One Outs 16

One Outs, Volume 2, Chapter 16 (pp. 167~187)


<167>
=With their ace reliever Mizuhashi no longer in the game.
=The Eagles had no chance of protecting their lead.
OHHHHHHH

=He's got it—
=A hit to left field!!

=Runner scores easily!!
=The game is tied!!!

=...Oh, the runner on second, Yoshida!!
=Has taken advantage of the weak throw and is heading home!

=No way!
=The throw is—

ZWUSH
Chapter 16: Sentence


<168>
=Safe!
=Not in time!!
=The Lycaons have taken the lead!!
Chapter 16: Sentence


<169>
=After falling behind by 11 runs,
=The Lycaons have finally taken the lead in the top of the 9th—!!
OHHHH

=Yoshida—!

No smoking in the dugout—!

TICK

Something's going on with Toua...

=It's not like you.

=That play from before,
=And that baserunning just now.


<170>
=You sure the owner's gonna let this slide?

=Hah...
=So you did figure me out.

=That's right...//The owner handed me some cash and told me to make it so you'd lose some runs.
=But...

=I didn't do it for the money.
=You see...

=I was jealous of you.

A tryout with zero credentials winning games left and right without giving up a run,
And only around 20 years old but lecturing about what it means to win...
And doing just that.

=I couldn't stand it.
=I felt awkward and envious.


<171>
=Because I used to be a pitcher too.

=I may not look it, but I actually made a pretty big name for myself in the collegiate leagues,
=As a power pitcher.

The Lycaons picked me in the first round of the draft.
And handed me a signing bonus worth 100 million. Unheard of at the time.

I was a huge star. Tons of people showed up each day just to seem me practice, and I felt like I had no privacy.

But... That was it for my days of glory.

Being in the pros turned out to be much tougher than I ever expected. I pitched in 14 games that year, but didn't get a single win.
I got demoted to the farm league midway through the season.


<172>
The next year, I only pitched in 2 games... And the year after that, I spent the entire season on the farm team. And even there, I couldn't rack up any wins.
=Yoshida—

=You keep this up, and you're gonna end up being released next year, let alone staying in the farm for another year.

=Man up in your next start if you don't wanna go out like this.

Released—
Having been a star player just 3 years ago, I equated those words with a death sentence.

=Yo,//If it isn't Yoshida.

The guy who spoke to me at the bar was Tokito, the clean-up hitter on the Busters farm team.
=Man—
=What's a first round draft pick doing drinking all miserably—?

=So it's true about you being fired at the end of the season!?
=Please, leave me alone.

=Hey,//You're pitching against our team in 3 days, right?

=I'll swing out every at-bat for 5 million.


<173>
=No problem for a guy who got a 100 million signing bonus, right?

=The standings are all set, and going 0 for 4 in the next game won't have a huge impact on my stats.
=I'll tell you what. I'll get Shima and Kominezawa, the 3rd and 5th batters, to get in on the deal too.
=...But isn't that...//Cheating...?

GRUCK

=I may be on the farm team, but I'm a clean-up hitter. You think I'll have any trouble taking care of a pitcher like you?
=Make me go all out, and the chances of you standing on a pitching mound next year are gonna be re—al slim.

=Why don't you take some time//And think about your situation a little more carefully.

=Send the money to that account after the game.


<174>
[x2]=Steerike yer out—!

Just as he promised,
Tokito, Shima, and Kominezawa swung out in every at-bat.

And...
Although it was a farm league game, I got my first ever shut-out win as a pro.

=Yoshida!! That was some great pitching today!! Keep this up, and you'll be promoted in no time!!
=Th-Thank you.

=By the way, the owner wanted to have a word with you.
=!? The owner?

=Let me be frank.

=You're not going to be pitching next year.
=Huh!?


<175>
=Why!?//I pitched well in my last start... And next season I'll—
=So you want to keep pitching that badly?

=Even if you have to cheat?

=Tokito, Shima, and Kominezawa.
=Today's emergency owners' meeting revealed that these three have made 300 million over the last 2 years offering to throw games on 20 different occasions.
=The three of them will receive lifelong bans, effective immediately.

=But...//I am the only one that knows about your involvement.

=Fortunately, you haven't deposited the payment or given a clear answer agreeing to the fix.
=However... That doesn't change the fact that you acted inappropriately. The team can't have you continue playing as a pitcher.

=...Which means... I'm being fired.
=I never said that.

=I only said you're not going to be pitching.


<176>
=There are two conditions if you still wish to continue your career.

=One is to convert to an infield position.//And the other is...

=To obey any orders I give you from now on.

=...So,
=The owner just wanted an obedient dog that would follow orders.

=This is something I learned much later,//But Tokito had an informant who told him that my career was banking on that Busters game.

=It was the owner.

FWOO—SH
=A setup, huh...?

=So that's why you double-crossed him?
=No...//I've had plenty of chances if that were the only reason.


<177>
="The only important thing about a low probability is,"
="It's not zero."

=Those words, they really hit the spot.

=I wish I'd gotten to know you earlier.
=That way...

I would've been able to refuse Tokito's proposition.

=There's the third out to end the inning,
=But not before the Lycaons score 2 more runs to take the lead.

=Tokuchi...


<178>
=Let's win this game no matter what.
OHHHH

OHHHHHH

=Sure,
=I wanna win this too, but...

=I'm feeling really fucked up.


<179>
=154 pitches.
=That's Tokuchi's pitch count for this game.

=The 8-man defense has clearly gotten to him.
=He's never had to throw this many pitches.//After all, he only needed 101 pitches to pull off a perfect game.

=So he's getting tired?
=There's no question about it.

=The high pitch count in the 7th and 8th innings show that he's starting to slip.//He's clearly reached his limits.

=In the bottom of the 9th...

=Tokuchi will definitely be giving up his first run.


<180>
BWAP
=Ball!
=Ball four!

=There's another walk!!
=Something's gone wrong with Tokuchi this inning! His control is all over the place!!
OHHH

=That makes it one out, with runners on first and second.//And now the Eagles have a chance for a walk-off win.
=Good!!

=Oh, he's taken a timeout.
=Tokuchi's called time and is headed back over to the bench.

=Perhaps he may have injured himself.


<181>
=Call a pitching change.
=I'm tired.

=You fool—!!
=You're the only pitcher we have left—!!
RAA—GH

=Maybe you wouldn't be so tired if you hadn't kicked out Yoshida—!
GRRR—
M-Manager
=I know it's hard, but hold out just a little longer.
=Don't be such a wuss—!

=Fine, but I'm not taking responsibility for this.

=Tokuchi's returning to the mound.//Looks like it wasn't an injury after all.


<182>
=Now, let's see if Tokuchi can ride out this situation.
=Nakauchi is in the right-handed batters box...
=1st pitch.
OHHHHHH

=He throws!!


<183>
GRACK


<184>
=Beanball!!
=And... Right to the head!

=He...
=Did that on purpose.

=Bastard—!!
[bubble]WHOA

=It's a brawl!
=Both benches have cleared for an all-out brawl on the field—!!


<185>
=Hah-hah-hah. Yeah, fight it out.
=How'd you get back to the bench!?

=We've ruled it as a dangerous pitch.
=Toua Tokuchi is ejected from the field!!

=Whaat!?

=Right... Off I go.
SQUEAK..
=Tokuchi!! You little—!

=Don't worry! I made sure he wouldn't get hurt.
=That's not it! If you leave, then we don't have anymore...
=Ohh

=You've still got a pitcher left.
=One real talented one.

=...Huh...

=Substitution for the Lycaons.
=Pitching for the ejected Tokuchi will be—


<186>
=Number 6
=Yoshida—
OHHHHH

=Now this is a surprise!!
=Having used up all of their pitchers, the Lycaons are now sending their shortstop, Yoshida, over to the mound—!!

=He does have pitching experience,
=But let's see if Yoshida can pitch his way out of this one out, bases-loaded situation—!!


<187>
And so,
Toua Tokuchi closed out his pennant race debut with an ejection—
OHHHH

His statistics for today:
7.1 innings pitched
4 strikeouts
10 hits
2 walks
1 hit batsman
Zero runs

His tentative salary under the One Outs contract is:

380 million yen

=No fucking way—!//He can't just walk away like that—!!
BAM

=Contact Tokuchi immediately!!
EEK..

=Tell him
=He's paying for Yoshida's runs!!


Proofread by quantula