"Team 3 and 4 please take the field." Coach Bishop called out, prompting many in the audience to stand.
Steve too stood up, his legs a little shaky. "Alright, wish me luck."
"Ganbatte."
"Eh? Did you just cast a buff on me?" Steve asked.
"It means do your best… Now hurry up, you're in my way." Ken said, smacking him on the back on his way past.
With that, Ken took a seat and got comfy. In reality, he was ready to go home ever since he was taken off the mound in the 4th inning. However, he didn't really have much choice in the matter since he was 3 hours away from home without a car.
Just when he was about to pull out his phone, a figure appeared next to him suddenly. Ken looked up, only to see a fit looking man with his salt and pepper colored hair slicked back.
"You must be Ken, I'm Rob Fisher, the chairman of WWBA, nice to meet you." He said in a deep yet friendly voice.
Ken's eyes widened slowly after hearing the position of the man in front of him. He quickly stood to his feet respectfully and grasped the outstretched hand of the man firmly.
"Yes, I am Ken. It's nice to meet you Mr. Fisher." He said, not putting on any airs. Even though he'd been in America for a few months now, it was always drilled into him to be respectful to his elders.
Since the guy wasn't a scout or anything, he had no qualms in speaking to a man like this.
Seeing the firm handshake and obvious respect, Rob nodded his head in satisfaction. Many times, top prospects could be rude or have inflated ego's, especially when it came to professional sports. To see Ken did not have such a thing was a pleasant surprise.
"You played well out there, I'm sure you'll have a lot of work ahead of you in September." Rob said, his face pulling up into a smile.
"September?" Ken raised his eyebrow.
"You know, when coach's and scouts can finally reach out to you."
"Ah… Yeah, I'm already dreading it." Ken admitted, his face faltering slightly.
Rob let out a chuckle, "Allow me to give some unsolicited advice. If you can afford it, I'd recommend hiring an agent. Not only will they handle all the correspondence, they can also give you plenty of advice."
"I see…" Ken was a little skeptical, but he didn't want to refuse outright. "I'll chat to my Grandfather first and see what he thinks."
"Your Grandfather? Is he in the baseball industry also?" Rob asked curiously. He had already heard from Tex earlier that Ken's father was a coach for the University of Texas, so to hear that Ken would ask his Grandfather instead of his father was interesting.
"Mmm, he used to coach the U18 US squad." Ken replied, a hint of pride in his tone.
"Oh? What's his name? I know a couple of the coaching staff."
"Mark Williams."
"Huh!? Your Grandfather is Mark!?" Rob's jaw dropped after hearing this revelation. Not only was his father a coach, but the guys Grandfather was also a well-renowned figure in the baseball community.
Suddenly, Ken's abilities didn't seem so far fetched anymore. With a family pedigree like this, it made sense why the guy was a freak two-way player.
"You know my Grandfather?" Ken asked in surprise.
"Yes… We've worked closely for the last few years to get some rough prospects a chance in the U18 scene." Rob replied, though he still seemed to be shocked.
"A—Anyway, take this card. I was a bit skeptical about giving you it since the guy is a little… picky. But since you're related to Mark, he should have no issues representing you." Rob produced a card from his pocket, handing it to Ken.
Ken retrieved the business card respectfully with two hands, looking at the name.
'Barry Hart…'
The business card was plain as can be with only a name and a phone number. There was no other information, not even the name of the business on it. Ken looked up, his expression slightly confused.
Rob shrugged, "Talk to your Grandfather and ask him about Barry before you make a decision. Anyway, it was nice to finally meet you in person. I'll leave you to it."
Before Ken could respond, the fit middle-aged man was already leaving. It had been an unexpected chat, but it seemed that he had gotten some good advice in the end.
'I'll have to give Grandpa a call at some point.' Ken thought inwardly. He had a feeling that Mr. Fisher was right and that he should hire an agent, otherwise his life would devolve into an administrators worst nightmare.
Even before he participated in the WWBA or PG Showcase, Coach Wyatt had given him a list of 15 email addresses of coach's who wanted him to contact them. Forget training, Ken wouldn't even have time to wipe his own backside once September came.
BUZZ BUZZ
Ken was caught off guard by his phone ringing. He quickly pulled it out and put it up to his ear.
"Hello?"
"Hey Ken, how is the showcase going?"
Ken's face lit up, "Hey Dad, it's alright. I just finished the practice game, I'll head home once Steve finishes up."
"Mmm good. Hey I just got a voice mail from Tex… Tell me what happened in the parking lot earlier." His father's tone was somber, indicating he wasn't too impressed.
"Yeah, that guy sure is an idiot…" Ken said, detailing everything that had happened. He made sure not to leave anything out, even telling him about the blind person that he had seen at the end.
After a couple of minutes, Chris let out a sigh, his exasperation evident. "That guy… I'll have a talk to him, just try and avoid him if you see him again."
"No problem, he's hard to miss." Ken replied cheekily.
"Haha. Alright, I'll see you at home later tonight."