Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 36

Towering high, the batted ball soared into the air.

Lee Jungwoo paused, watching its trajectory.

“Hey, rookie. You not going? What’s wrong? Want me to plant one in your head?”

“Ah, sorry.”

Only then, jolted back to reality by the pitcher’s fierce glare and the catcher’s grumbling, did Lee Jungwoo start his stroll.

A leisurely walk around the bases.

A roar, akin to a Pterodactyl’s screech, erupted.

Turning his head, he saw a group of men, resembling Vikings with their bushy beards and massive frames, decked out in Braves uniforms, cheering louder than any megaphone.

‘They’re wearing Braves uniforms.’

Since they were in uniform, they seemed to be team supporters.

Lee Jungwoo offered a wave as a gesture of fan service, walking down a red carpet laid out just for him.

Slowly, he returned to reality.

“Walking it in, so the old man doesn’t have to work too hard. Well done.”

Derek, who had already touched home plate, greeted him with a compliment, albeit one that called him old.

Lee Jungwoo shook his head.

This home run was largely thanks to Derek.

“If it weren’t for Derek, I would’ve struck out.”

Even though he didn’t steal a base.

Derek kept increasing his lead.

His gestures, making it seem like he would run, unsettled the pitcher.

That’s why the showdown went all the way to the sixth pitch. Otherwise, he might have struck out.

The two-seamer was sharper than he’d anticipated.

“Well, I’m the captain. Gotta do at least that much. Good job.”

He offered his thanks, feeling grateful.

Derek chuckled and lightly tapped his helmet.

That was the signal.

Several players rushed over to greet him.

Since it was just a spring training game, not a league match.

They lightly (sort of) pummeled him, celebrating the home run.

“What are you, a golfer? Scooping it up like that?”

“Look at the pitcher’s face. How pissed do you think he is, getting a home run hit off that? You bastard!”

“Nice one.”

Leaving Desmond, who was making a fuss as if he had hit the home run himself, behind.

Lee Jungwoo looked at the hitting coach.

As if boasting that he had kept his word.

The hitting coach, meeting his gaze, simply clapped briefly in response.

####

The Braves fan community was ablaze.

Mason Roper, acquired at great expense, had sparked the flame with his strong performance.

The prolonged, tedious pitcher’s duel nearly extinguished it.

But then, a young Asian prospect came up in the bottom of the 7th and blasted a bizarre, towering home run.

Adding fuel to the fire.

[Jungwoo Lee. ‘CRAZY’ Home Run]

[Seriously insane. Unbelievable. He just scoops up a ball practically buried in the dirt with pure power. Is he even human?]

[ㄴThat’s what a hitter should be! Not that timid, peeking stuff. Just swinging for the fences!]

[ㄴHis natural power is incredible. And he knows how to use it. If they develop him well, he could hit 30 home runs.]

[ㄴIf they put him next to Joey later, they’ll be crushing opposing pitchers all day long.]

After the game.

When a short, edited video was uploaded, fans were drooling.

It was already great that their team’s prospect had simply hit a home run.

But the nature of the home run was incredibly captivating.

[ㄴBut with that swing, his strike zone is going to be huge. Is that okay? Judging by how he hits, he doesn’t care about the zone. He’s a bad-ball hitter.]

[ㄴThere are plenty of bad-ball hitters these days, but it’s been a while since we’ve seen a drive shot like that since Guerrero.]

[ㄴGuerrero wasn’t a bad-ball hitter, was he? Wait, are you talking about…]

[ㄴSir, are you perhaps referring to Guerrero Senior…?]

[ㄴHow old are you, sir…?]

Just blatantly scooping up a ball that was practically buried in the dirt, sending it over the fence. The perfect drive shot, worthy of a golf textbook, had a mesmerizing charm.

And it reminded some people of heroes from the past.

From a long, long time ago.

Just one at-bat. Only four swings.

But its impact was greater than expected.

Fans, curious about the results of the winter, were watching the spring training games closely, and he showed them his personality from the very first game.

Perhaps it was only natural.

[Noobs are getting excited. You didn’t know Lee until now?]

[Forget everything else. Just go watch Lee’s ABL (Australian Baseball League) highlights. Then you’ll get a sense of what kind of guy he is.]

[LOL~ It feels like just yesterday I was smashing my monitor because the $2.5 million pitching prospect’s shoulder was ruined. He switched to hitter and suddenly started hitting for the cycle. And now this.]

[Lee was always going to succeed. He’s a naturally gifted athlete. He’s finally seeing the light.]

Some fans who already knew about Lee Jungwoo ridiculed those who were just now making a fuss.

Praising their own foresight.

Some even went out and found Australian League or minor league videos and uploaded them.

As Lee Jungwoo became a hot topic, even if only for a short time.

Elsewhere, stories about him were also emerging.

####

Even during the off-season.

Reporters had plenty of work.

Not as much as during the regular season.

But there were still plenty of stories.

There were FA (free agent) signings and trades.

There was the fun of predicting which teams had picked the best foreign players.

And, decisively, there was spring training, which allowed them to predict the upcoming season.

And that was the same for overseas reporters.

After the posting conditions were eased.

Korean major leaguers consistently emerged, and their spring training results became fodder for discussion.

So, reporters were busy, and that was the case for the Major League dedicated team in the overseas department of Sports Korea, a few days before Lee Jungwoo’s spring training appearance.

“Park, check out the D-backs’ [Arizona Diamondbacks] intrasquad game and get the scoop. Hyeongseon Kwak’s performance should be covered with a nice, shiny ribbon. Make it pretty, got it?”

“‘The season is promising, a great start, the first step of the challenge, Kwak, he’s a good pitcher.’ Like that, right?”

“You know it well. Make it neat, clean, and stylish.”

“Yes, yes, I’ll package it up perfectly and upload it. Don’t worry.”

They were busy.

Two players had transferred from the Korean professional baseball league through posting this year.

Two years ago, when the system was revised, players flooded over, but they all failed.

The bubble around Koreans in Major League Baseball had burst, so the number of transfers wasn’t high.

But the popularity of Major League Baseball, which had ignited at that time, hadn’t died down yet.

The attention of so-called casual fans still remained.

In that situation, if they showed disappointing performances below expectations.

The flame could be extinguished.

And that wouldn’t be good for them either.

So, Team Leader Kwon was busy giving instructions.

“Jaewon, see if there are any Korean minor leaguers who are included in the camp. If there are, try to coax them into a short interview.”

“Yes, sir.”

A new reporter approached Team Leader Kwon, who was commanding the team members with a booming voice, a little hesitantly.

As if he had something to say.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Well…”

“Don’t tell me someone’s injured? Who is it? Jaehwan Han? Seongjo Kim? Don’t tell me it’s Juigwang or Hyeongseon Kwak?”

Perhaps sensing something bad from his hesitant demeanor.

Team Leader Kwon frowned and rattled off names like a machine gun.

Even with the few Korean major leaguers they had, if someone got injured, that number would decrease even further.

And as that number decreased, so would the interest, so he wore a slightly annoyed expression.

But the new reporter said something unexpected.

“It’s not that, but I think this guy might be good.”

“Who is it?”

“Lee Jungwoo, a Single-A shortstop. He’s currently at the Atlanta Braves spring training camp.”

“Single-A? Lee Jungwoo… I think I’ve heard of him. Ah! Isn’t that the high school kid who signed with the Braves for a huge sum a while back?”

“Yes. I think it’s probably the player you’re remembering.”

Team Leader Kwon gestured for him to continue.

The new reporter calmly stated the information he knew.

Team Leader Kwon, who had been lukewarm, gradually began to listen to the story.

If handled well, this could be quite a story.

“So, he failed rehab and switched to hitter last year. And he’s doing incredibly well? This season, he’s starting at High-A at the very least, and Double-A if he does well?”

“Yes. He did well in Single-A during August and September. He changed his batting form during the off-season, and he’s been tearing it up in Australia. His classic stats are amazing, but his wRC+ [weighted Runs Created Plus, a comprehensive hitting statistic] is also monstrous. I couldn’t adjust the OPS [On-Base Plus Slugging, a baseball statistic] because there’s no park factor data for the Australian league, but it’s incredibly high. His fielding is perfect because he hasn’t made any errors, and his defensive contribution is also great. And the launch angle of his batted balls is ideal. The power is really there, so the exit velocity is-”

Team Leader Kwon, unable to hide his excitement, raised his hand to stop him and chuckled.

He wondered what he was so captivated by.

A reporter, of all people, was completely consumed by fanboyism towards a player.

“We’re working right now. Don’t use flowery language. Just tell me one thing. Will he sell well?”

“Definitely. He’s got a story, skill, and personality. It would be strange if he didn’t sell.”

A confident expression.

He was usually quiet and introverted, so this was the first time he had seen him like this, so Team Leader Kwon felt awkward but decided to give him a chance.

New recruits should be nurtured with love.

‘And anyway, I was going to interview minor leaguers.’

It wasn’t much different from the original plan.

If possible, it was better for them to give the spotlight to a player with a story.

“Okay, then let’s draw up a plan. Pass over the data you have. And give me the game footage too, if you have it.”

Team Leader Kwon said that and temporarily put Lee Jungwoo on the back burner.

A player with a story of injury, frustration, challenge, and recovery was interesting.

But he was a minor leaguer, only in Single-A, so there were more important things to do right now.

So, he quickly erased him from his mind, and it was some time later that he recalled the name Lee Jungwoo again.

####

“This is insane…”

Coming in as a pinch hitter.

The player who hit an absurd home run against a major leaguer.

He had multiple spring training broadcasts open and was skimming through them.

When he saw that scene, he shuddered as if he had been electrocuted.

Lightning struck from the top of his head, and a plausible picture was drawn.

As the saying goes, a dog in a temple for three years will recite poetry [meaning exposure to something for a long time leads to understanding].

He even had the plausible title of team leader of the scouting team.

Although he wasn’t a great expert.

There were times when he could just tell.

This was one of those times.

“This… could be pretty good?”

Various issues flashed through his lightning-struck mind.

He read the data that the new reporter had sent and checked the lightly edited highlight videos.

Then a picture was drawn.

“If we do this right, we could create a buzz.”

Team Leader Kwon’s eyes sparkled.

Much more attention-grabbing than Korean major leaguers, spring training, trades, or foreign players.

He could skillfully mix the main topics that Korean baseball fans were focused on with the player Lee Jungwoo.

####

After the game.

Lee Jungwoo, sprawled on his dorm bed, kept chuckling to himself after receiving a phone call.

“So, the fans are praising me? For hitting one home run? Even in spring training? Do you think that makes sense?”

-What doesn’t make sense about it? You don’t know it, but the atmosphere is no joke right now.

After the game.

Lee Jungwoo, who had come into the dorm and collapsed on his bed, chuckled after hearing the phone call from Mark.

No, what had he done to make the fans’ reactions so great?

He couldn’t understand it.

-You don’t know it. Atlanta fans are that sensitive about the shortstop position. The shortstop hasn’t been good for three years, no, almost five years, right? So, the shock is even greater.

“Well. I understand what you’re saying, but…”

Lee Jungwoo couldn’t believe those reactions towards him.

What had he shown them to like him so much? He hadn’t even seen his defense yet.

-If you really don’t believe me.

Why don’t you check out the fan communities? I don’t know how they found it. They’re even finding and uploading his Australian League stats and play videos.

Lee Jungwoo thought he had misjudged the Braves fans.

He thought they were just dissatisfied because the shortstop wasn’t good.

But according to Mark, it was almost like they were holding a grudge.

-Anyway, the situation is better than expected. If you show off your defensive skills properly in the spring training games. Even if you go down later, the fans will remember your name.

“Later, whenever Darren Robson or another shortstop doesn’t do well. They’ll be calling my name.”

-Exactly.

Lee Jungwoo smiled faintly.

In the end, the meaning is the same.

It means he has to do well.

To be exact, he has to do well when someone is watching.

That’s what a professional should do.

‘Still, the call-up timing might be faster than I expected.’

Major League Baseball, which had felt so far away.

Lee Jungwoo thought that it might be closer than he thought.