# 19 - Declared for Assignment
Source: [Crunchyroll](https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GRVDWZZ4R/gurazeni-money-pitch)
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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
**[00:01] bon**
Tohko-san is DFA?!
**[00:03] shi**
*Yeah. Voluntary retirement, they said.*
**[00:05] bon**
Voluntary retirement?
**[00:07] shi**
Apparently, the club dangled
a front-office job as bait.
**[00:16] bon**
*Is Tohko-san finally hanging up his glove?*
**[00:20] bon**
*Tohko Junji-san was our fourth catcher,*
**[00:23] bon**
* always bouncing between*
* the majors and the minors.*
**[00:26] bon**
* He joined out of college ten years ago,*
* and he's now thirty-two.*
**[00:29] ---**
*His contract: 5 million.*
**[00:33] bon**
*He hit for the cycle in a game this season,*
**[00:35] bon**
* but he was never quite able*
* to secure a spot in the majors.*
**[00:40] bon**
* Seems to me he has a lot of*
* good playing years left in him.*
**[00:44] bon**
* But to get a front-office job with*
* no real achievements to your name...*
**[00:48] bon**
*I gotta say, that's a pretty awesome deal!*
***SIGN*** "Declared for Assignment"
**[00:54] kita**
Wh-What did you say?!
**[00:56] kita**
You refused to take
the voluntary retirement?!
**[00:59] kita**
And you asked them to make you a free agent?
**[01:03] kita**
Yeah, I don't want to retire yet.
**[01:05] kita**
A free agent could still
get picked up somewhere else.
**[01:10] kita**
Is someone offering to pick you up?
**[01:13] toh**
Not yet.
**[01:15] toh**
I'll bet it all on the tryouts.
**[02:50] toh**
Tryouts?
**[02:52] bon**
* Tryouts are held in November,*
* jointly, by the twelve ball clubs.*
**[02:57] bon**
* They're basically a test*
* for the free agent players.*
**[03:01] bon**
Are you stupid?
**[03:03] bon**
Don't you know how generous they're being
by offering you a spot in the front office?
**[03:07] toh**
They asked me to start as a scout.
**[03:11] kita**
No, it's more than generosity.
**[03:14] kita**
They might think you have the chops
to be management some day.
**[03:19] kita**
You were team captain in college, remember?
**[03:22] kita**
It's possible.
**[03:24] kita**
However, I'm not ready to
hang up my glove just yet.
**[03:29] kita**
But you know how tryouts are.
**[03:31] kita**
It's a fixed race from the start.
**[03:35] kita**
Even if you do great there,
no club's going to pick you up.
**[03:40] toh**
Yeah, tryouts are pretty much
a formality these days...
**[03:46] kita**
If you think you can take the job
should the tryouts not work out,
**[03:49] kita**
it's not going to be so easy.
**[03:52] toh**
I know that.
**[03:54] toh**
But, Kita...
**[03:56] toh**
Even though I had less than a
month in the majors this season,
**[04:01] toh**
I got nineteen hits in forty-nine
at bats, two home runs,
**[04:04] toh**
and batted .388.
**[04:07] toh**
It's just team circumstances
that kept me in the minors.
**[04:11] toh**
If I get a real go, I think I could
put up real numbers on the board.
**[04:16] kita**
But, Junji,
**[04:18] kita**
the pro baseball world gets flooded
with new, younger players every year.
**[04:22] kita**
You'll be thirty-three years old next year.
**[04:24] kita**
It's the perfect time to pack it up!
**[04:29] toh**
I appreciate the warning.
**[04:34] tan**
Nishigouchi is going free agent?
***SIGN*** 38 years old, 115 wins
***SIGN*** Doyo Sports Nishigouchi Contract 150,000,000
***SIGN*** Purple Shadows Free Agent!
**[04:38] sign**
So it's come to that...
**[04:40] sign**
You took Nishigouchi under
your wing, didn't you?
**[04:43] sign**
Back when you were manager
of the Kobe Oxen...
**[04:47] koz**
"Due to injury, he only had two
appearances this season," it says.
**[04:54] tan**
Can't we bring Nishigouchi onboard?
**[04:58] koz**
As a left-handed starter?
**[05:00] tan**
Yes.
**[05:01] tan**
We need a left-handed starter, don't we?
**[05:05] sako**
Nishigouchi, eh?
**[05:06] sako**
I'm not sure...
**[05:08] sako**
If his injury's totally healed, maybe...
**[05:12] tan**
Why don't we give him a test, then?
**[05:15] tan**
I think he's got plenty of fight left in him.
**[05:18] sako**
But, Manager, we can't
approach players until tryouts.
**[05:23] koz**
And the GM's doing his thing now, too.
**[05:26] koz**
He's trying to secure that
foreign southpaw pitcher.
**[05:28] tan**
Oh, is he? That's right, I recall...
**[05:32] tan**
Nishigouchi's contract this year
was 150 million, eh?
**[05:37] tan**
It's sad, but after tryouts,
it'll go down to 20 million.
**[05:41] tan**
A newbie foreigner will cost
at least 50 million.
**[05:45] tan**
Then we should go with Nishigouchi,
who's already well established in Japan.
**[05:49] tan**
It'll be a bargain.
**[05:52] koz**
But...
***SIGN*** 38 years old, 115 wins
***SIGN*** Doyo Sports Nishigouchi Contract 150,000,000
***SIGN*** Purple Shadows Free Agent!
***SIGN*** Sapporo
***SIGN*** Purple Shadows
Pitcher: Nishigouchi Hiroshi
**[06:12] sign**
I think I can still do this.
**[06:15] sign**
I'm going to bet it all on tryouts.
**[06:17] wife**
You can do it, dear! I know that you can!
**[06:21] nishi**
Yeah!
**[06:23] bon**
* The first round of tryouts would*
* be held at Jingu Stadium,*
***SIGN*** Meiji Jingu Stadium
**[06:27] bon**
*and the second at the Fukuoka Dome.*
**[06:39] toh**
Natsunosuke!
**[06:41] bon**
You're really gonna go for tryouts, huh?
**[06:44] toh**
Yeah.
**[06:45] toh**
You came at the perfect time.
**[06:47] toh**
Pitch to me.
**[06:49] bon**
Pitch to you?
**[06:50] toh**
A major league pitch.
I haven't seen one in a while.
**[06:55] bon**
A major league pitch?
**[06:58] toh**
I just need to see them.
**[07:01] toh**
I'll imagine you're Nishigouchi, the Purple
Shadows' southpaw who'll be at the tryouts.
**[07:06] bon**
I'm not sure how much help I'll be, then.
**[07:10] toh**
You're doing fall training.
**[07:13] toh**
You'll probably be able
to throw a decent pitch.
**[07:16] bon**
Let's start off light.
**[07:27] toh**
No wonder you're in the majors.
**[07:29] toh**
Throw me more!
**[07:30] toh**
Sure.
**[07:37] bon**
*By the way,*
**[07:39] bon**
* the Spiders' negotiations to land*
* the foreign southpaw had hit a rough patch,*
**[07:42] bon**
* and by November, it still*
* hadn't been resolved.*
**[07:48] nishi**
Do your best, dear.
**[07:50] nishi**
Yes, I will.
**[08:01] nishi**
*When I think about it rationally,*
**[08:03] nishi**
* there's probably not a single*
* club that will sign me.*
**[08:07] nishi**
*But...*
**[08:09] tan**
What'd you say?
***SIGN*** Tanabe
**[08:11] tan**
You still haven't worked things out
with the foreign southpaw?
**[08:16] man**
*Tomorrow! He'll be signed tomorrow!*
**[08:18] tan**
Tomorrow's tryouts!
**[08:20] tan**
Just forget it! You've hit the time limit.
**[08:23] tan**
Let's pick up Nishigouchi.
**[08:24] man**
*Really, we're down to the last little details.*
**[08:28] man**
* We're set to have it worked out*
* during tryouts tomorrow.*
**[08:32] tan**
Jeez. He's not even a
major player in the MLB.
**[08:36] tan**
He thinks he's so hot...
**[08:38] tan**
Here's what we'll do:
**[08:39] tan**
The end of tryouts tomorrow
will be your hard limit.
**[08:44] tan**
If you don't call me by then,
we're going with Nishigouchi!
***SIGN*** Business Hotel Maru
**[08:48] nishi**
* If there's one thing that might*
* turn this around for me,*
**[08:51] nishi**
*it's Manager Tanabe.*
**[08:53] nishi**
*He really took care of me in the past.*
**[08:58] nishi**
*I'll have to bet it all on that.*
***SIGN*** Meiji Jingu Stadium
***SIGN*** Nippon Professional Baseball 12 Club Joint Tryouts
**[09:01] bon**
* In total, sixty-three pitchers and fielders*
* participated in that year's tryouts.*
**[09:08] shin**
Well, let's do some fielding
practice with a runner on second.
**[09:24] bon**
* It really is a showdown between*
* Tohko-san and Nishigouchi-san...*
**[09:30] toh**
* Okay, let's put that practice*
* with Natsunosuke to good use.*
**[09:34] nishi**
* Just as long as Manager Tanabe*
* is watching me...*
**[09:38] tan**
*As expected, the call still hasn't come.*
**[09:42] toh**
* I'll get a hit off this 115-win*
* pitcher and prove I've still got it.*
**[09:48] bon**
* Tohko-san, I know you'll be*
* able to hit off of Nishigouchi-san!*
**[09:53] bon**
*You've prepared so much!*
**[09:56] nishi**
* If Manager Tanabe doesn't*
* pick me up for next season,*
**[10:03] nishi**
*I'll be in serious trouble!*
**[10:19] toh**
*It's fast!*
**[10:21] ump**
Strike!
**[10:24] toh**
*Wh-What's someone like this doing in tryouts?*
**[10:29] shi**
That's a hell of a swing.
**[10:31] shi**
Yeah...
**[10:33] kita**
*He's tense.*
**[10:36] sako**
Kozato-san, do you think we'll get the call?
**[10:39] koz**
I don't know...
**[10:42] ton**
We won't.
**[10:44] ton**
They won't work that contract out
before tryouts are over.
**[10:48] ton**
That American southpaw probably
doesn't want to come to Japan.
**[10:53] ton**
There must be an MLB club or two
interested in signing him.
**[10:58] ton**
But they're not closing the deal,
**[11:01] ton**
so he's stringing us along as well.
**[11:03] ton**
I'm sure that's what it is.
**[11:08] tan**
Did you see that pitch from Nishigouchi?
**[11:12] tan**
He's still got it, right?
**[11:18] tan**
*Second pitch!*
**[11:22] toh**
*This 115-win pitcher is desperate, too.*
**[11:27] tan**
He's racked up 115 wins
since coming out of college.
**[11:30] tan**
He's gotten wins at a good pace.
**[11:33] tan**
But he had a rough rookie season
with the Kobe Oxen.
**[11:38] tan**
When you're recruited out of college,
you're expected to contribute immediately,
**[11:42] tan**
but his body was wimpy,
and so were his pitches.
**[11:46] tan**
We couldn't make use of him right away.
**[11:50] tan**
But one thing he did have
was amazing control.
**[11:54] tan**
*What's with this guy?*
**[11:56] tan**
* If he could throw 5 kmph faster,*
* he'd be a hell of a player.*
**[11:59] tan**
Anyway, I had him run and eat to bulk up a bit,
**[12:04] tan**
and worked him into a pitching form
that let him throw 5 kmph faster.
**[12:08] tan**
I took good care of him and
kept giving him chances.
**[12:13] tan**
And gradually, he began to show results.
**[12:18] tan**
By the end of the second season,
he'd achieved a speed of 145 kmph.
**[12:25] koz**
* I can tell that the manager made*
* a star out of Nishigouchi.*
**[12:31] koz**
* But as the team's pitching coach,*
* picking up a 38-year-old feels so...*
**[12:38] sako**
* The proof is the fact that we're*
* the only ones showing interest.*
**[12:47] toh**
*Got a piece of it!*
**[12:52] kita**
*Nishigouchi's pitches really are sharp.*
**[12:55] kita**
* But Junji needs to be able*
* to hit these things*
**[12:58] kita**
*or there's no way he'll pass tryouts.*
**[13:01] kita**
* The fact that you can be released*
* even when you can pitch so well*
**[13:04] kita**
*shows how hard life is for a pro.*
**[13:07] kita**
* But this season, I hit many, much sharper*
* pitches from Central League pitchers.*
**[13:14] kita**
*There's no way I can't hit these.*
**[13:17] kita**
* But... so far, he hasn't*
* thrown a single breaking ball.*
**[13:20] kita**
* If he does throw me a curve,*
* will I be able to deal with it?*
**[13:24] tan**
Still, I can't believe he's up
against Tohko, of all people.
**[13:29] koz**
How's this matchup going to work out?
**[13:31] tan**
To be honest, I thought Tohko
would do fine as a free agent.
**[13:36] tan**
But the club wanted to nail him down.
**[13:40] tan**
So they recommended he retire and
take up a job in the front office.
**[13:44] tan**
He was captain of his college team.
**[13:45] [SONG] sign**
Waseda
**[13:48] tan**
He's a smart fellow with a
real sense of responsibility.
**[13:52] tan**
And in his life as a pro,
**[13:56] tan**
he had the talent to be on the
major league bench,
**[13:59] tan**
but team circumstances
had him stuck in the minors.
**[14:02] tan**
We'd call him to the majors as a handyman,
**[14:05] tan**
then send him back down immediately.
**[14:08] tan**
He's been living that way for years,
**[14:11] tan**
even though he was a star slugger
at a prestigious university.
**[14:16] tan**
Someone like him can see the big
picture between the majors and minors.
**[14:20] tan**
He'll understand how players feel, too.
**[14:22] tan**
They probably saw his potential
to help our team down the line.
**[14:27] tan**
Perhaps they thought if they
could get him in a suit at thirty-three,
**[14:30] tan**
they could groom him for
a future management position.
**[14:36] tan**
If he'd chosen the voluntary retirement,
**[14:39] tan**
he could have ensured himself a stable future.
**[14:44] tan**
But it's hard for a player who's
out there in the field every day
**[14:47] tan**
to just accept a job like that.
**[14:49] tan**
Especially a player with talent like Tohko's.
**[14:52] tan**
Yes...
**[14:54] koz**
Manager.
**[14:56] koz**
You know that reporter,
Kitamura with Doyo Sports?
**[15:00] tan**
Oh, him?
**[15:01] koz**
He went to college with Tohko.
**[15:06] koz**
Perhaps because Tohko was
in the same year as him,
**[15:09] koz**
he spent four years stuck
on the second-string team.
**[15:13] koz**
But now, he's an ace reporter
with Doyo Sports.
**[15:19] sako**
It's usually the second-stringers
who find their niche after graduation.
**[15:25] sako**
Kitamura's the perfect example of that.
**[15:28] tan**
Yes. And now, ironically, Tohko
is being seen with that lens, too.
**[15:34] tan**
Which means...
**[15:36] kita**
*Junji.*
**[15:37] kita**
*If you're going to take it this far,*
**[15:40] kita**
*then hit one of those 115-win pitches...*
**[15:43] nishi**
* If Manager Tanabe doesn't*
* pick me up at these tryouts,*
**[15:48] nishi**
*I'll be in serious trouble.*
**[15:50] nishi**
*I was born in Hokkaido.*
**[15:52] nishi**
* When I was traded from the Kobe Oxen*
* to my home team, the Purple Shadows,*
**[15:56] nishi**
*I was really so happy.*
**[15:59] nishi**
* I married my childhood sweetheart.*
* We had two kids in Hokkaido.*
**[16:04] nishi**
*We lived pretty close to my parents,*
**[16:07] nishi**
* and it gave me the peace of mind*
* to really throw myself into baseball.*
**[16:11] nishi**
* Three years ago, we bought a luxury*
* apartment in the center of Sapporo,*
**[16:16] nishi**
* choosing a payment plan of*
* 100 million over three years.*
**[16:19] nishi**
*But right after that...*
***SIGN*** Nishigouchi Industries
**[16:21] nishi**
* The factory that my father left*
* my older brother started failing.*
**[16:25] nishi**
*I supported him financially as best I could.*
**[16:28] nishi**
*But between the apartment payments and that,*
**[16:30] nishi**
*we were left with almost no savings.*
**[16:36] nishi**
*Sure, I paid off the apartment loan this year,*
**[16:39] nishi**
*but if I can't sign with anyone for next year,*
**[16:44] nishi**
* I won't be able to pay the massive*
* taxes of my 150 million contract!*
**[16:52] bon**
Tohko-san, it's a breaker!
**[16:54] koz**
*I knew it!*
**[16:56] koz**
*Curve!*
**[16:59] bon**
It's going!
**[17:06] shi**
But the center fielder can get it.
**[17:13] nishi**
* I got him out, at least.*
* That's a decent start.*
**[17:18] toh**
* My first at bat was a fly out*
* that advanced the runner.*
**[17:26] bon**
* That day, Tohko-san*
* had four at bats and no hits.*
**[17:33] bon**
*Nishigouchi-san faced five batters.*
**[17:36] bon**
* He gave up no hits and no runs,*
* and he struck two men out.*
**[17:40] shi**
The second round of tryouts
is at the Fukuoka Dome.
**[17:44] bon**
What'll Tohko-san do?
**[17:48] bon**
* Fukuoka. I'll bet it all*
* on the next round in Fukuoka!*
**[17:54] nishi**
*Great. I had a great first day.*
**[17:58] nishi**
*I think I made a good show to Manager Tanabe.*
**[18:02] sako**
Tohko choked a little,
**[18:04] sako**
but Nishigouchi had quite a day, didn't he?
**[18:08] tan**
I think we could pick up Nishigouchi.
**[18:11] tan**
We never got the call, either.
**[18:18] tan**
Hello? Tanabe here.
**[18:21] tan**
I see... I see.
**[18:24] tan**
Yes, I see.
**[18:28] tan**
The foreigner's contract squeaked
through at the last minute.
**[18:32] tan**
It's a shame, but we won't be
able to pick up Nishigouchi.
**[18:36] tan**
I'll have to give up on him.
**[18:39] tan**
That was the deal.
***SIGN*** Fukuoka
**[18:45] bon**
*And in the second round of tryouts...*
**[18:48] bon**
* Tohko-san exploded with*
* four hits in four at bats!*
**[18:52] bon**
* And Nishigouchi-san kept*
* pitching up a storm...*
**[18:57] bon**
*But in the end,*
**[18:59] bon**
*no club came forward to pick them up.*
**[19:02] bon**
* The only ones recruited at tryouts*
* were players in their twenties.*
**[19:07] bon**
*It's common sense, I guess.*
**[19:09] bon**
* Two men in their thirties were*
* always going to be a hard sell.*
**[19:14] nishi**
* I'm going to have to sell*
* my apartment and my car.*
**[19:18] nishi**
* It's the only way I can support our family*
* next year, let alone pay our taxes...*
**[19:23] nishi**
*I wish I didn't have to do this to my family,*
**[19:26] nishi**
*but it's our only choice.*
**[19:29] nishi**
And then I...
**[19:30] toh**
I've been looking for a job, Natsunosuke.
**[19:33] toh**
I thought I could get a job as a bullpen
catcher with one of the twelve clubs,
**[19:39] toh**
but at this time of year,
they're all filled up.
**[19:42] bon**
Tohko-san...
**[19:44] bon**
*But...*
**[19:47] toh**
Yes? Tohko here.
**[19:48] bon**
*One league's trash...*
**[19:51] bon**
*...is another league's treasure.*
**[19:54] toh**
A-A Taiwanese club?
**[19:57] bon**
*Around the same time...*
**[19:59] nishi**
A-A Taiwanese club?
**[20:02] nishi**
Yes... Yes.
**[20:05] nishi**
Of course, I'd be happy to talk to them.
**[20:12] bon**
* It wasn't just the Japanese*
* baseball world that came to tryouts.*
**[20:15] bon**
*Scouts from other countries came, too.*
**[20:17] bon**
* The same Taiwanese ball club*
* had reached out to both of them.*
**[20:22] bon**
* They'd happened to come to the second*
* round of tryouts in the Fukuoka Dome.*
**[20:28] bon**
*You could call it a miraculous turnaround,*
**[20:31] bon**
* but it only happened because*
* they both did so well at tryouts.*
**[20:36] bon**
* Nishigouchi-san signed*
* with the Taiwanese ball club,*
**[20:39] bon**
* and left his family in Sapporo*
* while he moved to Taiwan.*
**[20:42] nishi**
*I won't have to give up the apartment yet.*
***SIGN*** Menu
**[20:45] toh**
I'm so glad I decided to hold on to my glove!
**[20:48] toh**
I got myself another chance.
**[20:51] toh**
Thank you! I owe it all to you guys!
**[20:53] toh**
Congratulations!
**[20:55] toh**
Let's have a toast!
**[21:01] bon**
I sure am glad for you, Tohko-san!
**[21:04] bon**
Give it your best!
**[21:06] bon**
Yes, I'm going to make a name for myself there,
**[21:09] bon**
and come back to Japanese baseball!
**[21:12] bon**
* They were the only two who got the call*
* from foreign ball clubs at the tryouts.*
**[21:18] bon**
* The path to success at*
* tryouts is a narrow one.*
**[21:23] bon**
*Junji...*
**[21:24] bon**
*Do your best.*
**[23:01] bon**
Natsunosuke here.
**[23:02] bon**
Boy, that was a shock!
**[23:04] bon**
On fan appreciation day, Shibuya Akira and I
**[23:06] bon**
put on costumes to infiltrate the stands,
**[23:09] bon**
but we just happen to sit next
to my crush, Yuki-chan!
**[23:14] bon**
And then that jerk Akira
starts hitting on her...
**[23:17] bon**
Hey, cut it out, stupid!
**[23:19] bon**
Don't get any closer to her!
**[23:22] sign**
Next time: "Fan Appreciation Day."
**[23:25] sign**
Seize tomorrow's success and today's money!
***SIGN*** Fan Appreciation Day
**[23:27] sign**
Money Pitch!