The Old Baseball Player System

Shun watched the first batter from Aoba Junior High walking toward the right batter's box.

"Hehe, let's see what you guys are made of!" - Shun smiled excitedly as he saw the determined look on the batter's face. He felt the blood in his body heat up as the adrenaline surged through him.

Without hesitation, Shun lifted his right leg as he drove his whole body forward. He stepped down firmly, twisting his arm like a whip.

"Just focus on the glove and let the pitch move on its own!" - Shun repeated the old man's words in his head as he did exactly that. He aimed for Daigo's glove and let the pitch fly.

"Right down the middle!" - The batter thought as he saw the ball heading straight down the middle of the zone. Without hesitation, he followed his coach's game plan and decided to swing without overthinking.

WOOSH

PAH

"Strike!" - The umpire announced.

"Huh?" - The batter looked confused. He was sure he would hit that ball right down the middle, but just before it reached the plate, it started sliding toward his feet, completely missing his bat, causing him to swing at nothing.

"Hehe." - Shun smiled, satisfied to see his horizontal slider doing the job. This was exactly what he needed, to start the duel ahead in the count.

The first Aoba batter was surprised by Shun's slider and looked at his coach for instructions. His coach quickly signaled for him to wait and observe, and the batter nodded.

Shun paid no attention to any of this, already lifting his leg and driving his body forward.

PAH

"Strike!" - The umpire called.

"Damn!" - The batter muttered, impressed by the absurd movement of the pitch. The ball seemed like it was heading straight for the center of the zone, but just before reaching home plate, it broke inside, toward the corner of the strike zone.

"Ohh, lucky!" - Shun couldn't help but smile, seeing that the pitch had painted the corner of the strike zone. Thanks to that, the batter was now trapped with a count of 0-2.

Shun looked at Daigo behind the plate and saw him signaling for a different pitch.

"Hehe, not bad, Daigo!" - Shun couldn't help but praise his catcher. It seemed like the boy wasn't messing around either. Shun quickly lifted his leg and stepped down firmly, twisting his arm like a whip as he delivered the pitch Daigo had called for.

"It's the same pitch! I have to swing!" - The batter saw the pitch coming in as if it were going to end up in the center of the zone and quickly made up his mind. He still remembered how Shun's last pitch painted the corner of the zone, and since he was in a tough spot, he had no choice but to swing.

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POFT

"Strikeout!" - The umpire called as Daigo quickly scooped the ball from the ground and threw it to first base to secure the out.

Unfortunately for the first batter, the pitch he chased was Shun's nasty vertical slider. Even though the pitch had bounced, giving the batter a chance to run to first and save himself, he was too shaken to even think about it.

The first batter walked back to the dugout, confused and full of regret.

"What was that?" - The second batter asked as he passed him.

"I-I don't know." - The first batter replied, still bewildered. He had no idea what kind of pitch that had been.

The second batter tried not to let it get to him as he walked toward the batter's box, but it wasn't easy. His teammate had just been struck out on three pitches, and he didn't even know exactly what those pitches were.

Not knowing what to do, he looked toward his coach, and once again, Aoba's coach gave the signal to wait and observe. Unfortunately for them, they had already let Shun and Daigo get comfortable in the game.

Shun lifted his leg, driving his body forward, stepping down hard as he twisted his arm like a whip, sending the ball toward home plate.

"Right down the middle!" - The second batter saw the ball and was sure it would end up right in the middle of the zone, but remembering his coach's instructions and how his teammate had struck out, he held his swing and watched.

PAH

"Strike!" - The umpire called.

"Fuck! Did he know I wouldn't swing?" - The second batter was shaken, seeing the ball hang right down the middle of the strike zone. It was the perfect pitch to hit, but he let it pass.

"Phew! That worked out!" - Shun breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that the batter just watched his hanging slider go by. He knew the risks of throwing such a bad pitch in the middle of the strike zone, but it had paid off.

"Is that his fastball? It can't be. The spin on that pitch is too weird..." - The second batter was still trying to figure out what had happened. He wasn't sure if that pitch from Shun had been a mistake or if it was intentional.

Unfortunately for Aoba's second batter, the moment he started overthinking, he fell right into Shun and Daigo's hands.

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PAH

"Strike!"

The batter couldn't hold back his swing when he saw a pitch on the same trajectory as the last one. But this time, it wasn't a hanging slider, it was a horizontal slider breaking down toward his feet.

With the batter trapped, Shun had no trouble finishing things off with the next pitch.

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"Strikeout!" - The umpire called as the second batter swung and missed, unable to make contact with Shun's horizontal slider.

Shun smiled, satisfied as he watched the second batter walk back to the dugout. He had struck out the first two batters with just six pitches. But now, he had to face Aoba's cleanup hitters.

Shun looked at the third batter, remembering the game he had watched. This batter didn't have incredible power, but he was very good at hitting the ball into the defensive gaps.

The third batter stepped into the box and quickly glanced at his coach. After receiving a signal and nodding, he focused intently on Shun.

Shun smiled, feeling the third batter's determination to knock him off the mound by force, but Shun didn't seem to mind that at all.

Shun quickly lifted his leg and stepped down firmly, twisting his arm like a whip as he delivered his horizontal slider toward home plate.

"Huh?" - Shun was surprised. As soon as the ball left his hand, he saw the third batter grip his bat with both hands and get into a bunting position.

DING

PAH

"Ohh! Thanks!" - Shun smiled as he caught the ball in his glove. Unfortunately for Aoba's third batter, it wasn't that easy to bunt against Shun's slider, so he ended up popping the ball up right into Shun's glove.

"Out! 3 outs, changeover!" - The umpire announced the end of the top half of the inning, sending Shoto's players back to their dugout, full of excitement.