A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 359

Chapter 83: The Ghost of the Field (2)

“A ghost… did you say?”

That was the players’ reaction.

“A ghost appears here at Tropicana Field? Really?”

“Oh, I’m telling you, it’s true!”

Jake Brown, formerly the starting shortstop for the Tampa Bay Rays, slapped his knee.

“It doesn’t always appear. Only when Tropicana Field is packed with fans! This ghost only shows itself when the stands are full.”

He lowered his voice ominously.

“It puts gloves in random places, and it’s even shoved bats into the toilet. And that’s not all! It even interferes with the plays during the game!”

“Interferes with the plays?”

“That’s right! A ball that’s rolling smoothly suddenly stops dead, or an irregular bounce appears out of nowhere on a flat surface… Damn it, the team atmosphere was terrible throughout the World Series because of that ghost!”

It’s because of the ghost.

We ruined the World Series because of the ghost on the field.

Watching Mr. Brown, who was spitting as he made excuses, Ji-seop chuckled inwardly.

‘Oh, why is he telling stories like that…’

It seemed that not everyone matures with age.

He barely has enough time to give helpful advice to his junior players.

Why would he waste time talking about ghosts and nonsense?

Besides, he should know that baseball players are incredibly superstitious.

‘Seriously…’

That’s why Ji-seop initially tried to stop Jake Brown from talking.

He didn’t want to create unnecessary distractions for the players before the postseason.

But the moment he stepped forward to change the subject, Ji-seop realized that there was no need to do so.

“Cough… ahem! So?”

It was the players’ faces.

The expressions of the Tampa Bay Rays players, who were listening to their senior’s story, were rather strange.

Their eyes seemed to twitch slightly, some were biting their lower lips, and some were even hanging their heads low.

If Ji-seop wasn’t mistaken, those guys were currently-

‘Holding back laughter?’

* * *

The players weren’t shaken by Jake Brown’s story; instead, they were struggling to contain their laughter.

Ji-seop learned the reason for this in detail the following afternoon.

He ran into Alex Montero, the starting catcher for the Tampa Bay Rays, as he was leaving a meeting with the coaching staff.

“Ah, you mean that story?”

When Ji-seop asked what was going on, Alex Montero took off his hat and grinned again.

“Well, it’s true that our players are very superstitious. And it’s also true that they feel uneasy when they hear about ghosts and stuff.”

Ji-seop already knew this much.

“But, Kim, the reaction changes depending on who’s telling the story, doesn’t it?”

“What do you mean?”

At Ji-seop’s question, Alex Montero looked a little embarrassed.

However, he couldn’t avoid giving an answer, so he looked around and whispered a word.

“Didn’t Kim know? Jake Brown… is known as the biggest scaredy-cat in Tampa Bay history.”

“Scaredy-cat?”

Ji-seop blinked.

“Yes, he’s almost a legendary figure among our players. In terms of being mentally weak.”

He was famous for being so nervous during his debut game that he threw up on the manager’s uniform.

When there were a lot of fans, his hands would shake like aspen leaves, so he was often excluded from the starting lineup during games against popular teams.

Anyway, he had left behind so many great episodes that Tampa Bay players had heard his name since they were in the minor leagues.

“So we couldn’t help but laugh.”

Alex Montero scratched his cheek.

“He’s usually a very nervous guy, and it was the World Series, so there were tons of fans… It wouldn’t be strange if Brown saw something even worse than a ghost.”

“Ah.”

As Ji-seop nodded, Alex Montero shrugged.

“Besides, a ghost? That’s too old-fashioned, isn’t it? I don’t think they make horror movies like that these days.”

“I guess so. There’s a lot more than that in the world these days.”

“Anyway, don’t worry too much about Brown’s story. Our players probably heard it and let it go.”

Although he was still young, he was the starting catcher for the team, Alex Montero.

At least when it came to understanding the team’s atmosphere, he was the best in the team.

Ji-seop could feel even the slightest sense of unease disappearing with his firm voice.

“Rather than that, Kim, please say something to the marketing department.”

“Say what? What about?”

“Come on, you know.”

The championship is coming up.

Alex Montero’s eyes lit up.

“At the current pace, we should be able to clinch the division title next weekend or early the following week…”

Ji-seop immediately understood what he was going to say next.

“You want them to do something big for the event? To get a lot of fans to come to the game where we clinch the division title?”

“Haha, you’re the best, Kim!”

Alex Montero nodded vigorously.

“Was it last month? The ‘Cowbell Day’ was really fun. The lively atmosphere was great, and it was funny to see the opposing team’s players’ faces sour at the sound of the cowbells.”

“Ah, so our starting catcher is the opposite of Jake Brown?”

“Of course! Baseball is the most fun when you play in front of a packed crowd, isn’t it?”

He wanted to win the division title in the most boisterous atmosphere possible.

If possible, he wanted to show that they had conquered the AL East in front of a packed crowd.

Ji-seop, having confirmed the young starting catcher’s earnest wish, readily nodded.

“Alright. I think an event is already being prepared, but… I’ll bring it up again.”

Ji-seop was also acquainted with the vice president of the marketing department.

It wasn’t too difficult to put in this kind of ‘request’ now.

“Instead… you know?”

“Yes?”

Ji-seop raised a finger to Alex Montero, who was looking at him.

“What completes the event?”

“Ah.”

Alex Montero, realizing what Ji-seop was saying, clenched his fist and replied.

“Victory completes the event!”

“Okay!”

That’s absolutely perfect!

Ji-seop and Alex Montero were exchanging high-fives so hard that they made a ‘smack’ sound.

* * *

For the next week,

Ji-seop was able to spend the most comfortable days since he came to the United States.

The Tampa Bay Rays, on the verge of winning the division title, were showing their best performance.

Whoosh- Pow!

The starting rotation of Victor Johnson Jr. – Vincent Hiyama – Brett Evans silenced the opposing lineup with their powerful pitching.

Thwack!

Thwaack!

The core lineup of Vincent Hiyama – Alex Montero – Julio Arcos led the offense by hitting home runs every day.

-Strikeout! It’s a strikeout! Tampa Bay was in a crisis with one out and bases loaded, but Dexter Sullivan is putting out the fire for sure!

Here, Dexter Sullivan recovered his form from his good old days, further upgrading the quality and quantity of the bullpen.

Wow!!!

It felt like the sparks that had been gathered little by little were exploding at the end of the season.

It felt like the power that had been built up little by little was now showing its might.

As the one at the center of it, Ji-seop was able to feel a sense of satisfaction and pride that he couldn’t trade for anything in the world.

And,

Right, the following Tuesday.

Wow!!!

Tropicana Field, which would have been deserted on a weekday afternoon, was creating an unusual atmosphere that day.

People in the ticket sales department were buzzing from four hours before the game, and people in the stadium operations department were running around busily from two hours before the game.

“Kim, what’s going on? Doesn’t it seem like the office is unusually busy today?”

“I know, right? I heard they invited a pop singer today… Is that why?”

Even at this time, Ji-seop was drinking his iced Americano with a calm expression.

He thought it was a situation that could happen.

‘Boston is suddenly on a winning streak, so that’s gone down the drain…’

There were a lot of events prepared in advance, and he heard that more people than usual had reserved tickets in response.

So Ji-seop thought that this much commotion might be natural.

-The third baseman catches the ball and throws it to first base… Out! It’s an out! That’s the first out of the inning!

-Yes, the Yankees hitters are a little impatient today, aren’t they? They need to play the game calmly in situations like this.

Around the top of the third inning of the game, Ji-seop received news that he hadn’t expected.

“Kiiiiim!!!”

It was John Llama Taylor.

The owner’s son, who had come from New York with his family to watch the game from the stands.

He suddenly burst into the office of the Future Strategy Planning Department.

“Big news! It’s huge news!”

“…What is it?”

David Wilson was indifferent.

“It’s not that DJ Damon is coming today, is it? We already know that story.”

“Oh, who cares if it’s DJ Damon or Simon! There’s more important news than that right now!”

John Llama was panting so hard, probably because he had run so hard.

He took a sip of the bottled water that David was drinking, then turned to Ji-seop and shouted.

“It’s sold out!”

“Yes?!”

Ji-seop turned his head.

“I just heard my father get a report from the ticket sales department! A little while ago, when the bottom of the second inning was in progress… all the tickets for Tropicana Field were sold!!”

“I, is that… really?”

Exclamations of ‘Wow’ erupted from the people in the Future Strategy Planning Department.

Sold out. All seats sold out. All seats sold out, which they thought would only be possible if they went to the postseason this season, was achieved that day.

“Sold out at Tropicana Field! Isn’t this the first time since the postseason two years ago?”

“No! They didn’t fill all the seats then either. Don’t you remember there was an article about it?”

“So we’ve achieved something that we couldn’t even achieve during the postseason? Wow, what’s going on?!”

For the perennial unpopular team, the Tampa Bay Rays, it was harder than advancing to the postseason.

“There will be an official announcement soon. There’s a full house at Tropicana Field today.”

“Really? The players must be flustered, right? Playing in front of a full house! There are hardly any players who have experienced a full house, right?”

The people in the Future Strategy Planning Department were cheering loudly, high-fiving, and celebrating the full house.

Everyone was congratulating each other on the full house and toasting with the drinks they were drinking at that time.

Yes, that must have been the moment.

-Aaaah!!!

A scream coming from the broadcast screen.

-He dropped the ball! Paul Williams misses a routine ground ball! While the outfielder is chasing the ball, the runner is advancing to second base!

-Uh-oh, what’s going on right now? I thought it was an easy ball to catch?

Paul Williams, the starting shortstop for the Tampa Bay Rays this season, committed a fielding error.

In fact, errors can happen at any time, and that’s part of baseball.

“…”

At this moment, looking at the starting shortstop, who was fiddling with his glove as if he couldn’t understand.

A slight shadow was cast on the faces of the people in the Future Strategy Planning Department.