Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 110

[Jeongwoo Lee, Super Korean’s Splendid Return!]

[Is Jeongwoo Lee a Natural Phillies Killer? Overwhelming Head-to-Head Record!]

[Lee Remains Strong Even After Crossing the Pacific!]

Thanks to Lee Jeongwoo’s brilliant comeback performance against the Phillies, the Braves swept the series.

The Phillies, who had mocked the Braves for being 8 games behind, saw the gap narrow to 5 games again after this crushing defeat, thus reigniting their pursuit of the division title.

The Braves began to rebuild their hopes for the top spot and their chances for the postseason, but a treacherous path lay ahead.

Leaving Atlanta, where they had enjoyed a relatively long stay, they had to embark on a lengthy road trip.

“Ugh, this schedule is a mess.”

“New York, then LA, and back to Pittsburgh. Whose messed-up head came up with this?”

Yes, the road trip was truly long, long enough to make one wonder about its origins.

The players, roughly calculating the distance on the road trip plane, felt nauseous just thinking about it, and grumbling voices could be heard from all directions.

‘Why am I on a plane again after crossing the Pacific?’

Lee Jeongwoo felt the same way.

To be precise, he was dumbfounded.

After finishing the Asian Games and crossing the Pacific to return to beloved Atlanta, he was stuck on a plane all day like a madman again.

No, the Pacific crossing was preferable. Frankly, this road trip was essentially a horizontal round trip across the United States.

‘America is really damn big. Traveling this distance and it’s still domestic.’

Atlanta to New York.

New York to LA.

LA back to Pittsburgh.

The sheer distance was enough to make Lee Jeongwoo laugh in disbelief.

Moreover, most of the starting players cursed the front office for scheduling this during the latter half of the season when their stamina was already waning.

With only clouds outside, they either dozed off or fidgeted. Some of the players were restless.

“Wow, the majors are really different. These seats are amazing. I could live on the road all season with this.”

These were the rookies.

Most of the players called up from Triple-A had already experienced a few call-ups.

They acted somewhat accustomed to it, but the truly fresh rookies were busy looking around the plane.

In particular, Desmond wore a satisfied smile, as if he had made friends with the plane seat. He kept stroking it and nodding, even uttering ridiculous nonsense in admiration.

‘They’ll change their tune after experiencing it once.’

Lee Jeongwoo, glaring coldly at the fussing Desmond, shook his head and thought about the upcoming games.

Really, besides the distance, the schedule was terrible.

‘First opponent on the road is the Mets. Need to secure a winning series. The game difference is big, but you never know. The starters’ stamina has been low lately, so it might be easier than expected.’

New York Mets.

Unlike the Braves, who had been cruising since his comeback, they were faltering a bit after being overtaken by the Braves.

They were clearly maintaining a large gap with the fourth-place Marlins, but keeping up with the Braves seemed difficult unless they swept the Braves in this four-game series.

The Mets, who had looked down on the Braves, were now in a reversed situation.

The Mets must have been frustrated and sighing, but Lee Jeongwoo wanted to cut off even their slightest chance.

‘Whatever happens, it’s much easier to step on the same division team, so they can’t raise their heads later.’

If done well, the effect could last until the next season.

And in reality, the possibility of the Braves winning at least a winning series was higher than the Mets sweeping. [A winning series means winning more games than losing in a series of games against the same opponent.]

Many experts predicted that the Braves would win at least a winning series.

‘After catching the Mets, next is the Dodgers. It’s going to be tough from here, especially for the hitters.’

After the New York Mets series, they would play a three-game series against the LA Dodgers, currently the first-place team in the National League Central Division.

It was almost the only place in the National League that was friendly to the Braves and Lee Jeongwoo.

‘They got beat up pretty badly when we met at the beginning of the season, and they benefited a lot from us.’

They hadn’t faced each other since Lee Jeongwoo’s call-up, and before that, they were thoroughly defeated.

In addition, after Lee Jeongwoo’s call-up, the Braves swept the San Francisco Giants in June, which was key to regaining first place.

They were grateful that they had beaten the Giants, who boasted the worst rivalry in the major leagues.

Thanks to that, they took first place and had been holding it ever since.

At least this season, the Braves were friends to the Dodgers fans.

Lee Jeongwoo, who beat up the Giants, especially their ace Ilya, was needless to say.

Also, since there were so many Koreans, Lee Jeongwoo, being Korean, was welcomed.

‘They’re friendly now, but it might change with this game. This will be the hardest for the hitters because their starting pitchers are strong.’

There was no overwhelming ace like Kershaw, who used to dominate the league, but the current Dodgers were filling their starting lineup with almost second or third-tier pitchers.

So if the Dodgers were a difficult opponent for the hitters, the next game, against the Pirates, was a game where the pitchers would bleed.

Currently first in the Central League, the Pittsburgh Pirates were barely holding off the Cubs’ pursuit.

In fact, looking at the overall roster, it was questionable how they were in first place.

Their starting lineup was ambiguous, and their bullpen was shattered. But even so, Pittsburgh was in first place.

The reason was simple.

‘An overwhelming lineup that can regain any points lost in defense. The overall quality of the hitters is excellent, but… there’s a monster in there too.’

Lee Jeongwoo picked up his phone and scratched his still clean-shaven chin.

A player appeared on the phone screen. Before he got injured in the past, he was a player he wanted to face as a pitcher versus hitter.

‘Vincent Harding.’

A Dutch-American player, nicknamed the Flying Dutchman because he happened to be playing for the Pirates and often made diving catches in the outfield, he was adding depth and weight to the already strong Pittsburgh lineup.

‘Overwhelming number one. Arthur Hunt is there, but he’s in the American League, so excluding him. He’s just number one in the National League.’

Every year, a batting average of over .300. An OPS [On-Base Plus Slugging, a sabermetric baseball statistic] that ranges from the high .900s to over 1.000. He hit 30 home runs in every season except his debut season. He even hit 40 home runs in two seasons.

On top of that, he was a great fielder, truly an unparalleled best hitter.

Just looking at the fact that his WAR [Wins Above Replacement, a comprehensive baseball statistic] was never below 8 except for his debut season showed how much of a monster he was.

‘I don’t know who planned it, but they picked only difficult opponents, not just the distance.’

Lee Jeongwoo scratched his head.

He felt like they were meeting all kinds of teams.

The Mets, who were bad in both pitching and hitting right now. The Dodgers, whose lineup was average but pitching was strong. And the Pirates, whose pitching was shattered but lineup was overwhelming.

‘Are we just missing a team with balanced pitching and hitting?’

Lee Jeongwoo smiled cynically.

But even so, he didn’t assume defeat.

It was too late for that, and he didn’t think they would lose.

####

[Ah, the Mets are collapsing so weakly.]

The four-game series against the Mets, the first opponent on the road trip, was easier than expected. It was as if there was no chance for them to recover.

Lee Jeongwoo even wondered if he was playing in the Asian Games again.

‘They’ve definitely lost their edge. They can’t get their act together.’

Whether it was because the starting players’ stamina had dropped, or because the motivation for the postseason, which had become distant and virtually impossible, had disappeared, the Mets lost smoothly enough for the Braves to feel sorry.

Game 1: 9-0. Game 2: 7-1. Game 3: 8-1. The Braves scored a whopping 24 points in three games, while the Mets recorded a meager 2 points despite being at their home stadium.

As a result, Citi Field, which had been crowded with people expecting a comeback until the first and second games, gradually had empty seats starting from the third game.

The insults that had been pouring down on the opposing team were gradually turning towards their own team.

“Do it right, damn it!”

“We pay money to come and watch you guys, so you think we’re fools! Work hard, work hard!”

“You can’t do anything with the expensive money you get! You freeloaders!”

‘The repertoire of cursing when they’re not doing well is almost the same in every country.’

When Lee Jeongwoo chuckled, in one group that boasted the only bright atmosphere in the brutal Citi Field, cheers erupted towards the Mets fans who were pouring out so many insults.

“This is exactly your level!”

“Anyway, you New York bastards are so cold! You should be cheering and encouraging them!”

“You’re not our opponents anymore!”

Like the words of the away fans who were bravely shouting as if they weren’t afraid in enemy territory, the Mets were no longer the Braves’ opponents.

That was proven by the three clean games, but Lee Jeongwoo boasted a thorough job until the end.

####

[The Braves have quite a few starting players excluded, and they’re saving the bullpen.]

[Yes, in fact, looking at the winning percentage, they’ve practically secured a wild card. From now on, it’s time to keep the postseason in mind.]

[In the end, the postseason depends on how much the starting players’ stamina is preserved during the regular season.]

[That’s right.]

The last game of the four-game series in New York saw Peterson and some other players excluded from the roster for stamina management.

Lee Jeongwoo, who was in the cleanup hitter spot for the first time in a while, initially showed some misses.

[Lee’s swing! But he missed again this time. Strangely, his timing is a bit off today.]

[Yes, the bat is missing slightly.]

[But the batting stance and bat speed are consistent, so I don’t think there’s much to worry about.]

[It’s just a normal slump that any hitter experiences. Even the best players can’t always do well.]

Watching Lee Jeongwoo, who recorded only one double play and two strikeouts, and had a poor performance for the first time in a while, the Mets fans forced themselves to raise their tension and mocked him, but Lee Jeongwoo was indifferent.

‘The bat isn’t following through, but it’s slowly coming back.’

It wasn’t his fault.

It was better to wait calmly than to be happy or sad about something unavoidable.

So Lee Jeongwoo calmly waited for his batting sense to return.

Perhaps because Lee Jeongwoo was also blocked in a situation where some of the core hitters were missing, the Braves, who had scored 8 points in the previous game and beat up the Mets, showed only a meager 1 point and dragged the game to the 9th inning.

In fact, it was as if the Mets had blocked the Braves’ lineup, but they couldn’t easily guarantee victory either.

‘We’re not doing well, but they’re not hitting well either. It’s practically setting up a table for them to win, but they’re just spitting it out.’

The hitters were struggling.

The Mets were leading the game by just one point more than the Braves.

Yes, it was 2-1.

Lee Jeongwoo tilted his head at the score that looked like it was from soccer, not baseball.

It was clear that the Mets weren’t this bad when they met last time.

The Mets were serious in many ways right now.

‘Well, we’re doing worse right now, though.’

Unlike the cool games before, a pitching battle suddenly unfolded between the two teams.

Lee Jeongwoo, who was involved in both the good and bad sides, was a little embarrassed, but fortunately, the last chance came.

[Top of the 9th, one out. The Braves’ last chance has been created.]

[Yes, Joey, who played as the 3rd hitter today, hit one again this time.]

[Joey Freeman, who scored the only RBI for the team in this game, created the last chance.]

[And here he comes. Cleanup hitter Lee Jeongwoo.]

“Hit another double play this time!”

“Then take your dirty ass and get out of Citi Field right now!”

The crowd, who were full of anger, hurled angry words and curses at Lee Jeongwoo as he stepped into the plate.

Rather, such an aggressive reaction explained how much they longed for victory in this game and how much they feared the player Lee Jeongwoo.

He had been quiet during this series, and he was showing a somewhat weak performance in today’s game, but Lee Jeongwoo was someone who could hit one at any time.

So the crowd united and poured out curses to gather strength, but Lee Jeongwoo just went through his routine as usual.

‘Marcus Harrison. A right-hander and a curveballer, so the matchup is good. Fastball speed is around 93 to 97 miles. He sometimes throws a changeup in addition to the curve and fastball, but his arm angle is a little different, so it’s easy to read. He’s good at getting strikeouts as his strikeouts per inning are high, but sometimes his control is shaky, so he gives up straight walks.’

Lee Jeongwoo, recalling the pitcher’s information like a habit, bounced his body once and tapped the ground with the end of his bat.

As the routine that most teams that had met him now knew unfolded before their eyes, somehow, a sense of unease rose even more, and they sent even more intense cheers to the pitcher.

But it didn’t seem like their efforts reached the pitcher.

‘That reaction is refreshing.’

The pitcher was very nervous even though he hadn’t done anything.

To be more precise, he was afraid. He was afraid of the situation itself of competing against Lee Jeongwoo.

“Shouldn’t we go up and calm him down? He looks scared.”

“Shut up.”

“I’m just worried about you. I just like seeing it, I just like seeing it.”

Lee Jeongwoo shrugged at the catcher who snapped back fiercely, but at least the last words were sincere.

The fresh reaction that he hadn’t seen much since coming up to the majors was really nice to see.

It meant that he had done so well so far that he had become a source of fear for someone.

Lee Jeongwoo, who felt a little better, wanted to repay the pitcher’s deep faith (?).

‘Just throw one without probing, then I’ll end the game you hate so much quickly.’

Unfortunately, that message wasn’t conveyed.

The pitcher threw a fastball that was far enough away to miss about three balls outside as his first pitch.

It didn’t seem like it was the catcher’s order, and the catcher barely caught it in a hurry. He glared at the pitcher because he almost let the runner on second base advance to third base if it had gone backwards.

“What are you doing scaring him? You have to embrace him with love.”

“Shut up. Just focus on the game. You’re nothing.”

Perhaps because he was sensitive because he was being cursed by the home fans, the catcher acted fiercely, and Lee Jeongwoo shut his mouth as he wanted.

The Mets’ battery [the pitcher and catcher working together] was already at its limit enough that he didn’t need to touch anything more.

‘Usually a mistake comes out in this case, but it could fly towards my body if the aim is wrong, so let’s be careful.’

Even while thinking that, Lee Jeongwoo didn’t loosen his grip on the bat, and soon the pitcher threw the ball while using the pitch clock tightly.

Still unable to get his aim, it went out again this time. Lee Jeongwoo smacked his lips when he refrained from swinging because it wasn’t worth hitting.

The pitcher was cornered to three balls with no strikes in an instant.

‘Was I wrong? Are they just trying to walk me [intentionally walk a batter by throwing four balls outside the strike zone]?’

When Lee Jeongwoo smacked his lips at the series of balls that were nowhere near a strike to the point where he thought that, the pitcher, with a much more cheerful face than before, wound up for a long time as if he had made up his mind and threw the ball as it was.

The fastball that flew from the three-quarter form was quite fast.

He threw it properly as if he wouldn’t avoid it anymore, but the problem was that it seemed like it had slipped out of his hand again this time.

His will had already returned enough, but it seemed like his body wasn’t following.

A fastball that was right in the middle, a mistake that couldn’t be better to hit.

‘If you can’t hit this kind of mistake-‘

Bang-

‘You shouldn’t be a hitter.’

The ball that was thrown as if telling him to hit it was caught in a swing that was pulled all the way.

The ball stuck to the bat.

Lee Jeongwoo showed a textbook follow-through that even young players could use as a textbook and sent the ball flying as it was.

[Lee! Hit it! The destination of the ball that keeps flying! It was over the fence as expected! With Lee Jeongwoo’s 22nd home run of the season! Now the game is 3-2. The Braves reversed it at the end!]

As the batted ball went over the right fence, the right fielder, who had followed it to the end, couldn’t contain his anger and hit the fence with his hand as if to vent his anger.

Some players lowered their heads like sinners.

Lee Jeongwoo, looking around at the scene, thought that it seemed like they had definitely cut off the bud.

‘I blew up the Mets’ mentality well for now.’

As Lee Jeongwoo stepped on home plate, the players rushed out of the dugout to greet him.

The joyful Braves players and the funeral-like atmosphere of the Mets made a strange contrast.

There was still the bottom of the 9th inning left, but strangely, the result of the game was already flickering in front of everyone’s eyes.

“Damn it….”

“I thought it was going to be quiet today. That bastard doesn’t rest….”

So none of the home fans talked about a comeback.

They just looked at Lee Jeongwoo, who was high-fiving his teammates, with resentful eyes.