The Old Baseball Player System

Jiro walked toward the mound to start the bottom of the first inning. With a 9-0 lead on the scoreboard and the enthusiastic Shoto crowd cheering from the stands, the atmosphere of the game was entirely in Shoto Junior High's favor. This allowed the young nerd to pitch with ease.

"Damn, I can't let it end like this!" - Seiryu's leadoff batter muttered determinedly as he walked to the batter's box. At that moment, no player, coach, or fan of Seiryu could muster a motivational speech, but the players knew exactly what they needed to do. They needed to hit to survive!n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

The leadoff batter of Seiryu stepped into the box with determination. He didn't want his middle school baseball career to end with such a humiliating game. He wanted to fight back, he wanted to keep playing baseball with his teammates!

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"Strike!"

Unfortunately, no matter how determined he was, he couldn't make contact with Jiro's unpredictable knuckleball, swinging his bat through the air in vain. The leadoff batter looked at Jiro on the mound in shock, not expecting such an insane pitch from the nerdy-looking kid. But as he looked into Jiro's eyes, he felt an eerie calm and a dangerous aura surrounding the young ace.

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"Strike!" - Jiro wasted no time and delivered another knuckleball. Once again, the leadoff batter swung his bat in vain, unable to come close to the ball.

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"Strikeout!"

"Yeeeeaahhh!" - The Shoto crowd and dugout cheered loudly after Jiro's first strikeout on just three pitches. It was clear to everyone that Shoto's ace intended to continue their dominant performance in defense, just as they had in offense. And that's exactly what the young nerd did.

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"Strikeout!"

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"S-Strikeout! 3 outs, changeover!" - The umpire announced the end of the inning, his voice betraying his amazement at Jiro's performance. The young nerd had thrown only nine pitches, all knuckleballs, and struck out all three Seiryu batters.

"Yeeeeaahhh! Sho-to! Sho-to! Sho-to! Sho-to!" - The Shoto fans in the stands grew even louder, while Seiryu's supporters sat in complete silence. Some had even started to leave the stadium.

"Nice pitch, Jiro!" - Shun ran back to the dugout and immediately praised the young nerd when he reached him. Shun knew just how important Jiro was to the team, and it made him happy to see the pitcher performing at his best. Of course, Shun also understood that for a knuckleball pitcher like Jiro, staying calm was essential. Thanks to Shoto's offense, Jiro had little pressure in this inning. But Shun also knew that it wouldn't always be like this, especially in their next game.

"Thanks, Senpai!" - Jiro responded with a cheerful smile. Unknown to Shun, his perfect game in the last round of the Tokyo tournament had been one of Jiro's biggest motivations to give his all on the mound in this Kanto tournament.

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The rest of the game was a showcase of Shoto's dominance, while Seiryu's team could do little in response. In the second inning, Shoto scored two more runs. In the third, they added four, then three in the fourth, and six in the fifth, bringing their total to an astounding 24 runs against the elite Seiryu school.

On defense, Jiro's performance was just as impressive as the offense. Over five innings, the pitcher didn't allow a single hit, letting only three batters reach base via walks. Furthermore, unlike in his other games, Jiro barely used his other pitches, relying on his knuckleball, which was absolutely nasty that day.

Shun was incredibly satisfied with everyone's performance that day. Not only had they secured their spot in the semifinals, but they had done so against an elite school like Seiryu, building even more confidence. Of course, Shun knew he couldn't always count on finding tells from the pitchers they would face next, which meant the upcoming games would be their true test.

"Thank you for the game!" - The two teams lined up opposite each other and bowed respectfully to their opponents. Shun bowed with his teammates, but when he stood up and saw the Seiryu players crying, he felt the weight of having crushed their dreams. It wasn't as though Shun was sad, this was how Japanese baseball worked, but he couldn't help feeling uneasy.

Shun's eyes fell on one specific player from Seiryu. The boy wasn't crying, but his swollen, red eyes made it clear he had shed some tears earlier. Shun watched as the player quickly turned to head back to the dugout.

"Kaito! Wait!" - Shun called out, running toward Seiryu's ace, catching the attention of not only Kaito but everyone on the field.

"Yes?" - Kaito turned to Shun and spoke in a low voice. He didn't understand why Shun was approaching him since the two didn't know each other. Regardless, Kaito had no desire to talk to anyone at that moment.

"It was a good game. Let's do this again someday!" - Shun said with an honest smile, extending his hand toward Kaito. But in Kaito's eyes, Shun's words and smile were mocking his poor performance that day.

"Huh? Are you kidding me?!" - Kaito glared at Shun in anger, ready to charge at him and throw punches. But before he could act, one of his teammates stepped in to restrain him.

"Kaito-senpai, please stop!" - The teammate quickly said, using all his strength to hold the furious player back. He then turned to Shun and said hurriedly:

"Please leave! We're not in the mood for jokes!" - The Seiryu player holding Kaito said urgently. Like Kaito, he also thought Shun was provoking them, but he knew that starting a fight in the field with a packed stadium watching was a terrible idea.

Shun heard the Seiryu player's words but didn't leave. His face turned serious as he kept his hand extended toward Kaito, staring at the furious player who looked ready to hit him.

"You were tipping your pitches. Before you throw your secondary pitches, you adjust your grip, which causes your glove to move. But when you throw fastballs, your grip is already set, so there's no movement. That's how we knew what was coming." - Shun explained seriously to Kaito. The more Shun spoke, the more Kaito stopped struggling and listened intently. Not only Kaito but also the nearby players listened carefully to what Shun was saying.

"Why are you telling me this?" - Kaito asked suspiciously. If what Shun said was true, it made no sense for him to reveal this information for free.

"Like I said, let's do this again. But next time, I want to face your best!" - Shun said with a smile, keeping his hand extended toward Kaito.

"I- I won't lose next time!" - Kaito locked eyes with Shun and replied. He didn't know why, but he trusted the words of the blue-eyed boy standing before him. Kaito shook Shun's hand firmly, making a promise to himself. In that moment, his despair vanished, replaced by a burning determination to improve and return stronger to defeat the boy in front of him.

"Nah, you're still going to lose, haha!" - Shun laughed confidently.