Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 457 - 81: This World Can’t Wait to Hear the Stories of the Young

Then in that case, he might as well be a bit more disciplined himself: anyway, no matter how you look at it, it’s currently a bases-loaded situation for the Softbank Team, and Lin Guanglai as the batter has a myriad of ways to handle this at-bat—a walk, going for an economical hit, aiming for a mid-range or long-range hit... As long as he avoids a regular out, there are so many ways he can help the team expand their lead, the pressure is completely off him.

Catching the ball returned by the catcher, Tanaka Masahiro gave a thumbs up to his catching partner—having been battery partners for many years, Shima Keihiro is indeed one of the few who knows him best; obviously, his partner already knew this next pitch was the most crucial one in his entire plan—so much so that when returning the ball, Shima Keihiro deliberately asked the umpire for a brand new baseball.

Feeling the rough texture of the new ball skin in his hand, Tanaka Masahiro nodded at his partner, and smoothly tossed the ball towards home plate—over there, Shima Keihiro’s wide, heavy catcher’s mitt was already positioned just below the outer corner of the strike zone.

Lin Guanglai’s gaze was locked on to the baseball flying through the air, and he swung his bat flatly in the direction of the pitch, but this time, he missed the target.

Almost the moment he swung his bat, the ball thrown by Tanaka Masahiro took a sudden downward dive, and even before reaching the home plate, it was about to hit the ground; Lin Guanglai’s bat swung through thin air, and due to the excessive counterforce, even his footing was affected, causing him to stagger slightly.

The count was now 1 ball and 2 strikes. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"As expected of Senior Tanaka, that pitch really took advantage of my mindset today, though it was my own carelessness!" While adjusting outside the batter’s box, Lin Guanglai recalled the previous pitch, shaking his head with a laugh, "Indeed, going up against this level of pitching, there’s no room for greed!"

That previous pitch, Tanaka Masahiro deliberately threw an outside forkball, but his goal wasn’t to bring the ball into the zone, rather, it was to take advantage of Lin Guanglai’s aggressive mindset after his two home runs in earlier at-bats, luring him into a swing;

In other words, during that pitch, Tanaka Masahiro had precisely grasped and factored in Lin Guanglai’s home run experiences and the fleeting greed, making his aggressive mindset a point to be exploited.

Patting his own cheeks, Lin Guanglai kept reminding himself to stay calm:

"In this situation, Tanaka Senior and catcher Shima Keihiro are bearing pressure ten times heavier than mine. There’s no need for me to confront them head-on. What I should do this at-bat is the same as before—continuously drain the opponent’s stamina and psyche, then seize the opportunity for a hit!"

After readjusting his mindset and stance outside the batter’s box, Lin Guanglai stepped back in—and just by standing there, Tanaka Masahiro could clearly feel the change in the opponent: the previously restless, eager mindset had vanished, replaced with the same vibe from the first two at-bats.

This change made Tanaka Masahiro focus even more intently, as he knew that the showdown had once again reached a crucial moment.

If this showdown were an anime currently airing, then the Stand users behind Tanaka Masahiro and Lin Guanglai might have already started a fervent stand-off, with sparks flying and lightning flashing.

Lin Guanglai, pressured by the 2 strikes, unleashed his ability akin to chewing gum to extend the battle with Tanaka Masahiro—every pitch with even the slightest chance of being called a strike was mercilessly fouled off by him.

After a dazzling back-and-forth, the count came to 3 balls and 2 strikes, a full count, and both the pitcher and batter needed some time to relieve the immense pressure on their spirits and stamina.

On the mound, Tanaka Masahiro looked once again towards his catcher Shima Keihiro, signalling his thoughts through signs; after hearing his partner’s consideration for the deciding pitch, although a hint of difficulty flashed across Shima Keihiro’s face, he ultimately firmed his resolve, nodding towards Tanaka’s direction.

With the at-bat dragging on due to Lin Guanglai’s continuous foul balls, Tanaka Masahiro knew it was time to take a risk—if things went on like this, even if he managed to resolve Lin Guanglai in this at-bat, his pitch count would climb to an alarming number, likely preventing him from pitching the required innings.

And besides, sometimes overcoming a batter who’s completely on fire requires a bit of a do-or-die attitude.

Since being hit for a home run on an inside pitch in the first at-bat, Tanaka Masahiro and Shima Keihiro rarely attacked Lin Guanglai’s inside corner with strikes; even when they occasionally threw inside, it was more for intimidation or setting up, with few real threats.

After giving it thought, Tanaka Masahiro decided that for the next pitch, he would refocus the battlefield on the inside corner!

Taking a deep breath, completely relaxing his body, Tanaka Masahiro lifted his front leg high and thrust it forward, accompanied by a fierce body twist, he swung his arm out—sending a small white blur shooting from his fingertips towards home plate.

High inside fastball!

This pitch rose to about the height of Lin Guanglai’s hands gripping the bat, intended to catch him off guard and snag the final strike before he could react—after all, with all the previous pitches, Lin Guanglai had been tied up with outside pitches for too long; such a sudden inside pitch could likely bring the result Tanaka Masahiro and the Rakuten Team desired.

If given a chance to pause, Lin Guanglai would very much like to shake his head at Tanaka Masahiro and say:

"Senior Tanaka, why repeat the same mistake after already tasting defeat?"

As his eyes caught sight of the incoming pitch, Lin Guanglai roughly calculated the trajectory of the baseball; the next second, focusing intently, muscles throughout his entire body exerting together, channeling all the built-up power into the bat in his hands, and then—

"Thunk—!!!"

The third crisp sound of bat meeting ball in the entire game rang out, naturally.

The baseball flew, flew, over the mound, over the bewildered and despairing Rakuten infield, past the outfielders chasing desperately, and finally, for the third time, it fell into the red sea of the stands.

On the mound, Tanaka Masahiro didn’t dare to look back anymore, he painfully closed his eyes—this game’s experience would likely become an inescapable nightmare for countless future nights;

In the stands, Rakuten’s home fans were completely deflated, after so many ups and downs, even the most loyal and optimistic fans could muster no more energy.

In the broadcasting studio, Takeshita Yohei, who was responsible for commentating the game, along with two guests, were similarly speechless—all were stunned by the young man at the center of the field.

Not until Lin Guanglai ran back to home plate, celebrating with teammates in an embrace, did Takeshita Yohei withdraw his gaze and slowly begin to speak:

"Even though... this game has only reached the 6th inning, I suppose no one will disagree with what I’ll say next, right?"

"’Divine Son’ Tanaka Masahiro, once an Eiji Sawamura Award recipient, creator of a miraculous cross-season 28-game winning streak and an undefeated 24-0 season, has fallen in the first game of his series-deciding round..."

"And the one who defeated him was none other than Lin Guanglai, frequently compared by media against the luminous career of Takayama; I could even say that up to now, it was almost as if Lin Guanglai single-handedly defeated Tanaka."

"At 25 years old, Tanaka is far from old, in fact, the peak of his career is just beginning, but how does the saying go again...?"

"This world can’t wait to hear the stories of the young!!!"