Villain On The Mound [EN]: Chapter 23

Mound Villain – Episode 23

In a word, it was chaos.

“Jung Ha-sung! Can we get an interview, please!”

“Just a word!”

“You’ve made it to the Major League after passing through Triple-A. How do you feel?”

I had just landed in Oakland after a long flight.

Waiting for me was a throng of Korean reporters.

‘Fast.’

It seemed like every reporter stationed in the U.S. had converged.

American reporters were mixed in as well, creating a massive crowd.

“The interview will be conducted at the stadium,” a voice announced.

Thankfully, an Oakland staff member was there to manage the situation.

‘It’s good to be in the Major League. The team staff even escorts you.’

In reality, not all players receive such personalized attention.

It’s rare for reporters to swarm the airport like this.

That’s how significant Ha-sung’s promotion was being perceived in the U.S.

“Here are some points to keep in mind during the press interview.”

As soon as I got in the car, a staff member handed me a document.

There weren’t any major restrictions.

It was more like a helpful guide.

Ha-sung glanced through it and looked out the window.

‘It’s my first time in Oakland. Well, I’ve only been in the U.S. for a year, so where would I have gone?’

I came as a coaching intern, but not with a Major League team.

So, traveling all over the U.S. with the team was just a dream.

‘But not anymore.’

Now I’ll be traveling all over the U.S.

And in a fancy private jet.

* * *

Upon arriving at the stadium, Ha-sung immediately met with the general manager, Chris.

“We’re meeting again sooner than I thought.”

“Thank you for calling me up.”

“It’s all thanks to your ability. From today, I look forward to working with you as a member of the Athletics.”

With the greeting, the general manager handed over a contract.

Not all Major League contracts are glamorous from the start.

A first-year player is rarely given much leverage.

Since things like salary arbitration only come with seniority, I had no choice but to accept the minimum salary offered by the team.

‘Even the minimum salary is $400,000…….’

That was over 400 million won [approximately $300,000 USD].

‘Right now, the highest-paid player in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization] makes just over 700 million won, right?’

Of course, I wouldn’t receive all of that.

The salary would be paid based on the number of days Ha-sung played in September.

So, the actual salary Ha-sung would receive would be less than 100 million won [approximately $75,000 USD].

But Ha-sung didn’t care much.

‘From next year, I can start the season at the Major League spring training.’

Ha-sung signed the contract and shook the hand Chris offered.

* * *

After finalizing the contract, Ha-sung moved to the manager’s office with Chris.

A man with a dignified presence was sitting in the manager’s office.

“Tony, I brought a new player who just came up to introduce him.”

“Ah, this is the Korean friend from Double-A you mentioned before. Nice to meet you. Just call me Tony.”

“I’m Jung Ha-sung.”

After shaking hands, we moved to the locker room.

The players were gathered in small groups in the locker room.

‘As expected of the Major League. The players’ physiques are all amazing.’

The physiques of the Double-A players weren’t bad either.

But compared to the Major League players, they were just average people.

‘They’re so big.’

Standing in the locker room and looking at their bodies, all I could feel was how imposing they were.

The biggest difference between the Major League and Double-A is the diet.

Because there’s a big difference in income, Major League players can invest a lot in their physical conditioning.

On the other hand, Double-A players are barely making ends meet, so their diet is bound to be poor.

However, players who received a signing bonus or had wealthy families who could support them were a little more comfortable.

‘It’s the first time my muscles have looked so lacking. Compared to them, I’m still just an average person.’

The saying that there’s always someone better than you suddenly came to mind.

At that moment, Chris clapped his hands to focus the players’ attention.

Clap-!

“Okay, everyone, let me introduce our new teammate. This is Jung Ha-sung, who came up from Double-A. His position hasn’t been decided yet, but he’s a pitcher.”

Some players reacted to the word pitcher.

Even though the players seemed to be randomly gathered in the locker room, they were divided into groups.

‘So, there really are guys playing poker like I’ve seen in movies.’

In Korea, poker is often viewed as gambling, but in the U.S., it’s a common pastime.

It wasn’t considered a problem to enjoy it in the locker room.

“Oh~ a newbie.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Welcome.”

The players greeted Ha-sung.

The first impression wasn’t bad.

The team’s performance was good, so the atmosphere in the locker room was also positive.

‘At this time, the Oakland starting lineup has all been traded, so there’s no established ace on the mound.’

Oakland, which dominated the early 2000s.

But all the starting pitchers who enjoyed that glory had been traded.

It was because the team’s finances had deteriorated.

As a result, the locker room was full of rookies.

‘That’s why I was able to come up too.’

The reason I chose Oakland worked out well.

At that moment, a female staff member approached.

“Manager, the reporters are waiting. What should we do?”

“How many are there?”

“About 30.”

“That many?”

“Many reporters have come from Korea. And there’s also a reporter from Japan.”

Chris glanced at Ha-sung.

‘He has more buzz than I thought. It wouldn’t be bad to use him for marketing.’

A Major League team is like a company.

It has to generate revenue to operate and strengthen its foundation.

So how do you generate revenue?

By nurturing star players.

If you nurture star players, fans will come to the stadium, and companies that see that will become sponsors.

From the team’s perspective, they couldn’t help but like players with buzz.

“Let’s do it on the field. And is the uniform ready?”

“Yes. Shall I bring it?”

“Yes. Tell the reporters to take good pictures.”

“Understood.”

Ha-sung pretended not to listen to the conversation between the two, but he heard everything.

‘He’s a smart man.’

He was accurately assessing my value and preparing to capitalize on the attention.

‘Well, they’re putting me on stage, so I have nothing to lose.’

From now on, star power will become important.

‘Shall we have some fun?’

A smile spread across Ha-sung’s face.

* * *

Most people get nervous when they stand in front of reporters.

Everyone is holding cameras and looking only at you, so you can’t help but get nervous.

‘Whew…… look at how many have gathered.’

Ha-sung shook his head slightly as he looked at the reporters gathered in front of him.

It’s been a while since this many reporters have gathered.

Maybe even when there was a major scandal in Korea, they didn’t gather this much.

‘Did they gather this much when we choked in the Korean Series?’

That’s how intense the interest in him was.

Click!

I held the Oakland uniform and took pictures with Chris.

It will probably be featured prominently in sports articles tomorrow.

Only after taking pictures in the uniform did the interview proceed.

‘Korean, Japanese, and American. They’ve all come.’

All three countries where baseball is popular have gathered.

Among them, an American reporter asked the first question.

“You’ve been called up to the Major League about six months after your minor league debut. What do you think is the reason for that?”

Ha-sung chuckled at the reporter’s question and answered.

“Of course, it’s my skill. Isn’t the Major League a meritocracy? Since I’ve become skilled enough to come to the Major League, the team must have called me up.”

In some ways, it was an obvious answer.

But who knew he would answer so directly.

The embarrassed reporter sat down.

After that, several reporters continued to ask questions.

They were ordinary questions.

“Did you know you would be called up this quickly?”

But the answer wasn’t ordinary.

“Yes. I knew.”

“You knew?”

“The timing of when the Athletics officials watched my pitching was important. If they watched my pitching, I thought they would definitely call me up.”

To some, it was confidence.

But to others, it could sound like arrogance.

However, Ha-sung didn’t care.

‘I just need to be judged by the public.’

What mattered wasn’t the reporter’s opinion, but the public’s opinion.

If I don’t like this atmosphere, I’ll change it when that time comes.

‘It seems like it’s still fifty-fifty, so I don’t think I need to change it yet.’

Ha-sung knew the reaction to his interview style.

I had checked the Korean articles several times.

It wasn’t too bad.

The problem was how the Americans would react.

For now, I maintained my current style.

“Who do you think is the most cautious hitter in the Major League?”

“There isn’t one right now. I haven’t faced them yet, so how would I know?”

The prickly interview continued.

And one reporter who was watching the scene frowned.

‘That young punk is looking down on the reporters.’

It was Lee Yong-cheol, a Korean reporter dispatched from Sports Baekje.

He didn’t like Ha-sung’s attitude.

‘I need to teach those who disrespect their elders a lesson.’

In fact, he had no intention of being lenient from the start.

‘How dare you touch my family member?’

Lee Yong-cheol thought of his brother-in-law.

His brother-in-law was the secretary-general of the Amateur Baseball Association.

But he lost his job due to the recent corruption scandal.

Lee Yong-cheol didn’t have good feelings for Ha-sung, who triggered the incident.

“I’m Lee Yong-cheol from Sports Baekje.”

Ha-sung’s gaze landed on him.

“Jung Ha-sung caused several problems in Korea last year. His teammates who played baseball together for three years…….”

Just as he was about to ask a question designed to find fault in any way possible.

Ha-sung raised his hand and stopped him from speaking.

“Excuse me, Reporter Lee Yong-cheol?”

“Yes?”

“Why are you calling me Jung Ha-sung? I’m clearly a professional player. Please use the proper title from now on. Wouldn’t you feel bad if I called you Mr. Lee Yong-cheol or just Yong-cheol?”

Lee Yong-cheol’s face turned red at Ha-sung’s words.

But Ha-sung’s response wasn’t over.

“And isn’t this place where you came to cover my call-up to the Major League? Why are you suddenly bringing up something from a year ago?”

“For…… for the public who might be curious about the past……!”

“The public will be more curious about the Major League call-up, right? Above all, I’m taking time out of my training schedule to respond to this interview, so I don’t have time to answer such irrelevant questions. Oh, and please ask questions in English from now on. This isn’t Korea, it’s America.”

Ha-sung deliberately answered the last words in English.

Then the American reporters nodded.

Some overly enthusiastic people even gave him a thumbs up, so it seemed like they liked the comment.

Ha-sung chuckled inwardly as he looked at Lee Yong-cheol, who was sitting with a flushed face.

‘You’re going to dig up an incident from a year ago and try to roast me? No way.’

While Ha-sung was conducting the next interview.

Chris, just in case, had the Korean-speaking staff member who accompanied him relay the contents of the previous exchange.

‘Was there some kind of incident in Korea? Anyway, to act like that to a reporter from his home country. He’s an interesting guy.’

As he expected, the buzz was significant.

‘I hope he has the skills to match his mic skills.’

The time to confirm that wasn’t far off.

After all the interviews were over.