The Cerulean Survivors: The Hitters

Who are the Cerulean Survivors? We know from the last entry that they are perhaps the most popular of the four teams promoted from the AAA tier to the Thingysland Major Leagues. We also know that they are made up of people from the Tales of Symphonia, Azumanga Daioh, and Ace Attorney Thingys, but who exactly are they? Since we'll be following the team in their inaugural season, it may help to become acquainted with each of the players; what are their key characteristics in private and on the baseball field? These next two entries will tell us all we need to know. We'll start out with the Hitters.

Starting Lineup

Kagura
Third Base
A former Olympic swimmer and all-around terrific athlete, Kagura is the leadoff hitter and starting third baseman for the Survivors. Swimming is her passion, but she has become an invaluable part of the team. She catalyzes the team's offense with her electrifying speed and her daring nature on the basepaths, as she can easily turn a single into a double, and a double into a triple. She is always a pesky pest after getting on base, and commonly ranks among the league leaders in stolen bases. She had been a bit of a free-swinger in the past, striking out far to often while not getting enough walks, but over the past six years she's developed patience at the plate to raise her OBP to make her an ideal leadoff hitter.

Miura Hayasaka
Second Base
Miura manages to combine two seemingly different traits by being a scrappy contact hitter. She plays hard and is always hell bent on putting the ball into play, a skill she does well with her great hand-eye coordination. Her style of play is rewarded with extremely low strikeout totals and a high batting average (she led her amateur league in hitting in her first year.) Kagura's speed in the leadoff spot and Miura's penchant to put bat on ball gives the Survivors a potent, run-producing force at the top of the lineup. Miura's coordination also gives her tremendous range at shortstop, although she is still prone to throwing errors. Miura's sarcastic nature that may make her seem coarse upon first glance, but those who know her well know her as a sweet and dedicated individual.

Koyomi Mizuhara
Right Field
Koyomi "Yomi" Mizuhara is perhaps the smartest player on the field, in both academics and in the baseball sense. She was an accomplished prosecutor (and co-worker to teammate Klavier Gavin) before the attacks that led to the formation of the team. Her wealth of knowledge regarding the strike zones of umpires and bat control makes her a fearsome threat at the plate, and for most people the obvious choice for the number three hitter (although some may argue that her high OBP makes her an ideal candidate for leadoff hitter.) "It's like we have a second manager whenever Yomi is on the field," lauded manager Phoenix Wright. She may be a bit arrogant at times, but it's hard to argue with the results.

Kimura
Center Field
Kimura is the only player in the starting lineup to join the team a few years after the initial recruitment (replacing outfielder and current mascot Yotsuba Koiwai), and he may be the most enigmatic of all players. A former high school Japanese literature teacher, the hollow-faced Kimura lumbers around the clubhouse like a zombie, unabashedly admiring all of his female teammates, but on the field, he becomes an offensive juggernaut. "He's an offensive machine," says an opposing AAA manager. "He has power, speed, and the ability to hit towards all fields. It's hard to get him out." Despite his creepy, womanizing nature (one that may prevent him from reaching his popularity potential), Kimura is actually a dedicated family man.

Klavier Gavin
First Base
The indomitable Herr Gavin is a person of many talents. He received his law degree as a teenager (and still serves as a prosecutor in the off-season), headed up a popular rock band, and is also the starting first baseman for the Survivors. Gavin is a solid hitter, known for his ability to spear line drives all over the place. Despite his lack of home run power and hitting behind the ever-dangerous Kimura, Gavin is routinely among the team leaders in RBI. "He's a smart hitter who seizes all possible opportunities to advance a runner or drive in a run," says an opposing AAA manager. His career as a guitarist gives him the dexterity to become an able defensive player. Although his fame as a rock star still overshadows his fame as a player, Gavin is relatively popular among all players for his honest and genteel nature towards his teammates and opponents alike. He is affectionately nicknamed "Piano" by baseball fans, a name he reportedly despises.

Fuka Ayase
Left Field
The first of three Ayase sisters to play for the Survivors, Fuka is a fitting end to the dangerous middle of the Survivors' lineup. "Don't let her girly look deceive you," an AAA manager warns, "she has the potential to deal a lot of damage with her bat and with her glove." The hard-working Fuka spends hours in the batting cage to build up her offense, and it paid off. She has ranked in the top five in homers and OPS in each of her previous six seasons. And she is not afraid to drop a bunt to help the team. Despite her success, the ever-humble Fuka is the first to admit that she isn't perfect. "I still strike out too much," she says. It's this dedication that makes Fuka a valued part of the team.

Ena Ayase
Second Base
The youngest of the three Ayase sisters, Ena may not have Fuka's power or offensive ability, but she has her sister's dedication to the game. Ena has been Miura's best friend for years and joined the team on her behalf, but had trouble staying in the lineup in the early years due to her weak power and poor hitting. However, she began approaching hitting as a student, and has become adept at finding holes in the infield. She had always been a strong fielder, but she has continued to improve herself. "Ena is a serious student of the game," says manager Phoenix Wright. "She may not have home run power, but she's become a great offensive player in her own right." Though she normally bats seventh, she drops into the nine hole on days Takeshi Takeda pitches to give opposing pitchers a hard time on the second and third go-arounds in the lineup.

Dick Gumshoe
Catcher
The big and burly Gumshoe is the very definition of a hard-nosed player. He plays every game as if were his last. A former police detective, he has incredible athletic abilities that made him into a great defensive backstop. He deftly handles all pitches and rarely if ever lets a ball get by him. In addition, he has an accurate, rifle arm that catches a large percentage of base-stealers, and his husky build means few people can get by him when he's blocking the plate. He may struggle with game-calling (a weakness he overcomes through a system he developed with third base coach Miles Edgeworth), but the starters he handles are just glad to have a defender of his caliber catching them. Despite his stature, Gumshoe is one of the few players to never hit a home run.

Manager Phoenix Wright is known for using very few starting lineups. While most teams use upwards of 60-70 different lineups, Wright has been able to get through entire seasons with less than 30, and that's including pitchers. One reason is the dependability of the aforementioned starting lineup, which is one of the Survivors' greatest strengths. Each of the players can be counted on to produce at a high level on a consistent basis, and the group has come to work extremely well together. Another reason is, of course, because of the weakness of the bench. That's not saying that the players on the bench are weak players, but they tend to have certain flaws: weak hitting, sloppy defensive skills, or divisive personalities.

Bench
Colette Brunel
Infielder
The sugary sweet Colette survived a precarious journey of regeneration as well as numerous post-reconciliation years as a teacher, and she never lost her optimistic nature. She is friendly to everybody and acts much like a cheerleader. Hidden beneath the gentleness is a tremendous strength that she gained on the journey, a strength that allows her to hit balls out of the ballpark with the greatest of ease. However, that power is paired with a tendency to strike out, and even worse, inconsistent fielding. She has a clumsiness (due to a lack of balance, maybe) that makes it hard for her to make some of the more normal plays. While she has cut down her errors in each of her six years, she still never fails to lead the team in the category, which is why she does most of her cheering in the bench and is relegated to mostly pinch hitting duties. (The power also caused a bit of a controversy in the past. A court ruled when the team was in the Rookie tier that Colette's strength is considered part of her normal abilities, but has forbidden her from using her angel powers of flight on the field.)

Maya Fey
Infielder
A spirit medium in training and assistant to manager Phoenix Wright during his lawyer days, Maya Fey has followed her "special someone" (as dubbed by cousin and teammate Pearl Fey) onto the Survivors. Maya doesn't quite have the athletic prowess of many of her teammates, as she is a light hitter and an average fielder. However, she attacks the game with the same perkiness that she brought to her career as an assistant. Six years of experience has taken away the naivete, but the energy still remains. Her primary role is as a spot starter in one of the middle infield positions whenever either Ena or Miura has a day off. She is not allowed to call spirits in the middle of a game.

Pearl Fey
Infielder
A spirit medium and Maya Fey's cousin, the small but speedy Pearl has perhaps the most specialized role on the Survivors: as the primary pinch runner for some of the slower players on the team. Not only is Pearl fast, but she is also smart on the basepaths, picking out the best opportunities to steal. As a result she typically has a higher stolen base percentage than team SB leader Kagura. However, she may be a bit impulsive at the plate, swinging away though it may be easier to get on board via a walk. As a result, she doesn't get very many plate appearances. She is warm towards her teammates, although she may be shy around strangers. She joined the team on account of her cousin, whom she calls "Mystic Maya," even though she knew little about baseball. Six years later, she still doesn't understand all of the nuances of the game, but she knows what she has to do and works her hardest to get it done.

Genis Sage
Catcher
While his official role is listed as backup catcher to Gumshoe, he is the primary catcher for starters Lloyd Irving and Sheena Fujibayashi, whom he knew during his journey of regeneration. One can say he is the anti-Gumshoe. He is short and scrawny, has a difficult time throwing to second, and is extremely slow on the basepaths. (Lloyd and Sheena have both lost several base hits when Genis gets thrown out at second on apparent base hits.) Nevertheless, Genis has been said to have one of the brightest minds in the game. He is an expert game-caller, and is exceptional at handling pitches. His knowledge has become so well known that he was given the name "Genius" from fans. However, despite his scrawniness, Genis has more career home runs than Gumshoe.

Tomo Takino
Outfielder
The overtly excitable Tomo is one of the most enthusiastic players on the team, but unfortunately in her case energy does not translate into production. She goes into the game with reckless abandon, and that often ends up having undesirable results. She overslides bases and runs into outs. She swings with 100% power and often misses the ball entirely. She overruns balls on the field, and overthrows it. So it's not that she doesn't try, but she often tries too hard. To top it off, she can be downright vitriolic in the clubhouse with her condescending humor and demanding personality. Nevertheless, she is good friends with several players on the team, including Yomi, Kagura, and Gumshoe (who is her co-worker on the police force in the off-season).

Yukari Tanizaki
Outfielder
A former English teacher, Yukari is a lot like Tomo in her overall energy as well as talent, which is fitting, because Tomo is one of Yukari's former students. Like Tomo, she is a hedonist who always takes the path of least resistance. She has tried to take steps to improve her play, but loses focus within a day or two. Despite her similarities with her ex-pupil, the two often gets into clashes which affect the morale of the team. The only time they get along is when they get smashed on champagne given to the team after championships (which is actually quite often, considering the team has won in six straight years.)

Tomorrow...the pitchers and coaches