"Coach, how do you plan to arrange Sawamura Eijun?" After the Red and White Battle concluded and Coach Kataoka returned to the coach's office, Rei Takashima pushed up her glasses and asked with a faint smile.
Kataoka Tesshin glanced at Rei Takashima and said indifferently, "He's a talented fellow, but his character still needs refinement. Send him to the second string and have Chris train him."
Rei Takashima nodded slightly, indicating her understanding. Rei Takashima was quite familiar with Coach Kataoka's method of nurturing talent. The entire Seido Baseball style was essentially the Coach's style, and it was precisely this aspect that Rei Takashima most admired about Coach Kataoka!
"And what about that international student from Philippines, Coach? Do you intend to include him in the first string roster?" Rei Takashima said calmly. Although Rei Takashima had a rough idea of Coach Kataoka's thoughts, it was still better to confirm some things directly.
As the Vice Coach of the Baseball club, this was her duty.
"Hmm, that kid possesses a certain characteristic, and his ball sense is quite good. What he lacks now is practical experience and basic training. Isn't he roommates with Miyuki? Just leave him to Miyuki."
"Let him and Furuya participate in this Kanto Tournament. Let them gain some experience. As for whether they'll be included in the first string roster for the Summer Tournament, we'll decide based on their growth and performance." Coach Kataoka's face showed a subtle, unreadable expression as he spoke softly.
Rei Takashima smiled faintly. As expected, Coach Kataoka's thoughts aligned with Rei Takashima's predictions.
"Eh? You're letting these two first-years participate in the Kanto Tournament? Isn't that a bit inappropriate?" Manager Ota, standing nearby, showed a disapproving expression, frowning as he spoke. He certainly acknowledged Furuya as a Pitcher and Aj as a batter already possessed the potential to join Seido's first string, but wasn't it too early now?
Ota believed it would be more suitable to polish them further.
"No, Furuya and Aj participating in this Kanto is a decided matter. Seido lacks a truly decisive Ace Pitcher. Tanba's current condition seems acceptable, but it's not enough. For a national-level tournament, Tanba's current condition is not entirely sufficient. And Furuya Satoru's fastball can serve as a fighting force for the team. This Kanto Tournament is a prelude to the Summer Tournament, meant to train Furuya Satoru! His talent is what Seido needs!" Coach Kataoka waved his hand, speaking in an unquestionable tone.
"Eh? What about Aj? Although that Filipino boy has had some exposure to Baseball, he's had almost no formal training or matches. Isn't it too early for him to join the first string?" Ota was well aware of Seido's own pitching issues. As the Vice Coach, he also highly regarded Kawakami as a Pitcher who could take over the Ace position after Tanba, but some things weren't just about his personal preference.
Ota had also witnessed Furuya's talent, and he naturally understood what Coach Kataoka said. However, regarding the other person joining the first string, Ota couldn't comprehend. No matter what, in Ota's opinion, that boy was far from ready to join the first string now. Wouldn't it be better to train him in the second string?
Or even if he joined the first string for training, was there really a need to include him in the official first string roster?
"No, that Filipino boy possesses infinite possibilities. He has excellent physical fitness, superhuman dynamic vision, and most importantly, a strong heart. While his batting stance and technique are very crude now, and he lacks too many fundamental things compared to many other first-years, including defensive training and offensive base running, these things can all be trained. But his innate, infinite potential is something others cannot replace!" This time, Coach Kataoka spoke with an even more decisive tone than before.
"In the future, he can become Seido's pillar batter!" Coach Kataoka declared unequivocally. These words made Manager Ota's mouth drop open, revealing an expression of disbelief. He had never expected Coach Kataoka to have such trust and regard for that first-year named Aj!
This even surpassed his regard for Furuya.
Only Rei Takashima's face remained with a faint smile. The intelligent Miss Vice Coach, Rei, had already seen through the entire truth.
"Alright, it's almost May, and the Kanto Tournament is about to begin. During this period, intensify the training for these two first-years. They won't amount to anything if they don't even know the basics." Coach Kataoka waved his hand and said.
"Understood, I will go and convey that." Rei Takashima nodded slightly.
The Red and White Battle concluded, but it seemed that the biggest winner in this match was Aj. It was clear that he had almost become a representative of the first-years.
His leadership qualities had already won over most of the first-years, even the outwardly stubborn Kanemaru Shinji had already accepted Aj in his heart. Even Sawamura, who was active on the pitcher's mound, despite those guys complaining about Sawamura this and that...
But in their hearts, they were slowly accepting him as a Pitcher, as someone they could rely on.
It must be admitted that this Red and White Battle, in fact, only relied on the combined strength of Aj, Sawamura Eijun, and Kominato Haruichi to achieve such results in the latter four innings. The entire first-year class was well aware of this.
Night quietly arrived. Aj lay on his bed and sighed slightly. "So tired," Aj groaned softly. This high-intensity match truly felt a bit exhausting to Aj. This was even with his focus on physical training, and most importantly, this was just a Red and White Battle. When it came to official matches, the demand on stamina would definitely be extremely high!
Aj became slightly more alert. He had to intensify his training, otherwise, if his stamina couldn't keep up, it wouldn't be fun. Baseball isn't just nine innings per game; if there's a tie, it can go up to fifteen innings!
Well, that's for the future, but for now, he just needed to start preparing.
Recalling the Red and White Battle from the morning, Aj felt a lot of emotions. To be honest, Aj truly hadn't expected to hit a Home Run with that ball, because he himself didn't think he could hit it out.
He just thought that a single to send Sawamura Eijun back to Home Base would be enough! That way, there wouldn't be much regret, but he never expected it to be a one-hit Home Run!
Thinking of this, Aj's lips curled slightly, revealing a hint of a smile.
"Yo, how does hitting a Home Run feel? But, looking at you, I can tell you're in a great mood, First String Player!"