A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 446

96. Take Me Out to the Ballgame (2)

How can I describe him?

He resembled a gaunt specter from a Western fairy tale or legend.

Tall, but painfully thin. His loose shirt hung on him like a sack.

Adding to that were his prominent cheekbones, hollow eye sockets, and the sparse strands of hair clinging to his scalp.

Frankly, he wasn’t the kind of man one would readily approach, yet Charles Fleck was striding toward him with a beaming smile.

“Hey, Huck! Huck Flanders!”

His face was alight with a cheerful grin.

“Huck, do you recognize me? It’s me, Charles! Charles Fleck!”

“…Charles Fleck?”

Swish, swish, swish.

The skeletal, ghost-like man slowly turned his head.

He didn’t seem to place him immediately. He squinted and tilted his head, considering for a long moment.

“Come on, buddy! Even if time has passed, you shouldn’t be this way! Don’t you remember, Charles? Charles Fleck from the Tampa Bay Rays marketing department!”

The moment the words Tampa Bay Rays were uttered, the gaunt man let out a delighted, ‘Oh!’

“Haha, now I know! If it isn’t the lecherous hound from the marketing department? Hound Charles Fleck!”

The skeletal man clapped Charles Fleck on the shoulders.

“Oh my, you look pretty rough too? These wrinkles and age spots… I almost didn’t recognize you!”

“Hmph, does your face look any different? We’re all getting old and wrinkly together…”

Seeing them trade barbs about each other’s appearances so readily upon meeting, it was clear they were close friends.

After some back-and-forth about who was uglier and other meaningless banter, the skeletal man changed the subject.

“But what brings you here? Weren’t you living in Las Vegas?”

“Haha, it’s been a while since I left there. I’m back in Tampa Bay now, working in marketing again.”

At Charles Fleck’s words, the skeletal man, Huck Flanders, widened his eyes.

“Wait a minute, you’re back in Tampa Bay? No, why am I only hearing such important news now?”

“When were you ever quick with information? You were always holed up in that cramped organ room… Ah, that’s right!”

It was at this moment that Charles Fleck gestured grandly toward Ji-seop.

“Kim! Why don’t you come over and say hello? This is my old friend Huck Flanders! He’s known as a very skilled organist in our industry!”

“Ah, yes! Hello, Mr. Flanders.”

Encouraged by Charles Fleck, Ji-seop quickly approached and shook hands, though he still didn’t fully grasp Huck Flanders’ profession.

“But you said organist?”

Organist.

The word felt foreign on his tongue.

“I think it means you play the organ… Where do you play? Is it similar to a pianist?”

“What, a pianist?”

Hearing that, Charles Fleck laughed, ‘Oh, this guy!’ and playfully slapped Ji-seop’s shoulder.

“Well, you’ve only worked in the baseball department so far, so you might not know about stadium organists.”

“Stadium organist.”

It felt even more difficult to pronounce.

“What is that… again?”

* * *

If you enjoy baseball, especially Major League Baseball, there’s a sound you’ve likely heard at least once.

Bba-ra-bam-bba-bba-bam-

Bba-ra-bam-bba-bba-bam-

Bba-ra-bam-bba-bba-bam- Tta-ak!

The melody that emanates from the stadium speakers when the home team has a crucial opportunity.

The melody that makes the audience clench their fists and the players on the field steel their resolve.

In Korean professional baseball, pre-recorded files are commonly used.

However, some Major League teams employ professional organists, who play this music live.

“Of course, that’s not all they do.”

They also play sound effects that match the unfolding events of the game.

Sometimes they play upbeat dance music to encourage the audience to get up and dance.

Above all, there’s that song that could be called the anthem of American baseball, the song that’s always played during the 7th-inning stretch in every Major League stadium.

, ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’.

“To sum it up… a person who creates all the musical sounds heard in the stadium with just one organ? A person who plays that role is called a stadium organist.”

“Wow, that sounds amazing!”

Ji-seop was now looking at Huck Flanders with eyes full of admiration.

Whether he resembled a skeletal ghost or possessed a withered physique, it no longer mattered.

To create so many sounds with just one organ. He could truly be called a master of sound.

“If you know Mr. Fleck well… did you also work for the Tampa Bay Rays? At Tropicana Field?”

“Yes, yes, that’s right!”

Perhaps seizing the chance to extol his friend’s virtues,

Charles Fleck began to gush with enthusiasm.

“Now they use a general broadcasting system, but at one time, Tropicana Field also had a stadium organist. I heard it disappeared when this friend retired.”

Ah,

Now that he mentioned it, he missed it.

Charles Fleck wore a look of nostalgia.

“In terms of convenience, the current system is much better, but the sound of the organ should be echoing in the baseball stadium… Hey, Huck! When exactly did you quit? Has it been about 10 years now?”

“……”

Huck Flanders, upon hearing his friend’s question, remained silent for a moment.

He tilted his head and stared intently at Charles Fleck’s face.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Why are you staring at my face like that?”

As Charles Fleck said this with a forced laugh, Huck Flanders finally spoke, slowly.

And what he said was something Ji-seop didn’t expect at all.

“Hey Charles… what are you talking about since a while ago?”

He wore a puzzled expression.

“Me retiring? The organist disappearing from Tropicana Field… Where did you hear such nonsense?”

He smirked.

“I’m still active! The organ room at Tropicana Field is still intact! Look, I even received my pass for next season!”

“P, pass for next season?”

At this moment, a slight tension flickered across Charles Fleck’s face.

Because what he was holding was just an ordinary credit card.

Of course, it didn’t have any pass function attached.

“Damn it, but this pass hasn’t been working since a while ago! Here! If you put it here, the door should slide open…”

Thud, thud, thud.

Huck Flanders kept trying to get his ‘pass’ recognized by the Gate 3 security device.

Putting the card up, putting it up, putting it up. But the door remained firmly closed and unmoving.

Because what he was holding was a credit card, and because Gate 3 had been closed several years ago.

Huck Flanders didn’t seem to accept this fact easily.

“Hey, Charles! Isn’t this strange? Why isn’t the door opening? Huh? Like this, like this, like this… I’ve been doing this for 30 minutes already!!!”

Bang, bang, bang!!!

Eventually, Huck Flanders started pounding the Gate 3 security device with his fist.

“M, Mr. Flanders! What are you doing!!”

Surprised, Ji-seop rushed toward the gate to stop Huck Flanders.

“H, Huck… you don’t mean…”

While Charles Fleck could only stare blankly at his old colleague with an incredulous expression.

“…Father!!!”

The voice that would save these two was heard right after Ji-seop grabbed Huck Flanders’ arm.

“Father!!! Are you doing this again here?!

It was a young man with a slender build, who bore a striking resemblance to Huck Flanders.

* * *

“Yes, Ramer… I think I’ll have to stay here a little longer. If anything happens, please contact me. Yes, yes, then…”

About an hour later.

Ji-seop was visiting Huck Flanders’ home, located on the outskirts of St. Petersburg.

He couldn’t just leave Flanders, who was shouting and causing a ruckus, to his son.

“Who is it? Ramer?”

“Yes, I thought I should contact the team.”

When Ji-seop, who had finished talking to John Ramer, sat on the living room sofa, Flanders’ son appeared with a teacup on a tray.

“Earlier… thank you.”

He said, placing a cup of warm tea in front of each of them.

“If you two hadn’t helped, I would have been in a really difficult situation.”

Flanders’ son came and sat across from Ji-seop.

“My father sometimes gets confused, but he rarely gets this agitated… Your help was a great help today.”

“No, it’s nothing…”

When Ji-seop waved his hand dismissively, Charles Fleck, who was sitting next to him with a mournful expression, raised his head.

“Um, that… your father…”

“Yes, he has Alzheimer’s.”

Flanders’ son replied in a calm voice.

“I heard it started a few years ago. It’s been well managed so far, but it seems to be getting worse recently.”

“…Heard?”

At Charles Fleck’s question, Flanders’ son gave a bitter smile.

“Yes, I don’t usually interact with my father often… I only found out about it recently. Thanks to the doctor calling me.”

The son, who received the news, said that he had put aside his business for a while and come down to St. Petersburg.

He had always been by his side, but his father had left the house while he was distracted for a moment.

“Still, you found him okay? It could have been a really big deal if you had made a mistake.”

“No, I had vaguely expected it from the beginning today.”

The son said, picking up his cup.

“Whenever my father loses his bearings, he’s always wandering around Tropicana Field. So I thought that might be the case today too.”

“Hmm, I see. When he loses his bearings, he comes to Tropicana Field?”

Charles Fleck was deep in thought with his arms crossed.

Was it sadness for his friend whom he had met again after a long time, or was it regret for not contacting him all this time?

Just when it seemed like a long silence would continue, Flanders’ son carefully made a suggestion.

“Um… have you eaten?”

He continued, looking at the expressions of the two people across from him.

“I was just preparing lunch. If you don’t mind, would you like to have it together…?”

“No, no, I’m okay.”

Charles Fleck waved his hand.

“We had lunch. We met your father on the way back after eating.”

“Is that so.”

“Is it lunchtime?”

Charles Fleck turned his gaze to Ji-seop, who was sitting next to him.

“Kim, shouldn’t we get up now? Huck is sleeping soundly, and your son needs to have lunch…”

“Ah, should we?”

Just as Ji-seop and Charles Fleck were about to get up, a clear voice was heard from the stairs leading from the second floor.

“Hey, lecherous hound! You’re showing a weak side, unlike you?”

“Huh?”

When Ji-seop turned his head toward the sound, Huck Flanders was seen coming down the stairs.

“You used to have lunch five times? Because you made lunch appointments with different girls.”

“What, what? Who’s spreading such ridiculous rumors…”

When Charles Fleck’s thick eyebrows twitched, Huck Flanders smiled.

“Don’t be like that, eat at least a little before you go.”

Unlike an hour ago, he looked at Charles Fleck with clear eyes.

“I have to feed you guys and send you away… I think my sorry heart will be a little relieved.”