Villain On The Mound [EN]: Chapter 32

Swaeeeeek-!!

Thwack!!

“Strike!!”

A powerful first pitch.

The number on the scoreboard flashed 98 mph with a tremendous sound.

[98 mph from the first pitch!! He’s showing off his strength with the fastball!!]

[He’s also making aggressive choices, like jamming the ball inside. You can’t make that choice unless you trust your stuff!]

The crowd went wild for Ha-sung’s aggressive pitching.

“Yeah!”

“Good job! This is baseball!”

“Don’t avoid it, smash it head-on!!”

Ha-sung lived up to the crowd’s expectations, handling the batters with ease.

Clang!!

“Foul!!”

[The second pitch is a foul ball that goes outside the third base line! Foul!]

Swaeeeeek-!!

Thwack!!

“Strike! Batter out!!”

[Strikeout!! Jung Ha-sung gets the first out with aggressive pitching!!]

He took care of the first batter with a perfect pitch.

The aggressive pitching continued with the second batter.

Swaeeeeek-!!

This time, the batter swung at a ball coming in close.

Whoosh-!!

At that moment, the ball curved outward and hit the end of the bat.

Clang-!!

[Weak hit! Good placement!!]

The batted ball flew towards the gap between first and second base.

It was too far for the second baseman to catch, and the first baseman could barely reach it with a dive.

The first baseman, Barton, dove for the ball.

Whump-!!

[Barton with a sliding catch!! He caught the ball! And throws to second!!]

Swaeeek-!

Thud!

“Out!!”

[Leading runner out! And the ball goes to first!!]

Swaeeek-!

Thud!!

“Out!!”

[Out! Jung Ha-sung collects three outs with just four pitches!]

[Ah-! Good pitch and good base cover! Jung Ha-sung quickly covered first base after throwing the ball, completing the double play!]

[It would have been too late if first baseman Barton had come in, right?]

[Yes. With runners on first and second, Barton was playing off the base and had to dive, so it would have been too late to cover the base.]

Praise for Ha-sung’s base cover continued.

The fans were also impressed by his solid fundamentals.

Everyone was especially amazed that he got three outs in just four pitches.

It was a natural situation.

While sitting on the bench drinking a beverage, Tony approached.

“Nice pitching. Can you throw another inning?”

Until now, Ha-sung had only thrown one inning if possible.

That’s why the manager asked for his opinion.

“I can.”

“Good. Then I’ll ask you for the next inning too.”

Trusting him enough to entrust him with the 8th inning.

‘If I show a little more of my ability, I might be on the roster next season.’

He was slowly moving towards his next goal.

‘First, deal with what’s in front of me, one thing at a time.’

Living life, this was the most difficult thing.

The future was vague.

The fear of it was immense.

But after living once, there was nothing as futile as being consumed by that fear.

‘One by one…… one by one…….’

Ha-sung prepared for the next inning as if hypnotizing himself.

* * *

8th inning, top.

Ha-sung went to the mound.

[Jung Ha-sung is back on the mound. He’s coming up for two consecutive innings.]

[He finished the top of the 7th with just four pitches, so he should have some energy left.]

[Right? Here comes the first pitch.]

Clang-!!

“Foul!!”

[The batter swings at the first pitch. But he’s overpowered and it goes outside the third base line.]

[It’s a 96 mph fastball, but the spin is so good that it’s hard for batters to hit the center of the bat.]

[Quickly throws the second pitch.]

Clang!!

[He hit it this time. But it’s a routine ground ball, shortstop fields it to first.]

Thud!

“Out!!”

[Out. Jung Ha-sung gets the first out with two pitches, great job.]

[He lightly handles the batter by throwing one of his signature pitches, the cutter.]

[Jung Ha-sung has only thrown six pitches so far to get four outs, I’m just curious where this player popped out from.]

Ha-sung’s performance was overwhelming.

The announcer and commentator were constantly amazed by his performance.

And that was the same for the Oakland fans who came to the stadium.

“Awesome! Rookie!!”

“Hahaha! That little kid is so aggressive?”

“That’s right! This is baseball!”

“A pitcher should be that aggressive!”

“I like him, kid!!”

The fans cheered for Ha-sung all at once.

It wasn’t just because a promising player had appeared.

His aggressive pitching captivated their hearts.

“I like that he doesn’t overcomplicate things!”

“Just smash them head-on!”

“Hahaha! Good job!”

Baseball has evolved.

The level of pitchers’ breaking balls has improved, and the batters’ skills have also improved accordingly.

The mental battle between pitchers and batters has become more complex.

Watching that is also one of the fun things about baseball.

But there was something that didn’t change even as time passed.

It was the desire for a fastball.

Thwack-!!

“Strike!!”

[Jung Ha-sung throws a fastball from the first pitch against the second batter!]

[Although he’s young, Jung Ha-sung has confidence in himself.]

Praise for Ha-sung continued.

But this was the major league.

Clang!!

[He hit it!! The shortstop dives, but can’t catch it! Jung Ha-sung allows a hit!]

[He threw a good ball, but the batter hit it well.]

Tony pondered.

‘Did I leave a guy who usually only throws one inning in for too long? Should I replace him here?’

It might seem like an early judgment.

But Tony was the manager.

He needed to manage the entire game.

That’s why he had to think about various scenarios and put players in at the right time.

‘No. Let’s leave him alone for now. We’re still in the lead and there aren’t any runners in scoring position. I need to see what kind of ball Ha-sung throws in this situation.’

He needed to check what the pitcher threw in various situations.

That data had to be accumulated in order to use players according to the situation.

‘He doesn’t seem to want to be replaced.’

Ha-sung on the mound checked the movement of the bench and rubbed rosin on his hand.

‘I didn’t think they would replace me, but I guess my prediction was right.’

The bench trusts him.

That’s why they’re going to collect data.

Data on how to better utilize him.

‘I won’t give up a run.’

He didn’t get discouraged because he gave up a hit.

In his previous life, it was common to give up hits.

The important thing was how to handle the next batter after giving up a hit.

‘In my style…….’

Ha-sung stood on the mound again.

He leaned over and exchanged signs with the catcher, Trevor.

‘Should I throw a breaking ball?’

Trevor asked for a breaking ball from the first pitch.

A slider that tails away from the batter.

It wasn’t a bad choice.

He could induce a ground ball since there was a runner on base.

But Ha-sung shook his head.

‘If I throw a breaking ball just because there’s a runner on, it might boost the batter’s momentum.’

Ha-sung had thrown countless balls during his free agent [FA] life.

Of course, he had experienced this situation as well.

That’s why he knew how dangerous the momentum that batters have could be.

‘In times like this, it’s good to just overpower them.’

Ha-sung sent a sign.

Trevor’s eyes widened when he saw it.

‘Is that rookie giving me signs now?’

Most rookies are intimidated in this situation.

Occasionally, there are guys who aren’t.

And most of those guys went far.

‘Good. I like that guts! Let’s see you throw it.’

Trevor put out his mitt.

[Jung Ha-sung allowed a hit, what kind of ball will he throw against the second batter?]

[It wouldn’t be bad to throw a breaking ball to see the batter’s reaction.]

[He could aim for a double play.]

[That’s right.]

While the commentator was making predictions, Ha-sung threw the ball from the set position.

“Hup!!”

Swaeeeeek-!

[First pitch!]

The ball that Ha-sung threw flew quickly.

The batter swung his bat with all his might when he saw it.

‘I was aiming for this!!’

The batter was also aiming for the fastball.

But there was one thing he didn’t know.

‘It doesn’t drop!’

Ha-sung’s ball didn’t drop as much as he expected.

Thwack!!

“Strike!!”

[A flashy swing! But it misses so futilely!!]

[Jung Ha-sung allowed a hit, but he induces a swing and a miss from the batter by throwing another fastball. Good guts!]

The batter frowned.

Because he swung and missed so spectacularly.

‘Damn! Damn! The ball doesn’t drop as much as I thought? And what’s with that guy? Is he not afraid of this situation even though he’s a rookie?’

There was a prejudice given by the image of a rookie.

The batter thought about that and swung his bat, but the result was futile.

‘If that guy’s true to his personality, he might throw a fastball on the next pitch too.’

He needed to revise his image.

If he swung his bat as usual, aiming for the fastball, he wouldn’t hit it.

He thought he needed to aim a little higher.

‘I’m going to hit it this time.’

He steeled himself and stood at the plate.

Ha-sung exchanged signs and threw the second pitch.

[Jung Ha-sung throws the second pitch.]

A quick slide step from the set position, followed by rotating his body and throwing the ball.

Swaeeeeek-!

The ball that left his hand flew quickly.

‘Is it a fastball again?!’

The batter was convinced that the flying ball was a fastball and swung his bat.

But Ha-sung wasn’t that easy of an opponent.

Whoosh!

‘Huh?’

The trajectory of the flying ball changed and it darted inside on him.

The batter, surprised by the sudden change, tried to stop his bat, but it was already too late.

Clang-!!

[He hit it! But it’s a weak hit, right in front of the second baseman!]

The second baseman caught the rolling ball and threw it straight to the shortstop who came in to cover the base.

“Out!!”

[Leading runner out! And the ball goes to first!!]

Thud!!

“Out!!”

[A double play is made! Jung Ha-sung gave up a hit, but he turned the next batter into a double play, creating two innings of scoreless pitching!]

Two innings of scoreless pitching wasn’t a big deal.

The content was very excellent.

He got six outs with just 10 pitches.

[Because he pitched aggressively, the batters’ bats had no choice but to come out quickly.]

[Thanks to Jung Ha-sung’s performance, Oakland will face the bottom of the 8th with a score of 2 to 1.]

Oakland seized the opportunity to attack in an advantageous situation.

A good team takes the game comfortably by scoring additional points here.

But Oakland ended the inning with three strikeouts.

[Still in a 2 to 1 situation, Oakland’s closer, Street, comes up to the mound.]

[Jung Ha-sung’s pitch count was low, but it’s too much to put him in a tough save situation.]

[But Street has been showing unreliable performances this season. He’s already recorded seven blown saves.]

[But you can’t not trust the team’s closer.]

The closer is a special position.

Five starters take turns, but the closer is in charge of only one person.

Because he is a player who can end the game, the bullpen pitcher who must block one inning takes on the role of closer.

From that point of view, Street was not closer material.

And that was proven in today’s game as well.

Clang-!!

[A strong hit on the 4th pitch!! It goes over the fence as it is!!]

Allowed a home run to the first batter.

Creating the worst disaster of tying the score.

But the disaster didn’t end there.

Clang!!

[A strong hit on the 6th pitch!! Ah…… this one goes over too!!]

Back-to-back home runs.

A scene that should never have happened as a closer was produced.

* * *

In the end, the game was lost.

Ha-sung’s performance began to shine.

And the next day, in the morning.

Manager Tony was summoned by General Manager Chris and visited the GM’s office.

And there, he received a shocking proposal.

“What if we put Ha-sung as the closer?”