You snuck off to do swings again.
Is that how badly you don't want people to see you putting in work?
Sawamura was sitting by himself.
Was it...
because we couldn't make up those runs?
I'm not sure.
In any case,
it felt like he was giving us a kick in the pants.
Right?
He batted unusually well, too.
No one can complain about it.
If I had gotten a hit, we could have turned the tide.
Damn it!
Oh, so you came to whine?
No!
Go ahead. I'm the captain, so I'll listen.
Shut up!
And don't say that with a grin on your face!
I'm sorry for making you take the mound with so many runners on base.
I'm supposed to be the ace.
That was nothing to sweat about.
I'm just upset I couldn't turn the tide.
What do you mean?
About what?!
It's plain to see that this was my fault.
I failed to do my job as the ace.
No, it was all my fault!
If I had hit a home run, we would have won!
Maybe.
Is that a dig?
No, it's not! The part about you sucking is true,
but if we had rallied, that wouldn't have mattered!
As the ace...
Knock it off with ace this and ace that!
If I were a more trustworthy pitcher, you'd've been subbed out sooner!
That makes it my fault!
I don't like how you said that.
We lost because I'm not trustworthy!
It's my fault!
Mine.
It was all me!
No, me!
Wow... they're even competing about who made the team lose.
No, me!
Okay, that's enough.
If you can't rewatch the game calmly, stop.
Nabe-san, I am calm!
Okay, fine.
The whole team is here, so it's time to start the meeting.
Nabe-chan, what's going on?
Nothing to worry about.
Look how tense they are.
This is what it's like when they lose.
Normally, no one wants to say they're the reason the team lost.
These two are crazy.
We scored in the first inning
and hung on to score again in the last inning.
We scored three runs total,
but I believe our opponents took advantage of our aggressive approach.
Don't swing at balls.
Think of how to advance the runners.
Keep your swings sharp, and hits strong.
Even if you get out, you can apply pressure to the other team.
The western division is full of good pitchers.
Our lineup needs to make the most of the few chances we're given.
Yes, sir!
We have a lot to work on for defense, including management.
I'm disappointed in myself.
Furuya tried to pitch through an off day,
but walked too many batters.
It became that much harder for defense and offense to form a rhythm.
But then, Sawamura's pitching helped the team get back on its feet.
Whether they're having an on or off day,
the one who shoulders the feelings of the whole team on the mound is the ace.
That is how I think of it.
We have three months until the summer tournament.
The current jersey numbers will be discarded!
The twenty players on the tournament roster will be decided
by your performance and attitude in the coming days!
I want everyone, especially the third-years,
to practice hard enough not to have any regrets.
Yes, sir!
Learn today
Devote every moment
The starters will not practice tomorrow!
Any player may choose to go see the final game.
All players not going, as well as first-years, be on the field at 8:00 AM!
What're you doing tomorrow?
Are Narumiya and Amahisa pitching?
Both teams got into the Kanto tournament, so I don't think they'll be starting.
That okay with you, Furuya?
Yes, sir.
National Championship
Nabe, you can come with us tomorrow.
Okay.
Miyuki-senpai!
Can I come up to your room later?
Huh?
I have some questions about today's game.
Questions?
I'll be there at 8:00 PM.
Hey, what about tomorrow?
I'm not going, okay?!
National Championship
I'll be swinging a bat until I get blisters on my palms, okay?!
I've never felt so useless at batting as I did today, okay?!
Oh, really?
Enough with the okays.
Now to have some dinner!
He's really pumped.
He stole the show today.
He must really want that ace number.
I guess he's mad.
Could be.
I wonder what he'll ask.
He was saying he wants to know more about how you call for a pitch.
Nabe?
You were brilliant today.
Did it feel good?
No, I didn't think. I just threw the ball to where Miyuki-senpai put his glove.
At this rate, he'll never acknowledge me.
I need to understand more about why he calls the pitches he does.
I think he was thinking about that while he was sitting by himself watching the game.
He was probably feeling something from Narumiya and Mukai's pitching.
Really?
That guy?
That sounds like how he thinks.
Sawamura...
We can't be beaten.
We can't let him outshine us like this.
Miyuki...
That's right!
This is it for us third-years!
We can't lose! We have to play at Koshien Stadium again!
You're a little too close.
He always exceeds our expectations.
Here we come, Koshien Stadium!
We're gonna be the champions!
Keep it down! Enough shouting!
Why? Don't you agree with me?!
Then I guess I'll have to exceed his, too.
Tokyo High School Baseball Tournament Game 1 13:00 Start Time Third Base Line First Base Line Inashiro Industrial – Ichidai Third High
The Tokyo spring tournament final.
Sunday, April 27th
As many predicted, both teams chose not to start their ace.
Hiranocchi, it's up to you!
Toshi-chan, I slept on my neck wrong. Sorry.
What?!
We're counting on you, Hiranocchi!
Itsuki, you'd better make the right calls!
Ignore left field.
Inashiro Industrial's starting pitcher is third-year Keiji Hirano.
Ichidai Third begins the game with third-year Tatsuya Misaki.
It's not just the aces' pitching we're here to see.
Look at what pitches each lineup targets,
and what they do when there are runners on base.
You can learn a lot by imagining that you're on the mound.
If we can anticipate what they'll do, it takes some of the pressure off.
That's why we thoroughly analyze the other teams.
In the third, after Inashiro Industrial's cleanup Riku Yamaoka hit a two-run home run,
Mei Narumiya and Itsuki Tadano both hit for extra bases to give the team a three-run lead.
Hirano-san!
But in the bottom of the inning,
Ichidai Third High refused to yield and pulled back one run.
The game gradually became a hitters' duel.
Inashiro
Ichidai
Morning Seido practice field
Sawamura, you said you wanted to learn about game calls.
The Previous Night
Yes, sir.
Do you know the difference between a pitching sequence and game calling?
Huh?
Difference? The words...
It looks like you've never heard of them.
Let's start there.
Keep it simple! Please!
What're you upset about?
This is quite the turnout.
A pitching sequence is a theoretical series of pitches
Pitching Sequence Theoretical, on paper
based on data of the pitcher's repertoire.
Game Call Real-life strategy
Game calling takes into account the pitcher's condition,
the pitches the other team is targeting, and how the batter looks.
How many runners are there? How many outs?
What inning is it? What's the score?
Can we afford to let this batter walk,
or do we continue to throw strikes, even if he might hit them?
If you can take into account what your catcher is thinking, nothing like it.
However, not every pitch will come where you ask for it.
As the count changes, the conditions change, too.
And to begin with, if the pitcher can't hit the strike zone,
you have to base your entire game call around him.
Hey, he's talking to you, Furuya!
No matter how carefully you calculate your call,
if they hit the pitch, you were wrong.
And if the pitch is right down the middle but they don't hit it, it doesn't matter.
That's why calls are debated with the benefit of hindsight.
Even so, I think a near-perfect way to call a game does exist.
Thinking that way is the catcher's job.
We want the pitcher to throw a pitch he's comfortable with.
If the pitcher and catcher become one and produce a work of art...
That will be the best pitching of all.
A work of art?
Okay, let's start at the basic level.
Huh? We haven't started the basic level yet?
Of course not.
Game calling is deep stuff.
He's able to connect with slash bunts now.
Listen.
Baseball is a sport that doesn't move until the pitcher throws the ball.
That means that pitchers like you, who touch the ball longer than anyone else on the team,
have to know as much as possible about baseball.
Pitchers must stand on the mound shouldering
their whole team's feelings, including those who can't play.
Every single one of those words he said that day...
I can feel them seeping into me now.
Where does your talent lie?
We can only do one thing.
We must become stronger for those who were not chosen to play.
Whoever is standing on the mound is the ace!
Seep deeper...
and become part of me.
In the top of the seventh,
Inashiro
Ichidai
after an RBI hit by Tadano extended his team's lead to two runs,
their ace took the mound.
After the substitution, Teru Miyagawa hit a double,
but that was the only hit he gave up.
Shaking off Ichidai Third High's attempts to rally,
Inashiro Industrial won the spring tournament.
Amahisa didn't pitch.
Inashiro may have won, but it probably doesn't feel as sweet.
They didn't get to see Amahisa pitch.
Inashiro fights for every run in the later innings.
Even with their ace on the bench, Ichidai can hold their own against Inashiro.
Do you feel like you learned something, Furuya?
The current jersey numbers will be discarded!
"If you don't like the outcome, then work to change it."
That's what the coach was saying.
I'll be the best pitcher in Japan. My goal has not changed.
To do that, I'll start by getting my teammates to acknowledge me.
I need to make sure I hit the ball with the barrel of the bat.
I'll do a hundred more swings.
I like the look in your eyes.
So you really want that ace number.
Every pitcher wants it!
It shows that everyone believes in you.
It's nice to wear your desire on your sleeve like that.
Desire?
I always thought that a pitcher who shouts on the mound wasn't fit to be the ace.
You behavior yesterday was quite good.
Good?
You shouldn't shout so much, though.
It's unbecoming, and you look stupid.
Stupid? Did you say stupid?!
It only serves to provoke the other team.
A pitcher who's harder to read is harder for the batters to deal with.
I-Is he complimenting me or dissing me?
No, wait. If I have to ask myself that, he's definitely not complimenting me!
And those numbers...
Once you master those, you'll be a pitcher everyone acknowledges.
I see, I see!
So you do rate me!
That's great! Let's drop everything that's happened between us!
Do you want to catch for me?
No, I don't.
You don't?!
Then why'd you try to butter me up?!
I don't know what's going through his head!
I have no idea!
That was just a small preview of the numbers.
His impression
Looks like you're not ready for them.
Grrr
I haven't earned the right to catch for you.
I'm going to get a spot on the first team.
Once I do...
Oh, so you try to look cool, but inside you're—
Hey, wait! Let upperclassmen finish talking!
We had a really good thing going!
You're so difficult to talk to!
Enjoy baseball...
I hate those words to no end.
Looking good!
Don't worry about making mistakes! Just play your best!
You've gotten better!
No matter how idealistic someone usually is...
The more valuable the prize,
the more their true colors shine through.
What was that, you idiot?
The coach is quitting?
Why?
He's going to Tanabe Senior?
They're our biggest rivals!
No, that can't be!
If that's how you think...
Don't bother spouting all that idealistic crap.
There were rumors going around
that he was getting player referral fees from Kurebayashi and Tsuruta.
He got a lot of money for this move, too.
If you can't see it through...
Don't bother lying to us.
The man we trusted and followed abandoned us without a second thought.
This is your new coach.
Not even two months later...
we saw that man sitting on the visiting team's bench like nothing was wrong.
It showed us fear.
We'll use the baseball he taught us to beat him.
That's the best way to repay him.
Koshu-kun...
Repay him?
I'd rather die than lose today's game.
Okay, let's do it! We're gonna win!
Yeah!
He knew just how good we were.
Maybe he let his guard down because of that.
But we know how you coach, too!
Our players put everything they had
into using the techniques and strategies we'd learned.
Tanabe Senior
Daikyo Senior
We won decisively.
Well, we lost!
You kids got us good.
What happened to you? I hardly recognized you out there.
I liked the look in your eyes.
I see you're fine without me.
I'm so glad!
How does it feel?
Losing to the unreliable team you coached.
Did you enjoy that baseball?
I certainly enjoyed it.
I enjoyed beating you.
You got me! I really lost today!
We're not tools to entertain adults.
The field belongs to the players battling on it.
We need to decide on a high school soon.
I want a place where I can focus on baseball.
I want to play in a strong team, against strong teams.
I'm going to Seido.
I was kind of thinking about going to the school that won this game.
Just kind of?
They have two interesting pitchers.
I want to find out...
if it's really possible to enjoy baseball from the bottom of your heart.
Pitchers are troublesome creatures.
That's what makes this fun.
I want to find out...
how far my strength will take me.
"Something to Find Out"
"Something to Find Out."
Damn, we need to break this cycle!
Seido is incredible.
Let's show the second and third-years how the guys who stay in the cafeteria play.
Even the players not on the roster are this good?
It's still the third inning.
If we keep getting outs and give up as few runs as possible,
an opportunity will present itself.
Do these guys think they can beat the second and third-years?!
On the next episode of Ace of the Diamond Act II:
"Competitive Streak."
Next Time
"Competitive Streak"
Let's win the national title!
Illustration / Yuji Terajima