The Old Baseball Player System

"The American, Brandon Bird, will start off batting!" - The announcer said excitedly before leaving the center of the field. A few workers quickly placed protective netting around the pitcher\'s mound before the pitcher chosen by Brandon stepped up.

The pitcher quickly grabbed a ball and threw the first pitch of this Home Run Derby.

WOOSH

DONG

A beautiful hit to right field, but unfortunately, the ball hit the wall and stayed in play. Brandon\'s pitch count dropped to 4. Another pitch came.

WOOSH

DOONG

A nice home run to right field. Another pitch came.

WOOSH

DONG

Brandon hit the bottom of the ball, making it go higher than intended. The ball fell in center field. The pitch count dropped to 3. The next pitch was thrown.

WOOSH

DING

A hit into foul territory. The pitch count dropped to 2. Another pitch came.

WOOSH

DOONG

A home run to center field. The next pitch came.

WOOSH

DOONG

Another home run to right field, his third of the matchup. Unfortunately for Brandon, it was his last. In his remaining two pitches, Brandon couldn\'t send the ball out of the park, bringing his pitch count to 0.

Hideki Matsuda then stood up and walked toward the batter\'s box with a calm expression. The fans in the stands cheered excitedly as he walked, but as soon as he stepped into the box, everyone went quiet to avoid disturbing his concentration.

"What do you think, Kenshin? Although Matsuda can hit home runs, it\'s not exactly his strong suit." - Satoru said as he watched the field.

"Hm, you\'re right. If it\'s just about home runs, Murakami is probably better than Matsuda. But even so, I don\'t think it\'ll be a problem for Matsuda to surpass Brandon\'s three home runs." - Kenshin said thoughtfully, but he was quickly interrupted by the loud sound of a hit.

WOOSH

DOONG

A home run straight to left field on the first pitch. Matsuda continued to hit with ease. He reached the four home runs needed to advance to the next round with ease, missing only one pitch.

With the first matchup decided, the announcer\'s voice rang out again as two new faces appeared on the stadium\'s big screen.

"In the second matchup, Shogo Akiyama versus Haruki Shibasaki!"

Shun watched Haruki hit five home runs with relative ease in his turn, while Kenshin cheered enthusiastically for his kohai. Shogo managed only four home runs in his turn and was eliminated from the matchup.

In the third matchup, Masato Murakami hit an incredible 13 home runs in his turn, easily eliminating Shugo Kikuchi, who hit only 3 home runs in response.

For the final matchup of the first round, Shintaro Fujinami started off by hitting an impressive six home runs in his turn, demonstrating his fighting spirit even against a living legend like José Martínez.

However, that didn\'t seem to faze José Martínez.

WOOSH

DOOONG

Shun was shocked as he watched José hit home run after home run without missing a single pitch. In an instant, José hit seven home runs in a row, advancing to the next round, with his pitch count still intact at 5.

"Holy crap!" - Satoru\'s reaction mirrored that of everyone in the stadium. There was no way not to be impressed by this incredible display of José\'s skills, especially when you considered that the man was already 39 years old and long past his prime.

"He\'s truly amazing!" - Shun said, impressed. He was thrilled to see such a great player in action. Unfortunately for him, his happiness didn\'t last long, as the old man\'s voice started speaking in his head.

[Hey, you brat! I told you to pay attention to how this guy is hitting, not to admire him like some fanboy!] - The old man\'s voice sounded irritated, which left Shun both confused and unhappy.

"Huh? What\'s your problem, old man? I am paying attention to his swings! They were amazing, everyone knows that!" - Shun replied, irritated. He really wished he had a button to mute the old man from time to time. He just wanted to enjoy this unique moment he was experiencing, but the old man clearly didn\'t plan on letting him do that.

[Amazing, my ass, you brat! Pay attention to HOW he\'s hitting those balls! His swing form is very similar to the one I\'m teaching you. I know you\'re stupid, but you might actually learn something by watching his form.]

"That\'s—" - Shun was annoyed by the old man\'s insults, but he quickly noticed the similarities between José\'s form and the way the old man had been teaching him to swing.

"Oh, right, I get it! You\'re saying that if I master the form you\'re teaching me, I\'ll be able to hit like José?" - Shun asked, excited.

[Hmph! If you listen to me, you\'ll hit way better than this brat!] - The old man said, as if offended.

"Ah." - Shun was speechless. Never mind the claim that he\'d hit better than the best hitter of the decade like it was nothing, but the old man had even called José Martínez, a living baseball legend, a brat. Shun just shook his head, turning his attention back to the field. He simply couldn\'t believe the old man\'s words.

"Now that all the first-round matchups are complete, let\'s see who will face who in the semifinals!" - The announcer said excitedly on the field as he pointed to the stadium\'s big screen.

The image on the screen quickly changed, showing a four-person bracket forming the two semifinal matchups.

"In the first semifinal of the NPB Home Run Derby, on one side, we have Masato Murakami! And on the other, Haruki Shibasaki!" - The announcer said as the pictures of the two players appeared on one side of the bracket on the big screen.

"In the other semifinal, we have Hideki Matsuda on one side! And on the other side, José Martínez!" - The announcer said excitedly as the pictures of the two players completed the other side of the bracket on the screen.

The crowd at the Tokyo Dome erupted in deafening cheers upon hearing the semifinal matchups. There wasn\'t a single person in the stadium who wasn\'t excited about what was about to happen.