Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 236

Pitcher done, batter up – Episode 235

After that, until the 7th inning, Lee Jung-woo continued to get on base a whopping five times. It might have seemed like the play of a leadoff hitter who prioritizes getting on base, but in reality, it was more like he just had his batting order changed.

[He hit it! It went over the right fielder’s head! The runner is going to second base!]

[He’s the kind of player who just hits for extra bases no matter where you put him. It’s a shame there wasn’t a runner on base.]

The third hit was just a clean line drive that went past the defense, as usual. The other times he got on base were from walks, as always, because the opponents were tired of him. In fact, there was nothing particularly different from usual. The only difference was that because he was batting first, and the batter right before him was the pitcher, the opposing team walked him a little more freely than usual.

If there was anything fortunate for the Marlins, it was that Lee Jung-woo, who got on base like that, didn’t run as if he had already stolen enough bases in the first inning. Considering that this was due to unwritten rules [informal norms in baseball etiquette], the reality became even more bleak.

‘The score difference is more than 10 points, so it’s a bit much to run. I’ll just get cursed at for no reason. It’s not like I urgently need to steal bases, so there’s no need to do that.’

As you can see from the fact that he had five at-bats by the 7th inning, the score difference was truly overwhelming. Although the unwritten rules have become much more vague, there was no need to commit the crime of posthumous disgrace by earning curses while provoking an already defeated opponent.

Also, the team stopped him.

“Let’s just stop for today if possible. If they keep this up, they might really go crazy and do something.”

“Yes, they don’t look good. If they make a bad slide, they might break an ankle.”

The opponent’s mentality was already shattered and in a comatose state. In this situation, if they were provoked by a stolen base, there was almost a 100% chance of injury. They would tag him properly. Not with a glove, but with a foot, and not on the back or shoulder, but on the ankle.

That’s why Lee Jung-woo stayed quietly on first base, but he couldn’t just stay still. He had to run hard every time he got on base. Because of his teammates who were hitting like crazy.

[Lee scores! It’s the same pattern again. From leadoff hitter Lee to Joey at number 3, they continue to get consecutive hits, adding another run for the Braves!]

Lee Jung-woo, who lightly scored, didn’t even bother to high-five his teammates. A point in other games was quite valuable, but today’s score was just a small joy.

After that, the Braves recorded a decent big inning until the 7th, eventually raising the score to 16 points. In the bottom of the 8th, when his turn came around again, Lee Jung-woo recorded a ground ball in front of the second baseman, ending the game with a record of 6 plate appearances, 4 at-bats, 3 hits, 2 RBIs [runs batted in], 1 home run, 2 walks, and 2 stolen bases. Of course, the next at-bat or the next attack did not come.

[As expected, the bottom of the 9th did not come. The Marlins were unable to catch up with the overwhelming score difference until the end, and the Braves won the first game with a score of 17 to 3.]

[The stadium was heated up by Lee’s 40-40 at the beginning, but the game that followed was so shocking that its intensity faded a little. It seems that Lee’s consecutive stolen bases and 40-40 will not be the only things remembered in this game.]

The long first game ended like that, perhaps because it was dragged on by the continued barrage of hits, but for the Marlins, the series was still a long way off.

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[Fifth member registration. 40-40, that high hurdle opens in 29 years! The conqueror is Jung-woo Lee!]

[Top-notch defense in history, agile running, powerful power, accurate contact. Lee is already at the ‘peak’]

[A new king of the big leagues is crowned in Atlanta! Regular season MVP race, ‘virtually’ over! Long Live The King!]

[50 home run pace for the season. If he maintains this momentum, he could become the youngest new protagonist of 500 home runs?]

The various praises that followed after the game were enough to make Lee Jung-woo’s face turn red as he flipped through his phone in bed.

It was as if all the sports media in the world had become Braves-ized and praised him. From the best single season at his position of all time, to the possibility of becoming the best in history beyond his position, the media was saying all sorts of things, perhaps showing how the public viewed Lee Jung-woo, the records he had achieved, and the impact he had shown.

[Lee’s goal is 40% batting average and 50 home runs? Surprisingly, both are ‘highly’ possible!]

[Jung-woo Lee, who conquered the heights that no one else has reached, ‘Am I still hungry?’]

[The best player at the moment, perhaps challenging even more, Lee’s ’35 years’ is challenging history!]

When the media talks about Lee Jung-woo, the player who is most often compared to him is Cal Ripken Jr. He was such a legendary shortstop, and the fact that he hit a lot of home runs even as a shortstop was often used as an excuse to bring him up.

Of course, there were some Braves fans who went beyond Cal Ripken Jr. and even brought up Honus Wagner, but it was clear that they were in the minority.

There are also people who mention Hank Aaron, citing the fact that he was from the same Braves team and his power, even though their positions are different.

[The best season in history at the shortstop position? Lee has already surpassed A-Rod’s impact.]

-My father always said. Even though he’s a X-like drug addict and did third base, he was a real shortstop. So when I see Lee, I often talk about him. A-Rod felt like this too. But he said he won’t do that from today. There’s no need to think of a drug addict.

-That’s right, Alex Rodriguez was amazing too. His career stats are also brilliant. He eventually entered the HOF [Hall of Fame], right? But in terms of short-term impact, Lee has surpassed him.

However, in the case of those three, it was a comparison or speculation that Lee Jung-woo would remain a legend like them if he continued to accumulate career stats in the future.

When simply talking about the impact of Lee Jung-woo’s season, the most common comparison was to Alex Rodriguez’s 1998 season as a shortstop for the Seattle Mariners, when he also recorded 40-40.

The same shortstop position, the power to easily hit home runs, a good batting average and stolen bases. Although he was a drug user, his appearance as an all-around shortstop was similar to him.

In fact, aside from everything else, the similarity of achieving 40-40 in the season was the biggest. And now people were saying. His career stats are far behind, but in terms of the single season for shortstops in history, Lee Jung-woo has surpassed him in terms of short-term impact and is reaching the best ever.

-Are you serious? No, why are you comparing it to ’98 in the first place? You have to do it with the Rangers days. For reference, Alex Rodriguez hit 57 home runs in ’02. Do you still think Lee has surpassed him?

-Of course, in the case of A-Rod, it should be seen as the true heyday from 2001 to 2003, when he recorded 52-57-47 home runs, but it’s more fun to compare it with the 40-40 season if possible? And even if you compare it with those seasons, well? The ratio stats are very different…

-The batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage are all almost 10% different. Of course, it will definitely drop more, but even at the end of the season, there will be more than 5% difference. He’ll hit more home runs than now. Then Lee has a comparative advantage.

-It’s not normal for a shortstop to hit 57 home runs. However, the current Lee is a little more serious crazy guy. He’s challenging 40% batting average and 50 home runs, which is not something else.

-50 home runs and a 40% batting average. It’s a really weird combination. It’s even weirder that it might be possible. If he succeeds in this, it will be the GOAT [Greatest Of All Time] season, not just the same position.

Of course, there were quite a few people who rebelled against such an atmosphere. Although he was a drug user, he was A-Rod, who spent an overwhelming time as a shortstop, and he built a good image after retirement and was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

However, even those who rebelled did not deny just one thing in secret.

[The best single season for shortstops in the live ball era? Jung-woo Lee, ‘in progress’]

At this point, having achieved 40-40, one of the high points, in all seasons excluding the difficult dead ball era [early era of baseball with different rules and lower scoring], Lee Jung-woo is having the most overwhelming season at the same position.

If this momentum continues until the end of the season, Lee Jung-woo’s ’35 years’ will always be the season that comes out when talking about the short-term impact of shortstops, like Pedro Martinez’s 99 years, which always comes out when a pitcher shows great impact.

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[The Braves sweep the Miami Marlins, heating up August!]

[Jung-woo Lee, 16 plate appearances, 13 at-bats, 6 hits, 1 home run, 3 walks, 3 stolen bases, 5 RBIs. Still going strong!]

[The collapsed Marlins, but the ranking does not even allow ‘tanking’ [deliberately losing to secure a better draft pick]! Marlins still maintain their ranking.]

The Braves continued to win in the following games, accumulating more wins, and after the Marlins left sadly, they welcomed the Arizona Diamondbacks to their home and played another three-game series.

After that, they left home again and headed to New York. For a four-game series against the Mets.

[A disappointing defeat. The Braves failed to win the third game and finished the series with a winning record. The next destination is ‘again’ the Mets?]

[Jung-woo Lee, 12 at-bats, 4 hits, 3 walks, 2 RBIs. Batting average drops slightly. But still a long way from ‘30%’]

[Laughing losing, crying winning? Braves ‘disappointing’ series win against the Mets. Season record against each other is 2 wins and 13 losses.]

[Finally ended ‘losing streak!’ Mets end their losing streak against the Braves with 13 consecutive losses!]

Winning and winning. Both were the same winning series, and the latter was a 3-win, 1-loss winning series, but the Braves fans regretted the series against the Mets more.

It meant that one less story was available to make fun of the same neighborhood rivals who had been mean to them when they were doing poorly.

Even though they only won one game during the four-game series, the Mets fans were in a festive mood and smiled happily as if they had advanced to the wild card [playoff spot for teams that didn’t win their division].

[Jung-woo Lee, 21 plate appearances, 17 at-bats, 6 hits, 4 walks, 5 RBIs, 1 stolen base.]

What made the Braves fans happy was Lee Jung-woo’s decent performance in the Mets game and his batting average.

The bizarre batting average, which dropped even though he had 6 hits, still maintained a gap far from 30%, and the fans who saw it were able to erase the lingering feeling they got from ‘1 loss’.

The Braves, who had finished the away series by steadily winning like this, returned home. For a final battle with the next opponent.

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If you ask fans of each Major League team to name a team they don’t like, many teams will probably be mentioned.

The reason is, of course, that teams with rivalries, such as the Red Sox and Yankees, or the Dodgers and Giants, will point fingers at each other.

It is natural for the rival team of the team you support to feel like the most villainous in the world. But if you leave out such rivalries, there are usually two teams that are mentioned.

First of all, one is definitely the Braves. I’m sure that almost all the fans of the National League will point to them. They were bombarding the league so much that they were shattering it.

And the other one is a team that most baseball fans don’t like very much.

“The Houston Astros.”

Lee Jung-woo looked at the opposing team’s players who were arriving at the stadium one after another. The Astros, who would be playing a two-game series against the Braves in an interleague matchup, were one of the teams that did not receive a good response from fans of other teams. The reason was, of course, their dirty past.

‘Stealing signs is a common thing in baseball, but doing it with a machine is a bit much. It’s a bit pitiful that they’re still being cursed at.’

Sign-stealing scandal. As the center of one of the biggest incidents in Major League history, the eyes of many baseball fans looking at the Houston Astros were still those of cheaters or dirty players.

Lee Jung-woo thought this was a transfer of hatred. Even though it doesn’t really resonate with those who were young when such scandals occurred, like Lee Jung-woo, the emotion has been learned like education. That’s why the Astros are still one of the teams with the most anti-fans in Major League Baseball.

“The players on that side don’t look very good?”

“They’re always like that. They always look dead when they have away games. They hear all kinds of curses. To be honest, how frustrated would they be? Frankly, even if the club doesn’t know, the players are being cursed for something they have nothing to do with. How would they feel?”

“Wasn’t the Red Sox also involved in sign stealing? But the atmosphere is very different.”

“First of all, the difference between whether the players were involved or not is big. The size of the fandom also has some influence. The Astros aren’t a very popular team like the Red Sox, right? Well, aside from all that, doing such a thing in the World Series itself is something that deserves to be beaten to death. And the fans didn’t think the punishment was enough. They’re frustrated, but it’s an inevitable reaction.”

Lee Jung-woo nodded as if he understood, at the words of Alan O’Donnell, who had met the Astros a lot because he was from the American League. They were pitiful guys in many ways, as they had inherited the sins of their seniors, but…

“Strangely, I feel good today.”

Regardless of such feelings, his body shouted enthusiastically.

I’m very energetic today, so beat them up.