Chapter 2: Chapter 2
I was convinced to join Seidou. It's one thing to watch it as an anime and another to see it with your own eyes. I longed for an atmosphere like that of Seidou. My friends knew that I wanted to go beyond and become a professional baseball player. I was determined from the very beginning but many of them didn't like baseball as much as I did.
I had to convince them to play baseball for the school to even have a team.
I was a little scared of betraying them. But, with their encouragement, I was ready to set my foot into world class high school baseball.
Months later, everyone came to see me off to Tokyo..
[Passengers riding the 3:03 train bound for Tokyo, the train coming to the second platform]
My parents talked to Rei and my grandpa and teachers said their goodbyes.
Right when I boarded the train, I heard someone choke up.
When I looked back, it was each and every friend of mine.
"Hey! Don't cry, idiots! It'll be harder for me to go!!"
Nobu quickly rubbed the tears from his eyes and said, "It's just.. I've always been a nuisance. My shoulders are weak and I let the ball get past me.. I'm such a crappy catcher. I always thought... I was holding you back, right? Eijun?"
I was simply shocked.
As he finished speaking, the rest of my friends began..
"If it's that kind of stuff, I kept running to third first!"
"Oh yeah!? Akio here kept holding the bat the opposite way!"
Nobu wiped some of his tears and said, "Y-Yeah.. but even so... Eijun never glared at us or anything.. Whenever we messed up, he would turn around on the mound and encourage us.. Whenever you fid that you were so cool.. Really.. even more than Ichiro or Matsui or anyone.. You were, our Hero. Sorry, we couldn't help at all.. But, you know.. We just really wanted to play some more baseball with you!"
Despite knowing about it.. despite knowing how they really felt.. I was overwhelmed by emotion.
As they ran beside the train and waved their goodbyes, I made a promise to myself to go to Koushien as their representative and win.
(PLAYBALL!)
I reached the dorm at night. I already knew who my roommates would be.
When I knocked on the door, Kuramochi opened it with paint or ketchup on his face.
I just responded his juvenile prank with a bland look and said, "Nice try. Very good. I'll give you ten out of ten for effort."
Kuramochi blinked a few times and asked, "You weren't scared?"
"No."
"Really?"
"Yup! Didn't work."
"Oh... Well.. Welcome to Seido High's baseball team!"
Behind him, a huge boy held out a piece of paper that had "Nice to meet you" written on it.
"Uhh... hi."
Kuramochi laughed and said, "Haha!! Don't sweat it, man! He made an error yesterday, so he's not letting himself talk!"
I really admired him for it, even in the anime.
"Anyway," Kuramochi continued. "To deepen our friendship, we'll have a golf tournament to welcome you!!"
I already knew his plan.. but I played the game anyway. It was indeed a roommate bonding time.
I woke up at five in the morning. Kuramochi was not expecting it but I got Matsuko's recognition. The speedy second year was grumpy over his failed attempt.
As every first year gathered in the ground, the legendary coach who I admired when I watched the anime, Kataoka Tetsushin, walked towards us with his face serious as ever and the seniors walking behind him.
"Good morning, sir!!" We all greeted.
He took a glance at everyone and asked, "Is this everyone that wants to join the team?"
"Yes, sir!!"
"First, please introduce yourselves in order."
Everyone began introducing themselves. Unlike in the anime, I got to know about my future teammates. As expected, there were the notable ones like Kominato Haruichi, Furuya Satoru, Kanemaru Shinji, Tõjõ Hideaki, Kariba Wataru (catcher) and well, the others.
"Next!"
It was my turn..
"I'm Sawamura Eijun, from Nagano. I am a pitcher and hope to be the ace of the team in the future."
I could feel the eyes of all the pitchers boring into my skull. The seniors were all amused by the show of my will.
After the introduction was over, the coach gave us a small speach and sent all the first years off to practice field B where we were made to take the physical ability test.
Later, we were made to have a heavy breakfast. I was able to eat it all but it couldn't be said for other first years. They suffered quite a bit and the seniors enjoyed it thoroughly.
We had a short training session after breakfast. As the second and third years were doing their bating, pitching and fielding drills, Kataoka ordered the first years, "After this, we're going to test your ability for your desired position, so put on your spikes and head over to the B ground!"
I was, of course, excited.
While I was warming up, the coach came to me and said, "Alright, Sawamura. You said you are a pitcher. You may have been one back in your middle school but it's for me to decide what your roll will be on the team."
I nodded resolutely, indicating I understood.
"Now, throw a fastball in the catcher's mitt."
It was Kariba who was catching for the pitchers. As he positioned his mitt right in the center, I stood at the mound, wound my arm back and whipped it forward.
The ball shot off my hand and slammed right into Kariba's mitt with a bang.
The coach just nodded and asked me to throw ten fastballs to which I complied. I also took the chance to note the maximum strength I needed to use for Kariba to be able to catch my fastball.
Kataoka immediately noticed that I was holding back. As I was about to throw another pitch, he swiftly grabbed my arm by the wrist and said while growling, "You are not throwing at your best. Why is that? It shouldn't take this long for you to warm up."
The man was glaring down right into my eyes. It was unnerving to say the least. From my periphery, I could see Kariba tense up when he heard the coach say that I was warming up.
Eventually, I gave in and said, "I am sorry, coach. I can throw a lot faster pitches but I don't know if the catcher will be able to catch them."
I turned to Kariba and even apologized to him for not throwing my best pitches and undermining him.
I understood what Kataoka wanted to say as I saw him nod.
"I want you to throw your best fastball. Do not hold back."
I nodded and got back on the mound.
Before I pitched the ball, I said to Kariba, "This one will be faster than the previous ones. Do your best to catch it, alright?"
Kariba was unnerved but nodded none the less. After taking a deep breath, he became focused.
Once again, I pitched the ball. But this time, the ball rocketed straight ahead and smashed into the mitt with a bang loud enough to startle everyone present on the training grounds.
Kariba was unable to hold the momentum and was thrown back. The ball still didn't stop and hit the cage behind, spinning rapidly until it came to a stop after a moment and fell.
The smirk on Kataoka's face was enough to tell how much the pitch had impressed him.
Immediately, he yelled, "Bring a speed gun here!"
I was beginning to sweat. I wanted to impress him but not too much that it would cause a divergence in canon, making my knowledge of the show invalid.
I was made to throw again.
I had never gotten my fastest pitches measured for their speed but when I heard the reading from the gun, even I was shocked.
"159 kmph."
That was two or three kmph lower than the world record back in my last life.
Forget about highschool batters, even professionals in the Major league would have a tough time hitting a pitch of that speed.
"That.. was a very good pitch." Kataoka said, still smirking.
Then he moved on ahead to others and I could finally breathe.
'Damn! The man is terrifying.'
(PLAYBALL!)
For the next three weeks, we did our own practice. I took the opportunity to familiarize myself eith the tyres that were availible and engraved the truck tyres with my name. I ran for hours while pulling them all around the ground.
It was quite a spectacle for everyone else.
Seido won the next game and made it to the top sixteen of the Spring tournament. Their next game was with Ichidai Third High.
While the batting order of the team was great, but, the pitchers lacked in numbers and the ace, Tanba, was out of form.
Fortunately for the plot, I was not yet added to the first string.
The game started with Seido rallying through the batting order as they scored whooping eight runs in the first inning.
It was a scoring game.
Despite the magnificent win against Ichidai, Kataoka wasn't happy because the Ace of the team had underperformed.
Being a pitcher himself, it grated on his nerves for his team to not have a pitcher who complemented Seido's powerful batting order.
He decided to relieve Tanba off his position as Ace.
Tensions were rising among the second and third year hopefuls who wanted to be the pitchers.
With only three months left until the summer tournament, the coach finally decided to hold a match between the first years and all the seniors who were not in the first string.
Later that night when I was having dinner sitting beside Miyuki, Furuya walked towards us and asked, "Hey.. Is it okay if I sit here?"
Then he tried to push me out of my chair. I was a little ticked off over his disregard.
"Hey! Can't you see I'm sitting here? Just go and sit on the other chair, idiot!"
When I didn't budge, he gave up and sat on the empty chair beside Miyuki.
"Miyuki-san, I don't feel like anyone here will be able to hit my pitches tomorrow. If I am right, Will you be my catcher?"
The entire cafeteria got tense.
All the seniors got agitated with the way Furuya disregarded them. When they surrounded him Tanba managed to placate them.
"You can say you want him to catch for you after you've done something... And enough with the bull!! We'll work this out through baseball."
I whispered to Miyuki, "Does this mean I can make you catch my pitches? I struck that Azuma guy out. That must've meant something."
Miyuki clicked his tongue and said, "You need to prove yourself in tomorrow's game."
"Huh? Wasn't that proof enough?"
"What can I say.. the coach wasn't there."
I huffed in response and resumed my dinner.
(PLAYBALL!)
The ground was surrounded by reporters, the alumni and other baseball enthusiasts.
The first years were nervous about facing the upper-classmen just short of a month they joined the team.
Kataoka, dressed as the umpire walked towards us and asked, "You guys all set?"
"Yes, sir!!"
"I'm going to give every single one you first-years a chance to play so I want all of you to be ready to go out at any moment."
"Yes, sir!!"
The first inning began with us getting our butt handed to us by Tanba and his fast curve balls. No one could even touch the ball with their bat, much less hit it.
When it was our turn to pitch, the upper-classmen humiliated Tojo by scoring twelve runs in the first inning itself. The air was glum in our bullpen. I patted on the boy's shoulder and said, "Don't be so down. You pitched to the best of your ability. But the seniors are playing with a different attitude. This is just a scrimmage for us but for them, it's almost their last chance of joining the first string. So don't try to think you are fighting at their level. Relax.. and trust your teammates."
Tojo gained a little bit of spark in his eyes after he listened to me.
"There's no need to be so glum, guys! That was just one inning! We have eight more turn the tides around!"
Most of them listened to me. But, I could tell that Kanemaru was looking down on me and thought of me a nobody. The boy was quite prideful.
In the next inning, Tanba struck the batters out once again. Everyone in the bullpen was getting scared.
"Don't get yourself beaten down before you even face the pitcher. Doing so will make you weak. You won't be able to swing the bat with all of your power. Look at those amazing curve balls. Don't you wanna hit them with all the power you've got?"
Facing the more experienced was scary and I was well aware of it. Keeping the spirits of the team high was key at that time.
Kataoka then decided to change the lineup of the first years after the second inning. I was finally able to step foot on the field. But I wasn't allowed to pitch just yet.
As the new pitcher, Kaneda, threw the ball, the batter sent it flying directly towards me and I caught it.
After the boy gave up nine runs before Kataoka called for a change of pitchers and Furuya replaced Kaneda. I looked directly towards the coach. He knew I was patiently waiting for my turn but it was staring to grow thin.
So, to calm myself down, I threw the ball in my glove right towards the catcher and like a beam of laser it streaked across the field, slamming into the catcher's mitt.
That was enough to catch the attention of many to myself. Kataoka looked towards me and nodded slightly, indicating that I will have my turn and I was sated.
The upper-classmen were anticipating Furuya to pitch. They were still ticked off by his blatant talk in the cafeteria.
But when the boy threw the ball, it shocked everyone present. The ball zoomed ahead and rose upwards, hitting the coach on his face guard.
The coach smiled and he understood the kind of pitcher Furuya was. He immediately switched him out, saying there was no first-year who could handle Furuya's pitch. Tanba was also asked to switch out and was allowed to return to the first string.
"Sawamura Eijun, you're up!"
Finally! I was allowed to pitch and everyone around could feel my excitement. Even the first string players had come when they heard that I was going to pitch.
(Batter's POV)
I was ready to show the coach that I was good enough to be in the first string. I was batting great. But, the moment Sawamura stepped on the mound, I wasn't so sure anymore.
The mere presence of him was unnerving. Unlike other first years, he had an air of confidence around him that I had only sensed around players like Tetsu and Miyuki.
I had heard that he could throw pitches faster than that Furuya. The coach himself had the speed measured.
It felt like I was being stared down by a hawk. Hos gaze was so piercing and intense, it gave me goosebumps.
Sawamura whipped his arm forward and the ball rocketed towards me. It was unbelievably fast. I wanted to swing my bat, but, it suddenly felt too heavy for me to even hold.
The ball banged into the catcher's mitt. Everyone was shocked silent.
The next pitch that he threw went upwards. Given its speed, I was certain that it would be a ball. Yet, as it got closer to the plate, the pitch broke from its path amd landed in the catcher's mitt with another powerful bang.
'A fast curve ball? That rotation is simply insane! Is he really a first year?!'
His next pitch seemed to gain speed as it came towards me. Faster and faster it flew towards the center. I thought is was a meatball but it was still very fast. I knew that I didn't have time to think any longer so I swung hard.
But the pitch suddenly turned towards me near the plate.
'A cutter?!'
It was surreal. Never had I seen such pitching in my life.
Sawamura... it felt like he could command the pitches at his will.
He was a magician.
Everyone believed Furuya to be the monster rookie of Seido. But having faced Sawamura's pitches.. I knew better.
Sawamura was the true monster.
The next three months were going to be very interesting.
(Kawakami's POV)
Sawamura was a very scary pitcher to face. I could vividly recall how he struck Azuma out with his unique pitches.
He bulldozed through our batters and struck them out. None of them were even able to tap his pitches with their bats.
I somewhat anticipated it from him. But, when it came for his turn to bat, he turned out be a scarier batter.
When he was exiting his bullpen, I could see him say something that surprised many of his teammates.
The moment he stood at the plate, his entire demeanor changed. It was scarier than facing Azuma. I couldn't point out what exactly it was about him. But when he took his stance and looked at me, I could feel my back sweat.
The smirk on his face and his hawk like gaze was provoking me, challenging the pitcher inside me. His presence was making it harder for me to breathe.
He tapped every pitch I threw. Foul after foul, no matter what I tried, he kept hitting the ball outside the foul line.
After ninth consecutive foul, he cracked his neck and swung hard, sending the ball flying across the ground and right into the boundry.
By the time the fielder reached the ball, Sawamura was already at first base.
The fielder saw him zooming towards second base and threw the ball hard to third base. I thought Sawamura would stop, but he didn't. He ran faster towards third base and reached it safely.
He was as fast, if not faster, than Kuramochi. Everyone was stunned silent.
Then, the cheers began. His hit had reinvigorated the bullpen of the first-years.
(Sawamura's POV)
'That felt good! I really wanted to smash the ball out of the ground.'
I waited for the batters following me to land a hit and they really did try, but, Kawakami's pitches were too much for them to hit.
With two outs and me at third base, Kominato decided to sub in as a pinch hitter.
The boy was so petite! If I didn't know better, I would have thought of him to be a freshman in middle school.
Kawakami threw the pitch to the out-low corner and just when everyone thought that it'll be a strike, Kominato swung his wooden bat hard while holding it by the end of its handle.
The ball was sent past first base along the line. I easily made it back to the home plate, finally getting a run for the team.
Everyone was impressed by the two of us.
The next batter couldn't do anything much and hit a fly ball that was caught by the fielder in left outfield.
It was my turn to pitch again and this time, I discussed signs with the catcher. The first batter was the cleanup.
The first pitch was a fastball to the out-low corner. The batter swung his bat hard but the pitch completely jammed his swing. The ball was a grounder directly to the first base fielder. When returning to his bullpen, the batter said to his teammates, "He completely jammed me. I think my hand is a bit numb. That pitch had crazy momentum. I hope Matsuko will be able to hit his pitch."
It was Matsuko's turn to bat. I was a little uneasy to pitch against him. I remembered that in canon, Matsuko hit a home run and was reinstated as the 5th hole in the first string.
I took a deep breath and looked for the sign from the catcher.
A cutter to the in-high corner. I could already guess what kind of pitches he was going to call.
None the less, I threw the cutter right into Matsuko's chest. It was a strike and he didn't swing.
The next pitch was a fastball to the out-low. Matsuko swung hard and hit the ball but it went into the cage outside fair territory.
I could see Matsuko thinking hard while soothing his wrist. The catcher then signed for me to throw a 2- seam and that was a mistake. Matsuko had been observing my pitches and I knew he wouldn't be caught off guard. He waited for the ball to be released before beciding to swing his bat during the first two pitches.
But I threw the 2-seam anyway.
As expected, Masuko was able to hit the ball along the line of the in field.
It was a grounder but due to the fielder's error, the ball went past the first baseman and Matsuko managed to reach second base.
None of the batters managed to hit after that. I struck them all out.
After throwing for three innings, I was subbed out and Kataoka selected me as the newest addition to first string. Meanwhile, Furuya and Kominato were added to the second string.
(PLAYBALL!)
Later that night, I was sitting in my room reading the mail from Wakana.
[How was it? Did you pitch well today?
Miyoshi High isn't that good in baseball, but here everyone seems to be practicing really hard! It may be too far an aim for us, but everyone is looking forward to seeing you on the mound at Koushien. We're cheering for you!
Go, Eijun-kun!!
-Wakana]
Her mail short but I could imagine her saying those words to me and it warmed my heart.
As I was about to reply, Kuramochi and Masuko entered the room.
"Ah! Matsuko-san! Did you manage to get back into the first string?!"
The big teen gave me a thumbs-up and said, "Hm! That home run in the ninth inning impressed the coach."
Kuramochi grinned and said, "Haha! You also got into the first string! Your pitches were crazy fast! The coach might even let you pitch in tomorrow's game!"
I smirked and said, "Yeah.. I'm looking forward to it."
Meanwhile, in the observers room next to ground B, Kazuyoshi Õta amd Rei found Kataoka sitting on a chair smoking a cigarette.
"Coach Kataoka, so you were here!" Õta said.
"How do you think today's game was?"
Kataoka removed the cigarette from his mouth and replied, "Even though the scores showed an overwhelming loss, it was a good result at the end. The short first year who got the RBI, Kominato Haruichi, his plays were similar to his brother. Furuya, his high fastball with the ability to rise and deceive, very few would be able to hit that."
"So, why put him in the second string?"
Rei smirked and said, "Because of Sawamura, right?"
"Hm, you are right. If not for Sawamura, I would've instantly added Furuya to the first string. That boy is battle ready and his fastballs will be tough to hit even by the pros. Plus, he can already throw three more. Not to mention his amazing control over the speed of the pitches. Lastly, he's a southpaw. As of now, he is the best we can have on our team. A genius. If we didn't know any better, he could be mistaken as a veteran professional player. If we win tomorrow's game, I plan to debut him in the Kantou tournament."
(PLAYBALL!)
Just a week before the Kantou Tournament, Furuya and I were assigned our catchers. Since it was decided that I was going to be the starting pitcher in our first match, I was assigned Miyuki which Furuya got Takigawa Chris Yuu.
It seemed like Furuya and my roles were reversed. I remembered from the anime that Chris gained his baseball vigor back because of Sawamura.
Furuya was a quiet boy. There was no way he could help Chris. I knew I had to do something. So, I looked at Chris with narrowed eyes and then I suddenly exclaimed, "You are 'The Animal's' son!"
Chris looked at me and asked, "You know who I am?"
Excited, I nodded and said, "Of course! I've been following your baseball career since you are 'his' son. You are an awesome catcher! If you get tired of Furuya, will catch for me!?"
I turned to Miyuki and asked, "You wouldn't mind, would you!?"
Miyuki just smirked and looked at Chris while the boy himself kept staring at my excited face.
A few moments later, he said, "I will catch for you, but not a lot. As a first string pitcher, you need to familiarize yourself with Miyuki's game calling. I will prepare an exercise regimen for you along with Furuya."
"Yes! Thank you, senpai!!"
(PLAYBALL!)
While Chris was working on Furuya, I was discussing the kinds of pitches I could throw with Miyuki.
"Everyone is calling you 'The beast' rookie ever since the scrimmage. So, what kind of pitches can you throw?"
I smirked and said, "Beast, huh? I was not expecting to be called that."
I picked up the ball at my feet and said, "I can throw a total of four pitches and I think I'm pretty good with them. I have another pitch in mind, if you think I'm ready to learn it."
Miyuki grinned and said, "Oh? Interesting. Sure, we'll do as you say."
As I walked towards the mound, Kataoka walked over to us and asked Miyuki about what we were doing from behind the net.
I shouted out from the mound, "Alright! Miyuki-senpai! Boss! Here comes my first pitch! A four-seam!"
Raising my leg high, my glove expended ahead like a wall, I threw the ball straight into Miyuki's glove with all of my strength.
*BOOM*
The ball blitzed through the air in a perfectly straight line and banged into Miyuki's mitt.
"That was my fastest pitch. You didn't hurt your hand, right?"
The coach was grinning like crazy as Miyuki silently cursed at me, but I didn't mind.
*BOOM*
I threw all four pitches with 90% accuracy. Suffice to say that they were impressed.
"So, what's the pitch that you wanna learn."
With an excited smirk, I said, "Forkball."
The coach stared at me with an intense gaze and said, "Sawamura! Forkball is a difficult pitch to learn. Forget about mastering. Being ambitious is good but don't lose yourself into learning more pitches. I will give you twenty tries. If you are able to pitch an acceptable forkball with 30% accuracy, I will allow you to keep learning. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
Miyuki sighed and put on his helmet.
"Aright, Sawamura! Do you know the grip required for it?"
I simply nodded amd got ready to throw.
Holding the ball between my index and middle finger and avoiding the seams, I made sure to put equal strength in my fingers. If the grip was even slightly stronger in one finger, the pitch would go off course.
I took a deep breath and threw the pitch.
The ball flew out of my hand with very little spin amd landed in Miyuki's mitt.
[New pitch learned
Forkball: F0]
A successful pitch.. Although not perfect, it was enough for me to learn and progress.
After another nineteen pitches, my mastery over forkball had risen to E1.
The coach nodded at me and said, "Good! I wasn't expecting you to learn that so quickly. But, you still have a long way to go before throwing it at matches. For now, keep practicing."
Meanwhile, I was already planning to learn more pitches.
'I know forkball now... hehehe.. the other two pitches related to it are gonna be easier to learn. The kantou tournament is gonna be exciting. I will make all batters look lile fools on the plate. You all better be ready.'
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone