Baseball: A Two-Way Player

"Is Kawaguchi Kiyotaka really that much worse than Lin Guanglai? Both are first-year students, both are exceptionally talented—what the National Academy Kugayama is lacking is just an opportunity! As educators, shouldn't we give these outstanding players a chance to showcase their abilities in front of all the spectators?"

"Are you suggesting that a third-year player at Koshien, who hit 4 home runs and had only 1 earned run in pitching, is on the same level as a player who just became a starter in autumn?"

"That's because there is a significant difference in strength between the two schools, and Lin Guanglai's impressive performance owes much to the fact that his opponents were unfamiliar with him."

The committee members engaged in heated debates, but it was clear no one could persuade the other; under this stalemate, it seemed impossible to reach a definite conclusion anytime soon—seeing these esteemed committee members drop their dignified manner one by one and argue with flushed faces, Oshima Takakou feared they might start a physical fight at any moment.

Amidst the noise, Oshima Takakou tapped his desk lightly with his knuckles, creating a knocking sound—this action instantly quieted the room.

Although the selection of schools for the Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament is officially made by professionals on the selection committee, ultimately, all final decisions fall under the jurisdiction of Takano Ren—as the current president of Takano Ren, Oshima Takakou must be accountable for the results.

The announcement of the schools participating in the spring tournament is imminent, and at this rate, it would take forever to decide.

With this in mind, Oshima Takakou promptly spoke:

"Gentlemen, I understand your deep concern for the development of high school baseball—but I'm afraid our schedule does not permit us to continue discussing indefinitely."

"Since we can't reach a consensus quickly, why don't we use a slightly primitive but relatively fair method—anonymous voting, with the school receiving more than two-thirds of the votes winning the Shengong Slot. Does anyone object?"

His proposal was met with silence, with no one voicing opposition.

"Very well, since that's the case, let's proceed without delay."

Following Oshima Takakou's words, the staff distributed paper and pens to each committee member present; shortly thereafter, dozens of committee members came onstage one by one to place their votes for the Shengong Slot entrant into the ballot box.

After everyone had voted, Oshima Takakou returned to the stage to cast the vote for the Takano Ren president, then began to announce the results under everyone's watchful eyes.

"National Academy Kugayama."

"Waseda Real."

"Showa Academy."

"National Academy Kugayama."

"Waseda Real."

…

As the papers were removed one by one from the box, the ownership of the Shengong Slot gradually became clear—under the scrutiny of the entire audience, Oshima Takakou took out the final ballot and read aloud:

"Waseda Real."

On the whiteboard behind him, the assistant tasked with counting votes had already completed the tally—aside from a few votes for other schools, the vast majority were distributed between Waseda Real and National Academy Kugayama.

Having completed the announcement, Oshima Takakou turned around, saw the vote count on the whiteboard, smiled slightly, and said to the judges:

"I think the result is clear enough—it's decided, the school that will receive the Shengong Slot for the spring tournament is this one."

"Next, let's discuss which schools should receive the 21st Century Slot..."

-----------------

Time flew by, and winter break passed in the blink of an eye, the new semester began.

With the commencement of the third term, the once-quieted Waseda Real baseball team started up again.

The first task at the beginning of the new semester was preparing the training field—in the winter, several snowfalls had occurred, and the field, left unattended during the break, was covered with a thin layer of snow.

This task naturally fell to the baseball club members, intended both to foster their resilience and to help them stretch their muscles—as many of them hadn't picked up a baseball during the ten-day winter break and their touch was rusty.

The excitement of a new semester hadn't completely dissipated; Waseda Real players were bustling and busy cleaning the field, restoring it to pre-holiday condition.

There was still a significant amount of time before the practice match ban imposed by Takano Ren would be lifted—according to relevant regulations, from December 1st of the previous year to the first Saturday of March the following year, no high school baseball teams are allowed to play inter-school matches during this period.

During these days without practice matches, Waseda Real players could only train independently or play against their second team to maintain form; besides, for many in the team, they were far more focused on the impending announcement of schools participating in the spring tournament.

Logically speaking, Waseda Real's performance last year was excellent within Tokyo—local tournament victory, Summer甲 top four, autumn tournament near victory—their results could easily rival Nihon University Third, and the Shengong Slot should naturally go to them.