Mound Villain – Episode 12
Mound Villain Episode 12
Ha-sung and his family arrived at Incheon Airport for his departure to the United States.
His parents looked at Ha-sung, who was a head taller than them, with worried eyes.
“Ha-sung, are you sure you’ll be okay going alone?”
“Mom, it’s okay. The club provides accommodation, so you wouldn’t be able to stay with me even if you came.”
“Hmph… if that’s the case, there’s nothing we can do.”
What convinced his mother, who wanted to come with him, was the accommodation provided by the club.
Of course, it was only for three months.
And it would probably be a basic motel.
But his mother had the Korean environment in mind.
In Korea, ‘providing accommodation’ often implies a dormitory-style setup, a place where meals are also provided.
‘I’ll be lucky if they even serve toast properly.’
The difference between the United States and Korea.
He didn’t want to talk about it.
Because if he did, his mother might actually come with him.
“Alright, honey. We can visit once in a while, even if it’s not often.”
His father soothed his mother.
At that moment, a man walked towards them.
“Hello? I’m sorry to bother you at this moment of farewell. I’m Baek Jun-gi, a reporter from Baseball Today.”
“I know.”
“Huh? You know me?”
“You’ve been following me around a lot lately.”
“Following you around? What are you talking about?”
Baek Jun-gi looked embarrassed at his mother’s question.
“I wasn’t following him around; I just visited him a few times for interviews.”
“That’s right. He didn’t do anything that would be a big problem.”
“Hmm…”
“But an interview? What kind of interview?”
“Ah, let me explain. I’ve been covering Major League Baseball for over ten years. So, naturally, my perspective is geared towards the Major League.”
“Ah, I see.”
“From my point of view, Ha-sung Jung is likely to succeed in the Major League.”
His parents’ eyes showed favor.
It was a natural reaction to hearing their son praised in front of them.
“So, you’re doing interviews in advance.”
“Yes. And when next season starts, I’ll be covering games in the United States, so I plan to cover Ha-sung Jung’s games from time to time.”
“Oh my! Really?”
His parents’ favorability increased even more at the mention of covering games in the United States.
After a few more words and gaining their favor, Baek Jun-gi was able to get an interview with Ha-sung.
“Reporter, you’re lucky.”
“Huh? Me?”
“Yes. It’ll be hard to get an exclusive interview with me after this season.”
“You’re very confident.”
“You know where my confidence comes from, don’t you, reporter who’s been watching me?”
Baek Jun-gi nodded.
“I know. Your height has increased to 190cm [approx. 6’3″], and your weight is approaching 100㎏ [approx. 220 lbs].”
Ha-sung’s physique was noticeably different compared to a year ago.
He was taller and heavier.
But he wasn’t fat.
Most of the weight gain was muscle mass.
Thanks to that, his weight didn’t look like it was in the triple digits.
“Nevertheless, his agility hasn’t decreased, and his sprint record has actually increased. His flexibility hasn’t decreased significantly either.”
Baek Jun-gi observed Ha-sung closely.
Thanks to that, he knew how much he had improved.
“It’s really a monstrous growth. Typically, when you increase muscle mass, either flexibility or agility should decrease…”
In this era, that was true.
But in the future, it’s different.
Methods of gaining agility and flexibility while bulking up have been studied.
Ha-sung studied these methods professionally and applied them to himself after his regression, growing his body.
So, it was natural for Baek Jun-gi to be surprised.
“Are you going to keep being surprised? Or are we going to do the interview?”
“Ah, of course, we have to.”
The second exclusive interview of his life began.
* * *
Having arrived in the United States, Ha-sung headed straight to Bakersfield.
After taking a bus, he arrived at the club and met Jameson.
“Welcome. But your body has gotten bigger than before.”
“I need to bulk up to adapt to the United States.”
“Good thinking. Guys from the Orient are often pushed around because they’re tall but not big.”
The weight training boom in Korea will happen in a few years.
Before that, misconceptions about weight training were so ingrained that they were considered the norm.
Even professional athletes had little knowledge of weight training.
But Ha-sung used his future knowledge to train.
Thanks to that, he was able to build a body that looked big even to Jameson.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ll show us this season.”
“You can look forward to it.”
“Haha! That’s what I like about you. You’re full of confidence. But to come to the United States so early… The season is still far away.”
“I know. But I decided it would be better to come over to adapt to the local environment.”
“I see.”
He had experienced life in the United States in his past life.
But this was his first time in this life.
His mind was not much different from his past life, but his body was different.
‘When I came to the United States for the contract, I felt tired even though it hadn’t been a few days.’
He felt all the side effects of jet lag.
Lack of sleep.
And the resulting decline in condition.
Since the problems were identified, he needed time to solve them.
“I see. So, what about accommodation?”
“As per the contract, the club will provide support for three months.”
“Right away?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Then I’ll take you there today. Take a break for a while.”
“I understand.”
It was quite a groundbreaking treatment.
Jameson also held a high position in the club.
He was a person dispatched from the Athletics [Likely referring to the Oakland Athletics MLB team, suggesting a connection or scouting role].
For Jameson to take him there himself meant that he was watching Ha-sung with interest.
‘If I just show potential, I can move up quickly.’
Smiling at the good sign, he waited for him to leave work.
* * *
Arriving at the motel, Ha-sung sighed.
“Sigh… I knew it.”
He didn’t expect much from the facilities from the beginning.
But compared to when he lived in Korea, he could only sigh at the too-old facilities.
“There wouldn’t be bedbugs, would there?”
Bedbugs, which he had trouble with when he first came to the United States, simply put, bedbugs that live in mattresses.
Fortunately, they weren’t found here.
Of course, he would only know for sure after sleeping.
“Still, it’s a relief that there are cooking facilities.”
It wasn’t just a motel for sleeping and washing.
There were also facilities for cooking.
Of course, they weren’t that good.
“I’ll do my best to adjust to the time difference for three months. And then immediately start the season in perfect condition.”
Unlike the Major League, the Minor League didn’t have a separate Spring Training camp.
Each player had to prepare their own body and join in April.
Occasionally, some Minor Leaguers are invited to the Major League Spring Training camp.
But Ha-sung was a body that hadn’t shown anything yet.
There was no way an invitation would come.
“The season starts in three months.”
To get sweet fruit.
Now was the time to endure.
* * *
January in California was warm.
The highest temperature rose to 18 degrees Celsius [approx. 64 degrees Fahrenheit], so you could feel a temperature similar to October in Korea.
Thanks to that, there was no major difficulty in exercising.
“Hoo! Hoo!”
Ha-sung trained according to his routine.
He registered at a gym near his accommodation and did weight training, and he also did cardio in the morning and evening.
“Hmm…”
But adjusting to the time difference was difficult.
He often tossed and turned in the early morning and woke up.
“Hoo… I’m going to have trouble sleeping again today.”
Lack of sleep has many negative effects.
You suffer physical damage as well as mental damage.
First of all, if you don’t get enough sleep, your concentration decreases.
As a result, the effect of training is also reduced.
Mental stress is also a problem.
‘Lack of sleep can lead to depression. And muscle recovery is most active during sleep. At this rate, the weight training effect will also decrease.’
It was time to come up with measures in many ways.
“Let’s find out about various things for now.”
For now, he had no choice but to try to sleep.
* * *
The next day.
Ha-sung ran his usual course.
The scenery of Bakersfield at sunset was not bad.
Unlike Korea, the United States has parks all over the city, so it was fun to run.
Clang-!!
At that time, he heard a familiar sound.
Looking at the source of the sound, he saw children playing baseball.
“It’s really the country of baseball.”
Unlike Korea, the United States has well-equipped facilities in the city so that ordinary people can enjoy baseball.
There were baseball fields, and each school had many baseball teams.
Thanks to that, you can experience baseball from a young age.
‘It’s going down little by little, but…’
For various reasons, baseball’s popularity will gradually decline in the United States as well.
But on the contrary, the market continues to grow, and players’ salaries rise like crazy.
‘Whatever it is, if you succeed in this market, your life will change.’
He was thinking about his future, but his steps were already heading towards the baseball field.
Some baseball fields in the United States have fences, and some don’t.
This place didn’t have one, and the kids playing baseball were all young children.
Clang-!!
“Good hit!”
“Run! Run!”
With a cheerful sound, the ball flew.
It seemed to fly quite far, and then the ball flew to Ha-sung’s feet with two bounces.
This was outside the stadium.
In other words, the ball had gone out of bounds.
At that time, the child who was the right fielder handed Ha-sung his glove.
It meant to throw it.
‘Well, it seems like a dead ball situation.’
The batter-runner stopped at second base, and the game was temporarily suspended.
Dead ball refers to a kind of game suspension that is declared when the game is not in progress.
It seemed that they were declaring a dead ball here when the ball went out of the stadium.
Ha-sung bent down, grabbed the ball, and threw it lightly.
Whoosh-!
Even though he threw it lightly, it was the ball that Ha-sung threw.
The child couldn’t react to the ball flying quite fast.
Thud!
In fact, there was no need to react.
The ball that Ha-sung threw was accurately embedded in the child’s glove.
“Wow…”
The child admired the ball in his glove.
Soon, the child bowed to Ha-sung and went back to the stadium to tell what seemed to be a judge and coach.
After a while.
Having heard all the stories, he approached Ha-sung.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Hello.”
“I’m teaching the children, and our child said that you throw the ball well. Have you ever played baseball…?”
“Yes. I’m going to play for the Blaze from this year.”
“Ah! You’re an active player! I’m Ben, who’s teaching these children.”
“I’m Ha-sung Jung. I came from South Korea.”
“Korea? I’ve been there a few times too! I remember hanging out in Hongdae [a vibrant and trendy district in Seoul].”
“You’ve been to Korea?”
“Yes. I went twice for tourism. At first, it was just a stopover to go to Japan. But I went again to meet the friends I made then!”
He had been to Korea.
It was unexpected.
Korea was not very famous at this time.
Especially in the early to mid-2000s.
Is that why?
For some reason, he liked it.
“But you look a little tired?”
“Ah, I haven’t been in the United States for long.”
“Ah~ You’re adjusting to the time difference. Aromatherapy oil is quite good at times like that.”
“Aromatherapy oil?”
“Yes. I’m very interested in Eastern culture, so I travel there from time to time. I’ve gotten a lot of help every time. If you’re okay with it, I’ll bring you one later. Try using it.”
“No, you don’t have to…”
“It’s okay. I’ve gotten a lot from Koreans too.”
“Coach!! When is the game?!!”
At that time, he heard the children’s urging voices.
Ben turned around at the sound.
“The game will be over soon, so please wait a little longer!”
Watching Ben turn around, Ha-sung hesitated for a moment.
Then he smiled and entered the stadium.
‘If there’s something to receive…’
He touched the right fielder’s head and stepped onto the ground.
‘There must be something to give too.’
Ben, who was wearing a judge’s mask, looked at Ha-sung with a puzzled face.
Ha-sung said to Ben.
“If it’s okay for a while, I’d like to help with the children’s games.”
“Oh! Really? Thank you! Kids! This guy is going to play for the Blaze from this year!”
“Wow! Really?”
The children’s eyes twinkled as they approached Ha-sung.
* * *
The next day.
Ha-sung opened his eyes and checked the time.
“7 o’clock…”
Normally, he would have woken up in the early morning and spent the day with his eyes open.
But today, he didn’t wake up once.
He slept soundly as if he had fainted.
“Is aromatherapy oil this good?”
It was the first time he had ever experienced such a good night’s sleep.
If it was this effective, there would be no major problems with adjusting to the time difference in the future.
“Ben, thank you.”
Putting down the aromatherapy oil bottle, Ha-sung went out for training.
* * *
The weather in California was getting warmer as time went by.
By the time it was April, it was so humid that you would think it was summer.
Ha-sung, who had finished his morning run, was wiping the sweat off his body.
“Hoo… I’ll have to bring more water from tomorrow.”
Beep-!
At that time, the phone on the table rang.
Checking the number while drinking water, the name [Jameson] was displayed.
“Yes, Jameson.”
[There’s a team meeting tomorrow. You haven’t forgotten, have you?]
“Of course.”
[Okay. Then I’ll see you tomorrow.]
Team meeting.
It was the last event held before the opening.
In other words, it meant that the season would start after this was over.
“It’s time to go up.”
It was time to unleash what he had been holding back.