Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 242

End of Pitcher, Start of Batter – 241

The three-run homer had taken a toll on his stamina, but thankfully, they had scored earlier, so he could take it easy getting back to the dugout. The next batter, Joey, crushed a long hit that soared far beyond the center fielder’s reach.

“I told you to manage your stamina, and yet you hit a three-run homer.”

“I’m a Major Leaguer, after all. I can’t just let an opportunity like that pass.”

“I guess that’s true. What kind of coach says that anyway? Good job. Thanks to you, we’re off to a comfortable start, scoring two runs in the first inning.”

When Lee Jung-woo returned to the dugout, the batting coach greeted him with a slightly dumbfounded expression, much like Arthur Hunter had shown earlier. It was somewhat absurd that he had hit a three-run homer after being repeatedly told to conserve his stamina.

Still, it was only the first at-bat, and thanks to him, they had scored two runs, so most people dismissed it as the vigor of a young player and didn’t worry too much. But the problem was that this wasn’t the end.

[Although there were no subsequent hits, the Braves happily started the game by scoring two runs in the top of the first inning.]

[Since it’s a doubleheader, it might be better to score quickly like this, secure the victory early, and conserve stamina.]

[Ah, the replay is on the screen now. It’s Lee’s three-run homer, right? He’s a unique, no, a special player. Not many players can sprint like that without hesitation in a doubleheader game. And his batting was excellent as usual.]

[He’s always like this. Always working hard and doing his best, so fans can’t help but love him.]

Whether the pitcher was awakened after giving up two runs or not, the batters hit ground balls one after another, and Joey became a fixture at second base, ending the top of the first inning.

It was a bit disappointing since they could have scored a lot more, but it was still a satisfactory start after already scoring two runs. Then came their time to defend.

Lee Jung-woo, standing in his usual position at shortstop, licked his lips slightly.

‘He’s fast. At this rate, I should be able to catch almost anything. But…’

The team advised him to refrain from sprinting as much as possible. The shortstop position was already extremely tiring, and he had to play the next game right away, so they wanted him to just endure the first game as much as possible.

Lee Jung-woo agreed with the instructions and tried to follow them as much as possible. But the problem was that his legs felt light thanks to the enthusiastic base running in the top of the first inning, so his heart wouldn’t let him.

‘But I can’t just *not* catch something I *can* catch, can I? And it feels like it’s going to fly my way…’

The mix of a professional player’s mindset and subtle anxiety in his head wasn’t very pleasant. But Lee Jung-woo shook off all those thoughts as he stepped up to the plate and took a deep breath to regain his focus.

‘Let’s just position myself well. If I can preemptively secure a position where I can catch the ball well while running less, my stamina won’t be depleted too much.’

It’s not impossible. It’s a gamble, but if he recalled the distribution of hits from the data and positioned himself accordingly, he could achieve a sufficient effect. For example, the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter, who is now stepping into the batter’s box, is a left-handed hitter, so he usually sends the ball to the right field line, but occasionally he pushes it to hit a single along the third base line.

So, if he adjusted his stance slightly to account for that, it would be enough to see a sufficient effect.

‘There’s a chance of a reverse direction hit, but still, when he pushes the ball, he sends it that way more than 40% of the time.’

Lee Jung-woo, standing slightly diagonally, stared intently at the batter and subtly adjusted his position, as if he were stealing a base, trying to be unnoticeable.

Then came the hit. The batter, who had been watching the pitcher’s ball, simply made contact concisely and quickly ran to first base, and Lee Jung-woo, who was watching it closely, also moved quickly.

‘Can Popin catch it?’

In this situation, the coaching staff’s order was to trust the other fielders. If the ball seemed to be flying towards third base, unlike usual, he should just trust Popin and refrain from using his stamina as much as possible.

So, at the same time as moving his body, Lee Jung-woo assessed the situation in a very short time, without even blinking an eye.

‘It’s ambiguous. Slightly, very slightly ambiguous. It’s a bit much for Popin or Rollins to catch, but I can definitely catch it. Especially today.’

The ball floated slightly in the air. It wasn’t very fast or strong, but it seemed like it might pass the third baseman. The probability was almost fifty-fifty. And the left fielder, who was also running, could catch the ball. Rollins is a fast player, so the probability is the same.

Yes, in fact, all possibilities are fifty-fifty. Do it or don’t do it. He could bet on the fifty-fifty and just watch, but his mind didn’t allow him to just watch a ball he could catch.

‘No, no. I can’t do that. Stamina management or whatever, I can’t just stand by and watch a ball I can catch.’

Usually, even the shortstop might have a hard time catching it. Because the distance is far. In fact, it’s normal and the right decision to leave that to the third baseman.

But if he could definitely catch it, the story would be a little different. As a professional player, it would be embarrassing for him to not even try a play he could do.

So, Lee Jung-woo ran out, predicted the landing point, shouted at Popin, who was retreating and forcibly stretching out his arm at the slightly ambiguous ball, and leaned his body forward.

“I’m behind you! Rollins, stop!”

After a cool dive, Lee Jung-woo, who had gently caught the ball that had slightly brushed Popin’s glove and fallen behind him again, showed the ball to the satisfied batter as if to show off, and the referee called him out without hesitation.

“Ha…”

“Wow…”

“Yeah…”

Involuntarily uttered exclamations echoed faintly in Dodger Stadium. It was a scene that even the opposing team couldn’t help but acknowledge.

Some people even lowered their hands, which they were about to applaud, because other home fans were glaring at them like spies. The commentators also spared no praise, but that was just the beginning.

After that, two more balls came out, and both of them similarly forced Lee Jung-woo to make judgments and choices. Ambiguous balls, but balls that he could catch.

[Lee! Catches it and throws to 1st – Out!]

[It’s a bit far, the center fielder doesn’t seem to be able to catch it, and Lee and Derek are running together, ah, Lee catches it! It’s out.]

[As befits the evaluation that he is the core of the Braves’ defense, Jung-woo Lee erased one inning by himself in this game as well. Even the Dodgers fans are impressed.]

[That’s understandable. Any baseball fan would want a shortstop like that on their team.]

Of course, the choice was the same, and Lee Jung-woo, who had erased the inning by himself by getting three outs in the first inning alone, walked to the dugout with his teammates, then swept his face with a bad feeling.

‘Surely it won’t be like this throughout the game, will it?’

####

Why do bad premonitions always come true? Lee Jung-woo could feel once again that human intuition is more accurate than he thought.

‘If I catch it and throw it right away, I can get a double play.’

“Captain!”

“Throw it right away!”

[Jung-woo Lee! Diving! Caught the ball! To 2nd! Out! Again at 1st – Out! Double Play!]

[He’s Superman. That’s the only way to explain it. Like a superhero, Jung-woo Lee appears anytime, anywhere.]

Lee Jung-woo became Superman for a day. Excessively good footwork, balls flying more often than usual, and the perfect angles. All of those things made him that way.

He judged that he could catch even the balls that he would have cleanly given up on normally, so he dived more often, and the uniform stained with dirt properly explained the play.

The Dodgers fans seemed to have given up, and now they just laughed and applauded to their heart’s content.

‘No, maybe they’re not giving up, but they’re really happy.’

The most dangerous player on the opposing team is using up his stamina before the doubleheader, so they might be happy about that.

‘Still, we’re winning for now, but it’s not like we’re scoring a lot of points, so I can’t slack off.’

He would have felt more comfortable if the score difference was more than 5 points, but the Braves had only added 2 more points until the 6th inning, scoring only 4 points, and the Dodgers had only scored 2 points, perhaps because of Lee Jung-woo’s amazing plays.

So he couldn’t let his guard down. If he made even a slight mistake, he might allow a comeback. In fact, if he had missed only a third of the balls he had caught, he would have already given up the lead, let alone tied the score.

‘And at this point, I have to win no matter what. I’m using up my stamina, and if I lose the game, the shock will be even greater.’

A situation where he couldn’t back down. The coaches, who had just watched his three-run homer in the top of the first inning with curiosity, were now starting to seriously worry about him, but he was still okay.

Anyway, so far, it wasn’t much different from usual, and thanks to the unexpected rest the day before, he had quite a bit of stamina left. So Lee Jung-woo, who had regained his composure, soon stepped up to the plate for the attack.

[Top of the 7th inning. One out, runner on 1st base. It’s Jung-woo Lee. It’s his fourth at-bat, right? In this game, he has recorded a very good record with 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 RBI (Runs Batted In), and 1 run in 3 at-bats, as well as his stellar defense.]

[Haha, the batting record has 1s lined up. In some ways, it’s a very ideal record. It means that he takes care of the on-base percentage, batting average, slugging percentage, and RBIs.]

[Yes, that’s right. It also suits Jung-woo Lee the best. You can get a glimpse of his unique clutch ability, fast running speed, and excellent batting ability.]

[In addition, the power to easily hit the fence too.]

As he stepped up to the plate, the Braves fans, who had already been excited by the previous defensive plays, and those who were watching the game on TV or internet broadcasts, leaned forward again. To see it in more detail, more accurately, without missing a single thing.

It’s amazing. One person has captivated millions, maybe more, of people. In fact, most Major Leaguers have such unique abilities, but as in everything else, Lee Jung-woo was the best in this area as well.

“Can you keep doing that? Isn’t it too dangerous? I’m your opponent, but as a fellow player, I’m worried about you. You’ll hurt your body if you keep doing that. Take it easy. You should be more careful when you’re young. Ah, are you not playing in the next game? Then I understand.”

“Thank you so much. You’re even worrying about the enemy. You’re a saint, a saint. Are you trying to win the Nobel Peace Prize or something?”

“Don’t be sarcastic. You like curves, right? I heard you’re sad that you haven’t seen them much lately, so I’ll give you one specially. Hit it comfortably and walk back.”

As he went up to the plate, the catcher approached him with a sly smile and started a conversation, which in some ways was also trash talk. It distracts the batter’s mind with unnecessary thoughts.

Of course, it could be that he was really worried as a colleague with the same job, or that he was just trying to get under his skin. Anyway, Lee Jung-woo regarded it as trash talk, so he lightly countered it and then ignored the catcher.

‘Of course, he won’t give me a curve. They’ve been hit by me a lot too.’

It’s hard to find a team that isn’t like that at this point, but the Dodgers were also a team that contributed quite a bit to his record. Considering that they are in a different division, the game itself is not very frequent.

In particular, even Aidan Styles, who has now established himself as the Dodgers’ ace, was hit hard by the curve, so he would never give it to him.

‘Of course, excluding the curve. Does that leave the fastball and changeup?’

The newly promoted pitcher boasts a three-pitch repertoire of fastball, curve, and changeup, and his record is quite good.

‘Especially the changeup is good. Because the pitching form and timing are the same as the fastball. But the speed is much slower.’

It may not seem like much, but even if the pitching form is the same as the fastball, the changeup is a powerful weapon. Since it is designed to steal the batter’s timing in the first place, the more similar it is to the fastball, the more difficult it is to predict.

‘Once you start to second-guess yourself, there’s no answer. Even for me. That’s what timing is all about. In that sense, let’s hit it before that happens. At the fastball timing.’

Lee Jung-woo, who had readjusted his bat, looked at the pitcher, and the pitcher, who had allowed one runner on base earlier, glanced at first base and checked the runner’s lead before taking his pitching form.

Then came the first pitch. The fastball, which was slightly high, had a pretty strong tailing action, so even though it was a four-seam fastball, the movement was considerable. The speed was 93 miles per hour, which was not very fast, but the quality was good.

‘People say that a pitcher like this, who can control his ball, has good quality, and has a consistent pitching form, is more difficult than a guy who is only fast. Other people do.’

A pitcher who knows how to control his ball, has good quality, and has a consistent pitching form. A pitcher whose speed is not fast by Major League standards, but whose speed is also appropriate. He had enough skill to become a mainstay of the pitching staff no matter which team he went to.

‘But no matter how I think about it…’

Lee Jung-woo, who was waiting for the second ball from such a pitcher, took a breath and calmly considered his options, but soon made a decision, and as soon as the second ball came out of the pitcher’s hand, he checked it only once and swung as it was.

‘I have a harder time with fast ones.’

Fastball. Lee Jung-woo, who picked up the ball that was nicely controlled and hit low to the outside, threw down his bat and ran quickly.

‘The quality is good. I picked it up, but it doesn’t have enough lift to get over the outfielder’s head.’

He thought he had hit it properly, but maybe it was because of the tailing action that was twisted at the last minute, or maybe it was because of the quality of the pitch, it was slightly pushed. But thanks to pushing the quality that was applied by the strength of his wrists again, it did not become a foul ball or an ordinary fly ball, and it flew at a tremendous speed, but the angle was low.

The ball, which was literally shot like a bullet, Lee Jung-woo and Derek, who was the first base runner, ran like crazy, and the ball was so fast and the right fielder was retreating, so unlike the top of the first inning, he caught it quickly even after hitting the fence, so the throw to second was going to be tight.

‘I have to go to second base no matter what. It’s still a bit ambiguous to win for sure, so I have to score at least one more point.’

If they were slower players like Peterson or Popin, he would have stopped at first base without hesitation, but he couldn’t do that because he had enough running ability, so Lee Jung-woo, who sprinted, immediately slid into second base, and Derek, who had also run hard, scored.

And the throw that the right fielder threw a step, or half a step, later also reached home, but the situation was already over.

[The right fielder’s play was good, but the Braves added 1 point thanks to the quick base running play! It was Jung-woo Lee again!]

[The power and speed of the ball were so good that it was a bit of a difficult situation, but he finally made it. It was a great base running play following a good hit.]

It was fortunate that both of them were fast, but the ball was quite fast, and the right fielder’s response, who was conscious of the previous three-run homer, was also fast, so it could have been an ambiguous situation with runners on 1st and 3rd base. Or he could have been caught out at home.

He prevented such an unfortunate event, but both Lee Jung-woo and Derek, who returned to the dugout, were panting with their upper bodies bent over.

‘Ah, I’m going to die.’

Lee Jung-woo, who was breathing hard, was about to glare at the right fielder, who showed the angle of a three-run homer in the top of the first inning and then made people annoyed again, but he just shook his head because he thought it was a bit absurd even for himself.

‘Why is this happening today? It feels like I’m running twice as much as usual.’

Stamina management. That was long gone. The coaches were so dumbfounded that they were caught chuckling in a corner of the dugout, and Lee Jung-woo felt the same way, but he couldn’t stop now. Because Joey’s subsequent hit exploded. It was also a slightly deep center field fly.

Yes, he had to run.

‘Ah, why is this happening!’

The Braves added 2 more points in the top of the 7th inning with Lee Jung-woo’s 1 RBI timely double and Joey’s sacrifice fly, but the price was the shortstop’s stamina.