Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 245

I couldn’t quite place where I’d met him just by looking at his face, but the name on the information sheet helped me recognize him.

It was Steven Paul.

He was the Arizona scout I had met when I first became an agent and visited the Buffaloes’ spring training camp.

Paul seemed to remember me and greeted me warmly right away.

I was now able to handle simple greetings in English, so I didn’t need Kim Sang-wook’s help.

“Kang, it’s been a while.”

“You remember me.”

I was quite surprised that he remembered my name, considering we had only met briefly.

“You’re the most talked-about agent in Korea these days. There’s no way I wouldn’t know.”

*Well, he must have investigated everything about our players, so he probably knows all about me too.*

“It’s an honor to be recognized by you, Paul.”

“When I met you last time, I had a feeling you weren’t just an ordinary agent, and I was right.”

“I have more to show you in the future. You can look forward to it.”

I smiled at Paul.

Then, I exchanged greetings with the other agent who came with Paul.

“Let’s sit down and talk,” Kim Sang-wook said, gesturing towards the chairs. The four of us sat facing each other.

And we moved on to the main topic of conversation.

I started the conversation first.

“Seeing your interest in our players, I can definitely tell that Arizona has a good eye for talent.”

“How could we not be interested in such wonderful players? Haha.”

“Shall we talk about each player one by one then?”

I continued the conversation, maintaining a relaxed smile.

Then, Paul took out the documents he had brought and replied with a serious expression.

“We have been observing all four players affiliated with Dream Agency in detail. We’ve been working on this since last year, so we’ve already done a lot of research. There are a few things we need to confirm.”

“Feel free to ask if you have any questions.”

“Let’s start with Donald Watson. Actually, his skills have been proven, and it seems like many of his attitude problems have been resolved. It’s surprising that he didn’t return to the major leagues right away. Is he definitely planning to advance to the major leagues next year?”

“Of course. We decided to spend one more season in Korea for a few reasons. Unless something drastic happens, he should finish his career in the major leagues.”

The best scenario would be leading the Jaguars to victory this season and then leaving.

Even if we don’t win, I’m still planning to get Watson into the major leagues.

“What do you mean by ‘something drastic’?”

“When the offered contract isn’t satisfactory. Watson is having a very satisfying life in Korea. If he continues to perform like this, it’s obvious that his team, the Jaguars, will make a much better offer.”

Realistically, even if the Jaguars offered the highest salary they could afford, it would be difficult to surpass the offers from major league teams.

However, I wanted to make it clear that Watson didn’t want to go to the major leagues for a pittance.

“So, what kind of contract size are the agency and the player expecting?”

“That’s for the team to propose. It’s our job to evaluate it.”

Paul seemed slightly surprised by my firm answer, paused for a moment, and then continued.

“But doesn’t the player have a desired level of conditions?”

“The agency has a duty to bring the best offer to the player. We don’t want to limit ourselves.”

“Hmm… I understand.”

“But there *is* a non-negotiable condition.”

“What is it?”

“It’s clear that Donald Watson wants to return to the major league stage. But we don’t want him to languish in the minor leagues anymore. Therefore, there must be a major league roster guarantee. He has enough ability to warrant it. I don’t think I need to explain his skills in detail.”

“I understand. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Paul nodded and replied.

“Then, shall we move on to Michael Scott?”

I changed the subject and continued the conversation.

This time, Paul started by asking me a question.

“What do you think are Michael Scott’s chances of succeeding in the major leagues?”

“Even if I exclude the fact that he’s our player, I think his chances are quite high.”

“Can you tell me why?”

Paul asked me with an intrigued expression.

“When Scott first came to Korea, he had a clear weakness against left-handed hitters. But he steadily gained opportunities to start in the Korean league and refined his splitter [a type of fastball]. And now, he’s showing that he can hold his own against left-handed hitters. If that weren’t the case, the 2.38 ERA [Earned Run Average, a measure of pitching performance] he’s showing this season wouldn’t be possible.”

“There’s a clear difference in the level of Korean hitters and major league hitters.”

“Scott has been performing well against right-handed hitters since before he came to Korea. That means he can definitely succeed in the United States as well. Of course, he will experience trial and error when he enters a new stage, but he will eventually find a way to solve the problem, as he has always done.”

“Are you sure?”

“You’ll soon see if you look at the performance of our Dream Agency players.”

Paul’s lips curled up slightly at my confident answer.

“Scott probably wants to establish himself as a starting pitcher, right?”

“Players tend to prefer starting positions over bullpen positions.”

“He’s more likely to start as a relief pitcher in the major leagues since he hasn’t proven himself there yet.”

“That may be how it starts. But eventually, he’ll be used as a starting pitcher.”

It’s only a matter of time, and the potential that Michael Scott shows will shine even brighter.

Naturally, the conversation moved on to Park Sung-joo.

“Park is a really powerful player.”

“Of course. At this pace, he’ll be able to hit 30 home runs in 3 years, and maybe even 40 for the first time.”

“He has good bat speed and power, and his defense is decent, which is good… But one thing that worries me is that he doesn’t seem to perform very well against very fast fastballs, over 155 km/h [approximately 96 mph]?”

Even though Park Sung-joo’s bat speed is fast, the fact that his batting average is slightly lower against very fast fastballs was a fact that could be confirmed with data.

While I was organizing my thoughts, Paul continued.

“It’s rare in the Korean league, but it’s a type you can meet often in the major leagues. If he can’t hit home runs against this pitch, it will be difficult for him to succeed in the major leagues.”

“That analysis is correct based on the data so far, but the problem is that the sample size is too small. Wouldn’t it be unreasonable to say that he has a weakness against fastballs based on this alone?”

Currently, there are only a handful of pitchers in the Korean league who can throw fastballs over 155 km/h.

Therefore, it was difficult to distinguish whether Park Sung-joo was weak against very fast fastballs or whether he was particularly weak against those pitchers.

“Can Park play first base?”

“His main position is third base, but he can definitely play first base. He’s been steadily preparing for it.”

Park Sung-joo was always practicing first base defense during his defensive training.

It was in case he needed to temporarily change positions, but after he established himself in the first team, he never moved to first base in an official game.

Paul wrote something down and then continued the conversation.

“Now, I’d like to ask you a few things about Oh.”

*Finally, it came.*

I nodded and signaled him to continue.

“As everyone knows, he was injured at the end of last season, and his stolen base attempts have decreased significantly this season. Should we assume that it will be difficult to see Oh’s aggressive base running in the future?”

“Yes, he probably won’t be as aggressive with his base running as before. His physical condition is at its best right now, but you never know what might happen during a game.”

“Oh’s most important strength was that he had power and speed, but it sounds like we can’t expect that anymore?”

Disappointment was evident in Paul’s expression.

“Instead, he has focused on increasing his batting accuracy and power this season, and he has improved dramatically. You can see it right away if you compare it with last season’s data.”

“But there are plenty of good hitters in the major leagues.”

“Really? His batting average is 0.375, and at this pace, he’ll easily surpass 20 home runs. Is it that common to have a right fielder with the best batting skills in the league, excellent outfield defense, and top-notch throwing ability?”

“Hmm…”

Paul didn’t say anything, as if he couldn’t find anything to refute in my words.

And there was one thing I definitely wanted to say.

“And there’s another important aspect that you can gain when you sign Oh Seok-hoon. It’s something only possible because it’s Oh Seok-hoon.”

“What is it?”

When Steven Paul asked back with a curious expression, I got up from my seat and moved to the window.

Then, I gestured for the other three to come over here.

The Buffaloes stadium was in full view before our eyes.

Oh Seok-hoon, holding a bat, was approaching the plate.

In the stands, a wave of enthusiastic cheers for Oh Seok-hoon erupted.

I didn’t say anything for a while to let them hear the cheers for Oh Seok-hoon.

“Waaaaah-”

“Oh Seok-hoon! Oh Seok-hoon! Oh Seok-hoon!”

The Buffaloes fans’ cheering song echoed through the stadium.

As the cheering subsided as the batting began, I turned my head, looked at Paul, and said.

“If you sign Oh Seok-hoon, you’ll probably turn all the spectators here into fans. He’s the most popular player in Korea.”

After hearing my story, Paul looked at the stadium and nodded.

And I added one more thing to it.

“And if you add one more thing, you’ll become *Korea’s* national team just by having Oh Seok-hoon. If our player advances to the overseas stage, the whole nation will support that team, even if they’re not Buffaloes fans.”

It was clear that it would be a signing that would never be a loss, not only for his baseball skills but also for Asian marketing.

The first meeting with the major league team ended like that.