The Old Baseball Player System

"I see. If my pitches are fine, then there\'s nothing more I can do. You guys can head back, let\'s keep playing." - Kaito said in a serious tone. The players gathered on the mound could feel the determination in his voice, and they returned to their positions without question. After all, Kaito was their ace. With everything he had done for them, they couldn\'t help but trust that Kaito would recover and regain control of the game.

But deep in his mind, Kaito wasn\'t as confident as he seemed. Truth be told, he would have preferred to hear that there was something wrong with his pitches, that it was the reason Shoto\'s first two batters had hit them so well. Instead, his catcher had confirmed what Kaito already knew: his pitches were fine. Yet, even his best pitch, his fastball, had been hit hard twice in a row.

For a 15-year-old ace of an elite school like Seiryu, such a blow to his confidence was inevitable. The unshakable trust he had in his ability had taken a significant hit. However, it was in this moment that another of Kaito\'s qualities shone through: his determination. Despite the difficulties, he resolved to fight on and find a way to help his team win this game.

---

Meanwhile, in Shoto\'s dugout, Shun was watching Kaito on the mound. When he saw the determined look on Kaito\'s face and the Seiryu players returning to their positions, he let out a sigh with a mix of emotions.

On one hand, Shun was relieved to see that Kaito would remain on the mound, meaning the tell he had discovered would still be useful, and Shoto could continue scoring runs off him.

On the other hand, Shun felt a twinge of regret. Seeing Kaito\'s determination and fighting spirit, Shun couldn\'t help but admire the ace of Seiryu and feel slightly guilty about exploiting his tell. A part of Shun wanted to face this excellent pitcher without relying on the tell, but he knew he couldn\'t do that. After all, identifying and using an opponent\'s weaknesses was part of baseball, and the only thing that mattered in this game was winning and advancing in the Kanto tournament.

---

Back on the field, Jiro stepped into the batter\'s box, his gaze fixed determinedly on Kaito on the mound. Thanks to the tell Shun had discovered, Jiro was confident he could hit Kaito\'s pitches. However, seeing the Seiryu players huddling on the mound earlier, he was concerned they might soon figure out Kaito\'s tell, if they hadn\'t already.

Because of this, Jiro carefully observed the first few pitches of the at-bat. It was clear that Seiryu\'s battery was being more cautious with their pitch selection, as only two of Kaito\'s first four pitches to Jiro were strikes, and only one was a fastball. From what Jiro could see, Kaito was still giving away his pitches with his glove. Now, with the count even at two balls and two strikes, Jiro was determined to get on base.

WOOSH

DING

"Foul!" - The next pitch was a fastball in the zone. Jiro had identified the pitch and was confident he could hit it. However, thinking about how the two batters before him had already hit fastballs, he decided to simply foul this one off to keep the at-bat alive. The count remained two balls and two strikes.

On the following pitch, Jiro finally decided to act. Observing the movement in Kaito\'s glove, the young nerd knew one of Kaito\'s secondary pitches was coming, and as he watched the spin of the ball, he recognized it as a curveball.

WOOSH

DONG

Jiro made solid contact with the ball, sending it to center field. However, the center fielder quickly retrieved it after it bounced on the ground, holding Jiro to a single.

With a runner on first base and no outs, Shoto Junior High\'s cleanup hitter and captain, Kenta, stepped into the batter\'s box. Like Jiro, Kenta was cautious at the start of his at-bat, making sure not to make it obvious that he knew what types of pitches were coming.

But on the seventh pitch of the at-bat, with a full count of three balls and two strikes, Kenta saw an opportunity too good to pass up. Kaito threw a changeup low in the zone. Normally, this pitch was highly effective, as its trajectory was identical to that of his fastball, but with a speed difference of over 15 km/h, it disrupted the timing of most hitters.

However, because Kenta knew this pitch wasn\'t a fastball thanks to Kaito\'s glove tell, his timing was perfect. What would have been an effective changeup instead became a slow and easy pitch for Kenta to crush.

WOOOSH

DOOONG

"Yeeeeaahhh! Sho-to! Sho-to! Sho-to! Sho-to!" - Shoto\'s cheering section erupted as the ball flew off Kenta\'s bat, soaring into the center-field stands.

"Yeeeeaahhh! Nice homer, Captain!"

"Nice homer, Senpai!"

"Yeeeeaahhh!"

Shoto\'s dugout came alive with excitement as they celebrated Kenta\'s two-run home run. The scoreboard now read 4-0 in favor of Shoto, and they still didn\'t have a single out in the first inning.

Well, there was one person in Shoto\'s dugout who wasn\'t as excited about Kenta\'s home run. The poor young samurai, Ren, was red with embarrassment as he watched his friend trot around the bases after hitting a home run that went even farther than his own. Experience tales with empire

Not only that, but Kenta had followed Shun\'s instructions perfectly. He hit his home run only after several pitches in the at-bat and chose a pitch that hadn\'t been hit yet in today\'s game: the changeup. Ren let out a sigh as he watched his friend\'s performance. He had lost yet another duel to that lucky bastard... but in the end, Ren was happy. After all, they were leading 4-0 in the first inning of the Kanto Tournament quarterfinals!