"How can we let the first-years get back into their rhythm?"
"Why can't they hit a single from that kind of pitch?"
"I'm sorry!" A third-year senpai took off his hat and said with a hint of apology, but there was a persistent look of confusion on his face!
He had clearly timed it perfectly, so why didn't the ball come as he predicted? Did it change at the last moment?
But it also seemed like there was no change. The third-year senpai hesitated whether to mention this, but he couldn't be sure!
"That first-year Pitcher!" Among the spectators were not only general Baseball enthusiasts but also those with a professional eye, as well as former OBs.
"A breaking ball? It seems this guy is also an interesting fellow!" A former Seido OB in his thirties stroked his chin and said with a slightly interested expression.
Those who recognized Sawamura's pitch quality all showed a different kind of interest in Sawamura. One must know that the talent for breaking balls, in some respects, is even rarer than Furuya Satoru's fastball!
In some people's eyes, other things can be honed, but pitch velocity is a natural talent! Of course, it's not to say that pitch velocity cannot be improved, but reaching top-tier velocity is almost impossible. Human talent is limited in terms of pitch velocity...
But Furuya's pitch velocity is clearly innate, and there's still potential for improvement. Reaching over 160 in the future might not be impossible, but what about ordinary players?
At most, honing their pitch velocity to over 140 is already quite impressive, but compared to 140 and 150, it seems like only a 10 km/h difference, yet in the batter's perception on the field, it's a world of difference!
However, compared to Sawamura's breaking ball, these seem to be slightly inferior. Well, this statement is not absolute; some people believe fastballs are superior to breaking balls...
And some believe the talent for breaking balls is superior to fastballs!
These are not a fixed judgment, but in Aj's eyes, the raw gem that is Sawamura Eijun is definitely larger than Furuya's!
It's not Aj's favoritism or anything; his natural joint flexibility is unmatched, and his unique breaking ball is not inferior to Furuya's fastball!
On this point, not only did Coach Kataoka mention in the original work that Sawamura's potential might be above Furuya's, but even Osaka Kiryu's Coach Matsumoto Takahiro, who is battle-hardened and experienced, highly favored Sawamura. After seeing Furuya's pitch velocity, he still believed Sawamura was Coach Kataoka's secret weapon for this Summer Tournament!
From this, it can be seen that Sawamura's potential is definitely higher than Furuya's. At the very least, Aj believes and interprets it that way!
It's just that Furuya matured more quickly, while Sawamura needed extensive polishing to truly shine. In the short period of high school Baseball, considering the team, plus Furuya's excellent batting ability, Coach Kataoka ultimately focused on developing Furuya!
Both the speed of development and the batting deficiencies caused Sawamura to fall behind Furuya early on. These are the two main reasons Aj believes!
In the high school Baseball environment, if you can't be relied upon for batting, it means that once you run into even a slight problem, you can only leave the pitcher's mound and can't be put back in. Sawamura is in such a situation, but Furuya is different. If his pitching is a bit off, as long as his batting is fine...
Furuya can simply go to the outfield to cool down and then return to the pitcher's mound, but Sawamura cannot do this. When he can't be on the pitcher's mound, Sawamura is even less likely to play other defensive positions!
Compared to Furuya, this is a fundamental difference!
But these are merely reasons why Furuya took a step ahead of Sawamura; they don't prove that Furuya's potential is higher than Sawamura's, especially just for the Pitcher position!
Therefore, Aj was not surprised by Sawamura's performance at all, not only because of his memories from his previous life, but also because Sawamura Eijun is the Pitcher Aj acknowledges!
The Ace in his heart!
"Good pitch, Sawamura-kun!" During the change of innings, Aj came up to Sawamura, patted Sawamura Eijun's back with his glove, and said with a faint smile.
Perhaps those first-years thought it was just luck, but Aj, who knew the details, did not.
"Oh!" Sawamura seemed to still be processing it, replying a beat late, then immediately returned to his usual self!
"Of course! I'm the man who's going to be the Ace! Ahaha! Haha!"
That exaggerated laughter burst out again!
Aj smiled slightly, shook his head, and returned to the dugout. It would be his turn to bat this inning, but before that...
"Alright! Watch me hit a big one! The counterattack starts now!" Immediately after leaving the pitcher's mound, Sawamura Eijun quickly grabbed his cap, put it on his head, fastened his glove, and after putting on his other gear, he picked up his bat and walked towards the batter's box!
Just then, a light bulb suddenly went off in Aj's mind, as if he had thought of something, and the corner of his mouth curved slightly.
"Sawamura-kun, wait a moment!"
Aj's voice made Sawamura Eijun pause slightly, turning his head in confusion to look at Aj. Aj jogged forward and whispered a few words into Sawamura's ear.
Sawamura's eyes widened rapidly, almost to the point of shouting.
Aj quickly: "Shhh! Sawamura-kun, there's no harm in trying, is there? Don't you want to see the shocked expressions on those second and third-year guys' faces?" Aj showed a mysterious smile, and Sawamura Eijun looked at Aj somewhat reluctantly.
He mumbled softly, "Hmph, fine, I'll try!"
Then, Sawamura Eijun stepped into the batter's box, bowed slightly, and said loudly, "Please guide me!"
Immediately, Sawamura Eijun took his batting stance, but the moment he assumed this stance, everyone present was slightly stunned...
Kawakami on the pitcher's mound and catcher Miyauchi were both a bit bewildered. What was this?
"Hey, hey, there's no one on base right now."
"Bunt?"
"Is this kid very fast at running bases?"
"Hmm, you never know. Isn't Kuramochi, the second-year, especially good at getting on base with bunts?"
"Maybe this kid can bring us something different to watch!"
That's right, Sawamura Eijun's current stance was a standard bunting stance. In this world, there's no ball Sawamura can't bunt. Aj firmly believed this. He just remembered a certain chapter he read in his previous life; there's no big deal in letting Sawamura try, right?
If Sawamura gets on base because of this, that would be very interesting.
Hehe, Aj stroked his chin and let out a mysterious smile, which made a certain pink-haired kid, who was observing Aj's expression, shiver and immediately move a few steps away from Aj...
"Aj-kun, sometimes he's scary..." From that moment on, a certain shy and timid pink-haired kid put a lifelong label on Aj.