Catcher (Part 2)

The next day, at dusk, before practice ended,

The training camp had been going on for several days, and the overall results were gratifying. However, there were sometimes gaps between practice and theory. The team's defense had been slowly improving over the past few days, and it wouldn't be long before they could start position assignments and coordinated training. After all, there was also outfield coverage and catching training, so this kind of training that covered all ground balls and fly balls had to end quickly.

Bunting practice, in a word, was a mess. Sawamura was a bunting genius, that's true, but his explanations were just a bunch of interjections, followed by a wild pat on the butt. Sendou seemed to have an idea but couldn't quite grasp the feeling.

So today, Sendou arranged to temporarily reduce bunting practice and instead speed up the pace of defensive practice. He didn't want to change anything else too much, at least until he met with the coach tomorrow.

Training was tedious, so Sendou slipped away early.

"These guys really like to practice! It's obviously tiring, and very boring, although the feeling of hitting is good, and using your brain too, but I really don't understand what's fun about this sport itself?

Sawamura that guy also said something like you can play Baseball with just a bat and a ball! When did he say that? Oh well, that doesn't matter!"

"Oh!!! Fumino tormented me so badly last night!!! I'm seriously sleep-deprived!" Yawning, Sendou returned to the Baseball field!

"It's about time, I should tell them to disband and go back to cook!"

"Before today's independent practice, I'll be merciful and take a look at your batting stances!"

"Yosh, then I'll go first! I'll let you see my Heroic Posture!"

"Eijun, go run!"

"Why!!! Didn't you say you'd look at our batting stances? Are you saying I'm not considered a fighting force?"

"Yes, that's exactly it, so go run!"

"Hai~" Sawamura responded quietly.

"It's okay if you just watch from the side!" Seeing Sawamura leave with his back hunched, Sendou said, with a slight curl at the corner of his mouth that no one noticed.

"Don't look at me like that, do you want me to look or not!" Seeing Sawamura staring at Sendou with a temper, Sendou said, then ignored him.

"So, who's first? I won't look at everyone, just a simple comment! Ono, you go first!"

Ono nodded and stepped forward to assume his batting stance.

"Ono, spread your feet a little wider, tuck your armpits in, and straighten your back. Yosh, try twisting your body slightly to swing."

"OK, that's it, next, ... your feet are too far apart, try swinging." Just a small correction to the stance.

"Everyone should understand now! We're all beginners, so we don't need to swing big and hit Long Hits. Now everyone do some swinging practice while taking turns batting to get your body used to the stance as soon as possible. I don't want High Balls, I want fast balls close to the ground!"

This guidance wasn't a whim. Sendou had just realized it yesterday when guiding A Shin, that he needed to look at everyone's batting stances. This was also Sendou's mistake.

"A Shin, you continue to follow me to practice catching. Your catching used to be too bad, and frequently missing catches can't be corrected in a day or two, so all you can do now is practice! I know a little more about the Catcher position. There used to be a very long-winded old man who bothered me all day, ah, he was really long-winded!" Sendou became somewhat nostalgic at the end.

"Let's go!"

"Un~"

"Let's review yesterday's practice first and see how much your body still remembers."

"Crack crack crack"

"Whoosh!"

"Bang!"

"That's right, just like that. Even if you can't catch it, don't let the ball roll behind you! Speaking of which, you should catch it. It's only 120 kilometers per hour. Right now, Eijun's pitches are even faster than that, and you should know that his pitches aren't as easy to catch."

"Yosh, gradually getting used to it. But don't get too happy too soon, the glove is being dragged away too much by the ball!"

"That makes the pitcher uncomfortable!"

"Are you scared? That's why you're like this, because you're afraid to catch the ball with your hand. Didn't the book tell you that before?"

"Use your lower body properly, use your body to face the ball... not like that, you're using your hand to catch the ball again!"

"Because you only use your hand to catch the ball, the glove moves with the ball, blocking your eyes, and you can't follow the ball to the end." The whole process was Sendou talking, and A Shin was just reacting to his words and trying his best.

"The stance of holding the glove is too stiff. Although the glove is set up for the pitcher, let it go for a moment after the pitcher throws the ball to relax your body, otherwise you will be even more tired."

"Basically, just keep the feeling of throwing and catching the ball, just like this!" As he said that, Sendou turned his palm down and raised his palm to make a catcher's catching gesture.

"Look at my action!" Then he put his palms together to make a catching feeling, and at the same time, his entire palm pressed down, a bit like a gesture of asking someone to come over, which gave people a sense of ease.

"Do you understand? This will not only relax yourself, but also give the pitcher a sense of relaxation when they see your ease!"

"I understand!"

"Then continue!" Then Sendou turned on the nagging mode again.

"The glove is lowered again. The glove must not move when catching the ball. Letting you relax after catching the ball is not at this time!"

"If you catch the ball like this, the umpire will definitely not call a strike on a borderline ball. The catcher's catching skills will also affect the umpire's judgment, as well as the pitcher's state and self-judgment, so you must practice diligently. This is the basis for the catcher to maintain his posture."

"Although I don't know what these have to do with that idiot who only throws straight balls right down the middle. A Shin's condition, I'm afraid he won't even be able to catch Eijun's full-strength pitches before graduation, troublesome. Speaking of catching, my catching skills are neither good nor bad!"

While instructing, Sendou could still amuse himself by complaining in his heart.

"Continue! You can only catch this kind of ball now, you're still far from it!"

"Yes~!"

On the other side, everyone was taking turns hitting the ball enthusiastically, swinging, hitting, swinging, no one wanted to do nothing and let their body forget the correct posture, deepening the body's impression of the posture.

So much so that when Sendou said it was over, no one left with him, and even Wakaba said that she wanted to practice for a while, even A Shin, who had just finished catching, joined in with a baseball bat.

In the end, Sendou went back to take a bath alone, but Sendou was thinking in his heart about the questions he wanted to ask for advice tomorrow. There were too many problems with the team, and he knew too little.

After that, it was study time. Fumino didn't know what she had been doing today, but she felt particularly tired. She actually fell asleep while reading at night.

Sendou suddenly remembered that his partner said Fumino was a beauty when he first came, but he hadn't paid attention to it himself, so he sat down and looked at Fumino's profile while lying on the table.

"To be honest, Fumino is really a great beauty! I didn't notice it usually. She's different when she's sleeping than usual. Usually, this guy is a bit clumsy, natural, and slow. After falling asleep, how should I put it? Tranquil? Probably! Looking at her face makes me feel peaceful in my heart." Sendou thought so... and fell asleep too.

It's a bit late again today, I'll post it and go to sleep. Finally, I'll ask for collections and recommendations as usual, good night!