Chapter 82

Short Summary
Coach Shirooka resigns after the Blue Mars’ loss. After the game, Tokuchi gets into a car accident and injures a motorcyclist, set up by the Owner so that Tokuchi receives a suspension.

Long Summary
After Kawabata of the Blue Mars tried to frame Tokuchi with a sanded ball, Tokuchi makes him kneel down to him in front of everyone as revenge. The Blue Mars fans start booing him for going overboard. As Coach Shirooka watches, he admits to himself he’s out of tricks. Tokuchi goes back to the mound and successfully gets the final two batters out. The Lycaons win with a score of 11 to 7. With this win, the Lycaons are no longer at the bottom of the league.

At the Owner’s office, Oikawa cheers for Tokuchi’s success. Saikawa seems unsurprised at the turnout, commenting, ‘As I thought,’ and Oikawa assumes the outcome must be harsh on him.

The Blue Mars players all apologise to Coach Shirooka for their loss. They each try to take responsibility, but Shirooka insists the blame lies with him as he directed their strategies. He tells Kawabata that being forced to watch one of his players kneel down was Tokuchi’s way of punishing him as the Coach.

Shirooka gets down on the floor and apologises for not having faith in their ability to win without cheating. The team don’t blame him, but Shirooka says he will resign by the end of the day. The team panic about how they’ll manage without him, but he reminds them they have Manager Tendou, who's believed in their potential all along.

When he gets home, Oikawa tells his dog Dinhill the good news about the Lycaons’ win. He calculates Tokuchi’s salary after this game- with 32 outs and no runs, he's now up to 4.3 billion yen. Oikawa feels smug about the Owner’s plan to injure Tokuchi failing, but then suddenly remembers Saikawa’s unexpectedly blasé attitude towards the loss. He shrugs it off and turns the TV on.

A newsreader announces Tokuchi is now first in the pitcher rankings, but then reports that Tokuchi has had a collision with a motorcyclist while driving to the hotel after the game. The cyclist was sent to hospital with minor injuries. Tokuchi himself was not injured, but as League rules forbid guest teams from driving their own vehicles, he’ll now be forced to pay a penalty. Oikawa immediately suspects the Owner.

Back at his office, Saikawa is celebrating the broadcast. He tells his Secretary to send a ‘thank you’ gift to the motorcyclist, whom Saikawa had conspired with. He wonders how severe the penalty will be and the Secretary speculates, based on previous similar incidences, that Tokuchi will get at minimum 3 weeks’ suspension. If Tokuchi misses all 18 scheduled games in this time, his salary will be -4.46 billion yen.

Characters

 * Tokuchi Toua
 * Kawabata: Blue Mars batter
 * Saikawa: Owner of the Lycaons
 * Saikawa's Secretary
 * Oikawa Mitsui: Public Relations Manager
 * Coach Shirooka