Baseball: A Two-Way Player

"Good evening to all the viewers in front of your TVs. Welcome to today's 'Our Koshien' program."

"I'm the host of the show, Akaboshi Kenkou."

"And I'm the assistant host to Akaboshi-sensei, Maeda Akiyo."

The evening after the fourth day of the tournament, 'Our Koshien,' a beloved program by all Takayama viewers produced by Daily Broadcasting, is airing on schedule. It features daily war reports and game recaps, along with behind-the-scenes stories from participating schools.

Akaboshi Kenkou, the show's host, is a former professional baseball player who spent all eight years of his career with the Central League powerhouse Hanshin Tigers. He once received the Central League Rookie of the Year title—after retiring in 2008, he successfully transitioned to commentary, earning widespread acclaim for his distinctive loud voice and Kansai accent, along with his professional analysis from a player's perspective.

"Well, Akaboshi-san, today's games were quite exciting, weren't they?" Maeda Akiyo, the assistant host responsible for player interviews and audience interaction, initiated the conversation.

Hearing the cue from his partner, Akaboshi Kenkou understood and immediately put on an exaggerated expression, loudly saying in his signature Kansai accent:

"That's right, Maeda-san—whether it's Wisdom Wakayama or Luzheng Society, today's games were played beautifully, cleanly defeating their opponents;"

"But I think what the audience most wants to see now isn't these two games, right?"

Several viewers in front of their TVs nodded; on screen, Maeda Akiyo also nodded:

"Indeed, Akaboshi-san, although both of Wisdom and Luzheng Society's games were exciting, the final matchup between Waseda Real and Kyushu certainly brought more surprises—"

"After all, Waseda Real's Lin Guanglai set another record!!!"

Akaboshi Kenkou put on a look of disbelief, shouting to his partner beside him:

"Yes, rather than the 7:2 score between Waseda and Kyushu Academy, I think everyone is more interested in that pitch from Lin in the bottom of the inning."

"Honestly, I was shocked when I saw the pitch speed record—151 km/h, and it's thrown by a sophomore, it's just unbelievable!!!"

"And judging by the reaction of Waseda Real's players on screen, we can probably deduce that Lin has likely reached this speed during regular training, otherwise there's no reason for everyone to react so calmly."

"It's worth noting that during the spring Koshien events, the fastest pitch by a high school student was the 153 km/h record set by Hirashima Takuya of Uji Yamada Commerce in the 2008 Summer甲;"

"Following that, Kikuchi Yuusei set a 152 km/h pitch in the spring of 2009—this is also the fastest pitch by a left-handed pitcher to date;"

"The 151 km/h pitch thrown by Lin today is the third fastest in history—more importantly, he's the only sophomore to throw this kind of fastball."

"I think those who know a bit about baseball are aware that the faster the pitch speed, the harder it is to improve—many pitchers who can throw over 140 km/h in their first year tend to maintain about the same speed by the end of their third year, barely making any progress;

"Among all high school pitchers, it seems that none has ever exceeded 145 km/h in the first year and quickly broken through 150 km/h in the second year—and I feel this isn't even the limit for Lin Guanglai."

"At this pace, the next challenger to Sato Yuuki's 155 km/h high school speed record might be him!"

While Akaboshi Kenkou was enthusiastically praising Lin Guanglai's performance on the TV show, many media outlets like Asahi Shimbun, Daily News, and Daily Sports also featured Lin Guanglai's name in their headlines with titles like:

"Waseda Real's Prodigy, The Fastest Impact—151 km/h Fastball, Rivals Kikuchi"

"Heisei Monster Starts, 6 Innings Shutout Victory, Waseda Real Advances"

"The Impeccable Waseda Real VS The Strong Luzheng Society, Tokyo Osaka Second Round Showdown of Powerhouses"

...

And in high school baseball fan forums, fans from all over Japan flocked to post messages.

"1st Post: My goodness, it seems we can conclude now—this is definitely a once-in-hundreds-of-years super talent, right? Just promoted to sophomore and already breaking 150 km/h, I can't imagine what will happen when he reaches his third year..."

"2nd Post: The main thing is besides the speed of his fastball, his control is also amazing—I'm from Iwate Prefecture, our Hanamaki East's Ohtani also throws fast, but his control isn't as good."

"3rd Post: It's not just about pitching power either—the main pitcher is also the immovable cleanup hitter, have you ever seen such a player? I haven't seen anyone this fierce..."

"4th Post: Lin Huang is unbeatable, I yield."

"5th Post: Post above +1"

"6th Post: Don't rush to conclusions so soon—Waseda Real will play Luzheng Society in a few days, their lineup is definitely one of the strongest this season, let's see if Lin Guanglai can withstand the test."

"7th Post: Sure, Kyushu's level is still slightly lacking, they barely troubled Waseda Real the whole game—of course, it might also be because they were shell-shocked; Luzheng Society's hitting and base handling is definitely among the top teams this season—facing such a team will surely put a lot of pressure on the pitcher, let's see how Lin Guanglai responds."

"8th Post: Do we still need to watch Waseda Real's games? Wake up to another victory—Luzheng Society was suppressed by Celestial Principle's Nakatani in the Kansai Tournament finals, and Lin Guanglai is definitely stronger than Nakatani, how could he not suppress them?"

"9th Post: You can't say that, baseball isn't a sport where you compare strength on paper—feels like these two teams are evenly matched, there's an argument for either winning or losing..."

"10th Post: Looking forward, looking forward, this strong pitcher versus strong hitter storyline really fits the Koshien atmosphere!!!"

...

"Our Koshien" program is still ongoing, and currently broadcasting on TV is Lin Guanglai's post-match interview with various major media outlets after the game against Kyushu Academy.

"Mr. Lin, you are the only pitcher in this Koshien to break the 150 km/h speed barrier, making your fastest pitch so far the third fastest in history. Do you have anything to say?"

After thinking for a while, Lin Guanglai confidently replied: "This achievement couldn't have been reached by my own efforts alone. Thanks to the manager, the coaches, and my teammates, it's the result of everyone's collective effort that allowed me to do this—as for the Koshien speed record, I hope to top the charts before graduating high school."

"In the next round, your opponent will be the strong team from Osaka, Luzhengshe High School. Do you have any thoughts or words about this opponent, Lin Guanglai?"

Upon hearing this question, Lin Guanglai put away his previously proud expression and seriously spoke to the reporters like wolves and tigers in front of him:

"My friend from Luzheng Society, Phelan, is a good friend of mine. If possible, I wouldn't want to meet Luzheng Society so early..."

"But since we are meeting here, my goal is only one."

"And that is—"

"To defeat them."