Coach eventually finished answering all the questions that were asked. Most of which was by the few players that weren't able to come to the summer camp. Practice started with a jog around the JV field a couple of times, then as we stretched, Coach put us in groups by position.
The infielder group was divided into three, and I was still with Noah. And we got Mr. Miller. Good. To make things even better, our group got to start with batting drills. I could feel the stares whenever it was my turn in the batting cage, but I was getting good at blocking it out.
The week flew by. Classes. Practice. Classes. Practice. On Friday, Coach divided us into the teams and had announced it as we stretched. Afterwards, he came over to where I was and squatted down since I was sitting in the grass.
I felt a little nervous staring into his sunglasses. "Yes, Coach?"
"A few pitchers have approached me and my other coaches, asking if they could face you today." He told me. "I've come to realize that not everyone will get a fair chance to face you because of how I put the teams together. So I was wondering how you felt about doing a few extra at-bats after your scrimmage?"
"Is this something that will happen to Jake every Friday?" Noah asked Coach before I could come up with an answer.
Coach thought about it. "Maybe. We can figure something out like having pitchers sign up on Thursdays so it won't be a guessing game for Jake on how many pitchers he'll face every Friday."
"So I would have to stay late on Fridays?" I asked, feeling hesitant.
"Would that be a problem? This is completely voluntary. I know I'm asking a lot from you, but I thought you might like the extra swings. Plus, it grants me an extra look at the pitchers and how they progress over the next few weeks." Coach said.
I scratched my cheek. "I want to, but...I have to ask Mom. She makes us dinner shortly after we get home from practice. There's also the twins. They're the ones who drive us to and from school."
Noah started to laugh. "Mom would be okay with it. And who cares what the twins think. They can't leave without us."
"How about we start next week?" Coach said. "You get permission from your mom and I'll start a signup sheet for the pitchers interested."
I nodded.
That night, at the dinner table, I told Mom what Coach wanted me to do.
Mom looked concerned. "Why do all the pitchers want to face you?"
"Because if they strike him out, they automatically get to be on varsity." Dave explained. "I don't mind staying late on Fridays because I want to participate too."
Mom was still unsure. "Isn't that a little too much pressure put on Jake?" She looked at me. "Are you interested in doing this?"
I nodded. "I like batting, and I like to see different pitchers."
"Aren't you scared of striking out?" Mom asked, worried. "What if you have a bad day and a lot of people get you out? I don't want your coach to blame you."
"I'm pretty confident I won't strike out." I told her honestly.
"Ugh. So cocky. It's like another Noah." Kyle joked.
I felt my face flush. "Sorry."
Noah poked me. "Don't apologize to him." He looked at Mom. "Jake's so good, even Garret can't strike him out. If the other guys make it happen, then they should be on varsity too. All Jake has to do is put the ball in play."
Mom looked to Dad. "What do you think?"
Dad shrugged. "Everyone seems to be pretty confident in Jake's ability. Leave them to it." He changed the topic, looking to the twins. "We need to decide who is driving to and from the game for tomorrow. I don't want to hear of any fighting or anything that could distract either of you from the road."
Tomorrow, we were going to meet up with Zeke and Rhys, and then go to the A's game together. This would be the first time that either of the twins would be the driver for the long trip without anyone else to supervise them.
"I'll drive there." Dave said. "Then Kyle will drive back on Sunday. All the driving between will be left to Zeke."
Dad nodded. "I want regular updates." He started to lecture us on how to behave on the short trip. Him and Mom still had to work this weekend so they couldn't come.
Jeremy got us tickets for both the Saturday night game and the Sunday afternoon game. Saturday night we would stay with Rhys and his mom. It was going to be a baseball filled weekend.
It was great. I was happy to see Zeke again. Noah and the twins pestered him and Rhys about their college life and how their first team practices went. They also shared snippets of our week like what our class schedules were like and how practice was going.
"Yea, and now Coach is going to let the pitchers challenge Jake every Friday. But they have to sign up by Thursday." Noah told Rhys and Zeke as we waited for the A's game to start.
"Wow!" Rhys exclaimed. "Your coach is gutsy."
Zeke looked to me. "You want to do this?"
I nodded. "Yea. I like seeing the different types of pitchers. Even though they're hit-able, I get to see all the different kinds of pitching forms."
"You're not afraid of any of them?" Rhys asked. "There could be a hidden talent among them."
"Ehh." I tapped my knee. "I think I can handle anyone. It might not be pretty, but there's no one in the high school level that makes me think I'll strike out."
"Ugh! If I had the chance, I would strike you out in high school." Rhys claimed. He gave the twins a look. "You two better challenge him too. You can't just be taking it easy."
Kyle grinned. "Of course. We're working on it. Probably won't sign up the first time or two." He wiggled his brows at me. "There's probably going to be a lot of pitchers signing up the first two weeks. I'll give it a go when I believe I can really strike him out."
Dave nodded in agreement. "Yea. Give me another month of training and I'm sure the outcome will be unknown."
"Rhys, do you want another shot at Jake? We can probably do a showdown tomorrow morning before we come back here." Noah said.
Rhys replied. "I'd like to, but like the twins, I'm working on something. Maybe in a couple of months."
"Months?" I asked.
Rhys winked. "Trying to learn a new pitch. Won't say what it is."
Dave's leg started to bounce. "Can you tell me and Kyle?"
Rhys grinned and shook his head. "No way. Don't know if it'll work out yet or not. It'll take some time." He pointed at me. "One thing is for sure, a small-time high schooler ain't going to own me."
I laughed.
The game got underway and we started to cheer Jeremy and the A's on. They were still leading their division at the end of August and there was even more talk of Jeremy being a leader in the MVP race.
