As the sun began to retreat from its peak in the sky, a dirty pickup truck pulled into the car park, its driver furiously looking for any available spaces. After a quick look, the guy drove up onto the curb and parked, putting his handbrake on.
The figure hopped out of the truck and stretched, revealing his large gut from beneath his shirt. At first glance, the checkered shirt, denim jeans, and leather boots was an easy indication that he was a Texas native—all he was missing was a cowboy hat.
Instead, he was wearing a Texas orange cap with a bull logo on its front.
"I'm getting too old for this…" He complained, stretching his protesting muscles. The two hour journey seemed to have affected his mood.
BUZZ BUZZ
"Damn it, give me a break." The guy cursed, pulling out his phone from his jeans.
"Whaddya want?" he asked grufly.
"Tex, how's the scouting going?"
The moment he heard the voice, Tex's expression changed slightly and his voice sounded more respectful thereafter.
"Ahem. I had some car troubles boss, I only arrived now." He responded.
He heard a sigh on the other line, but it seemed resigned.
"Get yourself a motel for the night after today's matches. You'll be staying for tomorrow's games as well."
Tex frowned, but he dared not question the person on the other line. All he could do was respond affirmatively before hanging up the call.
"I hope they got some good bars around here." He muttered, pulling up his pants slightly.
After locking up his truck, Tex walked towards the fields with almost negative enthusiasm. Despite his sour expression, his presence seemed to elicit excitement from both coaches and players when they saw him.
'What the hell?' Tex thought, finding it extremely odd. He was meant to be undercover as a scout, yet everyone was paying attention to him.
However, in the next moment he froze, his hands moving up to his head.
'DANG IT!' he shouted inwardly.
Upon his head was the official Texas Shorthorns cap, something that only players and staff were given. His face turned up in annoyance and he quickly made his way back to the pickup truck and threw it inside.
He pulled out his cowboy hat and placed it on his head, feeling a sense of both embarrassment and annoyance.
'The boss is gonna kill me.'
Thankfully, only a few people had seen him, however it was likely that this would spread by the end of the day. Letting out a sigh, Tex made his way back to the fields, completely ignoring those who had seen him earlier.
From the schedule he'd been given, there were currently 3 games going on at the moment, with teams from all over the state taking part.
Out of his bag, he pulled out the schedule.
'Gladiators vs Hawks on field 4… It only started around 45 minutes ago, so I'll start there.' He thought, placing the brochure back in his bag.
Tex casually made his way towards the field, trying to blend in with the passersby. Upon arriving, he casually looked up at the scoreboard and his eyes widened.
"15 to 6!?" He exclaimed in a small voice.
Since the game had only started 45 minutes ago, he was surprised to see such a scoreline. It was only the top of the 5th inning, yet the Gladiators were already ahead by 9 runs.
"Strikeout, changeover!"
Despite the situation, Tex quickly adjusted. As a scout with almost 20 years experience, he had seen almost everything that the sport had to offer.
Without a word, he moved over to one of the spectator seats and sat down, letting out a grunt. Due to his weight, the metal seat groaned slightly, causing those in the vicinity to glance his way.
Placing his bag on the ground, Tex pulled out a speed gun and a notepad. He had heard that the pitcher for the San Antonio Hawks was fast, so he needed to at least catalog some of his speeds.
However, upon seeing the score, he had lost a bit of faith in the information. Just how good could the pitcher be if he already gave up 15 runs.
"Pitcher change, Rob Thompson will be replacing Brian Dawson." The umpire stated.
'Ah, makes sense.' Tex nodded in understanding. It seemed that the Hawks had tried to save their pitcher's stamina, but now had no choice but to play him.
After the warm up throws, Rob threw his first pitch, a deadly fastball at the top of the strike zone.
Tex looked at the speed gun and nodded in satisfaction, writing down the number on his notepad. To see a 90mph fastball on the very first pitch was quite promising.
"Excuse me, are you a college scout?" A voice called from just behind him.
Tex's wrinkled face turned up in annoyance, however he turned around with a smile.
"Sorry bud, I'm with the local newspaper, doing an article on the Perfect Game Tournament." He replied in a chirpy voice.
The man who had asked the question initially seemed disappointed, however after hearing that he was from the media, his face lit up again.
"Oh fantastic, that's my son on the mound you see. If you have any questions or even want a one on one interview, just let me know!"
Tex resisted the urge to curse the man, almost instinctively crossing off Rob's name from his list. However, remembering what the GM had told him, Tex managed to keep his calm.
"I'll let you know, thanks."
He then turned his attention back to the game, grumbling something under his breath.
"Strikeout!"
Tex rolled his eyes. The idiot had caused him to miss the next two pitches, annoying him even further.
It was then that he saw a tall figure dressed in the white and blue uniform of the Gladiators walk onto the field. At a glance he could see the impressive height and toned frame of the teen, causing his eyes to widen in shock.
"Strike him out Rob!"
"You can do it Robby!"