Villain On The Mound [EN]: Chapter 180

Mound Villain – Episode 180

Mound Villain Episode 180

Baseball, one of the most popular sports in the world.

With so many viewers, huge advertisements were prominently displayed, and the clubs’ profits became enormous.

Most of that revenue went to player salaries.

Naturally, player salaries skyrocketed.

‘The salaries of the 1990s and 2000s are worlds apart. And in the early 2010s, there was a brief lull.’

It took 10 years for Alex Rodriguez’s long-term contract from the 2000s to be surpassed.

But the moment it was, players’ salaries soared as if a dam had burst.

In the 2020s, players even began to receive dream salaries of $40 million per year.

‘There’s no need to sign a long-term contract now.’

Ha-sung is putting up incredible numbers.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that this will continue.

A guaranteed future is a significant advantage, so if a sufficient offer comes in, it’s worth considering.

But.

“The Athletics have offered a 7-year, $100 million deal.”

“Seven years?”

Ha-sung momentarily doubted if he had heard correctly and asked again.

“Yes. I double-checked, but Chris said it’s a 7-year, $100 million deal.”

“It doesn’t seem like they really want to sign me.”

“Hoo… I guess so.”

“There’s no need to think about it. Let’s proceed with negotiations for a short-term contract and prepare to go to arbitration.”

“Okay. Then I’ll proceed with negotiations with Chris.”

The Athletics are a small-market team.

Moreover, the owner was stingy.

He made a fortune but was reluctant to invest.

As a result, franchise stars like Giambi were frequently traded.

Thanks to that, the Athletics had no franchise stars.

“If we proceed with a one-year contract, have you thought about what level of salary to use as a guideline?”

Ha-sung’s salary for this year, as an arbitration-eligible player, is $600,000.

This was close to the minimum salary, so a significant increase was inevitable.

“The pitcher who saw the biggest salary increase among recent arbitration-eligible players was Tim Lincecum of the Giants.”

“He was arbitration-eligible, but he signed a 2-year contract, right?”

“Yes. It was a 2-year, $23 million deal, which was $11.5 million per year. He essentially broke the record for the largest increase.”

The amount Lincecum demanded was $13 million per year.

On the other hand, the Giants offered $8 million, putting them at risk of going to salary arbitration.

That’s when Lincecum did something interesting.

“Is it true that Lincecum went to the team office with his Cy Young Award [award given annually to the best pitchers in each league]?”

“Rumor has it that it’s true. The Giants had no choice but to sign the deal.”

Isabel said with a smile.

This anecdote of Lincecum became a symbolic story in Major League Baseball salary arbitration.

That’s how great Lincecum’s record was in the 2000s.

And Ha-sung was surpassing him.

“Then I can get more.”

“Of course. Jung Ha-sung is the best player in Major League history. You can get more than Lincecum. No, I’ll get it for you.”

“Then I’ll trust you and wait.”

“Yes!”

Isabel nodded vigorously.

* * *

Ha-sung’s salary arbitration was a topic of great interest not only to baseball fans but also to those involved in the sport.

[How much will Jung Ha-sung receive?]

The most intriguing question was how much money Ha-sung would receive.

-Isn’t it practically the biggest increase for a first-year player?

-That’s obvious.

-The question is how much *more* he’ll get.

-Shouldn’t he surpass Sabathia or Lincecum right away?

Fans were saying that Ha-sung should surpass Sabathia and Lincecum, the highest-paid pitchers in Major League Baseball.

However, there were also realistic concerns.

-Can the Athletics afford that?

-The front office already screwed up, making him eligible for salary arbitration a year early, lol [laughing out loud].

-If they give him that amount now, he’ll be traded next year.

-The article said the Athletics offered a 7-year, $100 million deal?

-That must be a rumor.

-Does that make sense? lol

-Even if the Athletics don’t have money, that’s just insulting.

A 7-year, $100 million deal is a large-scale contract in Major League Baseball.

However, it was a very small amount compared to Ha-sung’s performance.

Above all, Ha-sung was young and was considered to have not yet reached his prime.

There was much debate about his prime, but the basis was that Ha-sung was so young that he had a high potential for further growth.

In any case, no one thought Ha-sung would sign a cheap long-term contract while securing his future.

And that soon became a reality.

[Jung Ha-sung Flatly Rejects Long-Term Contract Offer from Oakland Athletics!]

[Jung Ha-sung Rejects 7-Year, $100 Million Deal!]

[His agent, Isabel, said in a phone interview with the New York Times, “Jung Ha-sung is the best player in Major League history. Of course, he deserves to be treated accordingly!”]

The first negotiation broke down.

It was a signal that salary arbitration negotiations would not be easy.

* * *

Although the season was over, Ha-sung spent even busier days.

“Today, the New York Times will be here for an interview. After that, there will be an exclusive interview with ESPN at 4 p.m., and then a meeting with Vigor is scheduled.”

All of them were prominent names.

The hectic schedule, which was incomparable to last year, was an indication of how much his position had risen.

“I won’t have time to rest.”

“You’ll really have to move non-stop for the next week.”

It was a truly relentless schedule.

Just when he was worried if he would have such a schedule every day, Isabel said reassuringly.

“You’ll have plenty of rest time starting a week from now, so don’t worry.”

“That’s a relief.”

“I gave you advance notice, so I scheduled it with enough adjustments. Most of the upcoming schedules are only for major corporations or famous mass media.”

Too many events or contact with the mass media was not good.

If he appeared everywhere, his rarity would diminish.

Therefore, schedule adjustment was essential.

Supporting that was Isabel’s job as an agent.

“How were the negotiations with the Athletics?”

“Um…”

Isabel shook her head.

“As I told you on the phone, there’s a big difference in the amount. We want at least $15 million or more, but the amount the Athletics offered was $8 million.”

It was almost a twofold difference in the amount.

Above all, the $15 million that Ha-sung was thinking of was also the minimum figure.

But since they offered an amount that didn’t even reach that, there was no room for negotiation.

“$8 million…”

“The Athletics will have to think about the financial aspect. Jung Ha-sung is in his first year of salary arbitration this season, and he will have four more salary arbitrations in the future.”

Originally, salary arbitration applications are from the 3rd year to the 6th year of service.

There are a total of 4 opportunities.

However, Ha-sung must go through 5 arbitration negotiations under the Super Two rule [rule that allows players with enough service time to be eligible for arbitration earlier].

Even if Ha-sung doesn’t perform as well as he does now every year, an increase was inevitable.

That’s why the first salary negotiation was so important.

By minimizing the amount, the team could reduce the increase even if they had to raise the salary in subsequent years.

“But these things are not important to Jung Ha-sung. What’s important is to have Jung Ha-sung’s value recognized.”

“I like what you said.”

Isabel’s words were the answer.

Salary was the value of a professional player.

If a team didn’t recognize that, they had no choice but to fight.

“Let’s raise the minimum salary.”

“$20 million would be appropriate.”

“I like that.”

$20 million.

In Korean currency, it was an enormous amount of over 20 billion won.

If a contract is concluded with this amount, Ha-sung will receive the highest amount in salary arbitration history.

This is not just for the first year of salary arbitration, but for all salary arbitration years.

“If we succeed in this, Jung Ha-sung will become the highest-paid non-free agent [FA] player among Major League pitchers.”

Ha-sung nodded at Isabel’s words.

* * *

On the second day of negotiations.

Chris’s face hardened when he heard the amount Isabel suggested.

“How much did you say?”

“We want $20 million.”

“Didn’t you misspeak a million or twelve million dollars?”

“No. You heard correctly. Twenty million dollars is the amount my client wants.”

“Do you think that makes sense?!”

Chris jumped up from his seat.

“This is the first salary arbitration! If we give that amount, how much salary should we give in the second year?!”

“That’s the future. I’m talking about the present. Currently, Jung Ha-sung is the best pitcher in Major League Baseball. But he didn’t ask for the highest salary.”

“Players like Sabathia and Cliff Lee are receiving that salary through free agency! Who is receiving $20 million among non-FAs?!”

“Then which pitcher in Major League Baseball is putting up the same numbers as Jung Ha-sung?”

Chris was speechless.

What Isabel said was true.

No pitcher in Major League Baseball was performing as well as Ha-sung.

“Jung Ha-sung could have asked for the highest salary. Nevertheless, he is only asking for $20 million because he is fully considering the team’s situation.”

“That’s…”

“If you reject this offer, please keep in mind that the conditions may increase.”

Isabel’s words were nothing short of a final notice.

In the end, Chris had no choice.

“Hoo… I’ll discuss it.”

“I hope for a positive answer.”

Chris gritted his teeth as he watched her get up from her seat with a bright smile.

* * *

While proceeding with salary arbitration negotiations and various schedules, Ha-sung spent happy times with his parents.

“New York is a really nice place.”

“It’s a city, so it’s busy. Wouldn’t you rather go to Hawaii or something like that?”

“Mom likes this atmosphere too.”

“I like this place better.”

He took his parents on a tour of New York and went to eat delicious food.

In the past, he couldn’t spend much time like this because of training and other obligations.

After he had time, he couldn’t do this because he was busy making a living again.

His parents were getting older, and it was becoming difficult for them to travel far.

‘If I don’t do it now, I won’t be able to do it later.’

Ha-sung learned that from his previous life.

That’s why he was putting into practice how to live in the present.

Thanks to that, he was able to spend every day without regret.

“But Ha-sung, how is the salary arbitration going? According to the news, it doesn’t seem to be going well.”

“There seems to be quite a gap. I left it to my agent, so there won’t be any major problems. If it doesn’t work out, we can go to the committee [independent panel that decides on a player’s salary].”

“I heard that it’s rare for cases to go to the committee in Major League Baseball.”

“I’m a bit of a special case. It’ll be quite difficult to negotiate a salary because I’m too good.”

“That’s probably true.”

His father smiled contentedly.

It was natural for him to be proud that his son had become the best pitcher in Major League Baseball.

At that time, a call came to Ha-sung.

“I’ll take this call for a moment.”

“Okay.”

Ha-sung excused himself to his parents and moved to a remote place.

And he answered the phone.

“Yes, Manager.”

The person who called was Chris.