"Smack!"
"That hurts! It hurts—hurts—"
"It hurts? Where?" Sendou asked as he walked over to the machine and stopped it.
"My fingers!"
"Of course it does. You need to use your palm. Even Major League catchers, unless they're the backbone of the team, usually get replaced quite frequently.
Because even the slightest mistake when catching a ball can hurt terribly. It's different from us—that's a hardball. A ball wrapped in cork shavings is basically no different from solid wood, and it can even be harder than some softer kinds of solid wood!"
Sendou repeated exactly what Coach Nakanishi had once told him, secretly glad that his memory was ridiculously good in this life.
"One more!"
"That's easy for you to say! I can't quite keep up when I use my palm!"
"I see!" Hearing A Shin's words, Sendou began to think. Sendou had never encountered this situation before, so Coach Nakanishi had never mentioned it either.
"Right, you said Eijun's pitches could go anywhere, so you told him to throw lightly, didn't you? Maybe you'd always caught pitches thrown like the ones he used when playing catch, and since you'd never seen a fastball in an actual game, your eyes and body just aren't used to it. I can't make your body adapt, but... hehehe!!!" Sendou suddenly recalled what his old teammates had told him and analyzed the situation. That wicked grin at the end, however, made A Shin feel somewhat...
"Your laugh makes me feel like something bad is about to happen. Are you plotting something?"
"No, 'plotting' sounds way too awful, A Shin.
But I do have an idea. Put both hands behind your back, then squat there in the proper stance. You can keep your body a little higher, or you'll get hit in the head. Catch the ball with the protective gear directly in front of your body, and once it rolls away, quickly get into a throwing position!
That way, you can get used to the ball's speed while also training your throwing ability. Killing two birds with one stone. We'll call it Sen's Practice Method!" Sendou said with a straight face.
"Devil," A Shin muttered under his breath. He knew Sendou wasn't lying to him, but... catching balls with his body was terrifying.
"Scared? Then Sen's Practice Method has a third function: helping you stop being afraid of the ball. After all, a catcher can't take his eyes off the ball out of fear, not even for an instant!"
Sen-chan's personality really is... A Shin thought. He didn't dare say it aloud. It had seemed hilarious whenever he watched Sendou bully Eijun, but once he became the target, it wasn't funny at all.
And Sendou's black-heartedness was on a higher level. Whenever he bullied someone, he did it with reasoning so sound that they couldn't refute him. They could only endure it in silence.
Sendou ignored all that and started the machine.
"Clack, clack, clack." The familiar sound of the machine rang out as the display began showing the pitcher's motion.
"Whoosh!"
"Thud!"
"What are you doing? Get up and throw it back!"
"Clack, clack, clack."
"Whoosh!"
"Thud!"
"Baka Yalu, don't be afraid! If you close your eyes, you won't even be able to handle batters you could normally get out in a game. With a runner on third, you'll directly allow runs!"
"I told you to squat higher, but you forgot again. Was getting hit on the headgear scary? Though this will speed up the process of overcoming your fear of the ball, you can keep doing it if you like!"
At that moment, Sendou's voice sounded like a demon whispering in A Shin's ears. But the whisper continued!
"Did you forget what I just said? Don't be afraid. You're not allowed to take your eyes off the ball, not even for a moment.
If you're scared of this, forget about Eijun's pitches. Even if that guy could throw a straight fastball right down the middle, you still wouldn't be able to catch it. His pitches are faster and have more force than this."
The people practicing nearby were all stunned by what they heard, but none of them dared turn their heads to look. They were terrified Sendou might shift his attention toward them. That would be far too frightening.
Sawamura, who had returned from his run a while ago, was already scared stiff! He kept telling himself, Kowai, scary. Kowai, scary. Sendou feels especially scary today!
"You guys!" Sendou suddenly shot a sideways glance at the group beside him!
"Eek!!!" They all jolted.
"What are you standing around for? If you don't want to bat, go outside and practice your swings!"
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" They immediately realized that they had unknowingly stopped practicing, which was why Sendou had noticed them. They quickly resumed their training.
"Alright, let's continue!" Once he saw everyone else had resumed practice, Sendou turned back to the pitiful little catcher before him.
Then...
"Lean your body forward. What are you going to do if you've forgotten even the basic stance?"
"Open your eyes wider! I can't tell whether you're catching with your eyes open!"
Hey, that last part was unnecessary, wasn't it? At that moment, everyone—A Shin and the others nearby alike—complained inwardly.
But by unspoken agreement, no one dared say it aloud. Just as Sawamura had said, Sendou seemed far too serious and frightening today!
"Alright, looks like your eyes have adjusted. Let's catch a few more, then we'll call it a day if you can catch them! You still have homework tonight, after all. If you get too tired, you'll get sleepy again!" Sendou said as he shut off the machine once more.
For the past two days, they had gone to study right after dinner, but everyone had started getting sleepy. So they decided to study after dinner, a bath, and some rest, then do another round of self-practice before bed.
"Youxia, let's do this!" A Shin shouted to encourage himself. He squatted down and raised his mitt. The others stopped to watch him as though cheering him on, but knowing they couldn't distract him now, no one made a sound.
Seeing this, Sendou turned the machine on again.
"Clack, clack, clack."
"Whoosh!"
"Smack!"
"Alright, you can catch the ball with your palm now, so it won't hurt as much. Being able to catch a fastball is already a huge improvement. There are plenty of techniques to learn afterward, but no matter how many techniques there are, you have to catch the ball first!
So? Doesn't the impact of a fastball against your palm feel pretty good?" Sendou encouraged him.
"Forget it. We'll talk about the other issues tomorrow. A Shin has already worked hard enough!"
But Sendou was thinking about something else. After all, as someone called a genius, his experiences were completely different from A Shin's. Things he would never get wrong, even the first time he did them, were things others needed to work hard to achieve. He could understand that, but he couldn't truly share in that joy. That was one of his regrets.
"Let's stop here for today! Everyone, head back and prepare dinner together!" Sendou said after checking the time on his phone.
"Yeah!"
Dinner tasted especially good that day. After working hard, eating food they had helped make with their own hands felt completely different.
While cooking, to avoid giving anything away, Sendou had Fumino help fill the bath.
After dinner came rest, bathing, and studying. During study time after the bath, Sendou belonged to Fumino.
I hadn't written about baseball for several days and was almost starting to forget this was a baseball novel. Then I forgot to mention that again these past two days. Catcher really is an incredibly difficult position. Unless you're a genius catcher or a genius field commander, catchers are inconspicuous yet extremely important—true unsung heroes. As always, please give me some recommendations and bookmarks. I only just noticed that the bookmarks are almost at 500. Oh, and I pinned a submission post in the reader group. If any of you have good school names, leave them below. Of course, the final choice will depend on my personal preferences, so don't mind it if yours isn't selected. Everyone's tastes and judgments differ, after all.
Before you continue