Ken listened to the question and smiled shortly after. “I am a man of my word, I will not change my mind, no matter the result.”
“But it seems unnecessary to go to such lengths. You showed tonight that you have the potential to become one of the best pitchers in the league, why would you potentially throw it all away? Is it pride? Arrogance? Or are you just trying to cause a stir and raise your popularity?”
Jerry did not hold back with his words, it was to the point where both Mark and Daichi frowned in response. The latter was about to speak up and admonish the man for his remarks, but Ken leaned forward and answered.
“Do you know how much work I’ve put in to be here, Mr. Yarrow? I’ve dedicated my entire life in the pursuit of baseball. Do you think I would throw it all away for pride?” Ken’s tone was even, but his eyes locked onto the middle-aged man.
“While it is true that you and others like you might call it arrogance, but I would call it supreme confidence.” His words swept over those present, quietening the room.
“Have you heard of the term Bushido, Mr. Yarrow?” Ken asked.
“I have not.”
Ken nodded, “It essentially means, ‘Way of the Warrior.’ Honor, loyalty, courage, respect and honesty, this is the code of the samurai. While samurai’s are no longer present, many Japanese people aspire to live by this code. I am one of them.”
“So you’re saying that you won’t be backing down?” Jerry replied.
“Exactly.” Ken said with a grin, “I’ll look forward to our conversation at the end of the season when I complete all my tasks.”
Once Ken finished, more of the reporters got a chance to ask questions. No one brought up Ken’s social media post anymore and instead focused on his performance this game.
He had been so close to a perfect game this match. The whole baseball world would have been buzzing even more if he were to have pulled off such a feat in his debut game in the Majors.
Yet one thing was certain, Ken had announced his arrival on the big stage.
Once the interviews went live on the Internet, many of the trolls who had assaulted Ken’s social media posts funneled towards it. One might expect them to continue berating him, but it was quite the opposite.
While some still didn’t like Ken’s attitude, they could not deny his talent.
To break the longstanding strikeout record in his very first game was not something that anyone could have expected. It put him in the same conversations as hall of famer Randy Johnson.
Baseballfan148: Say what you want about Ken, the guy can pitch.
MouldyOldie: I was hoping he’d fail in his first game.
BigLeague99: Damn it, why is he so cool? I also want to be like a samurai.
The Ligers organization enjoyed a massive uptick in their social media impressions, beating out their highest ever by 200%. It seemed that Ken’s performance had drawn a lot of eyes.
In the office of the GM Geoff Greenberg the following day, Charlie Ilitch was sitting on one of the chairs with one leg crossed over the other. Across from him were two others, the GM himself and another man.
“What brings you here Eddy?” Charlie asked, though by his expression it seemed he had an idea.
The man named Eddy laughed, “I’m just here to give you an update. The network received the highest ratings ever for your game last night. It was estimated that over 5 million people in Japan tuned in.”
“That’s good right?” Geoff added.
“It’s great. A few of the Japanese broadcasting companies have reached out to the MLB already, trying to broker a deal to show your games in Japan.” Eddy said with a grin.
“Excellent.”
“If you haven’t already, I’d suggest stocking up on Ken and Daichi merchandise. There’s a big chance that their jersey sales will sky rocket.” Eddy added.
“How is that going Geoff?” Charlie asked curiously.
“W-We’re doing our best to get them expedited.” He replied.
Elsewhere, SportsCentre had been broadcasting Ken’s monumental efforts in his debut match for the last 24 hours. It was as if the Major League had found their newest poster child and were pushing Ken like crazy.
In his home in Miami, Ryan had already heard about Ken’s exploits through his teammates. The fact that Ken had one-upped him did not sit right.
“Damn it!” Ryan threw his TV remote onto the couch.
When he’d debuted, Ryan threw a shutout in his first match. He gave up 3 hits and a walk, but it was still a feat that very few had accomplished throughout the history of the league.
To see Ken, the one he’d pegged as his rival do the same, but even better, really pissed him off.
“Those stupid White Socks players… How could they let him do that?” He grumbled in anger.
After being in the Majors for 2 years now, Ryan already viewed himself as far above Ken Takagi. The shadow of his loss in the U18 World Cup back then was already removed from his mind entirely.
He was a starting pitcher for the Miami Blue Marlins, it would take Ken years to get to his current level. Or at least that’s what he thought.
What made it worse was Ken’s controversial comments on media day and the social media post doubling down.
Ryan felt like he didn’t even recognize Ken anymore. The guy was never this cocky, so why had he made such claims before the season even started.
None of it made sense to him.
Ryan took a deep breath and calmed himself. He was no longer the impulsive teenager he used to be. Ever since leaving his father’s house, he had changed.
“Just you wait Ken… I will crush you and your team into the dust.” He said coolly, gripping his fists tightly.
