Pitcher’S End, Batter’S Start [EN]: Chapter 94

Pitcher done, batter up – 93

With popularity and expectations growing so rapidly that his mind couldn’t keep up.

After regaining his composure, Lee Jung-woo became a little more grounded than before.

And in some ways, a little more approachable.

[Oh! Nice catch! Lee dives to grab the batted ball!]

[It’s such a common sight now. Some joke that Lee is good enough to win MVP just with his shortstop defense.]

[Haha, MVP might be a stretch, but if he gets enough plate appearances, he’s definitely a Gold Glove contender.]

That was evident in the first game of August against the Nationals.

In the top of the 6th, Lee Jung-woo made a diving catch on a well-hit ball from the opponent’s seventh batter.

Normally, he would have just clapped lightly, received thanks from the pitcher, and dusted off his glove.

But today, he showed a more proactive demeanor.

“……!”

He shouted.

Gesturing demonstratively to the home crowd, who looked bewildered.

[Oh? Lee is acting a bit different than usual? He’s shouting loudly.]

[Haha, he looks even happier than when he hit four consecutive home runs. He’s usually a pretty quiet player, so something good must have happened today.]

Not only the audience but even his teammates and the commentators were surprised.

Just as the faces of the Nationals players, caught off guard by the unexpected celebration, were turning red.

Truist Park began to roar and pulsate.

“Waaaaaaaah!”

Perhaps the impact is greater when someone who doesn’t usually act does something.

The audience screamed and whistled, responding with cheers.

His teammates, still bewildered, seemed to be in a good mood from the rookie’s newfound spirit.

They actively moved and joined in.

“What’s with the celebration all of a sudden? Thanks, it lightened the mood a bit.”

“I’m not a franchise star, but I’m at least a franchise rookie now. I have to do this much.”

“Yeah, that’s what the fans want. Good job.”

Derek chuckled with satisfaction.

He playfully tapped Lee Jung-woo’s butt with his glove.

Thanks to the sudden excitement in the stadium.

The Braves, who were trailing 3-1 against the bottom-ranked Nationals due to an overall sluggish batting lineup, showed a much more relaxed performance in the bottom of the 6th.

[Oh! The hit parade started by fourth batter Peterson! Extends to pitcher Mason Looper’s at-bat! A clean hit to center field and second runner Poppin scores! The Braves reverse the score to 4-3!]

[They’ve completely gained momentum. This is the Braves! Once they get hot, they show their true colors with an explosive power that doesn’t quit.]

“Yeeeeeeeees!”

Watching the enthusiastic crowd and his teammates, who seemed more excited than usual.

Lee Jung-woo felt that his idea was right.

‘Yeah, instead of just feeling burdened and awkward, now I need to adapt and get used to it.’

He had always pushed himself, fearing he might collapse like before.

He was consumed by the thought that he had to do better to avoid that.

But not anymore.

Rather than pushing himself too hard, Lee Jung-woo decided to show the fans what they wanted to see, what they expected from him, in a more relaxed manner.

‘Now I’m a star.’

Lee Jung-woo smiled brightly.

His performance in today’s game was 1 hit in 4 at-bats.

A slightly lacking performance compared to what he had shown so far.

But his heart was clearer than ever.

####

[Jung-woo Lee, Player of the Month for July!]

[Lee receives a reward for July that will be remembered forever!]

[An undeniable performance. Lee’s award is only natural.]

After the Washington Nationals series.

Lee Jung-woo received the Player of the Month award, like a reward for his newfound mental ease.

But the reaction was smaller than expected.

“It’s obvious. Who else would get it if not Lee? Lee in July was the best ever in league history.”

“Actually, I’m not even excited. I already expected it.”

In fact, Braves fans were happy, but they didn’t express particularly intense joy.

They just checked the internet articles or the sports section of the newspaper.

And nodded with satisfied faces.

It was something everyone had already expected. And he had achieved such overwhelming results, even stealing bases, while showing home runs and hits, to the point of calling it a historic July.

And he had already achieved an unbelievable record of four consecutive home runs in one game, drawing all the attention.

Relatively, the Player of the Month award felt a little underwhelming.

Therefore, while the reaction to the award itself was a bit indifferent.

The fans’ worries only grew.

The day was approaching when a rookie who was so good that the Player of the Month award was a given would be temporarily removed from the roster.

[Ugh, Lee is going to Korea soon. What are we going to do in the meantime?]

[Why? What’s going on? Why is Lee going to Korea? Did Pratt, that Motherf****r, upset him? Is that why he’s leaving?]

[It’s not that. It’s that… he has to participate in the Olympics-like competition between Asian countries as a national representative.]

It was the Asian Games.

Lee Jung-woo, who had long been named to fill a void in the final roster due to an unfortunate incident.

Although Braves fans already knew about it, as General Manager Pratt had interviewed that he would gladly send him.

In fact, it didn’t really hit them, but as the schedule approached.

Fear arose.

[I can’t even imagine who will play shortstop instead of Lee…]

[I’ve already forgotten the names of the shortstops who were there before Lee? :)]

[What is the front office doing! Just take Lee’s passport! Don’t let him go to Korea!]

Eventually, Braves fans showed a strong aversion to the act of Lee Jung-woo being temporarily removed from the roster, even showing extreme reactions.

Some didn’t even understand Lee Jung-woo’s participation in the competition itself.

There was even an incident where they bombarded the front office with phone calls.

[Why does Lee have to go to a competition that I don’t even know the name of? I still don’t understand. Why did Pratt even allow it?]

[Korea still has conscription [mandatory military service]. All adult men are subject to military service. If you win a gold medal at the Asian Games or a bronze medal or higher at the Olympics, you are exempted.]

[What the F*** is that! Can’t Lee just naturalize [become a US citizen]?]

[How precious is each game to Lee! There are already few games, so ROY [Rookie of the Year award] is ambiguous!]

Occasionally, enraged fans vented their anger and caused a disturbance on the internet.

But there was a magic word to calm them down.

[Are we going to send Lee for a while this time and keep using him? Or are we not going to send him this time and not be able to use him for two years later? It’s better to send him now and cheer him on, right?]

[F***… Sigh. So, a gold medal means exemption, right? I’m going to support Korea no matter what.]

[I’m going to watch every game. Make sure you win, Korea!]

[If you hold Lee back, you’re dead. Make sure you win a gold medal!]

Suddenly, the Korean national team gained unexpected supporters.

As that reaction spread here and there, Korean baseball fans felt unexpected national pride.

Lee Jung-woo felt a little sorry.

“I’m sorry for leaving suddenly during an important time.”

In Lee Jung-woo’s view, the Braves had reached a turning point.

If they continue to ride the momentum and accumulate wins, or catch up with the Phillies, a post-season is possible.

Conversely, the moment they stumble even a little, the fall baseball [playoffs] will fly away.

In such a time, it was clear that it would be a big problem for the Braves for one of the key hitters and the core of the defense, the shortstop, to be removed from the roster.

There aren’t many games during that period.

But it was obvious that he would regret it until the next season because of the short disappointment of those few games.

“We played baseball well even when you weren’t here. Don’t worry too much.”

“Yeah, yeah, how much have you played that you’re so worried? You’re still a rookie.”

His teammates, who realized Lee Jung-woo’s feelings, rather encouraged him or acted playfully.

Rather, Lee Jung-woo got more fired up because of their consideration, and he thought.

‘The call-up date is August 16th. There are about eleven games left until then. Okay, I’ll win at least 8 games and get on the plane.’

At least win as much as possible before leaving.

Lee Jung-woo’s eyes lit up as he slowly counted the remaining games.

####

Lee Jung-woo’s first victim of his determination was the Mets.

“Were you warming up 2nd place well!”

“We’re going to take it back, so keep it safe! Don’t be too happy!”

Mets fans who visited Truist Park were quite noisy.

They were also burning with their own determination.

The New York Mets, who were still unhappy that the Braves, who had always been under their feet as long as they could remember, had dared to steal their place, were determined to reclaim it.

Lee Jung-woo cheerfully crushed their wishes.

‘It’s a bit uncomfortable because he’s a left-hander with good control and likes to use inside pitches. But the average fastball speed is 93 miles per hour, and the quality is mediocre. The curve, slider, and changeup aren’t very powerful either. The main repertoire is in-out-in. He sometimes induces a swing and a miss with a 96-mile high fastball. But he mainly gets strikeouts by making the batter follow the slider that goes outside. It was the same in the last game.’

In the first game, Lee Jung-woo attacked the opposing pitcher with a slightly more cold-blooded approach than usual.

Every time the pitcher changed.

He recalled and reviewed the things he had meticulously recorded in the power analysis team’s reports.

Even when a new pitcher greeted him in the bottom of the 8th.

Lee Jung-woo recalled his information and went to the plate.

One out, and runners were already filling 2nd and 3rd base.

When he stepped into the plate at a time when he could perhaps put the game away.

The home crowd greeted him with a chant that had become familiar now.

“ROY! ROY!”

ROY. Rookie of the Year.

After four consecutive home runs.

The audience openly called Lee Jung-woo that.

Saying it was practically confirmed.

At first, he was a little embarrassed.

Lee Jung-woo, who had changed his mindset, waved to those who were shouting and acted calmly.

“This is your world, isn’t it? The world is going so comfortably, right?”

“Yeah. This is the life of a genius. It’s a really good life. Don’t you think?”

“F***ing bastard.”

Lee Jung-woo, who gave a refreshing answer to the catcher who was picking a fight for no reason, looked at the pitcher.

The pitcher was clearly nervous.

Most of the pitchers who faced him after achieving the record showed such an appearance.

It would have been nice if that emotion was fear. But it was caution and tension.

The pitchers didn’t back down.

They threw more carefully than before.

‘What are you going to do?’

As Lee Jung-woo asked with his eyes.

The pitcher’s answer was a fastball that was tightly packed inside.

The course was quite close to the body, as it was a course that was missing about one and a half balls from the zone.

The referee glanced at the pitcher and catcher, but because the batter didn’t even pretend to avoid it.

He soon looked straight ahead again.

“Ball.”

Lee Jung-woo looked at the pitcher.

He was maintaining a poker face as much as possible, so his expression wasn’t really readable.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t figure out what he was thinking.

‘Do you think I’m going to be scared by that? Even if I get hit by that slow ball, it won’t even scratch my body.’

Lee Jung-woo sent the pitcher a look full of such thoughts.

He even stuck closer to the home plate more tightly, as if teasing him.

The catcher acted immediately.

“It’s too close, isn’t it? Aren’t you going to stop him?”

“He’s completely inside the batter’s box.”

The referee had a difficult expression on his face due to the light power struggle-like argument between them.

It was a bit ambiguous for him to take sides with anyone for sure.

“Hmm… It looks like it to me too. But it’s still dangerous, so don’t stick too close.”

When the referee ended with a light warning, the catcher grumbled something in a low voice, and the pitcher’s brow furrowed.

It was trivial, but he had at least psychologically gained a little advantage.

Lee Jung-woo nodded with satisfaction and focused on the game again, and then he felt it.

‘I have a feeling he’s going to stick it on me one more time. Can I hit it?’

Lee Jung-woo’s answer to the question he asked himself was YES.

‘Even if it’s not the sweet spot [center of the bat], so I can’t hit a long hit. I can hit a single.’

That was enough.

The 3rd base runner is the nimble Derek.

Joey, the 2nd base runner, isn’t fast, but he’s not as slow as Peterson.

Even if he can’t get past the outfielders. If he hits it a little deep. If he does well, he might be able to sweep.

‘Let’s do it.’

Lee Jung-woo adjusted his bat.

He hoped that his hunch and judgment would be correct.

When he wet his parched throat with saliva due to tension.

The pitcher stretched out his body while hiding the ball as much as possible.

He wasn’t a pitcher with good deception.

But he was a pitcher who threw while hiding the ball as much as he could within the limits of what he could do.

Lee Jung-woo’s eyes captured him straight.

His pupils followed his left hand.

As his straight arm was thrown out.

The ball at the tip of his hand flew with its full force.

The course was very.

‘I’ll hit it.’

It was close.

Taak-

A clean hitting sound that was cut off rather than a majestic force rang out.

Because the audience always wanted a home run from Lee Jung-woo.

When a slightly short hit came out, some showed disappointment.

But most cheered.

Even if it wasn’t a home run. It was practically a shot that decided the game.

“Run! Run! Run!”

[Lee Jung-woo hit it! The right fielder was too conscious of the long hit! The hit fell short. It was a misjudgment! 3rd base runner scores! Is the 2nd base runner coming in too?]

[Joey Freeman has to come in! He can definitely come in!]

The manager, coach, and even the Korean commentators (?) became one and urged Joey on.

Joey, who ran while shaking the ground with his big body full of muscles, even if it wasn’t heavy, touched the base before the throw that flew similarly.

“Safe!”

[Lee Jung-woo sweeps with a 1-base hit. The game is 6-3! It’s leaning heavily towards the Braves.]

Lee Jung-woo was bothered by the appearance of the visiting team fans, who were now very depressed compared to when they were shouting hard before the game.

But he didn’t feel sorry.

‘Now 1 win. At least I’m going to sweep the Mets and go to Korea.’

Because they still had to lose about two more times in Lee Jung-woo’s calculations.