Strikeout Pitch

Strikeout Pitch
First tankōbon volume cover
サンキューピッチ
(Sankyū Pitchi)
GenreSports
Manga
Written byKyu Sumiyoshi
Published byShueisha
ImprintJump Comics+
MagazineShōnen Jump+
Original runSeptember 3, 2024 – present
Volumes3

Strikeout Pitch (Japanese: サンキューピッチ, Hepburn: Sankyū Pitchi) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kyu Sumiyoshi. It began serialization on Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ web service in September 2024, and has been compiled into three volumes as of October 2025.

Plot

Rumors spread about a mysterious man known as the "Baseball Club Slasher" who appears at night. Heita Kobori, a high school student and captain of Yokohama Soha High School's baseball team, dismisses the rumors, only to be approached by the Baseball Club Slasher one night. After being impressed by his pitching skills, Heita aims to recruit him to the school's baseball team, aiming to reach Koshien. He learns that the man is Fusetsu Kiriyama, a student at Soha High with great baseball skills, but is only able to pitch properly three times a day. Despite Fusetsu's condition, Heita recruits him to the baseball team as a reliever, with the team hoping to make it to Koshien with Fusetsu's help.

Characters

Fusetsu Kiriyama (桐山 不折, Kiriyama Fusetsu)
Voiced by: Takuya Sato[1] (Vomic Volume 2), Hideyuki Kobayashi[2]
A skilled baseball player who pitches with his right hand. He was previously part of the baseball team but retired due to suffering from the yips. Due to his condition, he is only able to throw three good pitches per day before his pitching becomes far weaker. After his retirement, he would often challenge people to three-pitching challenges, leading to his reputation as the "Baseball Club Slasher".
Heita Kobori (小堀 へいた, Kobori Heita)
Voiced by: Nayuta Sugiura[2]
The captain of Soha High School's baseball team, he was initially skeptical about the rumors about the Baseball Club Slasher, only for him to encounter Fusetsu one night. He aims to reach Koshien, the most prestigious high school baseball tournament in Japan.
Yōji Hirose (広瀬 洋二, Hirose Yōji)
Voiced by: Yukiya Matsui[2]
A member of the Soha High School baseball team. He aims to become a sports researcher in the future.
Minako Agawa (阿川 美奈子, Agawa Minako)
Voiced by: Sumire Uesaka[3] (Vomic "St-trike!"), Sora Amamiya[4] (Vomic "You Don't Like Dirty Jokes!?"), Hitomi Ueda (Vomic "Take Me To Koshien")[2]
A classic literature teacher acting as the coach of the Soha High School baseball team.

Publication

The series is written and illustrated by Kyu Sumiyoshi. It began serialization on Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ web service on September 3, 2024.[5] The first tankōbon volume was released on January 4, 2025;[6][7] three volumes have been released as of October 2025.[8]

The series' chapters are simultaneously published in English on Shueisha's Manga Plus app.[9]

No. Release date ISBN
1 January 4, 2025[6]978-4-08-884305-6
2 May 2, 2025[10]978-4-08-884499-2
3 October 3, 2025[8]978-4-08-884668-2
4 December 4, 2025[11]978-4-08-884771-9

Reception

The series won the eleventh Next Manga Award in the Web Manga category in 2025.[12] The series was ranked third in the 2026 edition of Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! guidebook's list of the best manga for male readers.[13]

Yūki Honda of the website Kai-You praised the first chapter's writing, comparing it favorably to Sumiyoshi's previous manga Hyperinflation and how the chapter showed baseball as a game of wits.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ Shonen Jump+ (May 5, 2025). 佐藤拓也と天﨑滉平が『サンキューピッチ』第5話をやる動画【コミックス2巻発売記念】 [Takuya Sato and Kohei Amasaki's video of "Strikeout Pitch" Chapter 5] (video) (in Japanese). Retrieved October 24, 2025 – via YouTube.
  2. ^ a b c d Shonen Jump+ (October 7, 2025). 上田瞳の「甲子園に連れてって」なサンキューピッチ 阿川先生【コミックス第3巻発売記念】 [Hitomi Ueda's "Take Me to Koshien" Strikeout Pitch Ms. Agawa (Comic Volume 3 Release Commemoration)] (video) (in Japanese). Retrieved October 24, 2025 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ Shonen Jump+ (October 3, 2025). 上坂すみれの「どストライク」なサンキューピッチ 阿川先生【コミックス第3巻発売記念】 [Sumire Uesaka's "St-trike!" Strikeout Pitch Ms. Agawa (Comic Volume 3 Release Commemoration)] (video) (in Japanese). Retrieved October 24, 2025 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ Shonen Jump+ (October 9, 2025). 雨宮天の「下ネタ苦手なんだゾ⁉」なサンキューピッチ 阿川先生【コミックス第3巻発売記念】 [Sora Amamiya's "You Don't Like Dirty Jokes!?" Strikeout Pitch Ms. Agawa (Comic Volume 3 Release Commemoration)] (video) (in Japanese). Retrieved October 24, 2025 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ "「ハイパーインフレーション」住吉九の新連載は野球もの、ジャンプ+で開幕". Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. September 3, 2025. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  6. ^ a b サンキューピッチ 1 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  7. ^ "「ハイパーインフレーション」住吉九の野球譚、豪速球を持つ男が野球を辞めた理由とは" (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. January 4, 2025. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  8. ^ a b サンキューピッチ 3 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  9. ^ "Strikeout Pitch". Manga Plus (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  10. ^ サンキューピッチ 2 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  11. ^ サンキューピッチ 4 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
  12. ^ 「次にくるマンガ大賞 2025」受賞作品決定! コミックス部門第1位『魔男のイチ』 、Webマンガ部門第1位『サンキューピッチ』. Da Vinci News (in Japanese). Kadokawa Corporation. September 18, 2025. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  13. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (December 22, 2025). "Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Editors Unveil Full List of Top 2026 Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
  14. ^ テーマは野球の頭脳戦?『ハイパーインフレーション』作者の新連載が面白い. Kai-You (in Japanese). Kai-You, Inc. September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2025.