After two hours of what looked to be a normal practice, their coach spoke to the team as a whole. Some of the guys raised their hands, then they broke up. More than half of the players went to the dugout, the only ones that stayed on the field took positions like they were on the defensive.
Zeke, who had also jogged to the dugout came out with a helmet on and a bat in hand. He tightened his batting gloves before walking towards home plate.
"More batting practice?" I mumbled, a little jealous.
Noah shook his head. "It's not. Look how the players on the field are. They're set as if they're playing a game. The coach probably wants to test Zeke's ability in a game situation. Kind of like your tryout except with players playing defense." We watched as a pitcher took the mound, and a catcher squatted behind home plate. "Looks like he had this in mind all along."
"How can you tell?" I asked.
"The pitchers all went to the bullpen in the beginning right?" I nodded. "That's pretty normal. But then when it came to batting practice, he had some coaches throw instead of the players. That's a little odd, but you could chalk that up to him wanting to save them for tomorrow's game. But now, it's obvious that he wanted them to test Zeke."
"Your deductive reasoning is really good." Willie complimented Noah, not caring that he was eavesdropping. His eyes remained on the field, watching the pitcher warm up a little more. "But you know, most college teams have some coaches throw batting practice pitches. It's not uncommon at this level. You don't want one of your own pitchers throwing out their arm doing something like that, but you also need your batters to face pitchers so they get comfortable. Hitting off a machine isn't the same as facing a live arm. Pitchers have complicated forms sometimes that can mess with timing."
I froze. "Hitting off a pitching machine is bad?" With something to worry about, I forgot to be scared of this stranger. I was more afraid of what he was saying than anything else at the moment.
"It's not necessarily bad. A pitching machine can be useful for hand-eye coordination, timing, and bat control when used correctly."
"You just said the timing is one of the problems." Noah pointed out.
"In a sense. It depends." Willie finally turned to face us, giving us his undivided attention. "It helps improve the timing of your swing, but it can also throw your conception of speed off. For an example, an 80mph pitch from a machine requires different timing than an 80mph pitch from a live pitcher. You know why?"
Noah and I both shook our heads. I was surprised that Noah was finally at the same level as me: clueless.
"The pitcher has a windup, stretch, and style that'll never have a perfect replica. Take your brothers as an example. They're identical twins with identical strengths. Yet, they don't have the same style. If you compare their video side by side, you'll see that Kyle has a more explosive step towards home plate."
"Is that true?" Dave leaned in, now curious about the conversation. "Do you think that's why I'm not doing as well?"
"I wouldn't say you're doing poorly. You have more confidence than your brother, which is important trait to have. It's also good to have different deliveries. If you both have the same exact delivery than other teams in your league won't have much to do in preparation."
"Have you been watching us?" Kyle asked, not minding the comment about his lack of confidence. "Can a scout watch high schoolers who aren't eligible for the draft?"
Willie cocked his head and grinned. "Scouts can take note of any player they deem interesting enough. We may not approach right away and might wait until your senior year, but we pay attention to any outstanding talents. Even players from the Little League World Series will be noted. Granted, not all players get much better afterwards but their are exceptions. Cody Bellinger from the Dodgers and Todd Frazier from the Mets are two that I can think of off the top of my head. Michael Conforto, also from the Mets, is one of the more notable ones since he played in the Little League, College, and MLB World Series. Only one of three to do it."
Wow.
"Okay, that's enough bugging Mr. Ramsey." Mr. Atkins spoke up after a nudge from his wife. "All of you are too young to be thinking so far ahead."
"That's not what you said when you made us take the SAT and ACT last year before Christmas." Dave grumbled.
"Yea." Kyle echoed. "You were all about planning for the future and making sure we get good scores so we could get into college."
Mr. Atkins wavered. "Well..."
"Let's focus on Zeke for now." Mrs. Atkins proposed. "He's the only one graduating from high school this year. After we get him settled, we'll focus more on you two." She gave them the side eye. "For baseball and academics."
Dave and Kyle quieted down and stopped raising a fuss.
Noah laughed then leaned in to whisper. "I wonder what she would say to them if she knew that you were doing their math homework."
"She'll get mad at me too though." I mumbled, scared she might overhear.
"I'm only teasing. I wouldn't get you in trouble with mom." Somehow, I didn't really believe him. Noah is always making trouble. "What do you think about what that scout said though? Pitcher versus machine?"
I shrugged. "I've never really noticed. But I also only have a month experience." I thought about it a little more. "Do you think that's why I didn't do so well against University Prep? Their pitcher was fifth in state right? Was something odd about the way he pitched?"
Noah looked bewildered. "If you don't know, how am I supposed to know. You're the batting expert."
Am I though?
I turned in time to watch Zeke stepped up to bat. I couldn't compare to someone like him, who could send the ball well over the fence. And at the college level too!