Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 51

He touched home plate, but.

No one was there to greet him.

Everyone was hanging onto the dugout railing, staring intently at the field.

‘Is this that indifferent celebration thing? It’s pretty fascinating to see in person.’

Excited rookie players were often taken aback by their teammates’ cold reactions, but.

Lee Jung-woo was simply amazed to see something he had only seen on TV unfold before his eyes.

So, without much reaction, he returned to the dugout, calmly sat on the bench, and that was that.

When the expected reaction didn’t come, the players who missed their timing were rather flustered.

They whispered among themselves for a moment, then suddenly rushed at Lee Jung-woo all at once.

“You little rascal! You little rascal!”

“We told you to hit it, but you really hit it! I love you, you monster kid!”

“A young kid with such quick wits! What, a home run is nothing, is that it?”

The players were hitting him hard on the back, but Lee Jung-woo didn’t really feel any pain.

Somewhat comically, only now was he feeling elated.

“I actually hit a home run in the majors.”

“Does it feel real now? What you’ve done.”

When Lee Jung-woo became dazed, Joey chuckled.

From the start, he was someone who didn’t seem like a rookie. Now, he seemed just like any other promising player his age.

“The rookie hit a home run, aren’t you all ashamed? Let’s show them the dignity of the seniors! Let’s go all the way to a comeback!”

“Aye aye, Captain!”

The players, shouting as loudly as if they had become pirates from the neighboring town, each hit Lee Jung-woo one last time before scattering.

Still dazed, Lee Jung-woo snapped out of it at Derek’s words.

“And Lee, good job. Just keep doing as well in defense as you are now.”

“Ah, defense. Right, there’s still defense left.”

Yes, his debut game wasn’t over yet.

Hitting a home run in his first at-bat was already a success, but.

If he couldn’t play defense, he would only be half a player, and he might not even get another chance at bat.

Regaining his focus, Lee Jung-woo’s face returned to normal.

Only then did Derek smile with satisfaction.

####

Afterward, Lee Jung-woo played stably on defense as well, but.

Unfortunately, the Braves didn’t make a comeback.

The only runs they were allowed were those 3 points. The Phillies solidified their victory by adding one more point.

Lee Jung-woo also struck out in his next at-bat in the top of the 9th, swinging wildly at a backdoor slider [a type of breaking pitch that appears to be heading outside but curves back over the plate].

But what the media focused on wasn’t the Braves’ narrow 2-point loss or the strikeout in the second at-bat.

“Lee, how do you feel about hitting a home run in your debut at-bat?”

“Did you perhaps predict what kind of ball would come?”

“You did a bat flip after the home run, don’t you think that’s disrespectful to your seniors?”

A home run in his debut at-bat.

That was more important to the reporters than anything else.

As the game ended, reporters swarmed around Lee Jung-woo, each sticking a microphone in his face.

Lee Jung-woo tried to calm them down by responding briefly, but.

Eventually, he raised his hands at the endless stream of interviews and headed to the locker room.

“Oh~ this guy is a complete superstar? You might as well hold a concert later on?”

“Well, our kid is pretty good. I almost crapped my pants watching that home run.”

“Lee, good job. Your defense was good today too, so just do as well as you did today next time.”

Just as the Braves’ defeat wasn’t important to the reporters.

The players didn’t care much either.

There was something more interesting than that.

They teased Lee Jung-woo and quickly forgot the taste of defeat.

Manager Mancini nodded briefly at the appropriate team atmosphere and left the locker room.

“The atmosphere is good.”

“It’s all thanks to Lee. If the game had ended like that, everyone would have been down. Thanks to the focus being on Lee, the players’ minds are lighter.”

Although it didn’t change the result of the defeat, at least they secured the driving force for the next game.

Manager Mancini praised his own choice.

The game, which ended so noisily, didn’t die down even after that.

No, it only burned brighter as time passed.

The reporters who had rushed to Lee Jung-woo after the game began to post articles one after another.

[ATL) Lee! Home Run in Debut At-Bat.]

[ATL) Lee, Successful Debut Game with 1 Hit, 1 Home Run, 1 RBI in 2 At-Bats, Will Pratt’s Gamble Succeed?]

[ATL) Narrow Loss in the First Game of the Series, But Are the Braves Smiling?]

[Lee’s Bat Flip Was Wrong, He Must Respect His Seniors!]

[Beautiful Home Run and Perfect Ceremony. Lee Has a Fantastic Debut.]

[Lee’s Lucky Punch! Saves the Braves from the Brink of Destruction.]

[Rookie Shines Alone? Veterans Should Reflect……]

The newly promoted rookie hit a home run in his first at-bat against a veteran, even a top-tier pitcher.

He even managed to lift a low-breaking ball properly.

A photo capturing him nonchalantly tossing his bat with an expression that said this was nothing dominated numerous portal sites.

He shattered the expectations of experts and others with a huge home run in his debut game, first at-bat.

No one cared about the team’s loss or the strikeout.

As a result, the fans’ reactions were, of course, explosive.

-I knew from the start, he’s the real deal.

-Are you guys who poured cold water on him, saying it was too early, watching? You don’t deserve to be Braves supporters.

-Look at Toussaint’s red face.

-Wow, this guy is really fearless. The pitcher is Giovanni, but he doesn’t even look back before throwing his bat.

-Tell your MotherFXXXXX that they’ll die if they meet us.

-How dare a rookie who just debuted do a bat flip against a veteran?

-Even if things have become more open, how can this be allowed?

Especially, the Phillies fans, who were heated up by Lee Jung-woo’s spirited appearance, steadily added fuel to the fire, so the flame continued to grow.

-So what? It’s your cow’s fault for getting hit with a home run.

-Oh, really? A rookie hit a home run in his debut at-bat, so can’t he throw his bat a little? Why? Even if you win the World Series, should you shut up and go to the dugout?

-No matter how bad Lee is, can he be worse than your team, which was the first to lose ten thousand games in the major league? You’ll probably be the first to lose twenty thousand too.

-Where do you live, you XXXX, you XXXX.

Normally, they would avoid Phillies fans as if they were avoiding poop, and wouldn’t bother arguing with them.

But today was different.

The Braves fans’ expectations for the player named Lee Jung-woo were so great that they were willing to fight on the internet.

Fans of other teams, who wanted the Braves to remain eternal pushovers, also began to join in.

But the Braves fans defended their player more aggressively than ever before.

“Huh, this is no joke.”

Lying on the wide hotel bed, Lee Jung-woo chuckled as he watched the articles and reactions that were constantly being uploaded.

He wasn’t usually one to look at these things, but Mark had made such a fuss, saying the atmosphere was no joke, so he took a quick look.

‘This is like some kind of eulogy, what kind of amazing genes do I have? What genes? And what rookie of the year competition? I debuted two months later than the other guys.’

The Korean media, in particular, was a sight to behold.

Lee Jung-woo had given up on Rookie of the Year from the moment he was called up.

The season was already more than two months in, and Darren Robson’s injury was serious, so he might be there until the end of the season if he did well.

Then the rookie conditions would be gone.

But the media was already mentioning it, even though the person himself didn’t want it.

Of course, the comments on the articles were full of mockery about it.

‘Still, it doesn’t feel too bad. It means I did this well, right?’

Lee Jung-woo, who was smiling contentedly, tapped his cheek for a moment.

It was ridiculous to be so giddy after playing only one game, or rather, half a game.

Satisfaction was something that could be done at least a few seasons later, or even after retirement.

‘Still, I’ll be guaranteed to play to some extent from now on. They’ll have more faith in me.’

He didn’t know what would happen later, but for now, it was time to enjoy the benefits.

####

Lee Jung-woo played the next day as well.

Although he didn’t start, he played in two consecutive games anyway. He played in two at-bats, and although he didn’t hit a home run like the day before.

He hit a two-run double and helped with a double play in the 8th inning.

He contributed to the Braves’ victory.

Then, as if to reward such performance.

The opportunity he had been waiting for came.

“Oh? He’s starting?”

“He’s been the best in this series. Of course, he should.”

“One RBI [Run Batted In] in the first game, two RBIs in the second game, three RBIs today? Pitchers, only give up two points! Then we win!”

His name was on the starting lineup.

Also, his batting order was 6th, which was quite high for a rookie.

Unfortunately, his first at-bat of the game was postponed to the next inning.

Rollins, who was first, struck out.

Then Derek and Joey, who were 2nd and 3rd, hit consecutive hits.

But Patterson, who was 4th, hit a double play, and the top of the 1st inning ended.

Lee Jung-woo, who had been fiddling with his bat, wondering if he would get a chance.

Reluctantly gave up on his lingering feelings for the attack that ended before it came to him.

He went to the ground for a change of defense.

Then, a tremendous noise greeted him.

“Wooooooo!”

Lee Jung-woo, who was clearly aimed at himself, let out a hollow laugh.

Unlike the first game, when they simply mocked him as a young punk.

As if conscious of Lee Jung-woo’s performance during this series.

The spectators were quite fierce.

Also, how did they make it in just one night?

[A kid who doesn’t know respect deserves to have his head explode!] was written on signs here and there, and jeers and curses poured down on him.

‘They’re so petty. And when did they make that? They’re so diligent.’

When Lee Jung-woo shook his head, looking at the signs that were raised high as if to show off.

The spectators seemed to think he was mocking them.

They poured out even more fierce jeers.

“Lee, don’t be too scared, just do as you always do.”

“I’m not scared of this.”

He waved his hand as if to tell Derek, who was looking at him worriedly, not to worry.

‘It’s better to be cursed at at home than to be welcomed on the road [playing at an opposing team’s stadium].’

Thanks to the mental strength he had built up before his regression, when he had climbed the mound with the feeling of cultivating the Tao [a concept in Taoism referring to living in accordance with the natural order of the universe], Lee Jung-woo calmly accepted it.

He emptied his head and focused on the game, ignoring the noise.

Then, the feeling of the game came up so quickly that it was as if he was zooming in on the plate.

‘Let’s do well today too.’

Lee Jung-woo, who had always been determined, checked the opposing team’s batter who was coming up.

‘1st batter, James Joseph Johnson, a left-handed batter with a low slugging percentage, but a batting average of 0.322 and a decent on-base percentage.’

The batter, called JJJ, was a spray hitter with an even distribution of hits to the left and right.

Also, even though his slugging percentage was a bit low, he wasn’t just a singles hitter.

Lee Jung-woo, who was watching the game with great tension, twitched his body every time the batter swung.

He seemed to hear people shouting that he looked like a chicken twitching, but.

Lee Jung-woo just watched the batter’s bat.

‘It would be good if Stewart could catch it… but the timing is getting better and better.’

The batter continued to foul [hit the ball out of bounds] the ball and find his timing.

He eventually hit the slider that Stewart threw accurately.

Thwack-

‘It’s coming. It’s a bit high, but….’

A clear, but fairly swift, hitting sound rang out.

The quickly shot ball flew towards the shortstop.

Lee Jung-woo’s head rotated in a shorter time than it took for his eyes to blink.

He had seen this kind of ball before.

Although it wasn’t an actual game, it was when he first switched to being a batter.

When he first did fungo [a baseball training drill where a coach hits balls to fielders] with the defense coach, the ball that the coach hit wrong was almost the same as this.

A slightly high, fast line drive.

At that time, he clearly….

‘I can catch it.’

He had caught it.

The speed was a little faster than that time, so it was a little more difficult, but.

The current Lee Jung-woo was not a little better than the Lee Jung-woo of that time, but much better.

And today, he was full of confidence. He didn’t know much about hitting, but.

In defense, he felt like he could catch anything that flew at him.

So he jumped up vigorously without hesitation.

The eyes of the pitcher, who had turned his head to check the ball at the moment of impact, flashed past him.

He didn’t see it properly, but it was an eye that seemed to say, please catch it.

Lee Jung-woo lived up to his expectations.

He used his long, outstretched arm and the glove at the end of it as a butterfly net to snatch the ball.

Lee Jung-woo, who landed lightly, shook the ball he had taken out of his glove as if to show it off.

“Wow….”

Even the spectators who had been cursing at him admired his overwhelming defensive power.

[Unbelievable… is this real?] The commentator doubted what he had seen.

It was a ball that would easily pass through the infield and, if he was lucky, be caught by the center fielder, or else it would be a big hit.

Was this really a player who had just been called up from the minors?

Could it be that the Braves had secretly colluded with the secretariat and bought a player from somewhere?

While the stunned commentator was having absurd imaginations.

The commentator spoke calmly and praised Lee Jung-woo to the fullest.

[Lee’s athletic ability was something that even the experts who criticized his call-up acknowledged. That was a catch that showed it properly. Since the hitting side is so flashy, most people only pay attention to that side, but as you can see from the Plus-Plus(70) scouting report, Lee is a very good defender. He is evaluated as a player with the remaining 4 tools, excluding running.]

[Ah… yes, that’s right. As Lee catches the long hit, the first out count in the bottom of the 1st inning goes up.]

While the commentators were making remarks that perfectly suited the viewers’ tastes.

The starting pitcher Stewart, whose heart had been pounding at the long hit course, confessed his love to Lee Jung-woo as if he had realized his tendency.

“I love you! I really love you!”

Lee Jung-woo waved his hand as if it was nothing and thought.

‘My condition is great today?’

It seemed like no ball would pass him in today’s game.

His condition was standing straight up and pointing to 12 o’clock.

Lee Jung-woo smiled fiercely and looked at the batter coming up from the on-deck circle.

“Take it easy! Anything that comes my way… I’ll catch it all.”

Lee Jung-woo’s face, tapping his glove briefly, was more confident than ever.