Well, that was pretty intense. The Mongol invasion in full force, the overmatched defenders, wounded and weakened, desperately trying to hang on. Because the anime has long since passed the translated version of the Major 2nd manga (though not nearly the manga itself) I had no idea this ending was coming. And to say it hit pretty hard (harder than Hikaru’s three two-run double) is an understatement.
One thing I can say for sure about Mitsuda-sensei is that he hates intentional walks. I’m fine with them myself, including in little league – the goal is to win, and though not at all costs a strategic walk seems an acceptable cost to me. I admit walks with the bases loaded are rare (it happened to Barry Bonds and Josh Hamilton in recent history, but only a few times before in MLB). But given who was hitting, the score, and who was due up for the Dolphins I think Inui made the right call. But Mitsuda’s devotion to martial spirit won’t allow Michiru to let that – and Hikaru – go unchallenged.
While the Shigeno Goro overhand pitch was certainly an interesting twist, as was the arrival of Maruyama-san (always a sourpuss bastard) the most interesting element of this at-bat for me was the reveal of why Wataru isn’t pitching – a sore elbow prompted his dad to ban him from doing so until junior high. That was always the most logical explanation, but it’s nice to have it confirmed. As for the at-bat itself, well – I’d argue Touto Boys and Girl were justifiably punished for the mistake of pitching to Hikaru. It’d too bad that smash didn’t travel three more feet and give the Dolphins the lead, but having Andy pull up lame a few meters from scoring the tying run was cruel (and underserved) punishment indeed.
If that turn of events was unjust, so was the miracle that tied the game. With all due deference to sentiment, no way Tashiro should have let Nagai hit in that situation. Too many kids had sacrificed too much to get to that point, and I would argue it’s more unfair to Nagai-kun than anybody to do what Tashiro did. That it worked out through the miracle of a dropped third strike (on a wild pitch) doesn’t justify the decision in the first place, but the play does tie the game thanks to Hikaru’s aggressive baserunning.
That’s when things really get ugly for our little heroes, and boy, is it painful to watch. Urabe – with Goro forced behind the plate once again – gets the first two batters (7th and 8th in the order) easily enough, though as usual he’s tiring quickly. But Komatsu gets a hit, and then Michiru lines one through the box, which Urabe tries to slow with his bare hand. Pitchers instinctively do this, and often get hurt in the process – as does Urabe here. He tries to soldier on for one more batter, but after it’s clear he can’t go on Urabe pulls himself from the game. The sight of the two Touto expats on the bench, both injured and helpless to do anything but watch as the game is decided, is a pretty forlorn one indeed.
Now, as far as I know, in little league once a pitcher moves to another position he’s not allowed to pitch again that game – unless it’s different in Japan. But that’s exactly what happens when Satou returns to the mound, and let’s face it – anything else would have been pretty much a concession. He is indeed a freakish bundle of talent as Daigo notes, and Hikaru seems to be back in fine form. With Wataru on deck he throws two lasers past the #3 hitter, and entices a weak pop on the third – a can of corn for the catcher. But it doesn’t work out that way. Yeah, Daigo might have called for that ball if he were more experienced as a catcher – but in truth, a catcher wouldn’t normally even need to call for that ball. It’s only because Hikaru is so inexperienced (he makes Daigo seem like a grizzled veteran) that it becomes an issue – the issue that costs the Dolphins the game. And potentially much more…
The repercussions of this catastrophe are pretty all-encompassing. For starters, Daigo and Hikaru’s little league careers are over – whoosh. Neither can play until junior high now. But the immediate concern is that Hikaru is out cold, having dove head-first into Daigo’s shin pad. One’s mind wanders to “neck injury” but I don’t want to go there yet. It’s obviously bad news for Hikaru, but Daigo will naturally blame himself (though he’s blameless, try telling that to a horrified and heartsick 12 year-old). I can’t even imagine that Daigo’s new hard-won love for baseball (and damn was it hard won) is going to be scuttled by a trauma like this – that would be too painful to bear. But it’s pretty obvious that painful is exactly what the aftermath of this series of events is going to be, at least for a while…
Igna
September 8, 2018 at 10:10 amThat shot of Hikaru’s lifeless body hurts. Wonder if this will result in PTSD for Daigo.
I’ve been reading through some of your Major 2nd blogs, and I gotta say, you make we wish I grew up with baseball. The nostalgia and empathy in your writing is apparent. Gives your blogs a nice personal touch that makes me wanna come back to read every weekend.
Guardian Enzo
September 8, 2018 at 4:37 pmThanks, that’s kind of you. Baseball is, for me, a uniquely emotionally connective sport. It’s such an odd game to start with, and my passion for the Cubs is stronger than for any other sports team. I grew up playing soccer too, and on some level that may now be my “favorite” sport, but baseball is still the one I get the most emotional about.
Skidda
September 8, 2018 at 3:00 pmOh boy that was an another “Daigo can’t catch a break” episode. It was pretty good but I have to say I was kinda rolling my eyes at this last sequence.
Major has always been about that kind of drama though and it makes perfect sense from a storytelling point of view I guess, both for the manga and the anime. Given how dramatic the incident was portrayed (and the title for the next episode), Hikaru will be out of baseball for a while, probably not forever but maybe the whole middle school arc. This season too can end the primary school story by dealing with the aftermath as you said, and how Daigo will deal with the expected turmoil.
Guardian Enzo
September 8, 2018 at 4:39 pmWell, Mitsuda loves to toss psychological obstacles in the path of his heroes – remember Goro and the yips? It’s just that Daigo has already dealt with so much baseball-related pain that it seems almost cruel to subject him to this now. With Goro, even as a boya he was such a powerful baseball figure that dealing with stuff like that humanized him.
CoffeeMilk
September 8, 2018 at 5:49 pmI was surprised by the Little League rule, that a pitcher removed from the mound can’t go back, so I looked up the rule. And there it is, Rule VI – Pitchers: “(b) A pitcher once removed from the mound cannot return as a pitcher. Intermediate (50-70), Junior, and Senior League Divisions only: A pitcher remaining in the game, but moving to a different position, can return as a pitcher anytime in the remainder of the game, but only once per game.”
So maybe they have the same rule, maybe not.
Guardian Enzo
September 8, 2018 at 6:14 pmI believe the latter rule applies to the 13-15 YO divisions and up.
The reason for this rule is simply to protect young arms – it’s the same reason why MLB pitchers don’t usually return after long rain delays. Once you’ve pitched and then your arm has cooled down, it’s a high-risk time for injuries. All of the rules we have now to protect little league pitchers didn’t always exist – there was a time they were abused just as much as high school pitchers (especially in Japan) currently are. The breaking point seemed to be when a Canadian coach let a 12 year-old throw 175 pitches in a nationally televised LLWS game.
CoffeeMilk
September 11, 2018 at 10:54 pmThe rule is there for a good reason. It was about twenty years ago when I first read about Pitcher Abuse Points, and how reducing pitch counts (especially 130+ pitch outings) could help reduce the risk of injury to pitchers. While those ideas generated some controversy at the time (and still do), it was good to see MLB teams start to adopt those ideas, and to see those injury reduction strategies filter down. And the further research has been really interesting (fastballs are more stressful to throw than curveballs), even if it hasn’t provide some more definitive answers. It is still sad to see a lot of pitcher abuse at the high school and college levels, but I am glad that people are paying more attention to the issue.
Guardian Enzo
September 12, 2018 at 4:08 amAgreed. As you said, controversial and sometimes counter-intuitive, but at least at the youth level errors should be on the side of caution.
Leonardo Paz
September 8, 2018 at 9:12 pmfirst time here, nice to have a place to read and about Major 2nd. btw great review
Guardian Enzo
September 8, 2018 at 9:19 pmThanks, and welcome!