The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 328

328. All-Star Break (1)

Seiko, founded in 1881 during the Japanese Empire era, is a major corporation with a long history. It famously triggered the collapse of the Swiss watch industry by being the first to mass-produce and sell quartz wristwatches, a legacy that maintains a certain level of tradition.

And Grand Seiko, as the flagship brand of Seiko Group, is recognized as a ‘luxury’ brand in the watch market. Its product finishing alone rivals that of leading Swiss luxury brands.

However, brand recognition is a different story.

After the ‘Quartz Crisis’ [a period of upheaval in the watch industry caused by the introduction of quartz watches] mentioned earlier, Seiko neglected mechanical movements for some time. While they did reinvest in mechanical watches after the 90s, it felt somewhat late considering the current trends in the watch market.

Since wristwatches with functional significance had long been superseded by smartwatches, watches inevitably became ‘expensive accessories.’

“Even so, are you suggesting a watch sponsorship of $2 million? Hey, Moritaka, are you even thinking? Do you know how much the total contract with Choi Su-won is? It’s not even a watch Choi Su-won will wear. And what’s this? A 20% royalty and establishing a CHOI lineup? Are you out of your mind? Do you even know our current profit margin?”

“Section Chief Yoshida, that’s not what I meant…”

“Keep it within $700,000 as per the initial contract. You know the company’s situation. You white-collar guys only know how to study. You don’t know the field! The field! Tsk.”

Grand Seiko was already using marketing through various celebrities and sports stars to enhance its brand image, and the $1.35 million contract with Choi Su-won was part of that effort. The contract included a clause that if he achieved a perfect game, they would provide $500,000 worth of their products as gifts to the players, and those watches had to be their brand. But this rookie had the audacity to propose a $2 million sponsorship.

Rejecting the plan from the rookie, who always seemed to look down on me for being from a second-rate university, felt incredibly satisfying. Maybe that’s why I felt like I could enjoy a nice cold beer and sleep soundly tonight.

***

“Ah, then please confirm this. Make sure it doesn’t violate the contract if I pay for the watches, excluding the eight stipulated in the contract, out of my own pocket. Yes, of course. The catcher will receive a Grand Seiko watch. I’m not planning to provide additional Grand Seiko watches. It’s just that the other players worked hard to achieve the perfect game. Especially Anthony showed such great defense, so I feel bad giving him the same thing as everyone else.”

“Yes, I understand. So, Anthony’s watch will be in the same price range?”

“Hmm, if it’s the same price range as a Rolex, Jose might feel slighted, so please make it around $100,000. And for the other players, make it around $25,000, also with Rolex. Oh, right. Please also make it clear to Seiko that there won’t be a contract next year. This is proving more troublesome than I anticipated.”

“Yes, I will make that absolutely clear.”

To be honest, I was a bit surprised by Seiko’s reaction. They may be struggling these days, but they still have a market cap of over a trillion yen [approximately $7 billion USD]. They make over 100 billion yen [approximately $700 million USD] in operating profit every year, so why are they acting so stingy over a few tens of thousands of dollars?

Of course, according to the contract, they are supposed to provide one $150,000 watch and seven $50,000 watches. But considering my current fame and the attention on this perfect game, they should be promoting their watches by betting the company’s survival on it.

“Ah, and please make sure to engrave the game date, score, and the names of the team members receiving the gifts on the back.”

“Should we make a request to Rolex as well? Requesting sponsorship might be difficult due to the contract with Seiko, but they would gladly accept a bulk purchase or engraving on the back.”

“No, let’s not do anything that could be criticized. If it’s difficult to buy watches in bulk, let’s buy them through resale and find a separate company for engraving.”

“Yes, I understand.”

And exactly one day later, the reaction I wanted came flying in, arriving very quickly and intensely.

“I’m sorry!! The front-line manager misunderstood the seriousness of the matter, causing a significant misunderstanding in communication between us. Of course, I, as the president, take full responsibility for the matter, and this is a sign of apology. Please consider it.”

The president of Grand Seiko himself came to visit.

The middle-aged man in his 50s, with half his hair gone, was bowing at a 90-degree angle, just like in movies or cartoons, which was a sight I, from the land of courtesy, couldn’t help but find 부담스럽습니다 [burdensome/uncomfortable].

“Ah, please get up. That kind of greeting is a bit 부담스럽습니다 [burdensome/uncomfortable].”

“Yes. I’m sorry!!”

The watches that the president of Grand Seiko brought were full of shiny things and colorful stones, which looked quite extraordinary even to me, who doesn’t know much about watches.

“If you had given us a little more time, we could have released a new lineup to commemorate Choi Su-won’s perfect game. Unfortunately, it’s a version with only engravings added to the existing lineup. These two are special editions, and here are the rest of the items.”

There were a total of 37 watches for the team, coaches, and my personal trainers, the William brothers. I glanced at Ted Park.

“President Takahashi, please don’t do this and discuss business-related matters with me. Our player Choi Su-won has accepted the apology itself.”

“Then by all means, these watches!!”

“So, let’s talk about that business from now on.”

Ted understood my gesture perfectly.

Well, it’s 부담스러운 [burdensome/uncomfortable] to have a balding man in his 50s bowing, but business is business.

And exactly 3 hours later.

“Another $1.8 million TV commercial. But they want to add a lineup named after Choi Su-won, with a royalty of 23% of sales.”

“Not net profit, but 23% of sales?”

“Yes, and they will compensate us for the cost of buying Rolexes.”

I couldn’t know the exact details of the negotiation, but the numbers suggested how far Ted had gone with his 갑질 [abusive exercise of power]. Perhaps his already thinning hair was now closer to a bald mountain?

“I understand. Thank you for your hard work. Then let’s proceed with this watch deal. Ah, don’t return one of the Rolexes to them and let Ted use it. It’s my gift.”

“Thank you. But I don’t think you need to spend money. If you allow me, I’ll just use that watch to get the 37th Grand Seiko watch for my share.”

“Ah, not with Rolex?”

“It’s Choi Su-won’s ‘first’ perfect game 기념 시계 [commemorative watch], so what does the brand matter? Besides, judging by the atmosphere, they seem to be thinking of pushing those watches as their first CHOI lineup.”

[A whopping $4 million!! 37 watches!! Perfect pitcher Choi Su-won’s generous gift.]

[6.12-carat diamond and 1.3-carat blue sapphire. A total of 217 diamonds and 27 blue sapphires. Anthony Volpe and Jose Trevino received the only 6 CHOI No.0s ever made!!]

[Jose Trevino ‘At first, I thought Su-won was giving me a jewelry bracelet instead of a watch.’]

***

[Choi Su-won!! Continuous hitting streak!!]

[How long will his streak last? Choi Su-won breaks the 60-game hitting streak record!!]

[No starting pitching until the All-Star Break? Choi Su-won plays as a hitter without rest!!]

[Choi Su-won first!! Again, first!! Rookie of the Month and Player of the Month for 3 consecutive months since debut!!]

[Finally surpassing the god of baseball!! Choi Su-won’s June monthly OPS is 1.543!! Surpassing Babe Ruth’s previous record of 1.540!!]

[Unstoppable bat!! 62-game hitting streak!!]

[Only 4 games left until the All-Star Game!! Will Choi Su-won be able to continue his hitting streak until then?]

63, 64, 65.

And 66.

That was the hitting streak record I set right before the All-Star Break.

“Choi Su-won!! I heard you’ve decided not to participate in the home run derby that will be held the day after tomorrow. Can you tell us why?”

“I didn’t think my hitting style was suitable for the home run derby yet. Also, since I’ve been playing almost non-stop in recent games, I’d prefer to show my best performance in the All-Star Game itself rather than the home run derby.”

“Is it because you stopped at 33 home runs after hitting your 33rd home run in the second game against Boston?”

“No. It’s not like that.”

[American League home run leader Choi Su-won. No home run derby!! The reason? ‘I don’t think of myself as a home run hitter.’]

[Choi Su-won!! Not a home run hitter, but the American League home run king?]

[Shocking news!! A hitter with a season OPS of 1.399 was not a home run hitter!!]

It wasn’t particularly surprising.

It wasn’t a surprise that the New York reporters were churning out sensational articles. And honestly, this wasn’t even meant to criticize me.

“I plan to clearly show who deserves to be the real home run king at this home run derby.”

Yes, it’s an article to mock Wander Franco, who was beaten by Anthony Volpe in the vote but participated in the All-Star Game with the manager’s recommendation, for making such an interview targeting me a few days ago.

Wander Franco has been hitting really well since last month, achieving 30 home runs in the first half of the season. Honestly, even this alone was an overwhelmingly impressive pace. But the opponent was bad. My 32 home runs were 32 home runs, but Alex hit another multi-homerun in the final game, recording 37 home runs right before the All-Star Break. With the record tied for 2nd place in history, only 약마 [literally “drug demon”, referring to steroid users] Barry Bonds was above him, so it was virtually a number that pushed the limits of humanity.

July 2028. The 66 players carefully selected from 30 Major League teams finally gathered in Los Angeles.

***

“Oh my, thanks to you having a good son, Gyeong-sik, I’m living comfortably in my old age.”

“What do you mean comfortably… Where’s your wife?”

“Our Young-ju has the college entrance exam this year. She’s busy taking care of her.”

“Young-ju is already that old? Then what about Min-woo?”

“He went to the army in March.”

Incheon Airport.

Two men boarded a plane to LA.

It was a first-class seat provided by the New York Yankees.

And in the business class of the same plane.

“Ah… seriously. How can you not be able to board a plane just because you misspelled one letter?”