A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 484

The Too-Good Rookie of the Baseball Team, Chapter 484

The Too-Good Rookie of the Baseball Team, Chapter 484

102. Let Them Come (4)

Pablo Rodriguez is no ordinary agent.

He is a notorious informant who has tricked countless clubs.

The moment Jisub uttered these words, the cafe on the second floor of El Centro Hotel became as noisy as a disturbed beehive.

“What, what did you say? An informant?!”

The most vehement reaction came, of course, from the president of the Venezuelan Baseball Association.

The vile informant, whom they thought they had completely eradicated, was standing right before his eyes, in front of the Major League deputy general manager.

His surprise, embarrassment, and anger were beyond words.

“What are you all doing! Check! Check it now! Pablo Rodriguez, Pablo Rodriguez!”

The association president, breathing heavily, urged his staff.

They hurriedly opened laptops, checked data, and after a flurry of activity, one of the staff members rushed to the president.

“Y-yes, Mr. President!”

The staff member looked incredulous.

“Deputy General Manager Kim is right. Pablo Rodriguez… his name is on the list of 394 informants expelled from the association last January.”

Wow, there were 394 informants?

Jisub was inwardly surprised by the sheer scale of it, but for the association president, such numbers seemed irrelevant.

“Yes, I knew something was fishy! A nationwide youth baseball tournament—there’s no way I wouldn’t know if such an event was happening!”

You rat bastard!

The association president slammed the table with a fist like a boulder.

“What are you all doing? Drag this son of a bitch out of here!”

He shouted loudly.

“He has smeared the faces of Venezuelan baseball players! He has dragged the reputation of Venezuelan baseball to the ground! I don’t want to see that guy’s face anymore, so drag him out of here! Now, hurry!!!”

Although there were differences in degree, the baseball association people seemed to feel similarly to the president.

They approached Pablo, cursing or frowning.

“Hey, get up! Get up now!”

“You need to have a conscience; what do you think this place is, sneaking in here?”

“What will the deputy general manager think? He’ll think Venezuela is a haven for scammers!”

As everyone spoke their piece, Pablo Rodriguez was grabbed and made to stand.

Just as he was about to follow them without much resistance, everyone froze in place.

“Just a moment.”

It was Jisub.

Jisub, who was being treated as a VIP by the Venezuelan Baseball Association that day, raised his hand to stop them.

“Could you wait a moment? I haven’t finished my conversation with Mr. Rodriguez.”

“Conversation? But, Deputy General Manager!”

The baseball association president looked as if it was absurd, but Jisub was quite firm.

“You can always kick him out later, can’t you? But I can’t get Mr. Rodriguez’s answer unless it’s now.”

“Deputy General Manager, do you really… need to hear it?”

“Yes, I’m so, so, so curious.”

Jisub grinned.

“If this goes on, I won’t be able to sleep properly even if I go back to the hotel.”

“Hmm, this is….”

When someone who could be considered a VIP acted like this, the baseball association president was at a loss.

The president, clicking his tongue with a displeased expression, slightly moved his chin.

“…Seat him.”

“Thank you, Mr. President.”

Jisub bowed slightly, and the president waved his hand, embarrassed.

Then, he turned to Pablo Rodriguez and tossed out a word.

“Answer him.”

The association president was extremely polite to Jisub, but his voice toward Pablo was icy.

“What’s the reason? Why did you try to hold a baseball tournament? What wind blew you?”

“…….”

Despite the president’s stern command, Pablo showed no particular reaction.

He simply smoothed out the disheveled appearance of his silver suit and neatly arranged his pomaded hair.

Seeing this, the association president clenched his fist slightly, but Jisub calmed him down and opened his mouth.

“Why are you doing this, Mr. Rodriguez? Is it because making excuses is unsightly…? Is that what you think?”

Jisub’s words seemed to hit the mark.

Pablo’s hand, which had been pressing down on his sideburns, stopped abruptly.

“But sometimes excuses are necessary, aren’t they? How can a person live their whole life only doing things that look good?”

“…….”

“If you don’t say anything, Mr. Rodriguez, I can’t help you. Even if I’m interested in your plan.”

“Interested… you say?”

In response to Pablo’s question, Jisub gave a faint smile instead of an answer.

Pablo stared at his face for a long time, then opened his mouth with difficulty after much deliberation.

“Well, if you put it that way….”

Ha.

A story that came out with a deep sigh.

“This tournament… I originally started it to earn a living right away. Because someone, somewhere, cut off my informant work.”

“A living?”

“Yes, it’s quite lucrative. I charge players an entry fee, scouts a viewing fee… and I can also get a good cut from accommodations and restaurants. Plus, it’s 100% cash business.”

Those damn swindlers.

Jisub ignored the association president’s muttering and asked again.

“Originally, money was the goal? So, did that goal change along the way?”

“In a way.”

“Why?”

It was at this moment that Pablo Rodriguez hesitated again.

What on earth is he going to say? What happened?

Even the association staff, who had been indifferent at first, began to show interest. Then, Pablo opened his mouth.

“Far more people sent in applications than I expected.”

He clicked his tongue.

“I was thinking of about 20 teams… Damn it, within a week of starting to receive applications, I got calls from over 200 teams.”

All from areas far from the capital, Caracas.

Contacts came from rural areas where it was difficult to get the attention of agents.

“At first, it was general stuff. Whether accommodation was provided, how transportation would work, what level of scouts would attend… But as the days went by, I kept getting strange calls.”

“Strange calls?”

“You know, people who don’t know the situation, people who don’t even know how the baseball scene works.”

A player’s grandmother called to ask him to take good care of her grandson.

The player’s neighbors asked if they needed to buy separate tickets to go as a group to cheer them on.

Thank you for holding the tournament. This kind of tournament was really needed. I’m so excited that I can’t sleep already.

As Pablo and his colleagues received these calls, they gradually fell into confusion. Then, a decisive call came.

“Where was it? Right, there’s a place called Tronco on the border. It’s a remote village without proper roads… A 13-year-old student called me directly from there.”

Static, static.

Amidst the poor call quality, the one word that poked Pablo’s eardrum.

Mister,

“What kind of prize do you give to the home run king?”

God damn it.

Pablo Rodriguez ruffled his meticulously styled hair.

“After receiving that call, I couldn’t take it anymore. I felt like things couldn’t go on like this, like I’d be punished if I did…….”

It seemed that from that moment on, Pablo and his colleagues started preparing for the tournament all over again.

They decided to hold the games in a proper baseball stadium instead of just a wide-open field.

They changed the accommodation from an inn that offered generous commissions to a clean and safe lodging.

Above all, they changed the meals, which they had thought of just feeding them somehow, into real, proper meals—

And then,

money,

became hopelessly insufficient.

“Actually, more than the money, I’m more worried about disappointing those damn country bumpkins.”

Pablo said.

“It’ll probably be a lacking tournament in many ways. Like someone said, it’s a conspiracy of scammers. But if there’s a Tampa Bay Rays flag hanging on one side of the stadium, it might give them the feeling that a Major League team is watching…….”

To those people who know nothing.

To those who will travel thousands of kilometers just looking at baseball.

“I wouldn’t be ashamed, I could take the entry fee with dignity……. That’s what I thought.”

Pablo smiled bitterly.

“Whatever the case now, I was once a player who dreamed of the Major League mound.”

With those words, Pablo lightly raised both hands.

Meaning he had nothing more to say. Meaning he had told them everything he could.

Because it was a much heavier story than expected, silence fell around him.

“…….”

“…….”

Some people had their eyes wide open, some had their mouths gaping. Some seemed to be nodding.

As no one could easily open their mouths, the president of the Venezuelan Baseball Federation sighed deeply.

“Hmph, really……. That’s what happened…….”

And the next moment,

He raised his head sharply and spat out a word.

“Hmph, bullshit!!!”

* * *

The Venezuelan Baseball Federation’s distrust of informants seemed to be deeply rooted.

Even after Pablo Rodriguez’s long confession, the people of the Baseball Federation showed a very strong attitude.

“Haha, you want us to believe that? Oh, I’d rather believe that a Major League team will be created in Caracas!”

“What, a 13-year-old boy living on the border called? Haha, are we filming a movie? Are we filming a movie now!”

“Wow, I have to give it to you guys for your tongues! How did you make up such a story in such a short time?”

You chose the wrong job.

You should have been a novelist.

They sneered, yelled, and shook their heads.

A rather noisy atmosphere was being created, but at this time Pablo Rodriguez did not try to refute anything.

Just like when the chairman threatened him at first, he was slightly sneering.

‘Well, is it inevitable?’

At this point, he had an expression as if he had really let go of everything.

‘Honestly, I don’t even know why I’m doing this……. A malicious informant suddenly holds a tournament for students? Who would believe that?’

Still, he felt relieved.

Because he wanted to tell someone his true feelings at least once.

Even if he was cursed at, even if he wasn’t believed.

The fact that there was still a heart in my chest that cared for junior players.

Whether it was conscience, compassion, or just a momentary whim.

The fact that the heart that thinks of the players, the heart that loves baseball, is still alive.

‘Yeah, it’s meaningful just to have said it out loud once.’

Pablo Rodriguez nodded right after that.

He had been mocked enough, and he had been criticized enough.

If he couldn’t get the cooperation of the Tampa Bay Rays, he had to go out and find another way.

Just as he was thinking that and was about to get up from his seat.

“Mr. Rodriguez.”

“Ah, Deputy Director.”

Pablo remembered Jiseop’s existence and slightly bowed his head.

Whatever the result, he listened to his story calmly.

He looked at him once without wearing colored glasses [without prejudice].

Just as he was about to say a word of gratitude for that, the Tampa Bay Deputy Director said something strange.

“It’s a bit strange. More than 200 applications have been received, but why are there only 8 teams coming to Caracas?”

“Yes?”

To Pablo, who was blinking his eyes, Jiseop tapped the document he had given him at first.

“This plan.”

Jiseop continued.

“It’s strange. No matter how fierce the preliminaries are, with this scale, you should be able to run at least the round of 16, right?”

A posture as if he didn’t care at all what anyone was saying next to him.

In that attitude, Pablo had no choice but to correct his posture and answer.

“Well, that’s……. because of the cost.”

“Cost? The cost of staying in Caracas?”

“There’s that, and there’s the transportation cost of coming all the way to the capital from afar.”

“Hmm, so you couldn’t invite more teams to Caracas because of money problems.”

And the next moment,

The Tampa Bay Rays’ Deputy Director brought up an answer that Pablo had never expected.

“Okay. How much did you ask for support earlier? 30,000 dollars?”

“Yes, but…….”

“Mr. Rodriguez, how about this condition? I’ll give you 100,000 dollars in support…….”

Swish.

Jiseop looked at him.

“Can you expand the tournament, which will be held in two weeks, to a scale of 32 teams?”

“Yes?! Th, that means…….”

Pablo doubted his ears.

“You’re going to believe my story?”

“Well, there’s no reason not to believe it. You told me such a touching story.”

Looking intently into his eyes, the Tampa Bay Rays’ Deputy Director gave a faint smile.

“Answer me, Mr. Rodriguez.”

He asked again.

“Is it possible?”

“On a scale of 32 teams in two weeks…….”

Thump, thump, thump.

Feeling his heart start to pound, Pablo was opening his mouth as if possessed.

“I’ll…… try!”

He said to Jiseop.

“I’ll gather the best prospects in Venezuela here in Caracas!”