Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 439 - 72: Fireworks Festival (Part 2)

Faced with this situation, Takayuki Kishi and Ginjiro Sumitani had two options: either take the huge risk of a hit-by-pitch and throw inside to Lin Guanglai to reestablish the pitcher’s authority; or increase the proportion of breaking balls, but that also presents a massive test for the pitcher’s control.

Lin Guanglai had full confidence in his batting abilities, and his batting strategy for this at-bat was to decisively swing unless it was an obviously bad ball, continually pressuring the pitcher.

Clearly, Ginjiro Sumitani, who was squatting behind Lin Guanglai, also noticed this. As the successor to Ito Kei and Hosokawa Kei, and a Golden Glove-level catcher, he signaled instructions to his team’s pitcher on the mound:

Since Lin Guanglai dared to stand so close to the plate, they naturally had to respond in kind—

This pitch was still going to emphasize pressing the batter inside, even if it might lead to a hit-by-pitch, absolutely not being suppressed in terms of pitch selection space right at the start of the game.

Kishi saw the signal on the mound and nodded slightly to indicate his agreement; his hands slowly came together in front of his chest, and the next second, Kishi’s slender body began to move quickly.

His pitching motion, like his nickname "Azure Blade," had that distinct figure in the Seibu Team’s away blue jersey, with each arm swing cutting through the air like a sharp blade—clean, crisp, deadly; his pitching stance was more than just a display of power, it was a flow of beauty.

If this ball could precisely land in the catcher’s mitt, successfully stifling Lin Guanglai and forcing him back to achieve a precious strike count, then it would naturally be a perfect performance.

But unfortunately, Lin Guanglai was destined to disappoint the Seibu fans indulged in this pitching show:

Facing the rapidly racing baseball towards home plate, Lin Guanglai’s entire body was like a drawn bowstring. Almost at the same moment the baseball flew above home plate, the power accumulated in his whole body was instantly unleashed—

"Thud—!!!" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

As the white ball was struck, it erupted with a crisp sound; then the entire ball shot up, racing towards the deep outfield; the Seibu outfielders also lifted their heads at the same moment, searching and confirming the baseball’s trajectory, chasing continuously towards the anticipated landing spot.

"Kishi’s firm inside pressure! His determination to intimidate the batter with this pitch is very strong—let’s see how Lin Guanglai responds!"

"He swings! He hits it!! The baseball is flying high!!! How about this ball, what do we say???"

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah——!!!"

"It’s out, it’s out—the Seibu outfielders couldn’t catch up!"

"My God! Lin Guanglai! Career first highlight game, first at-bat, first ball, first swing—first home run!!!"

"I can hardly believe my eyes! Lin Guanglai, is he really a rookie who hasn’t been in professional baseball for even a year? This performance is simply superhuman!"

"Before the game officially started, we were still discussing whether Lin Guanglai could continue his rookie debut record of hitting a home run, and we even discussed in which inning it might happen—the suspense ended up being terminated in the first at-bat of the bottom of the first inning..."

Having said so much in one breath, even Takeshita Yohei had to pause for a breath, though he still found it hard to calm the surging emotions in his heart.

He first glanced at the young man running rapidly in the infield, marveling once again at the other’s incredible talent, then looked through the screen towards the stands below the studio: when the baseball flew to the outfield stands of Yahoo Dome, the home SoftBank fans first froze and then erupted with a huge cheer that seemed to almost lift the dome’s roof.

Lastly, Takeshita Yohei looked towards the two guests next to him—if one’s mood could change the surrounding environment, Takeshita Yohei felt that he was likely caught in the middle of a volcano and an iceberg, suffering the torment of sudden heat and cold.

To his left, Ito Kei’s expression became somewhat gloomy, his serious expression showing his bad mood:

As a former cornerstone catcher of the Seibu dynasty, he didn’t think Kishi and Ginjiro Sumitani’s pitch selection choice was wrong—after all, Kishi was famous for his speed, ball quality, and control with a fastball, choosing an inside pitch to suppress the hitter and open up the outside pitch space seemed appropriate to him.

Rather than a strategic problem, it was simply due to Lin Guanglai’s excellent performance and ability to hit inside pitches that resulted in this home run.

Being hit with a solo home run by the opposing batter at the start of the match, more than the 1-point deficit, Ito Kei was more concerned about the players’ mentality at this moment—if they could withstand it, it wouldn’t be a problem, but if they couldn’t... he didn’t want to imagine the scenario ahead.

And for Kohkubo Yuuki, sitting to Takeshita Yohei’s right, his mood was easily visible on his laughter-creased face.

As a top batter himself, Kohkubo knew all too well the damage that a solo home run in the first inning, first at-bat, first pitch could do to a pitcher: more than the 1-point advantage, Lin Guanglai’s home run significantly hit Kishi’s confidence and had a substantial impact on the catcher’s pitch selection strategy.

Facing the SoftBank batters next, Seibu’s pitch-catcher duo would surely feel restricted by this solo home run—especially regarding inside pitches, Lin Guanglai had already presented a significant deterrence, setting an example for his subsequent teammates.

A batter whose mindset continues to fluctuate and whose inside pitch loses threat, in Kohkubo’s own words, would be not much different from a slightly intelligent pitching machine.

By this time, he kind of hoped he hadn’t come to the scene as a commentary guest today—wouldn’t it be nice to gather a few old friends from the Daiei era in Fukuoka or at home, drink and watch the home team pound the opponents?

"However, sitting in the broadcast room watching the match does have its own charm..." Thinking of this, Kohkubo leaned most of his weight onto the back of the chair behind him, half-sitting and half-lying as he continued watching the match.

Subsequent events on the field confirmed Kohkubo Yuuki’s precise grasp of the game situation:

In the bottom of the first, Kishi only gave up that 1 point from Lin Guanglai, but his entire state was clearly affected—not in control while facing subsequent batters, inconsistent with his usual standard; if it weren’t for Seibu’s steady defense players holding the situation, it almost certainly wouldn’t have conceded just 1 point this round.

In the broadcast room, Ito Kei beside Takeshita Yohei was also sweating for his team, silently praying his promising disciple could adjust during the top of the second inning’s break.

Unfortunately, Ito Kei’s hopes were dashed once more: Shetsu Shou was exceptionally sharp today, facing Seibu’s core batters at the top of the second inning, dispatched another three up and three down in a record time even less than 10 minutes, giving Kishi almost no time to adjust.

At the start of the bottom of the second inning, the scene Seibu fans least wanted to see happened again:

"Yanagida Yuuki at number six! The first at-bat at the bottom of the second! Another solo home run!"

"The SoftBank batters’ touch today is scorching! Kishi’s pitcher can’t resist the impact of the Pacific League’s strongest lineup at all!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, let’s hear the sounds from Yahoo Dome! I feel the broadcast room floor beneath me trembling!"

"Although there’s only a 2-point score difference, I think Watanabe Hisashi should have a good think—only 2 innings in, and Seibu’s already been hit with 2 home runs by the opponent..."

"If they want to win this game, they must make more adjustments!"