In the Sapporo Dome of Hokkaido, there are still four hours before the game between Fukuoka SoftBank and Hokkaido Ham begins, and the SoftBank team members are practicing on the field before the match.
Akiyama Koji stands on the sidelines, observing the condition of his players on the field, letting out an almost imperceptible sigh—it is evident that the players' performance in today's training does not satisfy him.
If this were the beginning of the season, Akiyama Koji would have undoubtedly blown the whistle to stop the training and hauled out those players with poor attitudes or who were slacking off, to teach them a lesson and serve as a warning to others. But now, in the final sprint phase of the season, he is genuinely reluctant to do so.
For professional baseball players, the final sprint phase of the season is undoubtedly the toughest time:
