The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 255

255. There’s No Second Marlins in My Dictionary (3)

The sheer number of home runs, their distance, and the fact that they came in high-pressure situations meant my power was generally rated at 80. This indicated I had the potential to hit 30+ home runs in the majors.

Power, in this context, refers to the ability to produce long hits and home runs, so the rating wasn’t entirely inaccurate. However, power can be further divided into Raw Power and Game Power. Simply put, it’s pure strength versus the power you can actually utilize effectively during a game.

Imagine a strongman who can lift 500kg playing baseball. If he could actually make contact with the ball, the resulting distance would be incredible. That’s Raw Power. But that’s only if he can hit the ball. No matter how strong you are, it’s meaningless in baseball if you can’t connect. That’s why the actual power you can use in a game, including the ability to hit the ball consistently, is called Game Power.

“Many people focus on your home runs, Swan. Especially the incredible distance and the amazing power that sends the ball over the fence from such unorthodox stances. But in the Yankees’ opinion, it’s less about raw power and more about your ridiculously high level of hitting skill. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“I do.”

I nodded readily.

“Watching Swan reminds me of Ichiro Suzuki. Of course, I don’t mean that in a stereotypical way, like all Asians are the same.”

“It’s okay. Korea and Japan may not have the best relationship historically, but putting that aside, being compared to Ichiro Suzuki is never an insult for a baseball player.”

“Exactly. Ichiro was something else.”

“But I’m curious, what makes you think of Ichiro Suzuki? Personally, I think I’m a very different type of player.”

“Oh, of course. I think so too. But you don’t have to be similar to remind someone of them. Sometimes, it’s the complete opposite.”

Ichiro Suzuki was a player who could have hit plenty of home runs. If he had tried to be a regular power hitter, pursuing the exact same style as in the NPB [Nippon Professional Baseball, Japan’s highest level of baseball], he might have been a .270 hitter with around 15 home runs.

“But Ichiro made a choice. A unique choice to focus entirely on contact hitting. Now, people talk about productivity and advanced metrics and so on, but from a personal perspective, Ichiro’s choice was excellent. Even with a similar WAR [Wins Above Replacement, a comprehensive baseball statistic], or even if the total number was 3 or 4 higher, it couldn’t surpass the impact of that ridiculous number of hits. I think that choice was brilliant, just like you chose to break the home run record in the KBO [Korea Baseball Organization], even if it meant sacrificing some batting average.”

“You know my batting average was .398, right?”

“A hitter who gets an 80 grade in Hit in the major leagues could hit .400 in AA [Double-A Minor League Baseball], and it wouldn’t be surprising. In fact, 80 is sometimes the highest score you can give. So, wouldn’t it be more surprising if you didn’t hit .400?”

What can I say?

They praise my abilities while subtly boasting about their analytical skills. You can see the experience of leading the Yankees for 30 years under George Steinbrenner, known as the owner with the dirtiest personality in history, and his unruly sons.

“So, are you saying that the Yankees think I should focus less on home runs and become a more optimized hitter with around 30 home runs and a .300 batting average in the major leagues, unlike when I was in the KBO?”

“No, not at all.”

Brian Cashman shook his head firmly.

“When we tried to recruit Shohei Ohtani 10 years ago, we ‘recommended’ the path that we thought was most suitable for him, based on our judgment. But that turned out to be a huge misjudgment on our part, and the failure it created was devastating.”

Whether that was a genuine ‘recommendation’ or not, it was refreshing to see a successful adult calmly admit that their choice was wrong. In both America and Korea, successful and older people tend to strongly resist apologizing or admitting failure.

“Fortunately, we’ve found a better direction through that failure.”

“What do you mean?”

“Those numbers are just our calculations based on Swan’s KBO record. Swan is only 20 years old and can improve much more. We’ll help you, and that direction will be entirely up to you. Of course, we’re the Yankees, and we need to win, so we can’t promise unlimited support for two-way play.”

“But that’s!!”

Brian Cashman gestured to stop Ted Park, who was trying to interrupt our conversation. There was a strange force in that small gesture, and perhaps because of that, Ted Park closed his mouth without realizing it.

“We can’t keep starting someone in the majors if their ERA [Earned Run Average, a measure of pitching performance] is 10, can we? But we’ll guarantee three starts each year and promise at least 20 innings of pitching. Of course, other teams might offer more opportunities, but you can’t have both a team that can reach the top and a guarantee of more than that, regardless of performance. You must remember that. A team that can offer you more than that can also offer other players more than they deserve.”

Ted Park seemed to want to argue, but he couldn’t easily do so. It wasn’t because the old man’s logic was flawless that Ted Park couldn’t say anything. Like being able to muscle the ball over the fence with brute force even if your stance is a little off, the words of this old man, who is only 170cm tall and over 60 years old, contained a very powerful force.

But Ted Park wasn’t the only one here with me. If that were the case, I wouldn’t have any reason to continue my contract with this company. My current contract is only worth $5 million, but I’m not a $5 million player.

James Miller.

The CEO of James Corporation responded to Brian Cashman.

“Brian, you’re getting too worked up before even having a sip of coffee. Of course, our Choi is good at English, but it might be hard to understand if you rattle off so quickly. Well, I understand the gist. Even if his ERA exceeds 10, you’ll guarantee three starts and 20 innings of pitching opportunities throughout the contract period. Is that what you’re saying?”

James Miller subtly added the phrase “throughout the contract period” to Brian Cashman’s statement. Surprisingly, Cashman nodded in agreement.

“Of course. In addition, we’ve prepared a lot of data for Swan. We’ve been trying to develop players who can play both ways for the past seven years since 2020, and the amount of data we’ve accumulated is not insignificant. Unfortunately, most of it is experience from failures…”

Cashman, who had been talking to James Miller, turned his gaze to me.

“With the success story of a special human being named Shohei Ohtani added to that, the story changes a bit. Swan, I can guarantee that no matter which team you go to, no one can provide more support for ‘two-way play’ than our Yankees.”

It was a pretty impressive first meeting.

Of course, it didn’t end there. After that, there were discussions with various staff members, about the stadium, and more detailed conditions. But those things weren’t that important to me.

On the way from the Bronx to Queens.

James, sitting next to me in the limousine, opened his mouth.

“Choi, it seems like the Yankees are really desperate. The result of missing out on Shohei Ohtani before must have been quite painful. These conditions are so good that it’s no exaggeration to say it’s not the Yankees I used to know.”

“I agree. Just looking at the conditions, it seems like the best so far.”

“That’s fortunate. Now we can start negotiations with other teams based on these conditions. Let’s start with the Mets.”

I nodded at James’s words.

Honestly, even if other teams want me, would any team offer more than the Yankees are offering now? That’s what I was thinking. It was true that I had set tremendous records in the KBO, but I hadn’t even set foot in the big leagues yet. And the conservatism of the big leagues that I experienced in my past life was unimaginably strong.

“What? Stingy with 3 starts and 20 innings? Don’t worry, we’ll definitely go beyond that. Oh, and one more thing. There are many teams that use players frugally when they’re on low salaries, and then let them go as free agents after winning one or two championships. I don’t want to make the Mets like that. Once you’ve created an M&M duo, isn’t maintaining it until the end the romance of sports? Even if I have to pay tens of millions of dollars in luxury tax, it’s okay. I’m not going to take money with me when I die anyway. You may have read it in the news, but I earned $2 billion last year alone. I can spend as much money as I want on the Mets. That team that can consistently challenge for championships, which you wanted, is the team I’m pursuing and the team I want. Come to the Mets. I can’t do anything about the legally mandated minimum salary period, but once that’s over, I’ll let you focus solely on baseball without worrying about anything else.”

The conservatism of the big leagues is unimaginably strong.

But isn’t there a saying somewhere? If there’s something you can’t buy with money, you should look back and see if you don’t have enough money.

The king of New York hedge funds, who is perfectly realizing those words in reality.

Steve Cohen, the owner of the New York Mets, presented me with a strong will to solve everything with money, regardless of the conservatism of the big leagues.

What can I say?

It was too much money to refuse, or rather, a strategy?

‘Choi, we can get some amazing conditions if we scratch here a little bit more?’

And it seems like this strategy.

My agency, James Miller, seems to be completely satisfied with it.