Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

Chapter 1545: Chapter 52: Being His Catcher



The American team's offensive in the second inning quickly came to an end.

Before this, no one had expected that the American team's middle lineup would be directly suppressed by Sawamura's pitching speed.

And it was suppressed so severely!

On the dugout, the Japanese players who hadn't had the chance to play all looked at each other, stunned. Most of them had been opponents of Sawamura in the past, and they had studied him, almost to the point of understanding him better than the players of the Seidou High School baseball team.

But now, when they watched Sawamura pitch, it was as if they were watching another person.

The feeling was surreal!

Not only the outsiders but even Seidou High's two teammates, Miyuki and Kuramochi, were in disbelief.

The Sawamura on the mound, using his pitching speed to dominate the opponents, felt unfamiliar to them.

Is this really the Sawamura they knew?

How come they never knew that Sawamura had this kind of brute strength?

"Did you ever see this style from him before?"

Kuramochi asked Miyuki, astonished.

"Never!" Miyuki replied.

"Then what's going on now?"

"I think it's probably because the catcher is Renji. If Sawamura pitched in his usual style, Renji wouldn't be able to catch many of the balls. So, in order to sync with Renji, he mimicked Hongou's pitching style."

Miyuki speculated, and he clenched his fist slightly.

Kuramochi noticed this and teased.

"Hyaa-ha-haa! Makes you wish you were his partner right now, right?"

"Totally!" Miyuki replied bluntly and honestly without missing a beat.

'Eh?' This sudden honesty surprised Kuramochi.

"You suddenly become honest with your thoughts. What happened to your black heart?"

"Any catcher would want to be Sawamura's catcher, there is no point in saying otherwise," Miyuki said calmly, still looking at Sawamura on the mound.

His words held no lies, being Sawamura's catcher is really a great experience.

All of your pitch-calling, your plans, your thoughts, suddenly seeing them in front of your eyes, becoming real, and defeating your opponent like you imagined, even exceeding your imagination.

The feeling of 'I knew I was this awesome! I just didn't get the chance!!' has become very prominent, enhancing the confidence of the catcher.

Sawamura could make your ideas come true, and to a certain extent, he could become any type of pitcher you wanted.

If it were any other pitcher, even if they had similar skills to Sawamura, Miyuki wouldn't have thought about it like this.

There are many types of pitchers.

Some are born with incredible talent, relying on pure natural ability to crush all opponents.

Others may not have such high natural talent but become outstanding pitchers through hard work and learning.

These two types are extreme, and there aren't too many pitchers who fit either one perfectly.

Most pitchers are a mix of the two.

They have some innate talent, but it's the hard work and effort they put in later that makes them stand out as stars on the team.

Sawamura is actually in the third category.

His natural talent is high, but it's not the unbeatable kind.

Through continuous learning and hard work, he has developed his own unique pitching style to a perfect level.

And that's how we have the Demon King today!

Hongou, on the other hand, is different from Sawamura.

Although he also underwent intense training, Hongou is not the same type of pitcher as Sawamura, combining aspects from both categories.

Much of his current ability is innate.

His terrifying pitching speed and natural ball sense are not easily replicable.

But Sawamura isn't just anyone.

He truly has the potential to replicate that pitch "aura."

This isn't an exaggeration; he really has the potential and strength to do so.

Originally, Sawamura's pitching velocity was his biggest weakness.

Compared to his other skills, his speed hadn't reached the top level.

The fastest pitchers in the country had speeds exceeding 150 km/h, while Sawamura's speed had never surpassed that threshold.

Although he had come very close before.

The fastest speed Sawamura had thrown before was 148 km/h. Although he had pitched 150 before, it was more of a Breaking ball, and centering his pitching around it in unsustainable.

Moreover, his usual velocity is only 2 kilometers short of that elite 150-kilometer mark.

Nevertheless, it was still not there.

It's like the difference between a 58 and a 60 score.

The two scores might be close, but 58 is still not as shiny and cool as 60.

This is a fundamental difference.

Now, Sawamura has fixed his final weakness.

His speed has surpassed 150 kilometers.

With this breakthrough, Sawamura's fastball power increased by at least 50%.

What does that mean?

His fastball was already terrifying.

Now, with that strange pitching form, Sawamura's fastball has transformed drastically!

Before, Sawamura's fastball could only handle batters who weren't too strong.

But now, against these American players, he can handle them with ease.

These American players are all top-notch stars in their own right, excelling even among other star players.

For Sawamura to deal with them with just a fastball!

Even Sawamura himself could feel proud of that!

Renji, the catcher, was initially looking forward to partnering with Sawamura, but he knew it would be a challenge.

If they weren't careful, both he and Sawamura could run into serious trouble.

And if that happened, the Japanese team would be in crisis.

So, from the start, Renji was thinking about how to work with Sawamura to help him fully unleash his power.

As the team's current catcher, this was his most important task.

It was no small challenge!

But Renji didn't mind at all.

People might think of him as just Hongou's neighbor, a childhood friend who always stayed with him.

The two of them learned baseball together, gradually becoming a golden duo.

Although this partnership centered around Hongou, Renji himself was also an excellent catcher.

His brilliance, however, had always been overshadowed by Hongou's.

Now, he stood on his own!

For Renji, teaming up with Sawamura marked a new phase in his life.

He was really excited and wanted to perform well.

But he hadn't expected that after forming this partnership, Sawamura would focus everything around him, abandoning all other concerns.

For example, after teaming up, Sawamura gave up his usual style that was based on a lot of variation.

That style was Sawamura's lifeline.

Yet, without hesitation, he gave it up!

Because he knew, even though Renji was capable of handling many of Sawamura's breaking balls, there was still a lot of room for error.

And against the Americans, one mistake could have disastrous consequences.

Sawamura, at his level, would rather take some controllable risks than risk something he couldn't control.

That's why, right now, he's using Hongou's style of pitching.

It was a complete change from his previous style, and one that could only be achieved by someone like the Demon King, Sawamura.

Doing that was already astonishing.

What's more surprising is that he did it well.

This is no exaggeration; it's quite literally true.

Though Sawamura's imitation of Hongou lacks a bit in terms of intensity, he has more precise control than Hongou.

Renji couldn't help but think that, when it comes to just fastballs, Sawamura might have surpassed Hongou.

But that doesn't mean Sawamura could completely replace Hongou.

Hongou's trademark breaking balls, like his forkball and slider, are still out of Sawamura's reach.

But it's important to note that this doesn't mean Sawamura can't throw great breaking balls.

He has his own, but Renji may not be able to catch them.

So right now, Sawamura is pitching with his hands tied.

Even so, he's still delivering pitches that are much better than anyone else's.

This is why Renji was willing to recommend Sawamura in the first place.

Because, as a rival, Renji understands Sawamura's strengths very well.

This man is truly strong!

Just how strong is he, and what surprises can he bring?

Even Renji himself can't say for sure.

But he's certain of one thing:

As long as Sawamura is on the field, they don't have to worry about winning.

Even though the Japanese team's roster has flaws compared to America's, as long as Sawamura is pitching, Renji feels confident they won't lose.

And it's not just Renji.

All the other Japanese players, including those who hadn't played yet, share the same sentiment.

They firmly believe that as long as Sawamura is on the mound, they will win.

Even if they don't understand exactly why they have this confidence.

But before heading to bat, they all clenched their fists and shouted.

"Let's go!!!"

...


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