Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 494 - 97: Rival in the Making (Part 2)

Ohtani Shohai knew that he needed an opportunity to unleash himself—and it just so happened that tonight at the Sapporo Dome, there was an official game between the Ham Team and the SoftBank Team. He was determined to show Lin Guanglai his progress during this match.

"Maybe right now, I’m not yet on par with you..." Ohtani Shohai muttered to himself, "but Guanglai, I hope you can keep progressing like this—otherwise, sooner or later, I will surpass you!"

That evening, at the Sapporo Dome.

There was still some time left before the game started, and usually, every time he came here, Lin Guanglai would take the opportunity to chat a bit with Ohtani Shohai—but today, it seemed like Ohtani wasn’t too keen on communicating with him.

Lin Guanglai just assumed that his friend was in a bad mood or facing some situation, and didn’t pay much attention; however, when the game finally started, he noticed Ohtani Shohai was a bit different today—

In today’s game, Ohtani Shohai, who started on the mound, was in an outstanding state, even to the extent that the members of the Ham Team’s coaching staff on the sideline were astonished.

"What’s happening with Shohei today? His condition is so outstanding—did he train differently than usual?" Kuriyama Hideki asked, looking at Ohtani Shohai on the pitcher’s mound, while inquiring to Atsuzawa Koshi beside him.

Atsuzawa Koshi chuckled and replied, "Haven’t you noticed, Hideki—every time Shohei faces the team Lin is with, he gets especially excited. For his performance today, in some ways, we have to thank the opponents."

In less than 5 innings, the SoftBank Team’s powerful lineup was almost entirely suppressed by Ohtani Shohai alone, with only 2 hits so far in the entire game; and the home team Ham Team also took advantage to lead 2-0—today Ohtani Shohai had a breakthrough, showcasing an ace-level performance.

Listening to his partner’s explanation, Kuriyama Hideki couldn’t help but laugh: Indeed, with such a brilliant genius ahead, players of the same generation couldn’t possibly tolerate being overshadowed by him, as long as they had a bit of ambition.

In Kuriyama Hideki’s view, such healthy competition was undoubtedly a good thing; or rather, it was precisely this back-and-forth rivalry that created a generation filled with superstars.

After joking with Atsuzawa Koshi for a bit longer, Kuriyama Hideki looked at the situation on the field and hurriedly gave his orders: "I think today’s performance is enough, it’s time to take Shohei out—get (Tanimoto) Keisuke warmed up, replace Shohei after this inning."

"Won’t you let him pitch a little longer?" Atsuzawa Koshi expressed a different opinion.

Kuriyama Hideki shook his head, "Shohei isn’t the same as Lin on the other side, his physical development is much slower, pitching too much now isn’t good for his future growth—overdoing it isn’t wise, now he needs to gradually adapt to professional intensity, we can talk about the rest after he turns 20."

"Don’t forget, we don’t need him as an immediate powerhouse—we are nurturing a miracle for Japan, for the world!"

Seeing his manager’s attitude so determined, Atsuzawa Koshi decided not to insist anymore, and turned to go to the dugout, taking the bullpen pitchers to warm up.

Regarding the use of Ohtani Shohai, the Ham Team and Kuriyama Hideki had reached a consensus and had a clear long-term plan:

Shuffling between first and second leagues as a rookie year goal to gradually adapt to professional competition intensity;

Splitting pitcher and batter roles, strictly controlling innings pitched and number of pitches, ensuring not to overly consume the arm; primarily participating in offense as a right fielder and designated hitter, reducing defensive fatigue;

Additionally, as the manager, Kuriyama Hideki set a series of seemingly conservative bans for Ohtani, including absolute prohibition on stealing bases, avoiding overnight games, and requiring at least six days rest after any pitch under any circumstances, all aimed at ensuring sustainable development.

In the profit-driven world of professional baseball, pursuing victory is naturally everyone’s primary goal; but in Kuriyama Hideki’s view, beyond mere victory, there are always some more important things in this world—and this is what he is doing, what he aims to achieve.

"Shohei, well done—you pitched excellently today, now get some good rest!" When Ohtani Shohai was replaced, Kuriyama Hideki gently patted his back and praised his disciple with a smile.

"Thank you, manager." Being replaced, Ohtani Shohai simply expressed his gratitude and walked back to the rest area, still looking somewhat glum—it was evident that he was a bit unhappy about being replaced while he was still feeling good.

In the Sapporo Dome, the game continued: after the extraordinary performance of Ohtani Shohai left the field, the SoftBank batters finally seized the opportunity to counterattack while the Ham Team was unsteady.

For this "hundred-hit lineup" worth over 1 billion yen, a 2-point difference was basically no problem at all—in two half-innings, the score on the board went from 0-2 before Ohtani Shohai left to a tie at 4-4.

"Guanglai, go warm up now!" In front of the SoftBank player’s section, Akiyama Koji glanced at the dugout behind him and gave his order, "At the top of the ninth, I’ll put you in as a pinch hitter—you know what to do better than I do."

Before this game against the Ham Team, the SoftBank Team had already completed a five-game winning streak at the start of the new season, having swept Rode in three games, and winning the first two games in the series against the Ham Team.

According to the original plan, Lin Guanglai was supposed to pitch in the first game of the series against Rakuten tomorrow, and today should have been his rest day. Akiyama Koji initially hadn’t planned to let him play in this game.

However, plans couldn’t keep up with changes. Seeing his team’s offense emerging with a great chance to win this game, Akiyama Koji naturally wouldn’t miss the opportunity for a six-game winning streak—putting Lin Guanglai in as a pinch hitter was to leverage his explosiveness.

The game quickly moved to the top of the ninth inning, with the score still tied at 4-4, the Ham Team also chose to bring on their expensive closer Michael Crotta: standing over 2 meters tall, with an average fastball speed of over 158 km/h, Crotta on the pitcher’s mound looked like a mountain, exerting great pressure on the batters.

Especially when Lin Guanglai stepped into the batter’s box, the home crowd at the Sapporo Dome created an enormous commotion, trying to disrupt his concentration through this method.

Amidst the resounding din, Lin Guanglai’s expression remained unchanged; his gaze locked onto the 160 km/h fastball thrown by Crotta, when the baseball was about to reach home plate, the sharply gleaming black maple bat in his hands swung accordingly, the tip of the bat accurately made contact with the ball.

"Ohhhhh—it’s finally here, Lin Guanglai’s first homer of the 2014 season!!!"

Without needing anyone to announce it, just hearing the crisp sound of the hit, Ohtani Shohai on the bench knew exactly what was going to happen next—in the agonizing moans of the home fans, the baseball was sent onto the stands by Lin Guanglai.

Returning to the player’s section, receiving acclaim from his manager and teammates, Lin Guanglai turned back to glance in the direction of the Ham Team’s player’s section—

With such a constant rival chasing behind him, how could he afford to relax or unwinding?

"Become even stronger quickly, Shohei—instead of mundane official games, I hope that one day, we can confront each other on a bigger stage!"