A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 492

Baseball Team Newbie Is Too Good 492

Baseball Team Newbie Is Too Good 492

104 Everyone’s Wish (2)

About two weeks had passed since then.

Jiseop and the others in the Future Strategy Planning Department had to manage an incredibly hectic schedule.

The team valuation was nearing completion, but as with any group, there were always those who didn’t quite measure up.

Even the Tampa Bay Rays had areas that didn’t meet Zeus Analytics’ standards, and the Future Strategy Planning Department had to actively assist these individuals.

“Deputy General Manager, I’m really sorry. We tried everything we could to get through it ourselves, but… Ugh, it wasn’t easy.”

Having dragged on for nearly two months, every report was a tangled mess of problems.

However, at this point, Jiseop was one of the most capable front office members in Major League Baseball, possessing skill, experience, and connections.

Even when faced with problems that others brought with a worried expression, he wore a relaxed smile.

“You’ve organized the issues well. It shouldn’t be difficult with this. A phone call or two should solve it.”

“You mean, it can be done with a phone call?! Is that really true?”

It was true.

Whose work was it anyway?

The negotiations with the bus companies around Tropicana Field were resolved with the help of City Councilor Dana Sears.

Improving the Spanish-language broadcasts of the Tampa Bay Rays was achieved with the help of a broadcasting company employee who was active as an executive in the [Cowbell Boys] (a fan club).

Securing advertising campaigns for at least five years was resolved by having dinner with Don Chronos, the CEO of [Clock Wise] (an advertising company).

Of course, Jiseop didn’t resolve every issue that came to the Future Strategy Planning Department.

“Hmm.”

A few days later.

Inside Tropicana Field, at the barbecue restaurant [Bay Area Grill].

A tasting by external experts invited by Zeus Analytics was in full swing.

As they continued their evaluations with serious expressions, the F&B (Food and Beverage) department staff and John Larma Taylor stood by with anxious looks.

“…….”

“…….”

The tasting took about 20 minutes. But for John Larma and his colleagues, it felt like an eternity.

How many times did they swallow dry saliva and wipe the sweat from their fists on their pants?

After that suffocating time, a middle-aged woman, who seemed to be the representative of the external experts, took off her magnifying glasses and said.

“Very excellent.”

It was the moment everyone’s expression brightened.

“The areas that were pointed out in the last evaluation have improved beyond recognition. The level of desserts has also increased, and above all, the main menu, the steak, was amazing. I was very satisfied.”

“Oh, the steak?!”

It was at this moment that the F&B department staff looked at John Larma with expressions of awe.

Because John Larma was the one who spearheaded the improvements to the restaurant’s main menu.

How were they to accept the fact that the owner’s only son had more talent for cooking than management?

At this moment, there was one point that Jiseop had to confirm.

“Loco, are you saying that…”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The external expert who received Jiseop’s question nodded readily.

“It’s a pass. The Tampa Bay Rays Stadium Operations F&B department has passed the evaluation criteria set by Zeus Analytics.”

Wow!

Almost simultaneously with the external expert’s announcement of passing, everyone in the restaurant burst into cheers.

The restaurant owner raised both arms high and shouted, and the team staff grabbed John Larma’s hands and shook them.

John Larma, who emerged as the hero of the day, smiled at Jiseop with a proud expression.

“Hmm, so 172 out of a total of 174 evaluation criteria have been met.”

Tommy Damon, who was standing next to Jiseop, tapped the tablet PC screen and said.

“The certification for the Spanish broadcast will be out today, and the advertising contract with Clockwise is scheduled to be announced tomorrow morning…”

That would be 174 out of 174.

Tommy Damon continued with a bittersweet expression.

“Congratulations, Kim.”

He held out his hand.

“You did it. You’ve met all the conditions proposed by Zeus Analytics. Mission complete.”

“Mission… complete?!”

The end of the team valuation schedule that had been going on for almost two and a half months.

The fact that the Zeus Analytics Group recognized the value of the Tampa Bay Rays.

But at this moment, Jiseop was tilting his head slightly.

“Wait a minute, wait a minute.”

Jiseop glanced at the tablet PC that Tommy Damon was holding.

“Are you sure all 174 conditions have been passed? It’s a little different from what I was calculating?”

“Different?”

There were too many evaluation criteria.

Besides, it was something that people were doing. It was impossible to rule out the possibility of missing one criterion.

While Tommy Damon narrowed his eyes and looked at the tablet PC screen, Jiseop continued.

“Yeah, you said the day before yesterday? Even if the F&B department gets certified today, there’s still one troublesome problem left. What was it? Something about support signatures.”

“…Ah!”

Tommy Damon turned his head.

“Haha, I was wondering what it was. You’re talking about letters of support?”

Letters of Support.

Letters of Support.

It meant letters containing content that actively supported and cheered for the Tampa Bay Rays.

The number of these letters that could be secured also acted as an important criterion for team valuation.

“If it’s letters of support, there’s nothing to worry about. We’ve already passed the benchmark a long time ago.”

“Really?”

Jiseop blinked.

The atmosphere was quite different from just two days ago.

Tommy Damon had been very anxious, saying that he really needed to be nervous and mobilize all his connections.

How could he solve all the problems in such a short time and be so relaxed?

“Hey, don’t look at me like that. It’s not like I was exaggerating.”

Tommy said.

“It’s usually very difficult to secure letters of support. Almost no one does it for free. You have to pay some kind of price, big or small, to get them.”

This was also the reason why Tommy Damon was so nervous.

Because you couldn’t know what conditions the other party would present. Because you had to solve at least dozens of such conditions.

“But… this time, things went smoothly. It was ridiculously easy. I didn’t even send separate request emails, but letters of support arrived steadily over the past few days.”

“Oh, really?”

Jiseop nodded.

“So, you had a know-how? What method did you use? How can you do such a thing without lifting a finger?”

“Know-how? My… know-how?”

Tommy Damon’s face showed a look of disbelief.

“You didn’t get any calls? Well… the people who would brag to you wouldn’t be so cooperative.”

“Um? What are you talking about?”

“The people who sent the letters of support… No, it’s easier to understand if you just look at this.”

Tommy Damon tapped the tablet PC screen and held it out to Jiseop.

“Check it out yourself. It’s a list of the people who sent letters of support to the Tampa Bay Rays this time.”

“Oh, thanks.”

Jiseop accepted the tablet calmly until this point.

However, the moment he saw the names filling the screen, Jiseop’s eyes began to widen.

‘Wait a minute, these people?’

The people who sent letters of support on their own, even before the Tampa Bay Rays requested them.

The names that appeared on the tablet PC screen were very familiar to Jiseop.

Starting with Professor Kevin Pryor of Fort Myers University, Nicholas Byner, special advisor to the general manager of the New York Yankees, and Jessica Ross of the Boston Red Sox.

Agent Ryan Choi, who he had a relationship with when he signed Brett Evans, and Mr. Go Hong-gyu, who brought the puppy Bok-gil.

And even Vincent Hiyama, who had now left for the Yankees, Ryu Jang-ho, who had established himself as the main hitter for Boston, and Jimmy Morris, who was once the ace of the Cannons.

“…….”

It was almost all the people Jiseop had made connections with so far.

They knew the situation of the Tampa Bay Rays and willingly sent letters of support.

‘I support the Tampa Bay Rays. I highly value their achievements and firmly believe in their future value.’

Reading the letters of support that they had written by hand, Jiseop couldn’t say anything for a while.

He was grateful for the people’s support, and it was amazing how many people he had met.

Also, if they were going to send something like this, they should have told him, and he felt a little resentful for no reason.

“Oh, those people…”

When Jiseop was lightly touching the tip of his nose, which was getting stuffy for no reason, Tommy Damon raised the corners of his mouth and said.

“Kim, leave the rest to me.”

He thumped his chest with his fist.

“I’ll take care of the advertising and broadcasting. If you need help, you can get help from David or John Larma.”

“Then… what about me?”

He asked because he wondered if there was anything else to entrust to him, but what came back was a thrilling back slap from an old friend.

“You son of a b*tch, your job is already decided!”

Thank you calls!

Tommy Damon said firmly.

“These are the people who sent letters of support for you without even being asked. Shouldn’t you at least make a phone call even if you can’t visit them in person?”

“Ah, a phone call?”

Jiseop glanced at the list of people and smiled playfully.

“This phone bill… is going to be huge?”

“Don’t say nonsense.”

* * *

To be honest,

I thought it would be simple at first.

Calling the people who sent letters of support, expressing gratitude for their warm consideration.

I thought it would be enough for about three or four hours, so I thought I would be able to return to work soon-

To put it bluntly,

Jiseop had to spend two whole days.

It was easy to deal with friends like Ryu Jang-ho or Jimmy Morris, who usually chat and joke in group chat rooms.

All communication was possible with just three words: [Thank you] – [You’re welcome] – [OK].

But it wasn’t easy with the rest of the people. Partly because it had been so long since he had called them, and partly because there were so many stories to catch up on.

Talking to one person took at least 10 minutes, so the thank-you call became a longer-than-expected project.

“Thank you so much. Is Bok-gil doing well? Of course, our players talk a lot about Bok-gil too.”

“Oh, Vincent! How did you think of sending a letter of support? You must be so busy these days.”

“Nicholas, thank you. I’ll be sure to repay you for your help this time… Hey, that doesn’t mean a trade!”

Frankly, it was physically difficult.

His neck hurt, and his posture was uncomfortable, so he felt stiff here and there, and in the meantime, his cell phone became so hot that he could cook an egg on it.

But it was a time when his heart was full. The fact that so many people had helped him. The fact that he was being accepted and valued by so many people.

“…….”

Jiseop, who had been making thank-you calls for two days and nights.

The person who decorated the end of this long project was Professor Kevin Pryor of Fort Myers University.

-Oh, who is this? Isn’t this an unfaithful student in our MBA program?!

As Jiseop expected, the professor answered the phone with a rather grumpy voice.

It couldn’t be helped. Since the team valuation had begun in earnest, Jiseop hadn’t even dared to attend the lectures.

-What is it? What’s wrong? You’re not trying to object to the midterm exam score, are you? I think it was natural to give you an F this time?

“Hehe, of course. Even I wouldn’t be able to ask for a grade when I was absent on the exam day.”

-Oh, really? Then what is it? If you’re not asking me to raise your grade, why are you calling me?

Jiseop was smiling brightly at the sullen voice coming from the receiver.

“I’m calling to thank you.”

-Thank you?

“Yes, I received your letter of support. I didn’t ask for it separately, but it was there…”

Here, Jiseop threw in a joke.

“Hey, Professor! Why did you send 12 pages of letters of support? You always nagged me to ‘write concisely no matter what’.”

-What? Huh, look at this guy?!

The professor laughed in disbelief.

-You little rascal, letters of support should be long. You’re not going to read the contents anyway, are you? So you have to compete with the amount! It has to be thick when you hold it in your hand, so you can say, ‘Ah, this person is sincere!’ You don’t know anything…

Just as the professor’s nagging reached its peak, Jiseop brought up the main point of the day.

“Thank you, Professor.”

-Huh?

The professor was flustered again by the sudden serious voice.

-Hey, why are you lowering your voice like that? I’ve been writing all my life, so why wouldn’t I do that much for you?

“No, not just for this letter of support…”

That’s right. There was a longer and deeper relationship with Professor Kevin Pryor.

“When you think about it, you opened the way for me, didn’t you? The road to the major leagues, the road to a new stage.”

-…….-

“Thanks to meeting you, I got a good opportunity, and that became the reason why I was able to come this far.”

Jiseop straightened his back.

“I wanted to tell you that today… Yes, that’s why I called you.”

-Hehe, well, I’m not used to this guy’s speaking pattern.

Hehe, that guy, uh-huh.

Professor Pryor was uttering strange exclamations for a long time.

One disciple who came from far away in Korea, his words must have been quite special to the professor.

After hesitating for quite some time, the professor cleared his throat vigorously and continued.

-Okay. Let’s stop with the soft greetings.

The professor seemed to have something he was curious about.

-What’s the schedule going forward? If you’re collecting letters of support, it seems like the team valuation is in its final stages?

“Yes, the certificate arrived from Zeus Analytics two hours ago. It was rated A++, and it was evaluated as having sufficient investment value.”

-Oh, really?

“Yes, and…”

Jiseop took a deep breath and carefully continued.

The story he wanted to tell the professor first, the story that Jiseop himself had desperately wanted.

And the very story that everyone who loved and liked the Tampa Bay Rays had been waiting for for a long time.

“Tomorrow at 11 a.m., we will submit the team valuation certificate to the St. Petersburg City Council Advisory Committee.”

Jiseop continued.

“As early as this week… the decision on whether to build a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays will be made.”