A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 278

69. The Boss Is Watching (4)

Around 10 a.m. the next day.

Thomas Culkin, pitching coach for the Tampa Bay Rays, was visiting ‘Storage D,’ a dark and musty office located on the second basement floor of Tropicana Field.

He was there to deliver the team’s decision regarding pitcher Victor Johnson Jr. to the Future Strategy Planning Department.

“Ah, so… you’re saying we should take Victor to the airport? Our Future Strategy Planning Department?”

John Lama’s face was filled with a meaningful smile.

Taking the ace pitcher to the airport. He understood the hidden meaning behind it.

“Thank you, Coach!”

John Lama clenched his fist.

“You’re entrusting the Victor issue entirely to our Future Strategy Planning Department, right? Your unwavering trust—we will surely repay it with great results!”

“Ah, no, it’s not that I’m entrusting it entirely to Taylor…”

The pitching coach moved his lips as if to add something.

However, John Lama seemed completely fired up by the ‘plausible mission’ given to him for the first time.

“Kim! The flight is at 3 p.m., so we should hurry. I’ll go to the Management Support Department and borrow a car, and in the meantime, Kim…”

You know what I mean, right?

After giving Jisub a thumbs-up, the team owner’s son hurriedly left the office.

Thomas Culkin, who had been silently watching him leave, turned to Jisub with a bitter smile.

“The division of labor is certainly clear.”

He continued.

“The main director handles all the miscellaneous tasks, and the assistant director takes on the core responsibilities… Is that roughly how the system works?”

“No, it’s not quite like that…”

Jisub trailed off, then nodded slightly with a determined expression.

“Thank you, Coach.”

Jisub felt similarly to John Lama.

“Our Future Strategy Planning Department hasn’t had many opportunities to do something helpful for the team… I think you’ve opened a door for us, Coach.”

“Hey, why are you both like this? It’s not my decision, I told you? As I said before, the decision was made by…”

Over there, over there.

The pitching coach pointed to the ceiling with his finger, then sighed briefly and turned his gaze to Jisub.

“So now… tell me something.”

“Yes? About what?”

“Victor, I mean. Victor Johnson Jr.!”

The pitching coach seemed to grind his teeth just at the mention of the name.

“What the hell is that damn kid thinking? If it’s not a lack of confidence, and there are no signs of Blass syndrome [a psychological condition affecting pitchers], then why the hell is he refusing to pitch in actual games?”

He leaned towards Jisub.

“Kim, you must have some idea, right? That’s why you boasted that you could solve the problem in just 30 minutes. So give me a hint, quickly. I’m going crazy with frustration.”

“Ah, about that…”

At this point, Jisub hesitated a little.

He had an idea of what Victor Johnson was up to, but it was slightly outside the realm of common sense.

Was it okay to say it as it was? How would the Tampa Bay Rays react if they found out? And what kind of consequences would it have for him?

It wasn’t easy for Jisub to make a decision in many ways, but this time he decided to trust Thomas Culkin.

[Damn it, we need to get Victor back to his original state as soon as possible…]

[That damn kid, what kind of nonsense is he up to when he should be gaining experience?]

[P, perhaps he caused an accident that could make the news? Please, just not that… if it’s not that, this coach will do whatever it takes!]

Even in that short moment when Jisub was hesitating, Thomas Culkin’s mind was filled with worries about Victor.

Special affection for the team’s top prospect pitcher. Jisub trusted that affection and carefully brought up what he had figured out.

“It’s about a breaking ball, Coach.”

“A breaking ball?”

“Yes, a new breaking ball that can induce the batter’s swing, in addition to the existing sweeper and changeup.”

Jisub continued.

“After that game where he was taken out after 1 and 1/3 innings with 7 runs allowed, Victor Johnson seems to be focusing on mastering a new breaking ball.”

* * *

I thought he would get really angry.

I’m talking about Thomas Culkin.

A pitcher who should be playing the role of an ace for the team has been refusing to pitch because he’s trying to master a new breaking ball.

If it were any of the baseball people Jisub had met so far, it would have been absolutely unacceptable.

If it ended with a barrage of curses, it would have been fortunate, and in all likelihood, it wouldn’t have been strange to report it to the team and impose a heavy penalty-

“A new breaking ball?”

The reaction Thomas Culkin showed at this time was a bit unexpected.

He didn’t get angry, and he didn’t make a fuss about imposing a heavy penalty.

He just stared blankly at the ceiling, then lowered his gaze and asked this.

“Why a new breaking ball?”

At first, I thought he was showing this gentle reaction because he was a Major League coach.

A place swarming with guys who run wild believing only in their baseball skills, the Major League.

If you work in a place like this for a long time, wouldn’t you reach a point where you don’t even bat an eye at most things?

But after hearing the story that followed, it didn’t seem like he was showing that reaction for that reason alone.

“Kim, don’t you know? Our Tampa Bay Rays have the best development system in Major League Baseball.”

He continued.

“When a prospect comes in, at least 20 experts stick to them and measure data. And based on the data secured in that way, they determine the most suitable pitching form, ball location, and breaking ball for that prospect.”

If you guide the players according to the development plan determined in that way, they show really amazing speed of growth, he said.

He felt sorry that there was no such system during his active career.

“Victor is no different. No, rather, Victor is the one who has benefited the most from our development system.”

The pitching coach narrowed his brow.

“He raised his speed from the mid-90s to 100 mph. He also got rid of all the breaking balls that were just numerous in kind, and then installed the sweeper, which is the most popular pitch these days.”

“…”

“Whether you look at his height, his size, or his flexibility… pitcher Victor Johnson’s current repertoire is the best. There’s nothing more to touch. Now, all that’s left is to gain a little more experience, but why would he suddenly turn his attention to a new breaking ball?”

Thomas Culkin looked back at Jisub with an expression that he really couldn’t understand.

The moment he heard his voice, which even felt a strong sense of pride, Jisub could vaguely understand why the Tampa Bay Rays had been doing so well.

‘Hehe, you said we have a clear division of labor… but the Tampa Bay Rays were the ones who really had it.’

The front office establishes a development plan based on technology, and the coaching staff executes that development plan based on long experience.

The coaching staff fully trusts the front office’s judgment, and the front office completely trusts the coaching staff’s skills.

A system that was not created with a day or two of effort. A balance created by accumulating successful cases for a long time.

Anyway, based on this perfect division of labor, the Tampa Bay Rays seem to have raised countless prospects into star players.

It was truly an excellent system.

It was a know-how that I definitely wanted to learn.

However, at least for the prospect named Victor Johnson, their system seemed to have some blind spots.

And that blind spot could be an opportunity for Jisub to show his presence in this Tampa Bay Rays.

“Coach.”

Jisub, whose thoughts had reached this point, called out to Thomas Culkin, who was still tilting his head.

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Instead of doing this here, why don’t we go meet Victor Johnson right now?”

I just got a call.

Jisub said, checking his phone.

“Victor Johnson clocked in an hour ago.”

“Really? He already clocked in?”

No matter what, there is no quicker solution than talking to the person involved.

At the news that Victor Johnson had clocked in, the pitching coach quickly jumped up from his seat.

“…”

Soon, he looked at Jisub with a strange expression.

“Kim, how long have you been with our team?”

“Yes? It’s only been about 3 weeks…”

“No, how does someone who hasn’t even been with the company for a month know all about the players’ clock-in status?”

It was thanks to the ‘parking lot incident’.

Jisub had been exchanging various contacts with Gregory Campbell of the stadium operations department because of that incident, but he didn’t bother to reveal such circumstances in detail.

“Ah, well…”

He just smiled.

“Wouldn’t you say there’s a way?”

* * *

From ‘Storage D’ on the second basement floor of Tropicana Field to the indoor bullpen where the pitchers train.

It was only a short time of about 10 minutes, but during that time, Jisub was almost done persuading Thomas Culkin.

“Hmm, I see…”

The pitching coach was slowly nodding his head while looking at the record of the last game of last season.

“In the end, the record of 1 and 1/3 innings and 7 runs allowed wasn’t that important?”

“Yes, the problem seems to have been after Victor Johnson went down from the mound.”

Jisub pointed to the game record.

“After Victor Johnson, who was the starter, was taken out, the Tampa Bay Rays used a total of five bullpen pitchers. But coincidentally, 4 of those five pitchers…”

“Were all pitchers who mainly use sweepers?”

Damn it.

It was at this moment that dismay appeared on Thomas Culkin’s face.

“Victor might have misunderstood. Isn’t our team uniformly equipping all pitchers with sweepers?”

“Yes, he might have thought so. But more than that…”

Jisub took back the game record and continued.

“In my opinion, Victor seemed to think of himself as a very special being. The Tampa Bay Rays’ rising star…”

“The man who plays the coolest baseball in Major League Baseball?”

When Thomas Culkin brought up Victor Johnson’s habit, Jisub chuckled and nodded.

“He is the most special being in the world, but when he found out that he was throwing the same ball as everyone else… I think this touched Victor’s pride.”

“I made a mistake. I made a mistake.”

The pitching coach clicked his tongue.

“I knew he was desperate to stand out somehow… If I had known this would happen, I would have talked to the baseball operations department.”

It’s difficult, it’s difficult.

Thomas Culkin, shaking his head, entered the indoor bullpen.

“C, Coach?!”

The next moment, Victor Johnson Jr.’s surprised voice was heard.

He was trying to erase the traces of training in a hurry, as if he had been practicing a breaking ball alone.

Thomas Culkin waved his hand to stop his student’s movements.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

A slightly resigned expression appeared on his face.

“There’s no need to hide it now. I know roughly everything.”

“…Yes?”

Victor Johnson tilted his head.

“You know everything… what do you mean you know everything?”

“You were secretly learning a new breaking ball behind my back, weren’t you?”

“Yesss?!!”

At the pitching coach’s words, Victor Johnson’s eyes widened.

“H, how did you know that? I haven’t told anyone yet…”

“This kid is trying to deceive the coach. The coach has eyes on the back of his head!”

Then, the pitching coach raised his eyebrows at Jisub.

When Jisub also smiled, the pitching coach approached Victor Johnson and continued.

“So… what kind of ball is it?”

He asked.

“What is the breaking ball you’re practicing? Is it a curve? A splitter? It can’t be a forkball [a pitch thrown with the ball gripped between the index and middle fingers, creating a sharp downward break].”

The pitching coach seemed to have decided to allow Victor Johnson to practice a new breaking ball.

Instead of allowing practice, he would let him pitch in the Major League.

The front office might say something, but if the ace pitched, they wouldn’t say anything.

Yes, that’s how everything could be resolved smoothly, but it was at that moment.

“Hey, there’s no need to talk long. Just throw it once here. If I see it and it’s okay, I’ll let you use it in the next game.”

The very moment the pitching coach picked up a ball and handed it over, Victor Johnson blurted out something out of the blue.

“I’m sorry, Coach. It’s a little difficult to show you now.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not ready yet.”

Up until this point, the pitching coach was maintaining a relaxed expression.

“Really? There’s no need to be so burdened… Then just tell me what kind of ball it is. I can give you advice.”

“No, I don’t think you can give me advice.”