Villain On The Mound [EN]: Chapter 21

Mound Villain – Episode 21

Double-A.

It’s a level of the minor leagues that exists outside the public eye.

But those who know baseball say this:

Double-A is the most interesting league.

That’s because prospects stand at a crossroads here.

Thomas Shaton, a former *New York Times* Major League Baseball reporter, once said:

[If there’s a player causing a stir in Double-A, get their autograph first. You’ll be seeing them in the Major Leagues soon enough.]

In fact, players who caused a stir from Double-A onwards were seen in the Major Leagues not long after.

That’s how much Double-A was seen as the most important level for seeing the future of Major League Baseball.

One player was making a name for himself there.

Thwack-!!

“Strike! Batter out!!”

A 94-mile fastball bore in on the batter.

The batter had to watch it go by, unable to do anything against the perfectly controlled pitch.

He shook his head at the umpire’s call and stepped away from the batter’s box.

Then he looked at the pitcher on the mound.

‘For such a young kid to throw a ball like that…’

On the mound stood an East Asian boy in his late teens.

East Asians often look even younger than Westerners.

But the batter who faced him had a different impression.

‘How can he throw the ball with that kind of pitch mix?’

Inside and outside.

The pitches hit the exact spots.

A pitch he thought was a ball cleverly nipped the zone, causing the umpire’s hand to go up.

It was a ball mix and control that drove the batter crazy.

‘Easy one out.’

The East Asian pitcher, Ha-sung, easily recorded an out.

‘Today is my fourth game.’

Ha-sung was making his fourth appearance since being promoted to Double-A.

His record so far was 7 and 2/3 innings with a 0.00 ERA [Earned Run Average, a measure of pitching performance].

He had allowed only one hit, a single at that, and his slugging percentage and home runs allowed were zero to date.

His strikeouts, in particular, were outstanding.

He had struck out 18 of the 23 batters he had faced.

This kind of record was extremely rare even in Double-A.

‘It would have been a perfect game if I hadn’t given up that hit.’

He licked his lips in disappointment and looked at the next batter.

‘Anyway, I need to raise my value little by little. That way, Major League teams will be watching me as we head into the second half of the season.’

The day the Major League expanded roster is implemented.

Many prospects will be named to the Major League roster.

Ha-sung was aiming for that time.

‘Other teams would promote me in steps, but Oakland is different. With Chris’s penchant for making unconventional choices…’

“Play ball!!”

The game resumed with the umpire’s shout.

Ha-sung exchanged signs and went into his windup.

‘Surely a direct promotion is possible.’

All he had to do now was one thing.

“Hmph!!”

Whoosh-!!

Thwack!!

“Strike!!”

It was to prove his worth.

* * *

Double-A teams mostly have poor facilities.

You can’t expect state-of-the-art training, and most of the training methods used in the past have been passed down.

‘The condition of the machines is this bad.’

What surprised Ha-sung the most when he came up to the Double-A team was the machines.

They were fairly well maintained, but they were too old.

There was a decent amount of equipment in the free weight area, but there were not enough coaches to manage it and train the players.

In other words, the players had to train themselves.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter much.’

Ha-sung had the knowledge he had accumulated since before his regression.

In particular, he had been doing weight training steadily even after his retirement.

If his muscles became deficient due to his arm injury, tremors would occur.

He had to do weight training steadily to compensate for that.

“Hoo! Hoo!!”

So Ha-sung had knowledge of weight training to the level of a professional.

He had been studying steadily because he was very interested in the field.

The combination of studying and self-learning created his current weight training program.

‘There are people who say that excessive muscle is actually poison for baseball players.’

Unlike other sports, baseball has a very long schedule.

Many people said that excessive muscle is unnecessary because they have to play baseball for more than half of the year.

The reason was endurance.

Fat is what people use for direct energy as they live.

Therefore, the argument was that if muscle mass increases, energy will be insufficient, making it difficult to run long distances.

‘That’s nonsense.’

In the future, these claims will lose their power.

Moderate fat is necessary, but excessive fat is poison.

More than anything, just because you have a lot of muscle mass doesn’t mean you can’t produce energy.

‘The human body is very mysterious. If there is a shortage of necessary energy, it will be replaced from other places and used. If there is a shortage of fat, it burns muscle to replenish energy.’

More than anything, increasing muscle mass allows you to use more power.

Of course, it depends on how well the mechanism is in place.

‘I have to increase muscle mass and flexibility at the same time.’

Flexibility was the most important thing for a baseball player.

The hitting and pitching mechanisms draw on all the power of the human body.

To do that, all parts of the human body had to work organically.

What works most importantly at that time is flexibility.

‘Flexibility is like a gear that connects the entire human body. If only muscle mass increases, only a certain range of motion will improve, which will inevitably be negative for pitching.’

What Ha-sung chose was yoga.

Originally, he was thinking of doing Pilates, but it was too much for him right now because he needed professional equipment.

‘Pilates in this era costs too much money to buy equipment. And when it comes to flexibility alone, yoga is better.’

What he insisted on Pilates was because of the development of core muscles.

Core muscles were muscles located in the center of the body.

It is often mistaken for abdominal muscles, but the core is located more broadly than that.

When this develops, the body is well balanced. More than anything, it increases safety and greatly helps with pitching.

“Hoo… Hoo…”

Ha-sung took a seat on one side of the training center and began to do yoga.

“Hey! Jung, what are you doing?”

“If you have time to take strange poses and do that, train.”

“Why don’t you lift the barbell one more time?”

The passing teammates did not understand Ha-sung’s training.

That was natural.

Yoga at this time was strongly recognized as something that women do.

Men did it in the United States, but the proportion of women was overwhelmingly high.

‘A person who is ahead of his time is always subject to ridicule.’

His current training was contrary to the common sense of this era.

But in just a few years, people will know.

That his training is ultimately the answer.

It was then.

“Oh? Jung, are you doing yoga too?”

A player approached and spoke.

Ha-sung’s eyes narrowed as he looked at him.

“Your name is Arnold, right?”

“Oh~ You remember well? You memorized all your teammates’ names even in such a short time?”

No.

There are still many names I don’t know.

But there was no way he wouldn’t know the black man in front of him.

In five years, the entire United States, and indeed the entire world, would know his name.

‘Because he’s the man who hit 62 home runs.’

2013.

Arnold Jameson’s potential explodes in his second year of his debut.

He batted .317 with 62 home runs, quickly becoming the biggest star in Major League Baseball.

His dramatic story also became a hot topic.

Born into a poor family as the third of seven children, he had been playing baseball without giving up his dream of becoming a major leaguer even in difficult circumstances.

This kind of story was also a factor that could be very popular with Americans.

What made him even more famous was 2015.

‘Major League Rising Star Murdered by Gang.’

The headlines at the time were still unforgettable.

He grew up in a disadvantaged family environment.

His childhood living environment was not good.

He had a house in Harlem and his friends joined gangs.

Arnold grew up in such an environment, but the problem was that he lost his life because of the people around him at that time.

‘He was a player whose talent was a waste. If he had grown up like that, he could have become a legend in Major League Baseball.’

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

“Huh? No. But are you going to do yoga too?”

“Yeah. There was an Indian man living next door to us. I learned from him and have been doing it every day. I’ve only been doing it at home because I’m the only one who does it.”

Arnold looked around and said.

“It doesn’t seem like the atmosphere to do it here, does it?”

“I guess not.”

“But since you’ve been doing yoga for the past few days, I’m just going to do it here too. I have a comrade, so there’s no need to do it uncomfortably at home, right?”

The salary in Double-A was about the same.

Arnold would send most of it home, so his accommodation couldn’t be good.

It was clear that it would be better to do it at the training center than in that cramped house.

“So, have you been doing yoga since you were a kid?”

“Yeah. Yoga is good for peace of mind. More than anything, I think it’s the best exercise for maintaining peace of mind.”

“It does have that effect.”

Yoga was originally a series of movements created for the purpose of meditation, not exercise.

Therefore, it boasts the most excellent effect on mental and physical stability.

Ha-sung nodded and continued his yoga movements.

“Oh, your movements are a little wrong.”

“Huh?”

Then Arnold spoke.

He corrected Ha-sung’s movements by taking the pose himself.

“When you rotate your arm here, you have to turn your neck in the opposite direction to properly relax your muscles. Try it.”

“Like this?”

“That’s right. How is it? Can you feel your shoulder and arm muscles relaxing?”

“Oh… I can.”

I could definitely feel the muscles being stimulated better.

“If you have any questions about yoga, feel free to ask. I’ll let you know if I know.”

Ha-sung nodded at Arnold’s words.

* * *

A vehicle arrived at Momentum Bank Ballpark, the home stadium of the Rockhounds.

It was Chris who got out of the car.

He was wearing casual clothes and sunglasses and headed to the ballpark.

He bought a ticket himself and entered the ballpark, where he took a seat alone.

‘According to the report, Jung Ha-sung’s skills have already exceeded the Double-A level. The data also proved it.’

The only reason he came to the ballpark was to see Jung Ha-sung in person.

‘When there is not enough accumulated data, it is best to check with my own eyes.’

Chris trusted sabermetrics [data-driven baseball analysis], but when data was not sufficiently accumulated, he still liked to check with his own eyes.

‘What will he show me?’

His gaze turned to the mound.

Ha-sung, who was starting today’s game, was on the mound.

After finishing his practice pitches, he was lightly warming up on the mound.

Then, his gaze, which had been looking around the stadium, stopped at one place.

‘That person is…?’

Chris was where his gaze was.

The two had never met in person.

But Ha-sung knew exactly who he was.

‘Chris Wayne of Moneyball.’

*Moneyball* was the most commercially successful baseball movie made in Hollywood.

Of course, Ha-sung had seen it too.

Not only that, but he was curious about who the general manager was, so he looked it up himself.

That’s why he knew his face.

‘Why is the Athletics’ general manager here to see a Double-A game in person? And there are no escorts around him.’

The general manager is not a position with a lot of free time.

It’s especially hard to leave during the season.

Chris came all the way to see a Double-A game in person.

Without an escort?

That meant one thing.

‘There’s a player here that he needs to see in person to make a decision?’

Ha-sung, who had lived one life, was able to immediately recognize Chris’s purpose.

‘If he came to see me, it means he’s seriously considering promoting me to the Major League.’

It’s a windfall.

If I get this pumpkin [Korean idiom for unexpected good fortune], I’ll reach my dream one step faster.

‘Then I’ll have to show him.’

His worth.

“Play ball!!”