The Old Baseball Player System

Shun received the ball from Daigo and signaled to the umpire that he was ready. Shun watched Kasuga\'s first batter stepping into the left batter\'s box, but he showed no reaction. He had studied not only this batter but all the Kasuga hitters extensively.

Shun stood on the mound, hearing the deafening cheers of the Kasuga crowd. Even if he wasn\'t paying attention, it was impossible not to notice how packed the stadium was and how many eyes were fixed on him at that moment.

The only similar experience Shun had was when he played games in the arena. But, of course, this time, being real, it felt very different. At that moment, an incredible pressure was building around the mound, the intense heat of Tokyo\'s summer sun, the noise of the opposing crowd, the focused gazes from all directions, the expectations placed on him... Shun felt it all.

Without hesitation, he lifted his right leg while propelling his whole body forward. He planted his foot firmly toward home plate, twisting his entire body, and finally whipping his arm toward the home plate.

"HA!" - Shun let out a shout as he threw the ball forcefully toward Daigo\'s glove.

WOOSH

PAH

"Strike!" - The umpire announced as Kasuga\'s first batter swung his bat and missed, chasing Shun\'s horizontal slider that slipped past his bat.

The crowd\'s noise dimmed upon witnessing this scene.

Shun received the ball back from Daigo and quickly took his position on the mound again. He looked at Daigo\'s sign and nodded.

"HA!" - He pitched again with all he had.

WOOSH

PAH

"Strike!" - The umpire called as the first batter once again failed to connect with Shun\'s horizontal slider.

"Damn it!" - Kasuga\'s first batter gritted his teeth, looking frustrated at Shun on the mound. He couldn\'t understand why, but Shun\'s sliders seemed impossible to hit from the batter\'s box.

Daigo squatted behind home plate again after throwing the ball back to Shun. The catcher then positioned his glove in the center of the zone, signaling to Shun.

Shun nodded to the sign and once more whipped his arm like a whip, sending the ball toward Daigo\'s glove.

WOOSH

PAH

"Strikeout!"

"Fuck!" - The first batter cursed angrily. This time, expecting a horizontal break like the last two pitches, Shun\'s slider dropped vertically, causing him to swing hard at thin air.

"Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga!" - After a few moments of silence, trying to process how their first batter was struck out so dominantly, the Kasuga fans began to cheer loudly again.

They clearly understood their role in building momentum for the Kasuga team and putting pressure on their opponents. However, Shun seemed almost in another dimension atop the mound.

Shun calmly watched Kasuga\'s second batter step into the batter\'s box. This time, the batter was right-handed, so he no longer had a natural advantage. But Shun didn\'t care one bit.

"HA!" - Shun shouted as he whipped his arm and threw the ball toward Daigo\'s glove.

The second batter, after seeing his teammate struck out in just three pitches, decided to wait and watch, hoping the ball would fall outside the zone.

PAH

"Strike!" - Unfortunately for him, Shun\'s horizontal slider landed right on the inside edge of the zone, putting Shun ahead in the count from the start.

From there, Daigo led the matchup with ease. The young catcher called for a vertical slider and placed his glove in the same spot as the previous pitch. Shun didn\'t hesitate to follow Daigo\'s call and pitched.

WOOSH

POFT

"Strike!"

The second batter saw a pitch in the same trajectory as the previous one. Not wanting to let another strike go by, he swung his bat. However, he hit nothing but air as the ball, which he expected to break horizontally, dropped toward the ground.

With two strikes and no balls, Daigo could have called for a pitch outside the zone to try to induce the batter to swing. However, upon looking at Shun on the mound, he changed his mind. He didn\'t know why, but Shun\'s pitches seemed especially sharp today, and he could feel a tremendous confidence emanating from the blue-eyed boy on the mound.

Shun looked at Daigo\'s signal and nodded, quickly throwing the third pitch of the matchup.

WOOSH

PAH

"Strikeout!" - The umpire called, sending the second batter back to the dugout in frustration. He couldn\'t make contact with Shun\'s vertical slider, which started at the top of the zone and dropped to the bottom.

The Kasuga crowd was slightly stunned in the stands. Their batters were known for making contact and putting the ball in play, but the Shoto pitcher had struck out the first two batters with only three pitches each.

"Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga!" - But once again, they started cheering loudly as the third batter began to walk toward the batter\'s box.

Shun could hear the loud noise of the Kasuga crowd from the mound, but he simply didn\'t care. His entire focus was on Daigo\'s glove behind home plate and the batter in the box.

Shun watched as Kasuga\'s third batter stepped into the left batter\'s box, like the first batter. He was also left-handed. Shun then looked at Daigo\'s glove and quickly nodded after seeing the catcher\'s signal.

Without a hint of hesitation, Shun threw the first pitch of the matchup.

WOOSH

PAH

"Strike!" - The umpire announced after Kasuga\'s third batter chased Shun\'s horizontal slider unsuccessfully.

Daigo didn\'t waste time. Seeing that the batter\'s swing was late, he called for the same pitch in the same location. Shun pitched.

WOOSH

PAH

"Strike!" - Once again, the third batter failed to make contact with the insane break of Shun\'s slider.

With two strikes and no balls, the third batter was cornered. He stepped out of the box and raised his hand toward the umpire.

"Time!" - Kasuga\'s third batter called out to the umpire, doing his best to calm himself down.