Well, I actually decided to blog about this series simply because it lands at a good time where I can actually cover it while having my good weekend rest. Ookiku Furikabutte, for the uninitiated, is a baseball anime series surrounding Mihashi, a pitcher that does not have a fastball, but an excellent control over his pitching. With his team Nishiura finally in the district competition, they were unluckily drawn against one of the top teams in the competition, Tosei. The former pitcher Junta was also the pitcher for Abe in his middle school, and was a very fast pitcher.
Firstly, a quick summary on the ending of Episode 17. Mihashi had a nice game on, striking out 7 out of the 9 pitchers in the first three innings of this game. However, with the game moving on, Tosei realized that Nishiura was not the newbie and weak team that they seemed to be. They decided to play in the field, using bunting and stealing bases to move on. With one batter already out and one runner at third base, Mihashi made an excellent take to pass the ball to Abe from a supposedly bad punt from the opposition. The match goes on, with Nishiura leading 1-0 on the fourth inning. For all who are skeptical over the baseball theme, trust me that the knowledge required for baseball is not that essential. I think that it is a good series to be followed by all who has not known about this series.
For those who have the baseball knowledge, please correct me when I make mistakes since I am but a novice baseball viewer.
Episode summary
With Mihashi sending the home bound runner out, everyone applauded Mihashi’s excellent play. The next batter Kawai was up. Kawai was surprised how Mihashi was calm enough as a 1st year pitcher to rush for the ball, and Abe for controlling himself from rushing out to get the ball. Mihashi continued to look at the third base runner, before pitching once for foul ball and another for Tajima to grab it for the end of the inning. Kawai wondered as it was the same the first time he batted Mihashi’s pitch and found himself hitting the bottom of the ball instead of hitting a grounder.
As Mihashi ran across to return to the benches, he tripped but Kawai caught him in time before Mihashi fell. Mihashi and Tajima said how nice Kawai was. Momoe gathered everyone and urged them to get a point. As Mihashi prepared to bat, Abe looked at him as Mihashi went into fits again. Abe initially did not want Mihashi to bat that strongly to recover energy, but with Mihashi going overly excited, he feared that it might cause a negative effect to his pitching later. Hence, he said that it was merely a joke and Mihashi was even more excited now. Tajima also explained how the body movements of Junta from the spy clips made him realize about when exactly Junta was going to pitch.
Mihashi was now on the batter, and he wondered why Abe told him not to hit hard. He made two foul balls initially, and then let a bad ball go for a 2 strike, 1 ball situation. As Junta aimed for a forkball, it did not rise up and hit Mihashi directly on the buttocks. It was a dead ball and Abe rushed out worried for Mihashi. Mihashi said he was fine but Abe screamed at him wanting to know where he was hit. Eventually, he ran for a free base. Junta thought to himself how awful it was to hit the pitcher and blamed his nervousness for causing a poor forkball pitch.
Abe was the 9th pitcher, and Momoe gave the sign for stealing a base as they could not have a pinch runner for Mihashi who was hit on the buttocks (ineligible for getting someone else to run for him). Abe noticed the grounds in front of him, as Tajima’s rush and Mihashi’s rush along with the wet ground causing a little trench. Abe first made a pose for a bunt and suddenly seemed to go for a straight hit before hitting a bunt right where the wet center grounds are as Abe hit first base, and Mihashi to third.
The coach of Tosei was contemplating about the lack of knowledge over the batting style of Nishiura. He then analyzed Izumi, the first batter who was 2 out of 2 hitting. He knew that Momoe wanted to get at least a point from this and he wanted to injure Mihashi through a knock when Mihashi did run back into home base. He was sure that there were no pitchers as good as Mihashi within the team. Izumi got to the bat and was struck first with a very fastball (130 km/h), a cutter (?), a bad ball before striking out Izumi with a fast ball.
Sakaeguchi was next on the plate as he looked on to Mihashi who was shocked at the “stare” of Sakaeguchi. Sakaeguchi then smiled happily to relax Mihashi’s nerves, and Nishihiro knocked Mihashi out from his dreams. Mihashi then remembered how he was doing the same thing to the third base runner when he was pitching. Sakaeguchi remembered how he relaxed using the methods learned in pre-season camp, and finally found himself relaxing. The coach of Tosei then ordered for a squeeze as Junta threw two bad balls, with Sakaeguchi not responding.
The coach of Tosei then changed his tactics, ordering for a slider as it is a strike. He thought that Chiyo had given instructions for Sakaeguchi to hold so as to get all bases filled (all 1,2,3 having runners) or to prevent Mihashi from running back and risking an injury. Having all bases filled will prevent a double out and also reduced the chances of Mihashi getting injured. Hence, he gave instructions for Kawai and Junta to pitch normally and not go for a squeeze. A strike occured as Chiyo took a risk of going for a run and hit.
Sakaeguchi realized that he had to hit the ball as Mihashi was going to run back. As Junta threw, he was shocked at Tajima’s instructions for Mihashi to run back to base as he threw a bad ball. Nevertheless, Sakaeguchi jumped out to hit the ball as Mihashi ran back safely for the second point. With that, Mihashi’s cousin was pleasantly surprised at how Mihashi’s team was actually leading the match.
Thoughts
I am personally rather surprised at how Mihashi was quite a decent hitter in this episode, considering how he was never really that good in the first round of batting. Nevertheless, a calm Mihashi with the amount of training and preparation can also be an effective hitter. I am still surprised the whole change of Mihashi for this episode, even though there are clear signs that our nervous and insecure pitcher is well the same as ever in character.
It is also quite queer how things are going overly fine in the plans, but I found that Tosei is somewhat looking down on Nishiura, and I felt that it is a huge mistake to be underestimating any team, no matter whether they are a new or old team. The first four innings in this match reeks of an experienced good team playing too complacently and thinking that some things happen because they are a bit too slack rather than giving the other team credit. One clear sign is the plan of Tosei’s coach way too careless with his tactics, even though it might be useful against an average team. He is still looking down on Nishiura having any effective plan.
The last scene where Mihashi won a point after running back to the base is a scene that I replayed for quite a few times. I found the whole part of Sakaguchi rushing out from his box to hit the ball into good playing ground to be really dramatic. It is also a nice touch that they have Mihashi going all sweating and rushing around like an “idiot” to get back and have a “second point” scream at the end of it to cap off a good play all around for the Nishiura team.
Oh, for those who are more baseball avid fans, what is the meaning of a squeeze. I used the term as the anime did it but I am not too sure what it really means at all. On the humor part, the dead ball situation is one of the strangely hilarious scenes for me. Abe going all worried and panicking for Mihashi is quite funny and it probably seems queer how much damage Mihashi can actually take. I mean from the previous few episodes, we had Mihashi tumbling rather horribly, rushing in to get the center punt shot that stuck in the dirt and also a huge dead ball on his buttocks. He is definitely not made of iron.
Lastly, next episode seems to be Tosei returning back to form with some good batting as the preview talked about the final inning of the game. So what is your speculation of the game? My strange feeling is that Nishiura might lose this match, since they are all first year students, with time enough to spend. Still, they probably have earned the respect of almost everyone out there in the field. What do you think?
18 Comments
A squeeze play is when there’s a runner on third and the batter bunts – the idea is that the fielders will throw out the batter at first, allowing the runner to score from third. I haven’t seen the episode, but from the episode description it sounds like Josei is guarding against the squeeze by not throwing strikes (Sakaeguchi won’t be able to bunt as easily).
And the reason they won’t get a pinch runner for Mihashi is that players subbed out can’t come back in.
Thank you for blogging Oofuri!! XD
You swapped two names btw, Nishiura’s coach is Momoe Maria or Momo-kan (Momoe-kantoku), while Chiyo is their student manager. Also, Nishihiro (Nishiura’s reserve/baseball newb) is the one calming Mihashi from the 3rd base coacher. Tajima should be in the 1st base coacher. Oofuri’s chars are pretty hard to distinguish, especially with their caps on X(. When I read the manga raws the first time, I barely knew who’s who except for the main 4. I still can’t distinguish many of them with their caps on.
Also, taking from wiki, squeeze play is an attempt to let runner from 3rd base to score using sacrificial bunt (bunting the ball such that it rolls to the 1st base).
@Major: Arr, so that is what a squeeze play. I actually only learned about baseball when I started watching Ookiku Furikabutte, which is probably why I am likely to miss some of the plays that should be easily noticable for baseball players.
Yes, Major, that is exactly what they are doing. I am counting on you sometimes to explain some of the things or plans that they are trying to do. Eventually, they did abandon the plan as Tosei’s coach thought it was a ploy to prevent Mihashi from getting hit, and also to have all bases filled. I felt that Momoe really took a huge risk as she is trusting Sakaeguchi to actually make a decent contact with the sacrifical bunt for the point.
Subbed out players cannot come back in? There are no subbed out players, no?
@Anon: No problem and thanks for the name corrections! I am like always making mistakes with the names and I immediately corrected them once you pointed them out for me. Arr, so there are coaches for 1st and 3rd base? I didn’t know that so I thought it is the situation where Tajima runs around for the coach at each base.
I did say I am clueless with baseball and my interest comes from this anime. I can actually differentiate the players decently well, just that I got to get used to the names of the characters. A few more episodes and I should be fine ^^
Well what happens is when you sub a player out, the player that came out can’t come back in – which is part of the reason why they didn’t sub out Mihashi. If they replace him as runner (to prevent him from getting hurt), he can’t come back in to pitch after.
In professional baseball there are coaches at 1st and 3rd to help relay instructions to the batter and the runners. 3rd base coach is especially important, since they signal the runner to run home or stay at third. For Nishiura, they probably have players not due up to bat act as the base coaches instead.
It sounds like what Nishiura tried (successfully) at the end of the episode is the hit and run, where the runner takes off before the ball is hit. Unless the pitch is terrible (over the catchers head or something), the batter has to try and hit it no matter what, since the runner will probably get thrown out. It’s even more risky to try and do when the runner is at third, since if the batter doesn’t hit it, the runner is almost certainly out at home plate – that’s why Sakaeguchi had to hit the ball no matter what.
Maybe I should continue on watching this series, I stopped at episode two because I felt that I could not empathize well with the characters; but maybe I should give this another shot.
Btw, who really wrote this post, Impz or ThirteenSugars? The one who wrote this post was ThirteenSugars (at least this is what is shown in my browser), but the one commenting is Impz. Same with your previous post here – is it just my browser or what? xD
@Major1138: Arr, So in other words, it’s something like soccer where you cannot come back after it. No wonder they did not have anyone. Howeer, I am not sure why they could substitute him out when he fell extremely awkwardly during one of the previous plays. I have no clue @_@
Thanks for the details on hit and run, If the ball is a wild ball (did i get the term right) and the third base runner manages to return back to base, it’s still considered a point, right?
@Mushi: yes, you should! It’s actually a rather wonderful series that I have been quietly following since it’s rather good at character development on the guise of a sports anime.
I will say that it’s a complicated issue with certain situations that resulted in “wifey” writing this. If you want, email us at that@animeblogger.net and i can explain a bit.
It’s pretty much like soccer – although unlike soccer, I think you need a full complement of players at all times. You can’t play short while one guy goes off to heal up.
I’m not sure what happened earlier (I’ll have to see it to be sure), but what might be the case is that the rule about substitutions being permanent is somewhat relaxed in non-professional leagues.
As for your question about a wild pitch, that’s basically right – if the catcher can’t handle the pitch and it ends up behind him or off to the side, the base runners can try to advance. So the runner at 3rd can try to reach home.
@Major1138: Arr, got it. Yes, that part is learned during my gaming of NCAA Baseball 07 (and i am pretty nifty at that game too). I also remember how I played a real baseball match without any knowledge of the game but I am quite a good hitter for slider balls. I can’t hit fastballs though ~_~.
Arr, so my question on the wild pitch is right. By the way, do you think that it is actually realistic that Mihashi strikes out so many people by this fourth/fifth inning simply as a slow pitcher?
Well one thing that people mention early on is that while Mihashi doesn’t have overpowering speed, he does have remarkable control and a large arsenal of pitches – this is why Maria and Abe are so surprised when he says he has four pitches (I think fastball, curve, slider, shuuto) and that he divides the strike zone into 9 areas when he practices.
It’s not entirely unrealistic that he’s able to do so well. There are many pitchers who thrive on being able to control their pitches rather than blowing hitters away with raw speed and power. Although I think it’s mentioned that while Mihashi’s control is outstanding, he could probably stand to add some more speed as well – it’s from the episode where they have him wind up while balancing on the block.
Pro baseball wise, being able to hit once in 3 at-bats is already amazing achievement. Assuming high school level of pitchers and batters, hopefully the stat remains the same. This means a great batter is expected to hit only once or twice in a game.
I think Mihashi’s strike outs, while very high, is not impossibly high (pro league wise, 10 or above per game is very very high). Besides, the first 3 innings are usually slow, so we can expect fewer strike outs from that point on.
Ill try to clarify some things for those who dont know much about baseball.
A squeeze is a bunt (where the batter holds the bat out stationary to just make contact and put the ball in fair play) to try and advance a runner from third to home. There are two types, a safety squeeze the runner makes sure the batter makes contact, and a suicide squeeze where the batter runs with the pitch, assuming contact will be made. You have to make contact on a suicide squeeze, because if you dont the runner is running toward the guy with the ball, making it easy for him to be tagged out.
There is a special rule by the way with regard to bunting. If a bunt goes foul with 2 strikes, it counts as a 3rd strike and the batter is out.
A fastball is the basic pitch, it comes in a few flavors. A four seam fastball is the fastest pitch. A 2 seam fastball isnt quite as fast, but it breaks downward, often causing a lot of ground balls.
A cut fastball, or cutter, is a pitch that moves from side to side, which direction is determined by wether the pitcher is right or left handed.
A slider is a pitch that is like a cutter, but moves more, and is slower.
A forkball is a pitch that looks like a fastball to the hitter, but moves downword much more
Striking out 7 out of 9 batters is really really good. Hitting safely in 1 out of 3 at bats in a game isnt that special, but averaging it is very good at the professional level. Very good high school batters can average 2 out of 5 or even 1 out of 2 or better though, as in high school their is more of a difference between the best and worst players.
Once a player is taken out in baseball, they are out of the game. However, the only limit to how many players can be replaced is how many players you have to replace them.
As for a slow pitcher getting a lot of strikeouts, its not impossible I suppose, especially at the high school level. The ability to place pitches where a pitcher wants them, especially breaking balls (pitches that move a great deal from their original trajectory based on the spin) makes a big difference. High school hitters would have an extremely difficult time hitting a pitcher with good movement on his slider and curve ball and who could consistently throw them for strikes, even if he didnt throw particularly hard.
There have been a number of notable major league pitchers that have poor velocity, though none with the exact pitch makeup Mihashi has. The two recent ones that come to mind for me are Jamie Moyer, who’s best pitch was a change up (a pitch that looks like a fastball but is actually slower, messing up a hitters timing), and Tim Wakefield, who throws a pitch called a knuckleball, which can change its trajectory multiple time on its way to home plate because of the way its thrown. A very hard pitch to hit.. or to catch.
Does the rule for substituting hold for switching? I watched an off-season game where they substituted closer with starter. But then, the starter was switched to field position when they changed to relief pitcher.
@Major: I see. Sorry for the late replying but it tends to be a poor and tired Impz back home. With that noted, it does seem that breaking balls such as slider, shuuto and curveball might be harder for batters to manage in the high school period. That is also due to the fact that Mihashi can disorientate people with his accurate pitching. I mean, when you have a good catcher that can predict where the person will try to hit, playing the anticipation game means Mihashi can hit 10/10.
I also remember the wooden block incident!
@Anon: Oh! I seldom watch Baseball here since I do not have that much time sadly with work. Hence, I will take note of it when i watch it to understand the realism behind it.
I am somewhat impressed too on Abe’s ability to command against batters who are clearly one of the strongest in high school.
Anon: Substitutions dont technicly happen on the defensive side of the ball. Teams are allowed to arrange their players any way they want on the defensive end, although I think your really only allowed one player on the mound eligible to pitch at any given time. What substitutions really are is for a players spot in the batting order. You can rearrange your fielders, but the batting order is set in stone. The only way to alter it is to make a substitution. Once substituted out of the batting order, you cant be subbed in.
So in the situation that you described, the new pitcher was substituted for the field player in the batting order. The old pitcher remained in his spot in the batting order, and went to play the field instead of pitching.
The batting order is very important in baseball. A lot of baseball strategy revolves around it.
@Impz: I don’t really follow baseball too. But my office has quite some baseball culture, so we go to watch matches every now and then
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@more baseball: The switch I was talking about happened during defensive turn. The closer had 2 four balls so the manager took him out. Checking the game stat, actually the manager didn’t sub him with the starter, my bad. The team used 5 pitchers, the last 3 pitchers only played during the last inning.
So I take it that during defensive turn, you are free to change players without no re-entry problem? I suppose the only catch then is the players’ positions when obtaining the 3rd out would be used for the batting order?
Breaking balls are difficult to hit because the make the pitcher unpredictable – the entire point of the slider and the shuuto especially is that they look like a fastball, but break at the last minute. Having one good breaking ball, let alone three would make you a very good high school level pitcher, especially as a freshman.
At the professional level, once you substitute a player, he can’t come back. As more baseball pointed out, while the batting order is fixed, I can arrange my players on defense any way I want (i.e. I can sub out my right fielder with a shortstop, and put the old shortstop in right field to let the new player play at short – but the new shortstop bats where the right fielder did in the order). If use a pinch hitter or runner, if they stay in the game, they bat in the position as the player they replaced, but I can use them anyway I want when fielding.
@Major1138: Thanks for the explanation!
@Impz: I’ve just realized that you mistook Junta for Haruna. Abe’s former pitcher in middle school was Haruna, while Junta seems to be grouped with Kawai or at least with Riou even in middle school. Haruna supposedly pitches faster than Junta but with less control. Junta is pretty down-to-earth and is sometimes lost in his own world, while Haruna has arrogant and selfish.
@Anon: When you sub out a player on the defensive end, you are making a change to the batting order. So if I take the right fielder out, who lets say is batting 6th, move my shortstop batting 8th to right field, and bring in a new shortstop, the new shortstop would be batting 6th, and the old SS/new Right Fielder would remain batting 8th.