Training continues day after day.

Gradually, Zhang Zhe discovered that he seemed to be receiving special treatment. Whenever others started to finish training and prepare to go back, he was always asked to stay and practice for a while.

Practicing extra time by himself means that the corresponding specialized coaches also have to work overtime. Zhang Zhe is not naive enough to think that the coaches are doing this because they have nothing to do.

"The team really values ​​me." Sometimes Zhang Zhe thought in amusement.

The 8-team competition that has lasted for thirty years, and the geniuses described by the media as one of the few in generations, are being watched by everyone in the Japanese football world.

There are many people looking forward to it, and many people are ready to see the joke.

The management of the Hanshin Tigers hopes that Zhang Zhe can lay a solid foundation and realize his potential as soon as possible.

If Zhang Zhe only grew up at the level and speed of an ordinary professional baseball player, it would actually be regarded as a failure in training. After all, people's expectations were so high at the beginning.

It's approaching evening, inside the training ground.

Zhang Zhe practiced throwing balls.

This is also an extremely boring training. The coach throws the baseball in front of Zhang Zhe, and Zhang Zhe swings the bat and hits the ball to the ball-blocking cage, making continuous hitting movements.

"despair!"

"despair!"

"despair!!"

The sound of the wooden bat hitting the ball has a clear rhythm, one after another, until the baseballs in the box are exhausted.

"Okay, that's it for today." said the offensive coach of the Second Army, Rigao Gang.

Zhang Zhe, who was sweating profusely, put down his bat and went to pick up a towel to wipe away his sweat.

In February, the sun is still a bit cold, and the wind feels chilly. Measures to prevent colds must not be careless.

As Hidaka put away the equipment, he said: "Xiao Zhe, the supervisor of tomorrow's practice game plans to let you play in the designated hitting position of DH."

Although he was a little surprised by the coaching staff's arrangement, Zhang Zhe still said yes and then packed up the equipment.

Only when I returned to the dormitory in the evening did I have time to think.

Because he was still practicing before the practice games and his body was often exhausted, Zhang Zhe initially thought that he would not play.

Most of the others have adjusted their training intensity in preparation for the competition, but Zhang Zhe is still tired all day long and has back pain, and there is always a muscle area that is in the recovery period from soreness.

Zhang Zhe slapped his abdomen vigorously with his hand, and then grimaced in pain.

Well, the core muscles of the waist and abdomen are still recovering from soreness.

"How can we fight tomorrow in this state?"

With a little resentment, Zhang Zhe criticized the merciless coaches who asked him to train even though they clearly planned to let him play. Could it be that he wanted to see how bad his condition could be.

It seems that the coaches don't care about his performance at all, they just plan to give him a few playing seats to gain experience.

Zhang Zhe felt that he had been underestimated for the first time in a long time.

Before turning off the lights and going to bed, I found the jersey and hung it up in preparation for wearing it tomorrow.

It is enough to just wear training clothes. The official jersey is usually worn during games or media opening days. On the back of Zhang Zhe's jersey is the number 22 he was awarded when he joined the team.

Have a good night's sleep.

…

February 13, 2021.

The first pre-season warm-up practice match of the second team of Hanshin Team begins, and the opponent is the local Shikoku Bank team on Shikoku Island.

In the Japanese baseball world, the proprietary name of the semi-professional team that relies on companies is [Social Team], and they participate in a self-contained urban baseball competition.

The social basketball team system has trained a large number of top players and even Hall of Fame level players after entering professional baseball. Therefore, many young players regard joining the social basketball team as one of the ways to continue to impact professional baseball.

After the game started, the Shikoku Bank team, which attacked first, took a 1-0 lead.

In the second half of the inning, Hanshin's second team's offensive from the first to the fifth battalion scored 2 points, and Zhang Zhe, who served as the DH for the sixth baton, was able to come on.

The current score is 2-1 for Hanshin’s second team.

With one out, there is someone on first and third base.

There is a teammate at third base, and Zhang Zhe's task is to send him back to home base.

There were no spectators allowed in this game, so the stadium was very quiet. The sound of reporters' camera shutters and the cheering sounds of players from both teams could be heard very clearly.

Zhang Zhe walked into the right batting area with his bat and went to the dugout first to see if there were any special instructions from the coaching staff.

The coaching staff has no coded actions, which probably means they can express themselves freely.

Sometimes there is no requirement but it is a kind of pressure.

The Shikoku Bank pitcher is a right-hander.

Zhang Zhe raised the bat and looked at him. When he released the ball, he immediately stepped on his raised left foot, drew the bat back in preparation, and locked his eyes on the incoming ball.

In front of the line of sight, the ball tends to come towards the lower half, so it is probably a low ball.

Then determine the flight path of the ball.

When the ball flies past the outlet, the downward displacement is small, and the rotation type is relatively positive.

In just a few tenths of a second, Zhang Zhe made a clear judgment.

"Straight ball!"

This judgment is a signal that the body is ready to go, and the body that has been preparing for the attack will start immediately.

When hitting the ball, your eyes must watch the ball all the way, and the control of the bat is left to your body.

Because stepping on the front foot and judging the path of the ball happen at the same time, the entire action is connected, and the power is transmitted from the right foot where the center of gravity is.

Suddenly, various muscle groups felt sore, which affected all movements.

Zhang Zhe swung the bat to meet the ball. The moment he crossed the ball, he felt nothing. He watched the ball fly above the bat body.

"Empty!"

After realizing that he had not touched the ball, Zhang Zhe immediately began to relieve his strength, flipped his wrist and brought the bat behind his back.

"Crack!"

Four Nations Bank catcher catches baseball.

The first ball was empty, and Zhang Zhe exited the strike zone and took a break.

The impact of physical discomfort on the accuracy of rod control is beyond imagination.

In that swing just now, the naked eye estimated that the stick was about five or six centimeters lower than the ball.

According to Zhang Zhe's original expectation, even if he didn't hit the ball solidly, he should at least be able to touch the lower end of the ball, and not miss the ball at all.

"Trouble."

Zhang Zhe tightened his hitting gloves and thought quickly.

In fact, he had anticipated the difficulty in swinging during pre-game training, but he did not expect that the degree of difficulty would be even more serious.

The problem lies in the style of play.

Zhang Zhe's playing style is quite special. The swing line of the wooden bat is in point contact with the flight line of the ball. If the stick body is not in place, it will actually deviate from the ball a lot.

If the physical condition is good, the hit rate can be guaranteed to a certain extent, but if the physical condition is poor, the hit rate may be disastrous.

In his sophomore year of high school, Zhang Zhe had optimized and fine-tuned his playing style and further controlled his hitting rate within an acceptable range, which was why his offensive performance exploded in the summer.

But now the problem is before us again.

If you can't hit the ball, there's no such thing as a hit.

"Huh..." Zhang Zhe forced himself to calm down.

Maybe it's just because your body is still in pain, don't rush to make a fuss and scare yourself.

After calming down, Zhang Zhe re-entered the strike zone.

The second and third balls were obviously deviated from the line, so he let them pass, making the number of balls come to 2 bad and 1 good.

Then the fourth ball flew out of the right hand of the Shikoku Bank pitcher.

The ball's release height is about the right-hand hitter's rib cage, and its flight pattern is similar to the first pitch's four-seam fastball.

"There's a good chance it'll be in the strike zone."

Zhang Zhe didn't want to watch his good shots being taken away, so he decided to attack with his bat.

Hold the stick in both hands and swing forward with force.

"despair!"

The collision lasted only a short time, as the wooden stick slipped and the ball flew out.

The poor batting touch had informed Zhang Zhe of the result in advance.

The bat hit the bottom of the ball.

Zhang Zhe put down his bat and ran towards first base. At this time, his only hope was that the ball would fly far enough.

However, the flight of the ball was not affected by human will, and the Shikoku Bank right fielder caught the ball very close to the infield.

The first base judge made a decision before Zhang Zhe came over.

"Out!"
Chapter completed!