Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 596 - 146: A New Magic Pitch?! (Major - )_2

Considering that, after the recently concluded offseason, the overall strength of the SoftBank Team has clearly declined compared to the last season where they easily dominated:

In terms of pitching, Shetsu Shou, who is turning 34 this season, has been unable to stop his decline. Even though he still pitched over 130 innings across 20 games last season, his performance metrics have reached historical lows. Matsuzaka Daisuke, who was signed last offseason for a staggering 1.2 billion yen over three years, withdrew from preseason games due to a shoulder muscle issue and didn't pitch a single game the entire season. He underwent major surgery in August and has not yet been able to return.

Although the SoftBank Team's starting pitchers are well-stocked, losing their originally planned number two and three pitchers can easily impact the team's performance if any injuries occur during the season.

Obviously, the organization is aware of these issues, which led to the emergence of a major trade transaction that all SoftBank fans were eager to see:

The forever beloved of Fukuoka fans, Wada Yu, the previous wearer of the number 21 jersey on Lin Guanglai, officially returned to his home team after five years in America, signing a multi-year contract with the team. Although he is also 34 this year, Wada Yu's competitive form remains outstanding. With such a veteran bolstering the team, both the SoftBank executives and fans are somewhat reassured.

It is worth mentioning that, according to traditional seniority rules, Lin Guanglai was expected to voluntarily give up his number 21 jersey to Wada Yu upon his return;

However, when some people expected drama in the locker room over this jersey number issue, Wada Yu himself stepped forward and declared that he would choose the vacant number 17, preemptively quashing any potential media buzz.

Additionally, SoftBank also reached a one-year agreement with Robert Suarez, a 24-year-old player from Venezuela. This pitcher, who possesses five different pitches, will be a significant addition to the bullpen.

Nonetheless, SoftBank suffered a huge setback in their batting lineup and acquisitions:

Although the team's management retained the core lineup members by increasing their pay, they failed to reach a renewal agreement with Lee Dae-ho. After earning sufficient money during his KBO and NPB career, Lee Dae-ho decided to chase his dreams across the Pacific Ocean and joined the Seattle Mariners, turning down SoftBank's astronomical two-year contract exceeding 1 billion yen.

Similar to their pitching lineup, SoftBank is not short of powerful hitters. Yet, the absence of a player who can contribute 150 hits and over 25 home runs per season, while also playing first base and being a designated hitter, would undoubtedly affect the team's overall cohesion.

Moreover, Lee Dae-ho not only excelled individually but also maintained a high status and influence in the SoftBank locker room with his amiable character and supportive attitude towards younger players. A locker room leader like him can be crucial when the team hits rough patches.

In short, amidst the dynamic environment of coming and going, mutual advancement, and competition, the Okinawa preseason independent training has officially begun.

The independent training is relatively monotonous, primarily focusing on extensive running exercises:

Besides long-distance slow running to improve cardiovascular capacity, there are interval runs, sprints, shuttle runs, and hill runs among other exercises. The main goal is to aid in recovery and enhance stamina. Randy Mason, the foreign pitcher for the Hanshin Tigers, is a strong advocate of running training. His remarkable endurance for a four-day rotation was honed through years of running exercises.

Thanks to Okinawa region's unique geographical conditions, the running training for Lin Guanglai and his teammates is mostly conducted on sandy surfaces. Unlike solid, resilient flat surfaces, sand easily collapses, providing excellent strengthening of the calf, ankle, and small foot muscles. These muscle groups are crucial for baseball players who regularly need to hit, run bases, and sprint defensively.

The sand requires more lower limb strength than the flat ground, as each step demands more power and energy to push off, serving as a natural "resistance training." Moreover, the sand's cushioning properties greatly reduce the impact on the knees and hips compared to concrete or synthetic tracks, making it particularly suitable for high-volume or recovery-stage training.

Aside from the routine recovery and stamina enhancement, Lin Guanglai's main focus this season remains honing his pitching techniques and expanding his arsenal of pitches.

Before leaving Japan, this pitcher, who has won the Eiji Sawamura Award for two consecutive years, is determined to make a significant contribution to Nippon Professional Baseball:

He aims to challenge the existing Pacific League record for the lowest single-season ERA of 1.06, set by Iwao Kazuhiko in 1956. If possible, he even wants to achieve an ERA below 1.00, becoming the second player to reach this milestone since Hanshin Tigers' Muraoka Minoru in 1970, during the post-war era.