[407] A Little Something on My Mind

Chapter 407: A Little Something on My Mind

After Coach Kataoka announced the dismissal of the meeting, the members of Seido High School gradually left the cafeteria.

Miyuki, along with senior Kawakami, went to prepare for some pre-game practice.

Recently, as Eijun was the ace pitcher and Furuya had been showing a positive upward trend before the game against Ugumori, especially with his efforts to refine his control and develop a new decisive pitch—the vertical slider, Miyuki had spent most of his time practicing pitching with Eijun and Furuya.

Of course, necessary pitching practice with senior Kawakami was also conducted, as Kawakami is also a key pitcher for the team.

As the main catcher, it is essential to be familiar with the pitching characteristics, abilities, and current condition of every pitcher in the first string. This is crucial for a catcher.

The same goes for the pitchers. Daily practice to build rapport with the catcher is indispensable. Without a certain level, how can they possibly coordinate on the field? Eijun and Furuya usually have fixed times to practice pitching with Ono, as Ono is also a catcher for the first string.

The starting pitcher for the upcoming game is Kawakami. Naturally, to be on the safe side, Miyuki needs to do some pre-game preparation with Kawakami.

Especially to devise corresponding pitching strategies based on the strength and characteristics of each batter in Ouya High School's lineup discussed in today's meeting.

Under Eijun's influence, Miyuki has gradually started to communicate and discuss pitching strategies with the pitchers before games.

This was a scene hardly seen in the original work during the same period.

Basically, Miyuki was the one dominating the relationship between the pitcher and catcher.

At that time, rather than a partnership, it was more like Miyuki was leading the entire pitching process. In the original work, Eijun once said a line: "Just trust the mitt of that person and throw the best pitch you can." This line certainly illustrates the sense of trust and reliance Miyuki brings to the pitchers, but it also highlights a problem: the relationship between pitchers and catchers at Seido was too passive.

In the original work, whether it was Kawakami, Furuya, or Eijun, they were all passively following Miyuki's commands.

To be honest, this approach is not ideal for a pitcher-catcher relationship.

In the original work, the poor coordination between Tanba and Miyuki was partly due to Tanba's own issues, but Miyuki also had his share of problems.

Frankly, Miyuki was too dominant, not just on the field or in dealing with opponents, but also within the team, especially in his relationship with the pitchers.

Strictly speaking, such a pitcher-catcher relationship is not good. In the second part of the original manga (or perhaps from the end of the fall tournament), Miyuki himself became aware of this issue: what would happen after he graduates?

Moreover, as second-year students Eijun and Furuya also began to realize this problem, the pitcher-catcher relationship gradually normalized.

That is, the pitcher needs to understand the catcher's pitch calls, and the catcher needs to coordinate with the pitcher to call the game.

When the two can merge their intentions into one, they can truly become a pitcher-catcher duo. The pitches they deliver then become their finest work.

In this life, things are different. While the rest of Seido remains the same, Eijun is not the same Eijun as before, not just in terms of ability but also in mentality.

Since being selected for the first string, it might seem like Miyuki is still dominating their pitcher-catcher relationship, but Eijun has his own steadfastness.

During regular games, when Eijun shows a strong desire to express himself, Miyuki usually accommodates him.

This is a manifestation of Eijun's will within the pitcher-catcher relationship. Thanks to Eijun's influence, the dynamics have shifted towards a more balanced and collaborative partnership.

Miyuki also began to reflect earlier on how he should maintain a balance in the pitcher-catcher relationship. So, gradually, at least from Eijun's perspective, the current pitcher-catcher relationship has become a normal one.

"Eh? Eijun-kun, aren't you leaving yet?" After Miyuki and Eijun had a brief exchange and Kawakami left, Eijun did not leave the meeting room.

Instead, he stayed in the cafeteria after asking senior Watanabe for some materials. Eijun's lingering figure caught Haruichi's attention. Curious, Haruichi walked over and asked with a puzzled look.

"Yeah, I plan to take another look at the pitching of Ouya High School's ace. I feel like, apart from the issues senior Watanabe mentioned that need to be re-examined, there's something else that's bothering me," Eijun nodded without turning his head, responding as he spoke. He also turned on the video recorder and inserted the tape.

"Um, Eijun-kun, do you mind if I watch with you?" After hearing Eijun's words, Haruichi tilted his head in thought for a few seconds before softly asking.

"Of course, you can," Eijun turned on the TV and looked back at Haruichi with a smile as he said this.

With that, Eijun played the game footage from the previous round of 16 match where Ouya High School played. He particularly focused on repeatedly showing the segments where their ace, Wakabayashi Gou, pitched. As the video played, both Eijun and Haruichi watched intently and quietly.

Especially Eijun, his eyes wide open, trying to catch every detail in the footage, hoping to find some clues.

The main reason Eijun stayed behind today to watch the video was due to a strange feeling he had.

In his distant memories, he had an impression that Ouya High School's ace, Wakabayashi Gou, had prepared a special secret weapon against Seido High School.

However, he couldn't quite recall what that secret weapon was. As time passed and the longer he stayed here, some of his memories from his previous life had started to blur.

Of course, the general course of events and some important memories were unforgettable, but the finer details were hard to recall, especially for a team like Ouya High School, which was later dominated by Seido in the original story.

Eijun, who had just mastered the changeup, could suppress them starting from the second inning, only losing two runs in the first inning due to some mistakes.

This made Eijun less concerned about them now. However, this lack of concern was relative to national powerhouses like Inashiro Industrial, Komadai Fujimaki, Yakushi, Seihou, and Ichidaisan. In the Tokyo region, Eijun still paid attention to them. But as for the specific details, as mentioned before, Eijun really couldn't remember clearly.

Yet, Eijun was very aware that the melon-headed ace definitely had something prepared.

To recall the details from his past life, the best approach was to watch more game footage of Ouya High School. Perhaps he could find something similar in the videos to jog his memory.