Villain On The Mound [EN]: Chapter 147

The Mound’s Villain – Episode 147

Mauer stood before the press corps.

“Is it true that you volunteered to take a doping test?”

“It is.”

“What’s the reason?”

“Major League Baseball is currently facing a crisis. Fans are suspicious of the players. A sport that has its fairness compromised can never exist as a sport.”

“So, does Mauer think Rodrigo used drugs?”

“That’s a question only he knows the answer to.”

Mauer looked into the camera.

“I’m doing what I can do right now.”

His words spread throughout the United States.

And Mauer was just the beginning.

[Cliff Lee Voluntarily Takes Doping Test!]

[Tim Lincecum, winner of the National League Cy Young Award, also takes a doping test!]

Nationwide stars began to step up for doping tests one by one.

This was something the Players Association had not anticipated.

“Have these guys all gone crazy?!”

Damon shouted as he read the article.

He couldn’t understand what was happening.

“We have to stop them immediately!”

It would be difficult if the players came out like this.

He had to stop it somehow, as he was receiving money from Rodrigo.

He went straight to Tony Madison, the chairman of the executive committee.

“We must stop these players’ actions. If this continues, the league office may forcibly increase doping tests.”

Tony, who was listening to Damon’s story, shook his head.

“There’s no way to stop players from voluntarily stepping forward. We’ll have to wait and see.”

“But! If the league office steps in…!”

“If the league office steps in, the union will step in to stop them. They can’t increase the tests on their own. Why are you acting like you don’t know that?”

“What I’m worried about is…”

“Ah, that’s enough. The union will be watching this matter since the players are voluntarily stepping forward.”

Tony was firm.

In fact, he had a negative view of this doping suspicion.

He thought it would be better to clarify and move on, but as the chairman of the union, which had to protect the players’ rights, he couldn’t speak carelessly.

However, he was grateful that the players were voluntarily taking the tests.

“The union will not be involved in this matter, so please be aware of that.”

Damon wore a bewildered expression at Tony’s words.

* * *

The players’ voluntary doping tests began to spread like wildfire.

[King Takes Doping Test!]

The number gradually increased as Hernandez Felix also stepped forward.

The fans welcomed this trend.

-I didn’t expect the players to step up first.

-Good job!

-It’s not like drawing some blood will affect their performance. Well done.

-Doesn’t this mean we have to suspect the kids who haven’t been tested?

-That’s speculation.

-Yeah, only a few have done it so far.

-It’s a problem to push too hard.

There are hundreds of players in Major League Baseball.

Only a few of those players have taken the test so far.

In total, it was a number that was barely about 1 percent.

It was too much to send drug suspicions just because they hadn’t been tested yet.

But as time went by, the situation was changing.

[Jung Ha-sung Achieves 16th Win of the Season!]

[Jung Ha-sung Records 288 Strikeouts with 16th Win!]

[300 Strikeouts Not Far Away!!]

While changes were taking place among the players.

Ha-sung’s run continued.

Following the no-hitter game, he won again, achieving his 16th win of the season.

[Jung Ha-sung is now aiming for the American League’s most wins title!]

[He’s only 2 wins behind CC Sabathia, who is in first place with 18 wins!]

[Currently, Jung Ha-sung is ranked first in the entire Major League in ERA [Earned Run Average]! He is running first in strikeouts. If he also ranks first in wins, he will achieve the pitching Triple Crown!]

Ha-sung’s ERA was 0.87, still the best in the entire Major League.

Some even said that Ha-sung might become the first pitcher in the live-ball era to achieve an ERA in the 0s.

Of course, it was something that could only be known at the end of the season.

In any case, it was true that Ha-sung was currently leaving behind a record of all time.

[Jung Ha-sung’s American League Cy Young Award is virtually confirmed.]

[That’s right. With this record, he can even aim for the MVP [Most Valuable Player Award].]

[If he achieves the pitching Triple Crown there, it would not be an exaggeration to say that he conquered Major League Baseball in just two years.]

[Jung Ha-sung, who set a new Major League save record in his first year, is setting tremendous records as a starter in his second year.]

The records Ha-sung set were literally like achievements.

His historical records were enough to leave a strong impression on fans.

Perhaps that’s why, on the days Ha-sung started, the incidents he had caused were talked about again on the Internet.

-Jung Ha-sung’s pace is amazing.

-Is he really going for the Triple Crown?

-It’s like the bad luck he had in the first half never happened.

-Seeing him do this for two years in a row, isn’t Ha-sung the best pitcher in Major League Baseball?

-At least he is now.

-Even someone like him is stepping up to take a doping test, what about the other guys?

-The ones who are good enough are already getting it.

-Rodrigo is the problem.

-What the hell is the league office doing?

-Isn’t Rodrigo just freeloading?

-lol, he gets paid the same salary even if he doesn’t play.

-That’s crazy. He’s totally freeloading.

The public opinion was turning more and more against Rodrigo.

Fans began to show their actions, not just posting articles on the Internet.

[Major League Baseball Teams Experience Mixed Fortunes in Attendance!]

[Yankees Fans’ Collective Action! Yankee Stadium is Empty!]

[Major League Baseball Teams Struggling to Boost Attendance, But Teams That Have Received Doping Tests Are Different!]

Fans moved to teams with players who had cleared their suspicions.

But they didn’t look for places that didn’t.

New York Yankees were particularly hit hard.

[Yankee Stadium is empty.]

[That’s right. There are so many empty seats that it’s like watching a game without spectators.]

[You can see how disappointed the Yankees fans are.]

[It must be shocking that he is being suspected of using drugs again, as he was previously defended by the fans.]

[In addition, isn’t he taking the worst possible step of avoiding doping tests?]

[That’s right. The Yankees organization has been protecting him so far, but if the fans turn their backs, they will definitely take some action.]

These predictions were not just coming from one or two places.

Fan interest leads to revenue.

But what happens if these fans turn to indifference?

The club’s revenue decreases.

If revenue decreases, there will be problems with operations.

They couldn’t just keep watching it.

“We have to let Rodrigo go.”

Yankees executives meeting.

For the first time, there was talk of releasing Rodrigo.

But the general manager shook his head.

“Do you know how much salary you have to pay even if you release him?”

“According to the contract, Rodrigo is responsible, so you don’t have to pay him.”

The general manager’s gaze turned to the head of the legal team.

“Is that what you’re saying?”

“It’s a bit ambiguous.”

“Tell me exactly.”

“If it is true that he doped, Rodrigo is responsible, so you don’t have to pay his salary. But if you can’t prove that fact, you have to pay his salary as is.”

“If we raise questions, isn’t it Rodrigo who has to prove that it’s not true?”

“That’s right.”

“Then you can know if it’s a drug or not, right? Looking at the current situation, it’s virtually a foregone conclusion that he took drugs.”

Even within the Yankees organization, there was no faith in Rodrigo.

The biggest reason was that he kept avoiding it.

The story coming out of the Yankees was that if he hadn’t taken drugs, he wouldn’t have avoided it.

That’s why they thought they would win if they went to court.

But the law was not like that.

“The problem is that we don’t know how long the legal battle will last.”

“Is it going to be quite long?”

“His legal team should expect at least five years. The problem is that we don’t know when he will take the doping test.”

“The fact that he hasn’t been caught doping so far means that he can’t be caught with the current tests.”

“Yes. And as time goes by, it will become even more difficult.”

There’s nothing you can do.

That was the situation of the current Yankees organization.

Rodrigo was not a simple player.

Behind him, there were tremendous lawyers lined up.

In addition, his connections were also great.

Considering all those aspects, they couldn’t touch him rashly.

“Damn it…”

From the club’s point of view, it was a dilemma.

While they couldn’t do this or that, they only lost fans and the club’s revenue decreased.

* * *

Apart from the fans leaving, the players were showing slightly different movements.

[Increasing Voluntary Doping Tests!]

[Players Start Moving for Fans!]

[Franchise-Class Stars All Get Tested!]

The number of players being tested began to increase.

It didn’t increase explosively, but it was definitely increasing.

And in this situation, an article broke.

[Was Alex Rodrigo the one who reported Ryan Braun?]

It was an article about Rodrigo reporting his colleague.

-What is this?

-Is it true?

-Come on~ It’s not like that, no matter what.

-Rodrigo is trash, but would he sell his colleagues?

-This doesn’t make sense.

-I agree.

At first, the fans didn’t believe the article.

That’s because Major League Baseball players have a special camaraderie.

Moreover, the content of the article was shocking, so they couldn’t easily believe the article.

[Rodrigo handed Ryan Braun over to the media to avoid the suspicious eyes pouring on him.]

In short, it was an article about him selling his colleagues to save himself.

If this were true, Rodrigo would be reduced to a trash of the century.

That’s why the fans who saw the article didn’t see it as anything more or less than just a rumor.

But the union was not.

[Major League Baseball Players Association Chairman, Tony! “If Rodrigo reported Ryan Braun, this is an act of abandoning camaraderie. I will check the truth!” he revealed!]

As union chairman Tony directly released related interviews to the media, it began to flow into a new phase.

Rodrigo frowned as he read the article.

“What the hell! Who the hell leaked this to the media?!”

Passing Ryan Braun was a very secretive thing.

He couldn’t figure out how this got passed on to the other side.

He immediately called his lawyer.

[Hello.]

“James! Did you see the article? Can’t you sue the media for this? This is clearly false!”

[Is it really false?]

“What? What are you talking about?! Do you think I sold Ryan to the media?!”

[Whether you sold Ryan or not, that’s none of my business. I’m just saying to be exact. If those guys wrote a false article, you can sue them. But if it’s true and it’s revealed, you’ll have to pay more in damages.]

Rodrigo’s face contorted at the lawyer’s words.

The lawyer asked Rodrigo again.

[You have to tell me the truth. Are you sure you didn’t pass it on to the media?]

“…Damn it! Never mind.”

[Hoo… Alex. If you’re going to plot something like this in the future… Huh?]

“What? What’s wrong?”

[Don’t tell me you passed Cervelli too?]

“What… what are you talking about?”

[It’s a breaking news article that just came out. I sent it to you by email, so check it out.]

Rodrigo, who hung up the phone, checked his email on his smartphone.

Then his face hardened.

[Rodrigo Sells Teammate Francisco Cervelli?!]