Villain On The Mound [EN]: Chapter 194

Mound Villain 194

It wasn’t unusual to see Ha-sung at the plate.

Since the National League didn’t have a designated hitter [a player who bats in place of the pitcher] system, he had to bat during the Winter League.

He had even recorded a home run before.

It was well known that he possessed good power.

That’s why people were looking forward to seeing Ha-sung’s batting skills.

Moreover, it was the first time to see what he had prepared since declaring his intention to be a two-way player [a player who both pitches and bats], so expectations soared.

“I wonder if he’s really prepared enough to be a two-way player?”

“If it’s Ha-sung, I bet he’s prepared thoroughly.”

“Even if he does well in batting practice, he still has to perform in a real game.”

“Still, shouldn’t he show some potential here?”

The reporters’ opinions were also divided.

Some said batting practice was meaningless, while others believed this was just the beginning.

As many people as there were, there were just as many different opinions.

Leaving the reporters behind, Ha-sung stepped into the left-handed batter’s box.

Trevor asked Ha-sung.

“Huh? Weren’t you originally a right-handed hitter?”

“I switched this year.”

“What? You’re not only trying to be a two-way player, but you even switched to a left-handed hitter?”

“I calculated that this would be more advantageous.”

“What? You’re already challenging yourself as an unfamiliar hitter. And you’re saying that switching from right-handed to left-handed is *more* advantageous?”

“That’s what our coach said.”

“Ha… Who on earth is that coach? Is it someone I’d know?”

“Maybe. Someone who will become famous in the future.”

Trevor shook his head.

He was a professional himself, so he knew that any further words to Ha-sung, who was also a professional, would be meddling rather than helpful advice.

‘Well, I’m sure he’ll do well enough.’

Ha-sung had been preparing so diligently.

That’s why Trevor stopped offering advice and sat down.

“You’ve been boasting so much, so show me something.”

“That’s exactly what I’m planning to do.”

Ha-sung gripped the bat tightly.

The friction of the batting gloves against the pine tar [a sticky substance used to improve grip] applied to the bat allowed him to grip it even more firmly.

‘First, I’ll start by getting a feel for my condition…’

He remembered what Geier had said.

[Hitting and pitching are the same. Just like you need to warm up to reach your top speed when pitching, you need to warm up your body enough when hitting.]

Warming up was an essential process for athletes.

Only through sufficient warm-up could the muscles be relaxed, blood circulate quickly, and full strength be utilized.

Ha-sung knew very well how important that was.

‘When I was preparing for my coaching career, the most important thing I focused on was stretching.’

Some players neglected stretching.

He was constantly emphasizing its importance, but the players seemed to find it boring because there were so many static movements.

‘Still, in the 2010s, the players understood the importance of stretching and worked hard.’

After finishing the warm-up with stretching, pitchers warm up with pitching and hitters warm up with swinging.

Ha-sung completed these steps and stepped into the batter’s box.

“Tell me if the ball isn’t good at first!”

“Okay!”

Ha-sung nodded at the batting ball pitcher’s shout and took his batting stance.

The reporters who saw this nodded their heads.

“It’s standard.”

“It’s impressive that he’s not overly tense and is relaxed.”

“It doesn’t look like he’s been training for just a day or two.”

These were major league reporters who had been observing players and writing articles for a long time.

Just by seeing Ha-sung take his batting stance, they could tell how well he had prepared.

But that alone didn’t make the negative opinions disappear.

“The important thing is the swing.”

“We need to see if a good swing can come out of that stance.”

“It’s also important that the balance doesn’t collapse after the swing and leads to a hit.”

The number of reporters who expressed negative opinions was overwhelmingly large.

That’s how skeptical the reporters were about Ha-sung’s two-way attempt.

Not many people want their common sense to be challenged.

Common sense was like a limit for people.

Unconsciously, they accept it as natural and give up trying to overcome it.

But what happens when someone appears who *does* overcome it?

This also varies from person to person.

However, those who accept something as common sense and give up even trying don’t want to admit that their choice was wrong.

That’s why there are people who don’t *want* common sense to be broken.

‘There’s no way this two-way thing will succeed.’

‘Even if he succeeds in batting practice, he won’t be able to make it in an actual game.’

‘He’ll expose his limitations during batting practice.’

Contrary to the reporters’ negative expectations, Ha-sung was looking at the batting ball pitcher with a blank face.

‘Just focus on my swing.’

He focused his concentration on the batting ball pitcher’s movements.

Swish-!

The batting ball pitcher, who lightly kicked his leg, threw the ball.

The purpose of a batting ball is to throw a ball to help the batter improve their feel for hitting.

Therefore, the goal was to throw at an appropriate speed and in a good location to hit, not at full power.

The batting ball pitcher throwing the ball now, Ryan, was a veteran.

You could tell just by looking at the trajectory of the ball coming now.

‘Not too slow and not too fast.’

Ha-sung rotated his lower body at the ball flying at a suitable speed to hit.

He took a step and planted it firmly, then rotated his waist to add speed to the rotational force.

‘Turning the arm is the last thing. Keep your arm back as much as possible and gather strength.’

Pitching and hitting had many similarities.

The most similar aspect was the method of using rotational force.

And accumulating power and releasing it in an instant was also similar.

But not everything was the same.

‘Hitting and pitching are similar but different. The crucial point is that pitching eventually turns into a vertical movement, but hitting must maintain a horizontal movement until the end.’

The movement of the muscles was different, so he trained accordingly.

Geier’s training was very systematic and harsh.

Ha-sung’s swing, which had endured such training, was perfect.

Whoosh-!!

He swung the bat with all his might, accumulating power until the very end.

The bat cut through the air, making a heavy sound.

Then his bat hit the flying ball squarely.

Clang-!!

With a resounding crack, the batted ball flew like a clothesline [a ball hit hard and in a straight line].

The batted ball, which flew as a line drive, went straight over the outfield fence and into the stands.

Thud!!

The bounced ball returned to the ground and rolled to the infield in two bounces.

The eyes of the reporters and officials who watched the scene widened.

“What was that…?”

“Was that a *plausible* batted ball?”

“The batted ball that hit the stands returned to the infield in two bounces?”

“How strong do you have to be for that to happen?”

A baseball has almost no elasticity.

Unless it’s a very powerfully hit ball, it loses its momentum after one bounce and doesn’t roll very far.

Of course, the situation is different if it’s a ball with a lot of spin, but this ball had to be treated as an exception.

Especially since it was a ball that hit the stands directly and came back.

There wasn’t enough spin to create rotation.

Nevertheless, the fact that it rolled to the infield meant there was only one explanation.

‘Jung Ha-sung’s power is extraordinary.’

It meant that Ha-sung’s raw power itself was enormous.

And it was the same as saying that his hitting ability was high enough to perfectly transfer that power into the ball.

“What do you think of the swing I just showed you?”

“It was perfect in itself.”

“He transferred his power properly by keeping the bat behind him until the end.”

“Everything was perfect, from the rotation of the lower body to the waist, and finally the rotation of the upper body.”

Praise poured out from the reporters.

That’s how impressive Ha-sung’s first hit was.

But his dominant performance didn’t stop there.

Clang-!!

Clang-!!

In the subsequent batting practice, he continued to show off tremendous swings and kept hitting the batted balls out of the park.

The reporters’ eyes widened at the batted balls that sailed over the fence every time he hit them.

“Was Jung Ha-sung *this* good?”

“I knew he had potential for hitting, but…”

“Is this at a level that far exceeds our expectations?”

Ha-sung’s swing was already above a certain level.

Especially his power was impressive.

“The batting ball isn’t that fast. The fact that he’s hitting them all out of the park means his power is no joke, right?”

“Those muscles weren’t built for nothing.”

A batting ball was a ball thrown for the batter to hit well.

Therefore, the ball was not fast.

The fact that the ball is not fast means that the rebound effect is less likely to occur.

The faster the ball, the greater the rebound and the more home runs.

Of course, the problem is that it’s not easy to hit the ball properly.

Anyway, what is clear is that hitting a batting ball over the fence is purely determined by the hitter’s power.

From that point of view, you could see how great Ha-sung’s power was.

‘Power is power, but the accuracy is also good.’

Chris, the general manager, was watching Ha-sung’s swing with shining eyes.

It was simply amazing because his skills easily exceeded his expectations.

“How on earth did he train to improve his skills so much?”

Shane, the hitting coach who was standing next to Chris, said.

“He wasn’t at this level before, was he?”

“Not at all. He definitely had power, but his swing mechanics weren’t that good. But now, everything is perfect, from the bat path to the body rotation.”

Shane had been playing as a player for a long time and had been steadily coaching.

Of course, his observations were accurate and his understanding of technique was high.

If *he* was surprised, it meant that Ha-sung’s technical development was enormous.

“Was the hitting instructor who worked with Ha-sung a person named Geier?”

“Yes. I heard he’s working as a college coach in the LA area.”

“Is that a name you recognize?”

“I don’t know him personally, but I’ve seen the blog that guy runs a few times.”

“Blog?”

“Yes. It’s a space where Geier posts his own hitting theories.”

“What do you think from your point of view?”

“First of all, I think he’s knowledgeable. But there are too many experimental parts and there are quite a few aspects that conflict with existing theories.”

“In other words, it’s a new theory.”

“Yes.”

Chris’s eyes lit up at Shane’s words.

‘Ha-sung accepted those theories and succeeded. In other words, Geier’s theory has proven effective.’

If it was a theory that could raise Ha-sung’s potential to this level in a short period of time, it was quite tempting.

“I should meet that Geier guy.”

It was necessary to contact him before other clubs noticed.

Clang-!!

At that time, Ha-sung’s last hit concluded the session.

Spotlights shone on Ha-sung, who unleashed monstrous power by hitting 25 of the 30 balls out of the park.

* * *

[Jung Ha-sung starts his first batting practice!]

[Jung Ha-sung’s first batting practice showcases monstrous power!]

[Two-way is not a bluff! Jung Ha-sung shows potential from his first batting practice!]

[Hit 25 of 30 batting balls over the fence!]

As various media outlets covered Ha-sung’s first batting practice, public interest began to focus on him.

But the question marks still lingered.

-Ha-sung seems to be on fire during batting practice.

-Wow~ Is this two-way thing really going to work out?

-Still, don’t we still not know for sure?

-It’s still just batting practice, right?

-I don’t know, because it’s different from an actual game.

-I hope the practice game starts soon.

-Time, go faster~

-When does the exhibition game start?

The public eagerly awaited Ha-sung’s performance in an actual game while anticipating the exhibition game.