Villain On The Mound [EN]: Chapter 59

Mound Villain – Episode 59

Mound Villain 59

[Only 1 More to Go for the Rookie Consecutive Saves Record!]

[Oakland’s Guardian, Jung Ha-sung! Reclaims the Top Spot in Major League Saves!]

[Possibility of Winning Rookie of the Month for Two Consecutive Months?]

The domestic media was thrilled with the news of Ha-sung’s save after a long time.

They poured out a tremendous amount of articles.

The community’s reaction was hotter than ever.

-His class in reclaiming 1st place is amazing.

-Now, only one countdown left.

-Is he really going to break a new record like this?

-Wow… a Korean setting a Major League record?

-Who else is there?

-It seems like the first rookie season record.

-What on earth is Taeil High, who abandoned such a kid?

-How long will Taeil High have to suffer? lol

-There’s a high school that gave up the Major League save king?!

-I should report this to ‘What on Earth’ lol

Ha-sung’s alma mater was eternally suffering.

Contrary to the expectations of many fans, Ha-sung’s record-breaking took a little longer.

This was because the Athletics did not secure a win in May.

In June, General Manager Chris finally made a move.

[Oakland Athletics Begin to Make Changes, Call Up 3 Hitters from Triple-A.]

Arnold James was included as one of the three players called up this time.

With Ha-sung’s involvement, history was changing little by little.

* * *

Ha-sung greeted Arnold, whom he had met after a long time, with a smile.

“Long time no see, Arnold.”

“Ha-sung! Long time no see. I’ve been watching your performance these days, and it’s really amazing!”

“I was originally a major league level player. By the way, it looks like your body has gotten bigger than last year?”

Arnold’s body was bigger than last year.

It felt like his body itself had grown rather than bulking up.

His height had also increased, and his frame had widened.

“After you left, I suddenly grew a lot. Thanks to that, I gained a lot of strength, and my long hit power increased significantly in Triple-A.”

“Hmm.”

‘This guy is also gifted,’ Ha-sung thought.

Physical attributes are innate; you can’t grow them no matter how much you train.

It is genetically determined, so it can only be innate.

“What about your hitting mechanism? As your body grows, it will also have an impact.”

“Huh? You’re saying something similar to the coach. Anyway, you’re young but knowledgeable.”

“I also had a case where my body suddenly grew, so I roughly know.”

“I see. Well, there’s no particular change in the mechanism. At first, the speed at which the swing went out slowed down a bit. But as I gained power, it actually got faster.”

“It must have been difficult to time.”

“That’s right. But now I’ve adapted and hit 10 home runs in Triple-A.”

10 home runs in Triple-A.

Considering that it had only been two months since the opening, it was a great record.

He could see why he was called up.

“Anyway, now that we’re playing on the same team again, please take care of me.”

“I should be the one saying that.”

Looking at James shaking hands, Ha-sung thought.

‘He was originally going to die. What happens if he gets called up this fast?’

He couldn’t know for now.

More than anything, it wasn’t something he should be worried about.

‘The god will take care of it.’

Seeing that it doesn’t affect him, it seems like there are no major restrictions on this either.

Anyway, it’s up to him.

Hiding his complaints about God in his heart, Ha-sung prepared for the game.

* * *

As June began, articles related to the All-Star Game began to pour out.

[Major League All-Star Game Scheduled to Open on July 17th!]

[Jung Ha-sung, the Only Korean Major Leaguer with a High Chance of Joining!]

[Will He Be Able to Join His First Major League All-Star Game in June Along with Setting a New Record?]

In Korea, there was a high interest in Ha-sung’s participation in the All-Star Game.

The Major League is where the world’s most outstanding star players gather.

The war of stars where only the stars among those stars can participate is the All-Star Game.

From the perspective of Korea, which had not been producing Major Leaguers themselves recently, it was interesting that a Korean could participate in the war of stars after a long time.

-Is it possible for Ha-sung to participate in the All-Star Game?

-With this record, it’s definitely possible.

-It’s definitely a record that eats up the league [dominates the league].

-Isn’t it 100% if he sets a new record in June?

-The possibility is increasing.

-When does the fan voting start?

-It starts on the 10th.

The players who go to the All-Star Game are decided through fan voting.

The vote is not only for Americans but for people all over the world, so Koreans can also vote.

Koreans waited for the voting to open to vote for Ha-sung.

‘I wonder if I can go out in today’s game [get a chance to play],’ Ha-sung wondered.

But Ha-sung himself was not interested in the All-Star Game.

It would be nice if he could go, but it was still a long way off.

‘Right now, I need to think about my record rather than the All-Star Game.’

There was still a month left until the All-Star Game.

There was no reason to get excited about it already.

Achieving the record was the priority now.

‘The jinx of nine is not there for nothing [things often go wrong when you’re close to a goal].’

In a situation where a record is about to be achieved, it was not uncommon to see things not going well.

For example, in the case of Rodrigo, no home runs were scored for dozens of games when recording 600 home runs from 599 career home runs.

Historically, this kind of thing was common.

‘I also had a 7-game losing streak when I was about to achieve 100 career wins.’

Ha-sung recorded 104 career wins in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization].

The most difficult victory was when going from 99 wins to 100 wins.

At the time, Ha-sung recorded 7 consecutive quality start pluses [a quality start is when a pitcher pitches at least six innings and allows no more than three earned runs].

But it did not lead to victory.

There was no support from the lineup.

‘In the end, I was able to record 100 wins by writing a no-hitter no-run [pitching a no-hitter, no-run game].’

Thinking that he could not expect help from the lineup, Ha-sung pitched without giving up any points.

He achieved his first career no-hitter no-run and 100 wins at the same time.

The problem is that he threw the ball in the Korean Series that year and led to his retirement.

‘Anyway, I have to wait now. There’s nothing I can do.’

Currently, it is the 7th inning.

The Toronto Blue Jays were leading the game by 2 points.

In today’s game, Oakland only scored 1 point, still exposing problems in the lineup.

‘In this situation, someone has to go crazy [have a breakout performance].’

Going crazy is not a bad expression.

It meant that a player who opened his eyes to hitting like a crazy person and showed great performance was needed.

Only when such a player comes out will other players open their eyes to hitting.

But Oakland didn’t have that.

[In the top of the 8th inning, Oakland’s lineup starts with Giambi. It was the return of the franchise star, but so far, he is maintaining a disappointing record.]

[That’s right. The batting average has reached 20%, but he hasn’t recorded double-digit home runs, and his position is gradually narrowing.]

Giambi’s slump was ruining Chris’s plans.

And in today’s game, Giambi failed to overcome his slump.

Tak-!!

[He hit it! But it’s an ordinary fly ball; the right fielder catches it easily.]

[He’s giving up in vain.]

[At times like this, shouldn’t he be showing a tenacious side?]

[That’s right. Recently, Giambi has not been able to find such a figure at all.]

Giambi had several problems.

But the biggest one was that his competitive spirit had disappeared.

In the past, he showed tenacity to make a hit somehow, but recently, there was no such thing.

Because he couldn’t hold on, he couldn’t even increase the number of pitches.

‘Giambi’s era has also come to an end.’

It was the last years of a star who once represented the team.

He saw those figures often in his previous life.

And he was one of them.

It’s sad, but this is also baseball.

And when one era sets, another era rises.

Tak-!!

“Wow!!!”

At that time, a hit was made with a cheerful sound.

It was Cabrera who made the hit.

Cabrera ran to second base on a hit that split the left-center field.

“Safe!!”

With the second base umpire’s shout, a runner went out after a long time.

Seeing that, Sanchez called two pitchers.

“Bailey, and Mitchell, get ready. And Ha-sung…….”

Sanchez closed his mouth.

Ha-sung was already getting up from his seat and stretching.

‘He knows he can go out. He’s a reliable guy after all.’

Seeing him preparing on his own, Sanchez paid attention to the other pitchers.

* * *

Puck!

“Ball! Base on ball!!”

[Holliday! After a tenacious match, he gets on base with a walk!]

[It was a good eye for the ball. After Cabrera’s hit, it seemed like the opportunity would fly away as Mark was out. Holliday gets on base with a walk, continuing the opportunity.]

[And here, coach Tony chooses a pinch hitter.]

The camera showed the waiting batter’s box.

There, a player with a youthful face was turning his bat.

[Arnold James, who was called up from Triple-A today, is coming out.]

[The player who was called up today got a quick opportunity. Seeing this, you can see how much of a mess the current Athletics lineup is in.]

[Still, Arnold’s record in Triple-A is good. He is recording a batting average of .331 and has hit 11 home runs.]

Arnold’s Triple-A record was good.

Whether that would work in the Major League was unknown.

‘If Arnold hits it right, it’s possible to reverse the score [take the lead],’ Ha-sung thought.

The score is 2 to 0.

If a home run comes out here, it is possible to reverse it at once.

If that happens, he will have a save opportunity.

‘Well, things won’t work out that easily…….’

It was then.

Ttak-!!

A cheerful sound was heard.

Looking at the monitor, the camera was capturing a batted ball flying to the outfield.

The huge batted ball disappeared outside the fence in an instant.

“This is happening……?”

A three-run comeback [reversal] was hit.

* * *

The faces of the Blue Jays fans, who thought their team would win, changed as if they had eaten poop [looked disgusted].

There was no choice.

[The Blue Jays were leading until the 8th inning! But now, they are left with only the last attack, overturned 3 to 2!]

The camera showed the mound.

There was Oakland’s guardian warming up.

[And on the mound is Oakland’s guardian, Jung Ha-sung, who is challenging the Major League record this season!]

In the upper left corner of the screen being broadcast in Korea, there was a phrase (Major League Rookie Consecutive Saves Tie Record if Save is Successful!).

At the same time, search terms related to Ha-sung were rising in real-time search terms on various portal sites.

1) Jung Ha-sung

2) Major League Save Record

3) Major League Rookie Consecutive Saves

4) Jung Ha-sung Save Record

5) Major League Live Broadcast

From 1st to 10th place.

All rankings were filled with things related to Ha-sung.

The ripple effect of the word Major League New Record was that great.

[Jung Ha-sung faces the first batter. It is expected whether he can achieve a save in today’s game and set a tie record.]

[You have to fasten the first button well [start strong]. Jung Ha-sung is a great pitcher, but he can’t help but be nervous in this situation.]

It’s not anything else; it’s the Major League’s all-time new record and tie record.

It’s a lie if you’re not nervous in this situation.

If you’re a 19-year-old rookie, you can’t help but be even more nervous.

But that was the view from the people around him.

‘I have to kill it from the beginning [dominate from the start].’

What Ha-sung was looking at was not a new record.

Only the batter in front of him came into his sight.

“Hoo……!”

Ha-sung, who exchanged signs and took a deep breath, went into the windup.

[Jung Ha-sung throws the first ball!]

He gathered strength with kicking while twisting his body.

Following that, he threw the first ball with all his might along with the stride.

“Heup!!”

Swaaaaaaack-!

The ball that left his hand flew at a fierce speed.

The target was the batter’s body.

The ball passed over the home plate without an inch of error and was accurately lodged in the mitt.

Ppeoeok-!!

A great sound was heard, and immediately after, the umpire’s hand went up.

“Strike!!”

[The first ball, full of body, comes in! The speed is…… 101 miles!! Jung Ha-sung is clocking his highest speed from the first ball!!]

He took the first step for the great record.