A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 325

야구단 신입이 너무 잘함 325화

77. Can a Full Effort Pitch Be Possible? (2)

“She asked me to throw the ceremonial first pitch?”

These were the words of Jisub’s mentor, Ms. Ann Reynolds.

“A ceremonial first pitch?”

“Yes, I’ve formed a connection with the Phillies through my hosting family activities. It’s been almost 20 years if you count the years.”

Ms. Ann Reynolds has been taking care of promising players from the team for a long time.

The Philadelphia Phillies were planning to invite her to their home stadium to commend her for her efforts.

“But am I in good shape these days? My knees ache, and my back hurts……. So I just said, ‘Shouldn’t someone like the general manager come and ask for such a favor?’ And wouldn’t you know it? It seems like they’re really coming!”

“General Manager Benjamin Oznovich?”

“Yes, that’s right! I was so surprised……. I asked several times. Are you really coming?”

Anyway, it’s a good opportunity.

Ms. Ann Reynolds looked back at Jisub and smiled gently.

“I’ve been a little concerned about you. Even though you come all the way to see me as a mentor, I don’t have much to teach you.”

“Oh, what are you talking about? I’ve learned so much this time…….”

“Even if it’s a lot, it’s just a Mexican food recipe. You can’t compare that to learning from a current Major League general manager, can you?”

With that, Ms. Reynolds patted Jisub on the shoulder.

“Wait and see. When I meet General Manager Oznovich, I’ll casually bring up your story…….”

Ms. Reynolds seemed to be thinking of a light tea time with General Manager Benjamin Oznovich.

It’s a nursing home in a remote area of Clearwater, Florida. There are hardly any visitors.

She seemed to have guessed that if they had tea time in such a quiet place, there would naturally be a time to introduce Jisub—but the visit of the Major League general manager was a much bigger event than she had expected.

“Excuse me! Just a moment!”

“Please step aside!”

The beginning was a seemingly endless stream of donated goods.

Large boxes labeled ‘With deep gratitude’ were stacked in the hospital lobby.

“Just a little to the side! More! Just a little more!”

“I, is this okay?”

Next came the Phillies’ film crew.

Blindingly bright lights were installed, and employees with cameras were running around diligently.

“Oh my, what’s all this fuss? We’re just supposed to have a simple cup of tea…….”

Even onlookers gathered, making the hospital lobby even more crowded and chaotic.

Ms. Ann Reynolds nagged the hospital director like this.

“Oh my, Ms. Reynolds! What’s with that outfit? I told you to throw away clothes with cigarette burns!”

“Why would I throw away perfectly good clothes? I can still wear this for another 10 years…….”

“Still, this kind of outfit is a bit much for a day like today. I can’t let this happen, um…… Jessica? Could you take Ms. Reynolds and have her change her clothes?”

“Oh, wait a minute! What are you doing? Ugh, this is annoying! Why are you telling me to change my clothes now…….”

Ms. Reynolds resisted strongly, but her efforts were in vain.

Jisub could only smile wryly as he watched Ms. Reynolds being dragged away by the hospital staff.

‘A Major League general manager……. They’re a big deal, huh?’

At Tropicana Field, you could see the general manager, president, and manager almost every day, but a Major League general manager viewed from the outside seemed to be a much bigger deal than Jisub had thought.

The fact that Benjamin Oznovich was coming was enough to make the entire hospital lively, creating almost a festive atmosphere.

‘Wait a minute, if this happens…….’

Looking at the way things were going, there seemed to be no reason for Jisub to stay in the hospital lobby.

It looked like there would be a commotion with taking commemorative photos and doing interviews.

In such a hectic situation, Ms. Reynolds wouldn’t be able to introduce Jisub to the Phillies general manager.

‘……Let’s go.’

It would be better to just leave.

It was around the time when Jisub, having made up his mind, picked up his bag and moved towards the entrance.

“The general manager has arrived!”

A slight commotion arose, and then a loud voice was heard from the hospital entrance.

Almost simultaneously, a young man in a suit appeared in the hospital lobby.

‘Ah, that person is…….’

Benjamin Oznovich.

The general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies.

“Welcome, General Manager! Thank you for coming all this way!”

“Haha, it’s no trouble at all. This is nothing. Nice to meet you.”

Starting with the hospital director, doctors, nurses, and staff.

General Manager Benjamin Oznovich was surrounded by hospital staff and began to greet them with a bright expression.

As expected of a Major League general manager. The attention pouring in would be burdensome, but he was responding with a relaxed expression.

‘I should tell Lama. That I met General Manager Oznovich today.’

While thinking that, Jisub was looking at General Manager Benjamin Oznovich when.

“Ah, is that so? Then I’ll wait until Ms. Reynolds comes back. It’s okay. Don’t worry about me……. Hmm?”

The Phillies general manager, who was talking to the hospital director and looking around, suddenly stopped walking.

Wondering what he was thinking, he stared at Jisub, who was standing among the onlookers.

‘What is it?’

Just as Jisub was tilting his head, an unexpected word popped out of the mouth of this famous general manager.

“Kim?”

He pointed at Jisub.

“Are you perhaps Kim from the Tampa Bay Rays?”

* * *

At first, I thought it was because of John Lama.

This situation where the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies recognized him.

‘Benjamin Oznovich……. He said he was John Lama’s friend, right?’

It wasn’t just a friend he played with as a child.

They joined the Tampa Bay Rays together, and they worked together to build the Future Strategy Planning Department.

Until he left after receiving an offer from the Phillies, the Future Strategy Planning Department was a core department of Tampa Bay.

‘That’s right, John Lama promised, didn’t he? That he would arrange a meeting with General Manager Benjamin Oznovich someday.’

I wondered if that was the reason.

John Lama contacted Benjamin Oznovich, and perhaps he mentioned Jisub at that time.

But even so, there was a slightly troubling point.

‘But how did he recognize my face? I don’t think John Lama would have sent him a picture of me…….’

Although Jisub was quick-witted, this time it wasn’t easy to grasp the situation.

About ten minutes later, Jisub, who had been tilting his head in confusion, finally heard General Manager Benjamin Oznovich’s answer.

It was when they were sitting face to face in the reception room next to the hospital director’s office, with teacups in front of them.

“Ah, Lama! Yes, I heard you’re working with John Lama in the Future Strategy Planning department,” Benjamin Oznovich said.

“But I knew about you long before that.”

“Long before?”

“Yes. It was around the time I was offered the position of Phillies’ general manager… Last winter, was it?”

Last winter was when Jisub was still with the KH Cannons.

It was the time when he was handing over his work and preparing his resume and personal statement to submit to graduate school.

“I was struggling with whether to take the general manager position, so I went to see Professor Pryor… That’s when I saw it.”

“Saw what?”

“Kim, your resume. And the essay you submitted to Professor Pryor.”

He smiled gently and crossed his legs.

“I was very impressed with that essay at the time… Do you happen to remember it?”

“Well, I’m not sure.”

Jisub scratched his cheek with his finger.

“I remember my essay being a mess and getting rejected several times, but I don’t remember exactly what it was about…”

“Haha, I don’t remember the content either. What I remember is the process of creating that essay.”

General Manager Oznovich leaned forward.

“The professor told me that your baseball team colleagues seemed to have proofread your essay.”

“Ah…”

Jisub vaguely remembered.

The fact that when he was struggling with writing the essay, the Cannons’ team leaders, including Operations Manager Cha Yoonjin, helped him.

He tried his best to make it unnoticeable, but he couldn’t escape Professor Pryor’s eyes.

“Personally, I was very impressed with that. The baseball world is always busy… Everyone must have been too busy to pay attention to anything other than their own work, but everyone stepped up to help their colleague write an essay.”

“…”

“Of course, I thought you had been working in baseball for a long time. But that wasn’t the case either? You had only been there for two years… The moment I heard that from the professor, I had a feeling.”

*Ah, this person has talent.*

*This person has a knack for attracting people.*

General Manager Benjamin Oznovich snapped his fingers.

“So, Kim, I tried to recruit you to our Phillies somehow… Damn it, Professor Pryor didn’t help me. He sent you straight to Tampa Bay.”

“Ah.”

“I had a lot of regrets. I even went to the professor to protest. But as I live my life… There comes a day when I meet you like this.”

Hahahahaha.

General Manager Benjamin Oznovich laughed so hard that his uvula was visible.

However, at this time, Jisub was tilting his head slightly in his mind.

*‘……What is it?’*

He was glad that someone who was a major league general manager was paying attention to him.

To be honest, he felt a sense of pride in the story that he had tried to recruit him to the Philadelphia Phillies.

However, at almost the same timing, the voice he heard in Jisub’s ear was a little strange.

[What advice should I give?]

It was Benjamin Oznovich’s inner thoughts.

[What should I tell this friend… that could help the Tampa Bay Rays?]

Jisub couldn’t help but be taken aback.

The person sitting in front of him was the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies.

He was aiming for the Phillies to win the World Series, and in fact, he was rapidly approaching that goal, running overwhelmingly in first place.

But suddenly, ‘for the Tampa Bay Rays’? How should he interpret his inner thoughts?

“Haha, well… It seems like a pleasant time ends quickly.”

While Jisub was lost in thought, General Manager Benjamin Oznovich said while looking at his cell phone.

“Ms. Ann Reynolds said she’s finished preparing. I think we should start heading down to the hospital lobby…”

He turned his gaze to Jisub.

“How about it, Kim? Do you have any questions for me?”

“Questions?”

“Yes, after all, aren’t we alumni? The Fort Myers University MBA program, Professor Kevin Pryor’s students.”

General Manager Oznovich shrugged.

“It’s your first season in the major leagues, so I’m sure you have a lot of questions and concerns… Why don’t you tell me? Maybe I can help you.”

Just listening to the words, it was like a senior trying to help a junior from the same school.

However, Jisub knew very well that his kindness was not simply a desire to help a junior.

Affection for the Tampa Bay Rays. A desire for the Tampa Bay Rays to do well.

“Ah, if that’s the case…”

Therefore, the only question Jisub could ask at this time was this.

“May I ask why you left the Tampa Bay Rays?”

“Excuse me?”

It seemed like it was a completely unexpected question.

General Manager Benjamin Oznovich widened his eyes.

“No, why suddenly that…”

“I heard from John Lama that you had a deep affection for the team and that your passion to win the championship someday was great.”

Jisub continued.

“I’ve always wondered why someone like that suddenly left for the Philadelphia Phillies… That’s what I’ve been curious about.”

“Ah, that’s what you mean?”

At this time, a troubled look appeared on Oznovich’s face.

He also showed a slight intention to make up a suitable reason.

But perhaps sensing that the other person was not easy to deal with, he let out a short sigh and gave an honest answer.

“I can’t make the Tampa Bay Rays win the championship with the current me… That’s what I concluded.”

“The current you?”

“That’s right. The current me. The me at that time, who was just the director of the Future Strategy Planning department.”

And Jisub couldn’t help but narrow his brow slightly at the following answer.

“I felt that I needed to become a more amazing person myself in order to make Tampa Bay win the championship.”

He continued.

“Enough to overrule the intentions of CEO Brian Spon…”