Chapters 100-109
Chapter 100-106
Chapter 107
It is the opening ceremony for the East-West Tokyo Regional Tournament, and all the competing schools are gathered.
After the ceremony, Sarukawa exclaims about the famous players who attended. Suzuki remarks that it’s understandable that Sarukawa is excitable, given that this is his first opening ceremony. However, he continues that although they’re a public school, this year they’ll be competing against those admirable players, and they’ll have to fight to win.
The scene fast-forwards to their first match against Yokoyama High School. The familiar pitcher greets them calmly, while Sarukawa is completely flabbergasted because he thought the pitcher was the team’s coach. The team’s coach appears, sporting the same face as the pitcher. The coach tells them that they may have beaten them last year, but this year’s Yokoyama is on a different level. That’s because they’ve welcomed “freshmen” who have joined them this year – each of whom looks exactly like the tubby old man everyone is familiar with.
The match begins with Chihaya stepping up to the plate. Chihaya easily hits a single despite Touji’s (the pitcher) claim that he can throw up to 160km/h fastballs. Touji quips that it must be beginner’s luck (deja vu, anyone?). Yamada steps up to the plate. As Touji winds up, Chihaya starts to run and makes it safely to the next base. Yamada bunts and miraculously, the ball tunnels through between the baseman’s legs, allowing Yamada to make it safely to first base while Chihaya has moved on to third.
Kaname steps up to the plate and internally, is elated at the advantageous position they’re in. The General comments that although this is a great position to be in, if Kaname makes a bad hit here, it could lead to a double play or even a possible triple play and ending the half inning. Kaname sobers up once the General reminds him that losing a match in an official tournament will mark the end of their team.
However, Touji is feeling nervous over the situation and ends up walking Kaname. All the bases are now loaded, and the fourth batter, Toudou, steps up to the plate.
“Bases all loaded, or facing the fourth batter – it doesn’t matter. I just do what I have to do.”
Toudou smiles and replies, “Interesting. Can’t say I hate a person who has guts.”
However, it wasn’t the pitcher (whose knees are knocking) who made that proclamation but the shortstop (who shares the same face) standing behind him…
Chapter 108
The chapter opens with the audience discussing the batting order, noting that Toudou is now batting fourth, which means Kiyomine is batting fifth. We see a flashback to when Coach Sako told the team that he would like Toudou to be the fourth batter.
Kiyomine immediately disagrees, and Toudou himself also feels he is not fourth batter material. Coach Sako explains that he wants Toudou in the fourth spot because he has grown and can handle it. Although there is the practice of putting your best batter as the second batter in the Major Leagues, that only works because all nine members can hit far. That’s not the case for Japanese high school players. If Yamada is able to learn how to perform as the second batter, Coach Sako would prefer to go for the regular route and make Toudou the fourth batter. This way, Kiyomine can focus more on his pitching. Also, by having Kiyomine behind Toudou makes sure the opponent’s pitcher cannot easily walk Toudou. Keeping them together would definitely make their offence the best.
Back in the present, Touji is visibly nervous with all the bases loaded. Coach Kanji calls a timeout, and the rest of the Yokoyama players try to calm him down. This seems to work, as Touji’s first pitch is a strike, followed by another strike.
Coach Sako observes, “It’s strange. Even though he’s doing the same thing, just changing the batting order changes one’s feelings. It has nothing to do being fourth batter material or not, it’s all about getting used to it. How a fourth batter bats is something you can only learn by being a fourth batter. As long as you keep it up, eventually, you will swing like one.”
Toudou swings at the third pitch and hits a grand slam, with the ball flying past the center fielder and falling into the stands. Despite the announcement, Nakaji (center fielder) slams into the fence anyway and someone exclaims, “Why the heck did he just slam into the fence after seeing the ball fall into the stands?! That jerk just wanted to look good!!”
To Touji’s surprise, Kiyomine also hits a fly ball that hits the fence (but doesn’t go over) and makes it to second base. Toudou remarks that Kiyomine might be pouting, but he still performs his role properly. Kaname replies that no matter where Haru-chan hits, it’s always a first-class one.
Hinomoto, the sixth batter, lines out to center, and Kiyomine makes it back to home plate, making it the fifth run in the inning. The rest of Yokoyama call out encouragements to Touji, who manages to strike out Suzuki. Sarukawa, the eighth batter, flies out to the shortstop, and Yokoyama executes a double play, ending the half inning. Hinomoto then teases Sarukawa, calling him a “Double play robot”, the nickname that the General once gave him.
Kotesashi is now on defense, with Kiyomine as the starting pitcher. Second-ji steps up to the plate and tells Kaname not to be too confident about their lead, as Yokoyama players are used to Touji’s super-fast pitches, making it easy to hit any fastball.
In the Yokoyama dugout, Coach Kanji thinks to himself, “There’s just one worry I have. According to my detailed simulation, there’s no way we can lose this match… unless I’ve made a miscalculation…”
Kiyomine winds up and pitches a ball that is so fast, Second-ji can’t react to it. Coach Kanji continues to himself, “Uh, isn’t that pitcher faster than Touji?!”
Kaname: “Uh, that was a fastball.”
Second-ji: “Eh?”
Kaname: “You said you can hit any fastball.”
Second-ji: “Eh…?”
Chapter 109
Kiyomine pitches, the batter frozen in shock as the pitch rockets towards him, ultimately falling on his butt to the ground in defeat. In an instant, it’s three outs. Coach Kanji is now convinced that his premonition was correct: Kiyomine Haruka is a true monster pitcher.
As Kiyomine and Kaname head back to the dugout, Kaname is sweating bullets. He tells Kiyomine that he really deliberated over the pitches as he couldn’t tell the batters apart. However, he wonders if that’s the real reason for his exhaustion.
The inning unfolds, and soon Kotesashi has the bases loaded. Kaname steps up, preparing for his at-bat. The General advises him to read the catcher and pitcher’s intentions. Kaname responds, “Normally, in this situation, the pitcher’s crushed and won’t throw a sharp pitch. The catcher will ask for a meatball to bail him out. But he won’t ask for a fastball down-the-middle.” He glances at the catcher, whose mitt is positioned at the lower outside corner, confirming his prediction. Despite being seen, the catcher remains motionless, leading Kaname to deduce that the pitcher will miss. And he does.
With the score, Kaname assumes the battery will seek a strike next. It arrives as an inside-high pitch, just as he predicted. He makes a clean hit, sending the ball bouncing off the fence in the outfield. The three runners score. His hit earns praise from the General, but Kaname tells the General that for some reason, he feels super tired in this match.
The bottom of the fifth inning begins with Kotesashi leading 13-0. Two outs in, the General reminds Kaname that if they can close this inning off here, the game will end, keeping Kiyomine’s pitch count low.
Houji, the catcher, assumes an Ichiro pose, and Kaname comments to himself that Houji’s similar to Seconji because of the pose. He eventually gives up trying to recall their past at-bats because his mind is all jumbled up with the similarities. He finally recalls that Houji likes to swing early and signals for a slider. As he tries to finish the thought, a sharp pain shoots through his head. Catching the slider, he experiences another wave of pain. The General asks if he’s okay, noticing his heavy sweating. Kaname responds, “I don’t know what’s wrong, I was well-rested for this match, but my condition keeps worsening.”
He signals for a fastball, which misses his mitt. Kaname rushes to retrieve it. In the dugout, Chihaya remarks that it’s unusual for Kaname to miss a fastball. Meanwhile, Houji bursts out laughing, calling Kaname’s pitch-calling skills “public school level.” Kaname’s irritation boils over, and he shouts, “I’m General Kaname Kei, okay!” Houji responds, “I~ don’t~ know~ who~ that~ is~,” and continues that Kaname’s pitch-calling skills are below par. Kaname’s anger spikes, while Houji comments to himself that Kaname’s playing into his hands. He expects the next pitch to be a home run, but it’s a grounder to shortstop. Kaname comments that he let Houji hit that one.
Houji makes a headslide but gets outted at first, ending the match. The entire Yokoyama team is overcome with emotion, with someone commenting on their identical faces – a jab at the author’s copy-pasting - and that they’re just first-year players, yet crying as if it’s their final summer. Nakaji, the centerfielder (also first year), reminisces about his memories of playing center, his summer ending with no regrets as he has battled the monster battery. He declares that he’ll quit baseball and become a Shueisha employee – he would later become involved in editing Jump.
As the Kotesashi team departs the stadium, Kiyomine notices Kaname’s pale complexion and tries to carry his gear bag. Kaname insists he’s fine. Chihaya brings up the earlier passed ball incident. Kaname continues to deny any issue. Suddenly, the General says, “I see. This might be bad. This is just a guess, but having two personalities may have caused a problem… what if we have a pitch limit as well?”