Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume7 The Fifth Question
The Fifth Question
Remember these baseball rules!
Yuuji: “So that's how it is. Since Himeji doesn't understand baseball, we will do a simple explanation of the rules.”
Akihisa: “We're normally the ones being taught, to think that it'll be the other way around.”
Mizuki: “Ple, please teach me well.”
Yuuji: “Now, we're going to explain the foul called 'balk'.”
Mizuki: “Balk...is it?”
Yuuji: “That's right. This is a foul when the pitcher's pitching.”
Mizuki: “A foul? What is it about?”
Akihisa: “For example, when the pitcher's steps on the rubber to pick off the baserunner in place but didn't throw the ball out.”
Yuuji: “Or throwing a pickoff while the toes are facing the batter.”
Akihisa: “And there's also the 2-part pitching stance—stopping midway throwing the pitching motion, even if it's a little bit, these are all fouls.”
Mizuki: “Let me see, pointing the toes at the batter yet throwing a pickoff, and the 2-part pitching stance...”
Yuuji: “Anyway, it's not okay as long as the pitcher does something to hassle the batter or make the batter misunderstand.”
Akihisa: “Like letting the batter think that 'the pitch is coming' only to throw a pickoff, or making the batter think that the pitch won't be coming and pitching out of a sudden. This will severely affect the match.”
Mizuki: “I see...so letting people misunderstand is called a balk...”
Yuuji: “Well, yeah, you just need to think this way.”
Mizuki: “Then, Akihisa-kun...”
Akihisa: “Hm? What is it?”
Mizuki: “You balked.”
Akihisa: “Eh?”
Mizuki: “You balked.”
Akihisa: “What are you saying, Himeji-san?”
Mizuki: “Akihisa-kun balked.”
Akihisa: “Eh...”
Yuuji: “Haiz...I'm too lazy to even comment about this...”
In the end, class 3-E and 3-F couldn't beat each other, and so we advanced to the next round without a fight.
Thus--
“It's time for the semi-finals.”
“Yup, the class of that Toko-Natsu pair.”
We've