Chapter 106: Chapter 5: A Different Opponent
September 4, 2010, Japan-U.S. High School Baseball Tournament, first day of competition.
Led by supervisors and coaches, the players departed from the hotel early and went to the stadium for pre-game warm-ups and field practice. About an hour before the match was set to begin, the players from the United States arrived late—their main contingent had just stepped into the stadium, and the eyes of the players on the Japan side were instantly drawn to them.
Unlike the generally average build of the Japan National Team, Team USA was composed of tall, muscular white and black players—the two tallest players in Japan, Lin Guanglai and Ichiyotai Shintaro, both over 185 cm tall, were just average compared to the opposing team.
Before the match began, the organizers held a small opening ceremony, and both teams lined up for a big group photo in front of the cameras responsible for filming, followed by the pre-game salutation ceremony.
A small group of spectators gathered in the stands, with a few Asian faces interspersed among sturdy, blonde American spectators; it was clear that this Japan-U.S. exhibition match had attracted some fans to watch the game live.
Due to language barriers, the pre-game salutation between the players did not follow the full Koshien tradition and was just a simple fist bump. The head umpire then announced the start of the game.
For this game, the Japan High School Representative team, who played first, had Konan High School’s ace pitcher, Shimabukuro Hiroshi, as their starting pitcher. Team USA’s United States MLB City Youth Academy, playing second, sent out their white pitcher named Kelly.
As for Lin Guanglai, according to the pitching rotation, he was expected to be the starting pitcher in the third game. In today’s and tomorrow’s games, he would serve as the DH to replace his team’s pitchers for batting—indeed, the DH rule was in effect for this Japan-U.S. exhibition match.
Designated Hitter, abbreviated as DH, is a special rule used in some competitions:
Because pitchers experience significant strain on their arms and most have weaker hitting abilities, in games with the DH rule, when the lineup order requires the pitcher to bat, the team can send another player to bat without substituting the pitcher. This player is called the Designated Hitter, who replaces their team’s pitcher for offense but does not participate in defense.
As the most traditional event, Koshien naturally does not have this rule; in both the Japan and United States professional baseball leagues, only the Pacific League of NPB and the American League of MLB use the Designated Hitter.
Being chosen as a Designated Hitter showcases the coaching staff’s recognition of Lin Guanglai’s importance—after all, real combat is the true litmus test to gauge a player’s strength.
In the top of the first inning for the Japan High School Team, the first batter was Konan’s Guoji Continent, known for his skilled hitting and fast running. He also served as the leadoff batter in Koshien matches, bringing ample experience—with it being the first inning, Wakayama Yu, the supervisor, instructed to endure and look for the opponent pitcher’s technical characteristics.
Guoji Continent understood this well, tangling with Kelly through six or seven balls in his at-bat, eventually seizing the opportunity on a missed pitch, hitting a double that landed in an empty area of central field.
Following Guoji Continent’s strong start, the Japan High School Team displayed classic Japanese high school baseball small ball tactics to Team USA:
Starting from the second batter, the Japan team managed through bunts and hits, even without much direct confrontation with Kelly on the mound, successfully sending Guoji Continent home to score.
Though nominally this Japan-U.S. rivalry match was just an ordinary exhibition game, they felt the weight of their compatriots’ expectations—the small ball strategy, while avoiding direct confrontation with the pitcher seemed slightly opportunistic;
But the real training could wait for the next two matches—Wakayama Yu and Momma Keiji felt it was essential to secure this match steadily.
With the fifth batter, Yamada Tetsuro hitting a single that pierced Team USA’s defense, the top of the first inning saw the situation turn to two outs with runners on first and third bases—Nagakoshi Seiji on third was also known for his speed.
Next up was the sixth batter, Lin Guanglai.
Standing at the batter’s box, Lin Guanglai lightly swung his bat, raising it high and focused on Kelly on the mound—even against this overly youthful Asian face, Kelly didn’t let his guard down. After a communication with his catcher, he pitched the ball.
For the ball thrown by the American pitcher, Lin Guanglai’s first impression was fast, truly fast, super fast—at least in Koshien matches, he had never seen such a fast ball speed.
Before he could react, the ball had already drilled into the catcher’s glove behind the good ball zone, accompanied by the umpire’s announcement:
"Strike."
Returning outside the batter’s box, Lin Guanglai deeply inhaled—right from the start, the opponent pitcher had given him a harsh initiation: although the angle of the pitch was average, its speed and spin were sufficient, catching Lin Guanglai off guard.
But one ball wasn’t a problem—recalling the content taught by the batting coach in recent days, Lin Guanglai decided to strengthen his home plate discipline, strictly controlling his bat swing times and timing.
For the next second and third balls, Kelly threw a high fastball and a low fastball, either too high or too low, that Lin Guanglai watched pass without swinging.
The fourth ball was thrown by Kelly to the inner high edge zone. Feeling he could hit it, Lin Guanglai swung his bat decisively, but unfortunately could not grasp the timing completely, swinging slightly too early—the baseball was pulled to foul territory.
With the four-ball contact, Lin Guanglai gained clear insight into the difference between Japan and U.S. pitchers—while playing in Japan, pitchers who could throw at 140 km/h were qualified to be Koshien team’s ace or quasi-ace; reaching 150 km/h speed could already stand firm in Nihon Professional Baseball.
But on this land, 140 km/h speed seemed as common as wholesale products, those towering American pitchers casually threw basically 145 km/h fastballs; Kelly’s four pitches just now included at least two with a speed reaching 150 km/h.
So often, these American pitchers only needed to throw fastballs to handle most batters—this is the so-called "The world’s martial arts, only the unbreakable will prevail."
Of course, the fast ball speed was the opponent’s thing; it didn’t mean Lin Guanglai was afraid. Standing in the batter’s box, he recalled the balls just now, then swung his bat at Kelly’s incoming pitch.
"Ping!"
After hitting the flying ball, Lin Guanglai quickly threw aside his bat and dashed toward first base without looking back.
The baseball was hit by his swung bat and landed between the infield and outfield area.
Just as the swiftly advancing central fielder tried to make an out, Yamada Tetsuro at first and Lin Guanglai at home plate had already successfully reached their base; Nagakoshi Seiji had long returned to home base.
With his first appearance at bat, Lin Guanglai earned a run—truly an excellent start.