A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 397

The Baseball Team’s New Recruit Is Too Good – 397

The Baseball Team’s New Recruit Is Too Good 397

88 Harvest Season (5)

The White House visit by the World Series winning team was a tradition that started in 1924.

On the surface, it was a simple occasion for celebration and courtesy.

A time to congratulate the players who had entertained the American people throughout the season and to applaud their achievements.

Ji-seop also knew it as just such an event, but the Tampa Bay front office staff had slightly different views.

-Hey, Kim! It’s the White House! This is an event held at the White House, you know?

-It’s a place swarming with shrewd people… Can there really be no hidden meaning to an event held there?

On the day of the White House visit, local politicians were eager to claim the World Series victory as their own achievement.

Entrepreneurs with connections to the baseball team were also diligently networking to gain new business opportunities.

The president, for his part, aimed to improve his image by showing a casual side with sports stars.

-Well, the baseball team is no exception.

It seemed that even Major League teams didn’t treat the White House visit as a simple annual event.

A certain team in the American League used the White House visit to overturn a decision with the league office.

A certain team in the National League used the meeting with the president to obtain permission for a large-scale real estate development project.

‘At this point, isn’t celebration and courtesy taking a backseat?’

It felt like a battlefield, in effect.

A battlefield where all sorts of people gathered to strive for their respective goals.

Until this point, Ji-seop was internally amused by such thoughts.

Not long after, Ji-seop came to realize that the Tampa Bay Rays, which he was a part of, were not much different from other teams.

-We are planning to use this White House visit as an opportunity to accelerate the new stadium construction project.

It was a remark made by Brian Sphan, the general manager, a few days before the negotiations with the White House people.

-It was decided that we would start building a new stadium if we won the World Series… But we can’t trust the city government or the council.

It had already been almost 20 years since the city government first mentioned the construction of a new stadium.

Official announcements were made, renderings were released, and it was said that all that was left was to break ground, but the project had been canceled three or four times.

Given the situation, Brian Sphan, the general manager, seemed to be reacting sensitively to even minor changes in the atmosphere.

-An ambiguous atmosphere is being created again. They keep postponing the negotiation date, and articles are coming out saying that the amount of public subsidies should be reduced.

At this rate, we could waste several more years again.

In response, the general manager seemed to have decided to take advantage of the opportunity that had come his way.

-A word from the president would be of great help to us.

It would be best if the president directly mentioned the construction of the new stadium.

But if that wasn’t possible, it would be a success even if a similar story came out.

-I hope that this time, we can all do our best to fulfill the long-cherished wish of our Tampa Bay Rays.

The negotiations with the White House staff that started in that way were quite a unique experience for Ji-seop because he didn’t have many opportunities to talk to people who had nothing to do with baseball.

So, it was a negotiation that he approached with quite a bit of worry.

“Good.”

About two hours after sitting at the negotiating table, Ji-seop was eliciting the answer he had so desired.

“Then let’s agree on that level. The final decision will be made by the President, but for now, at this stage, the last sentence of the speech is…”

[To the baseball fans of Florida, I hope that the Tampa Bay Rays can become even better friends than they are now.]

* * *

Several hours later.

Tampa Bay Rays’ general manager Brian Sphan was visiting the home of team owner Jeffrey Taylor.

“Come on, have a drink.”

“Thank you, Chairman.”

General Manager Brian Sphan receiving a glass of whiskey from the owner.

Just as he took a sip of the amber whiskey, team owner Jeffrey Taylor sat down and said.

“Isn’t this an unexpected achievement?”

The owner was wearing a broad smile.

“I hope they can become even better friends than they are now… To be honest, I think that’s a much more direct expression than I expected.”

Although the word ‘stadium’ didn’t even come up, the owner seemed very satisfied with just this much.

The other party was the White House. They were public officials.

He had not anticipated that they would use such favorable expressions for Tampa Bay, as they were usually very cautious about even minor matters.

“To be a better friend to the fans, they need to be located in a more accessible place. They need better facilities, and they need to serve more delicious food… In conclusion, they need a better stadium.”

The owner nodded repeatedly at the expression ‘better friend’ chosen by the White House.

He put down the whiskey glass he was holding and looked at his longtime colleague.

“Whose handiwork is this? Who has charmed the White House friends like this?”

The owner asked.

“I told you the negotiations wouldn’t be easy. I heard there weren’t even any Tampa Bay Rays fans in the White House.”

“Yes, I was worried because I heard there were more Philadelphia Phillies fans… But our front office’s ‘superstar’ pulled it off.”

“Superstar?”

Tampa Bay front office’s superstar.

This expression didn’t seem unfamiliar to Jeffrey Taylor.

“…Kim?”

The owner raised his eyebrows.

“Is it that friend again?”

“Yes, Kim in the Future Strategy Planning division. John Larma’s friend.”

The general manager also gave a faint smile.

“Chairman, do you happen to remember a baseball team called St. Petersburg Pelicans?”

“Pelicans?”

The owner scratched his chin.

“If it’s the Pelicans, isn’t that a semi-pro team that existed a long time ago? Haha, it’s been a long time since I’ve heard that name. But… why?”

“Well, one of the people in charge from the White House who visited our team today… worked for the Pelicans in his younger days. As an intern.”

The general manager continued.

“Even though he’s not very interested in Major League Baseball, it seems he cherished the time he spent with the Pelicans… I heard Kim targeted that point.”

“Targeted? How?”

“He just quietly approached him during the break and asked if he had a Pelicans uniform and if he could borrow it for a while.”

He even gave a plausible excuse.

“He said he was preparing an event where Tampa Bay players would wear Pelicans uniforms to play a game… But he couldn’t find any data.”

“Huh.”

Of course, it was a lie.

Now, a semi-pro baseball team that almost no one remembers. There would be no reason to hold an event simply because it was based in St. Petersburg.

But for the White House employee who cherished his memories of the Pelicans in his younger days, it would have been a story he couldn’t just let pass.

“I heard that the atmosphere at the negotiating table completely changed at that point. That Pelicans alumnus subtly took our side.”

“Huh, this is… a story I can’t believe even after hearing it.”

The owner shook his head.

“How did that Kim friend know about the White House employee’s previous job? No, before that, how did he even know about the Pelicans?”

“Haven’t I told you several times already? Kim never tells anyone his trade secrets.”

General Manager Brian Sphan took a sip of whiskey and continued.

“Anyway, it seems we received a lot of help from Kim this time. Well… it seems we’ll have to hold a ‘Pelicans Day’ sometime during next season.”

“What’s the big deal? We got the cooperation of the White House official, so it’s nothing to just make a few new uniforms.”

The owner nodded with a satisfied expression and asked the general manager again.

“So… is it all done now? Can we just wait for the White House visit the day after tomorrow?”

“No, we haven’t received a definite answer yet. I heard that the secretaries are discussing the results of the staff’s negotiations separately…”

As soon as the general manager’s words were finished, his cell phone, which was placed on the desk, began to ring.

“Oh.”

Brian Sphan, the general manager, turned the phone to show the screen to the owner, then pressed the [Call] button to answer the phone.

“Yes, Mr. Kirkwood! This is Brian. How… did the discussion go well?”

It was the White House secretary.

The person who could be said to be the representative of the White House employees who visited Tampa Bay Rays that day.

Jeffrey Taylor began to stare at the general manager’s face, holding his breath.

“Yes, yes, that’s right. We are well aware of those aspects as well. So, the final conclusion is…”

And the next moment, a low exclamation of ‘Oh’ flowed from Jeffrey Taylor’s mouth.

General Manager Brian Sphan had clenched his fist.

It meant that a good result had come out. It meant that the results of the staff’s negotiations had passed the secretaries’ meeting.

“Thank you, thank you so much!”

The Tampa Bay Rays’ new stadium construction, a situation where the long-cherished wish was beginning to be unraveled little by little.

Even though the person in charge wasn’t in front of him, the general manager jumped up from his seat and expressed his gratitude.

And was it not long after that point?

“Ah, is that so? Yes, that’s right. Then could you wait a moment?”

The general manager was listening to a few words from the White House secretary.

He put the phone down for a moment and looked at the owner.

“Chairman, Mr. Kirkwood is asking us to recommend one more person to be introduced by the President.”

“A person to be introduced by the President?”

It was the core event of the White House visit event.

The President comes to the podium and mentions the players who have contributed to the victory one by one.

It is a time to introduce the player to the guests and to have a short greeting with the President.

The team had already submitted a list of the players, but it was a request to recommend one more person.

“Who should we choose? Should we go with Mark Kohun? Or Dexter Sullivan…”

When the names of the players who were not included in the first list were coming out of the general manager’s mouth.

Jeffrey Taylor asked with a subtle expression.

“Hey, Brian! It wasn’t necessarily that only players could be mentioned, was it? I think I remember quite a few cases where team staff were mentioned?”

“T, team staff?”

“Yes, isn’t there one person who has contributed more than most players? I think it would be better to save face for that friend if possible.”

“Ah, I see! That’s a good idea.”

General Manager Brian Sphan nodded greatly and returned to the call with the White House employee.

A person who has contributed more than most players. A person whose face he definitely wants to save.

The general manager didn’t even think about asking who that team staff member was.