The Seido High School Baseball Team Coach's office.
Several reports were scattered on the desk. If the camera zoomed in, one would see that the content of the reports was precisely the ranking list that Seido's players had been discussing animatedly earlier.
Manager Ota still held one, meticulously scrutinizing the scores and rankings on it.
"Everything else seems normal, but can this first place be reliable?"
It was understandable why he would think that. As one of the team's leaders, they had a general understanding of their own team's players' abilities.
For example, who was stronger, who had a stronger presence, and so on…
While they couldn't state each player's ranking with absolute clarity, they could generally categorize players into different tiers.
According to Manager Ota's original analysis, he also had a rough ranking in his mind.
When Coach Ochiai produced this ranking list, he immediately compared it with his own internal ranking.
Great minds think alike; their opinions on the skill levels of most players were almost identical.
Only for a limited number of players did both sides have some doubts about their respective rankings.
For example, Kawakami.
In Manager Ota's view, he was a very promising player, even an indispensable and important member of the team.
However, his ranking was not ideal; among the twenty-plus First string players, he was almost at the bottom, just one spot away from being kicked out of the main First string team.
This, of course, was a significant difference from the ranking Manager Ota had envisioned.
But it wasn't entirely incomprehensible. Although Kawakami performed reasonably well in pitching, his hitting ability was quite ordinary.
He also made errors in fielding.
Overall evaluation, lower score, which was understandable.
"But does this not fully represent a player's true ability?"
Manager Ota still raised his doubts.
It wasn't necessarily the case that players with higher scores were always suitable for the team's development.
"I've said it, this is just a reference."
Coach Ochiai stroked his beard, replying seriously.
From the ranking situation, the performance of several first-year newcomers was generally not good.
For example, the two highly anticipated pitchers, Furuya Satoru, ranked last, with almost no outstanding performance on the field.
Even with bonus points for strikeouts, he still remained at the very bottom of the rankings.
But if one wanted to pick people from this batch of players, he would basically not be chosen.
Because the most important reason for keeping him in the First string was his future potential.
As long as his future potential was promising, as long as he could achieve an unexpected victory in the Summer Tournament, Seido High School Baseball Team would not let go of such a promising talent.
Another newcomer, Sawamura, had a commendable pitching performance, but similarly showed no performance in hitting.
His ranking was a bit higher than Kawakami's, placing seventeenth among the twenty-four players.
On the contrary, Jinguuji, who was previously highly regarded, showed a significant difference in his performance this time compared to his previous impression.
He ranked fourteenth.
In terms of ranking alone, he was very high among the freshmen, and by all accounts, staying in the First string should be no problem.
However, considering that he had no special advantages, and given the team's need to replenish a large amount of combat power, he was actually the most likely one to be eliminated.
Of course, this wasn't the most outrageous part.
The most outrageous one was Kominato Haruichi, who had just joined the First string less than two weeks ago.
Everyone generally didn't think highly of this seemingly thin and introverted child.
But it was this child who, in all previous training sessions, never showed any slack.
Even when exhausted and truly unable to complete something, he gritted his teeth and persevered.
He would only lose consciousness and collapse after the training ended.
Of course, if that were all, while everyone admired his effort, they still wouldn't be optimistic about him staying in the First string team in the future.
Kominato Haruichi truly impressed people during the four practice games.
This guy had a total of six at-bats, and got six hits.
The baseball flew into his defensive range seven times, and six of those times were within his preventable range.
Meaning, he should have been able to catch the baseball at those landing spots.
In those six instances, he made no errors, beautifully stopping the ball every time.
The most incredible was the fourth time; although the baseball was within his defensive range, it was at least seven or eight meters from his position.
According to the scoring rules, even if he failed to stop this ball, it wouldn't be counted as an error.
However, it was precisely such a ball that everyone thought was impossible to catch; the little guy moved early, ran to the baseball's landing spot, and then, with a direct dive, forcefully knocked the ball down with his glove.
Kuramochi followed closely behind, and the two executed a perfect combination, beautifully getting the runner out.
This meant that in the practice games, he not only scored a perfect seventy points but also received bonus points for a defensive gem.
Although he lost five points in the thirty-point practice assessment, his overall score was still the highest in the entire team.
96 points.
Among all the First string players of the entire Seido High School Baseball Team, he ranked first.
He was one of the five players in the team with an overall score above 90 points.
"This is just a reference; it can't fully prove the skill gap between players. However, looking at the training camp and these few practice games, Kominato Haruichi's performance is evident to everyone. I don't think he's necessarily worse than Jinguuji."
This was a highly controversial point: who among the first-years should be kept?
Coach Kataoka looked at the list in front of him and fell into deep thought.
He knew that the teammates must be eagerly awaiting the announcement of the final results.
Before this matter was announced, the players had no mind to continue training.
"We can't wait any longer; we must decide as soon as possible."
Takashima Rei stood by with her arms crossed.
Of course, she also understood that it sounded simple, but it was not that easy to truly decide.
After all, what was troubling Coach Kataoka was not just the issue of the first-year newcomers, but also the problem of having three catchers and five pitchers over the limit.
The new lineup, no matter what, did not need so many catchers and pitchers.
"A total of five players scored over ninety points, and four players scored over eighty-five points. The second-ranked Yuuki, the third-ranked Zhang Han, the fourth-ranked Kominato Ryosuke, the fifth-ranked Miyuki Kazuya, the sixth-ranked Chris, the seventh-ranked Isashiki Jun, the eighth-ranked Kuramochi Yoichi, and the ninth-ranked Masuko Toru. If all eight of these players remain in the First string starting lineup, we have no reason to eliminate the first-ranked Kominato Haruichi."
Coach Ochiai stroked his beard and said righteously.
He also knew that his scoring standard was not perfect.
But eliminating the top-ranked person was simply inexcusable.
"So, at least three freshmen must be kept? Or possibly even four? Among the second-year players, there's also Zhang Han, Miyuki, Kuramochi, Shirasu, these main players, and also Higasa, Asou. In that case, the third-years…"
Manager Ota was a bit hesitant.
According to Coach Ochiai, first- and second-year players alone accounted for more than half of the roster.
That left only a few substitute spots for the third-years, besides the starters.
Compared to last autumn, the First string substitutes were completely revamped.
"Maezono also worked very hard…"
Manager Ota changed the subject.
"Don't talk about the third-to-last ranking, plus he doesn't have any special features."
Unexpectedly, as soon as this topic was brought up, it was immediately suppressed by Takashima Rei.
The competition was already very fierce, and they would not allow things to get more complicated no matter what.
Coach Kataoka also nodded in agreement.
Picking people out was already a very difficult task, and Maezono, on the one hand, didn't have anything eye-catching, and on the other hand, he was a second-year player.
No matter how you looked at it, it was impossible to keep him in the First string.
Besides him, the other third-year player who joined the First string training camp was exactly the same.
He also did not have the qualifications to stay.
"In that case, two more people need to be picked out. Are three catchers too many?"
Currently, there are a total of three catchers in the First string. One is the previous starter Miyuki Kazuya, one is Chris, who has returned from injury, and the other is the previous substitute Miyauchi.
To be honest, having three catchers out of a total of 20 spots is definitely a waste.
Picking one out is also understandable.
However, the rankings of these catchers are all very high, meaning their performances in the previous training camp and practice games were very dazzling.
Miyuki, with 90.45 points, and Chris, with 89.88 points, were ranked fifth and sixth, respectively.
Although Miyauchi did not make it into the top ten, he was ranked eleventh.
He scored 84.21 points.
Removing such a player from the First string team is also a very difficult choice to make.
Coach Kataoka did not give any answer when he heard this suggestion.
He remained silent, not saying a word.
When he didn't speak, the others naturally couldn't discuss it further.
After all, they were the ones giving ideas, but the one truly making the decision was Kataoka.
Those who offered suggestions could only give their advice; they could not make direct decisions.
To be honest, they also couldn't bear to make the decision.
Each of the current players had their own unique characteristics. Although they were not perfect, cutting them would still be very heartbreaking.
Coach Kataoka was clearly also very distressed, remaining silent the entire time.
"Five pitchers are also a bit too many. If absolutely necessary, we can take one out of the two first-years."
Manager Ota actually liked Furuya Satoru and Sawamura very much.
However, compared to the other third-year players, letting the first-year players suffer a bit of grievance first was not entirely unreasonable.
It would be best if both of these first-year pitchers could stay, but if not, keeping one was also acceptable.
Moreover, once this precedent was set, the remaining spot would be easier to resolve.
Kominato Haruichi, Jinguuji.
Although their performances were impeccable, if they really had to target first-year players, those two would naturally be the first in line.
"And the choice for Ace should also be decided as soon as possible…"
Everyone discussed animatedly.
When one topic reached a deadlock, they moved on to another.
They would decide what could be decided, and then discuss the difficult decisions together.
These leaders of Seido High School Baseball Team were relatively wise.
But there were too many deadlocks, and their time was limited.
"Everyone, quiet down."
Coach Kataoka pondered for a long time and finally realized that this was not the way.
No matter how much they deliberated, they couldn't fundamentally solve the problem.
There had to be a rule; if there were no rules, they would never be able to come up with a perfect solution.
"Without rules, there is no order. If we keep changing our perspective to analyze, any choice we make is possible. In that case, we will never be able to come up with a proper solution. The upcoming personnel selection will be based on what benefits the team's development, as well as the players' current strength and their contribution to the team."
With Coach Kataoka's final decision, the remaining work suddenly became much simpler.
After Coach Ochiai nodded, he gave his answer.
"If the main roster is selected based on strength and the team's future development, we can only eliminate two third-year players. On one hand, their rankings are indeed very low, basically hovering around the edge of the twentieth spot. On the other hand, their contribution to the team is also not significant. On the contrary, Miyauchi, although three catchers might be a bit of a waste, his hitting ability is good, and it's not impossible for there to be some unexpected circumstances. Plus, Chris himself can also play other positions, so I think Miyauchi should be kept."
Coach Ochiai had always liked players like Miyauchi, who were dependable and skilled.
Coach Kataoka was the same.
Before Chris returned, Miyauchi had already caused quite a stir for Miyuki.
It would be somewhat unreasonable to remove such a player from the First string.
"Two third-year players, if they don't join the First string this time, they'll never have another chance…"
Manager Ota recalled these players training day and night.
He remembered them constantly swinging their bats under dim lights.
He remembered every bit of effort they put into practice.
He truly couldn't bear it.
"If the goal is to dominate the nation, some things are simply what we must face."
Coach Kataoka also couldn't bear it.
When he made this decision, his heart even ached slightly.
But this was what they had to face.
This was also an obstacle that Seido High School Baseball Team had to overcome if they wanted to continue and dominate the nation.
"Gather the players, it's time to announce the jersey numbers."
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