Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 58

End of Pitchers, Start of Hitters – Episode 57

The record keeper acknowledged Lee Jung-woo’s inside-the-park home run.

Even though the right fielder fumbled a bit, they judged it wasn’t an error.

So, Lee Jung-woo had his record acknowledged, adding one more to his home run count.

But people didn’t really care even if it had been a one-hit, one-error play.

What excited them wasn’t the home run, but Lee Jung-woo’s move.

[Holy cow. I still can’t believe it.]

[I don’t know how many times I’ve rewatched this. It’s over 100 times for sure.]

[I saw it at the stadium and honestly, I almost crapped myself. Luckily, the guy next to me spilled his beer when he stood up, so it was hidden.]

[Those were my favorite underwear… I had to throw them away because of Lee!]

Who would have imagined it? Instead of colliding with the catcher and trying to power through, he just jumped over to avoid him.

Some fans even used slightly vulgar language to express their astonishment.

Occasionally, there were people making absurd claims.

[At this point, let’s just admit it. Lee is going down the wrong path.]

[Speak properly, or my friends, Mr. Left and Mr. Right (referring to his fists), will beat you up.]

[Look at that jumping ability. He should have played basketball, not baseball.]

[Now that I hear it, you’re right.]

[Now that I hear it, it makes sense?]

[You only see that kind of thing in American football sometimes. I never thought I’d see it on a baseball field.]

[Base running time is 14.09 seconds. That’s incredibly fast, he could be a running back?]

[Let’s have Lee play for the Falcons in the winter. Then Lee gets to make a lot of money, and the Falcons get to win the Super Bowl, right? From now on, Atlanta will dominate American sports.]

[That’s great. The best plan.]

As if sensing that fervor.

Even late into the night, long after the game had ended, new articles kept popping up.

[Lee Jung-woo’s unique and astonishing inside-the-park home run.]

[Former commentator Lee Dae-myung, ‘Lee Jung-woo’s feet remind me of myself in my prime.’]

[ABL (Arizona Fall League) Diamondbacks Swept, Currently on a 6-Game Winning Streak]

[ABL) Chipper Jones, former Braves captain, ‘Lee’s defense was perfect, and the home run was the most shocking play I’ve ever seen. I think it will be remembered as the best moment of the season.’]

In addition to family and friends, baseball coaches from elementary, middle, and high school, players who had once played with him on the baseball team, and even people he wondered how they got his alternate phone number, all sorts of people contacted him.

‘It wasn’t even this bad when I got called up. My phone’s going to explode.’

Lee Jung-woo, after replying only to a few close acquaintances, put his phone on Do Not Disturb.

Then, he checked out the videos of his play that were posted in articles and online communities.

He was a little curious as to why there was such a reaction, how amazing it must have been.

‘That was crazy. What did I just do?’

After slowly reviewing his base running, it was absurd. Clearly, it was a crazy thing to do.

First, he made an over-run without considering the right fielder’s shoulder. On top of that, he added a jump with a high risk of injury.

Just looking at the face of the 3rd base coach, shouting with veins popping out of his neck as he ran past him, he could tell it wasn’t a normal play.

‘I’m lucky I didn’t get hurt, and it’s amazing I didn’t get yelled at by the manager.’

If there had been even a slight problem, it would have likely become a bonehead play.

After the game, Manager Mancini and the base running coach praised Lee Jung-woo while also giving him a slight scolding.

Lee Jung-woo thought that if he had failed, he probably wouldn’t have been able to play for a few games.

‘But whatever, honestly, it was kind of cool.’

When Lee Jung-woo jumped high in the video and went over the catcher, his mouth dropped open even though it was clearly him doing it.

The sight of the crowd going wild and his teammates jumping out of the dugout to mercilessly beat him up again gave him a subtle thrill.

Only then did Lee Jung-woo understand.

Why people were so enthusiastic.

He had fulfilled their fantasies.

Deep in the hearts of baseball fans.

####

“Ha, Lee is really the best.”

“Are you still replaying it?”

Sanders shuddered as if he had seen something disgusting at his friend’s uncharacteristic writhing.

He wondered how many days he had been like that.

He himself had shown a similar reaction, but McLoy was going on for too long.

He was shaking like someone on drugs, constantly replaying the fourth game.

‘He needs to play baseball to get back to his senses.’

Unfortunately, there was a day off in between.

Since there were no other topics to talk about.

McLoy’s illness was not easily cured. He already liked baseball, but.

Sanders, who sincerely wanted to see baseball, soon made a blissful expression.

He tilted his head at the sight of his friend scowling fiercely.

“What’s wrong? Did someone else criticize [Korean: 비-판, romanized: bi-pan] him again?”

When the atmosphere was so good.

There was always someone who had to ruin it.

They didn’t even watch baseball properly, but they sat at their desks like they were experts, typing away on their keyboards. It was as if they were trying to ride Lee’s coattails, spouting nonsense.

Calling it the arrogance of a rookie, a misjudgment, just luck.

In Sanders’s view, they were posting ridiculous garbage as if it were criticism.

“No, it’s not that. How dare these bastards drool over him?”

“Drool?”

When Sanders saw McLoy suddenly getting angry, he rolled his eyes. McLoy soon shoved his large phone right in front of Sanders’s nose.

It was a community site that baseball fans frequented.

Sanders gently pushed McLoy’s arm away and soon read the comments that were lined up.

Soon after, he frowned.

[BOS) I don’t know much because it’s a different league. But I’ve heard his name because it’s been noisy lately. He’s quite a cool guy?]

[BOS) More than anything else, I noticed his defense.]

[WAS) Did you see the uniform he wore during the interview? Maybe it’s because he hustles a lot, but it was completely covered in dirt.]

[COL) Yeah, a rookie should have that kind of spirit. I like him!]

[MIA) Did the Braves finally get a good shortstop? A Gold Glove second baseman and a young, good shortstop. I’m jealous….]

Lee’s fame was not limited to the Braves fandom.

A high potential and immediate hitting ability. A manly swing that knows how to send the ball over the fence.

And his spirited performance in this game, as well as his defense, which was already well known to hardcore baseball fans.

Originally, he was a player with plenty of elements to drool over.

This incident became a kind of catalyst.

Most people were just jealous of the shortstop that the Braves had produced from their farm system.

Occasionally, fans of teams with weak or unsatisfactory shortstop positions.

Or fans of big market teams with a lot of money were seriously drooling.

That made McLoy and Sanders feel unpleasant.

[LAD) Wait seven years, if he’s still good then, we’ll take him.]

[TEX) He’s only twenty-one even after his birthday, so he’ll only be twenty-eight when he becomes a free agent (FA). I have bad memories of Korea, but… I’m a little tempted?]

“FA? Who says so. Lee will be buried here. Like the great captain, Chipper (referring to Chipper Jones, a long-time Braves player).”

“That’s right!”

They were annoyed and angry at the thought of FA, which was still a long way off.

But the reaction didn’t end there.

[LAA) Can’t we trade for him? He’s good at defense too.]

[NYY) It’s still too early to tell, but I’m a little tempted. The Braves always trade haphazardly, right?]

[BOS) You guys get lost. We’re going to take him.]

[NYY) Originally, the goal of all baseball players is to wear pinstripes (referring to the Yankees uniform). He’ll be the same, right? At least it’s better than dirty red socks (referring to the Red Sox uniform) :)]

[BOS) Eat shit]

The sight of them fighting among themselves over someone else’s player stimulated Sanders.

His eyes rolled back, he snatched his phone from McLoy’s hand.

He immediately posted a fierce comment.

[ATL) We’re not giving him away, so don’t jerk off and get lost, you Xins (a derogatory term).]

[DET) It would be nice to send Morris to 2nd base and bring him in to play shortstop. What is the general manager doing?]

[ATL) No, I said we’re not giving him away! You chicken-brained bastard. And Tigers, don’t talk nonsense and catch Hunter.]

Sanders reacted aggressively and took down the hyenas one by one.

But perhaps it was because such a reaction stimulated them even more, some people deliberately teased him.

Even the Phillies kids dared to put Lee’s name in their dirty mouths.

[PHI) I don’t like him very much because he’s a rude bastard who hit a home run against our team. Well, we’ll take him someday.]

“That son of a bitch!”

As if doing him a favor.

When he hurriedly touched the screen at a Philly fan who was subtly coveting him.

Reinforcements arrived.

[ATL) Is Lee crazy to go to the Phillies? You guys did something. You guys just live with that great Castillo for the rest of your lives.]

[ATL) How much is his salary? What’s certain is that it’s more than our Joey’s. But he’s worse than Joey?]

[PHI) Where do you live, tell me quickly, you XXXXXXX]

Perhaps feeling a similar sense of threat.

With the help of suddenly appearing reinforcements.

Sanders delivered the final blow.

He chased them away, but.

The anxiety did not go away.

“Damn it, Pratt isn’t going to sell Lee, is he? He always trades however he wants, right?”

“If that guy has a brain, he’ll never do that. If he does, then we’ll just have to show him a taste of his own medicine.”

The problem was Lee Jung-woo’s sudden burst of fame.

He was already quite famous for hitting multiple home runs and failing to hit a cycle [hitting a single, double, triple, and home run in the same game].

On top of that, even people who weren’t very interested in baseball knew his name because of this incident.

Even Sanders himself, a die-hard Braves fan, had lived with his wife for 10 years, and she called Derek Hunter Eric White.

She kept asking about Lee.

Of course, that was a very happy thing.

But the problem was that the flies who dared to have ridiculous fantasies were also swarming around.

“We have to protect Lee no matter what.”

“Definitely. Even to avoid burning the autographed uniform.”

That’s what the two men muttered.

But their worries soon disappeared.

Because Lee Jung-woo faltered in the games that followed the day off. The people who had been drooling wiped their mouths as if nothing had happened.

####

[Ah, Lee’s swing and a miss! It’s a strikeout on the 10th pitch.]

[He dragged out the match quite a bit. Unfortunately, he failed to get on base.]

[Is Lee in a slump?]

Lee Jung-woo, who had swung wildly, looked up at the mound for a moment.

Soon, he shook his head and returned to the dugout.

“Lee, good job. It’s a shame, but you ate up a lot of pitches. Don’t dwell on it too much.”

As soon as he entered the dugout, Derek and Colson, the hitting coaches, greeted him.

It was a little strange to make such a fuss over just one strikeout.

But Lee Jung-woo understood them.

‘They must be worried. A guy who was doing so well is suddenly struggling.’

After the game against the D-backs, Lee Jung-woo had a poor performance in the games against the Marlins and Cardinals after a short break. He reassured (?) the fans who had been fighting hard with the hyenas.

Including this game. He has played in a total of 4 games, 3 as a starter and 1 as a substitute. He has been at bat 13 times.

He recorded a miserable record of 1 hit, 1 RBI, and 1 walk in 12 at-bats.

Since even that one hit and walk were recorded in the first game against the Marlins.

He was currently on an 11-at-bat no-hit streak.

As he slumped, some people bared their teeth as if they had been waiting for it.

The media’s attention also waned again.

On the other hand, the attention around him became more focused than before.

“Is your stamina okay?”

“I still have plenty of stamina.”

“Okay, I’m glad to hear that. It’s just a loss of feel. Don’t be too pressured. It’ll come back someday.”

“If something’s wrong, you have to tell the coach or me right away. You know?”

“He’s not reckless enough to hide an injury, so don’t worry too much, Captain.”

“Okay, I trust you.”

As soon as he sat on the bench, the coach and Derek stood right next to him and spoke like a machine gun.

Manager Mancini’s gaze was also subtly directed this way.

The guy who had been hitting so well had suddenly become a ground ball ghost.

The club was worried that something might have happened to him.

It seemed like they had ordered him to take care of his mental state.

‘They’re making more of a fuss than I am.’

Such a thing was unnecessary for Lee Jung-woo right now.

He wasn’t mentally weak enough to be frustrated after only four games.

Also, he knew the reason for his slump and that it was something he couldn’t do anything about.

He was calm as usual.

‘My hitting cycle has just declined. Like Colson said, I’ve just lost my feel for a moment.’

The decline of the hitting cycle.

Lee Jung-woo speculated that it was the reason for his slump.

‘It was about time. It’s been good so far.’

His body was fine, there were no mental problems, and his stamina was great. His hitting form wasn’t broken either. He didn’t feel that the pitchers were particularly difficult.

His defense was perfect as always.

So, there was no other reason other than the hitting cycle.

Therefore, Lee Jung-woo, who had simply maintained his usual routine and checked himself, just waited calmly.

‘If I overdo it at times like this, I’ll just ruin my posture. It’s important to keep my posture.’

If he waited patiently.

Lee Jung-woo was confident that the cycle would return someday.

In fact, he confirmed the end of his short slump in his last at-bat today.

[It’s a pity! The ball goes out of the foul pole. It would have been a home run if it had gone just a little further to the side. The ball turned slightly at the end. It’s a shame.]

[But this makes it clear. Lee’s feel has returned. He made accurate contact this time? It would have been a home run if the wind hadn’t blown at the end.]

[If that’s true, it’s good news for the Braves fans who were worried. Haha, I’m a little happy too.]

After the unfortunate foul home run.

Lee Jung-woo, who had broken his 11-at-bat no-hit streak by picking out an outside ball and going to first base, took off his batting gloves.

He clenched his hand once.

When he hit the foul home run just now. There was definitely no hand taste [meaning he didn’t feel any stinging or discomfort in his hands].

That means it hit the sweet spot properly.

Therefore, Lee Jung-woo was convinced.

That his cycle had returned to a stable period.

‘The next game was against the Giants.’

And the next opponent was just right too.

As if to celebrate his return to form.

It was the San Francisco Giants, known as the kingdom of curveballers.