A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 43

New Recruit of Baseball Team is Too Good – 43

#New Recruit of Baseball Team is Too Good Chapter 43

Chapter 12: Once an Ace (4)

New Frontier Sports Company.

A professional coordinator company that contracts with individual players or agents and supports players with training, rehabilitation, and overall life issues.

Jisub noticed the existence of this company just a few hours ago.

‘Hmm?’

It was during dinner after the foreign players’ bullpen pitching.

While Jisub was eating at the hotel buffet where the KH team was staying, a peculiar sight caught his eye.

‘What’s that……?’

A plate of Japchae [Korean glass noodles stir-fried with vegetables and meat].

No, to be more precise, it would be correct to say ‘three plates of Japchae.’

The three foreign pitchers Jonathan brought all had a plate full of Japchae.

-Haha, these guys! Looks like they’ve had Korean food before?

-That’s right. It doesn’t seem like there will be any problems with food.

In fact, it wasn’t uncommon.

Foreign players about to sign a contract eating the traditional food of the country to show their adaptability.

It’s a kind of showmanship.

Jisub also forced himself to eat ‘Natto’ [fermented soybeans] when he was about to sign a contract with a Japanese club, and he also chewed on ‘Stinky Tofu’ [fermented tofu with a strong odor] on the day he signed a contract with a Chinese club.

However, this is the KH Cannon’s team accommodation.

There’s plenty of Korean food at the buffet, but the foreign players are bringing Japchae as if they had made a promise.

Feeling a bit strange, Jisub asked them in a casual tone.

-You guys seem to like Japchae?

-We do.

The foreign players nodded.

-At first, I felt a sense of rejection because of its strange shape, but once I tried it, it tasted 괜찮더라고요 [gwaenchanhdaguyo – not bad].

-Japchae is my favorite Korean food. I’m so glad there’s Japchae at the restaurant.

-Actually, I like all Korean food. I’ve always been the type to eat everything without being picky.

The foreign players, unaware that Jisub was just a training assistant, were subtly promoting themselves.

However, their prepared comments only fueled Jisub’s suspicion.

-But there are hardly any places that sell Japchae in the United States, right? Where did you try it?

The foreign players looked startled at Jisub’s question.

-Ah, that’s……

-Um, well…….

They exchanged strange glances with each other and gave the answer that they had eaten it in ‘Koreatown in LA,’ but by then, Jisub had already gathered all the information he needed.

‘New Frontier Sports Company, huh.’

The conclusion he reached after staring ‘intently’ into their eyes.

‘These guys… must be affiliated with the same coordinator company.’

* * *

KH Cannon’s local scout in the United States, Jonathan Stewart.

About 10 minutes later, he was called to the international business team from his accommodation.

“Director, what’s going on? Have the players to be signed been decided?”

Jonathan Stewart entered the conference room with a bright expression.

However, the moment he saw the website of ‘New Frontier Sports’ on the wall of the conference room, his eyes widened.

“Oh, no…….”

“Judging by your expression, I don’t think I need to explain why I called you here.”

Said Jo Sung-beom, head of the international business team.

“Our team’s new recruit told a story that we couldn’t just pass over.”

“…….”

Jonathan Stewart was silently ‘glancing’ at Jisub.

“I looked around this website while you were coming, and… all the players who came to our team for a test today are under contract with this ‘New Frontier’ company.”

Director Jo Sung-beom’s gaze turned to Jonathan Stewart.

“The agents are different, but the coordinators are the same… I don’t think I’ve ever heard this story from you?”

“Director, th, that is…….”

Jonathan Stewart hesitated slightly at Director Jo’s remark.

However, it seemed that Jonathan had some ‘preparation’.

“I’m sorry, Director.”

Jonathan bowed his head ‘deeply’.

“I guess I can’t fool the director’s eyes. What you said is all correct. The friends I brought today are all affiliated with the same coordinator company.”

Jonathan Stewart surprisingly admitted his mistake.

“If this is a problem… I will accept whatever punishment the club decides to give me.”

“No, the punishment is a later problem.”

It was the Cannon’s first-team pitching coach who intervened in the conversation between the two.

“Why did you only bring players from that company? We’re asking for the reason.”

“Th, that is…….”

Jonathan sighed.

“To be honest, the biggest reason was that time was too short.”

“Time?”

“Yes, the season is about to start, isn’t it? I was worried that our Cannons might face the season opener without any foreign pitchers…….”

Jonathan scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression.

“So, I asked a coordinator company that I usually had a relationship with for help. I asked them to recommend any players who could play for the Cannons.”

The process of finding a replacement foreign player usually takes more than a month.

The reason why this work could be done in less than two weeks seemed to be this.

“Thanks to New Frontier’s active efforts, I was able to find a good player quickly. But this could be seen as a bit of corruption depending on who’s looking at it…….”

“So you didn’t mention it?”

“Yes.”

Jonathan nodded.

The people in the conference room were ‘hmming’ and pondering.

“Oh, this is difficult.”

“It’s certainly a problem if it becomes known externally…….”

“But in the first place, there was no other way to bring in a replacement foreign player quickly, right?”

It was an issue that would have been a problem if it were someone else.

However, the person involved in this case is Jonathan Stewart.

He was the ace of the KH Cannons and a scout who has been working for the Cannons for a long time.

Perhaps because of his performance so far, the atmosphere in the conference room was gradually changing favorably.

“Hey, Jonathan! You should have talked to Director Jo about that in advance, shouldn’t you have?”

“How long have Director Jo and you known each other? If you had told Director Jo in advance, this wouldn’t have been a problem.”

“Director Jo, we don’t think there’s any need to make a big deal out of it. When you think about it, Jonathan was just trying to do well for the team…….”

Until this point, Jisub had been thinking similarly to them.

It’s certainly a problem to only bring players from a specific company, but it’s not something you can’t do if you want to quickly supply players.

Besides, considering that the players they brought are replacement foreign players, they’re not bad.

There were some parts where the order of things wasn’t smooth, but it seemed like it could be overlooked with a little caution, right then.

[Phew, that’s a relief.]

Jonathan Stewart’s inner thoughts caught Jisub’s attention.

[Did I manage to clean things up before things got to the worst possible scenario……?]

The worst.

The worst, huh.

Jisub had no choice but to concentrate while looking into Jonathan Stewart’s eyes.

And the next moment, a word came to Jisub’s ears.

[It’s a bit of a burden that the relationship with New Frontier was exposed… but at least the story of Edwin Gonzales didn’t come out.]

* * *

Jisub felt a bit dazed.

Because the name of an unexpected person popped out ‘suddenly’.

‘Edwin? Edwin Gonzales?’

It took him a while to remember his name.

‘That’s right, if it’s Edwin Gonzales…….’

The personal instructor of the ‘Broadcasting Guy’ Jimmy Morris.

Of course, ‘personal instructor’ is a superficial title, and in reality, he was an irreplaceable friend and helper who took care of Jimmy Morris’s entire career.

Wasn’t it after Edwin Gonzales left his side that Jimmy Morris fell into internet broadcasting?

‘I think I heard that Edwin left after receiving an offer from another place…….’

Why is that name suddenly popping up here?

What is the relationship between that name and the ‘worst’ that Jonathan Stewart mentioned?

While Jisub was lost in these thoughts, the atmosphere in the conference room was settling down to cover up Jonathan’s mistake.

“Hey, Jonathan! Please pay more attention to the report in the future. What can’t we talk about between us?”

“I understand your concern for the team, but… if these small misunderstandings pile up, it will be difficult later. Got it?”

Jonathan Stewart repeatedly bowed his head, saying ‘I’m sorry’ to the front office people.

To Jisub, who had been a player for a long time, that figure felt somehow familiar.

‘…He looks like a player after finishing salary negotiations.’

To be exact, it was like seeing players who signed a salary contract while hiding their injuries.

They know that they won’t be able to perform properly in the upcoming season, but they decide to accept the salary they’re given.

When you think about it, players are all individual business owners, and he, who was an active player until recently, didn’t want to blame those colleagues for their choices.

However, he can’t just let a scout who is responsible for selecting foreign players for a team, and who is trusted by the baseball team people, get away with that expression.

“…….”

Jisub reached this point in his thoughts.

His next choice was to call out to Jonathan, saying, ‘Mr. Stewart.’

“Mr. Stewart, may I ask you one more thing?”

“Yes, go ahead. By the way, what’s your name…….”

“Kim Jisub. I’m a training assistant.”

Jonathan’s expression changed slightly at the word ‘training assistant.’

It was as if he was thinking, ‘What could a mere training assistant have to ask me?’

However, Jisub had no time to pay attention to such reactions.

‘This is going to be… a gamble.’

It wasn’t that accurate information had been gathered.

It wasn’t that he had grasped an accurate picture.

Just a suspicion pieced together based on fragmentary information obtained by reading Jonathan’s inner thoughts.

But at this rate, it felt like one of KH Cannon’s long-standing problems would go under the surface.

Jisub gritted his teeth and decided to take this gamble.

“I was reminded of something when I heard the name New Frontier Sports Company.”

“Yes, is there any problem?”

“Jimmy Morris, who is currently on the list of replacement players, once told me this story.”

To be honest, his heart was pounding like crazy, but Jisub was outwardly maintaining an indifferent expression.

“Edwin Gonzales, who was Jimmy Morris’s personal instructor, was offered a job as a mental coach from a company in the United States…….”

“Ed, Edwin?”

It was a brief moment, but Jisub didn’t miss the fact that Jonathan’s lips were slightly twisted.

“Yes, Edwin.”

Jisub continued, watching Jonathan’s expression.

“And the name of the company that Edwin Gonzales was offered a job at… I think it was New Frontier Sports?”

“I, is that so?”

Jonathan Stewart’s expression was hardening.

Jisub sensed that his ‘gamble’ was paying off.

“W, well, I think I’ve heard that story too… but what’s the reason for asking that?”

“No, isn’t it a bit of a coincidence?”

Jisub opened his mouth again.

“After New Frontier Sports recruited Edwin Gonzales, Jimmy Morris, who lost his friend, began to falter rapidly. Eventually, he was even driven to the brink of being kicked out.”

“…….”

“And the players who arrived as replacement foreign players are all affiliated with New Frontier Sports, right?”

Feeling that the atmosphere in the conference room was changing, Jisub continued.

“In this case, I can’t help but be suspicious, right? New Frontier Sports stole Edwin Gonzales with the intention of shaking Jimmy Morris.”

“H, hey! What kind of novel are you writing right now!”

Jonathan Stewart shouted.

“New Frontier Sports is a place that has worked hard for the Cannons in crisis! If you drive such a place as if they shook a perfectly good player for their own benefit…….”

“Yes, it may be a novel.”

Jisub nodded.

“But I’m a front office employee of KH Cannons.”

“What?”

“What I’ve learned here is that you can’t just let go of even the smallest things.”

“…….”

“Whether my story is a novel or not, I’d like Mr. Stewart to prove it.”

Isn’t it simple?

Jisub said in a calm tone.

“Please call Edwin Gonzales right now in this place.”

“…….”

“So, if you ask Edwin who offered him the job, it will be easily resolved, right? If my feeling is right, that’s…….”