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Seidou Regulars
Sawamura Eijun
"I'm going to become the Ace! The Ace of Aces, King of Aces!!"
Position: Pitcher
Voiced by: Ryōta Ōsaka
"No matter how many times I stumble, no matter how many times I fail to live up to expectations...I can pick myself up and try as many times as it takes! I can do it!"
The main protagonist of the series. Eijun is a first year at Seidou. He hopes to continue his baseball career at his new high school as well as become the ace for his new team.
- The Ace: As of Act 2 Chapter 141 (Episode 45 of the anime's third season); he finally earns the number of his dreams right before his second Summer Tournament.
- Action Duo: With his batterymate Miyuki Kazuya, especially when they give each other the "evil smirks".
- Affectionate Nickname: Gets called "Sawamura-chan" by Masuko, "Eijun-kun" by Haruichi, and "Ei-chan" by his junior high baseball team.
- Always Second Best: For a long time the team treats him as a "relief pitcher" for Furuya. A big chunk of his character development revolves around trying to break out of Furuya's shadow.
- Always Someone Better: Feels this way towards Furuya.
- Badass Normal: He doesn't have a "selling point" like his other rivals do but he trains a lot of tricky plays to make up for it.
- Big Eater: While eating three bowls of rice is part of Seidou menu, the boy does have a vicarious appetite.
- Book Dumb: He sleeps in class and turns to Kanemaru for help for test when he finds out he needs to pass in order to participate in the summer tournament. He barely passes.
- Break the Cutie: Twice. First time is when Raichi scores a homerun off of him and the second happensduring the game against Inashiro when he hit Shirakawa in the head with a pitch. The latter was so bad he ended up being affected by the yips.
- Butt-Monkey: He never seems to catch a break; from yips to his bad luck at starting games. Him picking himself back up again is what makes him a star player though.
- Can't Live with Them, Can't Live Without Them: Word for word his feelings for Miyuki Kazuya. He hates him as a person (at least, at the beginning) but as a catcher, there is no one else he wants to form a battery as much as him.Sawamura: "Is he encouraging or pressuring me? He's nasty and self centered. Sometimes I don't even know what he's thinking...He really pisses me off!! Even so...I came to Seidou because I wanted this person to catch my pitches."
- Catchphrase: At some point while pitching, he will say this without fail to the others on the field: "Balls will go flying, so thanks for defending!"
- Character Development: Massive amounts, maturing from an ignorant bratty beginner, breaking from pressure to a strong reliable valuable player who can shouldered the burdens of the ace. His temperament matured as well, taking loss gracefully.
- Confusion Fu: Sawamura's style (around the time of his first match, it later develops further) is based around his unpredictable moving fastball and a unique pitching stance that hides his arm behind his body until just before the release point of his pitch. These two attributes make him almost impossible to time properly, at least at first. However, skilled batters can simply overpower him, or figure out the timing.
- He later adds the change-up to his repertoire, taking this trope even further.
- Finally, he begins to add what he and Miyuki are calling "the numbers" to his pitching. The Numbers refer to a specific way of holding the ball, taking advantage of Sawamura's odd release style that causes his pitching to break randomly. By holding the ball with different fingers on different seams, Sawamura can drastically alter the way the ball turns at the plate. Miyuki's the only catcher who can deal with them.
- As if all the above mentioned wasn't enough, Sawamura just got more confusing. He's learned how to bat effectively, but to do do requires him to start in his bunting stance to aim his bat (as his swings never hit and his bunts never miss). Using this style of batting, he can send the ball to the outfield, and since he starts in a bunting stance, it will be impossible to predict what he'll do when others are on base. Be it batting or pitching, Sawamura's form always looks the same regardless of what he's going to do. No opponent can predict his actions moving forward. Sawamura is quickly looking to become a Trope Codifier here.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He is extremely loud, annoying and clingy but when he is in the zone, no one can stop him.
- The Determinator: While he was stuck in training, for being late to practice on the first day, he was told to run around the field. Of course, just running was enough, he added tires to his regimen, in hopes of getting out of just running. When he gets worked up or wants to work harder, he laps the fields with tires.
- Maezono has flatly stated that nobody can beat Sawamura at this. He is always the last to stop for the day. What initially gained him the respect of the older students was the fact that he never once quit or took it easy in the face of competition from Furuya, who was initially a far stronger pitcher who could be considered top-class in the nation.
- Difficult, but Awesome: This is how Miyuki describes his pitching style; sure, it's hard to catch, but equally hard to hit. Once he's paired with an effective catcher and practices to increase his control, he's a force to be reckoned with.
- The Ditz: Commented many times by a lot of his teammates, especially Chris and Miyuki.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: To an astonishing degree. Granted, Sawamura is a loudmouth and isn't too bright, but it's actually pretty crazy how many times he's had to come into games to clean up the mess that Furuya made because the coin landed tails on his good-day-bad-day meter, and yet Furuya's still treated as the ace and Sawamura is only a relief pitcher. Chapters 42-43 in Act II hint that Sawamura is finally beginning to get fed up with Furuya's wild inconsistency in spite of all the support the team gives him.
- Played with, at least by the team, in Act II. Miyuki muses that Sawamura's attitude and Determinator tendencies have ensured that he was always worthy of the team's respect, and in fact had it. The players just rarely show it because he's also irritating pretty often.
- Friendly Rivalry: With Furuya by Act II. They both compete for the ace pitcher position, but acknowledge and respect each other's skills.
- Graceful Loser: He's the first to realize his own shortcomings so he won't egoistically attack others when he loses.
- The Heart: Consistently able to raise Seidou's spirit, by words or actions. It's specifically mentioned in Act 2 that his style of motivating the team is different from Furuya's.
- Hero Worship: To Chris.
- Honor Before Reason: What gets him back in Kataoka's good graces early on. Sawamura's a bit thick-headed, but rather than do things that he thinks would make the coach like him, he does what he believes is right, such as not going to cheer for games because he didn't think he could mean his cheers.
- Hot-Blooded: It goes without saying.
- Idiot Hero: According to Miyuki, only being blunt works with him when talking.
- Innocently Insensitive: Sawamura is very good at inserting his foot into his mouth, and he has a tendency to judge people based only on what he knows, without looking deeper, but he's never cruel on purpose, and he will go to great lengths to make up for any wrongs he's done.
- The Leader: His moodmaking is noted to be an esssential asset in team's leading. After becoming The Ace, he becomes the official leader of the team alongside The Captain Miyuki.
- Magnetic Hero: This and his moodmaking leadership role was what attracted Rei's attention initially though his pitching is just as good potential.
- Meaningful Name: His name is very similar (both phonetically and in terms of Kanji) to Sawamura Eiji, the most famous pitcher in Japanese baseball history, and the origin of the Sawamura Eiji Award (the NPB equivalent of the MLB's Cy Young award).
- Morton's Fork: Sawamura's style presents opponents with one of these, in a textbook example of how you're supposed to pitch. i.e. His first games in the Summer Tournament: If opponents sit back and take Sawamura's pitches to try and get a feel for his timing, they're out because Sawamura's pitches are mostly strikes. If they try to swing early to put the ball in play, they're out because Sawamura's moving fastball and Confusion Fu timing will cause them to get jammed. If they figure out his timing on the moving fastball and wait to the last minute to swing, Sawamura can just throw the four-seam and jam them inside or make them whiff entirely because it's slightly faster than his standard pitch. None of the standard batting tactics work well against Sawamura, forcing his opponents to get clever, capitalize on his mistakes, or just be so much better than him that it doesn't matter (which is steadily becoming impossible by Act II).
- Nerves of Steel: In contrast to Furuya, whose game starts to deteriorate any time he gives up a hit, Sawamura is able to maintain his composure no matter how bad a situation gets (normally).
- Nice Guy: So much so that he stalked Chris for a bid of forgiveness.
- The Nicknamer: Has a boatload. "Harucchi" for Haruichi, "Beard-senpai" or "Spitz-senpai" for Isashiki, "Nii-san" for Ryosuke, "Muscle-senpai" for Miyauchi, "Shades," "Boss" or "General" for Kataoka, "Sergeant" for Ochiai, "Leader" for Tetsuya and "Cap" for Miyuki in Act 2.
- No Indoor Voice: His speech is always high toned, to a point the lettering in manga for his speech are almost always in bold.
- No Sense of Personal Space: In his second year, he doesn't care about chilling on Miyuki's pillows and making himself at home in his room. Kazuya doesn't seem to be minding it but Koushuu has a hard time getting used to it.
- Odd Couple: His battery with Miyuki. It starts out as a Can't Live with Them, Can't Live Without Them case but come Act 2 and they seem to have become genuine friends on top of being a scary battery. The bickering is still around though.
- Odd Friendship: With Kuramochi and Okumura.
- Offscreen Teleportation: When he's on standby he often moves around between the dugout and the bullpen though he's never actually shown leaving either. Especially during the Fall Tournament finals where he moves around so much he'll be commenting on his team's performance in the dugout with Furuya and appear in the bullpen two seconds later.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Given that he's always so loud and full of energy, people know that whenever he's quiet there's something very wrong with him.
- Real Men Wear Pink: He loves shoujo manga. He even openly cries over Kimi ni Todoke in the middle of his classroom.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red to Furuya's Blue. Heck, with the exception to Isashiki and Kuramochi, he's the Red to basically the whole team.
- Turns blue when his team's on defense though. His personality doesn't really change, but it's almost impossible for the enemy team to pressure him and he continues to make calm judgments and methodically follow his catcher's lead.
- The Reliable One: Among Seidou's pitchers, Sawamura is the most consistent performer; Furuya is less consistent and Nori tenses under pressure.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Sensitive Guy to Miyuki's Manly Man. Sawamura wears his heart on his sleeve, has a pitching style that's very much dependant on his emotions and it takes him a lot of experiences to learn to stand strong against pressure. Miyuki, on the other hand, is a very analytical individual who has a sharp tongue and approaches gameplay with an open mind; he refuses to show any emotional weakness to outside, even when he is injured.
- Those Two Guys: Both with Kuramochi (for joking around) and with Miyuki (as batterymates). His battery with Miyuki is so tight that even Mei praises the faith they have in each other.
- Took a Level in Badass: Multiple times, especially before the Fall quarter-finals against Oya High when he masters the change-up. However, all of his levels in badass come together during the Fall Tournament Finals against Yakushi. Aside from handling the majority of the game's pitching, he manages consecutive strikeouts against Todoroki Raichi and Sanada Shunpei with just seven pitches. Narumiya says that even he would have hesitated against some of those calls, but Sawamura pulls it off perfectly.
- In Act II, Sawamura has learned how to bat from the bunting stance. Throughout the series, he's been shown to be an absolutely terrible hitter, never even coming close to anything resembling a hit. On the other hand, he's a perfect bunter, so much so that the only time one of his bunts has ever failed was due to weather conditions stopping the ball. So what does Sawamura do? He uses the bunting position to line up his swing first. And now Sawamura can hit to the outfield as he pleases.
- Tranquil Fury: You wouldn't know it by his usual attitude, but as it turns out, when Sawamura is really, truly angry, he goes straight into this trope. During Act II,his absolute fury at the mess Furuya made of the game against Ichidai Sankou doesn't cause him to scream, lose focus, or forget his duty. Instead, he puts Ichidai's top batters away with two strikes and one foul each, pitching faster and more accurately than ever before. Miyuki was getting goosebumps from the raw control Sawamura was displaying, and even Kataoka was shocked.
- Truth in Television: Sawamura's pitching stance that hides his arm and release point behind his body is an actual thing and it's based on the baseball legend Greg Maddux's style. MLB pitchers Yusmeiro Petit
and Grant Dayton as well as Yusei Kikuchi are also known for making use of this kind of windup, which turns their fastball into what is colloquially known as an "invisiball". The article linked under Petit's name explains the technique in greater detail. - Unskilled, but Strong: Stated by many of his teammates, as well as other coaches, but...he has little to no ball control whatsoever.
- Inverted to Weak, but Skilled by the second round of the fall tournament. He lacks speed even compared to Kawakami, let alone Furuya, but his hard-to-time pitches and ability to pitch flawlessly to all four corners of the strike zone makes up for it.
- And finally turned all the way to balanced (and strong) by the time he's a second-year, with a 135 k/ph fastball combined with insane courses and control.
- Inverted to Weak, but Skilled by the second round of the fall tournament. He lacks speed even compared to Kawakami, let alone Furuya, but his hard-to-time pitches and ability to pitch flawlessly to all four corners of the strike zone makes up for it.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Furuya, as well as Miyuki. He is aware of the vitriol by both, and he returns it with his own, with Furuya, they get better as the series goes on, but still have their moments.
- With Kuramochi as well, going into his second year at Seido. Kuramochi still occasionally kicks or wrestles Sawamura down, but the two are also often shown working together, such as scaring their new dormmate or getting Miyuki to stop trolling the new players.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Ghosts and horror in general.
Miyuki Kazuya
"We're not the Kings. We're the Challengers!"
Position: Catcher
Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai
"This starting position was what I acquired by my own strength, the plays achieved with the fielders and the types of balls I ask from the pitcher. I definitely won't give such an interesting position up to anybody."
A student of Seidou High and is the regular catcher as well as the captain of Seidou High's baseball team. He is a genius catcher whose name is nationally well known. He was scouted by Takashima when he was still a first year in junior high.
- The Ace: Called "the best catcher of his generation", in his third year, Miyuki's an all around successful player as a top draft pick.
- Action Duo: With his batterymate Sawamura Eijun.
- Affectionate Nickname: Sawamura starts calling him "Cap" in Act 2 and it eventually starts catching on with the team as well.
- All of the Other Reindeer: His junior high teammates weren't fond of him due to his rather brutally honest mouth and his overall young age so they tried to bully him out of the team. However Miyuki always came back to practice field with a smile on his face.
- Always Someone Better: How he views Chris. Chris was the only catcher he couldn't beat head on back in his junior high days and he only became a regular at Seido's team because Chris was forced out by severe injury. He's always in awe of how Chris approaches to pitchers so easily compared to himself, and admits to himself in Act 1's epilogue that he may never be able to beat Chris in the end.
- He's also this to Okumura and, to a lesser degree, Yui in Act 2
- Ambiguously Absent Parent: His mother can be seen in a blurred family picture taken back when Miyuki was a baby however all the signs in the house point to her being absent in his current life.
- Awesome by Analysis: He is incredibly good at this. One of his greatest strengths as a player is that he utilises this to give himself an edge over his opponents by, for example, very accurately deciphering a battery's pitch sequence based on data. He also figures out Sawamura's moving fastball and the specifics of how it comes about - the flexible joints and unique spin - after catching only a handful of his pitches.
- Beneath the Mask: He may be an all around cocky player on the field but outside of the uniform, Miyuki Kazuya is an awkward teen with No Social Skills who hides it under his Stepford Snarker personality. He even admits to Kuramochi that part of his nasty attitude towards the pitchers is meant to provoke them into doing their best.
- Borrowed Catch Phrase: During the match against the retired third years he takes a page out of Sawamura's book and, after announcing a head-on battle against the batters, tells the fielders to watch out for any balls Furuya may send their way.
- Brutal Honesty: Ever since his childhood, he never held back his tongue which caused him to be openly bullied by his junior high teammates, and later on during his high school life, this aspect of him turned Miyuki into an Ineffectual Loner.Miyuki, during his first speech as the new captain: I'll say everything I want to, so prepare yourselves.
- The Captain: Becomes the captain of the Seidou once the 3rd years retire from the team.
- Character Development: Started to reach out to the rest of the team as a result of his new captaincy, albeit slowly. In his third year he's become quite popular due to becoming a strong leader, more patient teacher (to the whole pitching staff) and overall more approachable person.
- Chick Magnet: Has been quite popular with female fans since the very beginning of the story
- Childhood Friends: He is friends with Mei since their junior high days.
- Death Glare: Seikou's Ogawa Tsunematsu ends up on the receiving end of the scariest glare in the series, courtesy of Miyuki, after he tries to tackle him out of the way to score.
- Sawamura and Furuya also get their share of this if they stray out of Miyuki's gamecalling.
- Ichidai's Amahisa is also on the receiving end of this and notes that it's like he's being glared at by a demon
- Deuteragonist: He gets as much focus as Eijun, especially after becoming the captain, and the story largely focuses on the development of their battery as pitcher and catcher. He's also the face of the series alongside Eijun as well.
- Determinator: Shirasu notes that he's never missed a game and the series eventually shows how far Miyuki will go to keep it that way. He not only finishes the Seiko game with an incredible home run but also pushes through the finals match against Yakushi with an oblique muscle injury note on willpower alone, without anyone aside from Kuramochi even catching on. The doctor who eventually checks him is shocked that he was playing injured at all and can't help but be impressed at how determined he is to keep going. Not even Kataoka can put him on the bench faced with this. He's in so much pain by the end he can't even stand straight and needs to have Kuramochi and Zono support him to the hospital.
- The Dreaded: Second only to Tetsu before his promotion to captain. While he's not quite on Tetsu's level batting wise he's close and most batteries choose to walk him instead of taking him on. Those who don't usually learn to regret it pretty quickly. His habit of ignoring easy pitches and hitting big off a pitcher's best lends itself to this.
- Establishing Character Moment: His first appearance in the story has him jump at the opportunity to stick it to Azuma, an upperclassmen, while gleefully mouthing off at and provoking him to the horror of his teammates
- First-Name Basis: Notably the only character to call Takashima "Rei-chan". Also mutually with Narumiya Mei.
- Friendless Background: His personality makes people avoid him and he makes no effort to change that. After he becomes captain however, he starts getting more emotionally attached to his teammates over the course of the series.
- The Gadfly: His most striking personality trait. He loves tricking Eijun just for the fun of it and gets a wicked joy out of pissing off his teammates. This also reflects on his play as well; as a batter, he absolutely loves hitting a pitcher's most trusted pitch and break the opponent team's morale at the same time. As a catcher, his gamecalling revolves around an offensive play that pisses off the opponent batter. Once his Character Development kicks in however he mellows out, though his game calling is as nasty as ever
- Game-Breaking Injury: The rib injury from being tackled by Seiko's Ogawa affects his batting severely, limiting Seido's scoring power against Yakushi in the Fall Finals down to a fraction of what it could be. He pushes through with sheer stubbornness but has to be taken off the roster for the Jingu Tournament after, which causes them to lose early because no one can catch Furuya's pitches reliably.
- Gender-Blender Name: Not his given name, but his last name Miyuki is also a common first name used for girls
- Genius Bruiser: Aside from being the best play caller in the entire nation, Miyuki bats cleanup after the third years retire, and becomes one of the most feared batters in Tokyo. Not that he wasn't decent before, but he had problems hitting when nobody was on base.
- Ineffectual Loner: He has no friends aside from Kuramochi and even that started as a rivalry because he has no idea how to approach people positively and Kuramochi did not take his needling well. To have Sawamura interest him from the start, drawn by his personality is quite good for him. He also gradually moves away from this over the course of the story until Zono actually starts complaining about how much people love him.
- Amusingly, this also manifests in his plays, as he can't hit without a runner on base during the Summer Tournament but becomes one of the most feared batters in the series after his promotion to captain and the team comes together.
- Insult Backfire: He knows he can be nasty so any insult aimed at him will probably get the reply of "Thank you!" without hesitation.Kuramochi: It wasn't a compliment.
- Jack of All Trades: Come his third year and he's a great catcher, clean-up batter and a captain overall, which makes him the top draft pick for his own age group.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He has a warm heart underneath, showing kindness to Nabe and Nori. He also knows when to drop the jerk facade, like when he honestly tells Sawamura that Kataoka puts faith in not his skills but the passion behind his pitching.
- The Lancer: To Sawamura.
- Like Father, Like Son: He's the splitting image of his father, down to using glasses. Unfortunately though, he seems to have inherited his father's social awkwardness as well.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Not too long but long enough for a high school baseball player and he's remarked for his good looks on several occasions.
- Magnetic Hero: Of a different variety than Sawamura. He's attracted several pitchers to Seido with his skills alone, the fielders and Kataoka trust his leadership without hesitation and even the third years gather around him for team hangout with his room actually being the unofficial meeting sport for the whole team, despite his protests. By his third year he's become so popular Zono complains about it.
- Minor Living Alone: During his flashbacks we see him fending for himself as a child. His father is shown working at a steel factory he owns and his mother is only in pictures...
- In Act II however, Miyuki mentions that his father works very hard to allow him to play the sport he loves, and Miyuki himself says he's grateful to him for it, wanting to repay him for it.
- Missing Mom: His father works at a family owned steel factory but the lack of care in the house implies that his mother passed away or left the house when Miyuki was younger.
- Mysterious Past: While bits and pieces of his baseball career during his junior high years is known, his family life is mostly kept in dark, with the implication of a Missing Mom.
- No Social Skills: His Fatal Flaw as a catcher. His shortcomings in the communication department plays a huge factor in Eijun's yips and the sadder part is that even though he acknowledges his faults, he's so emotionally stunted that he doesn't know how to improve himself about it.
- Number Two: Both literally and after Eijun earning the Ace number "1", figuratively as well.
- Odd Couple: If his relationship with Sawamura had to be summarized it would be this.
- Odd Friendship: With Kuramochi.
- Parental Issues: He has an Ambiguously Absent Mother and a father with a lot of baggage.
- Pretty Boy: His nickname given by the Yakushi team is "Pretty Boy Catcher".
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: Oh and how much. As the main catcher of the team, he leads and helps the development of all pitchers and he's a mentor figure to other catchers, being a key figure in team's defense. As the 4th batter, he is the most important offensive player of the team. The Captain title just puts the icing on the cake.
- Real Men Cook: Result of Parental Neglect and listed as one of his hobbies.
- Sarcastic Devotee: He has a sharp tongue and he likes to bicker a lot with his teammates, but make no mistake: Miyuki Kazuya is very much devoted to his team in the end. This is especially obvious with his pitchers - he is at his snarkiest with them, but most of his best plays have been inspired by his devotion to them and his desire to see them rewarded.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: As stated above, he's Manly Man to Sawamura's Sensitive Guy.
- Stepford Snarker: His use of sarcasm and sharp tongue is more like a shield for him.
- Stoic Spectacles: He uses glasses for his bad eyesight and prefers sports glasses on contact lenses during games for comfort.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: He is very easy to talk to and never holds himself back from making fun of others or laughing out loud until you try to get on a personal level with him. He turns ice cold in emotional matters. He starts making an effort to improve after the first summer tournament however.
- Teen Genius: Said to be the brightest catcher of his generation.
- Tranquil Fury: When he drops the Stepford Snarker attitude and shows his true colors, his rage comes with complete silence and a Death Glare that's been known to traumatize people. When Eijun's debut match as The Ace went all the ways south because of the opponent team's hijinks leading to Miyuki's gameplay being read, he spent an entire chapter silent, without any cocky smirks and once he got up to bat, he hit a home run that practically ended the game there.
- The Leader: Develops into one as the captain and cleanup of Seidou. After Sawamura becomes The Ace, they share this position as battery partners.
- Those Two Guys: As their classmates point out often, he's very close with Kuramochi Youchi. Not that they would admit to being friends though.
- Similarly, his battery and friendship with Eijun get a lot of attention from those who watch them.
- Took a Level in Badass: After he becomes the Captain and the 4th batter of the team, he becomes easily the most feared player of Seidou. At the beginning of his 3rd year, he already has at least 10 offers by professional baseball teams and he's invited to the Tokyo Representative Team to play against the USA youth team.
- Took a Level in Kindness: By Act 2. He's as snarky as ever but thanks to his Character Development he's become more approachable and less likely to be mean for kicks. It's also easier for his pitchers to get genuine praise out of him.
- Unkempt Beauty: Sports some truly impressive hat hair at all times and is acknowledged as very handsome on several occasions. So much so in fact Yakushi's Mishima gets mad about it on multiple occasions.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: If you are his friend, chances are you will fall under this trope. Just ask Sawamura or Kuramochi.
- Notably, their classmates constantly comment on how Miyuki and Kuramochi are always together and also always fighting but the one time where Kuramochi is genuinely angry with Miyuki it stuns the whole class into silence.
- Worthy Opponent: To Mima Souichirou and Narumiya Mei.
Furuya Satoru
"I won't hand the mound over to anyone anymore. I'll become the ace of this team."
Position: Pitcher
Voiced by: Nobunaga Shimazaki
"I'll pitch as much as I need to. It's the ace's job to pitch."
Furuya comes from Tomakomai, Hokkaido and is a second year student of Seidou High School. He was formerly the Ace of the Seidou Baseball Club since the Fall Tournament of his first year until the Spring Tournament of his second year. He is Sawamura Eijun's rival and classmate.
- The Ace: During Tanba's injury, his skills qualifies him to act like an ace. Once the third years graduate, he becomes the actual ace of the team.Until he's demoted after the Spring Tournament of his second year.
- Always Someone Better: Sawamura sees him this way. Interestingly, Furuya doesn't see himself in this light, as he confesses to Miyuki:"I never said I was better than him."
- Benched Hero: Could be considered this due to his poor stamina and ball control. The more fired up he gets, the more he stiffens, and the more likely he is to be switched out.
- Book Dumb: His case is even worse than Eijun, which is saying a lot.
- Break the Haughty: After losing his Ace number in Act 2, Furuya learns the true meaning of what being a team member means.
- Chick Magnet: Becomes popular with girls during Act II.
- Closest Thing We Got: His promotion to Ace happens in a situation like this. Both of his rivals are mentally broken after the Summer Tournament (Kawakami loses his hold on his winning shot sinker and Sawamura faces yips, a mental disorder) so he becomes the ace by the process of elimination.
- The Comically Serious: Most of the time he's just off sleeping or comically getting heated over things.
- Deadpan Snarker: If Miyuki or Sawamura says something he can't be bothered with, he simply ignores them.
- Death Glare: If he's not on the mound, he gives off an almost destructive aura.
- The Ditz: He has it really bad, arguably even worse than Sawamura.
- Friendly Rivalry: His rivalry with Sawamura turns into this in Act 2. To the point that he sincerely congratulates Sawamura when he gets the ace number, rather than being bitter about it.
- Glass Cannon: His pitches are extremely fast and powerful but he lacks stamina. It’s very rare that he can continue past the first five innings without a huge drop in performance.
- Hidden Depths: Despite being somewhat of an airhead and doing poorly academically, Furuya can sometimes be surprisingly observant.
- Hot-Blooded: Despite his name and weakness to heat being opposite to this, he gets worked up very easily, even to the point that he'll glare at Kataoka if he isn't getting his way.
- Humble Pie: In Act 2 Spring Tournament; he loses 5 runs in short amount of time and destroys Seido's win singlehandedly. The events and the demotion results from this makes his true Character Development as well as the core plot of Act 2.
- Overdrive: Furuya has a tendency to try to overcompensate whenever someone gets a hit off him, by trying to pitch even harder and faster. Unfortunately, with his lack of stamina and inability to direct his strongest pitches, it ends as well as you'd expect and he just gives up more runs, leading to a vicious cycle.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Sawamura's Red.
- At least off the field. On the field, their personalities remain the same, but this trope reverses—Sawamura remains in control, no matter how badly he's pressured, while Furuya has a tendency to stop listening to others and has to be forced off the mound at times.
- Red Baron: By Act II, he earns the nickname "Flamethrower".
- The Rival: To Sawamura. Surprisingly enough, Furuya has always considered Sawamura a rival, even when nobody else thought well of his pitching.
- Took a Level in Kindness: In Act 2; his experience in Senbatsu leads him to lose sight of his position in the team. After his demotion, his roommates Yui and Ono help him understand his teammates better.
- Sleepyhead: His terrible stamina causes him to walk around in a state of constant napping.
- Sore Loser: He is quite reluctant to give up the mount to Eijun during the game against Akikawa and later games which he had to be literally forced off the mound by his teammates. He also can't stand someone beating him at the ace number.
- The Stoic: At least at the beginning. As he faces stronger opponents and Sawamura catches up to him, he starts to lose the little control he has in his pitches.
- Unskilled, but Strong: His pitching speed is his main feature, but he continues to work on his stamina and control which is quite debatable as many comment on his lack of stamina despite being there for a year now.
- Vicious Cycle: If someone hits off Furuya? He tries to put more power in his pitches to hold the next batter down with pure strength. But that makes his pitches lose control and affects his stamina, making it easier for the next batter to hit off him, therefore making him push even harder with the next batter, and so on.
Kominato Haruichi
"The Pinch-Hitter is me!"
Position: 2nd Baseman
Voiced by: Natsuki Hanae
"I'm not going to wish for much. Only to hit for sure all the pitches that I know I can hit."
Haruichi Kominato plays second baseman and is one-half of the baseball team's Keystone Duo. He is also a close friend of Sawamura Eijun and Furuya Satoru.
- The Ace: One of the best all-around players Seidou has. Come Fall, he bats cleanup, plays second base just as well as his brother, and keeps up with Kuramochi without much struggle compared to his fellow first-years.
- Affectionate Nickname: Eijun calls him "Harucchi."
- Big Brother Worship: Haruichi's relationship with his brother is slightly strained because they play the same position, but he still admires him to no end. Though reserved, he is highly ambitious and aims to take his brother’s position.
- Chick Magnet: Implied. He is considered to be cute by his female classmates.
- Deadpan Snarker: Not often, but Sawamura brings out the snarker in him occasionally.
- Dude Looks Like a Lady: It has been noted that he looks a bit like a girl. He and his brother clearly take after their mother.
- Upon getting his bangs cut, he looks even more feminine◊.
- Upon getting his bangs cut, he looks even more feminine
- Expository Hair Style Change: In Act II of the manga, Haruichi cuts his bangs, revealing his full face. He explains it's to help him see the ball better.
- Generation Xerox: Seems determined to be this to his brother, from picking the same type of bat, to choosing the same school and playing the same position. By Act II, he starts acting a lot more like Ryosuke, which Sawamura especially takes notice of.
- Luminescent Blush: Whenever he gets embarrassed or is the center of attention.
- Nice Guy: One of the friendliest and even-tempered members of his team.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: He's soft-spoken and sweet whereas Ryosuke is borderline sadistic and violent. Somewhat subverted by Act II, as Haruichi starts picking up some of his brother's habits.
- Strong Family Resemblance: He is essentially a younger Ryousuke with bangs, and in Act II when Eijun annoys Haruichi about his haircut, he looks just like his brother that Eijun actually calls him "Nii-san."
- Eijun says that the strongest Kominato gene is their faces of intimidation.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: In Act 2, his friendship with Eijun detoriates after the latter openly states distaste over his new hair cut. His snark gets sharper in general as a result.
Kuramochi Youichi
"Hyaha-ha!"
Position: Shortstop
Voiced by: Shintarō Asanuma
"I want to be the ace ... I want to bat clean up ... I want to be a regular and play in a game. Everyone comes here thinking that. But the truth is, there are only nine positions and close to a hundred players. The fittest make it and everyone else can only wait for the next chance. So we have to work hard for them too. You're not the only one who feels the pressure."
Kuramochi Youichi comes from the Chiba prefecture. He is a student of Seidou High School and is the roommate of Sawamura Eijun, Asada Hirofumi and formerly, Masuko Tōru. He is one-half of the baseball team's Keystone Combo, as well as one of the vice-captains.
- Animal Motifs: Is often compared to a cheetah because of his incredible speed.
- Anger Born of Worry: Is absolutely furious at Miyuki for hiding his injury, though he pretends that it's because it could endangers their victory against Yakushi. His conversation with Shirasu the night before and the fact that he doesn't leave Miyuki's side for a second after the game however clearly show that he's more worried about Miyuki than anything, to the point he would've been willing to force him out of the match no matter the consequences.
- Big Brother Instinct: Towards Haruichi, after Ryousuke graduates. He implies that Ryousuke was this to him as well.
- He develops one for his roommate Eijun as well.
- Bromantic Foil: He's close friends with both Miyuki and Sawamura but he can be considered to be more of a foil for Miyuki, speaking on behalf of Eijun sometimes.
- Character Development: He's grown to be more mature, especially since he started handling the role as co-captain. From someone who almost ruined Sawamura's chance of being in the team to someone responsible to uphold responsibility and strength.
- Delinquent: Used to be one.
- Fragile Speedster: The fastest Seidou player by an absolute landslide, but he rarely hits into the outfield and mostly depends on his speed to even get on base.
- Hidden Depths: Despite his roughness he is actually quite deductive. He noticed early in the Summer Regionals that Ryosuke had sprained his ankle and was also the first to notice in the Fall Tournament Miyuki’s injury after the Seikou game. Miyuki even notes that he is a lot sharper than he lets on.Miyuki: "He's unexpectedly sensible and good at taking care of others. If only he could hit better..."
- Hot-Blooded: He may have quit his old delinquent ways but he's still good at threatening his teammates by using his wrestling moves on them.
- Japanese Delinquents: He was this in junior high, often getting into trouble and picking fights.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Especially at the beginning of the series he came across as jerk but his softer side took over him as the time went on.
- The Kirk: Even though he's the vice-captain of the team, he plays the moderator role between Miyuki's The Spock and Zono's The McCoy in their Freudian Trio.
- Signature Laugh: He often laughs "Hya-ha!" when excited or amused.
- Those Two Guys: As noted by his classmates, with Miyuki.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: In Act II, with Sawamura. Even more so with Miyuki going back to at least their second year. While they bicker constantly and would deny being friends to hell and back they can read each other like open books and the thought Miyuki may be hiding an injury from him upsets Kuramochi so much he visibly shakes.
- There is only one time Kuramochi is genuinely furious with Miyuki, namely when Miyuki seemingly dismisses Sawamura's yips, and it's apparently uncommon enough to stun their entire class, including Ono and Seki, into shocked silence.
Maezono Kenta
"As if I’ll accept being buried like this. My ambition is bigger than the universe!"
Position: 1st Baseman
Voiced by: Hiroaki Tajiri
Maezono Kenta comes from Osaka prefecture and is a student of Seidou High School. Like most members he lives in the dorm and is the roommate of Kominato Haruichi.
- Affectionate Nickname: Most of his teammates call him "Zono".
- Anger Born of Worry: Not as much as Kuramochi, when he finds out about Miyuki hiding his injury he's furious and lectures him the entire cab ride.
- The Big Guy: An immensely powerful pull-hitter; Maezono can hit inside pitches all the way to the fence with little effort. He becomes the three-hole, and later the five-hole, cementing his place as Masuko's replacement.
- The McCoy: To Miyuki.
- Nightmare Face: Often pulls these while at bat. His expression is so scary that his opponents sometimes misjudge how far his hits are going, simply because they got taken in by his face and his swing.
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Zono typically speaks with a very heavy Kansai dialect but occasionally his voice actor will slip into standard Japanese instead
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Heavy emphasis on the vitriolic but he and Miyuki fall unto this. When Miyuki gets annoyed at the team using his room for hangout time he goes to Zono's to sleep and even though Zono is the one most annoyed by Miyuki's more difficult personality traits one can't deny that he cares. When Miyuki goes delirious from exhaustion and pain after the finals against Yakushi Zono is genuinely concerned he might be dying and freaks out at the cab driver, much to Kuramochi's amusement.
- When All You Have Is a Hammer…: Averted. Miyuki says flat-out that "if you only think of him as a good pull-hitter, you're going to get hurt."
Kawakami Norifumi
"Good grief...hearing such things from the two of you is what puts the most pressure on me."
Position: Pitcher
Voiced by: Hiro Shimono
Sports are cruel...because there are walls that cannot be overcome with effort alone...
Kawakami Norifumi comes from Saitama prefecture and is a student of Seidou High School. He is the reserve ace of Seidou's Baseball club and the team's only sidearm pitcher.
- Affectionate Nickname: His teammates call him "Nori".
- Character Development: Grows much more confident and stronger as the series progresses.
- Gamebreaking Injury: A baseball elbow puts him out of commission during the last few games of the summer tournament in Act II. He's back in tip top shape for Koshien though..
- Nice Guy: One of the sweetest and nicest guys in the series.
- The Rival: Along with Furuya and Sawamura for the ace number.
- Weak, but Skilled: A sidearm pitcher with a mean slider and a nasty sinker. He's the best Seidou has at avoiding the pitfalls of easy pitches.
Shirasu Kenjirou
Position: Right Fielder
Voiced by: Yoshiyuki Shimotsuma
- The Comically Serious: Shirasu doesn't talk much, but his lack of reaction is pretty funny at times.Sawamura: He's a flying squirrel! Shirasu-senpai is a flying squirrel!Furuya: Or maybe a giant flying squirrel? They can glide longer-Sawamura: Don't butt in!Shirasu: ...I can't fly, though.
- Determinator: Shows up in the finals against Yakushi. He makes an insane diving catch to end the first inning fueled by his resolve to make up for Miyuki's injury, leaving the other players in shock. As Sanada says, "Who catches that?"
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Kawakami, who
Word of God names as his best friend. - Jack of All Trades: Known as the most consistent player on Seidou's team. This manifests in his stats, where his lowest stats (Shoulder and Running) are 3/5, whereas everything else is a 4/5 aside from Mental Strength, which is a perfect 5/5.
- Nice Guy: Nobody has a bad word to say about him, and everyone looks up to him as dependable, reliable, and trustworthy. It's quite possible that he's the best-liked upperclassman on Seidou's team.
Kanemaru Shinji
Position: 3rd Baseman
Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka
Sawamura's classmate and the third baseman of the team. He tends to be bossy towards his peers at first but forms a friendship with Eijun as the time goes on. Comes from the same junior high as Tojou Hideaki, his best friend.
- A Father to His Men: Shinji acts like an unofficial captain to his peers and his underclassmen.
- All Love Is Unrequited: He has a crush on Haruno Yoshikawa who seems to be more interested in Eijun at the moment.
- Character Development: He dismisses Sawamura as a loud kid with no future but as the story goes on, he forms a close friendship with him, eventually realizing that he's inspired by Eijun.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Tojou since his childhood. As they are also always seen together, it doubles as Those Two Guys as well.
- The Leader: Word of God is that he is this to his year and later on the new first years in Act 2. His interactions with Sawamura and Tojo give some shades of truth to it. He's even chosen as the new captain in the final chapter, following Miyuki and the rest of the third years' retirement.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: Is a clutch batter who plays best under intense pressure.
- Not So Above It All: He tends to act very serious and mature amongst his peers but over the time he starts adapting habits from Eijun, even giving him the nickname of "Wamura" in the heat of the game.
- Only Sane Man: Subverted as this is what he believes to be when in fact it's Toujou who's actually the only sane of the second years.
- Straight Man: Appointed by his roommate senpai Chris, he takes this role upon himself to help out in Eijun's studies.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Sawamura.
Toujou Hideaki
Position: Pitcher (formerly), Center Fielder
Voiced by: Shouta Aoi
- Determinator: Big time. Hangs in under immense pressure and comes through for Seidou in the clutch more than once. In addition, he has resolved to become a pitcher again despite knowing just how powerful Sawamura and Furuya are.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Kanemaru since his childhood.
- Jack of All Trades: Thanks to his former position as a pitcher, he has an incredibly strong lower body. This is an aid in batting, especially against difficult low pitches (especially off-speed and breaking stuff) such that he can hit to the outfield with one hand from an awkward angle. In addition, his strong throwing arm and high ability to read where a ball will go makes him an ideal outfielder. He replaces Isashiki with little effort come Fall, making the starting roster with ease. And he still hasn't given up on becoming a pitcher again, despite being outclassed.
- Nice Guy: One of the few who treated Sawamura without any kind of tsundere-like behavior.
- Overshadowed by Awesome: By Sawamura and Furuya yet he hold no malice towards either of them. Once a pitcher of a team that made it to the nationals but at high school, he realized that past achievements mean nothing in a national-level baseball school.
- Those Two Guys: He seems to always hang out with Kanemaru whenever they get a chance.
Former Players
Yuuki Tetsuya
Position: 1st Baseman
Voiced by: Yoshimasa Hosoya
The captain of the Seidou High School Baseball Team.
- The Comically Serious: He's just as quirky as the rest of his team except he doesn't realize it himself and keeps his serious face on at all times, which makes it stand out even more.
- The Dreaded: He is known as a monster when it comes to batting due to his ability to hit almost any pitch. There is a reason why a lot of pitchers choose to walk him rather than face him head on. Says a lot that the previous year, he was the only player who could hit on Narumiya.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Isashiki.
- Only Sane Man: Although he has his own quirks like the rest of the team.
Isashiki Jun
Position: Center Fielder
Voiced by: Yuki Ono
- Berserk Button: Do not call him "Spitz", he's even messed up at bat from how angry he got at hearing someone do so.
- Hidden Depths: He's surprisingly perceptive, mature, humble and even self critical under the loudmouth.
Kominato Ryosuke
Position: 2nd Baseman
Voiced by: Nobuhiko Okamoto
- Aloof Older Brother: Acts quite distant towards his little brother.
- Big Brother Instinct: When they were younger, it's revealed they were much closer and Ryousuke was very protective of Haruichi; defending him from bullies often.
- Eyes Always Shut: Takes after his mother in this.
- Nightmare Fetishist: In his side-story, his brother brought up his horror manga.
- Sibling Rivalry: Hinted to be one of the reasons why Ryosuke has a distant relationship with Haruichi.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Clearly he and his brother take after their mother, but he does the most.
Takigawa Chris Yuu
Position: Catcher, Manager
Voiced by: Daisuke Namikawa
- Always Someone Better: Back in junior high school, he was this to Miyuki, being the only rival catcher Miyuki was never able to defeat.
- Broken Ace: Was one of the best catchers in Seidou and the only one Miyuki could never defeat. Then he injured his shoulder and had to take a year off.
- Big Brother Mentor: To several members, but especially Sawamura.
- But Not Too Foreign: He is half-american.
- Character Development: It should be noted that he was jealous and bitter of Miyuki, often leaving him with no counsel. He also had no such spirit or energy left in him. Now he's openly supporting of Miyuki and the baseball team he loves.
- Game-Breaking Injury: Chris was forced to retire early from baseball due to continuous strain on an injury no one had noticed. He continued to play until his shoulder finally gave out. His love for baseball was strong, so he became the manager of the team he once played for. However, it has been mentioned a couple times by his father and Kataoka that he will be able to play again after his shoulder completely heals.
- Informed Ability: He's said to be both the most knowledgeable about baseball on the team and a better game caller than even Miyuki. The former is displayed very frequently, his game calling however doesn't get any spotlight. While his injury keeps him from playing outright there's also no instances of him actually advising Miyuki or being asked for his input on tricky situations, making his genius game calling something the audience is just meant to believe exists because the characters mention it a lot.
Tanba Koichiro
Position: Pitcher
Voiced by: Masakazu Morita
- Benched Hero: Up until the quarter-finals, he is out of the game due to his injury received during training for the summer tournament.
- Broken Ace: During a game in autumn of his second year, he injured his arm. He returned his Spring of his third year, only to get his chin cracked during a practice game before the summer tournament. He recovers.
- Nice Guy: Supportive of his fellow pitchers.
- Truth in Television: About his weak fastball. Pitchers who throw in a high overhand motion like Tanba often have four-seam fastballs that fly with minimal spin and without deception, especially compared to pitchers with lower arm slots. It makes them highly susceptible to giving up fly balls, which naturally means more extra base hits and home runs. That's why most pitchers with high overhand windups (MLB Starter Doug Fister comes to mind) throw two-seam fastballs or sinkers, which have more movement than a four-seam, in order to offset that weakness. However, the high arm slot also gives more depth to their vertical breaking balls, which explains why Tanba's curveball and forkball are considered so formidable.
Masuko Tooru
Position: 3rd Baseman
Voiced by: Wataru Hatano
- The Quiet One: At the start of the story, he refused to talk due to making a mistake in a game that cost him his titular spot on the first team. He uses papers to communicate with Sawamura due to this.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Pudding. He bursts into tears when Sawamura eats some of his pudding stash without permission.
Second-String Characters (Post-Summer Tournament)
Watanabe Hisashi
Position: Left Field
Voiced by: Akira Ishida
- Awesomeness by Analysis: Nabe is the scouting master of Seidou. He's capable of taking detailed notes on two teams simultaneously while a game is going on between them. On top of that, he manages to find quirks and weaknesses of strong teams like Oya, Yakushi, and Ugumori just by watching them on video. He's also responsible for scouting his own teammates and pointing out their weaknesses or issues; he does this for the pitchers before the game against Seikou.
- Known Only by Their Nickname: Among his teammates, he's Nabe. Only the staff calls him Watanabe.
Act II First Years
Okumura Koushuu
"We're fighting in our own way."
Position: Catcher
Voiced by: Yūma Uchida
"I'm a catcher, sir. Even in the first string, I can only play as catcher."
Okumura Koushuu is a first year student of Seidou High. He is the roommate of Miyuki Kazuya and Kimura and aims to be a catcher.
- Always Someone Better: How he feels about Miyuki and to a lesser extent Yui. That said, he is still determined to surpass them.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Since he has no filter, he gives several of these to both Sawamura and Miyuki as he wants to form a batter with the former and considers the latter a rival to himself. However a question he asks to Miyuki after their first match in the Summer tournament seems to hurt the most:Okumura:Miyuki-senpai, in today's game, what words did you find to say to Sawamura-senpai? What did you do to get him regain his bearings in the middle of the game?Miyuki, looking annoyed,: You are asking me that? Sawamura had to be switched exactly because of this.
- Ascended Extra: During Fall Tournament, he's shown as a junior high student who is interested in Seido's team. In Act 2, he gains relevance over the course of manga as a first year catcher and after Furuya's demotion from being the Ace he takes over as the Tritagonist of the series by forming a battery with Eijun.
- Book Dumb: Often does poorly in class due to being too focused on baseball. Come the second summer tournament he has to take remedial exams due to flunking too many clases.
- Brutal Honesty: He is very, very blunt.
- Deadpan Snarker: Towards Sawamura; at least 30% of his lines to Eijun are sarcastic or acerbic.
- Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: Thanks to his opportunist coach in junior high, Okumura lost his passion.
- First-Name Basis: Takuma, who's known him since middle school, calls him by his first name.
- Freudian Excuse: His junior high coach used to preach to him and the rest of his team about enjoying the game regardless of the results, yet would complain and call them idiots when they made mistakes and he thought they were out of earshot. The fact that he quit on them was the last straw and left Okumura extremely bitter about it.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While he's definitely not friendly, Okumura is a great catcher who inspires confidence in his pitchers and his teammates, encouraging them to play their best regardless of the odds. And because of his Brutal Honesty, his teammates know they can take his words at face value.
- In-Universe Nickname: "Wolf-boy", by Sawamura.
- The Leader: The incoming first years rally to Okamura's guts and savvy playstyle, putting up a strong fight in the intra-squad match against the second string. It gains him a lot of respect from both the upperclassmen and Kataoka.
- Nerves of Steel: Can seemingly play under any kind of pressure, and in fact often ratchets up the pressure on himself and his teammates in order to pull off stunning upsets.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red to Takuma's Blue. Okamura's quiet and withdrawn, but he's also intensely confrontational and plays with a massive chip on his shoulder.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: The flashbacks of his junior high team imply that he was a lot more cheerful back then, until their coach left them for a "better" team.
Seto Takuma
Position: Second Baseman
Voiced by: Daiki Yamashita
- Affectionate Nickname: Okumura, who's known him since middle school, calls him Taku.
- Grin of Audacity: He's constantly smirking while he plays, especially when he and Okamura are working on a crazy plan.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Okumura.
- The Lancer: To Okamura. He's the one talking others through Okamura's crazy plans as though it's no big deal.
- Nerves of Steel: Seemingly has no heart rate because next to nothing fazes him.
- Perpetual Smiler: To the point that his upset face is once drawn as his smile, but upside down.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Blue to Okamura's Red. While more emotive and friendly than Okamura, Takuma is as cool as a cucumber while Okamura is forcing his teammates to keep up with his high-intensity playstyle.
Asada Hirofumi
A pitcher first appearing in Act II. He becomes Sawamura and Kuramochi's roommate.
Position: Pitcher
Voiced by: Tasuku Hatanaka
- Confusion Fu: His lanky frame, combined with his unique curveball, really messes with the timing of opposing hitters. This is only made worse because of his precision control of his fastball
- Hero Worship: He looks up to Sawamura a lot.
- Shrinking Violet: He is very quiet and withdrawn, with low self-seteem.
- Weak, but Skilled: While he throws very softly (not even 120 kph), his command is good enough that he can throw his fastball precisely to the corners, even though he's only been a high school player for a couple weeks. On top of that, Asada has a really unique 12-6 curveball with a substantial drop that comes out of the southpaw arm slot (it's both slow, hard to track, and nigh impossible to time properly), giving him one of the best single pitches on the team.
- It's difficult to say for sure, but the southpaw's 12-6 curve may be a reference to Clayton Kershaw's similar pitch, a curveball which is widely considered the best pitch of its type in the MLB.
Yuuki Masashi
Position: Left Fielder
Voiced by: Shunsuke Takeuchi
Tetsuya's younger brother. Has the goal of using his performance in Seidou as a stepping stone to play in the MLB.
- Big Little Brother: He's got a few inches over Tetsu, who is three years his senior.
- Book Dumb: Come the second summer tournament, he's forced to take remedial exams before he can play.
- Unskilled, but Strong: When he manages to land a hit, it goes far. The problem is that he has trouble making contact. He also has next to no skill as a fielder, despite being extremely strong and fast with a great throwing arm.
- When All You Have Is a Hammer…: Masashi seems to recognize that his skill level is currently too low to handle tricky pitching strategies, so he tends to resort to the high-risk, high-reward strategy of sitting on opposing fastballs and hammering them if he's given the opportunity. This tendency has led to a lot of strikeouts, but also multiple home runs.
Yui Kaoru
Position: Catcher
Voiced by: Ayumu Murase
- The Ace: He's considered a prodigy and is a great catcher and runner with a good shoulder and batting skills.
- Always Someone Better: How he feels about Miyuki. When Furuya rejects his offer to catch for him because he prefers Miyuki to do it, he is clearly upset.
- Expecting Someone Taller: The first years who've heard of him are surprised to see he's rather short.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Despite his small size, he's a very strong pinch hitter.
- Smug Snake: Downplayed, but he's very self-assured at first. He gets a reality check when he realizes that Always Someone Better is in full effect at Seidou.
- Spirited Competitor: Becomes this once the above happens. He respects his seniors' skills, but is determined to surpass them, and at the same time, is willing to do anything he can to support the team.
Mogami Takeshi
Position: Shortstop
Voiced by: Yuuya Hirose
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Tries to hide his arrogance behind a friendly facade.
- Black Eyes of Evil: Well, not quite "evil" per se, but he's rather unpleasant.
- Butt-Monkey: Every time he thinks he's going to show off, results in an Epic Fail.
- Hard Work Hardly Works: Thinks he can become a regular without training and tries to cut ccrners on everything he does.
- Never My Fault: Whenever he blunders (which is pretty much the whole time), he mentally repeats a mantra to make an excuse of why it happened.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Thinks himself of a great future star in the making. He's not even made to second string regular.
Managers
Fujiwara Takako
Position: Manager
Voiced by: Rikako Yamaguchi
- Cool Big Sis: Acts this way to her junior managers.
- Cute Sports Club Manager
- Shrinking Violet: She was one in her first year.
Umemoto Sachiko & Natsukawa Yui
Position: Manager
Voiced by: Yumiri Hanamori (Sachiko), Karin Takahashi (Yui)
- Cute Sports Club Manager
- Girlish Pigtails: Sachiko.
- Those Two Girls: They're almost always seen together.
Yoshikawa Haruno
Position: Manager
Voiced by: Yurika Endo (Seasons 1 & 2), Ayane Sakura (Act II)
- All Love Is Unrequited: She's all but stated to have a crush on Sawamura, but he doesn't even know.
- Cute Clumsy Girl: She often trips while carrying equipment.
- Cute Sports Club Manager
- Oblivious to Love: Doesn't seem to notice Kanemaru's crush on her.
Staff
Kataoka Tesshin
Position: Coach
Voiced by: Hiroki Tochi
- Affectionate Nickname: He is called "Big Boss" or "General" by Sawamura.
- Death Glare: He's very proficient at these. He's given several out for different reasons, but the biggest one was given to Ochiai when the latter tried to use Sawamura to help with batting practice in a way that would have destroyed Sawamura's pitching form.
- Former Teen Rebel: According to his former coach Sakaki, he was a rather troublesome youth in his freshman year, and his attitude problems did nothing to endear him to his teammates. He eventually grew out of it, and by his final year he had more than earned his place as The Ace.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Kataoka is known as a strict coach, but he also praises his players and says reassuring things to them from time to time. Every thing he does is for the benefit of the team. He spares no effort. If he wants his players to make a significant step forward, he himself takes part in training.
- Manly Tears: At the end of the fall tournament, he cries as he thanks the retired third years for all their support to their juniors in the team, since Seidou's victory wouldn't have been possible without their help.
- Pet the Dog: A few moments in the series show just how fond he really is of Sawamura.
- Retired Badass: Kataoka could've easily gone pro after High School, and he still has the chops for it, given that he throws 140 kph+ (87 mph+) curveballs for hours on end to help the team practice for their semifinal against Sensen Academy.
- To put this feat into perspective, only a handful of current MLB pitchers can even throw a curveball at 87+. Corey Kluber, Corey Knebel, Craig Kimbrel, Cody Allen, Noah Syndergaard, and Jacob De Grom are the only pitchers even capable of throwing a curveball that hard, and only Kimbrel, Kluber, and Syndergaard can do it with any degree of regularity. Three of them are elite closers, and the other three are some of the best starting pitchers in the game, currently. Most other pitchers either throw softer curveballs because they put less strain on the arm, or they throw sliders instead.
Takashima Rei
Position: Assistant Coach, Scout
Voiced by: Yumi Uchiyama
- Anger Born of Worry: When she learns that Miyuki has been endangering himself by hiding his oblique injury during the finals, she gets pissed. It's about the only time in the anime that she audibly raises her voice.
- Cool Big Sis: Subtly for Miyuki, who she's known since his first year of middle school. She notably doesn't mind him being casual to her and the only time she ever gets visibly upset and it's not Played for Laughs is when Miyuki puts himself at risk during the Fall tournament.
- First-Name Basis: Miyuki calls her "Rei-chan"
- Hot Teacher: Eijun has a nosebleed when staring at her cleavage during her visit to his family to recruit him to Seidou.
- Scary Shiny Glasses
Ochiai Hiromitsu
Position: Assistant Coach
Voiced by: Tōru Ōkawa
- Achievements in Ignorance: The advice he gave to Sawamura and the other players was a long-term thing, and he didn't expect them to take it immediately. In doing so, they managed to win the fall tournament, which he admits he didn't believe they could in their current state.
- Character Tics: Always strokes his beard when thinking.
- Jerkass: Ochiai often gives the impression of being arrogant and smug.
- Early on, he tried to use Sawamura as a sacrifice to help the team learn to bat against Narumiya, even though trying to imitate Narumiya would have destroyed Sawamura's pitching form and any chance he had of improving. When Kataoka found out, the Death Glare he used was the worst the series has ever seen.
- Hidden Depths: Despite his Jerkass nature, Ochiai is actually a very effective coach. He was able to teach Sawamura the changeup in a a way that Sawamura could easily understand.
- Morality Pet: Somewhat surprisingly, he has a five year old daughter. When she comes to visit Rei notes that Ochiai seems to be in a much better mood.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Not that Ochiai is a villain, exactly, but he's much more ruthless than Kataoka or the players and didn't care if he ruined Sawamura's ability to pitch. He ended up teaching Sawamura the changeup, which was the catalyst for the Numbers, a series of pitches that only Sawamura can pitch, and that have fooled every single person the first time they see one.
- Oh, Crap!: Ochiai never stops calculating and always holds his goatee while doing do. When Sawamura's grip testing while learning the changeup reveals the unique pitching form that would later be called the Numbers, his brain shuts down and he lets go of the goatee in shock.
- Pet the Dog: Taught Sawamura the changeup, despite having tried to ruin him in the process of preparing Seidou to face Inajitsu earlier in the series. The changeup massively increases Sawamura's threat as a pitcher and becomes his winning shot.
- Tyrant Takes the Helm: He is supposed to take over after Kataoka when the fall tournament is over and while he’s not necessarily a bad coach it clear that he cares most about the result and not the players opinions.
