Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 139

Pitcher Done, Batter Up -138

[Exhibition Game) ATL vs BOS, 10-1]

[‘Humiliating Defeat, Prelude to the Champion’s Downfall?’ Red Sox Crushed by Braves!]

The Red Sox were shattered.

Even considering it was just an exhibition game, most players were already in top form. Especially since the Red Sox were the defending champions, having won last year’s World Series, the impact was significant.

Moreover, the fact that most of the players who participated were regulars on the 25-man roster, not minor leaguers or players from the 40-man roster, and that the Red Sox’s highly polished pitching staff was completely swept away by a single batter, caused considerable shockwaves.

[Lee Jung-woo, 4 Hits, 4 At-Bats, 2 Home Runs, 6 RBIs Against ‘Champion’ Red Sox.]

[‘Lee Continues to Evolve.’ Is Lee Aiming for MVP?]

[‘The Korean Invasion Begins Anew’ Will Season 35 Be Another Year of Lee?]

[‘MVP Chant Echoes Through the Stadium!’ Jung-woo Lee, the Amazing Korean, Is Still Hungry!]

Lee Jung-woo’s performance posed a significant threat to his competitors, momentarily stunning even the supporters of Harding and Hunter, who had been busy criticizing and attacking each other.

-To call it just luck… the Red Sox were pitching with all their might, weren’t they?

-It seemed like the starter was just throwing casually. But after that, they got serious out of pride. And they got crushed.

-Is Lee really going to cause an accident this year? I seriously think it’s possible….

-It’s just an exhibition game, why are you making such a fuss? Do you know how many players have HOF-level [Hall of Fame] stats in exhibition games?

-These guys are hilarious. When Harding or Hunter do well, they talk about MVP competition and all sorts of things. Why can’t Lee do that? Why? Is it because Lee is Asian? You Fucking Racists!

-He Is MVP! Lee is the real MVP-level player!

-MVP! MVP!

Braves fans, who were already displeased with the idea of discussing MVP without including Lee Jung-woo, became even more emboldened and openly talked about it, not just at the stadium but also online.

-Braves are so excited.

-You’d think they won the postseason or something.

-Is that Asian kid your parent or something? Why are you making such a fuss?

Other teams’ fans expressed their dissatisfaction, but with the Braves’ large fan base and sharp momentum, there was nothing they could do but listen.

If Lee Jung-woo had faltered afterward, the atmosphere might have cooled down a bit. But unfortunately, the game against the Red Sox was just the beginning.

[‘Continued Success!’ Jung-woo Lee, 2 At-Bats, 1 Hit, 1 Walk, 2 RBIs.]

[‘Unstoppable’ Lee Jung-woo, Another Home Run!]

[‘Phillies Killer’ Jung-woo Lee, Will He Remain a Disaster for the Phillies This Season? Multi-Hit with 3 RBIs!]

[‘Season Preparation Complete’ ATL’s Goal This Season Is Only to Win the Championship!]

Unlike the early Grapefruit League, which had caused some concern, Lee Jung-woo consistently performed well, regaining the momentum he had during last year’s NL [National League] explosion.

The Braves, led by Lee Jung-woo, also showed excellent performance from the exhibition games, briefly seizing the top spot in the Grapefruit League.

It wasn’t just that they were in first place, but their performance was overwhelmingly better compared to the teams below them, earning the Braves the expectations of their fans and the fear of their rivals.

-Are the Braves on drugs or something?

-No, they made it to the postseason last year, why are they so good? Are they really on drugs?

-They were good last year, but if they’re even better this year… it’s going to be a real problem….

People were wary of the Braves’ unusual momentum, but on the other hand, they also said that the regular season would be different.

-It’s ridiculous to make such a fuss over an exhibition game. How many teams have ruined their regular season after doing that?

-Exhibition games are just that, exhibition games. They have no value. First place? What, are they going to give you a trophy?

-The Braves are peaking too early. They might be doing well now, but who knows? They’ll probably be exhausted before the first half of the season is over.

-Does Lee still think he’s a minor league player? Why did he get his body in shape so early?

-He’s just a second-year rookie. He can’t shake off his loser habits. I can see it coming. He’ll be panting by the second half of the season.

If it were their own team, they would have reacted positively, but since it was a rival team, they didn’t hesitate to criticize them.

It was a message for the Braves to hear, but it was also a message to themselves. It was to reassure themselves with such words.

The Braves and Lee Jung-woo had an opportunity to easily crush those thoughts sooner than expected.

Because they were the stars of the 35th season’s opening game.

####

Truist Park was in full preparation.

The opening game against the Philadelphia Phillies was a game that all baseball fans were focused on.

The stadium staff tried not to allow even a single mistake.

“The fans are watching, you’re not thinking of embarrassing ourselves from the opening game, are you?”

“Let’s start this year off on a good note if possible! That way, we can go all the way to the championship!”

The players also put in extra effort, not wanting to suffer an unsightly defeat in front of their home crowd from the first game.

‘They’re not major leaguers for nothing. I was a little worried, but they’re back to normal as the season starts.’

Lee Jung-woo watched the scene with a sense of wonder. Most of the Braves players were in good shape, but there were some players he was a little worried about.

Christensen, who had to compete with Alan O’Donnell for the third starter position, had gained 10 kilograms during the offseason, as if he had been eating feed.

Peterson, on the other hand, must have been playing too much, as he often fumbled even simple ground balls towards first base.

Lee Jung-woo was worried about the slightly strange appearance of the other players. But as expected, the title of major leaguer wasn’t earned for nothing.

Before the opening game, most of them had returned to normal condition. Lee Jung-woo clicked his tongue as he watched Peterson catch a ground ball with nimble movements.

It was truly a ghostly recovery. He wondered if he himself had been overdoing it.

‘Everyone has a different constitution. That must be the right method for Peterson.’

Lee Jung-woo, having lost interest in his seemingly fine teammates, now focused on himself again.

Perhaps because it was the opening game of the regular season, a faint excitement lingered in his chest. He also had a small desire to be the star of this game.

‘My condition is good, very good. Everything I’ve been building up since the exhibition games has been properly accumulated.’

The batting feel that he had slowly built up had reached perfect condition by the opening game.

Even just a light pre-batting practice before the game was enough to make the other players around him shake their heads.

“No matter how I look at it, it shouldn’t go over, but the ball just keeps going over with that stance.”

“It’s Lee, don’t you know even after seeing him for a year? You should just accept it now.”

“But his distance has decreased a bit? Last year, he just slammed it into the upper deck. Now he just barely clears the fence.”

“But now he’s also clearing the left field fence.”

“Oh, right, he’s also hitting it to the opposite field. He’s like Stanton or something….”

Some of them seemed to have given up altogether. Because Lee Jung-woo had always shown amazing performances, they were no longer impressed. But the starting pitcher was different.

Lee Jung-woo, in good condition, was always someone who gave pitchers expectations.

“Is it because it’s the opening game, you’re full of energy? How about the defense, is your condition good too?”

“Perfect.”

“You’re so confident. I like that. Then I can leave most of the balls to you, right?”

“Unless it’s more than 5 feet above my head….”

Mason smiled contentedly at the confident Lee Jung-woo. He was the starting pitcher for the opening game.

Ian Field, his rival for the first starter position, and the internal evaluations of the coaching staff and the scouting team were similar, but because of his achievements last year.

He seemed to have gained stability from Lee Jung-woo’s appearance, who seemed to be in good condition, as he was chosen as the starting pitcher for the opening game.

“But, will there be anything for me to catch? You’ve been amazing since the exhibition games.”

Lee Jung-woo jokingly said to Mason, who was warming up, but it wasn’t entirely a joke.

What Lee Jung-woo called amazing was the centrifuge fastball that he had perfectly equipped during the offseason.

Whether it just happened to fit him perfectly, it took strikeouts away from batters or turned them into terrible ground ball machines from the exhibition game.

If first baseman Peterson’s pace had come up sooner than expected, unlike third baseman Popin, who was relatively fine, he might have maintained a perfect ERA [Earned Run Average] during the exhibition games, to exaggerate a bit.

‘The media was also going crazy. Saying that a hexagonal pitcher had something special.’

Mason, who had all the elements necessary for a starting pitcher, such as speed, power, control, stamina, and mentality, evenly distributed, was once called a complete player. In fact, his performance last year was good enough to deserve such an embarrassing nickname.

With such a base and a special pitch added, some media outlets gave him even more spotlight than Lee Jung-woo.

“How about we continue that momentum in the opening game?”

“Well, the exhibition game and the regular season are different… I have to set a record in the opening game. Just like you’re in good condition, I’m feeling pretty good today too.”

Mason then wore a subtle smile. When Lee Jung-woo smiled with him, those who caught it thought.

“The Phillies are screwed.”

“They’re going to get completely crushed from the opening game this year.”

It seemed that a great misfortune would befall the Phillies.

####

This season, the Phillies had one goal.

World Series? That’s the goal of all teams, so excluding that. Postseason? That’s too obvious for the current Phillies. So what is it?

“Defeat the Braves. They even brought it all the way to Atlanta.”

“Isn’t it heavy? It looks like it’s made of wood.”

“He’s a Phillie Phanatic [the Phillies mascot], his brain, consumed by anger, controls his body.”

The words written on the sign that a visiting fan somehow brought in, Defeat the Braves. That was the biggest goal the Phillies had this year.

“Actually, wasn’t the head-to-head record similar last year?”

“They lost a lot in the first half. To be exact, before Lee came up.”

“Would they see that? They got crushed 3-0 in the division. They’re going to be furious.”

As the saying goes, the Phillies were furious. The Braves, who tried to grab their ankles until the very end of last year’s regular season. Eventually, the Braves shattered their grand dreams in the postseason.

They hated the Braves, who were then soundly defeated by the Dodgers, causing them to be ridiculed as well.

Moreover, they didn’t like them very much because they were in the same division. In their words, they were on better terms with the X-sons of New York or the losers of Washington.

But not from this year. The Phillies’ biggest enemy was unconditionally the Braves.

“Surely there aren’t any idiots who want to be crushed by those X-bastards again this season, right? There won’t be such morons in my team. Right?”

As if taking that into account, before the game, the Phillies’ new manager this year mixed in remarks that would have been a bit problematic if the camera had caught them.

He demanded hustle from the players. He even added that they would rather die than be defeated by those guys again this year.

Usually, in other teams, the pride of the players would be high, and the authority of the manager would be very low. If a new manager had done this, it would have had the opposite effect.

But the Phillies, from the front office to the rank-and-file employees, were united in shouting, Defeat the Braves. Rather, the players’ faces were filled with serious determination.

“Kill Braves, Kill Braves, Kill! More Braves! Kill them all without leaving even dust so that they can never be a stumbling block to us again!!”

“Yes Sir!”

“What is it that you guys have to do?”

“Kill the Braves!”

“Good, that’s it. You’re being manly now. This is what the Phillies are! This is my player! Now, go and destroy them all!”

The Phillies’ manager, who encouraged them by slapping each player on the back, wore a satisfied expression.

The overly excited players could cause mistakes, but it was better than being discouraged.

It was a kind of emergency measure, and it seemed to have worked well, so the manager smiled contentedly and watched the players who were taking the lead.

‘Mason Looper, he equipped a new weapon. And it’s quite tricky. The scout evaluation said 65 points, or more?’

At least 65 points, maybe even a Plus-Plus (70) or higher pitch. He’s already good, and he’s got such a weapon.

It flies in similarly to a fastball, but it’s subtly different from a two-seamer, so you might end up giving up a ground ball or a strikeout if you’re not careful.

It was a ball that went well with the Braves, who had considerable control over the infield, but he didn’t think he couldn’t hit it at all. He wanted to believe that.

‘In the end, all you have to do is hit it high. If we attack them hard before it becomes a bullpen fight. Even if that damn Asian goes wild, it’ll be okay to some extent.’

The Phillies manager had judged early on. That second-year rookie, called a damn Asian in Philadelphia, was, with a little sorry to say, unstoppable by the Phillies.

‘He’s equipped with precise hitting. Maybe it’s his talent, but he must have hired a good hitting trainer. Thanks to that, the defensive shift has lost its meaning.’

A batter who can not only pull the ball but also hit it to the opposite field and clear the fence. At least the hitting that the Asian showed during the exhibition games was that of a genius hitter who could send the ball to any part of the field.

So, instead of trying to stop that guy in vain, he thought it was better to just ignore him, exclude him as much as possible, and somehow beat the opponent.

‘If it wasn’t the opening game, I would have just intentionally walked him… but I can’t do that today. It’ll only lower the morale of the team.’

He told them not to lose to them and to kill the opponent, but he himself was afraid of the young man’s exhibition game play and avoided the opposing batter.

What would the players think? It probably wouldn’t be a normal reaction. In the worst case, he could lose control of the team from the beginning of the season.

An intentional walk was also one of the methods he had considered, but it was excluded from today’s game.

So he just hoped that his team’s batters would do well as he expected. Even if they lost, so that they could have confidence in themselves.

But.

“Strike!”

“Strike!”

“Strike! Strikeout!”

It started creaking from the beginning.

98 mph – 97 mph – 94 mph.

The leadoff hitter struck out swinging on three pitches, a fastball-fastball-that strange two-seamer.

A bad start, but this was nothing. After patting the shoulder of the first batter, the second batter, who confidently entered the batter’s box, showed a loud swing, but he also hit that strange two-seamer and was out with one ball.

The third batter, who went up with a determined face as the team’s cleanup hitter, still managed to pull it to 6 pitches. But he was controlled by the pitcher throughout the match and was struck out looking due to a curve that barely caught the bottom of the strike zone.

Did all three hitters combine for 3 minutes? An attack that passed by in an instant. The pitcher went down with a light expression and high-fived the shortstop who had handled the second batter.

It felt ominous.

This wasn’t it? The hitting coach had such a face. The pitching coach, as if he had glimpsed something from the quick movements of the shortstop, bit his nails without the players knowing.

Obscene curses swirled in the manager’s mouth. He suddenly missed the cigarettes he had quit for ten years.

‘I’ve built up the atmosphere this much, if we lose miserably from the opening game….’

“Mother Fucking…”

The Phillies manager, unable to bear what had been rising to his throat due to the worst-case scenario that was slowly rising, thought. It seemed like he was screwed.