"First was the Four-Seam Fastball. Depending on the spin rate, it could be divided into three types." Holding up the ball, Kōshū gave a brief explanation. Kataoka Manager had already analyzed footage of his pitching, so he was quite familiar with Kōshū's fastballs.
Then, he gripped the ball and, with an exceptionally fluid motion, hurled out all the energy in this body.
"Thump—" The ball spun restlessly twice in Miyuki's mitt before finally settling down. "Nice ball! Your pitches have even more power than when I saw them before!"
"That had to be over 140 kilometers per hour." Tanba and Kawakami, standing nearby, both stopped. They had heard of this pitcher before, but high school baseball was very different from middle school baseball. They had not believed this kid would threaten their chances of playing from the very start, but now it seemed—
"Next is the High Rotation Speed Straight Ball." Kōshū threw again. The release point and arm motion were identical, yet the ball had a distinctly rising movement. Kataoka Manager had been prepared for it, so his eyebrows did not so much as twitch.
"The low-spin fastball. I don't throw this one often, but I sometimes use it to set up the changeup." The speed had not changed, but compared to the rising pitch from before, this one had a very obvious drop.
"Then there are a few fastball-type changeups. I didn't truly start playing baseball until my second year of middle school, so my Little League coach only let me throw fastball-type changeups to prevent my pitching form from going off track." Since becoming a coach, Kataoka Manager had constantly heard the name of Coach Ninomiya from Kinoshita Little League. He had heard that the club possessed equipment from the Major League, along with advanced coaches and