A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 301

Chapter 73: How to Feed a Carrot (4)

I couldn’t pretend I didn’t see him when our eyes met.

Jisub approached Mike Klemblas with John Ramer.

“Hello.”

In the United States, the manager is usually called ‘skip’ or ‘skipper’.

However, Jisub intentionally avoided using those titles.

There were customers in the store, and more importantly, the owner knew John Ramer was a Tampa Bay employee and was watching them with interest.

“Ah, yes.”

Klemblas, dressed in a shabby hoodie, shook hands with Jisub and John Ramer.

“You’re very late. Go ahead and eat. Don’t worry about me.”

What should I say?

It felt like he wasn’t giving the other person a chance to speak, just rattling off everything he wanted to say.

It was a different feeling from the managers he had met so far, but Jisub didn’t pay much attention to it.

They say there are ten styles for ten managers.

“Yes, then we’ll be going…….”

“Enjoy your meal!”

What happened next was a bit unexpected.

Just as Jisub and John Ramer were about to turn around after a light greeting.

Mike Klemblas hesitated slightly and called them back.

“Excuse me, Mr. Taylor?”

It was directed at John Ramer.

“Are you a regular at this restaurant, Mr. Taylor?”

“Huh? Why do you ask all of a sudden…….”

John Ramer tilted his head but answered the question.

“No, I’m not a regular. This is only my second? No, my third time here.”

“Third time? You’ve only been here three times, and you’ve already introduced yourself to the owner?”

And I think it was at that moment.

Mike Klemblas’s eyes gleamed strangely.

“Mr. Taylor, what’s your secret?”

He asked.

“Coach Thomas Culkin, Coach Jose Cruz, and now even the owner of the restaurant…….”

He raised his eyes.

“Where does your amazing sociability come from, Mr. Taylor?”

* * *

When faced with the manager’s question, John Ramer’s initial reaction was as follows:

“Huh? Sociability?”

Tilted head, blinked eyes.

“No, Manager. I think you’re mistaken. The two coaches are not because of me, but because of Kim here…….”

John Ramer said only up to this point.

But then, as if he had a thought, he changed his expression completely and said something else.

“Ah, that’s right! Yes, that’s right! When it comes to sociability, it’s John Ramer! When you think of John Ramer, you should think of sociability!”

He nodded shamelessly and pointed to the table where he had been sitting.

“The secret to sociability……. I can’t tell you that standing up, can I? How about joining us for a while?”

“Join you?”

“Yes, these kinds of stories are best told over delicious food! I’ll order some fried dishes…….”

John Ramer’s tension was unusually high.

Mike Klemblas seemed quite embarrassed and looked at Jisub, asking for help.

Well, if he doesn’t want to, why should we do this?

Jisub approached John Ramer and tried to stop him-

[Good opportunity.]

It was John Ramer’s inner thoughts.

[It’s a good opportunity to talk to the manager.]

[If I can make the most of this opportunity, next season…….]

And then, one more word.

[David can get at least an assistant coach position!]

David. David Wilson.

The analyst in the Future Strategy Planning Department, who is still sweating in the office to get into the manager’s eyes.

It seemed that John Ramer was making such a fuss to pave the way for him.

‘Seriously, how long has David been on our team…….’

John Ramer Taylor, once known as the ’72-Hour Man’.

His pushover instincts hadn’t disappeared yet.

But what could he do?

Our team’s main director wanted to pave the way for his subordinate.

Jisub wasn’t unaware of David Wilson’s hard work recently, so he was subtly joining in on John Ramer’s pace.

“Yes, please do.”

Jisub pointed to the four-person table with both hands.

“When it comes to sociability, there’s no one like our main director.”

* * *

When Jisub also earnestly suggested it after John Ramer, Mike Klemblas couldn’t back down any further.

“Well, then…….”

Klemblas sat down at Jisub’s table, looking hesitant.

Jisub brought the manager’s meal, and John Ramer ordered a few more dishes from the owner.

Once all the preparations were complete, John Ramer asked the manager.

“Now, tell me!”

John Ramer’s eyes were sparkling.

“Why are you suddenly asking about the secret to sociability? I need to know that to give you a proper answer.”

“Well…… it’s nothing special.”

Klemblas had been embarrassed by John Ramer’s momentum for a while, but now he was back to his original cool self.

“There are people I need to have some in-depth conversations with for work reasons……. It’s not easy to create those opportunities.”

He continued.

“Even if I suggest a meal, they often refuse for various reasons, and even when I manage to arrange a meeting, we often just eat in silence and part ways.”

The manager was trying to speak as vaguely as possible, but Jisub could easily guess what had happened.

‘The coaching staff.’

It was most likely that problem.

‘It seems like he’s having trouble communicating with the coaches.’

It didn’t seem particularly strange.

Thinking back to Mike Klemblas at the coaching staff meeting that day.

The way he made all the coaches jump up from their seats just by appearing.

The way he relentlessly bombarded the coaches with questions, making it hard to breathe.

He was definitely young, but his actions felt similar to those of old-school managers who were called ‘dictators’ or ‘bulldogs’ in the past.

‘This…… is this a more complicated problem than I thought?’

Klemblas said it was a communication problem with the coaches, but Jisub saw it as a problem with the manager’s style.

From an old-school style manager who decides everything himself to a modern style manager who values communication with the coaches.

A manager’s style isn’t something that’s created overnight, so how could it be solved with just one or two conversations?

“Hmm.”

Jisub had been silently watching Klemblas, his thoughts reaching this point.

But the main director of the Future Strategy Planning Department had already come up with a solution.

“If that’s the case, it’s not difficult!”

It was a truly cheerful voice.

“Don’t try to bring up in-depth stories from the beginning, but start by softening the atmosphere.”

In some ways, this was not a bad piece of advice.

“For example…… that’s right, I would start with compliments.”

“Compliments?”

“Yes, complimenting them on the clothes they’re wearing today, or a slightly different hairstyle……. Everyone likes compliments, right?”

John Ramer continued.

“How about complimenting the person you need to have a business conversation with first? Then you’ll get along better little by little, and before you know it, you’ll be having in-depth conversations…….”

At this point, Jisub was smiling quietly to himself.

Give compliments. Give compliments starting with small things. Then the relationship will be much smoother.

It wasn’t a bad story. Jisub felt like he had heard that advice somewhere before.

But the other person is a Major League manager. Isn’t that someone who has already passed that stage?

‘Well, maybe if it were a new employee, but I don’t think the manager would react to this level of advice…….’

However,

The next moment.

What came into Jisub’s view was the manager nodding with a deeply moved expression.

[Hmm, that’s a good story.]

[Yes, everyone likes compliments.]

[Then should I compliment the hitting coach first? Then maybe his attitude towards me will change…….]

……Wait a minute, Manager.

Why are you so impressed?

* * *

The next day morning.

Jisub, who had arrived at the conference room early, was searching for articles on his phone.

Articles about Tampa Bay Rays manager Mike Klemblas.

“…….”

The articles were full of praise.

He graduated from a prestigious law school with excellent grades, but started his baseball career because of his love for the sport.

He only played as a relief pitcher for a season or two in the Major League, but he was a player who attracted attention with his intelligent pitching.

After being appointed as the youngest manager in the Major League, he has demonstrated excellent leadership and has already won the ‘Manager of the Year’ award twice.

Amidst the dizzying praise, Jisub only paid attention to one article.

[The spiritual successor to manager Tony La Russa… Manager Mike Klemblas]

It was an article from a local St. Petersburg media outlet.

[Manager Klemblas is showing a tendency to keep a strict distance from players and coaches.]

[There were many voices of concern, but recently, there has been a lot of analysis that he is following the style of Tony La Russa, the famous manager of St. Louis in the past.]

[By not forming personal relationships with members of the team, we can get a glimpse of his will to look at the team more objectively than anyone else…….]

Reading up to this point, Jisub couldn’t help but tilt his head slightly.

‘An intentional act?’

Keeping his distance from the players, and driving the coaches hard.

All of this is an effort to look at and lead the team objectively.

‘……Really?’

There was a big difference between the way he actually looked and the way people saw him.

Just as he was wondering how to accept this.

Suddenly, a loud burst of laughter erupted from among the coaches waiting for the manager.

“Hey, Sam! What’s going on?”

“Coach Harrison! Are you enlisting tomorrow?”

Sam Harrison.

He was Tampa Bay’s hitting coach.

The very coach who had been ripped apart by Klemblas at the meeting the day before-

“…….”

Had shaved his head and appeared.

Completely bald. Like someone who was going to the military tomorrow, as someone said.

“Wait a minute, didn’t you say you dyed your hair? To get rid of gray hair.”

“Is that so? You dyed your hair yesterday, and today you shaved your head……. Did you have a late breakup?”

It was funny and embarrassing.

As the fellow coaches each said a word, the hitting coach sighed deeply and replied.

“Yeah, yeah, I shaved my head because of that damn dye.”

The hitting coach slumped down in his seat.

“Don’t even mention it. Last night…… no, not even night. Manager suddenly sent me a message at 3 a.m.”

Jisub’s ears perked up at the word ‘Manager’.

“It’s crazy enough to receive a message at 3 a.m., but do you know what the manager said?”

Heo-heo [a Korean onomatopoeia for a dry, humorless laugh].

The hitting coach chuckled.

“He said that when he saw me at the meeting yesterday, he said the dyed hair looked good on me. He said I looked about 10 years younger.”

“He sent a message at 3 a.m. and…….”

“He bothered to talk about dyeing his hair?”

“Wait a minute, that’s…….”

As the fellow coaches made dumbfounded expressions, the hitting coach slowly nodded his head.

“Yes, that’s it. What kind of dyeing is that during the season? If you have time to groom your appearance, study the referee’s decisions……. Isn’t that exactly what it means.”

“That’s right. Even if it’s someone else, we should see it that way if it’s our manager.”

“So what can I do? As soon as I woke up in the morning, I found a barber shop that was open and quickly cut it off.”

The hitting coach smiled bitterly, stroking his prickly hair.

His fellow coaches patted him on the shoulder, saying, ‘Good job, good job’.

Jisub, alternating between their pitiful appearance and the splendid praise on the phone screen, was finally able to grasp it clearly.

Mike Klemblas.

What kind of person is he?

Except for last season, he led the team to the postseason every year.

He didn’t weaken the team’s strength even while sending out FA [Free Agent] players every year.

But he’s the kind of person who sends a text message at 3 a.m. after hearing the advice to give compliments.

Jisub had met a very similar type of person in the past.

‘……Ryu Jangho.’