The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 399

399. Side Story 6) Recruiting Party Members (7)

I attended Steve Cohen’s funeral with my wife.

To be honest, when I was choosing a team in the major league, I avoided the Mets not only because the Mets of the 2030s were such an ‘amazing’ team in my memory, but also because I lacked trust in Steve Cohen as a person.

The benevolence of the rich.

In a world that operates under the harsh logic of capitalism, so many teams in so many sports have proven how messed up a club can become when it’s run not by a capital-based system but by the capricious goodwill of a wealthy person.

But in the end, I was wrong.

Steve Cohen was a messy tyrant, but he never stopped yearning for victory until the very end. He was just a man whose path was different from mine, but he was worthy of respect.

Of course, that didn’t mean this shocking news was acceptable.

“What? Domingo agreed to play one more year for $3 million? With the Mets?”

“Yeah. He even signed the contract already.”

“That guy told me he was definitely going to retire! I suggested it would be better to play one more year with the Yankees and have a retirement ceremony, but he said an old lion doesn’t show his miserable end to others and would just leave.”

“He told me the same thing. He was mistaken.”

“Mistaken? About what?”

“The old lion is supposed to leave on his final journey after being defeated by a young lion. Since he’s already shown his miserable side, he said he’s going to play for about a year longer?”

“No, if that’s the case, he should come back to the team. We could give him more than 3 million. Besides, the Mets are failing.”

“I don’t know. He said his choice isn’t about petty money.”

“… When he left for the Mets two years ago, the total difference in the amount was $6 million. He abandoned the team he played for 20 years because of that, and now he’s talking about petty money?”

It was absurd, but I could tell what Domingo’s choice meant without having to hear an explanation.

Yes, Domingo Rodriguez, the man least suited for romance, had gone and done something romantic.

You damn bastard.

Getting old and being romantic in a failing team. If so, there’s only one thing I can do for such a guy.

“This season, we won’t lose a single game to the Mets.”

“What, were you ever planning to lose?”

“Of course not, but… anyway, I’m strengthening my resolve even more. Something like that.”

We are the defending champions from last year.

Most of the players were young, with many barely qualifying for salary arbitration this year [a process where players and teams negotiate salaries, often involving an independent arbitrator]. There were still immature aspects, and therefore, there were definitely some who performed worse than last year.

A guy who was evaluated as a promising player to lead the Yankees after me, projected to hit 300 with an on-base percentage of .400 and slugging percentage of .500 (3/4/5), recorded a batting average in the .100s and was sent down to the minors in the middle of the season, was a prime example.

But overall, the young guys definitely grew compared to last year. And it wasn’t like the veterans’ skills had declined either. So, although it wasn’t the mighty Yankees of their prime, who couldn’t even imagine losing, we won and won again.

-Boooom!!

“Strike!! Out!!!”

[Game Over!! Choi Su-won!! Amazing!! He completely shut down the Mets, allowing not a single run during 9 innings!!]

[Choi Su-won already has his second shutout this season, right? Looking at this, although his average fastball speed this season has dropped to the mid-90s (miles per hour), I personally feel that his pitching content has improved. What do you think?]

[Yes, his pitching today was also very efficient. It definitely feels like Choi Su-won is getting more experienced. It feels like watching Domingo Rodriguez from 5 years ago.]

And I achieved my goal.

During the season, we took a total of 4 wins against the Mets, clearly proving who the king of New York was. Considering that we were clearly behind in the head-to-head record with 1 win and 3 losses last season, we could clearly see how much stronger we had become this season, and how much weaker the Mets had become this season.

─Mega deal between New York Mets and Chicago Cubs imminent?

─Endless rumors surrounding Brian Wilcox!! Will he leave the Mets?

Mid-season.

The New York Mets began to move exactly as everyone expected. They started selling off decent players. They were holding 2nd place in the NL East division, and of course, their chances of advancing to the postseason were high, but that didn’t matter. In fact, paying $200 million in luxury tax was a crazy thing that only Steve Cohen could do. It was hard to imagine Jessica, who inherited only about 5% of that fortune, would continue that crazy짓 [romanization of a Korean word, roughly translating to ‘antics’ or ‘behavior’].

The Mets’ power was gradually draining.

Proven veterans were being released, and rookies I didn’t know were being called up. Baseball is a very strange game, where guys who seemed sure to explode often flopped, and guys who weren’t expected to explode in the upper leagues actually did. After July, the Mets were scratching lottery tickets almost every game. Most of them were duds or 5th place, but among them, there were definitely 2nd or 3rd places hidden that I didn’t know about. No, maybe among the guys I thought were 2nd place, there might be a guy who could become 1st place.

So, was I anxious? Yeah, honestly, if it were last year or the year before, I might have been very anxious. Although it had changed a lot, the world until then still resembled the world I had already experienced once, and for someone who had lived such a life for over a decade, the unknown was a very scary thing.

But not anymore.

I am going to be the greatest player in baseball history, and that is undeniable even if Babe Ruth comes back from the grave. So, I had no reason to fear anything, at least when it came to baseball.

Yes, the ones who should be afraid are those on the opposite side of me. And the only target they should be afraid of is me, Choi Su-won.

***

“Still, they somehow managed to get here.”

“I know.”

“When Brian left, I really wondered how we were going to do this. It’s even more amazing how it turned out.”

“But if Brian had been there, it would have been much easier and faster.”

July of the 44th season.

The New York Mets put on a truly stormy sale. It was a stormy sale to the point where it was safe to say that the only remaining players among the high-paid players were Alexander McDowell and Baek Ha-min.

Of course, in the case of the bad contracts that were acquired last year, even though they tried to pass them on with salary subsidies, the prospects they could receive were not very good prospects. In that case, Dan Oiler made the choice to bring in AAAA-level players with mediocre abilities, which turned out to be a pretty good choice.

For players in their early 30s who go back and forth between the big leagues and AAA [Triple-A, the highest level of minor league baseball], being on the active roster of a team with a high chance of advancing to the postseason was like a dream.

Of course, if they are players who have been called AAAA in this field until they are in their 30s, they are no different from lottery tickets that have already been scratched. They may not be complete busts, but they are just so-so levels that cannot be higher than 4th place. But this, in other words, means that among them, the proven resources are definitely resources that are certain to be 4th place anyway.

Resources that can definitely contribute more than replacement players by about 0.3 to 0.5 based on WAR [Wins Above Replacement, a comprehensive baseball statistic].

Pillars of pitching and hitting that deserve the expression superstar.

The oldest pitcher in the major leagues.

And even the prospects they received by selling players who were immediately available to teams aiming for win-now.

After August.

As a result, the Mets recorded a winning rate of over 55%.

2nd place in the NL East division after the Atlanta Braves.

And 6th place in the NL overall winning rate.

The New York Mets successfully advanced to the postseason as a wild card.

And several TV shows talked about its success every day.

“Now, Eric here is famous as an anti-fan of the Mets, right? ‘There is no emotion in the Mets’ baseball.’ ‘Super teams may win rings, but they cannot give emotion.’ ‘The major league is now becoming a playground for rich old men.’ and so on. You’ve said so many things. So Eric, this season, how do you evaluate the Mets?”

“An anti-fan of the Mets? First of all, I’d like to correct that part. I don’t hate the Mets, but rather the foul of ignoring the rules that have been set not to do with more money.”

“Haha, yes, I understand. Well, let’s just say that. So what do you think of the Mets this season?”

“I would like to say that they are enjoying the underdog effect most 확실하게 [Korean word meaning ‘certainly’ or ‘definitely’]. Even though they are not really that much of an underdog. The current payroll has definitely shrunk, but looking at the standard amount at the end of the season, it has only decreased from $550 million in the beginning to $430 million. It is still one of the top big markets. Only the Dodgers spend more money than them. Even the Yankees have a payroll that is $20 million less than them.”

“Is the Mets’ payroll that high? I think they’ve released so many players this season that the word fire sale is appropriate.”

“That’s right. But the payroll is originally paid throughout the season, right? In the case of the Mets, the team was maintained until July. Even in the trade conditions, there were many cases where salary subsidies were attached. I think if they maintain this team as it is next year, they will be barely on the luxury tax cutline.”

“I see. So they are pretending to be underdogs even though they are not underdogs. As expected, Eric. I heard a good word from the Mets’ biggest anti-fan.”

“Ah, wait a minute. I’m really not an anti-fan of the Mets. And shouldn’t people listen to what others have to say until the end?”

“Ah, do you still have more to say?”

“In 2042, the Yankees fought in the same position as underdogs despite being the top dogs among the top dogs, having won 12 out of 14 championships. And at the time, they proved that they were the protagonists of our era by hitting the Mets, who were the best top dogs, in the nose for two years in a row. I think that victory was the completion of the myth of the Yankees in this era. But that’s why I think the Mets this season are the most appropriate antithesis to the Yankees. The capital that overwhelmed everything fails, and the remnants come together to face the most powerful myth of this era? If the Mets can win against the Yankees? No, even if it’s difficult to get there, if they can go up to the other side of the World Series again, I think they can play the same role as the Boston Red Sox who always lost to Joe DiMaggio.”

“Uh… So even after talking this far, you are not an anti-Mets. You still haven’t changed your mind about that, right?”

“Yes.”

***

The Mets fought surprisingly well.

They fought very well, even more than the stupid panel on the TV show said. No, they fought so well that no one expected.

Wild Card, Division, Championship, and even the World Series.

“Ah, this is a sight I really didn’t want to see…”

Loss-Win-Loss-Loss-Win-Win.

Game 7 of the series.

Choi Su-won came up to the mound at Yankee Stadium.

It was the most crucial game, and it was Choi Su-won after two consecutive losses in the series.