Baseball and university

(I had chat AI correct this writing.)

When I was a child, I enjoyed watching and playing baseball. After elementary school, I used to play with the neighborhood children at a nearby playground. I liked playing both as a batter and a fielder, and I always wanted to show off my skills to everyone.

One day, while I was playing baseball, Shinpu-san asked me, "It seems you are always playing baseball. Do you want to become a professional baseball player?" I replied, "I actually inquired with the self-defense military about my wish to be a professional baseball player. He said it would be possible, but mentioned that I would go back and forth between the first team and the farm team because I wouldn’t like sports practice. If that were the case, I thought it would be best not to pursue a professional baseball career. However, would you still appreciate my success in this game?”

After the game, I searched for Shinpu-san, but he had already left. One of the spectators informed me, "The foreigner mentioned that he found it boring and left halfway through the game." I felt apologetic. Despite him coming all the way from America to Japan, I couldn't provide him with an enjoyable experience.

One day, a boys’ baseball player named Suzuki-san from a distant prefecture approached me. It seemed he had been observing our game for a while and expressed his desire to become a professional baseball player, asking me about the advice I received from the self-defense military. I explained that I wasn't a power hitter or pitcher, so I couldn't offer much advice on hitting home runs or pitching. However, I suggested that if he could run fast, I could teach him how to hit for a high average by shifting his weight and timing his swings. I also recommended that he consider hitting from the left side as the distance to first base is shorter from the left batter's box. When he mentioned wanting to be a switch hitter, I cautioned that it could lead to confusion during slumps and suggested he stick with hitting from the left side. He also mentioned having a strong arm and asked if he should be a catcher. Based on probability, I suggested he consider being an outfielder instead as a catcher's strong arm is less useful even if the runner is fast. He also expressed interest in becoming a pitcher, but I warned him about the risk of elbow injuries and suggested that he focus on batting if he wanted to maintain a good record.

When I was rough with my glove in front of him, Suzuki-san advised me, "Don't treat your glove roughly. Treat tools carefully!" I realized that he had a better understanding of what it takes to become a professional baseball player than I did at the time. Suddenly, two goddesses of baseball appeared from the sky before us. I remarked that it was rare for the goddesses of sports to appear and offered to give one of them to Suzuki-san while giving the other to a power hitter so that they wouldn't compete with each other.

On another day, Suzuki-san suggested that I play baseball with the strongest boys' team in his prefecture. I was hesitant as our team consisted only of neighborhood children and I didn't think we could win. However, he proposed that he pitch for our team and that he would bat second after me. He also advised me to wear proper shoes instead of sandals, which I often played in.

In the first turn of batting, neither team was able to score any runs as they struggled to make contact with the ball against his excellent pitching. However, in the second turn, he assured me that they would set me up for a hit. True to his word, I managed to hit a single. Following my hit, he delivered an extra-base hit, then next batter hit a sacrifice fly allowing our team to score a run. That single run turned out to be the only one scored by either team, resulting in our team's victory.

I was amazed by his ability as a pitcher to manipulate where the batter would hit the ball. After the game, the captain of his team invited me to join them, but I declined. The self-defense military had previously informed me that I wouldn't enjoy the practice required for professional baseball.

Shinpu-san came to me and said that I should promise everyone to quit baseball, dismiss the team whose members were neighborhood children, and study hard from now on. So I said in front of the team members, “I will quit baseball. If everyone would still like to play, feel free to do so without me. I will focus on studying from now on.” Then one of the team members said, “If you don’t play baseball, we will also quit.” And so, we all decided to quit baseball.

One day, out of the blue, Shinpu-san suggested that I should go to MIT. Curious, I asked him what MIT was, and he explained that it stood for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Intrigued by the idea, I went home to ask my mother if I could go to MIT. She told me that if I studied hard, it might be possible, but she also mentioned that she didn't want me to go abroad. Disappointed, I returned to Shinpu-san and informed him about my mother's opinion. He then asked me about the top university in Japan, to which I replied that it was the University of Tokyo. He suggested that I should aim for the University of Tokyo instead.

I consulted with the self-defense military about the possibility of entering the University of Tokyo. He acknowledged my intelligence but pointed out that my strengths and the direction of the University of Tokyo's curriculum did not align, making it unlikely for me to be admitted there. I shared this information with Shinpu-san. He then inquired about the next smartest university in Japan after the University of Tokyo. I informed him that it would be the former imperial universities. When he asked which university I would like to enter, I expressed my interest in Tohoku University. Once again, I consulted with the self-defense military, but most of the questions regarding university admissions were areas where I struggled. I conveyed this to Shinpu-san.

In response, Shinpu-san asked about the next smart university I would consider after Tohoku University. I replied that it would be Tsukuba University. He then asked me how smart Tsukuba University was, and I shared information about the deviation values of these universities. Shinpu-san questioned whether I understood deviation values, to which I admitted that I didn't have a deep understanding but mentioned that the self-defense military had suggested that he would understand if I provided the deviation values. Therefore, it seemed like my future path would lead me to Tsukuba University. Shinpu-san encouraged me to study hard and aim for Tohoku University.