One Outs

Toua Tokuchi is equally gifted at baseball and high-stakes gambling. Armed with seemingly ordinary fastballs, he’s built a fearsome reputation by racking up 499 straight wins in “One Outs,” a tense one-on-one duel between pitcher and batter. For Tokuchi, the diamond is less a dream than a quick route to cash.

Hiromichi Kojima, a famed hitter for the struggling Saikyou Saitama Lycaons, sees Tokuchi’s talent up close and becomes convinced he’s the key to turning the team around. Betting his own career to bring him in, Kojima challenges Tokuchi in One Outs—and manages to beat him at his own game, leaving Tokuchi with no choice but to join the Lycaons.

Once on the roster, Tokuchi clashes with owner Tsuneo Saikawa over pay and answers with a contract as ruthless as his mindset: five million yen for every out he records, and a fifty-million penalty for every run he allows. With each appearance threatening fortune or ruin, Tokuchi must stay several moves ahead of everyone trying to use the game against him.