A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 312

74. The Clouds in My Heart Clear (7)

It was almost midnight when Ji-seop met Jimmy Morris again.

He was lying on the hotel bed, fiddling with a phone game, when his name popped up in the notification window.

“Hey, Ji-seop! You weren’t asleep, were you?”

Jimmy Morris, who had been yelling, ‘How could you do this?’ just a few hours ago.

But when Ji-seop went down to the hotel lobby, he was scratching the back of his head with an awkward expression.

“I think I misunderstood earlier. I thought it was right to apologize before the day was over.”

Jimmy Morris then pointed to the man standing next to him.

“Ah! And this guy, Ji-seop, you know him well, but…”

The man was wearing large sunglasses and a mask to avoid being noticed.

But the moment Ji-seop saw the look in his eyes, which couldn’t be hidden by that much, he couldn’t help but smile wryly to himself.

‘Seriously, Jimmy, this guy…’

Ji-seop had used similar tactics before.

When he broke the porcelain that his father cherished, or when he spent all the allowance his mother gave him at the arcade.

When he felt like he would be greeted with a broom if he went home as he was, Ji-seop would bring his grandmother, who lived nearby.

If he went home holding his grandmother’s hand, neither his father nor his mother would scold him harshly.

But that was a tactic he used when he was just starting baseball in elementary school.

‘To see an adult, well over thirty, using it.’

Ji-seop chuckled.

He laughed at the sight of him coming all the way here to apologize for a conflict that could be resolved with a single text message later.

He laughed at the fact that he had the nerve to bring a ‘backup’ with him when he could have come alone if he had made up his mind.

[Hehe, Ji-seop… No matter how angry you are at me, it’ll be hard to nag me in front of this friend!]

Jimmy Morris looked at him with a triumphant expression.

To be honest, he couldn’t deny the urge to kick that hateful guy’s butt.

“…”

Ji-seop had to admit it.

Jimmy Morris’s plan was successful.

The ‘backup’ he brought was someone that every MLB [Major League Baseball] front office wanted to meet at least once.

“Nice to meet you, Hiyama.”

Vincent Hiyama.

He was the guest who came to see Ji-seop that day.

* * *

Of course, Ji-seop couldn’t go to a cafe or hotel bar that day.

It was partly because it was late, but also because the guest who came was quite a guest.

Vincent Hiyama, who is considered the best player in Major League Baseball this season.

Moreover, he is an ace who plays both as a pitcher and a hitter, and is attracting even more attention as he is about to acquire FA [Free Agent] qualification.

It was necessary to find a place where there were as few people as possible, so the place chosen was the hotel’s ground parking lot.

Standing next to Jimmy Morris’s car, which was parked haphazardly, he ended up greeting the Baltimore Orioles’ precious guest.

Clunk!

Ji-seop pulled out a can of soda from the vending machine and handed it to the two men.

For a while, the sound of ‘hiss’ as the can was opened and the sound of ‘gulp gulp’ as they drank could be heard.

“You said your name is Kim?”

The Baltimore Orioles’ two-way ace spoke to Ji-seop.

“Actually, I came to ask you something important.”

Ji-seop had expected it.

A person like Vincent Hiyama wouldn’t have followed Jimmy Morris without anything to do.

And to be honest, he had a vague idea of what the ‘important thing to ask’ he mentioned was.

“I think it’s because of your breaking ball today, am I right?”

Ji-seop asked.

“You had information about the curveball, but you didn’t tell the players why… I think that’s what you’re curious about.”

Vincent Hiyama, upon hearing Ji-seop’s words, looked at Jimmy Morris, who was standing next to him.

Jimmy Morris shrugged his shoulders with a ‘See, what did I tell you?’ expression, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

“It’s just as Morris said. He said there’s no need to say many words to you.”

“That’s right.”

Vincent nodded.

“I couldn’t just let it go. Tampa Bay’s actions today were different from other teams.”

Vincent Hiyama then took off his sunglasses.

Thanks to this, Ji-seop was able to look into his eyes and see what was on his mind.

‘…Disappointment.’

Vincent Hiyama seemed to be greatly disappointed with his team.

It’s not just because they leaked his breaking ball to a rival team.

[I said that what I want is to advance to the postseason, and furthermore, to win the World Series.]

[At a time when we should be doing our best to win, you’re only worried about my contract extension?]

[Besides, the idea you came up with is to benefit another team, a rival in the same division… Are these guys thinking?]

What should I say?

Ji-seop felt that Vincent Hiyama was simpler than he thought.

From the front office’s point of view, his contract extension negotiation was also necessary for the team to win.

The team can only make a long-term championship challenge plan if the ace’s service time is secured.

In that sense, Vincent Hiyama, who shouts ‘Win, win no matter what,’ could be said to not know the ways of Major League Baseball—but nevertheless, Ji-seop liked him.

‘A player who doesn’t think about complicated things and only wants the team to win… Not bad, not bad at all.’

Especially if that player is an ace of a team, and can play the role of an ace in both pitching and hitting.

Ji-seop felt his mouth watering.

‘It would be nice if we could bring him in.’

To our team.

To the Tampa Bay Rays.

Of course, it was a dream that the Tampa Bay Rays, the poorest team in Major League Baseball, could not even dream of.

Even if the contract extension negotiation breaks down and he comes out on the FA market after the season, the Tampa Bay Rays will not even be able to meet his agent.

‘But…’

You never know in life.

Since he was given this opportunity, Ji-seop decided to leave a good impression on Vincent Hiyama.

So he brought up a word.

“Why didn’t you notify the players even though you knew the breaking ball… Well, we thought it was a very natural decision.”

“Natural?”

Vincent tilted his head.

“Yes, I heard from Jimmy. Vincent Hiyama is the type to enjoy unconventional pitching.”

“Just like today.”

Ji-seop continued.

“We were lucky enough to figure out your breaking ball in advance today. But Vincent, you know it well, don’t you? Such luck doesn’t come often in baseball.”

“Luck doesn’t come often…”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Ji-seop’s expression became serious.

“You used unconventional pitching this time because of the contract extension negotiation. Then when will it be next? Our judgment was the postseason.”

“…”

“Vincent Hiyama will bring a new pitch in the postseason. Even if it’s not a new pitch, he’ll bring a pitching pattern we didn’t expect… Then the key is this.”

Even then,

Even in the postseason,

Can we figure out Vincent Hiyama’s breaking ball?

Is there a guarantee that such luck will come to our Tampa Bay?

“We thought it was impossible. At that time, both we and Baltimore are at the end of the cliff. Information security will also be strict, and the crazy act of leaking the breaking ball to the opponent will never happen.”

“Then, then…”

Vincent Hiyama seemed to have grasped what would be said next.

“Are you saying it was a kind of training? Training on how to deal with my unconventional pitching?”

“That’s right.”

Ji-seop nodded.

“What to do if you bring a pitch we didn’t expect. How to deal with it if you use an unexpected pitching pattern… We decided to give them a pre-experience so they wouldn’t be embarrassed in the postseason.”

If they succeed in attacking in that way, it would be great, and even if they fail, it will be a valuable experience for the players.

Besides, as a result, the team won, so wasn’t it the best result in many ways?

Ji-seop was about to say something like this, but Vincent Hiyama opened his mouth first.

“How is that… possible?”

Vincent asked.

“It’s only May. It’s still too early to think about the postseason… How could you guys make such a decision?”

The two-way ace seemed surprised by the Tampa Bay Rays’ decision.

Ji-seop smiled faintly and replied.

“I don’t think it was that difficult of a decision.”

A word that will leave a deep impression of the Tampa Bay Rays on this genius baseball player.

“Our Tampa Bay Rays are aiming to win the World Series.”

* * *

And an hour later.

Vincent Hiyama, who was heading home after parting ways with Ji-seop, was receiving a phone call.

-Yo, Vincent!

A voice so loud it hurt his ears.

It was his agent.

-What the hell were you doing? I’ve called you several times already.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I had someone to meet for a while…”

Vincent asked while stepping on the car brake.

“But what’s going on at this late hour… Is there a problem?”

-No, it’s not a problem. Rather, you should see it as good news!

The agent’s voice was strangely excited.

-I just received an apology from your team’s general manager! An apology for this incident.

“Yes?”

Vincent blinked.

“An apology… Are you saying the general manager admitted it? About leaking my breaking ball?”

At this time, a slight sense of anticipation appeared on Vincent’s face.

He wasn’t hard-hearted. If the general manager apologized, he was ready to blow away all these resentful feelings.

But unfortunately, the answer that came back was a little different from what he thought.

-Well, strictly speaking, it’s not the general manager’s own apology.

“Yes? What does that mean…”

-I kept nagging based on the rumors, and he had no choice but to confess. It was a mistake of his subordinate. He was drinking with a Tampa Bay club employee and inadvertently leaked your breaking ball, or something like that.

The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

It was at this moment that a long sigh flowed from Vincent Hiyama’s mouth.

“It’s an obvious trick. In the end, it means they’re going to cut off the tail at an appropriate level, right?”

-Hey, so what? Anyway, isn’t it done the way you wanted?

The agent continued.

-Now that the general manager has admitted it, the initiative in the negotiation is no different from being passed on to us. Staying in Baltimore, which you wanted so much! It might be decided at a good level.

It was true that Vincent Hiyama had affection for the Baltimore Orioles.

It was also true that he wanted to aim for the World Series championship with this team if possible.

But for some reason, Vincent Hiyama didn’t give any answers at this time.

-Vincent, what’s wrong? Aren’t you happy? I thought you’d be very happy, so I called?

“No, I’m happy. I’m happy, but…”

And the next moment, Vincent was uttering words he had never said before.

“Mr. Lopez.”

-Um?

“If the contract extension negotiation doesn’t go well, what happens after that? Does it go straight to FA negotiation?”

-No, why suddenly that…

The agent hesitated for a moment, then gave Vincent the answer he wanted.

-If the negotiation breaks down, we’ll have to wait and see. From then on, it will depend on Baltimore’s situation.

If Baltimore’s performance is good enough to aim for the championship, we should put the contract aside for now and focus on the game.

But just in case, if Baltimore gets further and further away from the championship.

-Then there will probably be a separate story. Baltimore may trade you to another team.”

“Trade?”

-Yes, it’ll probably be the end of July. You’re a very attractive resource for teams aiming for the championship.

The agent continued.

-In fact, we don’t even have to go until July. The Baltimore general manager is already receiving various offers. I know of at least three or four teams?

“Ah, already…”

It seemed that many thoughts were going through Vincent Hiyama’s head in a short moment.

‘Major League Baseball teams are still moving busily. There are so many teams aiming for the championship.’

Then which team’s uniform will I be wearing this fall and stepping onto the ground?

Will it be the Baltimore Orioles? Will it be the New York Yankees? Or will it be the LA Dodgers?

“…”

Vincent Hiyama, who was driving silently while thinking about that.

After a while, he was unknowingly asking the following question.

“Mr. Lopez, among the teams that have made trade offers to the Baltimore general manager…”

And the following word.

“Was the Tampa Bay Rays there?”