Villain On The Mound [EN]: Chapter 22

Mound Villain – Episode 22

‘Inside fastball.’

The catcher’s sign appeared.

Ha-sung nodded and began his windup.

Whoosh-!

He twisted his body with the kick.

Chris watched intently.

‘The angle of the kick is high. It’s rare to see a player throw so wildly.’

The foot that stepped out with the stride planted firmly on the mound.

Crack!!

Using his firmly fixed lower body, he smoothly rotated from his knee to his thigh and then to his pelvis.

‘The rotation of his lower body is good. If this rotation is carried to the upper body…….’

Whir!

Chris saw Ha-sung’s upper body rotating and coming forward.

‘He brought it to his upper body without dispersing the power. Now, if he brings the release point forward…… Huh?’

The timing to release the ball.

But he didn’t release the ball until it was a hand’s breadth further forward.

“Gasp!!”

He pulled it forward a little more and threw the ball.

Whoosh-!!

The effect was enormous.

Before the batter’s bat could even make half a turn.

Thwack!!

“Strike!!”

The ball was embedded in the mitt.

‘Bringing the release point forward shortens the distance to home plate. That means the batter’s perceived velocity is bound to increase.’

But you couldn’t just bring the release point forward.

‘To bring the ball forward, the muscles have to be flexible. Otherwise, the power is dispersed, and the pitch loses its strength.’

Ha-sung’s ball had both excellent power and velocity.

‘That must mean his muscles are that flexible. He has a better body than I saw in the video?’

The surprise receded, and now anticipation began to grow.

Ha-sung himself was still surprised, though.

‘What? Why is it so comfortable to bring the release point forward?’

He threw it further forward than his usual point.

For some reason, it felt like his body was telling him it was okay.

‘It wasn’t a big change, but it was enough to make the batter feel like the pitch was faster.’

That was the effect of bringing the release point forward.

He knew about this effect, but he couldn’t put it into practice before.

Because of the lack of muscle flexibility.

But now he threw the ball very comfortably.

The balance wasn’t broken either.

The power that was being delivered gathered at his fingertips.

‘The only reason this change could have happened is that, right?’

Yoga.

The effect of stretching is great.

It relaxes the muscles and makes them more flexible than usual.

But this is a temporary phenomenon.

If you don’t stretch regularly, your muscles will stiffen again.

‘I taught him the right moves. I need to give him something in return.’

Today’s appearance was very important.

He had received help at such a moment, so he needed to give something in return.

‘Let’s put this worry aside for now.’

“Play ball!!”

Now was the time to make his presence known.

Ha-sung, focused, continued pitching.

Thwack-!!

“Strike!!”

* * *

2 innings, no runs, perfect.

A flawless pitch without a single walk or hit.

‘The highest velocity is 98 miles per hour. Did he throw only two pitches, fastball and cutter?’

It was as written in the report.

But he could also see things that weren’t written in the report.

‘He had plenty of time to face the batters. Above all, he stole the batters’ timing by deceiving the velocity. He has the experience to control the pace of the game.’

This much is also in the data.

But the balls that came out when facing the last batter in the second inning were different.

‘He shakes his head if he doesn’t think it’s right, even with the catcher’s lead. It’s a boldness that’s hard to see in young pitchers, especially those from the Orient [East Asian region].’

Chris had seen many Asian prospects in the minor leagues.

Watching them, he thought.

(Why do they play baseball like that?)

They threw the ball like machines.

They didn’t refuse when the catcher asked.

They followed what the bench told them to do.

It was like they had no thoughts.

The problem is that Major League Baseball doesn’t need those players.

‘The higher you go, the more freedom you give the player. The player has to think and develop on his own. But they lacked that.’

But Ha-sung was different.

‘It was like a seasoned veteran was on the mound. He didn’t get nervous or shaken at any moment and threw the ball according to his plan.’

This was not in the report.

That’s why I wanted to meet him.

‘He’s coming over there.’

Chris couldn’t spend a lot of time away from the club.

So he immediately put his plan to meet Ha-sung into action.

He walked towards him, watching him walk from the opposite side.

The moment he was about to greet him.

“Are you General Manager Chris?”

“Huh? Do you know me?”

“How can I not know the face of the general manager of the Major League club I belong to?”

“There are many players who don’t know. This is…… Nice to meet you. I’m Chris.”

Chris awkwardly held out his hand.

Ha-sung shook his hand and led the conversation.

“What brings you to the Double-A club?”

“I had a schedule nearby, so I stopped by. I was curious to see how our prospects are doing.”

“I see. Well, everyone is doing well, eating bread with a slice of ham.”

*I can’t believe he’s saying this.*

Sweat dripped from Chris’s forehead.

If he pushed further here, there would be nothing to say about the Double-A diet.

That’s how bad the Double-A diet was.

But from the club’s point of view, it was necessary to save money.

Especially for small market teams like the Athletics.

But Ha-sung didn’t mention that part any further and led the story in another direction.

“But if you came today, you must have seen my pitching?”

In fact, Ha-sung brought up the story of the diet to take the lead in the conversation.

He didn’t really care that the minor league diet was like that.

‘I’m leaving Double-A soon anyway. It’s all okay if the Major League restaurant is good.’

Now that he had taken the lead, there was no need to talk any further.

“Ah, of course I saw it. It was very impressive.”

“If I had known you were coming, I would have tried to make a bigger impression. It’s a shame.”

“Is there something you didn’t show me?”

“Do you know what pitches I threw today?”

“Four-seam and cutter. Aren’t there two?”

Chris answered lightly, as if asking why he was asking such a thing.

But Ha-sung shook his head.

“No. To be exact, there were three.”

“Three?”

Chris asked in disbelief.

“You might mistake it for a cutter.”

Ha-sung had no intention of missing this opportunity.

The club’s general manager, of all people, watched the game in person.

If he could make his presence known to such a person, the road to the Major League could be opened sooner than expected.

Ha-sung wasn’t stupid enough to miss such an opportunity.

“I threw a high-speed slider.”

* * *

After meeting with Ha-sung, Chris spoke with the Rockhounds’ executives and returned to the club.

But he didn’t rest and immediately looked for data.

“Is this all?”

“Yes. These are the videos of Jung Ha-sung that the Double-A club sent. And the traces of Team Leader Robert that you mentioned before.”

“Did you find anything?”

“He recently visited Texas. He said he watched a game of the Missions, a Double-A club there.”

“Missions? The Padres’ Double-A club?”

“Yes. But the team they played that day was our Rockhounds.”

A figure flashed through Chris’s mind.

“Did Jung Ha-sung play in the game that day?”

“Ah, yes. I checked the data and he did.”

“The video?”

“I asked the Rockhounds, but they said there is no video of the day.”

“Damn it!”

“But I secured a video taken by a Korean reporter.”

“Really? Good job.”

Chris, who received the data from his subordinate, immediately began the verification process.

The first thing he checked was the game against the Missions.

“Crazy bastard.”

The video showed Barton deliberately hitting Jack.

‘That’s why Robert had no choice but to give up Barton.’

If this had happened in the Major League, the club could have been disciplined.

‘He must have put a lot of effort into character education for a long time, but he’s still like this. If this guy is used as a trade card, we must pass.’

Finding this out was a great achievement.

The video moved on to the bench clearing.

The atmosphere was like something was about to explode.

And that happened in the hands of Ha-sung in the bottom of the first inning.

“This…….”

The ball flew accurately to Barton’s head.

If he hadn’t avoided it, he would have been hit in the head.

‘This guy’s personality is no joke?’

I thought he wasn’t an ordinary person when I met him at the Rockhounds.

But watching the game video made me think even more so.

What was even more surprising was the next scene.

“Huh…… He doesn’t back down against Barton running at him? He’s really no joke.”

You can’t often see a player with this much guts in the Major League.

“You have to have this much guts to stand on the mound.”

Chris was also a general manager who came from a player.

That’s why he knew exactly what Ha-sung had done.

“A colleague was attacked, so he’s going to get revenge? I like it.”

The video moved on to the next.

Ha-sung, who had gained an advantage with two strikes, threw the final pitch.

The ball that left his hand flew like a fastball and then curved like a snake to Barton’s body.

‘This is…….’

Chris was startled and turned the video back.

Ha-sung threw the ball again, and this time it curved into his body.

‘Sinker…….’

It was the appearance of a ball that was not in the report.

And.

[Thwack!!]

“Ouch!”

Watching Barton get hit in the center, Chris couldn’t help but shrink his legs.

* * *

‘He must have gone to the club and looked it up?’

Ha-sung, who had arrived at the dorm, was sitting in front of the computer.

He smiled, thinking of Chris, who was probably looking up his video.

‘If he checks the high-speed slider and the sinker, my value will increase even more.’

There is one reason why I didn’t mention the sinker at the meeting with Chris.

‘Showing everything is also less attractive. A high-speed slider is already an attractive product. If he finds out that I can throw a sinker, he will be even more curious.’

To solve that curiosity, he will call me to the Major League.

While expecting what other cards this guy has.

‘He was a better general manager than I expected.’

It was unexpected that Chris came to watch the Double-A club in person.

I thought he would just collect data and check it.

‘If the expansion roster [the period when MLB teams can expand their rosters] works, he will call me.’

He is a general manager who goes to Double-A to check the players in person.

He would never have done it if he had thought about the custom.

‘I’m leaving sooner than I thought…….’

Once you enter the Major League roster, you will not come to Double-A.

At best, you will fall to Triple-A.

So there were things to solve.

“Shall we make a weight schedule for Arnold?”

The yoga moves that Arnold taught me were a great help to Ha-sung.

That’s why Ha-sung was going to give him what he lacked.

It was the latest weight training program he knew.

The future Arnold was muscular, unlike now.

“If he uses this program, he will be able to get to the Major League a little earlier. Well, that’s assuming he works hard.”

I’m just paying back what I owe.

Ha-sung didn’t think much of it and wrote the schedule.

* * *

September 1st.

The final race before the postseason began.

Each club used the roster, which had increased to 40, to call up a large number of the team’s prospects to the Major League.

At the same time, there was a player who became a hot topic not only in Korea but also in the United States.

[Jung Ha-sung called up to the Major League after only 5 months of his minor league debut!!]

The main character was Jung Ha-sung.