Draft meeting day.
I was probably the most nervous of the three people at the table.
The three of us from my high school submitted applications to go professional: Yamazaki, Hirai, and myself.
The other two would almost certainly be selected in the draft.
In contrast, my chances of being selected were considered 50-50.
If a team was short on infielders and couldn't make a successful selection due to their team composition, I might be chosen.
I received offers from three professional baseball teams.
By the way, Yamazaki and Hirai received offers from all teams.
The stars of this draft were said to be left-handed pitcher Sugizawa from the university ranks and Yamazaki, the Koshien-winning pitcher from the high school ranks.
Additionally, many pitchers from both university and high school levels were highly regarded, and among the fielders, Taniguchi from the East and Hirai from the West were both highly acclaimed high school sluggers.
Yamazaki seemed to be extremely disappointed with the fourth round of the Koshien qualifying tournament, and he became a completely different person, devoting himself to practice and further improving his pitching speed.
Even back then, he was considered a candidate for the first pick in the draft, but now he is considered an exceptional player, one that comes once every few years.
The draft meeting has begun.
The draft conference selects players from the lower-ranked teams of the previous year.
The first pick was made by the Shizuoka Oceans, who were at the bottom of the Sky League, and as expected, their first pick was Sugizawa, the number one university pitcher.
It seems they wanted a pitcher who could contribute immediately and be trusted to start.
The next pick was the Kawasaki Lights, the team that had finished last in the Sea League the previous year.
The Kawasaki Lights also selected pitcher Sugizawa.
The Niigata Condors, a Sky League team, selected right-handed college pitcher Yamashita.
Apparently, they were trying to catch a fish.
Now that each team has made their first-round picks, the players who were selected by duplicates were left-handed university pitcher Sugizawa, who was selected by four teams, and our school's Yamazaki, who was selected by three teams.
All the other teams selected pitchers and were successful in catching one.
As a result of the lottery, Shizuoka Oceans won the negotiating rights for pitcher Sugizawa.
Yamazaki was then selected by the Keihan Jaguars, a team he himself had expressed a desire to join.
The moment the Keihan Jaguars were awarded the negotiating rights, Yamazaki pumped his fist in excitement, without any regard for the people watching.
There were tears of joy in his eyes.
He must have been very happy.
All the teams that lost the lottery selected pitchers, except for one team that selected a catcher.
High school sluggers Hirai and Taniguchi were not selected with the first pick.
Perhaps all teams refrained from drafting them because it takes time to develop a high schooler.
The waiver system applies to the second-place team and below. Teams that ranked lower in the previous year select players in order, and there is no lottery.
The first team to be drafted by the Shizuoka Oceans was high school slugger Taniguchi.
They acquired the negotiating rights for pitcher Sugizawa with their first pick and were able to select Taniguchi with their second pick.
This could be called a very successful draft.
Hirai was then selected second overall by the Kumamoto Fires, the fourth team to do so.
When he was drafted, he seemed more relieved than happy.
That left me alone.
There was an awkward atmosphere in the press conference.
I felt uncomfortable, but I couldn't run away from here.
Feeling the worried gazes of Yamazaki and Hirai, I watched the draft meeting progress.
After the terrestrial television broadcast ended, the rest was broadcast on satellite television.
The draft continued from third, fourth, fifth, and so on, but I wasn't selected anywhere.
At this point, some teams decided to drop their selections.
My name wasn't called even in the sixth round.
The number of teams still in the running to nominate players was down to just three.
I guess it's no good after all.
Just when I was about to give up, it was announced: "Shizuoka Oceans, seventh round. Takahashi Ryusuke, Gunjo University High School, infielder."
That's my name.
Tears naturally came to my eyes.
I was truly happy.
Yamazaki and Hirai stood up and asked for a handshake.
The three of us shook hands firmly.
The reporters then took several photos of the three of us with our arms around each other's shoulders.
When we stepped out onto the field, our teammates lifted the three of us up in celebration, first Yamazaki, then Hirai, and then me.
A lot happened during my three years of club activities in high school.
There were some guys whose personalities I didn't get along with (like Yamazaki), I got into fights over things other than baseball (like Yamazaki), and I also got into fights with guys from other schools and got severely scolded (like Yamazaki).
But now I truly believe it.
Great teammates (except Yamazaki), as well as the manager, coaches, and director.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to many people, including my mother, who supported me.
And I would like to give back, even if just a little, by doing well in professional baseball.
I'm happy now. I'm really happy.
There were several newspaper reporters there, and they focused their interviews mainly on Yamazaki and Hirai, but it didn't bother me at all.
To begin with, I'm not good at being interviewed.
Still, several people asked me about my enthusiasm.
A familiar reporter asked me if I wanted to join the team.
I immediately replied, "Of course, I'd love to join."
Just after seven o'clock in the evening, I received a call from a scout from the Shizuoka Oceans to inform me of the selection.
I was nervous, and all I could do was say, "Yes."
After various activities such as greeting the principal and taking commemorative photos, we were finally released and able to go home after 9 o'clock.
As I was leaving the school gate, my girlfriend, Mizushima Yui, was waiting for me.
She is the manager of the baseball team in the same grade, and we have been dating since our first year.
Ever since she joined the team, she was extremely popular among the managers, but for some reason, she started hanging out with me.
After graduating from high school, she plans to enroll in nursing school.
Once we were alone, she made the effort to not say anything about the draft meeting.
They congratulated me during club activities, and I was tired after a lot of things happened today, so I was grateful for the usual casual conversation. (I wish they had stopped talking about next week's test, though.)
And so, the draft day came to an end.
By the way, I learned from the newspaper the next morning that pitcher Goka from Yatsuhashi High School had been selected by the Okayama Hypers, the last of all players drafted, with the ninth pick.