A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 282

70. Something Anyone Can’t Do (1)

A voice reached his ear.

Ji-seop couldn’t help but be surprised.

“H-Huh?!”

Letting out a short scream, he turned his head to see a slender middle-aged man in his view.

How should I describe him? Well, he looked like a man who would appear in an advertisement for fatigue recovery drinks like WooXsa [a fictional brand, implying a generic energy drink].

You know the type. The middle-aged men who are dozing off like sick chickens in a crowded subway before taking a fatigue recovery drink.

Like the worn-out suit pants with the knees sticking out, the hair that hasn’t been dyed in a long time, or the two eyes bloodshot with burst blood vessels.

Of course, Ji-seop wouldn’t have had time to pay attention to the man’s appearance at this moment.

“Ah, no…….”

Ji-seop had many questions.

He was sure the office was empty, but since when had he been here?

Even if he had been here first, how could he have been so silent?

These two things were also curious, but at this moment, the thing Ji-seop wanted to ask the most was-

“Who…… are you?”

This was it.

Who are you? Who are you to be able to enter and exit the coaching staff’s office as if it were your own home?

“Ah, I…….”

The middle-aged man, who received Ji-seop’s question, was about to answer while adjusting his glasses, but John Ramer answered a step ahead.

“P-President?!”

John Ramer’s eyes widened.

“What brings you here, President?”

* * *

On this day, when Tampa Bay’s ace, Victor Johnson, made his first appearance of the season.

At the very moment when the commentators in charge of broadcasting the game were laying out their predictions for the match on the TV screen.

Ji-seop met him for the first time.

The general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Brian Spahn.

“Oh, President! Have you forgotten what your father told you again? When you’re alone, you should consciously make some noise! If you just stand there and barely raise your hand, no one will recognize you!”

The general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, who had suddenly appeared in the office that he thought was empty.

Ji-seop’s heart was still pounding, but John Ramer was scolding President Spahn with a nonchalant face.

Having known Brian Spahn since he was a child, this situation seemed quite familiar to John Ramer.

“Oh, I’m sorry about this. I thought I was making some noise, but every time, people are surprised like this…….”

President Brian Spahn smacked his lips with an awkward expression.

It was the very next moment that he turned to Ji-seop and asked for a handshake.

“Nice to meet you, Kim.”

Brian Spahn seemed to know Ji-seop’s name.

“I was thinking of meeting you once, but the opportunity has only come today. It’s an honor to meet you like this. My name is Brian Spahn.”

“Hello, President.”

While shaking hands with Brian Spahn, Ji-seop stared at his face.

There was a big difference, to the point where he was considered a completely different person from the photo he saw on the team’s website.

The photo on the website had a very sharp impression, but the man he actually met had a round and soft impression.

‘……Which one is real?’

Is the sharp appearance in the photo the real Brian Spahn, or is the soft impression he actually met Brian Spahn’s true self?

Just as Ji-seop was lost in thought, the general manager of Tampa Bay tapped Ji-seop’s hand and began to speak.

“You’ve worked hard.”

He gave a gentle smile.

“This morning, Victor Johnson told me that he changed his mind entirely thanks to Kim’s advice… I was so grateful for that one word.”

Brian Spahn pointed to the table and chairs in the middle of the office.

When Ji-seop and John Ramer sat down, he adjusted his glasses and spoke again.

“So, I was originally planning to call you two to my office for a cup of tea tomorrow. But Victor Johnson told me such an interesting story just before he left my office.”

An interesting story.

It was a story that Ji-seop had also put aside in his memory for a while.

“Victor Johnson said that the first place he met you two was in the VIP parking lot of our Tropicana Field.”

The general manager continued.

“You two visited the VIP parking lot to meet me and met Victor Johnson… Is that true?”

For what reason?

The general manager’s face, with his hands clasped together, was filled with an inquisitive expression.

* * *

In a way,

It was the moment he had been waiting for.

General Manager Brian Spahn.

The man who had provided all sorts of ideas when the Future Strategy Planning Department was in its prime.

But the very person who stopped providing ideas after Benjamin Oznovich left the team.

Attract his attention somehow and make him provide ideas again like he used to.

That’s the path Ji-seop has to take, and the path the Future Strategy Planning Department has to take.

‘I didn’t expect that moment to come so soon.’

Ji-seop wanted to tell him what he wanted right away.

But after thinking for a moment, he chose to nudge John Ramer in the side instead of bringing it up himself.

He suddenly remembered. John Ramer was blaming himself for not having played any role in resolving this Victor Johnson issue.

If he doesn’t give him a share at times like this, when else would he give it to him?

“Yes?!”

Of course, John Ramer didn’t immediately catch what Ji-seop meant.

It was only after Ji-seop pointed to the general manager with his eyes that the owner’s son opened his mouth, saying, “Ah, ah.”

A faint smile crossed Brian Spahn’s face as he watched this, but Ji-seop didn’t notice it.

He was too busy taking care of John Ramer’s ‘share.’

“Um… President!”

Anyway, John Ramer, who got a chance to speak thanks to Ji-seop’s ‘pushing him on the back.’

After thinking for a long time about how to start, he seemed to have chosen to get straight to the point.

“G-Give me… the job!”

“Job?”

When the general manager tilted his head, John Ramer closed his eyes tightly and continued.

“Yes, I’d like you to assign a new project to our Future Strategy Planning Department! Like… like when Benjamin was in our department!”

“Ah, Benjamin Oznovich?”

President Brian Spahn nodded slowly, as if he was hearing that name for the first time in a long time.

John Ramer leaned toward him and raised his voice.

“Honestly, I haven’t lived up to my father’s or the president’s expectations, but it’s different now! Someone like Benjamin in the past….”

John Ramer paused here.

He seemed to be worried about something, staring blankly at the ceiling before uttering a word.

“No, maybe there’s someone even better than Benjamin at that time in our Future Strategy Planning Department.”

“Oh, someone better than Benjamin? What if I tell Director Oznovich?”

“Yes? No, that, that’s…….”

When John Ramer trailed off with a cold sweat, President Brian Spahn looked at him with a smile and spoke again.

“A new project… All right.”

President Brian Spahn said.

“However, there is something you two should know. The work that the former Future Strategy Planning Department was in charge of has been transferred to the [Baseball R&D] team in the Baseball Operations Division.”

R&D. Research and Development.

The general manager didn’t seem to have given up on applying new ideas just because Benjamin had left.

“Therefore, the only work I can assign to you is a project that the [Baseball R&D] team has been in charge of but has not been able to achieve any results. Is that okay?”

It was at this moment that John Ramer, who had been answering well, turned to Ji-seop.

The [Baseball R&D] team is the best of the best in the Tampa Bay Rays front office.

If even those people couldn’t achieve results, it meant that it was a pretty difficult task.

Can you do it? Are you okay? A look containing these meanings.

Of course, Kim Ji-seop was not the type to back down at times like this.

“…….”

When Ji-seop nodded silently, John Ramer’s expression brightened.

The owner’s son, who had received ‘confirmation’ from his only colleague, opened his mouth with a confident expression.

“Yes, it’s okay!”

He nodded.

“Just give us anything!”

When John Ramer answered by hitting his chest with his fist, President Brian Spahn put the bag he had brought onto the table with a serious expression.

“Good determination. Then…….”

What he took out of his bag was a bundle of documents.

About 10 pages of documents. There are 2 copies of this.

What was unique was that the cover of this document bundle was a very bright yellow color.

“This is a document that people in the Baseball Operations Division call the ‘Yellow Book.'”

He continued.

“Before proceeding with the full-fledged project, please read this document carefully and tell me your impressions.”

The deadline is,

Until tomorrow.

This was the last word of President Brian Spahn that day.

* * *

After the general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays left, Ji-seop and John Ramer were looking at a document called the ‘Yellow Book’ for a while.

“…….”

At first, I thought it was just simple power analysis data.

Because the names and positions of the players on both teams, as well as their recent records, were densely written on the first page.

However, after turning the page a little more and checking the contents, Ji-seop could sense that this was not such a simple thing.

“This… is a report predicting how today’s game will proceed.”

It was something Ji-seop was seeing for the first time.

How the first inning will proceed, how the second inning will proceed, and how the reaction after the game will proceed.

Based on the data collected by the power analysis team, the people of the [Baseball R&D] team seemed to have predicted the entire game.

And of course, what decorated the grand finale of the report was the expected score of the game that day.

“The Tampa Bay Rays will win with a final score of 6-4?”

Ji-seop was a little taken aback at first.

This is because when he worked in Korea, front office employees did not mention expected scores.

Whether they win or lose, it is up to the players to create the results of the game.

If front office employees recklessly mentioned such things, everyone would jump up and down, saying, ‘It’s bad luck.’

Therefore, in Korea, simulations are run only when considering the direction of the entire season.

Reports that predict the results of individual games in such detail felt very unfamiliar.

‘But… on the other hand, now that I’ve seen this, it seems like a pretty good idea?’

The date of writing written at the end of the report was a week ago from now.

I don’t know for sure, but this report would have been delivered to the manager or coaching staff a week ago.

Wouldn’t the field staff be able to come up with their own countermeasures after seeing the predictions of the front office people, who can be said to be experts?

It was at this moment that Ji-seop was admiring and nodding his head.

“Kim, why don’t you watch the game and think about it slowly?”

John Ramer said.

“I didn’t want to miss Victor’s pitching, but the top of the first inning was over while I was reading the report.”

The TV screen showed the Tampa Bay Rays players attacking in the bottom of the first inning.

“Hmm, let’s see…….”

John Ramer was checking the predictions written in the report with a serious expression.

“No. 1 hitter Mark Koun. His recent batting average is sluggish, but his sophisticated contact ability is still excellent. Predicting a hit that falls in front of the center fielder?”

“A hit that falls in front of the center fielder…….”

Will the [Baseball R&D] team’s predictions come true?

Ji-seop also held his breath and fixed his gaze on the screen, but what came back was a slightly absurd result.

Shu-uuuu- Buung!

No. 1 hitter Mark Koun was struck out by three pitches, consistently swinging ridiculously.

The first two were understandable, but the last one was a swing that missed a fastball coming almost right in the middle.

“I knew it…….”

John Ramer smacked his lips.

“It’s not easy to predict the contents of the game. I predicted a center field hit, but what came back was a strikeout…….”

That’s right.

Baseball moves like a living thing, so no matter how much data is secured, how can you predict the contents?

But at this very moment, Ji-seop was vaguely guessing why Brian Spahn had asked for his impressions of this report.