Ken arrived at home plate, his eyes falling upon the catcher once more. He wordlessly stepped on the plate before turning towards his own bench, there was no need to say any words since he’d let his actions do the talking.
The opposing catcher on the other hand, felt his face heat up in embarrassment. His earlier cocky attitude had been rescinded after being taught a lesson.
There was something about the guy’s gaze that had made him feel weak and insignificant, as if he was being stared at by someone who was leagues above him. His antics earlier only seemed to be child’s play to the guy.
After staring at Ken’s retreating figure for a few moments, he turned his attention to Alex on the mound who looked as if he’d swallowed a lemon. It was obvious that he hadn’t expected to be hit so easily, in the first inning at that.
As someone who knew his pitcher well, a wry smile appeared on his face. The hit to Alex’s ego would be noticeable and he would come out firing from now on.
‘Let’s hope he can control himself.’ The catcher said in his heart.
“Holy crap man, that was huge.” Nico, who was waiting for Ken near home plate exclaimed, his face full of excitement. He was almost like a puppy, jumping up and down.
“Thanks. Nice work getting on base.” Ken replied, sending him a small smile.
“Hey, no probs, it’s my job.” Nico pointed to his chest with his thumb, clearly happy receiving the compliment from Ken.
On his way back to the bench, Max had already begun his warm up, his bat giving off a crisp noise as it swung through the air.
“Nice homer.” He stated, holding up his hand for a high five.
“Keep it going.” Ken quipped, slapping the guy’s hand with a grin.
In the audience, the few scouts in attendance were going crazy trying to get information. One of them even had their laptop out, typing away furiously in order to do their research on Ken.
These scouts were originally here for Alex, but he was quickly forgotten as Ken showed off his batting prowess. They completely ignored the next two at-bats in which no hits were made, too focused on researching.
“Changeover!”
With the umpires words, the Gladiators walked onto the field, ready to face the Panthers’ batting line up. Steve was already in his gear, but he was walking a bit gingerly.
Ken let out a chuckle, nudging him with his elbow. “You good?”
Steve let out an annoyed sigh, “Yeah, after squatting all day yesterday and that ridiculous run this morning, my legs are a bit shaky”
“You’ll be fine. In 3 months time you’ll be used to it.” Ken replied simply, heading towards the mound.
“Huh? What do you mean by that?” Steve said, now frozen in place.
However, Ken continued on his way, waving him off.
A feeling of dread and foreboding crept up on Steve, making him feel vulnerable. Remembering the smiling demon who woke him up this morning, he couldn’t help but say another small prayer under his breath.
“Eh!? He’s pitching?” One of the scouts happened to look up and see the guy they were researching standing upon the mound, juggling the rosin bag in his hand.
The exclamation was loud enough that others could hear in the audience, prompting the other two scouts to pay attention. They were as mystified as the initial scout, not understanding what was going on.
A figure with a bulging belly approached, his voice getting one of the scouts attention.
“You don’t know who that is do you?” He asked, his tone sounding exasperated.
The scout turned around, only to recognize the figure. “Tex?” His face changed a few times, “It seems you know who he is, care to enlighten me?”
Tex sighed, his head filled with mixed emotions. Upon doing his research last night, he knew that there was no way Ken would remain undetected, not with his skill level.
Whether or not he wanted to divulge his information, it would only be a matter of time before Ken’s name circulated throughout all of the college scouts. He believed that this guy would be far more sought after than even Ryan Smith.
“Do you remember the U18 World Cup 2 years ago?” He said softly.
The man frowned, trying to remember. However, this prompt seemed to be all he needed as the gears began to click inside his mind.
“Wait… He’s that guy? Ken… something.”
“Takagi. The one who pitched against us in the finals and absolutely ran through our ranks.” Tex replied, his voice wispy. He stared at Ken’s figure on the mound and felt a sense of loss.
“Wait, what’s he doing here in the PG Tournament? Wasn’t he from Japan?” The scout asked incredulously. The fact that he was in America, in a small Texas tournament at that was quite hard to believe.
“Your guess is as good as mine.” Tex shrugged, “I only saw him batting yesterday and he blew me away. From what I read online he’s been struggling with his pitching ever since the World Cup.”
Hearing this information, the scout frowned. The first thing that came to his mind was an injury, something far too common for teens who had pitched from a young age.
“Well, he’s an absolute gun with a bat in his hand. Even if his pitching is garbage he’ll still get plenty of offers as a batter.” The scout replied matter-of-factly.
“Mmm. Mind if I sit here?” Tex asked, pointing to the empty chair next to him.
“Go for it .”
As Tex’s large figure sat down, the metal seat groaned in protest, however it remained strong. It was clear that whoever built the seating was quite thorough in their job.
With that, Tex pulled out his speed gun from his bag and lined it up to measure Ken’s pitches. While he didn’t have a lot of faith in the guys pitches, it didn’t hurt to get a read on them.
RIP catcher.
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