My Crazy American Baseball Game

Tobias 1431 October 20, 2046

The gentle breeze gave me a brief respite from the boiling autumn sun beating down on me. This is where it would end, I thought. We were ahead by two runs at the bottom of the 9th with two outs, but the opponents had loaded bases. The very air gave off a thick sense of desperation in line with the wills of the teams. I readied myself as the final pitch was launched, the unmistakable “CLANK!” of the bat hitting the ball echoed throughout the field. I searched the sky for the ball and saw it. A pop fly to third base, but it was heading away from me. I dash across the field towards it, my ankle screamed for me to stop, but I refused to listen as I pushed it even further to leap for the ball. This is it, I think. How did it all come down to this?

Tobias 1711 October 14, 2046

“I’m telling you, Sara will agree with me that we need something big,” Sora continued to argue.

“How can we know that without asking her?” I questioned. Sora and I had been trying to formulate a plan. I thought it was a bit strange when I walked in, and Sora said he didn’t ask Sara-chan to call me because why wouldn’t he just text me? Regardless we got to work brainstorming. Sora believed that we should do something big like what I pulled off for him and Suki-san. I had always envisioned something a bit simpler for Niǎo-san. We argued back and forth for a while before the deciding factor came.

“Are you done fawning over me, or is there more for me to hear,” Sara-chan inquires as she barges into Sora’s room.

“Wha- Sara, why are you eavesdropping?” Sora asks.

“Oh, please, you know the walls are paper-thin, and besides, you have your door open.”

“Ahh, well, you got us there,” Sora says, conceding the point. “So long as you agree with me,” he states confidently, seeming to not entirely grasp the situation.

“So… How much did you hear?” I ask, a bit embarrassed that she heard what I said.

“Oh enough. You’re looking to finally confess your feelings to Kano-chan and wanted my advice on how to do it like with Iori-chan, right?” she says confidently.

“Yeah, that’s the long and short of it. So what do you suggest?” Sora asks

“I feel like Sora is onto something. If you’d asked me months ago, I’d say go through her parents, but recently she’s become so obsessed with American movies and teenage rebellion that she’d probably jump at the opportunity to make it a big show.” Her words carried weight. Niǎo-san had indeed become far more intrigued by western and specifically American culture over the months. Some would even call it a bit of an obsession at this point, and I was more than happy to fill her in on any detail I could scrounge up from the internet, pop culture, and even my father. Niǎo-san hasn’t met him yet, but I foresee her riddling him with questions when she finally does. I was so lost in thought that I didn’t even notice Sora get up and leave until Sara-chan spurred me back.

“Tobias-kun Earth to Tobias-kun?”

“What oh what’d I miss?”

“Sora seems to think he has the perfect plan and insisted that you listen to the ‘main character’s plan.”

“Oh boy, I can only imagine what he’ll come up with,” I say, but in all honestly, I was at a loss for ideas. In short order, Sora returns, holding a calendar and envelope.

“Oh boy, here we go,” Sara mocks.

“Hush, sister, there’s a method to my madness.” He takes a pen and circles the 20th. “Now, who can tell me what is happening on the 20th?” he asks.

“Don’t we have a game then?” I ask

“Not just a game,” he says confidently, “But the national championship game.” he takes his hands and frames them. “Now picture this; you’re at your first baseball game. It’s the national championships, two of your best friends are there, and you’re having the time of your life, you’re eating popcorn, listening to the music, watching the half-time show, and all the other stuff you’ve seen in the ‘American Movies.’ Then it’s the last inning, and your strapping young American friend whom you’ve had some exciting feelings for as of late makes the last game-winning pitch striking out the last batter. They’ve won, everyone is cheering, and you run onto the field to celebrate with him; when you do, he asks you there in front of the whole nation if you’ll be his. How can you say no to that?” he sits down with a satisfying smile on his face; it could not deviate further from my look of horror. “Confess in front of the entire nation? No way can I do that.”

“Oh, sure you can,” Sora responds, making me realize I said that out loud. “I mean, I confessed with a sky of flaming words you can throw a ball and say it.”

“Hey, I did the words cause you couldn’t do it,” I protest

“See exactly my point. You can spell out words for others, so you can definitely throw a ball and say three words.”

‘Yeah, but... I don’t know..” I stammer, the total weight of what this confession entails starting to fully bear down upon me. Sara-chan places her hand on mine and looks at me contently, “You can do it, Tobias-kun, I know you can,” as she says those words, I feel a wave of calm come over me, I don’t know how but she’s always been able to calm me down when I need it most. I’m so lucky to have her at my back; she knows Niǎo-san better than Sora and I out together. If she says it’ll work, then I have every confidence in the plan.

“Okay, but how are we gonna get the rest of the team on board?” I ask.

“Leave that to me,” Sora says confidently. I can only imagine what he’s going to do, I think.

Tobias 1208 October 20, 2046

The defining “thump” of a ball hitting glove was met with roaring applause by the crowd. “You’re out,” called the ref, bringing the first inning to a close. I stood on the pitcher’s mound, satisfied with myself. Two strikeouts and only one ball, it was a near-perfect inning for me. Sora and the rest of the team congratulated me as I returned to the benches. “Looks like someone wants to win this in time to go on a hot date this evening,” Rai-kaijo jokes. I don’t know how he did it, but somehow Sora managed to get the rest of the team on board with the plan. They agreed that I would open the game, play till half time, then Pablo would pitch, allowing me to rest and then close. I was surprised at how accepting of the plan they were. This was the championship game, and they were happy to let me showboat. From the bench, I could see part of the stands. Mine and Sora’s parents were seated on one side while Sara-chan sat with Niǎo-san and Suki-san on the other. Although Niǎo-san had dressed up in disguise and put on face paint, she still shines like a diamond in the rough. I could see them cheering as Sora went up to bat, none more than Suki-san. Over the next few innings, our lead grows to 5 ahead. This is going a little too well, I think, as I stand on the mound in the bottom of the 4th inning—one out so far and a runner on 1st. Rai-kaijo gives me the signal. Three fingers, best to do a fastball. I pull back and fire the ball like a cannon; It only takes a moment for the ball to reach the batter. He doesn’t even react as the ball lands firmly in Rai-kaijo ’s glove. “Strike,” the ref calls. Oh yeah, easy money, I think as I ready for a second pitch. This time the batter makes a swing but hits nothing but air. “Strike two.” One more for the out, I think as I steady for the pitch. I feel confident in my throw and decide to try something different. I go with a knuckleball instead. I soon discovered that was a mistake. The batter puts his whole body into the swing. I don’t even hear the “CRACK” of ball on bat before the ball comes right back to me. I lift my glove to receive the ball, but I’m too slow, and the ball impacts my right shoulder before I can get my glove up. I cry out in pain as I spin and fall. I lay on my back, holding my shoulder as my teammates crowd around me. “Are you okay?” Someone asks. When I open my eyes, I see Sora, Pablo, and Rai-kaijo standing over me. “How is it you spun three times but still caught the ball?” Sora asks. I look down into my glove, and indeed there sits the ball.

“This man is full of surprises,” Rai-kaijo says as he extends a hand. I reach out with my right to take it, but a wave of pain shoots through it as he grasps and yanks on my hand. “Oof,” I say as he releases my hand, and I fall back on the dirt. They pick me up, and I walk to the bench. Once there, I pull my shoulder out of my jersey sleeve, revealing a 5 cm circle that’s already starting to bruise.

“You can’t pitch like that,” Rai-kaijo says sternly.

“But the plan,” Sora argues.

“He can’t make a game-winning play if he can’t pitch.”

“Well, we need someone to pitch,” Sora maintains. Rai-kaijo strokes his chin for a moment while he thinks. Eventually, he looks at me and says, “We’ll stick with the plan and have Pablo pitch till the last inning, Then if you’re feeling up to it, you can come back, But if you can’t do it, then there isn’t much we can do.”

“Alright,” I say with a disappointed look. The team retakes the field, and I watch them finish the inning. The teams take a break for halftime, and my eyes wander back up towards the stands. I notice that Sara-chan and Niǎo-san are gone leaving only Suki-san in their seats. Where could they’ve gone? I wonder before I hear the sound of a scuffle behind me. “No, sir, you can’t come back here. No parents allowed,”

“What no, I was told I could come down and speak with the coach,” I hear my father say. Oh no, what’s he doing? I look back and see my father arguing with a security guard. My father seems to be trying to push his way past, but the much smaller guard is blocking him. He sees me looking at him and then gives a wink. He tries to take a step forward but trips and falls. The guard catches him, but my father reaches and pulls his head down. It’s at this point that I see Sara-chan and Niǎo-san crouching behind my father. While the guard has his head down, they sneak past and into the bench area. “Oh dear terribly sorry sir that was all my fa- hey wait for a minute this is the wrong team’s bench. I feel like such a fool, so sorry to waste your time,” he says as he turns and begins to walk away. The guard gives chase and allows Sara-chan and Niǎo-san to make their way to me.

“What are you two doing here?” I ask as they approach me.

“We wanted to make sure you were alright,” Sara-chan says.

“Yes, how is your shoulder?” Niǎo-san asks. Niǎo-san was worried about me? She snuck down here to make sure I was alright? The joy these thoughts bring me numbs the pain of my shoulder for a moment as I respond.

“Ahh, it’s nothing. It looks worse than it actually is,” I try to boast.

“Oh really?” Sara-chan asks as she pokes at my shoulder. A crippling wave of pain brings me to my knees as she makes contact. Sara-chan’s face instantly shifts from sly to concerned as she covers her mouth with her hand. “Oh my gosh, I knew you were playing the tough guy, but I didn’t think it was that bad,” she says, helping me up.

“Yeah, well, it hurts, ok,” I say as we make our way back to the bench. Niǎo-san begins to jump a bit as we approach the bench. “Are you ok? I ask, a bit concerned. She looks at me with her eyes sparkling.

“I cannot believe it, I’ve come to my first baseball game, eaten the hot dog, met a real American in person, and now I get to go to meet the whole team and see the game from their bench. There is no way that this day can get any better.” She says, vibrating with excitement. I’d been a bit cornered about bringing her to the bench and someone saying something to spoil the plan but seeing her excitement made it impossible to say no. I lead them there, and Sara-chan sits next to me while Niǎo-san enthusiastically jumps from one end of the bench area to the other absorbing as much of the game as she can. Someone heads off and buys her more snacks, and we cheer and jeer from our bench. By the 9th inning, our lead had decreased to only three ahead, but we were going into our last inning strong.

“How’s your arm doing?”Rai-kaijo asks me as he pulls me aside, out of earshot of Sara-chan and Niǎo-san.

“It’s better,” I say confidently.

“Can you pitch?”

“No, but I need to be out there in the last inning.” He rubs the back of his neck as I say this.

“I understand why you wanna do that, but she’s been enjoying the time just here at the bench. I can all but guarantee that if you asked her now that she’d say yes.” The thought of asking now strikes across my mind. It would be much more in line with what I’d initially thought of, something small and much more personal.

“I’d do that, but Sara-chan assures me that it’d have to be something big. Otherwise, I’d of already done it.” Rai-kaijo again rubs his neck and looks up.

“Best I can do is put you in left field and hope for a pop fly.”

“I’ll take it,” I say, grabbing my glove.

“Oh, GoKegawa-kun, you’re going back out there?” Niǎo-san asks.

“Yeah,” I say confidently.

“But what about your shoulder? Aren’t you still hurt?”

“Yeah, but there’s something important I have to do, and I can’t do it from here.”

“What? But you’ve already done so much for the team.”

“This isn’t for the team… It’s for… Someone else?”

“What? Who is it for?” she asks with the same sparkle as before. I grin, knowing I have the perfect response for that.

“I’ll tell you after the game,” I say before running out into the field.

Tobias 1431 October 20, 2046

The gentle breeze gave me a brief respite from the boiling autumn sun beating down on me. This is where it would end, I thought. We were ahead by two runs at the bottom of the 9th with two outs, but the opponents had loaded bases. They put forth their last batter. It was all down to him. If we could get him out, then it was all over. He took his pose, and Pablo looked around to make sure we were ready. He threw it hard, his signature knuckleball. “Thump” went the ball as it hits Rai-kaijo ’s glove. “Strike one,” called the ref. The crowd that had once been a bustle of energy was silent as they held onto their breath. Pablo again readied his arm and threw, and again I heard a satisfying “thump” as it flew past the batter. “Strike two,” the ref called, as the batter jumped a bit in place. The very air gave off a thick sense of desperation in line with the wills of the teams. I readied myself as the final pitch was launched, the unmistakable “CLANK!” of the bat hitting the ball echoed throughout the field. I searched the sky for the ball and saw it. A pop fly to third base, but it was heading away from me. I dash across the field towards it, my ankle screamed for me to stop, but I refused to listen as I pushed it even further to leap for the ball. I feel a buckle as I do so, but it doesn’t matter. If I don’t catch this ball, it’s all for nothing; I grit my teeth and close my eyes as I begin to slide and roll side overside. Despite the pain in my right shoulder, I clutch my glove with all the vigor I can muster. Did I do it? Did I get the out? Is the only thing I wonder as I lay on the ground.