A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 251

Chapter 64: News from America (2)

“Hey, my old friend!”

It was Tommy Damon, an old colleague, calling out of the blue.

“How have you been? Oh, first, I have to say this. Congratulations on winning the Korean Series! Our boss was very happy to hear the news.”

“Ah, thanks. I appreciate that, but…”

Ji-seop pulled his chair back and checked the clock on the office wall.

“Isn’t it 3 a.m. there? What are you doing up at this hour?”

“Hehe, my friend. How can I sleep right now? Even if I lie in bed, can I really sleep?”

Man, I feel like I’m dying.

I really feel like I’m dying.

Tommy Damon let out a half-crazed laugh, “Hehehe.”

“Up until the first two losses, I was just thinking of holding on until the end… But now that we’ve come all the way to Game 7, it feels like my soul is being sucked out.”

Ji-seop could fully understand that feeling.

Even though the KH Cannons had won four straight games in the Korean Series, Ji-seop felt like a huge rock was sitting in the corner of his heart the whole time.

But Tommy Damon was watching the World Series, a back-and-forth battle going down to the wire.

Just imagining what he must be feeling gave Ji-seop a slight chill.

“I just want to chat and take my mind off the World Series for a while… Damn it, there’s no one to call at this hour.”

That’s why I called you.

Tommy Damon continued.

“Ji-seop, do you have any interesting stories? Anything you’ve been curious about? Anything but the World Series!”

“Anything I’ve been curious about?”

There was definitely one thing.

This offseason, would the Boston Red Sox jump into the Ryu Jang-ho sweepstakes?

But he couldn’t directly ask about the team’s internal affairs, so Ji-seop decided to beat around the bush.

“Actually, there is something I wanted to ask you.”

“Oh, that’s good to hear. What is it?”

“A friend of mine is going to America this time. And he asked me, where is the best place to live in America?”

“Ah, the best place to live in America?”

At that moment, Ji-seop heard Tommy Damon chuckling over the phone.

“Is it just me?”

He said.

“Hey, your friend who’s coming to America… I have a feeling he’s going to be really good at baseball?”

Ji-seop grinned and retorted.

“Don’t you get the feeling he might be a center fielder?”

“Oh, that’s right! I bet he’s played for the Korean national team too!”

Tommy Damon, who had been chuckling, asked in a light voice.

“Is this about Ryu Jang-ho? Are our Red Sox going to sign Ryu Jang-ho?”

Then and now,

He was a very perceptive friend.

* * *

“Ji-seop, it sounds like you’re all ready to come to America? Your curveball throwing skills have improved since last time?”

Throwing a curveball.

It was one of the slangs commonly used in American baseball.

It means to talk about a problem that is difficult to mention directly in a roundabout way.

“But if you’re that prepared, you can understand, right? Whether to sign Ryu Jang-ho… It’s hard for me to give you a definite answer right now.”

Ah, I see.

Ji-seop felt a slight disappointment, but soon he heard another story over the phone.

“What I can say for sure right now is… Ji-seop, we’re almost ready to sign you.”

“Me?”

“You’re not thinking of backing out now, are you? You promised that if you won the Korean Series, you’d come work with us.”

Are you in front of your computer right now?

Tommy Damon asked.

“If you have a computer nearby, would you type the address I’m about to give you into the internet search bar?”

“Address?”

“Yeah, I just said it. We’re almost ready to sign you. Since we’re on the subject, I want to show you the house you’ll be staying in in Boston.”

“You’ve already found a house?”

“Hey, why are you talking so much nonsense? Just write down what I say. It was somewhere on Lincoln Street…”

While typing in the address that Tommy Damon was giving him, Ji-seop was thinking to himself.

‘This guy… the stress from the World Series must be no joke.’

He must want to talk about something that has nothing to do with baseball.

That’s why he’s talking about a house out of the blue.

‘Well, did I bring up the Ryu Jang-ho story for nothing? I feel a little sorry…’

As he was thinking that and pressing the ‘Enter’ key, Ji-seop realized that Tommy Damon was a baseball executive through and through.

“Oh, this is…”

What appeared on Ji-seop’s laptop screen was a very nice two-story house.

It might not quite be a ‘mansion.’ It didn’t feel fancy or grand.

However, it had six or seven large rooms, a weight training room on the first floor, and a swimming pool outside.

Unless the Boston Red Sox had decided to appoint Ji-seop as the new general manager, this amazing two-story house was clearly-

‘It’s for Ryu Jang-ho.’

A current major league executive throwing a ‘curveball’ [speaking indirectly] without Ji-seop even realizing it.

Ji-seop couldn’t help but smile, showing his white teeth.

“Working for a major league team… it’s not going to be easy, is it?”

Ji-seop said.

“To convey three pieces of information with just one house address. Wow, I never would have thought of this kind of conversation.”

“Three things?”

Tommy Damon was intrigued.

“How is it three things?”

“That the Red Sox are interested in signing Ryu Jang-ho, and that after signing him, they plan to have me be his personal translator.”

If a player who is not fluent in English enters a major league team, it is quite common for a dedicated translator to live with the player and help him adapt.

“The other thing is a little ambiguous…”

Click, click.

Ji-seop continued, flipping through the photos on his laptop screen.

“Aren’t you going to find Jang-ho another house when the season starts, or give me a different role besides translator?”

“Oh, why did you come to that conclusion?”

“This house has the master bedroom facing south. And the windows are huge.”

Ji-seop said calmly.

“I heard that players’ bedrooms are basically facing north or west? That way they can sleep in late in the morning.”

If the players’ bedrooms are facing south or east, they could be disturbed by the early morning sunlight.

For players who have to play late into the night, this could be a factor that could ruin their condition.

But can you really tell players who are getting paid millions of dollars a year to draw the curtains every day?

“So, I thought you’d either find him another place to stay when the season starts, or kick me out and have Jang-ho use the sub-bedroom… Well, it’s one of the two.”

“Wow.”

It was at this moment that Tommy Damon exclaimed.

“You always exceed my expectations? When our boss told me this address, I only figured out the first two things.”

You crazy bastard, you crazy bastard.

Tommy Damon clicked his tongue.

“What? You think it’s going to be hard working for a major league team? Man, if a guy like you can’t adapt, I would have been kicked out a long time ago.”

“Ah, so that means everything I said is correct?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Tommy Damon sighed.

“It’s true that we’re interested in Ryu Jang-ho, and it’s true that we’re going to have you take care of his initial adaptation. And when the season starts… it’s also true that we’re planning to give you other roles little by little.”

The Boston Red Sox general manager had been planning that for a long time.

“How do you like our boss’s idea? The house you’ll be staying in, the work you’ll be doing.”

“Hmm, not bad. I like it.”

Up until this point, the conversation between the two had been in a light atmosphere.

But the next moment, Tommy Damon’s words sounded slightly different to Ji-seop.

“Really? Just don’t go blabbing it to anyone else…”

After setting a minimum level of information security, he handed over a word.

“If circumstances allow, please cheer for our Red Sox a lot.”

We need your support. A little desperately.

That was the last request Tommy Damon made to Ji-seop that day.

* * *

The next morning.

Ji-seop, who had come to work at the baseball stadium, was meeting with the Cannons’ YouTube production team.

The [Cannons TV] people, who were wrapping up their activities for this season with a special video of the Korean Series.

Instead of General Manager Seo Chang-gi, who had entered the league office meeting that day, Ji-seop was greeting the production team.

“Thank you for your hard work this season.”

Ji-seop said.

“I heard from the general manager yesterday that PD Kim [Production Director Kim] will be in charge of our Cannons next year as well… is that correct?”

“Yes, of course!”

[Cannons TV]’s PD Kim So-min replied.

“Cannons TV has surpassed 100,000 subscribers, and now it’s really just a matter of going up and up. Honestly, it’s too good to hand it over to another PD right now.”

“Haha, I guess so.”

Ji-seop said with a big smile, but a slight shadow fell over PD Kim’s face.

“But I heard you’re going to America next year…”

“Ah, yes, that’s right.”

“Ah, that’s too bad.”

PD Kim said.

“Our production team received a lot of help from you this season…”

“Hey, you don’t have to worry too much.”

Ji-seop said.

“As much as I’m gone, Deputy Kwon Dae-woong will take care of you better next year. He swore to me not to worry. And…”

Of course, just saying ‘don’t worry’ was not Ji-seop’s style.

“Keep this in mind.”

“This is…”

“It’s Senior Cheon Jin-woo’s contact information.”

Ji-seop continued.

“Actually, from Cannons TV’s point of view, it’s more of a shame that Jimmy Morris is leaving the team, right? He’s done a lot for Cannons TV.”

“Th, that’s…”

“That’s why I prepared this.”

Ji-seop pointed to Cheon Jin-woo’s cell phone number with his finger.

“Actually, people don’t know it well, but Senior Cheon Jin-woo’s speaking skills are amazing. Maybe almost as much as Jimmy Morris… or maybe he can secure even more content.”

“Ch, Cheon Jin-woo?”

“Yes, try contacting him. I asked him to pay attention to the YouTube channel next year.”

As he said that and raised his thumb, PD Kim So-min’s face quickly turned bright again.

“How can I thank you enough? I’m just getting help from you from beginning to end…”

“Just make more interesting videos. I’ll watch Cannons TV videos without fail.”

“Yes, of course! Next year, we’re really aiming for the gold button…”

Thank you.

Thank you, Special Officer!

After waving to PD Kim and the YouTube production team, who were constantly bowing their heads, Ji-seop turned around and started climbing the stairs.

‘The YouTube production team is done with this much. Let’s see, then what’s left…’

As there were many things he had been in charge of, it took a lot of time to hand over the work.

If I don’t want to do it in a hurry later, I’d better hurry up now.

Thinking that, he opened the automatic door of the team office with a ‘click’ right then.

“Wow!!!”

“Yeah!!!”

A huge cheer erupted from the power analysis team table.

“Hey, power analysis team!!!”

It was General Manager Seo’s voice.

“I won’t say anything about watching the World Series, but watch it quietly! How many times have you cheered already?”

“S, sorry, General Manager.”

The power analysis team staff scratched the back of their heads.