“Everybody, the closing ceremony will start soon. Make sure your bags are packed and ready so we don’t have to stick around for long after.” Chris said after noticing the Head Coach was done speaking.
Over in the other dugout, Mark was addressing his players. Due to just falling short of the Gold, there was a somber mood.
“Now now, there’s no need to be depressed. We left everything on the field tonight, so you can keep your heads raised high.” Mark said in a soft tone.
“If anything, we lost due to my negligence. We were not prepared for Ken’s pitching today which put a lot of pressure on our batting line up.”
At these words Leo shook his head and walked forward, placing his hand on the coach’s shoulder.
“It’s not just the coach to blame, but also me.” He said sternly, getting everyone’s attention.
“Leo, what are yo—”
Leo cut off the coach and continued his words.
“As the Captain, I was far too arrogant. Until this game, I believed that High School baseball posed no more challenges for me. I was so focused on College baseball that I took Ken and Japan lightly.”
At the back of the pack, Ryan raised his head and looked at Leo with shock. This was the first time that he’d seen the guy reflect in such a way despite being on the same team for 2 years.
His introspection opened up a small window for Ryan to do the same. He thought back to his behavior and arrogance this World Cup and suddenly felt disappointed in himself.
From the beginning he was toyed with, allowing his emotions to control his actions. Those two runs today could have been prevented if he had not pushed Ken so brazenly while the guy was running to first base.
“I’m sorry…” Leo said, bringing a close to his speech.
“M-Me too!” Ryan said hurriedly, causing everyone to turn and face him.
Having all of his teammates eyes on him, Ryan felt a lump in his throat, making it hard to swallow.
“I’m sorry for my conduct in this World Cup…”
Both Leo’s and Mark’s eyes widened in disbelief. That arrogant prodigy was apologizing? On his own volition too?
The two exchanged gazes, as if to confirm what they were witnessing was true and not a dream.
“HAHAHA”
Sam burst out into laughter as he grabbed Ryan and pulled him into a heavy hug, almost squeezing all of the air out of the guy’s lungs.
At this act, the players couldn’t help but let out some laughter, seeing Ryan suffer. Usually he would be far too aloof to allow such a thing to happen.
Seeing that the mood had improved, Mark let out a smile and ruffled his son’s hair who was beside him.
“I’m proud of you all. Make sure you smile for all the photos later, we don’t want the fans thinking we’re too proud for the silver medal.” Mark stated.
While the two teams were doing their separate things, the field was being set up with a podium and some cameras for the broadcast. After around 20 minutes, a representative popped their head into the Japanese dugout.
“Please get the team onto the field and stand in the designated area.” She said to Chris.
With that, the teams made the their way onto the field.
Ken raised his head and noticed that the Cuban team were also present. He saw Jorge among the players since he was hard to miss.
He nodded his head and smiled, receiving a thumbs up in response from the big guy.
Soon enough, the team lined up past 2nd base, facing home plate where a stage had been set up. They were flanked by the US team on their right and Cuban team on their left, creating a square shape from the air if one included the stage.
After a few minutes, a lady appeared standing behind a podium with a microphone in her hands.
“Thank you all for attending the finals of the U18 Baseball World Cup. Congratulations to the teams who made it this far, you’ve been a pleasure to watch.”
Her tone was confident, showing that she was used to speaking in front of large crowds.
“Before we get onto the award ceremony, I’d like to introduce some of our VIP guests in the stadium first.”
She gestured to the seats that were sitting just off the field which held around 10 people.
Then one by one she named the people, receiving small bursts of applause from the crowd and the players alike. Of course no one knew who these people were, so Ken was just half listening.
“The chairman of Suzuki Corporation and the U18 World Cup Sponsor, Tetsuhiro Suzuki.”
A man with wide shoulders and thick yet impeccable black hair stood up and raised his arm, acknowledging the cheers. His eyes seemed to be locked onto the Japanese team, though it was too far away to tell who he was looking at directly.
After he sat down, the woman continued, moving onto the next part of the closing ceremony.
“We’ll now hand out the Individual Awards.”
“Most runs batted in, Daichi Takagi from Japan.”
“Eh!?”
At the mention of his name, Daichi was flabbergasted. He hadn’t expected an award, yet after receiving a nudge from Ken, he quickly made his way up front.
He was directed onto the stage where he was told to wait. Ken almost laughed from how stiff and awkward his brother looked in that moment.
“Earned Run Average, Ken Takagi from Japan.”
“Ah…”
Now it was Ken’s turn to look surprised as he quickly jogged forward and joined his brother on stage. At the mention of his name, Daichi let out a sigh of relief since he would not be alone in front of everyone’s eyes.
“Most stolen bases, Santiago Williams from United States.”
When Santiago joined them, he was all smiles. Being with his two nephews on the stage seemed to make him quite pleased.
“Most runs scored, Leo Cameron from United States.”
“Most wins, Satoshi Subaru from Japan.”
“Best defensive player, Santiago Williams once again.”
“Our final individual award, the Most Valuable Player goes to… Ken Takagi from Japan. Truly a jack of all trades.”
*DING*
It’s good to see Leo’s and Ryan’s arrogance get checked, I believe that’s the way to become a true professional. With the end of the World Cup, volume 4 will be on the way soon.
WSA voting will end in a month’s time. I’m hoping our book can take one of the top 3 spots. Cross your fingers for MLS!
Come join our discord where we chat about chaps and just hang out: https://discord.gg/BmwTWXq9FK
