A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 309

74. The Clouds in My Heart Clear (4)

A team employee suddenly followed me into the restroom and leaked information about their ace.

It had probably been a long time since Ji-seop had looked so intently into someone’s eyes.

“Ronnie, what are you doing right now?”

Ji-seop asked.

“Vincent Hiyama is your ace pitcher. How can you leak information about someone like that to another team…….”

“It’s confirmed information.”

The Baltimore team employee didn’t seem willing to answer Ji-seop’s question.

“Vincent Hiyama himself notified the pitching coach, and we’re informing you based on that information.”

The information leak didn’t stop there.

“Vincent’s curveball is very similar to New York Mets’ Yosuke Nakamura’s. Securing and analyzing his recent videos will greatly help in figuring him out.”

“No, hey! That’s not what I’m asking about…….”

Ji-seop tried to press the team employee named ‘Ronnie’ further, but he couldn’t.

The moment Ji-seop took a step towards him, the door creaked open, and Jimmy Morris appeared.

“Hey, what’s going on! What kind of secret stories are you two sharing here?”

A face as if he really didn’t know anything, like a three-year-old child.

“Hey, Ji-seop! You weren’t trying to recruit our Ronnie, were you?”

Jimmy Morris smiled at Ji-seop as he approached the urinal.

“Hehe, don’t waste your energy. This guy works directly under our Baltimore Orioles’ general manager.”

“Directly under the general manager?”

It was perhaps natural that Ji-seop’s thick eyebrows twitched once.

‘So, the reason that guy leaked information about Vincent Hiyama is…….’

Under the Baltimore general manager’s orders.

Isn’t that the right way to interpret it?

* * *

And the next morning.

Ji-seop was in Mike Klemblas’s office with John Llama.

It was to report the information received from the Baltimore team employee the day before.

“Hoo.”

A short time while Ji-seop waited for the answer after conveying the purpose of the visit to the manager’s secretary.

John Llama, sitting next to Ji-seop, kept rubbing his palms on his knees.

His hands seemed to be sweating.

“I’m getting nervous for no reason.”

John Llama’s voice trembled.

“A team employee leaking their ace’s signature pitch… Kim, isn’t this a huge deal if you think about it?”

He seemed to be reminded of incidents that had turned Major League Baseball upside down in the past.

Like the ‘Biogenesis Scandal,’ where the drug use of famous Major League players was exposed, or the ‘World Series Sign Stealing Scandal,’ where they were known to have signaled the opposing team’s signs by banging on trash cans.

“…….”

Ji-seop was trying to maintain a calm expression to John Llama, but in reality, he was also embarrassed inside.

No, to be honest, it would be right to say that he felt a bit of anger rising.

Shouldn’t a professional baseball team do its best to win?

But to leak their ace’s signature pitch to a rival team, how should this be interpreted?

As someone who had dedicated his life to baseball, Ji-seop couldn’t easily accept it-

“Hmm.”

About 10 minutes later.

Mike Klemblas, who appeared in light workout clothes, showed a surprisingly calm reaction.

He wasn’t as surprised as John Llama, nor did he show the subtle anger like Ji-seop.

He just sat quietly and listened to Ji-seop’s report, and then uttered a word.

“Ah, I see.”

The manager nodded slowly.

“The signature pitch was a curveball, I see.”

A voice that sounded like, ‘Let’s have hamburgers for lunch today.’

Because it was a much more composed reaction than expected, Ji-seop couldn’t help but ask.

“Manager.”

“Yes.”

“Is that…… all you have to say?”

“Yes?”

At Ji-seop’s serious expression, Mike Klemblas seemed rather embarrassed.

“Is that all I have to say…….”

The young manager of the Tampa Bay Rays blinked and looked at Ji-seop and John Llama alternately.

Then, ‘Ah, I see,’ Klemblas clapped his knee and made an awkward expression.

“Haha, geez…… I’m sorry, Kim. I keep mistaking that you’re a veteran who’s been working in our industry for a long time.”

The manager adjusted his posture.

“Mr. Taylor doesn’t have a long field experience either, so this situation might feel embarrassing. But to put it bluntly…….”

It’s not uncommon.

It’s actually common.

The manager said very firmly.

“If a player is essential to the team and is about to extend their contract, the team front office sometimes tries these kinds of behind-the-scenes maneuvers.”

It was to prevent the player from showing excessively outstanding performance.

Because if they perform too well before negotiations, dealing with the agent becomes very difficult.

Of course, cases like this would rarely come to the surface.

Information is passed secretly like this time, and when you think about it, all teams can face this situation.

“I heard that Vincent Hiyama’s contract extension negotiations will begin next week.”

The manager continued.

“He’s been dominating the league this season as well as last season… Baltimore must have judged that they needed to curb his momentum a bit.”

“No, still!”

Mike Klemblas said it was a routine matter, but John Llama opened his mouth with a dissatisfied expression.

“And isn’t this crossing the line? No matter how important money is, how can the front office do something that harms their own players!”

John Llama even clenched his fist.

“Besides, even if they do such nonsense, how much benefit can they get? Isn’t the contract size roughly determined for a player like Vincent Hiyama?”

Causing them to ruin one or two games can lower the starting price of negotiations.

But when you look at the overall contract size later, it doesn’t have a big impact.

Considering the usual John Llama, it was quite a sharp point, but Klemblas only showed a faint smile.

“Well, that’s true. You can’t sign a $500 million player for $400 million by doing such tricks.”

“Exactly!”

John Llama slammed the desk.

“At most, it’s $10 million to $20 million, isn’t it? To save just that much money…….”

“That’s right. But that’s not ‘just’ money.”

Klemblas said.

“Ten million dollars is the 3-year salary for our entire team front office staff, and 20 million dollars is half of our team’s total salary. It’s not an amount to be taken lightly.”

“Then, Manager…….”

It was at this moment that Ji-seop, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth.

“Do you think the Baltimore Orioles’ actions were right?”

“No, that’s not it. For any reason, harming a player’s performance is unacceptable as a manager.”

I was telling you this for your sake.

Mike Klemblas continued.

“This time it happened to the Baltimore Orioles, but in fact, these concerns are more often given to small-market teams like our Tampa Bay.”

“…….”

“I encourage you to think about what choices you would make when this problem falls on our team. You are people who work in Major League Baseball, and anyway, as far as I know…….”

Swoosh.

The manager’s sharp eyes turned to Ji-seop.

“This Major League is a stage strictly for realists.”

* * *

Several hours later.

An emergency meeting was called in Mike Klemblas’s office.

Unlike usual, it was a meeting where only a very limited number of people could participate.

Of course, this was about the Baltimore Orioles’ Vincent Hiyama, and Ji-seop and John Llama were granted the right to attend the meeting as the initial providers of information.

“I’m curious about everyone’s opinion.”

When Ji-seop finished reporting on the situation, Mike Klemblas said.

“The Baltimore Orioles leaked information about their ace. So now, what we have to decide is whether to receive this information or pretend not to know.”

As soon as the manager’s instructions were given, the coaching staff who attended the meeting began to express their opinions.

“Well, I don’t think there’s any reason not to receive it.”

It was the bench coach’s opinion.

“Whatever the reason, it’s a good opportunity to figure out Vincent Hiyama’s signature pitch. It’s a golden opportunity to break the jinx with Vincent that has continued since last year!”

The Tampa Bay Rays had been seen as Vincent Hiyama’s ‘pushover’ since last year.

They were thoroughly embarrassed by getting hit with a home run in the game the day before.

The story that they should give Vincent a proper blow this time.

However, there was also an opposing opinion.

“That’s true… But if the opponent is Vincent Hiyama, I think we need to be a little cautious.”

It was pitching coach Thomas Culkin.

“Vincent will become a free agent [a player who is eligible to sign with any team] at the end of this season. What’s more? If Baltimore is far from a postseason spot, there will be fierce trade competition surrounding him in the coming July.”

It meant that the eyes of the teams aiming for the championship were focused on Baltimore.

“The atmosphere is different from usual. The atmosphere is overheated. From experience, it wouldn’t be surprising for trouble to arise at any time in this atmosphere.”

It seemed to mean that the agent side could wage a media war, or other teams that missed Vincent could escalate into a blame game.

“If this incident becomes known to the outside, the biggest blow will be to Baltimore. But what’s next? Who’s next?”

“Are you saying it’s us? Because we received information from Baltimore?”

“That’s right. So we have to be careful. We might end up being investigated by the Major League Baseball office for trying to win one more game.”

After Thomas Culkin, a variety of opinions poured out.

People who said they should receive Baltimore’s information, people who said they should ignore it without receiving it, and people who said they should report it to the Major League Baseball office first.

Ji-seop was listening to their opinions with his ears perked up and occasionally taking notes.

“…….”

One interesting thing was that they were all expressing their opinions with their own realistic reasons.

No one simply said it was unsettling. No one said that they shouldn’t get involved in something wrong.

Everyone was only emphasizing what would benefit the team and what would help the Tampa Bay Rays.

Ji-seop realized that Mike Klemblas’s words were true.

‘They say Major League is a stage for realists…….’

It would be a lie if he said he didn’t feel distance.

He was also awkward with a different method from the Korean baseball world.

But once he stepped into Major League Baseball and decided to succeed here, Ji-seop was determined.

‘Then…….’

What answer will I give?

Just as Ji-seop was lost in thought, Major League Baseball demanded an answer from him.

“Kim, are you listening to me?”

It was Mike Klemblas.

“Ah, yes, Manager!”

“Everyone else has given their opinion. Now I want to hear Kim’s opinion last.”

At the manager’s words, the coaching staff sitting next to him also joined in.

“Hmm, that’s right! It’s right to hear your opinion. Anyway, Kim, aren’t you the initial provider of information?”

“You met the Baltimore employee directly, so you must have seen more? What do you think?”

Half expectation and half curiosity.

Looking at the people who were sending him exactly those gazes, Ji-seop took a moment to organize his thoughts.

‘If we put realistic reasons and the team’s interests first…….’

And,

Ji-seop opened his mouth.