Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 122

122. A Desperate Reach (3)

“Sunbae [senior colleague or mentor], you must be hot waiting outside. Have a cold drink.”

I brought two canned drinks and handed one to Seo Seongmin.

“I’m sorry for coming so suddenly at this late hour. You should be resting.”

“No, it’s okay. I had a lot of work left to do anyway.”

Although, the truth was I wanted to rest now.

Coming at this late hour must mean something important.

-I don’t want to end my career like this, I want to try again.

-I am prepared to handle any training.

Just the information window’s content was enough to predict that he had something serious to say.

“Actually… I received a release notice yesterday.”

“Ah…”

It was as I expected.

Why is it that my ominous premonitions are always right?

“I know the club made the decision after a lot of consideration, but I’m too disappointed to end my career like this. It’s not like there’s something wrong with my physical condition.”

“I see.”

I nodded, making eye contact with Seo Seongmin.

“I think the club released me as a way of opening up a path for me, but I was still taken aback by the suddenness of the situation.”

“That’s understandable.”

Just last year, I was suddenly called in and offered the position of power analysis member.

Even though I felt that there was no place for me even in the minor leagues, the release notice was just as sudden.

“People around me recommended that I go see CEO Kang Hyunwoo. They said he might be able to help…”

Seo Seongmin trailed off, watching my reaction.

I smiled broadly at him and replied.

“You’ve come to the right place.”

Perhaps he is our agency’s first real client.

“If you have some time, could you spare a moment to see me? Even just for a little while… I want to give it one more shot before giving up.”

I could feel the desperation and urgency in Seo Seongmin’s eyes.

How could I refuse after seeing that look?

“Of course. Why do you think I started this agency?”

Seo Seongmin took a deep breath after hearing my answer and suddenly stood up.

Then, he bowed to me repeatedly.

“CEO, thank you so much. Thank you so much.”

I also stood up in response to his sudden actions.

“Sunbae, please sit down.”

I felt a little relieved only after finally getting Seo Seongmin to sit down.

However, Seo Seongmin’s expression was still dark.

“But…”

“Yes?”

“Although my salary will be paid until the end of this season, my salary itself isn’t that high. And it’s not certain whether I’ll be able to continue my career next year… So, I don’t think I’ll be able to offer much as an agent fee… Would that be okay?”

I could see worry etched all over Seo Seongmin’s face.

“Don’t worry about that. Instead, you need to train hard so that we can achieve good results.”

“Of course.”

Seo Seongmin finally smiled faintly as he replied.

“What do your family members say?”

“Actually, I haven’t told them yet.”

“That’s not easy.”

Telling your family that you’ve been released is never easy.

“And my wife is pregnant. I think she’ll worry too much if I tell her right now.”

“Ah…”

“I think I should at least come up with a plan before I tell her.”

Only now did I understand why he was prepared to handle any training.

“Let’s work hard together from now on to find a new team.”

“I understand.”

Seo Seongmin nodded with determination.

“But Sunbae, you’re older than me, so please feel free to speak comfortably [speak informally].”

I felt uncomfortable every time Seo Seongmin spoke to me formally.

“I can’t do that. You’re the agency’s CEO.”

“Still, you’re my sunbae. Wouldn’t it be more comfortable for both of us if you spoke casually… ?”

“No. I can’t do that.”

Seo Seongmin shook his head firmly despite my earnest request.

If he’s going to be that way, there’s nothing I can do.

“Then, can you come back here tomorrow afternoon? All of our players will be out for their games then, so you can use the training field comfortably.”

“Of course.”

Seeing Seo Seongmin’s expression, which looked much more relaxed than before, made me feel proud.

* * *

The next day, after lunchtime, all the players headed to the stadium to prepare for their games.

Not long after, Seo Seongmin visited the dorm again.

I showed Seo Seongmin our training facility and gave him some time to warm up.

In the meantime, I replayed Seo Seongmin’s recent game footage.

Seo Seongmin’s minor league record was truly outstanding.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him the ace of the Futures League [Korean minor league].

Moreover, he could play every defensive position except pitcher and catcher.

It would be a stretch to say that he was competitive in every position, but he was more than capable of filling in any empty spots.

Conversely, his weakness was very clear.

His ability to handle breaking balls was significantly lacking.

In particular, when a left-handed pitcher threw a slider that broke away to the outside, he, as a left-handed batter, couldn’t even compete.

He had achieved good results against minor league players who didn’t have highly refined breaking balls, but he couldn’t use any strength against first-team pitchers who were good at throwing breaking balls.

I know he’s been working hard to compensate for that weakness for years, but unfortunately, he hasn’t made much of a change.

Since he’s not a young player anymore, the club couldn’t wait for him forever.

It seemed like he was done warming up, so I approached Seo Seongmin.

“I’ve been looking at your recent games, but I think it would be better to see you in person and talk about it. Shall we do some hitting?”

“Yes, I’m ready.”

Seo Seongmin answered confidently without hesitation.

I used the tablet to adjust the settings of the batting machine.

“The first 10 pitches or so will be mostly fastballs, and after that, breaking balls will come in with the trajectory of a left-handed pitcher.”

“I understand.”

Seo Seongmin swung his bat in the batter’s box, preparing to hit.

Soon, the batting machine started moving.

Whirr- Thump.

Clang!

Whirr- Thump.

Clang!

Seo Seongmin’s bat swung fiercely every time the ball came out.

Just by looking at his ability to make contact with the ball, I could tell that he had sufficient basic contact skills.

But,

Whirr- Thump.

Whoosh-

Whirr- Thump.

Tink-

As I had said in advance, the situation completely changed when the left-handed pitcher’s slider came into the mix.

From the moment the breaking balls started coming in, his batting stance became unstable.

Not to mention the wild swings at the sharply breaking sliders, even the fastballs that he had been hitting well at first were now being hit off the sweet spot more often.

Whirr- Thump.

Whoosh-

Whirr- Thump.

Whoosh-

The more the proportion of breaking balls increased, the more his batting balance began to collapse.

I ended up stopping the batting machine sooner than expected.

“Let’s stop here for now.”

I had sufficiently confirmed what the problem was.

Having him continue to hit like this would only add to Seo Seongmin’s misery.

“It’s not easy.”

Seo Seongmin himself seemed dissatisfied as he tilted his head and wiped away sweat.

“I raised the difficulty to try to make an accurate assessment, so it would have been more difficult than facing a first-team pitcher. Even if Seokhoon or Seongju had hit, it would have been difficult.”

Of course, that was a lie.

“Is that so?”

Seo Seongmin seemed somewhat relieved to be comforted, but he couldn’t hide his disappointment.

“How have you been training these days?”

“I’m not doing any special training. I’m just doing basic weight training and batting practice.”

“Okay, I understand for now.”

It seems like he needs training that can compensate for Seo Seongmin’s weaknesses.

“And Sunbae, you can use the training facility here anytime. While you’re doing your basic training consistently, let’s calmly discuss the areas where you’re lacking.”

Since it doesn’t seem like a situation that can be resolved in an instant, I had to slowly think about the solution.

* * *

Each game for the Buffaloes, who were in third place, felt like walking on thin ice.

The gap between them and the fourth-place Doubles widened and narrowed depending on the outcome of each game.

The precarious competition continued as neither team was able to pull ahead decisively.

Above all, the Buffaloes’ difficulties erupted from an unexpected place.

Whoosh-

Park Seongju found it hard to believe that his bat had missed, so he immediately turned his head to look at the ball in the glove.

“Strike out!”

It was definitely a swing and a miss.

-Park Seongju has struck out again with a swing and a miss.

-He hasn’t gotten on base in twenty at-bats in a row. Forget about home runs, he’s not even making a proper swing.

-What’s the point of the top of the order setting the table? It’s meaningless if the cleanup hitter keeps striking out and hitting into double plays, cutting off the momentum.

-Is this the Park Seongju we know? He seems like a completely different player now.

The unresolved struggles at the plate also affected his defense.

Ttak!

As the ball flew towards him, Park Seongju quickly stopped his steps, watching the ball.

-After a tenacious battle, the ball is eventually hit weakly and goes straight to the third baseman. The pitcher’s ground ball induction worked perfectly.

-Park Seongju catches it and throws to first base…

-Oh? The ball went past! The ball thrown by Park Seongju flew high and went past. The runner easily reaches second base while the first baseman catches the ball.

-That’s a mistake. Park Seongju should have handled that easily. He needs to pull himself together.

Park Seongju, who was sitting on third base, took off his hat and blamed himself.

He wanted to create a turning point even in the following at-bat, but

Ttik!

As soon as the bat made contact, he could sense that it would be an out.

-The high fly ball doesn’t leave the infield. The first baseman catches it without difficulty.

-Park Seongju fails to get on base again this time. He’s not showing his swing at all right now.

-This is a really big problem. He’s showing exactly what happens to a team when its key hitter is in a slump in a tight race for the standings.

Park Seongju, who was walking into the dugout with his head bowed, slammed his bat hard on the ground.

The Buffaloes were mired in a losing streak in the second half of the season, partly due to the slump of their key player, Park Seongju.

There was even a sense of crisis that they might lose third place to the fourth-place Doubles.