"Now, I can't even practice hard..."
Although Zhang Han's situation caught the Seido third-year players off guard, it also seemed perfectly reasonable.
High school pitchers are often criticized by outsiders for being overused. The training intensity of Ace Pitchers at prestigious schools even exceeds that of professional pitchers.
For their still-developing bodies, such training and game intensity are extremely dangerous.
Given Zhang Han's incredible pitch speed, the burden he carries is probably several times greater than that of other pitchers.
If, under these circumstances, he could still pitch freely on the pitcher's mound, then the Seido High School Baseball Team should drag him to the hospital for a thorough full-body examination to see if his body structure is still human.
Having such a limitation is normal.
After accepting this, their gazes towards Tanba changed.
Although they understood that Coach Kataoka's words contained an element of encouragement, as long as Zhang Han pitched a complete game or a long game, Tanba's chances of playing in the next game wouldn't be significantly affected.
As a third-year player and a key figure on the pitcher's mound, Tanba had now been elevated to a very special position by Coach Kataoka and the coaching staff.
He had no choice but to work hard.
Tanba was very touched.
Putting himself in Zhang Han's shoes, although he still yearned to be the team's true Ace, given Zhang Han's performance in the practice games, if the Ace position were truly given to him, he would feel like he hadn't earned it fairly.
The current situation was good; he could focus wholeheartedly on fighting alongside his teammates on the pitcher's mound.
The third-year players, after Tanba returned, voluntarily gathered around him.
Although they didn't speak, their actions gave their peer the greatest encouragement.
Zhang Han felt very uncomfortable.
It wasn't because of what Coach Kataoka had said.
Zhang Han wasn't so fragile as to fall into a dilemma just because the Coach spoke a few truths.
What truly made him uncomfortable were the gazes of his teammates around him.
Although some players had already guessed that the reason Zhang Han couldn't keep pitching on the pitcher's mound was due to his excessive pitch speed and the immense pressure on his arm and wrist, most players were unaware of this information.
Before Coach Kataoka brought it up, they had never even considered it. They thought Zhang Han hadn't become the team's Ace because his previous injury hadn't recovered.
The current outcome brought them both joy and worry.
The joy was that the cloud hanging over their hearts had finally dissipated.
Zhang Han's injury, contrary to their worries, had not failed to recover; it had already healed long ago.
The worry was whether Zhang Han, who couldn't continuously pitch on the pitcher's mound, would be able to come in during crucial situations and stabilize the game.
At the same time, they also worried whether Zhang Han forcing himself to pitch like this would leave any hidden problems for his body.
Although the majority of players on the Seido High School Baseball Team would only have their baseball careers last through high school, at most college.
Those who could truly enter professional baseball were very few.
Unfortunately, Zhang Han was one of those rare few. Judging by the talent and strength he was currently displaying, even if he were to truly reach the professional baseball field, he should still have good potential.
Such a future star might be ruined by overuse...
As teammates, every one of them was extremely worried.
This was what Zhang Han found most unbearable.
In fact, Coach Kataoka and the coaching staff were already very cautious.
In just the past few months, they had taken him for three or four check-ups.
Almost after every period of pitching, a re-examination would be conducted, fearing that Zhang Han's shoulder might be accidentally overused.
But Zhang Han was not made of glass; apart from the initial period when no one knew and there was some overuse, subsequent examinations showed no problems whatsoever.
Even the doctor said that short-term, full-power pitching of seven to eight innings was fine. The only thing to watch out for was not to become overly reliant.
When the doctor said this, he looked directly into Coach Kataoka's eyes.
A pitcher with Zhang Han's speed, if led by him, could make a team unleash combat power far beyond people's imagination.
This temptation was simply too great.
But absolutely no dependence could be formed; once dependence was formed, all previously set restrictions would cease to exist.
The doctor had seen such situations before: promising talents ruined by selfish Coaches.
In the beginning, those individuals didn't appear to be bad people. But when a certain moment arrived, people could change...
This time, Zhang Han was promoted to Ace.
At first, Zhang Han was very surprised, but when Coach Kataoka openly discussed Zhang Han's situation with everyone, Zhang Han understood that his Coach had no intention of going back on his word.
The reason he did this was truly to use this method to attract the attention of future opponents.
Kataoka had told everyone this; if he went back on his word and allowed Zhang Han to pitch excessively on the pitcher's mound, how would he maintain his standing in this team in the future?
What authority would he have to lead a prestigious team?
Of course.
There was also a very important reason that forced Coach Kataoka to make such a choice, a reason that no one wanted to mention now.
That was that their team's previous Ace was simply unreliable...
Tanba was a good person, but due to his personality, he was prone to collapsing.
If he were the team's Ace, once he collapsed, the Seido High School Baseball Team would have lost half the game.
Zhang Han was different.
As long as he hadn't stepped onto the pitcher's mound, no matter how many pitchers on the Seido High School Baseball Team collapsed, the players' morale would not be completely shattered.
Zhang Han still hadn't played.
With this thought, with this confidence, Seido could definitely go further.
Standing behind Coach Kataoka, Ochiai continuously stroked his beard, quite amazed.
"He really thought of everything."
In just a few words, he not only resolved Tanba's mental issues but also made reasonable arrangements for the team.
This person wasn't just good at talking and rousing the players' morale. He was also very skilled at leading a team.
When these two aspects were combined, even Ochiai felt inferior.
He wasn't incapable of thinking of such arrangements; the key was that he couldn't make everyone willing and convinced, like Coach Kataoka could.
With the Ace matter settled, next were the players for other positions.
Coach Kataoka's choices were not too surprising to everyone; they were basically based on the players' performance.
Kawakami, number eleven.
As an important rotation pitcher for the team, this number suited him perfectly.
The young man was very excited, his eyes red.
There was nothing he could do; the competition for the pitcher's position on the Seido High School Baseball Team was just that intense.
If both first-year pitchers stayed, he might have been dropped due to too many pitchers.
With this result, although he didn't know what would happen to the two first-year pitchers, he himself was at least temporarily safe.
Number twelve, Chris.
He couldn't win against Miyuki, nor did he become number ten.
Chris was undoubtedly a big surprise in this battle for jersey numbers.
But on second thought, perhaps this was the best arrangement. Back then, Miyuki chose Seido High School Baseball Team after seeing Chris's back.
Now, it was up to him, a third-year senior, to provide support for Miyuki.
"I'm counting on you!"
Coach Kataoka had many words for the other players.
But for his most prized disciple, he only said four words. Yet, within those four words, lay countless expectations.
"I will work hard!"
Chris didn't seem disappointed at all, calmly accepting his jersey number.
"You're really lucky, kid, to have beaten Chris-senpai."
Kuramochi said to Miyuki beside him with a grin.
"You're luckier, you picked up a starting spot."
When it came to retorting, Miyuki was a master, how could he lose?
"Hehe, that guy already got the Ace's number, he wouldn't care for my number six."
Kuramochi wasn't angry at all.
"Then you're really useless, you can only get a starting spot by relying on others' charity. At least I fought for mine through my own efforts."
Miyuki said, clenching his fist.
He was still unwilling. Although he had achieved his dream from when he first joined Seido High School Baseball Team, successfully taking the main catcher's number two jersey from his idol.
However, this was mainly because Chris had a blank period of seven or eight months in between.
He had been the team's main catcher since last summer, experiencing growth at Koshien and over a year of experience.
Even so, he only won against Chris-senpai by a slight margin.
What if there hadn't been those seven or eight months of blank time? What if both sides could have competed fairly at their peak?
Perhaps the current outcome would be completely different...
"Senpai..."
Seeing Chris return to the team, Miyuki opened his mouth but couldn't say anything of value.
Chris was such a shrewd person; he immediately understood Miyuki's knot in his heart.
"No need to feel sorry for me. It's already been several months since I recovered. In this competition, you didn't win unfairly. You earned this with your strength. Work hard, Number Two. I won't give up like this; I'll find a way to win this number back later."
Next time, it would be Koshien.
"But..."
"There's no 'but'. Don't forget I'm a year older than you. If anyone's unwilling, I'm more unwilling than you."
Zhang Han was right beside the two, listening to their entire conversation.
What kind of amazing senior was this? His position was taken, yet he could still comfort the junior who took his position.
Putting himself in their shoes, if it were Zhang Han, he would never be able to do it.
Earlier, Sawamura said Chris was a very gentle person.
To be honest, Zhang Han had practiced with Chris privately quite a bit, and he really hadn't seen it.
But now, it seemed Chris-senpai was truly a very gentle and admirable senior.
Number thirteen, Miyauchi.
...
Number sixteen, Kusunoki.
When Kusunoki-senpai's name appeared, Zhang Han finally felt relieved.
Both of the second and third-year students in their dorm had finally joined the First string.
Although Kusunoki had been in the First string for a long time, this time the challenge for the third-year seniors was not small; anyone could be eliminated.
When Kusunoki returned to the team, he high-fived Zhang Han in celebration.
Now the last four names.
They concerned too many people.
The third-year seniors Yamazaki and the others...
The second-years Asou, Maezono...
And the four first-year youngsters, whose eyes were practically popping out with anticipation.
The suspenseful choices all rested on the last four people.
Coach Kataoka also seemed to feel everyone's attention, holding the list in his hand, pausing for a long time without speaking.
Just when people felt they could no longer bear it, Coach Kataoka finally spoke.
"Number seventeen, Jinguuji."
This name itself was very unexpected to everyone.
So much so that when Coach Kataoka spoke, the slightly noisy environment became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Before the list was announced, the Seido High School Baseball Team members had already done a lot of analysis privately.
According to their previous analysis, although both new pitchers had flaws in their performance and their overall scores were low, from the perspective of the team's future development, it was almost impossible for them to be eliminated.
Seido needed them next year, and even more so the year after. To put it bluntly, they were the future pillars of the Seido High School Baseball Team.
Coach Kataoka and the coaching staff would never remove the future pillars of the team, no matter what.
Was the team not going to develop anymore?
Not to mention, with the talent and strength they currently displayed, many people in the team also had expectations for their performance in the summer.
The probability of such players, who have a future and current strength, being eliminated was too low.
If they were to eliminate people from the first-years, it should be Jinguuji and Kominato Haruichi.
Although these two had relatively high overall scores, especially Kominato Haruichi, who even took first place.
But after all, they were first-years, not yet reliable enough for everyone to entrust heavy responsibilities to them.
To give a simple example, Kominato Haruichi scored higher than his brother, and both played the same position.
Would Coach Kataoka and the coaching staff let Kominato Ryosuke give up his position to his younger brother just because of this score?
It was simply unrealistic.
So the scores were only for reference, and Kominato Haruichi could still be kicked out if the First string team didn't need him.
Jinguuji was the same. In fact, his probability of being kicked out was even higher than Kominato Haruichi's.
Unexpectedly, the first-year most likely to be eliminated actually got number seventeen.
Did that mean...?
Without much waiting, after Jinguuji received his number, Coach Kataoka directly announced the jersey numbers of the remaining players.
"Number eighteen, Sawamura Eijun."
"Number nineteen, Kominato Haruichi."
"Number twenty, Furuya Satoru."
The result was exactly as everyone had thought. Coach Kataoka selected the four first-year newcomers entirely based on the players' strength and the team's future development.
His vision was not limited to just this summer; he had already considered the next two years as well.
This also laid a solid foundation for the Seido High School Baseball Team to build a dynasty.
After announcing the list, Kataoka had all the players on the list, including the first and second-year players, leave.
Zhang Han and several third-year seniors hid in a corner, listening to Coach Kataoka express his gratitude to the remaining third-year players.
"Thank you for always trusting me, and thank you for your contributions to the team. Even if you leave the baseball team in the future, please tell everyone with your heads held high that you were once a member of the Seido High School Baseball Team. I am truly proud of you!"
The remaining players cried.
The third-year seniors hiding in the corner also cried.
Zhang Han, the second-year Ace, also felt his eyes well up.
On his first day as Ace, he bore the dreams of these third-year seniors who had, in reality, already left the team.
This summer, whether for those third-year seniors or for Zhang Han, who had just become the Ace, there was no turning back.
They could only move forward with their heads held high.
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