Any more catching without a cup and there won’t be a “Major 3rd”.

OP2: Shiroi Doro (白い泥)” by Mone Kamishiraishi

It’s easy to lose track of such things with most series’ schedules being out of whack, but this was the cour change for Major 2nd Season 2 – a fact brought home when the new OP started to roll.  And that was a theme running throughout the entire episode.  While it picked up chronologically where last week’s left off, there was resolutely a scene change and a scene-setter, laying the groundwork for what’s to come in the next cour.  And in my view it did so rather brilliantly – we have a ton of interesting developments to look forward to.

After a chance meeting with Eihou in the concourse (their coach is quite genial and complimentary, with only a hint of condescension showing through), Fuurin sets up to scout the semifinal over lunch.  All that is except for Daigo and Akira, as Daigo wants the chance to try and and teach Akira at least a show-me breaking pitch.  It’s ambitious, but Daigo doesn’t wallow in defeatism – in his mind he knows the final is probably hopeless but he always tries to do everything to give his team a chance (making a nice change from Yayoi and Tao’s relentless negativity).  But please, Daigo – next time wear some protection.  Catching – even impromptu BP – is serious business.

It says something that Daigo is so certain of the outcome that he doesn’t even consider the other semi-final worth scouting.  It’s understandable, but circumstances have turned in a direction he could never have anticipated.  And with Eihou being shut down by a no-name public school called Oobi Junior High, Sakura is dispatched to drag the Professor to the stands to see what’s going down.  And Oobi is indeed dominating Eihou, thanks to an elite trio of Tao and Yayoi’s former Yokohama Little teammates – a trio that were supposedly playing hardball at Yokohama Senior.

Hardball or rubber ball is a choice middle school ballplayers all over Japan have to make, and the more elite talents do usually end up playing the former.  Some middle schools do play hardball but the vast majority use the “semi-hard” nanshiki rubber baseball, with most hardball played by club teams.  The Yokohama Little trio was joined by Mayamura Michiru at Yokohama Senior, but somehow all ended up at Oobi playing rubber ball.  Why?  Whatever the reason, they’re dominating Eihou.  One of the trio catches while the other two rotate with Michiru on the mound – and between the three pitchers, they shut out Eiho in a lopsided 5-0 victory.

This is a pretty big deal for Daigo (too big for Sakura’s taste).  He’s already vanquished Urabe and Andy, and faces Michiru next (still no mention of where Wataru has ended up).  This puts him in mind of Hikaru, who shows up for the first time this season even if only in flashback.  That flashback implies that Hikaru is playing again, in theory waiting for Daigo in a potential Kanto regionals matchup – though whether Daigo believes that on hard evidence or is simply taking it on faith we’re not told.  But while Oobi may not be Eihou, with Michiru and the power trio rocking it they still make ragtag Fuurin a heavy underdog in the final.

As to how those four ended up at Oobi, it’s the focus of the episode’s third act – and it’s an excellent tale.  Things start off pretty predictably, with the Yokohama Little boys dismissing Michiru as a rubber-baller and a girl at that, even if she is a pro’s kid.  But to their credit they don’t disbelieve the hard evidence of her performance, and they don’t resent Michiru for being their equal – they acknowledge her for the baseball prodigy she is.  Michiru is thriving and making her decision to seek a “truer baseball experience” by playing hardball a good one.  Until, that is, the coach decides to freeze her out as she’s not as “asset” to the team.

While on some level that coach isn’t totally wrong – it will indeed get harder for Michiru to keep up physically as her male teammates and opponents get bigger and stronger – it certainly won’t be impossible.  And to do this to her when she clearly deserves to be a regular on merit is a douche move all the way.  That’s the problem with club baseball, though – the coaches are under no obligation to let everyone participate as they would be with a school club.  Whether he’s making a cold calculation based on probability or just being a sexist pig – or both – there’s nothing stopping him from doing what he does.

The real heroes of this story are the power trio, who not only rail at the injustice of what’s happened to Michiru but back it up with their actions.  They quit the team rather than play on without her, and convince her to join them on the school club and shock the world.  Make no mistake – these boys are potentially hurting their own prospects by abandoning hardball for rubber ball.  High school is expensive in Japan, and a scholarship to a baseball power school is a vital goal to strive for – one they’d have had a better chance to achieve if they’d stayed put.  It makes it easy to root for Oobi – though of course, I’ll be rooting hard for Fuurin in the final anyway.

ED2: “IDENTITY” by rain parade