The Hitting Zone



"You don't look so good." Kaylee told me in the morning as we sat down for class. 

"He's just tired." Noah patted my shoulder, trying to comfort me. 

Kaylee smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Has nothing to do with Dave striking him out?"

I rested my forehead on my desk. This wasn't the first time I would hear of it and it certainly wouldn't be the last. Dave got me good yesterday at the end of practice. Too bad I had to hear about it all night and even this morning at breakfast, and now even at school. 

"Don't worry, from what I heard, Marie said that Kyle claimed that Dave cheated." Kaylee said. 

"Well...not in the normal sense." Noah shrugged. "Technically it was completely fair. But also...not...because it's Jake."

Kaylee laughed. "How vague. Tell me exactly what happened."

I closed my eyes and sighed, recalling late yesterday afternoon. "Dave was last up..."

***

I had gotten hits off the previous pitchers: Marshel, Joey, Matt, Tyler, and even Bryce. Only two home runs, one each off of Marshel and Tyler. 

"My turn finally!" Dave yelled as he took the mound. He waved at Mitchell frantically. "Come! Let's talk for a second!"

Mitchell walked up to the mound, mask in hand. 

I frowned and looked back at Coach, who was acting as umpire. 

Coach kept a neutral expression, acting like a true umpire. After twenty seconds, he started to head to the mound as of to break up the meeting. Dave and Mitchell got the hint and separated, with Mitchell coming back to home plate. 

"Wondering what we were talking about?" Mitchell grinned as he asked me. He put his mask back on. 

"Strategy?" I guessed. 

"Guess it's obvious enough." He squatted behind the plate and got set. "What's your strategy going to be against Dave? Righty or lefty?"

I was already in the righty's box so I got set, letting that be my answer. 

"I guess it doesn't matter much to you." Mitchell kept talking, even as Dave started his motion. "I believe your average is about the same on either side. Unbelievable. I mean, I already thought it was unbelievable when you had a higher batting average than Zeke."

The pitch came in fast. I instinctively swung, fouling it down the third baseline. 

A coach threw a new baseball to Dave on the mound. 

"That's strike one." Coach reminded me. 

I nodded. 

"Not like Jake isn't used to it." Mitchell said while getting set. "Jake fouls off so many pitches whether we need it or not." Dave was getting set. "He probably does it just to get the extra swings in. Right, Jake?"

"Uh-huh." I mumbled in agreement as I watched Dave's next pitch. He wasn't the fastest on the team but he had great control. And a new breaking ball. 

"I just wonder how someone gets to that point where they can do intentional foul balls." Mitchell talked and talked. "I mean, I can do some. As long as it's slow enough. But no guarantees like you."

The pitch was a fastball in the nine-box but outside. Borderline. Coach would definitely give him the benefit of the doubt. I swung, barely grazing it with the end of my bat, fouling it down the first baseline now. 

"Not bad, not bad." Mitchell said. 

I stepped out of the box and frowned at him. "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" Mitchell asked, staying in a squatted position. Someone threw Dave a baseball and he started to toe the rubber. 

"The talking." My frown deepened. "You're talking so much."

"I'm allowed to talk." He replied simply. "Ain't that right, Coach?"

"As long as it's in a friendly manner." Coach confirmed. He glanced at me. "You have to step back in now."

I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Took a step back into the batter's box. 

"I don't know why you're so nervous." Mitchell started up again and my eyelid twitched. "It's just me. We've known each other for over a year now. We see each other every day with class, practices, and games."

I gripped my bat tight as I tried to zone in on Dave. Just Dave. Forget Mitchell. Forget fielders. Drop the ball into a gap and we'll be done here. Dave lifted up his leg. Then I suddenly realized that Mitchell and Dave weren't even exchanging signs. Mitchell just kept talking and Dave was pitching. But their missing the crucial step of pitch selection. This was planned well in advance. 

Dave finished his motion and the ball left his fingertips. I closely eyed them and saw them further a part. He was throwing the splitter. On an 0-2 count, that makes sense. I started my swing and adjusted, still hearing Mitchell in the background. Frustrated, I sped up my swing as the ball dipped, wanted to blast this ball out of here. The ball dipped more than I had anticipated and my bat whiffed. 

"Strike three." Coach declared. 

"WOO-HOO!!! I did it!!" Dave came sprinting off the mound, racing to Mitchell who had caught the ball and stood up. The pair met halfway and celebrated, holding the baseball high into the air like it was a championship trophy. 

"You okay, Jake?" Coach got closer to ask me. 

I had frozen and was still processing. "Was that...still a splitter..?"

"I believe it's more of a forkball." Coach said. He pulled a baseball out of his pocket and showed me with his fingers. "They have similar grips. Fastball, two-seamer." His fingers aligned on the seams. Then shifted further apart. "Splitter." His two fingers moved to be holding the ball between them. "Forkball."

I tried to recall what I saw. "So they dip differently."

"Splitter dips a little but still fast. Split-finger fastball says it's part of the fastball family." Coach explained. "Forkball is a proper breaking ball. Offspeed."

I resisted the urge to smack my own forehead in frustration. I was distracted and not paying attention. I was also a little complacent, having done well against the others. I turned to see Dave running around, showing the ball off to the others, especially Kyle. "Are we still going to do the two other at bats?"

Coach grinned, following Dave with his eyes too. "I'm guessing not. Dave has probably been waiting for this moment and I don't think anything you say will get him back on the mound. He wants to end on a good note."

I let out a heavy sigh. 

"Hey." Coach put his hand on my shoulder. "Don't get down on yourself. It was a good learning opportunity for you too. Talking catchers are rare but we can still run into them. Just like that first baseman that distracted you and got you picked off. You need to toughen up and tune them out. Background noise, remember?"

I cringed. "But they're so close. When I'm in the cages, no one is talking in my ear. They're all a few feet away."

He let go of my shoulder and gave it a slap. "You'll get used to it."

***

"It was definitely an underhanded move." Kaylee agreed with Noah after she got the play-by-play. "I can count on one hand how many times a catcher tried to distract me with a conversation. That crap never happens. They've got to stay focused themselves."

I sighed. "I didn't even realize they weren't exchanging signs until the third pitch. I'm so dumb."

"You're not dumb. And neither are you special." She told me. "It happens. Besides. It's one strike out. Probably your first of the year?" She guessed. 

"Yep." Noah agreed. "University Prep didn't even strike him out this year. Hence Dave's constant bragging and chatter. So annoying." He looked at me. "They're birthday is in a month. Want to draw on his face with permanent marker?"

I considered it. Simple. Cheap. Mom wouldn't be upset since it would be a birthday prank. "Can they go to school like that?"

Noah shrugged. "Is that our problem? Season will be over so if they have to miss, then they probably miss their Senior activities before graduation."

"I'm in." I agreed readily. Dave had been obnoxious for the last twelve hours and I'm thinking it won't be the last I've heard of it for weeks to come. 

"Will you do it to Kyle too?" Kaylee asked. 

Noah shrugged. "Guess we gotta be fair and do it to both."

"I have a few suggestions on what you can put on his face." Kaylee grinned. 

"Save it for June." Noah nodded.