A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 360

Baseball Team’s New Recruit Is Too Good – Episode 360

83. The Ghost of the Field (3)

The final three-game series of the season was against their intercity rival, the New York Yankees.

The Tampa Bay Rays’ public relations department distributed the following press release to various media outlets:

[Huge Success! Tampa Bay Rays Achieve Complete Sell-Out for Three Consecutive Games!]

[Star Power, Winning Streak, and Events Align… Stadium Filled with “Overflowing Crowds”]

[Vice President of Marketing, Higgins: “Looking Forward to the Future of the Tampa Bay Rays”]

Three consecutive sell-outs. It was a dream come true for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Earlier in the season, the home opener had the dubious honor of being the only one among the 30 teams that failed to sell out.

Overcoming that initial setback to achieve a ‘huge box office success,’ the Tampa Bay Rays’ public relations department poured their heart and soul into preparing the press release, but…

“…….”

“…….”

Unfortunately, this carefully crafted press release didn’t receive much attention.

Most media outlets treated it as a one- or two-line news brief, and many didn’t even cover it at all.

Instead of the news about the Tampa Bay Rays’ huge box office success, the top stories on various portal sites looked more like this:

[“Will the Postseason Be Okay?” Tampa Bay Rays’ Winning Series Marred by Three Consecutive Games with Errors]

[Second Baseman, Shortstop, Third Baseman… Tampa Bay’s Infield is ‘Unstable’]

[Former Tampa Bay Shortstop, Mr. Brown: “It Turned Out As I Warned”]

The articles focused on the Tampa Bay infielders committing a series of errors during all three games where Tropicana Field was packed with a sell-out crowd.

The players making the errors and the types of errors varied. A second baseman who couldn’t adjust to the ball’s bounce, a shortstop who let the ball slip past him, and a third baseman who allowed a runner to reach base because the ball took an unexpected hop.

Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of the public relations department, they managed to avoid articles explicitly mentioning ‘ghosts,’ but a slight sense of unease was undeniably creeping into the players’ minds.

[What on earth is going on? It’s not just one person, but all the infielders are making errors.]

[This never happened before, did it? But the moment we get a sell-out crowd, this happens…….]

[Could it be……. Was Mr. Brown’s story true?]

Of course, things were still manageable for now.

Although they were taking turns making errors, the games against the Yankees resulted in a winning series with 2 wins and 1 loss.

However, if this atmosphere continued, especially if it extended to the postseason where sell-outs were almost guaranteed, it could definitely become a problem.

Yes, in a situation where they could no longer laugh off the ‘ghost of the field’ as a silly joke—

“Then, would this spot be alright?”

Exactly three days after the series of three consecutive error incidents, in the afternoon.

Ji-seop was out on the Tropicana Field ground with key front office personnel.

“Hmm, it seems fine. Let’s take a look. What’s it like inside?”

“Yes, I understand.”

It was a kind of on-site investigation.

What was the reason the Tampa Bay infielders suddenly started making errors?

The baseball operations department pointed to the condition of the field as the most likely cause.

“Didn’t we do crumb rubber [small pieces of recycled rubber] reinforcement work last week? I’m concerned about that part.”

Rebecca Carney, the assistant general manager of the baseball operations department, continued, watching the employees who had begun the sampling work.

“Even though crumb rubber seems like nothing, it ultimately determines the condition of the field.”

“That’s right. Artificial turf is all good, but crumb rubber management is quite tricky…….”

‘Crumb rubber,’ a material used in place of soil in stadiums with artificial turf.

The Tampa Bay Rays had recently carried out reinforcement work on this crumb rubber.

This was the only aspect of the facilities that had been altered recently, so the initial focus was on inspecting it.

However, when the employees brought the collected samples, the director of stadium operations expressed his reservations.

“There doesn’t seem to be anything special……?”

He said, looking into the soil sample contained in a long, transparent cylinder.

“The base is firmly compacted, and the crumb rubber is evenly distributed by particle size. It seems to be in better condition than I expected.”

“Really? There’s no problem?”

In response to Assistant General Manager Carney’s question, the director of stadium operations cautiously nodded his head.

“Yes, that’s how it looks to me. I don’t think it will significantly affect the players’ performance…….”

At the director’s words, the Tampa Bay front office people all let out short sighs.

They might have preferred that a problem be found here, because then a solution would definitely emerge.

If there was no problem with the ground, then it was like finding a needle in a haystack. Everyone narrowed their brows and sank into deep thought.

‘Hmm?’

Something strange caught Ji-seop’s eye, who had been quietly observing the situation.

“Ahem…….”

It was a middle-aged man in a suit.

Everyone who had gathered on the ground that day was wearing a team jumper, so his attire stood out.

Moreover, he had an expression that seemed uncomfortable, constantly glancing around and looking at people’s reactions.

Decisively, Ji-seop even heard his inner thoughts.

[So, that means it’s not our fault?]

[Whew, what a relief. We can get through this safely.]

Judging by his demeanor, he seemed to be a representative from the team’s partner company that carried out the crumb rubber reinforcement work.

From the partner company’s perspective, they must have been nervous. If there was a problem with the ground, the responsibility would fall on them.

So far, it seemed understandable, but the next thought that came to Ji-seop’s ears caught his attention.

[No, isn’t it obvious? The crumb rubber reinforcement work has a manual for everything.]

[I guess we can’t use Stanley anymore. Is he just a technician? Demanding $5,000 for such a small job…….]

Manual, technician, $5,000.

The moment these three words hit his ears, Ji-seop’s eyes narrowed.

He had a feeling. He couldn’t say it was 100% certain yet, but perhaps the cause of this situation was in these three words.

“Excuse me……. Mr. Klein?”

If he had a feeling, he had to act. Ji-seop quietly approached the director of stadium operations.

“Oh, Kim? What’s the matter?”

“Yes, actually……. I was wondering if we should also check the condition of the crumb rubber reinforcement with the person who directly carried out the work.”

In some ways, it was another department’s job.

Ji-seop added a touch of flattery, wanting to avoid any resistance from the director.

“I trust Mr. Klein, of course, but I have a feeling the general manager might raise some concerns about this.”

“Ah, that’s true. Our manager can be endlessly picky….”

“Thanks, Kim.”

“I almost missed that.”

The director grinned at Ji-seop and then craned his neck, looking for someone.

As expected, he called out to the middle-aged man in question.

“Mr. Boyer! Mr. Boyer!”

“Yes! I’m here!”

As Ji-seop watched the middle-aged man approach, he began to lay out his plan.

“Is that the person in charge?”

“Yes, Mr. Boyer is the representative of our club’s partner company.”

“Ah, so the president himself came to the site to manage the work?”

“I suppose so…? Actually, we leave the detailed staffing entirely up to the company.”

At this point, the director seemed to sense something was up with Ji-seop.

“Kim, what’s wrong?”

He asked, his brow furrowed. “Is there something bothering you?”

“No, it’s just….”

Whisper, whisper, whisper.

Just as Ji-seop finished whispering a few words, the middle-aged man arrived.

“Oh, Mr. Klein!”

He had a bright, almost too eager, expression.

“You’ve worked so hard. It looks like the ground inspection is finished. How were the results? I hope there weren’t any major problems?”

“Yes, well, that’s true….”

At that moment, the director of stadium operations scratched his cheek and stepped forward.

“Mr. President, was there perhaps any change in the staffing for this project…?”

“Huh?”

“Didn’t I tell you? Continuity is crucial in ground management. That’s why I specifically requested that the same person always be in charge….”

“Huh, I don’t know what you’re talking about?”

The middle-aged man seemed to have decided to deny everything from the start.

“Changes in staffing…? Yes, well, frankly, a few of the guys doing odd jobs might have changed. But there were no changes in the core personnel.”

Perhaps he thought it was a safe bet.

The club staff basically only know the theory. They don’t know the exact work process or who’s on-site.

So, if he just denies it, he can get away with it. The middle-aged man seemed to think so, but he was wrong.

This wasn’t some amateur operation; this was the Tampa Bay Rays, where such a shallow trick wouldn’t work.

“Really? If you don’t give us an honest answer, it could be difficult for both of us.”

The Tampa Bay Rays director began to pressure him in a firm tone.

“Our staff said that the person who was always in charge of the site wasn’t there? The one who managed Tropicana Field’s ground all this time….”

The director looked back at Ji-seop, who was standing next to him, and continued with a determined expression.

“A man named Stanley.”

“S, Stanley?!”

The middle-aged man’s eyes widened in shock.

“No, how did you know that…?”

He looked as if he’d seen a ghost. That was exactly the expression on his face.

* * *

A few hours later.

A quiet residential area in the suburbs of St. Petersburg, Florida.

As the sun slowly set in the west, a middle-aged Asian man was carrying a bowl of rice into the yard.

Woof! Woof!

A dog wagged its tail, happy to see its owner.

Watching the tail spinning like a propeller, a happy smile spread across the man’s face.

“Oh, Bokgil! You were hungry! You were very hungry! Huh?”

The Asian man, with a pleased expression, put down the bowl of rice.

Just as the dog began to gobble up the food, the cell phone in his back pocket rang.

“…….”

He had the kindest expression in front of the dog, but the moment he looked at the phone screen, his face hardened.

Without much hesitation, he pressed the [Reject] button, but the phone rang again not long after.

Brrr- Brrr- Brrr-

The caller seemed determined not to give up easily.

The Asian man sighed deeply and answered the phone.

“What?”

-Oh, Stanley! My friend!!

My friend, my hero, my savior.

The caller called out to the Asian man, who was called ‘Stanley,’ in a desperate voice.

Of course, the man wasn’t particularly happy to hear that voice.

“Oh, enough! Just get to the point! You kicked me out when you didn’t need me, so why are you calling me now?”

The other person hurriedly gave a few answers to Stanley’s question.

Hearing those words, Stanley snorted and stroked the dog’s head.

“Oh, well, that’s none of my business! Whether the Tampa Bay Rays win the championship or your company goes bankrupt, what does that have to do with me?”

That’s it. I’m not interested.

Stanley was about to hang up after saying that, but his eyebrows twitched at the voice coming from the speaker.

“Wait a minute, what are you talking about?”

Stanley jumped up in surprise.

“No, I mean, I understand you, but the Tampa Bay Rays? The Tampa Bay Rays’ general manager?”

He blinked, confused and alarmed.

“Why is that guy coming to my house?!”