The Hitting Zone

By the time the show ended and we got back to the hotel, all of us were dropdead tired. The waking up early to fly, all the walking to look around, and then staying up for the show. I did like the concert though. It was multiple artists and it wasn't just all country. Noah even noted some songs down that he liked and wanted to download later.

Everyone was slow-moving the next morning as we took turns to shower. We had breakfast downstairs, near the hotel lobby. Our hotel was close enough to walk to the campus. Dave pointed at a building to say he went to a class on his visit there. Kyle rolled his eyes and said he was there too. From the walk around, it was clear that Dave was excited about his future school while Kyle's lukewarm attitude showed that he didn't love it, but also didn't hate it.

Mom and Dad was actually interested taking us into some of the buildings since they weren't totally empty despite it being a weekend. We got to see classrooms big and small. Dave pointed out almost every dining hall there was...and there was a lot. Dorms. Libraries. Even a campus gym. He talked about how it had everything nearby since it was so close to downtown. There was nothing that he wouldn't need that wasn't in walking distance.

Dad grinned when he heard that. "What a relief. I was worried how you would feel without a car, but it sounds like you'll be just fine without."

"Daddd." Dave groaned.

"Zeke doesn't have a car in college either." Dad shrugged.

"Zeke has Rhys who has a car." Dave pointed out.

"Then make a friend who also has a car in college." Noah shrugged. "Like you said, you have everything around you. If anything, Kyle would need a car if he goes to the minor leagues. Up and down, East and West. Who knows where he'll end up or how often he'll have to move."

Mom frowned. "That's a good point. Very insightful, Noah." She looked at Kyle. "Once we sign on Ryan, you have to start a list to ask these kind of things. Is it better to have a car or not? What will housing be like early on?"

Kyle sighed and took out his phone. "Okay, okay. I'll write it down so I don't forget." He peeked at Mom. "Will I be buying my own car with my signing bonus? Or will there be a graduation gift?"

Mom looked to Dad, unsure herself.

"They can't buy you a car and not buy me one." Dave sneered. "That would be completely unfair."

"If I'm paying, then it's definitely going to be something I want to drive for a long time."

"Just get something like a midsize SUV. Enough to carry your life around as you hit the road."

"I'm not going to be on the move that much. You guys keep exaggerating."

"You don't really know until you get there."

"Just look at Zeke. He's going to play summer ball who knows where. How is he going to lug his clothes and gear to wherever if he takes a plane?"

The two bickered like normal as we continued to look around. Closer to game time, Dave steered us to the stadium which was on campus just like Stanford's. Everything really was in walking distance. But it was a lot to do in one morning. I couldn't wait for us to get settled into our seats.

"Let's rest here a minute." Dave found a spot to sit just twenty yards from the stadium entrance.

"Let's rest inside." Noah said. "I'm hungry."

I nodded in agreement. Hotel breakfasts just aren't as fulfilling as Mom's cooking.

"Dave made plans for us to meet his coach out here." Kyle sat down too.

The rest of us were surprised and looked at Dave.

Dave shrugged. "I know Mom and Dad want to meet him. Besides, Kyle needs to meet him in person too. Just in case." He smiled at Kyle. "You slip to the late twenties in the draft and I bet you pick here instead."

Kyle rolled his eyes, yet didn't deny it.

"I'm glad you made an appointment for us to meet your coach." Dad said to Dave. "With how much you're looking forward to coming here, I already feel like this is a good decision for you."

A few minutes later, a young man dressed in the Vanderbilt baseball uniform came jogging over. My first thought was he was a player sent out to say that the pitching coach was busy preparing his team for the game. What I didn't expect was for the twins to get up and shake the man's hand.

Dave pointed to Mom and Dad. "These are my parents, Mary and Wayne." Then us. "My two younger brothers, Noah and Jake." Then he gestured to the man. "Guys, this is my soon-to-be pitching coach, Joe Hayes."

My jaw dropped. This guy didn't even look older than Jeremy. Yet he was a pitching coach?

"It's very nice meeting you all." The man reached out to shake everyone's hands. Quick and firm.

"Thanks for coming out before a game. We understand how busy you can be on days like this." Dad said. "It is reassuring to put a face with a name. Though I have to say, I didn't think you were so young."

Joe laughed. "Yea, I get that a lot. Another reason I like to meet the parents early on. I also like to give out my phone number to parents just in case of emergencies too. Like if you can't reach your sons and need me to check in on them. I can also check in on their grades without you hounding them for it."

"Really?! That'd be great." Mom took her phone out in a hurry. The coach passed along his digits and had her send him a text to say who she was so he could save the info too. "I have to warn you. I'm a worrier. Especially when I know these two so well."

He laughed. "Most parents worry no matter who their kids are. It's how it is. We do keep our players in check with their grades and even their social activities. But honestly, since I've been here these last two years, I haven't seen any problems in the program. Most of our players are trying to shape themselves for the MLB draft so there's not a whole lot of extra time for them to get into trouble."

"I don't get into trouble." Dave jumped in. "My mom just thinks I'm a little rambunctious. But don't worry, Coach, my mind is completely on pitching."

"That's good to hear." He patted Dave on the shoulder. "Summer workout plans start to come out in late May and early June. So don't slack off when your season ends."

"I won't." Dave looked serious.

The young coach looked at Kyle. "I'll still be sending you a copy of the summer workout plans as well even though we know your intentions to go pro. Once you signed with us, we're committed to get you here in the best shape for the start of fall ball."

Kyle nodded. "Thanks. I appreciate the effort and time you have put in for me."

"It's all in the name to create a better team." He looked to our parents. "I've explained to Kyle that we have no more athletic scholarship to give if he does join us the next school year, but with his grades and SAT scores, his academic scholarship will cover a good part of his tuition."

Kyle straightened up and looked at his parents with pride.

Dad smiled. "Another stressor off the table, thank you."

"And of course, if he returns for his sophomore season, we will have some athletic scholarship money freed up from the graduating seniors. We don't give out full rides, but we do our best to cover what the academic scholarship doesn't cover."

"So Dave doesn't really have a full ride either?" Noah asked, interested in the situation.

"Well, what we do is turn over his grades and testing scores to our academic liaison who can estimate how much he'll get from that. From there, depending on the player's skill level, we give out athletic money. Dave will be completely covered between the two. His only out of pocket cost will be his textbooks."

"And school supplies." Noah corrected.

The coach smiled at him and gave a small shake of his head. "No, we actually like to treat our players to things like that. We host something like a small party, where the players get to know one another and pack their empty bags with notebooks, binders, pens, even calculators if they're in higher level math classes."

"Wow." Mom grinned. "Sounds like a great idea. Even though it's not a big cost, it's a way to bring your team together early on."

We got to talk with the pitching coach for a few more minutes until he had to get back to his players. He would be in the dugout today with the head coach and the team.

"He's very young." Noah noted first after he left.

"He knows what he's talking about though." Dave said. "Being relatable is a good quality to have for a pitching coach. How is he going to know what I'm talking about if we aren't on the same wavelength."

"How do you like the head coach though?" Dad asked.

"He's okay." Dave shrugged. "I've only spoken to him twice. He's older than you, so I was kind of surprised that he would pick such young coaches. Just shows that he knows what he's doing too."