Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 20

“Lee, are you sure about this? It could take who knows how long. You might miss the whole season. And even if you change your form, if it doesn’t suit you, you might have to start all over again.”

It was obvious.

Lee Jung-woo lightly shook his head at Mark, who was pointing out the high risk.

“I know it’s difficult. But I have to take that risk to grow.”

“Your stats are good, aren’t they? Is there really a need to-”

“My stats are good right now, but it’s a fluke. I need to change to grow further.”

Mark closed his mouth.

His will was so strong.

He realized that nothing he said would get through.

And if he judged it that way, he probably wasn’t wrong.

“Sigh, fine. You and the trainer probably know better than I do. Give it your best shot.”

Lee Jung-woo turned his gaze back to Andrew Lubin as Mark backed down with his hands up.

He seemed touched that Lee Jung-woo had trusted him, who had little experience, and chose to take on the challenge.

“What should we start with?”

“Well, I think it would be good to adjust your stance a little first. A closed stance is better for aiming for home runs, but ultimately, it narrows your field of vision and makes it harder to see the ball properly. Then contact becomes difficult too.”

That was true.

In reality, he couldn’t properly see any pitches other than those with a late break.

So, he mostly waited patiently, trying to outsmart the pitcher, and relied on educated guesses based on his past experience before regression.

It wasn’t just that his eye for the ball was poor.

His extreme stance definitely played a part.

‘It’s worked to some extent so far because I’ve been facing young players in Single-A [the lowest level of minor league baseball]. But as time passes, and I move up to higher leagues with more experienced pitchers, it’ll get harder and harder.’

If he lost the mental battle.

He’d have to rely on instinct.

And ultimately, that instinct is related to contact ability.

‘I should prepare as much as possible while I have the time.’

“So, are we switching to a square stance? An open stance wouldn’t suit me.”

“Something like that. Think of it as somewhere in between. We’ll maintain the closed stance, but open it up a bit more than before.”

As Andrew Lubin personally demonstrated, Lee Jung-woo carefully watched him.

He certainly had good form, probably because he played as a player until high school.

“It’s something like this. This will make it easier to see the ball.”

Lee Jung-woo nodded briefly, carefully observing his stride.

‘The feeling is good.’

He’d have to see how it goes.

But it didn’t feel particularly awkward.

It seemed that way because it was only slightly different.

It wasn’t too different from what he used to do.

“This needs to come first, but the most important thing is the stride.”

“Stride?”

When Lee Jung-woo asked again, Andrew Lubin imitated Lee Jung-woo’s batting form.

The leg that stretches out and steps forward from a slightly crouched position. It wasn’t exactly the same, but.

It was quite similar, as if he had always had that batting form.

“Lee’s stride is longer than necessary. I think it’s a habit left over from when you were a pitcher, stretching out too far. A batter doesn’t need that much.”

“Ah!”

He let out a short exclamation.

Pitchers usually have a stride length similar to their height.

Some are longer, some are shorter, but most are like that.

That habit remained in his body and appeared in his batting as well.

“Then the foot lands late, and similarly, the body’s rotation is delayed, which reduces batting speed. With a slow batting speed, contact ability also decreases.”

Lee Jung-woo acknowledged as he watched Andrew Lubin push up his glasses once.

It seemed that this gamble would be successful.

“Besides this, we need to fix the extreme pull-hitting, the overly crouched batting form, and increase batting speed. But this is the most important thing for now. Like your agent said, it will take a long time. Will you still do it?”

Lee Jung-woo answered without hesitation to his words.

“I feel like I’m saying it again, but please take good care of me in the future, Lubin.”

####

“Huuuh-”

“Don’t focus on hitting the ball, focus on your form and maintain your stride length.”

TEE batting.

It was a drill he had always done, but.

There were a few things that were different from usual.

First of all, the posture was different.

Unlike his existing batting form, which was crouched with a short stride, Lee Jung-woo, who was standing in front of the tee, stretched out his body.

Although the strike zone increased.

He focused on the rotation of his body.

‘It’s still a bit awkward. I’ll have to adapt as much as possible.’

In addition, a donut ring [a weighted ring placed on a baseball bat to increase swing speed] was attached to the bat, which is also a common tool used to increase batting speed, but.

What caught his eye even more was the band wrapped around his body.

Rope wrapped around his torso and arms.

It fixed his posture and provided a moderate resistance, making the swing feel heavier.

“Hoo, it’s a bit hard because it’s cumbersome.”

Lee Jung-woo expressed a slight dissatisfaction with the slightly ridiculous appearance, like a slave being sold.

But with a resolute expression, he eventually focused on tee batting again.

The slow but accurate batting that centered the ball continued until the entire basket was empty.

Because he swung with maximum focus on his posture, his whole body was drenched in sweat, but.

The training wasn’t over.

After resting his tired body.

Lee Jung-woo took off the band that had been binding him and removed the donut ring from the bat.

Then he grabbed the bat again.

“Now it’s toss batting, right?”

“Yes, Mark. Please help me.”

“Me? What do you want me to help with….”

Mark, who had been watching from one side of the training ground, seemed to think he was going to be asked to throw the ball.

His eyes widened in surprise, and Andrew Lubin waved his hand as if it were nothing.

“Just pass the balls in the basket to me as quickly as possible.”

“I can do that much.”

Mark, who had eased his expression again at the unexpectedly easy task, approached briskly.

He stood in front of the full basket of balls that had been placed where the empty basket had been removed.

With that, toss batting began.

“Focus! As fast as possible!”

Tosses thrown at a fast tempo.

Mark quickly filled Lubin’s hand each time it was emptied.

Lee Jung-woo hit the tossed balls non-stop.

Because he was constantly scolded whenever his posture was slightly disrupted, Lee Jung-woo consistently maintained his batting form.

He swung in succession.

This was to speed up the tempo of the batting and the timing of the swing.

In fact, Lee Jung-woo’s batting speed gradually increased in line with the tempo of the toss.

‘Hoo, very good. He listens so well and learns so quickly. Very good! The best, thrilling.’

Andrew Lubin smacked his lips with a very satisfied expression as he watched Lee Jung-woo.

Unlike the customers he had dealt with so far, who would complain with all sorts of reasons and words when asked to do something.

The employer in front of him was a grateful employer who properly satisfied his job satisfaction.

Besides that, the thick, solid body and the batted balls that hit with a dull sound made his mouth water.

Andrew Lubin praised his past self for signing a training contract with an unknown minor league player.

‘Ah, I’m going to die. Was toss batting this hard?’

Unlike him.

Lee Jung-woo groaned, exhausted.

“Sigh- You’re not hitting the center of the bat. Focus.”

“Y-Yes! Yes!”

Forcing himself to hit the bat to the toss, which was more than twice as fast as what he had done.

His whole body was screaming for help, but Lee Jung-woo didn’t stop.

The effect was visible.

His skills steadily improved as he practiced.

Because of that.

He couldn’t afford to be lazy.

He wasn’t that kind of person in the first place.

Lee Jung-woo, who had endured the pain and swung, took a break only after emptying another basket.

“Haa, haa. Ah, I’m going to die.”

“Let’s finish today’s training here. Good job, Lee.”

Lee Jung-woo, who glanced slightly at Andrew Lubin, who was speaking calmly unlike himself, who was panting, was about to collapse as it was.

He sighed deeply and stretched, and his overworked muscles screamed.

‘Still, I managed to get through today somehow.’

Lee Jung-woo, who was lying on the floor with a relieved mind at the thought that he could rest now, but.

His happy mood didn’t last long. A short time later, Mark’s words shattered that feeling.

“You know we have weight training today, right? Let’s rest for a bit and go straight from the training ground.”

‘Ah, right, I still had that damn weight training left. Damn it.’

Lee Jung-woo thought that he didn’t seem to be born with such a good fortune, as he usually spent the fall and winter building memories with his family or relieving the fatigue of the season.

‘Still, I have to do it. It has to be hard today. It’ll be less hard tomorrow.’

Lee Jung-woo muttered a saying that applies to all sports and forced himself to get up.

But honestly, he felt like he was going to die.

####

When almost a month had passed since the days he wanted to quit.

Lee Jung-woo, who was still working hard, received an unexpected offer.

“Practice game?”

“They also need a real game, and Lee, it’s perfect for you to check your progress, right? You’ve adapted to some extent, but you never know in a real game.”

He didn’t know how he got it.

Mark brought a proposition.

Lee Jung-woo was a little tempted.

He could tell that his batting speed had increased, but.

He was curious if he could do the same against a real pitcher.

A practice game would be a good opportunity.

‘Is it a nearby high school student? Or an amateur? Either way, it’s not bad.’

“That’s good. I think it suits me well, but seeing it directly in the batter’s box is different.”

Andrew Lubin showed a positive reaction, perhaps because he thought the same.

“Who’s the pitcher? A student? Or an amateur?”

“He’s also a pro. He’s a pitcher for the St. Lucie Mets [the New York Mets’ High-A minor league affiliate], and he’s training here like you.”

“St. Lucie… High-A?”

Lee Jung-woo’s eyes widened slightly. He expected a high school student at best.

He never expected it to be a player from the New York Mets’ High-A team.

“Where are we doing it?”

“I looked around nearby. There’s a small baseball field in the park. We decided to do it there. Their agent will take care of the catcher.”

There’s a ground.

There’s also a catcher.

There’s nothing to hold back.

Lee Jung-woo immediately agreed.

With that, a practice game was set up.

‘Hoo. I’ve adapted roughly… Will I be okay?’

Inside the park.

Walking to the baseball field.

Lee Jung-woo took a breath.

It would be greedy to expect too much after only a month of training.

But he was still a little nervous.

He had trained so hard.

It could have been a waste of time.

As if sensing his feelings.

Andrew Lubin calmly comforted him, and Lee Jung-woo, who had gained a little strength, entered the baseball field with a confident step.

A month since he was in the batter’s box.

The artificial turf, as well as the dirt floor that didn’t seem to have been properly leveled, and the lines that were just drawn.

He was a little excited when he entered the ground.

It’s not a bad feeling.

Just enough to warm up his body.

Perhaps it was the same for the opponent.

The pitcher, who had arrived first, approached and greeted him with an excited face.

“I’m Chris. Please play well.”

“I’m Lee Jung-woo. I hope we have a good game.”

After a short greeting.

The pitcher ignored Lee Jung-woo’s outstretched hand and turned around to concentrate on practice pitching on the mound.

Lee Jung-woo gritted his teeth slightly at his confident appearance, as if saying he wasn’t even in his eyes.

‘Right, he’s High-A, huh?’

Lee Jung-woo knew that his skills would be considerable as he was a player in a higher league than him.

But seeing that appearance made him feel a strong sense of rivalry.

He wanted to hit the ball properly and wipe that smirk off his face.

Lee Jung-woo, who had a more hardened face than usual, took out a bat from his bag and looked at the pitcher, swinging it a few times.

‘Good, let’s give it a try.’

####

After each person’s preparations were completed.

The practice game began.

Without setting up a separate at-bat, they agreed to a method of throwing 15 pitches.

They agreed to exclude balls that were slammed into the ground or flew too far to hit.

‘Let’s see those skills.’

Lee Jung-woo, who entered the batter’s box, looked at the pitcher, taking a different stance than before, as he had practiced.

A long, good-looking batting form.

The catcher, who was said to be the pitcher’s agent, glanced at him slightly and then tapped his glove.

‘Right-handed overhand. Textbook.’

A right-handed orthodox [a pitcher who throws with a classic, standard motion].

The pitcher on the mound showed a pitching form that is commonly referred to as such.

The ball that flew quickly was exactly like that.

‘I don’t know exactly, but… it’s in the low 90s [miles per hour] at this point.’

It’s not winter, but.

Considering that it was the off-season, it was a fairly fast speed.

Lee Jung-woo, who let the first pitch pass, nodded to the pitcher, who still had a sullen expression.

As if telling him to send one more.

‘Let’s see some High-A skills. Throw some more.’

As if accepting the provocation.

The pitcher frowned slightly and threw the ball again, showing a textbook pitching form.

Lee Jung-woo quickly checked the pitch.

The eye-training training, which was trained by watching the balls thrown by Andrew Lubin or the batting machine in front of the glass panel, was quite effective.

He could see the pitch properly.

‘Slider [a type of pitch that breaks sharply to the side]. Is the course going to come in from the outside?’

Slider.

As much as he jokingly said that he was not a strikeout looking, but a strikeout swinging.

It is a pitch that Lee Jung-woo is weak at.

If it was during the season, he would have just let it pass, but he swung to get a feel for it.

‘Let’s just get a feel for it for now.’

The body rotates quickly from a stretched position. As Andrew Lubin had assured, the batting timing was faster than before.

The pitcher looked at Lee Jung-woo with surprised eyes, even though he didn’t hit the ball, perhaps because the speed was quite threatening.

‘The changed form is effective.’

Lee Jung-woo swallowed hard.

It was a different posture than before.

It wasn’t unfamiliar.

It suits him well.

Also, the speed was fast.

Lee Jung-woo, who thought it was the right choice, nodded again and provoked the pitcher.

As if that was the end.

Then the pitcher threw the ball in succession with a more distorted face.

A ball coming in a hard-to-hit course.

Lee Jung-woo followed it with his eyes and reached out his bat.

The mis-hit ball went off the foul line and slammed into the ground.

It’s a foul, so it’s not a great result, but Lee Jung-woo was excited just by that.

‘Cutting has become easier.’

Unlike barely hitting it.

He picked it out easily and properly.

The bat speed has increased.

And the stride width was also constant.

‘Good, good.’

Lee Jung-woo, unable to contain his excitement, took a breath and stared at the pitcher.

He had confirmed his skills.

Now it’s time to attack the pitcher.

The pitcher, who made eye contact with Lee Jung-woo, wound up with a slightly serious face.

And the ball was thrown.

‘Four-seam [a fastball with a specific grip that maximizes velocity], quite fast.’

But.

It’s not something he can’t hit.

Lee Jung-woo’s body twisted violently with strength.

The rapid rotation that started from the hips was soon the driving force behind the bat speed.

The heavy and long bat, which had properly received the momentum, mercilessly struck the ball.

Bang-

The ball flies endlessly.

It’s a simple practice game, so there are no hits or home runs.

Even if there were, it’s already past the foul line and the ball is meaningless.

Lee Jung-woo smiled brightly.

He just had a conviction.

A conviction that he had found the right path.