The more Ken pitched, the more excited Coach Wyatt became. Not only this, Steve seemed to have adjusted well to his pitches, leading him effectively and making use of the insane speed that Ken had to offer.
It was only 6 pitches, but it was enough for the coach’s mind to race with possibilities. He could already see himself and the team holding up all of the tournament trophies in both Srping and Fall.
“Alright, I think we’ve seen enough.” He said, trying to hide his grin. However, his thick mustache was curled upwards and giving it away.
Coach Wyatt turned to the other players and spoke up, “Well, what do you guys think? Is he in or out?”
Brett already had his head lowered, knowing his fate. Even seeing the pitches from so far away he could tell that they were nothing like he’d ever witnessed before, at least by a High Schooler.
The sound of the ball entering the catchers glove was like thunder, its clap echoing in his ears even now.
Max who had just experienced the pitches first hand, walked over from the batters box and stood beside the coach. He had mixed emotions on his face at first, but it quickly turned serious.
“I think it’s pretty obvious coach.” He said, cutting to the chase.
“Mmm. Then its settled.” Coach Wyatt didn’t press the issue, Ken’s performance was enough to gain the respect of the players. Now no one would have any complaints, making his job a lot easier.
With that, he turned to Ken who was still waiting patiently on the mound. He waved him in, still wearing his grin.
“Well, it looks like its unanimous. Welcome to the Gladiators.” The Coach said, holding out his hand for a handshake.
However, Ken was wearing a weird expression on his face. “Err coach, I still haven’t batted yet.” He said, feeling a little odd.
“Ah…” Ken’s performance was so shocking that he’d completely forgotten about anything else.
He was about to decline, but seeing the look on Ken’s face, he quickly changed his mind. “Brett, go warm up on the mound and face Ken.”
“Huh?” Brett who still had his head and shoulder drooped, heard his name and almost jumped in fright.
Even the other players seemed confused. Most of the pitchers they had played with would use Designated Hitters, especially the older they got.
“Y—Yes coach.” He responded after receiving a nudge from one of his teammates.
He was filled with trepidation, but a part of him wanted to at least show his worth. Not only to his teammates, but also to himself.
With a determined expression he made his way up to the mound.
Unaware of the atmosphere, Ken walked over and grabbed his helmet from his bag. He looked around and saw a bunch of bats by the side.
“Coach, can I use one of your bats?” He asked politely.
“Mmm, go for it.”
However, his actions seemed to cause a wave of incredulity amongst the players. Just what kind of batter wouldn’t have a bat?
With those words, they lost a good chunk of expectations.
Out of the people present, only Steve and Coach Wyatt were looking forward to seeing what Ken could do with the bat. They knew of his pitching abilities, since they had watched the final of the World Cup before.
But since it was such a low scoring game and Ken didn’t really bat much during the final, they weren’t aware of his skills.
Of course if they had watched his performance in the group stages and super round, they would have already known just how dangerous he was in the batters box.
Ken picked up the bat, weighing it in his hands. He took a few steps onto the field and began to swing, eliciting a crisp noise as the bat flew through the air.
After a few practice swings, Ken nodded in satisfaction.
His mind was clear, especially after pitching just before. Ken knew now that he wouldn’t have to adjust to the system, it would adjust to him. All he needed to do was play how he usually played.
With his confidence sky high, Ken’s eyes moved to Brett atop the mound. The guy was just finishing up with his warm up throws, but Ken wasn’t intimidated. He had faced the best High School pitcher in America, why should he care about some random guy.
It wasn’t so much arrogance, but more a supreme confidence he had in both his abilities and the system.
Once his mind thought this far, Coach Wyatt called out for Ken to step into the batters box.
Not wanting to linger any longer, Ken did as he was told. He tapped the bat onto home plate before tapping it on each of his toes. It was unknown when he started to do this, but it became part of his pre-batting ritual.
After squaring up his shoulders, he faced Brett on the mound. The guy was a little lanky, but shorter than Ken. He reminded him a little of Akira, at least his body archetype that was.
“Play ball.” Coach Wyatt called out, prompting Ken to take his position.
Steve kept on sending side glances towards Ken, his mind racing. While he wanted to see what the guy could do, his catchers pride didn’t allow him to call for any easy balls.
With his trademark mischievous grin, he called for a slider, one of Brett’s signature balls.
‘If I can get him swinging early, we might be able to put him on the ropes.’ Steve thought, his excitement burst.
Brett nodded, taking his ball into his glove and beginning his wind up.
Ken watched intently as the guy whipped the ball out towards him. Almost instantly he could tell that there was far more spin than usual, narrowing down which pitch it could be.
Information flooded his mind, calculating the trajectory with great precision. It only took a moment for him to understand it was a slider.
Bonus chaps. Happy friday 🙂
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