Villain On The Mound [EN]: Chapter 42

Ha-sung arrived at the mound and began to warm up.

*Thwack-!!*

As he started his practice throws, the crowd began to focus.

“It’s Jung Ha-sung.”

“He pitched really well last year.”

“His pitches look good this year too?”

The crowd remembered Ha-sung’s incredible performance at the end of last season.

Naturally, many fans had high expectations for him this season.

And just like the fans, the opposing players watched his pitching intently.

“Whew~ Is that really a 20-year-old’s pitch?”

“He’s a monster.”

“It’s just practice pitching, but it’s no joke.”

Some of the Royals’ batters were impressed by Ha-sung’s pitching.

But not everyone felt that way.

“He’s wasting too much energy in practice pitching, isn’t he?”

“Is that his full power?”

“He’s putting too much force into it. Those kinds of pitches are easy to hit.”

Some underestimated Ha-sung’s pitches.

Whatever the case, the results would soon be clear.

People’s attention was focused.

* * *

[Jung Ha-sung has finished his practice pitches and is preparing slowly according to his routine. There has been a lot of talk about Jung Ha-sung, hasn’t there? What are your thoughts on these controversies, commentator?]

[A muscular body can help with pitching, but sudden changes aren’t good. Pitching requires a precise mechanism, and I doubt the system can keep up with the sudden change in hardware.]

Hearing the commentary, Ha-sung’s father frowned.

“Honey, our Ha-sung is going to be okay, right?”

His mother was just as worried.

Even though she was a housewife, she was also the mother of a baseball player.

Naturally, she knew more about baseball than the average person.

And she was very interested.

She looked up articles about her son and searched for reactions online.

That’s why she couldn’t help but feel anxious.

Even if there are ten good comments, one bad comment is more likely to stick in your mind.

Ha-sung’s father patted his worried wife on the shoulder.

“It’s okay! He’s our son! He’ll do well!”

“Do you think so?”

“Of course! What kind of guy is Ha-sung? He’s a guy who thinks everything through. He must have had a reason for bulking up this time too!”

He reassured his wife, but in truth, the father was just as anxious.

‘Son, you did have a plan, right?’

The father knew more about baseball than his wife.

He had even studied pitching professionally while Ha-sung was a pitcher.

In the process, he had a rough idea of how a pitcher’s mechanics worked.

That’s why he was anxious.

He hoped this anxiety would disappear soon.

[Jung Ha-sung steps onto the mound.]

Ha-sung lowered his upper body.

[Trevor, the Athletics’ starting catcher, is working with him. They worked together last year, so there shouldn’t be any major difficulties.]

[He’s a catcher with a better batting average, but he’s also good at leading pitchers.]

[The signs have been exchanged. Jung Ha-sung is getting into his pitching stance, winding up.]

The runners were on second and third base.

It was unlikely that a steal would occur during a practice game.

More than anything, Ha-sung was a right-handed pitcher.

He could see the runners head-on, so there was no major problem with winding up [a pitching motion where the pitcher rotates their body to generate momentum].

[He throws the first pitch!]

The ball left his hand and instantly crossed the space.

The batter tried to swing from the first pitch.

But the attempt failed.

[Strike!!]

[First pitch strike!! The speed is… 100 miles!]

A speed of 100 miles was recorded in his first appearance in the practice game.

But the surprise didn’t end there.

[He throws the second pitch!!]

[Strike!!]

[The second pitch is 99 miles! It passes through the zone again!]

[He’s throwing amazing pitches one after another.]

[Jung Ha-sung has taken a favorable count with two strikes! What will the third pitch be…?]

The third pitch, thrown with a windup, passed through the zone.

*Thwack-!!*

[Strike!! Batter out!!]

[Three-pitch strikeout!! Jung Ha-sung goes for a quick win with a fastball again! The speed was 101 miles!!]

* * *

[Super Rookie Jung Ha-sung Records 1 Inning, No Runs Allowed, 3 Strikeouts!]

[Were the concerns just concerns? Jung Ha-sung Starts Strong with 1 Inning Perfect Performance!]

[Jung Ha-sung Shows Overwhelming Performance in First Spring Camp Practice Game!]

After the game, articles poured out.

And the reactions followed immediately.

– Jung Ha-sung was amazing today.

– Wow… I’m watching the live broadcast for the first time, and his pitches are no joke.

– Why isn’t he being selected for the national team?

– I heard he wasn’t in the plans from the start?

– Geevio isn’t doing his job properly.

– He deserves the nickname Super Rookie.

– Amazing.

These were Korean fans who hadn’t had the chance to watch Ha-sung’s games live.

That’s why the reaction to this broadcast was incredibly enthusiastic.

But the opposing opinions were still present.

– There’s a guy throwing 100 miles in a practice game.

– I know, right.

– Is there a reason to go all out?

– He’ll overdo it in the beginning and then collapse when the regular season starts.

However, the rebuttals to these opinions were no joke.

– The armchair experts have arrived again.

– Where are all the guys who were talking about Jung Ha-sung’s bulk up?

– As soon as Jung Ha-sung throws 100 miles, they start nitpicking about something else.

– They can’t stand to see others succeed, lol [laughing out loud].

The community’s reaction was even more heated due to the broadcast.

Previously, fans’ reactions would follow after articles were posted after the game, but now they were coming in real-time.

Thanks to this, the hype intensified even more after the game ended.

The broadcasting station shed tears of joy at the reaction.

“The average viewership was 1 percent, but after Jung Ha-sung appeared, the viewership soared to 7 percent.”

“What? Is that real?”

“Yes! It’s the highest viewership, and this level of numbers for the first broadcast means we can expect more in the future!”

“Hehehe! The gamble was a success!”

Acquiring the rights to broadcast Major League Baseball was like a gamble for a small broadcasting station.

But the gamble was successful, and the reward was sweet.

Ha-sung’s performance was bringing joy to so many people.

* * *

Ha-sung’s performance continued.

[Jung Ha-sung Rests for One Day and Returns to the Mound for His Third Practice Game.]

[Today, he’s coming up with runners on first and third base.]

Appearing in situations with runners on base for the second consecutive time.

The difference from the first game was that winding up was difficult this time.

Winding up is an important motion for a pitcher.

It allows them to charge more power and add stability.

On the other hand, the slide step [a quicker delivery motion used when runners are on base] is a sudden motion, making it difficult to charge power and maintain stability.

[Jung Ha-sung exchanges signs and checks the runners with his eyes.]

[Despite his young age, Jung Ha-sung has this composure. He knows how to keep the runners in check by looking directly at them.]

[Jung Ha-sung throws the first pitch!]

The ball, thrown with a slide step, flew quickly.

The batter swung as if he had been waiting for it, but he didn’t hit the ball.

*Thwack!!*

[Strike!!]

[First pitch, swing and a miss! The speed is 96 miles.]

[It looked like a four-seam fastball. The pitch is so good that the bat can’t keep up.]

[The speed is lower than yesterday.]

[The speed is bound to drop since he’s throwing the ball directly from the set position. But the pitch is so good that it doesn’t seem like a big problem.]

The commentator’s words were accurate.

And Ha-sung knew it too.

‘My condition isn’t bad. My body balance is good, and more than anything, there are no major problems controlling it even though the hardware has changed.’

Bulking up was a necessary step.

But Ha-sung couldn’t help but worry about the aftereffects.

‘I thought it would take time to adjust, even if I planned it systematically.’

His body adapted surprisingly quickly.

As a result, he was able to throw the ball even harder.

[Jung Ha-sung exchanges signs.]

Ha-sung lowered his upper body and exchanged signs with Trevor, the catcher.

‘Slider.’

‘Okay.’

He hadn’t thrown a slider in the first appearance.

In other words, this was the first breaking ball he was throwing in a real game this year.

He straightened his upper body and went into a set position.

In that state, he looked straight ahead and glared at the runner on third base.

‘I’ll kill you if you run.’

He pressured the opponent with his eyes.

It was a way to reduce the runner’s lead without throwing.

‘His glare is intense. But it’s just a practice game anyway. There’s no reason to run, right?’

Practice games are literally games to build up pace.

Regular players don’t push themselves unnecessarily.

More than anything, there was a runner on first base and only one out.

The offense had the advantage in scoring.

There was no reason for the runner to take a risk.

*Whoosh!*

Ha-sung, having reduced the runner’s lead, took a slide step.

Although he couldn’t create a perfect charge of power like with a windup, he created a charge by slightly lowering his lower body.

Then, he created linear energy by stepping forward and tensed his core while stopping his breath.

Following that, he rotated his body and transferred the charged energy to his upper body.

The smooth transfer of power soon passed through his chest and arm, leading to his fingertips.

*Whoosh!!*

He released the power through another acceleration at the release point.

*Swaaack-!!*

[He throws the second pitch!]

The ball left his hand and flew with a fierce speed.

The batter swung immediately.

It was impossible to hit a ball approaching 100 miles per hour by just seeing it.

You had to predict where it was going to come and swing the bat.

At that moment.

The ball changed its trajectory.

*Whirlick!*

The batter was helpless as the ball moved away, avoiding the path of the bat.

*Whoosh!!*

*Thwack!*

“Strike! Two!!”

[The batter swings and misses the second breaking ball! The speed is 88 miles! It’s a fast speed even for a breaking ball!]

[It looked like Jung Ha-sung’s signature high-speed slider. He’s showing a very good changeup.]

[He mainly showed fastballs in the previous game. He’s testing breaking balls in today’s game.]

Ha-sung was gradually increasing his repertoire as the game progressed.

‘The breaking ball is being executed as planned. The control isn’t bad either.’

He was adapting to his changed body.

* * *

The second game also ended without allowing a run.

Practice game: 1.2 innings, no runs allowed, 4 strikeouts.

Watching Ha-sung, who was still showing a strong performance, Chris was becoming more and more determined.

‘Ha-sung is the only guy on our team who can be the closer after all.’

Chris deliberately put Ha-sung on the mound in situations with runners on base.

The reason was simple.

‘The closer has to take complete responsibility for one inning. There are many ways to take responsibility for one inning, but the best way is to strike out the batter.’

If the ball hits the bat, variables arise from that point on.

The best thing to do is to make it impossible to even touch the ball.

Chris thought that this ability was even more necessary for a closer.

‘From that point of view, there’s no pitcher more suited to be a closer than Ha-sung.’

He was able to know what type of pitcher Ha-sung was through the data accumulated since the 08 season.

‘When there are no runners, the ball often goes out into the field. Of course, it’s a powerful ball, so it doesn’t often lead to a direct hit.’

Getting ground outs isn’t a disadvantage.

Just as the pitcher is a professional, the defense is also professional, so mistakes rarely occur.

Ha-sung pitched efficiently, trying to get ground outs as much as possible when there were no runners, saving his pitch count.

‘On the other hand, when there are runners, he doesn’t even let them hit the ball. The strikeout rate increases significantly.’

The number of strikeouts per 9 innings accumulated since last year is 11.7.

But if limited to situations with runners on base, this number rises vertically to 16.7.