Chapter 721 – Episode 708. First Expedition. (1)

“But why do I have to wear a suit when I board a plane?”

My first expedition flight. Since the next game is tomorrow in Detroit, we took a break of about 1–2 hours after the game and headed straight to the airport. I was a little annoyed because the suits I wore the whole way to the airport were uncomfortable.

“Huh? I’m just doing it because they tell me to do it. “All other teams do the same.”

It was Judge sitting next to me who answered my question. But even Judge didn’t seem to know the reason.

“Then next time, can I wear something more comfortable?”

“That’s a bit…” . Yes, it’s a tradition. Tradition.”

“Tradition… Okay. But why do we have to wear suits even when commuting to work?”

To be honest, I knew about wearing a suit on a plane because I heard it from Seungcheol, but the most annoying thing was the fact that I had to wear a suit to commute to work. Even though I only commuted to work for 3 days, it was very uncomfortable.

No, honestly, what does it matter what you wear? All you have to do is play baseball well.

“Hey, Ji.”

But Judge laughs and says at my complaint.

“Do you know why the Yankees are strong? “It’s because our uniform breaks the opponent’s spirit.”

What kind of nonsense is this all of a sudden? Do I understand English poorly?

“What do you mean? “I haven’t won in nearly 20 years.”

“… Huh. Greatness. So what I’m saying is that clothing is that important. By wearing suits and commuting to work, we strengthen our bond and teamwork…”

“Oh, yes, yes. I understand.”

I can’t believe I have to wear a suit to work for such an old-fashioned reason.

“… But, you don’t watch movies or anything?”

“A movie? “You don’t see it?”

What kind of nonsense is this all of a sudden?

“… I see. I got it.”

In any case, the Yankees, who I knew as a team that couldn’t grow beards, were a team that was more old-fashioned than I could imagine, as I felt since spring training.

Is there a lot to protect? I didn’t think it would be like that because it’s the United States, but just as it’s the same everywhere people live, there were a lot of internal rules within the club here as well. It was famous that you couldn’t grow a beard, you couldn’t have long hair, you were generally restricted from wearing accessories such as necklaces or earrings, and you couldn’t unbutton your uniform, so there were a lot of things you had to keep in addition to the suit.

Well, I didn’t wear necklaces or earrings in the first place, and AT wasn’t a team that wore their uniforms with their buttons undone, so it didn’t really concern me.

Additionally, there were a lot of things that had to be observed in the locker room each year, and I was a bit out of the loop when it came to the overall team discipline.

Even though he was the youngest on the roster in his first year of debut, he was the highest paid player on the team, so is he being treated the same as big free agent signings like Judge or Cole?

Of course, because of that, Paul and Thomas, who were of similar age, looked at me with disdain. They were backups and were each a year older than me, but Paul was a rookie who played only 5 games, and Thomas was a rookie who played only 40 games last year, so they were still stuck in the worst seats on the bus.

Anyway, when I arrived at the airport, I was able to quickly enter the plane after completing a simple body search.

“Hey, isn’t it different from just an airplane?”

“Of course. “This is the club’s private plane.”

When I went inside and let out an exclamation, the stewardess responded as if she was proud. For your information, the stewardess looks pretty nice.

‘I’ll eat it later.’

Although the club’s rules were strict, there was no saying that you shouldn’t fuck with the stewardess, so I decided to do it later when I had the chance, and asked the stewardess anything I was curious about in order to get to know her.

“Oh… But does this also accumulate mileage?”

“… ?”

“Wow, if I accumulate money every time I go on an expedition, I could go to Korea for free?”

“I’m sorry, but this is a private plane, so there’s nothing like that.”

“… What? Why don’t you accumulate mileage? “Aren’t these employees embezzling?”

“Hohoho, Ji is the first player to ask that. It’s a joke too… “It’s a joke, right?”

“… Yes.”

I don’t know why, but the stewardess seemed to be looking at me with a slightly disdainful expression, so I quickly agreed to what the stewardess said and changed the topic.

“By the way, what is your name?”

“Oh, my name is Grace Yount.”

“Yount… The pronunciation is a bit bad. “Can I call you Grace?”

“Yes… Whatever is convenient for you…”

“Hey Ji. Stop giggling and come quickly.”

Anyway, a man’s jealousy is… Judge called me, as if he didn’t want to see that things were going well with the stewardess.

“Can I sit here?”

“Okay. From now on, that is your place.”

As I go to where the judge called me, the other players look at me. It’s a place that looks good just by looking at it. Paul and Thomas, who are similar ages to me, and Camacho, who is the youngest of the pitcher group but is skilled enough to be the team’s set-up man, were all in a corner, and Judge had called me to a gathering of only the team’s key players.

Just looking at the players nearby, there’s Judge, the captain, Cole, an ace in his 8th year with the Yankees, Stanton, in his 10th year with the team, and even Soto, who is in his late 20s but is an MVP contender. The core of the team was all gathered here.

Even I, who was new to the major leagues, could understand what kind of position this was since they were paid around $20 million and Rodon, Buehler, and Logan, who had some experience in the major leagues, were not here.

‘Well, it’s a position that suits me. It’s clear that Judge has an eye for people. … It’s because I’m a bit proud.’

Just like that, I tried to sit down on a seat that was almost like a sofa, but the judge called me again.

“Hey, Ji. Are you just going to sit there having no fun?”

“Yes? Why? “They told me to sit down.”

“Haha, let’s play a light game of cards. “You know how to play poker, right?”

“… “No?”

All I know about poker is that I played a few games for fun when I was at a camp with the kids at school. It was so long ago that I almost forgot about it.

“Yes, the fun of poker is learning while doing it. Come here first. “Did you receive the meal allowance earlier?”

And Judge laughs at my words and talks about the meal plan. As Judge said, I received a meal allowance when I boarded the plane, but when I checked, it was almost 700 to 800 dollars. If it’s small, it’s small, and if it’s big, it’s a lot of money.

“… I did receive it.”

“Let’s have a quick game with that.”

Just by looking at it, I can feel the atmosphere as if they are trying to grab me and extort money from me. It’s a small amount of money compared to my annual salary, but I was about to refuse because I didn’t want to gamble away nearly 1 million won.

‘It wouldn’t be a bad idea to play a card game after a long time. What are you doing? I’m not going.’

Mr. Rossby led me to the cardboard. And as I sat down, the players gathered one by one. Star players like Cole, Stanton, and Soto, including Judge, who drew me in, all sat at one table.

“Hey Camacho! “Please come and become a dealer.”

“It’s me again…” ?”

“Then a rookie should come and do it.”

“Under… I understand.”

Plus Camacho. Six players sat around the table.

“… But you don’t even explain how the game is played? “I know there are many types of poker.”

“It’s Texas Hold’em.”

To be honest, it was hard to figure out what game it was.

‘Hehe, watch what this body does and learn.’

But seeing what Mr. Rossby liked, I thought it didn’t really matter. Seeing that Mr. Rossby likes it like a child in addition to sex, does it seem like he is being filial?

‘Look. In Texas Hold’em, you are dealt 2 cards and the dealer deals 5 cards…’

‘Ah, it’s okay. It’s okay. Just tell them what to do. Because I don’t necessarily want to know.’

‘Hehe, yes. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to show off this body’s capabilities.’

He was just trying to explain what he knew and seeing him get so excited made me feel good too.

‘Well, Mr. Rossby will take care of it.’

… For a moment I thought so.

‘Mr. Rossby. Tell me the truth. ‘You’ve never played poker, right?’

‘…’

I lost almost all my money within 10 minutes of starting.

“Haha, hey, Ji. “What if I bet that much money with a hand like that?”

“There’s a rumor that he’s good at guess hitting, but his eye for seeing cards is terrible.”

To be honest, I was annoyed that the money was stolen, but my pride was hurt even more when they laughed while almost treating me like a child.

“… “I told you I couldn’t do it.”

“For something like that, I knew the rules properly, right?”

“… It’s really my first time.”

“Haha, from now on I’ll only have to use cards with Ji. It won’t be boring on the plane. “If I save up for just one year, I can buy a car.”

… Ha, I didn’t want to do this. You keep scratching me?

‘Mr. Rossby. To the location.’

‘Huh? What location…’

‘Let’s see if you lose like usual, you idiot! Because I roughly understand the rules!’

*

“This… “I’m done too.”

A two-hour journey to Detroit. A poker game that started lightly to help a rookie debuting in the major leagues adjust to the club ended up being all-in.

In fact, Judge and other key players of the Yankees did not encourage card games to steal the rookie’s money.

Although the assigned seats on the private plane were nearby, it was only a seat determined by the club. In the first place, Judge and Soto had a significant age gap and different nationalities, so they were different people in the clubhouse. And Stanton preferred to go quietly on private planes.

In addition, Gerrit Cole usually spent time hanging out with pitchers.

However, these four players, who are the leaders of the clubhouse, all agreed on one thing while watching Ji Maeng-ho’s three games. In order to win, Ji Maeng-ho’s performance is important.

So, I started playing Hold’em on my first expedition flight to provide care and to teach people not to get caught up in gambling…,

“What? Are you done? Well, nothing special.”

The result ended with 4 people going all-in. Ji Maeng-ho seemed clumsy at first, but by the time the plane arrived in Detroit, it was safe to say he was already a professional poker player.

In particular, Ji Maeng-ho’s psychological warfare ability to bet as if he knew the cards or read their thoughts made me understand why he was renowned as the best guess hitter in Korea.

‘When I saw him talking about mileage while riding a private plane, he seemed a bit foolish, but he seemed to have a quick mind as expected. Is the stupid appearance just a smokescreen?’

After thinking about it that way, I realized that the clumsy appearance I showed at first seemed like it was made up on purpose.

‘No, I’m sure it is. ‘Texas Hold’em is not a game you can learn in 30 minutes.’

At first, they pretended to be beginners, and then went on to prey on those who had already played a lot of cards.

What is underneath that stupid exterior?

They probably have calculation skills and guts that ordinary people can’t even imagine.

It was definitely like that when you see him playing trap without fear in front of veterans and the psychological warfare that seemed to penetrate their hearts.

‘When I read that my hand was a bluff, I thought I was a psychic.’

What kind of performance can Ji Maeng-ho show in the major league in the future?

Judge began to look forward to the future.