He looked over at Chris who had been silent for a while, listening to they professional opinion of one of the best sports physiologists in Japan.
“I won’t be convinced until I see you pitch.” Chris stated firmly.
“Eh? I guess it wouldn’t hurt to check him out. I think there should be a few players in the bullpen right now who can help out.” Yukichi responded.
‘Huh? I’m going to get to pitch? Right now? To a professional catcher?’ Ken blinked a few times, almost not believing his ears.
“Let’s go!” He quickly stood up, filled with excitement.
Both Yukichi and Chris looked at each other, feeling amusement at the kids reaction.
The three left the office and made their way through the tunnels, heading towards the bullpen. This was the place where the pitchers warmed up before they headed onto the field of play.
There were three batters boxes and three mounds, lined up parallel to each other.
PAH
PAH
PAH
The crisp sound of the baseball rocketing into the leather of the catchers glove rang out within the bullpen, sending a shiver down Ken’s back.
As the doors opened, Ken’s world seemed to fade away as he saw the figure on the mound wind up and let his pitch loose. Every action was fluid yet filled with power and intent, playing out in front of him like a piece of art.
Everything up to the point of release took place seemingly in slow motion.
PAH
The sound of the ball entering the catchers glove snapped Ken out of his stupor.
“Oh, it’s Yukichi and Chris. What brings you guys here?”
The pitcher was the first to notice the three of them even though he had been so absorbed in his warm ups. He looked like a man in his mid to late thirties, who had passed his prime.
He sported a goatee and had a mysterious charm, a result of his western descent.
“Yo Jason. I don’t mean to bother you but we’d like to borrow Yamamoto for a few minutes.” Chris replied in English.
Yamamoto who had heard his name but only spoke Japanese looked back and forth between Jason and Chris with confusion.
“Oh okay, it’s fine I’m warmed up already.” Jason said, leaving the mound.
Ken gulped. He had finally recognized the pitcher who was in front of him, making him feel a little star struck. However, he quickly shook his head and stepped forward, placing his hand out in front of him.
“Hi Mr. Matthews, my name is Ken. Chris is my father.” He spoke in perfect English.
Jason Matthews was a professional who used to play in the Major League over in America for many years. He left and signed with the Yokohama Warriors after receiving less and less playing time due to his age.
However, Ken could already see that despite being older, the man in front of him was still a deadly closing pitcher. He led the NPB in saves with a total of 39 last season, proving he still had the skills needed to play.
Jason seemed rather impressed that a kid was able to speak fluent English. Taking into account that he was also Chris’s son, he accepted the handshake and smiled.
“Nice to meet you Ken. Will you be doing some pitching today?” He asked, instantly recognizing the reason for needing to borrow his catcher.
“Yes sir. My father wants to make sure that my injury has healed.” Ken confirmed, nodding like a chicken.
However, his face turned a bit weird in the next moment, almost as if he was disappointed.
“Ah, well good luck.” Jason responded, confused at the reaction of the kid.
Ken on the other hand was looking at the text in front of him and lamenting.
[USER IS UNABLE TO USE IDENTIFY FUNCTION DUE TO SKILL GAP BETWEEN TARGET]
He let out a sigh. It would have been a good time get a gauge of what a professional players stats were but life wasn’t so easy, even with the system.
“Yamamoto, please catch a few balls from my son.” Chris said, this time in Japanese.
“Okay, let’s warm up your arm first.” Yamamoto responded, throwing the ball to Ken who seemed a little out of it.
Ken caught the ball without paying too much attention and threw it back, landing directly into the open glove of the catcher.
“Southpaw?” Jason said aloud, feeling slightly intrigued.
“K-Ken! What are you doing?” Chris stammered. They had come to check out if his right shoulder was still injured, why was he warming up his left arm?
“Ah crap.” Ken had been sulking about the identify function not working and had thrown the ball with his left out of habit.
“S-Sorry dad, I was distracted.” Ken apologized, before receiving the ball back from Yamamoto.
He took a deep breath and steadied himself. It had been a year since he was able to throw properly with his right arm. Every throw would rocket slowly into the air, painting a rainbow.
Now that it was fully healed, would everything go back to normal? Would he suffer from the yips and not be able to throw with his right arm anyway?
There were too many unknowns. Not only that, there was also the added pressure of being watched by Jason Matthews, a professional pitcher that he looked up to.
However, Ken had been in many pressure filled situations. He also activated the focus skill, drowning out anything but the catchers glove that was set 60 feet away from him.
‘Here goes nothing.’ He thought, making a throwing action and praying inwardly.
Ken felt no discomfort as his shoulder rotated properly, sending his arm forwards and releasing the ball in front of him. He watched on as the ball took a straight path towards the glove, landing square in the middle of the webbing.
Seeing that his ball had gone exactly where he was aiming, Ken let out a sigh of relief. The absence of any pain was also a great boon to his confidence, making him feel on top of the world.
“I’m back…” he muttered, a smile creeping onto his face.
He’s BACK! Well done everyone for hanging in there almost 100 chapters to see Ken recover from his injury, it’s been a long slog.
Bonus chapters coming next!
If you’d like some additional chapters please see below incentives which will be added 1st of new month:
600 Power stones* = 1 additional chapter
200 Golden Tickets = 1 additional chapter
Gift over 1000 coins = 1 additional chapter (max 2 per month)
Castle* = 2 additional chapters
