Baseball: A Two-Way Player

Due to heavy rain, the West Tokyo Conference had to be temporarily halted; it wasn't until two days later, with the weather clearing up, that the summer's battle reignited.

But for Lin Guanglai, in the fourth round against Showa High School, he could only sit on the bench as a spectator.

Even though as an athlete his physical condition far surpasses that of an average person, in the face of illness everyone is equal. Without three to five days, even he couldn't recover to his best state.

Given such a situation, when submitting the starting list for this match to the competition organizers, Mr. Izumi chose the third-year Uchida Saint as the starting pitcher; as for Lin Guanglai, although he was placed on the roster, he wouldn't be participating in this match.

This lineup arrangement immediately stirred up a storm among the media and fan groups as soon as it was announced:

You have to know that in the first three rounds, even against opponents much weaker than them, Waseda Jitsugyo would have Lin Guanglai pitch one to two innings, about twenty or so balls, and only after ensuring a decisive lead would they substitute him out;

But now, the local conference matches have entered the latter stages, and in this crucial 16-to-8 match against Showa Academy, Waseda Jitsugyo unexpectedly reshuffled at the last minute — what on earth are they doing?

Fans who were not privy to the insider details immediately launched a fierce critique of Mr. Izumi's seemingly foolhardy behavior — on the high school baseball forum, supporters of Waseda Jitsugyo and Lin Guanglai directly started a heated thread:

[Post 1: Ah, I can't believe it—what on earth is Mr. Izumi doing? If he wanted to reshuffle the lineup, why not do it when playing against those weaker teams earlier, now at the sprint stage, he suddenly starts reshuffling, what is he thinking, I'm dumbfounded —]

[Post 17: Exactly, and although Saint is okay, he's still not as good as Guanglai, right—Showa is much stronger than those teams in the earlier rounds… will this kind of strategy backfire?]

[Post 27: This is just like our Waseda Industries! Have you ever seen a team that casually rotates in a single-elimination tournament? Truly Waseda and truly Jitsugyo!]

[Post 51: Although I think even with Saint starting we can beat Showa… but wouldn't it be better to play it safe and secure a spot in the finals like in the previous matches—a repeat of last year's situation with Nihon University wouldn't be unexpected, saying it's a clash of giants, yet other teams may unexpectedly win —]

Compared to the emotional outburst of fans, perceptive reporters sensed something unusual from this lineup decision:

In high school teams, the whole team's performance is almost entirely tied to the ace pitcher's ability, and unless absolutely necessary, no sensible manager would rashly replace their ace; conversely, if a manager does make such a decision, it means there are certain unknown issues happening behind the scenes.

To uncover the truth, many reporters from the Tokyo Region gathered at the location of Waseda Real School.

In response, Mr. Izumi felt helpless: losing the ace starter during this sprinting stage of the matches already made him anxious, and now these reporters, like flies attracted to the scent, swarmed to get answers. It was annoying.

As the center of public opinion, with the permission of the minister and the manager, Lin Guanglai led the reporters away from the field and straightforwardly answered questions concerning him—since he couldn't support his teammates on the field, he would take responsibility for the matters caused by him off the field.

"There is no injury in the shoulders and elbow joints, and the muscles are fine, but there were fever symptoms a couple of days ago, now I have basically recovered."

"I wish to play in the next match, but considering the manager's desire to protect me and assess the upcoming schedule, I will not be starting in the next match."

"Thoughts on the match? Hmm... I respect Showa Academy, our opponent, and I'm confident in my teammates—I will fully support them from the bench."

After dealing with the greedy reporters, the related news was quickly reported to the public.

[Post 55: Did you see the latest news—Lin actually got a fever as the team's ace at this critical moment, it's just unbelievable.]

[Post 66: It's understandable, being caught in the rain during this weather can easily lead to such situations, the player wouldn't want that too—besides, to put it bluntly, even without Lin Guanglai, I feel it would already be a win for Showa to last up to seven innings.]

[Post 77: Although I believe Waseda Jitsugyo has a high chance of advancing, the previous post underestimates Showa too much—this team has pulled off a final-stage comeback in the past three rounds, they're a resilient team. If Waseda Jitsugyo doesn't take it seriously, losing the match wouldn't be surprising.]

Tokyo, Sho Island City, Tokyo Metropolitan Showa High School.

"Takuma, did you see the recently published news about Waseda Jitsugyo?" In the baseball training field of Showa High School, the team's starter for tomorrow, Aomura Shou, casually chatted with teammates.

Ogawara Takuma, Aomura Shou's catcher partner, said nothing.

Despite not getting a response from his friend, Aomura Shou continued on as if unconcerned:

"Tsk tsk, prestigious baseball teams are something else, even a player's illness becomes such a big deal—in this aspect, small teams like us can't compare."

"But Takuma, do you think that, since Lin Guanglai can't play in the next match, doesn't that mean Showa has a great chance?"

After this sentence, Aomura Shou made an excited expression as if he were dreaming:

"I can hardly imagine, if we beat Waseda Jitsugyo tomorrow, how the media will report me…"

"Tokyo Metropolitan Showa, strong lefty Aomura, Waseda Real's streak in Spring and Summer broken!—Takuma, Takuma, what do you think of this headline, isn't it impressive."

Ogawara Takuma, who was crouching on the ground, pounding his catcher's glove repeatedly with a baseball, looked up and gave his partner a look.

"Of course, we can beat Waseda Jitsugyo—but Shou, the premise for all this is, during tomorrow's pitching, you must strictly follow my signals."

"The reason we always inexplicably lose points is that you keep changing the pitches without communicating with me clearly—when will you fix this habit?"

Ogawara Takuma stood up, staring directly into his partner's eyes, and asked:

"Shou, let me ask you once more, do you really want to beat Waseda Jitsugyo?"

"Of course, I told you..."

"Then, in tomorrow's game, I hope to see your change!"