The Old Baseball Player System

"The choice is yours, Aoba!" - the umpire said.

"We\'ll bat first!" - Aoba\'s captain said without hesitation. He quickly turned and returned to his dugout.

"Huh?" - Kenta found the captain\'s choice strange and walked back to the dugout, deep in thought.

"Did you win?" - Shun asked curiously as he saw his friend returning to the dugout.

"No." - Kenta shook his head.

"Ah man, you\'re terrible at coin tosses! I was excited to pitch right away..." - Shun said, frustrated as he went to grab his batting gear.

"You\'re going to pitch now, they chose to bat first." - Kenta said calmly.

"Huh? Why?" - Shun turned, confused. Although not decisive, it was undeniable that the team that started fielding had a slight advantage. Read new adventures at m_v-l\'e|-NovelBin.net

There were several reasons for this advantage, such as the starting pitcher being able to set the pace of the game or how batters in the bottom of the innings knew how many runs they needed to catch up.

Especially in elimination games like those in the Tokyo tournament, even though it was a small mental advantage, it was common for teams to capitalize on it.

"It doesn\'t matter, what you need to do hasn\'t changed!" - Coach Yamada overheard the conversation and was also puzzled, but as a good coach, he didn\'t let it show. He simply told his boys to do what they knew best.

"You\'re right, Coach! Let\'s play baseball, hehe..." - Shun said enthusiastically with a smile. The boy grabbed his glove and climbed the dugout stairs, running toward the mound.

"Let\'s go, guys!" - Like a good captain, Kenta followed Shun onto the field and called to his teammates.

"Yeeaahh!" - One by one, the other players from Shoto Junior High climbed the dugout stairs, cheering excitedly.

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Meanwhile, in the stadium stands...

"Yeeeahhh!! Let\'s go, Bro!" - Little Yumi cheered excitedly as she watched her brother run toward the mound. Since today\'s game was later, Yumi\'s classes had ended in time for the little girl to watch her brother play, and she was clearly thrilled about it.

"Hahaha, looks like Shun has his own cheering squad!" - Grandpa Jack laughed as he saw his little granddaughter cheering excitedly for Shun.

"Pft! You haven\'t seen anything yet." - Aiko chuckled lightly. She knew how excited little Yumi could get during one of Shun\'s games. In fact, the girl definitely had potential to join a cheerleading squad when she grew up.

"Ohh! Well, let\'s see what you\'ve got, kid..." - Jack said to himself as he watched the tall, blue-eyed young man on the mound, excited to see how much his grandson had improved.

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Back on the field, in Aoba Junior High\'s dugout...

"It looks like they\'ve put in a different pitcher to start this game. I don\'t have any info on him, Coach!" - A young boy with glasses said as he watched Shun making a few warm-up throws on the mound.

"Hm, impressive! If this guy is as good as the other two... It\'s hard to believe that an unknown team could come up with three pitchers of this caliber out of nowhere. In any case, our plan doesn\'t change, boys! We\'ll force their pitchers off the mound, one by one!" - Aoba\'s coach said determinedly to his players.

"Yes, Coach!" - All the players responded loudly, eyeing Shun on the mound the same way hunters looked at their prey. It seemed they were all determined to follow their coach\'s orders and knock the tall, blue-eyed boy off the mound.

The coach looked satisfied with his players\' determination. Even though he hadn\'t anticipated this new variable, there was no way a mere middle school pitcher could stop his trained batters. He was certain they would make it to the Kanto tournament this year!

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Shun was calmly throwing from the mound, warming up his shoulder, completely unaware that Aoba Junior High\'s players were gunning for him.

After about 15 pitches, Shun signaled to Daigo, and the boy quickly ran to the mound. The infield players also joined the meeting, all covering their mouths with their gloves.

"Are you ready, Senpai?" - Daigo asked, looking at Shun intently. He had talked a lot with Shun yesterday and knew about the boy\'s concerns over giving up walks in this game. He was worried himself, but all he could do was do his best to catch Shun\'s pitches.

"Hehe, don\'t worry, I\'ve never felt better!" - Shun gave a thumbs-up and smiled at Daigo. Thanks to his conversation with the old man yesterday, he was much calmer now. Shun then looked at all the infielders gathered around the mound and continued:

"Just a quick review, guys, first and third base, when there are runners on base, watch out for bunts. Don\'t try to make any exceptional plays, just secure the out at first. If they want to give us a free out, we\'re not going to refuse!" - Shun spoke calmly.

"Yes, Senpai!" - The two second-year players at first and third base responded without hesitation.

"Kenta and Ren, you two will have to cover more ground than usual. I\'m counting on you!" - Shun smiled as he addressed his two friends.

"Tch! You don\'t need to tell me that!" - Kenta replied, a bit embarrassed by Shun\'s sincerity.

"I was going to do that anyway!" - The young samurai Ren muttered, feeling a little flustered by Shun\'s genuine request.

Shun looked at his two friends and smiled. There was no one he trusted more to have his back than these two.

"Hahaha, alright! Now get your dirty feet off my mound!" - Shun laughed loudly, feeling excited. His debut as a pitcher in an official tournament had finally arrived!