Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 487 - 94: The Last Dance

"Ah ah ah—Matsuda, please give me your autograph!"

"Yanagita looks really handsome, and he seems even stronger in person than on TV!"

"Nakata, welcome home!"

"SoftBank team, make sure to win the championship this season!"

When the SoftBank players arrived again at the training camp in Miyazaki city, they were greeted by enthusiastic local fans just like last year. Hundreds of people gathered at the training ground entrance, shouting for their favorite players up close.

Faced with such enthusiastic fans, the players who arrived naturally stopped in their tracks to meet the crowd’s autograph and photo requests—after all, for professional baseball players, building a good relationship with fans is also an important part of personal management.

But Lin Guanglai was an exception.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to interact with the fans, but Lin Guanglai’s fans were a bit too fervent—when Lin Guanglai tried to get closer to the fans to interact, a massive commotion suddenly broke out as many people from the back pushed forward, creating significant problems for the security personnel maintaining order.

"Lin, you should probably head inside for now... It would be troublesome if a stampede occurred in this situation."

Lin Guanglai could only smile wryly, shake his head, and then turn away towards the camp—Manager Akiyama and the coaching staff had been waiting for some time at the camp entrance.

"Manager, happy new season! Coaches, happy new season!" Facing the coaches he hadn’t seen for a while, Lin Guanglai positioned himself respectfully and greeted each one.

Compared to last season, SoftBank’s coaching team changed a bit during the offseason: the former head coach and first assistant to Akiyama, Oishi Daisuke retired due to health issues and went to Kansai TV as a commentator;

And the pitching coach responsible for on-field management, Takayama Yuuji, accepted an invitation from his friend from his player days, the current Orix Buffaloes manager, Moriwaki Koji, to become Orix’s head pitching coach.

Correspondingly, the two vacant positions at SoftBank were filled by former Daiei Hawks veteran Ogawa Shu and SoftBank’s minor league head pitching coach, Kato Shinichi.

"Guanglai, you’re here..." Seeing Lin Guanglai arrive, Akiyama Koji seemed very pleased, repeatedly patting his shoulder, an action that showcased his preference for Lin Guanglai.

However, as if remembering something, Manager Akiyama’s face grew stern, and he admonished his protégé seriously:

"You’ve participated in so many variety shows and filmed so many commercials this off-season, you probably didn’t touch baseball much—now with the new season approaching, it’s time to focus and put all your energy back into baseball!"

"Don’t worry, Manager, I’ve been doing self-training over the past month, and I’m ready for the new season!" Lin Guanglai patted his chest and assured the manager, "Besides, on TV I’ve said that this season I will help the team to win the championship and become Japan’s number one, so I won’t slack off."

"Hmm, with you saying that I’m relieved... As long as your performance is good, you’ll have plenty of chances to earn money—don’t waste your talent!"

"Many of the first-team players have arrived, go meet your new teammates!"

For some reason, Lin Guanglai felt that Manager Akiyama was a bit odd today.

Take for instance the part where he greeted players at the entrance: although the manager has a good relationship with the players, usually, Manager Akiyama prefers to keep some distance and maintains a dignified presence.

Yet today, his demeanor was unlike usual: for instance, if the Akiyama Manager that Lin Guanglai was familiar with played a strict fatherly role, today was more like a kindly grandfather, with none of the sharpness in his aura.

"Manager... Are you okay?" Lin Guanglai asked, risking a scolding from the manager due to his curiosity.

"Get out, you cheeky guy." Akiyama Koji burst into laughter at the question, and waved him away, "Go, go, quickly get out of my sight."

"Yes, Manager!" Lin Guanglai saluted and scampered off—that’s the Akiyama Manager he knew!

Akiyama Koji stood at the entrance of the camp, reminding each player like he did with Lin, until he confirmed everyone had arrived, then returned inside the field accompanied by several coaches.

On the Spring Training assembly day, the slight chill of the spring morning hadn’t completely dissipated. All players in their neat training uniforms lined up in front of the pitcher’s mound waiting for the routine speech from the manager.

Manager Akiyama Koji stepped out from the front of the line, still wearing his team uniform, with his face displaying the usual solemn expression.

He walked with his hands behind his back, his gaze slowly sweeping over each young or mature face as if he wanted to engrave every one of their appearances into his memory.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Akiyama Koji calmly began, "Welcome back. During this off-season, we’ve lost some familiar old faces, and gained some unfamiliar new ones; some of you might find this adjustment difficult, but I hope those of you will soon adapt as our tasks this spring training are heavy, and we won’t stop to wait for anyone choosing to stay put..."