Villain On The Mound [EN]: Chapter 29

The news of the perfect inning electrified the baseball community.

-9 pitches, 3 strikeouts, is this real?

-He literally erased an inning.

-Did you see him throw 100 mph from the set position on the first pitch?

-Link, please.

-Ah~ Is no one broadcasting this?

Those who knew baseball well were ecstatic about the perfect inning.

But not everyone knew baseball well.

-1 inning, no runs allowed, why all the fuss?

-3 strikeouts are good, but isn’t the reaction a bit much?

-Is this nationalistic pride?

However, these opinions didn’t last long.

Experts chimed in one after another.

-You don’t know how amazing 9 pitches and 3 strikeouts are, lol [laughing out loud].

-He overpowered the batters with his stuff, lol.

-He turned away top-tier Major League hitters with just 3 pitches each.

-If it were easy, would it only have happened 62 times in Major League history?

-Is he going to be a closer next year?

-Definitely possible.

-Considering Oakland’s GM Chris’s tendencies, he might switch him to a starter.

-That’s possible. He doesn’t usually trust relief pitchers.

-To sell the player for a high price, there’s a high chance they’ll make him a starter.

Major League die-hards appeared and actively posted their opinions and advice.

Thanks to them, even people new to baseball realized how incredible Ha-sung’s record was.

As the news spread, even public broadcasting started covering it.

[Here’s a Major League update. Jung Ha-sung, playing for the Oakland Athletics, has extended his scoreless streak to 7 games by striking out the Boston Red Sox’s core lineup with 9 pitches and 3 strikeouts.]

[This record, known as a perfect inning, has only occurred 62 times in Major League history, making him the second Korean player to achieve it, following Baek Young-ho.]

Jung Ha-sung’s pitching highlights were featured at the end of the news.

Thanks to that, his parents were able to see Ha-sung’s pitching.

“Look! Look, that’s our Ha-sung!”

“Oh my! That’s really our son.”

“Son! Already causing a major incident in America! I’m so proud! So proud!!”

His parents were thrilled to see their son’s game after a long time.

And as soon as the news ended, their phones started ringing off the hook.

“Yes! Brother! My son Ha-sung has done something big! Hahaha! Yes! Yes!”

“Oh my, sister, did you see? Ohoho! Yes, our son has always been a good pitcher. Oh, a signature? Of course, it’s possible!”

From relatives to acquaintances.

The two couldn’t stop answering calls.

Then, an unknown number appeared on his father’s phone.

“Hello. Yes. Who is this? IE Sports?”

* * *

Ha-sung’s performance excited not only baseball fans but also industry insiders.

In fact, Ha-sung’s name began to circulate among industry insiders immediately after the news of his call-up to the majors.

“Jung Ha-sung? That kid who caused a stir last year?”

“Yes. I heard he got called up to the Major League?”

“Which team?”

“Oakland Athletics, I believe.”

“Oakland? That’s a small market team. Anyone can get called up there, right?”

“Haha! Is that so?”

Advertising executives who weren’t interested in Major League Baseball dismissed it casually.

But agents had a different story.

“He got called up to the Major League?”

“In 5 months?”

“Skipping Triple-A [the highest level of minor league baseball]?”

“Is that even possible?”

There were many factors that piqued the interest of agents.

But they waited for the right moment.

They calculated that it would be enough to move after the season ended.

“There’s no need to move first and drive up his value.”

“Let’s wait until the end of the season and then make contact.”

Above all, the investment cost of going from Korea to the United States could not be ignored.

Being called up to the Major League in just one year was definitely a great achievement, but Ha-sung hadn’t shown anything yet.

Due to these factors, only a few small and medium-sized agencies had contacted his parents.

But Ha-sung’s perfect inning changed a lot.

‘That kid is going to be big.’

‘We need to secure him first.’

To catch him, who had become an attractive commodity, large agencies began to move.

Even IE Sports, the largest sports agency in Korea.

But their opponents weren’t just in Korea.

“Jung Ha-sung?”

A beautiful woman approached Ha-sung, who had arrived at Fenway Park for the second game against the Red Sox.

Long blonde hair down to her waist.

Her voluptuous figure and model-like height were impressive, accentuated by a form-fitting suit.

‘She’s incredibly pretty.’

Her outstanding appearance was a bonus.

She had a baby face that seemed more popular in East Asia than in the West.

She smiled at Ha-sung, who was staring at her, and handed him a business card.

“I’m Isabel from J&J Agency. Nice to meet you.”

Isabel, the woman who identified herself, got straight to the point with Ha-sung, who had received the business card.

“I saw your performance. It was really impressive. I don’t think you have an agency yet. If you join us at J&J Agency, you’ll have the best…”

“No, thanks.”

“Excuse me?”

“Come back after the season ends. We’ll talk properly then.”

With those words, Ha-sung turned away.

Isabel looked bewildered as she watched Ha-sung walk away.

‘Are you ignoring our J&J, which is ranked 3rd in the industry, like this? Does he not know our company?’

He’s a rookie, so it’s possible.

But if he knew and still showed that attitude?

‘He’s not an easy opponent.’

She thought he would be easy because he was a rookie player.

But just from his attitude, she could tell that he wasn’t going to be easy to deal with.

* * *

‘Trying to take advantage with your looks. Not a chance!’

Ha-sung recalled his previous life.

There was a time when he was overcharged by a headquarters employee when signing a chicken restaurant contract because she was beautiful.

That was the beginning.

He started seeing business as just business.

‘The business world is a battlefield without guns. Anyway, if J&J, which is ranked 3rd in the industry, came, others will come soon.’

It was a good sign that a large agency was paying attention to him.

That meant his name was becoming more well-known.

‘I need to contact my parents and tell them in advance.’

Korean companies will contact his parents.

If he doesn’t control that properly, things could get complicated later.

‘It wouldn’t be difficult for me, but it could be difficult for my parents. It’s best to block it in advance.’

His value was changing because of yesterday’s game.

Ha-sung realized that and prepared for the game.

* * *

[Oakland Devours Boston.]

That was the title of the article that decorated the headlines after the 3-game series against Boston.

[The Oakland Athletics swept the Boston Red Sox, winning all three games in the final series of the season.

Although Oakland was behind in objective power, they dominated the Boston Red Sox with the strength of their pitching mound, raising the flame of hope for a wild card [a playoff berth awarded to the best teams that didn’t win their division].]

3 wins and no losses.

As a result, Oakland’s winning percentage increased, while the Red Sox’s decreased.

They were able to raise hopes for a wild card.

[The most impressive player in this series was Oakland’s super rookie, Jung Ha-sung.

The 19-year-old pitcher from Korea showed his dominance over the Red Sox hitters on the mound.]

Of course, the content about Ha-sung was also covered in detail.

[He appeared in all 3 games, allowing no hits while recording 5 strikeouts in 3 scoreless innings.

As a result, he set a unique record of not allowing a single hit in 9 games since his Major League debut.

In particular, he made a perfect inning with 9 pitches and 3 strikeouts in the first game, engraving his name on the minds of baseball fans on his first national broadcast.]

The article covered Ha-sung’s performance in detail.

Thanks to that, even baseball fans who hadn’t watched the game learned his name.

Ha-sung, who was a rookie recognized in the region before leaving Oakland, had now become a rookie recognized throughout the country.

And another opportunity came to him.

‘New York Yankees…’

Ha-sung, who got off the bus, looked at the stadium in front of him.

A team that people who are interested in baseball, or even those who are not, know.

Yankee Stadium, the home of the New York Yankees, was in front of him.

‘I thought I would be wearing a pinstripe uniform and playing here.’

The New York Yankees were the most active in approaching Ha-sung in his previous life.

The conditions they offered were also overwhelming compared to other teams.

Ha-sung also wanted to play for the New York Yankees, so he was thinking of signing with them.