Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 156

156. I Absolutely Can’t Back Down (3)

Finally, the day of the salary arbitration meeting had arrived.

It was the first salary arbitration request in Korean professional baseball in years, drawing significant attention from fans, reporters, and numerous baseball officials.

Perhaps expecting that we would eventually come to an agreement and sign the deal, reporters and baseball officials contacted our company frequently as the arbitration meeting approached without any news of a negotiated settlement.

It seemed they thought we were simply using the salary arbitration process as a bargaining chip in the salary negotiations.

Of course, it was one of the tactics to achieve the desired negotiation, but there was another important reason besides that.

For the past 20 years, players had been unable to fully protect their rights, overwhelmed by the immense power of the clubs.

The biggest reason for this meeting was to provide an opportunity for younger players to exercise their legitimate rights.

Until now, players had rarely won in salary arbitration, so powerless players often had to reluctantly sign unfair salary proposals from the clubs.

Moreover, even in cases where a player had won in arbitration in the past, that player was often marked by the club and forced into early retirement.

Knowing this reality, which player would dare to request salary arbitration against their own club?

I thought that if I worked hard to create a good precedent this time, our younger players would gradually be able to secure their rights.

Therefore, this salary arbitration was an important stage not only for So Young-joon’s salary but also for the salary negotiations of countless future players.

└Even if they’re the worst team, should they be doing this to a shortstop who hit 16 home runs?

└What’s the point of hitting a lot of home runs? Look at his RBIs [Runs Batted In]. They’re meaningless.

└You need someone to get on base for RBIs to go upㅋㅋㅋ Will that happen in the Pelicans?

└So Young-joon’s asking price is 100 million won, so the Pelicans can’t even offer 30 million won more?

└Honestly, So Young-joon only did well after the middle of the season. It’s not a big deal to make such a fuss over a short hot streak.

└So Young-joon carried the Pelicans’ lineup throughout the season. Who else can be said to have performed well in batting? It was almost So Young-joon and the kids.

└I wonder who will be smiling in the end.

Perhaps because I myself felt the weight of today’s meeting, I woke up earlier than usual.

From the moment I opened my eyes until the very end, I prepared by mentally rehearsing the meeting.

Although Lee Joo-hyuk would help me from the side, the best-case scenario was for me to handle it alone.

After a few hours of final mental preparation, I finished getting ready to leave for the meeting with Lee Joo-hyuk.

Our players stopped their training and came out to see us off as Lee Joo-hyuk and I were about to leave.

“Good luck, Representative!”

“Do well.”

As I was saying goodbye to the players, I saw So Young-joon quietly watching me.

He cautiously approached me when our eyes met.

“Representative, it’s okay if I just get a rough salary. Just do what you need to do.”

So Young-joon tried to ease my pressure, grabbing my hand, feeling grateful and apologetic.

“I’ll do my best as prepared. Don’t worry and train hard.”

I patted So Young-joon on the shoulder and gave him a bright smile.

“Thank you, Representative.”

“Then, I’ll be going now.”

After saying goodbye to the players for a moment, Lee Joo-hyuk and I got in the car and headed to the Baseball Association.

* * *

Lee Joo-hyuk and I entered the Baseball Association.

As we entered the conference room where the salary arbitration meeting would be held, staff members were busy preparing in the spacious area.

In today’s salary arbitration, the player’s side will first explain why they should receive this amount of salary, followed by the club’s explanation of why they cannot give the player the desired salary.

Next, there will be a rebuttal from the player’s side, followed by a rebuttal from the club’s side.

Once all explanations are finished, the arbitration committee will decide and choose one of the salary proposals from the player’s side and the club’s side.

The player’s side and the club’s side were facing each other, and on the opposite side of the central platform where the presentations would be made, there were seats for the arbitration committee members.

Lee Joo-hyuk and I were the first to enter and sat down at the player’s side.

Soon after, Kim Seok-won, the Buffaloes’ general manager, also entered the conference room.

“General Manager, you’ve arrived?”

I stood up from my seat and bowed to Kim Seok-won.

“Ahem.”

However, Kim Seok-won cleared his throat once he made eye contact with me, then turned his head and sat down on the opposite side of me.

An awkward atmosphere flowed between Kim Seok-won and me.

And as the scheduled time arrived, five arbitration committee members from the Baseball Association, who would decide the outcome of the salary arbitration, filled the seats.

The committee consisted of two members recommended by the agency and the club, respectively, as well as a legal professional and a sports-related expert.

The atmosphere became quite serious as the committee members in suits filled the seats.

I adjusted my clothes and straightened my posture.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the arbitration committee, sitting in the center, brought the microphone in front of him to his mouth and opened it.

“We will now begin the salary arbitration request for Pelicans player So Young-joon.”

With his one word, I could feel the atmosphere in the conference room changing.

“Then, as announced in advance, the player’s side will present first.”

The arbitration chairman pointed at me with his hand.

I stood up from my seat and walked to the platform prepared in front of the conference room.

The presentation materials we had prepared were displayed on the screen.

“Hello. I am Kang Hyun-woo, the representative of Dream Agency, representing So Young-joon. Now, I will present our side’s opinion.”

I bowed to the five arbitration committee members.

Then, I turned a page of the presentation.

“So Young-joon’s stats for this year are a batting average of .268, 16 home runs, a WAR [Wins Above Replacement] of 3.10, and a wRC+ [weighted Runs Created Plus] of 125. These are excellent numbers, especially considering he played shortstop, a position with a high defensive burden. You can see this more clearly when you compare him to other players on the team.”

The next page showed the Pelicans players’ indicators.

“He ranked first in home runs, first in slugging percentage, first in WAR, and so on. He showed a more reliable performance than anyone else in the lineup. What would have happened if So Young-joon hadn’t been in the Pelicans’ lineup? It’s truly frightening.”

I exaggeratedly shuddered and turned the page.

“So Young-joon’s true value isn’t just in his performance. He also enjoys great popularity among fans. In the recent All-Star Game, So Young-joon was the only Pelicans player to be invited. This was achieved through overwhelming fan voting.”

I turned another page.

“Not to mention his number of SNS [Social Networking Service] followers, even the sales of his uniform are unmatched by any other player in the Pelicans. And there is a significant difference in the number of spectators who visit the stadium and the TV ratings when So Young-joon starts compared to when he doesn’t. This means that So Young-joon plays a big role in the Pelicans’ ability to draw crowds.”

I explained, pointing to the data one by one with a laser pointer.

“And finally, So Young-joon is also being considered as the next captain. In the last season, he even ranked second in the captain vote directly chosen by his fellow players. This means that his reputation within the team is not bad and that he has leadership skills.”

I made eye contact with each of the five arbitration committee members and said what I wanted to say one last time.

“Is it really that difficult to give a player like this a 30 million won raise?”

“…….”

“That concludes our presentation.”

I bowed to the arbitration committee members and finished my presentation.

As I returned to my seat, the arbitration chairman turned on the microphone again and opened his mouth.

“Now, the club side will present.”

This time, Kim Seok-won went up to the platform.

Then, he cleared his throat once and opened his mouth.

“Has everyone been well? I’m Kim Seok-won from the Pelicans.”

Kim Seok-won looked around at the five arbitration committee members and continued.

“It’s not something to be proud of, but as you all know, our club finished 10th last season. 10th out of ten teams. In fact, that alone is enough to justify a reduction.”

He cleared his throat a few times and continued.

The next page showed So Young-joon’s monthly records.

“It’s true that So Young-joon’s performance is better than other players. But the problem is that he only did well after the team’s early ranking had already fallen behind. Baseball is a team sport, what’s the point of doing well alone? Is he just stat-padding [inflating statistics]?”

It was true that his performance in April and May, before he met me, was lacking.

“I guess you’re going to say that he wasn’t stat-padding. But there’s a basis for that too.”

Kim Seok-won stared intently at me and turned to the next page.

“I don’t know why you left out the RBIs [Runs Batted In] when you were talking about home runs earlier? Do you know how many RBIs So Young-joon had this season? 68 RBIs. 68 RBIs. What’s the point of hitting a lot of home runs? His RBIs are so low. Almost all of them are meaningless home runs.”

While Kim Seok-won’s presentation continued, I barely suppressed the urge to jump in.

“Above all, earlier they said that he played shortstop, a position with a high defensive burden, but that’s ridiculous. So Young-joon is not basically a good defensive player.”

Kim Seok-won shook his head several times and displayed a new page.

“You can see the answer right away when you look at his fielding percentage. Take a look at this data here. How does it compare to the starting shortstops of the other 9 teams? There’s no answer. I mean, what qualifications does this player have to bring up the word defensive burden? He should be ashamed. Tsk, tsk.”

Kim Seok-won clicked his tongue and said.

“And because the player proposed this unnecessary meeting, the club’s employees have been focusing on this for several days and haven’t been able to do their other work properly. On top of that, we spent a lot of money getting legal advice.”

While Kim Seok-won was speaking, the arbitration chairman suddenly interjected.

“Excuse me, the cost of the lawyer you just mentioned cannot be used as a basis for calculating salary.”

“I know that too, but anyway, that’s what happened.”

Kim Seok-won continued speaking, not caring about the arbitration chairman’s words.

“Earlier, they said that he was being considered as the next captain, but that’s nonsense. Let’s see if you’ll still say that after seeing this.”

As one page turned, a video began to play on the next page.

All eyes in the conference room turned to the video.