Ace of Ace
Chapter 12
Chapter 12: People Scratching at Lottery Tickets 01
Chapter 12 – People Scratching at Lottery Tickets 01
11th Dec, 2022 .
Gun Choi arrived at Sky Harbor Airport at Phoenix, Arizona .
It was a 21-hour long flight .
There were no direct flights so he had to transfer at Los Angeles .
“Hmm, Look at the temperature even in winter . ”
Gun Choi braced his mind as he went through immigration at the airport .
Before his departure to America, he heard that his father had voluntarily resigned .
Voluntary resignation was normal after IMF .
But it was a shock when it happened to his family .
His parents said to him that he only needed to focus on his practice .
But Gun Choi didn’t feel good .
He wanted to be successful and support his family .
After passing through an immigration desk, he looked for a sign for him .
With a few attempts, he could find his name on a sign .
“Here!”
A man with black hair and flameless sunglasses .
Gun Choi recognized him at once .
‘He’s still same . ’
He waved his hand and approached him .
“David, it’s been a while . ”
David, Gun Choi’s agent, smiled and waved his hand .
“Mr . Choi, I was a little afraid that you were not going recognize me . ”
“You are pretty much the same as before, David . ”
David took the lead and said,
“Ok, this way . I prepared a car . ”
The car was a Chrysler 300C, 286 horse-powered sedan .
But the car looked too much for David .
David used to drive both Benz S class and Porsche 911 in turns .
“Is this a rental car?”
David shrugged his shoulder at Gun Choi’s asking .
“No, It’s not . ”
“Did you drive this car to Arizona?”
“Sure, a ballpark lender provided this car . I don’t like to drive for long distances . ”
David leased a whole ballpark for one day of showcasing .
There should be a proper investment to get something, this was what David thought .
Gun Choi thought David was careless . But Gun Choi knew that he also had a different side to him .
When David was on a table for negotiation with teams, his attitude changed totally .
He knew where to attack and what to protect .
David turned the wheel and said .
“The showcase is set to be 3 days later due to your time lag . ”
Gun Choi tilted his head and asked,
“You don’t have any other work to do?”
“We’ve used the internet for over 20 years already . I can work anywhere except in a meeting . ”
David was humming as he drove .
Gun Choi thought David was in a good mood .
“Looks like you made something?”
David smiled at Gun Choi’s asking .
“I landed a 3-year contract . The contract amount is 50 million . ”
Around 20 million per year . The total amount wasn’t large but not bad .
Agents at the Major league got 5% fee out of annual salaries .
That is to say, David made $270,000 . Of course, this was the sum before tax .
Gun Choi asked David briefly .
“Was it Greg?”
“Bingo!”
Greg was a right-handed pitcher, 35 years old, who won 17 games last year .
“Where did you sell Greg?”
“Oh, Gun Choi, selling him? Your joke goes too far . ”
Gun Choi bent his brow .
“Greg won 17 games last year but he’s too old . How could it be possible?”
“That’s why 3 years . If he was younger by 3 more years, the amount would be 120 million . ”
Gun Choi calculated by himself when he could reach the age of FA .
‘If I start at 27, after 6 seasons is FA . Then in the winter at 32 years old? What a coincidence!’
He could be eligible for FA at an age that is 3 years sooner than Greg .
This meant that he could sign for an over 100 million dollar contract if he could enter the Major League and play well .
“Gun Choi, let me ask you one thing . ”
“Yes?”
“What is your hidden weapon, the one you spoke of last time? I just want to make sure of that . ”
Gun Choi thought the time had come . He wanted to surprise David, but he needed to give correct information to the agent .
Gun Choi answered shortly .
“It is a knuckleball . ”
David shouted in surprise at Gun Choi’s answer .
“Oh, knuckleball, Mr . Choi . Were you lying when you said that you’re recovered?”
Gun Choi startled at David’s furious voice .
“Lie? My recovery was perfect . ”
“Then why knuckleball?
David had a negative opinion on the knuckleball but Gun Choi didn’t know about this .
“Why knuckleball? This is the most threatening weapon . ”
David sighed deeply and said,
“Gun Choi, it is powerful, but there are not many catchers who can take it . Only Chan Gang at Philies or Yadin at Angels can catch that . ”
Chan Gang was the best catcher in the Major League from the end of 2010 up till now, and Yadin was a superb catcher who got rated on defense .
According to David, a normal catcher couldn’t catch a knuckleball .
But Gun Choi thought differently .
“That’s why I said please find a catcher who’s good at catching a breaking ball . ”
David nodded his head .
“Gun Choi, you still don’t know . A knuckleball is not a breaking ball . It’s a magic ball . It’s not so simple only with a catcher . ”
He was negative towards Gun Choi’s knuckleball from cover to cover .
There was a silence for a while due to David’s firm voice .
David couldn’t bear it and started to talk .
“Gun Choi, how’s your ball speed?”
David’s voice was stiff . He had thought that Gun Choi would prepare a splitter or forkball .
But he never expected a knuckleball .
Gun Choi replied .
“94 miles . ”
David was surprised at his answer .
“Are you sure?”
Gun Choi bent his brow at David’s excited action .
“I don’t have any reason to tell a lie, it’ll be proved in 3 days . ”
As David heard the ball speed, he smiled .
“Good for you . It’s worth preparing for the showcase . ”
He didn’t think about the knuckleball anymore .
‘94 miles, it’s almost the same as during his peak time . Then I can sell him at a high price . ’
David had sent invitations to 7 teams that needed to improve their pitching power .
Four teams sent an RSVP . Two of them had interest in him from his time in the Minor League .
David thought there should be a proper team who could make a contract with Gun Choi .
‘It would be minimum salary for 3 years but I have Major League promotion bonus and sign up bonus . It will be enough profit . ’
He stopped his car in a baseball town . And there, they could see series of baseball fields .
Gun Choi opened his eyes wide at the scene of green grass and logo of the baseball town .
“Here… . ”
“Right . The giants had spring camp here 3 years ago . ”
Gun Choi imagined the Major Leaguers on the empty ground .
‘Wait for me a little everyone . I’ll be standing on the same stage soon . ’
David gave enough time for Gun Choi to see the baseball town .
David asked him in a low voice .
“Are you confident?”
Gun Choi answered shortly .
“Of course . ”