Short Summary[]
The Bugaboos send out their new foreign player, Johnson, as a pinch runner. Coach Shirooka explains his tactics to overcome Tokuchi.
Long Summary[]
The Bugaboos’ manager announces a substitution, sending on their new foreign player, Johnson. Coach Shirooka looks forward to seeing Tokuchi ‘shaken’ by his abilities. The Lycaons watch Johnson warm up. Coach Saejima says he doesn’t see anything special and would place him a lower category, then squeaks in fright when Johnson glares at him. He tells Kojima he doesn’t look like a baseball player at all.
The commentators announce that Johnson is in fact a pinch runner, not a hitter. The Lycaons find the decision odd. Ideguchi tells the pitcher, Nishioka, there’s no need to worry and they’re probably just putting the new player on to give him some field experience. With two outs, a sacrifice bunt wouldn’t make sense here so Nishioka should go all out. Johnson goes to stand at third base and Ideguchi observes no strange movements from him.
As soon as Nishioka starts his windup, Johnson suddenly dashes from third base. Ideguchi catches Nishioka’s pitch but Johnson manages to steal home. The astonished commentators remark that Johnson is Coach Shirooka’s ‘secret weapon’ and describe his speed as ‘superhuman’. With this point, the Lycaons lose the match 2-1. In the locker room, Coach Saejima tells Ideguchi to not look so down; Johnson was just a surprise. But Ideguchi says he’s never seen a man who can run that fast before.
Fujita alerts them that Coach Shirooka is talking about Johnson on TV. Shirooka claims Johnson is the world’s fastest baseball runner. In Japanese baseball, between pitching, hitting and fielding, the running part is somewhat neglected. Johnson has proven that base running can be a weapon to be feared- especially against pitchers like Tokuchi, who can be ‘suppressed with mere tactics.’ The Lycaons are alarmed. Shirooka adds that Johnson’s steal today was not his full speed. If he ran at 100% and took a lead, he would reach home in only 2.60 seconds. A shocked Imai tells the team that last year’s stealing champion took 3 seconds; he has to wonder just where Johnson came from.
The Owner is watching the broadcast from his office. Shirooka gives a scenario in which Tokuchi is the pitcher and Johnson is on third base. Tokuchi isn’t a quick thrower; from the start of his pitching motion to release of the ball, he takes 1.38 seconds. The Secretary confirms to Saikawa this is probably a credible number; the Eagles’ Yoshida, a quick thrower, takes 1.2 seconds. Tokuchi’s pitches are 120km/h at best, meaning it takes another 0.56 seconds for the ball to reach the catcher. He can’t throw down the middle and risk a bunt, so it will have to be a wide throw, at least three metres outside the strike zone. Shirooka then produces a tape, saying they’d measured Ideguchi’s catching abilities during today’s match. At the bottom of the sixth, Ideguchi caught a wide pitch, 3m outside the strike zone. He took 0.69 seconds to bring his hand down to touch the batter. The interviewers realise what he’s saying- from the time Tokuchi starts his pitching motion to the time Ideguchi can touch the batter, a total of 2.63 seconds is needed. The Lycaons players look dumbstruck and Saikawa grins. Shirooka claims with these conditions, Johnson’s home steal has a 100% success rate.
Characters[]
- Tokuchi Toua
- Coach Shirooka
- Saikawa- Owner of the Lycaons
- The Secretary
- Kojima
- Ideguchi
- Manager Mihara
- Coach Saejima
- Imai
- Fujita
- Nishioka
- Johnson