A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 498

The New Recruit of the Baseball Team is Too Good 498

The New Recruit of the Baseball Team is Too Good 498

105 The Major League Promised (2)

That’s right. It was a building.

The Tampa Bay Rays’ board of directors decided to give Ji-seop a reward.

The news was that Ji-seop was given a building located about 10 minutes away on foot from the site where the new stadium was to be built.

“Hey, why are you so surprised?”

On the way to see the building in question.

R. J. Higgins, who was behind the wheel, shrugged and said.

“Even if the Tampa Bay Rays are a ‘poor’ team, they have enough money to take care of employees who have made contributions, right?”

“No, that’s not what I mean…….”

Ji-seop scratched his chin.

“It’s because I’ve never heard of it in the first place. The club hands over a building to a front office employee… Has this ever happened before?”

“It hasn’t happened in the Tampa Bay Rays.”

Vice President Higgins said firmly.

“But it’s not that uncommon in the major leagues as a whole. Do they only give buildings? Some people receive luxury sports cars, some receive yachts, and in the past, some people even received private planes, I guess.”

They don’t release any promotional materials about this, so it’s hardly known outside.

However, they give eye-popping rewards to talented front office staff.

This has been a tradition since the major leagues opened their doors.

“In a way, isn’t it something that was promised from the beginning?”

The talented are rewarded.

Those who achieve results are treated well.

So, ambitious young people-

“Come to the major leagues!”

Vice President Higgins grinned.

“No one said it out loud like that, but everyone steps into this baseball world with such expectations. I did, and the general manager probably did too… When you think about it, isn’t Kim the same?”

“I can’t deny it.”

As Ji-seop nodded, Vice President Higgins raised his sunglasses, saying, ‘See!’

“This damn baseball world has kept its promise to the smart young people of this world, and someday Kim will… The day will come when he keeps the same promise to someone else.”

If it had stopped there, it might have been quite a romantic story.

The reason to have dreams. The reason to have ambition. Thus, the reason to bet your life in the major leagues.

But reality is always petty. R. J. Higgins didn’t try to hide this.

“Of course, it’s not 100% a reward. There’s also the intention to keep Kim tied to the Tampa Bay Rays.”

“Keep him tied down?”

“That’s right. Isn’t there a reason why we’re giving it to him in the form of a building? Originally, buildings have the effect of keeping people firmly attached to the land.”

Vice President Higgins smiled bashfully.

“Just by owning a building here, Kim will have to visit St. Petersburg at least two or three times a year. Florida’s land laws are very strict.”

Even if you entrust the troublesome work to an asset manager, you can’t completely cut off your interest because it’s an area where the building is located.

Increasing the association with the team’s home ground in this way. It was said to be a method frequently used by major league teams.

“So, some people just sell it as soon as they receive it… But it won’t be easy for Kim to do that either.”

“Why?”

“Didn’t you hear me earlier? It’s right near the site where the new stadium is to be built? The land price will continue to rise, so how can you sell it off now?”

*Is the person sitting next to me now the vice president of marketing for the Tampa Bay Rays, or a broker for St. Petersburg real estate?*

Ji-seop was starting to get a little confused.

“And one last thing!”

“Ha, is there more?”

“There is! This is probably the most decisive point!”

Taxes.

Vice President Higgins winked.

“Since you received such a big gift this year, you will receive a heartfelt letter from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service [IRS, the U.S. government agency responsible for tax collection and enforcement] next year. If you don’t pay your taxes, we’ll kill you… Something like that?”

“Ah, the, the IRS…….”

Ji-seop, of course, knew about the notoriety of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, or IRS for short.

It was also the most feared entity by major league players.

If you don’t pay your taxes on time, they say they’ll actually come with a hammer and smash down your front door.

“The taxes will probably be brutal. It’s not for nothing that our team’s players use the club’s loan system.”

“But how is that… related to keeping me tied to the Tampa Bay Rays?”

“Of course, it’s related, right? You have to pay huge taxes next year, so can you just change jobs this year? You should start thinking about diligently saving your salary instead of thinking about other things.”

“…….”

“It’s rare for the transferring team to solve the tax problem. Even if a team comes along that takes care of that, it means that the employee’s value goes up that much.”

Relatively, Tampa Bay’s chances of keeping the employee go up.

Listening to Vice President Higgins’ explanation, Ji-seop was very impressed inside.

‘*That’s harsh?*’

He thought, ‘*What kind of rice cake is this?* [What kind of benefit is this? A Korean expression for something that seems good but might have hidden drawbacks]’ when he was given a building, but there was such a thorough calculation behind it.

Anyway, you have to give it to the major league people for being thorough. He also felt proud of himself for surviving among such great people.

“I ended up explaining it in a very bad way… Hey, but don’t worry too much!”

Vice President Higgins patted Ji-seop on the shoulder as if trying to change the atmosphere.

“Whatever the details, you’re still a building owner! A building owner! An existence above the creator!”

“…….”

“You may be a little confused now, but once you see the real thing, you’ll think, ‘Ah, I did it!'”

Hahahahaha.

Vice President Higgins was laughing so loudly as he turned the car’s steering wheel-

“Wait a minute, according to the navigation, it looks like we’ll see it right after turning this corner… Hmm?!”

The moment he reached the place the navigation was guiding him to, a shadow fell over Vice President Higgins’ face.

“Wait a minute, is this it?!”

R. J. Higgins looked back and forth between the navigation, his cell phone, and a note he had written separately.

Ji-seop could easily guess why he was so embarrassed.

“No, what is this?”

The very building that the Tampa Bay Rays team had decided to hand over to Ji-seop.

The building that appeared before the two men’s eyes looked as if it would collapse at any moment and was completely dilapidated.

* * *

“Wow, this is like… it looks like a ghost will come out at any moment!”

When he got out of the car and approached the building in question, R. J. Higgins was making a rather embarrassed expression.

Ji-seop was no different when it came to embarrassment. He had heard that it was a rather old two-story building, but he had never expected it to be in this condition.

Broken windows and broken bricks everywhere. On top of that, the garage door was covered in rust. It was definitely a rare building in the generally clean city of St. Petersburg.

“Let’s… go inside for now?”

Vice President Higgins took out the key.

“I heard that the general manager personally picked this house. Then there must be a reason for it.”

“I guess so. We can’t just look at the exterior and go back after coming all the way here.”

As Ji-seop nodded, Vice President Higgins wet his dry lips with his tongue and approached the garage door.

There was a large padlock on the garage. The marketing vice president struggled with the key for a long time.

Charrrrr-.

He succeeded in opening the garage door with difficulty, but Vice President Higgins’ brow furrowed even more.

The garage was full of all sorts of junk. Leftover garbage, piles of dirt of unknown origin, a flat tire, and even a bicycle with a dented body.

“Oh my, this is…….”

Vice President Higgins put his fists on his waist and clicked his tongue lowly.

“It looks like the previous tenant didn’t clean up properly. Damn it, this will cost a lot in cleaning fees?”

“Previous tenant?”

Ji-seop asked as he stepped inside.

“This is a garage, though? Are you saying someone lived in a place like this?”

“Well, it’s not uncommon.”

Vice President Higgins said.

“Rent is expensive in downtown St. Petersburg, too. Friends who don’t have a house right away get together and rent even a garage like this.”

Originally, it was a building used as an office, but he said that it was often used as accommodation in this way.

“Kim, would you like to look around for a bit? I think I should make a phone call to the general manager.”

As an executive of the Tampa Bay Rays, he seemed to feel a sense of responsibility.

“The general manager definitely said it was a valuable building… I’m wondering if there’s been some kind of mistake. I’ll go check it out.”

With that, Vice President Higgins took out his cell phone and disappeared.

Left alone, Ji-seop stretched his neck and began to look around the garage full of junk.

‘*Hehe, it reminds me of the dorm I lived in during my independent league days.*’

Independent league players were not provided with proper accommodation either.

Ji-seop had experience living in a room converted from a warehouse for about a season.

It was exactly the same atmosphere as then. With a bitter smile on his face, he took a step inside, and then.

“Hmm?!”

Ji-seop’s thick eyebrows twitched once.

When he lifted the old cloth that was covering the back of the garage, a computer suddenly came into view.

“?!!”

It wasn’t just the computer that came into view.

There were several large monitors, and there was also an old sofa. In addition, dozens of books were neatly arranged in the bookshelf.

It was truly a space full of life. It seemed that there was still a ‘tenant’ living in this garage.

However, the part that Ji-seop was interested in at this time was not simply the fact that an unauthorized person was living in this garage.

‘*This is… an EdgerTronic?!*’

That’s right. It was an EdgerTronic camera [a high-speed camera used for motion analysis].

A super slow-motion camera famous for being able to shoot 700 frames per second.

The equipment used by major league teams, including the Tampa Bay Rays, for power analysis and player training was lying on the desk.

‘*It’s not as precious as it used to be, but it’s still not an item that’s easily accessible at the amateur level?*’

Ji-seop’s gaze turned to the computer in front of him.

The computer was making a painful noise, ‘Woo-oong.’

He thought he could get a rough idea if he looked inside.

Who the tenant of this house was, and who on earth was sneaking into this building.

‘*Even if I get cursed at later… Should I take a quick look?*’

Curious, Ji-seop carefully approached the computer.

The desk was also full of all kinds of garbage, making it difficult to even find a mouse or keyboard.

Snack bags, soda cans, and pizza boxes. As he pushed aside the garbage that made him laugh, he finally noticed the mouse.

The moment Ji-seop reached out his hand to the mouse, a thunderous shout was heard from outside the garage.

“Hey, who are you?!”

It was a young man’s voice.

“Why are you opening someone else’s house? Who gave you permission to do this?!”

“What, someone else’s house? I heard there are no tenants in this house right now… Who are you?!”

R. J. Higgins’ question.

Ji-seop seemed to be able to answer this question.

‘*It looks like the owner of this room has arrived.*’

Ji-seop’s gaze turned to the desk.

‘*And probably… He’s also the owner of that EdgerTronic camera.*”