A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 372

Baseball Team Newbie Is Too Good – 372

Baseball Team Newbie Is Too Good 372

Chapter 84: Watching the Tiger Across the River (8)

“How to gain the trust of the players?”

Ji-seop tilted his head.

“……You’re curious about that?”

“Yes, why?”

Jessica Ross asked back.

“Why that expression? I don’t think I asked anything particularly strange.”

“No, it’s nothing…….”

Ji-seop scratched the back of his head.

“I thought you’d ask about something else. Like how I figured out Ryu’s injury.”

“Ah, that? That was definitely surprising too. But in a way, I thought it was a natural outcome.”

She said it was thanks to the MBA program at Fort Myers University.

“I got a vague sense of it while taking classes, Kim, the level of observation and judgment you possess.”

“Haha, that’s an unexpected compliment, isn’t it?”

“Compliment? It’s just the truth.”

It was from this point that Jessica Ross’s expression became serious.

“What I personally couldn’t understand was what happened after that. After hearing about Ryu from you.”

More precisely, it was when she visited Ryu Jang-ho, who was training, after finishing discussions with her fellow staff members.

When she suggested getting a thorough examination to confirm the injury, he shook his head.

“He refused the examination?”

“Yes, he refused very firmly.”

This was a story Ji-seop hadn’t heard.

“He said it’s true that he has some pain, but it’s not enough to affect the game.”

He argued that any baseball player would have this much pain.

He usually took a painkiller and played, so there was no reason to make a fuss about a thorough examination now.

He asked her to leave and not disrupt the team atmosphere, saying he would tell them separately if he couldn’t bear it anymore.

Having heard this far, Ji-seop shook his head.

‘Seriously, that Jang-ho, you have to acknowledge his stubbornness.’

Ryu Jang-ho would have done that. He was the type to do it.

With the championship series approaching, he wouldn’t obediently accept the club’s request for an examination.

But Jessica would have known about his personality. Ji-seop couldn’t help but ask again.

“So?”

“Yes?”

“What couldn’t you understand? The Boston front office wouldn’t have been unaware of Ryu’s personality.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

A bitter smile appeared on Jessica Ross’s face.

“Ryu, who was so stubborn, Ryu, who insisted it wasn’t a major injury at all… He changed his mind with just one word from my colleague.”

“One word? What did he say?”

“Well, shouldn’t you be able to guess, Kim?”

Kim, it’s you.

Jessica Ross looked at Ji-seop.

“……Me?”

“Yes, do you remember? Oliver from our team, he said you used to hang out with him when you were in Boston.”

“Ah, I remember. Oliver Myers.”

It was the name of the staff member he often had meals with when he was working as Ryu Jang-ho’s personal interpreter.

“That Oliver told Ryu.”

It was Kim from the Tampa Bay Rays who recommended getting a thorough examination.

He had contacted him after noticing something strange while watching four of his game videos.

Shouldn’t he get it checked out then? If it was Kim who contacted him directly, not just anyone.

As soon as Oliver said this, Ryu Jang-ho quietly put down the bat he was holding.

-Then…… I guess I have no choice.

-Let’s get it. A thorough examination.

This is how the Boston Red Sox front office staff were able to take Ryu Jang-ho to the hospital.

In fact, from Ji-seop’s perspective, it was something he could laugh off.

‘I can’t figure him out. Since when did he listen to me so well?’

Of course, this was a natural reaction, considering the two had bickered every three days, not only during their KH Cannons days but also when they were together in Boston.

However, from Jessica Ross’s perspective, it seemed she couldn’t just let it pass.

“Kim, what’s the secret?”

She asked.

“Just the mention of your name makes a player change his mind… How can you gain that kind of trust?”

* * *

To be honest,

Ji-seop was a little embarrassed at this point.

He didn’t have a good answer for Jessica Ross.

‘What should I say? I can’t exactly say I can read other people’s minds.’

He usually glossed over these kinds of questions, but it didn’t seem easy to do that today.

Jessica Ross’s expression seemed unusual, and more than anything, Ji-seop needed to extract information about the Texas Rangers from her.

‘Damn it, I don’t think I can get good information by just vaguely dodging the question.’

On the one hand, he also thought that Jessica Ross was a very greedy person.

Isn’t she already recognized? As the ace of the Boston Red Sox front office, as the main director of the Baseball R&D team.

The prevailing expectation was that she would be promoted to at least assistant general manager within 2-3 years, so why is she being so greedy again?

‘Anyway, those guys I met in the MBA program are really…… Hmm?’

And just then, a strange voice reached Ji-seop’s ear.

[Damn it, I can’t do this anymore.]

It was Jessica Ross’s inner thoughts.

She was always full of energy and confident, but at this time, she felt like she had lost all her strength.

[Damn it, isn’t this too much? Ignoring our words and following Kim’s so faithfully.]

It was about Ryu Jang-ho.

He was almost certain it was about him.

[How much effort have we put in over the past year…… Was it all useless? Were we the front office that couldn’t even comfortably talk about being in pain?]

[It would have been nice if he had told us sooner. If he had told us when he felt a little uncomfortable, there would have been a solution. But he didn’t say anything properly and just endured…….]

Hoo.

Watching the ace of the Boston front office take a deep sigh, Ji-seop was quietly laughing inside.

‘Ah, that’s what it was.’

After hearing her inner thoughts, it didn’t seem like Jessica Ross was particularly curious about Ji-seop’s secret.

She was just frustrated. No matter how much effort she put in, no matter how meticulously she took care of them, the players wouldn’t trust her 100%.

‘I thought she was someone who wouldn’t care about such things…… Hehe, unexpected.’

In a way, he also thought it was because Boston’s fall baseball was over.

Wouldn’t even the great Jessica be shaken? If the season she had poured everything into was over.

If the fall ended in vain, without even going to the championship series, let alone the World Series.

“Kim, what’s wrong? You haven’t said anything since a while ago…….”

Jessica Ross, who was looking at him with a puzzled look, not revealing such inner thoughts.

She still had a stubborn expression on her face, but at this time, a faint smile was appearing on Ji-seop’s face.

He had a sense of what to say to this greedy graduate school classmate.

“I have my own secret.”

Ji-seop opened his mouth after thinking.

“It’s not difficult to tell you, but I don’t know if it will be of any help to Ross.”

“What does that mean?”

Jessica asked back.

“Is it something that only Koreans can understand……? So other people can’t use it?”

“No, it’s not like that.”

At this timing, Ji-seop put down the answer he had come up with.

“In my opinion, Ross is…… already receiving a considerable amount of trust from Ryu.”

“Yes?!”

Jessica widened her eyes.

“Kim, are you kidding me right now? I just told you how we took Ryu to the hospital.”

“Yes, I remember. You’re talking about how he changed his mind with just one word from me, right? I definitely remember…….”

Is that such a big deal?

Ji-seop shrugged his shoulders.

“I didn’t persuade him alone, did I? Ross also persuaded him, Oliver also persuaded him, and of course, other staff members also persuaded him…… Maybe I just landed the final blow.”

“……What?”

Jessica had a dumbfounded expression, but Ji-seop continued to speak nonchalantly.

“Honestly, I don’t know why Ross thinks so highly of that. You’ve already brought about Ryu’s biggest change this season, haven’t you?”

“The biggest change?”

“Yes, I’m talking about changing his batting style. From a swing focused on contact to a swing that increases power.”

The words about the final blow were half a joke, but this was sincere.

“I know Ryu well. I don’t know about other things, but he has a definite philosophy about baseball. It’s no exaggeration to say that his life itself is baseball.”

“…….”

“That guy took the risk of changing his batting style, even during the season. This is a much bigger decision than going to the hospital or not.”

Then let me ask.

Ji-seop looked at Jessica.

“Who brought about that change? Who persuaded him? I don’t think the manager or coach would have mentioned such a dangerous choice.”

“That, that’s…….”

At this time, Jessica’s expression was truly strange.

Jessica was proud. She didn’t seem to like being overwhelmed by other people’s momentum and losing her words.

However, on the one hand, her face was brightening. Even if she didn’t show it, wasn’t it because she was hearing the story she really wanted to hear?

“So Ross, I won’t bother telling you about the secret or anything.”

Ji-seop said firmly.

“Instead, I’ll just say this. You’ve worked hard this season. You’ve done a really good job. And if possible…….”

Hehe.

It was at this moment that the most sly expression in the world appeared on his face.

“The information about the Texas Rangers…… Could you share it with me just a little bit?”

* * *

And the next day in the afternoon.

At Globe Life Field, the home stadium of the Texas Rangers, the Tampa Bay Rays players were training hard.

Thwack!

Thwack!

Thwaaaack!

The championship series, the match to determine the strongest team in the American League, was just a day away.

To prepare for the first game to be held the next afternoon, the Tampa Bay players were busy with their final preparations.

As the training continued, Ji-seop was talking to manager Mike Clemmblaus in front of the visiting team’s dugout.

“Kim, you’ve worked hard.”

Autumn was deepening, but the sunlight was still quite strong.

Manager Clemmblaus, wearing sunglasses, gave Ji-seop a faint smile.

“I heard from the president. This data we received this morning…… I heard Kim got it for us?”

The manager clicked his tongue slightly.

“Haha, I didn’t expect you to get us this kind of data. The power of the Texas pitchers felt at the plate, the feeling of the ball hitting the bat…… These are things that only players who have faced them directly would know.”

“I was lucky.”

He really was lucky.

Ji-seop was thinking that.

‘Jessica Ross…… She’s not an easy person after all. She was interviewing Boston hitters every night.’

Ji-seop was able to obtain the data entirely thanks to her.

Perhaps Ji-seop’s advice had pleased her, Jessica Ross had handed over the data she had recorded throughout the division series.

Thanks to this, the Tampa Bay Rays were able to vaguely guess the condition and power of the opposing pitchers.

“Of course, the club is also using various measuring equipment, but players tend to feel these expressions more vividly.”

Flap, flap.

Manager Clemmblaus, handing over the data, tapped Ji-seop on the shoulder.

“Kim, thank you. I will do my best to play a game worthy of Kim’s efforts.”

“Oh, you’re welcome. It was something I had to do as a member of the front office…….”

Just as he was talking about the upcoming first game with Manager Clemmblaus, a commotion was heard from inside the dugout.

“Hmm?”

Ji-seop checked his phone’s clock.

“Manager, it seems like the first game on the National League side has ended.”

“Ah, that’s right. I said the championship series would start today in the National League, right?”

LA Dodgers, the traditional powerhouse of the NL West [National League West division].

And the Philadelphia Phillies, who achieved the highest winning percentage in Major League Baseball this season.

These two teams were scheduled to play the first game of the championship series a day earlier than the Tampa Bay Rays.

“Let’s see, how did the game end…….”

If the Tampa Bay Rays safely break through the championship series, their next opponent will be one of those two teams.

Mike Clemmblaus took out his phone from his back pocket and started manipulating the screen.

“Didn’t they say the Dodgers were more likely to win? They have so many great players over there.”

“That’s right. Of course, we can’t ignore the team with the highest winning percentage in Major League Baseball…… Hmm?!”

And the next moment, Mike Clemmblaus flinched.

“Manager, what’s wrong?”

“Haha, this is…… The baseball world will be buzzing again today.”

When Clemmblaus turned his phone around to show the screen, Ji-seop momentarily lost his words.

“No, what is this…….”

The following game result was coming into Ji-seop’s view.

[ LAD 3 : 21 PHI ]

Final score 21-3.

It was the second-highest score in Major League Baseball postseason history.