Chapter 15: Chapter 14 - People Scratching at Lottery Tickets
Chapter 14 - People Scratching at Lottery Tickets 03
The PICs from the four teams nodded their head with a sound of approval as the ball entered into the mitt .
“92 miles per hour, good . ”
“I got 93?”
“Either is good . ”
“He must be fully recovered . ”
Gun Choi threw five four-seam fast balls, one after another .
At the 3rd ball, his peak speed was 94 mph .
Gordon became aware of Gun Choi’s pitching speed through the others’ expressions .
‘He must be getting good speed . It’s not a lie that he recovered . That’s why he’s putting on this showcase . ’
He carefully observed Gun Choi’s pitching balance instead of checking a speed gun .
He evaluated him after 5 pitches, and it wasn’t bad .
‘His center movement is better than before . He must have trained his lower body . He’s prepared as David is his agent’
Gordon thought his evaluation was correct . But he thought that Gun Choi’s success would be based on his continuous training .
Gun Choi pitched a change-up after the fast balls .
He used to get good evaluations on his change-up in the Minor Leagues .
The ball dropped sharply as he played with AT Communication’s batter .
Gordon also gave good grades to Gun Choi’s change-up . But they were less than the fast ball .
‘It’s a nice change-up even though he’s right handed . But I’m not sure of the next pitch . With that foot position, both a curve and a sinker would be better than a slider . ’
He remembered that Gun Choi’s main weapons were a slider and a change-up .
If Gun Choi had a skill for a sinker, he would get a contract immediately .
Gun Choi pitched 3 change-ups and threw a slider .
The speed of a slider was about 82 mph which made the hitter to swing, but miss .
Gun Choi’s slider made a smooth arc in the air . But Gordon’s evaluation was different than the previous one .
‘It’s normal . ’
The others also though like that . They evaluated also Gun Choi’s slider as normal .
“Angle and speed are normal . ”
“This is a slider . ”
“We need to see more . ”
“Right, we need to check more . ”
The top group of players threw a ball over 85 mph, but Gun Choi’s was 3 miles per hour less .
But it’s not enough to devalue him to the Minor League level .
“Show some more . ”
“His change-up is good, so he could play a major role in the bullpen . ”
“I agree, but his slider isn’t good . ”
The PICs of Houston Astros and Colorado Rockies didn’t think that he would be a good starting pitcher in the Major Leagues .
5 more balls remained .
David detained Gun Choi, but Gun Choi wanted to try a knuckleball .
The PICs of each team were shocked by the floating ball in the air .
“This is…”
“Knuckleball . ”
“66 mph, it’s great . ”
Houston was the only team that had a catcher who could manage Gun Choi’s ball .
But the PIC of Houston was curious about a knuckleball .
“His speed is at 94 mph, but why a knuckleball?”
Alex nodded his head and spoke .
“Absolutely not . He could win 7, maybe 8 games with this ball . ”
After the short showcase, Gun Choi left the mound .
He did his best, but only got 70 out of 100 .
“Speed wasn’t bad, but the breaking balls weren’t good . I need to consider the differences between domestic and Major League official ball . ’
He thought that the angle of the breaking ball wasn’t as good as he expected .
While Gun Choi wrapped up his showcase, David was asking the PICs about it .
Only 2 teams expressed interest to him .
The offer David received was exactly what he had expected .
‘I need to deal with these 2 teams for good results . ’
He knew exactly what the PICs wanted .
A button clicked, and a familiar voice sounded out .
“Hello? This is David . Is this Gun Choi?”
“Yes, this is Gun Choi . ”
“I’ve got good news . Two teams showed their intention to invite you . ”
“Two teams?”
That meant two teams gave up, but two teams were interest to him .
Gun Choi furrowed his brows .
“How are the offers? Are they both contracts for the Major League?”
“It’s hard to get a Major League contract with only a mini showcase . This is a split contract which includes a
contract for the Minor Leagues too . But you got bonus options . ”
Players in the Major Leagues received a minimum salary, and they had to stay on one team for three years .
But their actual pay was different depending on their contract .
This is because of promotion bonuses and other possibilities .
David was considering how to make more money by increasing the promotion bonuses .
“Bonus options? Are you talking about a promotion bonus?”
“No, there also is sign up bonus . ”
Gun Choi’s present situation was uncertain .
Usually players became eligible to be a free agent 5 or 6 years after entering the
Major Leagues . But Gun Choi didn’t have any experience in the last 3 years .
So, Gun Choi would be entering a team as a new player . In this case, he could get a sign-up
bonus like he’s a top pick in the draft .
“Is there any team than will give me a sign-up bonus?”
“Of course . That’s the reason we did the showcase . ”
A sign-up bonus ranged between one and two million for the most desirable players .
Some players got more than this, but the ability Gun Choi showed at the showcase couldn’t command that much .
“How much can I get?”
“I’m expecting to get five hundred thousand . ”
The offered amount was already larger than what AT Communication offered, even only with a split contract .
“Is there any way I can get more?”
“I don’t think so . But if you moved to AAA, you will get enough money . ”
“More than one hundred thousand?”
“Almost . ”
Gun Choi thought he could live with that money in America .
‘If I downgrade to the Minor Leagues, I can send a sign-up bonus to my parents, and I can cover my living cost with one hundred thousand . ’
David talked to Gun Choi .
“The offered salaries for the Minor Leagues and sign-up bonuses are almost the same . But there
are differences in the promotion to the Major Leagues bonus . ”
“Which one is better? More money?”
“No, that’s not the only difference . They offered more of a bonus but overall it’s not good . ”
“What?”
Gun Choi didn’t understand what he was being told .
David explained a detail to Gun Choi .
“One team wants you as a starting pitcher and the other team wants you play at bullpen . ”
Now Gun Choi caught a meaning . Namely, the position was different .
“I’d prefer to be a starting pitcher . Which team?”
“Baltimore . ”
Baltimore Orioles at American league .
This team failed to find a pitcher during winter meeting .
Gun Choi eyes glowed .
“Eastern . ”
“The best region in American league . How’s the offer?”
Boston, the team that released Gun Choi, also belonged to Eastern region .
Once signed with Baltimore, he would quickly show Boston and Tomson what they had missed .
“If I’m guaranteed to be a starting pitcher, I’ll sign the papers right now . Are you sure?”
David coughed and replied .
“Yes, but it is important that you are on the top five list . At least you’ll have a chance in spring
training . ”
Gun Choi wanted to choose Baltimore due to the chance of being a starting pitcher there .
“Can you give me more details?”
“You will get a hundred thousand if you play for AAA Norfolk . And if you enter the Major
Leagues, you’ll also get three hundred thousand for a promotion bonus, and four hundred
thousand for sign-up bonus . ”
Minimum five hundred fifty thousand to max 1 . 4 million, financially it was not bad .
Gun Choi was in favor of Baltimore .
“Wait, Gun Choi . ”
David interrupted, as he got another call .