Chapter 697 – Episode 684. Aim for Ji Maeng-Ho! (2)
“Ha, cocky bastard.”
How dare you invite a major league scout to a small Eastern country like this? Todd, the head of the Miami Marlins’ scouting team, clicked his tongue at Ji Maeng-ho’s ridiculous arrogance.
Of course, the club decided that Ji Maeng-ho was not only a good player but a player who could change the team, so he had no choice but to come, but what I disliked even more was that rather than holding an auction, he called in officials from 30 clubs at once. It was.
Instead of coming to the U.S. And meeting officials from 30 clubs, he was called to Korea. It was truly the height of arrogance.
‘My situation is pitiful as I can’t say anything to this arrogant guy.’
And I felt sorry for myself as I was dragged here without being able to protest against such an arrogant player.
However, Todd himself knew that Menghao Ji was an essential player for the team, so he spit out his anger along with the smoke of his cigarette. As I put my butt to the ground and entered the building with the interpreter, I saw many familiar faces.
‘Roughly twenty people? Looking at the faces, the Big Market guys haven’t arrived yet. So, only beggars come early, right?’
“Todd, you’re here too.”
“Okay, Mac. “How much do they think about it?”
“Why are you acting like an amateur?”
“Are you really going to act like an amateur? It won’t be around $40 million per year anyway. He said he wanted to sign a 4-year contract, so the down payment total is about 200 million won, where is it?”
“The Marlins came with that much in mind. “I’ll figure it out first.”
The reason Todd said this in front of Mac, a scout for the Athletics, which is famous for its small market in the major leagues, was simple. A threat to not even dream of signing a contract with Ji Maeng-ho with an annual salary below that. Glancing around him, he saw several people’s faces hardening at his words.
Moreover, $40 million was actually a slightly reduced statement. The Miami Marlins’ plan for this Stove League was simple. After signing a contract with Alcantara, the ace who had supported the team on the mound for 9 years, the dream was to recruit Ji Maeng-ho to strengthen the batting lineup and win the championship.
Currently, the highest salary in the major leagues, excluding Ohtani, is $40 million received by the Yankees’ Judge. Of course, Judge has a long-term contract of more than 10 years. The price of Ji Maeng-ho, who wanted a short-term contract of 4 years, had no choice but to rise.
Is Ji Meng-ho worth that much? Todd said that if the person asking were a baseball professional, he would have recommended retirement. If you are a baseball worker who does not recognize Ji Maeng-ho’s value, it would be for the betterment of the baseball world for him to retire quickly.
Excluding the performance shown, the answer was found simply by looking at it. Ji Maeng-ho’s total OPS in Korea was 1.667. Joo Seung-cheol, who is playing for the Dodgers, was recording an OPS of around 1.0 in the KBA League and was recording an OPS in the mid-0.8 range in the Major League.
Among the hitters who came to the major league from the KBA League, Joo Hyung-jin, Kang Han-beom, and Choi Joo-tae, who were evaluated as having achieved significant results, all showed a similar decline in OPS, ranging from 0.18 to 0.22. The grade samples were sufficient.
In addition, Ji Maeng-ho was superior to Joo Seung-cheol in terms of performance against major-leaguers in international competitions, coaches’ evaluation of batting form and performance, and detailed statistics such as batting speed. That means his grades are no worse than Joo Seung-cheol.
And when predicting the performance in that way, the OPS that Ji Maeng-ho will record is around 1.2 to 1.3. The last major league hitter to record an OPS of 1.2 was Bonds in his prime. Is Bonds hitting the free agent market in this day and age? Even $40 million was a small price.
Therefore, the Miami Marlins were also considering paying an annual salary of up to $50 million. This amount was not easy even in a big market.
‘He may have been arrogant enough to call us, but his skills were certain. If we have this guy, we too can run for president.’
All Ji Maeng-ho asked for was a four-year contract and money. And Todd was confident that he would not be pushed out of money. However, as Todd saw the Big Market officials arriving one after another, his heart broke and he started. Because the general managers of each club were gathering one after another in this place where at most scout team leaders came.
The arrival of the general manager means the will to complete the contract unconditionally.
Starting with the Cubs, general managers from clubs that pride themselves on spending a bit of money, such as the Red Sox, Phillies, Mets, and Rangers, were arriving one after another, and finally, the general managers of the Giants, Dodgers, and Yankees arrived.
Among the general managers talking to each other, the position of head scout of a major league club seemed to be becoming shabby.
‘Fuck! I guess it’s not my place… ‘How much are you planning to pay to an Asian batter?’
While they were swearing under their breath, everyone gathered together, and the Asian agent they had been talking to on a video call called them.
“Well, it looks like everyone is here. Ji Maeng-ho is waiting inside.”
If the general managers of each club came, this was a battle that could not be won. Maybe the leader knew he couldn’t win, so he sent him there? … It was definitely his intention to do so. In the first place, catching Alcantara and Ji Maeng-ho at the same time was a pipe dream considering the club’s circumstances.
“Would you like to come in? Todd?”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Like that, Todd entered the conference room where Ji Maeng-ho was waiting, like a defeated soldier fleeing from a battlefield.
Of course, there were not only people like Todd who went into the guise of a defeated soldier. The general managers from clubs called big markets were all full of confident smiles. In particular, Eric, who took over as general manager of the Yankees in place of Cashman, who retired from this Stove League, was confident that he would not miss Ji Maeng-ho.
Last year, I came here even though I delayed signing Torres, who is one of the top five-second basemen in the league and is from the farm.
‘But the Dodgers, who have Josh, the best second baseman in the league, are also coming here. I guess Ji Maeng-ho is definitely attractive.’
If you were to choose the best second baseman in the major leagues, you could definitely choose Josh Sean, who plays for the Dodgers.
Josh Sean is a 21-year-old young infielder who recorded a batting average of .304, 28 home runs, and an OPS of 0.893 this season. Considering that even the Dodgers, who have such a second baseman, came here to recruit Ji Maeng-ho, the choice to come directly was an excellent choice.
Praising his judgment, he entered the large conference room and sat down in the seat with the Yankees logo on it, and saw Ji Maeng-ho standing in front of him. I only saw it on video, but the first time I saw Ji Maeng-ho in real life, he was bigger than I thought and felt pressured.
“Hello. This is Ji Maeng-ho. “First of all, I would like to thank those who came this far.”
‘Foot, what kind of tone are you talking about…’
And when Ji Maeng-ho spoke the first words, Eric barely suppressed laughter. It was because Ji Maeng-ho’s accent was like that of an old Texas man.
Of course, that was due to the influence of Rossby, who was from Texas, but Eric couldn’t have known that.
“Phew.”
And he must have been thinking the same thing, as the Giants’ general manager burst out laughing next to him. And Ji Maeng-ho’s gaze falls on that person.
‘What kind of person’s eyes…’
I couldn’t boast that I was good at distinguishing facial expressions of Asians, but that facial expression was clearly a slightly irritated expression. Because I was so scared when I saw those eyes.
‘Tsk, you don’t know the importance of first impressions. For now, it looks like one person has been passed over.’
Eric praised himself once again for holding back his laughter and waited for Ji Meng-ho’s next words.
‘What should I say now? Since they called us here, they must have prepared something…’
What will Ji Maeng-ho say? His own grades? Detailed records? Physical ability data? Or a highlight video? It didn’t matter anything. Eric was planning to recruit Ji Maeng-ho no matter what he said.
The batting lineup of Soto, Judge, and Ji Maeng-ho. Just thinking about it made my heart tremble. Well, I felt angry inside when I thought about paying close to $30 million to a bastard whose contract hasn’t ended yet, but I thought I could ease my anger if I just brought in Ji Maeng-ho.
‘Now, try to appeal to yourself. I’ll buy it for you no matter how much it costs.’
I waited a few seconds for Ji Maeng-ho’s words with such anticipation. However, the words that came out of Ji Maeng-ho’s mouth were completely unexpected.
“Who just laughed? Hmm… “Looking at the logo, it looks like you’re from the Giants, is that correct?”
“Yes?”
The Giants’ young general manager answers Ji Maeng-ho’s words. The voice was filled with curiosity as to why he had called him.
“Please leave. “I don’t want to play for a racist.”
You’re telling the general manager of the San Francisco Giants, one of the biggest markets in the major leagues, to get out. Eric was distraught.
‘Racism? What are you talking about? You barely laughed? ‘No, what on earth is going on?’
And San Francisco’s young general manager, Peter, was also distraught.
“Get out? Is what I just heard correct? “I have prepared a large contract for you?”
“I don’t need it, so get out. Do you know what I hate the most? That’s a racist. [Please pull that out. A shitty bastard has arrived.]”
An unknown Korean language is heard along with the statement that they hate racists. I think it’s a very important story… When I looked at the interpreter, the interpreter smiled awkwardly and replied, “I’m telling you to pull me out if you don’t leave.”
‘Are you really trying to pull me out? Peter?’
You’re not just saying this, you’re serious?
And Eric could immediately feel Ji Maeng-ho’s sincerity. When Peter didn’t leave, bodyguards in suits headed to Peter’s seat.
“Let go! Let go! Do you know who I am? “I flew for 12 hours because of you!”
“I’m sorry about that, but I wouldn’t have called you if I knew you were racist. “Don’t bother me and get out quickly.”
“Why are you saying I’m a racist?”
“You laughed as soon as I said that. Are you just ignoring me because I’m Asian? Do you think I’ve seen one or two bastards like you? Oh, is it just one person? Anyway, I was laughing because Asian pronunciation is strange.”
As confirmed in the report, seeing him arbitrarily confirming the situation without even thinking about investigating it clearly seemed like he had a strange personality.
Moreover, even if it is true that it is racial discrimination, it is barely possible to kick out a general manager who could give him a huge contract.
This wasn’t a strange level. That’s just,
‘… ‘He’s crazy?’
Eric briefly wondered if he should really recruit such a crazy person.
“Well, it’s not like that… !”
“Okay, please pull me out quickly. If you don’t go, I won’t proceed.”
Ji Maeng-ho did not open his mouth after those words, and Peter, who had been making a fuss, couldn’t resist the looks from other team officials telling him to leave quickly and went out, swearing.
And looking at that, Eric sighed.
“Whoa…”
It is a sigh that contains both the expression of worry about whether to recruit such a crazy person and the feeling of relief that he is glad that he did not laugh.