The Old Baseball Player System

Haruki Shibasaki returned to the batter's box to start the first semifinal. All the fans in the stadium watched the field closely as the first pitch came.

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"Yeeeahhh! Nice homer, Haruki!" - Shun heard his father cheer excitedly as Haruki sent the first pitch into the right-field stands. The second pitch came.

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"That's it, Haruki!" - Kenshin continued to cheer energetically after the second home run.

In the end, Haruki managed to improve his performance compared to his first-round turn. He hit 7 home runs before his pitch count dropped to zero.

"He did even better than in the first round! But..." - Shun looked at the young man walking toward the batter's box. Unfortunately for Haruki, his opponent was a monster when it came to hitting home runs.

"Haruki did well, but he'll only win this matchup if something goes wrong for Murakami." - Satoru said, recalling Masato Murakami's dominant performance in the first round, hitting 13 home runs.

Shun silently agreed with Satoru's words as he watched the first pitch to Murakami.

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Murakami mistimed the ball, sending it into foul territory. The second pitch came.

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Once again, the ball went into foul territory.

"Dad, I think you jinxed Murakami..." - The beautiful Hana turned to her father and said. Shun also looked at Satoru and thought the man's words really had brought bad luck to Murakami.

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The sound of the hit made Shun turn his attention back to the field, just in time to see the ball flying into the center-field stands. The next pitch came right after.

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Shun watched the ball's trajectory and sighed. Murakami made excellent contact, enough to send it to the stands, but the ball hit toward right field ended up falling to the right of the foul pole.

"Ah, too bad! Now he only has 2 pitches left. Looks like Haruki will advance to the final." - Satoru sighed as he spoke. Shun just looked at the man, but before he could say anything, the sound of a perfect hit grabbed his attention.

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"Hey Satoru, maybe you should stop calling results too early." - Kenshin said to his friend, clearly impressed.

"Hm!" - Shun nodded as he stared in shock at Murakami on the field. The man had just hit 7 home runs in a row, and combined with his earlier homer, he hit enough to eliminate Haruki and advance to the final.

"And now for the second semifinal, Hideki Matsuda versus José Martínez!" - The announcer said enthusiastically into the microphone, making all the fans cheer excitedly.

Hideki Matsuda walked to the batter's box with a determined expression. Shun could feel the aura of the Japanese superstar from a distance, making him tremble.

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Right off the first pitch, Matsuda hit an incredible home run to the second deck of the center-field stands. As if trying to send a message to his opponent, the Yomiuri Giants' star kept hitting home run after home run. By the end of his turn, Hideki Matsuda had hit an incredible 15 home runs.

"Hahaha, that's the fighting spirit a young player should have!" - On the field, José Martínez watched everything with a smile. He noticed Matsuda's challenging gaze directed at him. As someone who had once been a young star, José recognized that look very well, the look of a young lion eyeing the old lion, wanting to take his place.

José then calmly walked to the batter's box. He wasn't annoyed by Matsuda's challenge, in fact, it had excited him.

"Hehe, let this old lion show you what happens when you try to challenge someone above your level!" - José chuckled softly before getting into his batting stance.

"Holy crap!" - Shun stared at José on the field without blinking. He noticed the man smiling, but the moment José got into his batting stance, Shun felt a terrifying aura. He didn't know why, but he felt scared, something he had never felt before while watching a baseball game.

"What must it be like to pitch against him?" - Shun couldn't help but wonder, but he was quickly brought back to reality.

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[Pay attention, boy!] - The old man spoke inside Shun's head.

"I know!" - Shun responded as he watched the ball fly into the stands. He then turned his gaze back to José, who was already in position again.

The way José held the bat with relaxed shoulders, the way he stayed stable in the batter's box, able to observe and hit any kind of pitch, the way he stepped forcefully and flexed his entire body to power his swing.

Shun carefully observed every one of José's hits, trying to imprint them in his memory. After a few swings, José had hit 11 home runs, but he had only one pitch left in his count. But for some reason, Shun didn't think for a second that José would lose.

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With only one home run needed to tie with Matsuda, José remained calm in the batter's box while every fan in the stadium eagerly watched the next pitch.

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Shun watched José's hit closely, and at the moment of contact, he noticed that the ball's launch angle was very high. He watched the ball soar extremely high toward left field, certain that it would end up as an infield fly ball. But as he waited for the ball to fall, it kept flying... and flying... and flying...

"Uoooooohhhhh! He tied it!"

"What kind of monstrous strength is that?!"

"He's incredible!" - Shun said, amazed as he listened to the excited cheers from the fans. Shun couldn't believe that such a high fly ball could leave the field. He couldn't help but think: "How much strength does it take to hit like that?"

However, before he could get an answer, he heard the sound of another perfect hit, followed by the deafening roar of the stadium's crowd.

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"UUOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!!"

Shun watched the ball soar into the right-field stands. As if it were nothing, José Martínez had defeated Hideki Matsuda's incredible performance to advance to the final.

"And now for the grand final of this NPB Home Run Derby!! The great showdown for the title! On one side, Masato Murakami!! And on the other side, José Martínez!!" - The announcer said excitedly, making all the fans in the stadium cheer in anticipation. The grand final was about to begin.