Short Summary[]
Tokuchi explains to the Lycaons how they can overcome Johnson’s speed.
Long Summary[]
Tokuchi has given up his first run as a professional. The Bugaboos cheer and celebrate, but Shirooka asks the trainer if he thought he’d noticed something odd about the way Tokuchi had pitched. The trainer says he didn’t see anything, but if there were anything strange, it’s a symptom of the pressure getting to him.
Saikawa is ecstatic. That run was worth 1 billion yen, meaning Tokuchi’s winnings have decreased from 2.2 billion to 1.2 billion. After Tokuchi gets switched off, the next pitcher holds back the rest of the attack and ends the inning. The Lycaons in the dugout are in shock. Tokuchi asks Coach Saejima for the recording of his pitch and watches it back. He chuckles and says Shirooka is quite skilled- at swindling. The others turn to him in surprise and he tells them it’s obvious everything he said yesterday was a bluff. A home steal can never be 100% successful.
Saejima points out he really did make the steal in 2.6 seconds and Tokuchi agrees. Imai shouts that that’s not swindling then- if they take 2.63 seconds and Johnson takes 2.6, that is a 100% success rate. Tokuchi tells him they’re all being fooled. Stealing a base is not a short track-and-field race. The runner has to take time to decide- do they steal, return to their base or stay put? They need to read the pitcher and judge whether a check throw is coming. A first-rate base stealer might be able to make this decision in as little as 0.2 seconds, meaning Johnson should take at least 2.8 seconds to steal a base.
The others watch the video tape again and count- Johnson started running 0.17 seconds after Tokuchi started his motion, for both the pick-off attempt and the throw to the batter. Ideguchi wonders if Johnson has ‘terrifyingly super-human reflexes’ and Tokuchi laughs. He reveals he purposely pitched a bit differently during the second throw to test Johnson’s reaction. But he had the same response time on both throws, having pre-decided to return to base on the first throw, and steal on the second. He couldn’t have cared less about trying to read the pitcher.
Imai is relieved. If Tokuchi had done a check throw the second time, the third baseman would have tagged Johnson out. Tokuchi explains to him that even if he kept throwing to the third baseman, they wouldn’t catch him, Shirooka has been too thorough in his calculations. The others ask him what he means, but he just says he’s grateful for all the information Shirooka volunteered yesterday. There was no need for him to explain exactly how their strategy worked to the media. Ideguchi agrees it’s strange. Tokuchi tells him that by explaining the strategy he could ‘hide all the key details.’ Shirooka drew all the attention to the pitcher and catcher, and away from their real weakness- the third baseman.
Fujita, the third baseman, isn’t pleased. Imai points out that, while it’s true he used to play left fielder, the infielders have had no errors this season. Tokuchi asks why Fujita switched positions and Imai tells him it’s because he hurt his thigh. Tokuchi explains that because Fujita can’t step in fully with his right leg, he takes more time to catch and throw.
If Tokuchi throws a pick-off, the ball would get to third in about 1.26 seconds, and a skilled baseman would only need 0.4 seconds to throw it to the catcher. But Fujita uses up 0.7 seconds, and the ball takes 0.64 seconds to travel to Ideguchi. 2.6 seconds, Kojima calculates, equal to the time Johnson needs to run to home. Add on the time Ideguchi takes to touch the runner, they definitely can’t make it. Johnson’s speed will still beat them if they attempt a check throw every time.
Ideguchi throws his helmet to the ground, seeing no chance of winning, but Tokuchi doesn’t agree. He asks Fujita why he’s next to third base during check throws. If they can’t throw to base or to home, the answer is to throw in between them. Fujita might as well just stand in front of Johnson and cut off his lead. Johnson won’t be able to thoughtlessly ignore pick-offs anymore. The Lycaons all shout out enthusiastically, but Fujita says it’s too late. They can’t undo the run they gave up. Tokuchi tells him it’s a run he let them have. Johnson has successfully stolen home twice in a row now. Not only did it help them figure out their plan, it has now piled up the Bugaboos expectation of Johnson.
The commentators expect Johnson to be sent off, but Shirooka keeps him on as left fielder. Tokuchi laughs. If Shirooka is ignoring ‘amateur Johnson’s unsteady defence’ that probably means Johnson has two more at-bats. He claims Shirooka has fallen nicely into his trap.
Characters[]
- Tokuchi Toua
- Johnson
- Coach Shirooka
- Ideguchi
- Imai
- Fujita
- Kojima
- Manager Mihara
- Coach Saejima
- Saikawa- Owner of the Lycaons