The car ride back to the school was quiet. Extremely silent. Rhys didn't play the radio, nor did we talk. It was only the sound of the road. It was dark and street lights would flash into the car.
I stared out the window with a heavy heart.
I had done another round against all three pitchers, doing another three at-bats for each one. It wasn't pretty. I fouled a lot more and got at least a dribbler to the pitcher for one at-bat, but overall...I sucked.
Rhys drove the thirty minutes back to the school and parked his car. We got out and started the walk back to the dorm building.
"Jake." Rhys stopped suddenly.
I paused and looked back at him. "Yea?"
"Are you okay? You're real quiet right now." He sighed. "I didn't mean for all that to happen. I thought...you would..."
"That I would what?" I asked, frowning.
"That you would like...I don't know." He sighed. "I thought you would like it. Going up against better pitchers."
I let out a laugh, surprising Rhys. "You thought I would like to strikeout? Twenty plus times?" I laughed again, relaxing my shoulders. "I'm not a masochist, but...I did find it stimulating."
"Stimulating?" Rhys looked hopeful.
I nodded and held out my hands. They were completely torn up with blisters. "I don't think I've ever tried so hard before. It was different from batting in the cages. Way harder than high school baseball too." I looked up at him. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you."
"What?! No! You didn't embarrass me at all." Rhys stepped closer and put his hand on my shoulder. "I thought you needed more of a challenge. In the game today, you didn't look interested. So I called the guys and saw that they were available. With permission from everyone, I thought you would like it. I'm sorry if it made you feel miserable. That wasn't my intention."
"I'm definitely miserable." I gave him a small smile. One filled with depression and pain. "I didn't think I would be this bad. Ever."
"You weren't bad! I mean, you aren't." Rhys squatted so we could be eye level. "You're an excellent hitter. The best I've seen. Your mechanics, timing, and vision...you have it all. Just look at what you've done at this camp. Impressing coaches, scouts, and other players."
"Then why couldn't I get a hit tonight?" I felt my eyes sting.
Rhys gave my shoulder a pat. "You're still young and inexperienced. Those guys are even older than me. Not by much, but they've spent a couple years at the minor league level now. Some longer than others. They've all taken turns going up and down the levels. They're at single A now, but it's only temporary. They'll be on their way after this week."
"So I can't play against them again?" I frowned.
Rhys laughed. "No. You're here at camp. Tonight was just an exception. To show you that there is something to look forward to. So don't be slacking off."
"I want to face better pitchers." I told Rhys, straightforward.
Rhys nodded. "And you will. A different pitcher every at-bat. There are a few that will give you a hard time. Just be patient. What made today harder, believe it or not, is Danny. I told you he was good."
"Doesn't he just call for the pitch?"
"Catchers do the most work. Studying the batter and finding out what he should ask for. They also have to keep the pitcher happy and in a good frame of mind." With his hand still on my shoulder, Rhys started to guide me back to the dorm. "We can talk more about it tomorrow. Or you can ask your brothers. Ask a coach. Not one single person will have all the answers. You get bits and pieces from here and there."
We arrived back at the dorm. A few guys were hanging out in the common area, but no one I recognized. Rhys led me to the stairs and then had to go back out. He still had to report to Coach Nate and Coach Leroy.
I quietly entered the room just in case Noah was asleep, but it was pointless. He pounced at me as soon as I made it into the room. "Jake?! Where have you been?!"
"With Rhys." I replied.
"But where?? I've been looking all over for you when you didn't come back in time. I even asked your team, but they didn't know either. So then I had to go to Zeke and he would only tell me that you were with Rhys." He rambled on.
"He took me on a short trip." I yawned. "Can I tell you about it tomorrow? I'm actually kind of tired right now."
"Go shower! You'll feel more refreshed." Noah said.
I nodded. Sounds good. I grabbed my towel and pajamas and went on my way. By the time I came back, Noah had fallen asleep with the lights on. I flipped them off and used my phone to see my way to bed.
I gave my phone a glance and noticed a few missed notifications. Texts and missed calls from Noah obviously. A couple of texts from Mom and Dad, asking about the camp. Dave sent me a picture of Kyle doing a handstand. Jeremy asked me if I had seen his comeback. And then Zeke...telling me not to dwell on tonight's results.
I wasn't going to...at least not too much. However, I couldn't help it. I haven't struck out this much. Ever. All because of a catcher that knew what pitches to call for? That can't be it. The pitchers were just as important. Their control was precise and their speed didn't suffer from it. These guys were at the low end of the minor league system too. The majors have to be even tougher.
Rhys blamed my underperformance on age and lack of experience, but that wasn't a good excuse for me. Jeremy made his MLB debut at 20, did his rookie year as a 21-year-old, and now he has just turned 22 in his official second year in the majors. Only seven years between me and him, but now I'm a little over five years away from being 20 myself. I didn't have an exact plan of my future, yet I know I don't want to get left behind.
I stayed up all night thinking. Thinking about those pitches that I've missed, thinking about how to do better, and thinking about where I'm going with this. It felt like I had only blinked before Noah was shaking me awake.
"Jake! C'mon. We're going to be late." Noah hurried me.
We rushed to get dressed and ready, bringing our bags to the cafeteria. After loading our plates and finding an empty table, Noah started to give me some very strange looks.
"Wellllll? Are you going to tell me?" Noah asked. "Where you went last night?"
"It was extra batting practice." I explained. "Rhys took me to the single A affiliate of the Giants. It's in San Jose. I got to face a few pitchers."
"Wow! So cool!" Noah's eyes shined. "How did it go? Did you shock them with your batting?"
I stopped eating. Then shook my head slowly. "If I did shock them, it was only because how bad I was." I told him how I was thoroughly crushed.
Noah stopped smiling and had a look of seriousness about him. "Well. It makes sense. If you could get a bunch of hits off them, then you could go pro right now."
I shrugged. "I don't get it. I want to do some research during our next break. Think it over." I paused for a second. "I can't imagine Zeke struggling like I did."
"Zeke might struggle. Everyone has to work their way up from the bottom." Noah told me. "If he wasn't going to college, he'd be in the minors too, preparing for the show." He grinned. "Now it looks like you're preparing too."
Hmm. That's right. Everyone has to go through adjustments.
"What do you want to look up later?" Noah asked, finishing his bacon.
"Breaking balls." I stated firmly. "There was one I completely missed last night. Twice. I couldn't tell what it was."
"What was the movement?" Noah asked.
"He was a righty." I started with. Then on the table I drew the pitch's trajectory. "Kind of like this?"
Noah rapped the table. "That could be a few different pitches. Depends on how the pitcher throws." He grinned. "But if you know his name, we can just look him up directly. Find videos and some information about his pitches."
I brightened up. Great! Noah really knew how to think outside the box. I was just going to identify his pitch based off my memory of only seeing it twice. I didn't think of looking Ian up online to see what everyone else called it.