Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 256

After the first at-bat, which brought regret to some, relief to others, and a moment of realization to yet another, the game continued, and the audience’s worries gradually grew.

“He seems to be overdoing it…”

“Is it really okay for him to be like that? The season is almost over, and I hope we’re not putting too much pressure on him…”

“Lee! Take it easy, take it easy!”

The problem was Lee Jung-woo, who was defending as fiercely and spectacularly as he had in the middle of the season. Initially, the audience cheered, thinking he just seemed light on his feet like in the first inning.

However, as Lee Jung-woo continued to run and fly around, they began to worry that they might be burdening him, causing him to overexert himself in his exhausted state.

[Lee is showing amazing defense today! However, since it’s the end of the season, we can’t help but worry a bit.]

[With the postseason ahead, the Braves should protect Lee’s stamina as he is a key player. The team might not be entirely happy with such reckless plays.]

Even the commentators expressed concern, but Lee Jung-woo continued to make hustle plays, quickly shutting down the Phillies’ attacks.

“Hey! Stop!”

Thankfully, Derek strongly asserted himself, thoroughly catching balls that came to his position, which slightly reduced the area Lee had to cover. However, the audience couldn’t completely shake off the worry that had taken root in their hearts.

After both sides’ attacks quickly passed, when it was Lee Jung-woo’s turn at bat again for the Braves, people cheered in quieter voices than before.

“You’re doing great! Just be careful!”

“You can hit a home run later! Lee, your health is much more important.”

Lee Jung-woo waved his hand as if to tell them not to worry, entering the batter’s box as people suppressed their excitement and responded with only brief applause, so he wouldn’t overdo it.

‘It’s understandable that they’re worried. I’m suddenly playing like I did at the beginning of the season with the postseason coming up, so it’s no wonder they’re concerned.’

Lee Jung-woo knew their feelings well and could understand them, but it was already a matter of momentum. Deliberately emulating his best plays, Lee Jung-woo pushed his body even harder.

‘My batting and power are better than ever in September. So, there’s no need to rush. Just emulate the moment when I was at my best.’

With that mindset, he stepped into the batter’s box. The pitcher glared at him, but unfortunately, from the moment he realized his condition, the pitcher had no choice. He was confident he could hit anything they threw, so there was nothing the pitcher could do in that situation.

Therefore, what Lee Jung-woo had to do was aim for an even more precise ball with the initiative he had seized. Relaxing his body, Lee Jung-woo stared at the pitcher with eyes that seemed to say, ‘Just throw anything.’

“…”

Perhaps it was intuition built from accumulated experience, but the catcher, who would usually chatter away, simply swallowed hard. The pitcher on the mound also seemed to have a bad feeling, throwing a provocative look and tensing up.

Fortunately for them, Lee Jung-woo was the lead-off hitter for the inning, so there were no runners to worry about. Of course, it wasn’t clear if facing a monster with a clear mind was a happy thing. Sometimes, fainting or being mentally confused might be better, and this was one of those times.

‘Just don’t walk me.’

As he chanted that, the first pitch came, and Lee Jung-woo didn’t even flinch as he watched the ball all the way. It was as if he wasn’t impressed at all by something so trivial.

[First pitch, the pitcher throws a ball. Although he was retired with a foul fly in the previous at-bat, he showed a sharp batting sense, so they have to be careful. It might be better to just walk him.]

[If the batter is strong, walking him intentionally is a legitimate strategy. Of course, they won’t be praised for it.]

The Phillies battery [pitcher and catcher] shared the method the commentator suggested. Should they just walk him? Did they really have to go through something unpleasant here? The two shared that thought through their eyes, and the catcher glanced at the bench, 괜히 biting his cheek [biting his cheek for no reason, feeling anxious]. As the catcher predicted, the sign from the bench was passing the buck.

If they had clearly told him to walk him, he would have felt better, but the catcher was filled with 욕 [curse words] up to his throat at the manager and coaches who passed the choice to him. In the end, he made his own decision.

“Ball.”

[Another ball. And it’s quite far off the plate. This might be…]

The second ball. Even further off the plate than the first. That was enough to make the audience’s eyes roll.

“Boooooooooooo!”

“Compete! Compete!”

“You motherfuckers! Don’t you have any sense of camaraderie! Are you even major leaguers!”

“What is the players’ union doing! Immediately expel those X bastards! Make sure they can never play baseball again!”

Lee Jung-woo was working hard. So hard that it almost felt excessive. It was obvious that he was trying to show them a home run for their sake.

However, the thought that the opposing team might ruin all that effort with something worse than nothing made the audience unable to hold back their 욕설 [cursing]. But when Lee Jung-woo raised his hand, they quieted down again.

‘I already expected a walk. If it were any other day, I would be just as angry. But not today. I need focus, even deeper focus, rather than anger.’

Lee Jung-woo, who had calmed the audience, stared quietly at one spot with a blank face as if meditating in the silent stadium. The catcher, who tilted his head slightly at his incomprehensible behavior, looked back at the pitcher.

And the third pitch. Lee Jung-woo’s bat came out at a course that went out again.

“Foul!”

[Hmm… It was completely out of the zone, but the bat came out. Lee tends to use a wide strike zone, but he doesn’t like that course very much, does he? What does it mean?]

[It could be a show of force. He might be saying, ‘Let’s have a fair fight.’ It’s hard to guess the exact meaning, but one thing is certain: Lee’s batting sense is amazing.]

[Yes, it’s a course that’s hard to turn into a long hit, but this time, it hit the fence, even if it was a foul.]

A huge long hit. Some even wondered if it was a home run. Even the Phillies players. That eerie swing set off alarms in the pitcher’s and catcher’s heads.

If they walked him ambiguously, he would hit it. And in a way that was even more unsightly than being hit head-on. Those thoughts arose in their minds, and they shared their thoughts with just a look, without exchanging words or signs.

And…

‘It’s coming.’

Lee Jung-woo too.

The opponent was going to walk him anyway. So the ball he had to hit was a course that was even worse than usual. He had to choose from among them. The one he could confidently hit over. He swung the bat to induce it. To put pressure on the opponent.

The large foul ball created by hitting a high outside pitch. That eliminated one option and forced the catcher and pitcher to walk him decisively so that the bat wouldn’t even come close to the ball.

From the narrowed choices, Lee Jung-woo chose one and firmly believed in it. Because there was no other way anyway.

Facing the fourth pitch with different thoughts, Lee Jung-woo calmly timed his swing, only slightly grazing the ball that protruded from his fingertips.

‘One, two.’

The connecting motions, accurately linked with the feeling of 쌓는 [stacking] up each movement one by one, were slightly different from usual. The extreme swing that, as long as it hit properly, would unconditionally go over, especially for low pitches, which earned him the slightly embarrassing nickname of Third Guerrero when he debuted last year.

‘Three.’

The pitcher, who had thrown a low ball that seemed like a mistake, burying it in the ground for a more thorough ball, opened his mouth without realizing it, filling his eyes with Lee Jung-woo’s bizarrely twisted and rotating body.

The sound of hard things colliding strongly leaked into his deafened ears, and when he came to his senses, the batter had already thrown his bat a long time ago.

[Here it goes! Here it goes! Here it goes! Right – right field fence! Right field fence! This time, it doesn’t 걸치지도 [even touch] on the fence! It doesn’t become a foul! It’s not caught by the outfielder – the ball goes over! Jung-woo Lee! Season’s 48th home run! And it’s a home run that creates the Braves’ first score!]

Everyone stood up and cheered as they had for the home run the day before, and the pitcher unknowingly leaned his upper body forward. A sudden gasp choked him, and after panting for a long time, the pitcher suddenly turned his head.

Lee Jung-woo, who was just passing third base. He caught the pitcher’s eye, and goosebumps rose on the back of the pitcher, who stared blankly at him. Because he was so indifferent.

‘One home run. It’s not enough yet. I’ll score at least one more.’

As if he had more to do. As if he couldn’t even be satisfied with this. That expression remained even after he returned to home plate. And that appearance tightened the pitcher once again.

####

The Phillies’ starting pitcher, who had been relatively successful in holding them back, began to falter little by little after the home run. He faced the Braves’ lineup with a much more anxious look than before, and as he allowed several hits in the process, he seemed noticeably agitated.

All the spectators, commentators, and viewers could see it. That he was scared. Very strongly. The subject of that fear was so clear that it wasn’t worth mentioning.

In the end, the pitcher couldn’t finish the 5th inning, leaving one inherited runner after 4.2 innings, and from his face, which seemed excessively tired compared to the number of pitches, it was clear that his mind was quite complicated.

It was the starting pitcher who went down like that, but the footprints he left behind still remained. Not the score on the scoreboard, or the hits and home runs allowed, but footprints in a slightly abstract sense.

‘He cut it off right before my turn. I wish I could have faced him one more time.’

Lee Jung-woo, who was slightly disappointed by the starting pitcher being replaced before his third at-bat, looked at the newly 올라온 [risen up, meaning newly entered] relief pitcher, but even though their eyes met, the pitcher avoided his gaze.

Emotions are easily contagious. Among them, the contagiousness of fear is much more severe than that of 감동 [emotional moving] or joy. Especially in a narrow and closed environment like a stadium, the same team, it is even easier to prevail.

That’s what it was now. It was contagious. The feeling that the starting pitcher had felt towards Lee Jung-woo. To the Phillies’ other pitchers.

‘He’s probably going to walk me no matter what… Just don’t do an automatic intentional walk.’

Fear that has exceeded its limits is not so beneficial. Because you can give up altogether.

He had only hit one home run, but if he was intentionally walked here, it would be unfair to him, so he desperately looked at the Phillies’ bench. He desperately hoped for the faces of the manager and coaches who seemed to be deliberating.

Whether they intentionally walk him or pretend not to, please throw a few balls. And that prayer worked properly.

Still, perhaps the fear wasn’t so severe yet, there was no intentional walk. Lee Jung-woo, who was able to enter the batter’s box quietly, forcibly restrained the corners of his mouth from rising.

‘Well, even if they’re going 막나간다고 [to the extreme], I’m challenging the first record in history, so they have to be aware of public opinion.’

Thankful that he was even allowed to enter the batter’s box, Lee Jung-woo calmly took his stance and nodded as if understanding the first pitch that was openly off the plate. He had even considered an intentional walk, so this much was 감지덕지 [grateful for even this much].

‘Good, I can see the ball well. Now all that’s left is to bring the ball closer. If that’s difficult, force it even if I have to.’

A moment that required acting. Lee Jung-woo’s appearance, who had let the second ball pass, was similar to the previous at-bat, and the fact that he swung at the third ball was also similar, but the result was slightly different.

It was the same foul, but unlike the second at-bat, which was a large foul, the audience swallowed hard at the weakly hit ball that flew sideways.

“Was it a mis-hit?”

“Didn’t he cut it?”

“Because they keep taking it away, Lee is putting his hands on strange balls! Compete properly!”

The audience, who connected even this to the Phillies’ 야비함 [meanness] and booed, but the catcher snorted as if it were impossible.

“Don’t 쇼 [show, meaning act], I know what you’re thinking. Just quietly take a walk and get out.”

Lee Jung-woo, who remained silent at the words full of 코웃음 [scornful laughter], raised his concentration, and as he calmly watched the 4th ball, a count of one strike and three balls was created.

Now, with only one ball left until a walk, the 욕지거리 [abusive language] around him became even more severe, and this time, Lee Jung-woo did not stop it, so the sound gradually grew louder.

Nevertheless, it was the catcher who induced the ball without paying attention. The pitcher also threw the ball with sweaty hands, but again, it was a cut. The foul ball that bounced next to home plate 맞춘 [hit] the railing of the dugout before rolling on the ground.

‘Full count. I’ve created the situation for now. The opponent’s thoughts haven’t changed either. As long as the Phillies’ bench doesn’t decide on an automatic intentional walk right now.’

Since an automatic intentional walk is possible at any moment, as long as the manager’s intention is clear, Lee Jung-woo desperately hoped that they wouldn’t do that and raised his concentration as much as possible.

The batting sense from the excellent condition properly 올라왔다 [rose up] thanks to the home run and several fouls in the previous at-bat, and the 선구 [eye for the ball] that he watched well, and when that was combined with concentration, the synergy effect was great.

“Foul!”

“Foul!”

“Foul!”

As the cuts continued, and the cuts that he barely managed to make by following the increasingly distant ball to the end, the audience momentarily stopped even 욕설 [cursing] at the Phillies at the 처절함 [desperate situation].

“I’ll let you walk out, so just get out!”

The catcher, who was annoyed, reacted sensitively and shouted, but Lee Jung-woo, who still remained 무언 [silent], only stared at the pitcher, and again the ball flew, but this time it was a foul again.

“Time!”

Perhaps to suppress that momentum, the catcher hurriedly requested a time and ran to the mound, and the pitching coach followed. The pitcher, with sweat 송골송골 [beading] on his forehead, breathed heavily and had a serious conversation with them. And Lee Jung-woo captured that appearance clearly.

‘Walking seems easy at first glance because you just have to throw the ball lightly, but it’s harder than you think from the pitcher’s point of view. Because the act of throwing the ball itself consumes stamina.’

In that situation, if it’s an away game, and tens of thousands of spectators are staring at him and 욕설 [cursing], the pressure that gives him weighs down on the pitcher with an indescribable weight.

The fear that he might get hit if he makes even a slight mistake would have been added, so the pitcher would feel as if his whole body was wrapped in lead.

‘The more nervous the pitcher is, the higher the probability.’

Whether they had finished talking, the pitching coach and catcher went down from the mound, and that was the last gateway for Lee Jung-woo. Even if he grasped the pitcher’s 심리 [psychology], he doesn’t know what choice it will lead to.

Even though he had already consumed the number of pitches and made a full count, the Phillies, who had grasped the danger, could 냉큼 [quickly] send him to first base.

So Lee Jung-woo waited with a slightly 달관한 [detached] expression. Because the choice had already left his hands. A brief wait. The catcher, who returned and sat quietly on home plate, and the pitcher who took his stance. There was nothing else.

‘It’s done.’

That was enough. Just once, just one ball. It’s a situation where only that much is allowed, but Lee Jung-woo gratefully accepted it because that itself is already an opportunity.

And again, in play. The pitch clock was gradually falling, and the rustling sound of the catcher adjusting his posture 파고든다 [dug] into his ear. He couldn’t see it because it was behind him, but he felt roughly where it was.

He’s not standing up, but he’s sitting very far away. Very far away from the basic position. So that it’s no different from an intentional walk.

Perhaps because of his 예민하게 [sensitively] honed senses, he felt every single one of those trivial things. But all his nerves were directed only at the pitcher. At the ball he would throw, at the fingertips that would throw that ball.

The situation has already been created. He did everything he could. So now all that’s left is to 가다듬는 [refine] his body and mind like a devout pilgrim.

Sidearm. The pitcher took his pitching form, and the pitcher 크게 와인드업 [wind up] as if openly ignoring the runner who had already been erased from everyone’s minds. He seemed to be throwing very hard on the subject of openly 거르는 [walking], but the pitcher was pouring his attention into this one ball, the one that should be a ball.

But if that excessive concentration is combined with heavy pressure, the burden of a prolonged 승부 [match], 전염된 [infected] fear, and sweaty hands, then sometimes.

“Ah…”

It also gives birth to a 실투 [mistake pitch].

The pitcher, who had a sense of something wrong that he could immediately know from the moment it left his hand, was struck. The pitcher, who had thoughts that he would never have had normally, such as flying over the heads of the catcher and the umpire like a normal 폭투 [wild pitch], but 무릇 [indeed] 실투 [mistake pitch].

“Hup-”

It’s a 실투 [mistake pitch] because it acts contrary to the expectations or purposes of the pitcher, catcher, and bench.

The ball went close to the normally formed strike zone instead of going into the catcher’s glove, which was openly 치우쳐진 [biased], or soaring high, and of course, Lee Jung-woo, who had already 올라온 [raised] all his senses, never missed that opportunity.

[He hit itaaaaaaaaaaaa!]!

The 구장 [stadium] caster’s 악다구니 [shout] close to a scream 울렸다 [echoed] Truist Park. To celebrate the 49th home run of the season that will be remembered for a long time. And to announce that there is only one left now.