A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 293

72. Another Person’s Precious Child (5)

“That guy’s father, huh,” Coach Thomas Culkin said with a knowing look.

“It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that 80% of what made Alex Montero a Major Leaguer was thanks to his father,” he stated firmly.

“His father was the first to recognize Alex’s talent. Despite their financial difficulties, he enrolled his son in the best baseball academy in the Dominican Republic, I heard.” He paused, adding context. “The Dominican Republic is a place where you can cross a street and find a former Major Leaguer living there, and around the corner, there’s a promising player that the Major Leaguer praises as a ‘genius.'”

“Naturally, people around him tried to dissuade him, saying, ‘Don’t waste your money,’ and ‘There are already too many prospects like your son,’ but Alex Montero’s father didn’t listen.”

“Instead, he grabbed the sleeves of those who tried to stop him, even borrowing tuition money to send his son to the baseball academy.”

“Alex Montero, who heard this story from his mother, swung his bat late into the night, driven to become a Major Leaguer as quickly as possible.”

“…A touching story,” David Wilson commented.

“It’s also a very common story,” Coach Culkin replied, “A story that follows many Dominican Major Leaguers like a shadow.”

Coach Thomas Culkin nodded, acknowledging the commonality, but continued calmly. “In the end, we have to say that his father’s insight was correct. Alex Montero signed with our Tampa Bay as soon as he turned 17.”

Ji-seop had also heard the story of Alex’s first steps on American soil.

“In less than 10 hours, he took out 19 insurance policies, making Coach Jose Cruz grab the back of his neck,” Culkin chuckled. “However, Alex Montero’s baseball skills were undeniably ‘genuine,’ so he quickly progressed through the minor league system.”

“The problem arose after he stepped onto the Major League stage at the young age of 21.”

“To be exact, conflicts began to arise between Coach Jose Cruz and Alex’s father around the time Alex’s family moved to the United States.”

“Conflicts?” David inquired.

“Yes, even after his son became a Major Leaguer, his father couldn’t shake off his old habits,” Culkin explained.

“He called all the time, asking what kind of training he had done that day, whether he was taking the nutritional supplements he had sent, what his relationship with his teammates was like, and so on.”

“In fact, this was within an understandable range, but what bothered Coach Jose Cruz was this part,” Culkin emphasized.

“He didn’t just ask how he was doing; he also gave advice on baseball directly.”

“Advice on baseball?” David Wilson tilted his head, puzzled.

“Is that even possible? I don’t think Alex’s father had any experience as a player.”

“That’s right, he didn’t have any experience as a player,” Coach Thomas Culkin confirmed.

“But doesn’t he have connections he built up while raising Alex? There are plenty of catching development experts in the Dominican Republic, so he must have called them and received guidance,” Culkin speculated.

At this time, the existence of the ‘advisors’ around Alex Montero flashed through Ji-seop’s mind.

“There were nearly ten people who gave serious advice, and even more who gave their impressions of the game,” Ji-seop recalled. “Alex Montero, in his early 20s, wondered where he had found so many advisors, but it seemed that it was all thanks to his father’s connections.”

“Coach Jose Cruz tried to resolve the situation smoothly at first, but Alex’s father was a very stubborn man… and then something happened.”

Something.

It was the moment when the ears of the people in the Future Strategy Planning Department perked up.

“What do you mean by something…?” David pressed.

“It was at the end of last season, I think? Coach Jose Cruz was having a pre-game meeting when Alex suddenly stood up from his seat.”

There seemed to be no need to ask why he stood up from his seat; everyone understood the implication.

“Coach Jose Cruz had been turning a blind eye, but he must have thought he couldn’t take it anymore. Alex was now a starting catcher, and his behavior was having a bad influence on the other players. So…” The Tampa Bay Rays’ battery coach was said to have spoken in an unusually firm voice:

“-Alex, turn off your phone right now.”

“-This is an order.”

“Alex Montero didn’t seem to be completely oblivious either. He must have noticed the coach’s expression, which was different from usual, and he turned off his phone without complaint.”

“Didn’t Coach Cruz do what he had to do?” David Wilson’s tone even contained a bit of satisfaction.

“The training and management of players are the inherent authority of the coaching staff. Alex’s father’s actions clearly crossed the line, don’t you think?”

“That’s right, I said he did well at the time. I even said he needed to speak more strongly. But…” A bitter smile appeared on Coach Thomas Culkin’s face.

“Just because you did the right thing, just because you did what you had to do… doesn’t mean the result is always good.”

“Yes? What do you mean…?” David asked, confused.

“The person who called Alex’s father’s phone that day was a nurse from a hospital, I heard,” Culkin sighed briefly.

“She said his father had suddenly collapsed, so please come to the hospital immediately… Was that what she was calling to say?”

“…Yes?!” The people in the Future Strategy Planning Department blinked their eyes at the sudden turn of events.

Coach Thomas Culkin continued with a bitter expression. “Actually, yes, even if Alex had answered the phone that day, the result wouldn’t have changed much. Alex’s father was already dead when he arrived at the hospital. But…”

Coach Thomas Culkin concluded, “Jose Cruz wouldn’t be able to think so comfortably.”

* * *

The next day, in the afternoon, 30 minutes before the game started, Ji-seop and the people from the Future Strategy Planning Department were sitting in the outfield seats at Tropicana Field.

“…”

They usually watched the game from ‘Storage D’ on the 2nd basement floor, not as luxurious as the ‘War Room’ used by the Baseball Operations Department, but still a place with a large monitor installed.

A place where you could get more information than a regular broadcast by connecting to a channel connected by an internal line.

But today, they seemed to want to watch the game from a place that was a little more open.

After hearing the story between Alex Montero and Coach Jose Cruz, the corner of their hearts felt heavy, as if a rock was pressing down on it.

– We would like to thank the fans who came to Tropicana Field today! The team that the Tampa Bay Rays will face today is… the Chicago Cubs!!!

Wow!!!

Tropicana Field was, as always, filled with more visiting fans than home fans.

Around the time the enthusiastic voices of the Chicago Cubs fans echoed throughout the closed dome stadium, John Llama, who was sipping beer in a paper cup, opened his mouth in a heavy voice.

“Oh, I never dreamed that Coach Jose Cruz had such a thing happen to him.”

Sip again.

It was John Llama drinking beer.

“It’s so ironic. He held back so well, but just one nagging led to this result…” John Llama seemed to be anxious.

What Coach Jose Cruz’s insides must be like right now, what kind of heart he is continuing to play the game with every day. Just imagining it makes him sigh.

Of course, there were also people who showed a slightly different reaction.

“I think it’s a good thing,” David Wilson stated.

“If it was a technical problem, it would have taken a lot of time to fix it. But if it’s just confusion from having too many people giving advice, it’s not difficult to deal with.”

He was looking at the matter purely from a strategic point of view.

“Was he called a big shot in the Dominican baseball world? If that person joins our team as an instructor, Alex will soon find stability, won’t he?” David Wilson asked, optimistically.

A big shot in the Dominican baseball world, a master of catching development.

David Wilson expressed his expectations for him, but he seemed to think that it could be a burden for Ji-seop.

He quickly changed his expression again and began to mention hopeful stories.

“Ah, don’t worry too much about the instructor issue. When you think about it, that’s not something our department should be doing, is it?” He said, implying it was one step removed from their responsibilities.

“Besides, Alex Montero is a friend with some potential. Unless it’s an opponent like the Yankees who know his weaknesses inside and out, he’ll be able to overcome the Chicago Cubs enough.”

It wasn’t entirely unfounded.

The Chicago Cubs are a team belonging to the National League Central Division. They only meet the Tampa Bay Rays, who belong to the American League East Division, once or twice a season.

It’s inevitable that they’ll be negligent in gathering information, so they wouldn’t have been able to grasp Alex Montero’s weaknesses.

“…”

Ji-seop, who was quietly looking down at the ground, no matter what they were saying next to him, opened his mouth when the Tampa Bay starting pitcher allowed the first walk in the top of the first inning.

“David, do you remember? The game recorder we met in Atlanta… I think he had contracts with quite a few teams.”

“Yes, he did. New York Yankees, LA Angels, Chicago White Sox… Ah.” David Wilson smiled, as if he had realized something.

“Hey, Kim! Don’t worry too much. Even if they are teams from the same Chicago area, the White Sox and the Cubs are like mortal enemies. There can be no information exchange between them, so…”

“No, that’s not it…”

“Isn’t it Major League?” Ji-seop continued.

“It means that three teams have already sensed Alex Montero’s abnormality, but is there any guarantee that that information hasn’t spread to other clubs?”

“To other clubs?” David asked, surprised.

According to what Ji-seop experienced in Korea, this kind of information spread really absurdly quickly.

It wasn’t a concept where club officials met in secret places to buy and sell information.

It’s just that in the process of conveying the recent situation in greetings with old colleagues they haven’t seen in a long time, information about individual players is easily leaked.

“Surely, the information wouldn’t have spread that far, would it? We went all the way to Atlanta to get that information with difficulty… Hmm?!”

And at that very moment, the Chicago Cubs runner on first base started running towards second base.

Pow!!!

A surprise steal attempt.

The Tampa Bay Rays infielders, surprised, shouted ‘Steal! Steal!’ to inform them of the steal attempt.

The starting catcher, Alex Montero, threw the ball towards second base with all his might, but his efforts were in vain.

The next moment, what came into Ji-seop’s view was the figure of the second base umpire spreading his arms wide.

“Safe! Saaafe!!!”

The enthusiastic Chicago Cubs fans cheered for the successful steal that came out from the top of the first inning.

While listening to that tremendous cheering sound, David Wilson was slowly turning his head towards Ji-seop.

“He started on the first pitch,” David observed.

He continued, “The fact that he ran without checking the pitcher’s check motion means…”

“Yes, I don’t think the steal was based on personal judgment. It seems that the coaching staff made the plan,” Ji-seop confirmed.

The plan came out from the beginning, as if they knew the Tampa Bay starting catcher’s weaknesses.

Although it was only one stolen base allowed, the expressions of the people in the Future Strategy Planning Department were becoming a little serious.

“It was a report made in preparation for the weekend’s game against the New York Yankees… I think that might be applied to today’s game,” Ji-seop speculated.

Ji-seop stroked his chin. “The Alex Montero instructor issue… We may need to hurry a little more.”