Diamond No Ace: The Monster

Chapter 7: The Rookie Test!

"The rookie test!"

Sawamura, who had previously faced setbacks in his baseball career, lit up at the mention of a rookie test.

To him, this obviously seemed like a chance given by fate.

As long as he could demonstrate outstanding potential during the rookie test, he might catch the coach's eye once again.

"You keep running; you don't need to participate in the test!" Coach Kataoka said coldly.

The teenager's dreams were cut short before they even began.

Of course, Sawamura, full of youthful vigor, didn't accept this. He immediately started arguing with Coach Kataoka.

The other players who were supposed to be taking the test forgot about their own tasks and focused all their attention on Sawamura.

It's undeniable that this guy had a strong main character aura.

Setting aside his baseball skills for the moment, his ability to draw attention just about anywhere wasn't something that just anyone possessed.

In the end, they made a bet. Coach Kataoka challenged Sawamura to throw a ball 90 meters. If he could do it, he would be allowed to participate in the test.

During this process, Coach Kataoka also demonstrated his own pitching skills. Although he was now the coach of the Seidou High School baseball team and no longer an active player, his skills were still impressive.

After witnessing his pitching, the rookies became noticeably more subdued.

On the field, people tend to admire the strong. This is true for most people.

Following Director Oota, they proceeded with the tests, starting with base running.

On the surface, base running might not seem very eye-catching.

In actual baseball games, relying solely on base running to score points is very difficult.

However, this doesn't mean that base running is unimportant.

For teams like the Seidou High School baseball team, they dominate most of their opponents.

To put it bluntly, average teams struggle to pose a threat to the top-tier teams.

This holds true not only for Seidou but for other top teams as well.

As a result, when facing the few teams that can truly threaten Seidou, their matches are often evenly matched due to their shared high level.

In these situations, breaking the deadlock often comes down to defense and base running.

The team that makes fewer mistakes or finds the moment to change the game's momentum is the one that can win.

For a team like Seidou High School's baseball team, a player's defensive and base-running abilities are extremely important.

As the players took their turns, it quickly became evident who had received professional training.

Those who had backgrounds in junior baseball leagues typically performed better.

Among them, Kanemaru, Tojo, and Takatsu stood out the most.

If the standout performers among the newcomers were the ones with junior baseball experience, then these three were the best among them.

In their respective teams, they were the undeniable core players.

Without a doubt, they were star athletes in their own right.

Especially Tojo and Kanemaru.

Their team, Matsukata Senior League, had previously reached the national top four.

And within that team, Tojo and Kanemaru were the absolute core and key players.

Such athletes were highly anticipated regardless of which prestigious team they joined.

Not to mention that they joined Seidou, a seemingly declining powerhouse.

During the tests, both Director Oota and the team coaches had high expectations for these three.

Whenever the three participated in a test, the focus and intensity of everyone's attention were noticeably different.

In these comprehensive tests, Furuya was considered outstanding but not exceptional.

His speed from home to first base ranked fourth among all the newcomers.

Moreover, his stats were not significantly different from those of the fifth position.

Strictly speaking, they were almost at the same level.

Furuya just happened to perform slightly better in this particular test.

Compared to the top three, Tojo and the others had a clear advantage.

This trend remained consistent in the other tests as well.

Despite Furuya's achievement in helping his team secure second place in the Hokkaido tournament and being the best performer there, it was a middle school league.

In contrast, Tojo and the others played in junior baseball leagues, where although the key players were also middle school students, the level of difficulty was significantly different.

As a result, Furuya, while impressive in the rookie tests, did not dominate as he did back in Hokkaido.

Instead, Kanemaru, Tojo, and others were the ones who shone brightly in various tests.

It was clear their national top-four finish in junior baseball was no fluke.

This is not to say Furuya wasn't excellent.

It's just that his excellence wasn't as pronounced as it was in Hokkaido.

His overall base-running performance was fourth, but when looking at the split between first to second base, Furuya even moved up to third.

He managed to surpass Kanemaru but was still outperformed by Takatsu and Tojo.

Particularly Tojo Hideaki, whose all-around abilities were astonishingly strong.

In all of his tests, he never ranked below the top two.

Aside from base running, Furuya consistently ranked between second and fourth in other tests.

Despite not having the systematic professional training that the junior baseball players had, Furuya's physical capabilities were astonishingly strong.

Even without professional training, his abilities in various areas stood out remarkably.

This brings us to the crucial pitching segment.

The rookie pitching test was simple: see who could throw the furthest.

Originally, this test should have taken place quite early in the process.

Even for non-pitchers, throwing is a fundamental skill every baseball player must practice.

The speed and accuracy of throwing can heavily influence the outcome of a game.

As the players were called up one by one to take the test, the most anticipated newcomers were naturally left for the end.

Not only was Director Oota very curious, but even the other coaches were filled with anticipation for these few rookies.

Unlike the others, most of the coaches were focused on Tojo or Takatsu at this point.

They had shown outstanding performances in previous tests, and their previous records and reputations were quite impressive.

At this moment, the coaches of Seidou High School's baseball team naturally hoped to see exceptional performances from them on the field.

They certainly had expectations.

However, Director Oota was different; instead of focusing on Tojo and the others, he had his eyes set directly on Furuya.

"What's special about this player?"