July had arrived, and the season had reached its midway point. Thomas, who had been sidelined with a muscle strain, made his return at the end of June, leading to the demotion of Uchizawa and Noda to the second team. Thomas reclaimed his position as the regular second baseman for the first team, with Arai as the regular shortstop. Iida and Katsuyama were brought in occasionally for defensive support.
Since his first start in the minors, Mitamura had pitched in three games, each with a ten-day gap in between. He completed five innings in each outing and maintained an impressive ERA in the single digits.
Taniguchi, on the other hand, boasted a .310 batting average and 14 home runs in the minors, yet he hadn't received a call-up to the majors. I had played in 43 games, batting .286 with two home runs, my best numbers to date. With these stats, my confidence grew, and I felt my batting skills improving. *Maybe it's time to push for a spot in the first team.*
One day after a game, I was called into the office by the second-team manager, Kemigawa. I knocked and entered to find him sitting at his desk, writing something.
"Excuse me, did you call for me?"
"Yes, Takashi. I've got news for you. You're being promoted to the first team."
"Really?" I couldn't hide my excitement, but I also wondered why now.
"As you know, Thomas is the regular second baseman on the first team, but he's been underperforming this year."
It was true. Since returning from his injury, Thomas had been hitting reasonably well, but he hadn't regained his previous form. In 37 games, he had a .269 batting average with six home runs—not bad, but not exceptional for a foreign player.
"With an eye to the future, the team wants to give young players a chance. Normally, Uchizawa would be promoted, but he's been lackluster even in the minors."
Uchizawa had initially performed well after being promoted to the first team in my place, but his weaknesses were quickly exploited, and his batting average plummeted. Even after his demotion, he struggled, hitting just .200 in the minors.
"There will be more opportunities for you to play in the first team this time. Don't come back here again," Kemigawa said with a smile.
"Thank you. I'll do my best."
"That's right. Haratani is also being promoted to the first team. Let's work hard together."
"Yes," I replied, feeling a mix of excitement and determination. *Will this finally be Haratani's first promotion?*
But there was something I couldn't ignore. "Um, what about Taniguchi? He's been doing well in the minors. Won't he be promoted?"
Kemigawa's expression darkened. "Taniguchi… He's doing a good job, but he's hard to utilize at the higher levels. He can't be used as a defensive replacement or pinch runner like you, and his batting skills are still not reliable enough for the first team. He's the type of player who excels with regular at-bats."
*I see.* Taniguchi was an outfielder, not a bad defender but mediocre at the professional level. The Shizuoka Oceanians' outfield was packed with fast, defensively skilled players like Tajima, Nishitani, and Takeshita, as well as the power-hitting Takahashi Koji, the foreign player Stratos, and the strong-armed Odashima. It was fierce competition. Additionally, the new foreign player Gutten had been playing almost every game as the designated hitter. With these factors, Taniguchi's promotion had been postponed.
The first team was set to play a three-game series against the Shikoku Islands in Takamatsu starting tomorrow. We'd take the Shinkansen to Okayama and then change trains to Shikoku.
This was Haratani's first time in Shikoku, and he was constantly looking around, marveling at everything he saw. It felt like I was leading a travel tour. I wanted to say, "Hey, don't look around so much," but I held back, feeling like an older brother.
The team had never played a game in Shikoku before since we were in a different league. I had been to Shikoku several times on school trips during high school, so it wasn't new to me.
"Did you know? In Kagawa Prefecture homes, there's a faucet next to the water tap that dispenses udon soup," I told Haratani. "And green tanuki aren't selling well because soba noodles aren't popular."
He believed me, proving that it was easier to fool Haratani than a baby. *Be careful of scams, Haratani.*
*This is my second chance with the first team this season.* This time, I wanted to make the most of the opportunity.