Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 199

Pitchers Done, Batters Up – Episode 198

[ATL vs PHI, First Matchup Since May Confirmed!]

[‘Phillies Killer’ Lee Jung-woo, Another Home Run Fest Expected?]

They’re a strong team, but strangely, they become endlessly weak whenever they face the Braves. They’re clearly good, but when they stand before Lee Jung-woo, they become endlessly pathetic. That’s how baseball fans currently view the Phillies.

They’re a team that holds second place in their division and, befitting a big market, possesses a strength that even first-place teams in other divisions would find hard to ignore.

But at least this season, winning the division seems absolutely impossible.

-7 wins, 0 losses. They’ve met twice, and both times it was a sweep.

-At this point, it’s not just a player matchup, but a team matchup.

-Phillies fans must honestly feel like crap. Just when they get their act together and start running, they meet the Braves.

-If they get swept again this time, the fandom will explode.

-At least the All-Star break is just around the corner, so even if they get crushed, they can rest and recover.

Given these thoughts, most people predicted an easy win for the Braves in this showdown.

Especially in Korea, where they’ve clearly seen what Lee Jung-woo does when he meets the Phillies, some even said it would be better for the Phillies to negotiate well with the Braves and just take one win instead of playing the game.

-If they play normally, the Phillies absolutely can’t win.

-Why is everyone so nationalistic? Is Lee Jung-woo that big of a deal? Lee Jung-woo fans are looking down on the Phillies too much. The Phillies have been doing well recently, so it might be different this time.

-No way.

-Even if other things aren’t, Lee Jung-woo is a huge deal to the Phillies lol. Did you forget the pre-announced home run? How can he not be a big deal after suffering that lol.

-Since Lee Jung-woo was called up, the Braves’ record against the Phillies is 10 wins and 2 losses last year, 7 wins and 0 losses this year, and 3 wins and 0 losses in the postseason. That’s a total of 20 wins and 2 losses. It’s not nationalism, it’s reality. The Phillies just can’t do it.

-Wow, including the postseason, I finally understand. Lee Jung-woo is a son of a bitch from the Phillies’ perspective.

It couldn’t be helped, as the head-to-head record was so miserable that such words didn’t sound strange.

Since Lee Jung-woo’s call-up, the Phillies had barely managed to win a handful of games out of the 22 games they played. And the games they lost were all at a level of utter collapse.

Even the division series.

Even those who didn’t know about this incredible record could understand why the atmosphere was so overwhelming. If there was any hope…

-If I were a Phillies fan, I’d shoot Lee Jung-woo the moment I saw him. Then you never know.

-How about someone taking a shot this time? Bring up a guy who’s about to be released from the minors, have him hit Lee Jung-woo in the head with a bat, and then get ejected. Wouldn’t that mean the Phillies win?

-Phillies: Tempting?

-Tempting lol, you crazy bastard lol.

-If they actually did that and it was revealed to be intentional, the team would be disbanded lol.

-Ah, then the Braves would suffer a huge loss. They can’t disband the Phillies. How much have they contributed to the current standings?

Posts openly mocking them were lined up on various sites even before the game started, but the Phillies fans could only endure it.

Resisting here would only bring even greater ridicule.

-It’s good that Lee Jung-woo is doing well, but on the other hand, I really hate it.

-Just be thankful it’s an away game. Judging by the current momentum, if it were at our home, he would have hit the Liberty Bell for real.

-No, we should thank the Mariners. If the series had been earlier, we would have had a home run cycle.

-One home run is a cheap price to pay, honestly. Agree?

-Anything but a pre-announced home run is fine.

Therefore, Phillies fans in Korea were just grateful that this game was being held at Truist Park, not Citizens Bank Park.

If Lee Jung-woo, who had pulled off the insane feat of a home run cycle in the previous series, were to visit the Phillies’ home again,

they might suffer a great humiliation as they had in the past. For them, it was more welcome for Lee Jung-woo to wreak havoc in his own home.

While the Phillies fans in Korea were simply resigned, thrown into the middle of the influence that Lee Jung-woo had, the local Phillies fans were clutching the back of their necks.

They were simply suffering.

As if reminiscing about previous encounters, the pre-announced home run and the batted ball hitting the stadium’s letters, which could be called the highlights of the last match, were replayed everywhere. And to top it off, the Braves’ mockery, which had now become a routine event, was poured out diligently.

-Phillies, I heard you guys are in first place in the Eastern Division recently? I’m so jealous~

-I heard Iwakuma is in the top 10 of the starting pitcher power rankings for the first half of the season. Wow~ Even after falling that much, he’s still in the top 10? Amazing~

-Don’t be so bitchy and just stay still. Unless you want to die.

In a way, it was karma.

The Phillies had been ignoring and mocking other teams when they were doing well, so this was the clearing of that karma.

-But you guys are pitiful too. When you look at it, you always meet Lee when he’s in good condition, right?

-Hey, losers. You know Lee is aiming for the 30-30 club [30 home runs and 30 stolen bases] in the first half, right? Keep a close eye on him. He’s at 23 home runs now, so he just needs seven more in three games. Got it?

-I don’t give a damn about what that cheating bastard is aiming for or what his stats are, so get lost!

-Yeah, just keep calling him that. How much of a cheater Lee must seem to you guys. I understand.

-I don’t need your understanding, just prepare yourselves. We’re going to kill you this time.

-Kill us, yeah, if Lee hits another home run, it’ll really kill us. Your feelings have reached us properly. Thank you. Please keep it up in the future.

-$&@#%@#^@&

Instead of just giving up like the Korean fans, they held onto hope and kept rushing into the pre-game battle of wills between fans, only to have their blood pressure rise from the Braves’ taunts.

Perhaps because of those lively reactions, they were even more harshly mocked.

As a result, the sound of keyboards being smashed echoed quite loudly in various parts of Philadelphia, like popcorn popping.

-Ha… How did we end up like this?

-Last year, we couldn’t even look them in the eye, but this year we’re being mocked by those assholes.

-What the hell has our general manager been doing until the Braves got like this? Do we not have money? Is our farm system shit [minor league system for developing players]? What’s the problem?

Meanwhile, unlike the aggressive ones, there were quite a few who sighed at the current situation.

Yes, the Phillies fans were, to be honest, already at their limit. Second place in the division, a decent winning percentage that could very well aim for a wild card.

The team itself wasn’t bad yet, but this was a matter of pride.

Since Lee Jung-woo, an oriental who they hated to even look at, debuted, they hadn’t had a single pleasant victory and had been losing ever since.

Clearly, the Braves, who they had looked down on so much last year that they couldn’t even sit at the same table, had suddenly made great strides and were not only surpassing them but also playing with them.

For the Phillies fans, who thought of everyone but the Phillies as assholes, morons, and trash, that was unacceptable.

As a result, the Phillies fans’ resentment towards the general manager, who had failed to win the championship despite having sufficient support and had eventually allowed the division rival team, which had been far behind, to overtake them, had reached its peak.

They watched this game, which could be said to be the last match of the first half, with hawk-like eyes.

If they were swept again this time and recorded 10 losses in 10 games in the first half, they wouldn’t be able to stand it.

[‘Lee Has Already Reached His Limit’ ‘We Found a Way’ ‘We Will Tie Up Lee Tightly During This Series’ ‘Starting with a Sweep of the Braves, We Will Accelerate the Postseason Competition’ Phillies Manager Reveals Ambitions Before the Game…]

The manager, realizing the fans’ feelings, tried to appease them with an ambitious interview, but what came back was the opponent team’s manager’s mockery, who also accurately grasped what the fans wanted.

[‘The Way to Stop Lee? It’s Simple, a Gun and Bullets Will Do. Not an Automatic Pistol or a .22 Caliber, but a Revolver and a Magnum, One Each.’ Mancini Manager Taunts the Phillies in an Interview!]

####

“I wish we could just keep playing at home.”

“Go look at the schedule again. The front office guys have balanced it out properly.”

“Ah… Fuck.”

The Braves’ atmosphere was good. First of all, the impact of the unprecedented victory against the Mariners still lingered. Decisively, the sense of stability from staying at home for quite a long time was quite significant.

No matter how much flying is a job and getting used to it is a part of being a major leaguer, staying in a hotel room on the road and waking up at home and going to the home stadium were mentally different.

However, since all the remaining games until the All-Star break were away games, this Phillies game might have been the last happiness of the first half.

“The Phillies… they’re just easy.”

“I still can’t quite adjust. Were they always this weak? They seem strangely weak.”

In that respect, the Phillies were the perfect opponent for the players to be the last of that happiness.

Before leaving the beloved home, they could decorate the last game with a pleasant victory and leave refreshed.

“Aren’t you looking down on them too much? If we lose like this…”

“Then the impact would be a bit big.”

Of course, there were those who worried about this atmosphere. In particular, captain Derek reminded them of the fact that last June was not a great month and tightened up the relaxed players again.

“Everyone seems too relaxed. Baseball is a battle of momentum. Their recent record is better than ours. It’s better than being too scared and stiff, but let’s not be careless. We’re ahead in the head-to-head record, but they’re still a strong team.”

The players nodded at Derek’s words, but they couldn’t completely erase that feeling. Human memory isn’t that long to begin with.

The Phillies that the Braves were looking at now weren’t the overwhelming strong team that reigned in the Eastern Division, but the pushovers who diligently gave them victories.

On top of that…

“Captain, please understand. We want to be a little nervous, but it’s because of him, because of him.”

“Peterson said it well. It’s true that seeing Lee’s face strangely relaxes me.”

“Hmm…”

When they saw Lee Jung-woo, who was lightly running and circling the stadium as usual, even a bit of tension strangely disappeared.

If Lee Jung-woo was like a symbol of the current Braves’ glory to the fans, he was a kind of belief to the players who played with him.

It made them think that if that guy was okay, they wouldn’t lose at least.

And when the word Phillies was added to that, they felt that they wouldn’t just not lose, but they would definitely win.

At Peterson’s gesture, who was subtly pointing at Lee Jung-woo, Derek couldn’t refute it either. He, too, was honestly feeling something similar.

‘Phillies. Their winning percentage last month was better than ours. At this point, it’s safe to say they’ve come to their senses.’

Lee Jung-woo, who had given his teammates such deep trust, observed the opposing team, the Phillies, as usual, just like his routine.

The Phillies in June had consistently shown a seemingly sane appearance. Compared to being shaken by the shutout loss and series loss in the April opener, and the pre-announced home run in May.

Fortunately, they didn’t run into the Braves in June, so their mental management was relatively good.

Thanks to that, only the Mets, who had taken second place several times while the Phillies were shaking, were frowning as they were pushed back.

‘It seems like they’re definitely pushing down the Mets, but they’re still far from us. Very far.’

The situation was so overwhelmingly different that it was meaningless to calculate the game difference. Strictly speaking, the Braves were recording such an overwhelming record that they didn’t feel the need to check other division teams.

Even the critics, who would usually find something to criticize, were marveling at it as a season of all time, so how could it not be?

‘But you never know. It’s beneficial to blow them up every time we meet, if possible. After all, they’re a division rival.’

####

[The first game of the three-game series between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies is finally about to begin.]

[It’s the eighth game this season, and the head-to-head record is… well, overwhelming, isn’t it?]

[The Phillies are clearly a strong team, but they strangely seem to weaken when they meet the Braves. And today’s game also seems to lean slightly towards the Braves.]

The broadcast began, and the commentators started off by jinxing it, subtly predicting the Phillies’ loss. But even the Phillies fans, who should have been furious, were just nodding their heads at this point.

In fact, no matter how strong their fandom was, they had mostly given up on today, the first game of the series.

Fifth starter vs. first starter.

It would have been happier if that first starter was a Phillie, but that wasn’t the case. Lee Jung-woo, just that one person was already enough to make their teeth grind. The pitcher was also a problem.

[Mason Looper, he’s one of the players who’s really showing the best performance during the first half of this season, right?]

[Yes, it’s only the first half, but there are already talks of predicting him to win the Cy Young Award [award for the best pitcher]. Speed, power, control, pitch type. Everything is perfect, he’s truly a complete player. There were many evaluations that his finishing pitch was ambiguous compared to his perfection. But by perfectly equipping a new pitch, he has now become the best pitcher in the league in name and reality.]

Mason Looper. The Braves’ ace and the best pitcher in the NL [National League], no, the major league, was the Braves’ starter.

The Phillies, who had already been shut out by him in the opening game, had quite a bit of fear about Mason as much as Lee Jung-woo. Even that was because Lee Jung-woo taught him the finishing pitch, so in the end, the trend was to connect everything to the problem being Lee Jung-woo.

“Ah… Why did that bastard learn such a shitty pitch…”

“That bastard really isn’t helpful. If he was going to switch to a hitter, he should have just kept hitting, he’s not even a pitching coach.”

The hitters expressed their resentment towards Lee Jung-woo and sighed deeply. But even those hitters didn’t dare to go near the starting pitcher.

Although he was trying to maintain a poker face, he was exuding an aura that he was about to die at any moment from his whole body.

“Why are you so down? Don’t worry, I know the hitters are in good spirits these days, right?”

“Yes, I know.”

The pitcher nodded forcefully at the pitching coach’s pat on the back, but he didn’t really seem to believe it.

He had seen them lose their spirit whenever they met the Braves so many times, so he didn’t have enough trust to believe in the hitters now.

But as the game started, the pitcher had a little hope.

[Ah! He hit it! He hit it!]

[Pedro Castillo! He’s finally doing something after a long time! A refreshing long hit! Third base runner scores! Second base runner also scores! The hitter is up to second base! Two-RBI double!]

[Mason Looper! What’s going on! He gives up two runs in the first inning!]

[That’s baseball. Even a Cy Young-winning pitcher can give up runs from the start of the game. That’s baseball.]

The hitters, who he had seen lukewarmly, really did something. Runs were taken away much earlier than expected. The pitcher had hope in the sight of the home crowd slightly wavering at the ace’s sudden two runs.

Yeah, maybe this game will really be different. In fact, if you put aside the fear and look at it, the current Braves aren’t that overwhelming of an opponent.

“Isn’t their momentum really falling off a bit? They didn’t do so well in June, did they?”

“Even if they didn’t do well, their winning percentage was in the 50s… Maybe?”

“Yeah, they sped up too much. They’re starting to get tired now.”

Once the worry about being shut out disappeared, the Phillies’ atmosphere became even more lively, and the deep fear of the Braves also faded away a bit.

They started to see the Braves of the moment, not the Braves of 63 wins in the first half. A winning percentage of 50% in the first half, they were a decent team, but not strong enough for the Phillies to fear.

‘Okay, let’s break the Braves’ losing streak with my own hands. If I can get a win, my position will be a little safer.’

Fifth starter. A precarious position. In a situation where long relievers or minor league prospects dreaming of being starters were constantly aiming for his spot, if he could just get a win against the Braves, who the fans hated so much.

At least, it could be enough to nail one more nail into his name tag.

With those thoughts full in his mind, the starting pitcher confidently walked onto the mound, supported by the teammates who had scored two points.

The eyes of the home crowd looking at him. They were hot, but not painful. To be honest, the gazes shot at him in Philadelphia home games are more painful.

Because their fans will mercilessly curse their own team’s players if they don’t like something even a little bit.

That’s why the pressure of being on the road wasn’t felt by the pitcher, and he was just full of the thought of turning this moment, which he thought was a crisis, into an opportunity with his own strength.

“Let’s go!”

“Let’s go! Let’s go!”

As he shouted, his teammates, who also had hope instead of fear, shouted together. The shouts of the men echoed quite loudly even though the number was small.

And at the bottom of the first inning, the pitcher, glaring at the opposing team’s heart, captain Derek Hunt, as if to kill him, clenched his lips tightly as he threw the urging pitch with venomous eyes.

‘Good, it went in properly.’

As his mind sharpened, his body followed, and his control was accurate from the first pitch. He felt good. Continuing that momentum, he threw two more balls in a row.

Despite the slightly ambiguous ball combination of fastball-fastball-changeup, the hitter retreated with a three-pitch strikeout.

“Ah…”

A sigh full of regret. As the first hitter retreated with a cool three-pitch strikeout, the temperature of the ground rose a little more. But it soon cooled down again as the next hitter came to the plate.

Gulp- The pitcher was startled for a moment at the sound he made. Because he swallowed his saliva without realizing it.

That’s how nervous he was about the opponent.

‘A home run cycle… that’s only possible in cartoons, right?’

A video popped up in his head. A pitcher dropping his head after being hit by a grand slam, cheering people. When he saw that scene, he thought the pitcher who was hit was really pathetic. But now it was his turn.

‘No, no. I can do it. That bastard is also a human. He should be satisfied with this and get out of here.’

Forcibly suppressing his anxiety, he threw the first pitch, and the hitter just watched it. The pitcher hoped. Please don’t nod that damn head.

‘Did he read it? Did he read it?’

Fortunately, no response. The hitter just took his batting stance again instead of the famous routine.

At that, the pitcher bit his lip again with the momentum to tear it apart and grabbed the ball he received from the catcher tightly. Anger welled up.

Why am I so scared?

I’m a major leaguer?

I’m ahead by two points?

But I’m so flustered that I don’t even want to see one routine?

He was ashamed of himself for a moment. And when he threw the ball with that feeling, the hitter’s bat came out this time.

A swing and a miss.

At the swing that missed the slider for a long time, not only the pitcher but also the fielders’ faces subtly brightened.

‘It feels good.’

Two strikes in an instant. A helpless swing and a miss. Maybe, really maybe. Could it be today? He somehow felt good. His momentum had been good recently.

The Phillies’ Braves jinx that had been going on for so long. Could he break it once today?

It was only the bottom of the first inning, he had only gotten one out and two strikes, but the game, which had started off well, planted such a sweet dream. And when the fear that had been prevalent was somewhat lifted, Lee Jung-woo told him.

‘Yeah, we’re winning today-ah.’

There was no way.

The sound of a bang and the ball flying far away. Compared to the Phillies’ hitters working hard to score in the top of the first inning, the chase point went up too easily.

It was the fear that was about to be peeled off thanks to the winning mentality that he had regained. But Lee Jung-woo restored it by leisurely circling the bases.

2 to 1. The two teams gave and took points in the first inning, but ironically, the impact that the Phillies, who scored one more point, received was a little stronger than the Braves’.