007; 投手に必要な相棒。。。[EDITED: Private to Abe]
[[On second thought, Mihashi edited the post to be behind a filter. Abe-kun wanted to reply in private, so it probably wasn't something that should be open for anybody to read after all.
OOC: Characters who've already read this, feel free to be aware of it and notice that it is suddenly private-ized and no longer visible. ♥]]
I'm not qualified to talk about how a person becomes a good catcher, so I've thought about what I think I need most as a pitcher, instead.
I think that Abe-kun is an amazing catcher. He's smart, and thoughtful, and he works hard. He sees things that nobody else sees, and his lead is brilliant. I wouldn't be anything like the pitcher I am without him. The relief catchers on our team are also good, but my battery is with Abe-kun.
The things that I think are most important for me to have, as a pitcher, with my catcher are all things that I need to work on. Abe-kun has worked hard to be a battery with me even though I can be difficult, so I want to improve with him and take our team to Koushien. When I was pitching at Mihoshi, my catcher and I didn't have any of these things and I think if I hadn't been so selfish and made him come to resent me, we could have been a real battery. Thinking about what I have with Abe-kun and what I didn't with Hatake-kun helped me to make this list.
There are many things that Abe-kun does for me as my catcher, but I think the most important for me are these.
Trust.
I trust in Abe-kun's lead, because I know how much effort and energy he puts into it, and how quick he is to adapt to changes in the data. Abe-kun, I think, trusts me to throw what I'm asked to when and where I'm asked to throw it, and trusts that even if condition or my control aren't as good as they could be, that I'll manage to pull myself together and that I'll be able to pull it off. In order to be an ace, I need a catcher who can trust in my abilities even where they're lacking - the way Abe-kun includes my level of accuracy and speed into his calculations when deciding which pitches to ask for. Hatake-kun didn't trust my abilities, or my judgement, and didn't give me much opportunity to trust his. When I didn't trust Abe-kun yet, I asked him some unreasonable things - about not getting hurt or getting sick, because I didn't trust that he wouldn't stay. Now that I trust my catcher, I've become someone more trustworthy to him.
I think that in order to be an ace, I need a catcher who will trust my arm and my instincts on the mound, and who trusts that if I am unsure of a pitch that there's a reason. I think that this kind of trust in the thoughts, feelings, and instincts of the other person is important in a battery. If the players can't or just don't trust each other yet, really trust each other on all of those levels, they will end up deciding not to share their concerns or responsibilities, and the battery will be weaker because they'll be separated. In order to be stronger together, I trust Abe-kun, and I work hard to be someone Abe-kun can trust as well.
Patience.
I've always had a hard time talking, but it got a lot worse in the last few years. I was worried all the time that what I said might just make the people around me hate me even more, so I've become someone who requires a lot of patience from my friends. Abe-kun is always trying to listen to what I have to say, and to explain things to me when I don't quite understand them. I think that, not just in friendship, but in a battery a catcher needs to be patient. If he trusts in his pitcher's skill, even when things are not going as expected, being patient and helping his pitcher to calm down without pressuring him or rushing him can help to change the feel and flow of the game.
Being patient can help keep the expectations of both parts of the battery from being unreasonable - by patiently healing after an injury, or patiently improving speed or strength, rather than drying to do everything quickly, a player becomes more reliable. I have a hard time waiting to improve, so I tend to over-work myself, but Abe-kun is always patient when he checks to make sure that I haven't done too much, and when he reminds me of what I haven't done enough of. Being patient with one another is also the only way, I think, a battery can really build their strategy and set their own pace in a game. If they rush or allow themselves to get too caught up, or even if only one of them does, it will affect the other half of the battery and the home team. When Abe-kun is patient with me, I feel more comfortable and I want to throw well for him, but I don't feel like I have to overextend myself to do it.
Support.
Abe-kun is always taking care of me. He helps me with schoolwork, and with training, and tries to help me when I'm upset or nervous. He reassures me every day. As a pitcher, I know that I can be delicate when I'm stressed, or uneasy, or tired. By supporting me, Abe-kun makes me feel comfortable and like I really belong on the mound. Even though I always stood on the mound before, I never felt like I belonged there before.
Support is probably a very different thing for a lot of pitchers, but for me, being acknowledged and reassured by my catcher is important. In middle school, even though he watched me during our games and even though he always made sure I knew he was there, my catcher didn't support me - I wasn't a person he could support, then - and I felt alone and invisible. Abe-kun (and the rest of the team, though not as much) goes out of his way to let me know that he's supporting me and that he sees me. When he warms up my hand to help me stop being nervous, I feel reassured because I know that he's confident in me. When he put his arm around my shoulders after we lost, I felt reassured because I knew that I hadn't lost alone. Even when Abe-kun is irritated, and he ruffles or knuckles my hair, I feel reassured because I know that he's frustrated because he believes that I can do better. For me, more than smiling or telling jokes, this kind of support is really important.
Rapport.
Signs are probably the biggest part of this for me because Hatake-kun stopped giving me signs after about three months (and never gave them after that no matter how many times I looked for them) but more than just signs I think it's important for the pitcher and the catcher to communicate comfortably. I can't communicate comfortably with many people, so I don't think this is necessarily a catcher-specific issue... but it's one that really effects my pitching ability.
Being able to know that no matter what happens (even if I miss a pitch or say something strange) that my catcher will give me signs makes me much more confident in myself, and that helps our battery, and that helps the team. Without being able to communicate and understand each other normally, it could become really difficult if something happens when we're stressed during a game or can't afford a time-out or if our signs are being read and we have to change them.
Building this kind of relationship is the hardest part, for me. I know that Abe-kun tries hard every day to understand me, and what I'm trying to say and how he can help. I know that it's difficult to listen to me, because the way I talk is irritating and strange. I think that, whether or not we're on the field, in order to be a strong battery we have to find a way to get in sync. I trust Abe-kun's lead, but I'm only starting to really understand how or why it works the way it does. I want to get better at that so that we'll be a stronger battery.
Knowing that my catcher trusts that I am trying to understand and communicate and get stronger, and knowing that he's patiently waiting for me to do those things, and that he'll support me while I'm getting there makes me believe I can be the kind of ace the team needs.
I don't think that this will be much use, or even much interest to anyone other than Abe-kun, and I know that it's kind of long even though he told me not to write a novel. Thinking about this made me remember what kind of battery I'd been in before, and the kind of battery I'd wanted, so it sort of ran away with me after all.
I've hidden it, Abe-kun!
OOC: Characters who've already read this, feel free to be aware of it and notice that it is suddenly private-ized and no longer visible. ♥]]
I'm not qualified to talk about how a person becomes a good catcher, so I've thought about what I think I need most as a pitcher, instead.
I think that Abe-kun is an amazing catcher. He's smart, and thoughtful, and he works hard. He sees things that nobody else sees, and his lead is brilliant. I wouldn't be anything like the pitcher I am without him. The relief catchers on our team are also good, but my battery is with Abe-kun.
The things that I think are most important for me to have, as a pitcher, with my catcher are all things that I need to work on. Abe-kun has worked hard to be a battery with me even though I can be difficult, so I want to improve with him and take our team to Koushien. When I was pitching at Mihoshi, my catcher and I didn't have any of these things and I think if I hadn't been so selfish and made him come to resent me, we could have been a real battery. Thinking about what I have with Abe-kun and what I didn't with Hatake-kun helped me to make this list.
There are many things that Abe-kun does for me as my catcher, but I think the most important for me are these.
Trust.
I trust in Abe-kun's lead, because I know how much effort and energy he puts into it, and how quick he is to adapt to changes in the data. Abe-kun, I think, trusts me to throw what I'm asked to when and where I'm asked to throw it, and trusts that even if condition or my control aren't as good as they could be, that I'll manage to pull myself together and that I'll be able to pull it off. In order to be an ace, I need a catcher who can trust in my abilities even where they're lacking - the way Abe-kun includes my level of accuracy and speed into his calculations when deciding which pitches to ask for. Hatake-kun didn't trust my abilities, or my judgement, and didn't give me much opportunity to trust his. When I didn't trust Abe-kun yet, I asked him some unreasonable things - about not getting hurt or getting sick, because I didn't trust that he wouldn't stay. Now that I trust my catcher, I've become someone more trustworthy to him.
I think that in order to be an ace, I need a catcher who will trust my arm and my instincts on the mound, and who trusts that if I am unsure of a pitch that there's a reason. I think that this kind of trust in the thoughts, feelings, and instincts of the other person is important in a battery. If the players can't or just don't trust each other yet, really trust each other on all of those levels, they will end up deciding not to share their concerns or responsibilities, and the battery will be weaker because they'll be separated. In order to be stronger together, I trust Abe-kun, and I work hard to be someone Abe-kun can trust as well.
Patience.
I've always had a hard time talking, but it got a lot worse in the last few years. I was worried all the time that what I said might just make the people around me hate me even more, so I've become someone who requires a lot of patience from my friends. Abe-kun is always trying to listen to what I have to say, and to explain things to me when I don't quite understand them. I think that, not just in friendship, but in a battery a catcher needs to be patient. If he trusts in his pitcher's skill, even when things are not going as expected, being patient and helping his pitcher to calm down without pressuring him or rushing him can help to change the feel and flow of the game.
Being patient can help keep the expectations of both parts of the battery from being unreasonable - by patiently healing after an injury, or patiently improving speed or strength, rather than drying to do everything quickly, a player becomes more reliable. I have a hard time waiting to improve, so I tend to over-work myself, but Abe-kun is always patient when he checks to make sure that I haven't done too much, and when he reminds me of what I haven't done enough of. Being patient with one another is also the only way, I think, a battery can really build their strategy and set their own pace in a game. If they rush or allow themselves to get too caught up, or even if only one of them does, it will affect the other half of the battery and the home team. When Abe-kun is patient with me, I feel more comfortable and I want to throw well for him, but I don't feel like I have to overextend myself to do it.
Support.
Abe-kun is always taking care of me. He helps me with schoolwork, and with training, and tries to help me when I'm upset or nervous. He reassures me every day. As a pitcher, I know that I can be delicate when I'm stressed, or uneasy, or tired. By supporting me, Abe-kun makes me feel comfortable and like I really belong on the mound. Even though I always stood on the mound before, I never felt like I belonged there before.
Support is probably a very different thing for a lot of pitchers, but for me, being acknowledged and reassured by my catcher is important. In middle school, even though he watched me during our games and even though he always made sure I knew he was there, my catcher didn't support me - I wasn't a person he could support, then - and I felt alone and invisible. Abe-kun (and the rest of the team, though not as much) goes out of his way to let me know that he's supporting me and that he sees me. When he warms up my hand to help me stop being nervous, I feel reassured because I know that he's confident in me. When he put his arm around my shoulders after we lost, I felt reassured because I knew that I hadn't lost alone. Even when Abe-kun is irritated, and he ruffles or knuckles my hair, I feel reassured because I know that he's frustrated because he believes that I can do better. For me, more than smiling or telling jokes, this kind of support is really important.
Rapport.
Signs are probably the biggest part of this for me because Hatake-kun stopped giving me signs after about three months (and never gave them after that no matter how many times I looked for them) but more than just signs I think it's important for the pitcher and the catcher to communicate comfortably. I can't communicate comfortably with many people, so I don't think this is necessarily a catcher-specific issue... but it's one that really effects my pitching ability.
Being able to know that no matter what happens (even if I miss a pitch or say something strange) that my catcher will give me signs makes me much more confident in myself, and that helps our battery, and that helps the team. Without being able to communicate and understand each other normally, it could become really difficult if something happens when we're stressed during a game or can't afford a time-out or if our signs are being read and we have to change them.
Building this kind of relationship is the hardest part, for me. I know that Abe-kun tries hard every day to understand me, and what I'm trying to say and how he can help. I know that it's difficult to listen to me, because the way I talk is irritating and strange. I think that, whether or not we're on the field, in order to be a strong battery we have to find a way to get in sync. I trust Abe-kun's lead, but I'm only starting to really understand how or why it works the way it does. I want to get better at that so that we'll be a stronger battery.
Knowing that my catcher trusts that I am trying to understand and communicate and get stronger, and knowing that he's patiently waiting for me to do those things, and that he'll support me while I'm getting there makes me believe I can be the kind of ace the team needs.
I don't think that this will be much use, or even much interest to anyone other than Abe-kun, and I know that it's kind of long even though he told me not to write a novel. Thinking about this made me remember what kind of battery I'd been in before, and the kind of battery I'd wanted, so it sort of ran away with me after all.
I've hidden it, Abe-kun!