Baseball: A Two-Way Player

Today is the last day of Yokohama High School's training camp.

Even though the training hasn't started yet, many people have already gathered at Yokohama High School's baseball training ground, most of them players from the three visiting schools.

In the past, even for regular training sessions of average intensity, players had to exert a lot of effort in hopes of easing up a bit. Before training started, they would drag their feet, arriving just on time; but today, these gathered players are all eagerly waiting to begin the day's training.

The reason these "lazy ones" have become so diligent is that today's training includes participation from a special guest, who will specifically guide them in their baseball skills—just hearing the name of this person from Yokohama High School's members is already enough to excite these high school baseball players.

As the training time draws near, more people gradually fill the field; under the collective gaze of the crowd, the seasoned coach of Yokohama High School, Watanabe Mototsugu, enters the field with a tall and sturdy young man with a still youthful face.

As soon as they see that face, a wave of "ooh" sweeps through the field, with players gazing at the figure with curiosity, as if they were viewing a giant panda at the zoo.

Especially for second-year students like Kondo Kensuke of Yokohama High School, in addition to the newcomer's professional player status, he's also a former student who once shared days and nights with them. The double identity makes this reunion all the more touching, exciting, and joyous.

"Tongxiang-senpai!!!" Unable to contain their emotions, the members of Yokohama High School call out as soon as they see him.

Standing in the center of the crowd, Yashichi Tongxiang smiles and waves back to his juniors.

"Yashichi, should I start calling you Tongxiang player from now on?"

Seeing the students' enthusiasm, Watanabe Mototsugu, who has been overseeing Yokohama High School for over 40 years, jokingly says to his former student, smiling.

Upon hearing this, Tongxiang Yashichi, who was feeling somewhat proud of "coming back home in glory" a second ago, shows a bitter smile—though he knows the coach is joking, he truly doesn't dare respond.

Compared to these high school players present, Tongxiang Yashichi is a revered professional baseball player, having surpassed most others; but in the professional world, he's just a rookie barely a year in, shuttling between the first and second teams of the club.

Whereas in front of him stands an old man, who outwardly is just an ordinary high school coach but has nurtured fifty to sixty professional players, among whom are top-tier players like Matsuzaka Daisuke and Yongjing Xiuzhang—even among these Yokohama High School students present, there may be future mainstays of major professional baseball clubs.

Seeing his disciple's timid demeanor, Coach Watanabe shakes his head, lamenting that he still can't take a joke; then, addressing the players from four schools at the field, he points to the young man beside him and begins his introduction:

"This person, our Yokohama Baseball Club members should be familiar with, though there may be some among you who aren't, so let me briefly introduce him."

"Tongxiang Yashichi, a 2009 graduate of Yokohama High School, currently a member of the Kanagawa local team Yokohama BayStars, everyone please welcome him."

"Whoa——!!!" A wave of applause sweeps through the training ground, with numerous players looking at Tongxiang Yashichi at the front with admiration.

For these high school baseball players present, Tongxiang Yashichi is already a figure they aspire to:

In high school, he was the unyielding cleanup hitter leading the team into the top four at Koshien, even unlocking the achievement of a grand slam in the Hanshin batting area. Merely statistics from a single tournament with a batting average of .526, 3 home runs, and 14 RBIs—no one among the players present could match it, apart from Lin Guanglai—not to mention he's a versatile left-handed and right-handed batter, with a total of 69 home runs in high school.

In the 2009 draft meeting, he was the first choice of the Kanagawa local team Yokohama BayStars as a high school student; in the first season of his professional career, Tongxiang Yashichi showcased his immense talent to the club's senior management and fans:

In the secondary league games, he delivered 26 home runs, 88 RBIs, winning two batting crowns in just over half a season, and was promoted to the first team by the season's end, notching his first career hit in a game against the Hanshin Tigers.

If it weren't for Yokohama BayStars' lukewarm official series performance, ranking last in the Central League, Tongxiang Yashichi might still be competing in climax series and Japan's Number One series games with the team—in fact, just the evening before, Lin Guanglai had watched the live broadcast of this year's Japan's Number One series with everyone, witnessing the Central League champion Chunichi Dragons lose the critical battle for the King's Peak while visiting Chiba Lotte.

When Tongxiang Yashichi began guiding the players on site, the excitement among them grew even more:

Receiving professional baseball player's training and guidance is inherently a highly rewarding experience for most of them; realizing that such opportunities are rare apart from Yokohama-level schools, nowhere else can regularly enjoy this:

Among the other schools present, even the most historically rich Waseda Jitsugyo hasn't produced an active professional player for many years—the latest being Saito Yuuki, designated by the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters just this year.

After experiencing a full day of professional player training intensity with Tongxiang Yashichi, many players were exhausted.

Prior to this, many of them had limited understanding of professional baseball teams; after all, as high school baseball teams aiming for Koshien and even nationwide victory, none of the four teams present have less training, easily exceeding most schools nationwide;

But the training intensity and regimen of professional teams far exceeded these youngsters' expectations:

If high school-level training is exhausting, then professional-grade training meticulously programs project schedules to thoroughly drain every ounce of your strength, leaving you completely immobile.

After completing a day of guidance, the players waved farewell to Tongxiang Yashichi; before parting, Tongxiang Yashichi intentionally approached Waseda Jitsugyo's side, introducing himself to Lin Guanglai, and inquiring whether he had intentions of pursuing a professional career post-graduation, even privately giving him and the Yokohama BayStars scout's contact information—a gesture that elicited envy among many peers.

With the training camp concluded, Waseda Jitsugyo's group set off back to school the following morning; as before, Sasaki Shinichi, the department head, took charge as the guardian responsible for their safety;

As for Coach Izumi Minoru—during the days of the training camp, he frequently missed the daily training sessions, with the players entirely unaware of their coach's whereabouts, nor did they inquire further.