Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 118

Pitcher Over, Batter Up – Episode 117

Lee Jung-woo, preparing for the game, heard similar words from the coach, his teammates, and even the fans who asked for his autograph when he entered the stadium.

“Did you get a good night’s sleep? You look like you’re in good condition. Just do as well as you did yesterday.”

“Lee! You look happy today! I’m looking forward to your great plays!”

“Oh? What’s with the bright face? You almost look human now. Is there something good going on?”

“Not really?”

Everyone he met asked if something good had happened to him.

Lee Jung-woo shook his head, but people kept asking similar questions or making suggestive jokes.

Mostly the veteran teammates did that.

“Hehehe, looks like Lee had some fun last night?”

“Tsk, these young ones. Can’t you tell? It’s the reporter from yesterday’s interview, the reporter.”

‘What nonsense is that?’

“Ah, now that you mention it, she did seem a bit strange… so that’s what it was?”

“Why suddenly the reporter? She was pretty, though.”

“Hehe, Desmond, you’ll understand when you get famous later. It’s a happy thing, but you have to be careful.”

The veteran players grinned, and the younger players, especially Desmond, widened their eyes and asked questions.

Lee Jung-woo just stared at them with a dumbfounded look before walking away.

He knew it was just harmless joking, so he didn’t feel the need to stop them.

But he didn’t want to agree with them or keep listening.

“I don’t know why they’re all like that.”

“It’s because you look brighter today. You’re usually as stiff as a rock. Today you look a bit more human.”

“Really?”

At Derek’s words, Lee Jung-woo touched his face. It felt the same as usual.

What was different?

More than that, was his face usually that stiff?

As Lee Jung-woo tilted his head, Derek, as if infected, threw a subtle question.

“Really, nothing happened? Yesterday, the reporter seemed a bit… I understand you’re young, but don’t overdo it during the season.”

“Sigh, now even Derek is doing this?”

Lee Jung-woo sighed at the sight of even Derek joking around. He soon went to his locker, prepared for the game, and glanced at the mirror.

They said his face looked better, but he couldn’t figure out what they meant.

So, he looked directly at his face in the mirror, and even he thought it was a bit different.

‘I think I know what they mean, though it’s a ridiculous guess.’

The muscles in his face were relaxed, making him look subtly softer.

Usually, he had a stiff and gloomy look, like a character in a noir film or a Russian mafia member.

Today, it was still a movie, but the genre seemed a bit different.

‘The pressure has eased. I feel, no, I’m sure I can keep doing well.’

It is often said that the face is a mirror reflecting a person’s heart.

Thanks to what he realized yesterday, his outward expression seemed happier than usual.

To be precise,

He was filled with an indescribable confidence, like the protagonist of a shonen manga [a genre of Japanese comics and animation targeted towards young male audiences, often featuring action-packed stories].

‘Yeah, it was just like this in the old days. Always full of faith.’

Lee Jung-woo wore a faint smile.

He had a feeling they would win today.

There was no more fear.

The desire to improve was as strong as ever, deep in his heart.

But the worry that he might fall someday had disappeared.

‘I need to repay not only the expectations of others but also my own belief.’

Looking at himself in the mirror, Lee Jung-woo confidently walked out of the locker room.

The confidence and smile on his face were even more pronounced than his teammates had thought.

He had a feeling that he could do even better today than yesterday, than before.

And he felt that it would continue to be so.

####

-Yesterday’s game proved it. Lee is still far from catching up to Harding.

-Are you blind or something?

-Atlanta hicks. No matter how good a rookie is, comparing him to Harding is a bit much, don’t you think?

Before the game even started.

Various online communities, specifically the fan forums of the Braves and the Pirates, were already buzzing with anticipation.

Lee Jung-woo vs. Harding

The first game of the highly anticipated matchup was somewhat ambiguous as to who had clearly won.

So the debate continued to circulate.

-Lee is a monster. A rookie who debuted this year is being compared to Harding.

-I’m not a Pirates fan, nor am I a personal fan of Harding, but honestly, I would have scoffed if someone else was compared to Harding. But Lee is legit.

-Let’s be honest. It’s just Rookie vs. MVP [Most Valuable Player] in name only, but they’re practically MVP contenders for next year, aren’t they?

-Even if Lee puts up the same stats next year, his defense is so overwhelming that he could seriously challenge. I don’t know about winning, though.

Both players were superstars representing Major League Baseball.

Harding had already risen to stardom thanks to his consistently insane performance.

Lee Jung-woo was different.

Based on various impressive stats and outstanding performances,

He had risen to his current position in just about one season.

From a promising prospect to a potential MVP.

That’s why Pirates fans feared him.

At first, they thought of him as just a good rookie.

But now he had grown to a serious threat.

There was a high possibility that he would become a competitor to their Flying Dutchman [Vincent Harding’s nickname, referencing his Dutch heritage and exceptional speed and agility] in the not-so-distant future.

Therefore, Pirates fans wanted Harding to crush the seed that was already close to a giant.

Even though there was a high possibility that Harding would not be their player next year.

At least for now, he was the Pirates’ great player.

-Harding needs to put him down properly this time so it’ll be easier later.

-He’s good at hitting, and he’s a shortstop? And he plays dirty good defense.

-Even if his stats drop when he plays a full season, he’ll still hit at least .280 with a .500 slugging percentage. He might hit more home runs too. No, he definitely will.

-So, a shortstop who hits close to .300 with an .800 OPS [On-Base Plus Slugging, a common baseball statistic] and 30 home runs.

-Looking at it this way, I understand why the Braves are hyping him up. He’s really crazy.

-If we leave him alone like that… it’ll be dangerous later. We need to suppress him to some extent now so it’ll be easier.

Filled with such emotions,

Pirates fans poured out curse-like predictions with a slightly nervous look.

-I think Lee was scared stiff by Harding’s performance yesterday, even though he won.

-He at least had multiple hits yesterday, but today he’ll just keep striking out. Why don’t they put someone else in?

-I predict that Lee will record two double plays and two strikeouts today.

They predicted Lee Jung-woo’s performance in the second game according to their own logic and subjectivity.

Unfortunately, none of those curses came true.

No, it would be more accurate to say that they were applied in reverse.

####

It was a bad day.

The toast that came out for breakfast fell butter-side down, so he had to get a new one.

The steak, which was deliberately cooked well-done to prevent stomach upset, got stuck in his teeth.

The uniform he entrusted to the clubhouse attendant was washed incorrectly, so he had to wear a stiff new one.

From such trivial things, he felt that the energy was not good today.

“How’s your condition?”

“Well, it’s okay. Even this much is enough to win today’s game.”

“Hahaha, at least your confidence is overflowing, so I’m relieved. Today, hit it over that 21-foot wall. I want to see it.”

“I’m planning to aim for it anyway. We need to get started from the first inning today.”

He answered the head coach’s question roughly like that, but in fact, he still felt bad.

A gloomy energy rose from behind his back for no reason.

But he shook it off.

The path he had walked was too solid to be swayed by these emotions.

And he knew that if he showed signs of wavering, his teammates would also be shaken.

Vincent Harding always had to be noble and great.

This season might be his last challenge in Pittsburgh.

‘At least until this season is completely over. I have to maintain that.’

Regaining his composure like that,

He faced the game confidently as usual and quickly forgot the bad energy.

As if to commend his efforts,

The game went quite well from the beginning.

“Got it!”

“Hell Yeah!”

“Harding, you’re the best! The best! You always have been, and you always will be!”

“That’s the Flying Dutchman! It’s our turn today!”

Although the location was slightly different,

He, like the rookie in yesterday’s game,

Had a home run from the batter, even a right-handed home run that rarely comes out of PNC Park.

He jumped up and stretched out his glove as if to boast, catching the ball that had already gone over the fence, and the fans who loved him so much scattered snacks like nachos and popcorn everywhere and went wild.

The cleaners would have sighed if they had seen it.

But he really liked this reaction.

That’s why he played baseball.

‘Okay, we’ve got the momentum first today.’

“Hey, Vin. Are you starting strong today? Adams must be grinning from ear to ear.”

“We have to win. We might not sweep, but we have to win the series.”

As expected, the atmosphere among his teammates was also good.

A clean three-up, three-down [retiring the side in order with three consecutive outs].

The super catch that completed it.

All of those things combined.

Showed amazing synergy.

The people inside the stadium, except for the Braves, all had bright faces.

And some of the younger players looked at him with eyes full of admiration and respect.

He was quite used to it now, but it was still incredibly burdensome.

But he knew that those emotions sometimes led to good plays.

So he willingly shouldered those gazes and smiled brightly and confidently.

Only until the change of offense and defense.

“Offense! Offense!”

“Open the gates! The Pirates have arrived! Prepare to fire all cannons!”

“Tear those scrubs apart!”

Amid the crowd of cheering fans and the players confidently grabbing their bats in response, he alone scratched his stubbly chin with a troubled face.

His eyes were directed at the rookie who had been bothering him since the last game.

‘Hmm, I’m screwed.’

He didn’t bother to say it out loud to maintain his image and team morale.

But his head was filled with such thoughts.

The rookie, who was already bothering him,

He didn’t know why.

But it seemed like he had leveled up.

A face that seemed happy for some reason.

The confidence that filled it.

A deep belief that he could do anything.

Looking at that face filled with those things,

Even though he hadn’t seen today’s plays yet,

He had a feeling that the game wouldn’t go as expected by the fans, his teammates, and himself.

That ominous thought soon became a reality.

“Ah…”

That was the last word left by the leadoff hitter who hit a ball that rolled quickly to the right-center field and bounced irregularly.

He was out because of the shortstop who flew up and barehanded caught the high-flying ball like yesterday.

“Fucking! Son of-”

This is the expression of the second hitter who hit a mis-hit ball that would normally fall into a perfect spot that neither the center fielder, left fielder, nor shortstop could catch.

He ran and lay down backward as if lying on a bed.

He was out even though he had already stepped on first base because of the shortstop who stretched out his glove and caught the ball.

“…”

And the last silent protagonist was Harding himself.

He hit a good ball that stretched slightly to the right based on second base.

It was the words of the second hitter who hit the hit ball.

He lay down backward as if lying on a bed, and was out even though he stepped on first base because of the shortstop who stretched out his glove and caught the ball.

“…”

And the last silent protagonist was himself.

He hit a good ball that stretched slightly to the right based on second base.

It would have been a hit for sure.

If it had rolled well, it would have been enough to reach second base.

Again, the problem was the shortstop.

Was he a second baseman or something?

Suddenly, he ran quickly from far away.

He dived forward and caught the ball.

He made the atmosphere chilly with those plays.

The morale of the team and the spectators had risen with the previous good defense.

Now, only heavy silence lingered.

Clearly, the weather was sunny enough to be dazzling.

But now, PNC Park was like a rainy street.

Dark, gloomy, and full of gloom.

And it was terribly quiet.

The player who roughly dusted off his uniform, which was covered in dirt from rolling and lying around.

The rookie, who seemed to have a brighter expression than yesterday, ruined Pittsburgh’s mood from the very beginning.

Very properly.

“What the hell is going on? What the hell is that guy?”

That was the feeling of the Pirates fans watching this defense.

Three swings.

Three dives.

And three outs.

The time it took to get there was about 3 minutes.

Watching the shortstop who made a three-up, three-down by handling all the balls that would have been hits by himself.

Vincent Harding couldn’t stop himself this time, and he spat out a truthful reaction.

“He’s crazy.”

The only fortunate thing was that.

Everyone now realized what he had felt earlier.

So, morale didn’t really drop.

There was no morale to drop.

It was already a disaster.

Harding knew a bigger problem.

‘I don’t know what it is. But it seems like he’ll be like that in hitting too.’

It was a bad day after all.

Vincent Harding thought.