The Hitting Zone
chapter-779

Noah stood 90% of the time. Thankfully he wasn't as tall as Zeke or Dad yet, so he didn't obstruct anyone's view behind us. I only stood during the big moments, and there turned out to be a lot. The A's beat the Rays pitcher down early, while not giving up too many hits themselves. The A's won 6-1, looking good all around.

After the game, a postgame interview with Jeremy was held on the big screen in the stadium. We watched that as the stadium slowly cleared out for those who wanted to beat the traffic.

"Jeremy, thanks for joining me." A lady with the microphone said, standing beside him. "This is your first appearance in the postseason and you did amazing! Two hits, two runs scored, one homerun, and three RBI's. How does it feel to have this kind of success early on?" She held the microphone under his chin.

Jeremy chuckled. "Feels pretty darn good. I had some friends and family in the crowd tonight and they had really put some pressure on me to come out hot." He waved in our general direction.

"Moments like these make me feel like I'm living in a dream." Noah sighed.

I laughed. Jeremy seemed to like Noah, constantly calling him out in interviews. I'm glad. I hoped that Noah didn't affect his play, and it seems like it was only for the best.

We waited for most of the crowd to clear out before leaving too. I sent Jeremy a text on the ride home, congratulating him on a good game. He sent me a reply before we even got back to the Johnson's house, asking if he could treat us to brunch. I showed Dad, and he talked it over with Mom and Rhys's parents before agreeing. For the most part.

"Tell him to meet us here, but we'll be the ones to treat him." Dad instructed. "Also ask him to bring Rose if he wants."

I nodded and sent the message.

Jeremy agreed.

Saturday, he and Rose showed up and met everyone again. Taking such a big group to brunch, Mom called ahead to make reservations and then we headed over.

"You look much more relaxed today." Rose told Noah as we all sat down.

Noah laughed. "Yea, a win does that for me." He looked to Jeremy. "If Patterson was a little bit more reliable then I wouldn't be so stressed."

"Hey, I'm only a second year player." Jeremy defended himself. "I should give you Maberry's number."

"Maberry isn't going to be MVP." Noah shot back.

I looked up at Jeremy. "Do you think you'll really be MVP?"

"Of course!" Noah slapped the table in his excitement.

"Noah James." Mom scolded.

Noah simmered down. "Sorry, Mom." He turned back to us. "But really. There's no question Jeremy is the American League MVP. He killed it."

"Now you have confidence in me?!" Jeremy joked.

Noah shrugged. "When it comes to this? Yea. The MVP and regular season is a marathon. The postseason is practically a sprint. There's no time to be in a slump because it'll cost you the series."

Dave laughed. "Can you stop putting so much pressure on him?"

"Yea." Kyle agreed. "There's eight other starters on the team and a whole lot more players that could be a game changer."

"Zeke never shied away from the pressure." Noah pointed out.

Rhys laughed. "Yea, there are some players who thrive on it. Zeke is the type that can come out stronger." He glanced at me. "Jake probably prefers no pressure."

I nodded.

"But you've done so well!" Dave reached over to poke me in the cheek.

I think every high-pressure scenario has taken some years off my life. "My anxiety..." I didn't need to finish.

"Everyone's different." Jeremy cut me off. He grinned at Noah. "Don't worry about me. We just need our pitchers to stay hot. They control a lot of the game as players who touch the ball the most."

This led to the twins and Rhys talking about pitching. Mr. Johnson even spoke up, giving the boys pointers.

After brunch, I said goodbye to Jeremy and Rose. They would both be leaving on the team plane this afternoon to get to Tampa, all the way across the country.

We also had to part ways with Zeke and the Johnson's. Rhys and Zeke would get to stay another night before going back to school, while we had to go back to our own home. Mom and Dad still had work to do.

Sunday late afternoon, Noah, me, and the twins, gathered in the living room to watch the A's take on the Rays. It was almost like a repeat performance of game one. Jeremy and Maberry both had solo shots while the pitcher didn't give up anything. Dad brought home pizza for us to eat as the game finished. A relief pitcher for the A's gave up a run, but they still got out of it, winning the game 4-1.

Going to school on Monday, there was a sense of excitement for those that were A's fans. A few classmates would approach me to compliment Jeremy, but thankfully Noah would take over.

In Spanish, Mitchell and Sean asked about the game experience.

I smiled. "It was cool. Very packed. Everyone there was an A's fan."

Sean laughed. "Of course. They're playing the Rays. That's an even smaller fan base. If they played one of the big teams like the Red Sox or the Yankees, then it wouldn't really feel like a home game. You can find fans of those teams anywhere."

"It looks like it'll be them and the Yankees in the ALCS." Mitchell said. "Both of them have won games one and two. Only one away from moving on." He looked at me. "Are you guys watching the game after practice?"

I nodded. "Probably." Noah would never pass up the opportunity to see the A's in action. Especially in playoffs.

"I wonder if we can get Coach to end practice early so we can watch the game." Sean said thoughtfully. "Watching baseball could be considered as practice."

"Why don't you text him and ask?" Mitchell suggested. He nodded his head at Coach Luis, who was working at his desk. "Ask Coach Luis to say something and that might help too."

"You know what? I will!" Sean got up out of his seat. He approached Coach Luis and spoke with him quietly.

I watched nervously, still a little afraid when it came to Coach Luis. But soon, Coach Luis was nodding at what Sean was saying. Then he sent Sean back.

"What'd he say?" Mitchell asked.

I looked up at Sean too.

"He'll call Coach during break." Sean grinned.

After class, I met up with Noah near our lockers and told him what Sean did and said.

Noah beamed. "Yes! That would be awesome!"

I raised an eyebrow. "You want to miss two practices in a row?" We had already skipped Friday and now if we miss Monday, that's four days of not playing baseball.

"Like Sean said, watching baseball is a form of practice." Noah stated. "Also serves as inspiration. That's where I want to be. Now if we had a game, I would rather play than watch."

By the end of our fifteen minute break, Coach sent out a mass text stating that practice was canceled and to pass it on to the freshmen since he didn't have everyone's numbers. Noah forwarded it to Andy and told him to pass it on too.