Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 168

Pitcher Done, Batter Up – 167

Having finished his game preparations,

Lee Jung-woo, taking practice swings in the on-deck circle, suddenly felt a pleasant freshness.

The exceptionally clear air at an altitude of 5,282 feet [1,610 meters] above sea level wasn’t just due to the sunny weather.

‘The Coors Buff [the enhanced hitting environment at Coors Field due to the altitude] was no joke. I was almost tempted for a moment.’

Lee Jung-woo had certainly felt the Coors Buff, a notorious special effect in Major League Baseball. He even considered the Rockies as an option if he ever became a free agent or got traded.

No wonder, considering he had hit a colossal 510-foot home run, claiming the longest distance record at Coors Field previously held by Giancarlo Stanton, and the longest Statcast-era [a system for measuring player movements and athletic ability] batted ball distance in the NL [National League].

Recalling that memory, Lee Jung-woo found himself feeling good about this unfamiliar stadium.

‘It would have been even better if I had come when my condition was perfect, like last time.’

His only regret was his condition. The good hitting cycle he had maintained for so long seemed to be on a downward curve now. He could say he was quite satisfied since he had been on a tear for a while, but Lee Jung-woo felt a little disappointed.

‘If my condition were good… I think it might be possible. 513 feet.’

513 feet. That was the longest home run in the Statcast era of Major League Baseball, recorded by Arthur Hunter. Perhaps because he remembered the fans’ disappointment when he achieved the NL record in the past, saying, ‘Just three more feet!’, it was clearly etched in his mind.

It was a distance that was said to be almost immortal unless he broke it himself. But for some reason, it didn’t feel so distant to Lee Jung-woo.

He was now standing shoulder to shoulder with a player who had once seemed so far away, competing for the top spot in the league.

‘It’s just three more feet from 510 feet, so it’s not impossible. I’m better now than I was then. In every way. It’s just a shame about my condition.’

Anyone who heard him would have pointed at their head with their index finger in disbelief, but Lee Jung-woo seemed genuinely disappointed as he briefly scanned the stadium before removing the donut ring [a weight added to a baseball bat during warm-up] from his bat.

“Knock it out of the park. The sun’s strong, no need to stay on the field any longer than you have to, right?”

“You failed to hit 4 home runs last time, didn’t you? Try to make it this time.”

“Let’s hit 20 home runs during this series. You’re a monster, so it’s definitely possible.”

Leaving the on-deck circle behind the playful words of his teammates, Lee Jung-woo walked slowly, as slowly as possible, towards the batter’s box.

Derek, who had gone out as the leadoff hitter, was already on first base. Thanks to the pitcher, who was overly conscious of his decent long-hitting ability and threw the ball completely outside the strike zone, he got a walk.

As Lee Jung-woo stepped up to bat as the second hitter, the spectators, as well as the players, swallowed hard and watched him.

[Batter number 2, Jung-woo Lee, is coming to the plate for his first at-bat of the game. The crowd is very quiet.]

[Well, he’s too dangerous a player to provoke unnecessarily. His record at Coors Field… is amazing. Heh.]

The commentator couldn’t help but chuckle after checking the record. It was absurd.

’10 plate appearances, 8 at-bats, 7 hits, 4 home runs, 13 RBIs [Runs Batted In].’ That was Lee Jung-woo’s record in just ‘two games’ at Coors Field last year.

If it hadn’t been for stamina issues in the second game, he could have easily hit 4 home runs in a single game, and if he hadn’t missed the third game, he would have recorded even more amazing stats because his condition was great.

No, even putting all that aside, just being the record holder for the longest batted ball distance at Coors Field was already worth a ton.

“He hit everything last time… surely he won’t do that again today, will he?”

“That would be really shameless.”

The home fans, who hadn’t forgotten the memory of that time, whispered secretly to the person next to them, hoping that they would get through this game without incident. But Lee Jung-woo didn’t seem to have any intention of doing so.

‘I need to get as much as I can while my cycle is still good. It’s still okay. Three home runs like the captain said is a bit much. Let’s just steal one home run. Since I came all the way to Coors.’

With that mindset, Lee Jung-woo stepped into the batter’s box, smacking his lips at the dark look on the pitcher’s face. He looked very wary. It definitely felt different from before.

Even last year, no matter how great his stats were, the pitchers who faced him couldn’t hide their subtle disdain.

‘He’s just a rookie.’ ‘A newly called-up kid.’ That kind of thinking was prevalent. But now, that feeling was gone.

They were always wary, never letting their guard down, as if they were facing a truly dangerous hitter, and always giving it their all. He had lost the kind of benefits a rookie could have faster than others, so Lee Jung-woo was a little disappointed, but he took it in stride since he had brought it upon himself.

And even in that situation, he was still putting up monstrous numbers, or even better.

‘Peter Henson. His sinker is a masterpiece. Like a Rockies pitcher. His secondary two-seam fastball and cutter are also decent. He throws a four-seam fastball very occasionally, so you can assume he can throw all kinds of fastballs.’

Ignoring the pitcher’s slightly annoying gaze, Lee Jung-woo focused on the game and recalled the pitcher’s information. Peter Henson, a versatile pitcher who could be proud to be a specialist when it came to fastballs.

Based on that, he mainly suppressed hitters as a power pitcher in other stadiums. But at Coors, he completely transformed into a ground ball pitcher.

‘Come to think of it, I remember him getting close to a no-hitter once. At Coors, too. Was it one out? Since there’s no talk about it, it seems like it hasn’t happened yet. A little tricky, but… doable.’

Like this, if you only look at the strengths, he was a very strong ace-type pitcher. But as you can see from the fact that he never even got close to the Cy Young Award [an award given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball] during his career, his weaknesses were just as big.

‘He only knows how to throw fastballs, so if you get the timing down, he’s easily exploited. His velocity is also inconsistent, so even if it’s not Coors, his slugging percentage is high in other stadiums.’

All four pitches fly in with similar timing and similar velocity. He was a powerful pitcher, but if you could just get a feel for it, it was enough to exploit him.

‘Since it’s a new ball, it’ll be full of moisture. I have to assume that his velocity is better than usual for now. I’ll watch for now.’

Having made his judgment, Lee Jung-woo stood quietly in the batter’s box and looked at the pitcher, and the pitcher, as if having finished his consideration, threw the first pitch at his gentle gaze. And an exclamation came out.

‘Oh…’

“What?”

“Is the scoreboard broken?”

“Yeah! Let’s go coolly!”

“If it hits, it hits! If it doesn’t, it doesn’t! Don’t be scared and throw it!”

Strike.

The speed of the ball, which was stuck almost in the center, was displayed on the scoreboard, and the entire stadium buzzed.

[100.7 mph]

A fastball exceeding the previous top speed of 99 miles per hour was hammered in.

The spectators who saw it raised their voices as if they had never been quiet, and Lee Jung-woo, who faced it directly, tilted his head.

‘It’s much stronger than expected. The speed, the power, the angle. Why? And his pitching style seems a little different… I need to watch more for now.’

The sinker from just now was so good that the weaknesses he had heard about didn’t even come to mind. The tremendous speed was tremendous, but the power was definitely not inconsistent. It was more than just blaming the moisture in the ball.

Receiving a strange energy, Lee Jung-woo became as cautious as possible, and the pitcher, emboldened by the cheers of the crowd, tightened him with powerful pitching, making it colorless to send the previous batter out with walks.

“Strike!”

‘This time it’s a two-seam fastball. As expected, it’s better than I heard. Two out of the four pitches are in good condition. I should assume the others are the same.’

Lee Jung-woo looked up at the pitcher on the mound as if he had a bit of a headache. The pitcher, who had been very wary until just now, looked down at Lee Jung-woo with a confident face.

The situation was reversed. Lee Jung-woo, who had been quietly watching the three pitches thrown without rest and was struck out looking, admitted it. That the pitcher’s energy was unusual.

‘His pitching style is different from usual. It’s not the usual Coors style, but a power pitcher like he does in other stadiums. The ball is also extending properly. He couldn’t have evolved in an instant, and there were no signs of that… It’s a day when he’s on fire. How can he be on fire at Coors?’

It was ambiguous whether to see this as good luck or bad luck. But wherever this was, a pitcher on fire was always a dangerous presence, and Lee Jung-woo changed the way he looked at the pitcher. It was ambiguous to see him as a pitcher with big flaws like he had been until now. Even right now, one of his weaknesses, inconsistent power, had disappeared.

‘No, it’s more than just being on fire. Something’s a little unsettling.’

After glancing at the pitcher with subtle eyes, Lee Jung-woo stepped away from the plate.

Leaving behind the crowd cheering at his strikeout.

####

After Lee Jung-woo’s strikeout, the Braves were completely shut down.

It was a sight that slapped the back of the heads of people who had expected a hot slugfest, as befitting a team characterized by a strong lineup, but more than that, people were focused on the pitcher’s pitching. To the point where they couldn’t remember the existing weaknesses. He was erasing innings with an overwhelming performance.

The only fortunate thing was that the 6th starter, Stewart, was showing unexpected good pitching, allowing only 1 run. But compared to the pitcher, who was showing a perfect performance except for one walk he allowed to Derek at the beginning of the game, it was a little faded.

‘I think I’ve seen a similar scene before. When was it?’

In that situation, Lee Jung-woo, who entered his second at-bat, felt a strange sense of déjà vu after seeing the pitcher’s face. He stopped briefly in front of the batter’s box and forcibly searched his head, but he couldn’t remember anything clearly.

Thinking of it as just a distraction and forgetting it, Lee Jung-woo, who refocused on the game, soon faced a frustration that he had felt in a long time. Since they were all fastballs, he thought it would be easy, but once he started to get hot, there was nothing he could clearly aim for.

As if peeking into that mind, the pitcher pressured him with aggressive pitching, just like in the first at-bat. When the second strike was called in the same way, Lee Jung-woo, who was still considering, soon cut off the 3rd pitch he threw and chose to empty his head and go where his heart led him.

‘The most confident one is the sinker. The variable is the four-seam fastball. I’ll exclude the cutter and two-seam fastball.’

Lee Jung-woo, who had regripped his bat, made eye contact with the pitcher who was glaring at him and started a battle. Since he excluded as much as possible, there were only two options left. Either way, it was all or nothing. So he was going to swing with his eyes closed.

‘It’s a little early, but I need a home run. I need to cut off the momentum before I get on a roll.’

The pitcher was already spewing out an overwhelming force. He didn’t know what would happen if he left it like this. In order to prevent that, Lee Jung-woo, who set his goal high, took a breath and waited for the ball. The pitcher, who was watching him without giving in, wound up with all his might, ignoring the runners, and threw the 4th pitch.

This showdown, a ball that might determine the direction of this game. Watching it fly straight, Lee Jung-woo took his swing. The same stance, a swing that is always consistent even if you overlap dozens of at-bats and is praised for it.

When the straight bat stretched out, light settled on Lee Jung-woo’s face.

‘Sinker!’

The pitcher’s choice was a sinker. And Lee Jung-woo’s judgment was also a sinker. A situation where a kind of guess hitting worked, Lee Jung-woo’s face softened, but soon distorted again.

He guessed the pitch accurately. But the course was different from what he expected. He thought he would come in aiming for a strikeout. It was a little low.

‘Stop.’

He tried to recover the bat as much as possible at the last moment, but the already extended swing ignored the command.

It would have been better if it had been a strikeout. The ball was ambiguously caught on the bottom of the bat.

A weak sound that was too different from the cool impact sound that was usually heard in his at-bat rang through the ground, and Lee Jung-woo ran like crazy without looking back.

[Ah, the second baseman catches it and throws it to first base-]

“Out!”

Ground ball to the infield.

It was a slightly unfamiliar word to Lee Jung-woo, like a powerless hit sound.

“Yeeeeeeee!”

“That’s right! That’s it!”

“Good job! Really, you did really well!”

Loud applause and energetic shouts in front. The citizens of Denver were true to their emotions.

They easily cornered the most dangerous hitter for two at-bats, and they rewarded the pitcher, who connected it to a good result called a ground ball to the infield, with generous praise.

“It’s okay, there are days like this. It’s because I put too much pressure on you.”

“No, I was just lacking. And there’s still a lot of time left, so I can do well in the next at-bat.”

The hitting coach greeted Lee Jung-woo, who was alone with a dark face in the festive atmosphere, and comforted him, and Lee Jung-woo also tried to maintain his usual composure again. But this time, a strange feeling caught him.

“What’s wrong?”

Just before entering the dugout, he suddenly turned around, and the hitting coach looked at him with a puzzled look, but Lee Jung-woo’s gaze was fixed on the sight of the ground. The players on the ground were also smiling satisfactorily as if they were satisfied with the joy of the home crowd.

Among them, the pitcher was wearing a stiff expression alone. He was very serious, and it seemed that his concentration was properly raised. And Lee Jung-woo had seen that face before. Before regression.

‘Where did I see it-‘

“Ah.”

“What’s wrong? Is there any problem?”

“No, it’s nothing. Coach.”

“Why?”

“I think I need to make up my mind firmly today.”

“Yeah, the opposing pitcher is in good condition today. He’s really on fire.”

Lee Jung-woo wanted to say that it wasn’t just that to the coach’s words. When he forcibly recalled it, he remembered it properly. When he had seen this scene.

‘I wondered why there was no story yet… Yeah, it was May. It was around May. It was before the rookie league opened.’

It was an event that was widely reported to the point of being continuously talked about even after that, so it was strange that he didn’t remember it right away.

‘One out, no, one strike until the second no-hitter in Coors Field history. But frustrated by a disappointing hit. That’s today.’

Once he recalled the memory, it came like a tsunami. The pitcher’s serious face was exactly the same as the moment of record failure that everyone was saddened by.

‘I wondered why he was getting so seriously lucky… It was a moment in history.’

A pitcher who approached a no-hitter at Coors Field, not somewhere else. It was a condition that the sky had given him, not just luck. Lee Jung-woo looked at the pitcher with a complicated gaze, but soon changed his mind.

‘He was close, but not achieved. He failed anyway. If it was really perfect like God had given it to him, he would have hit the last piece too. Instead of getting a hit in the top of the 9th inning with two outs.’

One hit that ruined the historical no-hitter.

‘And even received a loss. Since I’m here, it should be better than before regression at least. There are only 5 innings left. That’s enough.’

Lee Jung-woo wanted to add one more to the disappointing record of the original history. Since many things have changed with his regression anyway. Adding one more won’t change anything more.