WHOOOOOSH
THWACKK!
The entire crowd collectively held their breath as the ball rocketed into the air, headed towards the right outfield. Even Ken who had hit the ball himself was not sure if it would go over the wall.
He threw his bat to the side and ran towards first base, keeping an eye on it before deciding whether to speed up or slow down.
The right outfielder had already reached the wall, but all he could do was stare at the ball as it sailed over his head and into the stands behind him.
In that mont, the crowd burst to life, roaring out with elation.
"HOEE RUNNNN!"
The lights began to flicker and a siren played over the stadium speakers, mixed with the roar of a Liger. The whole park seed to co alive.
Ken pumped his fist as he saw the ball go over for a ho run. His very first hit in the Majors was a hor, how could he not celebrate.
In the stands, Tetsu was going crazy.
"THAT'S MY SON-IN-LAW!" He scread in Japanese, though no one but Ai and Naomi could understand him.
Back in Japan, the bar suddenly erupted in celebration.
"ORYAHHHHHAHAHAHA!"
"YES!"
Ken's old Yokohama teammates cried out in happiness, scaring almost everyone that was in the bar in that mont.
Old friends, acquaintances and teammates both in Arica and Japan tuned in to watch the mont where Ken hit his first ho run in the Major League.
Back on the field, Ken rounded 3rd base and jogged towards ho plate where Samuel and Daichi were waiting for him. The mont he stepped onto the plate, Daichi grabbed him and hugged him tight.
He didn't say anything, but words didn't need to be spoken in that mont.
Samuel on the other hand settled with patting Ken on the top of the helt before letting out a laugh. "Nice hor, welco to the league."
On their way back to the dugout, Mark practically tackled Ken and Daichi.
"I knew you could do it boys!" He said, letting out a laugh, "I'm so proud of you both."
"Thanks Grandpa."
With Ken's 3-run horun, the Ligers were now up 3-0 in the bottom of the 2nd. The ga was far from over, but it was a good start.
With the montum gained from Ken's big hit, the Ligers managed to score another run before the end of the inning, putting them even further ahead.
Ken continued with his hot streak, not letting a single hit go in the 3rd inning. It was almost like no one could touch his pitches, filling the Ligers team with confidence.
However, in the 4th inning, Ken finally gave up the first hit of his Major League career. There was no mistake in the lead, nor how he pitched, but sotis hitters were going to hit no matter what.
Javier Abreu the White Socks first baseman hit a ball right past Ken and the 2nd baseman, landing in the outfield right in front of Lewis. No matter how quick his arm was, Javier easily made it to 1st base.
Rather than be disappointed, Ken shook it off. There were already 2 outs in the 4th, he just needed to strikeout Elroy and there would be no damage done.
As the Dominican approached the batters box, Ken felt his muscles fill with power once more. It was almost like he was in a fantasy, being buffed by a powerful spell.
He stared at Elroy, not losing focus.
Elroy on the other hand was breathing a sigh of relief. He saw his teammate Javier on first base and thanked his lucky stars.
'With a runner on first, he won't be able to use that weird wind up.' He thought.
As he saw Ken nod, he got ready. Yet, his eyes widened in shock as Ken still raised his arms and perford the sa wind up that left him flinching.
WHOOOOSH
PAH
"SECOND!"
Jai on second base called out, but Daichi was already in motion. He stepped forward and sent a rocket-like throw towards second base. If it wasn't for Ken's quick reflexes, he might have been hit by the oncoming ball during his follow through.
The bullet pass was perfectly aid, landing in the outstretched glove towards first base. Jai caught it in rhythm and swiped at the foot of the sliding Javier, making contact.
He raised his eyes towards the umpire and showed him the ball within the glove, waiting for a verdict.
"Out!"
"Haha!"
"Nice throw Daichi!"
This ti it was Ken who ran over and attacked Daichi, ruffling his hair like a big brother would do. "You cheeky bastard, how did you know the guy would try and steal?"
Daichi had called a higher fastball which allowed him to position his body and make the quickest throw back to second base. From Ken's perspective, it was as if the guy had anticipated the runner was going to steal.
"The sa way I knew you were going to use your long ass windup. You really need to work on your pickoffs, otherwise runners are going to have a field day when you're pitching." Daichi said, trying to shake Ken off him.
"Not if you're behind the plate, I'll just get you to throw them out." Ken grinned, feeling his spirits rise.
To see that his brother was also doing well during his debut filled Ken with happiness. This had been their dream for over 7 years, and though they had taken different paths, they arrived at the sa destination eventually.
If Ken had to do it over again, he wouldn't change anything.
"Looks like the Rookies are taking over the first ga of the season." Samuel waltzed over and nudged Ken on the way past. "Save so spotlight for the other guys."
"We're just trying to win the ga." Ken said with a laugh.
"He's right, don't be getting jealous now." Terry Skubal the other starting pitcher said with a grin.
"Right back at ya, I bet you're jealous that Ken stole your starting pitcher spot tonight." Samuel quipped back.
However, Terry shrugged. "It's a long season, I'll start plenty of gas. But tonight, I'll leave it to these two brothers."
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