"Batting 4th, the reigning Home Run Derby Champion… Daichi Takagi!"
Hearing the announcer, Daichi walked up to the batters box with a bitter smile.
"Why would you remind them…" He muttered painfully.
He was currently trying to avoid being walked by Miami once again. But hyping him up like this might be all they need to make the decision to walk him.
On the mound, Ryan's expression was unreadable as he waited for the first lead against Daichi. Even when the catcher made the signal, he didn't react at all, just nodding in response.
He raised his leg and strode forward, sending a pitch down the lane.
Daichi's eyes lit up briefly. The ball was slower than he expected, causing his palms to itch. As long as he got the timing right, he should easily send it over the fence.
However, his expression dulled in the next moment.
PAH
"Ball."
The pitch was way wide, missing the strike zone by over a foot. Judging by the reactions of Ryan on the mound and the other players nearby, it was completely intentional.
The crowd jeered loudly, unimpressed with the tactics on display. They certainly didn't pay money to come watch the best batter on the team get walked intentionally.
But despite their boo's and jeers, Ryan looked unaffected.
Perhaps he might have been a little rebellious in his younger days, but now he had fully transitioned to being a team player. Such was the effect of the Major League and its long season.
"Ball."
"Ball."
"Ball four, take your base." The umpire called, gesturing to first.
Daichi hid his disappointment, tossing the bat aside before jogging towards first base. When he arrived, he turned back and located Ken who was practicing his swing.
The two locked gazes briefly before the former nodded.
Ken returned the nod, smiling softly.
'Don't worry bro, I'll send you home.' Ken said in his heart.
"Batting 5th, the one and only Unicorn… Ken Takagi!"
The crowd cheered as the announcer called out Ken's name. If anyone could send Daichi home, it would be his brother Ken.
Ken performed his ritual, tapping the base and the end of his cleats with the bat before getting into position. He waved the bat around, gripping it tightly as he waited for the first pitch.
His eyes locked onto Ryan's figure, his curiosity rising. Would Deadeye Batter work with Ryan's unorthodox pitches? Or would it get lost completely?
He saw a flash of yellow when Ryan let go of the ball.
'Fastball?'
However, Ken's eyes dulled in the next moment.
PAH
"Ball."
Ken stood frozen at the plate, an incredulous expression creeping onto his face. He looked at Ryan who still seemed impassive, yet anger and frustration began to rise within Ken.
"What the hell man!?"
"They're walking Ken as well?"
"Those underhanded bastards!"
The crowd went into an uproar as Miami's intentions were laid bare. It was clear that they would be walking the two biggest threats in the Ligers batting lineup, something that seemed too shameless to actually take place.
Particularly in a game 7 of the World Series.
It wasn't just the live crowd that were dissatisfied with the proceedings. Many watching around the world were cursing Miami outwardly.
Ken saw another flash of yellow as the ball left Ryan's fingertips. It flew wide of the strike zone before being easily caught by the catcher who was now on his feet.
PAH
"Ball."
Resisting the urge to yell out some obscenities, Ken could only grip his bat and wait for the inevitable. He shouldn't be too disappointed with having no outs and 2 runners on base, but it would mean nothing if they couldn't get a hit after.
The only decent batter that had a decent chance of hitting Ryan's pitches was Samson Torkelson who used to be their 4th batter. He was batting after Ken, but it was only a small consolation.
Unsurprisingly, the 3rd and 4th pitches were also balls.
"Ball four, take your base."
At the umpires call, Ken tossed aside the bat, sending a look to Ryan as he made his way to first base. Their gazes met briefly before the latter turned away, bending over to grab the rosin bag.
Ken felt a little melancholy for a moment. He had remembered back in the U18 World Cup when they faced each other in the final game. Ryan had also tried to walk him back then, but he had been crazy enough to swing at it.
Of course things were much different now. Both of them were different people now, having matured incredibly compared to their youth.
If they weren't in the majors, Ken might have even tried to goad the guy into facing him. But it was clear that as Ryan was now, there was no chance it would work.
With the second intentional walk in a row, Daichi had moved to second base while Ken took up his spot on first. Since his brother was ahead of him, Ken was not able to try and steal bases easily.
He took a deep breath, trying to find the positive side in all of this.
They had two runners on base and no outs. If anything, this was the perfect time to score, they just needed a decent hit.
"Batting 6th, Samson Torkelson!"
As the announcer called out his name, Ken's gaze moved to Samson who was approaching the batters box. As long as this guy could get a decent hit, they might be able to convert some runs at this point and break the deadlock.
WHOOOOOSH
PAH
The first pitch was a slider that broke outside dramatically towards the end. Samson's bat sailed past, hitting nothing but air before the ball dropped into the glove.
"Strike."
WHOOOOOSH
PAH
"Strike."
The exact same pitch, but a different course caused Samson to miss once more. This was the danger of facing Ryan head on, even pitches that one has seen before would look completely different each time.