Chapter 7

Chapter 6

Lee Jeong-woo clicked his tongue.

There was no way to make contact.

He had swung at a predetermined location, and it had hit perfectly.

He thought it felt good, as if he had really hooked it.

However, it seemed to have slightly missed the center.

'A foul home run. Still, I gave it a good impact.'

The powerful hit narrowly went outside the foul pole.

Although he was disappointed, Lee Jeong-woo nodded calmly.

He had anticipated that it would go outside, given the direction.

He had hoped the wind might blow it back in, but the day was calm.

'Although disappointing, there’s nothing I can do.'

Erasing the foul home run from his mind, Lee Jeong-woo looked at the pitcher again.

The pitcher's flustered expression was evident.

He could roughly guess what was going on.

'The pitcher probably underestimated me.'

Being hit hard by a seemingly insignificant opponent is more impactful than expected.

Even before his injury, Lee Jeong-woo would sometimes waver when he got a hit by a lower-order batter.

Knowing this, Lee Jeong-woo's eyes gleamed.

He had read the pitcher's mind.

Now it was time to use it to his advantage.

'They said he throws fastballs and sliders. His pride must be hurt. He won't throw a slider.'

He will try to catch me with a fastball.

If he were a seasoned player, it might be different.

But he's still young and likely to be stubborn.

So, the pitch will be a fastball.

Now, I need to think about the location.

Guess-hitting isn't the best approach, but it's the only way for me to hit the ball right now.

He thought hard.

'Will he throw it inside again? No, no. Even if he's stubborn, he won't throw it in the exact same spot after the last scare. He'll want to make me swing and miss. It will be a high fastball.'

It's not certain.

Actually, in baseball, certainty doesn't exist.

A .300 hitter can go hitless for ten games.

A 50-home run hitter can hit only ground balls for a month.

So, Lee Jeong-woo didn't have any certainty.

He just firmly believed in himself.

He believed in the swing that had torn his palms.

He believed in his practice.

His eyes were burning.

Flames seemed to rise behind the pitcher's back.

As Lee Jeong-woo had predicted, the pitcher's pride was deeply hurt.

He didn't want to admit that he had been hit by someone who had just switched to being a batter.

So, he wanted to distort the face of that guy who seemed to be mocking him.

An exaggerated windup.

It was a pitching form that might draw some comments if he became famous.

It wasn't a balk because it was consistent and didn't involve a double kick.

But it looked like he was taunting the batter.

However, despite the funny posture, the pitch was quite good.

'The weight when it hit the bat was also significant. I need to swing through it properly.'

If I don't make a proper impact, the bat will be pushed back, not the ball.

Lee Jeong-woo tightened his lips.

The follow-through must be perfect.

A firm swing.

Focusing on this, Lee Jeong-woo predicted the ball's trajectory and swung.

"Whoosh—"

He twisted his entire body and swung.

The swing that pulled the ball cleanly lifted the bat high.

He maintained his lead leg like a pillar and put all his strength into the heavy sensation of the bat making contact.

The clear sound of the hit rang out again.

But Lee Jeong-woo followed through properly until the end.

If he relaxed after hitting the ball, it would be worse than a swing and a miss.

"Huh, that was a good one."

As the catcher's low mutter reached him, Lee Jeong-woo retrieved his bat.

The sound and the sensation in his fingertips.

That was enough to know.

He had hit it well.

"Lee, how do you have so much power? You're smaller than me."

"I don't know. I guess I just do."

The ball that fell short of the fence.

A clean single that would easily reach second base.

If he were a fast runner, he could even aim for third base. Lee Jeong-woo nodded briefly.

Although he didn't hit it over the fence as he had aimed, he was still satisfied.

"Are you going to be a catcher? To be honest, I'm a bit scared."

The catcher made a joke.

It meant his hitting was stable enough to worry about his own position.

"Catching is tough. Your throws are slow, so it will be an automatic stolen base."

"Whoa, you didn't have to say that. Still, that was impressive."

The catcher chuckled and then got up to encourage the pitcher.

The pitcher must have been shaken.

He needed to calm the young pitcher down.

The catcher, muttering something, looked at the pitcher, who seemed uneasy.

The impact was significant.

A foul home run, while a big hit, is still a foul.

But this time, it was a solid hit that anyone could see.

If it were a real game, it would have allowed a runner in scoring position.

'Should I try to avoid it? Or go for a direct confrontation again?'

Without data, it's hard to make a quick judgment.

At first, he could guess because the pitcher was young, but now it depends on his personality.

If he is cautious and quick to recognize, he will pitch seriously.

He will work with tricky locations.

If he is proud, he will go for another direct confrontation.

A timid pitcher will throw balls.

'What kind of pitcher are you?'

The pitcher answered with a low outside fastball.

A cautious pitch.

He is not an emotional pitcher.

Realizing this, Lee Jeong-woo thought this was the real start.

'He will mix in breaking balls now.'

That will be tough.

He has seen many ambiguous breaking balls from pitching machines.

But real breaking balls are rare.

'At least he's a right-handed pitcher, which is fortunate.'

If a left-handed pitcher threw a slider that moved away from a right-handed batter, Lee Jeong-woo wouldn't know how to handle it.

He would have no choice but to wait or swing blindly.

A front-door slider that comes in from the outside and buries itself deep inside would be just as difficult.

So, it's fortunate that he's a right-handed pitcher.

'Of course, it's still tough, but at least it's better.'

Lee Jeong-woo relaxed a bit.

The pitcher was starting to throw tricky pitches, so it would be tough anyway.

He thought this was a good opportunity to gain some plate discipline.

The count quickly went to two balls and two strikes.

If the coach had caught the slightly off-target pitch, it would have been a called strike three.

'Now, the decisive pitch will come.'

Lee Jeong-woo read the timing.

It's the perfect moment for the decisive pitch.

A slider.

He has been testing with fastballs, so this is the right time to throw it.

'There's no way to handle it. I have to aim for the location and swing.'

Lee Jeong-woo thought.

Where will the pitcher throw the ball?

If he wants to strike me out for sure.

If he tries to deceive me, there's no point in thinking about it.

He will swing blindly, and it will definitely be a swing and a miss.

'He's not a great pitcher. If he wants to strike me out, he will aim for a safe location.'

So, he won't throw it too high or too low.

'He won't throw it at my body unless he's crazy.'

So, he won't throw it inside.

Now, it's easier to think.

Lee Jeong-woo gripped the bat a bit further down.

He will either aim for the outside or the middle. If it's a middle line, he will hit it.

Whether it goes foul or is caught for an out, it doesn't matter.

'Come on, throw it.'

He looked at the pitcher with burning eyes.

His face was expressionless as usual, but his eyes were filled with determination.

The pitcher responded as if answering him.

He threw with the same enthusiasm.

Swinging to the trajectory.

With a refreshing swing, Lee Jeong-woo laughed helplessly.

'Was it a vertical slider?'

The slider curved vertically, not horizontally.

He hadn't expected that.

It was his own mistake, so Lee Jeong-woo laughed briefly.

xxxx

'Lee's form has improved significantly. Not bad.'

Scott was satisfied.

It was too early to judge the results.

But it's quite encouraging that Lee can now make his own swing.

At this level, he won't be struck out easily.

At least, he will be able to take a solid swing.

'It might be time to let him play in a game...'

His defense position hasn't been decided yet, and he hasn't adapted.

Although the designated hitter is doing well, it might be hard to start him.

But it would be fine to use him as a pinch hitter at the end of a game.

Scott thought about recommending him to the coach and watched the game again.

One hit and one strikeout.

They were 1-1, but in a sense, the batter won.

Even if he gets out here, his batting average would be .300, and the hit was a solid extra-base hit.

Considering that the game started without knowing the pitcher's tendencies, the result is not bad.

'The pitcher isn't just any player. He came up from the bullpen. He's quite good.'

The pitcher coach's expression wasn't great, but Scott thought he would be satisfied.

The velocity isn't outstanding, but the movement is sharp.

Especially the breaking ball, whether it's a slider or a curve, is quite well-developed.

That's why he's a two-pitch starter.

'Now that Lee has seen the breaking ball, what will he do? He has been guess-hitting so far.'

It's obvious.

Lee sets a location and swings.

If he hits it well, it will definitely go over.

Of course, if he hits it well.

The previous hit was a long one because the pitcher did exactly as expected.

Now, it's uncertain.

The pitcher is taking the game seriously.

Showing his best pitches.

'If he were a batter with good plate discipline and contact ability, he would handle it well. But Lee lacks that.'

Scott viewed the remaining at-bats pessimistically.

But he was satisfied that he saw potential, so he watched the game with a more relaxed mindset.

The game progressed just like before.

Lee Jeong-woo seemed to be confident that the pitcher would exploit his lack of plate discipline.

The pitcher thoroughly toyed with him.

Lee Jeong-woo swung long but missed the ball.

This time, he would either strike out or, at best, hit a ground ball.

"Even though he switched, he's doing pretty well with practice..."

"He swings wildly, but his swing is much cleaner than before."

"Well, he has worked hard, to be honest."

The confrontation between the new player and the annoying one.

The players watching from the sidelines gradually began to acknowledge Lee Jeong-woo.

They had watched him work hard all this time.

Seeing the results in front of them, their closed hearts began to open.

"The rookie is doing well. The slider was good, right?"

"Was it a slider? I thought it was a curve."

"The coach said it was a slider. Sometimes it drops like that."

The batters put themselves in the current game.

If they had faced that pitcher with no information, how would they have done?

Without hitting a fastball and getting on base early, they would likely have swung and missed at the unique slider.

The pitchers, now more focused on the rookie who might threaten their positions, were less interested in mocking Lee Jeong-woo.

A player who might take their spot.

He didn't look so bad anymore.

'Thanks to him, a spot opened up, which was good...'

'He's a two-pitch starter, so he might switch to the bullpen. That would be a bit annoying.'

'Lee, just hit it. Send it over the stadium.'

They suddenly found themselves cheering for Lee Jeong-woo. The batters, while not cheering, at least acknowledged him.

Even if he struck out again, they wouldn't ignore or mock him.

But, they tried.

The situation was a bit strange.

Two strikes, one ball.

Including the foul, the pitcher had thrown four pitches.

Paharo seemed to think the timing was right and adjusted his grip.

A firm grip.

He was trying to strike him out again.

An 83 mph, big-breaking vertical slider was always his trump card.

Or, it was his trump card.

Lee Jeong-woo's eyes gleamed.

For some reason.

A ball he couldn't see at all.

'I can see it. I can see it so clearly.'

The trajectory, the speed, the drop, and even the stitches.

Lee Jeong-woo, as he traced the trajectory.

Set the bat like in golf.

His body almost lying down.

His waist rotated sharply.

The weight transfer was still awkward, but.

But it was enough now.

Even an awkward swing, if it hits the ball properly.

Smack—

The ball went over.

Watching the ball fly high into the sky.

Lee Jeong-woo thought.

'I guess I don't have the nerves to be a pitcher.'