The Hitting Zone
chapter-1187

I liked that we weren't at the game tonight for a completely different reason. And I didn't know it until later as the game played out. Stanford lost to Auburn. It started off pretty even, but as soon as Stanford replaced their starter with a relief…the horror show started. Hit after hit. A walk. An error. The distance grew between Auburn and Stanford and it wasn't something that Zeke or Bradley could help shorten on their own. They made a small dent in Auburn's lead but came up short. They lost 10-7.

Noah played dead on the living room floor, acting like it was the end of the world. "That was so painful to watch. My heart hurts."

Dave laughed, giving him a small kick in the leg. "Yea, well, how do you think Zeke feels?"

Noah jumped up. "Oh man. He's gotta be pissed. Rhys too. They're going to come out so hot tomorrow. I bet they put the beat down on Auburn. Definitely going to game three on Sunday."

"Are we all going to Omaha if they make it?" I asked, glancing at Kyle, who just came back from walking Marie and her family out.

Kyle shook his head. "There's no way I can. I should be reporting to my team this week."

"We should go to the office and start planning that out." Dad said, coming into the living room with Mom right behind him.

"Plan what?" Kyle shrugged. "I'll just start driving down south Monday morning. I can make it to Arizona in a day."

Mom put her hand to her forehead. "It's an 11 hour drive, Kyle."

"So?" He shrugged again.

"You're not doing that much driving in one day. And especially not on your own." Mom scolded.

"To a place you've never been." Dad added. "We'll go together."

"Who's we?" Noah asked, still on the floor.

"Kyle and myself." Dad answered. "I'll help him with the drive. Stop somewhere East of LA, then get to phoenix by lunch time Tuesday. See where he'll be playing and living."

"Yea, where will you be living?" Dave asked.

"The team will put me in contact with a host family this weekend." Kyle said. "They said not to take too many personal items. Rookie ball is only a couple months."

"Having a host family would be great." Mom commented. "Hopefully you get paired with someone who has experience helping you kids adjust."

"I think I'll be fine." Kyle rolled his eyes. "Baseball is going to be my full-time job now. It'll be similar to when we went away for camps. Wake up, eat, practice, eat some more, practice more, eat again, sleep."

Dave went over and patted him on the shoulder. "I think you're forgetting a few important steps. Making and buying your own food for those meals. Plus fitting in to do your laundry every week. Traveling for games. Don't forget to shower and brush your teeth."

"Oh my god, your teeth!" Mom exclaimed. "We should have gotten dentist appointments done before you go."

"And physicals." Dad brought up. "I was thinking we should get them done for all the boys this summer before they start doing all this traveling."

"I'll get a physical done with the team in Phoenix." Kyle said. "It's in the contract. And I can go to the dentist after the season ends in September. Really Mom, I'm only going to be gone for a few months."

"Wow. And here I was thinking we got rid of you for good." Noah got up and straightened out his clothes. "I guess I can see why you're in a hurry to go though. There's limited time."

Dave laughed by himself. "Man, I leave for college and you come back here. That's crazy."

"Hey, I might not stay here. Maybe I'll be playing winter ball in Mexico or something." Kyle retorted.

"We'll talk about your offseason when you come back." Mom suggested. "I don't like the idea of you going off to Mexico on your own, at 18."

"How is that any different than Zeke joining his summer league after his season ends?" Kyle asked.

Mom looked to Dad.

"Zeke gave us a very well-thought out schedule of when he's going and where he'll be." Dad said. "We have the phone numbers of a few of the coaches and training staff, plus the address of where he'll be sleeping. There has to be a plan, Kyle. We know you're 18 and can make your own decisions, especially out of defiance, but be smart about it. You're in a good position with your signing bonus. Most players that do winter ball in other countries are doing it for a paycheck. You don't have to put yourself at risk for injury like that."

Noah laughed. "That would be so embarrassing if you got hurt in the offseason. You should just come back here and train properly. Maybe Rhys can put you in touch with a pitching coach in your downtime."

Kyle seemed to hear what they were saying, and he did start to nod after Noah's suggestion. "Ok. We'll see."

"You can also visit me in Nashville." Dave added. "Check out my dorm and college life."

"You-" I started to say, but then paused. All eyes drifted to me. I shrugged and continued. "You might want to see what Garret is doing too. Wouldn't that make sense? You guys are in similar positions. Well off from the signing bonuses; you're both pitchers; both 18."

"I wonder if Garret has signed his contract yet." Noah speculated. "He's in the first round so they'll probably have to post it." He pulled out his phone. "I'm just gonna text him."

Dad snatched his phone away. "Don't text him, asking how much he's making. That's rude."

"Garret won't mind." Dave said in Noah's defense. "Plus, it really will be public info. Even how much Kyle signed for will be posted on the internet. I've looked up some old compilations to see the differences after talking to Ryan. Round one really is important."

"Okay, okay, let's not worry about money that someone else is making." Mom started to usher us out of the living room. "We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. We need to get to the stadium early to pick up the tickets from the will call window. Zeke must be looking forward to having you boys there."

"Rhys too." Dave said, heading for the stairs first. "He's got to be the starter tomorrow. It's do or die."

"We just need one extra outfit for Sunday, right?" Noah asked Mom.

She nodded. "No matter what, we'll stay the night in the area Saturday. Sunday, we'll check out and either see another game or just spend time with Zeke." She gave Noah a warning look. "Either way, I don't want to hear any complaints."

Noah shrugged. "It's not really me complaining about them losing tonight. I'm empathizing if anything."

"You're so full of it." Kyle gave him a small smack on the head before following Dave up the stairs.

"Mommm." Noah complained.

"I think we need to take a small vacation of our own." Mom mumbled to Dad under her breath.

I cracked a smile, bypassing them to get to the stairs too.