4 - Railroad to Retirement / The Man Who Couldn't Make Pro

Source: Crunchyroll
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SIGN    "Railroad to Retirement"
[01:31] bon
    This story started last September.
[01:35] bon
    Career home runs: 500.
[01:37] bon
    A three-time home run king
    with a 400 million yen contract.
[01:40] bon
    That's the Setouchi Carnavits'
    Doterai Jo, 40 years old.
[01:50] dote
    Oh no!
[01:51] dote
    It's gonna—
SIGN    Hit by pitch!
[02:06] bon
    His right wrist was broken!
[02:07] bon
    Doterai-san was ruled out for
    the remaining month of the season!
SIGN    Meiji Jingu Stadium
[02:12] bon
    Now, this season...
[02:20] ann
    It's the much-anticipated showdown
    after six long months.
[02:24] ann
    It took ages for Doterai to
    return from the broken wrist,
[02:26] ann
    and he didn't make it in
    time for the season opener.
[02:29] ann
    And one week ago, he was finally
    put back in the starting lineup.
[02:32] ann
    But unfortunately,
[02:34] ann
    he hasn't had any hits in six games
    and twenty-four at bats.
[02:38] ann
    A batting average of .000.
[02:41] ann
    And on top of that, not so much as a walk!
[02:43] ann
    He hasn't been on base even once!
[02:45] ann
    Could this have less to do with his wrist,
    and more to do with his age?
[02:49] fan
    Pinch hitter! Pinch hitter!
[02:51] fan
    Doterai can't hit squat!
[02:52] fan
    You've got a good right-hander on the bench!
SIGN    1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th
[02:56] ann
    The Carnavits are two runs behind.
[02:58] ann
    Two outs, with runners on first and second.
[03:01] ann
    It's easy to see why the fans
    want a pinch hitter...
[03:04] ann
    They brought slugger Doterai back to
    the majors, for better or for worse.
[03:07] ann
    You can't just put out a pinch hitter for him.
[03:10] ann
    At least, that's what the Carnavits'
    Manager Usui is probably thinking.
[03:13] col
    Of course, if he hits a
    home run, they take the lead.
[03:19] dote
    The club president and general manager
    both came along for the Tokyo game.
[03:25] dote
    Just to watch me.
[03:27] pres
    Dote couldn't hit a home run now
    if his life depended on it.
[03:31] org
    And the chances of him
    getting an RBI are even lower.
[03:35] pres
    This showdown...
[03:37] pres
    There's a 98% chance that Bonda will win it!
[03:41] tana
    Even if he does have a .000 batting average,
[03:43] tana
    seeing Doterai on the plate with
    two runners on is intimidating.
[03:48] ko
    He's still the man who hit
    500 home runs, after all.
[03:51] ko
    The worst-case scenario is a three-run
    homer to put them in the lead.
[03:53] tan
    And that's the one thing we want to avoid.
[03:55] tan
    So to inflate our chances...
[03:58] tan
    Southpaw Natsunosuke!
[04:00] man
    In our ball club,
[04:02] man
    there was an unwritten rule to trade
    anyone with a contract over 200 million.
[04:06] man
    But last year, at the roster meeting
    right after Dote's injury...
SIGN    President! We must let Dote go next season!
SIGN    Let's say we don't re-sign Dote next year.
SIGN    Who'll pick him up, then?
SIGN    Someone... might take him.
SIGN    Or they might not...
SIGN    President...
SIGN    If nobody signs him, he should retire!
SIGN    Indeed, that may be the most likely scenario.
SIGN    I dunno about this...
SIGN    Dote's going to be forty-one next year.
SIGN    With twenty-nine home runs under his belt, he might have hit thirty by season's end.
SIGN    But a batting average of .260 and 55 RBIs are, quite frankly, troubling numbers.
SIGN    The hit-by-pitch would make it awkward to reduce Dote's salary next year.
SIGN    It was an in-game injury, after all.
SIGN    And since that 29th was his historic 500th home run,
SIGN    maybe he should retire while he still—
SIGN    But can we really justify spending 400 million on a forty-one year old Dote?
SIGN    Dote is the face of our team.
SIGN    He's a treasure of the baseball world.
SIGN    But why do we have to be the ones
    paying the "treasure's" salary?
SIGN    Surely there are other teams with the resources to pay him.
SIGN    I'd much rather scout two foreigners who'll hit twenty home runs at 50 million.
SIGN    That'll help the team more!
[05:34] org
    The meeting's conclusion was,
[05:36] org
    "We can't make such
    an important decision today."
[05:43] org
    And then, not long after...
SIGN    Michael
SIGN    Mac
SIGN    Steve
[05:49] org
    Our staff pointed us to three foreign players
    with good records in Triple-A ball.
SIGN    Triple-A Resources DVD
SIGN    Nice, nice!
SIGN    All three are well-suited to Japanese ball and raring to go!
SIGN    I'd like to recruit all three, if possible.
SIGN    With all three, we're bound to hit the jackpot with at least one.
SIGN    Will they go for this?
SIGN    I'm afraid all three are asking for this, at the minimum...
SIGN    150 million for all three, then...
SIGN    But not an impossible number.
[06:21] org
    However...
SIGN    What?!
SIGN    That's the final word. Owner's decision.
SIGN    We'll be signing Dote for another season, with the same salary as before.
SIGN    N-No...
SIGN    There's no way we can recruit three players for 150 million!
SIGN    We just don't have the room in our budget!
SIGN    Wh-What about just one, then?
SIGN    If he'll take 30 million.
[06:45] org
    Only 30 million to hire one rookie foreigner?
[06:48] org
    I'm really starting to hate this ball club!
[06:51] org
    I somehow got it up to 40 million, but...
SIGN    Which one is likely to sign for 40 million?
[06:56] org
    And while I was worrying about that,
[06:59] org
    all three ended up signing
    with other ball clubs.
[07:03] org
    But that was just one example.
[07:07] org
    In order to raise funds to pay Doterai,
[07:09] org
    we had to build the rest of the roster
    on a shoestring budget,
[07:12] org
    and we couldn't afford to
    give raises to our other regulars.
[07:16] org
    Our owner is a man of the people!
[07:20] org
    And he loves Doterai, who's also
    a man of the people.
[07:24] org
    That was tripping up our attempts
    to round out the roster.
[07:28] org
    But that, too, may be nearing its end.
[07:31] org
    After twenty-four at bats
    with no hits, Dote's heart...
[07:35] org
    ...is surely on the verge of breaking.
[07:37] org
    If he goes hitless in this game too,
[07:39] org
    he might ask to be removed
    from the starting lineup!
[07:43] org
    That is the moment when...
[07:44] org
    ...Dote's railroad to retirement begins!
[07:48] org
    This is an epoch-defining moment for us!
[07:51] org
    Once he's out of the starting
    lineup, there's no going back.
[07:55] org
    But if there's just one thing
    standing in our way,
[07:58] org
    it's that pitcher, Bonda Natsunosuke!
[08:02] org
    The man originally
    responsible for Dote's injury!
[08:06] bon
    Earlier, the manager made a
    rare appearance on the mound...
SIGN    Natsunosuke. I know this might be a hard matchup for you,
SIGN    but all you need to do is pitch the way you usually do.
SIGN    No matter what else may be true, Bonda Natsunosuke is a major league pitcher!
SIGN    I hear Doterai pummeled the pitchers in the minors,
SIGN    but he can't hit off major league pitchers anymore.
SIGN    That's all there is to it.
[08:35] bon
    Of course, he didn't come
    right out and say it,
[08:39] bon
    but the least I need to do here
[08:43] bon
    is keep Doterai-san from
    hitting a three-run homer!
[08:47] bon
    Which means...
[08:49] bon
    I can let him get a two-RBI hit.
[08:52] bon
    But I can't let myself
    start thinking like that!
[08:57] bon
    Even if it is Doterai-san that I'm facing...
[08:59] pres
    What if he starts psyching himself
    out like that, darn it?!
[09:03] org
    Darn it!
[09:05] bon
    500 home runs in his twenty-two
    years as a pro. "Mr. Carnavits."
[09:11] bon
    Am I going to be the one
    responsible for retiring him?!
[09:16] both
    Bonda!
[09:18] both
    For heaven's sake, give us an
    excuse to retire him already!
[09:26] bon
    What I'd like to do is give him a hit
    without giving him a home run.
[09:29] bon
    But there's no way I can
    achieve that kind of precision...
[09:33] bon
    I'll just have to pitch with
    all the power of my youth
[09:38] bon
    and finish you off!
[09:41] both
    Please, Bonda! Don't be afraid!
[09:45] tana
    Even if he's afraid, that pitch
[09:48] tana
    is a major league pitch!
[10:03] ann
    It's down the first base line!
[10:10] ann
    The runner from second comes home!
[10:12] ann
    The right-fielder picks it up,
    and the runner from first comes home, too!
[10:16] ann
    The hitter, Doterai, gets held on second.
[10:21] ann
    Doterai gets his first hit of the season!
[10:24] ann
    He puts his two runs on the board!
[10:27] ann
    Great job, Doterai!
    A clutch hit to tie the game!
[10:31] pres
    D-Dote...
[10:33] org
    B-Bonda...
[10:35] ko
    He got hit after all.
[10:37] tan
    It is what it is.
[10:38] tan
    The mighty Doterai's not dead
    yet, it seems. That's all.
[10:43] tan
    But more importantly...
[10:44] tan
    Change pitchers!
[10:46] ko
    Y-Yes, sir!
[10:48] ann
    Uchiyama will be pitching for Bonda.
[10:52] dot
    Bonda, that pitch was one hell
    of a major league pitch.
[10:57] dot
    It wasn't a bad pitch by any means.
[11:00] dot
    But there was still hesitation in it.
[11:02] dot
    That's the only reason you gave up the hit.
[11:05] dot
    And it also means I haven't hit my limit yet!
[11:11] bon
    S-Sorry...
[11:13] tan
    Don't worry about it, Natsunosuke.
[11:15] tan
    Your job was to avoid a home run, that's all.
[11:19] tan
    Holding them to a tie means
    we can still retake the lead.
SIGN    1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th
[11:21] tan
    A three-run homer would have
    given them the momentum.
[11:28] bon
    Somehow, the match went just
    as Coach Tanabe imagined it.
[11:32] bon
    The pitcher who replaced me
    didn't give up the winning run.
[11:36] bon
    And then...
[11:43] bon
    I don't feel great about my full-force
    pitch getting hit by Doterai-san,
[11:49] bon
    but hey, we won the match,
    so all's well that ends well.
SIGN    6th 7th 8th 9th
[11:53] pres
    That one hit today...
[11:56] org
    ...may reinvigorate Dote.
[11:58] pres
    If that means we'll have to
    re-sign him again next year...
[12:04] org
    ...we won't get to
    improve our roster yet again.
[12:11] bon
    And indeed!
[12:13] bon
    That day would be the start of
    a major hot streak for Doterai,
[12:17] bon
    but at that point in time,
    nobody knew that yet!
[12:21] bon
    And the Setouchi Carnavits' roster
    would remain stagnant for another year.
[12:27] bon
    But this is another part of pro ball!
[12:30] bon
    It's not bad to be an old man at work!
[12:33] bon
    Well, at least I can breathe a sigh of relief...
SIGN    "The Man Who Couldn't Make Pro"
[12:56] bon
    The ballgrounds at Jingu Park.
[12:58] bon
    As usual, it's full of people
    playing grass lot baseball.
[13:17] oki
    Hey, that's one of the Spiders.
[13:19] oki
    Who is that?
[13:25] oki
    Number 39. Who was that again?
[13:27] oki
    It's Bonda. Bonda.
[13:29] oki
    The relief pitcher.
[13:30] oki
    Oh, right. Yeah, Bonda.
[13:33] oki
    The Spiders play the Mops tonight.
[13:36] oki
    It's early. I bet they haven't
    even started practice yet.
[13:40] nao
    I have tickets for tonight,
    so I'll be watching them later.
[13:44] man
    But wow, he's been juggling
    that ball for a while, huh?
[13:47] man
    It's not even touching the ground.
[13:49] oki
    Bonda stinks at baseball. Maybe he should
    give it up and go play soccer instead!
[13:58] oki
    He's got a bad case of the yips.
[14:01] oki
    When he's throwing the ball to first...
[14:03] oki
    He can handle a fast throw
    that goes in a straight line,
[14:05] oki
    but he can't handle
    a slow throw in a nice arc.
[14:08] nao
    Yeah...
[14:10] nao
    I thought of Bonda as being
    pretty on the slow side,
[14:13] nao
    but seeing him up close,
    he's got pretty nice motor skills.
[14:17] nao
    No. They're way beyond "pretty nice."
[14:21] nao
    Is this what it takes to make
    your living in sports?
[14:24] oki
    Naoki.
[14:26] oki
    You were on Kawasaki's youth team, right?
[14:29] oki
    You can play on his level, right?
[14:32] oki
    You were this close to
    becoming a pro, weren't you?
[14:34] oki
    In soccer...
[14:36] nao
    Nah...
[14:37] nao
    I was a long way from being a J-Leaguer.
[14:41] nao
    That's right. My field was soccer.
[14:45] nao
    But could I beat Bonda,
    whose field is baseball?
[14:49] nao
    Bonda's twenty-five or twenty-six, right?
[14:51] nao
    That's three or four years older than me.
[14:57] no
    Sorry about that!
[15:07] oki
    Naoki...
[15:21] bon
    Not bad!
[15:35] oki
    Oh, boy. Now Naoki's joined
     in with the juggling.
[15:49] nao
    I guess my skills, or rather my legs,
    haven't totally atrophied.
[15:57] nao
    Oh no!
[15:59] nao
    It's no use! You can't catch it!
[16:06] bon
    Got it!
[16:07] nao
    Hey! You could hurt your leg
    or your hip sliding like that!
[16:12] bon
    Okay!
[16:14] nao
    He caught up with it!
[16:17] nao
    H-He's totally fine?
[16:21] nao
    It's not just his motor skills.
    Look at that flexibility!
[16:26] nao
    He moves in a way only someone
    who makes their living at sports could!
[16:30] nao
    It's no use.
[16:32] nao
    I could never have made it as a pro athlete!
[16:36] nobo
    You're great, Bonda-san.
[16:38] bon
    Okay, Noboru! Let's go!
[16:41] bon
    Oh no!
[16:44] nao
    An amateur can't keep up
    with something like that!
[16:47] nobo
    Go on!
[16:51] nao
    You what?!
[16:52] nobo
    Coming your way!
[16:55] nao
    Oh no!
[16:59] oki
    Hey, Naoki lost.
[17:06] nobo
    Well, at least I caught up with it.
[17:10] nao
    Who is that guy?
[17:12] nao
    That acceleration!
[17:14] nao
    That speed!
[17:15] nao
    And despite heading the ball with the
    back of his head, he still sent it to me!
[17:20] nao
    I'd been putting all my focus on Bonda,
[17:22] nao
    but that guy might be even better than him.
[17:27] nobo
    Uh-oh!
[17:28] nobo
    Look at the time.
[17:30] nobo
    Bonda-san.
[17:31] bon
    Sure thing, Noboru.
[17:33] nobo
    See you, Bonda-san.
[17:35] bon
    Yeah, see you!
[17:38] nao
    The way he's running...
    He must be an athlete.
[17:41] nao
    Is he with the Spiders, too?
[17:42] bon
    Well, I have to go, too.
[17:51] oki
    How'd it go, J-Leaguer? Did you win?
[17:54] ano
    I totally lost.
[17:57] ano
    I mocked Bonda as a low-rate athlete,
[18:00] ano
    but compared to a guy like me,
    who couldn't go pro...
[18:03] ano
    I could feel this huge wall between us.
[18:05] ano
    But that kid Bonda was juggling with...
[18:08] ano
    I feel like I've seen him somewhere.
[18:11] nao
    I feel like I've seen him before, too.
[18:13] nao
    Where was it, though?
SIGN    Meiji Jingu Stadium
[18:22] nao
    Boy, pro baseball is the best, isn't it?
[18:24] nao
    Going to a night game in
    this weather is awesome.
[18:28] nao
    I guess Bonda's not in the bullpen yet.
[18:31] oki
    It's still early innings yet.
[18:32] nao
    I'm heading to the concessions.
[18:35] oki
    What are you gonna buy?
[18:37] nao
    Bonda merch.
[18:39] nao
    Since I ran into Bonda today,
[18:42] nao
    I've kind of become a fan.
[18:45] oki
    I'll go with you.
[18:46] nao
    Excuse me!
[18:47] nao
    Do you have any Bonda merch?
[18:49] nobo
    Sorry, we don't sell any
    merchandise for Bonda-san.
[18:55] nao
    Hey, it's you again.
[18:56] nobo
    Hey there.
[19:00] nao
    How pathetic, that Bonda.
[19:02] nao
    Why doesn't he have any merch?
[19:05] nao
    Well, because he's just a LOOGY, I guess.
[19:07] nao
    Maybe it was silly to assume
    they'd sell his merch.
[19:10] oki
    Naoki, I just remembered.
    The kid who was juggling with you.
[19:13] oki
    He's Minokawa, a high school championship
    winning pitcher seven or eight years ago.
[19:19] oki
    And the Spiders took first in the draft.
[19:23] nao
    The winning pitcher at the high school
    championships and first draft pick?!
[19:28] nao
    That kid was someone that amazing?
[19:33] oki
    Last fall, he retired.
SIGN    A Professional Career Lost to Injury Minokawa Retires
[19:36] nao
    I can see it.
[19:37] nao
    Those were the moves of a pro athlete.
[19:40] nao
    And he was active until last year?
[19:43] nao
    But in six years, he never
    made one major league start...
[19:47] nao
    Poor guy.
[19:48] oki
    I think his career was ravaged by injuries.
[19:52] nao
    A number one draft pick working part-time,
    selling stadium merch?
[19:55] oki
    I actually don't think it's part-time for him.
[19:59] oki
    It's probably a full-time job
    that the ball club got for him.
[20:03] nao
    The pro world is unforgiving!
[20:05] nao
    Maybe it's a good thing
    I didn't become a pro.
[20:08] ann
    Bonda will be pitching for Shiina.
[20:16] nao
    Hey, it's Bonda.
[20:21] ann
    Ground ball to the pitcher.
[20:22] ann
    Bonda has it easily.
[20:24] ann
    He just needs a careful throw to—
[20:27] ann
    It's a wild throw!
[20:29] ann
    The third base runner comes home!
[20:32] fan
    What are you doing? You coulda had him!
[20:36] fan
    That was an easy out!
[20:38] oki
    There it is, the yips.
[20:40] nao
    He tried to be too careful.
[20:42] oki
    Though he can throw as many
    hard pitches as you need...
[20:45] tera
    Natsunosuke. Calm down.
[20:47] bon
    Sorry!
[20:49] oki
    Well, despite all that, he's still
    standing on a major league mound.
[20:54] oki
    Pro athletes have incredible motor skills!
[20:58] oki
    But the reason they still mess up
[21:01] oki
    is because they're all playing
    under absurd amounts of pressure!
[21:04] ann
    A bad throw to first, and the Spiders
    see the game tied up!
[21:09] nob
    Bonda-san, get it together already.
[21:13] fan
    Excuse me.
[21:14] nobo
    Welcome!
[21:16] nobo
    I can't dig up that money
    buried under the pitch anymore.
[21:21] nobo
    But you're still going strong!
[21:24] bon
    I need to become someone they sell merch for!
[21:28] bon
    Money Pitch!
[23:01] bon
    Natsunosuke here!
[23:02] bon
    I'm going to be a model for a baseball manga!
[23:05] bon
    Isn't that great?
[23:06] bon
    No, it's real, though!
[23:09] bon
    But the artist's deadline is coming up, and...
[23:13] bon
    I can't say anything more than that, but...
[23:16] bon
    Be it sports or manga,
    the world of pros is always unforgiving.
[23:22] bon
    Next time: "Safe Bets, Risky Bets."
[23:24] bon
    Seize tomorrow's success and today's money!
SIGN    "Safe Bets, Risky Bets"
[23:27] ---
    Money Pitch!