Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 78

Pitcher Over, Batter Up – Episode 77

[Lee Jung-woo Records a Super Long-Distance Home Run of 155 Meters! Game Currently in Progress.]

[Lee Jung-woo, #1 in Home Run Distance in the National League Since Statcast Introduction! Overall, Ranked #2, Just 3 Feet Behind Arthur Hunt]

[Lee Jung-woo’s Bat Speed Reaches a Whopping 120 mph? The Harmony of Ideal Angle and Overwhelming Speed!]

As if on cue, articles poured out of Korea.

Eighty percent of them were just copied from other articles.

But that showed just how popular Lee Jung-woo was becoming.

Of course, the online reaction was explosive.

[Lee Jung-woo Hits a Massive 10th Home Run, Let’s Goooooo!!!!!!]

[Wow, 155 meters, how far is that, really?]

[155 meters is 155 meters, what do you mean how far?]

[If it were Korea, he would have broken the distance record]

[We need to consider Coors Field [known for its high altitude and effect on ball flight]. But if we only consider distance, he is #1 in Korea]

[This is America, why are you talking about Korean records?]

[Are you stupid? If it were Korea, you idiot, understand what I’m saying.]

[Lee Jung-woo is insane, seriously]

[Hey, is Mr. Lee your friend? Add a prefix and try again with respect.]

[KingGodGeneralEmperorMajestyChungmuGongKingSejongTheGreatWonderfulLovelyTopClass Lee Jung-woo is really going crazy.]

[Yeah, that’s right.]

Because of his home run.

The Korean baseball community was going wild.

They expected a home run, but they never imagined it would be this massive.

And they never thought they would see a Korean player set a Major League record.

The shock didn’t wear off easily, and it was the same in the United States.

[Lee, 2nd Longest Home Run Distance in the Statcast Era! Just 3 Feet Short of Arthur Hunt’s Record…]

[Lee Writes New History, Etching His Name in Coors Field.]

[Is Jung-woo Lee Trying to Become a Challenger of the Era? Leaping Forward as the Starter of a New Era!]

As if copying each other.

Even though it was early in the game.

As in Korea, articles about Lee Jung-woo’s record poured out like crazy in the United States.

It was amazing that a record that had stood for nearly 20 years was rewritten.

Even if it was in a slightly negative direction.

Attention was focused on Lee Jung-woo and the Braves’ performance.

For reporters, there was no better story than this.

The Braves, of course, and various fan communities were on fire.

Some viewers suddenly switched to the Braves broadcast.

Of course, Braves fans couldn’t hide their excitement.

[Crazy… Lee beat Stanton?]

[Only in distance, to be exact. Stanton is still far ahead of Lee overall.]

[That’s still something, right?]

[Oh, thankfully, I wasn’t dreaming. I honestly didn’t believe it, so I thought it was a dream. Or is this all a dream?]

[Is Coors the problem now? He’s #1 in the NL since Statcast! Lee is the strongest power hitter in the National League right now! If he had gone just 4 more feet, he would be #1!]

[Huh? But about the Coors record. Isn’t it longer than 510 feet? I think there was a really big one.]

[If you’re talking about the home run Piazza hit, there are rumors that it was much bigger. But officially, it’s 496ft.]

[So Lee really broke the Coors distance record?]

[Officially, yes. Stanton was ranked #1, but he surpassed that. In fact, he set a new NL record. The Coors record isn’t that important.]

[Wow, that player is on our team. Isn’t he just twenty-one years old? I’m not mistaken.]

[Twenty-one years old, three years younger than my son… Lee is hitting home runs in the Major League, and this bastard is getting caught smoking weed.]

[That kind of bastard should be thrown in jail.]

[Who? Lee? Are you crazy? He’s my only joy.]

[Not Lee, you idiot, your son.]

[He’s really young, if he’s managed well, he’ll play for at least 10 more years.]

[Perfect! We just need to win three World Series in the meantime.]

They laughed like people immersed in a sea of happiness.

Or they raised their voices and shouted Lee Jung-woo’s name.

Then they quenched their parched throats with beer.

Like the men at the Highlander Pub, a small bar in Atlanta.

####

“Look at this! Look at this! This is Lee! I knew it! I knew it! I knew from the beginning that Lee was this kind of player! Bernstein? Screw him! Lee is the real hero!”

“That’s right! That’s right!”

As always, McCloy, who came to the bar to watch the Braves game, was already shouting.

He had been pouring alcohol since before the game started.

Sanders sighed at his drunken shouts.

“Knew it, my ass. He didn’t even know who he was at first….”

He thought he was the one who should be truly proud.

That guy only has a loud voice; he doesn’t even know the team’s prospects properly.

He only heard that precious name after I told him about it in the exhibition game.

On the other hand, I’ve been watching him vividly since he played in the minors.

Of course, if he had a drink, he would have mixed in with that drunken crowd and shouted along.

But he was refraining from doing so because the doctor told him to reduce his alcohol intake if he wanted to live past fifty.

He avoided such an unsightly sight.

“Hey Sanders! Sanders!”

“What, you drunk trash. Are you drunk after only four beers?”

It was hard to say only four beers; the glass he was holding was seriously big.

But such things didn’t matter to Sanders, who was already annoyed.

McCloy felt the same way.

“Ah, what do you take me for? No, no. Hehehe, not that. Bring your cell phone. I want to see the picture of the autographed uniform. Yeah, that autographed uniform you don’t have. No one believes me.”

“There are Lee’s autographed uniforms everywhere. Be quiet.”

“You don’t have that everywhere, do you?”

“Shut up.”

Sanders bit his lip at the sight of his friend laughing so hard that his beer-soaked beard trembled.

He was so proud of that autographed uniform.

Sanders was so jealous that he couldn’t stand it.

Of course, Lee’s fan service was as great as his skills.

Now its rarity has decreased somewhat.

But at least Sanders didn’t have it.

Thanks to the season ticket, he always visits Truist Park [the Atlanta Braves’ stadium] whenever there is a home game.

Strangely, the timing didn’t work out, so he couldn’t get it on his uniform.

He was still a loser to McCloy.

‘Damn it, I should have stayed until the end….’

Sanders, who blamed himself for returning from Florida early during the exhibition game because of family peace and a safe job, grabbed a glass of beer.

He was so angry.

He wanted to put it out with this.

But he held back.

Even to watch Lee’s game, which he loved so much, for longer.

Even to see his lovely daughter’s wedding in the wedding hall, not in a coffin.

He had to endure it.

But he couldn’t stand it in the end.

[Lee is coming out. It feels good this time too.]

[The match is good. The changed pitcher’s pitches are cutter, sinker, splitter, and curve, right? Lee is good at dealing with fastballs. Not to mention curves and splitters.]

[Yes, his batting average against both pitches is well over .500.]

Top of the 3rd inning, two outs.

Sanders swallowed as he watched Lee Jung-woo come to the plate again.

He felt thirsty for no reason.

But somehow, looking at the atmosphere, he didn’t want to solve it with just water.

[Lee is calmly watching this time too. He checked it properly, right?]

[Yes, he watched the fastball until the end. It looks like he read the timing. It’s going to be difficult.]

[That’s right. He read the fastball timing, but it’s scary to throw a splitter or a curve.]

[Or there is a way to walk him. We’ll have to wait and see if the Colorado Rockies bench makes a decision.]

“Hit it! You can do it, Lee! Let’s go for back-to-back home runs!”

“Don’t avoid it, you son of a bitch! Fight!”

Everyone was drunk and slurring, encouraging Lee Jung-woo or threatening the pitcher.

There was a distance of about 2,000 miles from Atlanta to Denver.

Unless they were sending telepathy, they would never hear it.

But that’s how much they wanted Lee Jung-woo to hit well.

And Lee Jung-woo fulfilled their expectations 100%.

[Lee pushed the cutter, but this is unusual again, right? It’s big!]

[It’s not as big as the one in the previous at-bat, but the angle is good this time too, and it’s quite fast!]

[Is it going? Is it going? Is it going over again! Lee’s 11th home run of the season! Lee hits back-to-back home runs, and now the game score is 6 to 1! The Rockies are on the brink!]

“Yessssssssss!”

“That’s it! That’s it! I knew it, you son of a bitch!”

“Lee! Lee! Lee! Lee!”

A tremendous noise erupted, vibrating the glass windows.

Some people passing by on the street in front were startled.

Sanders eventually lost his mind at the sight of such a cheerful scene.

“I don’t care, you son of a bitch! I’m just going to eat and die! Bring me a glass of beer here! Something cooler than this!”

Sanders, who drank the freshly served cold beer, mixed into the rowdy crowd.

McCloy smiled with satisfaction and wiped his mustache.

“Yeah, that’s my friend.”

Lee Jung-woo, who had inadvertently pushed a man’s health into the abyss.

But he wasn’t satisfied with that.

Today was too perfect to be satisfied with this.

####

Lee Jung-woo was walked in the next at-bat.

Unfortunately, the back-to-back home runs ended there.

In the top of the 7th inning. He hit another home run in his fourth at-bat.

He scored his third home run of the game and his 12th home run of the season.

[It’s over again! Lee’s two-run home run! Lee is crazy in today’s game!]

As if to match the previous home runs that went over the right and left fences.

The Coors Field was rather enthusiastic about the two-run home run that went right over the center fence.

As if he had given up.

“Awesome, awesome! You’re so awesome, you son of a bitch!”

“Let’s go for 4 home runs! You son of a bitch! Hit a three-run home run in the next at-bat! Let’s see a home run cycle!”

“Listen to me, you son of a bitch! You crossed the line? Do you know? You crossed the line so much! You’re ours now because we got this much out of you here! You’re a communist, right! That’s fair. Come to the Rockies right now!”

“See you in 7 years! We’ll bring you in and treat you like a slave!”

The spectators in the front row of the stands stood up in a row as Lee Jung-woo ran the bases.

They clapped with resentment.

They were spitting out words to the point where it was ambiguous whether they were cursing or congratulating.

Lee Jung-woo was dumbfounded by the bizarre standing ovation.

When did they curse him like they were going to kill him? No, in fact, it still feels like they’re going to kill him now.

Suddenly, they were sending him love calls to come to their team.

He couldn’t help but laugh.

“Lee, don’t listen to that bullshit. You have to stay here no matter what. You’re a Brave no matter what, at least until I retire.”

As Lee Jung-woo entered home plate in an atmosphere where everyone in the stadium was cheering him on with all their might.

Derek forced him to answer with a serious face.

Lee Jung-woo couldn’t answer.

Because of the players who were enthusiastically beating him up. He didn’t have time to open his lips.

####

As the home fans expected(?).

Lee Jung-woo did not record a home run cycle.

Perhaps he was too excited by his good condition and used too much energy in both hitting and fielding.

He was so exhausted that he struck out in his last at-bat with a sweat-soaked face.

“Ah, I’m going to die. But looking at today’s atmosphere, will tomorrow be a little better? No, it’ll be even hotter, so they might just rush in….”

Lee Jung-woo, who went back to the lodging as if crawling after the game, predicted the next game.

Looking at today’s game, where everyone was going crazy beyond overheating.

He couldn’t predict people’s reactions well.

“Well, it’s a relief. I’m not going out tomorrow.”

Fortunately, Mancini ordered him to rest because he looked too tired in his last at-bat, so he wouldn’t be playing in tomorrow’s game.

But he was a little worried about the other players.

‘It won’t be quiet in any way.’

That’s what Lee Jung-woo thought.

Soon, starting from the bench in the next game, he had to feel the quiet Coors Field.

‘What? Why are they doing that? Did they curse too much, so they dropped a no-audience game penalty while I was sleeping?’

The quiet Coors Field, which was as quiet as a mountain lodge built in a deep forest on a low mountain, was awkward for Lee Jung-woo.

The Coors Field that Lee Jung-woo directly drove was so noisy that it couldn’t even be compared to the Korean stadium.

Suddenly, he couldn’t adapt.

“Why are they doing that?”

“Didn’t you see the article? Ah, well, looking at you yesterday, you wouldn’t have had time. In short, they’re embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed?”

Lee Jung-woo asked at the still quiet stadium even after the Braves’ attack was over.

Mason, who was also loafing around on the bench because he wasn’t in the starting rotation, soon told him the reason.

Lee Jung-woo shook his head when he heard that.

“The front office used their heads quite a bit.”

“Since they don’t listen anyway, they waited for the right time.”

Even if they worked hard to refute and explain.

Because the public opinion was so bad.

In the end, the front office endured and waited.

Someday the time would come.

And when the atmosphere was at its peak with Lee Jung-woo’s record-breaking achievement.

They released a new explanation article.

The explanation article said that Lee Jung-woo’s Home Run Derby appearance was not as a hitter, but as a pitcher.

That was no different from what they had released several times.

But the article contained a photo of him standing on the mound and working with Joey.

That was the decisive factor.

Since the attention was focused and the public’s reaction to him was good.

Only then did the Major League fans admit that they were mistaken.

“Huh, that’s absurd.”

“That’s the fear of public opinion. When the reaction is not good, they don’t listen to anything. But when it’s friendly, they open their ears a little more.”

Why did they curse without knowing anything from the beginning?

There was no mental blow.

But Lee Jung-woo made a hollow expression with a feeling of injustice.

Mason smiled faintly and poked his side.

“How about it, if your stamina is okay, ask the manager to put me out as a defensive replacement? If you look at the atmosphere, it looks like they’re going to apologize when they see your face. I’ll actively help you, how about it? Stewart will welcome you gladly.”

“Huh, no.”

Lee Jung-woo shook his head at his suggestion and soon climbed onto the dugout railing.

He looked at the surrounding stands.

After hearing the reason.

He understood the word embarrassed.

They didn’t know the situation properly.

They cursed so much.

When the truth was revealed.

How ashamed would they be?

Lee Jung-woo knew the faces of those who lowered their heads or pretended not to notice when they made eye contact with him.

Two days ago, when he hit his first home run at Coors.

They were the people who spat and cursed at him as he ran the bases.

‘The world is….’

Lee Jung-woo, who was glaring at them for no reason, soon stepped back from the railing.

If you think about it, they paid the price.

To be honest.

For Lee Jung-woo, rather than being simply wronged.

It was a seriously satisfying series.

He hit four home runs in two games.

That’s not an apology.

It was at the level where Lee Jung-woo himself had to pay the settlement money.

He thought it was a satisfactory exchange.

He cleanly shook off his emotions.