Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 517 - 108: Night of the Career_2

"Defenders, treat every throw as if it were the last. Don’t let me see wild pitches, passed balls, or errors."

"And those going up to bat next, even if you have to scoop with your bat, or block with your body, make sure you get on base!"

"I don’t care about a no-hitter game. If that kid can really do it, let him have it! But we must let our opponents and our fans know that if they want to take victory from our Giant Army, they have to pay the price! They have to step over our dead bodies!"

"Do you understand?!!"

This last roar was not a question, but a command.

As an observer throughout the process, Hara Tatsunori could clearly feel that after Abe scolded each of his teammates, something was quietly shattering on the bench that had previously fallen silent.

Sugano Tomoyuki tore off the towel covering his head and fiercely wiped his face; Sakamoto Yuuto, who had been keeping his head down, suddenly lifted his head, biting his lip, with a new fire in his eyes; as for those standing, they all straightened their backs.

The gloomy atmosphere that had spread throughout the Giant player’s area a moment ago had been completely swept away, replaced by a desperate resolve like burning bridges behind them.

"Sigh——" Looking at Abe Shinjiro’s towering and upright back, Hara Tatsunori couldn’t help but sigh.

Beside him, the Giant Team’s head coach, Kawaimatsu Masahiro, felt confused and inquired: "Director, why are you sighing? The team’s atmosphere has clearly improved, this should be a good thing..."

"It’s certainly a good thing, but Masahiro, what I’m thinking about is not this game..." Hara Tatsunori paused for a moment, then continued, "My worry is, as Shinjiro ages, though I don’t doubt his form at all, he will retire one day - when the time comes, in situations like this, who could we rely on to inspire the whole team?"

Hearing these words, Kawaimatsu Masahiro thought carefully but for a moment couldn’t really think of a suitable candidate: simply for the ’Giant bloodline’ criterion, a large number of current team members are already excluded.

Among those remaining, Takahashi Yuusen and Uchimai Tetsuya aren’t much younger than Abe; among the new generation, Sugano Tomoyuki is introverted, and with his uncle-nephew relationship with Director Hara, he probably isn’t suitable; the only one fitting the criteria with leadership quality is Sakamoto Yuuto, but he’s a playboy off the field, prone to scandals affecting the team’s image.

Thus, finding an ideal "Abe successor" seems not to be such an easy task.

Looking at the other side where Lin Guanglai was, Hara Tatsunori regretted his poor luck at the 2011 draft conference; otherwise, they could have brought over Sugano Tomoyuki then, and contended for Lin Guanglai with SoftBank in 2012.

Born in Tokyo, with Giant heritage, outstanding skills, and leadership qualities... Is there a better candidate than Lin Guanglai to represent the Giant Team?

Thinking of this, Hara Tatsunori couldn’t help but harbor some resentment towards the Ham Team for intervening back then, "We must beat them hard in the next interleague match!"

When the Giant Team players returned to the field to bat, Lin Guanglai on the pitcher’s mound could clearly feel the intensity of the game had changed completely from just moments ago.

Perhaps they had regained their competitive state, or perhaps they were spurred by something, but whatever the cause, the aggression in the Giant players’ offense had significantly increased, resulting in Lin Guanglai’s pitch count increasing noticeably for each at-bat.

Logically, with the game entering the last three innings, SoftBank’s setup pitcher should start warming up, waiting to be substituted in;

but in today’s broadcast, SoftBank’s bullpen still remained empty at this moment.

Evidently, SoftBank also realized this game would be a perfect opportunity for Lin Guanglai to achieve the first no-hitter of his professional baseball career;

and as the team’s manager, Akiyama Koji was happy to facilitate this achievement.

Lin Guanglai’s condition was excellent today, and even though the rejuvenated Giant players posed some trouble, it didn’t impact the final outcome.

Strikeout, force out, fly out, and then another strikeout...

The Giant’s batters had exhausted every option, but they were unable to alter the glaring "0" under the hits section on the scoreboard in the outfield stands.

Time in the game was ticking away moment by moment, and the space for the Giant team batters to change the situation was continually eroded by Lin Guanglai’s unshakable defense.

In the bottom of the ninth, when Lin Guanglai once again utilized his unbelievable split-finger pitch to make the Giant’s clean-up hitter Murata Shuichi swing and miss, achieving his 17th strikeout of the game, there was only one more out required to bring the game to an end, capture the supreme honor hovering over each pitcher’s head, and witness Japan’s most successful team fade into the background.

In the stands at the Tokyo Dome, the fans in orange shirts couldn’t sit still; if they could choose one player to shatter the opponent’s dream at this moment, that person would undoubtedly be—

"Abe, hey-oh! Abe, hey-oh! Abe, hey-oh!" The Giant fans clapped rhythmically, chanting the name of their hero; amidst the arena’s loud cheers, Abe Shinjiro, steadfast as iron, walked into the batter’s box.

Standing on the pitcher’s mound, Lin Guanglai could clearly sense the overwhelming pressure emanating from home plate - a vast will force contained in the soul of this stadium and this team.

Wiping the sweat off his temple with his hand, Lin Guanglai took a deep breath, set aside the soreness in his arm and the complex thoughts in his mind, and focused entirely on the duel with Abe Shinjiro.

The first pitch, a cutter aimed low and away. Accompanied by a streak of white light flashing through the night sky, the baseball exceeding a speed of 150 km/h, made a lateral move into Abe’s strike zone from the outside at the last moment.

Abe’s body remained motionless, accurately ignoring this pitch; evidently, such a pitch couldn’t fool this experienced legendary batter.

The second pitch, a high-pressure fastball aimed at the inside corner. At a speed of 158 km/h, it was heading straight for Abe’s chest. This was pure brute intimidation, forcing the opponent’s upper body to lean slightly backward, without any way to handle this ball.

Takeshima Shinya signaled towards the pitcher’s mound, and Lin Guanglai, understanding the message, threw the ball - after setting up with two fastballs, SoftBank’s pitcher and catcher intended to catch a good pitch count through speed variation.

However—

Staring intently at the incoming baseball, Abe’s knees slightly bent - this was his signature "twist batting method" stance - when his waist twisted powerfully towards the catcher, Abe Shinjiro channeled the force of his whole body into a single point, using his well-honed technique to precisely place the bat on the ball’s path.

"Thud!!!"

A crisp and solid sound echoed in the silent Tokyo Dome sky.

"Abe Shinjiro! This is a very powerful grounder!" Almost simultaneously, the on-site commentary reacted, "SoftBank’s shortstop Imamiya is quick to respond, blocks the ball and throws to first base! Abe is sprinting relentlessly!"

The moment the bat touched the baseball, Abe Shinjiro dropped the bat and began sprinting towards first base - his start was still steady, but his stride frequency cruelly exposed the traces of time.

"Pop." This was the sound of the baseball landing in SoftBank’s first baseman’s glove.

The next second, Lin Guanglai on the pitcher’s mound was embraced excitedly by Takeshima Shinya, and then quickly engulfed by teammates rushing up after him.

In the shadows of cheering SoftBank players, Abe Shinjiro’s tall back seemed somewhat lonely.

The Tokyo Dome crowd also fell silent, unsure of how to express their feelings: should they be grateful? Grateful to have witnessed the birth of a no-hitter game firsthand; should they be resentful? Resentful that such a player was not their own.

But soon, these "baseball aristocrats" gave their response - a tidal wave of applause rose over the Tokyo Dome, which was the greatest respect they could offer Lin Guanglai as opponents.

And the youth at the center of the camera simply removed his cap, smiling like a flower.