NOVEL NEXT Chapter 30: <30> The Catcher (3)
Chapter 30: The Catcher (3)
The next day, in the evening before practice ended:
The training camp had gone on for several days, and the results were generally promising. However, there can be gaps between practice and expectations.
Over these days, the team's defense slowly improved, and soon they would be ready to assign positions and train in coordination.
They still needed to complete outfielders' fielding practice, so the ground ball and fly ball drills needed to wrap up quickly.
The bunting practice was, in a word, a mess.
Sawamura might be a bunting genius, but his explanations were filled with filler words, and his demonstration was just a flurry of movements.
Sendo seemed to think he had a method, but he couldn't quite grasp it yet.
So today, Sendo decided to temporarily reduce the focus on bunting practice and expedite the defensive drills.
He preferred not to make too many changes until after meeting the coach tomorrow.
Practice can be monotonous, so Sendo slipped away early.
"These guys really love practicing! It's exhausting and tedious, though the thrill of hitting and thinking things through is nice. I just don't get what's so fun about the sport itself.
Sawamura said something like, 'As long as there's a bat and a ball, you can play baseball,' right? When did he say that? Ah well, it doesn't matter!"
"Oh man! Last night, Fumino kept me up late—I'm seriously sleep-deprived!" With a yawn, Sendo returned to the baseball field.
"It's about time. I should let them know practice is over and it's time to head home to prepare dinner!"
...
"Before individual practice today, I'll kindly take a look at your batting stances!"
"Alright! Let me go first! I'll show you my form!"
"Eijun, go for a run!"
"Why? Weren't you going to check stances? Am I considered useless?"
"Yes, exactly. Now go run!"
"Okay~" Sawamura mumbled in response.
"You can watch from the sidelines," Sendo added as he saw Sawamura slouching away, and his unnoticed smirk appeared for a second.
"Don't look at me like that; do you want to observe or not?" Sendo said to the sulking Sawamura and then ignored him.
"Alright, who's first? I won't check everyone, just give some brief pointers!... Ohno, you start!"
Ohno nodded and stepped forward, assuming his batting position.
"Ohno, spread your feet a bit more, tuck your elbows in, straighten your back. Great, now try to rotate your body slightly as you swing."
"Okay, just like that. Next,... your feet are too wide, try your swing." These were small adjustments to their posture.
"Everyone should understand by now! We're beginners, so we don't need to take big swings for home runs. Practice your swing steadily so that your body gets used to the posture. I'm not looking for pop-ups; aim for sharp grounders close to the ground!"
This guidance wasn't on a whim. While coaching Takeda yesterday, Sendo realized that reviewing everyone's batting stance was important, an oversight on his part.
"Shin, come with me for more catching practice. Your catching needs improvement, and frequent misses won't be fixed in a day. Our only option now is practice! I know a bit more about the catcher position. There was this one very persistent old man who used to bore me all the time... Oh, he was tedious!" Sendo said, his voice turning nostalgic at the end.
"Let's go!"
"Alright~"
"First, let's review yesterday's practice and see how much your body remembers."
Whirr, click.
"Whoosh!"
"Thud!"
"That's right, even if you can't catch it, don't let the ball roll behind you! Also, you need to catch the ball, not just deflect it—it's only going 120 km/h. Eijun's pitches are faster than this, and they're much harder to catch."
"Great, you're gradually getting used to it. But don't celebrate too soon; the ball is pushing your glove back too much!"
"The pitcher won't be happy with that!"
"Are you scared? Catching with your hand alone leads to that problem. Didn't the books tell you?"
"Use your lower body effectively, catch the ball with your chest facing forward... no, you're using just your hands again!"
"Because you're relying solely on your hands, the glove moves with the ball, blocking your view and making it hard to follow the ball to the end." Throughout the session, Sendo was the one speaking, while Takeda did his best to respond and follow his guidance.
"Your glove stance is too rigid. The glove is meant to assist the pitcher, but once the ball is pitched, relax your body; otherwise, you'll tire out even more."
"Just maintain the feeling of catching while tossing like this!" Sendo said, demonstrating by raising his palm upwards in a catcher's stance.
"Watch my movement!" He then brought his palms together, simulating the act of catching, while gently pressing them downward in a motion that seemed to invite relaxation. Just watching it exuded a sense of ease.
"Understand? This way, not only do you relax, but seeing your calmness will also help the pitcher feel at ease!"
"I understand!"
"Then let's continue!" Sendo resumed his detailed, ongoing instruction.
"Your glove is dropping again—you must keep it steady while catching. Relax after catching, but not during!"
"If you catch the borderline balls like this, the umpire will definitely not call a strike. A catcher's technique also influences the umpire's judgment and the pitcher's self-assessment, so it's important to practice diligently. This is fundamental for a catcher to maintain proper form."
"I have no idea how this relates to that fool who can only throw straight-right-down-the-middle pitches. By graduation, Shin's probably not going to be able to catch Eijun's full-power pitches either, which is troubling. Speaking of catching, my skill isn't top-notch, but it's not bad either!" Sendo took a moment to inwardly critique in a light-hearted manner.
"Keep going! You're still far from being able to catch more challenging pitches!"
"Alright~!"
On the other side, the group was enthusiastically taking turns hitting and swinging, focusing on ingraining the proper stance into their muscle memory.
They didn't want their bodies to forget the correct posture by doing nothing.
Even when Sendo announced practice was over, no one wanted to stop. Even Wakana volunteered to practice a bit longer, and Takeda, fresh from catching practice, joined in with a bat.
Ultimately, Sendo headed to the bath alone, though mentally planning the questions he wanted to ask the coach the next day. There were too many issues with the team, and he knew too little.
Later, during study time, Fumino seemed unusually tired, as if she had been very busy. She fell asleep while reading.
Sendo suddenly recalled when his friends mentioned that Fumino was quite beautiful, something he hadn't paid much attention to before. He leaned on the desk, observing her profile as she slept.
"Honestly, Fumino is really a great beauty. I hadn't noticed it before. When she's asleep, she's different from her usual self. Normally, she's a bit clumsy, natural, and slow. When she sleeps, though, how can I describe it? Serene? Perhaps. Just looking at her face makes me feel very calm." With these thoughts, Sendo drifted off to sleep as well.
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