Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 526 - 113: Match Point

September 17, 2014, the weather is clear.

In the early morning, Masao Ohtake woke up from the bed at home, his wife was still asleep next to him; he carefully lifted the quilt and unusually took a shower early in the morning before starting his usual grooming.

After finishing his grooming, he took out the jersey he had diligently cared for over many years from the wardrobe.

This is the jersey from the 1999 season of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks: that year, under the leadership of the great Manager Wang Zhenzhi, along with famous players like Akiyama Koji and Kodama Komei, they defeated the Chunichi Dragons with a score of 4 to 1, reclaiming Japan’s Number One after 35 years — at that time, Masao Ohtake was a member of the Eagle Road Alliance, personally witnessing this scene in the stands of the Nagoya Dome.

Today, as the president of the Eagle Road Alliance fan club, Masao Ohtake is preparing for another expedition, and their destination is the home field of the Orix Buffaloes, located at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka.

The reason is simple, after winning the first two games of this series against Orix, the Softbank Team is now in the "king’s hand" ​​status — if they win tonight’s final game, their magic number will be completely cleared, and they will clinch the Pacific League championship for the 2014 season!

People like Masao Ohtake are not an exception; according to local news agencies in Fukuoka, today at least tens of thousands of local SoftBank fans will head to Osaka, collectively witnessing the night the team might claim victory.

"Got the jersey on, the cap ready... Hmm, better tidy up the hairstyle a bit more..." Looking at his increasingly aging face in the mirror, Masao Ohtake decided to give himself one more thorough touch-up, "On the great day of the team’s championship, one must greet it in the most perfect state!"

Humming a cheerful tune, Masao Ohtake turned around and began rummaging through boxes again.

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As Akiyama Koji, the manager of the Softbank Team, walked into the press conference, the room was already filled with reporters and cameras. Almost as he opened the door, flashlights began to flicker wildly.

To be honest, even Akiyama Koji hadn’t expected the championship to come so quickly this year: even after thrashing Orix at the beginning of the month, he always thought the rivalry between the two teams would be decided in the end-of-month schedule, maybe dragging to a final showdown at the Yahoo Dome.

Who would have thought the SoftBank Team’s unstoppable momentum and Orix’s sudden blackout would widen the gap between the two teams so much within a week or more, reaching an almost irrevocable point... Unless the SoftBank Team loses all of their upcoming games, Orix’s championship odds are nearly zero.

The sound of reporters’ questions interrupted Akiyama Koji’s thoughts and brought him back to the scene of the competition.

"Manager Akiyama, thanks to the team’s recent excellent form, the SoftBank Team is now at the king’s hand; if they win today’s showdown, the magic number can be completely cleared — as the manager, what would you like to say?"

Looking at these reporters eager to praise him to the heavens, Akiyama Koji smiled and then helplessly shook his head.

It is worth noting, just two or three months ago, it was the same group questioning his decisions, seeming like they wanted to stomp him into the ground, devaluing him to worthlessness; yet now, with the team just one game away from sealing the title, they start to laud his wise decisions — truly, in competitive sports, if you can’t win games, even breathing is wrong.

Clearing his throat, Akiyama Koji replied, "After losing to Rakuten in the climactic battle last season, I told my players in the locker room that we would return next season and take back everything we lost; and they proved their resolve with their excellent performance this season. I’m very pleased about that."

"Besides, I want to thank the team’s executives, the coaching staff, the SoftBank staff, and those fans who have always supported us — I know many of them are here at the Kyocera Dome today, and we will strive to win this game and dedicate the victory to them!"

Akiyama Koji formally thanked everyone associated with the SoftBank Team, then began reminiscing about the scenes when he first took over the team compared to now.

The reporters below looked at each other: somehow, this press conference suddenly turned into Akiyama Koji’s monologue. With his demeanor, someone might mistakenly think that he is about to step down at season’s end, and now he’s starting to entrust his legacy.

The reporters felt that Akiyama Koji’s discussion lacked interesting points to mine for sensational news; but soon, a bombshell announcement was inadvertently revealed.

Seeing the conference time running out, Akiyama Koji simply stood up from his seat, preparing to leave; before walking away, he dropped a bombshell to the reporters present.

"To announce one thing at the end of the conference: this season will be my last as the manager of the SoftBank Team — whether it’s tonight’s king’s hand game or October’s climactic games, I will do my utmost to lead the team forward and fight for the championship title; I hope that all SoftBank fans will continue to support this great team."