The Hitting Zone

The next morning, Noah stood over my phone at the desk, eager for me to call. He got up early and was already dressed for the day. He bounced in place as I got dressed for another day of baseball.

After putting on my hat, I sat down and clicked Jeremy's name on my contact list. I clicked speakerphone so Noah could hear as the phone started to ring. And ring. And ring. Just when I thought it was going to voicemail, he answered.

"Uh, hey Jake." Jeremy didn't sound right over the phone. "What's up?"

I looked at Noah, not sure what I'm supposed to say anymore. Noah pointed at the phone and mouthed, 'slump'.

"Jake? You there?" Jeremy sounded worried.

I cleared my throat. "Yea, yea, I'm here."

He sighed with relief. "What's up?" He repeated.

"Nothing much. Just playing baseball at the camp." I leaned forward over the phone. "Anything new with you?"

Another sigh, but this time it sounded heavy. "Uh, not really new. Just the same: playing baseball."

"You don't sound the same." I pointed out. "Are you sure everything is okay? Some of the guys told me that you're in a slump."

Jeremy let out a weak laugh. "Well, they aren't wrong. This is definitely what you call a slump, but you don't have to worry."

"I'm not worried about your slump." I frowned. "I'm worried about you. Noah said it's not like you to go this long without a hit. And you haven't gotten a hit since you had something crop up last week. So...what happened?"

He sighed again. "Nothing you have to worry about. I'm fine, everything is fine. I'm just stuck in my head a little bit right now."

"Really?"

"Really. It's actually not a real problem. Slight inconvenience, honestly."

"You don't get a hit for almost a week over a slight inconvenience?" Noah scoffed.

"Oh, hi Noah." Jeremy said, ignoring his comment. "How's the camp? Are you guys liking it?"

My lips thinned. "I do like it. Same with Noah." I paused. "Are you really not going to tell me what's going on? Is everything okay with your family? With Rose?"

Jeremy let out another small laugh. "Really, Jake, don't worry. There's nothing you can do so just leave it to me. I can handle my own problems. You should just relax and enjoy your camp. Have some fun. Learn something."

I looked at Noah, feeling a little helpless.

Noah leaned in to speak. "If you want Jake to stop worrying, then you have to snap out of it. If you don't do better, then we're going to think something is really wrong. What could possibly be taking all your attention away from baseball? Do I need to call Rose to find out?"

Jeremy outright laughed. "Okay, okay. Tonight will be different. I'll take some extra batting practice and will try to get back on track. Don't be calling my girlfriend. Get one of your own."

Noah rolled his eyes. "Don't think that I can't get one, okay? I just choose not to."

I cracked a smile. "Want me to tell Alisha that?"

Noah gave me a light shove. "Shut up. You know I don't believe in dating in high school. That crap doesn't last."

"That's not always true." Jeremy spoke up. "I know a  few guys on the team who married their high school sweethearts."

Noah got quiet.

"Hey, isn't it still early on the west coast?" Jeremy asked. "Did you guys just wake up?"

"Yea, got dressed too." I told him.

"We wanted to tell you to get your life together. It's so embarrassing to tell others that Jake is related to you." Noah laughed. "All Jake heard yesterday was that you were in a slump. That's why he's so worried."

"You told them about me?" Jeremy sounded surprised.

"Jake kind of stands out." Noah explained. "It didn't take long for someone to look him up and then find the connection to you."

"The pitchers on my team found out from the interview you did in Minnesota, talking about Zeke." I added.

"I'm sure it's spread around too." Noah said. "Not everyone is related to a pro, ya know."

Jeremy laughed. "Okay, I'll make sure to stop sucking. Can't have other kids making fun of me in front of you. Have you boys had breakfast yet? What's the plan for today?"

"Haven't had breakfast yet." I told him.

"Then it's practice with other infielders. Lunch. Some free time. Then we practice with these teams we were put in. Dinner. More free time. Then back with our teams." Noah told him our whole schedule. "With our teams, we get to play games so it's pretty cool."

Jeremy chuckled. "I bet you guys are dominating."

"We're not on the same team." Noah complained. "Zeke thought it would be better if Jake played with others. Get him to be more flexible and outgoing."

"How's that going?" He asked.

"I made a friend." I thought about it. "And the pitchers seem to like me. But, I think that's because of Rhys. He's an assistant coach for my team and he's also a pitcher."

"Rhys is the one whose dad is with the Giants?"

"Yep!" Noah nodded.

We spent a few more minutes chatting with Jeremy until it got close to the end of breakfast. He hung up after promising to do better tonight. He sounded a lot better than when he first answered the phone so I felt more relieved. Whatever is going on in his life must be important to him, yet he wasn't willing to share.

"It has to be because of his family." Noah said as we ate our breakfast. With us going down so late, there wasn't many kids left in the cafeteria. We sat together and discussed what could be happening to Jeremy. "That's why he's uncomfortable telling you."

I nodded in agreement. It also didn't sound like he had any problems going on with Rose. "Do you think he'll be okay?"

"Of course." Noah nodded. "He said it's a minor inconvenience. Let him be." He paused. "But, if he goes without a hit for another five games, then we have to have an intervention. We'll call Rose and start digging."

I nodded. Noah always knew what to do. "Do you think he'll really get a hit tonight?"

"Without a doubt." Noah laughed and waved his hand freely. "That's why they pay him the big bucks. I'm sure he would get back to being good again even without your call. However, I'm sure your call helped clear his mind."

I hoped so.

Jeremy was on my mind throughout the day.

Noah and I practiced with our group and Chandler in the morning. Chandler went over turning double plays again, then went over how and when to cover first. I struggled to keep up with the others, but reminded myself that I was here to learn. To get better.

At lunch, I checked my phone a few times in case Jeremy would send a text or something. By the end of lunch, I had decided to send him a 'good luck' text message. Noah used his time more wisely and found out that we could watch part of the game in the common area of the dorms during and after dinner. It would be the last half of the game, but it was better than nothing.

In the afternoon, most of us had games. I found out I was playing against Dylan's team, so we made plans to meet up after free time and head to the stadium together. He mostly kept to himself with Rhys watching over me. I don't know if he was naturally shy or if it was because Rhys is considered to be a coach.

I was impatient for the game to end, eager to go watch Jeremy's game on tv. I really wanted to know how he would do. My impatience led to several mistakes in my batting and fielding.

Coach Nate held me back after the game to talk about it. "Is everything okay, kid? You didn't play like yourself today. Your batting was sloppy and your throws were off."

I shifted from foot to foot. "I'll do better tomorrow."

"Tonight." He corrected. "We might not have a game tonight, but I still want your full attention during practice. I know it's rough, playing three times a day, but it's only for the week. Use this time wisely."

I gulped and nodded. He let me go.

"Are you hungry or something?" Rhys asked, keeping stride with me as we headed for the cafeteria.

"Noah found out we can watch Jeremy's game on the tv in the common area." I told him. "So I can catch the second half of the game if I hurry."

Rhys put his hand to his head, almost as if to hold it. "Jake...you've got to be kidding. You-" He stopped suddenly when I looked up at him. He sighed. "Never mind."