A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 337

A Baseball Team Recruit Is Too Good – Episode 337

A Baseball Team Recruit Is Too Good 337

80 Planting Seeds (1)

It was quite a while ago.

It was when Ji-seop was working as a training assistant for the KH Cannons, so it must have been about three years ago.

After finishing the day’s work and having dinner, one of the training assistants asked a question.

“If you work there, you must watch the games almost every day, right?”

Was it the operations team or the power analysis team?

Anyway, it was a question posed to the senior staff working in that field.

“How is it? Even if you like baseball, it doesn’t seem easy to watch games every day.”

“Well, what does it feel like…….”

He stared at the ceiling with a spoon in his mouth before giving an answer.

“It feels like going to the dentist every evening? Yes, that’s exactly what it feels like.”

“The dentist……?”

Ji-seop clearly remembers the atmosphere when the answer came out.

The training assistants tilted their heads, and the employees in their 30s or older who were eating on both sides burst into laughter.

In fact, Ji-seop couldn’t figure out what was going on at that time, but now, time has passed, and it’s different.

‘Hehe, it feels like going to the dentist every evening……. That was an amazing answer.’

Baseball games and dental visits.

Basically, they are similar in that they are greeted with an anxious mind.

It was also similar in that he usually tried hard to get good results, but the results didn’t come out as quickly as he thought.

And above all, one story that comes out like a ghost when you think you’ve solved a problem in one place.

-Oh? It looks like we need to fix this too?

-……Again?!

As soon as he thought he had solved one cavity, a problem arose in the other gum.

As soon as he thought he had sorted out the batting line, a problem popped out from the pitcher’s side.

Thanks to this, Ji-seop had to watch the game every evening with the feeling of going to the dentist, just like the old seniors said.

“……Ahem.”

However, for the past few days, Ji-seop had been waiting for the Major League playball at 7 p.m. with a very different feeling than usual.

To be exact, it felt like going to the dentist after brushing his teeth three times a day.

No, it’s like brushing your teeth as a basic, and then using interdental brushes, floss, water picks, and fluoride coating before visiting the hospital.

Confidence that he could respond to any problem that arose, and that even if he failed to respond, he would definitely win.

The only reason Ji-seop could face the game with a different mindset than usual was one thing.

-He hit it! Far away! A ball flying very far! This batted ball goes over the fence……! A come-from-behind two-run home run, Vincent Hiyama!!!

Vincent Hiyama.

It was thanks to his outstanding performance.

* * *

It was true that there was a considerable amount of pressure.

When he first brought Vincent Hiyama from the Baltimore Orioles.

He signed him by giving up Christopher Ben, the team’s top prospect.

Because he was in a situation where he could only use the player he signed for half a year.

Moreover, it was Ji-seop himself, not anyone else, who led and made this signing happen.

-Kim, are you okay?

-Yes?

-If Vincent strikes out, Kim will be the one taking all the blame, right?

-Haha, is that so?

Ji-seop was outwardly laughing at someone’s light joke, but inwardly, he was anxious.

However, the two-way ace he brought in while suffering so much immediately proved his worth from the first day he joined Tampa Bay.

Tak!

Taaaaak!

Against the San Diego Padres, the runner-up team in last season’s World Series, he had 3 hits in 4 at-bats, 1 home run, and 3 RBIs.

He played an outstanding role as the team’s key hitter, leading Tampa Bay to a 7-4 victory.

The next day’s game, he started as a pitcher and pitched well with 6 and 1/3 innings, 4 hits, no runs, and 11 strikeouts, recording his first win as a starter since the transfer.

Hi-yama! Let’s go! Let’s go!

With the dazzling performance of the transfer student, Tropicana Field was filled with the voices of fans chanting his name.

In fact, even if he only did this much, he had fulfilled his duty, but Vincent Hiyama’s role did not stop there.

“I hope the fans will visit the stadium more often. I like playing baseball in a place with a lot of spectators. Coincidentally, there will be an event this weekend where Alex Montero’s bobblehead will be given out…….”

He would become a player who could have his number retired within half a year.

His ambitious declaration on the day of his joining ceremony was by no means empty words.

Whenever he had the opportunity, he would send a message to the fans asking them to visit the stadium more often.

“Personally, I’m learning a lot while watching Julio Arcos’ batting. His bat control is so amazing that I can’t say anything else.”

When he had a media interview, he would always mention one Tampa Bay starting player and lavish praise on them.

“Kim! Is this article…… really? Did Vincent really talk about my bat control?”

“Yes, he did. Surely the reporters wouldn’t make up stories that didn’t exist, would they?”

“Wow…… Vi, Vincent? Does Vincent think my skills are pretty good too?!

To the fans, a message to visit the stadium, and to the players, a message that you are the best.

Vincent Hiyama uses his position as a high-profile star player to inject positive energy into the team.

Thanks to this, there was talk within the club that ‘Vincent was brought in well,’ but the part that Ji-seop personally liked the most was different.

“Ah, then…… does that mean I don’t have to be obsessed with new changeups?”

“That’s right, Victor.”

Victor Johnson Jr.

Tampa Bay’s ace pitcher, and the very guy who hadn’t given up his attachment to new changeups.

“When you think about it, the sweeper you throw is also close to a modified slider. It greatly increased the lateral change of the slider.”

“Aha.”

“If you want a new changeup, it would be better to refine your existing changeup. For example, in my case…….”

Vincent Hiyama takes out the data he trained during the last off-season and shows it.

“I gradually increased the amount of change like this. When it passed a certain point, other people accepted it as a new pitch.”

“Oh, really? I just increased the amount of change in the slider…….”

Victor Johnson, who had not yielded to Ji-seop’s numerous nagging, nodded at the words of a player like Vincent.

Ji-seop, who was watching this from one step behind, couldn’t help but think to himself.

‘Really…….’

This is why,

I pay for in-app purchases.

* * *

On the exact seventh day since Vincent Hiyama joined the team.

Brian Spon, the general manager, arranged a small lunch to celebrate the long-awaited day off.

A place created by gathering not only Vincent Hiyama himself, but also those who played a role in his recruitment.

It was meant to comfort them for their hard work, and it was also meant to prepare for the upcoming game against the Boston Red Sox.

However, the most important purpose was to hear Vincent Hiyama’s ‘opinion’.

A third party’s opinion. What is Tampa Bay lacking now, from Vincent’s point of view from the outside?

“Well, there’s nothing special.”

That was the answer Vincent Hiyama gave when the general manager asked the question.

“The team atmosphere is good, and the support from the manager and coaching staff is excellent. And personally…….”

The Yellow Book Project.

Vincent also mentioned the part that the Future Strategy Planning Department was in charge of.

“The game prediction report was very impressive. Understanding how the opponent is thinking about me is a great help in preparing for the game.”

“Really? Haha, we’re working really hard on it!”

John Lama was so happy that his mouth was wide open at the story of praising the Future Strategy Planning Department.

Brian Spon, the general manager who initiated the project, was also wearing a pleased expression.

“……And?”

Only one person, Ji-seop, was aware of a sliver of anxiety lingering in the heart of this two-way player.

“Vincent, you can speak comfortably.”

“Yes?”

“No, what should I say……. It’s like you’re looking at us a little bit.”

Ji-seop gave a faint smile.

“Please tell us anything that comes to mind. Isn’t that why we’re here today to hear your opinion?”

“That’s right, Vincent!”

The general manager also chimed in.

“We’re always looking at Tampa Bay, so our vision is bound to be narrow. This is something that players from other teams have to tell us.”

“I, is that so?”

Vincent Hiyama was making a difficult expression at Ji-seop’s words.

“It’s not that I’m looking at you, but it’s a little difficult to explain……. It’s just a feeling I got.”

“It’s okay, that’s even better! What is it?”

At the general manager’s repeated questions, Vincent gave a difficult answer.

“Unlike the Baltimore Orioles, the Tampa Bay Rays are a little…….”

“A little?”

“National team? No, that’s not it. So this is…….”

It seemed to be a really difficult story to express.

After hesitating for a while, he snapped his fingers and opened his mouth.

“It’s like an All-Star Game.”

“An All-Star Game?”

Vincent nodded.

“Yes, I felt it from the first time I joined the team……. Now I can definitely say it. Unlike Baltimore, Tampa Bay felt like I was attending an All-Star Game.”

“An All-Star Game…….”

While everyone was tilting their heads, Vincent continued to explain.

“The atmosphere is really bright and good. Everyone is trying to show off their skills to the fullest. The desire to win is also strong.”

The part that Vincent was having difficulty expressing was from here.

“But somehow…… I felt like it was light overall. That’s exactly what the All-Star Game is like. Because the players will be scattered after the All-Star Game anyway.”

“…….”

“I don’t know exactly how to express this. Affection for the team? Loyalty? Or a sense of duty? Ah, that’s right.”

Vincent looked at Ji-seop.

“Jimmy Morris played that role in Baltimore. Calming down the excited atmosphere, emphasizing the team’s history and tradition, and telling us why we must win…….”

“Jimmy Morris?”

Ji-seop’s old colleague and veteran pitcher who debuted with the Baltimore Orioles.

When his name was mentioned, Brian Spon, the general manager, finally had an expression that seemed to grasp something.

“Haha, I was wondering what you were talking about……. You’re pointing out the long-standing problem of our Tampa Bay Rays.”

The legacy problem.

He continued in a bitter tone.

“There is no history in the team, there is no tradition, so the players do not feel pride in the team……. Isn’t that what you’re pointing out?”