Short Summary[]
Tokuchi sees through the Mariners’ strategy, and uses the gap in the Mariners’ batting talent to mentally unbalance their team.
Long Summary[]
Up next to bat is Takami. As expected, Tokuchi walks him. Coach Imawano is frustrated at Tokuchi’s underestimating them, but Takami says this could be a big chance for them. Brooklyn is up next and he has a batting percentage of .150 against the Tokuchi pitching machine, which is good enough. Tokuchi’s walk tactic is flawed; by walking batters 3, 4 and 5, he’s allowing their lineup to rotate more. If he continues like this, there will be four innings with the bases loaded and Brooklyn at-bat. Additionally, batters 1 (Yamakawa) and 2 (Thomas) also have decent batting percentages. If one or both manage to get onto base, 4 or 5 will get a chance to bat. Yamakawa, Brooklyn and Thomas will have twelve at-bats combined; the chance of at least one of them getting a hit is 86%. Takami and Imawano are reassured.
At the batter’s box, Brooklyn calls Tokuchi stupid for loading the bases with two outs. Tokuchi chuckles and asks, ‘Well aren’t you scary?’ He tells Brooklyn he thought he saw the Mariners studying him the past few weeks. They’re focussing on him but abandoning everything else. Brooklyn admits they’ve all had secret training specifically to beat him. Tokuchi says he understands and only needs to face a batter once to see through them. Today, numbers 3, 4 and 5 will be putting up a fight. Brooklyn looks shocked he’s figured it out. Tokuchi tells him he felt a ‘deadly aura’ coming from those three, but from the other six he feels nothing at all. If every team member did the special training, why this gap of talent?
Takami shouts at him to shut up and stop making guesses. Tokuchi says Takami’s reaction tells him he’s right and his vehement defence is an admission that Brooklyn is ‘trash.’ Tokuchi predicts the other six ‘trashy’ batters won’t get a single hit off him. Thomas and Yamakawa look shaken. Brooklyn shouts that’s not true. Tokuchi tells him to prove it in front of all 50,000 spectators.
Tokuchi gets a three strike shut-out. Brooklyn breaks his bat and Takami tries to tell he’s not trash, but he stomps off. Takami reasserts to the Coach a .150 batting percentage isn’t bad, but Tokuchi laughs and tells Takami a challenge isn’t ‘settled by the numbers.’
With Tokuchi’s words causing deep wounds, the Mariners field badly and the Lycaons win their first point in the fifth inning.
Characters[]
- Tokuchi Toua
- Takami
- Brooklyn
- Thomas
- Yamakawa
- Ideguchi