Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 155

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No Way I Can Just Back Down (2)

Salary Arbitration Request.

A system where a request can be made when the club and the player’s salary negotiations fail to reach an agreement.

In a salary arbitration request, the club and the player each present the salary amount they deem appropriate.

The arbitrator must choose the amount proposed by one side or the other.

This meant that there was no option to choose a compromise in the middle.

Also, since the amount requested once could not be changed, the salary amount to be requested had to be carefully decided.

The key was to find the maximum amount for which a reasonable justification could be provided.

However, it was practically impossible for a player to objectively explain why the salary they proposed was appropriate.

If that were possible, there would have been a high chance of reaching an agreement in the salary negotiation.

Therefore, until the agent system was introduced, it was virtually a defunct system.

As we had no choice but to officially apply for salary arbitration, our agency temporarily put everything else on hold and focused on the salary arbitration meeting that would be held in a few days.

Not only Lee Joo-hyuk and I, but also Jung In-gyu, stayed up all night for several days creating data.

Thanks to that, the basic structure was taking shape.

I called So Young-joon separately and explained the current situation to him.

He probably already knew the situation roughly through the articles, but he needed to know the exact details himself.

So Young-joon couldn’t hide his displeasure throughout the listening.

“Hoo……. So, the decision on that salary arbitration comes out tomorrow?”

“Yeah. The result will come out right after the arbitration meeting tomorrow.”

“Aish. This is really off-putting.”

So Young-joon shook his head with an annoyed expression.

“We’ll be able to resolve it well.”

“Can’t I really transfer?”

“Even transfer?”

“I feel so bad, I wonder if I should stay on this team anymore.”

“Let’s talk about that slowly.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t understand his feelings, but we couldn’t leave the team just because we wanted to.

“First of all, Representative, please take good care of it. It’s not just about getting a few more bucks right now, but no matter how I think about it, this doesn’t make sense.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to get a good result no matter what.”

I patted So Young-joon on the shoulder, who was bursting with frustration, and tried my best to calm him down.

At the same time, I leaked the source that salary arbitration negotiations would be proceeding to Lee Soo-min again.

└Why hasn’t there been an article saying that only the Pelicans’ salary negotiations have been finalized? This is why.

└They offered So Young-joon a salary cut ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Is the Pelicans’ general manager crazy?

└The Pelicans’ total salary is too high right now. The team has to lower it, so it can’t be helped.

└It’s ironic that the team that comes in last in baseball has one of the highest total salaries.

└I unconditionally agree that the Pelicans’ total salary should be lowered, but isn’t cutting So Young-joon too much?

└It is said that the player has never won in salary arbitration, but wouldn’t Kang Hyun-woo be different?

└Kang Hyun-woo is Kang Hyun-woo, but if you’re going to side with cutting So Young-joon this year, then that system should be abolished.

└Shouldn’t we hear the club’s side too? We can’t ignore the team chemistry or player reputation that we don’t know about.

└I don’t think So Young-joon is disrupting the team chemistry.

* * *

Even in the midst of a hectic situation, there was one important thing to do.

It was about Choi Woo-jin.

After Choi Woo-jin stopped by the agency’s dorm, I had a long conversation with his father.

While he was grateful for the support he was giving to play baseball, his concerns about whether it was right to let his son walk this path had not been resolved.

I carefully explained to Choi Woo-jin’s parents about the parts they were worried about.

I told them about my conviction that Woo-jin could become a professional baseball player if he went through the proper preparation process, and even the other options in case he couldn’t.

And after a few days of deliberation, they finally decided to trust me.

In particular, they even allowed him to stay and train with us in our dorm during the vacation.

And today was the day Choi Woo-jin was moving into the agency’s dorm.

Ding-dong.

“Welcome. Woo-jin.”

“Hello, sir.”

“You’ve had a long trip.”

I helped Choi Woo-jin with his luggage and guided him to the room where he would be staying.

“You can stay here from now on.”

“The room is also very nice. It’s better than my house.”

Choi Woo-jin put down his luggage and sat on the bed, unable to hide his joy.

“Get settled and rest for a bit, then come out. There’s something I want to talk about.”

“I’ll come out right now. And can I start exercising right away from today?”

“Of course. Then change your clothes and come out. Let’s go down together.”

“Yes!”

Not long after, Choi Woo-jin changed into his workout clothes and came out, and we headed straight to the training ground.

Except for Na Joon-ho and Michael Scott, the affiliated players were doing more intense physical training than during the season.

In order to play through a long season without getting tired, strong physical strength is essential, and the only time to do that training sufficiently was now.

“Ugh!”

“Huff. Huff. Huff.”

It was not uncommon for screams close to screams to echo.

In order to properly digest the club’s spring camp and our agency’s training camp, it was necessary to train thoroughly from this time.

The players were faithfully digesting the program created by Jung In-gyu.

“Huff!”

Choi Woo-jin was frozen stiff at the entrance of the training ground, as if he couldn’t believe the sight he was seeing.

“Woo-jin, what are you doing? Come in quickly.”

“Wow……. This is crazy, it doesn’t make sense.”

Choi Woo-jin’s head was busy looking around at the players who were training.

Jung In-gyu, who was watching the players train, saw that I and Choi Woo-jin had arrived and approached us.

“Oh, you’re Choi Woo-jin, right?”

“Yes……. Hello.”

Choi Woo-jin, who had barely come to his senses, greeted Jung In-gyu.

“Woo-jin, this is our new coach. Until recently, he was the coach of Jinhan High School.”

“Jinhan High School? We played against Jinhan High School a while ago, didn’t we?”

“That’s the school. I was in the dugout on the opposite side from you that day.”

I was explaining about Jung In-gyu to Choi Woo-jin, but in fact, his gaze was already directed at the other players.

“But the players in front of me right now are really the players I saw on the baseball field, right?”

“They’re real players who appear on TV. Shall I introduce you right now?”

“Really? Can I talk to them?”

Choi Woo-jin’s eyes widened.

“Of course. We’re going to train together from now on. We have to get close.”

“Wow……. I’m training with them, this is crazy. This is crazy.”

Jung In-gyu, who was looking at Choi Woo-jin, who was constantly exclaiming, clapped his hands and gathered the players’ attention.

“Okay, take a break for a moment and welcome our agency’s new colleague.”

The players, who had stopped training, wiped the sweat streaming down and approached me and Choi Woo-jin.

“Oh, Woo-jin’s here!”

Oh Seok-hoon, who had already met him, greeted Choi Woo-jin most happily.

Choi Woo-jin didn’t know what to do and greeted the players one by one.

So Young-joon looked at Choi Woo-jin this way and that, thinking hard, and whispered to me.

“Representative, I’m sorry, but I don’t know which team that friend is on.”

“This is Choi Woo-jin. He’s a pitcher in his second year of high school next year.”

“Ah, a high school player?”

I introduced Choi Woo-jin to the other players as well.

Jang Soo-young and Choi Jung-hwan were interested in the word pitcher.

“Woo-jin, nice to meet you.”

“This is amazing. This is really amazing.”

Choi Woo-jin couldn’t stop exclaiming throughout the greetings with the players.

Then, after a brief interview with Jung In-gyu, he began full-scale training.

* * *

Now, the salary arbitration meeting is just around the corner.

Lee Joo-hyuk and I were busy preparing the presentation.

Thinking that our player’s future was at stake, I was more nervous than any other presentation.

It was basic that there should be no typos, and we carefully checked until the end whether our arguments were logically sound.

We were simulating the rebuttal factors to the club’s arguments and preparing without any gaps.

Then suddenly a message arrived.

-Representative Kang, let’s meet for a moment.

It was a short message sent by Kim Seok-won, general manager of the Pelicans.

The fact that he contacted me suddenly the day before,

He must be thinking of trying to coordinate one last time before entering the salary arbitration meeting.

I was tempted to flatten his nose with the data I had worked so hard to prepare…….

If we could get a better result, we should try to coordinate until the end.

I sent a message with the place I wanted to meet, and I was able to get an answer quickly.

A few hours later, I was able to meet Kim Seok-won at a hotel cafe in Seoul.

“What did you want to see me for?”

“Are you really going to proceed with the salary arbitration request?”

Kim Seok-won coughed and said.

“Isn’t there any other way?”

I said without hiding my unpleasant feelings.

“The article has already been published, did Representative Kang leak it?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been so busy these days that I don’t have time to find out how the reporters found out.”

Kim Seok-won sighed deeply at my answer and answered with his hands clasped together.

“Hoo……. It seems like you’re trying to shake things up by making a fuss, but there’s nothing good about that. If you ruin your relationship with the club, how are you going to do this work in the future?”

“Do you think I like making things big? I’ve been staying up all night for days because of the salary arbitration meeting.”

“Then tell me. How much do you want?”

Kim Seok-won leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and asked.

“After carefully organizing what the appropriate salary for So Young-joon would be this time, it seems that 100 million won would be appropriate.”

“Hey, 100 million won is too much.”

It felt like Kim Seok-won was reacting without thinking at all.

“In what ways is it too much?”

It was an amount that was about a 40% increase from this year’s salary of 70 million won.

Considering that So Young-joon played in more than 120 games as a shortstop this season, recording 0.268, 16 home runs, 68 RBIs, WAR [Wins Above Replacement, a comprehensive baseball statistic] 3.10, and wRC+ [Weighted Runs Created Plus, a statistic measuring offensive production] 125, it wasn’t an unreasonable proposal.

“The other players are all being cut right now, but you’re asking for almost a 50% increase for So Young-joon alone.”

“There are so many reasons why this salary is appropriate. You’ll be able to hear the details tomorrow.”

I was confident that I could explain it to him to his heart’s content.

“Okay. Let’s not cut it. Let’s freeze it.”

Kim Seok-won threw it out as if he was doing a favor.

“Freeze it?”

Now, even a hollow laugh didn’t come out.

Should I be grateful that he gave me a better offer?

But my answer was no different from before.

“See you tomorrow.”

I forced a smile at Kim Seok-won and answered.
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