Chapter 703 – Episode 690. Major League Spring Camp. (1)

“Ah! Ji Maeng-ho! Welcome to Florida!”

When Seungcheol got off at the airport after finishing his training camp with his brother, a Yankees employee waiting with my name recognized me and said hello.

“Oh, I see you’re with the club? After all, the 260 million dollar man.”

“Is your name there too?”

“Okay, I’ll see you at spring training.”

“Okay. Effort. See you later.”

I said hello to Wonho, who was dragging my luggage, and approached the employee, who warmly offered to shake my hand.

“Hello, my name is Jack Knight from the operations team. Nice to meet you. Please call me Jack.”

“Ah, nice to meet you. “This is Ji Maeng-ho.”

“But you came with Kim?”

“We did personal training together this time.”

The reason I arrived in Florida with Wonho was simple. It was because me, Wonho, and Shin Suho were in their first year in the Major League, and Seungcheol was aiming for his third consecutive World Series title, so we trained hard together until spring camp started.

And Seungcheol and Shin Suho headed to Arizona, where the Giants and Dodgers were holding spring training, and Houston and the Yankees, where Wonho and I belong, had spring training in Florida, so we arrived here on the same plane.

Did you faithfully train and have sex? Anyway, my condition is pretty good right now. About 70%? At this level, it seemed like it would go up to 100% by the time the opening started.

“Okay. But you came earlier than expected. Usually, pitchers and catchers are called up first.”

“Can’t I come early?”

“Oh, of course not. You should also know the work style of Asians. The hitting coach will be happy too. And there are hitters who receive training first.”

“Who are you?”

“Maybe Ji, the player doesn’t know. “They are minor league players.”

“Honestly, the only people I know are Judge, Stanton, Soto and Gerrit Cole.”

I did a little searching while doing personal training, but honestly, I didn’t know the people well, so I guess the faces and names didn’t match? Although I occasionally watch major league videos, I usually watch videos of people who are good at hitting, so I thought it would take some time to get used to my teammates.

“Haha, that’s possible. They are all world-class players. Now we just have to figure it out little by little.”

After waiting for an hour for a plane to go to the airport near the spring training stadium, I boarded the plane, then drove for about 10 minutes and saw the stadium where the Yankees’ spring training was taking place.

“This is George Steinbrenner Field. This is where our spring camp is held. The facility is named after the team’s owner, George Steinbrenner. For your information, the current owner of the team is his son.”

“Really?”

When I got out of the car, hearing Jack telling me facts that I wasn’t really curious about, I listened to him in one ear and out the other, and the Yankees general manager, who was sweating like I had been waiting for a long time, welcomed me with open arms. He seemed quite happy when I participated in spring camp even though it wasn’t my day to be called up.

“Welcome! Ji! “I was surprised when I heard you were coming early, but you are sincere as expected.”

“Oh, well. It’s basic.”

However, since I had no interest in hugging a sweaty man, I held out my hand, and Director Eric shook my hand with a shy expression.

“Mr. Ji. Let’s go. “Let me introduce you to the players.”

“Ah, but please call me Meng Hao. “I’m not used to being called by my last name.”

“Maeng-prostitute player. Are you satisfied with this?”

… Why does this guy pronounce like this? Are you American?

“Hoe, not Hoe. Please pronounce it correctly.”

“Oh, such a mistake… Maeng-whore. Are you done?”

“Why don’t you pronounce it all at once without stopping?”

“Manhoe (male prostitute). Is it done now?”

… Fuck. Why is this guy pronouncing like this?

“Not a man, but a fierce tiger!”

“Ferocious Tiger!”

“… That’s it.”

“I’m really sorry. You may know that Maengho speaks English well, but the pronunciation is actually similar. Personally, I recommend introducing myself as Ji.”

“… I think that’s the way to go.”

Looking at the awkward smile on his face, it looks like he really made a mistake, or it looks like he’s secretly losing his temper…

‘This is racism. My radar is talking.’

‘Shut up. ‘I don’t believe anything Mr. Rossby says anymore.’

Hehe. Surely your parents chose a good name. Because I’m rolling my dick around like a whore. Man-Hoe. Call-boy. It suits you perfectly.’

‘It’s not Manho, it’s a fierce Tiger. And there’s no such word. Anyway, it’s unreasonable. If you’re jealous, just say you’re jealous. Honestly, I’m jealous, right?’

‘Shut up.’

“Mr. Ji?”

As I was talking to Mr. Rossby, Eric found it strange that the conversation had stopped and called me.

“Oh, let’s go. “To say hello.”

One thing I was certain about was that I didn’t think it would be acceptable to ask people to call me by their first name when introducing themselves. As I followed Eric into the clubhouse, I saw an empty locker room. I came a little late, so it looks like I’ve already left for training.

“This is the locker room Ji will use. In fact, having one full locker during spring training is a huge right. “More than 60 players are scheduled to participate in this spring camp.”

What kind of obvious thing is this guy showing off? Because of the pronunciation from earlier, I didn’t like everything Eric did.

“Mr. This is a locker with Ji’s uniform number, 74, engraved on it. Let’s leave the equipment here and go to the players.”

Since it was going to be used for a whole month anyway, I packed the equipment I brought into the locker and followed Eric.

“Oh! Eric! And next to it?”

“Haha, Mr. Major League’s highest paid man. This is Ji. Mr. Ji. This is Kay, the most senior clubby at our George Steinbrenner Field clubhouse. “He is a grateful person who cleans the clubhouse, runs errands for the players, and does laundry.”

“Ah, this is Ji Maeng-ho. My last name is Ji, my first name is Meng Hao.”

“Nice to meet you. Let’s do our best for the next month. Oh, can I get your autograph as a souvenir?”

“Yes. Where can I get it done?”

“I would appreciate it if you could do it for me.”

After coming to the major league and giving my first autograph, Kay smiled happily and took her autograph.

“Haha, by the way, there are cases where clubbies sell autographed items, and Mr. Do you mind Ji?”

“Well, it doesn’t matter. Kay, how many more would you like?”

“Oh, it’s okay. Please note that this ball is of course for collectible use only. “It’s Ji’s first autograph, so of course I have to keep it.”

“If you want to ask me anything later, please let me know.”

As for the autograph, it was something I could do at any time, so when I told Kay to come visit me anytime, her expression brightened. After saying hello to Kay, we went out to the ground and saw over 30 players sweating beadingly under the ground. And among them, there was a familiar face.

“Uh? “Is it Gerrit Cole?”

Gerrit Cole. He was a player with a connection to every international competition, so much so that he was even talked about at the induction ceremony. Is she a little happy to see such a player here?

“… For your information, I recommend getting to know Gary, as he is like the leader of the pitchers. “Forget what happened in the past.”

“Well, I don’t particularly dislike it or anything like that. Well, the person who got hit might be thinking differently.”

“Haha, I hope the two players become friends. Oh, this is Mattingly, our manager. Hey! Donny!”

As Eric shouts, an old man walks towards where we are. The face was quite familiar, so it was a familiar face that I often saw in the dugout when Seonghyun was playing for the Dodgers.

“Mattingly? “He was the Dodgers manager?”

“Oh, Mr. Ji knows too. Looking to win this season, Mr. Like Ji, he is a newly hired director. Mattingly is someone who experienced our dark times first-hand as a player, so he knows what we want best. And he is also the former captain of the Yankees.”

From captain? Come to think of it, I thought I heard the name Mattingly during this spring training period. Where did you hear that… ?

“Was Mattingly a Yankees player?”

“Didn’t I tell you the last time we talked about the number? Number 23 is Mattingly’s number. And in keeping with the spirit of that time, we plan to use number 23 during this supervision period as well.”

Yes, it’s time to choose your jersey number! I tried to wear Jordan’s number, but the memory of being told that the number had already been retired forever comes to mind.

Mattingly, who was the manager when Sung Hyun was playing for the Dodgers, stole my number, and it was retired by the Yankees. This was a bit surprising.

“Is this friend Ji?”

“You’re right. Money. “He is the friend who will help the Yankees win the championship.”

“Nice to meet you. “I am Don Mattingly.”

“Oh, hello. This is Ji Maeng-ho. Ji family name, Meng Hao family name.”

“Haha, I know that much. Let’s run together to win the Yankees’ 28th World Series title.”

“Of course. Just leave it to me. “Just like Mattingly did during his playing days, I will bring glory to the Yankees.”

“…”

“…”

He is a team legend and there was nothing good about being disliked by the coach, so he paid lip service to him, and Mattingly and Eric’s expressions hardened. What is it?

“Haha. Under. “You’re good at telling jokes.”

What joke? Are you the type of person who doesn’t like lip service? While I was confused, Eric spoke to me in a low voice.

“That… Ji. “Don never experienced winning as a player.”

“Hmm.”

“Really?”

“Keuhum, khum.”

No, it’s a legend? But you didn’t win? Even though they didn’t let me win, they give me a permanent retirement number? What kind of herbal club is this? For some reason, there were a lot of players who had their numbers permanently revoked, so it seemed like they just had all the dogs and cows have their numbers permanently revoked.

‘Fuck, if you’re going to do that, leave my number blank.’

The more I thought about it, the more absurd it became. Why would you give a permanent retirement number to a guy who hasn’t even won?

“Hmm. Anyway, there was a time like that. It was always my regret that I didn’t win a championship when I was a player. Returning to the Bronx with a championship trophy. That’s always been my dream. “I came here thinking this would be my last time.”

However, there was sadness in those eyes, so I felt a little pity for them. I knew one person who had this thirsty eye for winning. It’s senior Gwanhyeong.

‘Now that I think about it, senior Kwan Hyeong told me to come visit him because he is currently receiving coaching training in the United States, right? Where was it?’

I heard that he is currently receiving training in a rookie league, so I thought I would have to look it up later.

Anyway, Director Mattingly had eyes similar to Woo Kwan-hyeong. And with this kind of earnestness, you can demonstrate abilities beyond your imagination, like when I received the MVP award in the Korean Series where I was disciplined. I had a little faith.

“I will make Mattingly’s dream come true. And that’s my specialty?”

“Professional?”

“The club and players that didn’t win. Let me win.”

“Haha, I’m looking forward to it. Ji.”

After a brief greeting with coach Mattingly, we approached the players who were taking a break together.

“This guy is our closer, Mason Miller. “He’s a player who joined last year.”

“Oh, hello. This is Ji Maeng-ho. Ji is the last name, Meng Hao is the first name. Please feel free to call me Ji.”

Mason Miller was a player I met with records. He was a player who played in Oakland, and now Las Vegas, but he moved to the Yankees during spring training last spring. Although he was young, born in 1998, he was already a pretty good player, with 115 saves.

“Call me Mason or Miller, whichever is more convenient for you. Ji. Let’s do better in the future.”

After saying hello to Miller and the other bullpen members who were training together, I went to another group and said hello again. And last.

I was able to meet a familiar face in the starting pitcher group that had just finished training.

“Because of you… !”

For reference, Gerrit Cole appeared in 26 games last season, possibly due to being hit by my batted ball in the WBC and losing his balance, and recorded shabby results that did not live up to his name, with 9 wins, 6 losses, and an ERA of 3.20 over 163 innings.

Considering that he had an ERA in the low to mid 2-point range for all three years from the 23rd, 24th, and 25th seasons, does it make sense to be so excited? Moreover, I even threw a bat at the Olympics.

‘I think I did more than I thought…’

Anyway, he was about to come and hit me, so I immediately raised both hands and calmed Cole down.

“Hey, calm down, let’s calm down!”

“Okay, Cole. Now, we are both leading the team.”

“Under… Yes, because that happened during the game.”

Fortunately, Cole stops fussing at Director Mattingly’s words and shakes his hand. … With the left hand that is not throwing the ball.

‘Let’s organize the ranks, right?’