Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 163

163.

Winter League (5)

It turned out that Thomas was indeed close to Donald Watson. Just a few hours after contacting Thomas, I was able to meet with Watson again.

“It’s even more of a pleasure to see you again like this,” Watson said.

Watson smiled brightly at me and Lee Joo-hyuk.

“Likewise.”

“But what brings you here so suddenly?” Watson asked, looking back and forth between Thomas and me.

I took the initiative.

“I’d like to make Watson an offer.”

“What kind of offer…?”

I carefully posed the question to Watson, who looked curious.

“Watson, do you know anything about Korea?”

“I know it well. I even had a Korean player as a former teammate.”

“Then, have you ever considered playing in Korea?”

“Korea?”

Watson’s eyes widened as if he hadn’t expected that.

“If you’re open to it, I want to create an opportunity for you to play in the Korean league.”

“Hmm… I don’t know.”

“Coming to Korea would be a good opportunity for you. Playing 144 games in the Korean league would be much better for maintaining your performance than playing baseball for a short period like the Winter League.”

“…”

Watson was still confused and didn’t say anything.

“If you play in Korea, you can maintain your performance by playing a significant number of actual games throughout the year.”

After listening to me and pondering, Watson shook his head and replied. “I haven’t been able to find a team to play for right now, but I still aim to return to the Major League. I believe I can play in the Major League with my current condition and performance. Going to a league in a country far away from the United States right now is too risky. I don’t want to distance myself further from the Major League.”

“But to be honest, it won’t be easy for any Major League team to sign Watson right now. There haven’t been any offers since last year, so isn’t it unlikely that a team will suddenly appear and say they want to sign you?”

“…Even so, I don’t think a Korean team would be able to sign me. I know that Korea watches the Major League a lot, so they must know about my past.”

“Of course, it won’t be easy. You’ll have to go through the process of persuading the general manager and team officials, and finally, you’ll have to give an explanation that Korean fans can understand.”

“All 30 teams in the Major League couldn’t understand my story, so is it even possible for a Korean team to do that?”

Watson shook his head as if he couldn’t agree with me.

“You haven’t publicly stated that you were treated unfairly until now. I looked up all your articles right before this meeting, but I couldn’t find any stories about the unfair situation you told me about yesterday.”

After I finished speaking, Watson seemed lost in thought for a moment. Then,

“That’s because… no one has ever tried to listen to my story until now.”

As he answered, his eyes seemed to turn red, and before I knew it, tears were welling up.

Lee Joo-hyuk immediately pulled out a few tissues and handed them to Watson.

“We understand now. Let’s work together to resolve the unfairness from now on. We’ll help you.”

“…”

Seeing the thick tears flowing from his eyes, my heart felt heavy again.

“Hang in there, Watson! I’ll help you too,” Thomas said, patting Watson on the back and offering comfort.

It took Watson some time to compose himself.

“But why are you trying to bring me to the Korean league? The process of signing me sounds complicated just from hearing about it. Besides, even if you go through all that process and take me to Korea, I don’t think you’ll be able to make that much money?”

This time, Watson looked at me with suspicious eyes.

“I sincerely want to see you succeed in making a comeback and playing in the Major League.”

“You want me to succeed in making a comeback? What’s in it for you if that happens?”

Watson’s words were still full of suspicion.

“I’m a fan of yours. I want to see you running like a wild horse on the field again.”

“You were a fan of mine…?”

At my words, Watson just stared into my eyes for a moment.

“I was a baseball player until recently. And I was a center fielder, the same position as you. So I often watched your games to learn from your plays.”

“You wanted to learn from my plays? Why specifically?”

Watson chuckled.

“I was envious of your aggressive and proactive plays. I was taught from a young age that outfielders should always play safely, but you’re not like that.”

“That’s because there’s a trade-off with playing like me. Playing safely like you would probably increase your chances of being chosen by the manager. And it also gives your teammates confidence.”

“That’s true. But I wasn’t just interested in learning how you aggressively dive. I was confident in my sliding skills too.”

“Then, what did you want to learn?”

Watson tilted his head as he looked at me.

“I wanted to learn how you could judge fly balls so quickly and accurately with so much effort. As someone who has done a lot of outfield defense training, I knew better than anyone that judging fly balls well isn’t just something you’re born with.”

“That’s right. To judge fly balls well, you need to know the opposing player well. The direction of the fly ball is largely determined by the player’s swing mechanism. Our pitcher’s style is also important. Finally, you need to know the condition of the other players that day. That’s why you have to watch the opposing hitters’ batting practice without fail.”

He was full of pride while talking about baseball.

“People think that playing outfield is much easier than infield, but that’s definitely not the case.”

I nodded and responded to his words.

“By the way, you said you’re an agency that works in Korean baseball, but how are you going to send me to the Major League? Even if you have experience with players under your agency signing Major League contracts, it wouldn’t be easy.”

“To be honest, we haven’t had any experience sending players to the Major League yet. But our agency has a partnership with Sky Corporation, a global sports agency. We’re currently preparing specifically to send some of our players to the Major League.”

I immediately added a word.

“Besides, there are many Major League teams trying to sign Korean players these days, so you can often see Major League scouts at Korean league games. There’s no way they wouldn’t be interested in you, Watson.”

Whether my words were well conveyed to Watson, his expression now showed contemplation rather than suspicion.

Watson seemed to be pondering and organizing his thoughts for a while.

Then he turned his head and looked at Thomas, opening his mouth.

“What do you think, Thomas?”

Thomas, who received Watson’s question, looked at me once, then shifted his gaze back to Watson and opened his mouth. “The reason I’m working with Kang is because I’m convinced that he’s a very sincere agent. It’s clear that he prioritizes the players he works with before his own interests. At least, that’s my judgment.”

After hearing Thomas’s answer, Watson stared intently at me.

“Hmm… If Thomas vouches for you like that, I guess I can trust you. So, do you think I can go back to the Major League?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t have made the offer if I didn’t think so.”

“…”

Even after hearing my confident answer, Watson’s worries seemed to remain.

“Are there any more concerns?”

“My wife and child can come to Korea with me, but I’m worried about my mother. If I leave the United States, my mother will have to live here alone. It’s a bit concerning, and I wouldn’t feel comfortable either.”

“Hmm… Then how about your mother coming to Korea with Watson and living together?”

“My mother coming to Korea with me?”

“I don’t know exactly which team Watson will go to, but if it’s close to our accommodation, she can live there. Even if that’s not the case, our agency’s players are all over, so you can get help from them.”

As of now, the team with the highest possibility of signing him is the Jaguars.

If Watson goes to the Jaguars, he can live near Michael Scott, so it would definitely be much easier to adapt.

“Hmm… Thank you for the generous offer. But I need to talk to my family, so can you give me some more time to think about it?”

“Of course. Think about it thoroughly and let me know.”

I smiled at Watson.

* * *

Donald Watson was walking home, step by step.

His head was full of the conversation he had just had with the Korean agent.

Korea.

A few years ago, Ryu Hyun-soo, who played with him in the Major League and was a close friend, was also Korean.

Besides Ryu Hyun-soo, there are several players who came to the Major League from the Korean league, so it doesn’t seem like a bad choice.

But it wasn’t an easy decision.

He was worried about his mother, who was working here every day.

If he goes to Korea, she would have to quit her job.

It would be difficult to find a job in a foreign country where she can’t even speak the language.

But if she stays in the United States alone, she would definitely feel lonely during the 6 or 7 months of the season. It’s also dangerous to live alone.

“Hoo-”

It seems like a good opportunity, but the sacrifices he has to make for it feel too significant.

Click.

It was time for his daughter to be asleep, so Watson carefully opened the door.

As expected, the house was quiet as if everyone was asleep.

When he opened the bedroom door, his wife was sleeping next to his sleeping daughter.

Watson covered his wife with a blanket and looked at his sleeping daughter’s face.

A smile came to his face just by looking at her sleeping soundly.

After a while, he quietly closed the door and came out.

He was carefully walking to his room so as not to make any noise when Donald Watson’s mother, Olivia Watson, carefully called him.

“You’re a little late tonight?”

“I had an appointment for a while.”

“Who did you meet?”

“Thomas. He must have come to watch the game.”

“Is that gentleman doing well? I’m very grateful to him.”

“Yes. But I’m a little tired, so I’m going in to rest.”

Donald was about to lead his tired body into the room when Olivia noticed Donald’s expression.

“Are you worried about something?”

“No. What would I be worried about?”

“Donald. Sit down for a moment. Let’s talk.”

No matter how hard he tried to hide it, he couldn’t escape his mother’s intuition.

Donald reluctantly sat facing her, led by Olivia’s hand.

“It seems like something’s wrong. Is it difficult to talk about?”

“No.”

Donald shook his head, pretending to be okay.

“Don’t worry alone, talk to me. We should share our burdens.”

Olivia said, holding Donald’s hand.

He could feel the warmth in her hands.

Donald was lost in thought for a moment.

Is it really better to talk about it?

Hoo-

Well, he has to talk about it anyway to make a decision.

“…Actually, I received an offer.”

Donald, who opened his mouth with difficulty, examined Olivia’s expression.