“Batting fourth, our very own… Number 55!”
“Samuel Torkelsonnnn!”
The announcer came to life, his voice booming over the stadium alongside some cheerful baseball music. The crowd which had lulled in between innings suddenly roared to life, watching as the clean up hitter for their team arrived into the batters box.
Meanwhile, Daichi went on deck and began to warm up with the bat. Ken’s gaze lingered on him for a while, trying to check out his frame of mind.
But it looked like he had nothing to worry about. At least on the surface, his brother looked unflappable, as if nothing could effect him. In fact, Ken believed he was probably more nervous than this guy.
Shaking his head, Ken began to put on his gear. He would be batting after Daichi so the quicker he got ready, the more time he’d have to practice swing on deck.
PAH
“Ball.”
PAH
“Ball.”
The first two pitches seemed tricky, but after seeing the last one, Ken realized what was happening. The White Socks were intentionally walking Samuel, planning on facing the two rookies afterwards.
At another time, Ken might be slightly offended that they were being looked down upon, but he couldn’t really blame them. This was their first Major League game, Ken had yet to demand respect from his opponents.
‘Let’s hope you don’t regret it.’ Ken thought, flashing a grin.
“Ball four, take your base.” The plate umpire called, motioning for Samuel to move on.
Ken grabbed his bat and walked up the stairs to the field. He heard a few well wishes from his teammates and felt a pat on his back.
“You got this, Kenny.” His grandfather said, giving him a grin.
“Of course.” Ken replied, giving the man a wink before heading onto the field.
“Batting fifth, straight out of Japan. The brother of our most recent draft pick, number 22! Daichi Takagi!”
While the response wasn’t as pronounced as Samuel’s reception, the crowd still cheered for the unknown Daichi. He had played a decent game thus far, but no one had seen him with the bat.
But they would soon find out his capabilities. Even Ken who had all his skills from the system was barely on par with his brother. This just showed how much talent that Daichi had as a batter.
Ken watched intently as the pitcher got into position and entered his wind up.
He stood to the side, bat ready, wanting to get the timing for the pitch before it was his turn to bat. Ken’s eyes narrowed as the ball left the hand of the pitcher and he swung.
If one saw Ken and Daichi hitting side by side, they would see a lot of similarities. The starting position was almost identical since they were both taught by their father Chris, however, Ken’s hitting motion was way different.
This was thanks to the batting coach back in Columbia, Dave Johnson who had helped him increase both his power and accuracy during those 3 years.
WHOOOOSH
THWACK
“Eh?” Ken’s expression changed as he saw the ball rocket into the air from Daichi’s bat. It flew into right field, parallel to the foul line before bouncing onto the ground.
Daichi had already dropped the bat and was rounding first base by the time the fielder collected the ball.
Ken stared blankly as Daichi slid safely onto second base after only facing one ball.
‘Damn it little bro… You couldn’t have given me more time to get the timing?’ Ken complained in his heart.
But there was no use in complaining now, Daichi had successfully hit a double on his first appearance in the Majors. With this, they were in an amazing scoring position with no outs on the board.
With runners at 2nd and 3rd, Ken just needed to hit a fly ball into the outfield for an easy run. Of course there was also the option to hit big, or even bunt if he so felt the need.
“Batting Sixth, the Japanese Unicorn… Number 13, KEN TAKAGIIIII!”
This time, the crowd burst into cheers as Ken’s name was yelled over the speakers by the announcer.
“Japanese Unicorn? What the hell?” Ken frowned. As he approached the plate, he saw Daichi bent over on 2nd base, laughing his head off. It wasn’t just him, Ken could hear some people in the dugout roaring with laughter.
With some annoyance, Ken stepped into the batters box and went through his batting ritual. He turned to the pitcher on the mound with a fierce expression.
Just thinking about being called a Unicorn in front of almost 40,000 people was enough to piss him off. Unfortunately for the White Socks pitcher, he would be the one Ken would take it out on.
Gripping his bat tightly, Ken stared down the man on the mound and waited patiently to strike. He would be using every ounce of his strength to smash this ball, no matter what.
As the guy went into his windup, Ken’s eyes narrowed.
PAH
“Ball.”
The first pitch was a curveball which dipped right below the strike zone just before the plate. Many hitters would have swung, but not Ken, not right now.
He showed a poise that was not common for a rookie, especially one in their debut match. If anything, the way Ken held himself was like a seasoned veteran, coldly analyzing the pitches as they came to him.
‘If you throw a fastball, it’s over.’ Ken said in his heart, his eyes never leaving the pitcher.
He waited patiently, gripping the bat even tighter as it hovered over his shoulder.
The pitcher nodded before entering his wind up once more. This time when the ball left his fingertips, Ken knew that it was a fastball. The velocity and the spin made it easier to tell.
Ken’s whole body sprung into action. His muscles groaned as he swung, planting his foot and twisting his body, wringing out every ounce of power he was capable of.