Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 6

Pitcher Over, Batter Up – Part 5 (6/287)

The defensive coach was in a difficult situation.

Turning a pitcher into a fielder isn’t easy.

Successful cases are rare.

A pitcher’s defense is different from a fielder’s defense.

Filling in when first base is empty, catching ground balls near the mound, and throwing them.

A pitcher’s defense involves dodging occasional line drives or catching them with reflexes.

Unlike pitchers, who rarely move from the mound.

Fielders run around depending on their position.

They must accurately judge the ball and position themselves.

So, the defensive coach who has to turn such a pitcher into a fielder can’t help but feel 막막 [hopeless/daunting].

‘Well, I just need to teach him left field or first base defense adequately.’

He found the current situation annoying.

He’ll do it because he’s told to.

Honestly, he doesn’t have high expectations.

He thought he should just teach the first baseman or left fielder positioning with minimal defensive burden.

“Let’s start with fungo hitting.”

“Yes, please take care of me.”

The defensive coach, looking at Lee Jung-woo who was looking at him with a slightly bowed head, tossed the fungo roughly.

‘It would be a miracle if he catches two out of ten.’

Actually, that’s a lot.

He thought Lee would fumble and miss every ball coming his way.

Without thinking, the defensive coach picked up a ball and swung the light fungo bat.

“Ground ball to the left!”

Unlike regular bats, fungo bats are long and light.

Swinging with force can easily break them.

So, you need skill to hit it weakly and send it to the player.

But this time, the technique didn’t seem very good.

‘Shit!’

He tried to roll a light ground ball, but somehow he hit the center of the ball, and a line drive exploded.

He muttered a curse, then widened his eyes.

Lee Jung-woo moved towards the ball that would have passed far away.

‘It’s not a ground ball.’

Lee Jung-woo, who lowered his stance at the coach’s words that it was a ground ball, narrowed his brows.

It’s not rolling, but a ball flying far to the left.

The speed was quite fast.

‘Is this a test?’

It was the defensive coach’s mistake.

Lee Jung-woo, unaware of this fact, thought it was a test.

So, he judged the ball.

Can he catch it or not?

His mind raced quickly in a short time that he couldn’t even blink.

The judgment he made was.

‘It’ll pass right above me, so no footwork is needed. I can catch it just by reaching out.’

It’s a manageable ball.

He lifted his left arm that he had extended forward and snatched the ball as if hitting it.

That turned a clean hit into an out in a real game.

The defensive coach doubted his eyes when he saw it.

Is what I’m seeing real?

Didn’t they say he was a pitcher?

I know he has good athletic ability, but can that be done with just athletic ability?

The defensive coach was confused.

But Lee Jung-woo was calm.

‘I caught it well somehow. But if I was a little late, it would have passed by. Is this how they increase reaction speed?’

His judgment was quick.

His body followed well.

Lee Jung-woo, who fluttered his uniform a little, glanced at his glove.

The ball stuck like a fly caught in a spider web.

‘It’s definitely good to be young.’

He was originally born with good athletic ability.

He used to catch line drives lightly.

Still, it’s different to be young.

He felt youth anew in his body that moved as he wanted in a desperate situation.

‘This will make a good first impression.’

The defensive coach, who finally shook off the shock, approached Lee Jung-woo, who threw the ball in his glove.

“I’m sorry, Lee. The ball was hit a little wrong.”

‘Wasn’t it a test?’

He thought they were testing him.

“Are you hurt anywhere? Is your hand okay? Is your palm okay?”

“I’m okay.”

His hand is fine because he caught it accurately with his glove.

He’s not particularly hurt.

So, the defensive coach made a slightly serious face at Lee Jung-woo, who waved his hand.

“But how did you catch it? You were already lowering your stance.”

“I thought I could catch it because of the direction and speed it was coming from.”

The defensive coach swallowed hard at his answer.

If that’s true.

He didn’t just catch it with reaction speed.

He went through enough judgment in that short time.

‘I heard he has good athletic ability. He’s also quick to judge. Maybe this…’

The expectations that he didn’t have from the beginning grew a little.

Quick and accurate judgment and agility are talents needed for a fielder.

“Are you really okay?”

“I’m okay. I caught it with my glove. Please continue.”

The defensive coach nodded at Lee Jung-woo’s cheerful words.

In fact, he wanted to see more.

The catch just now showed animalistic senses.

Of course, it wasn’t good to lower his body in advance because he said it was a ground ball, or to just stretch out his arm and catch the ball.

‘He’s a beginner, so I have to take that into account. But that can be taught. Not the sense.’

Excellent intuition and sense turn hits into outs.

‘It’s better than I thought.’

After nodding briefly.

The defensive coach sent the fungo accurately as he wanted this time, as if the previous one was really a mistake.

Then Lee Jung-woo handled all the balls that came to him.

The important thing here is ‘directed’ at him.

‘As expected, the basics like footwork are not done at all. But he catches all the balls that come near him. He has good judgment.’

In short. He made up for the lack of basics with his head and physique.

At this rate, even if he’s sent to the game right away, he won’t be a hole in positions with low defensive burden like 1st base or 3rd base.

But he became a little greedy.

‘Quick judgment, animalistic reaction speed. It’s not fast for a pitcher, but accurate throwing.’

There was one position that suited Lee’s talents well.

‘I can teach him the 2nd base position?’

The defensive coach saw the possibility of Lee Jung-woo being the core of the infield defense.

####

Since he had to get into batting position first.

Lee Jung-woo’s main training is tee batting, but he also did a lot of free batting.

The opponent is always a pitching machine.

There are no separate batting ball pitchers in the United States, and most of the coaching staff throws them.

So, Lee Jung-woo learned his own batting while facing the pitching machine like an enemy.

Clang-

A clear sound rang out.

The stretched-out ball hit the wall and collapsed.

If it was an actual ground instead of a batting cage, it would have gone over the fence.

‘Now I can hit about 90 miles [mph].’

The pitching machine speed that started at 80 miles [mph] is now 90 miles [mph].

It would be different if it was an actual pitcher’s ball.

Lee Jung-woo could hit about seven out of ten balls coming his way.

About four of them lead to solid hits. All the solid hits were big, long hits.

‘The center of gravity movement has become natural, so the batting speed has increased quite a bit.’

Scott looked satisfied as he watched Lee Jung-woo swing hard.

Perhaps because he was a beginner. Lee Jung-woo grew day by day.

His contact ability is still the same. He properly learned how to give impact to his swing.

The swing that stretches out using wrist strength at the last moment is very fierce if you only consider that.

In addition, there was also a strength.

‘He’s not afraid. He doesn’t pick balls. Maybe it’s because he was a pitcher. He’s very aggressive.’

There are batters who unconditionally reject balls that are not good in their judgment.

This is a characteristic mainly seen in batters from Korea or Japan.

It increases the ball count, reduces the pitcher’s stamina, and creates good hits.

Making the swing passive.

He gives up the count in vain and gets a looking strikeout. Or he just watches the far ball.

That’s how they learn from a young age, so it remains like a habit.

Lee didn’t show that.

Since his eye for the ball isn’t good anyway.

He hits all the balls that he thinks he can hit.

As a result, the accuracy of the batting is low and he makes cool swings.

‘I still need to refine it more. But if I get the posture right, I can send it to the game.’

####

For the correct batting posture.

Lee Jung-woo, who bought a large full-body mirror and set it up in his accommodation, concentrated so much that he was sweating profusely.

It’s been a little over a month since he switched to a batter, and it’s already August.

The league ends in the first week of September.

Lee Jung-woo was a little relieved that he was still in Rome, not Danville, even though the league was almost at the end.

He thought he would probably be here until this season.

The next season is uncertain.

‘When I can enjoy a good environment. I have to maximize the effect.’

I have to learn as much as possible during the remaining month.

‘I can’t even think about the Central and South American winter league. It’s going to be difficult for the Arizona League. I wish I could play in a few games here.’

With that in mind, Lee Jung-woo finished correcting his posture, wiped away his sweat, and left the accommodation.

As soon as he entered the stadium. Scott called him to the ground.

‘Ground. Maybe it’s free batting.’

The new pitching machine was like a rival to Lee Jung-woo.

Lee Jung-woo, who was constantly facing each other, thought of the machine that he had become attached to.

He found the pitcher on the mound.

He also saw the catcher behind home plate.

‘Pitcher? Catcher?’

First of all, the catcher is someone he knows.

As the second catcher of the Rome Braves, Michael had received his ball directly, and he often ran into him during training.

When he greeted him, the catcher nodded slightly and pretended to know him.

‘But who is that guy?’

On the other hand, the pitcher is a stranger.

Maybe he’s the guy who was called up this time.

Since he didn’t do anything other than training, the future wouldn’t have changed.

He would have been a player who came up originally. He wasn’t in his memory.

‘There are many people who go down, go up, and come and go. And I didn’t have time to pay attention before and now.’

Maybe he ran into him a few times. He briefly looked at the tanned player who seemed to be seeing him for the first time.

Lee Jung-woo turned his gaze to Scott, who was greeting him.

“He’s a new guy. I have to check him out too. Lee, your posture is somewhat set. You have to face a real pitcher, right?”

Lee Jung-woo nodded.

He needed a real pitcher.

The pitching machine sends the same ball in the same direction every time.

So, it was easy to catch the timing, so he was a little disappointed.

“It’s not free batting, it’s a mini-game. If you hit the infield in three at-bats, it’s unconditionally out, so be careful.”

“Ah, yes.”

His heart was pounding.

It really felt like it was just beginning. Baseball and batter. All of them.

He only faced the pitching machine, so the result may be bad.

He calmly asked, suppressing his raging heart.

“What kind of pitches does he throw?”

“Four-seam, slider. Two-pitch. The speed is in the early 90s. They say the quality is good.”

Two-pitch.

There aren’t many choices.

The speed is not very fast.

But compared to Lee Jung-woo, who is just taking his first steps, he was definitely a great pitcher.

‘Let’s just do my swing calmly.’

####

Gonzalo Garcia.

The pitcher with a pitching form that flutters his arms like a bird’s wings.

The pitcher, nicknamed ‘Pájaro (Bird)’, scanned the batter at the plate.

‘Jung-woo Lee, right? A guy who was a pitcher and is switching to a batter.’

Lee Jung-woo didn’t know him.

But Pajaro knew.

He heard it so much.

Because the new fellow pitchers he met after being called up chewed him up so much.

A guy who was injured and failed to rehabilitate and ran away to the plate.

The pitchers referred to him that way.

Pajaro, who was looking at his masculine face, distorted his face.

‘Ha, my pride is hurt. What do they think of this Pajaro?’

He was dumbfounded.

He didn’t understand how they judged him. He didn’t understand why he was matched with such a guy.

Did they see him as a high school kid?

He was a little scared because he thought a great prospect would come out in the mini-game.

Like Desmond Leach, who he had heard of even in the Rookie League.

But why did they bring such a guy…

‘Well, they said three at-bats. I’ll throw nine and go down.’

Pajaro frowned and regained his mind.

He refused to be evaluated as having a bad mentality because he was upset and got caught by the coach.

He tried to calm his mind and thought about striking out all three at-bats with three pitches.

If he shows his skills properly, he won’t have to see that face anymore.

He warmed up with a light heart and waved his arms wildly at the signal to start.

The four-seam shot from his right arm, which he swung like a whip, went into the batter’s body.

It’s not a good course for a right-handed pitcher to give deeply against a left-handed batter.

‘So what? He won’t be able to hit it anyway.’

That’s what he thought.

That’s what should have happened.

‘Is this a strik- er?’

Why isn’t the ball going into the catcher’s glove?

Why is it flying far away?

Pajaro couldn’t understand.