What should be the jersey number of the number one ace in baseball?

If it is the number one ace in the Japanese professional baseball circle, this question can be easily answered.

It's either the 18th or the 19th.

At the Yomiuri Little Giant Kanagawa Training Base in Tokyo, several OB trucks gathered outside the gate. Armed with all kinds of weapons, long guns and short artillery, reporters from all walks of life completely occupied the media seats outside the protective network on the side of the training ground.

Pitching on the pitcher's mound is a player wearing an orange Giants jersey who is born with a baby face and looks even more childish on the professional baseball court.

He stepped onto the pitcher's board and hid the ball in his glove with his right hand. Raise your legs, twist your waist, step up, shake your arms, and throw the baseball smoothly.

"Bang!" The sound of a hard ball smashing into a catcher's glove.

"Takami, very good!" After the catcher took the ball out of his glove, he didn't pass it to the pitcher's mound again, but lifted his mask and got up to leave the squat.

The catcher came to the pitcher's mound, but his eyes were squeezing his eyebrows and hinting at the press box on the side of the court, "Takami, many of these reporters are coming for you." ”

"Kobayashi-senpai, you know, I'm not very good at these off-court things." Baby-faced pitcher Yuki Takami stepped back from the pitcher's board, and he bent down to pick up the talcum powder bag that had landed behind the pitcher's mound.

"Oh, oh, don't be so cold, super newcomer Takami-kun, even if you are Mr. 100 million yuan who won the signing fee of 100 million yuan, you can't be too cold to me, the catcher......" The catcher Seiji Kobayashi saw that Yuki Takami was still unhurriedly pinching the talcum powder bag, and the baby-faced pitcher Takami seemed indifferent to what his predecessor said, Kobayashi Seiji rolled his eyes and said threateningly, "Be careful that I divorce you and find a new love!" ”

"Senior Xiaolin, please don't always talk about the 100 million signing fee. As you know, my annual income is only 15 million. Baby-faced pitcher Yuki Takami gently threw the talcum powder bag he was holding in his right hand to the ground, "The current trump card of our team is the predecessor of Kanno Chi, in other words, he is the original partner of the senior of the catcher Kobayashi, right?" There was no trace of mood swings in the baby-faced pitcher's tone, but there was a powerful counterattack between his words, "Presumably...... Kobayashi's seniors must know what the number of Kanno's seniors is? ”

What is the ...... I really can't pick it up, Seiji Kobayashi rolled his eyes, avoiding the real and empty, "Okay, super newcomer-kun, I finally understand, you kid...... Lacks a bit of humor. ”

Yuki Takami stretched out his hand, asking for the ball, "Senior Kobayashi, if you have time to chat, it's better to hurry up and throw a few more balls......"

Xiao Lin did not hand the baseball in his glove to his friend Takami, but turned around, waved his right arm, "dang" the baseball, and threw it into the barrel containing the ball - the bucket was placed in the home plate circle.

Xiao Lin turned around, crossed his hands on his waist, and looked at his little friend Gao Jian calmly, "Relax, relax, super newcomer, you have already shot 100 balls just now, but there are 125 games in the whole season, counting 18 exchange battles, it is 143 games." Xiao Lin looked up at the sky, his eyes revealing a distant and meaningful emotion, "Super Rookie Jun, if you are in a hurry to burn the small universe now, then the fuel in your fuel tank may not last for the second half of the season." ”

Xiao Lin refocused his eyes on his little friend Gao Jian's body, "Let yourself relax naturally, and let the whole body gradually enter the state......

Takami interrupted what Kobayashi was about to say, "The seniors are the main catchers of the team, and there are only two catchers in the login list of the entire First Army, but the pitchers in the login list, especially during the spring training, there is a large list ......of names, and now that the spring training is over, the season is about to begin, and many people have come and gone, and they don't even have their names left."

Looking at the chattering little friend Gao Jian in front of him, Xiao Lin gradually revealed an unfathomable and wonderful expression. Takami, who was talking to himself, sensitively noticed the change in Kobayashi's expression, and Takami stopped nagging on his own.

Xiao Lin seemed to have seen through someone's thoughts, "Haha, super newcomer-kun, it turns out that you are still worried that you will be demoted from the first army to the second army......"

Remaining silent at this time is equivalent to acquiescing in Kobayashi's judgment, and Takami hurriedly explained, "No, I'm not worried about this, senior......"

Xiao Lin restrained his smile, and his face was completely serious, "Takami, what day is tomorrow?" ”

Without thinking, Takami blurted out, "It's the day the opening game begins." ”

“Bingo！ Answer is correct! Xiao Lin nodded, "Then let me ask you again, are you in the first army or the second army now?" ”

Yuki Takami has an expression that you take me for a fool, "This is the training ground of the First Army......"

"Since this is the training ground of the First Army, and tomorrow is the start of the game, and you can still stay here now......" Kobayashi paused for a moment, "You use your smart little brain and think about it, what does this mean?" ”

Kobayashi's words caused an electric spark of inspiration to flash through Yuki Takami's mind, and then burst out with a feeling of enlightenment. Takami unconsciously showed a happy expression, and his relieved smile combined with his natural baby face exuded a natural and innocent temperament - making people feel like Yuki Takami was like a big boy in the neighborhood.

"Don't giggle, super newcomer, go for a run, consume your excess energy, and by the way, consume the pressure you have accumulated, reserve physical energy, and accumulate strength is the most important thing you should do now, instead of staying here and thinking nonsense." Kobayashi turned around and turned his back to his young partner, "Takami, hurry up and get out of the pitcher's hill, besides you, others also need to practice pitching, and they also need to accumulate strength for the game!" With that, Kobayashi walked to the home plate catcher position.

Do you have the strength to build up...... As if he had come to his senses, Yuki Takami turned around and walked towards the side of the court, but after only a few steps, he began to jog in small steps, and the number behind the jersey began to dance in the spring breeze, the Arabic numeral 18, as if he was alive.

Xiao Lin returned to the catcher position, suddenly remembered something, and said loudly, "Takami, there is another event tonight, don't forget it." ”

Takami in the jogging didn't look back, "Oh, I see!" ”

"Oh yes, are you going to run with pitcher gloves?" Kobayashi is angry and funny.

"Bang!" The poor pitcher's gloves flew straight to the rest area, just in time to be picked up by Superintendent Takahashi, who was not long in his retirement from Shin to coach and then superintendent, but it turned out that he still retains the quality of an athlete.

Superintendent Takahashi hasn't reacted yet, whose pitcher's gloves? How could it suddenly fly into my hands like a flying fairy out of the sky? Superintendent Takahashi looked confused, and the perpetrator had already run over in a puff of smoke.

Xiao Lin squatted in the catcher position, watched the little friend who was gradually moving away, and silently put on a mask.

"Kobayashi-kun, I seem to have heard something interesting just now...... What other adult activities do you seem to have in the evenings? Supervisor Takahashi suddenly popped up and interrupted Kobayashi's train of thought, "As the supervisor of this team, I think I should ask, what kind of plane are you going to take the team's super newcomer to get the night before the opening game?" ”

Seiji Kobayashi suddenly chuckled in his heart...... What a cake!

Yuki Takami was running, and of course it was impossible to listen to how Kobayashi-senpai explained to the overseer.

Running Takami Yuki, at this moment, his own voice is surging all over his body:

I'm going to gather strength.

I'm going to stay in the First Army.

I'm going to make my debut.

I'm going to get the winning shot.

My goal is the rookie king!

My jersey number is 18!

I'm going to be the number one ace in Japanese baseball!