Fans(1)

Late March, after days of waiting, the opening day has finally arrived. Dan is scheduled to be the starting pitcher for the Dreamers in their home stadium, and it would be his first pro game. The young boy is excited but also nervous. He didn't have much sleep the night before. The game will start at 1:00 pm, and the weather is great. It's a perfect day for baseball. Fans are entering the ballpark looking for their seats. Players are practicing on the field, waiting for the game to begin. Meanwhile, Dan is warming up in the bullpen with a rookie catcher, Juan.

"Nice pitch!" The ball hits the glove and makes a great sound. "Wow, good one. Ok, one more, the last one. Show me what you got." Juan says. He throws the ball back to Dan. Dan has the ball and stands on the mound in his pitching position. It seems he's in the zone and no one can approach him. He's focused and stares at Juan's glove. Dan lifts his left leg, like a machine moving his arms, then the foot touches the ground and the right arm is moving forward to deliver the ball. "Nice!" the ball hits the glove again. When the last pitch has been delivered, Juan stands up and walks to Dan to hand him the ball. "Good. You're all set and good to go." Juan says.

"Yeah, I think so, but actually," He chuckles, "I didn't sleep well last night. I was too excited to fall asleep." Dan smiles lightly.

"Really? But you look great today." Juan asks.

"I know. I'm feeling great today." Dan says. "But I don't know why, I'm supposed to be exhausted since I didn't have enough sleep." He laughs.

"Okay, I get it. You've been looking forward to this game for so long, nothing will stop you from enjoying the moment." Juan chuckles.

"Yeah, you're right." says Dan.

"Anyway, I'm glad you're feeling great."

While two of them are chatting, the pitching coach comes up and interrupts them. "Guys, are you done talking? It's time to head back."

"Yeah. Just a second." Dan turns to the coach and responds.

The coach hands Juan and Dan their jackets, "Hurry up." Then he turns around, walking away.

Juan and Dan look at each other and smile. "Let's go." Juan speaks. They start walking out of the bullpen.

On the way back to the dugout, "Hey, Juan, what was that?" Juan turns to him. "I mean the framing. It was impressive. I've never seen that before. At least not in high school." Dan asks Juan about his Framing skill.

"Oh, that? That's just a basic skill in college baseball." He replies, "Four years in college gave me the opportunities to improve myself in baseball." says Juan. The man was a college athlete, being selected by the Fighters in the third round in the same draft with Dan.

"I have to say, that was amazing. You turned many balls into strikes in the bullpen." Dan says.

"Thank you. I put a lot of effort into that. Try to be a good catcher so pitchers can have an easy time on the mound," Juan smiles.

"Oh, then I have to see how you can help me in today's game." Dan laughs.

"Let's find out." Juan pats on Dan's back.

The two chat and laugh along the way, when they walk by the mound, Dan turns to stare at the mound for a moment and talks to himself. "This is it. It's showtime." The boy is ready.

The game begins, Dan standing on the mound and staring at Juan's glove, he is in his pitching zone. Juan gives him a sign; it's a fastball. Dan nods his head. He gets set to throw his first pitch. People see his arm moving in the air. The ball is moving from the back to the front. The fans see the ball released from Dan's hand and flying to the glove like a bullet. The hatter sees the coming and swings his bat.

"He hits it hard and it goes deep to the right. It's long and deep." The man raises up the volume. "The outfielder is moving back, back and…it's gone!!!!" The broadcaster yells. "The first pitch that Dan Sasaki throws just became the first homerun he gave up in the TBL." Dan turns around and can't believe what happened. He's stunned.

"What the heck?" Dan grunts.