WHOOOOOSH
THWACKK!
The entire crowd collectively held their breath as the ball rocketed into the air, headed towards the right outfield. Even Ken who had hit the ball himself was not sure if it would go over the wall.
He threw his bat to the side and ran towards first base, keeping an eye on it before deciding whether to speed up or slow down.
The right outfielder had already reached the wall, but all he could do was stare at the ball as it sailed over his head and into the stands behind him.
In that moment, the crowd burst to life, roaring out with elation.
“HOMEEE RUNNNN!”
The lights began to flicker and a siren played over the stadium speakers, mixed with the roar of a Liger. The whole park seemed to come alive.
Ken pumped his fist as he saw the ball go over for a home run. His very first hit in the Majors was a homer, how could he not celebrate.
In the stands, Tetsu was going crazy.
“THAT’S MY SON-IN-LAW!” He screamed in Japanese, though no one but Ai and Naomi could understand him.
Back in Japan, the bar suddenly erupted in celebration.
“ORYAHHHHHAHAHAHA!”
“YES!”
Ken’s old Yokohama teammates cried out in happiness, scaring almost everyone that was in the bar in that moment.
Old friends, acquaintances and teammates both in America and Japan tuned in to watch the moment where Ken hit his first home run in the Major League.
Back on the field, Ken rounded 3rd base and jogged towards home plate where Samuel and Daichi were waiting for him. The moment he stepped onto the plate, Daichi grabbed him and hugged him tight.
He didn’t say anything, but words didn’t need to be spoken in that moment.
Samuel on the other hand settled with patting Ken on the top of the helmet before letting out a laugh. “Nice homer, welcome to the league.”
On their way back to the dugout, Mark practically tackled Ken and Daichi.
“I knew you could do it boys!” He said, letting out a laugh, “I’m so proud of you both.”
“Thanks Grandpa.”
With Ken’s 3-run homerun, the Ligers were now up 3-0 in the bottom of the 2nd. The game was far from over, but it was a good start.
With the momentum gained from Ken’s big hit, the Ligers managed to score another run before the end of the inning, putting them even further ahead.
Ken continued with his hot streak, not letting a single hit go in the 3rd inning. It was almost like no one could touch his pitches, filling the Ligers team with confidence.
However, in the 4th inning, Ken finally gave up the first hit of his Major League career. There was no mistake in the lead, nor how he pitched, but sometimes hitters were going to hit no matter what.
Javier Abreu the White Socks first baseman hit a ball right past Ken and the 2nd baseman, landing in the outfield right in front of Lewis. No matter how quick his arm was, Javier easily made it to 1st base.
Rather than be disappointed, Ken shook it off. There were already 2 outs in the 4th, he just needed to strikeout Elroy and there would be no damage done.
As the Dominican approached the batters box, Ken felt his muscles fill with power once more. It was almost like he was in a fantasy, being buffed by a powerful spell.
He stared at Elroy, not losing focus.
Elroy on the other hand was breathing a sigh of relief. He saw his teammate Javier on first base and thanked his lucky stars.
‘With a runner on first, he won’t be able to use that weird wind up.’ He thought.
As he saw Ken nod, he got ready. Yet, his eyes widened in shock as Ken still raised his arms and performed the same wind up that left him flinching.
WHOOOOSH
PAH
“SECOND!”
Jaime on second base called out, but Daichi was already in motion. He stepped forward and sent a rocket-like throw towards second base. If it wasn’t for Ken’s quick reflexes, he might have been hit by the oncoming ball during his follow through.
The bullet pass was perfectly aimed, landing in the outstretched glove towards first base. Jaime caught it in rhythm and swiped at the foot of the sliding Javier, making contact.
He raised his eyes towards the umpire and showed him the ball within the glove, waiting for a verdict.
“Out!”
“Haha!”
“Nice throw Daichi!”
This time it was Ken who ran over and attacked Daichi, ruffling his hair like a big brother would do. “You cheeky bastard, how did you know the guy would try and steal?”
Daichi had called a higher fastball which allowed him to position his body and make the quickest throw back to second base. From Ken’s perspective, it was as if the guy had anticipated the runner was going to steal.
“The same way I knew you were going to use your long ass windup. You really need to work on your pickoffs, otherwise runners are going to have a field day when you’re pitching.” Daichi said, trying to shake Ken off him.
“Not if you’re behind the plate, I’ll just get you to throw them out.” Ken grinned, feeling his spirits rise.
To see that his brother was also doing well during his debut filled Ken with happiness. This had been their dream for over 7 years, and though they had taken different paths, they arrived at the same destination eventually.
If Ken had to do it over again, he wouldn’t change anything.
“Looks like the Rookies are taking over the first game of the season.” Samuel waltzed over and nudged Ken on the way past. “Save some spotlight for the other guys.”
“We’re just trying to win the game.” Ken said with a laugh.
“He’s right, don’t be getting jealous now.” Terry Skubal the other starting pitcher said with a grin.
“Right back at ya, I bet you’re jealous that Ken stole your starting pitcher spot tonight.” Samuel quipped back.
However, Terry shrugged. “It’s a long season, I’ll start plenty of games. But tonight, I’ll leave it to these two brothers.”