A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 430

The Baseball Team’s New Recruit Is Too Good 430

Chapter 93: Boys, Be Ambitious (7)

It’s not like the New York Yankees’ front office enforces a strict dress code.

That was to be expected. It’s a place where individual freedom is valued, and commenting on someone’s fashion is considered rude.

However, due to the company culture, Yankees employees usually dress similarly.

Generally, it’s a plain polo shirt with khakis, and when the weather gets colder, a hoodie with the team logo.

To be clear, you’d hardly ever see baggy jeans or revealing clothing like you might on the streets of New York—

“Okay, okay! Very good!”

“Our manager looks great on camera, doesn’t he? Haha!”

On the morning of January 11th, rather unfamiliar faces gathered at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.

People wearing snapbacks backwards and swaggering around, people in oversized basketball jerseys, people sticking out pierced tongues.

They were people with quite intense appearances, but their expressions were very serious.

Adjusting the camera’s position with sharp eyes, seriously discussing the brightness of the lighting.

Why have these new faces appeared at Steinbrenner Field, where the New York Yankees’ spring training takes place?

“Well, I’ll be. I never thought the day would come when the New York Yankees’ manager would appear on internet broadcasting.”

That was the talk among the Yankees’ manager’s aides, watching the scene from afar.

“What channel is the manager appearing on today? I think they said Maximum something.”

“Maximum Monster. I heard it’s a channel with about 300,000 subscribers.”

“300,000?”

One of the aides scratched his chin.

“Isn’t that a bit of an ambiguous scale? If he’s going to show his face anyway, wouldn’t it be better to go on a channel with about 10 million subscribers?”

“I’m not saying I didn’t think about that…….”

The chief aide trailed off, looking at Nicholas standing next to him.

Understanding his intention, Nicholas quickly stepped forward and opened his mouth.

“It seems the manager had no choice.”

“Circumstances?”

“Maximum Monster……. The operator of that channel is actually the youngest son of a family that has been active in the Bleacher Creatures for four generations.”

“Ah, the Bleacher Creatures?”

The New York Yankees’ oldest and most enthusiastic cheering squad.

The aides seemed to grasp the situation just by the mention of that word.

“So, it’s a gesture of reconciliation?”

One of the aides muttered.

“The Bleacher Creatures are constantly losing young members, so they’re trying to communicate somehow……. For example, listening to their complaints?”

“Yes, I think that’s the idea.”

Nicholas nodded.

“It seemed like they had a rough agreement with Maximum Monster. To allow only members of the Bleacher Creatures to watch…….”

“Ah, is that so?”

Hearing Nicholas’s answer, the aides smacked their lips with strange expressions.

“I guess it’s safe to say it’s not a very groundbreaking event. Isn’t it essentially an expanded version of an online meeting?”

“Bleacher Creatures, especially the young members……. So, will 100 people come? I don’t think even that will happen.”

“I’ve already requested a press release from the PR team, but I think it’s better to cancel it. It’s a bit much if the manager appears and there are only 100 viewers, isn’t it?”

The Yankees’ aides seemed a little disappointed.

Since they were making a new attempt anyway, it would have been nice to push it more grandly and boldly.

Everyone was clicking their tongues at the ambiguous approach, but Nicholas’s thoughts were a little different at this time.

‘Good, it’s going according to plan.’

He was trying hard to calm his constantly pounding heart.

‘The manager’s internet broadcast will proceed as scheduled. Now, all that’s left is Clark Wise…….’

That morning, Nicholas had heard the news from Jisub about the negotiations between Tampa Bay and Clark Wise.

The negotiations, which started exactly at 00:00 on the 11th, had fortunately concluded successfully.

However, the problem was the press conference schedule. He had received word that it would be held in the morning, but the specific time had not yet been communicated.

‘Why isn’t Kim contacting me? Hasn’t the schedule been released yet? Or did he collapse from the all-night negotiations?’

Nicholas was anxious.

He couldn’t express it openly, and he just kept fiddling with his phone.

Could the message have been marked as spam, or is the Wi-Fi not properly connected?

He was having all sorts of thoughts when, at that very moment.

“Hey, Nicholas! Nicholas!”

A voice calling urgently.

Nicholas inadvertently raised his head and gasped.

“……Manager?”

That’s right. It was the manager.

The current manager of the New York Yankees, Frederick Robinson, was staring at Nicholas.

“I, I’m sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment…….”

Nicholas took out the chart he was holding under his arm.

“Have you finished preparing for the filming? The host of Maximum Monster is currently taking a lap around the field, but…….”

Nicholas, who was momentarily flustered and sweating profusely.

Robinson, the manager, stared at him and said in an extremely businesslike tone.

“Nicholas, let’s talk for a moment.”

“Ah, yes!”

When Nicholas nodded and took a step forward, the manager turned his head and added.

“Oh, and it’s in 5 minutes.”

“Yes? What are you talking about? The internet broadcast is still almost 30 minutes away, but…….”

“Not that. What you’re eagerly waiting for right now.”

The next moment, Nicholas felt his heart sink.

“……Clark Wise’s press conference, I mean.”

* * *

Nicholas had always thought of himself as a meticulous person.

That’s why, while promoting this project, he had various scenarios in mind.

He had also thought in advance about how to respond if Jisub rejected his proposal.

He had also considered the possibility that the Tampa Bay front office might fail in negotiations with Clark Wise.

But even while considering those many scenarios, Nicholas had not anticipated the situation at this time.

“…….”

Sitting in Robinson’s office, watching the press conference with him.

-That’s right. The negotiations themselves started with the Yankees first. It was a negotiation that lasted almost a year.

-But the Yankees were too frustrating. They’re behind the times. They won’t allow this, they won’t allow that……. Then how on earth are humans supposed to develop?

-In that respect, Tampa Bay was seen as a suitable entity for a new era, a partner for our Clark Wise. I am very pleased to accept the results of today.

Don Chronos, who appeared wearing thick sunglasses, was leading the press conference with his unique flamboyant eloquence.

Every time he uttered a word, Manager Frederick Robinson’s golden fountain pen made a rustling sound.

To Nicholas, who was watching this scene without even being able to breathe properly, Robinson asked the first question:

“The Yankees are a team behind the times……. Where did that wording come from? Nicholas, did you convey that to Don Chronos?”

“N, no way!!”

At this time, Nicholas almost jumped out of his seat.

“I just made a request to hold a press conference. I had no idea about the specific content…….”

“I see. So, that statement should be seen as Don Chronos’s personal opinion.”

With that, Robinson took out a new piece of paper and resumed taking notes.

Perhaps this conversation felt like permission to start a story, Nicholas cautiously opened his mouth.

“How did you know that I was involved in this?”

There might be other questions, but at this time, this was the most curious part.

“Did you get a call from Clark Wise? Or from reporters covering Don Chronos?”

“Ah, so you’ve formed a pretty strong relationship with the Tampa Bay Rays?”

Robinson said, keeping his eyes fixed on the laptop monitor screen.

“I’m excluding the Tampa Bay Rays from the list of suspects altogether.”

“Yes? No, are you saying Tampa Bay leaked it?”

At that moment, a tremendous sense of betrayal filled Nicholas’s face, but what came back was Robinson’s bitter smile.

“I’m sorry, but no one leaked information to me. I just heard the news that the negotiations were over.”

“T, then how…….”

Robinson took out a document from the desk in his office with his left hand and threw it down.

“Your proposal. Remember?”

“?!!”

Nicholas’s eyes widened.

“We need to form a rivalry with the Tampa Bay Rays. That’s the only way to attract the attention of young fans……. You were the only one on our team making this argument.”

“D, did you…… read this? I thought you didn’t even consider it in the first place.”

“I read it. I read it. I had no choice but to read it. Nicholas, you are…….”

Hoo.

Robinson stopped writing with his fountain pen and let out a short sigh as if he was frustrated.

“You’re the youngest special assistant to the manager in our New York Yankees, you see.”

“M, Manager…….”

A slight embarrassment appeared on Nicholas’s face at this moment.

Because he thought he wasn’t getting any attention. Because he thought no one was paying attention to his opinions.

Of course, it wasn’t that he felt his decision was wrong, but Nicholas couldn’t help but feel a human sense of apology to Robinson.

“Manager, um, that’s…….”

“That’s enough.”

Robinson cut him off.

“I don’t need excuses. Insincere apologies are meaningless. Just tell me the numbers you’re expecting.”

“Yes? Numbers…… what do you mean?”

When Nicholas tilted his head, the manager finally turned his gaze.

“Have you already forgotten? I thought I told you when you first joined the Yankees? Tell me, what is the greatest value in the New York Yankees?”

“……Performance.”

Nicholas barely managed to open his mouth.

“It’s performance.”

“Yes, then that explains everything, doesn’t it?”

Robinson continued.

“You said that you would be able to bring in young fans with a rivalry with Tampa Bay. That’s what you did this for. Therefore, I intend to evaluate you only on that performance.”

So tell me.

How many people? How many people are you expecting?

Nicholas, who received Robinson’s question, swallowed hard.

“Oh, since today’s broadcast is only for Bleacher Creatures…….”

If he talked about an absurd number, the conversation would not proceed any further.

He had to mention a number that was realistically possible and at the same time exceeded Robinson’s passing score.

After pondering for quite some time, Nicholas slowly opened his mouth.

“I’m expecting about 300 people.”

“300 people? Good.”

Robinson didn’t say anything more.

Since Don Chronos’s press conference was also over, he shook off his seat without regret.

He organized the notes to talk about on the broadcast, and put the golden fountain pen, which he carried around like a part of himself, in his chest pocket.

Having finished preparing, Robinson pointed outside with his chin.

“Let’s go.”

“……Yes.”

It was about a 5-minute walk from the manager’s office to the media room where the broadcast would be filmed that day.

During that short distance, all sorts of thoughts were running through Nicholas’s head.

‘Should I have said about 250 people?’

The stories of senior aides who said that not even 100 people would come came to mind.

The story that a channel with about 300,000 subscribers was a bit ambiguous also came to mind.

What would happen if he didn’t achieve his goal?

Feeling his heart pounding and his mouth drying up, he entered the media room.

“Hey, Freddy!!!”

A young man in flashy clothes approached Robinson.

Judging by the fact that he was using the nickname ‘Freddy’ for the Yankees manager, it seemed that this was the host of the Maximum Monster channel.

The youngest son of a family that had been active in the Bleacher Creatures [The Yankees’ most dedicated fans who sit in the bleacher seats] for four generations. He opened his mouth while fiddling with the piercing in his nose.

“Freddy, I’m sorry. It looks like we’ll have to postpone the start of the broadcast a bit. About…… 30 minutes or so?”

“What’s the reason?”

Robinson said.

“If it’s because of Don Chronos’s press conference earlier, you don’t have to worry. I’ve prepared everything about that too.”

“No, no! It has nothing to do with the press conference. Or does it? Should I see it as related?”

And the next moment, Nicholas was surprised and raised his head.

“Suddenly, the number of viewers waiting to watch has increased dramatically. It’s still increasing now……. Currently, it’s about 700 people?”

“700 people?”

“Yes, if it’s like this before the broadcast starts, we have to completely change the setup itself. So please wait a little longer.”

“What suddenly happened? Didn’t you say that today’s broadcast is only for Bleacher Creatures?”

To Robinson, who asked in disbelief, the host laughed and replied.

“Wouldn’t everyone’s blood be boiling? No, we should be the ones swearing, it’s hard to hear others swearing at the Yankees! Anyway…….”