A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 334

Baseball Team New Recruit Is Too Good – 334

Baseball Team New Recruit Is Too Good 334

79. I’ll Give You 5 Minutes (2)

“Nice to meet you, General Manager.”

“Ah, yes. Pleased to meet you.”

The Tampa Bay representatives exchanged greetings with the Baltimore Orioles’ General Manager.

As Nicholas meticulously observed their faces, he overheard a quiet voice from a Yankees staff member.

“…Looks like he’s not here?”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Brian Span. The Tampa Bay President.”

Watching the Tampa Bay staff introduce themselves, the Yankees staff began to murmur.

“Brian holds the real power in the Tampa Bay front office. The fact that he himself didn’t come…”

“Doesn’t that mean they have no intention of acquiring Vincent Hiyama? That reporter’s tweet was just a fake.”

“No, then wouldn’t a simple phone call suffice? There’s no reason to dispatch staff all the way here.”

“Then what on earth…”

Why would they come all the way to Baltimore unexpectedly?

As everyone narrowed their eyes and became more vigilant, Nicholas quietly spoke.

“Could they be trying to raise the stakes?”

Nicholas was young, but he was assisting the General Manager.

The Yankees staff all turned to look at him.

“Raise the stakes, you say?”

“Yes, they might not actually be interested in acquiring him, but they’re hovering around the negotiation table, mentioning players they don’t even want. It’s to amplify the anxiety of actual buyers like us and induce us to offer more promising prospects.”

Nicholas pointed to Jisub, who was smiling brightly, and continued.

“That Asian staff member over there, I’ve run into him a few times at school. Contrary to his appearance, he’s a great speaker. His skills are beyond those of most veterans.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

The Yankees staff nodded.

“It’s not impossible. The more good prospects we lose, the more advantageous it will be for them.”

“If they can’t acquire Vincent, they’ll at least inflict greater damage on us… Is that roughly their strategy?”

“Deceitful bastards.”

As the Yankees staff muttered, Nicholas quietly shook his head.

“No, aren’t they also doing their best in their own way?”

Nicholas smoothed his slightly disheveled hair and said.

“I think it’s actually something to be admired. They’re not giving up just because they’re a small market team, and they’re constantly trying to pursue even small gains.”

He wasn’t just saying it.

Nicholas was also somewhat sincere.

Although there were unspoken thoughts remaining in his mind.

‘But Kim, what you can do is limited.’

You can’t do more than that.

That was Nicholas’s thought.

‘No matter what you do… Vincent Hiyama will be wearing our Yankees’ pinstripe uniform.’

Vincent is coming to the Yankees.

He’s coming to the Yankees to win the championship.

The Tampa Bay Rays will play the role of a great supporting actor again this year, nothing more.

Nicholas was wearing a relaxed smile as he thought that, but-

‘……Hmm?’

It was right after that when a slight wrinkle formed on his forehead.

The Tampa Bay’s Asian staff member, who had finished greeting, was bringing up something unexpected.

“I’m sorry, General Manager.”

Jisub apologized first.

“Under the direction of Brian Span, the President, we won’t be able to stay here for very long.”

“Ah, is that so?”

The Baltimore General Manager was also a veteran.

He understood at once.

“A proxy strategy with a time limit! Haha, it feels like I’m rereading the negotiation textbook I read in college.”

He had a look that said he knew all the tricks.

“Well, that’s fine. I can’t spend a lot of time on you either. As you can see, we have guests from New York here.”

“How much time do you have?”

The Baltimore General Manager asked.

“An hour? Two hours? Or until the trade deadline?”

Even at this point, he seemed to be enjoying the situation, but that leisurely attitude didn’t last long.

“5 minutes.”

“5 minutes?”

“Yes, exactly 5 minutes after we deliver the offer. After that time, we won’t be able to do anything more.”

“Hmph, you’re coming on strong.”

The Baltimore General Manager seemed slightly flustered, but he was trying not to show it.

“Okay, let’s hear it. Let’s see what kind of amazing card you’ve brought.”

“Christopher Ben… Is that correct? The player you requested during the first negotiation.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The Baltimore General Manager waved his hand dismissively.

“Instead of that, let’s get straight to the point. We all knew you wouldn’t give up Christopher…”

“We’ll give him to you.”

Jisub said.

“We’ll hand over Christopher Ben. Then we can take Vincent Hiyama, right?”

“Wh, what did you say?!”

The Baltimore General Manager jumped up.

“Christopher Ben? Really? You’re not trying to make fun of me, are you?”

It was a short moment, but the Baltimore General Manager began to fire off all sorts of questions.

Was it really Christopher Ben? Was it not a person with the same name? Had he received permission from President Brian Span?

Considering Christopher Ben’s name value, it was a natural question, but Jisub didn’t answer it.

Instead, he offered one word.

“I’ll give you 5 minutes.”

Jisub said, taking off his wristwatch and placing it on the desk.

“Please give me your answer within 5 minutes.”

* * *

It was the negotiation strategy that Brian Span, the President of the Tampa Bay Rays, had instructed the Future Strategy Planning Department, including Jisub.

Vincent Hiyama is a player who can only be brought in at the cost of considerable losses. If the competition is as fierce as it is now, the losses could snowball. So-

‘Present a player with a big name value from the start.’

As Jisub thought that he had to protect Christopher at all costs, he couldn’t readily understand the instructions.

However, after watching the situation unfold, Jisub was finally able to grasp that it was the right answer.

“Christopher… We can receive Christopher? Christopher Ben as our Baltimore’s ace?!”

The Tampa Bay Rays’ top prospect.

Ranked #1 in Baseball America’s prospect rankings for three consecutive years.

When you think about it, he was a pitcher who hadn’t thrown a single ball in the major leagues yet, but his high name value completely captivated the Baltimore General Manager.

“Wa, wait a minute, General Manager!”

Of course, the New York Yankees’ negotiation staff couldn’t just stand by and watch.

“Please judge calmly! Our Yankees have already offered five prospects! It’s a 1-for-5 trade!”

“Th, that’s right, General Manager!”

Baltimore’s staff also stepped up.

“The Red Sox also offered a BA [Baseball America] top 10 player! The Phillies also proposed a 3-for-1 trade! In some ways, it’s a better deal than just Christopher…”

While Jisub didn’t know, the major league teams had been offering tremendous conditions.

However, the list of those great prospects didn’t shake the Baltimore General Manager’s heart.

“Everyone be quiet! We have to develop those guys from the beginning, but Christopher is already a finished resource! He’s a player who just needs to be put on the major league mound!”

Still, there’s such a thing as the General Manager’s face.

Perhaps he felt it wasn’t right to readily accept the other party’s conditions, the Baltimore General Manager said in a subtle voice.

“Okay, that’s all good and well…”

The General Manager swallowed hard.

“As you just heard, other teams have proposed multi-player trades. If Tampa Bay could add just one more Single A player, the picture would look pretty…”

“Ah, is that so?”

It was a commendable attitude.

If you’re in charge of negotiations, shouldn’t you extract everything you can until the end?

But with the Baltimore General Manager’s eyes shaking now, there was no reason for Jisub to offer more cards.

“It’s possible. Isn’t it a natural process to match one or two cards?”

“That’s right, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but we only have about 2 minutes left in our negotiation time… Is that okay with you?”

Jisub said, glancing at the wristwatch on the desk.

“If the time limit expires, we will have to end all negotiations and withdraw. If you’re still okay with that, I’ll call the President now, but…”

“To Brian?”

The Baltimore General Manager had a dumbfounded expression.

“You’re the negotiator, so what kind of phone call are you going to make here?”

“Oh, come on, General Manager.”

Jisub smiled innocently.

“I’m just a front office staff member. If I don’t want to be reprimanded later, I have to get the President’s permission for these kinds of issues.”

“Just wait a moment.”

“I’ll contact him quickly.”

Jisub took out his cell phone.

“Let’s see, what was our President’s number again?”

“No, is this person really…”

In fact, it was an obvious trick.

The 5-minute time limit, the fact that the President didn’t show his face directly.

Even the act of fiddling with his cell phone now, saying ‘I need to get permission from the person in power’.

All of that was a tactic to make the negotiation partner anxious and bring the situation to their advantage.

“……”

The Baltimore General Manager had seen through it all from the beginning, but he couldn’t ignore Jisub’s words.

‘Giving up Christopher Ben is a big decision for Tampa Bay as well. There must be a lot of opposition within.’

So the statement that they would cleanly wrap everything up and withdraw after 5 minutes might be true.

If he doesn’t make a decision here, the opportunity to receive Christopher Ben may disappear.

Thinking that, the Baltimore General Manager couldn’t help but raise his head and shout.

“O, okay!!!”

He raised his voice.

“Vincent Hiyama, I’ll hand him over!!”

* * *

At almost the same time.

Brian Span, the President of the Tampa Bay Rays, was visiting the home of Jeffrey Taylor, the team owner.

“You’ve worked hard.”

The owner said, taking out a bottle of brandy from the cabinet.

“How did the negotiations go? Was the great Mayor pleased with your proposal?”

“Yes, I’ve gotten his agreement for now.”

Brian accepted the glass.

“I don’t know if he’ll come up with some nonsense and deny it later, but we’ve done everything we can at this stage.”

“Is that so… Damn, I really didn’t expect this to take so long.”

The owner clicked his tongue.

“How many times is this? It seems like it’s going to happen, then it falls apart, it seems like it’s going to happen, then it falls apart…”

“In that respect, the timing was perfect. The report came out while I was talking to the Mayor. The news that we’re acquiring Vincent.”

“Ah, so that’s how it turned out.”

“So what are you going to do now?”

The owner asked the President.

“We can’t tell the whole team about this, can we? It would be a burden on the players, and there could be a lot of gossip…”

“Yes, I’m only going to tell a small number of people. But I need a few people to know so that it’s easier for me to get the job done.”

“That’s right. That’s how it is.”

The owner took a sip of his drink.

“Do you have anyone in mind? Rebecca will be included for now, right?”

“Yes, I’ll have to talk to Deputy General Manager Carney and CFO [Chief Financial Officer] Uld. And I’ll have to think a little more about the staff side…”

Ding-

Right then, a message came to the President’s cell phone.

“……”

Brian Span, the President, looked silently at the message and said with a slight smile.

“It seems like one person has been confirmed for now.”