A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 271

68. A Cup of Warm Cocoa (3)

It was a story I heard from Arthur Freeman when I was working as a translator for the KH Cannons manager.

Arthur Freeman, who didn’t even get drafted by a Major League team because of his ambiguous baseball skills.

How did he get a minor league managerial position at the young age of 32?

-I was very good at greeting people.

At first, I didn’t know what he meant.

-After joining the Dodgers front office as an intern, I think I spent almost a month just bowing and walking around.

It wasn’t just about greeting people he passed by.

He wrote down the names of the front office staff in a notebook and visited their offices whenever he had the chance to promote himself.

Who I am, where I came from, and what I want to do in the future.

-No, the Dodgers must have had hundreds of front office staff… Why did you bother doing that?

-Haha, Ji-seop! That’s exactly why you just said it.

The fact that there are many people.

Arthur Freeman smiled faintly.

-In a place with many people, it’s not enough to just work hard. You need to promote yourself. I’m here! Smart me is here! I’m more enthusiastic than anyone else!

Freeman spread his arms wide and shouted loudly.

So much so that Lee Soo-bin, who was secretly rummaging through the manager’s refrigerator, was startled.

-Thanks to all that promotion, I was able to get more opportunities than other interns. And when I achieved results, I was able to make a stronger impression than others.

Although he never made it to the Major League manager position, Arthur Freeman reached the pinnacle in the minor leagues.

Ji-seop never took his story lightly, so he was able to move quickly on his first day in the Future Strategy Planning Department.

‘Hmm, the Information Technology Department… The director is Robert Wilcox.’

Ji-seop glanced at the contents of the notebook he received when he joined the company, and then pressed the [Call] button next to the tightly closed glass door.

-Yeah, who is it?

When he heard the answer from the speaker, Ji-seop smiled brightly at the camera and opened his mouth.

“Hello, I’m Kim, and I’m starting today as an assistant director in the Future Strategy Planning Department.”

-Kim? Future Strategy Planning Department?

It sounded like a short sigh from the speaker, or maybe not.

-So? What’s going on?

“I’ve come to greet the main director, Robert Wilcox. I have a gift to give and many things I’d like to ask.”

Ji-seop held up a stick of red ginseng extract he bought from a Korean market, but the answer he received was not so positive.

-Hey, listen.

Said an employee of the Information Technology Department.

-Let’s do that when we have time, okay? The opening is in three days, so we’re already busy. Why is someone from the Future Strategy Planning Department hanging around our department? Are you that free?

The moment he heard the cold voice, Ji-seop was finally able to realize.

Arthur Freeman, who joined the LA Dodgers as an intern back in the day.

Why did he spend nearly a month on such a simple task as greeting his colleagues?

‘It must have been because of this atmosphere.’

The front office is busy, they have to work hard, so they don’t have time to accept greetings from new employees.

Even if he wanted to meet one director, he would have to visit at least three or four times, and each time he would have to endure this rejection-

‘Hehe, I’m… different.’

No great method was used.

There was no need to work his tongue diligently, no need to beg with his hands together.

To open the tightly closed glass door, Ji-seop only moved one finger.

Koo-ook.

It was to poke the son of the club owner, who was standing next to him, in the side.

John Rahma, who was looking around with a dazed expression, was startled by the signal.

“Uh, uh?”

As if he had just remembered Ji-seop’s request, he walked up to the camera and gave his signature friendly smile.

“Oh, you’re working hard!”

He continued.

“Hello, I’m Rahma!”

-Ra, Rahma?! John Rahma Taylor, you say?!!

The club owner’s son’s direct visit.

Ji-seop was able to watch the process of the employee’s voice changing dramatically over the speaker in real time.

“I was going to have a cup of tea with Director Wilcox… but it looks like you’re very busy right now?”

-Yes? Ah, our director?

The Future Strategy Planning Department had a terrible reputation within the club, but John Rahma was a different story.

There was the fact that he was the club owner’s son, but more than anything, he was known as the ’72-Hour Man’. [Someone known for helping colleagues find new job opportunities.]

A person who gives colleagues who are looking for a new path a 24-hour bonus time. A person you must know if you dream of changing jobs in the future.

The industry’s famous pushover had come in person, so the Information Technology Department employee could no longer pass it off indifferently.

“I was going to introduce our Future Strategy Planning Department’s new colleague and have a cup of tea, but if you’re busy, I can’t help it! Then I’ll come again next time…”

-No, no! We’re not busy at all! We were just about to have tea time!

Come in, come in!

With the employee’s urgent voice, he heard the sound of pressing the ‘beep’ button.

Drrr-

The tightly closed glass door of the Information Technology Department began to open wide.

Ji-seop smiled quietly to himself as he watched the scene.

‘Hehe, the performance is reliable?’

John Rahma Taylor.

The best key to Tampa Bay Rays.

* * *

Thanks to someone who has lived his whole life like a pushover, Ji-seop was able to successfully complete the first step in adapting to the Tampa Bay Rays.

For exactly two days, he was able to greet the heads of the Tampa Bay Rays’ major departments.

-Hello, I’m Kim! I’m from a team called KH Cannons in Korea.

-Yes, I also have experience as a player. Although I never made it out of the independent league…

-Ah! The director is also from the independent league?! Wow, this is no ordinary relationship! Which league did you play in? What position?

Greeting the key staff of the Tampa Bay front office, subtly promoting himself, and taking the business cards they handed out as if doing them a favor.

Perhaps Arthur Freeman had a similar experience back in the day, but at this time, Ji-seop was able to take it one step further.

‘Hmm…’

That, of course, was to quietly look into the eyes of each team’s director.

Thanks to that, Ji-seop was able to figure out what the Tampa Bay Rays front office was most concerned about.

“VJ was the problem. VJ was…”

Basement 2 of Tropicana Field.

‘Storage D’, the office of the Future Strategy Planning Department.

When Ji-seop muttered this while organizing the contents of his conversations with the staff, John Rahma raised his head with a bright expression.

“Oh, VJ! You mean the person who plays videos at the club? Haha, I know the clubs in Miami completely. If you need a list of VJs for club events…”

John Rahma, who was continuing the story with a smile, closed his mouth slightly at Ji-seop’s cold glare.

“That’s… not it?”

“No, what are you talking about?”

Ji-seop sighed briefly.

“I don’t know what VJ means separately, but if you’re a director of the Tampa Bay Rays, shouldn’t a different story come out first?”

“Di, different story?”

After hesitating for a moment, John Rahma snapped his fingers and made a sound.

“Ah, VJ! Victor Johnson Jr.?!”

John Rahma waved his hand.

“Oh, I knew it! I knew it from the beginning! Victor Johnson Jr.! He’s our team’s rising star, how could I not know him?”

A rising star.

Yes, he was a player who would have been evaluated just that much if he had been on another team.

Victor Johnson Jr. 24 years old. A right-handed starting pitcher entering his third year in the Major League this year.

He played as a bullpen pitcher for the first year, and showed potential as he switched to a starter last year with 8 wins and 12 losses.

Experts say that if he gains more experience in the position of 3rd or 4th starter for another season or two, he will be able to grow into a reliable ace.

‘Yes, I think that’s natural, but…’

The problem was that this was the Tampa Bay Rays, a small market club that was always busy selling players.

Because they were pushed out of the championship race early last season, the experienced starting pitchers became trade cards and went far away to other teams.

As a result, this season, the Tampa Bay Rays were in a situation where Victor Johnson Jr. had to play the role of ace.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do. It’s not that uncommon in our Tampa Bay…”

John Rahma smacked his lips again.

He asked Ji-seop again.

“But that friend… why? I don’t think I’ve heard any special news related to Victor?”

“Yes, it doesn’t seem like there’s been a separate article. But…”

Ji-seop said, closing the laptop screen.

“I heard that his knee condition isn’t very good. The opening game starting pitcher has already been decided as another player, and the coaching staff is considering listing Victor on the injured list…”

“Really?!”

John Rahma was very surprised.

“No, where did you hear that story? In the first place, the people I met today were marketing staff. Not the baseball operations department…”

When Ji-seop shrugged his shoulders instead of answering, John Rahma blinked his eyes like he had seen a magician.

Then, his face quickly regained its vitality, and he ran to Ji-seop’s desk.

“Hmm, I see! I get it now!”

“What is it?”

“Professor Kevin Pryor of Port Myers University said that Kim recovered the condition of several players when he was in Korea!”

“Are you thinking the same thing this time?”

John Rahma smiled, folding his arms with an expression that said, ‘I know everything’.

“After recovering Victor Johnson Jr.’s condition, gaining the trust of the manager and coaches, and furthermore…”

Escape from the long-awaited basement warehouse!

John Rahma was making a fuss.

“Ah, it’s over! It’s all over! It was so humid when I slept that I ordered a dehumidifier… I should just cancel it. I’m going to move to a sunny office soon, so what!”

The club owner’s son seemed to have the scenery of his old, wonderful office in his head, but Ji-seop could only laugh in vain.

“I’m sorry to say this when the atmosphere is good… Rahma, I’m not a doctor.”

“Yes?”

“Victor Johnson Jr.’s knee pain is something I can’t do anything about.”

It was true that the warehouse was humid.

Ji-seop picked up a rag and wiped the mold that had started to grow on the wall and continued.

“Besides, even if I had that ability, we wouldn’t be able to get involved in the Victor Johnson issue right now.”

“That’s… why again?”

“Because the image of the Future Strategy Planning Department is so bad?”

Ji-seop smiled bitterly.

“The front office staff sees the Future Strategy Planning Department as a salary thief? They don’t do anything, and they can’t do anything… So they can’t even go to the regular meetings hosted by the club president?”

“Cough, cough! Cough, cough!”

When John Rahma started coughing, hitting the nail on the head, Ji-seop comforted him with good words.

“You don’t have to worry. If you do your job thoroughly, people’s evaluations will naturally rise.”

“Well, I’ve heard that before, but…”

John Rahma folded his arms.

“Is there anything we can do right now? When I asked if there was anything I could do to help, everyone showed a sour reaction?”

Ji-seop’s answer to this was as follows.

“No. Although it was only one person… there was someone who asked our Future Strategy Planning Department for help.”

“Really? Who is it?”

Expectation filled John Rahma’s face.

“It’s Gregory Campbell, who is the coordinator in the stadium operations department.”

“Gregory Campbell, Gregory Campbell, Gregory Campbell…”