Chapter 24: Chris’s Evaluation

I got off work early today. So I wrote 2 chapters for you guys again.

Enjoy ;)

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Morning Practice, Bullpen.

Rei was throwing fastballs and Miyuki was catching them.

Tanba and Kawakami were practicing too.

"So, he's Fujikawa Rei".

"His fastball really looks scary up close."

"Tanba's looking better too".

"His sidearm pitches are looking really good".

"They've got some strong pitchers".

"Guess it wasn't a fluke that they did well against Yokohama Academy".

"Seido is gonna be a tough team this year".

Discussed players that came from other schools and various scouts in the gallery.

"We're done for today", said Miyuki.

Rei nodded and took off his glove. He wanted to go and run in the field since he was trying to raise his stamina.

Sawamura was looking through the bullpen and saw Miyuki and Rei talking together.

Seido practice match.

Today Sawamura was observing the match and learning. Since Miyuki yelled at him, he started doing things he hadn't done before.

Sawamura was amazed at how everyone moved together to make a single defense play.

National Training Center, in a certain rehabilitation room.

Chris was doing shoulder exercises.

"Goddamn! Don't be influenced by that twerp. Forget about high school baseball and just build your body in time for graduation. You have a long baseball career ahead of you", said Chris's dad. He was his Rehabilitation coach.

At night in the practice field.

Miyuki was swinging his bat continuously and practicing.

He stopped when he saw Chris walking toward him.

"Just coming back?", said Miyuki.

"I hear Sawamura's been following you around every day", said Miyuki as they both sat on a bench.

"Yeah, and I'm quite tired of it", said Chris.

Miyuki chuckled in response while grabbing a drink from the near vending machine.

"But he's trying to learn baseball despite how dumb he is, he was observing a match today as well", said Miyuki.

"From a catcher's point of view, he's a diamond in rough. It's the catcher's responsibility to bring out the potential in a pitcher", said Miyuki while opening a drink for himself.

"I'll admit that he has potential, but I'm not mature enough to help him grow", said Chris.

"Anyway, how's your training with Rei been going?", asked Chris.

"Not bad, that brat listens to what I say but I have noticed that something is wrong with his body", said Miyuki seriously.

Chris nodded as he agreed.

"I noticed it too when he was pitching, he seems like he isn't used to his body", said Chris.

"That's why I was thinking of giving him new exercises, but I noticed that he already does a lot of other exercises which are suitable for his body", said Miyuki.

"Honestly, he does everything himself. I just give him advice about his pitches since I'm catching them", said Miyuki.

"Let's see his progress when he comes to me since Rei's going to be pitching more often in the tournament", said Chris.

"Tanba, Rei, and Furuya, how you lead these 3 pitchers…that's what will determine the team's performance this year", said Chris grabbing his bag and standing up from the bench.

"Good luck, first-string catcher", said Chris as he left leaving Miyuki speechless.

Chris held his shoulder unconsciously while having flashbacks about his father forcing him to focus on his baseball career as he walked back to his dorm.

The next day in the morning.

Rei was walking toward his classroom.

When he reached his classroom, he heard loud noises and wondered what was going on.

Entering the classroom, he saw Haruichi and Sawamura standing there waiting for him.

"There he is…", said Sawamura pointing at Rei.

"What do you want?", asked Rei walking toward his seat.

"Tell me what my distinctive qualities are", asked Sawamura taking out his notepad to take notes.

"Your distinctive qualities? You can't throw fastballs like me or Furuya, nor can you throw breaking balls like Tanba. So, what can you do?", said Rei.

This was a critical hit to Sawamura. He noted this down regardless.

"Of course, your stupidity. No common sense. You don't know baseball. You lose your cool easily…", said Rei as he continued listing 'distinctive qualities' for Sawamura.

"S-stop…", said Sawamura as he couldn't hold on anymore. He seemed to have taken a lot of critical hits.

"What do you think?", asked Sawamura to Haruichi.

"It's fun to field for you, I guess. You sent a lot of balls flying. Also, there weren't any foul balls last time, right? That's a pretty good feat. It doesn't mess up the fielder's rhythm", said Haruichi.

"Foul balls? Rhythm?", thought Sawamura confused.

"By the way, did you guys hear about the first-string team? As of now, there are 18 players on the first string and those 18 players are all fighting for the spots on the active roster, but 20 players can be registered for the summer Tokyo district tournament. Basically, 2 second-string players will be moved up by the summer", said Haruichi.

"You Serious? Is this true?", said Sawamura looking toward Rei.

Rei nodded in response.

"The scrimmages will be good opportunities to show off", said Rei.

"2 players?", said Sawamura smirking and pointing toward Haruichi and himself.

"Yep, 2 players", said Haruichi agreeing with Sawamura.

"So, we're moving up to the 1st string", said Sawamura laughing.

"Well, nothing is set in stone yet…", said Rei awkwardly.

"All right! Let's do this!", yelled Sawamura laughing.

Teitou Vs. Seido (1st string), practice game.

Jun hit the ball hard, hitting the fence.

Yuki and Masuko continued hitting home runs as well.

Teitou's defense was lagging.

"There it is".

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"3 consecutive doubles".

"The seniors are on fire!".

"Looks like they've gotten better since the Kanto tournament".

Discussed the audience.

Tokyo Metropolitan Koma High School Vs. Seido High; 2nd string.

"They're sending the first string to Teitou but the second string to us?"

"Way to disrespect us. And that pitcher is a 1st year".

"Seriously! They're blatantly looking down on us!"

Discussed the opponent's team in their dugout.

Sawamura was the starting pitcher for this match.

He kept pitching but his control was way off, and he continued missing the strike zone.

After continuous hits, he was taken off the mound.

In the dugout, Sawamura was sitting next to Chris.

Chris told him all his weaknesses when he pitched. He said he's not like Rei or Furuya.

He told him to remember today forever then he can grow.

Teitou Vs. Seido (1st string), practice game.

Rei struck out the batters continuously.

"Is he really a 1st year".

"He's definitely throwing 150 km/h".

"Are you guys noting this down?".

"It's only a straight, we can definitely beat this".

Discussed the players from other teams watching the practice game.

"We're getting more scouts every day. This means Rei's name is getting out there", thought Miyuki.

As they were about to switch, Rei called out a time-out.

"Time out!", said the umpire.

Miyuki took off his helmet and walked toward Rei on the mound.

Kataoka and director Oota in the dugout wondered what happened.

"What happened? We aren't even in a pinch", said Miyuki.

Rei showed him his bleeding fingers.

"Your finger!", said Miyuki shocked.

"He throws by putting all his weight behind his fingers. Maybe he put too much stress on his fingers. Never expected a weakness like this", thought Miyuki.

"Go back to the dugout without showing that to anyone", said Miyuki.

Rei nodded feeling conflicted, he didn't know why but recently he had been prone to minor injuries for some reason.

The audience was disappointed that he only pitched 2 innings and he was already getting switched out.

Tanba was put on the mound after Rei left.

"Rei, you hurt your fingers? To a pitcher, his fingers are his life. It's proof you aren't taking care of them. Rei you're banned from throwing for 2 weeks. You can train in the 2nd string", said Kataoka.

Director Oota wondered if this punishment was too harsh.

Tanba was pitching perfectly, and his teammates were happy that their ace was back.

Rei wasn't feeling happy that he was asked to go to the 2nd string, but he still complied. He knew he had to fix a lot of his weaknesses if he wants to pitch for a long time. He left the dugout as he didn't feel like watching the match.

At night In Field B.

Rei was running with 3 tires attached. He had significantly improved his stamina from last time.

While he was running dazed, a person with 3 tires attached was coming from the back toward him.

Rei could hear echoes, but he didn't know where they were coming from.

Suddenly, Sawamura came from the back and startled him.

"HAHAHA…I win", said Sawamura while panting.

Rei felt better after seeing Sawamura for some reason.

He had been feeling depressed since he was banned to the 2nd string.

Furuya came to the field as well.

"What did you come here for?", asked Rei approaching Furuya.

"I was banned to the 2nd string, too", said Furuya.

Rei was dumbfounded and asked, "What did you do?".

"Coach said I need to increase my stamina and endurance", said Furuya.

Rei nodded as he understood why the coach said it.

"NANI!! You 2 were banned to the 2nd string", said Sawamura as he overheard them.

"I didn't think walking off the mound before burning out would leave such a bad taste in my mouth. The fielders and the catcher on his team are so reliable. A pitcher's lucky to be able to stand on that mound", said Furuya.

"Yeah", said Rei and Sawamura as they agreed with him.

"It's great to be on the first string", said Rei playfully.

"Damn it! Are you just here to brag?!", said Sawamura.

"Well, I'm gonna go run some more", said Rei as he dashed off.

"Wait for me…", said Sawamura.

"Oh, I don't have a tire", thought Furuya as he saw Rei and Sawamura running with tires attached to them. He found a tire in the field and started running with it.

Jun, Ryosuke, Yuki, and Masuko were walking through the field, but they stopped when they saw a certain trio running in the field.

"Hey, someone's on the ground", said Jun.

"I wonder what they're doing, considering they haven't even turned on the lights", said Ryosuke.

"Just 6 weeks until the summer tournament. I'm looking forward to finding out which 2 are coming up to the first string", said Jun.

"Yeah", said Yuki.

In the Practice Field.

"Don't leave me behind", said Sawamura.

"Slow", said Rei as he passed Sawamura.

"Damn it!", yelled Sawamura in frustration.

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