Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 331 - 184: Toward the Final Summer

Considering that the spring season matches are about to officially begin soon, this U18 intensive training session lasted a total of three days. The main task was still for the best players of this age group to get to know each other and adapt to the competition rules in advance. After the red and white match on the third day, this training officially came to an end, and the players who had already become friends bid farewell to one another, promising to meet again at Koshien in the summer.

Because the training location was in Tokyo, Lin Guanglai didn’t need to travel a long way home like the others. On the afternoon the training ended, Lin Guanglai returned to school and joined the regular training of the baseball team.

The Sadaharu Oh Memorial Stadium was bustling at that moment, even more lively than before the Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament. It was evident that during the absence of the main player, Waseda Jitsugyo’s other team members were not idle either. With their promotion, there were quite a few new faces in this year’s baseball club, who were currently being trained by the vice-captain Yagaki Kentaro.

Taking advantage of the time when the first-year students were resting, Lin Guanglai went to Yagaki, who was drinking water, to ask about the new recruits.

Yagaki Kentaro nodded and told Lin Guanglai about what he observed while leading the first-year students in training during this period:

Overall, the result of this recruitment was decent. Although there weren’t any players who could immediately serve as a competitive force for the team, in Yagaki Kentaro’s view, at least a few had the potential to serve as tactical reserves.

"Take, for example, Nishioka Toshimasa, who was specifically recruited from Osaka by Coach Izumi Minoru. He has been playing in a hardball baseball club since middle school and was even selected for the U15 team. Although he’s not very tall, during training and simulated matches over these few days, he has shown himself to be a skillful hitter, and most importantly, he runs very fast. There might be a slight error in the timing, but his 50m sprint in 5.9 seconds and reaching first base in just over 4 seconds makes me think he can definitely serve as the team’s first-generation runner!"

"Then there’s Matsumoto Hiromasa, whose hometown is Chiba Prefecture. He was also selected for the U15 team before. His infield defense skills are quite good, and judging from his performance against Justice in the red and white match, substituting him occasionally might bring surprises."

"Look at this one, Ozawa Yuki... and this one, Miki Masahiro... as well as this one, Suzuki Natsuhai — all of these players have hardball experience from middle school and have more or less participated in national team selections for their age group. Compared to others, they have stronger abilities and more distinct personal style advantages."

Listening to Yagaki Kentaro’s introduction, Lin Guanglai nodded; glancing at the juniors playing around in the rest area not far away, a smile appeared on his face.

In any case, having new blood added is a good thing. After this Summer League ends, he will graduate, but Waseda Jitsugyo Baseball Club’s journey must continue. He certainly hopes to see more strong players coming here.

"That must be Elder Lin Guanglai, the strongest high school baseball player in the country... Wow, even from a distance, he looks like a giant, and his presence is intimidating... Is this really the aura of strength?"

In the rest area where the first-year newcomers were, most of them were secretly observing Lin Guanglai, who was speaking to Yagaki Kentaro, whispering to each other about their feelings — besides their love for baseball, their admiration and respect for Lin Guanglai was also one of the main reasons they decided to join the baseball club.

"Hey... don’t you guys feel like Elder Lin is getting closer to us... Am I seeing things?"

"You fool! That’s because the senior is walking towards us!"

"Hello, everyone—"

"Hello Senior/Captain/Lin-san!!!"

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With the newcomers joining, Waseda Industries Baseball Club returned to its usual pace, and everything was back on the original fast track.

For Waseda’s coach Izumi Minoru, he now faces such a problem: how should Waseda play in the coming spring season matches?

After the Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament, the first game was the Spring Tokyo Tournament. Nearly 400 schools across Tokyo would engage in a mixed competition. Compared to those with abundant physical reserves, Waseda, which just participated in the Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament and reached the semifinals, clearly did not have much advantage.

After the semifinal against Osaka Tsubaki, Izumi Minoru deeply reflected on his entire orchestration during the Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament, realizing he hadn’t completely freed himself from the constraints of Showa-era thinking. Compared to the players, he, as a coach, couldn’t shake off that utilitarian mindset and made many mistakes in personnel matters.

The near injury to Lin Guanglai was actually a warning for him. Izumi Minoru knew that in the upcoming matches, neither he nor Waseda could continue to rely so heavily on Lin Guanglai as an ace. He needed rest, and those second-year players also required high-intensity games to accumulate experience and grow.

Saito Yuuki entered professional baseball more than three years ago. As a ready-to-play pitcher who was drafted after graduating from college, his performance did not meet the Ham Team’s initial expectations. This season, he was sidelined due to injury during spring training. Many professional baseball media explored the reasons why this former nationwide famous "handkerchief prince" lost his magic—one important reason being the impact of the 2006 Koshien.

Yes, he indeed won the championship in that tournament, and his all-out efforts made him a sensational figure in Japan, but pitching 69 innings in a single tournament and a total of 948 pitched balls caused immense, irreversible damage to his body. Izumi Minoru can still remember that the day after winning the championship, Saito Yuuki couldn’t even lift a single finger.

Compared to Saito Yuuki, Lin Guanglai’s talent far exceeded that of Saito. To avoid greatly impacting his future prospects, Izumi Minoru decided to reduce Lin Guanglai’s workload.

"Let’s treat the coming spring season matches as a time to train. Let’s see how far we can go. After the Kantou Conference, we’ll play more practice matches with strong schools from other regions..."

Izumi Minoru, of course, knew that if he really wanted to train, he should have started earlier, in some of the matches of the Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament. But better late than never—the three months until summer are still quite sufficient.

For the final summer, regardless of the outcome, he hopes to bid a perfect farewell at Koshien with this batch of players.

Everything is still possible.