The Old Baseball Player System
Chapter 85: Bullpen

After the fielding practice, Shun, Sora, Jiro, and Daigo headed to the bullpen. Since they only had one catcher, Sora went to pitch first while Shun and Jiro warmed up their shoulders.

Shun watched Sora's practice closely. The young pitcher had progressed significantly this year. In addition to improving his pitch control, he added more speed to his fastball, making his curveball even more effective. Moreover, the boy had added another pitch to his arsenal, thanks to the old man's instructions.

[He has improved a lot. As long as he continues his training, he will get even better.] – The old man's voice echoed in Shun's head.

"Hm" - Shun agreed silently. He couldn't deny the help the old man provided over the past months. Although his attitude hadn't changed, he not only helped Shun improve in the Training Center but also provided instructions for Shun's teammates to get better.

Thanks to these instructions that Shun passed on to his friends, along with the tough training routine they completed daily, everyone improved a lot. Sora was an example of that.

PAH

"Good pitch, Sora! You're starting to control the break better!" – Daigo said as he returned the ball to Sora. The young catcher was struggling to get used to this unique pitch, a curveball that breaks toward the pitcher's arm side, a Screwball.

"You're doing well, Sora. Try to get used to that feeling, but don't force it!" – Shun instructed the boy with a smile. Since the old man couldn't go around talking to others, it was Shun who passed on his tips. At first, his friends found it strange, but after seeing that everything Shun said made sense, they stopped doubting his words.

"Understood, thanks, senpai!" – Sora sincerely thanked him. Much of his change in attitude toward Shun was due to the advices Shun gave him.

Shun was a student just like him, not only that, but he also trained both as a fielder and a pitcher. Still, he didn't mind spending time helping Sora improve. This made Sora respect and admire Shun a lot. Uncover more tales at m,vl em pyr

Shun just smiled at the boy's reaction, he had gotten used to this change in attitude. He then asked the system to show Sora's stats.

[Sora Okamoto

Overall: C

PITCHING: B

BATTING: C

FIELDING: C-

RUNNING: D+

GAME IQ: D+

Overall Potential: S-]

Thanks to the old man's tips, Sora had greatly improved his stats, especially his pitching. However, what really caught Shun's attention was the change in the boy's potential.

"Hey, old man, how do you increase a player's potential?" – Shun asked in his head, curious.

[Hahahah, you don't need to know that, boy! Just thank the heavens I'm here, hahaha!]

"Tch!" – Shun almost cursed out loud at the old man. He truly hated the old man's attitude. This guy said whatever he wanted, and even when Shun asked something, the answer was usually something ridiculous like this.

After some time, Sora finished his daily pitching routine, and Jiro went to the mound.

PAH

PAH

PAH

"Damn, he really is a monster, huh?" – Shun said, impressed while watching Jiro's insane fastballs. Although the boy still struggled with control, his speed was astonishing. Shun regretted not having a radar gun to know the velocity of these pitches.

PAH

POFT

PAH

After throwing some fastballs, Jiro threw his splitter a few times. His splitter had also improved. Its sudden drop right before reaching the plate made it difficult even for Daigo to catch.

"Can I start, Shun-senpai?" – Jiro asked excitedly as he looked at Shun. It had been almost a year since Shun started helping him with this new pitch.

"Hm, go ahead!" – Shun gave a smile at the boy's excitement and nodded.

"Alright! Get ready, Daigo!" – Jiro said as he began his windup.

Daigo didn't say anything. He remained crouched, watching Jiro attentively. Although he knew what was coming, it was nearly impossible for him to catch this pitch.

Daigo saw the ball leave Jiro's hand. Unlike the high speed of his other pitches, this ball was much slower, but Daigo knew that meant nothing. As the ball approached the home plate with almost no rotation, Daigo positioned his glove at the top of the strike zone, believing the ball would stop there.

POFT

But for some reason, just before the ball reached his glove, it broke strangely to the right, even rising a little, hitting Daigo's shoulder guard.

"This is really unfair..." – Shun sighed as he looked at the pitch, the one that makes even the most experienced catchers look like rookies, the rarest and most difficult pitch in baseball, the Knuckleball.

Jiro threw a few more times. Daigo managed to catch it occasionally, but most of the time, the ball would end up hitting him or even escaping behind him.

"If Daigo can't catch this in the tournament, it's going to be a problem..." – Shun thought while asking the system to show the young catcher's stats.

[Daigo Tsuda

Overall: C

PITCHING: C+

BATTING: C-

FIELDING: C+

RUNNING: D

GAME IQ: B-

Overall Potential: A+]

"Looks like I'll need to ask the old man's help to improve his catching skills..." – Shun sighed, thinking he would have to hear the annoying voice of the old man bragging in his head again.

Not wanting to think too much about it at the moment, he looked at Jiro and asked the system to show his stats.

[Jiro Fukuoka

Overall: B

PITCHING: A-

BATTING: B-

FIELDING: B

RUNNING: B-

GAME IQ: C

Overall Potential: SSS+]

"What a monster..." – Shun muttered in shock. The only pitcher around Jiro's age he had seen with a pitching grade of A- or higher was the left-hander who destroyed them in last year's Tokyo tournament, Kohei Sasaki, the ace of Hokuto Junior High School.

"Well, I guess it's my turn now, right?" – Shun said with a smile when he saw Jiro stepping off the mound. He quickly put on his glove and walked toward the mound, observed by his three kouhais present.

"Damn, he's not going to give me any rest." – Daigo grumbled while crouching again and putting on his mask. As hard as it was to catch Jiro's knuckleballs, the pitch he struggled with the most was his senpai's on the mound.

"Hehe, let's go!" – Shun grinned as he began his windup.