Chapter 698 – Episode 685. Aim for Ji Maeng-Ho! (3)

Anyway, this shitty bastard came.

What is the reason for coming all the way to Korea and facing racial discrimination? The guy who came to recruit me, who is also Asian.

Even if it was a big market club, I had no intention of playing under such a thoughtless general manager. It was clear that there would be severe racism in a place with such a leader, and I did not want my women or my children to live in such a place.

Because the only racist around me was Mr. Rossby.

Anyway, after one person is kicked out, the hall becomes quiet again.

“Hmm. Greatness. Sorry. I guess things like this are a bit sensitive, right? First, I believe that those of you who came here have done some research about me. I hate complicated things. As my agent explained to me, all I want is a four-year contract and money.”

Although there were big cities, it was still a secret because you could get more money if you had a lower-level role. Ah, now I thought we had to leave out cities with strong racial discrimination as well. I think I heard somewhere that there is strong racism in the South.

Hmm… Since Mr. Rossby is from Texas, it seemed like we should filter Texas as well. Because such an extreme racist would not have been born just like that.

After I finished speaking and looked around, someone raised their hand. When I looked at the logo on the seat, it seemed like it was someone from the Athletics.

“Do you have any questions?”

“Yes. Actually, I’m curious as to why you called us here when you want something so simple. “They say they don’t need to introduce the club or have a vision, and they only want money, so I’m curious as to why they brought us all together.”

Well, you might be wondering. When Mr. Rossby suggested this method, I also wondered if it would work. My agent, Attorney Jeong, also reacted slightly to stop me. However, human history has proven that this is the way to make the most money, so I eventually accepted Mr. Rossby’s suggestion.

“That’s why I brought you here. Have you ever wondered why everyone gathered together? If you look at everyone’s seats, you will see a sign with the club’s logo on it. If everyone checks, you will know that the sign will be selected.”

When I say that, most people pull out the sign and check their logo.

“Doesn’t that sign look familiar?”

“This is a method only used at auction houses…”

“That’s it. Auction. It’s just that simple. 4 year contract. We will select the five teams that have offered the most money by combining the total annual salary and contract amount and enter into individual negotiations. If you don’t like it, you can leave.”

“No, this is a bit…” .”

“Is this okay…? .”

I heard whispering, but I continued because I knew this was the best way to make money.

“Why? It’s an era of competition. “I will trust the capital power of the Major League.”

“Hmm. Greatness. Mr. Does Ji think this method is okay?”

“Yes. I like it?”

“He says he likes it.”

What, why is this reaction?

Hehe. As expected, this suits me.’

And Mr. Rossby, who suddenly smiled and said we fit together, was a bit strange, but I pushed ahead because I couldn’t turn back now.

“Oh, you said you were selecting five teams, but there wouldn’t be a team that would lie because they wanted to be among them, right? I believe there won’t be one, so let’s get started. It was conducted by my agent, Mr. Jeong will take charge of it.”

I left the chattering team officials behind and went to the room where I was waiting. After that, Mr. Rossby, who was laughing heartily, suddenly burst into laughter.

Haha! It really suits you.’

‘What is it? From earlier. Why are you smiling like this?’

‘It’s because I get along with you too much.’

‘What is it? What suits you so much?’

‘Originally, auctions are the way to go when selling lower races. Hmm. This is correct. Haha.’

… ? What? Feeling something ominous, I picked up my phone and immediately searched for the keyword ‘human auction.’

“What is it? Refugees who became slaves are put on the auction market, black people are auctioned, slaves are auctioned… What the fuck… ! Mr. Rossby!”

Haha! So who would want to live with just that woman? Haha!’

Shit, for some reason, Soyoung hasn’t complained even though she’s been by my side for giving birth lately, so I thought she’d adapted… !

“What the fuck, don’t you come to work?! Oh, why didn’t I get caught!”

I was hit. I got hit. I can’t believe I didn’t notice this ruse… !

I ran around trying to catch Mr. Rossby, who was flying here and there, but of course he couldn’t be caught by me, and I had no choice but to admit defeat in the end.

And regardless of my feelings, the auction continued.

*

“Hmm. Greatness. I think everyone was confused. I was also very confused when my player thought of this method. However, since this is the method the player himself wanted, I would appreciate it if everyone could suggest it without hesitation.”

“Is this really true? If you auction someone off in this way, well… “I think it might be a little controversial, right?”

“Haha, isn’t that why they kicked out people who seemed racist first? Hmm… And since we plan to keep this process a secret, I don’t think there will be any criticism as long as Major League officials keep their mouths shut.”

“Hmm. Hmm. If that’s the case.”

Auction people. Of course, it wasn’t really buying people, but auctioning off humans was something that had been done for slave auctions about 200 years ago, so there was bound to be some hesitation. Moreover, there were some officials who were black.

In particular, Houston’s black general manager, Brown, couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable.

“You didn’t create this place to make fun of us, right? It’s a bit uncomfortable for me, but…”

“No, no, no. It’s not like that at all. I was against it at first, but Mr. Ji wanted this way too strongly. And didn’t they kick out the Giants’ general manager? Our players really hate racism. However, I am just a player who does not know what the problem is with this method due to my lack of historical knowledge.”

“Hmm…”

Brown nodded in response to the agent’s heated defense. I was displeased because I had already been evaluated through reports that my baseball intelligence was high, but I was a bit stupid, but I had no choice but to move on. Moreover, by using this method, it was possible to know roughly how much money other clubs had prepared, and it was also possible to predict how many other clubs would spend in the remaining free agent market.

The biggest player in this Stove League is, of course, Ji Maeng-ho. After recruiting Ji Maeng-ho, there was no choice but to spend money on other players, and there were still attractive properties on the market like Alcantara and Torres. If we knew how many other clubs had prepared through this auction, we could have an advantage in the free agent market even if we missed Ji Maeng-ho.

‘Well, we have a lot of money.’

Moreover, Brown had no intention of losing Ji Maeng-ho. When it comes to money, Houston is no exception.

Once the shock of the auction had subsided to some extent, Attorney Jeong, Ji Maeng-ho’s agent, spoke again.

“The minimum amount will start at $150 million over four years. This amount is combined with the down payment. Of course, it is the guaranteed amount. For more detailed negotiations, we will select the five clubs that requested the highest guaranteed amount and discuss them. Then, feel free to bid with your logo.”

“Athletics, 150 million.”

When the auction began, the first to speak was the Las Vegas Athletics. The Athletics officials, who had no money to begin with and had spent quite a bit of money due to the home stadium issue before relocating, opened the door by calling for the minimum amount.

Down payment of 30 million won and annual salary of 30 million won. Total 4 years and 150 million won.

The gathered officials burst into laughter at the absurdly small amount given to a hitter who could turn the tide of the league, but Mac from the Athletics was desperate.

‘Please let’s go cheaply and cheaply. It’s an auction anyway, so it would be nice if we all go together for a cheaper price.’

However, Mac soon realized how absurd his idea had been.

“Dodgers. 200 million.”

This was because the Dodgers immediately raised the price by asking 200 million. And the fact that the Dodgers, the leading player in the big market, was thinking of 200 million means that all clubs with a similar size to the Dodgers are thinking similarly.

The heads of the officials start to roll. If you make a down payment of 200 million to 300 million won, your annual salary will be at least 40 million dollars. And that was the amount that Judge and other Cy Young pitchers who signed short contracts received.

Once the calculation was over, voices of dissatisfaction poured out from the corner.

“200 million won in 4 years. So, you are considering the amount of low salary. Is that the right amount for a player who has never played in the major league?”

No matter how much you think about it, it’s too expensive.

“That is up to us, the Dodgers, to take care of it. We are Mr. “I’ve been watching Ji since he debuted, and I think it’s worth it.”

However, the Dodgers’ general manager, Gomes, did not care about that fact at all,

“Wow, Marlins 200 million!”

Miami also had a game-winning move. All I had to do was be in the top five anyway, and I was thinking of a maximum annual salary of $50 million, so I asked for that amount.

“Miami gets 200 million?”

Everyone is excited about that price. The Miami Marlins were a team that could not be considered a big market. Although they have been on a win-now basis these past few years with Alcantara at the center, the team that is still close to the small market is the Miami Marlins.

Asking this amount of money to go all the way to Miami…

“Yankees, 230 million.”

“Rangers, 230 million.”

“Cubs, 230 million.”

“Astros, 240 million.”

“Red Sox, 240 million.”

“Braves, 240 million.”

“Mets, 240 million.”

After Miami bids 200 million, the so-called big market clubs begin to raise the price one after another.

“Dodgers, 250 million.”

“Yankees, 250 million. Let’s think about payroll. Don’t you think 250 million is a bit much?”

“Then you can leave. It seems like the Yankees of the world are a little short on money. Texas, 260 million.”

Although he says so, Texas’ general manager John also felt that an amount greater than this was burdensome.

The amount John was thinking about before coming here was around 260 million, including various options. Moreover, 260 million won over 4 years would mean an annual salary exceeding 50 million dollars, which was an amount that could create a sense of disharmony among the players and destroy team chemistry. Giving all of this as a guaranteed amount is a big risk.

However, the atmosphere of the conference room, which had been turned into an auction house, encouraged the competitive spirit of the officials, so John had no choice but to take such a risk.

‘Did Meng Hao expect this far? The amount is higher than expected.’

And Attorney Jeong could not help but be embarrassed by that atmosphere. The initial expected amount was 230-400 million, which is an annual salary of about 5000 won plus a down payment of 300-400 million. Since I was well aware of American history, I initially felt a sense of resistance to the format of an auction, but once things turned out this way, I couldn’t help but admire its insight.

‘There’s no way this thought came out of Meng Hao’s head. Did you really use your hand? Well, a young lady can do that.’

Of course, Attorney Jeong had been seeing Ji Maeng-ho since he entered SY Agency, so he thought that all of these strategies were set up by Cheon So-young.

“Do you have anymore?”

260 million dollars. The audience becomes quiet at the enormous amount of money, which amounts to 360 billion won in Hanwha. In such an atmosphere, Attorney Jeong finally asked the intentions of the officials,

“… Dodgers 260 million.”

Gomes, the Dodgers’ fencer, was the first to call for 260 million and signaled not to raise it any further.

“… Mets, 260 million.”

“… Braves, 260 million.”

“… Red Sox, 260 million.”

“… Cubs, 260 million.”

“… Yankees, 260 million.”

And the clubs represented by the big markets that agreed to that amount all asked for the same amount, and the auction, which quickly became overheated, rushed to the end as quickly as it overheated.

“Well, I guess this is the highest amount. 260 million. I think I’ll be talking to more teams than expected, but they’re all top dollar, so Texas, Dodgers, Mets, Braves, Red Sox, Cubs, Yankees. Let’s talk in more detail with Team 7. “Then, we will conclude the first round of negotiations by expressing our gratitude to the major league officials who have gathered here.”

After an unprecedented player auction, the seven teams that bet 260 million on Ji Maeng-ho were decided.