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 . ”




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