Chapter 669 - 669: He's Back

The moment Tanba's condition became problematic, Seido High School Baseball Team immediately made a substitution.

Tanba didn't want to leave the field, and after a long standoff on the pitcher's mound, he heavily handed the baseball to Zhang Han.

"I'm counting on you!"

Tanba knew very well what it meant for him to hand over the baseball at this moment.

But compared to his personal future, Tanba was more concerned about the team's victory or defeat at this time.

Originally, when Zhang Han took the field today, he was already prepared to pitch. Since Coach Kataoka had spoken, his appearance as a pitcher was almost certain.

However, during today's game against Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team, too many unexpected things happened.

Especially Tanba's sudden burst of form, which completely disrupted Seido High School Baseball's previous arrangements.

Although Zhang Han felt a little disappointed, he had already prepared to focus on being a fielder and batter.

But just as he had finished preparing, another unexpected event occurred without warning.

An accidental hit by pitch, followed by Tanba being forced into a corner, and then Harada's super long hit, allowed Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team to score two runs at once.

Seido High School Baseball Team, which had been leading by one run, instantly squandered its advantage completely.

Not only that, but they were now trailing the opponent by one run.

Although this incident was somewhat sudden, everyone could see Tanba's growth now. Coach Kataoka almost explicitly wanted to support him in becoming the team's true Ace.

And this point was basically recognized by Coach Ochiai and the coaches of Seido High School Baseball Team's coaching staff.

As a true Ace, even if he temporarily encountered difficulties, the team should give him more trust and support.

So, according to Zhang Han's original thoughts, he believed that the Coach would at least let Tanba finish this inning.

Only then would he consider a substitution.

Therefore, even when Tanba gave up two runs, Zhang Han was not prepared to pitch.

Suddenly receiving the order to pitch, Zhang Han felt quite surprised.

So much so that when he went to the pitcher's mound, he had to warm up his shoulders first.

This action also indirectly showed that Zhang Han had not been prepared to pitch before.

In Inashiro Industrial's dugout, Coach Kunitomo's eyes narrowed into a slit.

As the saying goes, bystanders see clearly.

Seido High School Baseball Team's own teammates might not have felt much, but many people on the scene had already focused their attention on Zhang Han.

Especially Fujio, the veteran reporter from Baseball Kingdom Magazine, who had deep ties with Seido High School Baseball Team.

His brows were tightly furrowed.

"Has Seido High School been pushed to such an extent already?"

Zhang Han had never pitched in a game before this Kanto Tournament.

At that time, some people already speculated that he might have encountered some personal problem. What exactly was this problem? There were many guesses, but Seido had never confirmed them.

However, judging from his consistent absence from pitching, there must have been some issue with his arm or fingers.

Or perhaps his Fastball was too fast, putting too much strain on Zhang Han's not-yet-fully-developed body.

In short, whatever the reason, Seido High School Baseball Team seemed to have made up its mind not to let Zhang Han pitch easily.

This was not alarmist talk, but a reasonable analysis.

Zhang Han himself not being prepared, and only now starting to fully warm up his shoulders and wrists, was also one of the pieces of evidence.

Looking at this detail, Zhang Han himself clearly did not anticipate that he would be on the mound at this time.

This also indirectly proved that putting Zhang Han on the pitcher's mound was not something Seido High School Baseball Team had planned beforehand.

This was a temporary decision; Zhang Han, who might not have pitched for nearly a month, was brought in temporarily to save the day.

Everyone who understood all this couldn't help but feel a chill for Seido High School Baseball Team.

The Ace Pitcher they had painstakingly cultivated with great effort clearly did not receive the true trust of Seido members, including the Coach and coaches.

If they fully trusted their Ace, even if the Ace encountered difficulties, they should give the Ace more opportunities to overcome the challenges and reach a higher level.

So decisively replacing Tanba indicates that he is not Seido High School Baseball Team's truly recognized Ace candidate.

If it were other people, even if they noticed this, they probably wouldn't take it too seriously.

After all, Tanba's rise was a recent development, and his previous unreliability was commonplace for supporters of Seido High School Baseball Team.

Precisely because there wasn't too much expectation, people wouldn't feel such great disappointment.

But Fujio was different. As a staunch supporter of Seido High School Baseball Team and a seasoned baseball commentator, his perspective on issues was vastly different from that of ordinary people.

If Tanba wasn't Seido's Ace now, then who was Seido High School Baseball Team's true Ace candidate?

Many people might say Zhang Han.

Although Fujio didn't know what kind of problem Zhang Han had encountered, how could a pitcher who only made his first appearance in the Kanto Tournament finals, more than halfway through, be the team's Ace?

Neither Seido's Coach, nor their coaches or players, would certainly think that way.

Neither Tanba, nor Zhang Han.

Did Seido High School Baseball Team still have an Ace candidate?

Kawakami, whose performance was stable but lacked strength?

Or Furuya Satoru, whose strength was stunning enough, but who lacked experience in games and was very easily outmaneuvered?

Compared to Tanba and Zhang Han, the probability of these two growing quickly and becoming the team's Ace was extremely small.

In other words, as things stand, Seido High School Baseball Team doesn't even have a true Ace.

When Tanba wasn't having problems, Seido High School Baseball Team could barely hold its own.

Once Tanba ran into issues, all of Seido baseball team's hidden dangers would converge and erupt.

"This game today will be tough for Seido High School Baseball Team!"

Fujio made this judgment.

Once Tanba had problems, it would be difficult for Seido High School Baseball Team to hold off Inashiro's offense.

Although Fujio, as an outsider, offered a relatively objective view, from the perspective of the players in the game, the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team players dared not be negligent or careless at this moment.

All their hearts clenched sharply.

Before the game began, Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team originally thought that Zhang Han should have a very high probability of not pitching.

Although they had made many preparations to deal with Zhang Han's Fastball.

But through the analysis of Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team's coaches and players, although they had never received definitive news, Zhang Han had not been able to pitch throughout the entire Kanto Tournament.

Even just to maintain his condition, Seido High School Baseball Team would not possibly keep such a powerful player in other positions and not let him pitch.

But Seido High School Baseball Team did exactly that.

Considering the impact Zhang Han's previous pitch speed had caused, keeping him in other positions and not letting him pitch, according to Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team's previous analysis, even if Seido High School Baseball Team had some scheme, the probability of Zhang Han pitching was not very high.

After all, for pitching, feel is very important.

If Zhang Han hadn't maintained long-term pitching practice, it would be difficult for him to perform well on the field.

Combining these factors, Inashiro Industrial very confidently judged that Zhang Han might not pitch.

But today, it seemed as if fate was playing a joke on the players of Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team.

Their two previous plans had both fallen through.

Initially, they thought Furuya Satoru had been completely exposed earlier and would find it hard to perform on the pitcher's mound.

Especially when facing them.

Seido High School Baseball Team's Coach Kataoka, no matter how desperate he was, would not give such runs to Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team.

But Furuya Satoru started pitching from the beginning and performed exceptionally well.

Afterward, they thought Zhang Han, for whatever reason, wouldn't be able to pitch.

Now, Seido High School Baseball Team made a substitution without any hesitation.

All of this dealt a heavy blow to the players of Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team.

It's obvious that since Coach Kataoka dared to bring Zhang Han in at this moment, it means Zhang Han's pitching should be fine and he is perfectly capable of playing.

"What the hell is going on? If Zhang Han can pitch, why didn't Seido High School Baseball Team let him pitch in previous games?"

The players of Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team really couldn't understand what Kataoka was thinking.

"It's just a bluff, everyone don't worry. Now that we're already ahead in runs, I guarantee you that we will be the ones to win in the end."

Before stepping up to bat, Narumiya Mei specifically turned around and spoke seriously to his teammates from Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team.

Facing Seido High School Baseball Team, which was known as the Best Batting Lineup in the nation, to be able to say such words and convince all his teammates, looking across the country, perhaps only Narumiya Mei could do it.

With the encouragement of their Ace, Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team's morale clearly improved significantly.

As for how much it would improve, that would depend on the outcome of the upcoming confrontation between the two sides.

No outs, runner on Second Base.

At this moment, the batter for Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team was their Ace Pitcher, Narumiya Mei.

The same Narumiya Mei who was encouraging his teammates in the dugout.

After he stepped into the batter's box, many cheers came from Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team's dugout.

In the stands, Zhang Han's fans were not idle either.

Seeing Zhang Han pitch, the huge screen at the venue occasionally projected onto Zhang Han.

These fans were greatly satisfied, each holding their cheering props and waving them continuously.

"Han-san! Han-san!!!"

Not to mention that Zhang Han's upcoming pitch was already highly anticipated.

Even if there hadn't been so much attention originally, with his fans cheering him on, it would probably attract a lot of eyes.

"You hateful guy, what if you have a lot of cheerleaders? This time, this Prince will definitely hit your pitch out!"

Narumiya Mei looked furious, his eyes firmly fixed on Zhang Han.

He had clearly made up his mind that as soon as the baseball flew over, he would hit it without mercy.

Zhang Han noticed Narumiya Mei's aggressive hitting attitude, but he didn't pay it any mind.

Standing on the mound, Zhang Han felt an undeniable sense of nostalgia.

Although he hadn't stopped practicing pitching, the total number of pitches he threw each day was limited.

For the sake of his not-yet-fully-developed body, Zhang Han couldn't practice without restraint.

During his pitching practice, Zhang Han had imagined more than once how he would perform when he returned to the field.

Now, he finally didn't have to imagine; he could put it into action.

The thirty pitches he practiced with all his might every day, let's see the result now!

Having made up his mind, Zhang Han lifted his right foot high.

Then he brought his raised right foot down heavily.

Throughout the entire process, he didn't look at Harada once.

As if he knew that Harada wouldn't dare to make a move.

In fact, Harada indeed made no move, staying honestly on Second Base.

Zhang Han's foot landed heavily on the ground, and his arm, with the momentum of his body moving forward, swung out fiercely.

Two fingers firmly hooked onto the baseball, and the entire body's center of gravity seemed to be pressed onto the baseball.

"Whoosh!"

The baseball Zhang Han had just released was like a beam of light, instantly crossing eighteen meters of space and appearing above home plate.

Watching this pitch come in, Narumiya Mei originally thought he would hit as soon as the baseball flew over.

But very quickly, Narumiya Mei realized that his idea was simply unrealistic.

The baseball flew too fast; he simply didn't have time to react at all.

"Thwack!"

The baseball slammed heavily into Miyuki's open glove.

"Strike!"

"Thwack!"

"Strike!!"

Two consecutive Fastballs, and Narumiya Mei didn't have time to swing.

So he was forced into a corner.

Narumiya Mei, being forced into a corner, completely let loose.

When Zhang Han threw the third pitch, Narumiya Mei finally couldn't hold back. Before he even saw the baseball fully released, he had already started his swing.

The pitch speed was too fast.

So much so that even now, the big screen was still displaying Zhang Han's highest pitch speed he had just thrown.

157 kilometers per hour.

Facing such speed, even Narumiya Mei, who had previously resolved to hit the ball out, was no longer so arrogant.

Now, he would be satisfied if he could just hit the ball and successfully send Harada back to home plate.

Although he said out loud that one run was enough, but as for runs, who knows what will happen the next second?

Narumiya Mei still hoped to score a run.

This swing, he used every ounce of strength he had.

It was just a pity that his swing was not even halfway through. The baseball shot past him with lightning speed.

"Thwack!"

"Strike!"

"Strikeout!!!"

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