Villain On The Mound [EN]: Chapter 48

As the sports industry grew, so did the contract sizes of star players.

Naturally, the power struggle between players and teams intensified.

This made sports agents even more important.

Most sports agents had specialized areas.

Scott Boras was an agent specializing in Major League Baseball.

He consistently ranked high among the world’s top 10 agents.

And there he was, standing before Ha-seong.

“Nice to meet you.”

Ha-seong shook the hand he offered with a smile.

“I’m Jeong Ha-seong.”

“Thank you for taking the time to meet. Shall we sit down and talk?”

“Let’s do that.”

The two sat facing each other.

“I’ve been following your recent performances. Truly impressive. Such performance in your rookie season. You have a very high chance of being named Rookie of the Year.”

Rookie of the Year.

Like the Rookie of the Year award in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization], it’s an award that can only be won once in a Major Leaguer’s career.

Eligibility requires less than 45 days on the 25-man roster, so it can only be received in the first year of playing a full season.

Once missed, there’s no second chance, making it deeply meaningful.

“In my opinion, Jeong Ha-seong is the best rookie in the American League. And it seems highly likely that you will continue to be so.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. You’ve just debuted, but you’re already a complete pitcher. Currently, you’re a closer, but with a few more weapons, you could transition to a starter.”

Ha-seong listened to Boras and silently drank his tea.

He then put down his teacup and asked.

“I doubt you came all the way from LA to New York just to compliment me.”

“Haha! I see I underestimated Jeong Ha-seong’s style. Of course, I didn’t come just for that. What I want is your signature.”

A fastball right down the middle.

“I will provide you with the best support. All you have to do is play baseball. If you become the best player, I will get you the highest contract anyone has ever seen.”

Boras handed over the contract.

Agency contracts aren’t complicated.

You just need to consider the commission rate based on the size of the contract.

And there were details about other benefits the agency could provide.

‘An agent is a profession that cannot exist without players. So naturally, they are always in the weaker position.’

Without players, the job of an agent cannot exist.

Therefore, they are naturally in a subservient position.

Thanks to this, the contract was simple.

There were commission tiers based on the contract size, and the commission was lower than what he had seen before his regression.

‘Boras’ influence was waning at this time.’

Scott Boras is a giant in the agency world.

But there was a time when his influence weakened.

That was during the global economic crisis.

‘Lehman Brothers already collapsed in ’08. If history unfolds as it did, the subprime mortgage crisis will collapse the US economy this year.’

The recovering economy faltered once again, and Major League teams also tightened their belts.

In this process, the size of player contracts also decreased, and naturally, agents’ commissions were lowered.

‘Due to the Lehman Brothers situation, Major League teams are tightening their belts, reducing contract sizes. If the subprime crisis hits this year, the size will shrink even further.’

This economic crisis will be prolonged.

As contract sizes decrease, players also feel burdened by commissions.

As a result, agents’ commissions naturally decrease.

“How about it? Teaming up with Boras Corporation, the best agency in Major League Baseball?”

Scott Boras dangled the bait again.

“I don’t have to sign today, do I?”

“…Of course. Please think it over and contact me.”

Ha-seong’s first meeting with Boras concluded like that.

* * *

Ha-seong wanted to sign with an agency mainly because of tax issues.

‘In the US, my current income is classified as high income. Naturally, the rate is high.’

Unlike Korea, the United States requires you to pay taxes twice.

One is the tax paid to the federal government, and the other is the tax paid to the state.

The federal government is simply the tax paid to the US government, and the state is the tax paid to your current residence.

State taxes may be exempt, but California, where Oakland is located, is famous for its high state taxes.

‘If you handle taxes incorrectly, you’ll incur huge expenses.’

So, he needed an expert to handle his taxes.

‘Agencies often have asset management companies for their contracted players, and they handle taxes as well.’

Major Leaguers earn a lot of money.

Money that ordinary people can’t even imagine.

As much money as they earn, Major Leaguers’ spending is beyond imagination.

The problem is that the period in which they can earn money is short.

If the same amount of money came in every year, there would be no problem, but as their prime passes, their income decreases significantly.

By the time they retire, it becomes difficult to maintain their livelihood.

‘In fact, some star players have gone bankrupt after retirement. This is a common pattern not only in Major League Baseball but also in popular sports.’

Therefore, agencies have asset management companies to grow their clients’ assets.

Their work ranges from financial planning to taxation.

‘If you sign with an agency, you can save a lot on these fees. Hiring them separately would cost quite a bit.’

Even in the United States, an annual salary of hundreds of thousands of dollars is not common.

Naturally, hiring a tax accountant separately would be expensive.

“Complicated.”

Even though he was living a second life, tax issues always gave him a headache.

“Let’s start by choosing between Boras and J&J, the top 1 or 2 agencies in the industry.”

The best way to deal with complicated matters was to unravel them one by one, like a tangled thread.

Having regressed, Ha-seong knew this and solved things one by one.

* * *

A closer’s job is to finish the game.

But they don’t always pitch in the 9th inning.

‘What a slugfest.’

Athletics versus Yankees.

The third game between the two teams was, in a word, a slugfest.

Clang-!!

“Wowwww!!”

With the crisp sound of the hit, Yankee Stadium roared.

The ball hit the wall on a no-bounce and bounced back.

“Ah-! He hit it again.”

“Two runs will score, right?”

The Athletics pitchers in the bullpen sighed.

As they expected, two runners crossed home plate while the ball was being fielded in the infield.

“Damn it! The Yankees’ bats just won’t cool down.”

Bullpen coach Chavez checked the pitcher who was warming up with a touch of annoyance.

‘It’s only the 7th inning, and only the setup man and closer are left.’

All the usable bullpen pitchers had already been used.

And the game wasn’t tilting in their favor either.

‘They just gave up 2 runs, making the score 12 to 11. They’ve been reversed in one go.’

The score alone showed that it was a tremendous slugfest.

‘There’s still one out, and a runner is in scoring position. Above all, Bailey can’t find his control today.’

Bailey was having a good season.

But he was also a rookie.

He couldn’t pitch well every game.

In particular, the name value of the lineup he faced—Cano-Jeter-Rodriguez—weighed heavily on his shoulders.

‘It’s hard to expect the same performance as Ha-seong.’

Ha-seong was amazing for shutting down the Yankees’ monster trio in the first game.

It wasn’t Bailey’s fault at all.

Ring, ring-!

Just then, the bullpen phone rang.

“Yes, I understand.”

Chavez, who answered the phone, looked at setup man Ziegler.

“Ziegler! You’re up.”

“Understood!”

Ziegler’s appearance was decided in the 7th inning with one out.

Seeing that, Ha-seong thought.

‘I might be pitching a little earlier in today’s game.’

“Ha-seong! You might be pitching earlier than the 9th today. You better be prepared.”

“Understood.”

As the game became a slugfest, Ziegler and Ha-seong had already warmed up.

All that was left was to prepare mentally.

How far would Ziegler hold out?

Ha-seong watched the game from the bullpen.

* * *

[The Athletics and Yankees game is fiercely contested in the later innings.]

[Both teams’ lineups are exploding, leading to a tremendous slugfest. Tony’s decision to bring in Ziegler early to put out the fire was excellent.]

Ziegler retired two batters with groundouts.

But he couldn’t just be happy.

‘Ziegler’s pitch count after finishing the 7th is 21. His stuff starts to drop after 30 pitches, so I might be pitching early.’

Watching the game, Ha-seong anticipated his turn.

It was then.

Clang-!!

A crisp sound echoed across the field.

“Oho.”

“Nice!!”

The one who made this crisp sound was Matt Holliday.

He strode to first base, admiring his hit.

[A powerful hit on the 3rd pitch!! This ball is…! It goes over the right field wall!! Matt Holliday hits his third home run of the game! He sweeps in a whopping 7 RBIs all by himself!!]

[Matt, who had been struggling since the opening, is showing his worth today!]

With Matt Holliday’s performance, the score was tied at 12 to 12.

A situation where the Athletics could take the lead with just one more run.

Here, the Yankees made a bold decision.

[Ah-! Here, the Yankees! Bring up their closer, Mariano Rivera!]

Mariano Rivera.

The best closer in Major League history.

He swept all the Major League records by dedicating his entire career to the position of closer.

Rivera’s pitching, led by his signature cut fastball, was tremendous.

Wham-!!

“Strike! Batter out!”

[Strikeout in three pitches!! Rivera gets an out count with just three pitches as soon as he comes up!]

[As expected, it’s Rivera who is responsible for the Yankees’ back door. He’s calmly throwing the ball even in this situation.]

[What’s the reason for bringing up Rivera when the score is behind?]

[They’re thinking of taking the win when they can. If Rivera doesn’t give up any more runs here, they’ll have two chances to attack in the 8th and 9th innings.]

The Yankees’ decision to bring up Rivera was an excellent choice.

Crack!!

[A powerful hit on the 2nd pitch! But the bat breaks! The ball is a routine ground ball!! Cano catches it barehanded and throws to 1st!]

Thud!!

“Out!!”

[The second out count goes up!]

[Another bat has been sacrificed to Rivera’s cutter.]

The Bat Breaker.

The originator of this nickname was Rivera.

His cutter was so powerful that it broke countless bats.

‘He’s definitely a great pitcher.’

He could tell even from afar.

Mariano Rivera is a great pitcher.

And he clearly showed his worth.

Clang-!!

[The ball flies high! Derek Jeter catches the ball almost on the spot, and the third out count goes up! Matt Holliday hit a solo home run to tie the game, but the Athletics failed to take the lead! Now the attack opportunity passes to the Yankees in the bottom of the 8th!]

They failed to capitalize on the momentum when it came.

Everyone knew that this moment was the most dangerous.

‘Can Ziegler stop the bottom of the 8th?’

Ha-seong watched Ziegler’s pitching in the bottom of the 8th with a baseball in his hand.

The anxiety soon became reality.

Clang-!!

[A powerful hit on the 4th pitch! A long hit that splits the gap between right and center field! The batter-runner rounds first and goes to second!]

[Ah-! This isn’t good. They’re allowing a leadoff hitter to get on base.]

As soon as they allowed the leadoff hitter, the bullpen phone rang.

“Yes, yes. I’m ready. I understand.”

Chavez, who hung up the phone, said to Ha-seong.

“Ha-seong, you can go up from the 8th.”

“I thought so.”

“It’s the 8th, not the 9th, but there’s no reason to be nervous! Just pitch as usual.”

“I’ve pitched in that situation last year, so don’t worry.”

“Th- that’s right.”

Chavez was taken aback by Ha-seong’s answer.

‘Anyone would be nervous in this situation… What is this guy?’

He was looking at Ha-seong with wonder, who wasn’t nervous at all.

Thud!!

“Ball!! Base on balls!!”

[Ah-! A straight walk! Ziegler is suddenly shaking violently!]

Ziegler’s walk.

And this result made Tony move.

[Here, Tony visits the mound!]

At the same time, the bullpen phone rang.

Chavez, who answered the phone, replied and put down the receiver, saying to Ha-seong.

“Ha-seong!”

“Yes.”

Ha-seong opened the bullpen door and stepped out.

[Here’s a pitching change! The Athletics are also bringing in Jeong Ha-seong early for the win!]