Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 134

While teams invited to the postseason were enjoying fall baseball, those that weren’t had to start preparing for next year.

The beginning of that was, of course, salary negotiations.

Unlike last year, when I was only in charge of salary negotiations until the free agent (FA) negotiations began, I now had to handle negotiations for all players.

Except for Na Jun-ho, who had already signed an FA contract, and Go Ji-hoon, who would have to start FA negotiations as soon as the postseason ended, everyone else was subject to salary negotiations.

The negotiations with Oh Seok-hoon and Park Seong-joo, whose postseason hadn’t ended yet, were scheduled to be held last.

Seo Seong-min, who hadn’t found a team yet, was also excluded for the time being.

For now, I was planning to proceed with negotiations with Jang Su-young, So Young-joon, Choi Jeong-hwan, and Michael Scott.

I went through the players’ records with Lee Joo-hyuk.

Everyone had performed better than last season, so a salary increase was certain.

The only player who left something to be desired was Choi Jeong-hwan.

He showed impressive performance in the first half of the season but struggled in the second half.

His ERA [Earned Run Average, a measure of pitching performance], as well as his batting average against and slugging percentage against, were completely different in the first and second halves.

The reason for this was probably that he didn’t have a definite signature breaking ball [a pitch that curves or moves erratically].

He would be a perfect player as a 4th or 5th starter, but he still had shortcomings to be considered a 2nd or 3rd starter.

Although the Doubles’ bullpen wasn’t in good shape, he had to play as a relief pitcher in this postseason as well, instead of as a starter.

Choi Jeong-hwan wasn’t fully realizing his potential.

How could he achieve better results?

This was a concern for me, separate from salary negotiations.

* * *

As soon as I opened the door and came out, I heard someone calling me.

“Kang!”

I knew who it was before I even turned my head.

Michael Scott was approaching me with a smile that revealed his white teeth.

“Scott, did you get a good rest?”

Scott was still staying at the accommodation without returning to the United States.

He must have liked living in Korea that much.

“I love it. Our agency accommodation is really perfect!”

I took out my smartphone and turned on the translation app.

I could speak simple English without Lee Joo-hyuk’s help, but it was still difficult to have a full-fledged conversation.

“What are you planning to do today?”

He usually wore comfortable sweatshirts, but today he was wearing a nice jacket that I had never seen before.

He also had a thick necklace around his neck.

His usual attire was completely different.

“So asked me to go to a club with him, so I’m going to go and have fun. He said he knows a place where you can really have a good time and told me to be prepared.”

Could the So that Scott was talking about be…

“You mean Young-joon?”

“That’s right. I’m so excited. So’s dancing looks extraordinary.”

Now he’s even taking him to clubs.

…Well, the season just ended. You have to have fun when you play.

“Where are you meeting?”

“So is coming here. He said on the phone that he’ll be here soon, so I think he’ll arrive soon.”

Ding-dong. Ding-dong.

The doorbell rang as if on cue.

“Oh! My best friend, So!”

As soon as Scott heard the doorbell, he jumped up and ran to the intercom as if a package he had been waiting for had arrived.

Soon after, So Young-joon opened the door and came in.

“Scott! Your fashion is amazing today!”

So Young-joon exclaimed as soon as he met Scott and gave him an American greeting [likely a high-five or fist bump].

I turned my head to look at So Young-joon, and…

“Did you even get your makeup done?”

He didn’t just do it himself; he must have gone to a shop to get it done.

“Of course. It’s been a while since I’ve had this much fun. I have to have a good time.”

He’s really amazing.

“Okay, have fun.”

“If it’s okay, let’s go together. The season’s over, so it’s okay to have a hot day, right?” [referring to a fun, exciting time]

So Young-joon nodded at me and said.

“I have more work to do now.”

“Can’t you take a day off? There are still a few games left before the postseason ends.”

“Because I have to negotiate your salary before that.”

So Young-joon’s expression suddenly changed at the word salary, and he grabbed my hand.

“Representative, please take good care of my salary this season. I worked hard from the beginning, so the results were good, so I can expect something, right?”

“The Pelicans’ salary level isn’t low. I think there will be good results.”

“Representative, please take care of me.”

So Young-joon bowed deeply.

Then he looked at his watch and gestured to Scott to go out.

“We’ll go have fun first.”

“Okay, have fun. And don’t cause any accidents no matter what. Never drink and drive.”

“Representative, don’t worry. I’ve been to clubs over 100 times since my debut, and I’ve never had an accident.”

That’s really great bragging.

“Scott, be careful too.”

“Don’t worry, my boss.”

Scott replied with a strong reaction and moved his feet.

I saw So Young-joon and Scott off as they left.

The backs of the two people leaving the door were filled with anticipation for the hot night to come.

I went back to the accommodation and went down to the training ground.

I could hear someone training.

There was only one person who would be training here at this time, after the regular season ended.

I quietly stood in the corner of the training ground and watched Seo Seong-min train.

Thwack! Thwack!

“Oh ho.”

The right-handed hitting also looked much more natural than before.

Thwack! Thwack!

He was now good enough to be called a right-handed hitter.

Seo Seong-min’s training continued for a long time.

After a while, he stopped training and seemed to be resting, so I approached Seo Seong-min.

“Oh? Representative, you’re here.”

“Senior, aren’t you tired from training so much?”

“I am tired, but it’s a happy thing just to be able to train.”

“Thank you for working so hard.”

I couldn’t help but have a respectful heart.

Then I saw Seo Seong-min’s hands, and…

“Oh my gosh. What’s wrong with your hands, Senior?”

Calluses were forming on the areas where blisters had burst, and I could feel that it would be painful just to look at them.

Baseball players’ hands can’t be smooth, but Seo Seong-min’s hands were really beyond imagination.

“I can’t help it because I’m training with my left and right hands at the same time.”

Seo Seong-min smiled awkwardly.

“Doesn’t it hurt? It looks like it would be hard to even hold a bat at this point.”

“Calluses have formed over it. I’m okay.”

Looking at these hands, I felt a sense of duty to find a team for Seo Seong-min no matter what.

“Senior, do you have a preferred team?”

“Me?”

Seo Seong-min widened his eyes as if he had received a completely unexpected question.

“I was wondering if there was a team you wanted to play for, or if there were any important factors you were considering.”

“I’m not in a position to be picky right now. I have to run to any team as long as I can play in the game.”

In my opinion, the most important thing for Seo Seong-min was whether he could play in even one more at-bat.

If Seo Seong-min could reliably make up for the team’s weaknesses, there would be no reason for the club not to sign such a player.

“Are you done training now?”

“No. I’m going to do fielding practice now.”

“I’ll help you. Let’s do it together.”

It was much more effective to have someone hit fungo balls [balls hit to fielders during practice] directly to help with training.

And more than anything, I wanted to accurately determine which position Seo Seong-min was most competitive in.

He could cover both the infield and outfield, but he wasn’t good at all positions.

And I couldn’t just pass by when a player on my team was training so hard.

“Really?”

“If we’re going to do outfield training, how about going outside?”

“Of course, that’s good.”

I went outside with Seo Seong-min and started training.

Even though it was a day when the cold wind was starting to blow, sweat was pouring down my face by the time the training was over.

* * *

Now, full-fledged salary negotiations began.

The first place I made an appointment for negotiations was Jang Su-young’s team, the Angels.

“Hyun-woo, welcome.”

“It’s been a while, General Manager.”

I had run into Angels General Manager Jo Jae-won once at the Golden Glove Awards ceremony last year when I was negotiating with Na Jun-ho.

I shook hands with Jo Jae-won and sat down facing him.

-We are considering signing FA players to raise the team’s performance to the mid-tier next year.

-We want to quickly finalize Jang Su-young’s contract.

Not only did they surprisingly sign Lee Sang-hoon of the Jaguars last year, but they’re planning to sign another player?

I was curious if they had Go Ji-hoon in mind as well.

If they did, we would be grateful.

“Sit over here.”

“Yes.”

I sat down in the seat that General Manager Jo Jae-won pointed to.

“You’re here to talk about Jang Su-young, right?”

I felt it vaguely during our last meeting, but it was a way of speaking that made me feel uncomfortable, even though he wasn’t being openly rude.

“Yes.”

I didn’t want to force myself to hide my unpleasant feelings.

Jo Jae-won continued the conversation as if he didn’t care about the change in my expression.

“I think it would be good to hear what the agency is thinking and then talk about it.”

“Let’s do that. I think you’ll agree that Jang Su-young showed good performance in the Angels this season, so I don’t need to explain it in detail.”

“That’s right.”

Jo Jae-won nodded and gestured as if he agreed.

“Jang Su-young’s salary this year was 250 million won. Reflecting his performance as a closer this season, I think it would be appropriate to increase it by about 70% to about 430 million won.”

In fact, I was thinking of 400 million won with a 60% increase.

I should aim high without overdoing it at first.

Jo Jae-won listened to me, nodded, and paused for a moment.

“I can’t argue that his performance this year is excellent… There’s just one ambiguous point.”

“What is it?”

“According to the club’s salary negotiation principle, we basically propose a salary freeze to players who joined through a trade.”

Jo Jae-won scratched his head as if he was in trouble.

“But the transfer took place early in the season, before 20 games were played. It’s fair to say that he played a full season for the Angels this season.”

“Of course, that’s true. But this year’s salary of 250 million won was calculated based on the Wolves’ performance evaluation. It’s a bit difficult to simply compare it with our Angels.”

“Then how much are the Angels thinking?”

Surely you’re not really going to say we should freeze it?