A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 435

Rookie on the Baseball Team Is Too Good 435

94 Where I Need to Be (4)

Around 10 a.m. the next day.

Ji-seop arrived at [Charlotte Sports Park], the Tampa Bay Rays’ spring training site.

After quickly unpacking in his office, he headed straight for the parking lot, about a 5-minute walk away.

Ban Ho-jin was scheduled to arrive soon, having left Fort Myers that morning.

“Oh, Kim!!!”

“Good morning!”

As Ji-seop appeared in the parking lot, several players who had arrived early greeted him with a wave.

Interestingly, the way the players greeted Ji-seop varied depending on their current status within the organization.

“Kim, did you see the news yesterday? Vincent from the Yankees was already throwing close to 100 miles [approximately 161 kilometers per hour]!”

“When you think about it, that guy has no sense of camaraderie, does he? What are we supposed to do if he’s already throwing like that?”

The ones joking about Vincent Hiyama with a grin were the major league regulars.

“Oh, it looks like Kim is coming out to the field today?”

“Keep an eye on me! My sweeper [a type of breaking ball] is really dancing these days. You won’t regret it!”

The ones appealing to their strengths with determined expressions were the minor league players from Triple-A or Double-A levels.

“G, Good morning, sir!”

“G, Good morning, Deputy General Manager!”

The ones greeting him with an attitude that seemed straight out of the military were Single-A players or spring training invitees.

“Yes, please work hard today. Above all, be careful of injuries.”

“T, Thank you, sir!!!”

“Thank you for your words!!!”

This is where players of various levels prepare for the upcoming season: Major League Spring Training.

It was about 5 minutes later that the KH Cannons people arrived at this hotbed of competition.

“Oh, Ji-seop!!!”

The first to get out of the car was Go Chang-deok, Ji-seop’s fellow rookie.

“Ji-seop, you were already here?”

Next to appear was ‘Black Curtain Chacha’ [likely a nickname, implying someone who controls things from behind the scenes] Department Head Cha Yoon-jin.

“……Hello.”

The last of the group to emerge was the player in question, rookie Ban Ho-jin.

“Thank you for the hard journey.”

Ji-seop greeted the Cannons people with a bright expression.

“It wasn’t as far as you thought, was it? I heard it takes about an hour from Fort Myers.”

“Yeah, it seems like it took about that long.”

Go Chang-deok looked around and continued.

“But here… the facilities are amazing! It seems like a different dimension compared to our Cannons’ spring camp?”

“The Tampa Bay Rays are a team based in Florida.”

Ji-seop shrugged.

“In other words, this is their home ground, so wouldn’t they set up their spring camp in the best possible place?”

In fact, [Charlotte Sports Park] was considered one of the best spring training facilities among the 30 Major League teams.

It had been ranked #1 in the ‘Best Spring Camp’ poll conducted by American sports media for several years.

While Go Chang-deok was constantly exclaiming in admiration of such facilities, Department Head Cha Yoon-jin also approached Ji-seop and extended her hand.

“Thank you, Ji-seop.”

Department Head Cha also seemed to be feeling a new sense of emotion.

“I heard it from Manager Go that Ji-seop arranged it so Ho-jin could participate in Major League Spring Training.”

“Yes, we happened to have a few spots open… so it wasn’t difficult to push forward.”

Ji-seop replied with a smile.

“However, I don’t think we can keep him here for very long. About three days? After that, Tampa Bay’s main members are scheduled to join.”

“What are you talking about? Three days is more than enough! Thank you so much. I’ll really treat Ji-seop big time later.”

“No, it’s nothing.”

After a brief greeting with Department Head Cha Yoon-jin, Ji-seop turned his gaze to Ban Ho-jin, who was standing awkwardly behind him.

“Now, please accept this. These are the items provided by our team.”

Ji-seop handed the items he was holding to Ban Ho-jin.

It was a backpack with the Tampa Bay Rays team logo emblazoned on it.

“Uniform, hat, undershirts… Oh, I heard sunglasses were included this year as well. All the same products used by Major League players.”

“The same items?”

“Yes, no matter how long you stay, spring training invitees are supposed to be treated at the Major League level.”

“I, I see.”

The Cannons’ rookie nodded and accepted the backpack.

At this moment, Ji-seop was looking back and forth between the players who had greeted him earlier and Ban Ho-jin in front of him.

“…….”

He was curious. What kind of reaction would this arrogant rookie show?

Would he show a determined resolve like the Triple-A players? Or would he show a nervous appearance like the Single-A players?

To answer the question, it was not a reaction that would come out of the minor league level.

“There are only three undershirts.”

Ban Ho-jin, who had been quietly looking inside the backpack, slowly raised his head and said this.

“Deputy General Manager, where do I need to go to get more undershirts?”

“Undershirts? Why undershirts?”

Go Chang-deok reacted.

“Three shirts should be enough for three days, right? Ah… is it a souvenir? Are you trying to keep the unopened new ones as souvenirs?”

“No, that’s not it.”

Ban Ho-jin looked at Ji-seop.

“Deputy General Manager said three days, but it’s also possible to stay longer than that.”

“Longer?”

“Yes, I once read an article like that. An invited player who was recognized by the local coaching staff……”

Ban Ho-jin’s eyes sparkled.

“There was even a case where someone completed the entire Major League spring camp.”

“Wh-what?!”

Go Chang-deok stared at Ji-seop with a dumbfounded expression.

* * *

“Wow, that’s quite the boldness.”

About three hours later.

Ji-seop was meeting with manager Mike Clemblas, who had arrived at the spring camp location a little while ago.

As the deputy general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, he had matters to discuss with the manager, but he also needed to report about Ban Ho-jin.

“Since he got the opportunity, he’s aiming to complete spring training…… Haha, right! A rookie should have that much boldness.”

After hearing Ban Ho-jin’s ‘undershirts’ story, manager Clemblas nodded repeatedly.

“Of course, we can’t keep a player who strictly belongs to another team for that long…….”

So,

The manager turned his head.

“What can I do for you?”

“Yes?”

“Seeing that Kim’s former team sent him all the way here, it seems they cherish him very much……. Then how can I just stand by? Kim has helped me so much until now.”

Manager Clemblas smiled gently.

“How about this? If Kim requests it, I can provide that friend with plenty of hitting opportunities. Or I could ask the coaches to pay special attention to him.”

“No! Not that far…….”

Ji-seop quickly waved his hand, not expecting manager Clemblas to be so proactive.

“I’m grateful just for inviting him to spring training. But if you could give a little help…….”

“Give?”

“When that friend returns to his original team, I would appreciate it if you could give him a short word of encouragement.”

“Hmm.”

The manager nodded.

“In my opinion, that friend will soon feel a significant gap. He will also realize that his skills were lacking. At times like that, encouragement from someone like you would be a great help.”

“That’s not a difficult task. I understand. I’ll keep that in mind.”

It was at this moment that manager Clemblas turned his wrist to check the time.

“Kim, would you like to go out with me? It’s about time for the practice game to start.”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

As Ji-seop nodded, manager Clemblas grabbed his hat and got up from his seat.

Just as they were about to head out to the ground where the practice game would be held, manager Clemblas brought up this topic to Ji-seop.

“But…… Kim, what if.”

“Yes.”

“What if the situation turns out the opposite of what you expect? What would you do then?”

“Turns out the opposite?”

“That’s right. That ‘Ban’ friend of yours shows tremendous performance. To the point where I and the coaching staff are drooling over him.”

It happens sometimes.

Manager Clemblas smiled mischievously.

“Those quirky guys who easily surpass our expectations…….”

* * *

According to the announcement from the Tampa Bay Rays, their official practice game was scheduled for a week later.

In fact, that was the real deal. A game played with all the major league starting members joining and their condition raised.

But before that, there was also a need to check the level of minor league players or spring training invitees.

The match held at Charlotte Sports Park that day was one of those test matches.

“Alright, let’s go for it 멋지게! [Let’s go for it 멋지게 is a Korean phrase that means ‘Let’s do it coolly/impressively!’]”

“Let’s go Rays, Let’s go Tampa Bay!!!”

Amidst the powerful shouts of the players echoing from all over, the first pitcher to take the mound was Mason Madero.

Until two years ago, he was active as a fixed starter for the Seattle Mariners, but after experiencing a rapid slump last season, he was released.

After failing to find a team throughout the offseason, he joined the Tampa Bay Rays as a spring training invitee a few days ago.

His main weapon is a four-seam fastball that reaches up to 158 km/h [approximately 98 mph]. He also mixes in a circle changeup and a slider.

Whoosh- Pow!

The last chance to find a new team. Mason Madero gritted his teeth and continued pitching, but the Tampa Bay front office’s evaluation was not good.

“His velocity has dropped a lot.”

Said a baseball operations staff member.

“Even considering it’s a bit early, it’s staying in the low 90 mph range. It’ll be hard to overwhelm hitters with this kind of velocity, right?”

“That’s right. The slider doesn’t look bad, but the fastball needs to back it up…….”

The faces of his colleagues were full of disappointment, but at this time, Ji-seop was quietly nodding his head inwardly.

Certainly, he was a pitcher lacking in terms of the Tampa Bay Rays’ standards. But he was the type of pitcher that Ji-seop needed.

‘Even if it’s in the low 90 mph range, the average velocity is over 149 km/h [approximately 93 mph]. Based on the Korean professional baseball league [KBO], that’s a considerable level.’

If you include the breaking ball and game management ability in the calculation, he’s exactly a mid-to-high level pitcher in the KBO.

He thought there was no one better than this to be the ‘real education’ opponent for rookie Ban Ho-jin.

‘The fact that the Tampa Bay front office’s evaluation isn’t very good is also a merit. After facing Mason, that friend’s mindset might change a bit, right?’

Of course, Mike Clemblas’s words were heavily weighing on one corner of his heart.

‘Very occasionally, quirky guys who easily surpass our expectations appear…….’

Ji-seop, who could see through other people’s minds, couldn’t easily make a judgment at this moment.

What is the potential of baseball player Ban Ho-jin? Is he just a cocky rookie that every team has? Or is he a monster who can surprise everyone?

The first match to make that judgment started right after that.

-Next batter! Left fielder, Ho-jin Ban!!! From South Korea!

The 8th batter of Team A in today’s game.

It was Ban Ho-jin’s at-bat.