CHAPTER 351: CHAPTER 4: A NATIONWIDE DEBATE

[Lin Guanglai Declares Dual-Wield Challenge in Professional Baseball!]

[Heisei Monster, Dual-Wield Challenge!]

[Skillful or Overreaching? A Brief History of Dual-Wielding]

[2012 Draft Market Predictions, Lin Guanglai’s Stock Plummets, Fujinami and Touhama’s Multiple Draft Selections Confirmed]

Lin Guanglai announced that he would challenge dual swordsmanship in the Nippon Professional Baseball, making this the biggest hot news in Japan recently. Everything else, whether it’s entertainment stars or baseball gossip, has taken a back seat. All media resources are focused on Lin Guanglai, the high school student. His life, various matches, and data, as well as histories related to dual wielding, have been repeatedly discussed by major media, as if they must come to a conclusion.

Although Lin Guanglai achieved unprecedented, and likely unrepeatable, terrifying data in high school baseball games, most professional baseball experts are not optimistic about his future:

"Perhaps his unparalleled experience at the Takayama stage gave our ’Heisei Monster’ some unrealistic illusions, making him think professional baseball is no big deal, hence his statement ’I want to challenge dual-wielding.’

"In my view, this behavior is understandable, but it has to be said that it’s very naive."

"Player Lin Guanglai lacks a systematic understanding of professional baseball, thinking he can fulfill the so-called pitching and batting mastery solely based on talent. During the Takayama period, I was one of his fans, but now I have to speak the truth: in professional baseball, implementing dual-swordsmanship is a complete pipe dream. I advise him to dismiss this notion early and focus on honing one position."

"Modern baseball as a sport has been evolving for almost a hundred years now, and in this long history, only the baseball god Babe Ruth took on dual roles in the late 1910s, but even Ruth only did it for two years."

"The training for pitchers and fielders, the tasks to be done in the game, are almost entirely different. Be it the specialized training in skills, the player’s physical fitness, or potential injury risks, all are reasons why dual wielding is impossible — Player Lin Guanglai possesses a super talent seen once in a century. As someone who loves baseball, I sincerely hope he gives up this impractical idea. Whether it is pitching or fielding, earnestly choosing one position to hone could lead him to the Major Leagues without any problem."

"I hope Player Lin, after seeing my article, can change his mind. This is the voice of someone who loves baseball and doesn’t want to see a talent fall."

If the engagement of ordinary fans and critics merely heated up the topic, then with the participation of active players from Nippon Professional Baseball and even the Major Leagues in the dual-wielding debate, the whole thing is heading in an uncontrollable direction.

Mid to late October, about a week left until the 2012 Draft Meeting.

Recently, all matches, including those in Nippon Professional Baseball and the Major Leagues, have already ended. The Yomiuri Giants reclaimed the throne after three years, with Hara Tatsunori as the supervisor stealing the spotlight. In the United States, the San Francisco Giants won the World Series for the second time in three years, vaguely forming a dynasty.

With the off-season upon us, professional baseball players are appearing on variety shows more frequently to gain exposure. When participating in programs, many of them will be asked about related topics to some extent. The attitudes of professional players towards this matter are also divided into several factions.

The first to harshly criticize Lin Guanglai was Nomura Katsuya, the current supervisor of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. When interviewed by a reporter and asked about his views on dual-wielding, this legendary player and supervisor over 70 years old expressed disdain and simply said, "Don’t underestimate the sport of baseball," without commenting further.

As representatives of the strongest pitchers and fielders in Japan at present, Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners and Yu Darvish of the Texas Rangers also expressed their opinions.

"Dual swordsmanship is impossible, absolutely impossible." When asked by the program host for his opinion, Yu Darvish shook his head continuously as he said this.

"I’ve watched Player Lin Guanglai’s games, and there’s no doubt he is an extraordinarily gifted player; yet, the pace of professional baseball cannot be compared to that of Takayama. I think, instead of the unrealistic dual-wielding, he should concentrate all his energy on honing his pitching skills. With his talent, he should quickly become the ace of a Nihon Professional Baseball team, and future challenges in the Major League are not impossible."

Similarly, Ichiro Suzuki, the most powerful batter in Japan’s baseball history, had views akin to Yu Darvish, although he stood with the batters:

"Professional baseball is a very serious endeavor; if you don’t give it your full attention, no matter how talented, one will eventually be eliminated. When Babe Ruth played dual roles, baseball was a completely different thing than now. In today’s era, challenging dual-wielding is indeed somewhat presumptuous."

"More than pitching, I’m more interested in Lin’s hitting abilities – a player who has hit over 100 home runs in three years of Takayama, should definitely be a hitter! Plus, his ability to throw 160 km/h pitches means his arm strength is more than suitable for outfield defense. As long as he puts effort into training, he can absolutely become a well-rounded player with all offensive and defensive skills!"

But he is not without support. Besides Wang Zhenzhi, who stood up for Lin Guanglai immediately after the public opinion fermented, legends such as Rokkai Hoshimura and Matsui Hideki also expressed their support.

In particular, Rokkai Hoshimura, known during his professional baseball days for his unique character and powerful hitting, and post-retirement led Chunichi Dragons to the Japan Series five times, winning Japan’s number one twice. He expressed his views in front of many reporters:

"If I were still the supervisor of Chunichi, without a doubt I would draft him with the first pick because such a player not only has ability but also ambition, possessing this kind of challenging-the-impossible mindset. As long as the team trains him well, he is bound to become a famous player!"

"My coaching philosophy is very simple: respect the player’s personal development wishes and help him realize his goals – as for what outsiders say? Sorry, I really don’t care."

"Professional baseball, after all, is a place where strength speaks; as long as he can deliver results, bring honor to the team, and win one game after another for the fans, including championships. By that time, maybe you all who now think he’s wasting his talent will, in turn, be praising him..."

Undoubtedly, this public opinion storm has now evolved into a large-scale societal debate throughout Japan. It is during this process that Lin Guanglai’s fame has further increased, so much so that even grandpas, grandmas, uncles, and aunts who don’t watch baseball more or less know of his existence now.

In such a slightly feverish atmosphere, the draft day has arrived.