Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 157

Lee Jung-woo’s incredible performance definitively punctuated the overwhelming first game, and the Cubs, their momentum crushed, ultimately faced their worst nightmare.

[Out at first! Game over! Mason Looper pitches a shutout against the Cubs! He only allowed two hits in this game.]

[The Braves truly showed a perfect offensive and defensive performance in this game. The batters showed explosive power while also excellently performing their duties as fielders. And pitcher Mason Looper… as you can see from his 15 strikeouts, there’s no need to say more.]

“They look wrecked.”

“Who? Oh, the Cubs? They must be losing their minds. Getting shut out at home. Plus, the massive score difference and you running up the score too. It would be weirder if they *were* in their right minds.”

After the game, the Cubs players staggered as if suffering from mental exhaustion.

The Cubs fans, known for their enthusiasm, still shouted ‘Go Cubs’ until the end, applauding and encouraging the players.

“It’s okay, you guys!”

“Heads up! Heads up, I said! Did you guys come in last place or something? Did you get swept? Stand tall! That’s the Cubs!”

“If we lose today, we can win tomorrow! That son of a b*tch is doing really well, but you guys can do even better!”

The players seemed even more ashamed because of such consolation.

The self-reproach of not satisfying such passionate fans was rising.

If they felt there was even a slight chance, they would have been energized by such fervent support and faced it confidently, unlike now.

Because it was the Braves, who didn’t show even a hint of weakness, the pressure they felt was immense.

It was a loser’s mentality, and one of the quickest ways to ruin a team, but nevertheless, the biggest problem was something else.

“They shouldn’t be acting like that already.”

“Right, there are still three more games left.”

The problem was that they had to play three more games against the Braves, who were at the peak of their form.

Seeing the Cubs already acting like they had been swept, Lee Jung-woo could picture it in his head. Their morale would be utterly crushed tomorrow and the day after, to the point where they wouldn’t even be able to recover.

And that imagination actually came true.

####

Game 2. As always, the stands at Wrigley Field were packed with fans who wished for the Cubs’ victory. No, they had no doubt. At least to them, the Cubs were an invincible team.

“You guys were happy yesterday, right? Today will be different!”

“Lee, watch closely. See how your sh*tty team gets crushed today!”

“You’re probably going to regret it! You should have signed with the Cubs in the first place! No, you should have been traded over! Instead of being on that sh*tty team!”

The fans shouted enthusiastically, not forgetting to pick on Lee Jung-woo today.

Derek tilted his head with an unpleasant expression at the slightly unusual chant.

“What’s that about?”

“Peterson says there’s a rumor going around that when I was injured in the minors, I was almost traded to the Cubs.”

“Really?”

“That’s bullsh*t. What crazy general manager would trade a $2.5 million pitching prospect less than a year after acquiring him just because he got injured? He’d get his head chopped off if that got out.”

“There are all sorts of crazy rumors.”

Perhaps because of the spread of the rumor that Lee Jung-woo had been close to signing with the Cubs in the past, the home fans were pointing fingers at Lee Jung-woo and shouting, but their expectations were shattered much earlier than expected. By the hand of Lee Jung-woo, whom they hated and were obsessed with so much.

“Yessss!”

“A sh*tty captain who fits the Braves well! Very well!”

“Our kid throws pretty well, right? Thanks to him, it’s refreshing! Blow it to the opposite side in the next at-bat!”

Top of the first inning.

When Derek, who was the leadoff hitter, was struck out with a swing, fierce jeers poured out.

It would have been unfair for Derek to be treated that way based on the result of just one at-bat.

But Derek, who had already suffered enough from the notorious fans in the same city because he was the captain and franchise star of the Braves, was not greatly affected.

“His changeup was working well. I don’t know if it just worked once, or if his condition is good throughout the game today. Even if it looks like a fastball, think about it one more time.”

“Good job, Captain. I’ll take revenge for you, so watch comfortably from the bench.”

Derek lightly passed the baton to Lee Jung-woo and trudged back to the dugout. Soon after, countless insults were hurled at Lee Jung-woo, who was heading to the plate, passing by him.

Perhaps the pain of the previous day’s defeat was quite stinging; they threw away any pretense of civility and cursed as usual, which felt very welcome to Lee Jung-woo.

Because even if he beat them without hesitation, he would feel less guilty.

‘He said the changeup is good. Let’s check it out.’

Lee Jung-woo, who entered the batter’s box with a primary goal set, soon had the catcher spewing insults like a machine gun.

“You’re going to be f*cked today. Enjoy your retirement game. Whether it’s your knee or your already sh*tty shoulder, one of them will definitely be broken. Or should I just throw it at your head so you can be comfortable?”

Remarks that were too violent and crossed the line. Lee Jung-woo glanced at the umpire at the subtly harsh remarks spoken in Spanish.

It seemed like he didn’t understand.

‘Is this also a tactic?’

Lee Jung-woo tilted his head. If it was an order from the bench, it seemed like the Cubs were really hurt in their pride.

To the point where they would do such childish things like this.

‘By the way, where did they learn to speak Spanish? The information network of Major League Baseball… is unnecessarily detailed.’

Lee Jung-woo, who felt the power of information anew, slightly glanced at the catcher who kept chattering.

“You son of a bi-”

“Don’t do clumsy trash talk. If someone who can’t even do it properly keeps chattering, it just makes you look ridiculous. It’s sincere advice, so think about it.”

“You’re just a two-year rookie teaching a veteran-”

Lee Jung-woo, who closed his ears to the catcher who kept chattering without understanding the situation, focused only on the pitcher.

Derek’s words lingered in his ears.

‘Changeup, changeup.’

Lee Jung-woo, who reviewed Derek’s at-bat that he had watched from the on-deck circle, tilted his head.

Clearly, there wasn’t much different. The quality of the pitches was a bit better than when they met last year. Considering it was the beginning of the season, it was just that his stamina was good.

Derek swung weakly at the changeup, but when viewed from the on-deck circle, there wasn’t much different.

‘The speed is just similar to the data. There’s not much difference in the drop either. Is it the timing that’s off?’

Lee Jung-woo made a judgment for a moment while making eye contact with the pitcher. Thanks to the pitch clock being filled to the brim, there was plenty of time.

‘Changeup… Most pitches are like that, but if it’s working, it’s definitely a nasty pitch. If so….’

After briefly scanning the pitcher and catcher, Lee Jung-woo tightly gripped his bat. He made up his mind.

And the ball came flying straight away.

Lee Jung-woo swung his bat without hesitation at the first pitch that was being thrown down by the tall pitcher after a long deliberation.

‘It’s annoying, so I’ll hit it before that.’

That was the judgment Lee Jung-woo made.

Lee Jung-woo, thinking that it would be better to just swing with his eyes closed at the first pitch rather than having his timing shaken by the changeup, swung his bat in a simple stance that was always praised, and the ball flew to the center of it on its own.

Perhaps he was trying to test the waters; it was slightly off to the outside. But thanks to that, it hit the sweet spot properly.

“Instead of doing that, you should worry about the ball distribution a bit more.”

Lee Jung-woo, who needled the catcher once for no reason, tossed the bat that didn’t leave any hand feeling.

The catcher glared at him as if he would kill him. But it was not enough to penetrate his infinitely thick skin.

[Jung! Woo! Lee! He hits the first pitch as it is! Season’s 8th home run!]

[Really, it’s amazing every time I see it. Seeing such a long distance with such a simple form. I can’t help but admire it.]

A clean solo home run.

Watching the batted ball that flew over the fence as if mocking them, the Cubs fans felt an unpleasant sensation.

“Aren’t we… going to be f*cked again today?”

“No, that-”

“What is the catcher doing!”

“Why are you making such a fuss with just one point? Ian Field? Was that bastard our easy out [a player they consistently get out] when he was in Arizona?”

“Our head-to-head record is-”

“Uh-huh! Why are you even looking up such things… Just know that it is. Because we’re going to win.”

For some reason, it seemed like a similar result to the previous day would come out today, and they tried hard to deny such anxiety. But the nightmare was getting closer and closer.

The attack ended after scoring one more point after Lee Jung-woo’s home run. Ian Field, who received strong scoring support from the start, declared to his teammates before going to the mound.

“I’m going for a shutout today too. No, Mason had 2 hits, so I’ll cut it off within 1 hit.”

“Why? Why don’t you just say you’re going to do a no-hitter.”

“No, a no-hitter is difficult. But 1 hit is possible.”

“What kind of bullsh*t logic is that.”

Ian Field, who had always shown consistent and consistently strange behavior since joining, and in fact is still competing for the No. 1 starter spot even now, most of them showed a lukewarm response.

But he was very serious.

“Mason is doing that, so I have to follow him to the end. That’s how we can be called rivals!”

Ian Field, who had built a very close relationship with Mason, who was competing for the top spot in the team until the opening game of the season, but his competitiveness had not disappeared.

He was burning with the fighting spirit of a competitor in the team. He didn’t want to be left behind.

The other players were lukewarm to the declaration that came out of that mind. Lee Jung-woo also didn’t take it seriously. But soon the game started and he realized.

How cruel a pitcher with ambition can be.

####

In the second game, the Cubs showed a performance similar to the previous day. The pitchers were crushed by the batters. The batters were crushed by the pitchers.

The number of hits on the scoreboard was the same at 2. The Cubs’ scoreboard also did not move from 0 until the end of the game.

Two consecutive shutouts.

The minds of the Cubs, who had given up shutouts to two starting pitchers in a row, were fading away.

If they had at least comforted the players the day before, in the second game, they just emptied the seats without saying a word.

“Ah, I got hit by that. I could have gotten 1 hit… But it’s the same as Mason, so I have to be satisfied with that.”

“He’s really not a normal crazy guy either.”

“I’m scared that the audience will hear that.”

Watching Ian Field, who had properly broken the Cubs, who had already been beaten to a pulp and whose bodies were not in good shape, and was regretting getting hit by one hit, the Braves players sincerely thought they were lucky not to be playing the game with a microphone on.

If that behavior had been broadcast or shown on the electronic display, some crazy guy might have committed a shooting.

After the second game ended so miserably, the Cubs fans who visited the stadium in the evening game of the third game cheered in a manner that was quite different from before.

“Today! Please! Let’s score at least one point! I don’t even want to win! Just one point, just one point!”

“If you can’t score even one more point, I’m really going to kill you all! Do you understand? I’m going to kill you!”

Not victory, but one point.

The expectations were greatly lowered, to the point where the Cubs players were ashamed and couldn’t lift their heads.

Still, thanks to playing their best for the fans, the expectations were met for now.

[He hit it! Huh? Uh? This, this- over, it went over!]

“Wow!”

“Yeah! That’s it!”

“Jeff! I knew you would do it! You pretty bastard! Lee? I don’t need that… No, I need it! You’re no less than him!”

When Alan O’Donnell, the starter, allowed a two-run home run, and the first point of the series was scored, Wrigley Field went wild.

The victory had already been taken away a long time ago with a score of 6 to 2. In fact, the game ended with the Braves winning again this time. But the Cubs didn’t care about such things.

And the last 4th game. The Cubs won the victory they had been waiting for, barely preventing the Braves from sweeping.

[Swing and a miss! He strikes out, and the Cubs take the 4th game with a score of 2 to 1!]

[It’s a precious new victory for the Cubs, and a disappointing narrow defeat for the Braves. The Braves’ powerful lineup, which had been in operation throughout the series, was silent today.]

[Still, they took the winning series from the Wrigley Field expedition. It’s not a disappointing result for the Braves either.]

[Haha, if there’s anything disappointing, it’s Christensen, the Braves’ starting pitcher today. He’s strangely not getting the win.]

As the last batter was struck out with a swing, and the game ended. The Wrigley Field, which had been depressed all along, rang with the cheers of the fans.

If someone saw it, they would think this was not the 7th game of the World Series. The Cubs players couldn’t help but feel ashamed of the cheering.

The same No. 1 teams were facing off, but they barely managed to win 1 game. The fans liked that. They couldn’t lift their heads.

“Okay, everyone worked hard today too. You can’t always win, so get some rest.”

While the winning Cubs players couldn’t help but feel a slight shame, the losing Braves instead showed an indifferent reaction.

Overall, the batting sense of the lineup itself was lacking. The constipation baseball [a term for an offense that can’t seem to score], which continued to fail to score a definite score, continued. It was an expected result.

Also, as the commentators said, they won 3 games on the road. It was a satisfactory result.

“Tsk, those guys are still worth the No. 1 spot.”

“Ah~ It was a chance to win consecutive games. They always put a damper on it once in the middle.”

“Well, you can’t always do well. Still, this was a good road trip.”

Although they failed to sweep, most of them were satisfied because they had a good start to May…

“Fuck off, you sons of bitches! Let me raise my win total too! No, why can’t you hit like dogs only when I’m pitching!”

Of course, Christensen, the 4th starter, who was the losing pitcher with a game score of 2 to 1 even though he pitched well with 6 innings and 2 runs, was furious.

“Calm down, Lee will make a shutout when your condition is good next time, so think about that and be patient.”

“Yeah, Lee will take care of everything. Trust Lee and be patient today.”

The players, who barely calmed him down by mentioning Lee Jung-woo, who was like a universal cheat code to the Braves pitchers, soon left Wrigley Field.

“You should have been ours….”

“Old man, we have to aim a gun at that bastard. We have to fix the FA [free agent] system right away… 7 years, how long will it take to bring him?”

“Goodbye… Lee. Let’s see you in a Cubs uniform someday.”

In the last moment, Lee Jung-woo ran to the team bus first at the sight of the Cubs fans, who had returned to their sticky gaze and were looking at him with regret.

As a team, and as an individual record, it was a moderately satisfactory series. But he thought it was a strangely mentally difficult series.