geekyjoys

[geekyjoys]

Sun and Moon Internet-verse Master Page

This is just a master list of all the things I’ve written for my fic, the Sun and Moon verse to make it easier to navigate. If you scroll down to the bottom of (most of) the articles, a link to the master page should be there. I might’ve missed a few though, my apologies.

I’ve also sorted them into timelines. If you’re here and you haven’t read the whole fic yet, stick to the non-spoiler half. If you’ve read farther than that, feel free to press “keep reading” and look at the rest as well!

I feel like I am also obligated to note that none of these articles are strictly necessary for your understanding of Sun and Moon (I’m almost certain the fic currently posted on AO3 can stand on its own without these supplementary articles). These are just little things I put together for worldbuilding and also to help me organize my own thoughts a little when making teams and creating events. If you don’t want to waste your time, you can just skip straight ahead to the story.

Non-spoiler (chapters 1-4 safe)

Teams + Player Profiles:

Nagano Jets (Independent)

Yomiuri Giants (NPB)

Nagano Uni. Wolves (Collegiate) [in progress]

Sawamura Eijun Profile (Collegiate) [in progress]

Articles:

Miyuki Kazuya exposed for scandal...

Misc:

Annual College - Major Practice Tournament

Non-spoiler (chapters 5-8 safe)

Teams + Player Profiles:

New Nagano Jets (Independent) [in progress]

New Sawamura Eijun Profile (Independent) [in progress]

Articles:

Mihashi Ren and Abe Takaya retire... [tba]

Spoilers Below *** (chapters 9+)

Teams + Player Profiles:

New Saitama Seibu Lions (NPB) [in progress]

New Yoimuri Giants (NPB) [in progress]

New Miyuki Kazuya Profile (NPB) [in progress]

Articles:

Misc:

Author’s note: tba means I just haven’t linked the article yet because it’s not yet relevant to the story. in progress means i haven’t yet written the article ^^

[geekyjoys]

Yui Kaoru Profile

Nagano Jets - First Base, Catcher

Birthday: April 27

Bats: L     |    Throws: R

Jersey #: 31

This Season’s Stats:

Batting AVG:  0.351   |   Home Runs: 6   |   RBIs: 67   |   Games Played: 56

High School: Seido High School (Kantou Prefecture)

University/Independent Team: Nagano Jets

This is Yui Kaoru’s fourth and last year with the Jets. He is “informally contracted” to the Chiba Lotte Marines for the next two seasons as a bullpen catcher. It is expected for him to be promoted to the main roster after these two seasons.

Links and Social Media:

Personal Twitter   |   Personal Instagram   |   Wikipedia   |   Latest News

Trivia:

Yui is part of the “small squad” at the Jets, as he is one of the shortest players on the primary roster (along with Kominato and Mihashi)

Yui is infamous within the baseball community, especially those that follow Little League and High School baseball. In Little League, Yui was the team captain that lead Japan to second place in the Little League World Series, narrowly losing to the Taiwanese delegates. In his third year of high school, he was team captain for Seido High School, where his team made it to the semifinals during Summer Koshien.

He has the best stamina on the team. (“It’s not stamina, it’s stupidity and resilience” —Okumura)

He has stated during interviews before that he “loves the pressure” of his fame, despite many asking if it hinders him. He enjoys rising to the expectations and proving people wrong.

Yui and Hinata Shoyo of the Black Adlers volleyball team are close friends—apparently they met and bonded during the most recent Asian Games, where they were both delegates competing to represent Japan.

Despite being one of the smallest members of the team, Yui can out-eat and out-drink almost everyone else. (The only person with a bigger stomach than him is Yuki, and the only person who can out-drink him is Abe.)

[Link to master page]

[geekyjoys]

DNA Act II CH 218

So I guess I’ve been making it a habit to do these analysis-type posts, so here’s one for the recent chapter.

In case you were confused about what happened, and what this could mean for the plot:

*spoilers for any anime-only peeps. seriously, this spoils a lot.*

Ok so, in the recent chapter, QUITE A LOT HAPPENED. We had this happen to Maezono:

[Maezono is practicing batting and the ball hits his foot. He has trouble standing afterwards.]

And I don’t even know what to feel about this:

[Kawakami grabs a bottle but unexpectedly drops it. He is confused about what happens, and is later seen holding his elbow.]

THIS IS A LOT TO UNPACK!! And just take a look at what the chapter ends with:

But?? But what, Terajima-sensei?? Hmmm????

Injuries

So we know for a fact that Terajima is not afraid of injuries. Of course, with sports, injuries are natural and can happen to anyone. However, with other sports anime (namely Haikyuu!!, Free!, Kuroko no Basket, Yuri!! on Ice, etc) injuries are sort of glossed over. Or, there are the few “token characters” that have one or experience one. Think of Daichi, Oikawa, and Yaku in HQ, Sosuke in Free!, Teppei in KnB, and... no one(??) in YOI.

In these few instances, the characters were injured but it was considered a “minor inconvenience” and the character usually continued playing, or could play the next match. Sosuke and Teppei are a little different, they actually required surgery and rehabilitation, but they were still allowed to play through an injury and it was not a major plot point.

DnA, on the other hand...

How many major injuries have we seen? (Major in terms of plot, not major as in the severity of the injury itself).

We had Miyuki’s torn muscle that led to him being effectively booted off the team during the spring tournament. He was the captain, cleanup, and “genius catcher”, yet the coach and team still made the decision to not let him play. Sure, we didn’t really see the spring tournament in the anime, but the fact that an injury like this put Miyuki out of commission for nearly an entire month is unreal. He’s the most popular and most-loved character in DnA. He’s the most relied-upon in the team. He makes the most calls as catcher and captain. 

Then there’s Furuya and both (you read it right: BOTH) his injuries. His back and his ankle. Both put him in recovery/rest for a number of weeks. Both were catalysts for Sawamura to start growing as the “top pitcher”, and move into the ace position.

Ono’s injury was... damn. I don’t even need to talk about it. It was what allowed Yui and Okumura to gain experience on the first-string.

In short, Terajima does not shy away from injuries. And instead of making them all minor, he uses the injuries to develop character relationships and skills. This means that injuries are not just there for shock value. Injuries are not “minor scares”. An injury means a player is taken out of the game and possibly the whole tournament. Terajima takes injuries seriously, and I respect him for that.

Let’s go back to the pictures. 

Analysis

Maezono getting hit in the foot is a bad thing. That was a full-speed pitch, and he hit it top-strength. Maezono is part of Seido’s cleanup, a school known for it’s explosive lineup. There is no way his foot is anything less than badly bruised.

I’d dare to say it’s even broken. It looks like it hit the top of the arch of his foot, around his metatarsals. Fractured metatarsals require around 6 or more weeks, depending on the severity of the fracture. (oh no)

Kawakami is a side-arm pitcher. Side-arm pitchers pitch from the 1/2 slot. (If you know how pitching from different slots works, ignore the rest of this paragraph.) Submarine pitchers pitch from somewhere between 0 and 1/4. We have only seen one submarine pitcher on DnA, as they are extremely rare: even then, this submarine pitcher pitches from a higher-than-normal slot for submarine. (I can’t find a video, but it’s the pitcher from the game that Miyuki sings “aim and swing” with the band.) Furuya and Sawamura could be overhand pitchers. Most pitchers pitch from this slot. There is also 3/4 which is somewhere in between. I think Umemiya pitches from this slot, but I’m not entirely sure. 3/4 is the most natural pitching motion, and is by far the healthiest. [also a note... sidearm, 3/4, and overhand aren’t exactly their positions. Overhand isn’t exactly above the head and looks more like 3/4 if you’re going purely by sight and cutting up the “pie”. 3/4 is like overhand with a bent arm. Overhand is at the 3/4 slot but with a straighter arm. If you’re confused, there are a bunch of better explanations on the internet because I cannot for the life of me describe this]

Sidearm and submarine pitchers tend to put more strain on their elbows while 3/4 and overhand pitchers use their shoulders. Not to say that 3/4 and overhand pitchers don’t throw out their elbows, or sidearm pitchers can’t injure their shoulders, they absolutely do. It’s just that sidearm puts considerably more strain on the elbow than others, and 3/4 and overhand puts more strain on the shoulder than the elbow. (This is why when Furuya injured his back, everyone was concerned that it was his shoulder.)

Kawakami feeling stiffness in his arm and holding his elbow is a very bad thing. At the very least, it demands rest, ice, and absolutely no playing. At the very most, he already needs surgery. It could mean that he’s at risk of permanently damaging his throwing arm if he continues without treatment.

With games against Ichidaisan and (potentially) Inashiro, depending on who wins the semifinals, I don’t know how Seido could fare without Maezono and Kawakami. They are both vital members to the team: Maezono as cleanup and Kawakami as a closing pitcher. 

I think Maezono’s out of the Ichidaisan game, for sure. Even if it’s just a bruise, he’ll have a hard time playing. Kawakami... I don’t know. If he tells the coach about the pain, he won’t be allowed to play. If he gets put in a game as a closer and ends up injuring himself, it means someone else will have to step up as pitcher.

I’m scared guys.

[geekyjoys]

Future Seido Positions (an Analysis)

So,,, it’s probably not going to happen for a WHILE in the manga, but I was just speculating with a couple of friends about what the future Seido lineup would be. You know, after Miyuki and the other third-years graduate (or at least retire from the team). I’ve been looking around a bit, and I haven’t seen another post quite like this. If there is one out there, I’m sorry!

So, just to give this a bit of structure, I’ll first go through all the positions in order. Maybe next, I’ll talk about batting lineups and/or Captainship. I have some cool theories about those.

This is very long and very analytical/technical. I would also like to add that this is very much speculation. 

This contains some light spoilers about the matches in the manga. If you’ve only seen the anime, read with caution. It’s not too bad—tbh, if you haven’t read the manga, you probably won’t even notice it—but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Pitcher:

Sawamura

Furuya

Toujou

Kuki

Asada

Kaneda

For the ace number, I honestly don’t know who it could go to. Both Sawamura and Furuya are nearing peak performance. I think Sawamura has a stronger chance because he seems like the “ace figure” and can inspire the team naturally. Though Furuya’s pitching is arguably stronger and more overwhelming, I just don’t get the same vibe. This is me looking at both the anime and the manga; Sawamura’s pitching seems to inspire better batting and base-running (like in the games against Norikane and Seihou where his pitching caused the batters to perform better).

Toujou is finally getting acknowledged by the coach as a pitcher and I’m so happy for him! As for Kuki and Asada, I’m thinking that something similar will happen to them—they’ll probably be put in the outfield due to their strong arms and dependable aim while they develop more as pitchers. Both left and right field are covered by third-years, so I can see Kuki and Asada taking over those positions, while also occasionally covering for center field whenever Toujou pitches.

Kaneda is currently #18 on the roster, and usually plays right field. We haven’t gotten much development about him, but he is on the first-string, and he has played a few innings as a reserve pitcher.

Also, just a note, we actually have enough pitchers to fulfill the six-man rotation system that is generally used in the NPB! Not pertinent by any means, but still kinda cool.

Catcher:

Okumura

Yui

Kariba

I don’t think Kariba is going to get #2 after Miyuki leaves. It sounds harsh to say, and he’s such a sweet boi (Season 2, episode 22 when he cried after Sawamura learned the changeups) but he doesn’t stand out at all. Neither the manga nor the anime are giving him focus, and he doesn’t have any special skills.

For Okumura and Yui, I think it depends on who becomes the ace. Okumura was developed as sort of the “next Miyuki”. He has the “thinking baseball”, with his ability to come up with intense strategies that utilize the whole team. He is also a very talented catcher, and can catch both Furuya and Sawamura’s pitches (usually) on the first try. I think he would be the perfect catcher to lead an Ace Sawamura’s wide range of numbers.

Yui, on the other hand, isn’t as naturally gifted as Okumura when it comes to catching. He struggles a bit with Furuya’s pitches and is considered “too short” to be a professional ball player. But his strength lies in his leadership. Not necessarily in game-calling, but over the whole team. He was the captain of Japan’s Representative team in the Little League World Series. He’s probably going to be the captain after the current second-years graduate. I think he’ll be the main catcher if Furuya’s the ace. Like I said before, Furuya doesn’t seem to have the natural leadership like Sawamura does. I think Yui’s talent in that aspect will make up for Furuya’s lack.

First Baseman:

Yuuki

Asada (??)

This one was honestly difficult. The first base is covered only by third-years, and none of the underclassmen (at least, from my memory, and from perusing the fandom Wiki) play the same position. I think Yuuki is a solid bet because his brother played the same position. Asada might also cover the position because he’s tall and throws with his left, which are both ideal qualities for a first baseman.

Of course, a new first-year might come in with stellar abilities who makes it onto first-string immediately, but that’s purely speculation.

Second Baseman:

Kominato (Haruichi)

Seto

Takatsu (??)

Haruichi’s got this position. Seto’s proven himself a capable batter, base-runner, and baseman overall, but Haruichi’s got those as well. Secondly, he’s the senior player, and already has trust built-up with the other teammembers. He’s proven himself reliable.

Takatsu plays shortstop but I just put him here for shits and giggles. He’s also branching out to other positions, like third (and I believe something in outfield as well??). Second isn’t too different from SS, though I don’t know if he’d be agile enough for it.

Third Baseman:

Kanemaru

Takatsu

Kanemaru’s the only player we really know of that can play third base reliably. There’s one first-year listed as a third baseman, but we don’t know much about him yet.

Like I said previously, Takatsu’s been branching out of playing SS. During practice fielding drills, he joined Kanemaru and Higasa on the third-base.

Shortstop:

Seto

Takatsu

Ok, so, I know Seto’s a second baseman. But from the way he’s being developed, it really seems like Terajima-sensei’s building him up to be the next Kuramochi. He’s a decent batter, a really smart and fast baserunner, and has amazing synergy with the catcher. I think he’d form a great cornerstone-duo with Haruichi, as well as be a great leadoff batter to replace Kuramochi.

Shifting from second base to shortstop isn’t too complex, especially with young teenagers who haven’t gotten completely used to their positions yet, and have an easier time learning how to do new things. SS requires someone fast, someone with a good arm, and someone with a good relationship with the second baseman. We’ve already seen Seto during a practice match, and he’s already started to develop a relationship with Haruichi. If you recall, during those “hangout sessions in Miyuki’s room”, Haruichi and Seto were both called “gaming gods/devils” and challenged one another to a video game match.

Takatsu is the upperclassman here, but he hasn’t gotten nearly as much development as Seto has—at least when it comes to relationships with other characters and overall play/style analysis.

Left Fielder:

Yuuki

Kuki

Yui or Okumura (??)

Yuuki’s the only one that currently plays left field besides the pitchers. I don’t think Seido would want to tire out the better part of their pitching relay before they even get on the mound, so the reserves will probably be filled by an incoming first-year. Unless I’m missing something.

Kuki is a pitcher, so he could probably use his arm really well in this position. And mostly just because I don’t have anyone else to put here.

I think it’s also possible that Yui or Okumura fill this position when they’re not playing catcher. The ball often goes to left field a little less than the other positions because batters tend to pull the ball the way they bat (ie, right-handed batters will usually pull the ball to right-field, and there are more right-handed batters than left). For this reason, left fielders don’t need to be the fastest on the team. They are usually good batters to supplement the batting lineup, and have decent arms to throw to the bases, or back home. Both Okumura and Yui have shown themselves to be decent batters (in Yui’s case, even prodigious) and Okumura has an exceptional arm (shown by his throw to second during warmups before the first-year vs senpai match).

Center Fielder:

Toujou

Kuki

Toujou’s already proven his worth as a center fielder. I think he’d probably continue to play this position unless he was chosen to be a closing pitcher for a game. If he was the starting pitcher, he could always be put into center field later in the game.

I chose Kuki over Asada here because Asada’s windup, pitching, curve, and speed are all very slow. The center fielder has the most area to cover, and has to have an incredible arm and aim to throw back to home from all the way in the outfield. I think Kuki, as a disciple of Toujou, would probably take to this role more than Asada.

Right Fielder:

Kaneda

Kagami

Kaneda’s the only one listed among the second-years that plays right field. Kagami is a first-year who I vaguely recognize. The Wiki says he’s a right fielder, though, so who am I to argue?

Any thoughts? I’m not a baseball expert, and I don’t remember all the characteristics of each second and first-year so please feel free to correct me on anything!

[geekyjoys]

Sawamura Eijun Profile

Nagano Jets - Backup Pitcher, Backup Left

Birthday: May 15

Bats: L     |   Throws: L

Jersey #: 18

This Season’s Stats:

Batting AVG:  N/A   |   Home Runs: N/A   |   RBIs: N/A   |   Games Played: 0

ERA: N/A   |   Number of Pitches: 12 (?)   |   Top Speed: 150kph (?)

(note: Sawamura is a new player to the semi-professional scene, so these stats are incomplete and/or based off rumors or outdated information)

High School: Akagi High School

University/Independent Team: Nagano University Wolves / Nagano Jets

This is Sawamura Eijun’s first season with the Nagano Jets. He tried out at Nagano University during the New-Year tryouts and was immediately brought onto the team for the College-Major Tournament. He is a relative rookie to the Independent League, but if he has enough talent to immediately become a starter (over 50+ players that are still on the second string), many have high hopes.

Links and Social Media:

Personal Twitter   |   Personal Instagram   |   Wikipedia   |   Latest News

Trivia:

Sawamura is the newest member of the Nagano Jets, becoming the new 4th pitcher after Mihashi Ren’s draft into the NPB. Although he is the same age as Kominato Haruichi, the other (younger) members say that “he treats us like older brothers”.

Sawamura and Miyuki Kazuya of the Yomiuri Giants know each other well. Miyuki has apparently caught all 12 of Sawamura’s pitches and even helped him fix his form.

Sawamura’s enthusiasm is one of the first things you notice about him. He is loud and encouraging from the dugout. He always has a smile on his face.

[Link to master page]

[geekyjoys]

ok I love sato (Major) from the bottom of my heart but he’s really a little bitch sometimes

[geekyjoys]

Ok so I was just watching Major and I saw this map on episode 12. Tag urself, I’m SanDiago

[geekyjoys]

Mihashi Ren Profile

Nagano Jets - Primary Pitcher, Backup Left

Birthday: March 1

Bats: L     |   Throws: R

Jersey #: 1

This Season’s Stats:

Batting AVG:  0.188   |   Home Runs: 1   |   RBIs: 9   |   Games Played: 30

ERA: 2.581   |   Number of Pitches: 5   |   Top Speed: 130kph

High School: Nishiura High School (Saitama Prefecture)

University/Independent Team: Nagano Jets

This is Mihashi Ren’s fourth year with the Jets. He has admitted that he considers this his last year in the independent league, and plans to hopefully join a Major League team with his battery partner and best friend, Abe Takaya.

Links and Social Media:

Personal Twitter   |   Personal Instagram   |   Wikipedia   |   Latest News

Trivia:

Mihashi is terrified of dogs. He doesn’t know why, but he’s “extremely terrified of even the smallest dogs”.

Mihashi and Abe (primary catcher for the Nagano Jets) have been a battery since their first year of high school. That means they’re going on their eighth year of playing baseball together, and are hoping to join the same Major League team in the future.

Mihashi loves to read manga in his spare time.

Mihashi is part of the “small squad” in the Nagano Jets, as he is one of the three smallest players.

He is known for his accuracy while pitching, despite his relative slow-speed fastballs.

[Link to master page]

[geekyjoys]

Abe Takaya Profile

Nagano Jets - Primary Catcher, Backup First Base

Birthday: December 11

Bats: R     |   Throws: R

Jersey #: 2

This Season’s Stats:

Batting AVG:  0.352   |   Home Runs: 31   |   RBIs: 94   |   Games Played: 72

High School: Nishiura High School (Saitama Prefecture)

University/Independent Team: Nagano Jets

This is Abe Takaya’s fourth year with the Jets. He has admitted that he considers this his last year in the independent league, and plans to hopefully join a Major League team with his battery partner and best friend, Mihashi Ren.

Links and Social Media:

Personal Twitter   |   Personal Instagram   |   Wikipedia   |   Latest News

Trivia:

Abe is very good at mathematics. He has stated it was his favorite subject in school and is currently studying to become a CPA at Nagano University.

Abe is the current captain of the Nagano Jets, and says that they are “the team that listens the most to my instructions”, as he was also the vice-captain of his team all three years of high school.

Abe despises protein shakes, although he forces himself to drink them in order to stay healthy.

[Link to master page]

[geekyjoys]

now that school’s out, instead of not doing homework and writing fics instead, I’m going to be NOT writing fics and doing absolutely nothing productive. ahhhhhh

[geekyjoys]

Narumiya Mei Profile

Yomiuri Giants - Primary Pitcher

Birthday: January 5

Bats: L     |   Throws: L

Jersey #: 18

This Season’s Stats:

Batting AVG:  0.298   |   Home Runs: 14   |   RBIs: 31   |   Games Played: 25

ERA: 2.198   |   Number of Pitches: 4   |   Top Speed: 156kph

High School: Inashiro Industrial High School (West Tokyo)

University/Independent Team: Waseda University (two years)

Narumiya Mei signed an eight-season contract with the Giants four years ago.

Links and Social Media:

Personal Twitter   |   Personal Instagram   |   Wikipedia   |   Latest News

Trivia:

Narumiya and Kamiya both went to the same high school, although Kamiya stayed at his university for a full four years before joining the Giants.

Narumiya studied geography at Waseda University, and has stated that, should his baseball career not work out (though it seems unlikely that would happen), he would return to his studies and become a professor.

His changeup is ranked one of the “scariest pitches” currently in the NPB. Many players have called it “completely and utterly unfair”, and analysts claim it’s a “miracle pitch” especially when paired with Miyuki Kazuya and Takigawa Chris Yuu’s strategic game-calling.

Narumiya is the youngest child with two older sisters. His oldest sister, Narumiya Maya, played softball in high school and university as an outfielder. Although she retired from the sport after university, Narumiya (Mei) has stated that he still looks up to his older sister.

Narumiya was born in Tokyo, although both his parents are American citizens. His father is half-Japanese and an Officer in the US Navy, stationed in Japan, and Narumiya “grew up more Japanese than American”. Ironic, considering he is only 1/4th Japanese.

Though his mother is not completely fluent in Japanese, Narumiya cannot speak fluent English. He says they communicate using a “bastardized combination of both languages”, as they both understand much of each other’s language. But as evidenced by his vlogs in America last year, he does understand English better than most people.

[Link to master page]

[geekyjoys]

Kominato Haruichi Profile

Nagano Jets - Second Base, Backup Shortstop

Birthday: March 1

Bats: R     |   Throws: R

Jersey #: 4

This Season’s Stats:

Batting AVG:  0.392   |   Home Runs: 12   |   RBIs: 122   |   Games Played: 84

High School: Ubugawa High School (Kanagawa Prefecture)

University/Independent Team: Nagano Jets

This is Kominato Haruichi’s fifth year with the Jets. He has not stated whether or not he plans to leave the Jets to sign an NPB contract, or to retire from the sport in the next coming seasons. However, he will become eligible for free agency at the conclusion of his next season (due to the six year free-agency rule). Alongside training with the Jets, he attends an online university to pursue a degree in law.

Links and Social Media:

Personal Twitter   |   Personal Instagram   |   Wikipedia   |   Latest News

Trivia:

Kominato is part of the “small squad” at the Jets, as he is one of the shortest players on the primary roster (along with Yui and Mihashi)

Kominato’s older brother, Kominato Ryosuke, is also a veteran of the Nagano Jets, though he stayed with the team for just three years before retiring from the sport due to a recurring injury. He now works as a high-school coach.

Kominato is currently the most veteran player on the Jets. (He is not the oldest, but he has been with the team the longest). “Everyone wants to make fun of my height, but they’re too scared of my senpai status.”

Kominato went to high school with his current teammates, Tojou, Kanemaru, and Asada (though Asada is a year younger than the other three). In their years of playing baseball, they unfortunately did not make it to Koshien, but Kominato did secure his name as one of the top small-ball hitters in Kanagawa.

Kominato grew up speaking fluent English. His mother is fully foreign, though the Kominatos did not specify from where due to privacy concerns.

[Link to master page]

Author’s Note: The NPB actually has a nine-year free agency rule but, for the sake of the story, I’ve cut it down to six years like the MLB.

[geekyjoys]

Annual College Tournament

The Japanese Annual College - Major Practice Tournament

Purpose

Structure

Tournament Leaders

Right around Christmas and the new year, Japan has a tradition where the colleges and unaffiliated/independent teams will play practice matches against participating NPB teams. Industrial teams are excluded from these practice matches due to advertising conflicts. This is called the College-Major Tournament (although it’s not really a tournament because no one really “wins” a title or prize at the end). It is sponsored mainly by the Yomiuri Giants, who started the tradition nearly thirty years ago when they requested local Tokyo college teams to practice with their main roster over the winter break since no other Major teams would available for practice. The next year it spread to other NPB teams within the Kanto region.

Currently, almost every NPB team participates with their local college or independent teams, and some of the better-funded teams (namely the College League’s Tokyo Big6 and the Independent League’s Nagano Jets) have the resources to travel outside of their region and participate in more games with more teams.

Purpose:

This tournament gives the managers and players of professional teams a chance to scope out potential talent before the draft at the end of the following season. It’s also a novelty tournament; not many college students can say they’ve played a game against star NPB players (although many starters tend to sit most of the games out to reduce the risk of injury). It gives all the players games to look forward to between the end of the season and spring-training of the next season.

The games almost always happen in the hosting NPB team’s stadium to allow for a larger audience, as well as to let the collegiate teams experience playing in a major league stadium.

Although largely overshadowed by the Hakone Ekiden, which takes place at roughly the same time, the College-Major Tournament has secured broadcasting rights on many major TV stations. Some of the more popular college and unaffiliated players even shoot commercials prior to the tournament.

Structure:

Each team plays anywhere from 15-20 games during this three-week period, with up to three games happening simultaneously all across the country. The games are also structured in a way that each “league” does not play against their own teams. For example, one NPB team would not play a game against another NPB team, and the same goes for the Independent and College Leagues. This is to prevent games against players who already get to compete during the normal baseball season.

All the participating teams are scored against one another and given a rank, no matter which league they come from. Additionally, one member from each of the three leagues is chosen to be MVP (a new tradition added just 10 years ago to encourage participation and competitiveness). Currently, Narumiya Mei holds the most MVPs at three with one from his rookie season at Waseda and two during his time with the Giants. Miyuki Kazuya and Abe Takaya are tied at two.

Last Year’s Tournament Leaders:

Yomiuri Giants (NPB): 17 - 3 (20 total)

Softbank Hawks (NPB): 15 - 3 (18 total)

Nagano Jets (Independent): 15 - 5 (20 total)

Nippon-Ham Fighters (NPB): 13 - 5 (18 total)

Waseda University (Tokyo Big6): 12 - 5 (17 total)

Last Year’s MVPs:

Miyuki Kazuya (NPB)

Kominato Haruichi (Independent)

Daigo Shigeno (College)

[Link to master page]

Author’s Note: this is not an actual tournament. It was created solely for the purpose of this fic.

[geekyjoys]

Nagano Jets - Independent Team

The Nagano Jets are currently the top unaffiliated/independent Japanese baseball team. Unaffiliated teams are not associated with any college, university, company, or major organization. It is comparable to a minor league team, or club baseball at the collegiate level. It is not the same as an industrial team or the Intercity Baseball Tournament, as the team is not sponsored and owned by a single corporate sponsor, but a collection of patrons, organizations, local businesses, and the city or prefecture itself. The players are given a wage and, depending on the team, may have dorms to live and practice in. The Nagano Jets in particular have one of the nicest training facilities of all the unaffiliated teams, as they have produced spectacular result throughout the years and are well-funded by both the prefecture and former players.

One of the Jets’s current strengths is the fact that many of their players can play multiple positions, and play them well. This makes it difficult for opposing independent and collegiate teams to form a strategy or focus on a weak player because they often swap positions. Below is a list of the Jets’s active roster—as you can see, it’s quite small compared to other professional or collegiate teams. The Jets are currently looking for two more pitchers to fulfill the six-pitcher rotation, as well as infielders.

Currently, whenever there is an injury that someone else on the active roster cannot fill (which is rare), the Jets rely on their farm team, often referred to as their “second string”, to supply the necessary players.

Most of the Jets’s player go on to sign contracts with professional baseball teams in Japan and half their years with the Jets can be included towards their six years of domestic contract before becoming a free agent and signing abroad. (ex: since Kominato Haruichi has played five seasons with the Jets, he has played the equivalent of 2.5 “domestic seasons”. After playing a total of 6 years in Japan—either six more years with the Nagano Jets or around 3 years in a professional NPB team—he is allowed to sign abroad without needing to be “posted” and the foreign signing team needing to pay a release fee)

Active Roster:

#1 - Mihashi Ren (pitcher 1, left)

#10 - Tojou Hideaki (pitcher 2, center)

#25 - Kuki Youhei (pitcher 3, right)

#17 - Asada Hirofumi (pitcher 4, third base)

#2 - Abe Takaya (catcher 1, first base)

#5 - Okumura Koushuu (catcher 2, first base)

#31 - Yui Kaoru (first base, catcher)

#4 - Kominato Haruichi (second base, shortstop)

#22 - Seto Takuma (shortstop, second base)

#38 - Kanemaru Shinji (third base, center)

#29 - Yuki Masashi (right, left)

[Link to master page]

Author’s Note: The NPB actually has a nine-year free agency rule but, for the sake of the story, I’ve cut it down to six years like the MLB.

[geekyjoys]

Yomiuri Giants - NPB Major Team

The Yomiuri Giants are the most popular NPB Major League team in terms of fanbase and ticket sales. They are based in Tokyo and their colors are black, orange, and white. The last season, they were first in the nation after ace pitcher, Narumiya Mei, and primary catcher, Miyuki Kazuya, played all nine innings in the final against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, winning 4-2.

The Yomiuri Giants are the main sponsors of the Annual College - Major Practice Tournament.

Links and Social Media:

Official Twitter   |   Official Instagram   |   Wikipedia   |   Latest News

Like most teams in the NPB, the Giants have a six-man pitching rotation, unlike most teams in the MLB, which employ a five-man pitching rotation.

Active Roster:

#1 - Narumiya Mei (pitcher 1)

#38 - Hongou Masamune (pitcher 2)

#52 - Furuya Satoru (pitcher 3)

#21 - Mukai Taiyou (pitcher 4)

#35 - Sanada Shunpei (pitcher 5)

#31 - Amahisa Kousei (pitcher 6)

#22 - Miyuki Kazuya (catcher 1)

#20 - Takigawa Chris Yuu (catcher 2)

#40 - Kaneda Tobio (first base)

#7 - Takeda Teppei (second base)

#16 - Hashimoto Kazunari (third base)

#6 - Kuramochi Youichi (shortstop)

#11 - Mima Souichirou (left)

#29 - Kamiya Carlos Toshiki (center)

#27 - Hirahata Ryou (right)

GM - Darvish Yu

Analyst/Scout - Takashima Rei

Bullpen Coach - Araki Ichiro

[Link to master page]

Author’s Note(s): There are 3 original characters here. Also, I know this lineup isn’t really accurate considering it’s made up almost entirely of players in our current canon (~4 years difference from the youngest to oldest) but I just wanted to make the lineup more familiar. Usually, there would be a much wider range of ages but idgaf at this point. Just pretend it makes sense.

Also... yes that is who you think it is. He’s my favorite MLB pitcher rn. Leave me alone.

[geekyjoys]

Miyuki Kazuya Profile

Yomiuri Giants - Primary Catcher

Birthday: November 17

Bats: L     |   Throws: R

Jersey #: 22

This Season’s Stats:

Batting AVG:  0.402   |   Home Runs: 37   |   RBIs: 98   |   Games Played: 70

High School: Seido High School (West Tokyo)

University/Independent Team: N/A (note: Miyuki joined the Giants immediately after graduating from Seido High School)

Miyuki Kazuya signed a seven-season contract with the Giants six years ago.

Links and Social Media:

Personal Twitter   |   Personal Instagram   |   Wikipedia   |   Latest News

Trivia:

Miyuki went to the same school as Furuya Satoru, the current secondary pitcher for the Giants. In his third year and Furuya’s second year, they went to Koushien as a battery and brought Seido High School to third place.

Miyuki enjoys cooking. Has stated in multiple interviews that he cooks for fun, and has been doing it since he was in junior high.

During last year's World Cup of Baseball, Miyuki was chosen as both primary catcher and Team Captain for Team Japan, leading the team to second place. He has experience in leadership, as he was Seido's Team Captain as a third-year.

Miyuki is a night owl. He prefers to stay up late rather than get up early in the morning, though he has stated that the baseball lifestyle “forced him to get used to early mornings”.

Miyuki is commonly refered to as the NPB and Yomiuri's "cash cow", as his national and international popularity has led to his official merchandise selling out on online stores, his commercial product endorsements bringing contracts worth tens of millions of dollars, and his "sellable" face. He is commonly ranked in the annual American Top 100 Hottest Men poll, which ranks men (most commonly actors, models, and singers). Despite being a Japanese Baseball player, Miyuki is very much a worldwide sensation.

He has been in a variety of scandals throughout his career despite his relatively quiet personality and tendency to avoid paparazzi and social events. For example, the 20XX dating scandal with a married actress (which has since been proven false), another dating scandal not even 9 months later (also proven false), and, most recently, a drug scandal (still under investigation).

[Link to master page]

[geekyjoys]

Sawamura: Miyuki-senpai, I think I like you...

Miyuki: ...

Miyuki: Sawamura, we’ve been dating for three months now—