Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 3

Pitcher Done, Batter Up – Part 2 (3/287)

Jungwoo Lee had become noticeably more mature.

That was the sentiment among the team staff regarding Lee.

Lee, a promising player whom the club had been watching—and still was, though not as closely as before—had always been quiet and diligent. But lately, he exuded an inexplicably mature aura.

This was somewhat concerning. It was as if he was preparing to wrap things up.

Packing his belongings in the team dorm. Casually surveying the stadium with a blank expression. Thanking his teammates and coaches.

He seemed like someone contemplating the end.

‘He must be deeply disheartened. To be hammered in a place where he used to dominate so easily.’

Although the hitting coach wasn’t well-versed in pitching, he understood Lee’s feelings.

If he were in Lee’s shoes, he probably wouldn’t be able to bear it.

Perhaps he might even quit baseball out of a sense of loss?

Everyone was worried about him. Even the higher-ups seemed anxious.

A promising player they had invested $2.5 million in.

A so-called bonus baby. If he ended up like this, it would be the general manager’s blunder.

Perhaps that was why scouts had been frequently visiting recently.

‘The scouts’ expressions weren’t good. There’s a difference between seeing it on paper and witnessing it firsthand.’

Given the situation, the pitching coach was on pins and needles.

He hovered around Lee, offering encouragement.

“Lee, is everything alright?”

“Yes.”

“Everyone goes through growing pains. It’s still your first season, so we need to give it more time. Understand?”

Lee nodded, but the hitting coach was certain.

That Lee understood nothing.

He seemed almost resigned.

His eyes no longer reflected any passion for baseball.

‘It would be a waste to let him go like this. Even if his pitching talent isn’t there, he definitely has potential as a hitter.’

The hitting coach narrowed his eyes slightly as he thought about it.

There was a glimmer of hope.

Though it wasn’t the path he desired, there was another path—the possibility of him becoming a hitter.

It stemmed from something that had happened in the past.

####

“Lee, what are you doing?”

The hitting coach entered the batting practice facility late at night, his head tilted in curiosity.

There was Lee, the highly touted prospect the team was watching.

He had even set up the pitching machine.

The coach was excited, wondering if Lee was considering switching to being a hitter.

‘He has great physique and athletic ability. If we refine him, he could definitely become a good hitter. Yes, Lee is finally discovering the true joy of baseball—’

As he indulged in his fantasies, puffing out his chest,

Lee waved his hand as if to say that wasn’t the case.

“I just wanted to clear my head for a bit.”

“Clear your head?”

‘Ah, right. It happens sometimes. Pitchers relieving stress by batting.’

Bashing batting balls can be cathartic.

So, since some pitchers occasionally relieve their stress by batting, the hitting coach dismissed his inflated expectations.

It was better to relieve stress that way.

Than resorting to alcohol, cigarettes, or even drugs.

‘He said he bought an expensive one, so he shouldn’t get hurt by the pitching machine. The safety equipment is properly installed, and he’s wearing gloves.’

The hitting coach, remembering the price because the manager had boasted about it, trusted the pitching machine. He also trusted the safety equipment that the team staff had meticulously installed in the batting practice facility, as well as the thick batting gloves.

In fact, after the pitching machine was replaced, accidents like balls flying in unexpected directions or injuries during practice batting had completely disappeared.

So, it wouldn’t harm the promising prospect.

With his worries and expectations subsiding, curiosity arose.

‘Is he going to do some hitting too? His body balance is fantastic.’

Just looking at his physique, it seemed like he could excel at anything, not just baseball.

His core balance was well-established, and his build was decent and flexible, even among pitchers.

So, he was somewhat expectant.

“Lee, have you ever hit before?”

“I’ve stood at the plate in Korea. I was a long-ball hitter, though.”

“Yeah, just looking at your build, you’d be able to hit it far. What’s your bat speed?”

“85 mph.”

The coach nodded at the low speed and stood behind Lee, watching as if to observe for a moment. Lee, with his usual stoic expression, gripped the bat and stepped into a somewhat unexpected spot.

‘The left-handed batting box? Isn’t Lee right-handed? He’s holding the bat wrong too.’

He wondered if Lee was making a mistake since it had been a while since he last hit. So, he lightly pointed it out.

“Lee, you’re in the wrong box. That’s the left-handed batting box. And you’re holding the bat the wrong way.”

“I’m originally a left-handed hitter. My baseball coach in middle school taught me to bat on the opposite side because I was a pitcher and shouldn’t injure my throwing arm.”

It was a common occurrence—pitching and hitting with different hands.

Well, pitchers usually used the same hand for both, but there were many who didn’t, so the hitting coach accepted it.

“Ah… good coach. Go ahead and give it a try.”

Lee nodded and readjusted his stance.

He looked surprisingly decent.

There were some clumsy aspects, but it wasn’t bad if you considered him a high school player.

After Lee took his stance and pressed the button, the pitching machine started.

Despite being an expensive machine, the ball that came out was still inferior compared to a real pitcher.

The monumental first swing, as if proving his claim of being a long-ball hitter,

was a clean miss, with a strong gust of wind felt all the way to the back.

The hitting coach chuckled.

‘Yeah, if he was good at hitting too, that would be a complete scam.’

Seeing the flaws in the otherwise perfect guy made him feel better.

So, he made a little joke.

“Impressive! It’s not easy to miss that badly. Have you not hit since high school?”

Lee still had a stoic expression despite the teasing,

but the hitting coach noticed that he was slightly embarrassed.

You could tell by the way his eyes were wavering.

He smiled faintly again and habitually scanned Lee’s batting stance.

It was a kind of occupational hazard.

Unless requested, he wouldn’t directly correct it,

but he still needed to know the flaws.

‘Closed stance. Awkward weight transfer. Pulling and uppercutting full swing is a mess. He must have been a strikeout machine.’

He had been paying attention just in case,

but the disappointing batting made the hitting coach watch with a more relaxed expression.

It was obvious. His claim of being a long-ball hitter was probably accurate.

Since he was a top-tier pitcher even in high school, they probably didn’t focus on his hitting and just used him like that. It was good if he made contact and got on base, but it didn’t matter if he struck out.

So, his stance must have been fixed like that.

‘Still, he seems to have some power.’

The unusual stance.

He wanted to see the real power.

With that stance, the batted ball should have some force.

Then, as if to prove it, Lee made solid contact with the ball.

Thwack—

‘Oh—not bad?’

Whether he had a change of heart or not, the next hit was quite powerful.

The ball, with proper force behind it, shot out.

Although the direction was close to foul and not very good, it wasn’t bad.

‘Just looking at the power, it’s stronger than Kal or Gibson.’

Sticking out his tongue at the power comparable to the cleanup hitters of the Rome Braves, he watched the batting seriously again, and as if to repay his expectations, Jungwoo alternated between swinging and missing and hitting long balls.

Among them were some surprisingly powerful hits.

‘Once he connects, it goes over. But he doesn’t connect often.’

The hitting coach clicked his tongue.

Lee’s hitting was technically terrible,

but thanks to his stance and natural physique, his power was exceptional. The well-hit balls were of good quality.

‘This… even if it’s not as good as his pitching, he might have talent as a hitter too?’

A faint expectation. But he soon shook his head.

‘If we refine him, he could become a decent slugger… but unless the team is crazy, they wouldn’t switch him to being a hitter.’

He hadn’t seen much, but it was enough to know.

Jungwoo Lee was simply a born pitcher.

He was a monster in his own right, with a devastating two-seam fastball that made opposing batters’ legs tremble, along with a curveball and changeup as his breaking pitches.

The team would probably promote him to Double-A soon.

‘That guy just needs to focus on pitching. If he gets a feel for it, it wouldn’t be strange for him to be promoted right away. If he adds another breaking ball, it wouldn’t be strange for him to enter the starting rotation in the big leagues.’

So, the hitting coach dismissed the unnecessary thoughts and forgot about the batting as just a one-time incident.

But after some time, when faced with an unexpected situation,

that memory resurfaced.

####

Lee slowly warmed up.

He wouldn’t be pitching, but it was good to warm up thoroughly for training.

Especially for injured players like himself.

It didn’t really matter now, though.

After being a habit for so long, his body moved naturally.

‘Training should be done with full preparation. Well, it doesn’t matter anymore.’

As he moved his body around to warm up, someone approached him and spoke.

“Lee, are you warming up? Good form. It’s good to warm up thoroughly before exercising.”

It was Scott, the hitting coach.

A person who received good reviews from the hitters.

Lee tilted his head.

There was no reason for him to approach him.

‘What’s going on?’

“Yes, I’ve already been injured once. I have to be as careful as possible.”

“Yeah, yeah, good form. But… don’t you do any batting these days?”

“Batting?”

Strange words.

Lee tilted his head. It was honestly a bit odd for the hitting coach to come to a pitcher like him and suddenly ask if he was batting. He couldn’t even guess the reason.

“You used to do it sometimes, to clear your head.”

“Ah, I’ve been refraining from it lately. Even if I hit with my left hand, I might get hurt. My muscles might get surprised when batting.”

“Hmm, is that so? That’s a shame, it was refreshing to watch.”

“Well, I might do it someday if I get stressed.”

As he walked away, Lee’s eyes lit up.

He finally realized. The reason for the strange behavior.

Come to think of it, there was still a choice left.

It had already passed in his previous life,

but it hadn’t happened yet now.

‘Switching to a hitter. Was he testing the waters from this point?’

He would definitely receive the offer around next summer.

He would be thoroughly beaten that season as well, so the team wouldn’t be optimistic anymore.

Anyway, there was still time left, so he had been thinking of it as just a distant story,

but it seemed like they had started seriously testing the waters around now.

‘If I get the offer, what should I do this time?’

His head became a bit complicated.

####

The three people sitting at the table had different expressions.

The manager was calm, quietly listening to the conversation,

the hitting coach was serious, expressing his opinion,

and the pitching coach was red-faced, shaking his head.

“So, you’re saying we should try converting Lee to a hitter?”

“Yes. He definitely has potential. It might be better to explore that option rather than leaving him as he is.”

The pitching coach shouted at the hitting coach’s words.

It was an absolutely unacceptable suggestion.

Even if he really had potential as a hitter,

his potential as a pitcher was much greater.

“That’s absurd. He’s a born pitcher. Even if he’s only at 80% of his pre-injury form, he’s a big league starter. The team’s original expectations were Cy Young [award for the best pitcher in each league] winner level.”

The Atlanta Braves had evaluated Lee Jungwoo as a Major League Baseball draft first-round talent. Not in Korea, but in Major League Baseball.

In other words, they had evaluated him as at least an All-Star-level talent.

To suddenly switch such a player to being a hitter?

It wasn’t just because he was a pitching coach, but as a baseball person, he was absolutely against it.

‘Switching to a hitter….’

In the heated atmosphere, the manager had a calm expression,

but he was honestly a bit surprised. The higher-ups had already brought it up once.

A player they had brought in for a hefty sum of $2.5 million.

If he failed like this, it would remain the general manager’s painful mistake.

So, they had been helping with his rehabilitation with all their might at the team level,

but they had definitely considered a second option.

‘The scouting team said they evaluated him favorably. His basic physique is good, so even if it’s not as good as the expectations for him as a pitcher, there’s a possibility he could become a decent player as a hitter.’

Since the National League didn’t have the designated hitter rule,

if they were to use him as a hitter, they would have to train him in fielding as well.

That evaluation wasn’t bad either.

Just like the hitting coach was saying now.

“He’s flexible and athletic, so he fields ground balls and hard-hit balls well. According to high school records, his bunt fielding rate was also good. If we teach him well, he won’t be a liability on defense either.”

Being born with good physical attributes is advantageous in all aspects.

His movements were good, but Lee Jungwoo, who had quick reflexes and flexibility, was an excellent fielding pitcher. So, if he adapted to the position, he wouldn’t be the worst as a fielder either.

Of course, the pitching coach scoffed.

“This is really absurd. He’s a player who could become an impenetrable wall on the mound. And 20 home runs? As I said, the initial expectation was a Cy Young contender. If he regains his skills and grows sufficiently, he’ll get 15 wins even in the big leagues. It’s not even a comparison. Scott is saying we should turn a top-tier pitcher into a C-level hitter.”

This time, the hitting coach bristled.

Cy Young? 15 wins? That was before the injury.

Right now, Lee couldn’t even get through one inning.

And that was in Single-A!

Since his physique and potential were a waste,

it would be better for the player to find another path as soon as possible.

Rather than ending his baseball career like this.

“He was like that before the injury. What’s important now is the present. Let me ask you honestly, what is Lee like now? 15 wins in the big leagues? Can he even get one win here in Single-A right now? He’s given up 25 runs in 10 innings over six games. Are you really confident that his potential as a pitcher right now is higher than as a hitter?”

“He’s injured and it’s his first season back, so that’s natural. You don’t know anything about pitching. And that’s the pitching coach’s area, not something the hitting coach should be involved in.”

As the atmosphere heated up, the manager raised both hands to calm the two coaches.

“Okay, I understand your opinions. And Scott, I fully understand why you made that suggestion. The higher-ups have already talked about it. But it’s still too early.”

Hitting coach Scott shook his head.

He had originally thought so too. So, he would have given it more time.

But Lee’s current atmosphere was strange.

“Lee… might be trying to give up on baseball. Haven’t you all seen it? Lee’s recent atmosphere is unusual. It would be better for him to open up a new path as soon as possible rather than ending like this.”

The pitching coach had already noticed that as well, so he kept his mouth shut.

“It might be a bit early, but I think it’s good to make the offer. If he’s going to switch to being a hitter, it would be beneficial for the player himself to adapt from now on. It’s up to the player’s will anyway. Wouldn’t it be okay to at least make the offer?”

At Scott’s words, the manager fell into thought.

It wasn’t entirely valid, but it wasn’t wrong either.

It seemed like it wouldn’t be bad to at least understand the player’s thoughts.

‘Maybe the offer itself could be a good motivation. Even if he doesn’t want to become a hitter, he’ll work harder to stay a pitcher.’

Thinking that, the manager nodded.

“Okay… I’ll talk to the higher-ups about it.”

With that, the new path approached even faster than before.