Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 369 - 19: Dual Swordsmanship Unleashed

March 27, 2013, is two days away from the rekindling of the new season fire in Nippon Professional Baseball.

But for Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks manager Akiyama Koji, a significant issue is now laid before him:

According to the regulations of professional baseball, he needs to submit the starting lineup before 3 PM tomorrow for the opening game. He has already decided on most of the starting players’ positions, but there is still one crucial position he’s uncertain about.

Judging from the preseason performance, the foreign player Pena, whom the club signed with a salary of 140 million yen, has major issues with his physical condition during the off-season, and his overall state is extremely poor.

Moreover, his position in the batting order happens to be the critical fourth designated hitter—truth be told, with Pena’s current state, Akiyama Koji is not keen on making him a starter.

If he chooses to remove Pena from the starting lineup, then the designated hitter position must be filled by a strong batter; however, the SoftBank lineup isn’t so luxurious that it can randomly rearrange without consequence, and the result of robbing Peter to pay Paul might be defensive errors.

Or... simply opt not to have a designated hitter, and just let a pitcher with decent batting skills start—

From the first moment this idea arose, Akiyama Koji found it difficult to suppress the emotions swelling in his heart. As the thoughts unfolded, the entire lineup outline became increasingly clear.

"Snap!" Enthralled by excitement, Akiyama Koji raised his right hand and slammed it down onto his office desk.

"It’s decided! The starting nine for the new season opening game!"

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, that hurts!!!" As the adrenaline subsided, the intense pain in his palm caused him to cry out in agony.

Now that the selection of the starting nine is more or less settled, Akiyama Koji, as manager, needs to manage not only the game affairs—he also needs to call certain players to explain the situation to maintain the harmony and stability of the locker room.

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"Ah Zheng, can you come to my office now?" After training ended the next morning, Akiyama Koji found Shetsu Shou in the bullpen sharing experiences with young pitchers and extended an invitation to him.

In the office, Akiyama Koji had Shetsu Shou sit in front of him, and after a moment of silence, he slowly began: "Ah Zheng, since I took over the team, you’ve been following me, haven’t you?"

This sudden question from his manager left Shetsu Shou bewildered; however, he still recalled and responded:

"Yes, Manager, when I was picked by the club at the end of 2008, President Wang had just retired as manager, and you gave me the chance for the main army debut, and afterward, you also transitioned me to a starting pitcher— to me, Manager Akiyama, you are my mentor; without you, there would be no Shetsu Shou today."

Upon hearing such sincere words from his beloved disciple, Akiyama Koji felt even more guilty about what he was about to say.

But as a manager, personal emotions ultimately cannot outweigh the team’s interests. With a deep sigh, Akiyama Koji addressed Shetsu Shou:

"Ah Zheng, I’ve called you over today to tell you something—about the starting pitcher choice for tomorrow’s opening game at home, I might not choose you..."

Stopping here, Akiyama Koji specifically paused to observe Shetsu Shou’s expression. Seeing no significant change in his demeanor, he continued:

"The season has just begun, and the team has some issues that need addressing..."

"Manager Akiyama."

Suddenly breaking his silence, Shetsu Shou interrupted Akiyama Koji’s explanation, slowly raised his head, and directly addressed his mentor:

"You’re the main team’s manager and the ’captain’ of our big ship. Regarding personnel decisions, I support all your decisions; you don’t need to explain anything to me."

"Everyone can see how poor Pena’s condition is, and this topic has been discussed many times in the locker room lately—I know you want to deploy Guanglai as the starter, fully utilizing his dual swordsmanship advantage, right?"

Akiyama Koji nodded, affirming this assumption.

"I support your choice, Manager."

"Guanglai is a talented young man, and he’s willing to work hard in training; his future achievements will absolutely eclipse mine by far—I’m turning 30 this year, and I suppose in three to five years, I’ll be settling back with my family. Indeed, it’s time for the club to cultivate future prospects." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"So, Manager, feel free to do whatever you want— I’m not sure what others might think, but at least for me, as long as it’s beneficial to the team, I won’t harbor any resentment whatsoever."

After finishing this lengthy discourse, Shetsu Shou mischievously smiled: "Of course, Manager, while I won’t be pitching at the Yahoo Dome opening game, I shouldn’t be excluded from opportunities in the three matches against Rakuten, right?"

Faced with Shetsu Shou’s banter, the initially stunned Akiyama Koji, moved by his noble words, broke into a chuckle, replying:

"Of course, you’re still our ace pitcher at SoftBank—there’s no way I’d exclude you from the starting lineup, no matter how sneaky I might be."

Walking out of the office, the master and apprentice proceeded side by side, and looking at Shetsu Shou, who had slightly changed with age, Akiyama Koji couldn’t help but sigh:

"Ah Zheng, elevating you to the first team during spring training in ’09 was the most correct decision I’ve made in my life!"

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Standing in the training field, Akiyama Koji held the list of starting nine for the new season’s opening game, addressing the main team’s players.

Before heading to the training field, the official list had already been submitted to the Nippon Professional Baseball. Upon receiving the opening game starting lineups, the officials, sensing the heat, immediately posted the list online.

"Boom—" The list was like a clap of thunder on the ground; once released, it completely ignited the media and audience’s enthusiasm for the new season.

On Rakuten’s side, because ace pitcher Tanaka Masahiro had been overloaded in the Classic, Manager Hoshino Senichi deployed rookie Nakamoto Ango, the second pick this year, as a starting pitcher—marking the first time in 29 years a newcomer takes on opening game starter.

SoftBank’s move was even more dramatic; when journalists examined the starting list, they found that in the Pacific League allowing DHs, SoftBank didn’t utilize a designated hitter to replace the pitcher in this game.

And the name in the pitcher position was Lin Guanglai.

season’s opening game: Dual Swordsmanship, unleashed!!!