Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 1

Pitcher Over, Batter Begins – Episode 0 (Prologue) (1/287)

Prologue

The life of a washed-up pitcher isn’t a happy one.

It’s not like I was always bad; there was a time when people called me a genius.

It’s even worse when you’re ruined by injuries.

You spend your days in despair and frustration.

Lee Jung-woo was one of those guys.

“I’m sorry, but the Devils have decided not to renew Lee Jung-woo’s contract.”

The one-year contract was over.

As always, there was no extension.

It’s not a release, but it feels pretty much the same.

But Lee Jung-woo was indifferent.

After that damn shoulder injury, this kind of thing was all too familiar.

‘Where do I go from here?’

An average speed in the low 130s kilometers per hour.

A fastball that tops out at only 135 km/h even when you’re straining every muscle to throw it.

Not much movement, either. A so-called ‘ruler’ fastball [a fastball with very little movement, making it easy to hit].

The two-seamer is better, but it’s slow and below average as well.

The changeup and curve, which are breaking balls, are at the amateur level. At least the control is decent, but…

It’s not great enough to be called a 4-seam or 6-seam fastball [types of fastballs differentiated by the number of seams the pitcher’s fingers grip, affecting spin and movement].

A player used briefly for a year when the pitching staff has holes.

A shield used as a throwaway card in meaningless games.

A reject not welcomed by the club, the fans, or even his fellow players.

That was Lee Jung-woo, the pitcher.

‘If it weren’t for the injury…’

It wasn’t always like this.

When he had just graduated from high school, everyone was raving about how great he was.

A complete three-pitch pitcher equipped with a powerful two-seamer that reached 153 km/h and devastating breaking balls.

A genius who didn’t even have the control issues that fireballers commonly experience.

He thoroughly dominated high school baseball and boarded a flight to Atlanta with a whopping $2.5 million signing bonus. After smoothly dominating Single-A, his shoulder broke down while waiting for a promotion to Double-A.

After that, it was a constant downhill slide.

Even after completing rehab, his pitches never returned to their former glory.

He was released a few years later without even making it to Double-A, let alone the major leagues.

He returned to Korea and worked hard to get back in shape for two years before entering the draft, but…

The atmosphere was clearly different from before.

‘They seemed like they would give me the world, but they changed in an instant.’

After confirming that he was not the Lee Jung-woo they remembered, the clubs naturally lowered their offers. Just a backup player level. His actual skills were about that level, so it was an accurate assessment.

He went from team to team until he finally reached where he is now.

‘Should I retire?’

Fortunately, I don’t have to worry about making a living.

I’m not extravagant, so almost all of my signing bonus is still intact.

I don’t have a wife or children to support. So, even if I quit now, it won’t affect my livelihood.

But… I was disappointed.

Longing.

The longing for baseball hasn’t died out yet.

It will never die out.

It’s a fire fueled by the dream of reaching the big leagues.

It will never die out until I achieve it.

So, that feeling is impossible to satisfy.

Right now, he’s a reject who can’t survive in the KBO [Korean Baseball Organization], let alone the majors.

‘Would it have been better if I had switched to being a batter back then?’

That thought suddenly occurred to him.

Thinking about before the injury is meaningless.

My shoulder was going to break down someday anyway.

I had meticulously managed it since I was young. A normal and stable pitching form, thorough stretching, and a solid warm-up. I never pitched in consecutive games. I usually came out if my pitch count exceeded 100.

But I still got injured, so I just wasn’t born with strong bones.

My shoulder is only so good.

So, thinking about before the injury is meaningless.

Just like back in the minor leagues.

The offer I received after rehab when I was getting crushed came to mind.

An offer to switch to being a batter.

At that time, Lee Jung-woo rejected it.

He firmly believed that his skills would return someday.

And baseball was something he started because he wanted to be a pitcher.

To him, baseball was about throwing a ball on a 10-inch mound.

But now, he had some regrets.

If he had known he would end up like this as a pitcher…