A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 330

Baseball Team Newbie Is Too Good – Episode 330

Baseball Team Newbie Is Too Good 330

78 The Road Not Taken (4)

Should they recruit Vincent Hyama and compete for their first-ever championship?

Or should they withdraw from trade negotiations and protect the team’s future?

Faced with a truly difficult problem, Jisub decided to ask for help from ‘Sakhalin Park,’ Vice Chairman Park Hong-ju.

-Uh, is that Ttaonnya?

A blunt voice came through the phone speaker.

It had been quite a while since they last spoke, but there wasn’t a trace of warmth in Sakhalin Park’s voice.

-What’s up?

He seemed to be eating.

The sound of slurping noodles accompanied Sakhalin Park’s voice.

-Isn’t it the middle of the night there? Is something urgent going on?

“No, it’s nothing like that… The gift you sent has arrived.”

Jisub looked at the set of red ginseng extract on the table.

A gift from Sakhalin Park to the ‘KH Cannons family’ for the hot summer.

“You must be busy enough taking care of the Cannons players, but even sending me a gift like this…”

-Don’t thank me. I wasn’t even thinking about it, but Secretary Yang kept nagging me to send it.

For someone who said, ‘I wasn’t even thinking about you,’ the following story was quite peculiar.

-I was going to send you something to eat with a spoon, but I figured you’d just leave it in the fridge, so I sent you something to tear open and eat one by one. If it expires, it’ll all become trash, so eat it on time.

“I understand, Vice Chairman.”

It had been quite a while since he left Korea, but Sakhalin Park hadn’t changed a bit.

Just as he was smiling inwardly, reminiscing about his Cannons days, he heard a voice with an exclamation of ‘Ugh, that was good.’

-So, what’s the main point?

“Yes?”

Jisub, feeling a little startled, asked back in surprise, and Sakhalin Park replied in an indifferent voice.

-Do I not know you? Since when have you been so polite as to make a thank-you call for just a box of red ginseng? You didn’t even call during the holidays.

“No, Vice Chairman. I told you, at that time, Boston was talking about sending me to Japan…”

-Enough! Just tell me the main point. I have a meeting to go to in a bit.

“If, if that’s the case…”

It was at this moment that Jisub began to report his current situation in a cautious tone.
The existence of Vincent Hyama, the atmosphere within the Tampa Bay Rays organization, and the style of General Manager Brian Span.

-Hmm…

Sakhalin Park listened to Jisub’s story in silence for a while.

When Jisub finished his report with the words, ‘What should I do?’, Sakhalin Park gave the following answer.

-Hey, Qingdao [a familiar way of addressing Jisub, implying a close relationship].

“Yes, Vice Chairman.”

-Are you planning to come back to Korea after I die? Are you planning to rot there for about 20 or 30 years?

“Yes?”

-Or have you lost confidence in the meantime? Do you think you’re not good enough to be the general manager of KH Cannons?

“No, it’s not that…”

-Then what’s the problem? What’s bothering you that you’re hesitating?

Thump!

The sound of hitting the table came from the phone.

-No matter what others say, no matter what the cost… You have to face it head-on here!!

* * *

Head-on confrontation.

Go for it, no matter what.

The moment he heard Sakhalin Park’s answer, Jisub scratched his head.

‘…That’s a very Vice Chairman-like answer.’

He wondered if the answer had been predetermined from the start.

He also thought that he should have asked someone more cautious.

What kind of person is Sakhalin Park? Once he makes up his mind, he pushes forward like a bulldozer.

It would be stranger if such a person said, ‘Be cautious,’ but the story that followed was a bit unexpected.

-Of course, if I were your general manager, I wouldn’t have given this answer. From the perspective of the Tampa Bay Rays, it’s better to be a little cautious.

Sakhalin’s voice was calm.

-But since this is advice for Kim Jisub as an individual… Then my words are correct. You have to challenge for the championship. There is no other option.

“Why is that?”

To Jisub’s question, Sakhalin Park responded by asking a different question.

-You answer me first. Qingdao, how do you think I managed to climb to the position of Vice Chairman of KH Group? What brought me this far?

“Are you talking about yourself, Vice Chairman?”

Jisub couldn’t easily answer the sudden question.

Sakhalin Park didn’t particularly scold him for that.

-The fact that I was friends with the late Chairman Ju Tae-san might have played a part. I also graduated from a reasonably good university, and I worked as hard as others. But the decisive factor is… I think you know it well, too?

With this much of a hint, Jisub was able to answer.

“Are you talking about the Sakhalin incident…?”

-Yes, that. I think it’s that.

Sakhalin Park continued.

-The fact that I flew to Sakhalin without a guide, the fact that I met with the Russian president and negotiated… That seems to have left a very strong impression in people’s minds.

“…”

-Even when I made absurd proposals, people remembered Sakhalin and agreed, and even when I made mistakes, people remembered that incident and gave me another chance. It didn’t even take ten days to go to Sakhalin and back, but in the end, those ten days determined the life of the human Park Hong-ju.

Why am I telling you this?

Sakhalin’s voice was cold.

-Living an ordinary life day by day isn’t bad either. I think that kind of life has meaning too. But if you have bigger dreams than that, if you have a desire to stand above others someday…

Eventually, you have to go once.

The road not taken.

A voice like the cold wind of Russia poked into Jisub’s ear.

“You have to walk a path that someone was afraid to take, a path that someone couldn’t take because they were scared… And you have to achieve something. That’s the way for you to grow, the way to be respected by others, and the way to gain authority that no one can dare to touch.”

The road not taken.

At this moment, Jisub was reminded of the interview with Vincent that he had watched with his colleagues in the Future Strategy Planning Department.

At that time, Vincent Hyama had said the same thing. He would walk the road not taken. He wanted to walk that kind of road.

‘That friend Vincent… Was he thinking similarly to the Vice Chairman?’

Jisub was surprised inside.

Sakhalin Park and Vincent Hyama, how could they all think like this?

The road that others don’t take is actually the answer. It’s a golden opportunity to raise my value. I will walk a path that no one walks and stand tall as an untouchable being.

‘…They’re amazing people.’

Honestly, he felt a sense of distance.

That confidence to believe that they can do what others can’t.

That boldness to think of what others hesitate as an opportunity.

It felt like facing someone who had been living with completely different thoughts since birth.

“…”

So, Jisub had been silently listening to what Sakhalin Park was saying for a while, but at some point, this thought seemed to have risen from deep within his heart.

‘Could I… give it a try?’

He didn’t think he could confidently take a step forward with certainty like Sakhalin Park or Vincent Hyama.

He was bound to worry until the end about how the results of this trade would turn out.

But hadn’t he already heard it? That he had to take that kind of road. That he had to walk the road that others don’t take. That’s how he could stand shoulder to shoulder with those great people.

‘Okay, let’s give it a try.’

Let’s imitate them in a similar way.

Just like Sakhalin Park had done in the past, just like Vincent Hyama was trying to do now.

It wouldn’t be easy, and he might regret it later, but the opportunity now was too good to pass up knowing all this.

-Hey, Qingdao!

Around the time Jisub’s thoughts reached this point, he heard Sakhalin Park’s voice from the phone speaker.

-Why haven’t you said anything since a while ago? Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping?

“Ah, no, Vice Chairman.”

Perhaps because his mind was somewhat made up, Jisub was able to afford a little余裕 [leeway/composure].

“I was just running some calculations in my head… Yes, so I couldn’t answer. I was listening to everything you said.”

-Calculations?

“Yes.”

Jisub got up and said.

“Wouldn’t it be okay to take a shot? Wouldn’t it be good to challenge for the championship? If it doesn’t work out…”

A smile bloomed on his lips.

“I was thinking that you might accept me as a low-level employee of KH Cannons.”

-What, what?!?

Sakhalin Park was quickly enraged again.

-Where did this guy hear my story so far, huh? I took the time to tell you a brilliant plan, and this is what the kid says…

Don’t even dream about it, you.

Sakhalin said firmly.

-I clearly said it. General Manager. If you don’t have the skills and reputation to become the general manager of our KH Cannons, I won’t even let you into the new baseball stadium!

Our KH Cannons.

The Cannons’ new baseball stadium.

And the first general manager of that stadium.

As he recalled his goal, which he hadn’t heard in a long time, a soft smile appeared on Jisub’s lips.

“I understand, Vice Chairman.”

-Hmm?

“I’ll give it a shot as you said, Vice Chairman. The road not taken, the road that anyone can’t take, so…”

Jisub tore open the red ginseng extract that Sakhalin Park had sent him and continued.

“The road to becoming the best, that is.”

* * *

Around 10 a.m. the next day.

It was an early hour when the players hadn’t even come to work yet, but the conference room of the Tampa Bay Rays was more crowded than usual.

“Right? It seems better to watch the situation a bit more for now…”

“But isn’t the competition getting fiercer? There are rumors that the Yankees have accepted all of Baltimore’s conditions.”

All the key figures of the Tampa Bay Rays were gathered.

The front office people, led by the president of baseball operations, and the field staff, led by manager Mike Clamblelas.

And on this day, even the team’s board members were present.

The only reason all these people had gathered in the conference room was to decide whether to recruit Vincent Hyama.

“Kim, are you going to be okay?”

While everyone was waiting for owner Jeffrey Taylor and President Brian Span with tense expressions, David Wilson said in a low voice.

“I’ll follow Kim’s decision, but… Honestly, I’m not confident.”

Jisub had announced the situation to the people in the Future Strategy Planning Department.

What he was going to say that day. What arguments he would make about Vincent Hyama.

“From what I hear, everyone seems to have solidified their opposition to the trade. There are some exceptions, but they are also leaning towards observing the situation.”

“Is that so?”

Jisub nodded lightly.

It was something he had expected, so there was no reason to waver now.

“But I want to give it a shot. There’s a Korean proverb that says, ‘A ghost who spoke before dying has a better complexion, too’ [meaning it’s better to speak your mind before it’s too late].”

“Hey, this isn’t the time to joke. Right now…”

Just as David Wilson was about to add something, the door to the conference room opened wide.

Almost at the same time, two people appeared in the conference room.

“Hello, everyone!”

It was Brian Span, the general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, who greeted them with a welcoming voice.

And the man standing behind him-

“…”

It was Jeffrey Taylor himself, the owner of the Tampa Bay Rays.