Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 150

Pitcher Done, Batter Up -149

As Lee Jung-woo, having made his decision, subtly moved away from the base, the first baseman glared at him.

“No one’s falling for it, so cut it out. You’re not good at stealing bases, are you? I heard you can’t even time your steals and just run blindly?”

The first baseman’s words were nonchalant.

He seemed concerned, glancing at Lee Jung-woo, but didn’t appear overly wary.

It was a complacent move, but there was some valid reason behind it.

‘It was exposed that I’m just fast, starting from the end of last season. I didn’t steal much either. Somehow, that became bait. Well, I didn’t intend it. But it’s not bad for me.’

Toward the end of last season, it became clear that he was only fast, and his steal attempts decreased as his steal failures increased. He would only widen his lead, refraining from attempting to steal unless absolutely necessary. The team didn’t want to risk injury with low success rates.

Since he had other weapons, he didn’t attempt to steal much this season either, so the opposing team couldn’t help but be careless.

Come to think of it, most opposing teams reacted like this after he was called up last year. He kept pretending to steal without actually doing it, becoming like the boy who cried wolf.

‘But they all got burned badly. It might not be as much as then, but it’s enough to exploit this game.’

Lee Jung-woo, trying to manage his expression, secretly exchanged signals with the bench. And then, he looked slightly surprised.

‘Oh, green light.’

Green light. It meant leaving it to the runner’s discretion, but the current signal was a bit more than that. The bench was sending a signal that meant not only for the immediate moment but also entrusting the runner’s judgment for future situations.

‘I don’t know what they’re thinking, but I should gratefully accept it.’

Lee Jung-woo cautiously watched and started running the moment the pitcher’s body moved.

The sound of the first baseman sighing came from behind him. Loud shouts, seemingly from the catcher or pitcher, hit his ears.

[He’s running! Lee!]

[The catcher catches and throws—but safe! Showing tremendous speed, Lee steals second base! Successfully steals his second base of the season!]

[Amazing speed. Perhaps due to player management, Lee’s steal attempts have significantly decreased compared to last year. It’s so impressive that it makes you regret that.]

“Uh— what, what is that?”

“Wow… he’s incredibly fast?”

“He was always fast, but was he this fast? He’s like a track athlete…”

Watching Lee Jung-woo, who showed amazing speed that made the fans marvel, the opposing battery [pitcher and catcher] and first baseman seemed annoyed, biting their lips for no reason. The pitcher’s gaze as he turned to look at him was pitiful, but having seen those kinds of faces countless times since transitioning to a hitter, he didn’t feel much.

He just increased his lead again.

“Did you eat something wrong? Or do you just think we’re a joke?”

As he increased his lead to the point where he could talk to the shortstop, the shortstop muttered with a dumbfounded expression, and Lee Jung-woo shrugged.

Because of Lee Jung-woo, the pitcher couldn’t focus on the game. He kept throwing pickoff attempts, wasting time. The crowd booed the pitcher from all directions.

“Are you even playing baseball?”

“Keep throwing all you want! Do you think you can catch Lee like that! Stop the nonsense and just play!”

“Boo-oo-oo-oo!”

Despite the tremendous boos, the pitcher threw another pickoff attempt, and Lee Jung-woo eventually narrowed his lead. A faint question arose on Lee Jung-woo’s face as he quietly stepped on second base.

‘Strangely, I can read the timing. Why? Is it because I’m more confident because I’m fast? Or…’

The steal timing, which was almost a complete zero, felt strangely right. And it screamed like crazy. Another chance. Lee Jung-woo hesitated for a moment, glancing at the bench. He had strong confidence, but he wasn’t sure. He wondered if he could trust his current sense.

‘No, the bench will probably stop me anyway. It’s a scoring opportunity, so there’s no need to steal.’

With a runner on second base and the team’s cleanup hitter at the plate.

Since he was a slugger, at least a sacrifice fly was likely. He didn’t think they would gamble with such a good opportunity, so Lee Jung-woo, after checking the bench’s intentions, swallowed hard.

‘According to my judgment. The signal is the same.’

Just in case, he sent the signal again, and the answer was the same.

Still meaning to attempt at the runner’s discretion.

Lee Jung-woo’s mind became complicated for a moment, but he made a decision without hesitation.

‘It would be too bad to miss this. I don’t think I’ll ever get this feeling again.’

Perhaps it was a clue to the steal timing that he hadn’t been able to grasp.

‘The bench has said they’re leaving it up to me today anyway. It’s the best opportunity. Okay, now that it’s come to this, let’s do something crazy.’

Hiding his dark intentions, he stuck close to the base, and the pitcher, looking back at him, seemed relieved. Finally, he threw the next pitch home, and Lee Jung-woo ran like a madman.

An unexpected event unfolded, the field became chaotic, and the pitcher’s concentration seemed to falter. The pitch was thrown quite high.

Fortunately, the catcher, not panicking, barely caught the ball and quickly threw it to third base. But this time again, Lee Jung-woo’s foot arrived first.

“Yessssss!”

“Marlins, what are you doing? Why? Are you trying to get Lee to 30-30 [30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in a season]?”

“One shot, one kill! Two steals in two pitches!”

[Lee is succeeding in stealing third base. No, seriously…]

[You can see Lee’s effort. It’s not easy to get that explosive speed from such a big guy. It means his muscles are well-developed.]

[Yes, after all, speed comes from muscle.]

Amid the cheering crowd, Lee Jung-woo looked at the bench again. This time, he was just purely curious about their intentions.

‘I know my condition is good, but why did the bench give me the green light? They’ve been trying to restrain me as much as possible…’

It could be that they simply saw him running and made the right decision. But strangely, Lee Jung-woo felt like there was another intention.

‘For now… let’s focus on the game. Whatever they’re thinking, it won’t harm me. And…’

Putting aside his complicated thoughts, Lee Jung-woo smiled.

‘I’ve learned it, the steal timing. Now… I think I really know.’

Whether it was a gift from his unexpected condition. The steal timing, which had been a bit lacking, now felt vivid.

In a situation where he had unexpectedly equipped another weapon, Lee Jung-woo looked at the pitcher without erasing his smile.

‘Fortunately, there’s a good opponent to test it on. Let’s make it definitely mine.’

####

[Steal! Lee steals second base again!]

[Haha, many fans were disappointed by the decrease in steal attempts. Today, he’s fulfilling that wish.]

Bottom of the 3rd inning. Lee Jung-woo, who went up to bat again, hit a single that passed the second baseman and reached base. Reading the pitcher’s movements and timing, he stole second base again.

His third steal of the game.

The pitcher glared at Lee Jung-woo as if he was angry. He was also annoyed for no reason. From the pitcher’s actions, Lee Jung-woo could tell.

‘The trust between the battery has been shaken. Well, they couldn’t catch even one out of three, so they can’t help but distrust each other.’

The weakened link of trust. Lee Jung-woo cleanly broke it afterward. Because he succeeded in his fourth steal.

[Lee steals second base again. Really… it’s a hellish time for the pitcher!]

[The pitcher probably wants to go down. During the 5 innings, he gave up 3 hits and 4 steals to the same batter.]

Bottom of the 5th inning. Lee Jung-woo, who went up to bat for the third time in today’s game, recorded another hit and steal. He looked at the opposing team’s battery, who were having a heated argument, from second base and felt a little sorry.

‘I was just trying to shake them up a bit, but they’re even arguing, so it’ll probably last a while. I unintentionally ruined someone else’s battery.’

As Lee Jung-woo sent a sympathetic look to the catcher’s face, who was even starting to tear up from anger and self-reproach, the second baseman quietly approached him. A similar kind of emotion to the catcher was felt in his eyes as well. With a side of frustration.

“What… what are you?”

“Well, call me whatever you want. You can spit out the words in your head as they are. I won’t tell the umpire.”

The second baseman, provoked by the nonchalant words, glared at Lee Jung-woo as if he would kill him.

If the Marlins’ reaction to Lee Jung-woo was complex and close to the hatred they had always enjoyed, the Braves’ way of treating Lee Jung-woo was similar to usual, but a little different.

“Pitchers have such dirty personalities, don’t they?”

“…”

“Don’t worry about it, 80% of the steal is the pitcher’s responsibility, right? It’s not your fault.”

Bottom of the 7th inning. Lee Jung-woo, who entered his fourth at-bat, scratched the catcher a little. But there was no answer. It could be a manifestation of his strong mentality, but the catcher just didn’t seem to have the energy to answer. Losing interest in the catcher’s appearance, Lee Jung-woo recorded his fourth hit of the game against the newly changed pitcher.

Instead of the unexpected appearance he had shown so far, Lee Jung-woo, who stepped on second base once again with a trademark big hit, wasn’t even looked at by the second baseman and shortstop.

After Peterson’s timely hit brought him back to home, his teammates looked at him with a strange look.

“You hit home runs well, you hit singles well, you steal well. What are you…”

“No, Yakunya was at least an outfielder… this guy is even a shortstop.”

“Just be the MVP, be the MVP. It would be ridiculously strange if you don’t get the MVP after this.”

“Lee, if you’re going to be like this next time, how about you bat first? I want to get some RBIs [Runs Batted In] for once. You get to second base as soon as you get on…”

Faces that were similar to usual, but with a hint of awe. If the way they had looked at him until now was like looking at an admirable younger brother or a reliable teammate.

Now, it resembled the eyes of humans looking at a monster.

‘It’s understandable. It’s amazing to get 4 hits, but I also stole four bases.’

Lee Jung-woo could understand such a reaction. On the one hand, he was happy, but what made him happiest was something else.

‘Steal timing. I think I know it roughly now. I won’t be as fast as today next time, but it will still be effective.’

To Lee Jung-woo, that felt much more valuable than the reactions of fans or teammates.

Because it was a new weapon for this season’s goal.

‘I have insurance. Even if I fail to hit 40 home runs, I’ll be competitive if I record 30-30. Maybe… even more than that is possible.’

Lee Jung-woo smiled brightly for a long time. The three-game series against the Marlins was a series that he gained more than he expected. Popularity, recognition, money, and a new weapon. He had gained all of that in just one series.

####

[Jung-woo Lee equips the last puzzle, Home Run – Hit – Defense – Steal – Throw. The league’s best 5-tool player!]

[Hitter and runner. ‘Perfect on both sides’ 4 at-bats, 4 hits, 3 runs, 4 steals. The best performance!]

[‘Surging Odds’ Lee, records ‘3rd’ in MVP predictions on sports betting sites]

Despite the Braves achieving a sweep, the media, as well as fans and netizens, showed no interest in the victory or defeat of the game. Even the other players were the same. People focused only on Lee Jung-woo.

He didn’t show off the home run or bat flip that everyone wanted. But the play that Lee Jung-woo showed in this game produced an even bigger reaction than that.

It was because it was different from usual. The perception that he was fast and good at stealing had already existed since last season. But it wasn’t strong.

There was a more impressive identity as a ‘power-hitting shortstop.’ And there had never been a time when he had completely turned the game around with steals like in this game. That’s why his unexpected play gave an extraordinary shock. Some even said that Braves legend Yakunya Jr. had been reincarnated as a shortstop in the 30s.

Some fans even filled in the last puzzle, synthesizing a photo of a famous villain from a famous hero movie franchise with Lee Jung-woo, marveling at it. Since this was the case in the United States, the reaction in Korea was also extraordinary.

[What can’t Lee Jung-woo do?]

[I’m not being nationalistic, I’m seriously asking. You can tell that his defense is crazy good just by watching one game. His home runs and hits are shown by his stats. His throws have ordinary speed, but his accuracy and movement are fast. With the increase in steal failures last year, I thought, ‘Ah, he’s human too. There’s something he can’t do.’ But after watching today’s game, I realized that wasn’t the case either. Seriously, what can’t Lee Jung-woo do? I’m seriously asking.]

[ㄴHis shoulder is broken, so he can’t pitch]

[ㄴCrazy lololololol]

[ㄴDevil: I’ll learn a thing or two.]

[ㄴJust think of it comfortably. Lee Jung-woo did Lee Jung-woo]

In Korea, people couldn’t help but marvel to the point where there were even mischievous jokes that Lee Jung-woo couldn’t pitch. The word ‘fast runner,’ which had been hidden by the image of a heavy hitter and power hitter, was once again hammered into the minds of all baseball fans.

With just one game, Lee Jung-woo built his own ‘unique image’ again.

‘A power-hitting shortstop who is a fast runner and defends well.’

If he only exists, he is always a presence that is enough to be named as an MVP candidate.

Even though the value of stealing has fallen in modern baseball, it is still a play that captures people’s eyes. If it succeeds, it is also true that it has a good effect.

And there was no guarantee that it would fade away like last year.

Now, ‘runner’ Lee Jung-woo didn’t just have natural speed.

In that way, Lee Jung-woo was getting closer and closer to completion.