Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 420 - 64: Dream Baseball Feast (Super - ) (Part 2)

"Ah? Me, me..." Lin Guanglai’s words made Chika Huangda feel a bit incredulous, and he quickly pointed to his own face.

"Yes, your physical condition is excellent, and the completion of all your pitches is also very high. Especially that forkball, it’s truly a top-notch signature skill—such strong ability, it’s always felt like a waste to only have you as a setup pitcher..."

"No, no... For me, being in my current position is already very satisfying, Guanglai, you don’t need to flatter me anymore..." Chika Huangda apparently lacked confidence, quickly waving his hand to indicate denial.

"Chika, I am serious! I truly think you should try transitioning to a starter. Even if it doesn’t work out this season, you should try next season or the one after that—didn’t Shetsu Shou come up this way? Back when he was a closer, he was the best closer, and after transitioning to a starter, he even won the Eiji Sawamura Award. There’s a living example right here, don’t you want to give it a shot?"

Lin Guanglai became more and more excited, even bringing up Shetsu Shou from the SoftBank Team as a current example to persuade Chika Huangda; alongside, Ohtani Shohei and Fujinami Jintaro listened and nodded, agreeing:

"Yeah, Chika, I also think you should totally consider Guanglai’s words. We’ve faced off against your SoftBank team many times, and many seniors on our Ham Team say your pitches are hard to hit—players like you, I feel the starter position is where you belong to truly shine."

"They’re not wrong. Although we haven’t played many games against each other, the few exchange games left quite an impression on our team’s batters, including your control, Chika, which I need to learn from."

Being persuaded by three genius players to try transitioning to a starter made Chika Huangda feel flattered, and also slightly swayed within:

Yeah, if one could shine as a starting pitcher, who would willingly play the role of a supporting intermediary pitcher their whole life?

Of course, the cautious personality cultivated during several years as a developmental player didn’t let Chika Huangda be overwhelmed by a rush of passion; he just grabbed a drink on the table, took a big gulp, then responded:

"Thank you for your support... but regarding this matter, let me think about it—at least this season, let me do my primary job as a setup pitcher well first!"

Although he didn’t say it out loud, a seed named "starter transition" had quietly taken root in Chika Huangda’s heart, waiting to someday break ground and grow into a towering tree.

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Fukushima Prefecture, Iwaki City.

The 2013 All-Star Game has already completed two matches: in the first match in Sapporo, the Central and Pacific League All-Star teams battled for nine innings and ended in a 1-1 draw; the next match moved to Shengong, where, thanks to the Hanshin Tigers player Takahiro Arai’s strong performance, the Central League won 3-1 against the Pacific League, taking the advantage.

Although voted as the most popular pitcher by fans, Lin Guanglai only played as a designated hitter or pinch hitter in the past two days’ matches, not taking on pitching duties; the coaching staff has scheduled him to pitch as a starting pitcher in tonight’s third game later.

However, for Lin Guanglai now, besides daily training and match appearances, he also needs to attend fan appreciation events arranged by the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization.

Providing dedicated and willing-to-pay professional baseball fans the chance for close interaction with their favorite players can significantly increase the team’s revenue, and apart from being a bit tiring for the players, it brings more advantages than disadvantages.

And Lin Guanglai, as a superstar in high school baseball, the most outstanding among the entire 2013 rookie class, coupled with his originally remarkable looks, is undoubtedly a huge draw, naturally included in the must-attend personnel list for related events.

For instance, today, shortly after waking up, he was brought over by professional baseball official staff to participate in the Pacific League fan meeting as a representative of the young players newly selected.

The Pacific League highly values today’s meeting, as seen from the participant selection: besides Lin Guanglai, the leading figure of the younger generation, they also brought in Matsui Jatou and Tanaka Masahiro currently active with the Rakuten Golden Eagles, forming a luxurious old-middle-young generation combination.

Tanaka Masahiro is one of the most outstanding local players now, and not only has he remained undefeated this season, but he has also single-handedly dominated various award selections in the Pacific League.

Meanwhile, Ko Matsumoto and Lin Guanglai are both players with outstanding looks and top-tier ability, making the atmosphere at the fan meeting wild with excitement.

Almost simultaneously as the three of them appeared, fans on the scene erupted into cheers and screams, and the originally orderly line became a bit chaotic.

Under the guidance of the staff, Ko Matsumoto, Tanaka Masahiro, and Lin Guanglai sat side by side in front of a long table.

Once they were ready, fans who obtained entrance tickets to the meeting through payment were let in one after another—the number of attendees wasn’t as many as Lin Guanglai had anticipated, almost around a hundred people.