Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 119

All-Star Break (6)

I arrived at the hotel faster than I expected.

As I entered the lobby, I took out my smartphone to make a call when,

“Representative Kang!”

I heard Jo Gwang-hoon, the Jaguars’ general manager, shout.

I ended the call and approached Jo Gwang-hoon.

“Manager, thank you for making time for me.”

“Thanks for coming all the way here. Let’s have a chat over a cup of tea at the cafe next door.”

I moved to the cafe in the hotel with Jo Gwang-hoon.

-I’m planning to match trade cards [make player trades] with other teams until the last day of player registration.

-I plan to resign from the general manager position if the team’s performance isn’t good next year either.

Jo Gwang-hoon’s face, sitting across from me, wasn’t bright.

His weary look clearly showed the mental anguish he had been suffering since last season.

I hoped that today’s meeting would be a small gift for him.

“What’s this good news you’re talking about?”

I asked as if it were nothing, but I couldn’t hide the anticipation that emanated from deep within my heart.

“Then I should get straight to the point.”

“I’m going to introduce you to a good pitcher this time.”

“You have a pitcher?”

Jo Gwang-hoon straightened up as if he had bounced off the chair.

Then, he looked around to see if any baseball officials might be listening.

“Is it right that the Jaguars would be fine with adding another pitcher right now?”

“Is that even a question? We should welcome good pitchers with open arms at any time.”

Jo Gwang-hoon, who had barely regained his composure, leaned back in his chair and continued, sending a suspicious look.

“But this time, do we have to match trade cards with other teams again to find out?”

“Don’t worry. This time, it’s not a trade.”

“Then?”

“A foreign player.”

“Really? What kind of pitcher is he?”

Jo Gwang-hoon showed an active reaction as expected.

I immediately took out the tablet and data and put them on the table.

While I was playing the video on the tablet, Jo Gwang-hoon took the data and carefully examined it.

“He’s a typical fireballer pitcher [a pitcher who relies on the speed of their fastball]. You can assume that his fastball speed never drops below 150km/h [approximately 93 mph].”

As the video played, Jo Gwang-hoon put down the data for a moment and carefully examined Scott’s pitching form.

As a legend pitcher from the Jaguars, his eyes shone sharply while watching the pitch.

“The motion of hiding the ball until just before throwing is excellent, and the process of pulling it out is also good.”

“When we played a practice game against the Buffaloes last time, he didn’t fall behind against Oh Seok-hoon and Park Seong-joo either.”

“What are his weaknesses?”

“His breaking ball is not yet complete. As a result, he has more difficulty against left-handed batters than right-handed batters.”

“He’s also young, and it’s hard to say that he’s a complete pitcher yet… Should we see him as a developmental foreign player?”

“Yes. He’s learning a splitter [a type of fastball] and practicing it, but to be honest, it’s hard to say that its perfection is high yet. But if he gains practical experience, he will be a competitive pitcher.”

“He’s never had any Major League experience, has he? I don’t think I’ve ever seen his name in the reports our scouts have sent.”

Jo Gwang-hoon rummaged through the data and asked me.

“… He doesn’t even have minor league experience yet.”

“He doesn’t have minor league experience either?”

“He’s still a college student.”

“Huh, hahaha.”

Jo Gwang-hoon burst into laughter as if he was dumbfounded.

“His fastball and slider are good enough to work in the domestic league. He’s a player who can be drafted in the lower rounds without any problems.”

“Hmm…”

Jo Gwang-hoon pondered for a moment and then opened his mouth again.

“You’re sure he’ll be a competitive player, right?”

“Of course. If that weren’t the case, I wouldn’t have offered him an agency contract.”

Jo Gwang-hoon nodded as if he agreed with me.

“Then how long will it take for him to settle down? Even if he’s a developmental foreign player, he’ll have to show results by next year at the latest.”

“That won’t be a problem.”

“…But what were you going to do if I refused?”

“I believed you wouldn’t refuse this time.”

Considering the current ranking of the Jaguars, the situation of the team, and the position of General Manager Jo Gwang-hoon, the answer came out quickly.

Not to mention that my player analysis skills are perfect.

There was no way Jo Gwang-hoon wouldn’t know this.

“Michael Scott, how long will it take for this guy to be put into the game?”

“It’s possible right away. If you want, he can pitch from the first game of the second half.”

“What are you talking about? There are only a few days left until the All-Star Break is over.”

I smiled and replied.

“Michael Scott is already in Korea and training.”

* * *

The very next day, Lee Joo-hyuk and I headed to the Jaguars stadium with Michael Scott.

After signing the contract at the team office, we took official photos with Jo Gwang-hoon in uniform in front of the emblem.

As soon as the Baseball Association gave its final approval, a press release with the photos we just took would be released.

Of course, I had already told Lee Soo-min all of this in advance, so she would be the first to upload the article while other reporters were busy writing it.

Jo Gwang-hoon took Scott and me around the stadium.

Unlike me, who was indifferent because I already knew the stadium well, Scott was satisfied every time he looked around.

“The stadium is so beautiful.”

“When the season starts, cheering songs will echo from the stands.”

“Cheering songs?”

This was the most surprising part when foreign players came to Korea to play games.

It was a unique Korean culture that could not be seen in the United States.

“In Korea, there are cheering squads and cheering songs for each player. Scott is a pitcher, so he won’t have a cheering song, but when the Jaguars hitters attack, the cheering squad and fans will cheer like crazy.”

“Wow! I’m looking forward to it.”

“But the opposing team’s cheering will be just as fierce.”

“Oh.”

Scott nodded as if he was interested.

Jo Gwang-hoon, who had been listening to our conversation for a while, looked at Scott and asked.

“Scott, can you pitch lightly today? The manager and pitching coach seem to want to see you in person.”

“Of course.”

Scott answered without hesitation.

While Scott and Lee Joo-hyuk met with the Jaguars manager and pitching coach to talk, I went to find a house for Scott to live in.

Because it was a neighborhood where I had lived for a long time, it didn’t take long to find a satisfactory house.

* * *

As soon as Scott’s contract with the Jaguars was approved by the Baseball Association, the team and I distributed press releases to reporters.

As expected, Lee Soo-min’s article, who had received the source from me first, was uploaded first.

Fans who had been starving for baseball because they hadn’t been able to watch games for several days couldn’t hide their excitement when they heard the news of the new player’s acquisition.

└Average speed 152km/h [approximately 94 mph]! Seriously, he’s a real fireballer.

└I’ve been looking for who he is, but does anyone know?

└Just looking at the picture, he looks like he’s really good at baseball. I wonder what his skills are really like.

└I can’t even find a video of him throwing. Where did the general manager bring this unheard-of pitcher from? If finding such a player is a skill, then it’s a skill.

└His salary for the remaining season is $300,000 and the option is $150,000, so it seems like he’s not a highly anticipated player.

└He’s a college league player. No minor league experience.

└I’ve seen a lot of players with no major league experience, but isn’t this the first time a player with no minor league experience has come to Korea?? Seriously.

└The general manager is making a last-ditch effort before being fired.

└I heard that Kang Hyun-woo recommended him and he was signed? He also signed an agency contract.

└Really? So are you thinking of scratching a lottery ticket [taking a chance on a long shot]?

└It would be nice if a random shot exploded, but if not, we’ll have to pick again next year.

└But Kang Hyun-woo wouldn’t have sent a strange player to his former team, right? If he’s good enough to be signed by the agency, there must be something. Let’s see him throw once before criticizing him.

I was sitting in the Jaguars team lobby, looking at the community’s reaction on my smartphone.

I wonder what kind of reaction the fans will have after seeing the first game.

I put down my smartphone only after reading almost all the comments on the article.

By the way, why isn’t he coming?

As if he heard me, someone was running from afar.

“Sunbae [senior/mentor]!”

“Hey, what time is it? Why are you so late?”

I playfully tapped Kim Jae-hyung on the shoulder.

“Sunbae, how have you been?”

Kim Jae-hyung came up to me and hugged me.

Of course, I could see the information window for Kim Jae-hyung.

-He is gaining confidence in his improving performance.

-He is feeling a little tired as he plays a full-time first-team game for the first time this season.

Kim Jae-hyung was the first junior to let me know that the information in the information window I see is accurate.

I wanted to bring Kim Jae-hyung to our agency right away, but he had signed a contract with another agency last year when he became the starting shortstop.

No matter how close you are to the player, you can’t break the code of ethics.

I had greeted him occasionally in the meantime, but I couldn’t talk to him for a long time because it would interfere with his game preparation.

Fortunately, I was able to make an appointment without any burden because it was before the start of the second half of the season.

“Jae-hyung, your defense seems to be improving more and more these days.”

“Oh, I’m still far from it. It’s not easy even if I try to concentrate on not making mistakes.”

“If you didn’t make that many mistakes, would you be human?”

Kim Jae-hyung smiled shyly at my compliment.

“But you came all the way here even though there’s no game today? You must be very busy?”

“I recommended a new pitcher to the Jaguars and signed a contract.”

“Ah, that foreign pitcher who’s coming?”

He seemed to know right away, as if he had already checked the news.

“That’s right. Please take good care of him in the future.”

“Since the player Sunbae recommended came to our team, our team’s ranking will go up and up, right?”

“I’ll try my best. It’s my former team after all.”

Blood is thicker than water, and I felt better when the Jaguars did well, unless they were playing against our company’s players.

“Sunbae, I’m hungry, please buy me some food.”

Kim Jae-hyung suddenly grabbed his stomach and said.

“Okay, let’s go out. Pick something expensive.”

“Awesome, I need to recharge my energy properly.”

“Instead, you have to buy me something later when you hit the jackpot with FA [Free Agency].”

“Of course. Of course.”

I put my arm around Kim Jae-hyung’s shoulder and went outside.