Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 69

Pitcher Done, Batter Up – 68

‘That X bastard, why the hell is he acting up when I’m pitching?’

The pitcher, Diaz, needlessly churned up the mound.

He’d never even attempted a steal before, so why suddenly act up when he was pitching?

Should he have noticed when he increased his lead?

A myriad of thoughts shook him.

It was just one steal, but Lee Jung-woo’s steal was a shock to the pitcher.

‘No, no. How could I have known? The manager, coaches, scouting team—they all told me to ignore it. Damn it, couldn’t they have looked into it properly?’

Actually, they had said it was a ticking time bomb that could go off at any time.

There were no signs of it yet, but he was basically a fast player. So, he would steal eventually.

So, walk him, but keep a close eye on him. Diaz himself had forgotten that warning.

He needed someone to blame, so he deliberately didn’t recall it.

“Diaz! Calm down! Stay calm!”

He nodded at the catcher, who was shouting earnestly as he churned up the ground.

Right, he needed to stay calm.

He had shut them out well until the 5th inning. If he was shaken by something like this,

he would be a joke.

‘Sigh. Okay, let’s calm down. They’re screwed anyway. I just need to deal with them lightly.’

Diaz composed himself and focused on the batter at the plate.

A full count. A moment that required more focus from the pitcher than ever.

‘My opponent is the batter. Don’t forget. Stealing is the catcher’s job.’

Diaz, with sharp eyes again, waited for the catcher’s sign.

A finger extended straight out.

Diaz nodded without hesitation.

‘First, I’ll strike that bastard out.’

Diaz took a deep breath and threw the ball from the set position this time.

He tried not to be conscious of the runner behind him, who he couldn’t see anyway,

but he couldn’t help it after experiencing the bitter taste once.

‘Now, get lost!’

The ball, filled with his heart, shot out with all his might.

The catcher’s, or rather, the bench’s choice was a changeup [a pitch thrown with the same arm action as a fastball but with less velocity] that came into the zone.

In a full count situation, it was a gamble to twist the odds once more against a batter expecting a head-on match,

and the opposing batter Poppin’s batting average against changeups wasn’t good, so it was a decent choice, but

the problem was that the opponent hit it.

The batter pushed the slightly slow, slightly dropping ball as it was.

From Diaz’s perspective, that was annoying too, but

“Fuck!”

The real problem was the Atlanta Braves’ bench’s order.

Lee Jung-woo, who had been creeping off the base behind him, started running right after the ball left the pitcher’s hand.

“Run! Keep running! Don’t look back, just keep running!”

‘Good, let’s go all the way to home!’

Lee Jung-woo gritted his teeth.

Adrenaline surged,

and a thrilling tension settled over him and the entire ground.

The order given to him and Poppin was simple.

Hit and run [a play where the baserunner attempts to steal a base as the batter swings].

Lee Jung-woo faithfully followed the bench’s order to run once more,

and his eyes were fixed not on 3rd base in front of him, but on home base a little further away.

“Huh? Huh?”

“Cover! Catch it quickly!”

[A complete chaotic situation! Poppin hits and Lee runs!]

[The Atlanta Braves are making a gamble now—is this right? Is it possible?]

The simple play instantly threw the ground into chaos,

and the effect of the fast feet was greater than expected.

“Home! Home! Home! Throw it to home quickly!”

Batter Poppin did hit it, but it wasn’t a clean hit, so the ball didn’t have much power.

The hit drew a short, gentle curve, passing the 1st baseman and falling right in front of the approaching right fielder, a single-like course.

Because the right fielder’s cover was fast, the runner would normally have to settle for advancing to 3rd base,

but because the start was as fast as the cover, an ambiguous match was made.

[He passes 3rd base as is and rushes to home! The right fielder’s throw is coming in—does he make it? Does he make it?]

[The cover is good, so the throw is thrown quite quickly, but Lee is fast too! Lee is running at a tremendous speed! Now—a showdown at home!]

‘No, stop, you son of a bitch!’

Turning his head, Diaz desperately hoped as he watched the runner passing 3rd base in front of him.

He hoped that bastard would stop or get caught.

He watched the match with that wish,

but Lee Jung-woo, already with his eyes flipped, ran for the tie without any hesitation,

and the left arm, stretched out as he slid, touched home base.

[A showdown at home! Lee’s sliding! Safe! It’s safe!]

[This is safe. Lee was faster. Even if the umpire doesn’t acknowledge it, you can request a challenge. This is clearly safe.]

The commentators shouted with veins in their necks as if hoping the umpire would hear,

and as they expected, the umpire, who had been contemplating for a moment, soon stretched both arms out to the side.

“Safe!”

“He came first! He came first! Did you see properly?”

“Even if my eyes weren’t eyeballs but cameras, this is safe.”

“No, did you see properly!”

The catcher showed the ball stuck in his glove and protested fiercely, but the umpire was firm.

In response, the spectators, as if becoming one with the catcher, stood up one by one and made a fuss,

and the manager from the opposing bench ran out, fuming.

In the chaotic situation, Lee Jung-woo, who had quietly gotten up from his seat, dusted off the dirt from his slide.

Then, he raised his hand towards the bench and smiled.

‘Now it’s tied. The game has changed.’

He could feel it vividly.

And the Mets would be feeling it too. That’s why they were reacting so fiercely.

The flow of the game, which had been leaning towards the Mets, was smiling at the Braves again.

####

The Korean fans were greatly surprised to see the automatic intentional walk [an intentional base on balls] in the first at-bat.

They never thought they would see a Korean batter getting on base with an intentional walk in the major league, which was still like another world.

However, the fact that he was virtually walked in the second at-bat was not just surprising, but shocking.

[???? Another walk?]

[Isn’t this almost an intentional walk?]

[Lee Jung-woo’s batting is not X at all. Look at him missing all the good courses.]

[If you can hit that, is that even human? Even Bonds on steroids couldn’t hit that, you idiot.]

[Wow, was Lee Jung-woo this good?]

[Wow~ I get to see a major league pitcher walking a Korean twice in a row.]

[How good is he for them to do that?]

How good was he?

That was the thought that came to people’s minds.

Just how skilled was he to be receiving that much attention in the major league? Why?

Until now, they had only known that Lee Jung-woo was doing well from the news,

but the shock was great because they never expected it to be at this level. The existing major league fans didn’t miss the opportunity.

[Honestly, this one is normal. When he debuted and played against the Phillies and the Giants, that was really crazy.]

[??? 1 home run in the 1st game, 3 hits in the 2nd game, is that normal?]

[Yeah, relatively speaking.]

[That’s normal for Lee Jung-woo.]

[He lost some stats because of St. Louis and Miami, but his stats are still great.]

[Isn’t his batting average 40% right now?]

[He’s hit 7 home runs so far.]

[? He debuted this month.]

[Yeah, he hit 7 in a month.]

[At this rate, he’d hit 30% in Korea even if he held the bat backwards.]

[Honestly, if you really want to win a gold medal, you have to take Lee Jung-woo.]

[Then you can make the rest all college students and still win.]

The fans became emboldened and rampaged enthusiastically, but soon their momentum grew uncontrollably.

Lee Jung-woo stole a base.

[Lee Jung-woo steals too?]

[He’s big but damn fast.]

[That’s why he plays shortstop.]

[Unlike the other Leja players, that’s all muscle. Speed originally comes from muscle.]

Watching Lee Jung-woo steal the base with overwhelming speed, without even stealing the pitcher’s timing, people thought.

What is he?

They heard he had hit 7 home runs and that his slugging percentage was crazy. And he’s fast too.

Even though there weren’t any special scenes, his defense so far has been quite stable.

He was like a complete player, so his name was properly engraved in the minds of those who didn’t know or had overlooked Lee Jung-woo,

and the subsequent hit and run properly coated it.

In Korea, Lee Jung-woo’s recognition, which had been growing little by little, suddenly swelled uncontrollably due to an unexpected situation.

It was unwanted in places that had simply thought of him as a tool for public opinion and shifting focus, though.

####

“Lee, good job. Are you tired?”

“I feel like I’m going to die.”

“But you ran hard. Thanks to you, it’s tied.”

“Everyone, learn from the youngest! How can the seniors be so embarrassing?”

The players greeted Lee Jung-woo, who returned to the dugout, like a conquering hero.

It wasn’t much different in reality.

Lee Jung-woo had broken the team’s first score, which had been unable to find its rhythm.

As if stimulated by that, the players had different faces than before,

and Lee Jung-woo, who was panting, glanced at Manager Mancini and nodded.

Perhaps the manager’s judgment and his efforts were not in vain.

‘Now is the beginning of the counterattack.’

Like that saying, the Braves showed a slightly different appearance than before.

Following Poppin, Winters hit consecutive hits, and the Braves had their first real chance in this game,

but the chance was lost when 8th batter Lipton struck out and 9th, pitcher Christensen, hit a double play [when two outs are recorded on a single play].

In addition, the Mets, feeling a sense of crisis, scored 2 more points in the bottom of the 5th inning.

The game score was 3 to 1, and they regained the lead, but the atmosphere was quite different.

“They’re shaking, you know?”

“I know, oh, I’m finally getting a sense of it. I’ll hit hard and come, so don’t worry.”

“I don’t know why they’re so happy. We’re going to come back anyway.”

“Joey is saying something right for once in a while.”

Before starting the attack in the top of the 6th inning.

The players exchanged conversations with Colson, the hitting coach, with confident faces,

and as they actually said, the players who went to the plate scored a lot of points.

[Joey’s swing! It’s big! It’s flying—See You Again! The ball goes over the fence, and the score is 4 to 3! Reverse! The Braves are leading for the first time in this game!]

The Braves stubbornly picked out the balls, and starting with Rollins getting on base, Derek’s hit and Joey’s three-run home run quickly turned the score around,

but that wasn’t the end.

“Peterson! Hit one!”

“Get that pig off the plate!”

Showing off his thick flesh.

Peterson, who trudged to the plate, smiled at the voices pouring out at him.

Did that stimulate him?

Peterson, who scooped up the ball that was leaning towards his body with a large swing, sent a large hit like his body flying.

[It’s going again! It’s going again!]

[Yes, it’s gone. It’s properly gone.]

[Peterson’s back-to-back home run!]

When the pulled hit went over the fence, Citi Field became as quiet as a test site,

and only the leather sound of pitcher Diaz slamming his glove and the footsteps of Peterson, who was slowly circling the base like a slow-motion video, flowed arrogantly.

People couldn’t believe this moment.

After entering home plate. They stared blankly at Peterson, who was being mercilessly beaten by the running players.

“What? Really, is this real?”

“Are we losing? Are we really going to get swept?”

“Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!”

The Braves were clearly screwed up.

They couldn’t even score, let alone hit a proper hit.

But suddenly, as if a fuse had been lit, it exploded like a powder keg in an instant.

If the game ended like this, they would have to accept the results.

The spectators were not confident that they could endure it.

“He really hit it properly?”

“Hahaha. Lee, you hit one too. I think you’ve been itching to do it until now.”

“I have to, if they don’t walk me this time.”

Leaving him behind with a hearty laugh. Lee Jung-woo went up to his third at-bat.

‘His mentality is broken. Aren’t they going to replace him?’

The starting pitcher Diaz, seen from the plate, was definitely gone.

Like a boxer with a strong hook repeatedly hitting his chin, his eyes were blurred.

If it’s that kind of pitcher, you can hit a home run no matter what ball he throws.

Unless he’s really gone and throws a headshot at Lee Jung-woo himself, who may be the cause of this situation.

That’s why Lee Jung-woo expected the Mets bench to be gone like the pitcher,

but soon the coach came up and dragged the pitcher down.

‘Well, that would be natural.’

He was a little disappointed,

but Lee Jung-woo nodded because it was natural and looked at the new pitcher.

The left-handed pitcher did some light practice pitches. Something felt awkward to Lee Jung-woo.

Like a machine running with mismatched parts.

‘His body doesn’t seem to be fully warmed up?’

Overall, it was stiff.

Not that it wasn’t flexible.

The movements were cut off little by little.

His body wasn’t properly warmed up.

‘Well, we were in a mess. I wouldn’t have thought it would turn out like this. No matter how fast, they would have started preparing him after losing points in the last inning.’

Then it makes sense.

He would have hurriedly entered the bullpen, but his body would have no choice but to be less warmed up.

Lee Jung-woo looked at the fence that he had passed over in the first game, or rather, just sent far above.

Since the pitcher’s body wasn’t fully warmed up. He thought it might be possible.

‘If they walk me again, I can’t help it. But if they compete with me….’

After the practice pitches were over.

The pitcher took a stance.

He had a slightly uncomfortable expression.

It was still insufficient.

‘He had a four-seam [a fastball with backspin that causes it to rise] and a changeup, but until last month it was a two-pitch, but this month he also installed a two-seam [a fastball with a slight horizontal movement]. The four-seam speed is an average of 91 miles and a maximum speed of 93 miles. The two-seam is a little slower than that.’

Lee Jung-woo stared at the mound with nervous eyes, and he quietly watched the subsequent pitch.

His expression softened.

Satisfaction was on his face.

‘Good. Not bad.’

The first ball was a little high,

but it slightly straddled the zone.

The umpire’s decision was a strike.

If this wasn’t a mistake,

The Mets’ choice was a head-on match.

[The first count is a strike. It slightly straddled, but the umpire raises the pitcher’s hand. It looks like the Mets will compete this time?]

[Well, didn’t our Lee Jung-woo shake them with his fast feet in the previous inning? So the option of just sending him out has become a bit awkward.]

Like that saying, the Mets began to feel awkward about Lee Jung-woo’s feet.

Until now, they ignored the lead width because they believed he wouldn’t run,

but the belief was completely shattered.

So, if he goes out and acts the same way, the burden the pitcher would feel would be incomparable to before.

They wouldn’t even be able to grasp how many more points they would lose in a no-out situation like now.

‘And the Mets also need to cut off our momentum now. Conversely, they need to raise their morale.’

They must have expected his batting sense to have dropped since he hadn’t been able to swing properly until now.

But Lee Jung-woo’s body was filled with more strength than ever,

and his mind was filled only with the thought of hitting the ball.

‘I think he’s in the mood to compete a little now. I have to meet his expectations.’

Lee Jung-woo bounced his body and glared at the pitcher, and the pitcher, who swallowed hard, soon threw the second ball.

A windup [the motion of a pitcher before delivering the ball] that stretches out without looking at the runner because there is no runner.

The ball, thrown with a slightly low three-quarter throw, stretched out as is.

The crossfire [a pitch that moves across the plate] , which crosses the home plate diagonally and properly hits the outside of the left-handed batter, usually catches batters easily,

‘It’s far, but I can hit it. Let’s hit it.’

Lee Jung-woo moved his body.

The torso rotated, and the stretched-out bat held by his long arms swung as is,

and as if he had poured out all the stored power from watching with his hands off until now.

A destructive swing bisected the home plate.

“Aaaagh!”

[It goes over! Lee’s back-to-back-to-back home run!]

[It’s over. There are still many innings left, but I can be sure. The Braves have won this game too.]

Bang-

Even someone’s high-pitched scream like a pterodactyl couldn’t cover up the hitting sound,

and Lee Jung-woo, who threw the bat away, just stretched out his right hand high into the sky and ran with a calm face as usual.

And the commentator asserted.