Ace of Ace - Chapter 12

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 . ”