Villain On The Mound [EN]: Chapter 233

Villain on the Mound – Episode 233

Ha-sung’s steps were relentless.

The sight of him heading to the mound with his bat exuded a murderous aura.

However, his actions were quickly stopped.

“Ha-sung! Calm down!”

Buster Posey blocked Ha-sung’s path.

“Get out of my way.”

“It was a mistake! It slipped out of his hand! You know that well as a pitcher, right?”

“Yeah, I know it well. So I know exactly that it wasn’t a mistake.”

He knew because he was a pitcher.

The difference between a ball that slips and one that is intentionally thrown.

“He definitely aimed for me.”

“Misunderstanding……!”

Posey tried to stop Ha-sung, but his body began to be pushed back.

‘What…… What’s with this strength? It doesn’t even look like he’s putting that much force into it……!’

He hadn’t expected this much strength.

He felt like he couldn’t stop him at all.

“That’s enough! If you escalate this any further, I’ll have you ejected!”

The umpire hurriedly came and gave Ha-sung a verbal warning.

Getting ejected in the first inning would cause problems.

Then, players from both teams rushed out.

Some of the Giants players tried to stop Lincecum, who was walking from the mound, and the Yankees players also calmed Ha-sung down.

In particular, Posada actively dissuaded him.

“Let’s just stop here.”

“Are you stopping me too?”

“I know what you want to say. But if you cause more trouble here, things will get out of hand.”

“I don’t care.”

“Then he’ll get what he wants.”

At Posada’s words, Ha-sung’s gaze turned to Lincecum on the mound.

What that guy wants.

It was easy to figure out if he thought about it.

‘He intentionally threw the ball at me from the first pitch. He would have hit me if he wanted to.’

A pitcher with Lincecum’s level of control could definitely do that.

But the fact that he didn’t meant he had another motive.

‘He was planning to create an excuse to get me ejected.’

Recently, ejections for bench-clearing incidents have been frequent in Major League Baseball.

This is because the regulations have been strengthened.

What would happen if Ha-sung threw a punch here?

‘Ejection, right?’

If he got ejected, the Yankees’ strength would decline.

The Yankees would become so weak that they could be beaten even with the Giants’ poor batting.

If he did it knowing that, he’s a really smart guy.

In a despicable way.

“I got excited.”

Ha-sung realized his mistake.

He turned around and returned to the batter’s box.

Lincecum’s face distorted at the sight.

‘Why isn’t that bastard charging?’

Ha-sung’s behavior had been no different from a rhinoceros until now.

He always got excited and charged, not looking back.

So he pretended to make a mistake on the first pitch and threw it at his face, thinking of getting him ejected.

He thought his plan had succeeded until Ha-sung approached him.

‘If he had landed just one punch on me, he would have been ejected immediately.’

The ending was disappointing.

More than anything, there wasn’t a significant clash between the two teams.

‘I can’t help it.’

He had no choice but to be satisfied with this much.

If he provoked him any more, he might end up getting ejected himself.

“Lincecum, you be careful with your pitches too. If you throw another dangerous ball at the batter, it won’t end with a warning.”

“Yes.”

“Jung Ha-sung, the same goes for you.”

The umpire gave both of them a verbal warning, and the situation was temporarily settled.

‘To do something so stupid as to openly target me.’

Ha-sung, who had returned to the batter’s box, gripped his bat and swung it lightly.

‘If that’s the plan, I’ll have to play along.’

Ha-sung’s eyes gleamed as he stood in the batter’s box again.

* * *

[The chaotic atmosphere has subsided.]

[Fortunately, it didn’t lead to a physical confrontation, but the atmosphere between the two teams is heating up from the first inning.]

[I hope Jung Ha-sung isn’t affected.]

The commentators’ concerns were natural.

Ha-sung’s behavior had been very hot-tempered until now.

Of course, the results of his hot-tempered behavior had been good, so it wasn’t a big problem.

But it couldn’t always be good.

Especially today, his reaction was very intense.

That’s why they hoped he wouldn’t be affected.

[Lincecum throws the second pitch!]

As Ha-sung stood in the batter’s box, Lincecum went into his windup.

He released the ball from his unique, wild pitching form.

“Hiss-!!”

Whoosh-!!

The ball that left his hand dug into the batter, Jung Ha-sung’s, body.

It was enough of a course to make him flinch, as the first ball was thrown at his head.

But Ha-sung didn’t budge from his spot and watched the ball pass.

Thwack-!!

“Ball!!”

[Second ball!]

[He threw a ball at his head on the first pitch. He’s throwing at his body again on the second pitch.]

The commentators couldn’t bring themselves to say it.

What Lincecum was aiming for.

But the netizens were not.

-Wow~ He’s sticking it to his body again.

-Isn’t this like saying he’s going to hit him?

-He’s openly targeting him?

-Wasn’t the first pitch aimed at his head too?

The netizens blatantly criticized Lincecum.

That’s how aggressive Lincecum’s pitching was.

The Yankees members who saw that pitching hung on the fence and glared at Lincecum.

The umpires watched closely, as if they were about to burst out of the dugout at any moment.

‘The atmosphere is too brutal today?’

‘If we’re not careful, a fight could break out.’

If Major Leaguers collide properly, it’s impossible for the umpire to stop them.

That’s why the umpires had no choice but to be nervous.

Meanwhile, Ha-sung could clearly understand Lincecum’s intentions.

‘Is your purpose to provoke me?’

Both the first and the second pitches just now.

All of his balls were flying towards his body.

It was an unusual ball combination.

‘The purpose is to excite me with that so that I can’t make a proper swing.’

Knowing that, he had no intention of doing what he wanted.

‘But I still have to get revenge.’

Ha-sung was angry at the guy’s actions of throwing the ball at him.

He could have just let it go if it was just once, but he had no intention of just letting his continuous actions go.

‘Focus……focus…….’

As he raised his concentration, the surrounding scenery was dyed in darkness.

Ha-sung, who had entered a state of high concentration, carefully examined Lincecum’s pitching form.

‘No matter how much you twist your upper body to hide the ball, everything is revealed when it comes out to the release point.’

Team Lincecum’s pitching form could maximize the motion of gathering strength and the deception motion of hiding the ball.

‘It has a similar effect to the tornado pitching form of Nomo Hideo, who was a hero of Japan in the past.’

[Nomo Hideo was a Japanese baseball player known for his distinctive “tornado” pitching style.]

Nomo Hideo was a player who overcame the physical weaknesses of Orientals with his pitching form.

‘If you get caught up in that pitching form, you’ll naturally lose your timing.’

The way to overcome that is to exert a high degree of concentration and capture the moment the ball flies.

‘I can’t just stop there.’

Ha-sung was angry at Lincecum, who had thrown two threatening balls at him.

And he had no intention of just letting this problem go.

“Hiss-!!”

Whoosh-!!

The moment he raised his concentration to a high degree.

Lincecum rotated his twisted upper body and threw the third ball.

‘Fastball!’

Lincecum’s choice was a fastball.

Although it wasn’t as powerful as the 100 mph ball he had when he debuted, it was still a ball that came out in the mid-90s [94-96 mph].

There was enough power in it.

‘It’s a shame that the threat didn’t work, but it will remain in your mind.’

He showed him two balls to the body.

Naturally, the afterimage of the previous ball remains in the batter’s eyes.

In that situation, if you throw an outside ball, it feels farther away from the batter’s perspective.

Lincecum was aiming for that.

But.

Whoosh-!!

Ha-sung swung his bat as if he knew the trajectory of the ball.

Clang-!!

Perhaps because it was caught on the end of the bat, the ball flew with a dull sound.

But the direction of the batted ball happened to be towards the mound where Lincecum was.

Lincecum reflexively raised his glove to defend his face when he saw the ball flying towards him.

Thud!

“Ugh!!”

The ball that hit the glove and deflected flew towards the gap between third base and shortstop.

The batted ball was deflected, but the shortstop was in place, so the ball didn’t get through.

But it was enough time for Ha-sung to reach first base.

[It’s a hit! Jung Ha-sung hits the 3rd ball hard! He makes a hit and succeeds in getting on base!]

[The batted ball flew towards Lincecum on the mound, creating a dangerous scene, but Lincecum knocked the batted ball away with his excellent reflexes, so it didn’t lead to an injury.]

[The accidentally flown batted ball almost created a dangerous scene.]

The batted ball flew to Lincecum on the mound by chance.

That’s how it looked to the people who were watching.

But what Lincecum, the person involved, felt was different.

‘That bastard…… He intentionally sent the batted ball towards me.’

* * *

Thwack-!!

“Ball! Base on balls!!”

[It’s a ball! Lincecum, who allowed a hit to Jung Ha-sung, is rapidly losing control and allowing consecutive walks!]

Lincecum, who allowed consecutive walks, shook rapidly.

Eventually, he even allowed a hit, and Ha-sung stepped on home.

[Jung Ha-sung scores a point!]

The Yankees scored the first point in the first inning, but they couldn’t score any additional points.

It was thanks to the manager visiting the mound that Lincecum, who had been shaken, regained his stability.

‘As expected, he quickly regains stability as he gains experience.’

Ha-sung watched the scene from the bench and quenched his thirst.

‘Whether he regains stability or not has little to do with me.’

Ha-sung could clearly see as he faced Lincecum again.

‘There’s a problem with that guy’s shoulder.’

Lincecum had been showing good performances until this season.

But compared to last year, the quality of his ball has clearly decreased.

‘He’s still getting results because he’s overwhelmed by that guy’s force, but he’s just burning the last embers.’

In reality, the period in which Lincecum was active is very short.

The dynamic pitching form, which was no different from a trademark, eventually caught him off guard.

Knowing that, Ha-sung didn’t fear Lincecum even more.

‘Come on, give me the next chance quickly.’

Ha-sung licked his lips as he waited for his next at-bat.

* * *

Lincecum’s pitching was perfect.

Thwack-!

“Strike! Batter out!!”

His condition was the best of his recent games.

The control, which had been a problem, was completely achieved, and there was no problem in turning the batters around.

But.

Clang-!!

[He hit it! A well-hit ball!! It splits the center right!! Extra-base hit course!!]

[He can aim for 3rd base as well as 2nd base!!]

It didn’t work on that guy alone.

‘Damn it! Why are you missing the batted ball like that!’

Lincecum backed up and watched the batted ball that had gone to the outfield.

The batted ball that had split the center right didn’t bounce off the fence and stopped there.

Thanks to that, the outfield defense had to run to where the ball was.

‘Throw it to 2nd base quickly!!’

But it was already too late.

When the right fielder caught the batted ball, Ha-sung had already turned 2nd base and was running towards 3rd base.

[Jung Ha-sung! Passes through 2nd base as it is! Sprinting towards 3rd base!!]

‘A triple is not allowed!!’

Lincecum shouted inwardly, but Ha-sung’s sprint was faster.

Slide-!!

His hand went up to 3rd base with a slide.

“Safe!!”

The 3rd base umpire spread his hands left and right and shouted safe, and at the same time, Lincecum frowned.

“Damn it!!”

The most unwanted result came out.

[Jung Ha-sung records a triple! He’s already making a multi-hit game and showing off his best batting sense in today’s game too!]

A smile was drawn on Ha-sung’s lips as he brushed off the dirt.

‘It’s finally a little quieter now.’

Ha-sung was in a good mood at the sight of the quiet AT&T Park [now Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants].