A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 532

The New Recruit of the Baseball Team is Too Good 532

112 The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (5)

According to what Johannes van Benschoten told Jisub later, the week that followed felt like walking on clouds.

-Well, it was like the things I had only imagined since I was a kid were becoming reality.

That was Johannes’s words.

-I even felt like I was dreaming. All the tall tales I used to tell people were coming true.

Indeed, it must have been a dreamlike week for Johannes.

Immediately after the tryout at the desolate public field, he was able to sign a formal contract with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Soon after, he received instructions to join the Tampa Bay’s Triple-A team, the Durham Bulls, where he was ordered to prepare for a Major League starting appearance.

Major League start. Major League start. In fact, until then, Johannes didn’t seem to realize it.

-Are you, are you serious? I’m going to play in a Major League game? As a starting pitcher?

-Oh, Johannes! Don’t you get tired of it? How many times have you asked the same question? I explained the situation a little while ago, didn’t I?

-No, well… all I heard was ‘It’s the president’s order.’

Even in that chaotic situation, in a situation where he couldn’t figure out what was going on.

At this time, one word from an employee in the Tampa Bay’s Future Strategy Planning division left quite an impression on Johannes.

-Ah, it was Kim’s order…….

He blinked and said.

-Isn’t that enough?

-Huh?

-What other explanation do you need?

-Um?!

The infinite trust in the president was difficult to understand, but the meeting with the Tampa Bay team staff was also a special experience for Johannes.

In fact, this seemed to be the first time. Major League front office people swarming in to explain the game plan, meticulously going over how to play the game.

Listening to their explanations made him feel like he had really become a Major Leaguer, a star player at that.

-So… the key is the high fastball, right? I have to throw a four-seam fastball high in the zone?

-That’s right. You didn’t throw this good ball even 5% of the time in San Diego’s Triple-A, did you? That’s such a waste, isn’t it? It’s the best pitch you have!

-We think we need to increase the usage rate of this high fastball to a minimum of 40% and a maximum of 60%. If this becomes possible, you will definitely establish yourself as a Major League starting pitcher!

So this is the skill of the Tampa Bay Rays, the ‘house that raises pitchers well’ that I’ve only heard rumors about.

I also felt that the years I had spent wandering aimlessly around other teams were a great waste.

It was also considered a great fortune that I had found a way even now-

“…….”

Johannes van Benschoten’s dreamlike week. The highlight was, of course, the last day.

After receiving the call-up to the Major League, he came to the Tampa Bay Rays’ home stadium, the Tropicana Field.

When he entered the Major League players’ clubhouse with the guidance of a team employee.

Welcome to the Show!

Congratulations on joining the Major League!

#57 Pitcher Johannes van Benschoten.

The moment he picked up his uniform hanging in the locker, Johannes’s eyes began to shake greatly.

“T, this is…….”

It was a Major League uniform.

The very uniform he had longed for.

He had dreamed of it from the moment he first picked up a baseball, and despite his painstaking efforts, it kept getting further and further away.

It may be difficult now. Maybe it’s time to let go. Just when those thoughts were filling Johannes’s head.

The Major League,

had come to him.

“Oh, it was really hard.”

Looking down at the uniform with a dazed expression, the team employee in charge of game operations clicked his tongue and said.

“Van Benschoten? What kind of name is so long? You have no idea how much nagging we got when we were making the uniform!”

“That’s right, Johannes! Couldn’t you use an abbreviation like in Triple-A? Like taking out ‘Van’ or shortening it to ‘V’…… If you had just allowed that, the uniform would have looked much prettier.”

It was a story about the back of the uniform.

Because of the long name ‘Van Benschoten’, the back of his uniform had a somewhat comical shape.

Thirteen alphabetic characters centered around the number 57, very long and densely packed.

To be honest, in terms of shape, it would have been more plausible to remove one or two alphabets, but Johannes also had a reason.

“My family is very sensitive to the expression ‘Van’. I think it means that we used to be a noble family?”

He smiled awkwardly.

“So, if it’s in the minor league, it’s okay, but if I go up to the Major League, I must……. Haa.”

Johannes van Benschoten suddenly took a long sigh in the middle of his speech.

When the team employees looked at him with puzzled eyes, Johannes quickly waved his hand.

“Haha, no. I just suddenly felt strange.”

“Strange feeling?”

“Yes, I made a boast to my family when I was young. That I would raise the name of our family. That I would explain it clearly to the team staff if they said anything.”

Johannes scratched his cheek.

“Even that boast from that time has become a reality……. All this luck feels so sudden.”

“Haha, luck? No one comes up to the Major League with luck alone. It’s all thanks to your persistent efforts.”

The team employees were continuing the story in a fairly skillful manner.

They were the ones who welcomed dozens of Major League debut players in a season, so it was perhaps natural.

“But Johannes, remember this one thing. More players than you think just have a cup of coffee here and go back to where they were.”

A cup of coffee.

It was a kind of idiom that Major League employees always mentioned in this situation.

You can only have a cup of coffee here and go back. You can be demoted back to the minor league in such a short time. So please-

“Good luck in today’s game.”

The team employee said.

“So that your luck, your baseball, can continue here in the Major League for a long time.”

* * *

At the very moment when Johannes van Benschoten was being given a ridiculous uniform by the team staff.

In the office of the president of Tropicana Field, Richard Stelmetzek, the president’s special assistant, was receiving a call from the stadium operations department.

“Ah, is that so? I understand. I will report to the president.”

Yes, yes, go in.

With those words, Richard approached Jisub with quick steps.

“Kim, Johannes van Benschoten’s family has just arrived. A total of 17 people, including his grandmother.”

“Oh, really? Is the suite ready? I heard that his grandmother is still a little uncomfortable.”

At Jisub’s question, Richard nodded with a confident expression.

“Yes, it’s perfectly prepared. Just in case, I have doctors and nurses on standby. You don’t have to worry.”

“Thank you for your hard work. Isn’t it the Major League debut of his beloved grandson? Richard, please go and take care of it often.”

“Of course. I should, of course.”

The Major League debut of a new player, especially Johannes, who is debuting at a late age, was a great joy for the team staff.

Aren’t they people who know the situation? They know how difficult the process has been and how important this day is.

So, the team’s secretariat was almost in a festive mood that day, but not everyone had a happy expression.

“Kim?”

It was Pablo Rodriguez.

The deputy director of the Future Strategy Planning department.

Only he was approaching Jisub with a serious expression.

“Is this… really okay?”

“Hmm?”

Jisub turned his gaze to Pablo while closing his laptop.

Even at this time, he still had room for jokes.

“Haha, is the Yankees going to announce a austerity plan tomorrow? Why aren’t you telling me to step down from the president’s position today?”

“Damn it, I have a feeling that the situation will flow that way even if I don’t bring it up.”

Pablo was narrowing his brow slightly.

“No, Kim! It’s been a while since the report was submitted, but why haven’t any instructions been given yet?”

“Report? What report?”

“What else would it be? Johannes van Benschoten! To be exact, it’s a report about his high fastball!”

Pablo’s voice rose.

“You’ve checked the contents, right? The fact that Johannes was afraid of throwing the ball high in the zone.”

“Um, I checked it.”

Jisub nodded.

“Then you also know this, right? The reason why San Diego released him was actually because they concluded that he couldn’t throw high in the zone?”

“I checked that too.”

Jisub replied calmly, but Pablo had a dumbfounded expression.

“No, why are you so calm when you know that? You should either replace the starting pitcher or prepare a middle man [relief pitcher], shouldn’t there be some instructions?”

“…….”

“He’s a pitcher with a strong high fastball. He’s a player who needs to induce a swing and a miss with it! But if he can’t throw high in the zone…….”

Isn’t it ruined?

Isn’t there an answer?

Jisub’s answer to Pablo Rodriguez’s rebellion was this.

“I’m sorry, Pablo.”

“Yes?”

“I told the manager everything a while ago, but I forgot to tell you.”

Jisub scratched the back of his head.

“Oh, I was so busy today. I had to write letters to Johannes’s family. By hand, too.”

“Kim, is a handwritten letter important now? No, why are you giving Johannes such special treatment in the first place?”

Pablo didn’t seem to understand.

“He’s not a great prospect, is he? It turns out he has quite a few weaknesses. You suddenly give such a player a Major League contract, and you invite his whole family and give them a suite…….”

At Pablo’s words, Richard Stelmetzek, who was standing next to him, was also nodding slowly.

It seemed awkward to him too. The extraordinary treatment given to Johannes.

But as always, a soft smile was on Jisub’s face.

“Well, what other reason would there be?”

Jisub shrugged.

“It was to show Johannes, that bragging friend, the taste of ‘real’.”

“The taste of real?”

“Pablo, have you ever thought about it? Why did Johannes brag to his family? Why couldn’t he tell his family about his situation honestly?”

“Well, I don’t know?”

Pablo tilted his head.

“If you interpret it maliciously, he’s just a shallow person. Well, if you interpret it as positively as possible… wasn’t it because he didn’t want to disappoint his family? He seems to care a lot about his family.”

“Um, I think so too.”

Jisub got up from his seat.

“Bragging was a pretty cost-effective method for Johannes, who has mediocre skills. If he just bluffs a little, his family will be happy, right? They can feel relieved for a while, have expectations… and Johannes would have felt moderately comfortable seeing such a family.”

“Well, I don’t think it was a very constructive direction.”

Jisub nodded lightly at Pablo’s point.

“That’s right, so the method I came up with after thinking about it was to show them ‘real’.”

Real joy, real reward.

Jisub’s expression became quite serious.

“I made all the things that Johannes used to brag about come true. That the manager would come in person, that he would go to the Major League within a week… and everything else.”

“…….”

“Over the past week, didn’t Johannes feel it? If he’s not a complete idiot, I think he could definitely feel it.”

The difference between fake and real.

The appearance of his family rejoicing when he bragged and the appearance of his family rejoicing when it actually happened must have been different.

The gazes of people looking at him when he bluffed and the gazes of people when he made it real must have been completely different.

And above all-

“The feelings he felt would have been different. The momentary relief he felt when he bluffed and the pride he felt when everything came true would have been on a different level, wouldn’t it?”

“Well, I understand what Kim’s intentions were…….”

Pablo’s attitude had softened a little, but he still seemed to have questions.

“What does that have to do with the high fastball? Does feeling the ‘real’ you mentioned make a difference?”

“Um, that’s right.”

Jisub continued, looking out towards the distant ground.

“In today’s game, probably at a very early point… Johannes will be forced to make a choice.”

Choice.

Jisub emphasized this word.

“Whether to throw a high fastball or not. Whether to attack the high zone as the catcher leads, or to choose an ambiguous zone like before.”

“…….”

“It certainly won’t be an easy choice. Throwing high requires a lot of courage. It’s easy to get it in the middle if you’re not careful.”

Jisub sighed briefly.

“But if the memory of the ‘real’ he felt over the past week was strong, and if it was strongly recognized in his head… today we will get one solid starting pitcher. A starting pitcher with a very unique style.”

“A unique style, it’s definitely a necessary resource when you think about the post-season…….”

Pablo had a troubled expression.

“Isn’t this too dangerous a plan? You’ve made and promoted various plans… but in the end, you’re entrusting the success or failure to the choice of one player, Johannes?”

If Johannes does well, everyone lives.

If Johannes doesn’t do well, everyone dies.

Pablo seemed to find this situation unbearable.

“Kim, you are a front office that has won two consecutive championships! Honestly, you’re now called the top in the industry, aren’t you? Didn’t you have any other plans? Something more stable, a plan that we can control…….”

“Um, no.”

Jisub was smiling brightly.

“Didn’t I tell you? No matter how wonderful a plan the front office makes, its success depends on the players on the field.”

We’re just called ‘front office’.

We’re just called ‘people in front’.

Jisub shrugged.

“If we have carefully made a plan and done our best to implement it accordingly… all that’s left is to wait. Praying that the player will follow my will, praying that the player will understand my heart.”

“Damn it, is it finally a prayer meta [depending on luck] at the end? I feel like it’s a losing game.”

Pablo continued to grumble and complain, but Jisub gestured lightly as he headed towards the large monitor.

“Stop grumbling and come sit down. Wouldn’t it be better to watch it from beginning to end if possible?”

Whether Johannes van Benschoten will be able to throw a high four-seam fastball.

Whether the braggart from Louisiana will be able to stand proudly in front of his beloved family.

And so-

“Whether our Tampa Bay front office can create another miracle.”