A Rookie In The Baseball Team Is Too Good [EN]: Chapter 550

The New Recruit of the Baseball Team is Too Good – Episode 550

Chapter 116: The Last Step (3)

About 50 media outlets dispatched exclusive reporters to cover the Tampa Bay Rays.

Among them, Jisub’s favorite was a small local newspaper called [The Bay Chronicle].

Partly because the serialized four-panel comics were amusing, and the crossword puzzles and hidden picture games were substantial.

But the most decisive reason was that the front page of [The Bay Chronicle] was absolutely amazing.

-Ooh….

Whether it was due to the designer’s exceptional skills or the editor’s keen sense.

[The Bay Chronicle] always created a front page that immediately grabbed your attention.

On the day of the Tampa Bay Rays’ first-ever championship win, they used a photo from the first game at Tropicana Field as the background and simply wrote, ‘Dreams Come True.’

On the day former President Brian Sphan stepped down, they featured a close-up black and white photo of his wrinkled face with the single word, ‘Thank You.’

There were plenty of other memorable front pages that you couldn’t help but want to save.

Perhaps that’s why Jisub felt a great sense of loss when he heard the news that they were closing down two years ago due to financial difficulties.

-Is that true? [The Bay] is closing?

-Yes, hardly anyone reads paper newspapers these days, right? It seems the management has decided they can’t hold on any longer.

-That’s too bad. I’ve been saving [The Bay]’s front pages ever since I was in the Future Strategy Planning department….

-Oh, you had that hobby, Kim?

Interestingly, after the media outlet closed, Jisub started receiving several messages on his phone every evening.

-Hello, Mr. President. I’m sending you tomorrow’s front page of [Suncoast Times].

-Kim, how are you? This is Reilly from [Tampa Sports]. Here’s the draft of our newspaper’s front page for tomorrow!

The general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays has been saving the front page of [The Bay Chronicle].

Apparently, this kind of story became quite a hot topic among the reporters covering the team.

Unfortunately, [The Bay] was now closed. So, who would take over and capture the general manager’s attention?

The eager reporters competed to send their newspaper’s front page.

-Hmm….

It was a shame for the reporters who sent the messages, but none of the front pages really caught Jisub’s eye.

It wouldn’t have been easy to find people with the same level of sense as [The Bay Chronicle].

As a result, Jisub’s newspaper-saving hobby had been on hold for almost two years. When the general manager didn’t show any particular reaction, the reporters who had become indifferent stopped sending front pages—

Wowwww!!!

Right then, at the ALCS (American League Championship Series) Game 1 held at Clockwise Field.

More precisely, around the end of the top of the 7th inning of that game.

Hiayama! Hiayama! Hiayama! Hiayama!

The crowd chanted the Tampa Bay starting pitcher’s name.

The Tampa Bay starting pitcher raised both hands in response.

Brrrr-

In his office, Jisub, who was watching the game, received a message from a reporter on his phone.

-Kim, how have you been? I’m sending you the front page of tomorrow’s [Bayline News].

It had been a long time since he’d received this type of message. Was it six months? No, almost a year.

With a slightly welcoming feeling, Jisub carefully examined the message the reporter had sent.

“….”

And soon after, Jisub asked Richard Stelmetzek, who was clenching his fist and rejoicing beside him.

“Richard, where can I get [Bayline News]? Is it available at the newsstands in front of the stadium?”

“Bayline News? You can see it if you go to the media relations team, or you can find it online.”

“Ah, I know that… I just want to get one separately tomorrow. I was thinking of saving the front page for the first time in a while.”

“Saving it? Suddenly?”

Richard Stelmetzek tilted his head, but Jisub was looking down at his phone with a faint smile.

“Yes, it’s been a while since a front page worth saving has come out.”

In fact, there wasn’t any great photo on it.

To begin with, there were no photos. Most of the newspaper’s front page was simply painted white.

However, one short word written in a bold, large font in the left corner of the front page.

This one word, written in the Tampa Bay Rays’ team color, navy, captivated Jisub’s heart.

[REVIVED.]

It meant ‘revived.’

Vincent Hiayama’s revival.

* * *

That’s right. It was definitely a revival.

In Game 1 of the Championship Series, Vincent Hiayama, the starting pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays, showed the power of his prime once again.

Whoosh- Boom!

Whoooooosh- Boooom!!

In fact, the velocity itself was a little lower than expected. The maximum velocity of the four-seam fastball was 98 mph.

However, unlike in the past when it was considered somewhat light, Vincent’s four-seam fastball flew in very heavily that day.

-It’s like a cannonball!

That was the commentator’s assessment.

-Before, it felt like poking with a sharp awl, but today it feels like hammering with something like a hammer! Wow, this is really amazing?!

Similar but definitely different.

What supported this commentator’s analysis was the changeup, a new breaking ball that Vincent Hiayama had refined.

Whoooo- Pow!

According to what Jisub had been informed, this was a pitch that Dr. Goldberg of the [Braveball Institute] had actively recommended.

According to his analysis, the changeup was a perfect fit for Vincent’s changed pitching form.

Honestly, Jisub was skeptical, but after watching the game that day, it seemed that the big doctor’s analysis was completely correct.

-Strikeout! It’s a strikeout! Grant Hollyman’s bat cuts through the air! That’s the sixth strikeout, Vincent Hiayama!

If he had just returned to his old self, there might have been a way to deal with it.

Vincent Hiayama once shook up Major League Baseball. There were veteran players on the New York Yankees who remembered his prime.

However, Vincent, who returned after a two-month hiatus, had become a different type of pitcher than before.

The result was,

The revival of the ace.

7 innings, no runs, 1 hit, 11 strikeouts.

-I would like to offer my congratulations.

After the game ended with the Tampa Bay Rays’ victory, what became as much of a hot topic as Vincent Hiayama’s revival was the interview with New York Yankees manager Doug Benji.

With a final score of 5-0, he stood before the reporters with a very calm expression, even after accepting a near-complete defeat.

-We always look forward to the birth of new stars, but what’s even more touching is the moment when a star that has lost its light shines brightly again. In that respect, I think today’s game was very meaningful.

The New York Yankees manager, with a smile as handsome as a Hollywood movie star, congratulated Vincent Hiayama.

Of course, the faces of the Tampa Bay people who watched this were filled with bitter smiles.

“Hehe, his acting skills are excellent, aren’t they? The manager must be in turmoil right now.”

“I agree. When you think about it, Vincent’s trade started with a conflict with Doug Benji, didn’t it?”

“And yet he’s saying such flattering things… Do you have to be that shameless to be a manager?”

I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s game.

I wonder what he’ll say tomorrow.

The Tampa Bay Rays’ front office people were each saying something like that—

To put it bluntly,

The next day, the Tampa Bay front office staff did not see Doug Benji’s interview.

Final score 12-2. Immediately after Game 2 of the Championship Series ended with a major victory for the Tampa Bay Rays.

The New York Yankees announced that Doug Benji would not be participating in the post-game interview.

“The league office warned that a fine would be imposed… but Manager Benji said he would take that risk and hurriedly left the stadium.”

That was what Richard Stelmetzek reported after returning from the media room.

Like most Tampa Bay employees that day, a satisfied smile was spreading across his face.

“Well, I would have done the same as Doug Benji. He was bragging so much that this year’s Yankees were the strongest, but they lost two straight in the Championship Series….”

Kim, isn’t that right?

Richard turned to Jisub.

“I’m a little curious. What is Doug Benji doing right now? He must be trying to calm down his anger, so is he pouring down alcohol or something?”

“Hey, that’s not likely. The Doug Benji I know isn’t someone who gives up that easily.”

Jisub continued.

“And strictly speaking, he still has a card up his sleeve, doesn’t he?”

“A card up his sleeve?”

“That’s right. There was only one person, wasn’t there? The one who predicted this situation in the New York Yankees, the one who said that they would lose at least two games from the start of the series….”

Jisub stroked his chin.

“He was criticized for spouting nonsense at the time, but now there’s someone who can be seen as the one who predicted all of this, isn’t there?”

“Then….”

“Yes, that’s right. If my feeling is correct, right now, Doug Benji….”

Jisub’s eyes narrowed.

“…is probably meeting with New York Yankees General Manager Nicholas Weiner II.”

* * *

At this time, Jisub’s prediction was accurate.

New York Yankees manager Doug Benji had not given up yet.

He was not so mentally broken that he refused the interview.

The reason he left Clockwise Field as soon as the game ended was to meet with General Manager Nicholas Weiner.

“General Manager, what should we do?”

Since Game 2 was over, Games 3 through 5 would be held at the New York Yankees’ home stadium.

As he headed to Tampa International Airport to board a plane to New York, Doug Benji turned to look at Weiner, who was sitting next to him.

“You predicted this situation early on, didn’t you? Vincent Hiayama’s revival, Victor Johnson Jr.’s good pitching….”

Of course, he also felt a bit bitter, and Doug Benji made a ‘ahem’ sound.

“And the story that the series could start with at least two losses, or even three losses in the worst case scenario.”

“….”

“If you made a prediction, that means you had a plan for it, right? What should we do? What should I do?”

In fact, from Nicholas Weiner’s point of view, it was a situation where he could have said a word or two of reproach.

He could have sneered. Why didn’t you listen to me then? I explained all the measures, didn’t I?

However, General Manager Weiner was basically a neat person, so he didn’t respond emotionally like that.

“….”

He simply stared silently out the window, which was completely dark, and then slowly opened his mouth.

“Manager, do you think this is an emergency now? Is it a very urgent situation?”

“Of course? It’s an emergency! It’s not the three-game losing streak you first mentioned, but losing two games in a short series is an emergency to anyone, isn’t it?”

To Doug Benji, who was looking at him with an expression as if to say, ‘Why are you hesitating like this?’, Nicholas Weiner gave the following answer.

“If the situation is that urgent… then the boundaries of work can be a little blurred, right?”

“The boundaries… of work?”

The manager blinked.

“What do you mean?”