Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 35

March 3rd.

The Grapefruit League, which many people had been eagerly anticipating, was finally underway. [The Grapefruit League is a set of spring training games played in Florida by Major League Baseball teams.]

It was a showcase to demonstrate the players’ improvements over the winter, a chance to show the fans what they’d been working on.

Mason Looper, the Braves’ free agent acquisition, started things off with his pitching.

He was the biggest name in the offseason transfer market.

And he proved that the massive $85 million, 3-year contract was justified.

He delivered exactly what the fans had hoped for.

Lee Jung-woo, as he had predicted, sat on the bench.

Watching with narrowed eyes.

‘He’s good, really good. He’s toying with the hitters so easily.’

The pitching of a pitcher in his prime was as effortless as flowing water.

He only needed to throw five pitches.

To get two hitters out.

‘And he’s not even at full power. He definitely hasn’t warmed up yet.’

His fastball averages 94 mph, and the max is 98.

But right now, it’s only 89-91.

Clearly, he hasn’t fully ramped up his performance, yet he’s still…

…inducing swings and misses for strikeouts or getting weak ground balls.

Watching Mason Looper easily handle the opposing lineup.

Lee Jung-woo moistened his dry lips.

‘It’ll be different in the batter’s box. His deception is good, and his velocity is excellent, too. Tsk. I should have tried to get a read on him somehow… I was too cautious.’

There wasn’t really any opportunity, and Mason Looper was so reserved that he didn’t easily engage in conversation.

Lee Jung-woo, who regretted not facing him because he was too focused on competing against other pitchers, chuckled to himself.

‘I’ve really become a hitter now.’

Instead of wanting to face him as a pitcher against a pitcher.

He wanted to stand in the batter’s box against him.

It seemed like his mindset had completely shifted.

As he chuckled, a soft exclamation of admiration came from the seat next to him.

“Wow, he’s really something… He’s totally playing with the hitters. Is that what you have to do to get paid 80 million dollars?”

I helped him out because he looked like he was struggling.

I felt sorry for him, and he became quite friendly, maybe because he was grateful.

Desmond, who had even taken the seat next to him, exclaimed in admiration as he watched Mason finish the inning by striking out the opposing team’s fifth batter with three changeups.

Lee Jung-woo glanced at him and said quietly as he watched the game again.

“The team isn’t running a charity. He’s worth that much money.”

“Hmm. That’s right. I’m also worth getting 3 million dollars.”

Lee Jung-woo glared at Desmond, who was subtly bragging, and then focused on the game again.

Since the game was a pitching duel, both teams quickly ended their innings.

‘Thanks to the high-level pitching, it’s a little less boring. It’s a feast for the eyes.’

Lee Jung-woo, watching the game as if he were sitting in first class, moistened his dry lips as he watched starting pitcher Mason Looper put on a full-power performance and come down after brilliantly finishing his last inning.

‘I want to play right now. Are they going to make a substitution?’

Sitting in the dugout bench, a special seat with a very vivid sense of the field, was enjoyable, but…

It wasn’t as good as playing himself, so he was itching to get out there.

He turned his head to look at the manager and sent him a burning gaze.

As if to scratch his itch, the opportunity came sooner than he thought.

####

The Braves scored first in the 4th inning.

Making the score 2-0.

The 0-0 tie was quickly broken, but nothing happened after that.

The pitching duel continued.

It goes without saying that the Braves boast one of the best bullpens in the league. [A bullpen is a team’s relief pitchers.]

The problem was that the Blue Jays also had an excellent pitching staff.

Both teams made changes by substituting some hitters.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work, and the game continued to be uneventful for the spectators.

And like walking on thin ice for those playing and managing the game.

When it reached the 7th inning.

The manager thought he needed to make another change.

‘Toronto isn’t easily broken through. I’d like to increase the lead if possible… Should I send in a pinch hitter?’

He quickly scanned the players on the bench, and several faces caught his eye.

They were all exuding a desperate and fervent desire.

As if they were begging him to send them out right away.

Among them, one player caught the manager’s eye.

‘Lee is said to be strong against curveballs. And the opposing pitcher has a sharp curve. Should I test him out?’

The manager thought for a moment and called Colson, the hitting coach, to ask for his opinion.

“I’m thinking of sending Lee in as a pinch hitter. What do you think?”

“I think it’s a good idea. The opponent is a right-handed pitcher, and Lee is good at picking out curves. And he seems to be in good form since he played in the winter league. If he does well, it might work. Even if the result is bad, it will be a good experience.”

The hitting coach gave a positive response, and the manager seemed to have made up his mind completely.

Without looking back, he made a decision.

“Then let’s have him replace the designated hitter in the next at-bat.”

The manager, focusing solely on Lee’s hitting, chose the timing to replace him as the designated hitter and relayed his decision to the hitting coach.

Colson, the hitting coach, nodded briefly and approached Lee Jung-woo to tell him.

“Lee, you’re going in as a pinch hitter in the next at-bat, so get ready in advance.”

“Yes? Yes!”

Lee Jung-woo jumped up upon hearing the news.

Even though he had shown promise in mini-games and internal evaluation matches against the team’s pitchers.

There were many players with more experience in higher leagues than him.

And the manager was mainly substituting those players, so he wasn’t expecting much from this game.

But an unexpected opportunity arose.

“Should I have been playing mini-games with the pitchers too….”

Desmond muttered to Lee Jung-woo with envious eyes as he got up and prepared to go to the plate.

But Lee Jung-woo didn’t respond.

He didn’t have time for that.

He was too busy trying to calm his racing heart from the unexpected opportunity.

‘Will Jones. Right-handed pitcher who throws a two-seam fastball and a curveball. His velocity is around 92 mph. His control seems to be a bit off to the outside, but it’s not really a weakness.’

In the case of the pitcher.

This is his second inning.

Lee Jung-woo, recalling the information he had gathered from watching him in the previous 6th inning, felt a nervous flutter.

Various gazes were directed at him, and some people were even hoping for him to fail.

“Internal evaluation matches aren’t official games. Everyone’s just taking it easy. If he sees a real major league pitch, he’ll be so surprised that he’ll sit down.”

“It’s a good thing if he doesn’t close his eyes and swing wildly and hit into a double play.”

Of course, it goes without saying.

Lee Jung-woo had no intention of listening to such negativity.

‘I can do it. I’ll test the waters with the two-seamer. If that doesn’t work, I’ll only target the curveball.’

As he steeled his resolve.

Derek, the lead-off hitter, managed a short single and reached first base.

Following him, Shane, the 6th hitter who was scheduled to be replaced by Lee Jung-woo, stepped up to the plate.

Finally, Colson, the hitting coach, approached Lee Jung-woo, who had already put on his helmet, and encouraged him.

“Don’t be nervous. Just relax.”

“I’ll be back at the dugout, so wait for me.”

####

McClory prided himself on being the Braves’ biggest fan.

He even flew to Florida to watch the exhibition games in person.

He and his friend, who had come with him, took a front-row seat with a clear view of the field, but he looked a little displeased.

“That Robson is really untouchable. I don’t know what Pratt was doing during the winter, not getting rid of Robson.”

Darren Robson, who had been substituted earlier, made him uncomfortable.

In this game, he finished his defense without any particular errors.

He was quietly replaced, but McClory still didn’t like the fact that he, who had caused him so much frustration over the past seasons as much as Ray Garza, was still associated with the great team called the Braves.

That made a hot anger surge from the depths of his heart.

He nervously drank his drink and crushed the can with trembling hands.

“I wish I could just do that to that bastard like this can…”

“Calm down. I feel the same way as you, but we sent that Ray bastard to Washington, right? Well, we’re still paying some of his salary, but that’s enough.”

McClory was exuding such a violent energy that the people around him were shaking.

His longtime friend and fellow Braves supporter, Sanders, shrugged and calmed him down.

He is also a fan of the Braves.

Of course, he hates Darren Robson, but he was very happy that Ray Garza had left forever and was no longer in front of him.

As he calmed down a little.

Sanders fired the final shot.

“And we brought in a good starting pitcher, too, Mason Looper. Looking at him today, he’s going to do as well as he did last year.”

Mason Looper.

An ace-level pitcher who appeared in a situation where the starting pitchers were weak.

Any Braves fan would welcome him.

Sanders mentioned him, who had shown a perfect performance in today’s game, and McClory’s face completely relaxed.

“Well, Mason is doing as well as expected.”

Sanders, who easily manipulated his excited friend, turned his attention back to the game, where the batter was struck out and the offense and defense were switched.

The opposing team’s infielders and pitchers came up one by one. When they took their positions.

The Braves’ pride and heart, Derek Hunt, slowly went up to the plate.

McClory, who saw that, got excited again and shouted.

“Hey, Captain! Captain! Knock it out of the park! Make the pitcher’s balls shrink!”

“Oh, man. This isn’t Truist Park [The home stadium of the Atlanta Braves], so be quiet.”

“Captain!”

Sanders, who didn’t even pretend to listen to his friend, sighed and then seemed to be filled with fan spirit.

He clapped and cheered for Derek, and as if that was conveyed.

Derek lightly pushed the pitcher’s ball and went on base.

McClory, who saw that, let out a huge cheer.

He praised Derek in a boisterous manner, but his train of thought quickly shifted.

He cursed Darren again.

“He’s doing so well, but if a guy like Darren is hanging around when he’s defending, how annoying would that be for the captain?”

“Think positively. We have Lee, right? If he grows up well, we won’t have to see Darren forever.”

Sanders, who then made a proud expression, made McClory tilt his head.

He couldn’t understand his friend’s words. ‘He’s going to replace Darren next year.’

And Lee? Was there such a guy? I think I saw him on the spring training list.

McClory looked at Sanders questioningly, suppressing his excitement at the unfamiliar name.

Sanders shook his head as if he was going to stop talking.

He was startled and reached out to point to one place.

McClory’s gaze followed his finger.

At the end of it, an Asian man was showing off his impressive physique.

He was coming up to the plate.

“That guy? I’ve seen him somewhere… Ah! Isn’t that the pitcher they brought from Korea a few years ago? But why is he going up as a pinch hitter?”

“He switched to being a hitter. I’m confident that you’ll be so surprised that your jaw will drop when you see him. He’s also great at defense, and his hitting is amazing.”

Sanders last summer.

I was browsing the Braves fan community and first learned about Lee.

A video was uploaded showing a promising player in the farm making a great defensive play. [A farm team is a minor league team affiliated with a major league team.]

After seeing him barehand catch a ball with a big bounce in the air.

From the moment he sent an accurate throw to first base, his name was etched in his memory.

So I kept an eye on him.

I even looked for highlights from the Australian professional baseball league, which I had never even seen before.

Watching his growth process.

He thought that one day Lee would lead the Braves to glory.

“Remember well. In a little while, he’ll be our Braves-”

As if boasting about his son.

Sanders was about to tell his friend about it, but he couldn’t finish his words.

This promising player responded to his expectations much faster than he thought.

“He’ll be the core of the Braves! Lee!”

“It’s going over!”