Chapter 366 – Episode 358. To the Room of Truth. (1)

“Anyway, how much did I do for the team? I can’t believe I hit one double play. True.”

AT Thunders’ foreign batsman, Williams, clicked his tongue after seeing comments from fans who flooded his Instagram account. He is such a terrorist that he spent one game on himself, who has a batting average of over .400.

“How much I love this country.”

But despite the Byeolgram terror attack, Williams liked Korea.

“Well, they still pay me well.”

The reason is his annual salary of 1 million dollars. Even with the option included, he could make more than a third of the money he earned playing baseball for a lifetime just by playing in this country for one year. Where is this heaven?

‘Jay. Really, I’m thankful for this guy. ‘You’re telling me these options.’

Thinking about the money he would save in his bank account, Williams expressed his gratitude to Jay Weaver for recommending a trip to Korea.

Jay Weaver was a hitter who performed at an MVP level in Korea a few years ago and signed a huge contract upon returning to the United States. He played an active part in the KBA by winning the Outfield Golden Glove for three consecutive years from 2016 to 2018 and being selected as MVP in 2018. Before Ji Maeng-ho, who won the MVP in 2018, he bombed the league by achieving the first 40-40 in the KBA. .

And return to America. And he made a fortune by signing a four-year, $20 million contract, which is like a dream for an aaaaa leaguer like Williams.

Considering how the general manager of his original team played around with his contract, such as calculating service time, Korea was heaven. Williams felt like he could finally understand why Jay, whom he met in the minor leagues, recommended Korea so much.

-“Korea is a good country. If you play there for just one year, you can survive in the minors, and if you do well, they will give you a huge contract in the big league. Don to look at me. “There is no need to be stressed while going back and forth from here to the big leagues.”

And what Jay emphasized most was stat management.

-“Hey. Don, there are players playing at the singles level and A-League level in Korea. “If you build up a record against players like that, you too will be able to get a huge contract like me.”

Jay said that since he was a mercenary with a huge contract anyway, he would be removed from the lineup if he got sick. In fact, Jay set incredible records using that method and was selected as MVP.

Of course, I didn’t come to Korea with that intention from the beginning. First, in order for Jay’s words to become reality, a record was needed. Williams actually gave it his all and worked hard at the beginning of the season.

However, after returning from the second team due to an unexpected injury, this thought occurred to Williams.

‘Wait a minute, there’s no option for the number of games played, right? So, if you maintain these grades and sometimes use injury as an excuse to go to the second team, won’t you be able to receive all the options? If you go to the 2nd team due to injury, your salary will not be reduced. Is this okay? Besides, if you say you’re sick, all the difficult pitchers will be able to skip it.’

As Jay said, the KBA league was an amazing league. A league where rookie league level pitchers and aaaaa level pitchers play in one place. In fact, it wouldn’t be strange if some of those pitchers were in the major leagues. There was even ‘Sung’ who was playing for the Yankees until last year.

And aside from Seonghyeon, there were some pretty good pitchers. Since yesterday’s starting pitcher ‘Choi’ was also a left-handed hitter and was difficult for him to deal with, Williams made a bold decision to skip the game. If he could control the number of games in this way, he felt like he could get a high-paying contract like Jay.

‘Who is the starter today? Park? I’m an unremarkable pitcher, so I’ll have to use my strength today.’

“Are you really feeling okay?”

So, Williams visited director Lee Soo-hyun and expressed his intention to go on a business trip.

“[Yes. It may be impossible to play on base, but hitting is possible.]”

“Hmm, wouldn’t it be better to take a break though? Interpreter Choi, are you really okay? If it’s because of yesterday’s game, tell me you don’t have to do that. “You don’t have to blame yourself too much for a single loss.”

“[It’s okay. Hitting is no problem.]”

“This is true. I can’t use a .400 hitter. Then, please be careful not to overdo it and tell me.”

“[Thank you for your concern. Director.]”

Williams came out to bat against Hyun-seong’s fifth starter, Park Jae-hoon. And then the game started.

[Williams, a home run that seemed to be filled with resentment from yesterday’s double play! This is the second home run of the season.]

Williams showed good batting ability by recording 2 hits and 1 home run in 4 at-bats.

“Then let’s meet today’s Distinguished Player, Don Williams.”

“[I just feel sorry to the fans for hitting a double play in yesterday’s game. Fortunately, today’s game made the fans smile, so I’m satisfied with that. I will continue to work hard.]”

And as his colleague Jay said, he presented himself in an interview as humble as possible.

-“Hey, Don. Keep that in mind. In Korea, they think that if you do well in interviews, you are a player with a good work ethic. I also interviewed him a few times, and they didn’t even notice if he was missing the game on purpose. Haha.”

‘Thank you, Jay.’

Williams’ behavior continued in the next game and the next series.

He avoided pitchers who looked difficult to deal with even in the video, using injuries as an excuse, and took extreme stat management to improve his records against easy-to-play guys, but no one doubted Williams because of his humble interview and injury history.

-AT Thunders’ fortune, Don Williams!

… Don Williams, who broke the AT Thunders mercenary hitter’s cruel streak, has appeared in 32 games so far, recording 37 hits in 102 at-bats, a batting average of .306 and 4 home runs, and is playing the role of the number 4 hitter. … Meanwhile, the AT Thunders are in first place without a hit or miss thanks to the performances of hitters including Williams and Ji Maeng-ho.

Ah, it would be nice if my body was a little healthier ㄲㅂ

ㄴㄴBut I’m glad we have a lot of outfields

ㄴ Looking at the interview, it looks like you have a good work style and like Korea, but you’re a long-lived mercenary~~~!!!

Please be a little healthier.

Hmm… Looks like the sick kid is having fun in Itaewon. If it hurts, quit Tinder.

All you have to do is be good at baseball, why bother with your personal life?

Let’s win this season again!!! Just looking at the batsmen’s performance makes me full.

No, it wasn’t just suspicion, there were even posts criticizing AT’s coach Lee Soo-hyun for forcing Williams, whose injury wasn’t healed.

-Dol Soo-hyun, you bastard, please take care of Williams. The batting lineup is good, so leave it alone until it is completely cured

ㄴㄹㅇ They just put their lives on the line and keep using him even though he’s not good at running basesㅅㅂ

Of course, it was natural for fans who did not know the exact situation. In an important game such as an ace match, it is inevitable that a hitter like Williams with a batting average in the mid-.300 range will not be able to play.

Fans believed that coach Lee Soo-hyun’s excessive use of players was a major reason why Williams was unable to recover. I couldn’t have imagined that a mercenary who made 30% would sabotage the business.

Coach Lee Soo-hyun also said he was sick sometimes, but time passed without him being able to say anything to Williams, who occasionally played in games and performed well.

‘It’s such a nice place. Even if I do this, there are fans who are on my side. Hmm, the pitcher for the next game is JANG? They say I’m going to run 100 miles, but I guess I’ll just have to be sore tomorrow. Since I used my thighs a lot, should I try my waist this time? Are there any better clubs in Gwangju? I hope there are some good girls.’

As soon as the first game away to Gwangju against the Future Buffaloes ended, he visited hitting coach Lee Ki-cheol and complained of a slight discomfort in his back. The next day, he was allowed to miss the game.

“[My back is uncomfortable. Something seems to have gone wrong in the last at-bat.]”

“Ha, this bastard seems to be faking it. Oh, don’t translate this. “First of all, just tell me I’ll see the situation tomorrow,”

“All right. [Williams, the coach wants to see the situation tomorrow?]”

“[I get it. I will rest in the evening and monitor my condition.]”

“No matter how you look at it, it’s a faking disease…”

‘Hehe, I’ve laid the groundwork with this, and I can play until late today.’

Money and women. And good grades. Williams was enjoying his life in Korea to the point where he wondered if he had ever had such a good day in his life.

-“Hey, money! I heard you are playing well in Korea these days? How about Korea? Should I go to Korea next year?”

“I really like it here. As long as my grades were good, I could lie and say I was sick, but no one would say anything. Sometimes I go to games to maintain my sense of the game, and they give me money that I can’t even imagine in the minors. Oh, and even women who can’t use their own feet if they’re white. I’m thinking of picking one up today too. I recommend you also take a year or two touring and refreshing yourself, my friend. “I’m telling you this because it’s you.”

So much so that he boasted about his situation in a phone call from a colleague he knew from the minors at the away hotel. After bragging to his friend, Williams threw his cell phone on the bed and thought about the rosy future ahead of him.

“Hmm, the regulation number of at-bats was around 450, so can I get about 350 at-bats from now on? There are 90 games remaining, so it will be a bit difficult at the current pace. Still, there was no idiot general manager who would cut off this performance even if he only had 200 more at-bats, so renewing his contract would not be a problem. If I play like Jay for 2-3 more years, a $10 million contract won’t be a thing. Hehe.”

… Without even realizing that there was a ghost in his hotel room

*

‘Uh, Mr. Rossby, are you here?’

‘Okay. I was just bored waiting for your training to finish.’

‘… 그러니까, 윌리엄스, 그 시발새끼가 지금 방 안에서 그런 이야기를 했다고요? The kid with a sore back. Wow, this guy is really crazy.’

At the end of the practice of adjusting the timing in preparation for tomorrow’s starter Jang Woo-joo’s fast ball, Rossby told me what he had heard. And what Rossby said was as expected. This was the result that Rossby achieved after following Williams for almost two weeks.

‘For some reason, he only appears as a starter when there are pitchers who are fucking idiots. Are you behind Are you thinking of going to the club for a moment?’

I quickly packed my bags and left the expedition hotel. Gwangju’s floor is small anyway, so if you go around a few clubs, you can quickly find a good foreigner like Williams.

“[Hey! Ji! What’s going on at this time of night?]”

While I was hailing a taxi outside the hotel, I met an unexpected person.

“What, it’s Chronx.”

“Haha, I am Krongs.”

“[Aren’t you a starter tomorrow?]”

“[Shouldn’t we catch the zero first before throwing from the mound?]”

Fuck, all these so-called mercenaries are like this. A batsman who slows down and a pitcher who gets hit on the day before the start. It gave me a headache to think that Bellingham was the only normal person.

‘But is it fortunate that this bastard doesn’t sabotage work? Well, this guy Crongs hasn’t been like this for a day or two. This guy is a gentleman just because he doesn’t drink and drive. But how did the leader pick up these bastards?’

“[How? Shall we play together today?]”

Crongs seemed happy to see me outside and signaled for me to play with him.

“[Okay, let’s play together. Oh, what about Williams? Should I call that friend too?]”

“[Oh, that’s a good idea. That friend happened to be waiting for me.]”

‘Did you just sing Crongs? The kid who is starting tomorrow? ‘This bastard is really not going to make it.’

I asked if I could find out Williams’ location, but the result was a big one. When I took a taxi with Crongs and went to where Williams was, he was very drunk in the room with women on his arms.

‘… Mr. Rossby, how long have you been waiting?’

‘About an hour?’

‘So you’re saying you drank this much in one hour?’

“[Oh, Ji. Korea’s best batsman. You came together.]”

“Uh? It’s Ji Maeng-ho! Mr. Meng Hao! Let’s play together!”

Williams and the women next to him react to my appearance. Some people were practicing their betting timing to face Jang Woo-joo, while others were drinking with women next to them.

“Sisters.”

“Sister? Wow, Ji Maeng-ho called me his older sister!”

“Get out.”

“Yes?”

“Get out.”