Villain On The Mound [EN]: Chapter 260

The Villain on the Mound – Episode 260 (260/285)

The starting pitcher for Game 1 of the World Series was confirmed.

[As expected, the New York Yankees will send the untouchable Jung Ha-sung to the mound.]

[In fact, his appearance was a foregone conclusion. No pitcher in Major League Baseball, including those on the New York Yankees, can replace him.]

[Above all, they need to secure Game 1 of the World Series.]

[The St. Louis Cardinals, facing Jung Ha-sung, will send Chris Carpenter to the mound.]

[Carpenter recorded 17 and 16 wins in the 2009 and 2010 seasons, respectively, but only 11 wins this season, indicating a dip in form.]

[That’s right. He’s getting older, and we’re seeing signs of aging. However, he showed a good performance, including a shutout victory against Roy Halladay in the Division Series.]

Facing Jung Ha-sung, the Cardinals sent Chris Carpenter to the mound.

Although Carpenter was aging, his experience was proving valuable in the postseason.

However, his appearance couldn’t shake the feeling that the matchup was unbalanced.

-In the end, the Cardinals are sending Carpenter out.

-Aren’t they giving up on Game 1 at this point?

-The Cardinals don’t originally have a strong pitching rotation.

-They don’t have many cards to play, so they have no choice.

-Still, Ha-sung might have some trouble with their hitters.

-Agreed.

-This season, the Cardinals’ batting lineup can compete for the top spot with Texas.

-Yeah. But that Texas team got beat by Ha-sung.

-And isn’t the top team in Major League Baseball the New York Yankees?

-Honestly, if you take out Ha-sung, the Yankees’ level drops significantly, agreed?

-Agreed, but the problem is that Ha-sung *does* belong to the Yankees.

The outcome of Game 1 between the Yankees and the Cardinals felt predictable.

And this was reflected in the betting odds of the bookmakers.

[Las Vegas bookmakers predict the victory of the New York Yankees!]

[An unprecedented skew! 99 percent of bookmakers are betting on the New York Yankees to win!]

Most bookmakers predicted the Yankees’ victory.

Of course, there were those who bet on the Cardinals’ victory.

However, they were betting on a long shot, not because they truly believed they would win.

That’s how overwhelmingly everyone was predicting the Yankees’ victory.

It was enough to feel burdened, but on the day of the World Series, Ha-sung, who arrived at the stadium in a sports car, confidently said to the reporters who flocked to him.

“I’m pitching. Of course, the Yankees will win.”

Game 1 of the World Series was just around the corner.

* * *

As expected, all seats were sold out for Game 1 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium.

Originally, World Series tickets are priced high on the black market.

But this year, the demand was exceptional.

The black market price soared to five times the original price.

In the case of the premium seats, the price soared more than 10 times, and I could indirectly feel the tremendous interest in today’s game.

This interest was naturally focused on Ha-sung.

[Jung Ha-sung is on the mound.]

As Ha-sung took the mound, Yankee Stadium was buzzing.

[Just the appearance of Jung Ha-sung is making the fans who filled Yankee Stadium roar.]

[This is the kind of popularity you can only feel when you come to the stadium.]

[Jung Ha-sung is incredibly popular not only in Korea and the United States but all over the world, isn’t he?]

[He has become a star beyond the sport of baseball.]

The birth of a star transcending sports.

This was what Major League Baseball had wanted.

The head office had invested a lot of effort and money for this.

It wasn’t widely known, but they were trying to expand the Major League Baseball business through various promotions.

But they failed every time.

But one player from the East was achieving it on his own.

“He’s really incredibly popular.”

“He’s gaining more popularity than any player in the past. In particular, he’s attracting young people and making them move to the baseball stadium.”

Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig nodded at his aide’s words.

“He’s doing alone what we’ve been trying to do.”

“According to the PR team, if he participates in this Olympics, it will be promoted all over the world, and we can get a bigger promotional effect.”

“That’s what we want.”

The reason why Major League Baseball players were allowed to participate in the Olympics was the same.

“A star is not made, but born.”

Bud Selig had tried to create various stars.

But he failed every time.

He could now understand the reason.

He failed because he was trying to manufacture them.

“We should have prepared a place where stars could be made, not try to make stars.”

Ha-sung had been doing that himself.

He had been increasing his value and strengthening his brand.

And he continued to challenge the unwritten rules of Major League Baseball and make bold remarks in interviews.

He had created his own path.

“He’s an amazing guy.”

What he had to do was clear.

Supporting him.

That was what he had to do as the Major League Baseball Commissioner.

* * *

He took the stage as the World Series starter.

‘I’m more nervous than during the Korean Series [championship series of the KBO League].’

Even though Ha-sung was a strong-hearted man, the World Series stage put pressure on him.

Of course, Ha-sung wasn’t one to be crushed by such things.

‘The beginning is important.’

He focused his concentration.

Then the tension slowly disappeared.

‘I had enough rest. I’m going all out from the beginning.’

After the Championship Series, Ha-sung chose to rest instead of training.

Thanks to that, he was in better condition than he was during the Championship Series.

‘Outside low course.’

The catcher signaled the location.

‘Four-seam fastball.’

He even signaled the pitch type.

Ha-sung, who confirmed, nodded and went into the windup.

[World Series Game 1! Jung Ha-sung is winding up to throw the first pitch!]

Following the windup, he twisted his body and went into the kicking motion.

And he strode forward, gathering strength as he kicked his leg up to chest height.

Kwa-jik!!

The moment the spikes of his cleats dug into the mound.

He instantly released the gathered power and quickly rotated his body.

And the moment the rotational force and power reached his fingertips.

“Hup-!!”

He threw the ball with a shout.

Swaeeeek-!!

The ball that left his hand flew accurately toward the catcher’s mitt.

‘As expected, the first pitch is a fastball!’

The Cardinals’ leadoff hitter, Ryan, swung his bat as if he had expected it.

Ha-sung’s fastball rate for the first pitch was close to 90 percent.

In other words, it was a predictable pitch.

Nevertheless, the reason why he wasn’t being attacked was…

Whirly!

‘The trajectory……!’

Whoong-!!

‘It changed……!’

Ppeooooeok!!

“Strike!!”

[He aimed for the first pitch, but the bat cuts through the air! The speed is 100 miles per hour! Jung Ha-sung’s fastball explodes from the first pitch!]

It was all in the movement of the ball.

Even though it was a four-seam fastball, it showed tremendous movement like a cutter or a two-seam, so the batters’ bats repeatedly cut through the air.

‘I knew it, but it changed even more this time.’

Above all, the problem was that the movement of the fastball changed every time.

Sometimes it came in straight, and other times it showed crazy movement.

In other words, even if the pitch type and location could be predicted, the movement could not be predicted.

‘Damn it…….’

The first pitch secured the lead.

‘Shall we cook him up?’

Ha-sung’s confidence soared.

* * *

[He throws the second pitch!]

Ttak!!

“Foul!!”

[He touched the falling curve, but it becomes a foul!]

[The first pitch was 100 miles per hour, and the second pitch was an 80-mile-per-hour curveball, a perfect control of pace using the speed difference.]

[From the batter’s point of view, it was great just to make contact.]

Ha-sung, who had driven his opponent into a two-strike count, did not hesitate to compete.

“Hup-!!”

[He threw the third pitch!]

Swaeeeek-!!

His ball moved from right to left.

It crossed the home plate and accurately hit the left-handed batter’s body.

Ppeooooeok-!!

“Strike! Batter out!!”

[Strikeout!! The batter can’t do anything and watches the ball go by!]

[It was a perfect crossfire. It would have been difficult for the batter to even touch the ball!]

[Jung Ha-sung gets the first out of Game 1 of the World Series with a strikeout! His K parade starts!]

The K parade [strikeout parade].

Ha-sung was recording an average of 13.3 strikeouts per game.

This was one of the highest records in Major League Baseball history.

It was a record that far exceeded Randy Johnson’s previous record of 10.61.

Of course, it was difficult to make a simple comparison because Randy Johnson’s record was set during his 21-year career.

However, Ha-sung’s current record was so overwhelming that the expression ‘overwhelming’ was appropriate.

[K marks are starting to be attached to the outfield of Yankee Stadium!]

[I’m already looking forward to how many K marks will be attached today.]

On the day Ha-sung pitched, K marks began to be attached to the outfield of Yankee Stadium.

There was even a time when there were not enough K marks, so they were attached upside down.

Thanks to this, they are currently preparing 27 K marks to prepare for any eventuality.

[Jung Ha-sung’s overwhelming pitching continues!]

Ha-sung began to dominate even the World Series.

* * *

Before the game.

It was widely expected that Ha-sung would overwhelm the Cardinals’ lineup this time as well.

However, some people expressed opposing opinions.

-The Cardinals’ lineup is terrifying. Even if it’s Jung Ha-sung, it will be difficult to completely overwhelm them.

The Cardinals were a team that reached the World Series with the power of their hitters this season, to the extent that these opinions came out.

However, Ha-sung pitched well enough to make these opinions seem insignificant.

Ppeooooeok-!!

“Strike! Batter out!!”

[He strikes out the last hitter in the 5th inning, recording his 12th strikeout of the game!]

[Albert Pujols’ bat helplessly cut through the air on the high-speed slider he threw at the end.]

Albert Pujols.

He is one of the leading hitters in Major League Baseball.

Above all, he was expected to have a good match with Ha-sung because he consistently produced good results every year to the point of being called the epitome of consistency.

However, when the game started, it was Ha-sung’s overwhelming victory.

[Albert Pujols is retiring with strikeouts in both of his at-bats! That means Jung Ha-sung’s pitching is amazing, right?]

[That’s right. Today, Jung Ha-sung is raising his game from the beginning and devastating the Cardinals’ lineup.]

[It’s really amazing concentration.]

Amazing concentration was an accurate expression.

Ha-sung’s concentration was unwavering on the mound or on the bench.

It was amazing that his stamina didn’t drop even while doing this.

‘Four innings left…….’

Only 12 outs remained until the victory in Game 1 of the World Series.

Ha-sung’s gaze turned to home plate.

‘There’s a high chance that an opportunity will come in this inning.’

The Yankees’ attack in the bottom of the 5th inning started with the first batter.

It was a good opportunity.

‘Carpenter is pitching better than expected. There’s a high chance that it’s because he’s stimulated by me.’

If the opposing pitcher pitched well, he would naturally be motivated.

Perhaps that’s why Carpenter was continuing his scoreless pitching through the 5th inning.

Of course, the quality of their performances could not be compared.

Ttak-!!

At that time, a sharp sound rang out.

[He hit it! A hit that falls in front of the center fielder! The Yankees’ attack begins!]

The leadoff hitter is on base.

This meant that the batting order would return to Ha-sung.

Ha-sung put on his helmet and prepared to enter the batter’s box.