Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 401 - 50: Clearing the Benches

"Coach, I don’t know if you’ve felt the same, but I think the atmosphere of this game is getting increasingly off." In the open space outside the players’ area, the head coach of the SoftBank Team, Daiichiro Oishi, covered his mouth with his hand and said these words to Akiyama Koji, who was standing next to him. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Looking at the ongoing game on the field not far away, Akiyama Koji nodded gravely:

"You’re right, these Hanshin fans from Kansai are absolutely crazy, and just now, Guanglai swung his bat in front of so many people. It seems those Hanshin fans are quite angered."

"After this whole inning is over, let’s substitute Guanglai and have him take a break—he’s been performing a bit too brilliantly here at Koshien today. He’s probably become a thorn in the side of many on the opposing team; if we keep him on, I’m worried..."

Akiyama Koji stopped mid-sentence, not continuing what he was about to say; beside him, Daiichiro Oishi naturally understood what he intended to express, and knowingly nodded.

"Sigh—"

Thinking of Lin Guanglai’s behavior just now, Daiichiro Oishi sighed and pretended to complain angrily:

"You know, this kid Guanglai is really something. If he just hit the home run and followed the usual procedure, it would have been fine. But no, he had to swing his bat in front of these crazy Hanshin fans—I foresee that if he comes to Koshien again, he won’t receive a warm welcome if he’s the starter..."

Akiyama Koji merely laughed at this and replied, "These young people today have plenty of personalities, quite different from our time... Though I find it better for young people to have some edges and individuality; otherwise, watching 19 and 20-year-olds play the kind of ball typically seen from middle-aged men in their forties is quite boring."

Regarding what his partner just said, Daiichiro Oishi naturally scoffed:

"You have the nerve to say that. I think Guanglai has been led astray by you. During your player days, didn’t you do things that went against the mainstream sentiment of the time?"

"Not to mention, your forward roll celebration before reaching home plate, didn’t you get scolded by predecessors and the media all those years ago? Guanglai was such a good kid when he joined the team. I believe it’s your influence..."

Hearing his old trails being dug up by his old partner, Akiyama Koji felt a bit embarrassed and awkwardly touched his nose, forcefully changing the subject.

"Haha... Let’s watch the game, watch the game!"

In the field, the game had progressed to the top of the sixth inning, with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks leading the host Hanshin Tigers by 3 to 1—during the first five innings, Lin Guanglai had made seven strikeouts in total, and although the Hanshin Tigers managed to score 1 point through consecutive sacrifice plays, the rhythm of the game was still firmly in the hands of the visiting SoftBank team.

In the top half of the sixth inning, SoftBank’s offensive began with the fifth batter, Matsuda Naohiro: as the lead batter of this half of the inning, Matsuda Naohiro chose to swing at a fastball thrown by Messenger towards the inside corner. Unfortunately, he was still forced into an awkward angle, barely hitting a fly ball towards the third base, which was easily caught by Nishikawa Gou guarding Hanshin’s third base.

Following him in the batting order, Yoshimura Yuuki, recreated the scene of Lin Guanglai’s confrontation with Toriyama Kei earlier. After battling Messenger to a full count with three balls and two strikes, Yoshimura Yuuki chose to let the low inside pitch go, only for the home plate umpire to call it a strike, and Yoshimura Yuuki was struck out.

The seventh batter, Imamiya Kenta, fully displayed his tenacity and fighting spirit, continuously fouling off pitches and deliberately disrupting the rhythm. Through this back-and-forth, he managed to walk to first base after drawing a walk on four balls.

Just as Imamiya Kenta reached first base and handed his protective gear to a stepping forward teammate, the uproar in Koshien Stadium surged once more:

Those Tiger fans in the stands contorted their faces, jeering; some went as far as cursing Lin Guanglai directly, completely devoid of any so-called grace.

Even as Lin Guanglai stepped into the batter’s box, the unrest showed no signs of abating; trailing in score and struggling in the game, these fans desperately needed an outlet, and it was unfortunate that Lin Guanglai became the target of their frustration in this match.

On the mound, in an angle unseen by Lin Guanglai, the starting pitcher for today, Randy Messenger, looked down at the baseball in his hand, a hint of malice in his eyes, seemingly making some sort of resolve.

Behind the Hanshin catcher, the home plate umpire gently pointed toward the pitcher’s mound with his right hand, indicating to Messenger to begin pitching:

"Play Ball!"

Just moments after the words were spoken, Messenger hurled the baseball towards home plate.

Facing the incoming ball, Lin Guanglai tensed slightly, preparing to swing depending on the situation, yet in the next second, the baseball flew towards him.

"Ah—!!!"

A sharp, agonizing cry echoed, as Lin Guanglai fell directly onto the ground, clutching his side under the ribs tightly, his body trembling continuously.

On the mound, Messenger, after hitting a batter, did not remove his cap to express an apology, as per the unwritten rules of Nippon Professional Baseball.

The first to lose composure was Akiyama Koji standing outside the player’s area on the SoftBank side—seeing Lin Guanglai in pain on the ground, Akiyama Koji felt his heart sink. The next second, a fiery rage rose from the depths of his heart.

In such a furious state, he ran straight onto the field, aiming directly for Messenger on the mound as if he wanted to argue with him; had it not been for Daiichiro Oishi, who quickly grabbed him, Akiyama Koji might have rushed to the mound and pushed him.

Seeing the situation on the field abruptly change, Hanshin Tigers’ coach Wada Toyohiko also stepped out of the players’ area onto the field, physically expressing his stance—as a coach, he had the duty to protect his players.

This personal vendetta between pitcher and batter rapidly escalated, quickly involving everyone from both teams: with both coaches entering the field as the ignition point, all the players in the field and on the bench rushed onto the field one after another, intensely arguing, with the confrontation seeming to escalate further.

The confrontation on the field also further fueled the home fans’ fervor in the stands, their cheers, calls, jeers, and chants fanning the flames of this conflict even more!

This is the first benches-clearing brawl of the season!