A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 409

The Newcomer in the Baseball Team is Too Good 409

90 The Great Showman (3)

It was around 8 PM the next day when Ji-seop arrived in the Dominican Republic.

Las Américas International Airport, about 30km away from Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic.

“…….”

After collecting his luggage, Ji-seop looked around with a blank expression for a while.

It was perhaps a natural reaction for Ji-seop, who had made a living playing baseball his entire life.

Pedro Martinez, Vladimir Guerrero, Adrian Beltre, and even Jose Bautista, though slightly below their level.

All the Dominican Major Leaguers Ji-seop had admired must have departed for the United States from this airport with excitement.

Of course, that sentimental feeling didn’t last long.

“Ugh, it’s hot! It’s really sweltering!”

It was none other than John Ramer Taylor, fanning himself with his hand as he approached.

The main director of the Future Strategy Planning Division, who had tagged along with Ji-seop under the pretext of having learned some Spanish in college.

“I wondered if they even played baseball in the middle of winter… Whew! If it’s this hot, they can definitely do it. More than enough.”

Wiping the sweat from his cheek with the back of his hand, he placed his carrier at his feet and asked.

“Kim, it was Douglas, right? The person who’s supposed to pick us up from the airport today.”

“Yes, Mr. Douglas Hawkins, I believe.”

The employee from the Baseball Operations Division in charge of local liaison here in the Dominican Republic.

Ji-seop glanced at his watch and continued.

“He said he’d be at the arrival gate in advance… It seems like the traffic is a bit heavy.”

Should I give him a call?

Just as Ji-seop was about to take out his cell phone from his jacket pocket, he saw someone waving their hand from the front.

“Oh, amigo! Hola, hola!!”

A slender Hispanic man reached out to Ji-seop and his group.

“Kim? Kim from the Tampa Bay Rays? And this must be… Mr. John Ramer Taylor! Nice to meet you, welcome to the Dominican Republic!”

“Ah, Douglas? Nice to meet you!”

John Ramer took off his sunglasses and shook hands with a bright expression, but Ji-seop couldn’t help but tilt his head for a moment.

‘…Something’s off?’

According to the contact information file he received this morning, Douglas Hawkins was a typical African American.

But the man shaking hands with John Ramer right now was clearly of Hispanic descent.

“Excuse me, who are you?”

Ji-seop quickly pulled John Ramer back and gave the man a wary look.

“Are you from the club? If so, I’d like to see your ID card.”

“ID card? Ah, that’s…”

The Hispanic man flinched momentarily at Ji-seop’s sharp remark.

Still, as if he couldn’t back down, he hesitated and tried to make some excuses, but just then.

“Hey, you!!!”

A thunderous shout came from the airport entrance.

“Step back, step back!!!”

An African American man, with a truly frightening expression, strode up and pushed the Hispanic man away.

The Hispanic man clicked his tongue and turned away, and the African American man sighed briefly and turned to Ji-seop.

“Are you alright?”

The man asked.

“I’m sorry for being late, Deputy General Manager.”

* * *

The African American man who appeared like an angry bull and drove away the unidentified intruder.

He was Douglas Hawkins. The club employee who was supposed to pick up Ji-seop and John Ramer that day.

“I’m really sorry about this.”

Throughout the drive from the airport to downtown Santo Domingo, Douglas, who was behind the wheel, kept apologizing.

“I couldn’t find a place to park, so I was wandering around… I’m sorry for the chaos as soon as you arrived.”

“It’s alright. It’s nothing to worry about.”

Ji-seop waved his hand dismissively.

Such commotion happened often in the United States as well.

“But… who was that guy earlier?”

Ji-seop leaned towards the driver’s seat and asked.

“It’s common for people to approach you at the airport, but that guy seemed a bit strange, don’t you think?”

The Hispanic man recognized Ji-seop at a glance.

He knew Ji-seop’s name and affiliation, and even knew that John Ramer was coming with him.

If so, he wouldn’t be the type to scam tourists.

“Ah, that guy?”

Douglas scratched his cheek with his thick fingers.

And then, the answer.

“It’s a rather complicated issue if you dig into it… But for now, you can think of him as someone close to an agent.”

“Agent? The agent who handles players’ contracts?”

“Yes, but not officially qualified ones.”

Douglas turned on the turn signal and continued.

“Isn’t this the Dominican Republic, the land of baseball? There are many promising players who dream of the Major League, and there are many people who try to make a fortune by sending them to the United States.”

At this moment, Ji-seop thought of Alex Montero, the starting catcher for the Tampa Bay Rays.

He had heard that he, also from the Dominican Republic, had been ripped off with huge brokerage fees here and there after signing with the club.

“Large-scale agent companies are already affiliated with Major League clubs, but small-scale companies can’t expect that, can they?”

“Hmm.”

“That’s why, when they hear that a high-ranking club official is coming from the United States, many guys approach in the same way as before.”

It wasn’t necessarily to harm them.

Rather, it was almost the opposite. They try to gain the other person’s favor and get their contact information.

And that is to establish a relationship with a Major League official. To be able to directly introduce their players at any time.

If that happens, small-scale agents in the Dominican Republic can definitely move up a step.

“So much so that there’s a story that a Major League general manager’s business card is traded for at least $10,000.”

“$10,000?!”

John Ramer’s eyes widened.

“Yes, it’s worth more than that here… I don’t think it’s a completely unfounded rumor.”

“Wow, $10,000 for a business card…”

Suddenly, John Ramer took out his business card case and checked its contents.

Perhaps he didn’t have a general manager-level person’s business card. He sent a subtle look towards Ji-seop.

“Kim! By any chance…”

“Yes, I can’t give you my business card.”

“……Tch.”

Ji-seop cut off John Ramer’s attempt with a single word.

As John Ramer clicked his tongue in disappointment, Douglas in the driver’s seat raised the corners of his mouth.

“Anyway, I think similar people will continue to approach you while you’re here.”

Douglas looked embarrassed.

“I tried to keep it quiet… But seeing that there was someone at the airport, it seems that rumors about Kim have already spread throughout the industry.”

“Hmm, they share information quite quickly. It hasn’t even been a day since this Dominican trip was decided.”

“That’s probably true. They call each other brothers and get along well.”

Come to think of it, even in the Major League, there was a strong bond among Dominican players that went beyond just being teammates.

Even if it meant causing some damage to their team, they often acted to protect players from the same country.

Should the vast information network of these agents be seen in a similar context?

Just as he was about to turn his gaze out the car window, feeling a different atmosphere from the United States.

Ji-seop was able to recall the purpose of his trip from the voice coming from the driver’s seat.

“Oh, it’s starting to appear now! That building on the hill is the Catalonia Hotel.”

And then, one more word.

“Charles Flex, was it? I heard that he’s staying at that hotel.”

* * *

About 30 minutes later, Ji-seop and John Ramer were entering the Catalonia Hotel.

It was the very hotel where ‘Nevada’s Great Showman,’ Charles Flex, had been staying for a week.

“It’s not as… grand as I thought?”

That was John Ramer’s impression.

“I heard he made a lot of money in Las Vegas, so I thought he’d be staying in a very expensive hotel… Hmm?”

John Ramer, who was looking around, suddenly became serious and took a step closer to Ji-seop.

“Kim, it seems Douglas was right.”

“Yes?”

“You know, Douglas said earlier that local agents would be hanging around the area throughout our stay.”

John Ramer pointed his chin at the men sitting in the hotel lobby.

“They’ve been glancing over here since a while ago. I think those guys… are those local agents.”

“Hehe, maybe so.”

How far has the information leaked?

Ji-seop couldn’t help but smile wryly, but he didn’t have time to pay attention to their presence right now.

“According to Professor Pryor, Charles Flex goes to watch baseball games every afternoon…”

Ji-seop took out his cell phone and searched for the Dominican Winter League schedule.

“Today’s game is at 2 PM, so the game must have ended early. I should wait in the lobby.”

“Wait? Just aimlessly?”

John Ramer blinked.

“Wouldn’t it be better to just ask the front desk? If the game was at 2 PM, he might have already gone back to his room…”

“That’s a bit difficult. If we ask the front desk, we have to reveal our identities, right? Then the fact that we’ve arrived will get to Charles Flex’s ears…”

Charles Flex had clearly told them not to contact him anymore.

If he found out that they had followed him all the way here, he might be quite displeased.

They might be able to smooth over the displeasure with some excuses, but he might even move accommodations.

Therefore, they needed an environment where they could meet him as quietly and naturally as possible.

“Well, that makes sense when I hear it.”

John Ramer nodded.

“Then, would you like to have a cup of coffee at the cafe over there? Isn’t it about time for a cup of coffee?”

“Ah, should I?”

It was a situation that could become a long-term battle.

In some ways, it was no different from hitting the ground running.

So, wouldn’t a little help from caffeine be necessary? As he was thinking that and moving towards the cafe attached to the hotel lobby-

“Wahahaha! No, really!”

A hearty laugh came from behind Ji-seop.

“It’s true! Even though it looks like jelly, if you just suck on it once, you’ll feel your strength surging! Huh?!”

“Oh my, is that true? Is it really that effective?”

“So that’s why your skin is so good? I thought you were in your 40s?”

“Hahaha, 40s, please! Even if you say that, nothing will come out, right?”

The sound of mingling and giggling with women.

Perhaps because he was tired from the long flight. Until this point, Ji-seop hadn’t thought much about it.

But at the next moment, Ji-seop couldn’t help but turn around in surprise at the story he heard.

“Anyway, this is really great!”

It was the voice of an older man.

“This red ginseng… it’s the mystery of the Orient itself?!”

……Aha.