Chapter 32 Fifteen
The last game Yamada Wangqiu participated in during his high school days was the third round of the Miyagi Prefecture preliminaries of the National High School Baseball Tournament in his freshman year. Wang Qiu's Sentinan High School played against Kamisakuragaoka High School.Xiandainan High School is a strong baseball school in the prefecture that can be compared with Tohoku Sumire High School. It is promoted to Koshien almost every year. On the other hand, Sakuragaoka High School is an ordinary public high school with a huge difference in strength. The result of the game was as early as everyone expected. Even so, several reporters with video cameras, laptops or writing utensils could be seen in the stands, as well as several men who looked like professional baseball scouts.
"Brother Jingguchi, is that Yamada really that powerful?"
Hikari Iguchi, who was sitting in the stands, heard a question from behind him. He turned around and saw a man he didn't know. He was probably a professional baseball scout like himself, or a reporter from the sports newspaper. "Don't ask me, I'm just an ordinary fan." Iguchi replied.Although his identity is a scout for the Dongqing Giants, this is not an excuse.Unlike other reporters or scouts who brought binoculars, writing utensils or mobile phones, he sat in a seat and watched the game in a light suit and empty hands.
Hikaru Iguchi first heard the name Yamada Oguo when pitcher Takumi Suzuki accidentally said at a dinner party for the Tokyo Giants: “There was an elementary school student who hit a ball I threw with all my strength. He should be in high school too." As expected of a professional scout, Iguchi Hikaru was already slightly drunk and dozed against the wall, but when he heard this, he suddenly became sober, and went to ask for details.
At that time, Yamada Wangqiu was still a third-year student at Xiandaidong No. 5 Middle School, and he was stepping up his practice for the upcoming middle school comprehensive sports competition. Hikari Iguchi immediately went to the school to observe Yamada Wangqiu's practice. stunning.Yamada Wangqiu is not only physically strong, but what is even more surprising is his physical flexibility and baseball talent.Generally speaking, young players who rely on their unique physique and muscles to be active for a while will encounter bottlenecks sooner or later and cannot make further progress. However, Yamada Wangqiu's body is not yet fully mature, and there is obviously room for growth.
After watching a few practice games where Yamada Wangqiu "hit 90%" in practice, Iguchi was so shocked that he couldn't speak.Due to too many intentional balls, Yamada Oguchi has very few effective strikers, but as soon as the ball enters the strike zone, he can always hit it.Such impressive batting average figures are unbelievable, but after witnessing the game in person, Iguchi just had to accept the fact.It is true that Yamada Wangqiu has never let go of any strikes, and most of the balls he hits are home runs. The word "swing and miss" does not exist for Yamada Wangqiu.
"Everyone didn't realize that the most powerful thing about Wang Qiu is his eye for ball selection." A special sports columnist surnamed Quan Teng once analyzed this in front of Hikaru Iguchi.Every time I go to a football game, Hikari Iguchi will always meet this character. "I've been observing this talented boy for a long time." Quan Teng said with a big smile, "You professional baseball scouts are really slow-witted, and you are already the most keen sense of smell."
"The eye for ball selection... Well, he is indeed very strong in this regard."
"I've heard that he can intuitively judge whether a pitcher's pitch will go into the strike zone. As for whether that rumor is true or not, I don't know. Oh, but if you talk to his parents, it will only be It’s just being rejected, I can assure you of this.”
Iguchi Hikaru heard this: he felt quite uncomfortable, but he went to greet Yamada Wangqiu’s middle school baseball club advisor a while ago, and the teacher who looked like a flounder also showed pity and said, “Don’t waste your efforts, Wang Qiu’s parents It's impossible to give you a good face."
"Why?" Iguchi asked, and the answer he got was simple.Yamada's parents hated the Tokyo Giants.
Or it should be said that the couple is only interested in the Xiandai Kings.
Iguchi Hikaru didn't think too seriously about this problem at the beginning. He felt that although the Dongqing Giants are known as the most popular team, there are not a few people who scoff at them. Yamada Wangqiu's parents are probably one of them, so even if The contact and negotiation at the beginning might not be smooth, but as long as he worked hard and showed sincerity, he would definitely be recognized in the end, because he himself has had countless similar experiences so far.
The result surprised him.
Yamada Wangqiu's parents are astoundingly stubborn, like an extremely hard rock wall, and they can't find an entry point at all.When Iguchi visited for the first time as a professional baseball scout, the couple were overjoyed, but when Iguchi introduced himself to them, he said "I am from the Dongqing Giants—" , the couple's face changed drastically the moment they heard the word "Dong". It was not just "difficult face", but could only be described as "stern face".Not to mention the father, even the mother stared at each other, her brows were tightly knit, and she replied coldly: "No need, we are not interested." At this moment, the window for negotiation was completely closed.
No matter how many times I came to the door, the situation did not improve at all.Higuchi sometimes pretended to come nearby by chance, and sometimes called in advance to beg for an interview, but no matter what method he used, he was sternly refused. Not only was there no room for negotiation, he was also warned to "call the police if you continue to entangle".Even so, Hikaru Iguchi still didn't give up. Once, he went directly to Yamada Wangqiu on the way home from school and handed over his business card.Hikaru Jingguchi just wanted to treat a dead horse as a living horse doctor. After all, the parents' hatred for the Dongqing Giants had reached an abnormal level, and his son probably wasn't much better.Unexpectedly, Yamada Wangqiu glanced at the business card, and just said "Thanks for your hard work" in a very calm manner. In addition to being polite, his tone also had a bit of sympathy, which almost made Hikari Iguchi jump up in fright. "My parents must have scolded you bloody, right?" Shantian Wangqiu said lightly.When Jingguchi heard it, for some reason, he suddenly had the urge to kneel on the ground and kowtow to thank him regardless of his suit. "It is absolutely impossible for me to join the Dongqing Giants." Yamada Wangqiu's tone was quite sincere, although not gentle, but without the slightest contempt, "Thank you for your kindness, I am very sorry."
"Why do your parents hate the Dongqing Giants so much?"
Yamada Wangqiu was silent for a moment, feeling that it wasn't that he couldn't answer, but that he was thinking about whether the listeners could understand after telling the reason.After a while, Yamada Wangqiu finally spoke: "Do you know Nagumo Shinheita? He used to be a player of the Sendai Kings and also the head coach."
The sudden name made Jingguchi stunned for a moment, but he quickly remembered this person. "Well, I know, it's just during the game..."
"Yes, the one who died from the foul."
Iguchi suddenly realized.That match was between the Sendai Kings and the Kami-Tokyo Giants. Since Yamada’s parents are fans of the Sendai Kings, their admiration for Nagumo Shinheita must be very important. Nagumo Shinheita died because of the game. It is not difficult to understand the grudge against the Dongqing Giants, but, Iguchi thought, is this too extreme?It has been several years since Nagumo Shinpei passed away, so why still worry about it?
"My father and mother are very gentle people, but when baseball is mentioned, especially when it comes to the Santi Kings, their temperament will change drastically."
"What about yourself?"
"My birthday is the anniversary of Nagumo Shinheita's death."
After Yamada Wangqiu finished speaking, he walked away, as if this sentence had explained everything.
From that day on, Hikari Iguchi no longer tried to poach Yamada Wangqiu. Contrary to the professionalism of stalking and stalking in the past, Hikari Jingguchi gave up quite simply because he knew very well in his heart that any further entanglement would only cause counterproductive results.
"Come on, you pretend to be an ordinary fan, but you are actually looking for an opportunity to start?" The man in the back seat continued to talk to Hikari Iguchi, "Your Dongqing Giants love to play this kind of submarine tactics. Pretending to be uninterested, but secretly hiding under the surface of the water to observe, poking out whenever a chance arises, and snatching away all the good people."
"That's not the case." Hikaru Iguchi replied with a smile: "Ku Yamada is a special case, I have nothing to do with him."
"Really? There are players in the world that you can't handle?"
"Yeah, so I'm really just a fan."
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