A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 400

The Superstar Rookie of the Baseball Team is Too Good – Episode 400

89 Another Sunshine Day (2)

Immediately after the White House visit, Ji-seop received a week of special vacation from the team.

It was a reward for successfully winning the regular season, the World Series, and completing the White House visit.

“We should have given you a longer vacation… I’m sorry. This year, the Winter Meetings schedule was moved forward,” General Manager Brian Spahn said, looking apologetic. Ji-seop honestly didn’t care much.

Whether it was because the vacation was short, or because Ji-seop’s contributions had been significant, the exact reason was unknown, but the amount of ‘vacation support money’ deposited by the team at this time was substantial.

‘Wait a minute… at this rate, it’s like half of my salary when I was in Korea?’ he thought.

He thought the championship bonus had been paid in advance, but that wasn’t the case.

The year-end bonus, the championship bonus, and the compensation for not using annual leave were all scheduled to be deposited later.

“Is that… really?” Ji-seop looked dazed, feeling like he had suddenly become rich.

General Manager Brian Spahn said with a gentle smile, “Haha, Kim! Isn’t that expression a bit much? Even though our Tampa Bay Rays are a small market team, we still uphold the basic philosophy of Major League Baseball, you know?”

Ji-seop was well aware of the ‘basic philosophy of Major League Baseball’ that the general manager was talking about: Treat those with skills accordingly and reward those who achieve results accordingly. For the Tampa Bay Rays this season, Ji-seop was the person who satisfied both of those conditions.

* * *

A week later, Ji-seop was entering the office of the Future Strategy Planning Department on the 2nd basement floor of Tropicana Field.

“Oh, Kim!!!” The first person to spot Ji-seop was David Wilson. He almost threw away the sandwich he was eating and rushed towards Ji-seop. As the other employees of the Future Strategy Planning Department approached with bright expressions, Ji-seop bowed his head.

“Has everyone been doing well?”

“Yes! We’ve been good. How about you, Kim? Did you have a good vacation with your family?”

“Yeah, well… so-so?” Ji-seop put down a large paper bag with a slightly tired expression. Drawn on the paper bag was a globally famous mouse character [Mickey Mouse]. Inside were several boxes of cookies shaped like the mouse in question.

It was perhaps natural that David Wilson’s thick eyebrows twitched once. “Wait a minute, Kim! Weren’t you supposed to be on a Caribbean cruise with your parents? But this looks like….”

“That’s right. It’s Disney World.” It was the world’s largest theme park in Orlando, Florida.

“My parents made the reservations. What was it? They said I really wanted to go there when I was little?”

“Really? You, Kim?” It was a story that was impossible to imagine from the current Ji-seop. As David Wilson asked, holding back a laugh, Ji-seop shrugged.

“Yeah, my dad apparently promised because I kept pestering him. He said he would take me to that big amusement park someday.” Ji-seop smacked his lips. “Honestly, I don’t remember any of it… but what can I do? My parents, who aren’t good at English, looked up everything in advance and made the reservations.”

And so, he ended up staying in that land of dreams and hopes throughout the vacation.

Ji-seop’s face was pale from being tormented by the huge crowds for a week, but David looked quite moved. “Haha, in your parents’ eyes, you’re still a child, Kim.”

“Ugh, don’t say such creepy things. Well, it was nice to spend time with my family after a long time… Here, have some. Let’s talk while you eat,” Ji-seop offered the cookies he bought from the theme park with an awkward smile.

While handing out the mouse-shaped cookies to his fellow employees, Ji-seop turned to David and asked, “Has anything happened in the meantime?” It was a question he had to ask. Due to General Manager Brian Spahn’s strict orders, Ji-seop was unable to receive calls from his colleagues during his vacation.

But with the World Series over, the Major League’s stove league [the off-season period where player transactions and rumors circulate] had already begun. A week was enough time for two or three pieces of news that could shake up the baseball world to break.

“Ah, if anything….” As expected, a strange expression flashed across David Wilson’s face.

“There’s good news and bad news, one of each. Which one would you like to hear first?”

“Damn it.” Ji-seop felt the sweet taste of the mouse cookie disappear completely. “Tell me the good news first. I feel like I’ll get a migraine if I hear the bad news first.”

“Yes, I understand.” David Wilson took out a file that was on his desk. “Our Future Strategy Planning Department’s office relocation has been confirmed. The exact schedule hasn’t been released yet, but we’ll be moving to the 3rd floor by the end of the year.”

“The 3rd floor will have plenty of sunlight… haha, John Ramer must be thrilled?” It was John Ramer’s long-cherished wish to escape from the moldy 2nd basement floor and move to the sunny 3rd floor. He had been singing about it every chance he got, so now that his wish had come true, he must be dancing for joy.

But instead, Ji-seop received a somewhat unexpected answer. “No, John Ramer didn’t like it very much. He just nodded once when I told him the news.”

“Just nodded?” It didn’t seem like he had suddenly developed affection for the 2nd basement office.

“Yes, more accurately… it’s more like he didn’t have time to be interested in the office relocation,” David Wilson straightened his back. “The ‘bad news’ I was going to tell you is related to John Ramer.”

“What is it? Did that guy cause another accident?” Ji-seop scratched his head. “If he wasn’t even happy about the office relocation news, then how big of an accident did he cause… hmm?!” The next moment, Ji-seop’s eyes narrowed. “Hey… David?”

“Yes.”

“Am I mistaken? It seems like there are some empty seats in our office?”

“No, you see correctly,” David Wilson sighed briefly. “A total of three employees are in the process of negotiating transfers with other teams, having received a ‘72-hour negotiation period’ from our Future Strategy Planning Department’s main director.”

* * *

The main director of the Future Strategy Planning Department, Mr. John Ramer Taylor, was a person with many nicknames. The nickname he was called throughout the industry was ‘sucker,’ the nickname he was called among his friends was ‘alligator hunter,’ and if Ji-seop’s memory was correct, the first nickname he encountered was this one: ‘The 72-Hour Man.’

If a Major League front office expresses their intention to transfer an employee, the original team is given 48 hours to respond. This was normal. It wasn’t easy to give more leeway in a frantically spinning front office.

But there was only one person in the Tampa Bay Rays—no, only one person in all 30 Major League teams—who gave his subordinates a 72-hour negotiation opportunity. Unfortunately, that was Ji-seop’s direct superior, John Ramer Taylor. That’s why he was nicknamed ‘The 72-Hour Man.’

“……”

Certainly, it was a story that had faded into the depths of Ji-seop’s memory for a while, but old habits die hard. While Ji-seop was away, the 72-hour man seemed to have given his subordinates that generous disposition again.

“It seems that other teams have been keeping an eye on our Future Strategy Planning Department. Almost simultaneously with the end of the World Series, job offers came in for our employees.”

One was the LA Dodgers, another was the Cincinnati Reds, and the other person seemed to have received an offer from the Boston Red Sox.

“The Boston Red Sox?”

“Yes, didn’t they bring pizza a while ago? I heard that specific stories were exchanged at that time.”

“Damn it, is this Jessica Ross’s doing….” A pizza that was brought as an expression of goodwill and friendship—the story was that even while sharing that pizza, negotiations were taking place behind the scenes to recruit talent.

Ji-seop could feel once again how ruthless Major League Baseball was.

“So, how far have the negotiations progressed? Is it confirmed that all three will be moving teams?”

“There hasn’t been any specific contact yet, but it’s best to be prepared. Usually, negotiations often end because there isn’t enough time to discuss the details, but this time the situation is a bit different.”

“72 hours… I see, now there will even be time to finish the negotiations and have a drink.”

It wasn’t the worst situation. It was a blessing in disguise. The employees who accepted the recruitment offers from other teams were the ones who joined after the All-Star Game. Therefore, they don’t know much about the ‘Yellow Book Project,’ and the importance of the work they’ve been doing has been declining. If we can find suitable replacements, we should be able to fill the vacancies without much difficulty.

However, one thing: ‘I should take this opportunity to speak firmly to John Ramer.’ It’s good to be a nice person to some extent, but if I keep losing colleagues every year like this, it won’t be easy for Ji-seop to endure. It’s okay to give a 72-hour negotiation chance, but he should report to me before that.

Thinking that he should tell him something like that, Ji-seop raised his head. “David, where is John Ramer right now? It doesn’t seem like there was a separate meeting?”

“He was called up by the general manager an hour ago.” David’s expression was probably a little relaxed because of that. “I’m guessing he’s being scolded so badly that he’s crying his eyes out for losing three employees… Ah.” It was at this moment that David held up his phone screen. John Ramer’s call was coming in on his phone.

“Hehe, it looks like the general manager’s mental education is over. To see him call so quickly like this.”

“It must be quite a gloomy voice.” As Ji-seop gestured with a wry smile, David immediately answered the phone. “Yes, Ramer! This is David.” Up until this point, David had an expression that said, ‘Serves you right.’ But instead, a question began to spread across his face little by little.

“Ah, Kim? Yes, he just arrived at the office… Yes, yes, yes, I understand.” After a few words of conversation, David Wilson put down the phone. He said to Ji-seop, “Kim, the general manager is looking for you. It seems like you should go up now.”

“Yes, I should.” Ji-seop was already planning to meet General Manager Brian Spahn to report his return. However, what bothered him was David Wilson’s appearance, as he kept tilting his head.

“David, what’s wrong?” Ji-seop asked, picking up the cookies he had bought for the general manager. “Why are you making that expression? Did John Ramer say something strange?”

“No, rather than something strange…,” David tilted his head to one side. “Ramer’s voice was strangely high-pitched.” It was a tone that couldn’t come out after being severely scolded. “What should I say, it sounded like he received a big compliment from the general manager?”

“A compliment?” Ji-seop chuckled. “Eh, there’s no way.” Up until this point, Ji-seop thought so too.