General Manager Hong! But do you know what that friend said? He said he wants to have a practice game with our Cannons! Hahaha!!!

Another one done!

General Manager Seo was gleeful.

-Special Advisor Kim, what did you do this time? How did you get that proud Hong Yu-il to call us first? Huh?

“Ah, that’s…”

Jiseop belatedly turned his gaze to the ceiling to find a suitable excuse, but he soon heard the sound of ‘no, no’ over the receiver.

-I’m almost at the meeting place with General Manager Hong now… I’ll have to hear Special Advisor Kim’s explanation later. These kinds of stories are best heard slowly over a warm cup of coffee!

General Manager Seo continued.

-I left the corporate card on my desk, so go eat something delicious today! If there are any noticeable players, take them with you and feed them!

“Thank you, General Manager.”

-Thanks for what, I’m the one who’s grateful! How smoothly things have been going since I met you… Oh, General Manager Hong is out there. Anyway, Special Advisor Kim, you’ve worked hard! Leave the rest to me, and relax in the most comfortable position in Korea today! Got it?!

Oh, General Manager Hong!

The call ended with the greeting to the Warriors’ general manager.

Jiseop put down his phone with a faint smile.

‘Our general manager… he’s very excited.’

Whatever the negotiation, the side that calls first is at a disadvantage.

Of course, the Cannons were supposed to be the ones at a disadvantage, but since the Warriors contacted them first, General Manager Seo couldn’t help but be in a good mood.

Of course, Jiseop, who had solved another case like that, was also able to get up from his seat with a light heart.

‘A corporate card… what should I eat today to make it known that I ate well?’

He was a little worried about the slightly rising belly fat these days, but he couldn’t miss the opportunity to eat delicious food for free.

Jiseop twirled the card with his finger while humming.

‘It’s boring to eat alone, it would be nice to call someone and eat together…’

Who would be good?

Who should I eat with?

The face of one person came to Jiseop’s mind as he pondered for a moment.

‘Ah, senior Cheon Jinwoo would be good.’

The captain of KH Cannons.

‘He said he had a cold… it would be nice to buy him something hot to eat, right?’

Reaching this point, Jiseop took out his phone and started dialing the number.