A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 374

Baseball Team Newbie Is Too Good – 374

Baseball Team Newbie Is Too Good 374

85 Dog Fight (2)

“An extraordinary strategy, you say?”

Ji-seop tilted his head.

“What kind of strategy are you talking about? I don’t quite grasp it just from those words.”

“Well, there are many anecdotes that follow Benjamin Oznovich like a shadow…”

Professor Kevin Pryor looked up at the ceiling for a moment, then snapped his fingers.

“The most famous one is probably what happened with the Montgomery Biscuits. That’s how Benjamin caught the eye of Brian Sphan, the general manager.”

“Montgomery Biscuits… Are you referring to the Tampa Bay Rays’ Double-A team?”

“That’s right. In the past, when a new recruit joined the Tampa Bay front office, they would gain experience in Double-A [Minor League Baseball, second-highest level].”

Professor Pryor continued.

“Not long after Benjamin started working in Montgomery, a game against a rival team was interrupted due to a problem with the light towers.”

It was a Double-A team with far inferior facilities compared to the major leagues.

Cases where games are interrupted due to lighting problems happen quite often.

“Naturally, a suspended game was declared. The idea was to choose a suitable day later and resume play from the point where the game was interrupted.”

So far, a natural flow.

The problem arose about two months later.

“The league office informed us of the resumption date… and that timing was very delicate.”

“Delicate?”

“Yes, it was the day after the Tampa Bay Rays announced the call-ups of their promising prospects.”

The Montgomery Biscuits’ roster was bound to undergo significant changes.

Several starting fielders were promoted to Triple-A [highest level of Minor League Baseball], and the team’s closer was called up to the major leagues.

The team’s strength became unstable, and they had to lie low for the time being. The league office notified them that they would resume the game at this particular timing.

“As you said… it’s delicate.”

Ji-seop narrowed his eyes.

“Did someone’s influence play a role? Were they trying to give an easy win to a rival team?”

“How would I know? What’s certain is that Double-A is also a professional league, and in professional leagues, there are always people who want to win at all costs.”

It was at this moment that Professor Kevin Pryor’s gaze turned to Ji-seop.

“Ji-seop, what would you have done?”

His eyes were full of curiosity.

“You’re someone who has beaten the Yankees or the Boston once this season, aren’t you? I don’t think you’re short on ideas, are you?”

“Well, I’m not very good at these kinds of problems…”

Ji-seop scratched his head.

“The best course of action would be to postpone the game until the team’s strength stabilizes, but the league office has already made a decision, hasn’t it? Then there’s not much I can do…”

Officially filing a complaint was also an option, but it was difficult to expect a high success rate against the league office.

Then what to do? Should he mobilize the media? Should he ask for help from the major leagues? Or would it be better to find a way to win the game somehow?

As he thought of various methods, Ji-seop looked up at Professor Pryor.

“What method did Oznovich use?”

Ji-seop became quite curious.

“I think I heard that he graduated from law school… So did he find a way through legal means?”

“Well, something similar.”

Professor Pryor smiled.

“Benjamin’s choice at the time… was to post a notice to the spectators who had come to see the game two months ago.”

“What kind of notice?”

The answer that followed was something Ji-seop had never even thought of.

“The notice said that spectators who wanted to watch the resumed game would have to pay an additional $2 per person.”

“……Excuse me?”

Ji-seop blinked.

“What are you talking about? Additional costs? The spectators already paid for their tickets two months ago, didn’t they?”

“Well, Benjamin had his own reasons. He said he had to receive electricity bills, labor costs, and facility usage fees necessary to resume the game.”

“I don’t think people would have readily accepted such reasons?”

At Ji-seop’s words, Professor Pryor nodded silently.

“That’s right, there was an uproar. The media made a big fuss about it, and people came to the stadium to protest… But that was all Benjamin’s aim.”

“Yes?”

“Have you ever heard of it? It’s a bit of an old saying, but there are three things that Americans like the most. Baseball, cars, and…”

Lawsuits.

Professor Pryor smiled brightly.

“How about it, are you getting a sense of it now?”

“Then maybe…”

“That’s right, angry fans filed a lawsuit against the Montgomery team.”

The professor continued.

“The additional cost is unacceptable. Ticket holders should be able to watch the game for free. The game should not be held until this is enforced.”

“……Wow.”

“Of course, the court ruled in favor of the fans. There wasn’t even a formal trial. The judge who reviewed the complaint summoned the team’s lawyer and urged them to settle.”

As a result, they were unable to receive additional costs, but that day, there were cheers in the Montgomery front office.

Thanks to the fans submitting the complaint, the court issued an order prohibiting the resumption of the game until a ruling was made.

It took a full month for the judge to review the case and order a settlement, and during that time, the Montgomery Biscuits were able to reorganize their strength.

“Eventually, the game that resumed after a month was won by the Montgomery Biscuits. I can’t say it was just because of that game, but the Montgomery Biscuits also won the Double-A Southern League that year.”

At Professor Kevin Pryor’s words, Ji-seop was speechless for a while.

As they often say, ‘innovative.’ Benjamin Oznovich’s strategy was exactly that.

To nullify the league office’s decision with a court order, where did he get such an idea?

“Of course, this is the most dramatic example, but Benjamin has always solved problems in this way.”

In ways that others can’t easily think of.

In ways that stab at the opponent’s weakness.

Professor Kevin Pryor took out a glasses cloth from his pocket.

“The fact that he became the Phillies’ general manager at a young age, and the fact that he raised the Phillies to a championship-caliber team in just one season, should be seen in a similar context.”

“So… a dog fight.”

Ji-seop nodded with a calm expression.

“It won’t be easy to achieve a complete victory against someone who is good at using unconventional tactics, someone who enjoys stabbing at weaknesses…”

“That’s right. You understood me correctly.”

Professor Pryor said, putting on his newly cleaned glasses.

“Benjamin is probably devising something right now. It could be a simple baseball tactic, or it could be an off-field ‘pick-off’ [deceptive move].”

“…….”

“The key is to have the confidence to move forward without being shaken even when such attacks come in. It’s the determination to push ahead with what you do best.”

If you can do that,

It will be a good game.

That was the last piece of advice Professor Kevin Pryor gave to Ji-seop that day.

* * *

‘Hehe, a dog fight, huh…’

The next day, in the morning.

Ji-seop, who had arrived at Tropicana Field, picked up his bag and headed towards the office.

‘I’ll hit you once, you hit me once… Is that the feeling we need to go with?’

Ji-seop was recalling the advice he had heard from Professor Kevin Pryor the day before.

As he pondered the professor’s words, thoughts naturally came to mind.

‘Maybe this time… I might have misjudged our team’s atmosphere.’

The fact that there was a subtle confidence flowing.

That was what Ji-seop felt as he watched the Tampa Bay front office people the day before.

Even though Benjamin Oznovich was not an easy opponent, and the Philadelphia Phillies’ momentum was also unusual.

People who showed a subtle confidence that it was worth fighting, that they could overcome it.

But looking back, he realized that it might not have been an expression of confidence, but a kind of determination.

(We know Benjamin’s style well) It’s worth fighting.

(We’re prepared to take a hit or two) We can overcome it.

Perhaps they had predicted the aspect of this World Series earlier than Ji-seop.

Because they were the people who had seen the emergence of Benjamin Oznovich, a genius, from closer than anyone else.

‘Yeah, maybe that’s right… Hmm?’

As he was thinking that, Ji-seop passed through the entrance door installed in front of the team’s office with a ‘beep-‘.

Just as he was about to head to the Future Strategy Planning Division on the 2nd basement floor, a man loitering near the 1st floor office came into view.

It was John Llama Taylor.

“Hey, Llama!”

Ji-seop called out to him.

“What are you doing there? If it’s coffee, I bought some!”

“Oh, Kim!”

John Llama approached.

“Good morning! Did you have a good meeting with the professor yesterday? Did the report pass?”

“It was nicely rejected.”

Ji-seop smiled bitterly.

“He said he’ll give me plenty of time, so I should rewrite it from the beginning. It didn’t seem like he was going to let it go.”

“Oh dear, this is bad. Once our professor makes up his mind like that, he becomes very strict.”

John Llama, who had taken the MBA course in the past, clicked his tongue as if he felt sorry for him.

Ji-seop handed his boss a cup of coffee that he had bought in advance and said.

“But what were you doing here? I don’t think it’s because of the coffee.”

“Yes, I have a few requests for the ticket sales department.”

Ticket sales department at a time when the World Series is just around the corner.

Then it was not difficult to guess what he wanted.

“Is it a ticket favor?”

“Yes, Kim, do you remember? Mr. Howard and his cheerful friends.”

They were the college friends of Brett Evans, a veteran pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays.

They were the people who had caused all sorts of accidents while working with him on the ‘Cowbell Boys’ activities.

After forming a relationship with the Cowbell Day incident, they had been maintaining a fairly close relationship with John Llama.

“I heard that there was a World Series ticket sale yesterday… but it sold out in an instant, so they couldn’t get a single one.”

John Llama smiled awkwardly.

“Mr. Howard has received a lot of help so far, hasn’t he? So I was going to get them an outfield seat if there was one…”

“Ah, is that so?”

Up until this point, Ji-seop was drinking coffee without much thought.

But soon, he realized something strange and tilted his head to one side.

“But do World Series tickets usually sell out this quickly? It’s a little different from what I’ve heard?”

The major league’s ticket sales system was a little different from Korea’s.

“The team’s reservation site usually sells out quickly, but doesn’t the United States have many secondary sales sites? I heard that you can get tickets there, even if they’re a bit expensive?”

“Ah, that’s right. Mr. Howard was originally planning to use a secondary sales site…”

John Llama smacked his lips.

“There are no listings at all.”

“Yes?”

“Philadelphia Phillies home game tickets are still being listed, but strangely, there are no listings for our home game tickets at all.”

The next moment, Ji-seop could no longer feel the aroma of his morning coffee.

“It’s as if… someone swept up all the tickets.”