Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 181

181. A Difficult Growing Pain (2)

The agency’s meeting atmosphere was more serious than ever due to the increasingly negative public opinion about Donald Watson.

There were even rumors that the Jaguars’ scout had left for the United States.

Although it was said to be for general scouting duties, they couldn’t have been completely disregarding the possibility of replacing Donald Watson.

Sitting around the conference room, Jung In-gyu, Lee Ju-hyuk, and I were watching Watson’s batting scenes for the umpteenth time.

We were scrutinizing Watson’s batting with a fine-tooth comb, trying to find out what the problem was.

We even tried to compare it with his performance when he played in the major leagues.

But no matter how hard we looked, there didn’t seem to be any problem with his batting itself.

However,

Whoosh-

Whoosh-

We could find a common thread in the moments he swung and missed.

Sometimes the bat didn’t even touch the ball and just spun in the air, and other times he just couldn’t get the timing right.

It would have been simple if one of these was particularly dominant, but that wasn’t the case.

But considering that Watson was a hitter who had just arrived on the Korean stage, we could somewhat guess what the problem was.

I turned to Jung In-gyu and asked,

“What do you think, Coach Jung?”

“I don’t see any particular problem with his batting technique. However…….”

“It’s going to take more time to adjust to the style of Korean pitchers, right?”

“You already knew and still asked.”

Jung In-gyu chuckled at my quick reply.

The biggest difficulties faced by foreign players who played in the United States were mostly condensed into a few key areas.

In Watson’s case, he tended to swing and miss a lot at Korean pitchers’ breaking balls [pitches that curve or change direction].

He was bound to have difficulties in a situation where he was experiencing a completely different ball combination for the first time.

It was something we had already anticipated and tried to prepare for, but it seemed like we needed a more definite method.

“Coach Jung, please organize data on the breaking balls of the opposing team’s pitchers who can pitch in tomorrow’s game. Include a variety of videos as well.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Jung In-gyu immediately started working on the computer.

“Then I’ll go meet Watson right away.”

I packed a few things and got up from my seat, and Lee Ju-hyuk said while looking at the calendar.

“Instead of going there yourself, wouldn’t it be better to have Watson stop by for a bit? It seems like it would be more convenient to do it at our training facility in many ways.”

“Wouldn’t it be too tiring for him to come and go? I’m hesitant to make him use up his energy for something like this.”

“The Jaguars have an away game against the Angels starting tomorrow. He’ll probably arrive at a hotel near the Angels’ stadium soon, so you can go there and pick him up.”

“Really? The timing is perfect.”

If that’s the case, there’s no reason not to.

I left a message for Watson and headed to the hotel where the Jaguars team would be staying to pick him up.

* * *

Before long, I arrived at the agency’s accommodation with Donald Watson.

As soon as he opened the door, Watson, like any other player, turned his head from side to side and exclaimed.

“Wow, it’s amazing.”

As soon as Watson signed with us, he had to go through the team’s spring camp, starting with pre-season training, so he didn’t have time to come to the agency’s accommodation.

“Players who are close to the home stadium stay here and train.”

“Oh, I really like it.”

Watson expressed his satisfaction as he walked through the courtyard of the accommodation.

“Is your current accommodation okay?”

“Yes, the team is taking good care of me. And Scott, who lives nearby, comes over from time to time to talk, so I don’t have time to be bored.”

“Ah, that’s right. Scott was there.”

If it’s Scott, not another player, there’s no need to worry too much.

“He takes me to interesting places to see on my days off, so I don’t have time to be bored.”

“I’m glad you guys get along well.”

I talked with Watson about what had happened for a few days and briefly showed him the agency’s accommodation and training facility.

And now, I came into the conference room and sat face to face with him.

Lee Ju-hyuk, who would be interpreting, was also with us because we had to have an important and professional conversation.

“Watson, have a drink first.”

“Thank you.”

I waited for Watson to take a sip of tea and continued.

“When do you think your mother and wife will come?”

“It looks like it will be a little longer. She said there are more things to sort out than she thought. I also have to ask for understanding from where my mom works.”

“I guess so. Moving to a new country is not a simple task.”

“But is it really okay for my family to come and live here?”

“Of course. As long as your family is comfortable, they can stay as long as they want.”

“Oh, then I should have them stay here when I have to go on a long away trip. It would be better to stay where I am now during home games.”

Watson had a faint smile on his face, as if he felt relieved to see the space in person.

And now it was time to talk about baseball in earnest.

“Watson, how are the games going these days?”

“Um……. It’s not as easy as I thought.”

Watson, whose expression suddenly darkened, took a deep breath and replied.

“What is the most difficult thing?”

“It’s so hard because the opponents throw unexpected balls. Besides, the trajectory of the breaking balls is so diverse that it’s hard to hit.”

“Korean players tend to throw a lot of breaking balls, right?”

“Hoo……. There are so many. This is my first time experiencing this.”

Pitchers from the United States and Central and South America, who have good power, had a high percentage of competing with fastballs.

Rather, they sometimes looked negatively at pitchers who threw breaking balls to compete in important situations.

From Watson’s point of view, who had been playing baseball in such an environment for a long time, he was expecting a fastball, but a breaking ball came, so he was inevitably swinging and missing.

“On the Korean stage, you need to adapt to breaking balls and play, rather than fighting with power. Much more than in the United States. You have to get used to it as soon as possible.”

“Hoo…….”

Watson sighed with a gloomy expression.

“Maybe the experience you’re having now will be of great help even if you go to the major leagues. Just experiencing a new baseball style will broaden your horizons.”

“But can I develop such skills right now? It’s very different from what I’ve been doing. I feel like one season will pass while I’m adapting.”

Watson tilted his head powerlessly.

“We can prepare. It’s not like you’re suddenly playing a new sport. Watson, just wait a moment.”

I jumped up and returned to the conference room with Jung In-gyu, who was busily creating video data in the office.

“Watson, how have you been?”

Jung In-gyu said, putting down the tablet he was carrying.

“Oh, Jeong.”

Watson got up, greeted Jung In-gyu happily, and sat down again.

As soon as he sat down, Jung In-gyu clapped his hands once and started talking.

“Then, shall we take a look at what we have prepared for Watson from now on?”

Jung In-gyu connected the tablet to the TV and played the video.

“For me?”

Watson tilted his head, but his eyes were on the TV.

“Okay, let’s watch this video first and talk.”

The TV screen showed a pitcher’s pitching scene being played.

You can see the appearance from behind, as well as the appearance from the plate.

“Who is this?”

“He’s the Angels’ starting pitcher Watson will meet tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow’s starting pitcher?”

“From now on, I plan to organize and send player videos for every game. Until Watson gets used to our country’s pitchers.”

“Wow. Really?”

Watson looked at Jung In-gyu and couldn’t close his mouth.

“It seems difficult to know the player properly just by looking at the data. In order for Watson to adapt to hitting now, watching the video will be the most effective.”

Until now, they had been providing information about the opposing player mainly based on data.

“You’re going to send me this kind of data every time?”

Watson looked at me and Jung In-gyu alternately and asked.

“Of course. If it’s necessary for Watson to get good results, we have to do anything. You have to have good results this year to go back to the major leagues next year.”

At my words, Watson had a blank expression for a moment.

“I really have to work hard.”

“If you just adapt to the opposing players, you will be able to get good results.”

“Hoo……. I understand. Let’s start right away.”

Watson began to look at the pitching video of the pitcher on TV with sparkling eyes.

Our player analysis continued for several hours after that.

We also analyzed not only tomorrow’s starting pitcher, but also the bullpen pitchers who were likely to appear.

Among them was Jang Su-young’s data.

I was also curious about what the result would be if the two players faced each other.

* * *

It was the day the Angels and Jaguars faced off.

Today, the Jaguars’ starting pitcher was Jung Min-woo.

He was a player who was nominated in the second round of the 2010 draft.

And I had a personal relationship with him.

It wasn’t long, but I had played with Jung Min-woo when he was in the minor leagues.

He was a player with a lot of potential, but recently he had been on a losing streak.

Seo Seong-min was listed as the 6th batter, and Watson was listed as the 7th batter.

Seo Seong-min, who had a good sense of hitting, moved forward one batting order, and Watson, who had not yet shown a good performance, was pushed to the bottom of the batting order.

It seemed that the decision was made because there were many times when the chance did not continue in the Watson batting order, who was the 6th batter, when the 4th and 5th batters got on base.

It was a situation that could hurt his pride, but there was no room to complain if you only looked at the results he had shown so far.

-We are about to have a match between the Jaguars, who are currently 5th in the season, and the Angels, who are 6th. There is one change in today’s Jaguars’ starting lineup, right?

-Yes. Watson, who has been the 6th batter since the start of the season, has finally been pushed to the 7th batter. Since his recent slump has continued, it must have been an inevitable choice.

-And today, the Jaguars’ starting pitcher is Jung Min-woo. The losing streak that has continued since last season is continuing. What do you think?

-He has already recorded a 7-game losing streak as a starter. It will be an important point to watch whether he can break that losing streak today.

-It’s still early in the season, but the two teams are only 2 games apart. Will the Jaguars widen the gap, or will the Angels chase right behind them?

Watson was warming up with Seo Seong-min, waiting for the game to begin.

On the other side, you could also see the figure of Jang Su-young, the Angels’ closer.

After a while, the Angels’ starting pitcher went to the mound to pitch.