Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 38

Patrick Young took the mound.

The right-handed pitcher, who had impressed last year as the Red Sox’s third starter with 13 wins, began his warm-up throws with a calm expression.

The other Red Sox players mirrored his composure.

They were remarkably nonchalant.

“Tsk. Look at their faces. They’re treating this like a scrimmage.”

“We need to break their spirits sometime.”

In ’32 and ’33,

The Braves had faced them eight times in interleague play,

Recording a dismal 1 win and 7 losses.

Since they were opponents who reliably handed them wins,

“They see us as a pushover.”

“What was that, Lee?”

“It’s nothing.”

When Lee Jung-woo muttered, Joey seemed to sense the negative energy despite it being in Korean, and asked.

He shook his head slightly.

“We need to give them a good thrashing, even if it’s just a practice game,” Joey muttered under his breath, watching the Red Sox players joking around with calm faces, devoid of tension.

The other players felt the same way.

“Play ball!”

Thus, with the contrasting reactions of both teams, the game began with the umpire’s booming voice.

####

As the visiting team, the Braves’ first batter was Michael Schultz.

“Schultz! Knock one out of the park!”

“Show those fake league [referring to the Red Sox in this context] bastards what’s up!”

Unlike the opposing starter, who was a Major League regular, Schultz was a Triple-A player.

The odds were stacked against them from the start,

But the players sincerely cheered him on, and so did Lee Jung-woo.

‘Hit and get on base. That way, I can get up to bat at least one more time.’

Of course, it wasn’t purely team spirit.

Lee Jung-woo was cheering him on for purely selfish reasons.

Unlike in the Minors or Australia, where he usually batted third,

He was batting fourth in this game. To get to the plate in the first inning,

Someone had to get on base.

Since getting to bat even once more was a bonus, Lee Jung-woo cheered him on with all his personal desires.

‘Four-seam, splitter, slider. His four-seam fastball is good, reaching a max speed of 96 mph, but his main weapon is the splitter that drops right before the plate. If you can lay off that, you can definitely get on base.’

Analyzing the situation,

Lee Jung-woo cheered on the batter, who, as if hearing him, worked a favorable count by laying off the splitter thrown as a finisher.

Seeing Schultz walk to first, he gave a slight uppercut with his clenched fist.

“I’ll clear the bases nicely. Keep an eye on it.”

“Leave a little for me. I want to get an RBI [Run Batted In] too.”

After spitting out those words,

Joey chuckled at Lee Jung-woo’s joking remark as he headed to the on-deck circle.

“Sorry, but I’m definitely hitting a home run.”

Then, Joey walked off.

Watching him, Lee Jung-woo propped his chin up and thought about the role he had been assigned today.

‘Fourth batter, huh…’

The Braves’ batting order was no different from usual, with the high on-base percentage first batter and Derek and Joey in the second and third spots,

But the fourth spot, which Lee Jung-woo occupied, had a special significance for him.

‘Based on Major League standards, they want to see if I have potential as a power hitter.’

Joey, as always, had reigned as one of the best hitters in the National League in the ’33 season last year,

Properly demonstrating his value. But there was a problem.

There wasn’t a hitter who showed similar power to him, so he was often pitched around [intentionally walked to avoid pitching to him].

But if they put Derek, who was batting second, behind him,

Even though he hit more than 10 home runs every year, his power wasn’t that impressive, so he didn’t command much respect.

And the table setter [a player who gets on base to allow others to score], who had to set the table for Joey, also lacked power.

So, the fourth batter was always a headache for the Braves.

In that situation,

They put Lee Jung-woo, who seemed to have definite raw power, in that spot.

The decision to explore his potential was reflected in the fourth batting order.

‘The batting order is also well-structured. If I were the opposing team, I’d find it annoying.’

Lee Jung-woo, after scanning Schultz on first base, Derek at the plate, and Joey in the on-deck circle, slightly turned his head to look at the manager.

Right-Left-Right-Left

The manager had put out a balanced batting order with impressive symmetry today.

In theory, it was powerful.

That is, if Lee Jung-woo performed well enough to meet those expectations.

‘At least I know the team’s expectations.’

Fourth batter.

The team’s strongest hitter moves to third, and with the emergence of the strong second hitter theory,

The top-tier hitter goes up to the second spot, which used to be just a supporting role.

Even so,

It is still essential to demonstrate power to compete for the best in the team.

In other words, that’s how much the Braves expect from Lee Jung-woo.

It’s a tall order right now.

A powerful hitter who will eventually produce big hits following Joey.

‘Until now, it was a taste. I guess this is the real test.’

If he does well in this game,

He will be able to fulfill the expectations that the Braves have for him to some extent.

Thinking that, Lee Jung-woo tapped his thigh and watched the game with serious eyes.

Desmond, who had been noisily running around, was now silent, perhaps a little nervous since the game had officially started. A rare silence fell around him.

‘Hmm, Derek struck out.’

The pitcher, who didn’t like giving up a walk to the previous batter, showed aggressive pitching against the next batter, Derek.

Every pitch came right into the strike zone.

Derek, who swung and missed at a high fastball that dove into his body after the splitter, scratched the back of his neck as if he was disappointed and returned to the bench.

“Hmm, a bit tricky.”

“But thanks to the captain, I saw a lot of pitches. Good job.”

“Good job to you too, Lee.”

Lee Jung-woo, who exchanged the baton with him, watched the match between the opposing pitcher and Joey from the on-deck circle.

Joey, who went up next, showed off his power by hitting a massive foul home run.

But he swung and missed the next pitch and was out with a fly ball to center field.

‘It’s my turn.’

It was Lee Jung-woo’s turn.

####

A player with a solid build that cannot be hidden by his uniform came up.

[Joey is out with a disappointing fly ball. Following him, Jung-woo Lee comes to the plate.]

[He’s a player with a simple and clean batting form. From what we’ve seen so far, he also has considerable power.]

[Yes, that’s right. I think most Braves fans have a similar reaction when they see this player. ‘Who is this guy and why is he so good?’]

The ESPN commentators briefly introduced Lee Jung-woo, who was coming to the plate.

The commentator’s words, spoken in a slightly joking tone, made the analyst smile faintly.

Because that’s exactly how it was.

Unless they were hardcore fans.

Before the exhibition game, not many people knew the player Lee Jung-woo.

At best, they remembered him as an Asian player in the farm system [Minor League system] who had hit for the cycle in the Minors.

That all changed when the exhibition game started.

[He’s played five at-bats in four games. He’s had three hits, one of which was a two-run home run.]

[He’s also shown good defense at shortstop. So, the Braves fans’ interest in this young prospect is at its peak.]

The ESPN commentators mentioned Lee Jung-woo’s performance in the previous game.

The sample size was small,

But Lee Jung-woo had shown promising performance so far.

As they said, the fans paid a little more attention to Lee Jung-woo than he thought.

[The key point of this game is whether he can show a good performance in his first start.]

Lee Jung-woo, who came to the plate with the expectations of the viewers in front of the TV and the commentators,

He bounced his body elastically, went through his usual routine,

And looked at the pitcher with a straight batting form that the commentator praised as clean.

The pitcher also looked down at Lee Jung-woo with arrogant eyes without backing down.

[The battle of wills between the two players is amazing. They both have great spirit.]

The battle of wills ended with the umpire’s intervention.

There was no clear winner,

But Lee Jung-woo had already achieved his goal just by not backing down against a Major League pitcher and acting confidently.

The match started like that.

The catcher, who glared at Lee Jung-woo, who was standing close to home plate, positioned his glove close to his body.

It was meant to intimidate him.

The pitcher nodded briefly as if he had the same thought.

The four-seam fastball, thrown with an overhand motion using his long body, sharply cut inside.

[Patrick Young throws the ball. Oh, that was close. 93 miles.]

[He almost brushed his elbow. Is that meant to intimidate him?]

[He’s a young player, so he’s trying to rattle him before he gets on a roll, right? Now, will Lee back down?]

The commentators, who were watching with interest, shook their heads at Lee Jung-woo, who didn’t flinch.

They thought he wasn’t afraid because he was young.

In fact, unlike what they thought,

Only the appearance was like that. The reality was more complex, but they had no way of knowing.

So, they just accepted it as youthful spirit.

[I don’t know what he’s thinking, but he doesn’t seem to be intimidated on the outside. Rather, he seems to be more energized.]

Unless it crosses the line,

There’s nothing better than a rookie challenging a veteran with full confidence.

The commentators, consisting of a seasoned caster and a retired player-turned-analyst, watched the match with excited expressions.

The second pitch was thrown.

[Lee watches again. He picked out the changeup well.]

[It came almost like a fastball. But he didn’t get fooled and let it drop.]

[Two balls, no strikes. This puts the pitcher under pressure.]

The pitcher spat out saliva as if he was annoyed and shook his head several times.

[It looks like the signs don’t match.]

[He’s overthinking it.]

After gesturing forcefully,

The pitcher took his stance again as if he had finally reached an agreement. The ball was thrown again, forcefully released with his fingertips. His choice was a direct challenge.

[Four-seam, low, but the umpire calls it a strike. One and two.]

[He’s a rookie player, and even if he’s shown good performance, the sample size is small. I thought he would take it easy on him, but he’s treating him with everything he’s got.]

The speed of 93 mph was recorded again.

It was a pitcher who had committed to winning the at-bat,

But Lee Jung-woo was calm.

It wasn’t the pitch he wanted.

And in the following pitches, Lee Jung-woo waited patiently.

The pitcher added one strike and one ball each,

Completing the full count.

The reaction of the commentators who saw Lee Jung-woo not even check-swinging changed.

They thought he would launch a strong attack.

But he was showing a passive approach.

They judged that they had misunderstood.

[The first pitch seems to have put pressure on him. Lee hasn’t swung in five pitches in this at-bat. Does he have a plan?]

[He might be aiming for a walk like the first batter. Maybe he’s waiting for the splitter.]

When the commentators, who had been heating up, calmed down a bit,

Lee Jung-woo, who had been maintaining a motionless posture except for stepping out of the plate for a moment to do practice swings,

moved.

The pitcher, who seemed determined to fool Lee Jung-woo, hid the splitter until the end and threw the sixth pitch.

The ball flew in a straight path.

The ball, which was almost identical to a four-seam fastball, broke right in front of home plate.

Changeup.

Lee Jung-woo’s bat came out.

The commentators, the pitcher, and the spectators all anticipated a swinging strikeout,

But Lee Jung-woo’s body remembered the changeup he had seen as the second pitch.

A swing that pulled the ball.

He had practiced hitting the ball to the opposite field,

But since it wasn’t fully developed yet, Lee Jung-woo, who rotated his body as usual, dropped his bat and ran.

“Wow!”

The cheers of the spectators.

The caster also shouted with veins popping out of his neck.

[He hit it! It’s flying? It passed the infield, will they catch it?]

But the analyst was indifferent.

Because the result was somewhat expected.

[A slightly high fly ball. I think Bruce West will catch it.]

The slow fly ball flew to right field beyond first base.

The second baseman had quickly reacted, so his assessment seemed reasonable.

The second baseman, who had anticipated the landing point, also ran casually.

But the batted ball had a little more power than everyone expected.

It sailed past the second baseman.

[Huh? Huh?? There’s more power left. The second baseman can’t catch it!]

Schultz, the runner who had advanced to second base with Joey’s center field fly, ran like crazy.

He passed third base and finally stepped on home plate, expressing his joy with a light uppercut.

“Yes!”

[Runner scores! Lee stops at first base! The Braves take the lead with Jung-woo Lee’s RBI single!]

[It was a batted ball that seemed easy to catch. But there was more power than I thought. Lee’s hitting power exceeded West’s expectations. Amazing.]

The analyst clicked his tongue.

The result was a simple single,

But he showcased Lee Jung-woo’s power effectively, so the analyst looked at him with a strange smile as if he was impressed.

Lee Jung-woo, who threw off his batting gloves, turned his neck and thought.

‘It’s possible?’