Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 43

Pitcher done, batter up – 42

‘First of all, it doesn’t mesh well with the screwball. That’s for sure.’

Lee Jung-woo assessed coolly.

It’s a little weak against sliders or cutters, too.

But those, I can at least hit.

That thing, I just can’t.

‘I should think of it as fortunate. Because it’s a screwball.’

It’s better this way.

If I were weak against fastballs, sliders, curves, or changeups, which are commonly used pitches,

It would remain a very big weakness. I would have been caught eventually. But it’s a screwball, isn’t it?

Once I get out of Double-A [the second-highest level of Minor League Baseball], there’s almost no chance I’ll face it again. No, it’s safe to say there’s absolutely none.

So, in some ways, this was a blessing.

Being weak against a pitch that’s so rare it’s practically extinct won’t be a big problem.

‘And there’s a way to overcome the immediate challenge. And the same goes if we meet again later.’

If there’s a magical pitch from the opposing pitcher that you absolutely can’t hit,

The solution is simple.

‘Just aim for something else.’

Unless they’re like knuckleballers who just throw that one thing all the time. That’s the right answer after all.

No, even knuckleballers throw fastballs sometimes in the first place.

In reality, most of the time, they aim for that to get a hit or get on base with a walk.

So, in this case, I just need to think the same way.

‘Since he uses the screwball as a finisher, I’ll hit it before the finisher comes out.’

He thought to himself.

Why don’t I remember a pitcher who throws a ball like that?

With that level, he could genuinely make it in the majors.

Reviewing the at-bat, he realized.

That pitcher has a lot of flaws.

‘His fastball is mediocre. And the same goes for his slider. In other words, it’s enough to just aim for something else.’

Lee Jung-woo chuckled.

In fact, it’s such a simple problem, yet I was agonizing over it.

I was too focused on the unexpected weapon called the screwball.

‘I’ve been wasting my time. Utterly wasting it.’

Shaking his head, Lee Jung-woo looked at the pitcher with a renewed expression.

It’s time to pour cold water on him.

‘Nine strikeouts so far. He must be riding high, taking advantage of our team. He might even be excited.’

A pitcher who’s pitching for strikeouts. If he does the same when his turn at bat comes around,

I can show him a taste of his own medicine.

First of all, as long as the fastball isn’t a wild pitch, I can definitely send it over no matter where it comes.

His velocity is pretty decent, but it’s not extremely fast. And the ball isn’t heavy.

He’s a little weak against sliders, but he can still connect for a solid hit.

If the course comes in similarly to what he’s aiming for, he can send it over the fence as well.

Having cast aside the wavering appearance he showed until just now,

Once again exuding an oppressive aura, Lee Jung-woo scanned the pitcher with his usual nonchalant expression.

“Lee, you can do w- Ah, do well.”

As Lee Jung-woo got up to go to the on-deck circle, the hitting coach, who had come to encourage him, saw his expression and simply patted him on the shoulder before stepping back.

He knew that a hitter with that kind of look didn’t need a lot of words.

He just needed to wait.

####

‘Hoo. 5 innings, 9 strikeouts. No runs allowed, two walks. One hit, too. Not bad today.’

Kurosawa Hiroshi wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Screwball,

The pitch that the coach taught him during his high school baseball days, and the best weapon that was like his identity.

That which he finally perfected this winter was leading him to success.

To the point where he even blocked a batter who was currently evaluated as out-of-spec in the league for two consecutive at-bats.

‘It was hard, damn it.’

Because he came from a public high school that was evaluated as D-grade or lower, he couldn’t even get past the first round of Koshien [Japanese high school baseball championship] for three years straight.

There weren’t enough opportunities to show anything, his actual skills weren’t great, and his outward physique wasn’t impressive either.

He wasn’t drafted in the rookie draft. And the same went for the developmental player draft.

No universities called him either.

Most people would have given up then.

But he honed himself while going back and forth between corporate baseball and independent leagues.

Poor treatment. Disregard. Words saying he wouldn’t make it.

He gritted his teeth and endured them, and when he had some level of skill, he left Japan.

Thinking that he would make it so that they could never ignore him again.

With the determination to spread his weapon throughout the world and laugh at them.

He boarded the plane.

He challenged tryouts and signed with a rookie league team on his fifth try.

He increased his velocity by bulking up and correcting his pitching form. He also learned the slider.

But despite the coaches’ dissuasion, he held onto the screwball. Because that was the identity of the player named Kurosawa Hiroshi.

Like that, for three years.

He finally came this far.

‘Twenty-four. It’s not a young age anymore. But it’s possible. If I just hold on a little longer like this. If I do more.’

The suit fit perfectly in his hand, and now it was completely his. And the batters were being deceived by it.

It felt good.

It’s really right in front of him now.

The day he could ignore those who ignored him, the big leagues, was not far off.

‘I saved a lot of pitches. If I do well, I might even be able to get a shutout?’

Because he was physically exhausted.

He had never even completed a game in the minors.

He was disappointed that he couldn’t show the aspect of an innings eater [a pitcher who can pitch for many innings]. But this time, it looked like a shutout was possible.

Kurosawa Hiroshi smiled faintly and picked up his glove again at the out of an allied batter.

‘Putting that aside, let’s block this inning well first. If I get through this inning well, it’ll be three quality starts in a row.’

Regaining his focus, he went up to the mound again with a confident stride.

And the top of the 6th inning began.

Hiroshi looked down at the second batter, Desmond, who was coming up with a grim look.

‘He’s completely intimidated. I can easily get another strikeout.’

One strikeout and one ground ball.

Because he was a batter who had been thoroughly blocked by him in this game.

He faced the match with a confident attitude.

But whether that had become poison.

The batter got on base with a walk.

The balls that he had aimed for strikes went slightly outside.

And the umpire raised the batter’s hand.

‘Damn umpire, how can he not call that? Is he discriminating against me because I’m Asian?’

Hiroshi, who had given up his third walk, needlessly dug at the mound with an irritated face.

He thought it was a clear miscall.

It was definitely a course that he had called earlier.

When the catcher gestured for him to calm down at the umpire who was sternly declaring a ball this time, Hiroshi finally refocused on the game.

‘Let’s calm down, it’s just a runner on first? If I just do what I’ve been doing so far…

It’s an unpleasant start.

But I can get through it this time too.

When Hiroshi, who had regained his composure, put on a cheerful face again.

The next batter slowly came to the plate.

Jungwoo Lee. The hottest hitter in the Southern League right now came to the plate with a terrifying sense of intimidation.

In an oppressive feeling as if a huge wall was blocking the home plate, Hiroshi was momentarily breathless. But he shook his head violently and shook it off.

‘It’s nothing. There’s nothing to be afraid of. He’s just gotten two strikeouts. I just need to do the same this time.’

He swallowed the rising fear with those words.

But the pressure that the batter was exuding was draped like a thick fog.

He had a feeling that it would be a little different from the previous at-bats.

‘Hoo. Okay, let’s try to induce a double play this time. There’s no need to aim for just strikeouts, right?’

Double-digit strikeouts are good too.

But showing adaptability isn’t bad either.

Hiroshi, who had set a new goal, tidied up the mound he had messed up and looked at the catcher.

The catcher, thinking the same thing, called for an outside fastball. He agreed without hesitation.

He briefly made eye contact with the batter.

Even though he hadn’t thrown his first pitch yet.

He felt like he would get hit no matter what he threw.

And the fact that he looked so confident for no reason made him feel uncomfortable.

He fiddled with the ball for a moment, and eventually moved his body as the pitch clock dwindled.

“Hoo-”

A powerful windup that didn’t care about the runner.

He threw the ball with a pitching form that maximized his stride.

‘Swing wildly and get out of here!’

He shot the ball with his wish 120% loaded.

The honest fastball fortunately flew accurately in the direction he wanted.

The problem was that it wasn’t the result he wanted.

‘Ah….’

Hiroshi let out a short exclamation.

The batter swung smoothly and concisely, just like he had seen in the data video before the game.

If he was an ordinary spectator,

Could he have purely admired the beautiful swing?

Unfortunately, he was the opposing pitcher.

The bat, which seemed like it would barely graze the ball, bent slightly.

And hit the ball properly.

A heavy hitting sound rang out.

The trajectory was a little low, but the accurately powered hit stretched out like a clothesline.

A clean line drive.

The right fielder might be able to catch it.

But frankly, it was so powerfully hit that it would be difficult to catch.

‘But the angle is low, so it won’t go over. That’s good enough. It’s okay to give up about one point. It’s still a quality start. It’s a little disappointing about the shutout. But it can’t be helped, right?’

Relieved by the low trajectory,

Hiroshi tried to soothe himself.

But the bullet-like hit did not lose its power even after passing the right fielder’s head.

And eventually barely crossed the fence.

‘Damn it.’

Seeing the batter, who had been running frantically, slowing down as if confirming that he had crossed the fence,

Hiroshi muttered a short curse.

####

“Lee, good job. You completely crushed the pitcher’s mentality.”

“Yes, you’re destroying everything he’s done well so far.”

“Thanks to you, the kids’ spirits are up again. Good work, Lee.”

After the surprise leadoff home run,

The pitcher was visibly shaken.

Lee Jung-woo, who was watching the game from the bench, could tell that for sure.

Because he looked so insecure.

‘He doesn’t trust his own ball. And he’s being too stingy with his weapon.’

He didn’t know what the screwball meant to that pitcher.

But he was too obsessed with it.

Just like Lee Jung-woo himself had been until just now.

While saving the screwball to throw it in the best possible situation,

Conversely, the pitcher didn’t trust his other pitches, so he was showing poor control.

He originally had some walks.

But Lee Jung-woo watched him for a while as he sent out runners like crazy since giving up a home run to him.

‘He’ll be replaced soon.’

Whether they thought it was a trap at first, they swung weakly.

But soon after, the batters, realizing that the pitcher was broken, went on base one after another as if venting what they had been blocked until the 6th inning.

They continued to produce properly hit balls and had a feast.

Until then, he was a pitcher who reigned on the mound like an iron wall.

But a brief gap was enough to destroy everything.

At least the minor leaguers before going up to the big leagues were hyenas full of thoughts of how to tear apart their opponents.

There was no mercy for an opponent who had shown a gap once in the wilderness called the minors.

“Oh, is it my turn? I wish it was.”

Desmond, who naturally sat next to him, was the same.

The guy who had been completely defeated and depressed until just now was now showing his big teeth without hiding them.

He wanted his turn to come.

Lee Jung-woo glanced at him slightly and shook his head while looking at the pitcher again.

“You’ll be replaced, wipe your drool.”

“Ah, is that so? I wanted to get revenge. And fix my batting average while I was at it. And get some RBIs [Runs Batted In].”

“There will be another chance someday.”

‘Too bad. I wanted to hit two.’

Lee Jung-woo, who said that, also smacked his lips as if he was disappointed. But he was still a little satisfied.

Although he didn’t achieve his goal of 2 home runs,

But he properly broke down the pitcher who was on a roll.

‘Let’s postpone the second home run until next time.’

Of course, it’s uncertain whether there will be a next time.

Lee Jung-woo himself might go up before facing Barrons again. And the pitcher might go down.

The opposite is also possible.

‘But thanks to him, I learned a lot. That I was too arrogant and that I was more stupid than I thought.’

He thought too easily with the thought that the big leagues were right in front of him and the confidence that he had shown good performances against major league pitchers.

So, when a ball that he couldn’t handle came, his head went blank.

It’s better to be pushed back in skill. But being pushed back by an opponent that you can definitely overcome is just being stupid.

He was such a fool for a short time, and he gained some enlightenment from it.

‘I have to think of it as a foundation. Two strikeouts were cheap.’

He immediately corrected himself with two strikeouts before his soul was sold and it affected future games.

Thinking that it was a pretty good exchange, Lee Jung-woo erased not only the previous match but also the starting pitcher who was being hit hard from his head.

Now he had to put the next thing in his head.

The next pitcher, the game, and even the future after that.