CHAPTER 354: CHAPTER 6: FATE’S CHOICE (PART 2)

Although the journalists lamented, the meeting process continued. Next up was the Hiroshima Toyo Carp and the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, with the former, as a typical small ball club, more likely to try a second-tier popular choice to supplement the team’s strength;

As for the latter, unfortunately, it was perhaps the least likely team of the 12 to choose Lin Guanglai: With ace pitchers Tanaka Masahiro and Nakamoto Ango, along with Matsui Jatou and Masuda Shintaro in the lineup, aiming to make new history this season, the Rakuten Team likely couldn’t offer Lin Guanglai much space or opportunity.

Indeed, as expected, the result was revealed moments later, both teams chose pitcher Mori Yuta from Higashi Fukuoka High School, clearly appreciating his left-handed qualities and wanting to further perfect their pitching lineup configuration.

With the six B class teams for the 2012 season completing their selection, Osaka Tsubaki High School’s Fujinami Jintaro emerged as the biggest winner, with three teams singling him out, showcasing the professional clubs’ recognition of his talent;

Mori Yuta, a high school graduate candidate, garnered favor from two teams thanks to his left-hand pitching advantage, coupled with his moderate popularity;

The unanimously acknowledged first combat power pitcher Higashi Hamakyo was also confirmed to step into the professional door.

After all calculations, at this moment, Lin Guanglai surprisingly became the most awkward person in the room; halfway through the first round, yet no team was willing to choose him.

Critics did not think he would go unselected, after all, given Lin Guanglai’s demonstrated talent, if he really fell out of the first round, many teams in the second round would likely be willing to take a chance;

But for the player himself, be it security deposit, signing fee, salary, or the team’s level of importance, the other selections compared to the first pick are worlds apart.

The reporters and commentators below were more eager than one another, whereas Lin Guanglai on stage remained motionless, whether he was genuinely unaffected, or merely putting on a show was unknown.

Amidst the journalists’ speculations, the A class teams began to announce their picklists.

The Tokyo Yakult Swallows, with Shengong Stadium as their home field, are the local team in the Tokyo Region; although not as popular as the Yomiuri Giants, if Lin Guanglai, a local talent, were chosen by the Yakult Swallows, it would be something many local spectators would hope to see and could potentially raise the Swallows’ popularity further.

Moreover, Lin Guanglai’s good friend Yamada Tetsuro was also a member of the Swallows, although he shuttled between the major and minor leagues this season, he also achieved his professional baseball debut, first at-bat, first hit, and first home run.

Lin Guanglai’s name still hadn’t appeared.

"Tokyo Yakult Swallows—Fujinami Jintaro, pitcher, Osaka Tsubaki High School."

Reporters on site at Osaka Tsubaki High School lit up with a sense that they had indeed come to the right place; even though Fujinami Jintaro had not yet determined which team he would head to, facing four first choices, the journalists couldn’t wait to conduct interviews.

Over at Waseda Jitsugyo, seeing this, the on-site audience grew more anxious: during player selection, when the players’ skill levels are not substantially different, local origins become a significant consideration. A local star can greatly stimulate local market development—yet now, not even a local team like Yakult is willing to select the local genius, causing fans who awaited Lin Guanglai to be deeply disappointed.

Next, it’s the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks’ turn to choose. To outsiders unaware of SoftBank’s communication with Lin Guanglai, they assumed the Fukuoka SoftBank Team’s most likely choice should be Higashi Hamakyo from Asia University.

After all, following the 2011 victory to become Japan’s Number One, SoftBank’s starting pitcher lineup massively depleted: Wada Yu transferred to the Major League, and the foreign player Dennis Holton, who secured 19 wins, moved to the Yomiuri Giants. Despite signing considerable replacements, the pitching lineup’s problems persist objectively, urgently in need of combat power supplementation.

And as soon as SoftBank’s first choice was revealed, on site and at Waseda Jitsugyo’s branch venue, it was engulfed in a huge exclaim of surprise.

"Lin Guanglai, pitcher, Waseda Industrial High School."

The camera instantly switched to SoftBank’s high-level management, where President Wang Zhenzhi and Supervisor Akiyama Koji wore satisfied smiles, clearly pleased with the result;

On the other side, Lin Guanglai, who maintained a stoic expression at the Waseda Industries School’s podium, also revealed a smile.

The on-site journalists, observing both the screen showing SoftBank’s senior management and Lin Guanglai sitting nearby in composure, finally realized: Lin Guanglai dared to audaciously make his Dual Swordsmanship declaration before the entire Japanese baseball industry, evidently having secured early backing from SoftBank;

Similarly, SoftBank, hoping to ensure Lin Guanglai, the hotly sought-after player, would remain firmly within their grasp, wished to use the player’s statement to deter potential but risk-averse competitors—after all, fewer competitors suit the determined-in-pursuit SoftBank’s interests best.

At least from the current situation, SoftBank achieved its objective—eight teams completed their selection, and Lin Guanglai received SoftBank’s exclusive first-choice; among the remaining four teams, the Giants declared their known choice of Sugano Tomoyuki, Chunichi Dragons, and Seibu Lions focused on immediate combat power, with only the Ham Team posing some threat.

The only shortcoming in this entire process was that Lin Guanglai, who initially held potential for multiple team selections, ultimately "fell" to a single choice;

Yet compared to SoftBank’s comprehensive development plan for him, it clearly appeared trivial—to join a team that values his development and realizes potential early is far more crucial than the vain honor of multiple team selections.

There’s no denying that SoftBank’s grasp of other teams’ thoughts was exceedingly accurate, as both Chunichi Dragons and Seibu Lions turned their attention to combat-ready players—Chunichi Dragons singled out the ace pitcher Fukutani Kodai from Keio University, while Seibu Lions joined the competition for Higashi Hamakyo; under the leadership of Manager Hara Tatsunori, who just last year led the team to win Japan’s Number One, the Yomiuri Giants finally secured their long-desired "great nephew" Sugano Tomoyuki, a year later.

Now, only the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters haven’t announced their first pick yet.

At the conference site, within the Ham Team’s designated area, Kuriyama Hideki was whispering with members of his coaching staff.

"Supervisor Kuriyama, are we really sure about this choice—reminding you that last year, forcibly choosing Sugano Tomoyuki already wasted a precious first pick, although I understand your eagerness to bring in talented players, if their attitude remains firm, it might be difficult to justify this to the management and fans if we can’t persuade them..."

Expressing such concern was the team’s batting and catcher coach Nakajima Satoshi, whose reasoning was not without merit—after last year’s failed attempt with Sugano Tomoyuki, if not for successful results under Kuriyama Hideki, leading to clinching the Pacific League championship and advancing to the Japan Series, his position might have long been threatened.

And once more, he intends to replicate last year’s approach—though with management’s tacit consent, recruiting failure could potentially lead to them being scapegoated to appease fans’ anger?

As a coaching team member sharing both glory and struggles with Kuriyama Hideki, certain words had to and could only be spoken by Nakajima Satoshi.

"Don’t worry, Satoshi—had Lin Guanglai not been chosen by the other teams, maybe I would have had some worries, but now, there is no issue at all."

The moment Kuriyama Hideki finished speaking, the Ham Team’s selection was promptly announced, driving the assembly site to madness.

"Ohtani Shohai, pitcher, Hanamaki East High."