For American players, their goal is very clear now:
To get a hit or even a run off Sawamura.
If they can't achieve this, their situation won't improve much.
As for Sawamura, he seemed already accustomed to this state.
Almost every match, he plays this role in opponents' eyes.
The Great Last Boss, the one who must be defeated.
Why is it like this?
Sawamura reflects and thinks it's because he is just too outstanding.
So these guys see him as an enemy.
Though it's unpleasant, there's also a bit of pride.
After all, not everyone has such an opportunity and qualification.
On the surface, the Great Demon King won't show any sign to avoid being underestimated.
But deep inside, Sawamura doesn't reject this feeling.
He even admires the desperation in his opponents' eyes.
Just like now, American players are already bloodshot, desperately wanting to achieve something.
But when facing Sawamura, they are still helpless.
Standing in the Batter's Box, the sixth batter for America is a very powerful hitter.
Although his batting order isn't high or in a key position, he has been the one with the most home runs for America so far.
To be honest, this guy gives a very violent impression.
It's like he's ready to fight at any moment.
And his strength is strong!
When swinging, even if the bat doesn't hit the ball squarely, as long as it touches it slightly, the strong swing power can force the baseball out.
Facing such a violent hitter, previous Sawamura could handle it easily.
After all, Sawamura mastered a variety of breaking balls.
Using his diverse breaking balls against such a brute was a breeze.
The tricky breaks made it very hard for the opponent to hit or even touch the ball.
But now, his high-level breaking balls are sealed.
Many tricky pitches can no longer be used.
Thus, what was Sawamura's greatest advantage
has now become his biggest disadvantage.
When facing this opponent, not only does he gain no advantage, but he might even suffer huge losses.
Breaking balls clearly won't work!
Fortunately, Sawamura isn't limited to breaking balls alone.
He exchanged a simple glance with Renji and quickly decided on a new tactic.
Then he took a stance and decisively threw the baseball.
His pitching rhythm was fast, and the ball's speed was also fast.
Because of Sawamura's unique pitching form, from the batter's view, his pitch seems faster than the actual speed.
Now he changed his pitching rhythm again, making the entire pitching motion faster.
This made the batter very troubled.
The suddenly changing rhythm rendered his planned swing timing useless.
But this isn't the most important thing.
The most important is the pitching locations Sawamura chose.
All were at the edges and corners, the most uncomfortable swing positions for the batter.
'Damn!'
'So damn annoying!'
The American sixth batter's whole state became terrifying.
It's not that his momentum rose, he just felt so awkward and uncomfortable all over.
If asked why, he couldn't explain.
But he hated Sawamura's pitching.
Originally, he could perform at 200%.
Now, he only had 50% left.
His swing became very awkward, unsure if he could even hit the ball.
Before, even knowing he couldn't hit the heart of the ball, he was confident that at least touch it.
But now, swinging awkwardly in this posture, he wasn't even sure he could make contact.
"STRIKE!"
"FOUL!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"
On the field, the presence of the "Great Demon King" Sawamura Eijun is impossible to ignore.
As opponents, the American team players are definitely not weak.
They have the confidence to challenge Sawamura—that is, to challenge a player on the same level as the "Child of Baseball" Allen.
Naturally, they are quite skilled.
During the match against the Japanese team, the American team actually held a slight advantage in performance.
From an overall strength perspective, the American players' abilities exceed those of the Japanese players.
The reason the current score on the field does not reflect this situation is that Japan's ace player, Sawamura, has been astonishingly impressive in performance!
As Fujio, a senior reporter for Baseball Kingdom magazine, put it:
"When partnered with mature teams like Seidou High School's baseball team or the Tokyo representative team, Sawamura automatically suppresses his own strength and gives others chances to perform. This is also why the team's harmony is especially strong when he pitches."
Because Sawamura constantly creates opportunities for his teammates, once they get the chance, they show their abilities.
When they perform well, their confidence grows.
Therefore, what Sawamura Eijun shows on the pitcher's mound is not just the skill of a pitcher.
His most terrifying power lies in his ability to mobilize those around him, to make them act together with him.
He energizes the entire team, allowing them to perform at 100% or even beyond 100% of their potential.
In terms of personal ability, currently, Sawamura may not necessarily be much stronger than Allen.
But when it comes to leading a team, Sawamura surpasses Allen by far.
In the environment of America, on the professional Major League stage, which one is more favored?
No one can make a definitive judgment.
Professional games emphasize teamwork, but also focus on the players' individual skills.
In short, it's a very contradictory place.
However, on Japan's fields, an Ace like Sawamura is likely to achieve much greater things in the future.
He has the skill, and he knows how to unite his teammates.
If he continues on this path, Sawamura will inevitably become the leading figure of this generation's baseball players.
Even though this generation is full of countless geniuses.
To say nothing else, just the talented players in the Tokyo area alone cannot be counted on ten fingers.
Although other regions are not as flourishing as Tokyo, they also have many outstanding players.
The more such geniuses there are, the more prideful each becomes.
Getting them to follow one person's command is definitely not easy.
Fujio and others originally worried that if this generation couldn't find a leading figure, it would be extremely troublesome.
But as Sawamura's performance grew stronger and stronger, the title of Great Demon King was well deserved.
The gap between him and other outstanding players unknowingly widened and kept growing.
Gradually, people acknowledged Sawamura's identity as a leader.
Even when the media reports on the new generation players, they mention Sawamura as their representative.
Privately interviewing those proud star players about their opinion on this matter, although they don't verbally admit it, once they form a team with Sawamura, they all very consciously treat him as the team's core.
Because of this, many even overlook the fact that Sawamura himself is also a very powerful player.
People subconsciously see him as a leader and ignore his terrifying pitching ability.
This illusion mainly arises because Sawamura's particularly dazzling performances have become less frequent.
This, of course, doesn't mean Sawamura is performing poorly.
On the contrary, Sawamura is performing very well, extremely well.
But because the title Great Demon King is so prominent, people subconsciously think any excellent performance from Sawamura is just natural!
Otherwise, how could he be called the Great Demon King?
It's just that the matches themselves have been too calm. Most of the time, he simply crushes opponents with sheer strength.
To the point that people even forget how Sawamura got this nickname.
The nickname Great Demon King did not come only after Sawamura entered Seidou in high school.
Nor did he earn it from consecutive national championships in high school.
Actually, Sawamura got this nickname very early, as far back as his second year of middle school.
That year at Akagi, he seemed to suddenly appear on the world stage.
A grassroots team with nothing, yet they defeated countless strong opponents to reach the top.
Watching Sawamura's games at Akagi, one can understand that the current Sawamura hasn't changed his style, he's just returned to his original style.
Because the team was temporarily assembled and not mature, Sawamura didn't dare to entrust too important defensive tasks to teammates.
For this reason, he had to fiercely overcome all opponents by himself.
Not giving them the slightest chance—either strike them out, or force them to hit a fly ball.
Paak!
…