Villain On The Mound [EN]: Chapter 133

The Mound’s Villain – Episode 133

Kim Min-gyu, the general manager, arrived in Oakland.

“Damn, it’s hot.”

As he frowned, his aide handed him a water bottle.

“Forget it. What about the appointment with Jung Ha-sung?”

“That’s…”

“Why?”

“Mr. Jung Ha-sung said it’s difficult to meet right now.”

“What?”

“He declined, expressing his desire to focus on the game.”

Kim Min-gyu gritted his teeth.

“That bastard doesn’t please me in any way, from A to Z. I came all the way here, and he won’t even meet me?”

The aide wore an apologetic expression.

Only for a moment.

Kim Min-gyu took out his phone and made a call.

But the phone just rang, and the other person didn’t answer.

“Why isn’t this guy answering his phone?”

On Kim Min-gyu’s phone, with a touchy expression, was the number of Ha-sung’s uncle.

“He’s no help when I need him. Let’s go to the hotel for now.”

“Ah, yes.”

The two left the airport.

* * *

At the same time.

In Korea, Ha-sung’s father was meeting with his younger brother.

“I heard you called Ha-sung?”

“Oh, you heard? I advised him to join the national team if possible.”

“Advised? Why you?”

“Why else? As an elder in the family, I can do that much.”

“Even I, his parent, am staying still. Why are you stepping up and saying such things to my child?!”

“No, can’t I even say this much as his uncle? You’re too much, brother.”

Sang-pil, the uncle, stood up confidently.

There was some truth to his words.

In Korean society, that is.

But the problem was that the other person prioritized his son over the culture of Korea.

Bang!

The father, filled with anger, slammed his fist on the table.

Sang-pil was taken aback by his sudden action and looked at him.

“Why… why are you doing this…?”

“Why am I doing this? You, don’t cross the line, even if Ha-sung is your nephew. He is my son. Whatever choice my son makes, I, as his parent, will respect it. Is it something you, as his uncle, can step up and interfere with?!”

“It’s not that…”

“According to your logic, since I am older than you, does that mean I can go into your house and disrupt your family affairs?”

“No, isn’t that a stretch?”

“What’s a stretch? According to the logic you just stated, shouldn’t I be able to do that too?”

At his father’s words, Sang-pil shut his mouth.

It wasn’t exactly logical, but it was a story that immediately suppressed his argument.

“I’ll take care of our family matters. Whatever choice Ha-sung makes, unless we, as his parents, object, you have no right to say anything!”

“Umm…”

“So, don’t ever contact my child, who is in the middle of the season, again. Got it?”

“Hoo… I understand.”

The father, hearing his brother’s answer, got up from his seat with a satisfied expression.

“Oh, let me ask you one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Is Ha-sung really considering naturalization [becoming a citizen of another country]?”

The father was silent for a long time before turning his body and answering.

“If that’s what he wants, he can do it.”

I will give you my full support.

It was by no means an empty promise.

* * *

Two days had passed since Kim Min-gyu arrived in Oakland.

But he still hadn’t been able to meet Ha-sung.

‘This damn… Are they treating me this badly?’

It was something that couldn’t happen in Korea.

Especially when a meeting with a player was requested, there was never a time when it was delayed.

But he couldn’t even get an appointment with Ha-sung.

“Hoo…”

The only thing that came out of his head, which was boiling with anger, was a sigh.

But even he had to admit it.

Pow!!

“Strike! Batter out!!”

“Wow!!”

Ha-sung received thunderous applause as he went down, securing his 17th strikeout of the game today.

“He’ll be replaced now.”

Kim Min-gyu nodded at his aide’s words.

“It was amazing when I saw it on TV, but seeing it in person, the movement of the ball is incredible. No two balls follow the same trajectory.”

The aide repeatedly exclaimed in admiration.

As he said, Ha-sung’s balls all had tremendous power.

‘There are many kids in Korea who throw moving fastballs, but none of them throw as well as that guy. He’s definitely throwing a four-seam, but they all come in like cutters or two-seams [types of baseball pitches].’

So-called moving fastball.

It refers to balls with severe movement.

A four-seam fastball basically showed vertical movement.

It draws a trajectory that gradually falls from top to bottom.

The angle is not large, so it only appears as a straight line, but in reality, it shows vertical movement.

However, recently, there has been a change in these four-seam fastballs.

Instead of a straight movement, a horizontal movement has been added.

‘In Major League Baseball, they don’t teach the pitcher’s grip like a textbook. They let the pitcher learn it naturally. That’s why even if you throw a textbook ball called a fastball, everyone gets a different movement.’

As these moving fastballs became popular, the freedom of grip was being introduced one by one in Korea.

However, there were still many coaches who taught the same grip.

This wasn’t exactly the coaches’ problem.

It was caused by parents pressuring coaches with superficial knowledge they saw on the internet.

In particular, the more unknown the coach, the less free they were from this pressure.

‘As far as I know, Taeil High School also teaches a standardized grip. That guy was definitely throwing those kinds of balls until his freshman year.’

His pitching style changed completely as he started causing accidents.

‘Tsk! What am I supposed to do thinking about this?’

The admiration was over.

What he needed now was to persuade that guy.

“Arrange a meeting after the game. If necessary, express your intention to proceed with a meeting with the Athletics organization.”

“Ah, yes. I understand. Aren’t you going to watch the game until the end?”

“Do you think we came all this way just to watch the game?”

“Ah… No.”

Kim Min-gyu sighed as he watched his aide get up in a hurry.

* * *

[Jung Ha-sung Achieves 12th Win of the Season!]

[Jung Ha-sung Showcases Monstrous Pitching with 8 Innings and 17 Strikeouts!]

[Jung Ha-sung’s Winning Instinct on a 3-Game Winning Streak in the Second Half!]

[Jung Ha-sung Records 8 Innings, 2 Runs, and 17 Strikeouts, Achieving His 12th Win of the Season!]

A tremendous amount of articles poured out after the game.

Most of the content was similar, but the fact that this many articles were pouring out meant that there was a high level of interest in Ha-sung.

And this time, other articles were also included.

[KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] Technical Committee Chairman Kim Min-gyu Appears at Oakland Coliseum!]

[Chairman Kim Min-gyu Arrives in Oakland to Meet Jung Ha-sung, Who Recently Had Naturalization Issues!]

The fact that Chairman Kim Min-gyu’s appearance was exposed to the media.

It was very easy to guess his purpose, so the public paid attention to what the outcome would be.

“I can’t meet him easily.”

Ha-sung smiled mockingly as he looked at the article.

Since they even mobilized his family, he had no intention of just meeting them.

That’s why he was delaying the appointment as much as possible.

This alone was conveying to the other party who was in charge.

“Let’s see… Then when should I meet him?”

Ha-sung checked the dates and chose a time that was favorable to him.

“This day will be good.”

The D-day has been decided.

* * *

Two days later.

Ha-sung had a meeting with Kim Min-gyu.

“It’s been hard to meet you.”

That was what Kim Min-gyu said at their first meeting.

Ha-sung smiled at him and said.

“I’m a little busy. You should have made an appointment in advance.”

“I need to be able to contact you to do that.”

“You should have followed the normal procedure of making an appointment through my agent, shouldn’t you?”

“Hoo…”

Park Jin-cheol came to mind at the word normal procedure.

His head throbbed as he remembered firing him, who was like his right-hand man.

“Let’s stop the power struggle here.”

“Is there even a fight?”

Kim Min-gyu gritted his teeth as he looked at Ha-sung, who was being playful.

“Let’s get straight to the point.”

“As you wish.”

“Join this Asian Games [a pancontinental multi-sport event held every four years].”

“I’m sure I’ve already refused?”

“The national team is a place to represent the country! The reason you are able to perform so well in the Major League right now is all thanks to the country!”

“So, you’re saying I should repay the country, something like that?”

“Exactly.”

Kim Min-gyu’s face brightened as he felt like he was finally getting through.

But Ha-sung was still the same.

“Let me be clear. I don’t want to.”

“…If this story gets out, it will greatly damage your image.”

“Is that a threat because persuasion didn’t work?”

“I’m not threatening you, I’m telling you the truth. You are refusing to represent your country for no particular reason.”

“It’s a repeat. Seriously, I took time out of my busy schedule to come here, but in the end, you’re saying the same thing.”

Ha-sung got up from his seat as if he was disappointed.

Kim Min-gyu urgently shouted at Ha-sung.

“Don’t you have any patriotism?!”

“Patriotism comes out depending on the situation.”

“Nonsense! Patriotism should be prioritized above all else!”

“Is it patriotism to bring even Major Leaguers to the Asian Games? Isn’t the purpose just to promote the league? I’m not interested in such competitions.”

“So, you’re going to abandon your country and even naturalize?”

“When did I say I would? That’s just what the media said. But I don’t know now. If you guys keep bothering me, I might actually do it.”

Ha-sung turned his body and looked at Kim Min-gyu.

“Then the government would be very happy too.”

“What?”

“Just based on my performance this season, how much do you think I’ll get through salary arbitration [a process for determining a player’s salary]?”

Kim Min-gyu’s face showed a question at Ha-sung’s words.

Why are you suddenly talking about money?

“I’d get at least $5 million, right? If you combine it with next year, it could exceed $10 million. Then where will the taxes from that go?”

“That’s…”

“It all goes to the Korean government. They’ll get a huge amount of taxes. What will happen when I become a free agent [a player eligible to sign with any team] on top of that?”

He could see what Ha-sung was trying to say.

“If I naturalize, will the taxes I have to pay to Korea be paid to the United States? Then what will the government do?”

“Umm…”

Taxes play a big role in running the government.

If Ha-sung continues to perform as he is now and hits the jackpot with a free agent contract, the taxes alone will amount to tens of billions of won [Korean currency].

Taxes generated in the United States are paid to the United States, but taxes generated in Korea will disappear with naturalization.

Considering Ha-sung’s star power, the cost would be well over tens of billions of won.

On top of that, the loss of the best sports star in the country would hold the KBO accountable for the invisible losses.

No matter how strong the KBO is in baseball, it cannot stand up to the country.

Since all of these scenarios were possible, Kim Min-gyu had no choice but to shut his mouth.

Ha-sung quietly said to such Kim Min-gyu.

“So, don’t mess with me. If necessary, I can get you all fired.”

“Ugh…!”

“If people treat you with respect, you shouldn’t cross the line either.”

Kim Min-gyu couldn’t say anything.

No matter how strong the KBO was in baseball, it couldn’t compete with the government.

“Make it clear through an interview with the media today. I will not be joining the national team. If not, the naturalization news will not be a rumor, but an actual event.”

Ha-sung left the room after saying those words.

Kim Min-gyu blankly stared at the spot where Ha-sung had left and couldn’t say anything.

‘There’s no way…’.

He was cornered.

* * *

The next day.

Waking up, Ha-sung checked the articles on his smartphone first.

[KBO Technical Committee Chairman Kim Min-gyu Announces Jung Ha-sung Will Not Join the National Team!]

[KBO Decides Not to Select Him for This National Team in Respect of Jung Ha-sung’s Opinion!]

[In an interview, Chairman Kim Min-gyu said, “Jung Ha-sung is a player who is just establishing himself in the Major League. Respecting his opinion, we have decided to postpone his joining the national team.”]

Kim Min-gyu surrendered.