"Manaka, when you faced Zhang Han, you seemed particularly wary. You even called a timeout. Can you tell me why?"
Coach Tahara's question made Manaka feel a bit ashamed, but he explained the situation in detail.
"That kid's hitting is strange. Even though his swing isn't very powerful, he always manages to make contact. In my first year of junior high, I could easily defeat him. By the second year, it was a back-and-forth battle. In our last two games, he got four hits off me."
This incident had severely impacted Manaka Kaname's confidence. It even made him doubt if he was truly suited to be a pitcher.
"You haven't overcome that psychological shadow since entering high school?"
"I thought I had. This time, I wanted to defeat him fair and square, so I discussed it with the catcher and decided to use the Changeup I'd been refining. I didn't expect that guy to not give us a chance at all; he swung at the very first exploratory pitch."
Manaka felt particularly wronged. He had prepared for a long battle, but the opponent disregarded conventions entirely. It was supposed to be a duel, but the opponent pulled out a handgun directly. How could he play like that?
Not just Manaka, but Omae, another core first-year player, said something similar.
"That guy is really strange!"
Both core players used the same word. Coach Tahara couldn't help but be suspicious, so he had his Assistant Coach collect Zhang Han's information.
"The Autumn Tournament is in full swing right now. Do we have the energy for this?"
The Assistant Coach suggested tactfully. In his opinion, Zhang Han was already effectively a member of Ichidai San. They could study him after he joined. At this stage, the Autumn Tournament was the priority.
"No! That's not how it is. Given Zhang Han's achievements, as long as his coach recommends him, there isn't a single team he can't get into. He's a practical player; any coach would want him. Even if the team doesn't need him immediately, he can perform well as a rotational player."
Coach Tahara spoke with certainty.
"He came to our tryouts for a reason. We must prepare in advance."
"You are right, Coach!"
The Assistant Coach carried out the order. Fortunately, they were well-prepared; all players who participated in the draft had their information collected, including reports from their coaches.
Zhang Han's information was quickly compiled, including videos of his national tournament games. Coach Tahara spent over half an hour reviewing the data and two hours watching game highlights.
By this point, he had a conjecture.
"How many pitchers and machines did we use during the test?"
"Two pitchers, two pitching machines."
"Compile the data for Zhang Han's tests. Distinguish between pitches from humans and pitches from machines."
The Assistant Coach was confused but complied. The results were retrieved quickly: Zhang Han had 12 hitting attempts. Six against a person, six against a machine.
He hit the ball out 9 times total.
5 times were off a live pitcher.
4 times were off a machine.
In terms of hitting performance, he ranked first among the middle schoolers. Sasaki, who ranked second, only managed 7 hits. His breakdown was the opposite of Zhang Han's: he only hit a live pitcher 3 times, while the remaining 4 hits came from the machine.
The results were clear.
Excitement gleamed in Coach Tahara's eyes. If his guess was correct, this player would shine brightly. Ichidai Third High School was about to usher in a tremendous opportunity.
At the same time, in another prestigious high school in Tokyo.
A stylish lady wearing gold-rimmed glasses pushed open the door to the baseball coach's office.
"Coach Kataoka, please take a look at this."
She handed a portable hard drive to the man in front of her. The man didn't waste words; he plugged it into the computer and started playback.
A close-up shot recorded a game nearing its end, with both sides tied.
Just as the game was about to conclude, the situation changed. A player who had reached third base suddenly attempted to steal home.
The opponent's reaction was quick; they immediately threw to the catcher. The catcher caught the ball and had enough time to turn and block the plate. Under these circumstances, the reckless runner was almost certainly out.
However, a miraculous scene occurred.
The runner somehow successfully dodged the catcher's mitt, slipped past, and scored the run.
"What game is this?"
"A junior high national youth baseball tournament. The Matsukata semi-final. The runner is named Zhang Han."
Another chubby department head in the room, Ota, asked with doubt.
"His speed looks average! If we're recruiting a runner, he doesn't seem to be the best candidate."
"It's not about speed, but about the action."
The Coach named Kataoka frowned, lost in thought. It was a full three or four minutes before he spoke.
"It seems like... anticipation!"
The lady with the glasses, Rei Takashima, nodded affirmatively.
"I think so too. This player should have very strong predictive ability."
Back in Ichidai Third High School's Coach's office.
"Action anticipation!"
Coach Tahara said with certainty.
Compared to the rigidity of a pitching machine, hitting a real person's pitch is undoubtedly more difficult. But even under these circumstances, Zhang Han performed better when facing a person.
The data doesn't lie.
Zhang Han possesses top-tier action anticipation. He can predict his opponent's next move based on their physical mechanics.
This is why Manaka's pitches were always getting hit.