With their next opponent now locked in, the Ligers met up the following morning for a light training session and some film study. There were 3 days remaining until the first game of the series.
Since New York were knocked out, the Ligers would have home field advantage since their regular season record was better than Houston.
In the film room, Coach Mark Williams was standing up front, addressing his players.
“Alright, first off I just want to say how proud I am of each and every one of you.” Mark said, his eyes gazing around the room. “After not even making the post season last season, we’ve come a long way to get where we are now.”
His words were met with agreement from the players.
“You’ve made me look fantastic, so I appreciate the effort.” Mark added, giving a wink.
Ken laughed, as did the other players. He knew it was a joke, but he was not wrong. No club in their right mind would fire a coach who could turn a team around like the Mark.
“Now, onto our opponents. The Arrows have been to the post season every year for the last 5 years, when they won the World Series back in 2017.” He stated, pausing briefly.
“But I’m confident in this group, and I know we have what it takes to breeze past these guys, just like we did with Seattle.”
After a brief monologue, the film session got started.
As the film rolled on, Coach Brdar the hitting coach stepped up and added some commentary. “We need to be patient at the plate. This is not a team that we can just roll over. Their starting pitchers like Valdez and Verlander are aggressive.”
“They’ll attack the zone, but they’ll also lead you by the nose and have you chasing at balls. We’ve got to make them work, get deep into counts and be ready to dispatch any mistakes they make.” He added.
Mark nodded and added his 2 cents, “The first game will probably be Valdez. He’s a perennial ground ball pitcher who throws a lot of sinkers and curveballs. As Coach Brdar said, we need to be patient—keep your swings level and be assertive.”
The coaching staff stayed on the pitchers for a while, before it came time for defensive talks.
“The game is still a few days away, but we have decided to start Ken for the first game at home. Are you rested enough after your full 9 innings the other day?” Mark asked, his gaze moving to Ken.
“Yep, ready to go whenever.” Ken replied heartily.
“Alright good.” Mark nodded, “We all know who their threats are: Alvarez, Bregman and Kane Tucker who hit the walk off home run the other night against the Yanks.”
“Alvarez can hit the ball 450 feet on any given night, we need to keep him at bay and play him off the fastball. Daichi, I need you to analyze this guy, find out his weaknesses and keep hammering them in the game.”
“Yes coach.” Daichi called.
“As for the others, Bregman is a great contact hitter, but he struggles against the off speed pitches, especially on the back of a quick fastball.”
The film session continued for another hour before Coach Williams returned to the front of the players.
“This will be our only film session until the start of the series. This week we’ll focusing on a few key areas, we need to lock in people. 4 more wins until we reach the World Series…”
“World Series on 3.”
Mark raised his arm, walking to the middle of the aisle.
All of the players followed suit, raising their arms.
1
2
3
“WORLD SERIES!”
Once the film session was done, Ken returned home to his family and friends. Steve and Tara were staying at a nearby hotel since there was no available rooms left in his house, but they often stayed until late at night.
Ken had been worried that his house would be too big, but with all the stragglers he’d seemingly picked up off the street, there was never a boring moment.
“I’m home.”
Ken, Daichi and Rohan returned from the film study session only to see that no one was around. The once bustling house was currently empty, looking as if it had been deserted.
“Huh? Where is everyone?” Ken muttered.
It wasn’t until he got to the kitchen that he saw a note left on the counter.
“We’re taking Ai out to the day spa, don’t wait up. Here is some money for some pizza – Love Mom.”
As Ken read the message, he saw a 20 dollar note on the table. He blinked a few times before letting out a chuckle and handing the letter to Daichi to inspect.
“Looks like they ditched us.” Ken said placing his bag on the ground. He picked up the $20 note and looked at it briefly, “This would barely get us 1 pizza.”
Daichi on the other hand seemed confused, “I can understand the girls going to the day spa, but what is dad and Tetsu doing?”
That was when they discovered another letter on the other end of the kitchen counter.
Ken walked over and read it aloud, “We’re off to play some golf, don’t wait up. Get some takeout – Love Dad.”
Underneath the letter was a $50 note which Ken picked up.
“At least Dad seems to know how expensive food is these days.” Ken added wryly.
“I’M HOMEEEE~”
The sound of the door opening and a loud and obnoxious voice echoed within the empty house, startling the three men present.
They all turned around, only to see Steve by himself, walking in as if he owned the place.
“Where is everybody?” He asked, looking confused.
“It’s just us tonight.” Ken replied, shaking his head.
“Oh sweet! Let’s order pizza and have a movie night!” He said with excitement.
Ken looked at Rohan and Daichi, as if to gauge their reactions.
The two both shrugged their shoulders, “Sounds good to me.”