Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 506 - 103: Proactive Adjustment

Unlike other sports, professional baseball has a long season with numerous games, more akin to a year-long marathon, where players spend almost every day shuttling between training and matches:

Take SoftBank for example. Even if they clinch first place in the Pacific League during the regular season, sweep their opponents in the climax series and Japan series to win the championship, they still have to play more than 150 games over at least seven months in a season, which is no small pressure.

Within this, a starting pitcher who can stand firm on the team usually has to pitch in more than 20 games in a season, while the team’s ace has to pitch 25 to even 30 games or more. As for the hitters, who consume relatively less, many play every game without missing any.

However, the human body’s peak athletic state is precisely a physiological phenomenon that cannot be maintained for the entire season, an insurmountable law of nature.

In the most ideal state, players’ condition should improve gradually as the season deepens, reaching a peak during the pivotal climax series stage. But like the SoftBank players nowadays, entering an excited state less than a month into the season can easily lead to physical and mental fatigue prematurely in the later stages of the season.

Forcing the body to operate under load prematurely can only lead to two outcomes: the first being a player’s decline in the mid-to-late season, falling into an inevitable slump; the second, and worse outcome, is the accumulation of fatigue leading to injuries.

A minor oblique muscle strain might sideline a strong hitter for a month or more. An elbow inflammation might ruin an ace pitcher’s entire season—just like last season, wasn’t it because Oonari Kenji was out midway through, leaving SoftBank searching for a reliable third starter for a long time?

Though after massive reinforcements during the offseason, SoftBank does have a more robust lineup compared to its competitors, core members like Lin Guanglai and Shetsu Shou still have no replacements. If these treasures get injured due to outstanding early-season performances, SoftBank’s results might plummet directly.

Choosing appropriate adjustments and rotations now is instead to protect these most valuable assets of the team, enabling them to still stand healthy on the field during September and October’s sprint, rather than being confined to hospitals or recovery rooms.

The second reason involves adjusting the mental attitude: prolonged victories bring not only immense confidence but also nurture the perfect growth for pride.

Akiyama Koji tossed several newspapers in front of Kato Shinichi, the contents were mostly praises from various media for SoftBank Team, some with a bit of reason, others utterly losing restraint just to grab attention.

The media, in pursuit of traffic, would do anything; but if some of SoftBank’s players really buy into this hype, it could be perilous for the team!

When players start believing the media-created invincible illusion, their focus in training disappears, and the sense of urgency in matches slackens.

Many might think that even relaxing a bit, taking it easy occasionally won’t hinder the team from winning; some might even cultivate an extreme mindset during games that "even if I don’t give my all, my teammates will still win" - similar attitudes are like ticking bombs, the impact during the long regular season might be minimal, but if it explodes during the short decisive climax or Japan series, it could be catastrophic for any team.

Moreover, an ongoing excellent start will correspondingly raise expectations from fans and media, followed by the pressure of "must win" - once the subsequent performance fluctuates dramatically in the short-term, this pressure might morph into enormous anxiety, reversing to harm the team.

During such times, as a manager or coach, it’s necessary to cool down the team slightly, hit their confidence lightly, and proactively emphasize those issues masked by victories, even if they seem insignificant — a truly undefeated team must always maintain a "hunger" for victory and pursuit of excellence.

Next is the tactical consideration: with the personnel changes during the offseason, at the beginning of the new season, each team is not just playing games but also updating and adjusting the data and information on hand. As SoftBank, shining throughout the offseason and starting the new season splendidly, it has most likely become a thorn in the side for other teams, bound to be scrutinized under a microscope.

Showing all weapons and tactical arrangements too early would give other teams an entire season to analyze weaknesses through video and develop targeted strategies — when it reaches the critical mid-to-late season, one might be caught off-guard by opponents, and even collapsing at season’s end is not unprecedented.

Letting the back-end rotation pitch a few games, even if losing two or three games doesn’t matter, hones the players while disrupting the opponents’ analysis rhythm; giving less-played young hitters a try might unexpectedly yield extraordinary results in crucial games; key players can also seize this opportunity to hone new techniques, making themselves more versatile.

Sometimes, proper "slowing down" isn’t showing weakness but rationally concealing one’s edge, sharpening the blade in unseen places, then when critical, catching opponents off guard, delivering a lethal blow.

So far this season, SoftBank Team’s main lineup is generally settled—they indeed achieved impressive results with this main set;

But the greatest charm of baseball lies in its long season full of unpredictability:

A player energetic today might be visited by injuries tomorrow; sometimes, even when things are smooth on the field, various unexpected events in the world outside can disrupt pre-arranged plans.

As the manager of the main baseball team, the helmsman of the Galaxy Battleship, Akiyama Koji’s current idea is to capitalize on the lead to create a truly deep, resilient, iron army that can withstand any difficulty for the autumn campaign.

When Akiyama Koji finished saying these words, the office sank into brief silence. Kato Shinichi just gazed at the schedule, looking rather thoughtful.

Moments later, he nodded, "I understand, Manager— I’ll proactively adjust the rotation of the pitching staff in upcoming training and matches."

"But I have another question—if we think of actively slowing down, what about the Orix, who are closest to us? Couldn’t they think of it too? Moriwaki Koji should have plenty of experience, right?"

"You’re right." Akiyama Koji affirmed, "But Orix is somewhat different from us."

"Moriwaki Koji is a good manager, but his biggest problem is that, unlike me, he doesn’t have championships or honors in hand—after last season’s massive spending yet finishing near the bottom, Moriwaki Koji must make a name for himself this season to secure his position, so even if he realizes that continuously running might cause a slowdown at season’s end, he’ll likely choose to gamble."

"After all, our goal at SoftBank is to win the Pacific League as well as Japan’s Number One; but for Orix, who haven’t tasted honor in a long time, a Pacific League victory should suffice to keep them happy for a long time and is enough to secure Moriwaki Koji’s coaching tenure..."

As he spoke these words, Akiyama Koji’s gaze passed through Kato Shinichi before him, looking at the scene outside the window. He could already foresee the scrutiny and criticism following a brief dip in team performance, but he didn’t care.

The SoftBank ship doesn’t need to burn out all its fuel early in the voyage; what it needs is to maintain a steady pace, keep every component well-maintained, and then when the decisive battle calls for it, unleash all stored energy, smashing all opponents blocking its path to smithereens.

The seemingly splendid blooms before us are undoubtedly enticing, yet this mirage’s illusion can never compare with the weighty victory flags and trophies in hand.

This is Akiyama Koji’s work.