Villain On The Mound [EN]: Chapter 57

The Mound’s Villain – Episode 57

Ha-sung’s strong performance continued throughout May.

[Jung Ha-sung Adds Another Save Against the Red Sox!]

[Jung Ha-sung Achieves His 17th Save of the Season! Only 4 Away from Tying the Major League Record for Consecutive Saves by a Rookie!]

[Countdown Begins! Can Jung Ha-sung Write Major League History?]

The Major League has a long and storied history.

To leave your mark there was a truly remarkable feat.

Unsurprisingly, the media spotlight remained firmly on Ha-sung.

[Super Rookie from Korea is Setting New Records for the Athletics.]

ESPN also featured a special article.

[Super Rookie Jung Ha-sung! Will He Be Able to Break the Record for Consecutive Saves by a Rookie?]

His picture was also prominently displayed on the main page of MLB.COM.

It goes without saying that he had become a celebrity; almost everyone in Korea knew his name.

With things as they were, his parents also became minor celebrities.

“Director! I really enjoyed watching your son’s game today!”

“Oh? You watched it too?”

“Of course! I woke up early to watch it live and then came straight to work!”

“Haha! Aren’t you worried about getting behind on your work doing that?”

“Not at all! Watching Jung Ha-sung’s games gives me so much energy!”

It was an obsequious remark from a subordinate, but the father’s smile didn’t waver.

That’s just how it was when you became a father.

It felt better to have your child praised than to receive praise yourself.

It was just after he arrived at the office and was unpacking his things when…

Ring-!

A phone call came in.

“Yes, Jung… Ah, yes. Mr. President. I understand.”

It was a sudden call from the president of the company.

The father felt a knot of nervousness tighten in his stomach at the summons so soon after arriving at work.

When he arrived at the office, he was ushered in by the secretary.

“Ah, welcome.”

“Good morning, Mr. President.”

“Have a seat.”

Even for someone with his long career, a private meeting with the president was a daunting prospect.

Why had he been summoned?

The company had been struggling recently; was he about to be made redundant [laid off]?

Various anxious thoughts flashed through his mind.

Then the president spoke.

“I heard your son is Jung Ha-sung, the player in the Major League.”

“Yes?”

He made a bewildered expression at the unexpected words, then quickly composed himself.

“Ah, yes! Ha-sung is my son.”

“Haha! You’ve raised your son really well. I’ve been enjoying watching his games these days.”

“Do you watch baseball, Mr. President?”

“Haha! What Korean man doesn’t like baseball? I’ve been hooked on the Major League since the ’90s.”

That era, when ‘Korean Express’ Park Chan-ho was playing, is often called the golden age of Major League baseball in Korea.

It wasn’t strange that the president watched it.

“If it’s not too much to ask, could I possibly get your son’s autograph next time he’s in Korea?”

“Of course. I’ll ask him to get it for you when the season ends and he comes back to Korea.”

“Hahaha! Thank you! Thank you!”

The father breathed a sigh of relief, seeing the president so pleased.

* * *

[Jung Ha-sung Adds 1 Save in Texas Road Trip! Achieves 18 Saves This Season!]

[Only 3 Left Until the Record!]

With his 18th save of the season, he was now only 3 saves away from tying the rookie consecutive save record.

[With Half of May Passed, Jung Ha-sung Has Already Earned 6 Save Points. If He Earns 4 More, He Might Be Able to Challenge the All-Time Save Record.]

[That’s Right. He’s Recording Saves at a Similar Pace to April.]

[The Athletics’ Rise is Also Contributing.]

[They’re Running First in the Division and Second in the League in May, Following April, Right?]

The Athletics’ high ranking surprised many people.

They had made several strategic preparations this season, but few had predicted such a dramatic turnaround.

[Should We Say That Chris’s Moneyball Theory is Shining Once Again?]

[We Should Say That.]

[Chris’s Bold Use of Rookies Can Also Be Said to Be the Reason for This Sensation.]

Praise for Chris continued to pour in.

It was inevitable.

The general manager was, after all, the one running the team.

[There Must Have Been Pressure About the Performance Until Now. Chris is Showing a Resurgence.]

[That’s Right. It’s True That Chris’s Reputation, Which Swept Through the Early 2000s, Has Been Tarnished Due to Poor Performance. It Feels Like He’s Reviving This Year.]

Chris’s revival was something even seasoned experts hadn’t foreseen.

The Moneyball theory wasn’t exclusive to Chris.

The Red Sox and other teams had also actively adopted the Moneyball theory and sabermetrics [data-driven baseball analytics], achieving impressive results.

Another factor was that Chris’s once-stellar reputation had diminished, making other teams wary of trading with him.

Experts were genuinely surprised to see him back in form.

[The Athletics’ Mound is Solid. But Recently, the Batting Lineup Has Been Shaking a Bit.]

[That’s Right. Matt Holliday’s Batting Average, Which Was Very Active in April, is Gradually Decreasing in May.]

[What’s the Reason for Holliday’s Batting Average Dropping?]

[Since He Was a Player Who Performed Well at Coors Field, Known as the Graveyard of Pitchers (due to the altitude and dry air), We Should See That the Impact of Coming Down from the Mountain is Fully Arriving.]

[Next is Giambi’s…]

The Athletics were causing a sensation, but…

They were sweeping through the ’09 season, but anxieties were gradually increasing.

And that was starting to manifest in their performance.

* * *

[The Athletics Lose 1-0. The Batting Lineup is Silent.]

[The Entire Batting Lineup Couldn’t Put Up a Proper Hit Due to the Good Pitching of the Mariners’ Felix Hernandez.]

Ha-sung, who was watching the game from the bullpen, shook his head.

‘He’s still the King.’

King Felix Hernandez.

The ’09 season was when his potential, the symbol of the Mariners, began to truly explode.

This year, he and Zack Greinke had become two of the leading pitchers in the Major League.

“Ha-sung, you didn’t even have to warm up today.”

Ha-sung lightly shrugged at Bailey’s words as he packed his things next to him.

“It can’t be helped. I can’t get a chance to pitch while the game is losing.”

“That’s true. By the way, Felix was scary today.”

“His pitches were more threatening than usual. He must be in good condition.”

“I guess so. Our batting lineup shouldn’t have been *that* bad.”

“No. Our guys were generally in bad condition.”

“Huh? Was that so?”

“The King’s pitches were good, but not to the point where we couldn’t hit them at all. It’s just that the hitters’ condition was bad.”

Bailey nodded at Ha-sung’s explanation.

“Still, it must be disappointing. You missed the chance to add to your save total.”

“The season is long. If you get impatient, your current form will collapse. You just have to wait for the right time.”

Ha-sung said it as if it wasn’t a big deal.

In fact, he didn’t feel particularly impatient or anything.

Everyone around him was talking about new records and whatnot, but Ha-sung just took it all in stride.

‘A record only has meaning if it’s actually achieved. I’m getting attention now, but if I don’t break that record, it’s just another news story.’

There’s a saying that the process is as important as the result.

But Ha-sung disagreed with that.

‘Everyone does their best in the process. But in the end, the few who produce tangible results are the ones who truly win.’

Ha-sung, who had lived a life once before, knew that all too well.

That’s why he didn’t dwell on it until he actually produced results.

Thanks to that, Ha-sung’s mentality remained remarkably stable.

* * *

After the showdown with Felix Hernandez…

The Athletics’ batting lineup fell silent as if under a curse.

Clang-!!

[He Hit It Hard! But, Right at the Shortstop! Shortstop Fields It Cleanly and Throws to 2nd! Leading Runner is Out and They’re Turning Two!]

Thud!

“Out!!”

[It’s a Double Play! The Athletics’ Offense Is Stalling Again Today.]

Even when a runner managed to get on base, they couldn’t bring that runner home.

Since they couldn’t capitalize on scoring opportunities, they eventually conceded runs, even when the pitching held strong.

Clang!!

[Well-Hit Ball! Splits the Left-Center Field Gap! In the Meantime, the Runner on 2nd Rounds 3rd and Heads Home! The Hitter Pulls Into 2nd With a Double!]

Eventually, the Athletics fell into a losing streak, and their ranking plummeted to 3rd in the division.

As Ha-sung’s opportunities to play dwindled, his chances of breaking the record receded into the distance.

But this was just the beginning.

[Athletics’ First 3-Game Losing Streak of the Season!]

[Division 1st Place Athletics Swept by Seattle!]

[How Long Will the Batting Lineup’s Silence Last?]

The batting lineup’s slump stretched on and on.

In truth, the Athletics had been propelled to their high ranking primarily by the strength of their pitching.

In addition, the batting lineup had contributed moderately, creating a synergistic effect that allowed them to reach the top spot.

But when the batting lineup went cold, there seemed to be no solution.

‘Should I make some changes?’

Chris was contemplating potential changes to the batting lineup while reviewing the roster.

In fact, there was still some leeway, as they had only just suffered their first 3-game losing streak of the season.

But Chris was planning to prepare in advance.

‘The guys with the worst records in the current batting lineup are…’

He checked the list of players who might be sent down to the minor league.

‘Giambi’s performance is even worse than expected.’

Giambi, who played first base, had a dismal batting average of only .100.

Except for the occasional home run, other key indicators showed that he wasn’t performing at the level expected of a Major League first baseman.

‘But I can’t just insert Barton, who’s the obvious candidate.’

Barton’s batting average was better than Giambi’s, but he wasn’t good enough to play first base in terms of either defense or slugging power.

‘I’ll have to explore a trade or find someone promising in the minors.’

Chris was meticulously checking the list and preparing to somehow reverse the team’s recent sluggish performance.

It would be ideal if the current players could rediscover their form, but from his position of leading the team, he always had to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

* * *

May.

The Athletics’ meteoric rise had been abruptly halted.

[The Athletics’ Slump is Getting Longer. They Have 3 Wins and 7 Losses in the Last 10 Games, and Their Ranking Has Fallen to 2nd in the Division.]

[The Problem is the Batting Lineup. The Mound’s ERA [Earned Run Average, a measure of pitching performance] is a Solid 2.7 During the 10 Games, but the Batting Lineup’s Run Support is Very Low at 0.9 Runs Per Game.]

[With the Situation Like This, Isn’t Jung Ha-sung’s New Record Achievement Also Being Delayed?]

The biggest concern for Korean fans was Ha-sung’s pursuit of the rookie record.

Since he can’t earn a save unless the team is winning, he had only appeared in 1 game out of the last 10.

[Jung Ha-sung Has Been ‘Closed for Business’ Since Recording His 19th Save of the Season.]

[The Chase From the 2nd Place Group is Fierce, So the 1st Place Spot is Also Precarious.]

[The Yankees’ Closer Mariano Rivera Has Narrowed the Gap to 1 With 18 Saves.]

As Ha-sung’s ‘closure of business’ [lack of save opportunities] dragged on, the closers in 2nd place were rapidly catching up.

[I’m Curious Whether the Athletics Will Continue to Slide Down the Ranks, or Whether They Will Stage a Reversal, and What Chris is Thinking.]

Experts were sending worried signals about the Athletics’ sudden slump.

Their recent performance seemed to be a return to their previous, less successful form.

‘The batting lineup is so weak that even a solid pitching performance isn’t enough to win games.’

Catherine also had many concerns.

Since she was in charge of assisting Chris, the general manager, she was even more concerned about the team’s performance than most.

Above all, she understood the team’s problems as well as Chris because she was constantly analyzing the data.

‘Giambi is the main problem. I thought he would be the centerpiece of the team, but he’s not performing at all. All his numbers are low except for SLG [Slugging Percentage, a measure of a batter’s power]. Above all, the biggest issue is that he can’t capitalize on opportunities with runners on base.’

Giambi, the team’s supposed franchise star, was underperforming significantly.

She had expected him to be the linchpin of the batting lineup, but he wasn’t delivering.

‘There are no promising players in Triple-A, so I’ll have to look at Double-A.’

She already felt a headache coming on at the thought of scouting for minor league players.

‘Huh? It’s Ha-sung.’

Then she spotted Ha-sung getting a drink at the cafe.

‘Come to think of it, he was also playing in Double-A until last year, wasn’t he?’

Normally, you wouldn’t ask a player about this kind of thing.

But Ha-sung was a special case.

He had been playing in Double-A until last year, and, more importantly, he himself was a unique talent, a rare find even in the Major League.

It wouldn’t hurt to ask for his opinion.

“Hi, Ha-sung.”