Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 47

After a short break.

The Braves brought the Biloxi Shuckers to their home.

Although the Braves won the first game.

Contrary to the initial predictions that the league’s overwhelming first-place team, the Braves, would easily crush the overwhelming last-place team, the Shuckers, a very thrilling, close game unfolded.

If not for Lee Jung-woo’s two-RBI [Runs Batted In] game-winning timely hit in the bottom of the 9th inning.

They would have lost.

The same was true for the second game of the series.

5 to 2. The Shuckers were leading by 3 points.

The reason for the changed atmosphere, even though there were no particular changes in the team during the break, was a few players who were preoccupied with other things.

‘Somehow, they’ve been looking gaunt since yesterday….’

In particular, Robert, the cleanup hitter, failed to get on base even once during the two games.

Cutting off the team’s offense.

‘His legs are completely gone. What? He’s not weak? What a load of crap. I’m just glad he’s not making any errors.’

In addition to Robert, several other players were also unable to perform at their best.

In a game that they should have dominated according to predictions, the Braves were being pushed around by their opponent.

‘The game is slipping away. If we give up even one more point here, it’s over.’

Top of the 6th inning, one out. Runners were on first and second base.

Just one decent hit would score a run.

If a well-placed long hit were to occur, two runs would also be possible.

The pitcher who had been hit consecutively had already left the mound.

What remained was the manager’s decision.

Whether to chase the win until the end somehow.

Or to give up the game early and save the bullpen [a team’s relief pitchers].

The manager had to make a choice.

And as an unexpected figure opened the bullpen door and appeared.

His decision was revealed.

“Ah, we’re screwed.”

Whether it was because his concentration had increased.

Or because the stadium was quiet due to the Braves being thoroughly beaten, I don’t know.

The second baseman’s low voice, a little far away, reached his ears.

Toby Maxon.

He was coming to the mound.

A starting pitcher, not a professional middle reliever, was appearing as a kind of swingman [a pitcher who can start or relieve].

Since he was clearly not a closer [a relief pitcher who specializes in pitching the final inning of a close game], the players had slightly discouraged faces.

‘Was he eventually pushed out?’

Toby Maxon, who came to the mound and practiced pitching without receiving anyone’s welcome.

Whether he was eventually eliminated from the starting competition.

Lee Jung-woo watched his back as he went to the mound in the 6th inning.

Since he was a pitcher who had shown poor performance so far.

The other players seemed to think that the manager had given up.

But Lee Jung-woo saw it a little differently.

Even though he acted recklessly in the last game and during the break.

Still, the pitcher, who had a heart that wanted to do better, looked more determined than before.

Lee Jung-woo thought that he might be the turning point of this game.

‘His record isn’t great. But if you just look at his skills, he’s not bad.’

Although he hadn’t talked to him much. Still, he was a teammate.

Also, Toby Maxon, who he had been able to watch a lot because he was a pitcher throwing the ball in front of his eyes, was a good pitcher from an objective point of view.

He has a great physique, with a height of over 6.5 feet and a large body, and his average 94-mile fastball has pretty good power.

His changeup is also mediocre, but he does the basics.

And decisively, he had a pretty outstanding breaking ball.

A power curve. Boasting a speed in the mid to late 80 miles.

A curve that is faster and more powerful than a normal curve is so good that it’s strange that his ERA [Earned Run Average] is over 5.

‘The problem is control, but I think if he just closes his eyes and throws ten balls to the center, it’ll be fine.’

No, aside from everything else.

The problem was that he wanted more than the skills he had.

Whether he didn’t trust the defense. He was trying to strike out the hitters beautifully somehow.

Even though his control wasn’t good, he was pitching dangerously on the edge of the zone.

If he had pitched aggressively like a gorilla instead.

Lee Jung-woo thought that his record would have been much better than it is now.

“Didn’t anyone get scared because the last-place bastards are excited? Let’s go easy, easy!”

The game resumed with Desmond’s loud roar.

Toby Maxon, who had been looking at the hitter for a moment, threw a fastball right down the middle.

The speed was 97 miles. He renewed his previous top speed of 96 miles.

But he threw the next ball with a cheerful face as if nothing had happened.

Likewise, the hitter hit the hanging ball, but whether he was overpowered. It became a foul that flew behind home plate.

The speed was 97 miles this time as well.

‘The shackles have been released.’

Seeing the hitter strike out with a swing at the sharply dropping curve.

Suddenly, that thought came to mind.

He’s a slow starter, so maybe his body is warmed up now that it’s the end of May.

Maybe he was able to throw that kind of ball from the beginning.

He had been putting a limit on himself until now because he wanted to throw perfectly.

He doesn’t know his face.

He doesn’t even remember his name.

Lee Jung-woo thought that he might be able to see him for a long time in this life.

“Out!”

The batted ball, hit by a hastily swung bat, rolled through the infield.

Lee Jung-woo, who quickly ran over and caught it, threw the ball in the same posture as he stood up.

The runner was cleanly out.

With that, the crisis was over.

“Throw it a little softer, my hand hurts from catching it.”

“Why are you holding back when you’re doing so well? Let’s keep going like this.”

“Is your body warmed up now? Your fastball was good.”

The fielders approached the pitcher, who was standing blankly on the mound, panting, and offered words of encouragement.

Lee Jung-woo also approached and wiped his sweaty hands on his uniform and said.

“Hold them in the 7th inning too. I’ll make you the winning pitcher.”

Originally, opportunity comes after a crisis.

At the opportune moment, the players’ morale rose due to the unexpected performance of an unexpected pitcher.

Lee Jung-woo thought it was definitely possible.

Because the mental aspect of baseball is quite significant.

Also, Lee Jung-woo had made up his mind.

Toby Maxon, who was staring blankly at the players returning to the bench one by one, also had a faint smile on his face.

He went down from the mound.

####

“Home run! Home run!”

As Lee Jung-woo slowly came up from the on-deck circle.

The spectators who were constantly shouting home runs were no different from usual.

It was a little more intense.

That’s because the situation was so favorable.

‘Bases loaded, after saying such cheesy things, if I screw up here, there’s nothing more embarrassing than that.’

There were also words he had said to Toby Maxon earlier.

Also, as the team’s best hitter, it’s a crime to waste such a golden opportunity.

A heavy sense of pressure pressed down.

Lee Jung-woo, who easily endured it and spun the bat around like he was performing a stunt, glared at the pitcher.

The Shuckers’ starting pitcher looked as worn out as someone who had just appeared on the mound when he went down in the bottom of the 5th inning.

He was composed even when he struck out at the pitcher’s at-bat after being hit by a hit by the first hitter of the inning.

But now, after giving up a walk and a single to the subsequent hitter, he was sweating profusely.

He was nervous.

The pressure that victory could slip away was weighing him down.

In that situation, the hitter who had taken the only RBI from him in today’s game came up.

It was even more burdensome.

‘He’s scared.’

Lee Jung-woo, who evaluated the opposing pitcher with a slightly vulgar expression, seemed to be trying to intimidate him even more.

He stood a little closer to the plate.

The catcher grumbled annoyingly.

But he ignored it because he couldn’t understand it anyway because it was Spanish.

Whether that action was effective. The pitcher showed a terrified pitching motion.

“Oops.”

Lee Jung-woo leaned back as the ball flew as if it would hit him.

It was almost a beanball [a pitch deliberately thrown at the batter], but everyone in the stadium knew that there was no intention to hit him.

Three balls, no strikes.

The pitcher, who showed a lack of control, was unable to put the ball into the strike zone.

‘A straight walk, a bases-loaded walk isn’t bad either….’

Lee Jung-woo was greedy.

It was a chance to beat up a scared pitcher, but it was a shame to end it with just 1 point.

He didn’t want to give this opportunity to others either.

Lee Jung-woo re-entered the plate, exuding the confidence that he would hit anything that came his way.

Eventually, he lifted the hanging ball that the completely broken pitcher threw to the center.

“Fuck….”

The trajectory is good. The impact is perfect. On top of that, the angle is ideal.

The result could be known without even looking.

The first time he hit a grand slam [a home run with all three bases occupied].

It was even a home run that reversed the game.

Lee Jung-woo expressed his joy without hiding it.

“Waaaaaaaaa!”

He showed off a stylish bat flip [throwing the bat high in the air after hitting the ball] that he had learned by being hit directly before his regression.

No one stood up first and shouted.

Among them was Toby Maxon, who had returned to the bench after striking out with a wild swing in the previous at-bat.

Unlike the last game, when he was slumped over.

With the discovery of such an unexpected player.

Lee Jung-woo’s minor league life was gradually coming to an end.

####

[Director Do Myung-woon, ‘I will erase the past humiliation this time,’]

[Coach Kim Byung-gyun, feeling of returning to the field, ‘I missed the ground, I will be careful with my words in the future and only diligently coach the players’]

May 29th.

The preliminary entry for the Asian Games was announced in Korea, and people were excited.

Lee Jung-woo had no interest at all.

As he had already expected, he did not put his name on the preliminary entry. Also, it was still someone else’s business anyway.

‘This Asian Games will be difficult. They won’t include minor league players in the entry. Even if I go up to the majors. It’ll be around autumn. By then, it’ll be long over.’

That’s why Lee Jung-woo turned off his attention from the Asian Games early.

What he is most focused on is something else.

-I’m slowly taking care of my body.

It started with a phone call from Mark.

He called him suddenly the night before, and he said in a subtle voice.

“Why? Do you have any inside information?”

-There’s plenty of buzz even if you just look at the internet. Everyone is clamoring for you to go up.

“Just with that?”

-This guy is ignoring the fans. It’s stronger than you think, public opinion. And I think Robson is losing it.

“Which one? Clarkson? Or Robson?”

-Robson. As expected, he’s getting heavily criticized. His hitting has also dropped. No, but don’t you watch major league games?

“Where do I have time to watch that? I have to rest even a little more during that time. I check the rankings.”

-Look it up once, it’ll be interesting.

At his words, Lee Jung-woo entered the streaming site with the thought of looking up even the highlights.

Lee Jung-woo made a serious expression after checking the recent games.

‘The atmosphere is intense.’

Darren Robson, who is getting heavily criticized.

The fact that he has problems with defense was already a fact that most people knew.

The problem is that he did a little better this season.

There is a big difference between not being able to do it from the beginning and giving even a little expectation and then not being able to do it again.

Those who had expectations for him are cursing him with more resentment with a feeling of being betrayed.

Darren Robson’s situation was exactly like that now.

[Why is this XXXX getting paid $4 million for doing this!]

[It’s understandable if he’s good at attacking. His hitting is also weak, and he can’t even play defense.]

[Quickly bring someone up! Just make Clarkson the starter! What is this XXXXX]

[Bring up Lee! What are you going to do if you don’t bring him up now!]

[Lee would be better than you even if he played defense with one foot, you XXXX.]

Like he became a hooligan.

The fans who were pouring out harsh insults were so fierce that even Lee Jung-woo, who was familiar with the Korean professional baseball fan culture where all kinds of words come out, was a little surprised.

What made them even more angry was Darren Robson’s hitting.

Even if he can’t play defense, he was still tolerated because he was a player who had better results in hitting than other shortstops.

Recently, he wasn’t even able to do that.

It was a situation that was declining too rapidly to simply see it as a drop in condition.

Lee Jung-woo thought that there was definitely something wrong with this.

‘Has his stamina already dropped? No, that’s not it.’

A player who can handle even a full season.

It hasn’t even come to summer yet. He shouldn’t be declining in stamina already.

Lee Jung-woo, who shook his head, was thinking about the remaining choices.

Far away from Pearl, where he is.

Similar stories were coming out in a conference room in Atlanta.

####

-Strike out!

The conference room was quiet.

Scout team leader, power analysis team leader, manager, team doctor, general manager and his assistant. No one in the conference room opened their mouths first.

They were just focused on the video that was being replayed.

They were more serious than anyone else.

Because they might have to replace a starting player just two months after the league opened.

“The fielding percentage is still better than last year… but the problem is hitting. It’s seriously dropped overall. It’s constantly dropping.”

When the power analysis team leader took out the data, a faint sigh flowed through the conference room.

Since they have eyes, they know that he’s simply not performing.

When I saw the results directly, I realized the downward trend.

“First of all, his posture is… completely ruined. Even though his slugging percentage isn’t good, he was a player who knew how to make accurate contact with his lower body strength. He doesn’t show that aspect now.”

The scout team leader said in a slightly dark voice.

The player in the video was doing a swing that was not normal to anyone.

His lower body was seriously collapsing, so it was at the level of only his upper body moving separately.

In his opinion, this was not an area of condition or hitting cycle.

There’s something more than that. Mentally or physically.

“Have you had an interview? What did he say?”

“He just said he doesn’t have a good feel. He said he’ll be back soon.”

“…Do you believe it?”

“I always believe in the players. But… I’m a little worried.”

The manager, who reluctantly answered to General Manager Pratt’s fierce glare, closed his eyes tightly.

To be honest, he was also angry. Because it was clear to anyone.

That Darren Robson was hiding something.

He had a rough idea of what that something was.

“Stupid guy…”

The manager muttered lowly.

He felt sorry at the same time as he was angry at Darren Robson, who was acting foolishly.

He couldn’t blame him as much as he saw him closer than anyone else, how psychologically pressured he was, who is often swayed by people’s reactions.

But General Manager Pratt was different.

The manager may be able to embrace his players with warmth depending on the individual’s tendencies.

Because a ‘leader’ is like that.

But, the general manager is not.

A ‘manager’ shouldn’t do that.

He had to be cold.

Because he has to know how to cut off the useless parts decisively.

That was his role, and that was why he was getting paid so much money.

“A few things have become clear. Darren Robson’s performance has dropped significantly. He’s hiding something. He has to be forced to go to the hospital and get a checkup. He’s an unnecessary player for the Braves right now. Do you all agree?”

General Manager Pratt drew his sword.