Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 65

End of Pitcher, Start of Batter – 64

7th inning, top.

Lee Jung-woo, leaning against the dugout fence, glared at the opposing field.

His unease from the first at-bat had proven correct. The game wasn’t going his way.

His defense was untouchable as always, but his hitting was the problem.

“How’s it going? Manageable?”

“It’s annoying.”

Lee Jung-woo shrugged as Derrick approached and asked.

The defensive shift was tricky in many ways, and combined with the long outfield of Citi Field…

The synergy was no joke.

Lee Jung-woo, who had been confident before the game, had only managed two flyouts to the outfield besides a walk.

“Your hitting feels fine, so keep at it. One of these days, you’ll knock one over.”

Lee Jung-woo knew it too.

That was the right answer.

As there were more pull hitters [hitters who tend to hit the ball to the same side of the field as their batting stance], the shift naturally garnered attention.

The ball only went to one side, so they only had to catch that.

The pull hitters’ answer to that wasn’t hitting to the opposite field, but pulling even harder.

Combined with the flyball revolution [a hitting strategy focused on hitting more fly balls for increased home run potential], it had become the standard way to break through the pull-hit shift.

And Lee Jung-woo believed in it too.

The actual records made it clear.

‘But it seems like I can’t hit it weakly today. The defense is solid.’

Perhaps it was due to the strange outfield structure.

The Mets’ outfield defense was impressive, as if their defensive abilities had also improved.

The outfielders were all fast and boasted a wide range of coverage based on that.

And the shift was added to that.

‘Is this how other hitters see me? It’s tricky to experience it myself. One route is blocked.’

Just as Lee Jung-woo had eliminated the curveball from the pitcher’s options.

The good center fielder and right fielder, and the appropriate cover from the second baseman, filled the right side of the field like an iron wall.

Lee Jung-woo realized anew how annoying his defense must be to the hitters.

Although the situation wasn’t great, Lee Jung-woo wasn’t too worried.

‘If the right answer doesn’t work, I have to give it a trick play.’

Lee Jung-woo grabbed his bat at the sudden thought.

It wasn’t his turn yet, but he wanted to check his stance.

“Even if you’re angry, you know you can’t break things with your bat, right? This is an away game. It’s not our stadium.”

“Am I crazy? I came all the way to the majors with great difficulty.”

Derrick, who had thrown a joke, looked a little awkward after hearing Lee Jung-woo’s answer.

He seemed to be thinking, ‘You debuted in the majors at just twenty years old, what do you mean with great difficulty?’

But Lee Jung-woo didn’t see it, and even if he had, he wouldn’t have had the余裕 [room; leeway] to care about such things.

Lee Jung-woo nodded after swinging his bat a few times briefly in a deserted part of the dugout.

Fortunately, his stance was set.

‘It’s usable enough. It’ll work if I do well. My talent is better than I thought. If I had known this, I would have just been a hitter from the start….’

As he regretted his past choices, he heard jeering words from some spectators.

“What is it? Are you doing some kind of trick?”

“Do you think you’ll get a hit by doing that? Watch closely! This is how you swing.”

“It’s so flashy, but there’s nothing to it? My father-in-law hits better than you. He’s the leadoff hitter on the nursing home baseball team.”

“Kid, don’t do useless things and just watch comfortably.”

“You’re the only one who’s so bad. If they had called up someone other than you, your team would already be in first place.”

The spectators, who were annoyed that the game was being pushed back even with a defensive shift against the rookie,

latched onto Lee Jung-woo, who was the worst among the opposing team’s hitters.

But he just swung silently as if he hadn’t heard them, and the spectators, who had lost interest because he didn’t react, soon turned their attention away, so they didn’t see.

The smile on Lee Jung-woo’s lips.

‘If pulling doesn’t work, pull even harder. That’s right. I should use it after a long time.’

Fortunately, even though he hadn’t used it for quite a while.
A plausible swing came out because it was something he was familiar with.

Lee Jung-woo, who nodded in satisfaction, returned to his seat, and Derrick, who had been waiting for him, wore a puzzled expression.

“What was that strange stance just now? It looks different from usual.”

“It’s how to destroy the shift.”

“Be careful, it’ll be difficult if your existing batting form gets ruined. Anyway, we’re leading the game, so don’t feel too pressured.”

“That’s not it.”

Derrick spoke with a worried face, as if he was worried that the young player would ruin his batting form with a childish heart.

But Lee Jung-woo shook his head.

“I just thought of a way to break through it. I’m only going to use it once anyway.”

Lee Jung-woo’s eyes sparkled as he looked at the changed pitcher.

“Everyone else is doing well. It’s a little embarrassing if I’m the only one with a walk.”

####

[Lee Jung-woo is so bad.]

[Sigh, I watched for nothing. I should turn it off and eat.]

[Breaking News) Lee Jung-woo returns to the minors!]

[‘I’m not fit for baseball.’]

[Nationalists are seething]

[You guys sucked him dry, but the bubble burst, right? Yeah~ This is Lee Jung-woo’s skill.]

[Are the people criticizing Lee Jung-woo now even watching the defense?]

[With that level of defense, he can be a major league starter with just his defense.]

[National haters foam at the mouth when Korean players do a little badly]

[Don’t show off that you don’t know baseball.]

[Yeah~ Next empty swing]

[Your Jung-woo is so bad~]

The Korean baseball community showed a kind of hill warfare [fierce online arguments and flame wars].

As Lee Jung-woo settled in and succeeded in the majors.

His fans also increased, but naturally, there were also anti-fans who were unhappy with that.

That was mixed together, and whenever his game was on, there was always a fierce reaction.

During the last Giants series, the fans occupied the community, but when he showed a bad performance, those who had been holding back began to riot.

When he went up to bat and was handled with a ground ball, the haters and trolls took over.

When he showed a super play in defense, the fans started the shoulder hill warfare again.

Until now, it seemed like it would end with a pleasant victory for the opposition.

[Lee Jung-woo is coming up.]

[He’s showing a slightly disappointing performance at the plate today. This can’t be helped. The Mets have thoroughly deployed the shift, right? In fact, they’ve completely marked Lee Jung-woo alone. Even Vincent Harding would have a hard time with this.]

[But he’s still hitting good balls every at-bat. One of these days, he’ll hit one out, right?]

In the top of the 9th inning, Lee Jung-woo, who came up to his last at-bat, had a weapon to shatter their happiness.

‘Anyway, we’ve already won the game. Now I have to take care of my pride.’

The score was already 3-0.

The Mets, who had prepared a lot, blocked the Braves’ rising batting line quite well.

But they were also tightly blocked, so the victory was almost tilted towards the Braves.

With a lighter heart, Lee Jung-woo thought only of himself, as if he were in the minor leagues.

‘As a result, if I hit one out, the team will win more decisively.’

Thinking so, Lee Jung-woo, who came up to his last at-bat, was looked at by the pitcher with a nonchalant eye.

He was a hitter who had been tightly blocked throughout the game, except for barely getting on base due to the pitcher’s control issues in the previous at-bat.

So he didn’t seem to think of him as very threatening.

The Mets bench was the same.

Whether they no longer thought he was dangerous, or whether they were trying to save the players’ stamina since it was a lost game anyway.

It seemed like there was a defensive shift, but it was a little looser than before.

‘I wish you would do it like before. I’m going to smash it properly this time.’

But Lee Jung-woo didn’t want that.

His pride was hurt because he had been blocked throughout the game, and conversely, his competitive spirit rose to the top of his head.

The thought that he wanted to smash the shift with his own swing was rampant in his head.

Lee Jung-woo scanned the ground with provocative eyes and then took a stance, tapping the ground with the end of his bat as usual.

[Huh? His batting form is different?]

People who saw the different batting form from the existing one buzzed.

In particular, Manager Mancini and the hitting coach scanned him with anxious eyes.

Derrick smacked his lips.

“What’s wrong with your form? People who turned on the channel now will think we threw a beanball at you.”

Even the catcher snickered.

But Lee Jung-woo was serious.

‘Andrew also admitted it. If I maintain this form, my contact will be ruined, but I’ll hit a lot of home runs. I changed it in the end, though.’

The batting form he used before meeting trainer Andrew Levin and creating a new form.

That was the answer Lee Jung-woo gave to the defensive shift.

He knew it because he had used it himself.

First of all, the power was amazing.

Instead, he gave up everything else, but anyway, this was the best for hitting long hits.

Didn’t he raise his amazing record in Single A [a minor league level in baseball] last year, even though it had been a little less than two months since he switched to a hitter?

In the end, he even received the attention of the general manager? During a short period of about a month, a guy who didn’t know anything hit 7 home runs.

‘With this form, I can swing with my eyes closed and it’ll go over. My power has increased more than back then.’

Anyway, his eye is still not good.

He made up for it with a fast bat speed and an open stance.

Of course, he now knows that it’s still not enough to keep using it.

But it would be okay as a joker card for today, just once.

‘The opposing pitcher is a right-hander. The fastball speed is about 94 miles on average. The highest speed is 98 miles. The changeup, slider, and curve are all appropriate. But he must have sealed the curve. Again.’

Looking at the data, the pitchers who competed in today’s game.

Clearly knew how to throw a curveball.

But they thoroughly saved it for him.

Lee Jung-woo thought that the club seemed to have advised him to refrain from doing so.

If he threw it, it would be thank you for him.

Lee Jung-woo, who briefly estimated the opposing pitcher, grabbed his bat long and looked at the pitcher with a calm face as usual.

The pitcher twitched his eyebrows.

Soon he wound up.

He was pitching with a comfortable mind because there were no runners.

But his heart had to drop once.

‘Fastball. It’s low… Let’s hit it.’

[He throws the first pitch – he hit it!]

The swing he swung as it was.

Lee Jung-woo, who pressed down on the ball with an extreme batting form, pulled the bat straight and put all his strength into it.

A threatening hitting sound rang out sharply.

The pitcher had a hollow face as he watched the ball fly over the fence, about to go over the stadium.

But Lee Jung-woo in the batter’s box was unmoved.

‘The stance is a little twisted. The course is not good.’

The batted ball, which was bent as expected, soon passed the line and went over the pole.

Sighing sounds echoed from all over Citi Field at the huge foul home run.

The Mets fans, who were already losing, were relieved that one more point was not added.

But the pitcher still looked at Lee Jung-woo with a frozen expression.

‘That’s a pity. It was a good course. It’s still a little awkward. But it’s a relief that the power is as expected.’

It was a batting form that originally showed tremendous slugging power.

Added to that was the bulk-up he had done during the fall, the faster bat speed, and some experience as a hitter.

It showed an imagination-exceeding power.

That made the pitcher afraid, and the pitcher, who had taken a few breaths, eventually called the catcher and coach to the mound.

The catcher, who was walking slowly, was frozen, unlike when he had ridiculed Lee Jung-woo’s stance earlier.

His shock must have been comparable to the pitcher’s because he had seen the brutal swing right in front of him.

‘What are you going to do? Usually, it’s don’t be scared. Be confident, be picky, something like that.’

Lee Jung-woo, who was watching the three people huddled together and whispering, soon came down from the batter’s box and practiced swinging a few times.

To get a little more used to it.

Even though Lee Jung-woo was just lightly waving his hand, the sound of splitting the air was quite heavy, so even the referee glanced at Lee Jung-woo.

‘It suits me better than I thought. I can’t contact at all, so it’s impossible to keep using it. But I think it’s okay to use it occasionally when I need fake power?’

Around the time Lee Jung-woo was thinking about something that other pitchers would be horrified to hear.
The bustling mound was cleared, and the face of the catcher, who was walking slowly, was full of determination.

‘The shift is tightened again. But I’m using this to break that anyway.’

The shift, which had been a little loose, was tightly connected again.

But Lee Jung-woo was indifferent.

He confirmed with the foul just now.

That it was meaningless.

It was either an ugly swing strikeout or over the fence.

The choice was only one of the two.

So there was nothing that the defensive shift could interfere with, no matter which side it was.

‘I’ve been scared once. I’ll go slowly.’

Lee Jung-woo, who had slightly loosened his grip on the bat, watched the pitcher’s pitching, which was throwing too far or too high, as expected.

Changeup and fastball.

It could just be a test, but Lee Jung-woo knew because he was a pitcher, that the pitcher was scared, in other words.

‘One and two. Wait one more time? No, let’s swing. Even if I can’t hit it, I’ll definitely catch the timing.’

Lee Jung-woo put strength into both arms and gave his body tension so that he could swing at any time.

The pitcher hesitated a little as if he felt the sign.

But he soon took a stance at the continued request of the catcher.

He hesitated for a moment, then threw it straight.

The ball, which was thrown by swinging his arm like a whip with his unique sidearm throw, flew dynamically.

It was a slider, and it was the kind of pitch that Lee Jung-wook was struggling with.

‘The recovery is late. I’ll just swing it straight.’

The problem was that Lee Jung-woo swung blindly, and that the trajectory of the slider and the trajectory of the swing happened to match.

He had already swung, so if he stopped, there would be a risk of injury.

So Lee Jung-woo didn’t stop.

The ball flew to the end of the bat as it was, and hit his body violently.

A fierce hitting sound that seemed to burst the ball rang out.

The ball, which went straight into high altitude as if an airplane was taking off, went over the fence before Lee Jung-woo could even estimate the feel.

‘The fake power is amazing.’

Lee Jung-woo, who briefly admired the batted ball, soon threw his bat coolly.

The extreme batting form he had tasted in a long time was more satisfying than he thought.

‘There will be a day to use it again. If the Mets keep putting the shift on me. I’ll use it throughout this series.’