A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 434

The Baseball Team’s New Recruit Is Too Good 434

Chapter 94: The Place I Need to Be (3)

“Ji-seop-ahhhhhh! Welcome back!”

“Ji-seop-ahhhhhh! Welcome back!”

Ji-seop returned in triumph to the KH Cannons’ spring camp as the assistant general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Greeted warmly by his former colleagues, Ji-seop was led by Go Chang-deok to the Cannons’ manager’s office.

It was there that KH Cannons’ manager Arthur Freeman and general manager Seo Chang-gi were eagerly awaiting Ji-seop’s arrival.

“Hey, Ji-seop!!!”

“Special Advisor Kim!!!”

When Ji-seop opened the door to the manager’s office, the two heads of the KH Cannons jumped to their feet.

Their faces were beaming, and they seemed ready to embrace Ji-seop and spin him around. It was hard to believe they had been patiently waiting in the manager’s office until now.

“Ji-seop, how have you been? How’s your health? Health management is the most important thing for a major league front office!”

Arthur Freeman patted Ji-seop’s shoulder and laughed heartily.

“Special Advisor Kim! Or should I call you Assistant General Manager Kim now? Come, sit down. You must be tired from your journey.”

Seo Chang-gi patted the cushioned sofa, urging him to sit down quickly.

“Haha, yes, thank you.”

Looking back, these two were Ji-seop’s mentors in the industry.

In his first season with the Cannons, he worked as Arthur Freeman’s exclusive interpreter and learned how to view baseball from the field’s perspective.

In his second season with the Cannons, he worked as Seo Chang-gi’s special assistant and was able to learn what the front office’s perspective was.

‘If it weren’t for these two, it wouldn’t have been easy for me to get this far.’

If ‘Sakhalin Park’ Vice Chairman Park Hong-ju opened the way to the baseball team, Arthur Freeman and Seo Chang-gi taught him how to walk that path.

It had been a full year since he had seen them, so there were many stories he wanted to tell and many stories he wanted to hear.

Unfortunately, on this day, Ji-seop’s conversation with his two mentors did not flow very naturally.

“The acting owner was so disappointed to hear that you were coming. He was originally planning to be in the United States around this time.”

It was fine when Seo Chang-gi brought up the story about Sakhalin Park [a fictional company].

The problem was what came next.

“But it seems like there was a sudden urgent matter at headquarters. Because of that, the vice chairman’s visit to the United States was also…….”

Thwack!

It was the sound of a single hit.

A strong hitting sound from the field cut off Director Seo’s words.

“…….”

“…….”

Almost simultaneously, a subtle tension filled the Cannons’ manager’s office.

When Ji-seop raised an eyebrow, Director Seo quickly cleared his throat and continued, “Ah, sorry. Where was I?”

“You said there was an urgent matter at headquarters. That’s why the vice chairman’s visit to the United States was canceled.”

“Ah, that’s right! Yes, the vice chairman was really disappointed. Even if he didn’t say it outright, it seemed like he really wanted to see your face…….”

Thwack!

The very moment another hitting sound was heard, Ji-seop was able to grasp it for sure.

Both Seo Chang-gi and Arthur Freeman were very conscious of the hitting sound that was being heard now.

All their attention was focused on that side, so they were not able to concentrate on the conversation with Ji-seop, whom they had met after a long time.

‘Oh ho?’

In fact, this was a very rare occurrence in a baseball team.

Because it’s a baseball team, and half of the players are fielders, the sound of throwing and hitting a ball is close to everyday background music.

To react so sensitively to such a familiar sound? Especially the executives of the club? Ji-seop couldn’t help but be interested.

“I heard it’s a player named Ban Ho-jin.”

Ji-seop brought up the topic, holding up one finger.

“I’m talking about the guy who’s practicing hitting on the field right now. Go Chang-deok said that he’s the most promising rookie in the Cannons this year…….”

At this time, Ji-seop stared at the eyes of the two mentors sitting across from him, but in fact, there was no need to do so.

The two mentors showed very clear and contrasting reactions to the rookie player Ban Ho-jin.

“Th, that’s right! Ban Ho-jin is definitely the best of this year’s rookies. The expectations our front office has for him are… not small,” Seo Chang-gi said, glancing at Arthur Freeman’s reaction.

And Freeman, after hearing the director’s words from the interpreter, said, “Ji-seop, do you keep in touch with Jang-ho often? He still needs a lot of your advice.”

It was clear to anyone that he was reluctant to mention Ban Ho-jin.

* * *

To be honest,

Ji-seop was very surprised that day.

The reaction Arthur Freeman showed when he heard about Ban Ho-jin was very unfamiliar.

‘That’s a face I’ve never seen before?’

Of course, unlike what was known to the outside world, Arthur Freeman was also a man of strong character.

If something went wrong, he would kick the trash can, and if he saw players playing insincerely, he would rattle off words starting with the letter ‘F’.

But as far as Ji-seop remembered, Arthur Freeman had never ignored a player before.

Once a player is brought up, he gives a cold assessment. It’s really impossible to treat them like they don’t exist.

‘That kind of person… deliberately changed the subject? The general manager openly expressed his interest?’

As the saying goes, going on the wrong day [experiencing something at an inopportune time].

The subtle atmosphere that was floating around the KH Cannons’ spring camp around the time Ji-seop visited.

It was in the afternoon of the same day that Ji-seop learned more accurately about the rookie Ban Ho-jin.

On the way to lunch arranged by Seo Chang-gi, Ji-seop was able to ride in the same car as Go Chang-deok.

“Oh, I didn’t want to tell you this as much as possible, Ji-seop…….”

When Ji-seop brought up the story about Ban Ho-jin, Go Chang-deok, who was holding the steering wheel, sighed deeply.

“Don’t I know your style? Your head must be throbbing with the Tampa Bay team’s work right now.”

Go Chang-deok didn’t seem to want to put any unnecessary burden on Ji-seop.

That must have been the reason why he glossed over the question with a vague answer when Ji-seop first asked the question.

But if he hadn’t noticed it at all, he wouldn’t have known, but now he couldn’t tell him to take care of it himself.

“Hey, hyung [older brother/friend]! I’ll be sad if you say that. I’m always a member of the Cannons, aren’t I?”

“Well, that’s true, but…….”

Just in time, General Manager Seo Chang-gi’s car, which was going ahead, began to slow down.

Go Chang-deok also stepped on the brakes to match it and slowly opened his mouth.

“That guy Ho-jin only knows about the major leagues. It’s his lifelong dream to play there.”

“Major League?”

It wasn’t a rare story for guys who play baseball, but Ban Ho-jin’s case was a bit extreme.

“He didn’t even look at Korean baseball since he was a kid. He only watched Major League broadcasts. His parents also told him that if he was going to play baseball, he should go to the best league in the world.”

“Oh, that’s a thorny path.”

Ji-seop clicked his tongue.

“Then why did he join the Cannons instead of coming to the United States? Whether it’s the minors or an independent league, isn’t it a matter of coming and playing?”

“He was going to go. He actually received offers from several teams. But you know. Those guys who work so hard at baseball always…….”

“Are they injured?”

“That’s right.”

Go Chang-deok nodded.

“He had knee surgery in his second year of high school and shoulder surgery in his first year of college. He had surgery twice before coming to the pros, so it became difficult to attract the attention of the major leagues.”

“…….”

“As you said, he seemed to be trying to go to an independent league… I heard that his family wasn’t doing so well. When we offered him a contract, his father immediately ran over with a stamp [eagerly accepted the offer].”

“Aha.”

After hearing this, Ji-seop felt like he could see the whole situation in front of him.

“Even though he joined the Cannons, he still hasn’t given up his attachment to the major leagues.”

“That’s right, that’s how it is.”

“Ugh, it’s disgusting.”

Go Chang-deok shuddered.

“He listened to the manager well. He really listened well. Manager Freeman is famous even in the major leagues, right? The problem is…….”

“Other people?”

Go Chang-deok nodded heavily at Ji-seop’s question.

“The coaches are better. At least they pretend to listen. But he listens to the stories of his seniors and our club staff with one ear and throws them away with the other… and the manager caught him.”

To be exact, it seemed that he was caught by Arthur Freeman for not following the instructions of captain Lee Soo-bin.

The Cannons players were supposed to gather early in the morning for jogging, but Ban Ho-jin was the only one left in the dorm, sleeping soundly.

Freeman, who was on his way to encourage the players, happened to see this, and there was no need to explain what happened next.

“Oh, I wondered what happened…….”

Ji-seop’s face was filled with bitter laughter after hearing the story.

“Isn’t Ban Ho-jin supposed to go to a fortune teller to buy an amulet instead of doing batting practice? He’s so unlucky, how could he get caught by the manager while sleeping in the dorm?”

“Hey, are you laughing?”

Go Chang-deok had a sulky expression.

“The manager’s anger is no joke. He can’t even talk about Ho-jin in front of the manager. He’s so angry that he won’t use a guy like that…….”

“Well, the manager would be like that.”

It would have been better if he had just ignored everyone.

But he was trying to look good to the manager, but he didn’t listen to other people’s stories.

Freeman wouldn’t have been able to stand by and watch this two-faced behavior.

“But this… isn’t it a very common case in the baseball world as a whole? A rookie being arrogant without knowing anything, and the manager coming out strong to catch such a rookie.”

As it was a common case, Ji-seop knew the solution well.

“It’s better to just watch it, right?”

Ji-seop shrugged.

“Now is the time when any rookie’s confidence is soaring. Once the season starts and a few games are played, Ban Ho-jin will realize his level.”

That’s usually how the problem is solved.

Realizing his true skills and realizing that he can’t go on like this.

From then on, he begins to listen to the advice of the coaches and show interest in the stories of his seniors.

That’s how he naturally blends into a team. In Ji-seop’s opinion, that was the best.

“Rather, shouldn’t the front office be dealing with this firmly at times like this? That’s what I learned.”

“That’s right, that’s the right theory. We did that for the first few days. But… damn it, Ban Ho-jin is not an ordinary person.”

It was at this time that Go Chang-deok lightly gritted his teeth.

“If he was an average guy, he should be wagging his tail by now? Whether he goes to the manager and begs or bows his head to Soo-bin… But this guy is actually going in reverse.”

“In reverse?”

“Yeah, you saw it earlier, right? He’s doing batting practice on the field where no one is.”

Is that a show of force?

Go Chang-deok continued.

“He’s trying to show the manager. ‘I’m hitting like this. I have this much skill. Can you lead the team to victory without me?'”

“Really?”

“Well, he says it’s training to keep his routine… but that’s how I see it. It’s a show of force.”

“Wow.”

Ji-seop was a little surprised here.

It was definitely rare for a rookie player to show that much guts.

“We, who are caught in the middle, are really dying. The manager is coming out strong, but the player has no intention of backing down… Fortunately, Chief Cha has been coaxing the reporters well, but if this gets out, it will be a headache in many ways, right?”

What was being revealed to the outside was also a problem, but the atmosphere of the team was a bigger problem.

Every team prioritizes the authority of the manager. If a rookie player acts like this, the situation will become irreversible at some point.

“I just feel so bad. He has talent, he trains hard… He’s really a guy who could try for the major leagues, but he’s wasting his precious first season with unnecessary stubbornness.”

“The atmosphere you’re talking about is a bit chilly? Is the club’s disposition imminent [a decision about the player’s future]?”

“Maybe? I think the general manager will be saying something soon. He’s been in a wait-and-see position until now…….”

The story that they might lose a valuable prospect.

The story that even Arthur Freeman’s solid influence could be slightly damaged.

It was around the time when Go Chang-deok’s car was turning into the restaurant that Ji-seop, who had been quietly thinking for a while, opened his mouth.

“Hyung, shall I build a bridge for you?”

“A bridge?”

Go Chang-deok turned his head.

“A bridge… what?”

“Isn’t the key to getting Ban Ho-jin to have a professional mindset as soon as possible? So that he doesn’t act like an amateur anymore.”

Relationships with colleagues were also an important virtue of a professional.

Getting the cooperation of the coaching staff and club staff was also something a professional had to do.

Only looking at the manager? To break through everything with his skills? That’s a logic that only works in amateur baseball.

“Then why don’t you teach them in a crash course? How are the real pros doing? How are they living their player lives?”

“Well, that’s true, but… I don’t know if Ho-jin will listen to the story? He doesn’t listen to most people.”

“Yes, so shouldn’t we send him to a more reliable place? To a place where Ban Ho-jin’s high nose can be broken [where he can be humbled]. To a place where he can learn with a humble heart. For example…….”

Swish.

Ji-seop raised his head.

“Like a Major League spring camp?”

“Ma, Major League spring camp?!”

It was at this moment that Go Chang-deok’s eyes widened.

“Ji, Ji-seop-ah! Is that… is that possible?! Really?”

“Yes, I think I can try it once.”

Ji-seop answered, taking out his cell phone.

“It just so happens that our Tampa Bay Rays were looking for a spring training invitee.”

It was news that Go Chang-deok would hear as if a lifeline of salvation was coming down from the sky.