Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 544 - 121: The Third Battle That Cannot Be Lost

"In the first game against Softbank, although we eventually lost, everyone should know that this defeat was within our expectations..."

In the visiting team’s locker room at Yahoo Dome, before today’s field training began, the manager of Japan Ham Team, Kuriyama Hideki, was giving a pep talk to the players. Losing yesterday’s game brought the series score to 0-2, and at this moment, the mood of the Ham Team players was bound to be less than pleasant.

"I believe that before the game started, none of you would have thought we could easily score 5 to 6 runs against Lin Guanglai, and swiftly sweep the opponent in four games like a practice match, right?"

The locker room was silent, with some silently shaking their heads.

"No, right?" Kuriyama Hideki gently nodded, even his tone became much more soothing, "We lost, that’s true, but actually our performance was quite outstanding, it’s just that our opponent played better than us - and if that’s the case, what’s there to be disappointed about?"

At this point, Kuriyama Hideki paused and scanned the players around with his eyes, speaking word by word, "Let’s not forget, our goal has never been Lin Guanglai -" 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

In front of all the Ham players, Kuriyama Hideki forcefully knocked on the tactical board in the middle of the locker room, gathering everyone’s attention towards him.

On the tactical board, a sheet featuring Shetsu Shou’s photo and various statistics gleamed under the locker room lights.

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"Hello, Softbank fans! Welcome to the broadcast brought to you by West Japan Television of the 2014 season Pacific League climax series deciding round, Game 3. I’m your old friend, Ohtani Shuhei."

"I’m Ikedada Shinko, very happy to meet everyone again."

"As for today’s special guest, everyone probably isn’t a stranger..." Ohtani Shuhei let out a hearty laugh, introducing to the viewers in front of the television, "the head coach of Japan National Team, proud of Daei Softbank, and also our former colleague, Kohkubo Yuuki!"

"Hello, viewers of West Japan Television, it’s been a while, I’m Kohkubo Yuuki."

After greeting the audience, the three people on the commentary desk quickly got into work mode. Thanks to Softbank’s win in the first game, Ohtani Shuhei and Ikedada Shinko, the star commentators, appeared quite relaxed. After briefly reviewing last night’s game with the viewers, they eagerly started discussing the second game of today’s series between Softbank and Ham.

"The starting lineup for this game is already out: in the pitcher position, the team’s backbone Shetsu Shou starts; in the batting lineup, apart from Lin Guanglai who is resting due to rotation, all other main players are playing - from this arrangement, I think Akiyama Koji, the manager, wants to take the opponent down in one go... What do you think, Kohkubo?"

Facing questions from his two former colleagues, Kohkubo Yuuki pondered for a moment and expressed his understanding.

"If Softbank wins today’s game, they will directly complete the series and reach the Japan Big Tournament after three years with just one more victory, however..."

"However what?" His neighbor, Ikedada Shinko, hurriedly asked.

"But judging from the first game’s performance, Softbank might not find this game as easy as we thought." Kohkubo Yuuki knew that the viewers liked to hear positive remarks, but as a member of Softbank, he decided to throw some cold water on the team.

"Judging from the state of the first game, without Lin Guanglai’s link and lubrication as a key point, Softbank’s batting lineup is somewhat disconnected - over 10 hits throughout the game, yet only scoring 3 runs, which seems unsatisfactory to me."

"The seemingly easy win in the last game was mainly due to Lin’s strong suppressive power on the mound, with a 9 innings 15K performance putting Ham’s hitters in a tough spot - but I need to ask everyone, is such success replicable?"

"Shetsu Shou’s performance this season is also excellent, performing well in the role of the second starter; but for fans following the team’s performance, they must have noticed, this season Ah Zheng has indeed declined significantly... Ham Team will surely fight hard in this game, and we also need to match their attitude and performance."

Seeing that the atmosphere in the studio became a bit heavy due to his words, Kohkubo Yuuki quickly added a few words: "Of course, I still have a lot of confidence in the team - after all, hard power and roster depth are evident, regardless of this game’s outcome, Softbank capturing the opponent within 5 games and advancing to Japan’s Number One, in my view, won’t change much."

Seeing the commentators catching the opportunity to transition, the two television station commentators naturally shifted the topic back to discussing the game; as time approached 6 o’clock in the evening, the game started on time.

Whether in the current climax battle or the possible future Japan’s Number One, the interval between each game is less than 24 hours, and such an intense schedule is a huge test for a team’s roster depth and the on-the-spot coordination ability of the managerial coaches.