Villain On The Mound [EN]: Chapter 118

Mound Villain – Episode 118

Bottom of the 5th.

Having escaped the crisis, Ha-seong returned to the dugout.

“Hoo…….”

Davis handed him a drink as he sighed.

“Sorry. That was my mistake.”

“Thanks. Anyone can make a mistake. The important thing is to make up for it afterward.”

“……That’s right.”

“Focus, Davis. If you just gloss over your mistakes like this, you’ll really end up a moron.”

It was a rather harsh statement.

However, Ha-seong didn’t care about the other person’s reaction and brought the drink to his lips.

Davis wasn’t hurt by Ha-seong’s words either.

Rather, he pondered his words.

“I can’t be a moron.”

“That’s right.”

Davis returned to his seat after hearing Ha-seong’s answer.

Left alone, Ha-seong watched the field.

‘Our guys still can’t hit for shit today.’

The score between the two teams was 0 to 0.

Even in this era of pitcher dominance, it was rare to see a game with so few runs.

‘Arnold’s hitting doesn’t look bad. If only that guy was okay, it wouldn’t be a problem.’

Arnold mostly seized the opportunities when they came.

In fact, Arnold had the next highest WAR [Wins Above Replacement, a baseball statistic measuring a player’s total contribution] after Ha-seong.

That meant his contribution to the team’s wins was high.

The problem was that the pitchers avoided competing with him because he was in good condition in the batting order.

‘They treat it like it’s okay to give up a walk, so he either becomes a bad ball hitter or just gets on first base.’

And that phenomenon was happening again today.

Thwack!

“Ball! Base on balls!!”

[Arnold gets his second walk of the game today.]

[His good eye is one reason, but the pitcher is intentionally avoiding competing with him.]

[It seems to show the current state of the Athletics’ batting lineup.]

And Davis stepped up to the plate.

[Davis, who made an error in the previous defense, is 0-for-2 in today’s game.]

[He needs to make up for it with his hitting here.]

Davis showed a persistent attitude in this at-bat.

Crack!!

“Foul!!”

[He fouls off the 7th pitch and continues the battle!]

[Ah~ Davis is swinging concisely and continuing the fight to the end!]

[The pitcher must be annoyed. He throws the 8th pitch with a two-strike, two-ball count!]

Thwack!

“Ball!!”

[Ball! Davis holds off on the falling splitter!]

[He held off very well!]

[Davis tenaciously brings it to a full count battle from a disadvantageous two-strike count!]

Davis showed a persistent attitude in this at-bat.

In the previous at-bats, he had been swinging and missing at the splitter every time, but he held off on it this time.

‘His concentration has really improved?’

Ha-seong smiled as he watched.

With this level of concentration, it would be possible.

Clang-!!

[9th pitch! He hit it!! A well-hit ball flows along the third base line!!]

To get a hit.

And it wasn’t just an ordinary hit.

The ball, which bounced once on the third base line, crossed the foul line and hit the fence.

A perfect extra-base hit course.

[Arnold, who had a quick start, is already passing second base!]

Arnold passed second base before the defense could even grab the ball.

Because it was a full count, he aggressively took the lead from the moment the ball was hit.

And thanks to the fact that he started sprinting as soon as he judged that the ball could not be caught.

[The left fielder is finally catching the ball! At the same time, Arnold passes third base!!]

Arnold picked up the pace.

His speed, being still young, was quite fast.

But this was the Major League.

[The ball flies to home!!]

The ball thrown by the left fielder flew in a straight line like a laser.

A situation where it was impossible to know who would be faster.

Arnold dove headfirst, trying to touch home plate.

Whoosh-!!

Thwack!

The ball arrived almost simultaneously with the slide, and the catcher quickly tagged Arnold with his glove.

[What’s the umpire’s call?!]

Everyone’s eyes were on the umpire.

“Safe!!”

[Safe! The ruling is that Arnold was faster! Jeong Ha-seong finally meets the requirements to be a winning pitcher!]

* * *

Ha-seong, who had made six appearances this season, had only two wins.

Despite recording a quality start plus [pitching at least six innings and allowing three or fewer earned runs] in every game, two wins could only mean that the batting lineup hadn’t helped him.

‘How long has it been since this happened?’

That’s why Ha-seong, who was on the mound, was also moved by today’s events.

[Jeong Ha-seong, who has the qualifications to be a winning pitcher, is on the mound! The number of pitches thrown up to the 5th inning is 72!]

[There’s still room in the number of pitches.]

Ha-seong’s average number of pitches was around 100.

Unless it was an unusual situation, manager Tony would replace Ha-seong there.

It was enough consideration since it was his first season.

[If he gets through this inning, he will record 55 innings without allowing a run.]

[Jeong Ha-seong has already surpassed Jack Coombs’ record of 53 innings, which is currently in 4th place, with 54 innings.]

[Jeong Ha-seong is challenging history every inning. Will he continue his scoreless streak in this inning as well? He faces the first batter!]

Although there was a record at stake, Ha-seong’s style did not change.

“Hmph!!”

Whoosh!

Crack!!

[First pitch foul. He touched the outside fastball, but didn’t make solid contact.]

[The game is in the middle innings, but he’s still throwing a 99 mph pitch close to 100 mph.]

He threw a fastball from the first pitch.

Whoosh!

Thwack!

“Strike!”

[The 2nd pitch slider pierces the zone! This time, it was a slider with such a sharp angle that the right-handed batter’s butt moved back!]

On the second pitch, he threw a slider to gain a favorable count.

[The two types of sliders that Jeong Ha-seong throws are really powerful.]

[That’s right. The high-speed slider, which has a fast speed but little change, is also powerful, but this textbook slider, which he started throwing this season, is very powerful.]

As he transitioned to a starter, Ha-seong was dividing his slider.

‘A closer only needs to throw one inning, but since I’ve transitioned to a starter, I need to increase the number of pitches.’

In addition, he was convinced that he could protect his arm by increasing his muscles.

‘I didn’t know I’d be able to bulk up this quickly.’

It was worth the money he invested before this season.

Tens of millions of won were spent on spring training alone, but the results were very satisfactory.

‘As expected, you get what you pay for.’

That’s how everything worked.

You had to spend money to get the right price.

“Hoo…….”

[Jeong Ha-seong exchanges signs. What kind of ball will he throw for the third pitch!]

With a windup, Ha-seong threw the third ball.

“Hmph!!”

[He threw it!]

Whoosh!!

Crack!!

“Foul!!”

[He barely cuts off the high fastball! The speed is 101 mph!!]

Ha-seong threw the ball without rest.

“Hmph!!”

Whoosh!!

Pow!

“Strike! Batter out!!”

[This time, a 102 mph fastball sharply pierces the body!]

[It was a perfect ball! It was a course that the batter couldn’t do anything about!]

The first out count went up.

Ha-seong made the second batter fly out in two pitches.

Crack!!

[He hit it! A well-hit ball!]

Coincidentally, the batted ball flew towards Davis, the center fielder.

Everyone flashed back to the error he had committed.

But that kind of mistake didn’t happen twice.

Thwack!

“Out!”

[Davis catches it cleanly! It was a clean defense to make up for the previous error!]

[That’s right! This is Davis’s original play!]

[Jeong Ha-seong, who got the second out count! He is now one out away from 55 innings without allowing a run!]

The announcers’ voices were excited, but Ha-seong still looked calm.

“Hoo…….”

Ha-seong, who exchanged signs and took a deep breath, entered the windup.

[He throws the 1st pitch!]

“Hmph!”

Whoosh!

Crack!!

[He hit it!!]

The 101 mph fastball thrown as the first pitch was caught in the swing.

The batted ball hit squarely flew towards the left field.

[A well-hit ball!!]

Arnold, who checked the batted ball, grabbed the timing to jump almost attached to the fence.

And he kicked the ground with all his might, matching the timing of the ball’s fall.

Arnold, who rose high, stretched out his glove towards the falling ball.

Thwack!!

[He caught it! Arnold catches an extra-base hit with a fantastic jumping catch!]

[He caught the batted ball by jumping at the right timing!]

[Jeong Ha-seong on the mound showed applause! He is really great!]

[Arnold, who shows scoring and good defense in today’s game! He is really amazing!]

Ha-seong, who achieved 55 innings without allowing a run, headed to the dugout.

* * *

Was it thanks to Ha-seong’s good pitching?

The Athletics’ batting lineup began to explode in the bottom of the 6th.

Crack!

[He hit it! A hit that falls in front of the center fielder!]

[It’s been a while since the lead batter got a hit.]

It didn’t end there.

Thwack!

“Ball!”

[He walks off, holding off the 7th pitch falling splitter!]

[He gets a chance with runners on first and second base with no outs!]

[Here, manager Tony uses a pinch hitter card!]

Manager Tony’s strategy was appropriate.

And it worked out well.

Crack!!

[He hit it! A well-hit ball! It splits the left-center field! The runner on second base turns third and easily heads home! The runner on first base goes to third! The Athletics score an additional run!]

[It’s been a while since Jeong Ha-seong has received help from the batting lineup!]

The Athletics’ batting lineup came alive, and the offensive time became longer.

They were also scoring additional runs, but it couldn’t be said that it was unconditionally good.

[I’m a little worried about the offensive time getting longer.]

[Yes? What do you mean?]

[A person’s body temperature gradually decreases if they don’t move. This deactivates the muscles.]

[Ah, that’s definitely true.]

[The problem is that once the body of a pitcher who has thrown more than 90 balls cools down, it is difficult to reactivate it.]

[So, are you saying that Jeong Ha-seong’s pitching rhythm could be broken?]

[That’s right. In fact, many pitchers’ records are broken right after the team’s offense becomes longer while they are in the process of setting a record.]

In fact, there were countless such cases.

That’s why the commentator’s story was not exaggerated.

Just in time, the camera caught Ha-seong.

His appearance, sitting on the bench with a towel over his head, was broadcast nationwide through TV.

* * *

The Athletics’ attack was over.

Because there were many pitcher changes, the offensive time exceeded 30 minutes.

Enough time to break the rhythm.

[I’m worried about whether Jeong Ha-seong will be able to maintain his original pace.]

[You can tell by watching him throw the first pitch.]

At the moment when many people were sending worried eyes, Ha-seong exchanged signs with Trevor and threw the first pitch.

Whoosh-!

Crack!!

[He cuts off the first 96 mph ball!]

[The speed has definitely dropped.]

It was a different ball than in the previous inning.

The speed dropped as his body cooled down.

But Ha-seong didn’t care.

“Hmph!!”

Whoosh-!

Thwack!

“Strike!”

[The 2nd pitch slider hangs on the border line as a backdoor.]

After the first pitch, Ha-seong showed off a pitch centered on breaking balls.

And he made the first batter ground out to the second baseman in 4 pitches.

Crack!!

[He hit it! But, a weakly rolling batted ball! The second baseman catches it and throws it to first base!]

Thwack!

“Out!!”

[The first out count goes up!]

Ha-seong didn’t insist on the fastball.

‘If my body temperature has dropped, I can just focus on control.’

It wasn’t that he wasn’t confident in his control.

It’s just that speed was a stronger weapon, so he focused on that.

“Hmph!!”

Whoosh!!

Crack!!

[He hit the 1st pitch! But, a mis-hit ball! Right in front of the pitcher! He catches it lightly and throws it to first base!]

Thwack!

“Out!!”

[Jeong Ha-seong gets the second out count with his own strength! With this, he sets a record of 55.2 innings without allowing a run!]

[Ah-! He finally stood shoulder to shoulder with Walter Johnson!]

There was only one out count left.

Ha-seong lightly rotated his shoulder on the mound.

‘It’s slowly heating up.’

Just because it cooled down once doesn’t mean the body temperature won’t rise again.

Ha-seong, who raised his body temperature again while throwing the ball, looked at the third batter.

‘The last out count has to be flashy.’

With a windup, Ha-seong threw the ball.

“Hmph!!”

Whoooooooooosh-!!

Pow!

“Strike!!!”

* * *

[Oakland Athletics’ Jeong Ha-seong has surpassed Major League legend Walter Johnson and is ranked 3rd in the all-time consecutive scoreless innings record.]

Ha-seong set a great record.