Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 30

Vacation ended quickly.

Fortunately, now that he was an infielder, Lee Jung-woo recovered from his fatigue faster than when he was a pitcher, thanks to the five extra days of rest. He got into the car Mark had brought.

“Don’t be intimidated when you get there. They’re all people you have to surpass anyway. Be confident, you know?”

“I know, so drive carefully. Watch the road.”

“Cheeky bastard.”

On the way to North Port.

Lee Jung-woo, enjoying the cool air conditioning and looking out the window, was deep in thought.

If Mark had given him the main quest to perform at spring camp, he would find his own sub-quests.

‘Major League spring camp has high hurdles. Very high.’

Spring camp is divided into two.

Major and Minor.

As always.

In the case of the majors, just being included means you’re a promising player the club is paying attention to.

It means you have the potential to experience the major leagues.

‘That makes it tough.’

It’s simple logic.

Since you’ve received more spotlight than you deserve, you have to prove yourself.

Your talent and skill.

If you don’t, you’ll be sent down, and if you make a bad impression.

Unless you’re traded to another team, you might have to say goodbye to the big leagues.

‘In the end, it’s a matter of time. Mark says they’ll let me play in the exhibition games, but you never know.’

Lee Jung-woo’s time experiencing the major leagues might be shorter than he could ever imagine.

He might not even get to train properly, let alone build chemistry or play in exhibition games.

‘I’ve seen many guys who didn’t even unpack their bags before being kicked out.’

There are countless cases of players being demoted from the major league camp to the minor league camp on the very first day of spring camp.

Lee Jung-woo had seen such cases firsthand.

‘Before my regression, even though my shoulder was wrecked, I still played in the exhibition games because I was a highly-paid prospect. But there’s no guarantee that will happen this time.’

Back then, he was just an observer.

But this time, he thought he might experience it directly.

Since he had regressed.

It wouldn’t be strange if variables arose.

In fact, many things had changed, hadn’t they?

This spring camp could be the same.

‘If that’s the case, I should use my time as efficiently as possible since I don’t know when I’ll be sent down.’

He needed a plan.

In addition to surviving and showcasing his defensive skills as Mark said, he had to take what he could get.

‘What can I get from spring camp? In the end, it’s experience.’

Major League camp.

There are real major leaguers.

And geniuses who are expected to be in the future.

So there will be many pitchers there who are better than him now. The same goes for hitters.

Lee Jung-woo focused on that.

Competing against high-level pitchers. That has meaning.

‘Even if I can’t compete, just watching the pitches will definitely be a great experience.’

Of course, few people have the余裕 [yoyu, leeway or capacity] to take care of other players, especially hitters who aren’t in the same position.

But Lee Jung-woo had a weapon.

‘I’m young now. Very young.’

In Korean age, he’s twenty-two.

But his birthday hasn’t passed yet.

He’s still twenty in American age.

Inside, he’s a grizzled old man.

But at least on the outside, he’s just a young kid who’s barely shed his baby fat.

That works better than you think.

‘There are very few people who would refuse a much younger junior asking for guidance.’

Although America is a country with strong individualism, the culture of seniority is strong in sports.

And that culture has a basic premise: if a junior respects a senior, the senior teaches the junior.

In other words, being young is a sufficient weapon.

‘Put aside my pride for a while. And learn as much as possible.’

####

North Port.

CoolToday Park was bustling.

From veterans checking their form for the season.

To rookies dreaming of glory.

The players invited to camp were busy showcasing themselves in their own ways.

‘As expected, it’s near the exit.’

Lee Jung-woo, assigned a locker room and unpacking his luggage, was calm.

His locker room was right in front of the exit.

Usually, players who the club doesn’t care much about or promising players use this space.

It’s narrow and there are many people coming and going.

Veterans avoid it.

Since he had already expected it, Lee Jung-woo didn’t think much of it. Someone approached him.

“Oh, there was someone here. Nice to meet you. Lee, right? You look familiar.”

“Yes, nice to meet you, Captain.”

“It feels a bit awkward to hear a young guy call me Captain.”

A man with a kind face, unlike most athletes.

He was Lee Jung-woo’s target for this spring camp.

‘Derek Hunt. He’s the one I need to aim for.’

“Congratulations. You must have done well last year to be back? Well, you were really good back then too. Keep up the hard work. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me anytime.”

After a brief encouragement.

He patted Lee Jung-woo on the shoulder and left the locker room, leaving Lee Jung-woo with a strange expression.

‘The Captain is the Captain. To remember the position of a rookie he saw two years ago.’

He suddenly thought it was a good team. At least because they had a leader like that.

Lee Jung-woo, having a fresh thought, unpacked his luggage in the locker room.

He immediately headed to the training field.

‘The hitting coach told me to come.’

When he arrived at the stadium.

He was summoned by the hitting coach.

Wondering what was going on, Lee Jung-woo headed to the training field at a fast pace.

He had a good feeling for some reason.

####

“Ah, you came at the perfect time. I wanted to see your hitting. Would you mind? The manager kept talking about it.”

“My hitting?”

“There’s a pitcher who needs to have his live pitching checked. Why don’t you compete against him?”

His good feeling was right.

An unexpected opportunity came on the first day.

Lee Jung-woo quickly agreed and recalled Mark’s words.

He thought it was just a casual remark.

But it seemed like manager Pratt was watching him.

‘It wasn’t just lip service. He even told the coach in advance.’

“Yes, I will.”

Lee Jung-woo naturally didn’t refuse. He wanted to ask for a match himself, but the coach arranged it for him.

It made it easier for him.

As soon as he agreed.

Things progressed quickly.

While he was checking his batting in the batting cage.

The pitcher entered shortly after.

Looking at him, Lee Jung-woo recalled the information the hitting coach had briefly given him.

‘He said he’s a Double-A pitcher. Four-seam, changeup, curve. Three pitches.’

Double-A.

Two levels above him, it was the perfect level of opponent to test his skills.

‘Judging from the fact that I don’t remember him, he wasn’t a hugely successful player. But still, Double-A is different.’

Double-A is different.

Even in the minors, Double-A is a clear step above.

From here on out, they are literally future major leaguers.

‘The breaking balls are different. The fastballs are similar, but the level of the breaking balls is much higher.’

The level increases rapidly.

Many players couldn’t adapt and went back and forth.

Like AAAA-level players who go back and forth between the majors and Triple-A.

Just looking at that, you can tell it’s a tough league.

‘There were many Double-A pitchers among those who were crushed by me in the ABL [Australian Baseball League].’

He was confident.

Lee Jung-woo glanced at the coaches watching him and pressed down on his helmet.

‘He told me to show my defensive skills, but since I’m not ready for defensive training yet. Let’s show them my hitting first.’

As he stepped into the batter’s box.

The pitcher on the mound looked at him with a bothered expression.

He looked like he was in a bad mood.

‘Did they match me up with a player two levels below?’ Lee Jung-woo guessed that he was probably thinking something like that.

He felt a little bad.

‘His emotions are showing too much on his face. No, he doesn’t even seem to be trying to hide them.’

The pitcher, who had been limply stretching, looked at Lee Jung-woo and smirked before winding up.

His face was full of confidence.

And so was his pitch.

A four-seam fastball that came right down the middle of the zone, as if saying, ‘Hit it if you can.’

Lee Jung-woo narrowed his brow.

‘I don’t know your skills. If you’ve been invited to Major League spring camp, you’re probably not lacking. But…’

Crack-!

The swing, which connected everything naturally, hit the ball with a destructive sound.

“Huh?”

The pitcher, who had stupidly exclaimed as the lightning-like swing sent the ball flying far away, tilted his head.

He had a blank look on his face.

The well-hit ball stretched out and crashed into the batting cage fence before rolling several more times before falling.

‘His head isn’t screwed on right.’

At the very least, if he was going to compete.

He should have known that he had some skill, but he pitched carelessly just because he was a hitter from a lower league.

That wasn’t a good attitude as a pitcher.

‘I just need to get what I can get. The other person’s feelings don’t matter much.’

The match continued after that.

The result was the same as the first at-bat.

The pitcher was brutally beaten.

He seemed to have lost his mind at the overwhelming result.

Lee Jung-woo, retrieving his bat, thought as he watched him.

He didn’t just throw it carelessly, but after hitting a ball that he had put his full effort into.

He was confident in his skills.

‘He was better than Double-A.’

Previously, Lee Jung-woo thought he was a Double-A level hitter.

Even though he had done well against similar pitchers in the ABL.

Maybe they weren’t at full strength either.

He thought he was about that level.

It seemed like he had underestimated himself.

‘I thought it would take at least two years to be called up to the big leagues…’

Only after confirming his true skills.

He began to get greedy.

Maybe. Just maybe.

The thought that the big leagues might be closer than he thought crept into Lee Jung-woo’s mind.

####

The coaches who watched the match shook their heads in disbelief.

“That’s Lee, right? The pitcher we saw two years ago. He’s a completely different person….”

The pitching coach, who had watched the match to check his physical condition, let out a hollow laugh.

Jung-woo Lee. He remembered him as an impressive player.

A pitcher who showed great promise at the spring camp two years ago.

Such a pitcher had suddenly become a monstrous slugger.

He couldn’t believe the situation, but the other coaches felt the same way.

“Manager Pratt kept singing Lee’s praises, so I wanted to see how great he was, but he’s beyond my imagination.”

“They said that friend is in Single-A, right? He was a pitcher until last summer.”

“Yes.”

“Huh… I don’t know if I should believe this.”

He was just going to take a look at his swing because of Manager Pratt’s fuss.

It was absurd.

The hitting, which boasted overwhelming destructive power, was at least the best among the rookies.

“Tsk. If it was the American League. We could have used him as a designated hitter? It’s a bit of a shame. Since he was a pitcher, it’ll be hard to use him right away because he can’t play defense..”

“No, he can play defense a bit.”

“How do you know?”

The hitting coach was clicking his tongue as if he was disappointed.

But he tilted his head at what the head coach said next.

It was already miraculous enough to be able to hit that well in about half a year.

He’s good at defense too?

He thought it didn’t make sense, but he soon withdrew his thoughts at the head coach’s words.

“He’s a shortstop.”

“A shortstop? The shortstop I know? The center line?”

Shortstop.

You can never do it if you don’t have a talent for defense.

Except for pitchers and catchers in baseball, it requires the most innate talent.

But the fact that he’s a shortstop.

It meant that he had at least a glimmer of potential.

“He played as a shortstop in a few games even in Single-A. And he played full-time in Australia. No errors either.”

“Huh… Why did that friend pitch? If he had been a hitter from the start. He would have been here already.”

“I think the same way.”

Lee Jung-woo, who had finished the match with an overwhelming victory and came out of the cage, approached the coaches who were chattering like that.

“Ah, good job, Lee. Your skills are amazing. Are you going to be on the roster right away?”

The hitting coach joked, but Lee Jung-woo calmly conveyed what he wanted.

“Coach, can I compete against other pitchers?”

“Huh?”

“I would really appreciate it.”

‘Originally, I was going to go to each pitcher and ask them individually. But since the coach arranged the match first. It’s better to just ask him. It’s easier, and since he arranged it himself, the hitting coach will focus more on the match.’

Lee Jung-woo bowed his head deeply.

For the sake of growth, he can bow his head as many times as necessary.

And he was confident in his actions.

There is no coach who would refuse a talented young player who asks this much.

At least they’ll pretend to do it.

Lee Jung-woo made the most of what he had.

‘I can’t let this spring camp go to waste like before my regression.’