A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 460

98. Black and Yellow (4)

Coach Cheon Jin-woo looked utterly dumbfounded.

“Ji-seop! What are you talking about?”

He protectively clutched the wild ginseng liquor bottle he had taken out of the closet.

“Don’t you know what this is? It’s wild ginseng liquor! The president of the Korean Association went all the way to the Appalachian Mountains to dig up the wild ginseng himself to make this liquor! I told you that, didn’t I?!”

He had heard it. Of course, he had heard it.

It was probably the first time he had heard that there was wild ginseng in America.

“To drink such precious liquor… What? To drink it with William Doran? And I have to call him first?! Ji-seop, do you think that makes any sense?”

He couldn’t tell exactly which point the KH Cannons’ legendary catcher was so upset about.

Was it the part about sharing the precious wild ginseng liquor with William Doran, or the part about having to call William Doran first?

In any case, Coach Cheon Jin-woo’s face was flushed red as he yelled, but Ji-seop’s expression was as relaxed as could be.

The decisive card to calm Cheon Jin-woo’s excitement was already in Ji-seop’s mind.

“Frankly, I don’t think we need to go that far either. It’s a bit much. But…”

“But what?”

The next moment, Ji-seop looked at Cheon Jin-woo with the softest eyes.

“Am I misremembering? I thought you said you were aiming for the KH Cannons’ manager position?”

“Ca, Cannons’… manager?!”

“Yes, and not just any manager, right? The one who would succeed Arthur Freeman and usher in the KH Cannons’ dynasty… That’s what you said your goal was, wasn’t it?”

It was at this moment that Cheon Jin-woo quietly put down the wild ginseng liquor bottle he had been cherishing.

Perhaps he thought it would be unseemly for someone aiming to be a manager to be hugging a wild ginseng liquor bottle and yelling.

But he was not an easy man either. He crossed his arms and snorted.

“Okay, let’s say the wild ginseng liquor is fine. But William Doran? Even Manager Arthur Freeman thought the same way I did about that guy.”

*I know it.*

The manager’s cardinal rule.

Cheon Jin-woo was confident.

“The health of the players must be the top priority. We must not sacrifice the future of the players for the sake of the team’s performance. Such an organization can never win…”

His gaze turned to Ji-seop.

“Freeman would not have allowed William Doran’s methods. To teach that dangerous hard slider for the sake of immediate results, how could he do such a thing!”

“That’s right. It’s definitely not a story that Freeman would have liked.”

Ji-seop nodded calmly, but he straightened his back and continued.

“But, sir, everything you said is correct, but… There’s just one thing that’s wrong.”

“Wrong?”

“Yes, the manager’s cardinal rule. Freeman never made the health of the players his cardinal rule.”

As Ji-seop was Freeman’s exclusive interpreter, Coach Cheon Jin-woo’s expression became slightly subdued.

“It wasn’t the health of the players?”

“Yes, the manager’s cardinal rule that I remember was ‘I am not God.'”

*I am not God.*

Ji-seop emphasized once again.

“I remember it exactly. It was also posted in front of the manager’s desk, and he often said it.”

“Not God? Well, that’s obvious, but… What does that mean?”

“I once asked him what it meant, and the manager said this.”

*I am not God.*

So, “Don’t mess around.”

Here, Ji-seop smiled.

“Isn’t God literally an omniscient and omnipotent being? He knows everything from the beginning. Even without meeting in person, even without hearing the story.”

“We, well, isn’t that right?”

“But he said that because he is not God, any judgment made without direct confirmation is just guesswork.”

“That’s… messing around?”

“That’s right.”

Ji-seop nodded.

“So Freeman always met people. Whether it was a coach who communicated well, a coach who was at odds from the beginning, or even front office people with completely different ways of thinking.”

“….”

“He said that if you meet and talk to them in person, it’s different from what you initially thought. He said that you can’t accurately know the intentions of others until you meet them and experience them. This was the cardinal rule of Arthur Freeman, whom you respect so much.”

“I, I see. That was the manager’s…”

Coach Cheon Jin-woo, who had his elbow on the wild ginseng liquor bottle and was scratching behind his ear.

Ji-seop sensed that it was time to bring up the main point of the day.

“Sir, please meet Coach William Doran.”

Ji-seop said.

“I’m not saying go and reconcile with Coach Doran. I’m not saying apologize for this. Just meet him and listen to his story carefully.”

Why the hard slider?

Why is he trying to teach such a dangerous pitch to the players?

“Can’t you make a judgment about Coach Doran after that? There’s no rush.”

“Yeah, listening to you, that makes sense.”

Cheon Jin-woo reached out and picked up Coach William Doran’s contact information.

“Okay. I’ll do as you say. Freeman met him in person, so who am I to jump to conclusions?”

Cheon Jin-woo smiled bitterly.

“Ji-seop, want to go out together? If I go to meet Coach Doran now, I think I’ll be completely late today.”

“Yes, let’s go out together. I think I should go back to the dorm soon too.”

The two men stood up, but Ji-seop did not miss Cheon Jin-woo’s movement for a moment.

“Sir?”

“Hmm?”

“When did you put the wild ginseng liquor bottle back in the closet?”

“….”

“Why, is it too precious to drink with Coach Doran?”

“….”

“Shouldn’t you take it?”

“…Okay.”

*I’ll take it, I’ll take it.*

*I’m taking it because I’m disgusted.*

Coach Cheon Jin-woo grumbled as he picked up the wild ginseng liquor.

* * *

KH Cannons’ Arthur Freeman was a mentor in Cheon Jin-woo’s life.

As a manager, as a leader, and as a human being. Arthur Freeman had given Coach Cheon so many teachings.

The fact that he left Korea and started his coaching career in the United States may have been due to Arthur Freeman’s influence.

For Cheon Jin-woo, who had followed Freeman so much, this night was another time to realize, ‘He’s still the manager.’

There was no other reason.

“Ji-seop, what are you talking about? It’s past 11 p.m., and William is still at the stadium?!”

“Yes, he couldn’t leave work. He has some work left to do.”

The moment he heard Ji-seop’s story, Coach Cheon Jin-woo suddenly recalled Arthur Freeman’s cardinal rule.

*I am not God. I am not an omniscient being. So, whoever it is, no matter how unpleasant they are-*

‘Judge after meeting them in person?’

He thought he was just trying to get more players up to the major leagues.

He thought he was just focused on building his achievements and getting promoted.

To have the enthusiasm to stay at the stadium until this late hour to finish his pending work.

‘Geez, you never know. He usually seemed to be working half-heartedly.’

Cheon Jin-woo was also a man of etiquette.

No matter how hateful the opponent, he couldn’t interfere with their work.

So there was no choice. He had to sit on the sofa in the team’s office hallway and wait for Coach Doran.

How long had he been dozing off with the wild ginseng liquor bottle in his arms?

Coach Cheon Jin-woo could feel someone tapping him on the shoulder.

“Hey! Hey! Mr. Cheon!”

“Ugh?!”

Coach Cheon Jin-woo opened his eyes groggily at the sound of someone calling him.

Wiping the drool from his mouth and shuddering, he suddenly let out a ‘gasp’.

It was Coach William Doran. The hateful co-worker was staring at him.

“Hey! What are you doing here? This is not your bed! Oh, Jesus….”

William Doran grumbled in a dissatisfied tone, but Cheon Jin-woo barely understood him.

It was partly because his English skills were not yet fully developed, but it was also because he was thinking about what to say to the other person.

‘If I’m going to have a conversation… I need to explain the black guy thing first, right?’

To be exact, it was ‘a guy with a black heart’.

*I didn’t call you ‘black guy’.*

Cheon Jin-woo was moving his lips, thinking about such a story, but the words did not come out easily.

‘Wait a minute, will he understand the meaning of ‘black heart’? Isn’t that also offensive to these guys? The meaning of black is used negatively….’

He usually took it lightly, but when he was about to have a conversation with a black person, there were so many things to worry about.

How should I say it? How can I avoid misunderstandings? After a long time of thinking, Cheon Jin-woo came to the following conclusion.

“Oh, well, I don’t know! Let’s do this!”

“Hmm?”

Cheon Jin-woo said to Doran, who couldn’t understand Korean.

“Hey! You! Call me Yellow! Yellow Monkey okay!”

“What?!!!”

William Doran was startled as if he had touched a hot pot.

*Yellow. Yellow Monkey.* In the United States, it was an expression that could lead to a lawsuit.

“Instead, I call you Black! Okay? Me, Yellow! You, Black!”

“What? How you can say….”

“Hey, buddy! Why are you so surprised? It’s fair, isn’t it? We are same same! Huh? Understand?”

Coach Cheon Jin-woo was showing off his unique sociability as a catcher.

From the neighborhood friends who played as pitchers in their childhood just because they had gloves, to the national team ace pitchers he met on the mound at the WBC [World Baseball Classic] finals.

The sociability of a veteran catcher who had been cooking [managing] all kinds of pitchers for the past 30 years.

“…Ha!”

At that brazen attitude, a smile was slowly blooming on William Doran’s face, which had been cold at first.

It couldn’t be helped. He had lived as a pitcher for almost the same amount of time as Cheon Jin-woo.

Even if they fight like they’re going to kill each other, pitchers and catchers are beings who have to work together in the end.

The unwritten rules of baseball that the two had experienced for over 30 years were still applied even after retirement.

“Okay, I see.”

William Doran nodded with a slightly bewildered smile and then asked a few questions.

It was a rather complicated English sentence, but Cheon Jin-woo was basically quick-witted.

“Oh, I get it. Why have I been waiting until now? Until this late hour! Ah, that’s….”

William Doran smiled at Cheon Jin-woo, who was hesitating again.

Was it because he felt frustrated with his appearance, or because he liked that he was doing his best?

The main pitching coach of the Montgomery Biscuits took out his cell phone from his pocket.

“Hey, use this.”

“This is… a translator app?! Yeah, I had this?! Ji-seop told me about it….”

*Thank you, thank you!*

Cheon Jin-woo took William’s cell phone and began to tell him why he had come all the way here.

“Hard slider.”

In a very clear tone.

“Hard slider has a high risk of injury. It’s a dangerous pitch. But why are you teaching this ball to the players? I’m curious about the reason.”

When Cheon Jin-woo’s words were translated into English, William Doran’s expression became quite serious.

“…Hmm.”

He seemed to be thinking.

Will it be possible to have a proper communication with this Asian man, or will it just be a waste of time?

But he was the one who had been waiting for him until this late hour. He was the one who had come to meet him, putting aside his pride.

Perhaps he understood that heart to some extent. William said a few words into the cell phone microphone and then handed it back to Cheon Jin-woo.

-I know you are a legend in Korean professional baseball.

Cheon Jin-woo’s eyebrows twitched.

He didn’t expect these words to come out.

-Maybe that’s why you don’t understand my way.

Cheon Jin-woo was about to say something back, but William Doran pointed his finger at the cell phone.

It meant to keep listening.

-I am a minor league player. I couldn’t go to the major leagues.

-So I know very well. Minor league prospects have no time.

-Tyson Burglie has no time either. The Tampa Bay Rays have many other prospects.

It was at this moment that Cheon Jin-woo’s brow furrowed.

“Wait a minute, then….”

When Cheon Jin-woo looked up, Coach William Doran added a few words.

-Hard slider is the only way to get Tyson Burglie to the major leagues.

-You, who were a superstar, value the health of the players. But I, who was a minor leaguer, value the skills of the players. That’s how you can go to the major leagues.

Before retiring,

Even just once.

Cheon Jin-woo, who had heard this far, had a rather serious expression.

He realized that there was a big difference between him and Coach William Doran.

How should players be trained? What should be prioritized and taught?

The difference in thinking as different as skin color. In the end, am I forced to distance myself from this person?

Just as he was thinking that and tapping the wild ginseng liquor bottle he had brought, that’s when the story that would change the atmosphere of the Montgomery Biscuits in the future,

And would change the power structure of the Tampa Bay Rays,

And would change the future of baseball player Cheon Jin-woo was heard.

-But, if you want….

It was William Doran’s words, heard in the voice of a female voice actress.

-I am willing to have a conversation with you once.

-Let’s have a conversation about the direction of Tyson Burglie’s development.

-Let’s find the most appropriate development plan through discussion.

“!!!”

Coach Cheon Jin-woo looked at William Doran with a surprised expression.

A strange smile appeared on his lips the next moment.

-What do you think?

-You yellow monkey.