Ace of Ace Chapter 15 - People Scratching at Lottery Tickets 04

Chapter 15 - People Scratching at Lottery Tickets 04

David got a phone call from Alex and furrowed his brows.

“Hello? What?! No contract?”

David narrowed his eyes.

Whenever a problem occurred, his facial expression changed.

Alex talked to David with a heavy voice.

“I’m so sorry. Top management already found a VIP pitcher. I didn’t know about this.”

David had been talking with Gun Choi about the Major League.

Free agent(FA) with VIP pitcher.

David spoke loudly.

“You told me yesterday…”

Alex sighed and responded.

“Hmm…Yesterday was yesterday. Anyway, we can’t provide a sign-up bonus.”

Without a sign-up bonus, it was just a generic Minor League contract.

“Really, is there no way?”

David tried to persuade Alex some more.

“Ok, then can you provide a bigger promotion bonus?”

“Well…”

“Surely you don’t think it’s the same contract? I thought Baltimore had enough money.”

Alex also wanted to invite Gun Choi. But the owner of team had already made a decision.

“We decided to find a pitcher amongst our own players, not from outside. Most likely it will be an internal promotion.”

David became speechless. He was caught in a dilemma.

Alex decided to hang up before David could catch his breath, and respond.

“David, hope to see you next time with good news.”

Alex hung up the phone. David sighed deeply.

“I don’t know what to say to Gun Choi.”

After a little while, David called Gun Choi.

Gun Choi answered the phone immediately.

“Who called?

David answer frankly.

“It was from Baltimore Orioles.”

Gun Choi’s voice was cheerful. He didn’t know what Alex and David had discussed.

“Did they want to sign a contract soon? Or review details?”

David spoke with his hands clasped tightly.

“No… Baltimore decided not to provide a sign-up bonus.”

Gun Choi was shocked by the Orioles rapidly and unexpectedly changing their decision.

“What?!”

“The owner of team is interest in signing free agents for VIP pitchers.”

Gun Choi realized that this situation put him at a huge disadvantage. Hiring an FA meant there would be no more out of team hiring.

‘Things went badly, as I feared.’

As he spoke, his face showed mixed expressions.

“If Baltimore doesn’t need me, then don’t I only have one team left? Who’s that?”

David felt relieved due to Gun Choi’s positive outlook. He talked about the team.

“It’s the Cubs. But the Cubs wants you to play in the bullpen. Their pitcher, Samaja, got injured recently.

But if you play well in the bullpen, you’ll absolutely get a chance. You’re still young.”

Gun Choi answered as he nodded.

“Back up for Samaja. There’s still a chance.”

“Sure.”

But being a backup meant having few chances.

Anyway, there’s a vacancy for a starting player.

“How are the contract details? Same as the Orioles?”

“Little better…but it’s not for a starting player.”

Gun Choi thought debuting at the Major Leagues was better than being a starting player in the Minor Leagues.

“I don’t care about a position. I want to be in the Major leagues by any means necessary.”

David’s voice became cheerful.

“Do you think so?”

“It was 3 years. I’ll thank whoever calls me.”

David told Gun Choi that he would try to negotiate a better contract.

Gun Choi’s goal was to play in the Major Leagues, not staying in the bullpen.

“Ok, only 1 year.”

He wanted more benefits due to his playing in the bullpen.

“Oh, David. I need to add more options instead of the basic conditions.”

David tilted his head.

Gun Choi’s suggestion had no benefit to him.

“Options?”

“I mean the same conditions as Daiye.”

Daiye lowered his annual salary, but added several options for a multiple year contract with the

Dodgers. This surprised a lot of people.

At that time, there were lot of concerns about the contract, but he shocked people by

getting a larger amount than expected.

Gun Choi wanted a contract like this.

“What do you want me to put in?”

“There should be good options to hold or save. I made a concession on position, they need to make a

concession on the bonus.”

David disagreed with Gun Choi. As an agent, he thought Gun Choi’s decision was not reasonable.

“Gun Choi, that’s not a concession. Challenging is good, but wouldn’t you prefer something stable?

And also think about your age…”

Gun Choi flatly refused.

“David, I’m still young. You talked about stability, but I don’t want to make do with the current situation by accepting a sign-up bonus. I’ll raise my salary by entering the Major Leagues.”

He intended to enter the Major Leagues the next season.

David nodded his head in the end.

“Ok, then I’ll discuss it with the Cubs.”

Gun Choi hung up the phone and laid down on the sofa.

“I hoped things would go smoothly but… it was same 3 year ago. I thought I had a chance when I was on the expanded roster, but I got injured.”

As he closed eye, he saw an unusual message.

- Here is your first mission. Make your debut in the Major Leagues. This mission does not expire until you complete it.

There was no conditional term for the mission.

‘You don’t need to say it. That’s exactly what I wanted.’

He thought it was going to be a simple mission because there was no condition or time limit.

But he couldn’t understand the next message.

-You can’t use the acceleration program until you achieve the mission.

Gun Choi used the ring every day, but he forgot about the acceleration program after he recovered.

‘Hmm, was I allowed to use the acceleration program outside of recovering from my injury?’

Suddenly, he regretted that he didn’t use the acceleration program after live pitching.

‘It might be helpful to increase my physical and muscular abilities, but overall it’s better not to use

it. Baseball should be learned by the body, not by the mind.

Gun Choi didn’t think that the heavy feeling on this body wouldn’t affect his performance.

E/N: FA refers to a free agent. That is a player who is not contractually bound to a team, and can negotiate their own contract and salary.  

Chapter end