The Hitting Zone

"I'll probably bat from the right side to even it out." I told him honestly.

His lips twitched. "You won't be getting a hundred pitches this time."

Oh. I looked at my feet.

Noah put his hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm sure we'll get a lot of batting in this week so it'll be fine."

Coach Leroy stuck to his word and accompanied our group after everyone finished their turn in the cages. Chandler looked our way, but didn't say anything. He just waved at the group to follow him to the field. The real field. The stadium.

Chandler took us through an open side gate, near the right field foul line. I didn't know what to expect, but I sure didn't expect to see a bunch of players already inside the stadium. Chandler took us to a spot in front of the visitors dugout, near first base. He faced us, glanced at his coach, then spoke up. "This is the next batting station. Live pitching. The pitchers you go up against will be random. Each pitcher is going up against three batters like a normal inning."

"Are we not running the bases at all?" Someone asked.

"There aren't any fielders..." Chandler deadpanned. "Why would you run? You either strikeout or get a hit. It's like any normal at-bat, but no running. Kind of like a simulation game for the pitchers."

"So you're testing us and them at the same time." Noah said, understanding the situation.

"Exactly." He nodded. "Get in numerical order again and I'll let you guys know when it's your turn." He walked away from our group and headed towards another counselor at the group in front of us. He was probably checking how long it would be.

"I'll go check in with the other staff members and see how it's going." Coach Leroy stepped away from Noah and I. He glanced at me. "Try not to hit any line drives at the pitchers."

I shook my head immediately. "I would never."

"Good boy." He gave a nod and left, heading for the coaches by the mound.

"You guys know Coach Leroy personally??" Travis whispered, leaning in. Some of the other guys also looked at us.

Noah shrugged. "Kind of. Our oldest brother is going to be a freshman in the fall."

"Zeke Atkins..." One of the guys mumbled. "He's the guy that turned down the MLB even though he's a first-round pick."

"Crazy dude."

"I wonder why he picked college. Like what did Stanford really offer him?"

"Probably blackmailed him."

Noah stepped out of line and faced everyone. "Listen up, guys. Zeke made his decision based on reason and not some under-the-table deal. Would you say the same things about Bradley Thompson?"

That seemed to settled the group down. There was already a star playing at Stanford so what's the big deal about getting another one to come to the school?

"I wish I could play with both of them." Adam sighed.

"Same."

"Me too."

"I bet they win the college championship this spring."

"Agreed."

"With ease."

"I don't know...Villanova has some good prospects. Stanford doesn't rank too highly in the pitching categories."

"They'll win for sure!" Noah spoke up again.

The conversation about college teams and playoff odds continued until Chandler came back. Noah stepped back in line and everyone simultaneously straightened up in his presence.

"We'll be up next. The pitcher's get to rotate every three, but you guys will get three at-bats each. You'll go up, announce your number, and step up to bat. After your at-bat, get in the back of the line. You'll be guaranteed three different pitchers so don't worry too much about the outcomes of your first at-bat."

"Just worry if you get struck out two times in a row." Noah speculated. "Got it."

Chandler cracked a smile. "Remember that the pitchers that come here are on the same skill level, if not better. My advice: don't do too much and treat it like you're a pinch hitter." He looked at the first guy in line. "Go up."

The guy left the line and went up as a pitcher stood on the mound.

"Hey, do you think the catcher hates doing bullpen work like Mitchell?" Noah asked me quietly.

I shrugged and whispered back. "This isn't really bullpen work though. It's like...a game. Two versus one. The catcher still has to frame the ball after a successful catch."

"I wonder if the catchers are changing too." Noah said. "And did they come up with some kind of signs? Otherwise, how do they know which pitch is coming?"

I shrugged again. This was beyond me.

"The catchers and pitchers are probably using the basic signals." Travis overheard us and told us his guess.

"What are the basic signals..?" I asked.

"Not like you need to know." Noah laughed. He looked over at Travis. "Do you think that means we can peek down to get a hint as to what is coming?"

He shook his head. "I wouldn't think so. They might not say anything, but I'm sure they'll note it down."

Noah shrugged. "It's part of the game though."

"Breaking unwritten rules is not a good way to get stand out to coaches." He advised. "You can try it if you want, but I won't."

Noah sighed. "Nah. I was told to behave. And this is just a test so I don't feel like cheating. Maybe in a real game, I might change my mind." He laughed. "But they wouldn't use basic signals in games so it's a moot point."

I nodded. "Zeke would get mad if you cheated."

The line moved up as players in our group took turns batting. Some got a hit, some struck out, one person even got walked.

"I wonder how they're grading these at-bats." Travis hummed as the person who got walked, came back and stood last in line. "Obviously max points would be a homerun. But without fielders, it's not like we know if it's a real hit or not."

"Strikeouts, slow grounders, and shallow pop ups are probably worthless." Noah surmised. "Walks are meh. They might be looking for line drives. You know...solid hits." He looked at me. "What are you going to do?"

I shrugged and looked around. I didn't want to hit any players or coaches. "Probably a line drive down the left field baseline?" That's open.

"You should try for a homerun." Noah suggested. "You've done it once before."

I looked to the outfield. It was empty, but...the fence was slightly further away than I'm used to. "I don't know..." Last time could have been a fluke.

"I think you could do it with the right kind of matchup." Travis said, surprising me by his optimism. "In the cages, you showed off some real power. You have one of the nicest swings and movements I've seen. Heck, I've never seen someone hit a ball so consistently before. Never mind the fact that the speed was being raised to max. That was some real crazy shit."

I blushed, looking away.

"I think you could do it too." Noah told me. "We've been working out like crazy for the last month." He thought about it. "If you're unsure, then aim for the corner again. That's the shortest distance for homeruns."

I gripped my bat. "I guess I could give it a go..."