The road to glory in sports is paved with suffering and sacrifice, even in Little League.  So Major (both 1st and 2nd) would have us believe, and I think it’s pretty much true.  In the first place, Japanese little leaguers work incredibly hard in practice (far more than American kids do).  But in addition to the normal ways baseball is hard for anybody, even pros, there are unique elements to youth baseball that make it emotionally charged.  And every child’s glory comes at the expense of another’s disappointment – either because they were the one vanquished on the field, or the one banished to the bench.

The opponent in the third round matchup is the Hongou Sharks, a team Urabe and Andy note is “pretty much in the final four every year”.  But they use their ace in their second round game, leaving their relief pitcher to face the Dolphins – a team who they wouldn’t be wrong to take somewhat lightly.  Hikaru’s presence is the wild card of course, the factor no one outside the Dolphins has taken into consideration.  The first big decision is who should be his catcher – though it surprises me that Tashiro even considers it a decision.  Andy is smart enough to realize that using Daigo is the only move that makes sense, given his own injury and the fact that Hikaru is a newbie pitcher for whom Daigo is an invaluable security blanket.

A harder choice is what to do with Sakura and Nagai, and here Tashiro chooses defense over offense (and perhaps heart over head) by giving Nagai his starting role back.  Nagai is clearly carrying a major chip on his shoulder over being benched in favor of a rookie and a girl at that, but he’s 12 – it would be unfair to expect him to feel otherwise.  This one remains a simmering issue, especially given what happens in the game itself – but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Daigo makes his first major contribution by telling Hikaru – after a rough start – to forget about pinpoint control and just throw as hard as he can.  At this level, with Hikaru’s blazing fastball that’s good enough, and he’s every bit as green as a pitcher as Daigo a catcher.  The crucial moment comes when Tashiro uses Sakura to pinch-hit for Nagai in a crucial situation – and she delivers.  All in all the Sharks are dispatched with surprising ease – Hikaru gives up only two walks and two singles (and adds a home run for good measure).  Those are the kinds of things you do when you’re a natural.

Now is where the rubber meets the road, though, especially with the fearsome Toutou Boys on deck.  The first “major” dilemma I see is this – who, exactly, is the Dolphins’ ace?  Can it really be argued at this point that Urabe is as good a pitcher as Hikaru, experience be damned?  But Urabe has devoted his entire baseball childhood to beating Toutou Boys – how can he be expected to cope if Hikaru and Daigo are named the starting battery for that game?  One thing’s for sure – based on their level, the idea of Urabe facing that team doesn’t inspire much confidence.  Tashiro tries to spare his team from the trauma of watching Toutou Boys play, but they strongarm Fuji into letting them go anyway.  Maybe, as Daigo says, if they’re going to freak out anyway it’s better to do it a week before the actual game…

As for Toutou Boys, that name is proved to be something of a misnomer.  Urabe’s white whale is Mayumura Wataru (Fukushima Jun), the ace he fled Toutou Boys to avoid.  But Mayumura-kun, while still the cleanup, is wearing the #2 – making him the catcher.  Toutou has a new ace, and she’s no boy – it’s Wataru’s twin sister Michiru (Horie Yui), a lefty pitcher.  At last the mystery blonde girl from the batting center (and the ED) is revealed.  And both twins, as it happens, are the children of Mayumura Ken – who was a prominent figure in both the high school and professional arcs of Major.

Lastly, there’s the matter of Daigo himself.  His team is winning, he’s praised as a future blue-chipper by Komori, and gets all sorts of public affection from his mom (which he deals with in typical 12 year-old boy fashion) for his contributions.  But while Hikaru may be the star, Daigo is the leading man of this series – and at some point, every kid wants to be the star of his own story.  Catching blazing fastballs and laying down sacrifice bunts is winning baseball, but there’s no glory in it – and at some point, being only human and the son of Shigeno Goro at that, Daigo naturally wants a taste of glory for himself…