Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 90

“Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go!”

“We’re going to win the series!”

“Don’t cry! You’re just losing to the best team in the Central Division!”

From before the game, the Cubs fans were in high spirits.

Even though the players hadn’t properly warmed up yet,

and there was still time before the game started,

they were shouting ‘Go Cubs’ like crazy, or completely forgetting about the Pirates, who were currently first in the Central Division. They even yelled that they were the best team.

The Cubs fans were that happy.

Winning the first and third games, they had a 2-1 lead,

and even if it wasn’t perfect,

they were having a pretty good start to the second half of the season.

But they weren’t satisfied with that. They wanted a winning series.

Fortunately, the momentum was good.

The team’s hitters had good concentration overall, and no players seemed to be feeling the burden of fatigue.

“Let’s go for a 4-game home run streak!”

“Go Cubs! Go Jeff!”

Most of all, what they liked most was that their beloved Jeff was having the best game performance of the season.

Hitting home runs in three consecutive games,

Jeff filled their expectations and the longing for baseball that had been building up during the All-Star break to the point of bursting,

and some Cubs fans, seemingly part of the same group,

wrote ‘Go Jeff’ one letter at a time on their respective bellies,

lined up, and proudly flaunted their weighty belly fat.

“What’s up today? You were terrible yesterday. Do you have anything left to show?”

“You were 0-for-4 yesterday, so you can strike out four times today!”

“Joey! You should have come here! Instead of staying with those morons or rookies in the Braves!”

Whether it was because he was overwhelmed by the momentum of his rival, or because he was intimidated by their enthusiastic support,

the Braves’ rookie, who was like Jeff to them, was performing worse and worse.

The fact that he was silent in the previous game made them feel even better,

and thinking that he was intimidated,

they even thought that his expressionless face looked stiff.

So they thought today’s game would be the same and threw taunts at him.

[Wrigley Field is heating up again today.]

[Each of those fan reactions doesn’t seem to mean much, but it subtly puts pressure on both the away team and the home team.]

[At least this series, it seems to be working to the home team’s advantage.]

The commentators, who were initially taken aback by the intense atmosphere, soon twitched their eyebrows,

but they soon focused entirely on the game that started not long after.

The top of the first inning ended uneventfully.

Rollins got on base on the eighth pitch, but Derrick hit the first pitch and made a double play,

and Joey struck out on three pitches, quickly ending the Braves’ attack.

[The bottom of the first inning begins after the change of sides. The Braves’ attack was a bit disappointing, but what about the Cubs?]

After the change of sides,

as they had throughout the series, the spectators cheered for the batters as loudly as they could,

and rather, the sound grew louder each time a batter was out.

And when the 3rd batter came up, the decibel level was clearly different from before.

“Waaaaaaah!”

“Jeff! Knock it out of the park!”

“Yeah, it would be nice to just hit it out on the first pitch!”

They shouted.

For the Cubs fans watching this game, the most important thing was Jeff Shelton’s consecutive home run record.

Of course, the team’s victory was also important, but more people wanted Jeff to continue his home run streak, even if the team lost.

Jeff, who went up waving slightly to those fans, looked at the pitcher with a confident expression as always,

and Rodrigo, the starting pitcher who received that gaze while standing on the mound, swallowed hard.

####

‘This is driving me crazy.’

Since he was a hitter with good momentum,

even though they hadn’t faced each other yet,

his momentum was extraordinary.

It was as if he was facing an MVP-level [Most Valuable Player] player. The strike zone, no, the entire home plate looked like a red-hot zone.

Rodrigo scratched the back of his neck for no reason and gave the catcher a pitiful look.

He wanted to walk him if he could, and he shot a look full of that intention,

but that damn blockhead didn’t seem to understand and instead demanded a fastball that came inside the zone.

‘Puta… [Spanish slang for “whore,” used here as an insult] Okay, let’s do it.’

Rodrigo, who spat out a low curse, clenched his lips tightly and took his stance.

That curse was directed at the hitter, but it was also directed at himself for giving up from the start without any pride.

He suddenly felt pathetic.

He had been pushed to the 4th starter because his performance had declined.

All he could think about was avoiding the hitter because he was strong. He was angry at himself,

and filled with the rising emotion,

he threw the ball as the catcher demanded.

The feeling of the ball being properly caught lingered at the end of his fingers, and he even had a faint smile because it felt so good,

but soon Rodrigo froze stiffly like someone covered in concrete.

The clear sound of the ball reverberating pierced his eardrums.

Rodrigo didn’t even dare to turn around and check the batted ball that disappeared as soon as it touched the bat, leaving only a faint memory of its shape.

Because the moment he turned around,

he felt like the ball going over the fence would greet him.

The referee’s declaration saved Rodrigo, who was frozen, unable to do anything.

“Foul!”

It was clearly a home run ball,

but it seemed to have gone out of the foul pole.

The referee declared a foul, and Rodrigo sweated coldly and staggered again, but the fear he had tasted for a moment did not easily disappear.

It still grabbed at his ankles.

He had cursed himself for being stupid, but he looked at the catcher again with a pitiful look.

Even if he was called a coward,

he wanted to walk that bastard.

“Rodrigo! Relax! We’ve got two strikes, let’s get him out easily and take a break!”

Rodrigo forced himself to look back at the captain who shouted at him, but his wildly fluctuating heart did not change.

‘Damn it, he’s saying that because it’s not his job. If my performance keeps dropping like this… then my starting spot is really in danger.’

He went from 2nd starter to 3rd starter with Mason’s acquisition. He went from 3rd starter to 4th starter.

He had fallen like autumn leaves this season, and Rodrigo didn’t want to end up on the dirt floor like this.

He didn’t want to become fertilizer and become nourishment for others.

So he reacted nervously to Derrick, who was encouraging him comfortably,

and that spark flew to Lee Jungwoo, who was hitting his chest as if to believe in him.

He looked at Lee Jungwoo for a moment and soon turned his head away with a nonchalant look.

In the past, he would have tapped his glove, but Rodrigo no longer had that luxury.

‘They said he’s in good condition… huh, no. When I saw him yesterday, he didn’t look good at all. He looked sick. I have to take care of it.’

Just as faith was about to rise, he remembered the appearance he had shown clearly sick in yesterday’s game.

Rodrigo shook his head and focused on the hitter again.

He glared at the catcher, who was demanding a deep course again, and threw the ball.

He glared at him because he hated him for demanding only dangerous courses,

but more than that, his main feeling was that he just didn’t want to look at that brutal hitter.

‘Please don’t swing. Lord, please don’t let that X swing the bat!’

The ball he threw with clenched teeth flew into the catcher’s glove.

If he could, he wanted to tie the hitter’s arms with telekinesis.

So that he couldn’t swing the bat like now.

He prayed to God and did his best to throw it himself, but the guy swung the bat.

Paak-

A sound much louder and clearer than the one that had terrified him a little while ago was heard clearly.

Because the world had turned into slow motion, Rodrigo watched it all and followed it with his eyes.

‘La Puta! [Spanish slang for “the whore,” used here as an intensifier]’ he thought.

The angle is low,

but with this much experience, he knows.

That batted ball will definitely continue to fly high and go over the fence.

He knew that so well,

that the curse words filled his throat, and when Rodrigo barely swallowed it,

something other than the ball soon invaded his field of vision, which had only contained the batted ball.

A Korean who jumped up like a famous basketball shoe mark that any boy would have seen.

Unlike the mark, the guy with a glove instead of a basketball in his hand suddenly appeared and took up one side of his vision.

Soon it rose slowly.

The guy snatched the batted ball that was taking off quickly with unbelievable jumping ability as he stretched out.

“Wow… ah?”

“Go! Jeeeeff- Fuuuuuck!”

[He hit it- Ah!]

The spectators shouted with different reactions to the continued game.

Some slapped their thighs,

some tore at their temples as if they couldn’t believe it,

or some simply flipped off the opposing team’s shortstop.

The stadium, which had become even more heated than before, burned hotly as if someone had poured oil on it,

but the hottest person of all was the pitcher on the mound, Rodrigo.

He kept clapping like a madman and approached his lovely friend, a real man who kept his word, and shouted loudly in his heart.

‘Lord! I love youuuuu!’

Thank you so much for making that guy, Lee Jungwoo, play baseball instead of basketball even though he has such jumping ability.

Even for making him a shortstop who can play so beautifully, not a pitcher who is his rival.

The gazes towards Lee Jungwoo were not good.

There were no outright curses, but subtle swear words were heard here and there.

The previous super play had stimulated people in a good or bad way.

“He just needs to screw up himself. That X is holding others back.”

“Strike him out!”

“Lee! The Cubs seem very angry, so you hit a home run instead!”

“You’ve gathered enough strength, haven’t you! Now just explode!”

They thought a 4-game home run streak would be completed in one breath, but he snatched it away.

From the perspective of those who were cheering for Jeff Shelton, they couldn’t help but be angry.

On the other hand, the Braves fans were happy with Lee Jungwoo, who had poured cold water on the annoying guy.

Especially those who knew him well were looking forward to his at-bat.

“He looks good today?”

“Looking at the way he moves, he seems to be in good condition.”

“Lee is originally a guy who hits well after catching well. It’s okay to look forward to it, right?”

Lee Jungwoo, as they knew him, was a somewhat temperamental player who showed a good hit after a good defense.

After showing great movements, he always showed amazing hits in a row.

They had no doubt that he would do so this time as well.

The small number of away fans who took up one side of the stands, crushed by the Cubs fans, believed it.

[Lee Jungwoo is at bat. He showed a slightly disappointing performance yesterday. Will he be okay today?]

[He didn’t say anything himself, but according to manager Mancini and Derek Hunt, he had a bit of a cold. More accurately, it would be body aches. Looking at his movements earlier, it doesn’t seem like that today. You can look forward to it.]

To shake off the atmosphere of the previous day, the Korean commentators cheered for Lee Jungwoo while raising the tension as much as possible.

First of all, the atmosphere of ridiculing him or being a little disappointed had been somewhat broken by the previous super play.

If he hits one here,

it could be reversed again.

Lee Jungwoo, who was carrying their expectations and the fans, hit calmly.

He endured the bat as much as possible,

followed the ball with his eyes,

and tapped his toes to get the timing.

The count is two strikes and one ball. It’s still a count that leans towards the pitcher,

but among the people watching the game, no one thought the pitcher was at an advantage.

Except for the Cubs fans who were deceiving themselves, saying that he would strike out.

Even that was a minority,

‘Damn it, this doesn’t feel good….’

The Cubs catcher, who glanced at Lee Jungwoo, who lightly let go of the curveball that induced the bat and checked the course, glanced at the bench.

He had a bad feeling,

and the bench seemed to be thinking the same thing.

They sent a signal that they were prepared for a walk if necessary.

‘It’s fortunate that there are no runners because that pig struck out, but he’s fast. Is it okay?’

Even if he sends him out with a walk,

it wouldn’t be particularly beneficial to the pitcher, but the catcher, who felt more at ease, confidently demanded the ball.

Another curveball.

However, instead of a low changeup, this time it was a backdoor slider that went outside.

The pitcher, though a little reluctant to his request, faithfully carried it out.

While stretching his arm long,

the slider he threw touched the edge of the zone and soon went far outside.

It was a course that was far enough out of the zone to miss two balls, so it would be natural not to hit it,

but soon a shadow fell on the catcher’s mask.

It was a shadow created by the movement of the bat and the hitter’s large arm.

Paak-

The same batting sound that Jeff Shelton made earlier flowed through Wrigley Field.

The pitcher let his arm hang down,

and the trajectory and speed of the flying batted ball were the same as the batted ball that Jeff Shelton had hit, like the previous batting sound.

The only difference was

that the previous batted ball was flying towards the left-center field where the shortstop was,

but this batted ball was towards the right-center field, and the Cubs’ second baseman was not Lee Jungwoo.

“Catch it!”

The second baseman jumped up as if he wanted to be named in the defensive highlights of the week.

But his athletic ability was not enough.

The moment he stomped his feet, the batted ball had already passed leisurely over his head.

As if defying gravity,

it continued to rise endlessly and soon passed over the fence.

“Waaaaah!”

The Braves away fans cheered.

The surrounding Cubs fans glared fiercely and warned them,

but they didn’t listen to them at all.

They raised the volume even more each time boos rang out.

‘Now one.’

Lee Jungwoo, who checked the batted ball that had hit the seats where the startled spectators had fled after passing over the fence and bounced around here and there until the end, thought so.

As he said, it was only one now, and there were still many home runs left.

There were also many debts to repay.