Chapter 16: New Challenges, New Beginnings

The next day.

Jung-woo made his way to the meeting location.

Inside the hotel cafe, Ray Muncy was already seated with another man.

As soon as they spotted Jung-woo, both men stood up to greet him.

"Thank you for coming. Let me introduce myself again. I'm Ray Muncy, the farm director overseeing the Angels' minor league teams."

"I'm Chris Ward, assisting Mr. Muncy."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Jung-woo Han."

After brief introductions, they all took their seats.

"We enjoyed watching yesterday's game. What stood out the most was your smart pitching. Your fastball had good velocity, but the breaking ball you threw at the end was particularly impressive."

"It's not fully refined yet."

"Yes, the breaking ball still lacks some polish. But the setup from your previous pitches made it difficult for the batter to react. You planned that, didn't you?"

"Yes. Since my main weapon is my fastball, I had to build my pitching around it."

"Haha! That's what I thought. But from what I understand, the players in the program are mostly retired. Could you tell me more about your current status?"

"I retired from professional baseball last year and am now working as a coach at a private academy."

Ray nodded, seemingly pleased with Jung-woo's answer.

"You still look quite young."

"I'm 27."

"Oh, I see. And have you completed your military service?"

"Yes, I have."

It felt like a job interview.

But Jung-woo answered sincerely.

He recalled what Baek Seung-jin had told him.

If they want to meet with you separately, it means they're interested. So make sure you take it seriously. A Major League Baseball official showing interest in him.

Jung-woo knew exactly what that meant.

So, he kept his nerves in check and continued the conversation.

After confirming some basic information, Ray got to the point.

"Would you be interested in taking a test?"

"A test?"

"Yes. From what I saw, your fastball looked solid, and your pitching mechanics were decent. But without sufficient data, we can't be certain."

This wasn't an offer to join the team.

In fact, this was somewhat expected.

He had thrown fewer than ten pitches the previous day.

No MLB team would offer a contract based on that alone.

"We'd like to collect more data on your pitches and mechanics through a test."

"Is this different from a tryout?"

"You could think of it as a semi-tryout."

It was an opportunity.

Countless players dream of showing their potential to MLB officials.

They give their all to pass the tryout and make an impression.

Now, Jung-woo had a special opportunity in front of him.

"Do I need to take the test immediately?"

"Since you're already in the U.S., we'd like to conduct it as soon as possible. But do you have other plans?"

"I have some filming schedules to attend to, so I'll need to return to Korea first."

Accepting the offer right away wasn't an option due to several issues.

There was the filming schedule, and he couldn't be away from the academy for too long.

"I'll check my schedule after I return and get back to you."

"I see. That's fine. Since it's just a simple test, feel free to contact me when you're ready."

"Understood.".

With that, Jung-woo's meeting with Ray Muncy came to an end.

_____________________________________

While Jung-woo was meeting with Ray…

The Fiers' management team was in a video conference with their Korean counterparts.

"What's going on? Why is Major League Baseball showing interest in Jung-woo?"

The final opponent of our U.S. tour was the Angels' Triple-A team, the Knights."Get to the point! The point!"

Ah, yes. The Angels' farm director, Ray Muncy, approached Jung-woo Han and had a private meeting with him."Are you sure?"

Yes. We heard it directly from players who are friends with the staff. It's confirmed."What kind of authority does a farm director have?"

President Kim Daemyung of the Fiers asked, and General Manager Lee Jigwon answered.

"It varies by team, but in the Angels' case, he's the person in charge of the entire minor league system."

"So, does that mean he has the authority to recruit or release players?"

"For players who aren't high draft picks, yes."

"Damn!"

A man with such authority had a private meeting with Jung-woo.

Anyone with half a brain could figure out what that meant.

"Did he make an offer to sign him?"

"It's possible. At the very least, he probably suggested a test."

"So Jung-woo's pitching left that strong of an impression on them."

He didn't throw many pitches, so maybe not to that extent…"Then why would the farm director meet with him separately?!"

...The staff member on the video call fell silent, prompting Kim Daemyung to frown.

"What's Jung-woo's current contract status?"

"He's a free agent."

"What terms were we planning to offer?"

"We were going to promise him a spot in the first team with a signing bonus of 200 million won and an annual salary of 70 million won."

It was a generous offer for a player without first-team experience.

It was based on his ability to throw a 150 km/h fastball and take down the CWS champions.

But now, the situation had changed.

He had struck out Triple-A batters and caught the attention of the farm director.

This meant his value had increased.

"Raise the salary to seven figures and increase the signing bonus to 500 million won."

"Isn't that too much?"

"Just think of it as signing another first-round pick. We cut the payroll this year, so we can afford it."

"Understood."

"And offer him a multi-year contract if he wants one."

It was an extremely generous offer.

But now, it was necessary.

MLB was also watching him.

"Yes, sir."

"Make sure you personally meet with him when he returns to Korea."

They needed to show their sincerity.

Although there was some misunderstanding, the situation was turning in Jung-woo's favor.

After finishing his schedule in the United States, Jung-woo returned to Korea for the first time in a long while.

Though it was a short period, many things had changed for him. To discuss these changes, he visited the academy.

"You look even better after your time in the States.

Kim Jung-ho, whom he hadn't seen in a while, looked just the same. However, there was a new room built on one side of the academy.

Inside were several cameras, an unfamiliar background, and what appeared to be bands and patches that were meant to be worn on the head.

"What's this?" Jung-woo asked.

"It's a motion capture sensor," Kim Jung-ho replied.

"Motion capture? Are you planning to debut as a virtual YouTuber?" Jung-woo joked.

"A virtual... what?" Kim Jung-ho looked confused.

"Never mind that. Why did you get this?" Jung-woo asked, changing the subject.

"Doesn't your team have one? This captures a player's posture to help correct it. We even bought the program for it, which cost us a pretty penny."

"They didn't have anything like this in the second team."

"Really? Most first teams have one. Anyway, with this, we can capture your posture and figure out what needs fixing.".

"Wow... Can I try it out later?"

"Sure. But seeing as you came straight here instead of going to meet your girlfriend after coming back, you must have something to discuss, right?"

"I'm meeting Soyyeon on Friday. And yeah, I do have something to talk about.".

Jung-woo briefly summarized what had happened to him in the U.S.

After hearing it all, Kim Jung-ho nodded.

"You're lucky the director personally saw your pitching. But don't read too much into it."

"Is that so?

"Did Seung-jin say anything?"

"I only had a brief conversation with Baek Seung-jin because he had to head straight to New York for his next schedule.".

"What did he say?"

"He said it might be a good idea to make time for a test.".

"Well, it's not a bad idea. If you pass, you could start in the minor leagues."

Jung-woo asked, "So, when you said not to read too much into it, was it just something you said?"

"Not exactly, but do you know how many players are in the minor leagues?"

"Uh... I haven't really thought about it."

"If you think about the limit on how many minor leaguers each team can have, there are about 18,000."

"Is it that many?"

"Yeah. Each team can have up to 150 minor leaguers, and they operate 120 minor league teams. So it adds up. The actual number might be a bit less, though."

Jung-woo hadn't expected it to be that many. In fact, the number had decreased; in the past, they used to operate 160 teams instead of 120. But Kim Jung-ho didn't go into that much detail.

"Of course, since you caught the farm director's eye and he suggested a test, you might get special treatment if you pass. But if you're not fully prepared, you could easily be forgotten."

"That's true."

"In that case, playing domestically isn't a bad option either. Right now, there's a lot of buzz about you in Korea. You know that, right?"

"I've heard bits and pieces."

"From what I hear, the Fires took quite a hit. And other teams' staff are also facing a lot of criticism."

"Other teams too?"

"They're being scolded for letting you go when you were released."

Now it made sense to Jung-woo.

"Anyway, because of all this buzz and the competition, your value has gone up a lot. You could probably negotiate for an annual salary in the hundreds of millions of won. After that, you just need to prove your worth in actual games."

An annual salary in the hundreds of millions of won—an amount he had only dreamed of during his professional career. His heart raced at the thought of earning the kind of salary that was typical for first-team regulars who occasionally came down to the second team.

"But in that case, you'd probably be playing in Korea until your early thirties."

After a brief pause, Jung-woo spoke up. "So, if I go to the U.S. for the test and fail, I can still negotiate with a domestic team."

Kim Jung-ho grinned.

"Smart thinking. But that's the right approach. However, if you're going to take the test in the U.S., postpone it until at least the end of this year or the beginning of next."

"Postpone it?"

"Yeah. In the meantime, get accustomed to playing in the U.S."

When Jung-woo looked puzzled at the mention of "getting accustomed," Kim Jung-ho pulled out a ball from a drawer and handed it to him.

"Try throwing this."

"It looks like a regular ball. Is it different?"

"Just throw it."

"Okay."

Nodding, Jung-woo stepped onto the makeshift mound.

"Don't go all out since you haven't warmed up."

"Got it!"

Jung-woo threw the ball with about 70% of his usual strength.

Thud!

Jungwoo's eyes widened after throwing the ball. It felt completely different from what he was used to—the spin rate, speed, and overall movement of the ball had changed.

Most of all, the sensation in his hand was markedly different.

"What kind of ball is this?" he asked.

"It's a Major League baseball."

"Oh...!"

Now Jung-woo understood what Kim Jung-ho had meant earlier.

"Come to think of it, I never considered the official ball."

"I heard you used the Korean official ball during the U.S. tour, right?"

"Yes."

"That's why you could compete with the Triple-A team like that. If you had used the U.S. official ball, the gap would have been wider."

Jung-woo picked up the ball he had thrown and squeezed it in his hand.

"The seams are definitely deeper, and it's slippery too..."

"You don't feel it gripping your hand as much, right? You need to get used to this to perform at your best during the test."

Now Jung-woo understood why Kim Jung-ho had told him to delay his trip.

"I'm getting help from you again, sir."

"Well, I can't stop you if you're determined to go. Besides, if word gets out that you trained here before going to the U.S., it might even help with our marketing."

Jung-woo knew that Kim Jung-ho was just saying that so he wouldn't feel too burdened. He was truly grateful.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

Kim Jung-ho brushed it off like it was no big deal.

"By the way, there's someone else you need to get permission from before you go, right?"

"Yes, I'm planning to talk to them this weekend."

"Make sure you discuss it well. If things go well and you sign with a Major League team, you might end up moving to the U.S. permanently."

"Yes."

"Alright, let's wrap this up."

"Actually, could I throw a few more pitches?"

"Without resting?"

"Yes. Since we have the official ball, I want to throw a few more."

"Go ahead. But if you're going to throw, use that headset and attach the patches. Let's see if we can get some good data."

"Understood!"

"Then warm up a bit while I set it up."

"Thank you!"

Having found a new goal, there was no time to rest. Jung-woo busied himself, preparing for the next step.

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