There is Haibara and Conan shipping in this, which automatically puts it in contention for "best Detective Conan OVA" for me, even though that shipping goes absolutely nowhere and we're supposed to be more interested in these kids playing baseball. K... Anyway, it's not the best OVA. It's a pretty rudimentary sports story about kids, so there's a silly plotline that intersects with some folklore, a team dynamic that coalesces around a shared goal, and a hint of romance. It's not bad. It's just boring and unmemorable. Intercut with that is a Detective Conan plot, which is also fine, but not too clever. The Excalibur hook isbasically a buried baseball bat that serves as a lesson in motivation for one of the baseball kids and as an excuse for cameos from the regular Detective Conan cast. I was more focused on Haibara's constant sabotage of everyone around her, which was perfect and adorable as she is perfect and adorable.

A must-watch for Haibara fans. Non-essential for everyone else.