"As strong as an ox."
This was Hara Shigemine's assessment of Zhang Han. All the checked indicators were very healthy. Several tests were done, and there were no issues. The X-rays of Zhang Han's palm showed no problems, other than his five fingers being slightly longer than an ordinary person's.
Long, slender fingers, even on an ordinary person, would be considered beautiful. On an athlete, or someone who plays the piano, this was an even more exceptional talent.
Hara Shigemine was very puzzled. Were these people coming to him for treatment just to mock him?
"His fingers..."
Before Takashima Rei could continue, Hara Shigemine pulled off the bandage on Zhang Han's finger. After a day of healing, the injury was already gone, leaving only a faint red mark.
"It's just a scraped finger, no need to make a fuss. But this kid's skin on his hand is so delicate, which is rare for a baseball player. Do you usually use anti-friction gloves when you practice?"
"I use them when practicing swings, but not when pitching."
Zhang Han answered honestly.
"No wonder. It's probably because your pitching volume isn't enough. The skin on your fingers is softer than that of an average pitcher. If your practice volume were sufficient, the skin on your fingers should be slightly harder."
Ultimately, Doctor Hara gave this answer. It was this one sentence that completely won over the members of the Seido High School Baseball Team. What the doctor said was absolutely correct. Zhang Han's left-hand pitching practice volume was indeed insufficient.
It was a bit better in the autumn. Although the time was still short, Zhang Han had already practiced for two months by then.
And now? Since his finger injury in winter, it had been a full three months or more, and he hadn't truly pitched with his left hand. Although he still did arm swing exercises, the results obtained from practicing without a ball and with a ball were ultimately different.
"My judgment is that there's no problem. The young man can continue playing. He should practice left-hand pitching more often. Did you come to me just because his finger got scraped when pitching?"
Hara Shigemine still couldn't believe that someone would go to such lengths for a scraped finger.
"Of course not."
Takashima Rei said, "Mainly, this kid suffered a bone fracture three months ago due to pitching too forcefully. Now, he's just started recovery practice, and his finger got scraped again. So we're worried that it might..."
"Don't worry, this kid is not fragile. From his physical indicators, his physical fitness far exceeds that of his peers."
Hara Shigemine said with great certainty.
"Then why does he keep getting injured?"
"This..."
Hara Shigemine was momentarily speechless. Although he specialized in sports medicine, the complexity of the human body was such that even top medical experts wouldn't dare to claim complete understanding. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many difficult and complicated diseases.
There were no issues with his physical fitness, and all his indicators were astonishingly high. Based solely on these, one could only conclude that this young athlete was a promising baseball prospect. As for why he got injured so often, that was not something that could be deduced from the data.
"Perhaps this kid's pitching form is a bit special?"
Zhang Han demonstrated his pitching form.
What was considered standard? If this form were photographed or recorded and put into a textbook, it could basically be considered the most standard pitching form.
"This is the first time I've seen a kid with such a standard pitching form!"
Hara Shigemine exclaimed from the bottom of his heart. It wasn't due to his pitching form, his physical fitness was fine, and his previously fractured finger was now as good as new. Even after taking X-rays, Hara Shigemine couldn't find any problems. If Takashima Rei hadn't brought it up herself, he wouldn't even have noticed that Zhang Han's finger had been injured.
"There are only two possibilities left: one is coincidence, and the other is highly unlikely..."
"What's highly unlikely?"
"What's this kid's ball speed?"
"Highest ball speed: 157 kilometers per hour!"
"Only 157 kilometers per hour is... What did you say?"
Hara Shigemine's eyes widened instantly, filled with disbelief. He even wondered if he had misheard.
Takashima Rei looked at the serious Hara Shigemine, a look of pride on her face, but she feigned indifference as she replied.
"One hundred fifty-six to one hundred fifty-seven kilometers per hour. Because the detection equipment is different, the displayed ball speed is also different. But reaching this ball speed is not a problem."
"You're saying this kid is a Light Speed Ball pitcher, as in the legends?"
Even after receiving confirmation from Takashima Rei, Hara Shigemine still looked incredulous. Running a clinic in Tokyo, and a sports medicine clinic at that, Hara Shigemine was naturally familiar with baseball. Although he wasn't very focused on Koshien, he enjoyed watching Major League games. Many baseball players also came to his clinic for treatment. So he was quite sensitive to a pitcher's ball speed.
In the past, due to nutrition and physique, being able to pitch at 130 kilometers per hour was generally considered fast in high school. But it couldn't be called a Fastball. Only pitchers who threw at 135 kilometers per hour or more could be called Fastball pitchers.
Into the new century, as athletes' physical fitness generally improved, the standard ball speed became faster and faster. Now, even pitching above 135 kilometers per hour was difficult to call a Fastball. Only above 140 kilometers per hour could it be called a Fastball.
But being able to throw a Fastball did not mean one was a Fastball pitcher. If a pitcher threw 130 pitches in a game, and only two of them were above 140 kilometers per hour, would you dare to call yourself a Fastball pitcher? This was obviously unreasonable. Only those pitchers who could throw a large number of Fastballs in a game were truly called Fastball pitchers.
And the ball speed of 140 kilometers per hour, as long as a player's physical fitness met the standard and they underwent a certain amount of scientific practice, pitchers could basically achieve it.
Above that, players who could throw at speeds of 150 kilometers per hour or more were completely different. They were treasured existences. Such players were also called super Fastball pitchers.
And this kind of ball speed could not be achieved through extensive practice alone. Even if an ordinary person practiced very hard, reaching such a ball speed was a pipe dream. Only those with natural talent could throw it.
Up until now, everyone who had thrown a ball at 150 kilometers per hour or more in Koshien Stadium had verifiable data. They were all enshrined in history.
Above that, if the ball speed could go even further, exceeding 155 kilometers per hour, or even 160 kilometers per hour, this was basically the limit for humans.
This type of pitching was also known as a Light Speed Ball, and pitchers who could throw at this speed were called Light Speed Ball pitchers. Based on ball speed alone, they were already legendary existences.
Zhang Han might be one of them.
************************************
Upto 50 Chapters In Advance At: P@treon/Vividreader123