A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 502

Baseball Team Newbie Is Too Good 503

106 Unexpected Guest (3)

Around the time Brian Span, the general manager, was visiting Korea with the team owner.

Back at Tropicana Field, Jisub was spending busy days as the acting general manager.

“Ah, yes, please speak.”

Acting general manager. It was a position that wouldn’t normally be very busy.

From the start, there were limits to what an ‘acting’ person could do, and truly important communications would go directly to the general manager.

‘Yes, that would normally be the case, but…’

The problem was that it was mid-July. It was the time when players’ pace was dropping due to the heat.

Checking the injury reports that came up almost daily, checking the list of players to replace from the minor leagues.

In the midst of that, the trade deadline at the end of July was approaching, so he had to check the movements of other teams as well.

Thanks to that, Jisub was really having a hectic schedule, but.

“Oh, Kim! Hello!”

“Haha, yes. You came just in time.”

Still, in order to survive in the baseball world, you always have to prepare for the future.

Jisub was also making time in his busy schedule to welcome a guest in order to create a ‘hidden card’.

As always, it was a man reminiscent of an American grizzly bear. A large build, a skull-patterned T-shirt, and a wildly overgrown beard and hair were impressive.

He was none other than Dr. Goldberg.

He was the tenant of the building Jisub had taken over from the club, and the very person who was researching the [Brave Ball Project].

“I was so surprised when I got the call this morning! I was so surprised I almost fell out of bed!”

Dr. Goldberg was slightly excited.

He was so excited that saliva was flying and almost forming on his bushy beard.

“I was surprised by the story that you would write off the back rent, and I was surprised by the story that you would let me use the office for free in the future. But to be honest, what’s really surprising is…”

This place! Right here!

Dr. Goldberg raised both arms and spun around.

“To think you’d invite me straight to Tropicana Field! Oh, God!”

He was about to kneel down and offer a prayer of thanks.

I don’t know how effective the prayer of a man wearing a skull-patterned T-shirt would be.

“The fact that you called me to Tropicana Field means you’re going to entrust me with a Tampa Bay player, right?”

He swept his dirty headscarf up with both hands and continued.

“Who is it? Who needs my help? If Kim just tells me, I’ll mobilize all my knowledge and know-how…”

Dr. Goldberg was always eager for test subjects.

The theoretical part of [Brave Ball] was in place. It was also organized how to recover players who were having difficulties after injuries.

However, the fact that there were far too few players who had directly experienced this. So there were no concrete results.

Because of this, Dr. Goldberg was ready to start working right away, but the answer that came back from Jisub was very cold.

“No. It may be a disappointing story, but I have no intention of entrusting Tampa Bay players to Dr. Goldberg at all.”

“Yess?!”

Dr. Goldberg’s eyes widened.

“No, what, what does that mean…”

“Well, I think it’s a very natural story.”

Jisub was speaking bluntly.

“They are Major League players. They boast a value of at least hundreds of thousands of dollars to tens of millions of dollars. They are valuable resources for the club, so we can’t entrust them to just anyone, can we?”

“Kim… don’t you trust me?”

“I trust you. I trust you. If I didn’t have faith in you, would I have let you use the office for free? I would have kicked you out right away.”

Jisub smiled, crossing his arms.

“The key is to gain the trust of the players. You have to make them come to Dr. Goldberg first. I can give you some help, but essentially it’s a path you have to pioneer.”

“In the end, it means it’s a path I have to walk…”

Dr. Goldberg sighed a long ‘whew’.

“Kim, it’s not easy. I told you last time, didn’t I? How many letters I wrote, and how many people I went to see…”

Dr. Goldberg becomes sullen, like a bear who has lost a hidden honey pot.

However, Jisub put his hand on his shoulder and said.

“You don’t have to blame yourself too much. Cheer up. I’ll tell you how.”

“A way?”

“That’s right. A way to promote [Brave Ball], a way to secure players who will trust and follow you.”

Jisub continued.

“Today, I invited you here to put on the first button.”

“The first button, what is it?!”

At Jisub’s confident words, Dr. Goldberg was already swallowing hard.

“H, how do I do it? Watching the training of Major League players… or something like that?”

At Dr. Goldberg’s question, Jisub smiled faintly and gestured for him to follow.

And a moment later, the two arrived on the first basement floor of Tropicana Field.

“Dr. Goldberg, this way.”

“What is this place? There’s no sign?”

That’s right. Right next to the break room for the ground maintenance crew, a small entrance without any sign.

Instead of answering, Jisub knocked lightly on the door, and almost at the same time, what appeared was-

“Oh, Deputy General Manager! You’re here. I was waiting anyway.”

A Hispanic man with a very stylish mustache.

Dr. Goldberg tilted his head for a moment, but soon he was able to figure out what this place was.

“Ah, is that him? The friend you were bringing today, Deputy General Manager?”

“That’s right. He’s not a member of our team, but… can I ask you for a favor?”

“Haha, of course! It’s Kim’s request, not anyone else’s? Of course, I have to treat you the best!”

Sir, would you like to come this way?

The mustached man gestured to Dr. Goldberg.

“Welcome to Andy Lavigne’s Barber Shop, a hidden gem of Tropicana Field!”

* * *

Each of the 30 Major League ballparks has at least one in-house barber shop.

Perhaps it was a natural phenomenon. Because a baseball team is a group of dozens of players from their late teens to mid-30s.

Since athletes prefer short, neat hairstyles, it is very difficult to find a separate beauty salon or barber shop in a busy schedule.

So each Major League club set up a barber shop inside the home stadium so that players could use it.

Of course, it is a job that targets picky Major Leaguers. Only people with great skills and experience can apply for the position.

Andy Lavigne of the Tampa Bay Rays was also a veteran with nearly 20 years of experience, and he was so skilled that players from other teams would deliberately get their hair cut to coincide with their Tropicana Field expedition, but-

“Ahem…”

Dr. Goldberg, who was taken to the barber shop by Jisub, had an expression that he couldn’t understand at all.

“Kim, I really appreciate you letting me get a free haircut…”

“Yes, please speak.”

Major League stadiums also had comic books in their barber shops.

Jisub, sitting on the sofa, answered while fixing his gaze on the comic book.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to see me today because of [Brave Ball]? You said you’d tell me how to gain the trust of the players.”

“Yes, I’m doing it now. The first step in gaining the trust of the players.”

A neat first impression.

Jisub answered, turning a page of the comic book.

“I heard that Dr. Goldberg has been wearing that kind of outfit ever since he came out of the lab… is that right?”

“No, how did you know that?”

Dr. Goldberg was startled and widened his eyes, but he shrank slightly at the barber’s words, ‘Bow your head.’

“It doesn’t matter if you’re doing research alone, but if you’re going to meet players and persuade them, you need a neat first impression. That’s the beginning.”

“Is that… that important?”

Dr. Goldberg tilted his head to one side, following the barber’s touch.

“Isn’t what’s important to the players the content rather than my appearance? What kind of solution do I have, what kind of ideas do I have.”

“Well, that’s not wrong either.”

Jisub made eye contact with the barber and smiled.

“But the players can’t know, can they? How smart Dr. Goldberg is. In the first place, I’m confused as to whether the person coming in front of me now is a former doctor or a homeless person?”

“…….”

“Of course, some of them are sharp. People who can grasp the inside at a glance. But the people Dr. Goldberg is going to meet are just young players, right?”

Jisub continued.

“Young players, and players who are very sensitive due to the aftereffects of injuries. Are you going to ask those players for the sharpness of an experienced front [baseball executive]? Look at my smart inside, not my gloomy face! Do you think that will work if you say that?”

“Th, that’s…”

Is that so?

As Dr. Goldberg blinked with a blank expression, Jisub turned his gaze to the comic book and said.

“Once you’ve neatly trimmed your hair and beard today, please move to Bradenton right away.”

“Bradenton is… across the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, that neighborhood? South of St. Petersburg?”

“Yes.”

Brian Span, the general manager, said to wait for about 2-3 years, but Jisub had no intention of waiting that long.

If he had made up his mind, he thought he should grow Dr. Goldberg quickly and efficiently.

So Jisub was giving the second stage instructions right after the first stage was over.

“Have you heard the news? The U-18 Baseball World Cup is being held in Bradenton. It’s a youth baseball tournament organized by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC).”

“Yes, I’ve heard the story, but…”

“Go to Bradenton and hand out business cards to the staff of the national team participating in the tournament. Parents or agents are fine too.”

“Business cards?”

“Yes, it’s a tournament held in the hot summer. Inevitably, there will be a lot of injuries.”

Jisub clicked his tongue lightly.

Even if it’s an unavoidable thing, it’s a pity that young players get injured.

“Injuries to young players, maybe players who are experiencing injuries for the first time in their lives. Of course, they’ll be anxious, right? They’ll be at a loss as to what to do.”

“Ah, do you mean to target those players first?”

Dr. Goldberg’s expression brightened.

“That’s a good idea. If they’re good enough to be selected for the national team, they have potential, and if you build a relationship with them from an early age, you can develop into a close relationship in the future.”

“That’s right. To be honest, you don’t need much. If you recover just one, really just one, of those many players and send them to the Major League…”

Sweep.

Jisub looked at Dr. Goldberg reflected in the mirror.

“I guarantee it. From that moment on, [Brave Ball] and Dr. Goldberg will emerge as a super rookie in the Major League.”

Major League Super Rookie.

Between the gradually tidying hair, Dr. Goldberg’s eyes were shining.

* * *

“So… Dr. Goldberg left for Bradenton right away? Without even stopping by his house?!”

About an hour later.

Jisub, who had returned to the Future Strategy Planning Division, was sitting in front of a large monitor with his colleagues, waiting for the game to start.

Of course, the topic of conversation at this time was Dr. Goldberg and his [Brave Ball Project].

David Wilson, who heard Jisub’s story, gave a wry smile on his face.

“Oh, I’m glad I met Kim as a work colleague.”

“Hmm?”

“No, isn’t that right? If I had met Kim like Dr. Goldberg, I would have been worked to the bone by now.”

“What are you talking about working to the bone? He said he wanted to promote [Brave Ball] as soon as possible…”

As Jisub made an excuse, John LaMar intervened with a serious expression.

“David, don’t you feel a little scared? Somehow, it seems like it’s going to be harder and harder to work as a front office staffer in Tampa Bay in the future.”

“A little bit. I missed General Manager Brian Span for the first time today.”

“…….”

Jisub looked at his colleagues with a dumbfounded expression, but the two seemed to be having a lot of fun.

“When was the general manager’s return? Was it tomorrow? Or the day after tomorrow?”

“It’s the day after tomorrow morning. 7 a.m. flight.”

“Oh, let’s go pick up the general manager this time. Let’s go and tell him how harshly Kim has been working us all this time…”

“Shall we? It wasn’t as much as Dr. Goldberg, but we worked really hard too.”

And the following lines were quite a sight.

“Ah, it’s hard! It’s so hard! But I think I can forget this fatigue with a cup of iced caramel macchiato!”

“I miss a strong iced coffee too. If I get a caffeine rush, I think my resentment towards Kim will be erased…”

“What, you’re just telling me to buy you coffee?”

Oh, geez, with people.

Jisub was laughing in vain, but he was slowly getting up.

He could buy them a cup of coffee. They were colleagues who had worked hard with Jisub while the general manager was away.

“Wait a minute, what was the menu again? David is just iced coffee, and Lamar is caramel… what did you say?”

“Caramel macchiato! Thank you, Kim!”

Just as he was about to leave the office to buy coffee for his colleagues.

A message came to Jisub’s cell phone, which he had put in his jacket pocket.

“Hmm?”

Jisub, who took out his cell phone and checked the contents, couldn’t help but tilt his head for a moment.

It was a message from Ryu Jang-ho. A message from the Boston Red Sox’s center hitter an hour before the game.

– Hyung [older brother/close friend], are you coming too?

It was Ryu Jang-ho’s old habit to talk about the main point first.

– What are you talking about?

In response to Jisub’s reply, Ryu Jang-ho quickly sent a message.

– I just received a message from Director Seo Chang-ki of the Cannons [Korean Baseball team].

– Vice Chairman Park Hong-joo is coming to see my game?

– So I was wondering if you were coming too.

– Huh?

It was at this moment that Jisub looked up at the ceiling blankly, holding his cell phone.

‘The Vice Chairman is coming to America?’

Why on earth?