The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 398

398. Extra Story 6) Recruiting Party Members (6)

“No, Jessica. This is too sudden.”

“Sudden? Listen, Dan. It’s been 24 years. A whole 24 years! It was long enough for a girl who hadn’t even graduated from college to get married, have kids, and for those kids to go to college. Do you even know which team our Eric is a fan of? Damn it. The Yankees. The Yankees. His grandfather was the owner of the Mets, but he’s a Yankees fan.”

“But Jessica, we’re almost there. You know that.”

“We’ve been almost there for 15 years already. Even before you sat in that position, Dan. And the reason we haven’t taken that one step further from almost there is…”

“Are you saying it’s my fault? Owner. You know what authority Steve gave me and what I’ve always said, so how can you say that to me?”

“So, you’re saying you’re going to do that diet you’ve been talking about.”

“It’s a matter of timing. I’ll say it again, we’re really almost there. If we take just one more step together, we can fulfill Steve’s last wish. Jessica, you know why Steve left this team to you of all people.”

Steve Cohen’s death.

In the United States, the inheritance tax is very low compared to Korea, and the tax-free range is also very wide. However, that’s only the story for ordinary wealthy people whose inherited assets are in the range of 10 to 20 million dollars per person. In Steve Cohen’s case, with an estimated net worth of over 30 billion dollars, even with assets distributed among more than 30 children, grandchildren, relatives, and acquaintances, each person inherited more than 1 billion dollars. For amounts exceeding the tax-free limit, 40% had to be paid without exception. Although the inheritance tax is ridiculously low compared to Korea, tax evasion was unthinkable. The IRS (Internal Revenue Service) is the strongest in the United States. It’s half a joke, but the saying that drug dealers are caught for tax evasion rather than drug sales is only half a joke, which shows the status of the IRS.

Anyway, thanks to this, Steve Cohen’s heirs all had to pay astronomical inheritance taxes, and Jessica Cohen, who inherited the New York Mets, was no exception.

“Of course, I know. My father believed that I loved this team the most.”

“That’s true, Jessica. You clearly love the Mets. As much as you love your father.”

“That’s right. So, I’m going to bring the Mets back to normal. My father loved the Mets. But that love was too much. Just like a child is ruined if you only treat them with love, the Mets were ruined in the same way. It’s too late to discipline my brother, but the Mets can be reborn.”

“You’re looking to the future…”

“Yes. It can’t go on like this. We need to move forward, looking beyond Choi Su-won.”

“But!!”

“I know what you want to say. Alex is definitely a great player. Dan has been paying attention to him since he was in middle school, and I know you’re very attached to him since you finally succeeded in bringing him here. But we’ve already invested more than enough. The fact that we still haven’t won a ring [a World Series championship] means that this is the end. My father always said, ‘Don’t fall into the sunk cost fallacy.’ The past is already gone, and you must always coldly assess the current value and gauge the future. Of course, it’s funny that he said that but didn’t actually do it when running the team.”

“Was Steve really unable to do that?”

“Yes, this is already decided. My father didn’t see the Mets win until the moment he died. Of course, I don’t think my father’s death was caused by the Mets’ elimination, just because it happened shortly after, like my older brother and younger siblings do. My father’s last year was enjoyable because the word ‘Amazing’ wasn’t negative. But at the same time, the fact that the ending was a bad ending means that I have no intention of leaving the current Mets as they are.”

Despite repeated persuasion, the new owner’s firm declaration did not change. Dan Oiler, the general manager of the Mets, had no choice but to admit that it was now irreversible.

“I understand. But Jessica, this takes time. If we give the impression that we’re definitely going to have a fire sale [trading away valuable players for future assets], it will inevitably lead to terrible results. Fortunately, we failed to win the World Series last year, but the results themselves were still good. Let’s take our time and slowly scout promising prospects.”

“Since my father passed away, everyone probably knows that we’re trying to reset the luxury tax [a penalty for exceeding the payroll limit], right?”

“Yes, that’s right. But there’s definitely a difference between saying we’re going to do it no matter what and having even a slight possibility. And the players’ performance is the same. You know that our ‘product’ is not an object, so its value is maximized when careful care is taken.”

“Sigh… Seriously. Old man. Do you want to give Alex one last chance even if it means going this far?”

“No, that’s not that important. If it’s really difficult, we can just send Alex to the Yankees, like Mike Trout in his later years. Probably no one would criticize Alex’s choice. Rather, I want to prove that your father wasn’t wrong. That his last investments weren’t a stupid waste of money. His challenge, betting everything on the god of baseball who descended into the world, was absolutely not worthless. If that’s possible, I think I can confidently ask the citizens of New York who the real boss is.”

“…”

Jessica Cohen sighed deeply.

“I have no choice. One year. But I can’t just do nothing for a year. This year’s final payroll will be less than $400 million. And next year, I’ll reset the luxury tax.”

“Understood.”

Just two weeks after Steve Cohen’s death, the fate of the New York Mets was decided.

***

“Alex. Hey, buddy. You know how ridiculous what you’re saying is, right? I’m forty-five this year.”

“Of course, I know. A starting pitcher who recorded 162.1 innings and a 4.44 ERA [Earned Run Average, a measure of pitching performance] in his 44-year-old season, and a 2.14 ERA when limited to just 3 innings.”

“I don’t know where you heard that, but that’s only…”

Alexander McDowell interrupted Domingo Rodriguez.

“Are you going to end your career with an escape?”

“Escape? What nonsense. An old man is retiring after his contract expires, how is that an escape? Just by playing until 44, I’ve already pitched longer than probably the top 50 in Major League history.”

“Yes, you’ve pitched for a long time. But you know. This is an escape.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. No one in the world can call me a fugitive. I was a challenger until the end, and now I’m an old veteran who is retiring because I can no longer play in the majors.”

“Yes, no one in the world can say that. Except for one person. Domingo. Except for you.”

“…”

Domingo Rodriguez paused for a moment at Alexander McDowell’s words.

In fact, he already knew it too. That it wasn’t that he didn’t have the strength to throw, but that he had lost the will to throw.

Yes, Choi Su-won, that guy was a monster.

What if the sport of baseball itself was born in human form? Domingo Rodriguez shouted hysterically.

“Damn it. Goddamn it!! Damn it!! Why are you coming to me and tormenting me like this? There are plenty of good players. Besides, I’ve only ever been a starter. What’s so great about pitching well for 3 innings? Even though I failed as a starter, will we be able to win if I move to the bullpen [a team’s relief pitchers]? Listen, Alex. I hate losing. I really hate it to death. I don’t want to waste my precious year on a stupid fight with no chance of winning, even if I get paid a pittance. I just want to travel abroad with my kids and live comfortably now.”

“But that’s why you want to win. You hate losing, so you want to win, don’t you? Isn’t that right? If you run away now, you’ll lose the chance to win forever. You’ll just be left as a miserable, defeated dog for the rest of your life. If you hate losing, isn’t now the time to cling on to the very end?”

“This goddamn son of a bitch?”

Did he learn some kind of rhetoric?

Alex was talking so fluently that Domingo’s face turned red. But he couldn’t think of anything to refute.

Ah, no.

He was a beat late, but he remembered.

“The Mets are doomed anyway. We couldn’t win even when Steve Cohen was throwing money around without limit, so how is it possible now? Listen, Alex. If you want to win, you should move to the Yankees instead. It’ll be much faster that way.”

He regretted the outburst as soon as he said it.

But Domingo didn’t take back his words. Even if it hurts the other person, he wins the argument first. Domingo Rodriguez, a man who hates losing, was that kind of person.

But Alexander McDowell didn’t look too hurt.

In the face of Domingo’s outburst, he simply began to tell his story calmly.

“When I was young, I wanted to be an icon. An icon that symbolizes baseball. So, I wanted to revive the popularity of baseball and engrave my name in the baseball world forever. I thought that was my duty to my talent.”

And he met Choi Su-won.

He thought he could revive the baseball world with a rivalry of the era. Yes, like Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio. Or like M&M [Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, who had a famous home run chase in 1998].

But the opponent was much greater than he thought. Alexander McDowell was clearly a genius, and his career was as great as his genius. Perhaps even in the history of baseball, there are only a handful of players greater than him.

But the opponent is now 36 years old. He has confirmed GOAT [Greatest Of All Time] in just 16 years of his career.

Now, no one puts Babe Ruth above the name Choi Su-won. Even the old fogeys of the baseball world at least view Ruth and Choi Su-won on the same line.

Choi Su-won and Alexander McDowell were no longer on the same line. No, perhaps Choi Su-won had never been at the same height as Alex himself.

“So, what’s important to me now is not just a simple victory. Maybe it’s a base jealousy. No, I think it’s a base jealousy. But at least once, I want to see him looking up at me. If there is anyone in this world who can give him defeat, I want it to be me. Not being pushed back and weakened by the power of time and defeated by someone. But when he still has strength. With my strength.”

“This goddamn, damn, son of a bitch?”

There was no logic in that long confession that could persuade anyone. It was no exaggeration to say that the whole content was that the second-place person who envies the first place wants to win at least once.

But that base and honest confession was a confession that the 45-year-old old pitcher, who was as twisted as he could be, liked very much.

“3 million dollars?”

“Yes, the team doesn’t have any money now, so that’s really the amount they squeezed out.”

“Alexander McDowell. You owe me a lot. Don’t forget it.”

The 2044 season has begun.