Villain On The Mound [EN]: Chapter 175

Mound Villain – Episode 175

The Designated Hitter.

A batter who specializes in hitting in place of the pitcher.

This designated hitter system wasn’t always a part of baseball history.

The National League, considered the origin of Major League Baseball, didn’t have this designated hitter rule.

Pitchers had to step up to the plate, and that was the original rule.

However, with the advent of the American League, a system was created to bring in another strong hitter rather than a pitcher with weak hitting skills to boost the league’s popularity.

That has continued until now, but the National League still hasn’t adopted the designated hitter rule.

For this reason, when teams from different leagues face off, such as in interleague play or the World Series, the rules of the league to which the home team belongs are followed.

[Jung Ha-sung had two batting opportunities earlier in today’s game, but he struck out once and flew out to center field once.]

[But the quality of the balls he hit today wasn’t bad at all.]

[Indeed, the balls were really flying off his bat, weren’t they?]

[Yes. And Jung Ha-sung also has a precedent of hitting a home run in the last game of the interleague series.]

[If he records a hit in today’s game, Jung Ha-sung will be the first Korean to record a hit in the World Series.]

[Haha! If that happens, it would be truly amazing.]

The possibility of achieving two records remained.

The thought that it might be possible, however slim, raised expectations in the hearts of Korean fans watching the game.

Pow-!

“Strike!”

[The first pitch is a strike. Is it thanks to the great defensive play? Tim Lincecum’s velocity, which had dropped to the low 90s, has now reached 95 mph.]

[It’s just when Jung Ha-sung steps up to the plate that his velocity increases.]

The commentators were worried, but Ha-sung’s thoughts were a little different.

‘Now he’s throwing at a speed I can actually hit.’

Generally, it’s thought that it’s easier to hit when the ball is slower.

But professional players actually have trouble adjusting when the ball slows down.

Tim Lincecum had been throwing balls over 95 mph throughout today’s game.

He was throwing faster than his average velocity.

But as the game progressed into the later innings, his velocity gradually decreased, and then suddenly it came back to life.

From Ha-sung’s perspective, now was actually an easier time to time his swing.

And that was immediately apparent.

Clang-!!

[He hits the second pitch hard!]

He pulled the ball that was digging into his body.

[Well-hit ball! It’s going far!]

[Ah! This is a big one!]

The well-hit ball flew towards the outfield.

It was such a big hit that the outfielder gave up chasing after it.

But what was even stranger was that Ha-sung, the batter, didn’t even look at the ball and didn’t run.

‘I mis-hit it.’

Ha-sung knew from the sensation in his hands that he had missed the center of the bat.

And Ha-sung’s thought was exactly right.

“Foul!!”

[Ah~ This ball goes foul. The ball curves out at the last moment!]

[That’s too bad! It curved out just a little, and the home run was nullified!]

It was a very unfortunate situation.

But Ha-sung didn’t think so.

‘The movement is still alive.’

Lincecum’s ball still had life at the end.

That’s why he missed the center of the bat.

It might seem unfortunate to others, but Ha-sung thought it was natural.

‘But the change in movement is happening slower.’

Originally, Lincecum’s movement tends to occur erratically even before reaching home plate.

That’s Lincecum’s ball when he’s in his best condition.

But now, with his strength greatly diminished, that kind of ball wasn’t coming out.

The movement is alive, but it happens in front of home plate.

‘In other words, before the ball reaches home plate, it’s a straight fastball.’

Straight fastball.

In short, it means a ball that passes over home plate without any movement.

The disadvantage of this kind of ball is that it’s easy for the batter to hit the center of the bat.

In the past, in Asia, this kind of ball was said to be the ideal of a fastball, but not anymore.

Anyway, Ha-sung revised his image of Lincecum.

‘I’ll take a slightly faster swing.’

He didn’t know if this was the right answer.

But when he thought about it simply, he thought this was the closest to the right answer.

Ha-sung, having made his decision, stood at the plate.

[Jung Ha-sung created a good hit, but with the second strike, the count is against him.]

[From now on, he needs to approach this carefully.]

With the count against him, he thought Lincecum might quickly try to finish the at-bat.

But Ha-sung’s thoughts were different.

‘There’s no way he’d try to finish the at-bat with that kind of ball.’

The prediction was correct.

Whack!

“Ball.”

[Jung Ha-sung doesn’t swing at the slider that’s going out.]

[He’s watching the ball calmly. Good!]

He predicted it and had no intention of swinging from the start.

And the second time was the same.

Whack!

“Ball, two!”

[This time, he doesn’t swing at the falling curveball!]

[Jung Ha-sung is watching the ball very well. He doesn’t even flinch and keeps enduring the breaking balls.]

Lincecum frowned when Ha-sung didn’t come out for the two breaking balls.

‘He endured all the balls that were perfectly placed?’

He didn’t like it.

He had thrown those balls with the determination to strike him out.

But he endured them all.

And that was a pitcher, not even a professional hitter.

‘I’ll finish this.’

Lincecum sent a sign directly, clearly expressing his intention.

Buster Posey pondered as he watched that.

‘Ha-sung had no intention of hitting at all. He predicted that a breaking ball would come and didn’t swing.’

It was a big problem that the pitching pattern was read.

‘If he knows the pattern perfectly, choosing a head-on match is dangerous.’

Posey was one of the people who had seen Ha-sung’s swing accurately from close range.

Of course, he knew that his swing was formidable.

What would happen if that swing exploded at the right timing?

There was a real possibility that it would go over the fence.

‘But I can’t ask Lincecum for a different ball.’

It was Lincecum’s sign that came out before he even gave a sign.

Rejecting that would be the same as ignoring the ace’s opinion.

He couldn’t ignore the opinion of Lincecum, the team’s ace, when he was just playing his debut season.

‘Throw it properly. With all your might!’

‘That’s what I was thinking.’

In the end, Posey made a decision.

And Ha-sung, who stepped up to the plate, found the answer in the actions of Lincecum and Posey.

‘He’s going to come at me.’

It was obvious.

There was no ace who would avoid a match against a pitcher who wasn’t even a designated hitter.

And Posey wasn’t old enough to reject that.

There was only one answer that would come out.

Ha-sung, who accurately read that, got into his batting stance.

“Play ball!”

[Lincecum winds up from two balls and two strikes!]

With Lincecum’s unique dynamic windup, he threw his fifth pitch.

“Hmph!!”

Whoosh-!!

The ball left Lincecum’s hand.

It was a perfect ball.

Speed, control, everything was as Lincecum wanted.

But just one thing.

Whoosh-!!

As Lincecum’s stamina decreased, his grip weakened.

As a result, the movement of the ball weakened, and it was coming in straight.

And Ha-sung predicted that and swung his bat accurately.

He swung his bat a little faster as he wanted.

It was Ha-sung’s divinely given body that could create that.

Each and every cell moved according to his will, accelerating the swing.

The bat that turned like that hit the ball flying in a straight line head-on.

Clang-!!

[He hit it!!]

He felt it right in his hands.

Ha-sung, who judged that, threw the bat that he had followed through with to the end.

Whoosh-!!

[And he threw the bat!!]

A bat flip in the World Series.

Ha-sung watched the ball and slowly ran to first base.

And when he was passing first base.

“Waaaaaaa-!!”

The shouts of the crowd erupted.

[It went over!! Jung Ha-sung hits a solo home run in the top of the 8th inning!!]

He hit the first World Series home run by a Korean.

* * *

Lincecum collapsed.

And that was to a pitcher, not a hitter.

Silence flowed in the press room as an impossible event unfolded.

The silence that lasted for a moment was broken by a reporter’s words.

“No way…….”

They had witnessed the moment when common sense was shattered with their own eyes, but they couldn’t move easily from the shock.

You could tell how great the shock was from their inability to even speak.

But that was only for a moment.

“Ar…… Article!”

“That’s right.”

“We need to write it quickly.”

Recalling their professional spirit, they quickly began to write articles.

Meanwhile, on the internet, there was a huge reaction from baseball fans.

-What did I just see?

-Did Ha-sung really hit a solo home run?

-Yes.

-Since they weren’t scoring, he just hit it himself.

-Wow…… Is that even possible?

-He’s not human?

-How can he do that?

-I can’t believe it even though I saw it myself.

-The first Korean to hit a home run is a pitcher, not a hitter?

-Do I have to believe this?

It was a moment that was hard to believe even after seeing it with their own eyes.

That’s how shocking the home run that just happened was.

-Now he’s the winning pitcher, right?

-He met the conditions. The game has to end like this.

-The Giants still have two chances.

-Will Ha-sung come up to the mound in the bottom of the 8th inning?

-He’s thrown over 110 pitches, so they’ll probably replace him.

The fans’ predictions were accurate.

[In the bottom of the 8th inning, Jung Ha-sung, who hit the go-ahead home run, is coming down, and the Athletics’ bullpen is being activated!]

[Ah…… I really still can’t get over the shock.]

[An event that made me wonder if what I saw was real unfolded before my eyes.]

[A player who hits a home run in the World Series is a pitcher, not a hitter……. I never dreamed that something like this would happen.]

The commentators who were broadcasting were also in a state of shock.

But since the game wasn’t over yet, they exerted their professional spirit and focused on the broadcast.

‘I hope it ends like this.’

Ha-sung, looking at the ground from the dugout, thought as he quenched his thirst with a drink.

He hoped the game would end like this.

‘The winning pitcher and the player who scored the winning run.’

This was a title that Ha-sung also coveted.

And perhaps knowing Ha-sung’s heart?

Pow-!

“Strike! Batter out!!”

His teammates on the ground were also giving their all.

Ha-sung cheered on those teammates and waited for the game to end.

And on this day.

Oakland finished the game without giving up a run.

* * *

[Oakland defeats San Francisco in Game 1 of the World Series!]

[Jung Ha-sung, the winning pitcher and the player who hit the game-winning home run!]

[Jung Ha-sung, who achieved the first record in Major League history!]

[Jung Ha-sung causes an accident in his first World Series!]

[The achievements of Jung Ha-sung, who became the first player in Major League history!]

Ha-sung’s winning pitcher and game-winning home run was the first event in Major League history.

Of course, the media focused on that part.

It’s not easy for the first event to occur in the 120-year history of Major League Baseball.

Most records have appeared at least once, and even unusual records that are not known to the general public are all documented.

However, there are many records in one particular field that remain blank.

That is the record related to dual pitching and hitting.

It’s not that there was no dual pitching and hitting in Major League history.

Legendary player Babe Ruth was a representative dual pitching and hitting player, and there were several attempts after that.

But no player had a successful season.

It was that difficult, and of course, it was difficult to come out on a big stage like the World Series.

Ha-sung’s recognition, who made it happen, soared to the sky.