Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 490 - 95: The Flames of War Ignite Again (Part 2)

"This highly anticipated opening match of the new season is finally about to officially begin!"

As the home plate, infield, and outfield umpires signaled readiness, the first official game of the 2014 season officially commenced: Lotte Team’s leadoff hitter, Ikuhiro Kiyota, walked into the batter’s box, shouted loudly, and pointed his bat towards the outfield—this was his declaration of war against the pitcher, expressing his confidence in hitting the ball into the outfield.

The broadcast camera immediately focused on the pitcher’s mound: seeing the opponent pitcher’s behavior, which was akin to provocation, Lin Guanglai’s face on the screen showed no joy or sorrow, as if he was indifferent; he merely focused intently on the signal Takeshima Shinya made, nodding lightly towards the opponent.

Behind him, SoftBank Team’s infield and outfield players slightly lowered their body weight, ready at any moment to handle the baseball hit into the field.

The entire dome temporarily quieted down, everyone waiting for Lin Guanglai to throw his first pitch of the new season.

"Ikuhiro Kiyota is not a conventional leadoff hitter; on the contrary, he is considered a power hitter with a wide range, especially adept at hitting long drives to the opposite right field direction, which you should pay attention to; but he has power in excess, lacking skill, with a batting average below .250 in the past few seasons, which is something you can exploit."

Recalling the coach’s advice during the pre-game analysis meeting, Lin Guanglai and Takeshima Shinya, this new pitcher-catcher duo, also confirmed the approach for the first at-bat—perfect timing to showcase the results of the offseason and spring training.

After a smooth and fluid pitching motion, the baseball shot out from Lin Guanglai’s fingertips; in Ikuhiro Kiyota’s eyes, whether it was the pitching posture, arm swing method, or the initial speed of the baseball, they all undoubtedly indicated the identity of this pitch as a fastball.

Having already prepared his body for hitting, Ikuhiro Kiyota seized the moment and swung the bat.

However, the expected crisp sound of hitting did not appear, replaced instead by the sound of the high-speed bat slicing through the air and the explosive sound of the baseball entering the catcher’s glove.

"Struck!" At the same time as the umpire’s call sounded, the SoftBank fans in the stands erupted.

"Wow! A beautiful cutter pitch! Over 150 km/h in speed and trajectory, it’s practically art; for a moment, it even reminded me of Mariano Rivera!" In the studio, Takeshita Yohei couldn’t help but exclaim. Beside him, as the catcher, Shiroyama Kenshi also nodded repeatedly.

Having mastered fastballs, sliders, forkballs, and changeups, during this offseason, Lin Guanglai continued to expand his arsenal—what he targeted was the widely applicable cutter pitch.

As a variant of the fastball, apart from the finger position while gripping the ball, the cutter pitch is almost identical to a regular fastball, but veers towards the outside corner of right-handed hitters upon entering the plate, while maintaining close speed to a regular fastball.

From the pitcher’s mound to the home plate, the distance gives the batter less than 0.2 seconds to react; moreover, even if the batter manages to hit the ball, the characteristics of the cutter make it difficult to hit the baseball’s sweet spot, mostly resulting in ground balls, or even broken bats are not impossible.

The New York Yankees’ once guardian Mariano Rivera was renowned for his cutter pitch throughout the baseball world—when he retired last year, his opposing teams even gifted a rocking chair made from the bats he had broken, attesting to the strength of this pitch.

For Lin Guanglai, who can throw over 160 km/h fastballs, mastering the cutter pitch can undoubtedly elevate his threat level—since the latter half of last season, he deliberately strengthened this pitch; after returning to training during the offseason, he worked hard on it.

Now his cutter pitch is at least sixty to seventy percent developed; next, he should focus on further increasing speed or enhancing the horizontal movement of the baseball.

Having gone through a whole offseason, Lin Guanglai was evidently quite excited to return to the field today;

If this initial 150 km/h cutter pitch was just an appetizer, then the main course didn’t keep the home fans waiting long today.

Soon, under the Yahoo Dome’s ceiling, Lin Guanglai’s super-speed pitch capable of igniting the entire venue reappeared:

155, 158, 161... Alongside the rapidly flashing numbers on Eagle’s Vision were the racing heartbeats of all on-site SoftBank fans, and the already feverish atmosphere was further inflamed.

Under such a fierce and swift attack, although Ikuhiro Kiyota excelled at wide-angle hitting, it was to no avail; after just a tad bit of resistance, he was struck out by Lin Guanglai’s high fastball, giving the opponent’s new season its first strikeout.

"Lin Guanglai seems to be in especially good form today; the perceived speed of his fastball feels faster than the numbers suggest! Moreover, those pitches are mostly targeted at the edges of my strike zone, the hardest positions; if not swung at, they could easily be judged as strikes..."

Almost back in the player zone, Ikuhiro Kiyota relayed his feelings during the recent confrontation to his teammates, "The key is he seems to have mastered the cutter pitch now, which very possibly renders our pre-match strategy obsolete!"

Seeing the situation, Lotte Team’s supervisor Ito Kei sighed slightly, "Since that’s the case, try to exhaust his stamina first—select pitches wisely, exhaust pitch counts, aim to knock him off the field for now!"

As they shone as new stars last season, Lotte naturally did extensive homework to deal with Lin Guanglai, studying his game footage closely many times:

Preferred pitches under different counts, favorite pitches for decisive moments, differences in release points between various pitches... But theoretical analysis from big data is one thing, actual combat is another—

Just as Ikuhiro Kiyota said, today’s Lin Guanglai, exceptionally good form!

Rapid speed, precise control, and the pitcher-catcher synergy resembling longtime veteran teammates—against Lin Guanglai’s sharp offensive, Lotte’s hitters could hardly hold their ground.

"Strike! Batter struck out!"

"Strike! Batter struck out!"

In this exaggerated top half of the inning, SoftBank’s other seven defenders almost caught a cold; Lin Guanglai and Takeshima Shinya’s coordination alone overwhelmed Lotte’s hitters, one by one struck out.

Jogging down the pitcher’s mound and exchanging a high-five with his new partner, Lin Guanglai also waved towards the home fans in the stands, responding to their cheers.

On Lotte’s side, supervisor Ito Kei continued to console his players, advising them to defend well and focus on the late stages of the game.

Soon enough, this last bit of hopeful presumption was utterly shattered:

This rejuvenated SoftBank lineup, in just one bottom of an inning, completely demolished the Chiba Lotte Team from all angles!

Starting with the leadoff Honda Yuichi, SoftBank Team hit consecutive singles in six at-bats, amassing six runs in just half an inning, rapidly widening the score gap—even without Lin Guanglai in the lineup!

Outside the Lotte rest area at the field’s edge, Ito Kei stood there, dazed and somewhat incredulous at the unfolding events: last season, as a guest commentator, he watched SoftBank Team’s peak games; who would have thought just an offseason later, this team would become so terrifying!

Glancing at the scoreboard above the outfield then at the figures on the opponent’s bench, Ito Kei suddenly felt a bit weary.

How is this match supposed to be played?

—Can’t be played!!!