Villain On The Mound [EN]: Chapter 182

Villain on the Mound – Episode 182

The terms were all public.

[Jung Ha-sung’s side demands an annual salary of $20 million!]

[Oakland Athletics offer a 3-year, $40 million salary!]

[Sharp conflict between player and club! Heading to arbitration!]

As the news of heading to arbitration spread, various reactions emerged.

-If he gets $20 million in his first year of salary arbitration, how much should he get next year?

-Wouldn’t he have to go up to $30 million with this year’s performance?

-No, then what happens when he becomes a free agent?

-He’s going to break all the highest contracts ever, lol.

-Ha-sung is definitely capable, isn’t he?

-Still, it seems like too much of a burden for the team.

-Agreed. If you spend that much money on one player, the other players’ pay will decrease accordingly.

-Isn’t he being too self-centered?

-What does it matter?

-Aren’t you guys concerned about raising your own salaries rather than worrying about other people’s salaries?

-There are so many weirdos.

Public opinion was mostly on Ha-sung’s side.

Ha-sung’s performance was that impressive.

It could be said to be the best performance in the live-ball era [the modern era of baseball, post-1920, characterized by increased offensive play].

Therefore, no one thought that an annual salary of $20 million was excessive.

Above all, Ha-sung was a player who brought enormous benefits to the club.

[Oakland’s attendance increased by 300 percent after signing Jung Ha-sung, and uniform sales soared!]

[Jung Ha-sung ranked first in Major League uniform sales for two consecutive years!]

[Oakland Athletics’ brand value skyrocketed!]

Ha-sung’s playing in an Oakland uniform was generating huge profits for the club.

On top of that, his overwhelming performance made his demands reasonable.

-If he were on the Yankees, he would have already gotten a long-term contract.

-Agreed.

-Isn’t he going to be wearing a Yankees or Red Sox uniform soon?

-Let’s go for a 20-year super long-term contract-!

-20 years, lol.

-Isn’t it totally possible with his age now?

-It’s possible. He’s only 22 years old in Korean age [East Asian age reckoning counts age from conception, making a person one year old at birth and adding a year every Lunar New Year].

-The military issue is a bit of a concern.

-He would have won a gold medal if he had participated in this Asian Games. Too bad.

-But he didn’t win a gold medal at the Asian Games, did he?

While Ha-sung was performing well.

An unexpected event occurred in Korea.

Korea finished as the runner-up in the Asian Games, failing to win the gold medal.

This news became a major topic in Korea.

[The national team without the world’s best pitcher! Ends up as runner-up in the Asian Games!]

[How will the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] resolve this situation?]

[The national team played against virtually semi-professional players! But failed to win the gold medal!]

[Korean national team defeated by Japan!]

[Kim Soo-kyung, chairman of the KBO Technical Committee, officially apologizes and resigns from his position!]

The Asian Games were expected to secure a gold medal.

However, the failure amplified public resentment.

The biggest reason was that Ha-sung did not join the national team due to his troubles with the KBO.

-The KBO old-timers said strange things to Ha-sung, so he didn’t join the national team.

-The KBO is at fault.

-Trying to win a gold medal without the best pitcher in Major League Baseball, lol.

-More than anything, is it real that they’re selecting players for the national team not based on performance but to give them exemptions [from mandatory military service], lol.

This national team mostly consisted of those who had not yet fulfilled their military service.

Naturally, young players were the main force, and the team’s strength was inevitably weakened.

On top of that, the players couldn’t perform to their full potential due to the pressure of being on the national team.

They made repeated mistakes and didn’t play the game properly.

It would have been difficult to secure a silver medal if the other countries weren’t amateur players.

Therefore, public opposition increased.

“Tsk! The media is chattering about Jung Ha-sung everywhere.”

Naturally, the KBO internally did not have good feelings towards Jung Ha-sung.

“What can we do? He’s the best pitcher in Major League Baseball.”

“So what? He doesn’t have any patriotism.”

“Just a few years ago, the public would have called these guys traitors and criticized them.”

“It’s because there are so many young people. They leave opinions anonymously on the internet and all say whatever they want.”

“Young people are the problem.”

The KBO’s high-ranking officials belittled public opinion while expressing their antipathy towards Ha-sung.

Of course, these things were not revealed externally.

Only internally, Ha-sung’s image in Korean professional baseball was declining.

* * *

Ha-sung held meetings with various companies while the arbitration was in progress.

The level of companies wanting to hire him as a model was incomparably higher than a year ago.

‘They’re all places you’d recognize just by hearing their names.’

Global companies promised him enormous wealth by hiring him as a model.

Some wanted long-term contracts, but Ha-sung made it clear.

“I have no intention of signing long-term contracts. I haven’t fully shown my value in Major League Baseball yet.”

“Not yet?”

Isabel asked in surprise.

“You’ve won the Cy Young Award [awarded annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball] in Major League Baseball for two consecutive years, and this year you’ve even swept the MVP [Most Valuable Player award]. What more are you trying to show?”

Her question wasn’t accusatory.

She was genuinely curious.

Ha-sung had shown everything he could as a pitcher.

Anything beyond this would be breaking records left in Major League Baseball history through accumulated data.

Ha-sung’s performance this season was that great.

Some even said it was a career-high.

But Ha-sung was looking even higher, so it didn’t make sense.

Ha-sung said to Isabel, who was like that.

“There’s still something left.”

“What is it?”

“Two-way player.”

Isabel’s eyes widened.

“I think I misheard. Did you say two-way player?”

“You heard correctly. What I want is to accomplish something that no one in Major League Baseball history has ever done.”

She was momentarily speechless.

Because she knew better than anyone what Ha-sung was talking about.

It was a story that deviated from common sense, so her thoughts stopped momentarily.

But soon her thoughts started turning again, and she continued the conversation.

“W-wait a minute. I believe in Jung Ha-sung, but isn’t that too absurd?”

Her story continued.

“It’s not like there haven’t been players who have attempted to be two-way players. Babe Ruth did it in the past, and some amateur players have tried to be two-way players. There are even players in the minor leagues who are two-way players right now.”

Two-way player.

It means that one player performs both the pitcher and hitter positions at the same time.

But this was an extremely difficult task.

No matter how talented a player was, there was a limit to their stamina, and above all, the mechanisms of the two positions were completely different.

“It’s almost impossible to develop the mechanisms of a pitcher and a hitter at the same time. No matter how talented Jung Ha-sung is, making such a choice could actually worsen his current state.”

Being a two-way player means accepting the hitter’s mechanism into the body.

The movements of the muscles are completely different for pitchers and hitters, so accepting that could actually affect the pitcher’s side.

That’s why she couldn’t help but worry.

“You’re saying the same thing you said a year ago.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m talking about what Isabel said to me when I said I was going to switch to being a starter. The mechanisms of a starter and a closer are completely different. So it’s difficult. But I did it. Now I’m the best pitcher in Major League Baseball.”

“But that was possible because it was a pitcher operating in the same mechanism. Hitter is a completely different story! It’s definitely not an easy task.”

“I know it’s not easy. That’s why there will be a lot to gain when I challenge it.”

What comes back.

That was naturally wealth and fame.

The things that a player has when he succeeds in something that no one has ever done before are enormous.

“That’s why players even use drugs to leave records.”

That was human instinct.

Wanting to go higher than anyone else.

The psychology of climbing a mountain that no one has ever set foot on was hidden in the essence of human beings.

‘More than anything, I saw it.’

Isabel and the people of this era still didn’t understand it.

It was something that deviated from common sense for them, but not for Ha-sung himself.

‘A player who succeeded as a two-way player.’

He knew a player who had done it.

And the things that happened after that made Ha-sung feel admiration.

“I want to be the best.”

He had lived too long steeped in reality.

He gave up his dreams and spent too long working to live in reality.

Experiencing the hardships of reality, he gradually became exhausted.

That’s why he forgot his dreams.

But he got another chance and had more time to spare in reality.

He had gained enormous wealth, and even greater wealth would come in the future.

As he had more time to spare in reality, the dream that had been sleeping deep in his heart was gradually raising its head.

His true nature, which had been blocked by the huge barrier of reality, was awakened.

He wants to be the best player in history.

That was Ha-sung’s true nature.

* * *

The arbitration committee was held.

People’s attention was focused.

Whose side will the arbitration committee take?

Naturally, various opinions came out from within the committee.

“When we reviewed Jung Ha-sung’s performance and the data they submitted, Jung Ha-sung’s claim of an annual salary of $20 million is by no means excessive.”

“I agree. Jung Ha-sung has broken almost all the records that a second-year player can achieve.”

“Above all, the performance he recorded in his first year is also overwhelming compared to other players.”

“Even looking at the data including cyber metrics [advanced baseball statistics], Jung Ha-sung’s $20 million is a reasonable amount.”

There were many opinions leaning towards approval.

But not everyone agreed.

“It is clear that Jung Ha-sung has performed greatly. However, if we raise it to $20 million in the first year of arbitration, the clubs will not be able to afford the subsequent salaries.”

“We also need to consider fairness with other players. If it rises to a very large amount, the overall salary of Major League Baseball is likely to increase.”

“It could have a major impact on the operations of Major League Baseball clubs, whose revenues have recently decreased.”

The opposing opinion was concerned about the events that would occur after Ha-sung’s salary increase.

“Salaries should be discussed based on current performance.”

“But we also need to keep in mind what will happen in the future.”

Sharp confrontation took place, and a long discussion ensued.

Even the members of the arbitration committee had to confront each other by expressing various opinions on this salary arbitration.

The things that Ha-sung had done were unprecedented in Major League Baseball history.

A long discussion took place, and in the meantime, the outside world was eagerly awaiting the results.

-When will the arbitration results come out?

-It should come out today. I don’t know what time it will come out.

-According to American news, it’s a long discussion?

-Will he be able to get $20 million?