Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 14

Pitcher done, batter up -13

The catcher stared blankly as Lee Jung-woo nonchalantly rounded the bases.

‘To tell him to convey his thanks.’

‘And to keep his mouth shut.’

What on earth was that supposed to mean?

‘Could that bastard have blurted out the pitch type?’

The catcher glared at the pitcher, eyes blazing.

He wouldn’t have carelessly blabbed, would he?

He wondered if the batter had somehow figured out the pitch.

If that were the case.

And the result was a three-run homer.

The pitcher deserved a severe scolding.

‘Damn it, maybe I should have kept my mouth shut a little more?’

I told him to just go in comfortably beforehand.

But the batter just hit a three-run homer.

His situation felt incredibly awkward.

A wave of embarrassment washed over him like a surge of alcohol.

The catcher glared at the pitcher and signaled to the pitching coach.

The pitcher on the mound, in turn, threw his glove down in frustration.

Lee Jung-woo, who unintentionally disrupted the chemistry of the Riverdogs battery [battery refers to the pitcher and catcher duo], high-fived the runner who had crossed home plate and his teammates who rushed out of the dugout.

“That monster!”

“I thought you were taking it easy today. Were you itching to get back in the game?”

“How did you get that one over? It wasn’t even a curveball, was it?”

The team was losing badly.

The game was already tilting.

It was practically a lost cause, but.

Just as their pride as players was wounded and they were getting heated, the cleanup hitter smacked a home run.

They had saved face.

The players slapped Lee Jung-woo’s helmet and back, expressing their excitement.

Lee Jung-woo, unlike his usual stoic self,

cracked a faint, thin smile and responded to them.

Paharo, who had also come out to the dugout, tentatively raised both hands to Lee Jung-woo.

They hadn’t spoken for a while due to hurt feelings.

It was a slightly awkward sight.

Seeing Paharo’s hesitant gesture, Lee Jung-woo, still smiling,

slapped his hands together forcefully.

“You’re starting tomorrow, right?”

“Huh? Yeah… probably.”

“Do well. Enough to make me feel foolish for talking trash.”

Then, unlike usual, Lee Jung-woo playfully tapped him on the shoulder.

Paharo nodded, his face returning to its usual sly grin.

“That was a huge home run, how did you do it? Looking at the velocity, it’s not like the pitcher was losing steam. Were you aiming for a specific location? Guess hitting? Come to think of it, the pitcher only threw fastballs, right? Is that why you were waiting for it? But your swing looked a little different from usual….”

As the awkwardness faded, his motormouth returned.

Lee Jung-woo regretted it a little as his loud chatter drowned out other sounds.

He would probably miss the quiet times after a while.

Just as Lee Jung-woo sighed, already feeling his ears ache,

Scott casually approached and patted him on the shoulder as if to say well done, but.

his face was full of questions.

‘He swung smoothly. He really took the power out of it. How could he already….’

He slightly moistened his lips.

He had given him advice because he looked like he was struggling, but.

He just spouted the same old platitudes he always gave to other players.

There was no other way.

He said it casually like that, but.

Scott knew very well that it was a difficult thing to do.

That’s the kind of realization an aging veteran gets at the end.

That’s why they often complain that they feel like they can finally play baseball well,

but their bodies can’t keep up.

But how long has it been since he told this kid, who hasn’t even taken his first steps as a hitter yet?

He swung almost similarly.

Swing smoothly, without force.

The final follow-through was natural as well.

Yet, he made solid contact.

‘This, maybe his talent as a hitter won’t be overshadowed by his pitching talent?’

Jung-woo Lee, the pitching prodigy who was once predicted to become a Cy Young contender [an award given to the best pitcher in each league].

Scott thought that maybe Lee Jung-woo the hitter might be similar.

Judging by how quickly he was getting the hang of it.

He approached Lee Jung-woo, who was casually taking off his batting gloves, and asked.

“Lee, good job. But your swing was very smooth. Did you figure out how to take the power out of it, like I told you before?”

His eyes were sparkling.

Perhaps feeling burdened by it,

Lee Jung-woo told him the truth.

“No. I haven’t quite figured it out yet. I have a sense of what it feels like, but. Right now, I’m just tired because of the pitcher.”

“Because of the pitcher?”

He tilted his head and asked, as if wondering what he meant.

Lee Jung-woo told him about how the pitcher had carelessly blabbed.

Scott chuckled and.

saw the pitcher, who was raging and eventually being forcibly dragged away by the pitching coach, being kicked off the mound.

Whatever the reason.

Thanks to him, the team’s hitter got a feel for a new method.

Scott thought he was grateful in many ways.

Of course, he also thought he was a bit of an idiot.

####

While Lee Jung-woo was controlling his body for a new leap forward,

the Braves were steadily collapsing.

Not the Rome Braves, but the Atlanta Braves.

“Hey! Hey! Hey, you son of a bitch—”

“What the hell are you doing!”

“My little league nephew could stop that! You bastard!”

“Are you seriously charging us money to watch this crap?”

The fans hurled insults at the left fielder’s absurd play, who turned an easy ground ball into a massive left-field hit.

The score was 12 to 3.

Considering it was the 6th inning with no outs and runners on second,

it was hard to guess how much the score would widen.

They might suffer a historic defeat.

It would be fine if the pitchers were just getting hammered.

But the fans were furious because there were already three errors in today’s game, and 5 runs were lost because of them.

They even started chanting “Out.”

“What the hell is the difference between this and Stone’s time, you Pratt bastard!”

“Pratt out! Pratt out!”

“Pratt go home!”

The atmosphere was so intense that if the general manager’s car number was known,

not only the tires but also the windows would be smashed to pieces.

Pratt, the general manager, who had come to watch the game for the first time in a while, fled the stadium as if running away.

‘I won’t die peacefully if I stay here.’

The Atlanta Braves are currently third in the National League East Division.

And the game difference with second place isn’t big, so they could aim for a wild card [a chance to enter the playoffs even without winning their division].

He thought there wouldn’t be a big reaction, so he came to the stadium, but.

It was quite different from what he expected.

Wild card?

The fans didn’t even expect it.

Putting aside the win rate for a moment.

Just looking at the way they play, they couldn’t feel any hope.

They were on a 5-game losing streak.

And their performance was terrible.

An error occurred in every game.

‘Damn it, the player pool is too thin. The others are tired, but the guys who can replace them aren’t very good….’

It’s the end of the season.

The players’ fatigue has piled up, causing a decrease in concentration and athletic ability.

Errors continue to occur, but there are no suitable replacements.

The prospects Pratt brought in still needed time.

And former general manager Stone didn’t even bring in fielders in the first place.

He roughly picked them from Triple A [the highest level of minor league baseball] and called them up for the expanded roster, but.

They all had flaws.

That’s because the fact that they’ve been in Triple A for a long time means they’re just not major league level.

People often say that the skills in Triple A and the majors are similar, and that luck or mentality determine the outcome, but.

Whatever it is, the skills shown in the game were lacking.

As a result, even though they were in a situation where they could aim for a wild card,

they continued to use the existing players, which eventually led to a decline in the overall performance of the team.

‘This won’t do. At this rate, my head will be cut off.’

That could be his job.

Or his real ‘head.’

The angry fans were too much for a desk worker to handle.

Pratt started the car with trembling hands.

He needed a solution.

####

The fans who were disappointed in the team showed various reactions.

They were disappointed and stopped paying attention.

Or they watched with patience.

Or they looked for ways to comfort themselves.

Anyway, all three were neurotic, inserting swear words between every word.

They were all very sensitive.

Anyway, the third type was prowling the sea of information in search of prey.

They needed something to quell their immediate anger.

And to forget about the shitty team situation even for a moment.

That was mainly prospects.

Things will be different when those guys grow up.

We’ll win the championship when they grow up.

We’ll be a strong team next year.

Prospects were what made them think like that.

Then they found it.

Young.

Full of potential.

And with great results right now.

Even showing the appearance of a slugger that the Braves lacked.

There was such a player.

The first person who found him immediately ran to the Braves fan community he frequented.

[Does anyone know Jung-Woo Lee?]

[That’s a unique name. Is he an Asian player? Why? Is he going to be posted next year? I hope he’s a shortstop. It would be nice if he could hit 20 home runs too. But we have a lot of money, right? Money…. ]

[He’s a prospect in our farm [minor league system]. His August stats are crazy, so I was wondering if anyone knew him.]

[Lee, isn’t that the pitcher Pratt brought in for $2.5 million? Is he doing well? That’s a relief.]

The fan who first mentioned him was flustered.

He was talking about a hitter.

But another user in the community suddenly mentioned a $2.5 million pitcher.

[He’s a hitter?]

[There’s only one Lee in our farm. He’s a pitcher, right? Is he even in our farm?]

[He’s in our farm, and he’s a hitter, I’m telling you!]

Enraged by the suspicious user, he wrote down the stats that had surprised him.

It would have been faster to just copy and paste, but he wasn’t calm enough to think that way in a situation where he was already angry and even suspected by an ally.

[Look! Lee (Rome Braves), he’s on our team, right? And his August stats! Batting average and OPS [On-Base Plus Slugging]! He even hit 5 home runs!]

[What, really? But wasn’t he a pitcher? Did he switch to being a hitter after getting injured?]

[If he’s doing this well after switching, shouldn’t we have brought him in as a hitter in the first place? It seems like he just switched. If he’s this good, isn’t he Harding-level in Single A [the lowest level of minor league baseball]?]

[First of all, his slugging percentage is insane. 80%. Is a home run hitter finally coming out of our Braves?]

Once the questions were resolved.

People moved as originally planned.

They were coping.

Now that we have a slugging prospect, we can endure the current idiots.

If we wait a little longer, we can crush the noses of those who ignore us.

We will dominate the National League East Division.

The fans swallowed their tears and deceived themselves.

[But he doesn’t have a defensive position? He’s only played as a designated hitter.]

[Looking at his pitching record until June, he’s only been switched for two months. He probably hasn’t adapted to a defensive position yet. But he’s putting up these numbers after two months of training? That’s crazy.]

[I wouldn’t have any more wishes if he was also an amazing defender. Then we wouldn’t have to watch the guys we have now anymore.]

[I don’t even expect him to be good. I just hope he can defend adequately.]

The fans desperately hoped that the prospect would at least defend adequately.

As if hearing their wishes,

there was movement in the Rome Braves.

####

‘He’s been adapting quickly lately. His fundamentals aren’t perfect yet, but it’s not bad at this point.’

The defensive coach’s eyes flashed as Lee Jung-woo dove and snatched the ball he had hit.

He had roughly gotten the hang of it, so now it was time to make a definite choice and adapt to the position.

Second baseman and shortstop.

Originally, they had decided on second base, but the defensive coach chose greed.

“You want to use Lee as a shortstop?”

“He has the fundamentals. His footwork is natural now. His fielding is good too. And he has good athletic ability, so he can easily catch well-hit balls.”

He was only at the level of doing the basics.

But thanks to his hard work, Lee Jung-woo was at a level where he could hold his own, so.

The defensive coach thought it would be okay to send him out in a game as a test.

And there was also a justification.

“It’s the end of the season, and the existing players are tired. We can use him once as if we’re giving them a break.”

The manager groaned softly.

He was doing well as a hitter, but.

You never know with fielders.

There are many cases where they can’t do it properly even if they play in the same position for their entire lives.

Lee had only trained for a few months, so he couldn’t help but be skeptical.

‘But if the defensive coach is saying that, he must be doing it adequately.’

That being said.

It was a bit much to entrust him with the shortstop position, which is the core of the infield defense.

He was worried about him even as a second baseman.

So the manager found a middle ground.

“Let’s use him as a third baseman in the next Asheville game. Wouldn’t it be okay to figure it out with that?”

“Third base?”

In the case of third base.

There are many hard-hit balls in the hot corner [a nickname for third base, due to the speed of balls hit there], and there are many bunts and ground balls, but.

The defensive range during the play isn’t large.

The defensive burden isn’t as great as that of a shortstop or second baseman.

So it was perfect for testing a shortstop prospect’s reflexes and throwing ability.

‘Well, it’s his first game as a fielder. It would be a bit much to put pressure on him from the start.’

Of course, third base isn’t a position with a small defensive proportion, but.

He was being taught in a position that was even more difficult than that.

The defensive coach, who thought the manager’s suggestion was reasonable, nodded.

That’s how Lee Jung-woo’s first appearance as a fielder was set.