The next morning, Ken arrived back at UPMC park, the SeaWolves home ground for practice. He had already gone for a morning run in the area. Since his hotel was near the lake, he was able to run nearby, enjoying the scenery.
He walked into the locker room and placed down his bags. Ken had arrived early for practice, but he didn't seem to be the first there.
After getting changed into the uniform he'd received yesterday, Ken laced up his cleats and made his way onto the field. The jersey was red, almost crimson. It stuck out, and Ken didn't really like the color.
Of course he would never say this out loud.
'I wonder who is here.' Ken thought, his eyes scanning the empty field. There was a bag already in the locker room, so it meant that someone had arrived before him.
Yet even as he looked around, he couldn't see anyone.
'Maybe the bullpen?'
Sure enough, as he approached the bullpen he could hear sounds of someone pitching. Instantly, he got curious and made his way over.
"Good morning." Ken called out, heading through the gate.
There, he saw the cold youth from yesterday standing upon the mound with a basket full of balls next to him. He already looked to be sweating, which meant he'd likely been here for a while.
Instead of responding, the guy nodded briefly before returning to his practice. Instead of a catcher, there was pitching net set up, it was already filled with balls in each of the strike zones.
Ken evaluated the youth. He looked to be in his mid to late twenties, perhaps only a few years older than him. He had a square jaw and a small goatee, but what drew Ken's attention the most was his eyes.
They were a deep green and seemed fierce. Even when the guy had nodded to him, Ken could still tell that he held some animosity for some reason.
The problem was, Ken had no idea why.
"Mind if I join you?" Ken asked offhandedly. Half of him expected the guy to either ignore him or just flat out refuse.
Instead, Rohan moved off the mound and grabbed a towel from nearby, wiping his face. "I'm finished now, it's all yours." He said simply.
Ken's eyebrow twitched, 'He definitely hates me…'
However, Ken wasn't about to let such a thing affect him. He wasn't planning on staying in the Double-A for long, so why would he go out of his way to ingratiate himself to another player?
Ken shrugged and began to roll his shoulders, making his way to the mound. He would get a few practice throws in this morning before practice kicked off, at least then he'd be able to calm down some remnant nerves.
Rohan was still nearby, making no move to leave the bullpen. Ken glanced at him briefly before ignoring him. 'If you're finished, then why are you staying?' he thought.
Getting into position, Ken began to throw a few warm up throws with his right arm. Even though he was a switch pitcher, he still preferred throwing with his right.
After 8 throws, he was feeling warm enough to begin.
He got into position and was about to wind up, before he was interrupted.
"Call your pitch." Rohan said. By now the guy had gotten comfortable on one of the benches.
"Sorry?"
"Call where you're going to pitch, otherwise it doesn't count." He said.
'Huh? If you're going to watch then just shut your mouth.' Ken said in his heart, feeling a little annoyed.
However, he decided to humor the guy. Ken was confident in his control, calling out where he was going to pitch wouldn't change anything.
"Top right." He said simply.
In the next moment, Ken performed his wind up and sent the ball rocketing from his arm into the the top right pocket. The net wobbled from the sheer force of the pitch before settling.
SWISH
Without looking at Rohan, he called the next pitch and sure enough, hit it masterfully, with no issue. This continued for 5 pitches until Rohan spoke up again, this time his voice contained some derision.
"Anyone can throw a fastball into the strike zone. Don't you know any breaking balls?"
Ken's eyebrow twitched again. He had half a mind to throw the ball in his hand at the guy, but that wouldn't be good for team morale.
'It would be good for my morale…' Ken thought.
"I know a few." He responded simply, "So I just call the pitch again?"
Rohan nodded and crossed his arms before leaning back against the cage. There was a small but annoying smile painted on his face.
'Calm down Ken… Why are you letting this guy get to you?' He said in his heart. Ken had nothing to prove, at least to this player.
"Slider, bottom left."
SWISH
Ken let out a breath and went into his wind up. He strode forward and ripped a slider. The movement of the ball was sharp and landed exactly where he had called.
"Curveball, middle."
SWISH
"Changeup, middle right."
SWISH
"Forkball, bottom right."
SWISH
Ken went through his pitching arsenal, throwing perfectly placed balls into the net with ease. With his zone mastery skill and his years of practice, such a task was almost too easy for Ken who had placed great importance on his ability to control his pitches.
He glanced at Rohan who was no longer wearing the small smile. A dark satisfaction overcame Ken, but thankfully he had his poker face skill active, so his real thoughts were not showing.
"N—Not bad rookie…" Rohan said, clearing his throat. "Now, clean up the balls. Practice will be starting soon." With that, the guy left the bullpen, leaving Ken by himself.
'What the hell…?'
Suddenly, Ken felt his frustration return. Had he been tricked into cleaning up the guys mess?
Ken grumbled to himself, but still cleaned up afterwards. The task took around 10 minutes and he was just as annoyed as when he started.