Strike 3 (bxb)

II

Easton

"And he's diving for it...oohhh! He just slammed head-first into the wall..."

I wince as I watch the video. He could've seriously hurt himself if that would've gone differently, but, hey, I'm not one to talk.

I type furiously at my laptop, my arm might be broken but my fingers sure as hell aren't.

Of course I've heard of Finn Verlice, everyone in the baseball industry has. When we played against his team last year, they smoked us and he was the main cause for it. He hit 2 home runs and made countless amazing plays. He's hard to forget. He impressed me, he still does sometimes, especially after just having watched him dive head-first into a wall.

What I don't get is why he's having such a hard time now.

He should be living his best life right now, hitting home run after home run. It's pretty damn obvious that he got stronger over the off season.

How is it possible that someone so good can get so bad that quickly?

My phone starts  buzzing signaling that someone is calling me. My mom.

"Hey mom," I say into my phone after answering.

"Hey, how'd your doctors appointment go?" She says, straight to the point.

I perk up instantly at the mention of my doctors appointment that was the day before. "They said I'll get my cast off in 3 weeks and I'll be cleared to play another week after that!"

"That's great! What are you planning to do in the time between now and then?"

I take in a breath. "Well, the coach of the New York team asked if I would 'train' that rookie Finn Verlice since he's having a hard time right now."

There's silence over the phone as she ponders this. "They asked you to essentially babysit this 20-something-old man because he's having a bad season?" She asks incredulously.

"Yeah, you really hit the nail on the head," I sigh. "It'll be a nice distraction though. It's not like I've got anything else to do."

"When will he come? Or are you going to him."

"He's arriving in two days, it was encouraged that I pick him up from the airport so that we can 'bond'."

"BS," she says. "Now they want you to waste gas, do they know how much a gallon of gas costs?"

I chuckle at her words. She has a point. While I do make a sizable amount each year, it doesn't mean I have extra money I can throw left and right whenever I please.

"Alright, I've got a client complaining about something, I'll talk to you later, Eas," She says urgently.

"Bye mom," I reply, her hanging up before I can finish the phrase.

I put my phone down and continue my research on Finn Verlice.

It only takes me watching a few seconds from a game he played last season for me to realize what's making him play so bad. Anyone can point out the difference between this season and last season. In the few seconds I watched, he was shown encouraging his teammates and smiling broadly. It was a smile that spoke of how much he loved playing and loved the people he played with. It showed that deep down, he still had a little 12-year-old boy whom was jumping up and down, ecstatic to be in the position he was. He wasn't taking anything for granted; he was just living in the moment. And he was having a great god damn time doing so. He knew his own skill and what he could do, so he didn't think about it and just did it. If he messed up, he knew he could get the next one.

That mindset was completely shattered this season. That little boy was brutally murdered.

He became over-confident, and started taking things for granted.

In other words, he grew—not only some muscles—a big ass ego.

But then, when he was doing bad, his ego and his spirits were crushed. So he no longer has any motivation to play, the only reason he still does is for the paycheck. He has no more self-confidence, and if he does, it is no where near what it was last season.

So what I'm getting is that these practices are going to turn into therapy sessions.

When did I become a psychologist? I ask myself after writing 'nutcase' in all caps on the note sheet I was making for him. I even underlined it a couple times. I might've circled it too.

***

I drive on the 589 to get to Tampa International Airport. There are many times where I debate turning around and going back to bed. It's 5:30 in the fucking morning, who fucking scheduled this flight? He's literally rich, so why doesn't he schedule for a more holy hour? If Finn thinks he's getting off scot-free for his poor planning, he's heavily mistaken. Oh yeah, he thinks i'm going to drop him off at his hotel and let him rest after his flight? Nu-uh, we're heading straight to a field and starting immediately.

I pull into the airport pick-up and head to the airline his manager told me. I pull over and stop and look around for him. You would think, after my extensive research and playing multiple games against him, I would be able to spot him in a crowd, I was proven wrong when I hear a knock on my passenger door.

I turn my head and see him looking in the window.

Woah.

Cameras don't do this man justice.

They significantly downplay the utter brightness of his eye color, a dark blue that never seem to end. They don't show the various freckles dotted all over his face. I thought his hair was a dark brown, but turns out it was really a light brown, bordering on dirty blond. It was fluffy and sticking out in every direction from his flight.

What I'm trying to say is that he's hot. Very hot.

I unlock the doors for him and he slides into the passenger seat after throwing his stuff in the back. He takes a look around and looks ready to say something.

I expect him to say something like 'Hi,' or 'My name's Finn," maybe "You're my biggest idol I aspire to be like you one day," any normal introduction was to be expected.

I did not expect him to say, however, "You drive a mom car."

I pause for a moment, in shock, and turn to him. What did he just call my Toyota Highlander? My incomprehension must show on my face because he starts to say, "You can't be much older than me, right? Like 26-27? You have to know that your car is way too old for you."

"I'm 26," I say bluntly. "And I think my car is just fine."

"Exactly what a 26-year-old with a mom car would say."

I give up and start driving back to the highway. I don't think anything's wrong with my car, it holds a lot of character and can carry a lot of people too.

Not that I have that many people to carry in this thing.

Well, that was a fun way to start off the morning.

I can't wait to make this guy run laps.

*1236 words*