Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 429 - 68: Who Is the True Hero?

"Has this game already set a new historic record?"

In the Sapporo Dome’s studio, even though the time has passed midnight and entered the next day, the commentator responsible for explaining the match feels no fatigue at all due to the constant secretion of adrenaline, and he continues to dutifully broadcast the live events to whoever is still watching on TV.

Initially, people thought this was just an ordinary formal match—facing SoftBank’s starting lineup, the Ham Team, playing with full force, should have won effortlessly. This would allow the home team to achieve victory and the visiting team to reach their rest goal, seemingly perfect.

Who would have thought that since the sixth inning, when both teams launched a wave of attacks, the game gradually deviated from the professional’s pre-game predictions, and both teams and players played with evident intensity, treating the match like a decisive battle in a championship.

This match, which started at six in the afternoon, has now finished 10 innings and lasted over 6 hours. It’s now past midnight of the next day—since professional baseball started keeping records, this is the longest game in Pacific League history, and in the history of Nippon Professional Baseball under the 12-inning extension rule.

On the field, both sides, now completely deployed, have exhausted their bullpens: SoftBank used 10 pitchers, while Japan’s Ham Team sent 8 pitchers, totaling 18, also setting a new Pacific League record.

Since the bottom of the sixth inning, neither SoftBank, aimed at winning, nor Ham, wanting to defend their home turf, managed any effective offense, and the score remained in a 5-5 stalemate.

Outside the dugout, Akiyama Koji stood with arms crossed, his face darkening—this game was heading towards the result he most wished to avoid.

According to the current rules of Nippon Professional Baseball, if a game ends tied after nine innings, it enters extra innings; if after 12 extra innings, no winner emerges, the game ends and counts as a tie in team standings.

The Ham Team, already certain of languishing at the bottom of the league, doesn’t really mind, but for Akiyama Koji and his SoftBank, having expended their bullpen strength for just a tie is an unacceptable outcome, a complete loss.

Scanning the remaining players on the bench, Akiyama Koji’s eyes finally rested on a tall and imposing figure:

"Guanglai, warm up now—after this inning ends, you’ll go up as a pinch hitter in the bottom half of the inning!"

Desperate to win, Akiyama Koji was putting everything on the line—as the team’s manager, sometimes one must show a do-or-die spirit, and this game was such a moment.

Upon hearing the manager’s instruction, Lin Guanglai sprang from the bench and headed to the designated warm-up area to prepare for the upcoming game action.

At the center of the field, the top of the eleventh inning was underway, with SoftBank’s newly substituted pitcher, Moriuchi Yasunori, on the mound. After a protracted battle lasting over six hours, the Ham Team’s batters clearly struggled, experiencing noticeable declines in swing speed and ball contact power.

First batter, Nishikawa Haruki, swung and missed an outside fastball, one out;

Second batter, Sugiya Kenshi, swung and missed an inside slider, two outs;

Third batter, Yo Daigon, let go of Moriuchi Yasunori’s pitch, and the umpire called a strike, three outs.

The first three Ham Team batters, known for their solid offense and defense, failed to do anything against the moderately skilled Moriuchi Yasunori, each striking out consecutively.

As the Ham Team’s fielders prepared on the field, the bottom of the eleventh inning commenced.

For SoftBank, determined to win this game, the lineup rotation reached the core hitters in this half-inning. With Lin Guanglai also coming in as a pinch hitter, it was decidedly their best chance to end the game.

"SoftBank requests a substitution, second batter, Imamiya Kenta, out; pinch hitter, Lin Guanglai, in." As announced over the Sapporo Dome’s loudspeakers, the warmed-up Lin Guanglai returned to the field, bat in hand, striding swiftly towards home plate.

Standing in the left batter’s box, he took a deep breath and, after relaxing his body, assumed his batting stance.

The pitcher the Ham Team sent out this half-inning was Yamaya Yohei, who was their third pick in last year’s draft meeting. Primarily appearing as a reliever or closer this season, his approximately 30 appearances have shown that he’s fairly well-utilized for a rookie player.

As a relief pitcher, Yamaya Yohei’s arsenal isn’t deep, with his main threats being a fastball averaging 142 km/h, reaching speeds up to 153 km/h, and a slider with significant movement. Occasionally, he also throws a forkball and a palm ball with braking effects.