Nobody could figure it out.
Why was he standing there?
Behind the third baseman, near the foul line. Usually, outfielders play in the middle of their area to cover as much ground as possible.
That way, they can get the ball hit on either side.
A ball near the foul line...
Almost everyone just assumes an outfielder can't stop it, much less catch it clean.
That's usually a hole in the defense.
But today, they were about to see something different.
Not only was someone standing there, but he actually caught the ball.
"Who's that guy?" someone wondered aloud, laced with curiosity.
"Dunno, think he's a first-year named Yamamoto Takumi..." another mumbled, with a hint of uncertainty.
"A first-year doing something like that? If I was his coach, I'd be all over him," a third grumbled, tinged with disbelief.
Three outs, time to switch.
The Akikawa players were staring at Takumi like they could burn a hole right through him.
Even his own teammates from Seidō were giving him weird looks.
They didn't know whether to yell at him or pat him on the back.
Yelling at him didn't make sense, since he did get the out.
At this point, Akikawa was practically having an existential crisis.
But praising him felt wrong.
After all, where he was standing was just... so out there.
Unless he somehow knew the ball was going there?
Just as everyone was at a loss for words, Coach Kataoka Tesshin, who's usually stern, reached out and patted him on the shoulder.
"Well done!" He praised approvingly.
He'd put Takumi in to get a feel for the game, never thinking he'd actually do that well in the outfield.
Turns out, this kid was full of surprises.
Of course, Takumi wasn't just standing there from the start.
Not many people noticed it, but Kataoka did.
Takumi started moving as soon as he saw the batter get ready to swing.
That meant he'd already guessed where the ball was going based on the swing.
By the time the batter connected and hit the ball, he had already covered over twenty meters, ending up right at the edge of the boundary.
Since people didn't see him move at first, they just saw him standing at the foul line, like he'd stopped the ball by pure luck.
But really, it was all skill.
His dynamic vision wasn't just for pitching; it helped him at bat, too.
What Kataoka found amazing was that Takumi could see the batter's movements so clearly from so far away.
That's not something just anyone can do.
But in sports, you see stuff like that sometimes.
Any top-tier athlete has to have some kind of special talent.
Like people with photographic memories: they only need to see something once to remember every detail.
It's the same on the field.
Take Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player ever.
They tested his body fat back in the day.
Turns out, he was over ninety percent muscle.
That's just...unreal for most people.
Even though they're different, Takumi is undoubtedly such a genius in his own right.
You wouldn't really know it from regular practice, though.
Kataoka could tell that Takumi trained very hard.
Ever since he made First String, he's been trying everything to keep up.
He's still last in training, but Kataoka can see he's putting in the effort and getting better.
Just based on effort alone, even he highly approved of him
But that seemed to be it, just effort.
When it came to regular practice, Takumi was consistently at the bottom.
Even that Spiral ball he worked so hard on didn't seem that impressive during training.
But this guy who seemed so ordinary in practice? He completely transformed once he stepped onto the field.
No matter where they put him, he seemed to shine.
He always managed to put on a show.
Just look at Akikawa.
They'd played against Inashiro Industrial before, so they knew what a powerhouse looked like.
Plus, they'd been training hard for over a year.
Even if they weren't that strong to begin with, they were definitely decent now.
They probably wouldn't win the whole thing, but they could definitely give Seidō a run for their money, especially since Seidō was supposed to be heading to Koshien.
Even though they haven't faced off yet, a lot of people are already scouting Seidō, like Inashiro Industrial and Ichidaisan.
Of course, Seidō's doing the same thing, sending people to record all their games.
Now, because Takumi played so well, Akikawa's probably in shock, and they might not even be playing their best.
However there's something else to think about.
If he'd just been okay out there, even if he was the only first-year starting for Seidō, not many people would have cared.
To get famous in baseball, being known and having a cool image helps, but you gotta have the skills first.
Having a good rep is nice, but if you can't play, nobody's gonna pay attention.
But now things are different.
He's probably already being talked about by Inashiro Industrial and Ichidaisan.
Thinking of this, Kataoka's lips curved into a slight smile.
That's not a bad thing for the team.
Actually, the more they're worried about Takumi, the better it is for Seidō.
The game moved to the top of the second inning, with Seidō up to bat.
First up was the 6th batter.
"Sixth batter, number two, catcher, Takigawa Chris Yū."
He stepped into the batter's box.
The pitcher was still You Shunshin; he'd already put the home run and giving up those runs behind him.
Standing on the mound, he's just focused on one thing: getting the batter out.
Whoosh!
His pitching was clean and crisp, and his rhythm was well-controlled.
You could tell he'd shaken off what happened before and was ready to go.
Takigawa, in the batter's box, gripped his bat tightly. Seeing the ball flying towards him, he swung without hesitation.
Buzz!
The bat connected squarely with the ball, sending it flying.
Ping!