238 Zeke’s Tryout 3 (1/2)

After two hours of what looked to be a normal practice, their coach spoke to the team as a whole. Some of the guys raised their hands, then they broke up. More than half of the players went to the dugout, the only ones that stayed on the field took positions like they were on the defensive.

Zeke, who had also jogged to the dugout came out with a helmet on and a bat in hand. He tightened his batting gloves before walking towards home plate.

”More batting practice?” I mumbled, a little jealous.

Noah shook his head. ”It's not. Look how the players on the field are. They're set as if they're playing a game. The coach probably wants to test Zeke's ability in a game situation. Kind of like your tryout except with players playing defense.” We watched as a pitcher took the mound, and a catcher squatted behind home plate. ”Looks like he had this in mind all along.”

”How can you tell?” I asked.

”The pitchers all went to the bullpen in the beginning right?” I nodded. ”That's pretty normal. But then when it came to batting practice, he had some coaches throw instead of the players. That's a little odd, but you could chalk that up to him wanting to save them for tomorrow's game. But now, it's obvious that he wanted them to test Zeke.”

”Your deductive reasoning is really good.” Willie complimented Noah, not caring that he was eavesdropping. His eyes remained on the field, watching the pitcher warm up a little more. ”But you know, most college teams have some coaches throw batting practice pitches. It's not uncommon at this level. You don't want one of your own pitchers throwing out their arm doing something like that, but you also need your batters to face pitchers so they get comfortable. Hitting off a machine isn't the same as facing a live arm. Pitchers have complicated forms sometimes that can mess with timing.”

I froze. ”Hitting off a pitching machine is bad?” With something to worry about, I forgot to be scared of this stranger. I was more afraid of what he was saying than anything else at the moment.

”It's not necessarily bad. A pitching machine can be useful for hand-eye coordination, timing, and bat control when used correctly.”

”You just said the timing is one of the problems.” Noah pointed out.

”In a sense. It depends.” Willie finally turned to face us, giving us his undivided attention. ”It helps improve the timing of your swing, but it can also throw your conception of speed off. For an example, an 80mph pitch from a machine requires different timing than an 80mph pitch from a live pitcher. You know why?”

Noah and I both shook our heads. I was surprised that Noah was finally at the same level as me: clueless.

”The pitcher has a windup, stretch, and style that'll never have a perfect replica. Take your brothers as an example. They're identical twins with identical strengths. Yet, they don't have the same style. If you compare their video side by side, you'll see that Kyle has a more explosive step towards home plate.”

”Is that true?” Dave leaned in, now curious about the conversation. ”Do you think that's why I'm not doing as well?”

”I wouldn't say you're doing poorly. You have more confidence than your brother, which is important trait to have. It's also good to have different deliveries. If you both have the same exact delivery than other teams in your league won't have much to do in preparation.”

”Have you been watching us?” Kyle asked, not minding the comment about his lack of confidence. ”Can a scout watch high schoolers who aren't eligible for the draft?”