The morning sun of our boyhood

The weekend was the training day for the Cubs, and Taussie specially set up a professional venue for the players to play a simulated practice game.

The Cubs team members are all here, and they are discussing how to play in groups when they suddenly hear an unfriendly voice: "This is your new team?"

Everyone followed the sound and turned around. They all knew the speaker. It was Jiang Di from the China-Canada Silver Eagles. He was speaking to Wu Tong just now.

Ban Xiaosong rushed to ask: "Jiang Di, what do you want to do?"

Jiang Di smiled disdainfully: "You are good enough already, but you have recruited a group of new rookies, just because you still want to participate in the league?"

Hearing this, the Cubs clenched their fists angrily.Wu Tong asked with a dark face: "Jiang Di, what are you doing here, and you want to grab the territory?"

Jiang Di pointed to the field under his feet, and said, "This is the training ground we used to use in Canada. If you want to occupy it, you can take it? Let's compete again if you have the ability."

Ban Xiaosong was so angry that he wanted to rush forward, but was grabbed by Yin Ke, who asked Jiang Di in a calm and murderous voice: "How do you compare?"

Jiang Di said proudly: "It's very simple, we two teams play a practice match. The winning team stays, and the losing team can no longer use this field."

The Cubs were silent.To be honest, they didn't have any confidence in winning against the Silver Eagles, but at this moment one person spoke up: "Competition! It's not certain who will win!"

It was Tao Xi, his eyes were fixed on Zhou Yu, the coach of the Silver Eagles.Zhou Yu glanced at him disdainfully, stepped forward and asked, "We train here every weekend, do you do it on purpose? You want us to be training partners?"

Tao Xi said calmly, "Why, don't you dare to practice?"

Zhou Yu glanced at him contemptuously: "I'm afraid I'll destroy your team's self-confidence. When they see the real baseball, how many of them do you think are willing to continue playing with you?"

Tao Xi was silent, Zhou Yu turned around to leave, Tao Xi said: "Stop." Zhou Yu looked at Tao Xi inexplicably, Tao Xi said: "I'll go first." Zhou Yu raised his eyebrows and said: "Why?"

"Then let's go together." The two people stared at each other while talking, "Three, two, one."

"Wu Tong, Wu Tong." At this time, a voice came from a distance, looking towards the source of the sound, a girl in a fashionable and beautiful dress came over.

"Xing Shanshan?" Wu Tong tilted his head to look at the girl and walked away.

After seeing Xing Shanshan's face clearly, Qingcheng put on her earphones expressionlessly, walked to the side and sat down.Yin Keban and Xiaosong were dumbfounded.

The Cubs players looked at Wu Tong and Xing Shanshan with gossiping eyes.Joule asked, "Who is this woman?"

Li Zi: "She is the cheerleader and manager of Sino-Canada."

Joule looked at Xing Shanshan foolishly: "No wonder, what a woman with a back view."

Li Zi said angrily, "Joule, what do you mean?"

Joule didn't notice Li Zi's words, and continued, "You're such a woman from the front."

"Joule, are you tired of living?"

Ban Xiaosong and Yin Ke smiled knowingly.

Seeing Li Zi who was angry, Joule hurriedly "explained": "I said you are prettier than her." Hearing this sentence, Li Zi kicked Joule vigorously.

Tan Yaoyao pulled Lu Tong on the side, and said simply: "Look, senior Wu Tong looks at her differently."

Lu Tong kidnapped Yin Ke and asked: "Yin Ke, what is the relationship between Wu Tong and this girl?"

Yin Ke looked puzzled: "Why do you ask me?"

Lu Tong stammered: "You, you are so smart, you must know. Do they know each other?"

Yin Ke said meaningfully: "Knowledge is more than just knowing."

After Ban Xiaosong heard this sentence, he asked: "What do you mean? What is their relationship? You see, Wu Tong looked at her as if he was looking at Qingcheng." The latter sentence was subconsciously uttered by him, After reacting, the players around him all looked at him.Ban Xiaosong regretted it unceasingly, he shouldn't have practiced speaking quickly and ruthlessly in order to improve his eloquence, now the speed of his mouth was faster than that of his brain.sad.

Yin Ke was helpless, and felt weird after hearing the following sentence: "Xiao Song, don't think too much, they are just ordinary friends. Let's go, go warm up."

And just like that, the practice session began.A whistle, nine Cubs on the defensive position.Wu Tong and Yin Ke were confident and calm, Ban Xiaosong couldn't wait, but the other team members were beating their hearts.After all, this is the first time they have played against other teams. The previous training and tactics were all on paper. At this moment, it is time for real swords and guns.

Yin Ke quietly gestured to Wu Tong.The Silver Eagles hitter with his back turned in front of him couldn't see this gesture, but even if he saw it, he wouldn't understand it.Apart from the two of them, there is no third person in the world who understands.

Wu Tong understood, pitched in a big way, with three balls and three different pitches. Before the Silver Eagles hitters could react, they were struck out.There were cheers on the field, the Cubs started off smoothly, and the players seemed to have taken a reassurance, and they all praised: "Wu Tong pitches so well, it is impossible for the Silver Eagles to catch it."

The second bat of the Silver Eagles is Jiang Di.He made a good batting posture and stared closely at Wu Tong.Yin Ke and Wu Tong pondered at the same time, facing Jiang Di, they felt a little uneasy, because they were too familiar with each other's routines.But the rest of the Cubs visibly relaxed, watching the mound and the batting field with more interest than nervousness.

Yin Ke finally gave the signal, Wu Tong threw it, and the baseball flew out of the air with a murderous look. Under everyone's gaze, Jiang Di's bat hit the baseball steadily, and he started running the bases instantly.

Before the Cubs could react, the ball had passed the first base area defended by Lu Tong, and flew to the second base behind Joule, who was still open-mouthed.

Only then did Joule come to his senses and pounced on the ball to pick it up, but before it was too late, Jiang Di made it to second base.

Tausi called a timeout.After returning to the rest area, everyone blamed Joule, and Joule said helplessly: "I thought no one could hit Wu Tong's ball!"

Tan Yaoyao also echoed: "That's right, Wu Tong's ball is so fast, how could it be possible to hit it as soon as it comes up!"

Huang Doudou is Lu Tong's "follower", so he naturally supports the Cubs: "Coincidence, it must be a coincidence."

Xue Tie noticed the clue, pointed to the Silver Eagles and said to everyone: "But you see, they are not excited at all, as if they should have hit in the first place." , as usual.

How did that happen?

Next, Jiang Di and the Silver Eagles hit Wu Tong's pitches one after another with the third bat. Wu Tong was annoyed. The defensive loopholes of his teammates were also exposed in the opponent's baserunning. The reaction was slow and the cooperation was not tacit. Some players even bumped into each other while running.

The cooperation between Wu Tong and Yin Ke also went wrong.Yin Ke sent the signal for a straight ball from the inside corner, but Wu Tong threw a straight ball from the outside corner.The opposing batter hits the baseball, luckily not far enough to hit base.

Yin Ke was in a hurry, took off his mask, raised his hand to call a timeout, ran to Wu Tong, and asked him why he didn't vote according to the signal he gave.

Wu Tong said coldly: "Throw the ball according to your way, and play in their hands."

Yin Ke explained: "I said that they deliberately let them hit, so that the teammates behind have a chance to make up for it."

Wu Tong looked at the team members behind with disdain: "Depend on them, we are doomed."

Yin Ke also became upset: "Then you can win?"

"I have been training with Zhongjia for more than half a year. I am too familiar with their situation. The posture just now was a fake move."

Yin Ke said angrily: "Forget it, it's rare for me to tell you."

The game restarts.

Wu Tong took a deep breath, it seemed that there was only one way.His index finger and middle finger were attached to the ball line to hold the ball, and the ball rushed towards Yin Ke like lightning.

In the blink of an eye, the rookie hitter of the Silver Eagles judged that it was a fast straight ball based on Wu Tong's throwing posture, and adopted the corresponding swing position, but the ball sank suddenly at the moment it approached the bat. Passing by, Yin Ke hurriedly fished down with his gloved left hand and caught the ball.

He looked at Wu Tong solemnly: just now that was...

Allure: Fingering the ball.

The Cubs are boiling: This is the fabled fingering ball.

Yin Ke: We have only seen each other for a year, how can you grow so much.

Wu Tong: A person who has given up baseball for almost a year, since he dares to tell me how to pitch.

Li Zi clapped her hands happily: "Wow, Wu Tong is so powerful. Qingcheng, how did Wu Tong manage to make the ball fall when it was about to touch the bat."

Qingcheng calmly explained: "That is called a crossball. It looks like a straight fastball from the front, but the moment the batter swings the bat, the ball will fall. This kind of changing ball is impossible to master without a year or two of hard training. Yes. It seems that Wu Tong's title of 'Ace Pitcher' was not randomly awarded."

But the strange thing is that the Silver Eagles didn't show too much consternation, instead there was a hint of a plot to succeed.Jiang Di happily said to Zhou Yu: "On the fourth shot, Wu Tong's lore was forced out. Coach?" He waited for Zhou Yu's signal.

Zhou Yu nodded and said, "Use out the style of play you trained specifically against Wu Tong."

Seeing that the cross ball worked, Wu Tong made persistent efforts.The fourth batman of the Silver Eagles received a signal from Jiang Di from the sideline team, so he didn't even swing the bat, and let the ball fly past his face, motionless.In the end, all four drives were called balls, and the Silver Eagles' fourth was walked.

Tausi's tone was heavy: "The crossball is powerful because it looks like a fast straight ball when it is released. The hitter will swing the bat in a panic if he can't judge it. But in fact, if the hitter can accurately judge the intention of the pitcher, No swing at all, and the crossball goes down near the strike zone, there's no way it's going to be in the strike zone, it's just a ball. Looks like the Silver Eagles came prepared."

Wu Tong was sweating, and crystal beads of sweat condensed drop by drop on his temples and flowed down his cheeks.Regarding the strategy of the Silver Eagles, he has a clear mind, but it seems that there is nothing he can do.This is a dilemma: if he throws a cross and the opponent doesn't swing, it's a bad ball; Base score.

The only way is to fight psychological warfare with the opponent.Tossing back and forth between finger throws and strikes, as long as you can confuse the opposing hitter and trick him into swinging when he is throwing the finger, you will be successful.Wu Tong made up his mind, clamped the ball with his index finger and middle finger, and pressed his wrist hard at the moment of the shot to generate "Magnus force".But at the moment when he pressed his wrist this time, there was a sharp stabbing pain in his wrist, he trembled instinctively, and the ball missed.

Tao Xi stood up nervously, not caring who had the baseball now, his eyes were fixed on Wu Tong, and Wu Tong's eyes were fixed on his wrist.

Tao Xi immediately raised his hand to signal a timeout, and at the same time shouted to the field: "Wu Tong, don't shoot!"

But Wu Tong's reaction was just to glance at him, with stubbornness, anger, and unwillingness to admit defeat in his eyes.He flicked his wrist, indicating to continue.

Wu Tong continued to throw the ball, strike!Throw-in!bad ball!The tingling in his wrist was intensifying, and he just took advantage of the gap between throws to rotate his wrist.It is impossible for him to stop at this time, otherwise he would not only lose to the opponent, but also lose to himself.

Qingcheng looked at Wu Tong "indifferently".

Tao Xi felt that the scene in front of him seemed familiar.It was also in a baseball game. Standing on the mound was the young Tao Xi, who was also sweating profusely like Wu Tong at the moment.He looked around. There were people on first, second, third base, all the runners trying to steal bases.

Besieged on all sides, but he can't give up.

The catcher signaled a timeout and ran towards him. It was the young Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu said to him: "The relief pitcher has finished warming up. Your injury is still not healed. Substitute."

Tao Xi looked at the reliever and shook his head: "As long as the game is not over, I will not give up the mound to anyone!"

Zhou Yu was anxious: "What kind of hero are you playing at this time!"

Tao Xi replied stubbornly: "The ace pitcher can't even pitch five innings, do you think anyone will take me seriously in the future?" He shook his head at Zhou Yu, "Go back to your position, this is mine. battlefield."

Zhou Yu had no choice but to put on the protective gear angrily, and returned to the catcher's position, but still looked at Tao Xi worriedly.

Tao Xi said to himself with a sinking heart: "There is only one way." He held the baseball with a specific snake grip that he had designed and practiced countless times, raised his foot, and threw it vigorously.At the moment when the ball flew out, he heard a crisp "click" sound, and then felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder, and he knelt down on the ground involuntarily.

Li Zi looked anxiously at Qingcheng: "Qingcheng, what should I do?" Qingcheng looked at everything on the field indifferently, and did not answer Li Zi's question.

"Coach, think of a way!" Li Zi's voice interrupted Tao Xi's memory, he rubbed his right shoulder unconsciously, then ran to the rest area of ​​the Silver Eagles, begging Zhou Yu: "Give them a Down the steps, I'll buy you a drink."

Zhou Yu looked at him, and from Zhou Yu's gaze, he knew that the other party also remembered the past.Thousands of words were exchanged in their silent gaze.

Tao Xi tentatively said, "Still angry with me? Back then, I didn't listen to your advice and went my own way, resulting in a habitual dislocation of my right shoulder. I couldn't play basketball for the rest of my life. I have already paid a painful price."

Zhou Yu was not polite: "Your insistence on going your own way not only ruined yourself, but also implicated me and the entire Tigers team. You are not alone in the Tigers team. Back then, in order to win the championship, all of us in the team worked desperately. Training. You have talent, but we paid as much as you did. You hid your injury and stood on the mound, did you ever think that doing so was irresponsible to your teammates?"

Tao Xi said sincerely and anxiously: "I know, I regret it. Wu Tong is a good seedling, we can't let him be ruined like me."

Zhou Yu stared at him closely for a long time, raised his hand, and signaled to the field to stop.

The game was over, the crowd dispersed, and Wu Tong stood on the mound in despair.The tingling in his wrist faded away, and he wondered if he should be thankful, wondering what would happen if the game continued.

Because of this game, the confidence of the Cubs players was shattered a little bit.Lu Tong and Joule were arguing, shirking each other's responsibilities and blaming each other, but neither of them would give in.Qingcheng looked at all this with a little disappointment.Lu Tong threw his hat on the ground and added a final sentence: "Such a bad baseball team, disband as soon as possible." After speaking, he left angrily.

The rest of the players thought that with Wu Tong around, the Cubs could go back to what they were before.But everyone was beaten by reality and lost their faith, and gradually became decadent.Throwing hats on the ground one by one, they left one by one.

Qingcheng was disappointed, but also heartbroken.This is the painstaking effort of Ban Xiaosong. It took him too long and too much effort to set up the baseball team.

Watching the team members leave one by one, Ban Xiaosong had nothing to say, and finally couldn't help shouting.He held his head and yelled out all the grievances and discomforts in his heart.No one cares about this team more than him, no one is more uncomfortable than him now.

This is the first time Ban Xiaosong doubts his dream.

The dream of baseball came from Ban Xiaosong when he was 7 years old because of his father.From that day on, he regarded baseball as a dream shared by him and his father, and he always believed that he could complete the road that his father could not continue.

This practice match completely exposed the shortcomings of the Cubs.

Ban Xiaosong, Qingcheng, Wu Tong and Yin Ke all understand that baseball is similar to Go, it is not difficult to get started, but difficult to master.In the previous training, the players got started very quickly, so they were inevitably complacent, but the reality "slapped" them loudly.A provincial elite team and a rookie garbage team, it's clear that Tao Xi didn't intend to let them win in the first place.

That's right, all of this is exactly what coach Tao Xi deliberately arranged. The purpose of this practice match is to die and survive.