A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 353

82. An Elegant Meal (4)

Rest is essential.

Even more so when work is hectic.

The next morning, Ji-seop was once again reminded of this simple truth.

The atmosphere among the Future Strategy Planning Department members, who had returned from their special vacation, was noticeably brighter.

“Man, it was amazing! Lying on a sunbed, sipping a cocktail… Ah, it was the first time I felt like I made the right choice coming to Tampa Bay!”

That was the feedback from an employee who chose [Vacation Plan No. 02] offered by the Tampa Bay Rays: a day cruise experience.

“Absolutely! I enjoyed it too. I mean, I see the ocean every day, but seeing it from the sky is a different experience.”

This was the feedback from an employee who chose [Vacation Plan No. 12]: a paragliding experience.

“Let’s be honest. Did you guys watch the Tampa Bay game yesterday, or not?”

“Nah, I skipped it yesterday! What’s the point of going on vacation if you’re just going to watch baseball?”

Although they would be buried in work again from the afternoon, the employees were chatting with cheerful expressions.

To think that just one day of vacation could bring about this much positive reaction. I should try to secure more opportunities like this in the future.

Ji-seop was thinking that as he opened his laptop, when it happened.

“Uh, what’s with that expression? Are you saying you don’t believe me?”

One of the Future Strategy Planning Department employees was showing his phone to Jon Ramer.

“I’m serious! Look, I even took a picture with him!”

“Oh wow, really?!”

Jon Ramer’s eyes widened, and people began to gather around him.

I can’t miss out on this. Ji-seop also subtly got up and walked over there.

“What is it? What’s going on?”

Ji-seop asked, craning his neck.

“What’s all the commotion about now?”

“Well, apparently Adam met a Hollywood actor at the hotel gym in Miami yesterday!”

[Vacation Plan No. 01] offered by the Tampa Bay Rays.

He said it was luck he gained from choosing the luxury hotel accommodation package.

“You know Kim, right? The superhero movie that was super popular last year! He played the villain in that movie!”

“Ah, a superhero movie?”

I don’t really know much about those.

I’ve been having a hard time keeping up with them lately.

Having lost a bit of interest, Ji-seop nodded casually and took a step back.

But right then, David Wilson, who was looking at the phone after Ji-seop, exclaimed, ‘Uh oh.’

“Wait a minute, this guy is…”

David Wilson narrowed his eyes, zooming in on the phone screen.

The next moment, the words that came out of his mouth made Ji-seop, who was heading back to his desk, stop in his tracks.

“Isn’t that… Dexter?”

“Dexter? Our Dexter?”

“Yes, Dexter Sullivan.”

David Wilson held up the phone.

Over the shoulder of the Hollywood star. In one corner of the friendly commemorative photo.

A huge white man doing leg presses with an enormous weight.

“That’s right, it’s Dexter!”

Jon Ramer clapped his hands.

“He’s wearing a mask, but that shaved head and the tattoo on his arm. It’s 100% Dexter Sullivan… Wait a minute?”

Just a moment.

Right then, Ji-seop could feel the cheerful atmosphere of the Future Strategy Planning Department turning slightly heavy.

“Kim, am I mistaken? Wasn’t Dexter Sullivan on the injured list?”

“That’s correct. For 15 days.”

And the reason was clearly-

“A knee injury… I think.”

* * *

A player who was on the 15-day injured list due to a knee injury was doing leg presses with an enormous weight.

When Ji-seop mentioned this fact at the coaching staff meeting, pitching coach Thomas Culkin’s reaction was as follows:

“Oh, you scared me for a second!”

Hahaha.

Coach Culkin even laughed loudly.

“Hey, Kim! Shouldn’t you know all about the players’ rehabilitation process by now? Why are you acting like an amateur?”

With that, the pitching coach poked Ji-seop in the side.

“It’s true that Dexter is on the injured list. And it’s also true that the reason was a knee injury! But that was already two weeks ago.”

“Does that mean he’s recovered?”

At Ji-seop’s words, Thomas Culkin quickly nodded.

“Of course! He’s perfectly fine now! He’s supposed to be back on the roster the day after tomorrow, so what’s the point of him still being out of shape? He needs to do leg presses and everything else to get his condition up!”

In fact, when he first entered this conference room, Ji-seop had been thinking something similar.

A 15-day injured list means it wasn’t a very serious injury in the first place.

It’s been almost two weeks since he was removed from the roster, so there’s a good chance he’s fully recovered.

However, after seeing the pitching coach’s exaggerated reaction, Ji-seop couldn’t help but ask this.

“Coach, are you really being like this?”

Ji-seop subtly applied pressure.

“You always said that our Future Strategy Planning Department was like no other colleague, but now you’re saying something different? I’m a little disappointed.”

“D-Disappointed? Why all of a sudden…”

Coach Culkin hesitated slightly.

The extent to which he was shaken could be understood without even looking into his eyes.

“I’m also someone who has gone through rehabilitation. Even if you’ve fully recovered, shouldn’t you be careful not to put too much strain on the injured area for a while?”

But in the photo, Dexter Sullivan was doing weight training with an enormous weight.

“Besides, Dexter’s photo was taken at a luxury hotel in Tampa City. Shouldn’t an injured player be at the team’s training center? But he was working out at a luxury hotel gym, even wearing a mask…”

As Ji-seop pointed out each detail, Thomas Culkin became very embarrassed.

‘Ahem, ahem,’ he kept clearing his throat and wiping the sweat flowing down his sideburns.

Then, as if he had come up with a suitable excuse, he was about to speak to Ji-seop when-

“That’s enough, Coach Culkin.”

Mike Klemblas, who had been quietly observing the situation, stepped forward.

“Now that it’s come to this, it seems better to convey the situation clearly to Kim.”

“B-But, Manager! If this kind of thing gets out to the front office…”

Not only Thomas Culkin but also the other coaches raised their bodies halfway, but Manager Klemblas’s face was rather smiling.

“Then what are you going to do? Kim already looks like he’s caught on. Is there any other way?”

“W-Well, it’s not that, but…”

As the coaching staff, at a loss for words, quietly sat down, the manager’s gaze turned to Ji-seop.

“Kim, I believe you know.”

The manager said.

“The fact that the injured list… is sometimes used for special purposes.”

“Yes, I know that.”

It was a clear violation of league regulations, but things in the world don’t always go according to the rules.

Everyone can’t say it out loud, but Ji-seop knew that violations of regulations often occur in Major League Baseball.

“But that means… Dexter Sullivan wasn’t really injured in the knee.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The manager admitted readily.

“There was some pain, but not enough to put him on the injured list. The reason he’s currently off the roster is actually…”

The name that came out of his mouth the next moment was a bit unexpected.

“Vincent Hiyama and Brett Evans… It’s because of those two.”

“Vincent and Brett?”

Ji-seop frowned slightly at first, but soon let out a short sigh as if he had caught on to something.

“…Is it a position issue?”

“You could say that.”

Manager Klemblas continued.

“As you know, Dexter Sullivan is a versatile pitcher. He can rotate as a starting pitcher and can be trusted to handle the 7th or 8th inning as a relief pitcher, though not as a closer.”

In short, a ‘swingman’ [a pitcher who can start games or pitch in relief].

That was the role Dexter Sullivan played for the Tampa Bay Rays.

“This kind of player changes positions once or twice depending on the team’s circumstances… But frankly, it’s been a bit much this year.”

“What do you mean by ‘much’?”

“Dexter, that guy, was originally preparing to be a bullpen pitcher this season. But do you remember? Because Victor Johnson Jr.’s return was delayed, he had to urgently take on the role of the 5th starter.”

Up to this point, it could be said that it was a good break for Dexter Sullivan.

In Major League Baseball, the value of a starting pitcher is rated higher than that of a bullpen pitcher.

The problem was that Dexter Sullivan’s position change didn’t stop there.

“After Victor Johnson returned, he went back to the bullpen, but he didn’t show the same form as he did during spring training. So he was sent down to the minors.”

“…”

“It seems he was preparing to start again in the minors. From the front office’s point of view, his data was much better when he was starting this year.”

Dexter, who had completed his starting assignment, returned to the major leagues last mid-July.

Ji-seop knew best what happened to the Tampa Bay Rays at that time.

“He was suddenly acquired.”

At this point, Ji-seop smiled bitterly.

“Vincent Hiyama and Brett Evans… Two top-notch starting pitchers.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Mike Klemblas also looked embarrassed at this time.

“In previous years, we would have just adjusted the rotation appropriately and used him as a starter. No matter how good Dexter is, it’s too much to change his position like this. But this season, we’re putting everything on winning the World Series…”

Ji-seop could easily guess what would follow.

“You asked him to play as a bullpen pitcher again.”

Ji-seop scratched his chin.

“Dexter Sullivan strongly protested the coaches’ instructions.”

There was no need to hear the answer to this.

* * *

“The manager has taken a bit of a risk this time.”

About an hour later.

In the Future Strategy Planning Department office, David Wilson was shaking his head.

“Usually, changing positions even once a year is considered a lot, but he’s ordered it three or four times.”

Damn it, what is it about winning?

David Wilson sighed briefly.

“So… what is the manager going to do? Dexter is returning to the team the day after tomorrow.”

“It seems he’s thinking of having an interview as soon as he returns, and if he still doesn’t accept it, he’ll pass the ball to the front office.”

“Passing the ball means… sending him back down to the minor leagues?”

It was Jon Ramer who reacted.

“Kim, isn’t that a bit much? The player was just following the coaching staff’s instructions. But to send him down to the minors without even trying anything…”

“Well, that can’t be helped.”

David Wilson said firmly.

“The manager isn’t a god, and there are times when calculations go wrong while running the season.”

“…”

“And it may sound a bit cold, but this is also because Dexter Sullivan’s skills are ambiguous. He’s called a swingman, but in the end, he hasn’t given a definite belief in either starting or bullpen, has he?”

“Hey, that’s not true! If he had been used as a bullpen from the beginning, he could have played his role sufficiently! The manager knows that, so he asked him to play as a bullpen again!”

David Wilson and Jon Ramer started bickering again.

Ji-seop, watching this scene with a bitter smile, quietly raised his hand and separated the two.

“I don’t think it’s necessary to judge who is right and who is wrong in the current situation.”

Ji-seop said.

“Wouldn’t the best thing be for Dexter Sullivan to accept the bullpen conversion? And to play an active role as Tampa Bay’s winning team.”

“That’s true, but…”

David Wilson scratched his brow.

“It won’t be easy. If the coaching staff was keeping it a secret from the front office, it means the player is also very upset, doesn’t it?”

“That’s right. That’s true. But I also have this thought?”

Ji-seop stretched his lips long.

“Isn’t it our Future Strategy Planning Department that specializes in solving things that are never easy, things that everyone hesitates to do because they are difficult?”

“Yes?!”

David Wilson raised his head.

“Kim, then maybe…”

“Yes, I went and told the manager. Please leave Dexter Sullivan to us for the time being.”

How to solve this situation.

It seemed that the method was already prepared in Ji-seop’s head.

“Ramer.”

“Yes?”

“Can we get help from Nate Howard again?”

And the following words.

“The full course meal you showed us yesterday… I think we might need that.”