Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 33

Pitcher Done, Batter Up – 32

Mistakes arise from laziness.

The moment the mind relaxes.

The posture falters as well.

Perhaps it was because I was too focused.

The defense felt easy.

Even usually difficult batted balls seemed too simple.

‘Is this good enough?’

The thought suddenly popped into my head.

I figured if I did this much, I wouldn’t lose my spot to some rookie, at least.

In that moment, my sharply honed focus unraveled.

When he fumbled an easy ground ball that rolled in gently twice,

Darren Robson realized.

‘I’m screwed.’

He threw the ball he barely managed to grab to first base, but the batter had already stepped on the base.

It was too late.

‘Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!’

The gaze directed at the shortstop who couldn’t even handle a simple ground ball was chillingly cold.

No, he thought a shouting would be better.

‘Damn it, don’t look at me with such an obvious look.’

Some people weren’t even moved.

The calm looks they sent were more stinging than any loud criticism.

Clenching his teeth so hard he thought they would break, he turned his head to look at the bench.

That damn rookie was moving busily.

He must be preparing to be substituted.

Darren Robson wanted to throw his glove on his right hand away,

But he held back, knowing that doing so would only worsen the evaluation of him.

Fortunately,

Perhaps because they respected him to some extent, the manager waited until the end of this inning.

And he managed to achieve at least a minimal graceful ending by directly handling the runner he had let on base.

Back to the dugout like that.

The manager patted him on the shoulder.

“Robson, good job. Take a rest now.”

It seemed like a simple thing to say, but.

Strangely, it felt heavy.

Darren Robson nodded briefly with his head drooping, then sat on the bench and collapsed.

Unlike his limp body.

With fierce eyes, Darren Robson muttered, looking at Lee Jung-woo holding the glove.

‘Okay, go ahead and do whatever you want, you son of a bitch. Let’s see how well you do.’

####

His turn at bat didn’t come.

Lee Jung-woo, who was waiting awkwardly under the attention, finally went out to the field with the other players in the next inning.

“Relax and just do as you practiced.”

“Hey, kid. If you can’t catch it and send the ball to me, you’re gonna get it.”

“I’ll send it to you a lot, so catch it all, catch it all.”

Words of encouragement thrown at him one by one.

Derek was the last to bring his glove to him.

“Let’s do well.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Gloves lightly bumping.

Derek smiled faintly and walked away.

Lee Jung-woo also confidently entered his position.

He could feel the gazes on him.

The envious and jealous gazes of other prospects in the same situation.

The warm looks from veteran players with a bit more experience.

And the cold eyes openly sent by ‘someone’ on the bench.

‘That’s quite the welcoming ceremony.’

He thought it was quite a variety of gazes, considering there were so few people.

He was worth it.

It wasn’t an official game.

It wasn’t even an exhibition game against another team.

Most fans probably didn’t even know this was happening.

It’s just a practice game, and not all of the players on the entry list are major leaguers.

But it was certain that the value of this was more than just a practice game.

‘It’s like a debut match.’

Lee Jung-woo’s concentration, who knew the value of this moment, was more active than ever.

If someone threw a grain of rice.

He could even read the letters written on it.

‘Let’s do well. We have to do well.’

Everyone works hard, so it’s meaningless.

You have to do well.

You have to do well enough to push out the competitors.

Lee Jung-woo, who bent down, busily worked his head while watching the batter entering.

‘This inning started with number 5, right? Timothy Burton. Triple A [Minor league level below Major League]. Was it one hit and one strikeout in this game?’

He recalled the batter’s record as he watched him.

If he remembered correctly.

The hit the batter hit in the first at-bat clearly pierced between second and shortstop.

Remembering that, Lee Jung-woo was on defense with a very nervous face.

But, making such an appearance was colorless.

The batter struck out again, swallowing his disappointment.

The 6th batter who came up next also hit a ground ball in front of the pitcher, running with all his might.

The pitcher, who caught it quickly without fumbling, tossed it lightly, resulting in an out.

Lee Jung-woo was standing there blankly, which was embarrassing considering what he had vowed when he entered the field.

But he never let go of his concentration.

‘7th batter, Chandler Warren. AAAA [Informal level between Triple-A and MLB] leaguer. All he had in today’s game were two fly balls to the right fielder, but his power was outstanding.’

An extreme pull hitter.

He was a batter similar to Lee Jung-woo.

It was the same that he was a left-handed hitter.

‘He didn’t get it over the right fielder, but if the sweet spot of the swing was right, it would have hit the fence comfortably or gone over.’

He remembered it because the players made a fuss, thinking it was going over.

If Lee Jung-woo himself was that batter, he would pull it again this time.

The results were bad, but good batted balls continued to be produced.

Still, you never know, so Lee Jung-woo, who had maximized his concentration, watched the match.

‘Is he still pulling it?’

The ball that was pulled all the way went over the line and became a foul, and that was repeated several times.

A batter aiming for a home run.

The intention to erase the previous at-bats with one big hit was well revealed.

‘But, somehow, I have a bad feeling.’

Judging from the match content, it seemed like he would give up with a fly ball this time, but.

For some reason, Lee Jung-woo maintained his tension due to an ominous feeling.

As expected, the batter was not easy.

The batter, who had only pulled and floated the ball until now, pushed it with a level swing.

Clack-

A light swing.

A technical hit that pushes the incoming ball as it is.

The ball didn’t have great power like the previous at-bats, but.

Because it was a ball from a pitcher who had lost his strength after digesting a long inning.

It was enough to get over the infield with just a concise force.

‘Let’s catch it.’

If there was no defense.

Lee Jung-woo, who had maintained his tension because he had a bad feeling from the beginning, quickly started after predicting the batted ball.

Derek on the other side was the same.

Perhaps he had predicted it the same way.

He was running from the opposite side at a fast speed.

He was far away right now.

There was a high possibility that they would interfere with each other as it is.

Lee Jung-woo, who made eye contact with him, made a decision.

‘It’s a bit ambiguous, but I’m closer to this.’

“Mine!”

When he shouted loudly to stop him.

Derek nodded and stopped walking.

Lee Jung-woo jumped up and caught the batted ball flying over second base.

That was the batter out.

The inning was also over.

‘I hope I don’t get cursed at for yelling at the captain.’

While thinking nonsense.

Derek slowly approached Lee Jung-woo, who was fiddling with the ball in his glove, with a satisfied face.

He didn’t know what was so good, but he relentlessly raised his thumb.

“Nice catch, the start was fast, did you expect it?”

“I just had a bad feeling.”

“Haha, I thought you’d be frozen stiff because your expression was so serious… and you called it well. You were a little faster. Keep calling it like that from now on. Don’t be afraid to speak up just because they’re your seniors or the captain.”

Derek winked slightly and patted him on the shoulder.

He felt a little new.

Usually, he, Derek, had to handle all these ambiguous batted balls.

So he moved as usual this time too.

His partner took care of it.

From his point of view, he had no choice but to welcome it.

After that, the other players who came running after also lightly roughed up Lee Jung-woo.

In particular, the pitcher, who was dizzy due to the batter’s sudden action, replaced his praise with a mischievous touch that patted his butt.

“Just do this much when I pitch in the future. Then Rolex is a bit much. I’ll buy you a G-Shock.”

“I have to work hard to get a free watch.”

The players who came in giggling.

Watching them, the defense coach whispered to the manager.

“He’s pretty good, right?”

“Well, his feet are quite fast. His catch isn’t bad either.”

He said it like it was nothing.

But the manager couldn’t hide the faint smile on his lips.

Lee Jung-woo, who saw that as he entered the dugout, also wore a faint smile.

‘Okay, now half is done. All that’s left is hitting.’

If he fills the other half.

Lee Jung-woo thought that his future would probably be a splendid red carpet.

‘I have to do it. Like I always have.’

After the regression, he always succeeded in the goals he set.

He also successfully settled in as a shortstop, and he properly fixed his batting form.

He also hit 20 home runs in the ABL [Australian Baseball League].

He also won the championship.

It was a very short time, but.

Unlike before the regression, it was always a life of victory.

So he would do it this time too.

Lee Jung-woo believed in himself.

####

His batting order, which was replaced by Darren Robson, was number 8. After changing to a batter.

He had always been around the top of the batting order, so it wasn’t a very familiar position, but.

Honestly, he didn’t care.

He wasn’t the type to be sensitive about the batting order, and he just had to do well in any position.

Bottom of the 6th inning.

Lee Jung-woo, who entered as the lead batter, made eye contact with the pitcher looking at him.

His confident expression was very impressive.

‘Roy Pennington. His pitches are fastball, two-seam, and circle changeup.’

He’s a formidable pitcher.

First of all, he’s a starting player.

And the record he recorded in the big league last year is also amazing.

He digested 71 innings. He had a 2-point ERA [Earned Run Average, measure of runs allowed per game], 6 wins, and 29 holds. He also recorded 72 strikeouts. More than 9 strikeouts per 9 innings.

In Korean professional baseball terms, he is commonly called a winning team pitcher.

He was a style that broke the batter’s timing and caught him with a strikeout.

He was a pitcher who went well with the Braves, whose infield defense was terrible except for Derek.

Lee Jung-woo had a brief relationship with such a pitcher in this camp.

They had a match once.

Perhaps he thought it was fun for some rookie batter to break the spirit of the pitchers.

He asked for a match first.

‘I got completely 털렸지 [trashed]. In a six at-bat match, I only hit one hit. That was also because he just acknowledged it as a hit because it fell a little ambiguously.’

Two strikeouts and two ground balls. He was easily cooked with one fly ball.

A player who made him feel the wall of the major leagues. The pitcher had a playful face as if he had good memories.

But Lee Jung-woo looked at him indifferently.

‘It’s ridiculous to be happy or sad with just six at-bats.’

If he plays a full season in the big league. The number of at-bats that come back to the batter is about 600. Lee Jung-woo also entered a total of 232 at-bats from the beginning of August last year to February this year, including Single A, ABL, and the ABL postseason.

But if you get discouraged because you didn’t do well in just six mini-game at-bats.

That person shouldn’t be a batter.

At least that’s what Lee Jung-woo thought.

‘The value of this at-bat is great. But still, you have to forget what you have to forget.’

Lee Jung-woo had an indifferent expression as if he was seeing the pitcher on the mound for the first time.

Of course, that didn’t mean he erased the data he had worked so hard to build up.

‘He used to throw a 91-2 mile two-seam, and then suddenly a 94-mile fastball would come in. Then, if the batter wavered, he would finish with a circle changeup.’

Once the timing is shaken.

It is difficult for the batter to catch it again. Most of them are swayed by the pitcher and then step down.

Lee Jung-woo also learned that from the last match.

That’s why he thought simply.

Sometimes, doing what your heart tells you is the answer, rather than racking your brains in a complicated way.

‘So aim for one two-seam and…’

He grabbed the bat handle tightly as if he would crush it.

The pitcher’s windup.

Inverted-W.

Lee Jung-woo watched the pitcher, who was pulling his whole body and shooting the ball with a gesture like a flapping wing, straight.

It doesn’t matter what he throws.

The trajectory has already been set.

Because I’m going to hit it no matter what.

Rotate as is in a straight posture.

It’s not a dynamic batting form.

It’s not a technical hit like the AAAA leaguer he dealt with earlier.

Just put it up and swing it, not hitting the ball with the bat.

A blind ball flies in, hoping it will hit on its own.

I didn’t think about the next thing.

‘I’m going to get it over no matter what.’

The ball is coming.

A course a little far to the outside.

There is a change, but the range was not great.

The ball that came towards the swing that he swung with his eyes closed hit the end of the bat as it was.

The thrilling power in the ball traveled all the way from his fingertips to his head.

Bang-

An overwhelming hitting sound echoed.

He hit it, properly.

He could tell the course of the batted ball without looking.

He wanted to throw the bat if he could.

‘If I do a bat flip now… it’s not just ostracism, they won’t treat me like a person at all.’

For the popularity of the league. The league office is pushing for it.

Even though bat flips have become more lenient in the big leagues since several superstars have joined in.

It’s a slightly different story for a twenty-year-old rookie to do it against a regular player on the same team in an intra-team evaluation match.

That’s why Lee Jung-woo managed his expression as much as possible.

He put the bat down timidly.

But as he left the plate, he eventually burst into a short laugh.

Roy Pennington, who was hit by a home run, suddenly took off his glove.

He was giving him a thumbs up with both hands full with a serious face.

Lee Jung-woo couldn’t help but smile, trying to hide his smile at the sight of him telling him to be true to his emotions.

He quickly finished base running.

The players who greeted him lightly.

The face of the hitting coach who seemed satisfied.

The distorted expressions of the competitors who looked like they were chewing on poop.

Everything was to his liking.

Lightly stepping on home plate.

Lee Jung-woo thought.

‘I think it’s safe to say that the first showcase was quite successful.’