Chapter 205: Slow Sinker?

"Then, does Huangqian-san have any ideas?" Kawakami asked.

Huangqian Yangyi smiled, "Practice another pitch type."

"A Changeup?" Ono Hiroshi asked curiously.

If it were a Changeup, it wasn't as if they hadn't thought about it, but Kawakami's own Fastball speed wasn't very fast, so the effect of practicing a Changeup might not be that great, and mastering a Changeup wasn't something that could be done in a short time.

The current Curveball was already enough to give him and Kawakami a headache.

Huangqian Yangyi shook his head, "No, not a Changeup. The pitch type I'm talking about shouldn't be difficult for Kawakami."

Hearing this, the two looked at each other, and Kawakami hurriedly asked, "What pitch is it?"

"A Slow Sinker."

A voice rang out at the doorway.

Huangqian Yangyi sweated, a waterfall of sweat.

No, wasn't he planning to keep himself hidden just now? Only a few seconds had passed and he had already exposed himself.

Seeing Ochiai Hiromitsu enter, everyone except Huangqian Yangyi looked confused. Although they had noticed in recent days that a strange person was always secretly watching their training, among all the members of the Baseball Club, only Captain Yuki Tetsuya and the ace Huangqian Yangyi knew the identity of Ochiai Hiromitsu.

"May I ask who you are?" Ono Hiroshi asked.

Ochiai Hiromitsu stroked his small mustache and turned to look at Huangqian Yangyi, "It is a Slow Sinker, correct?"

Huangqian Yangyi nodded slightly, inwardly lamenting the sharpness of this guy's eyes.

"Coach Ochiai, since you've come out now, do you not intend to observe anymore?" Huangqian Yangyi asked directly.

Hearing this, Ochiai Hiromitsu rolled his eyes. He had originally intended to observe for two more days, but Huangqian Yangyi's manner just now looked like he was about to blurt out the suggestion he had prepared to use to show off, so he spoke up in a hurry.

"Coach?!" The few looked at Ochiai Hiromitsu in surprise. So this sleazy guy who was always peeking from the corner was actually a coach?

"Ahem..." Ochiai Hiromitsu stroked his small mustache and nodded, looking like an expert from the outside world, "I am the Technical Head Coach."

"Technical Head Coach?" Arima Kazusa looked at Ochiai Hiromitsu in confusion.

At this moment, Ono Hiroshi frowned as he looked at Ochiai Hiromitsu and suddenly said, "I remember now!!"

"You are the coach of Honghai University Sagami! During the Koshien broadcast last year, there was a shot of you on TV, the kind that flashed by in an instant."

Uh...

Ochiai Hiromitsu suddenly didn't know what expression to use to convey his current mood.

"It is me, but I am now the newly hired Technical Head Coach of the Seido High School Baseball Club."

Ochiai Hiromitsu kept emphasizing the words "Technical Head Coach."

"Sorry, may I ask Coach, the Slow Sinker you mentioned just now?" Once Kawakami heard that the person in front of him was actually a coach, and from Honghai University Sagami at that, he immediately asked eagerly.

"Well, your Sinker is thrown quite well. If you can also master the Slow Sinker, it will certainly be a good thing for you," Ochiai Hiromitsu said.

"Really?" Kawakami said subconsciously.

Ochiai Hiromitsu raised his chin and squinted at Kawakami. After a while, he turned to look at Huangqian Yangyi, "Huangqian-kun, you explain it to him."

"Me?"

Huangqian Yangyi asked in confusion. Shouldn't this be the job of you, the Technical Head Coach?

"Yes, I believe you can do it." Ochiai Hiromitsu's look of "I want to maintain a sense of mystery" left Huangqian Yangyi extremely speechless.

After thinking about the characteristics of a Slow Sinker, Huangqian Yangyi began to speak.

"Compared to a Sinker, a Slow Sinker sacrifices some speed in exchange for a greater degree of sinking and lateral movement. You could say it's a Sinker version of a Changeup."

"Of course, its speed isn't as slow as a Changeup, but it's enough to use the speed differential to disrupt the batter's rhythm and induce the batter to swing and miss."

After listening to Huangqian Yangyi's brief explanation, Kawakami nodded. It wasn't that he hadn't known anything about the Slow Sinker, he just never had the time to try it.

But now that both Huangqian Yangyi and this new coach were saying so, Kawakami felt he might be able to find the time to give it a try.

"Practice it now, throw a few to test it out," Ochiai Hiromitsu said.

"Although your Curveball's completion level isn't high yet, it's barely enough for now. Instead of obsessing over the Curveball, it's better to switch to another pitch to practice; it might have unexpected results," Ochiai Hiromitsu said confidently.

After listening, Kawakami looked at Ono Hiroshi. Ono Hiroshi spread his hands, offering no opinion. Finally, Kawakami looked at Huangqian Yangyi.

"Give it a try, there's nothing to lose."

Huangqian Yangyi said. He didn't doubt Ochiai Hiromitsu's eye for talent, and he was also looking forward to seeing if Kawakami could master the Slow Sinker.

Haa~

Kawakami took a deep breath and nodded heavily, as if he had made a major life decision.

Ochiai Hiromitsu glanced at Huangqian Yangyi, thinking that this ace was truly deeply trusted within the team, to the point that even teammates had to seek his opinion when developing a new pitch.

"The basic grip for a Slow Sinker is the same as a Sinker, but you need to grip it deeper, using your palm to apply pressure to the baseball to slow it down," Ochiai Hiromitsu said.

"Okay."

"Then let's try it," Ono Hiroshi said.

The two looked at each other and walked to their respective positions.

After crouching down, Ono Hiroshi set his glove and waited quietly for Kawakami to throw the ball.

Holding the baseball in his hand, Kawakami tried to feel the baseball with his palm, loosening and tightening his grip. After repeating this a few times, Kawakami nodded at Ono Hiroshi.

After a while, Kawakami threw the baseball.

Too high!

Ono Hiroshi frowned. His glove was placed in the center of the strike zone, yet this ball had clearly floated too high.

However, it was clear that the ball's speed was much slower, and the degree of sinking and lateral movement had indeed become greater.

Pop!

The baseball was caught in Ono Hiroshi's glove. Kawakami's face immediately lit up with joy; he hadn't expected to succeed on the very first try.

"Nice ball!"

Ono Hiroshi said, then threw the ball back.

"Control the pitch on the next one," said Ono Hiroshi.

"Yes!" Kawakami was somewhat excited; could it be that he was also a genius?

Whoosh!

Then, the second pitch was thrown.

It hit the ground.

"Your body is too stiff; don't deliberately pull back your arm, be more natural," said Ochiai Hiromitsu.

"Understood," Kawakami nodded.

By the third pitch, the fourth pitch, and after throwing nearly ten pitches in a row, Kawakami's Slow Sinker was still erratic.

"No need to rush, take it slow. When practicing the Slow Sinker from now on, pay attention to keeping the release motion consistent with the Sinker so as not to be seen through by the Batter."

"Understood, Coach."

Seeing Kawakami so honest and obedient, Ochiai Hiromitsu nodded with satisfaction and turned to leave.

Huangqian Yangyi then brought Arima Kazusa to the side to begin warming up.

The two still had a small bet to finish; after 20 minutes of warming up, Arima Kazusa could no longer hold back and asked, "Senior, can we begin now?"

"Heh." Huangqian Yangyi finally couldn't help but laugh; he had thought this kid would be able to hold it in a little longer.

"Come on, let me see what you've got."

"Alright!"