the rookie | andrew benintendi

i | debut

"Hey, David, you mind keeping it in the park for once?" Ari said, walking over to him as he made his way into the outfield. Currently, the Red Sox were in Seattle, taking batting practice before the second game in their four game series against the Mariners.

"Maybe I should learn from you.  Have you hit a home run this season?" he teased.

"I've hit four home runs this season, thank you very much," she said, laughing before going back to paying attention. She watched as Mookie sent another ball over the fence. She sighed: batting practice with all these heavy hitters was boring for a fielder.

Ari was excited however. Earlier today, a new player had been called up from AA, and she was excited to meet him. Her friend, Emily, said he was 'really cute,' but she hadn't found the time to look him up. Besides, she didn't date players, and she didn't date teammates. Still, she was excited to meet another teammate. She had always liked making friends, even with people on other teams.

When it came to making friends, being the first girl to play on a MLB team had it's perks. Everyone she had met in her first year had been pretty interested in her(though she was sure some of their intentions weren't pure at all). Still, it was a popular topic, though she didn't get asked about it as much now.

Snapping out of her thoughts, she watched yet another ball fly into the seats. It wasn't Mookie anymore, which was kind of disappointing; she enjoyed watching Mookie hit. Looking over, she noticed someone walking towards them that she didn't recognize.

"Ah, is this the rookie I've heard so much about?" she asked as he walked up to them. She had a good view of him now, and gosh, Emily wasn't lying. He was really cute.

"Yeah, I am," he said.

"Welcome to the show, Andrew," she said, holding her hand out. "I'm Ariella Rowe, third basemen. Call me Ari."

"I've heard a lot about you, too," he said, shaking her hand. "Actually, I'm pretty sure everyone's heard about you. The first woman in the MLB? That's pretty impressive."

"I don't see myself any different than any of the guys. I've worked hard to get here," she said.

"We all have," Andrew said. She smiled at him, looking over to see one of the atheletic trainers walking over to them.

"Let's give grandpa here some space," she said, grinning at David. He rolled his eyes, shoo-ing the two away with his hand. She could hear Andrew chuckle. "I think that group is on their last batter. Wanna head in?" Ari asked.

"Sure," he agreed.

"So, where are you from?" Ari asked.

"I'm from Ohio, but I went to the University of Arkansas," Andrew explained.

"Cool," she said, smiling. "You probably won't believe it, but I'm from Vermont. I went to Washington State. My aunt and uncle live 20 minutes from there."

"I don't think I've ever met a pro baseball player from Vermont," he said.

"Yeah, we're pretty rare," she said, laughing. "It's fucking cold there. There's almost nowhere to play during the winter."

Andrew laughed. "It's cold in Ohio, too. We had places to play, though."

"Vermont feels like a ghost town compared to Boston. I've been here for almost two years and it's still hard to get used to," Ari said. "Though, it kinda sucks that our off-season is during the winter. I miss Vermont in the summer."

"I've heard it's beautiful," he said.

"It really is," she said, smiling slightly at the satisfying clicking sound of her cleats on the cement floor of the dugout. "I think you're first up. Better hurry out there."

She followed him out of the dugout, joining Brock Holt next to the batting cage. She looked over at Andrew, eyes scanning over him as he stretched his arms. Wow. She looked over at Brock, who raised an eyebrow.

"Really? The rookie?" he asked.

"What?" Ari questioned. Had she said that out loud? Brock glanced over at him and back to her, smirking. She rolled her eyes. "I don't date teammates, Brock."

"I know, but this could be an exception," he said. "He's cute, you're cute.  You two would be the perfect couple."

"Keep your ships to yourself," she said, punching him on the arm.

"Oh, we need a ship name!" he exclaimed.

"Will you shut up?" Ari said, covering his mouth before he could continue. She watched Andrew's batting as she removed her hand from Brock's mouth. He was quiet for a little while as they both watched the rookie bat. He had a beautiful swing, no doubt about that.

"AriDrew?" Brock asked, smiling as Ari glared at him.  She lifted her bat threateningly.

"I'm not afraid to hit you with this."

Brock smirked. "Try me, slugger."

She just rolled her eyes.

Ari tried not to act too excited when John Farrell announced that Andrew was going to be pinch hitting for Bryce Brentz in the 7th inning. She was happy for him. He was getting his first at bat in a major league game. She might have gotten herself a little too excited, because she was kind of disappointed when he grounded out. She slapped him on the back as he entered the dugout, waiting for him to get ready before taking the field.

"You didn't look too bad out there," she said. "We all ground out, seems like you're fitting in just fine."

"You especially?" he asked.

"Hey, watch it," she teased, laughing as he continued on into left field. For a rookie making his debut, he seemed to be getting fairly comfortable.

-

Ari sighed, letting her hair out of the towel and tying it in a bun to prevent it from dripping on her clothes. After giving up 5 runs in the 8th, they had fallen to the Mariners. Also, probably most disappointingly, both her and Andrew struck out for the last two outs of the game.

Picking up her bag, she left her sectioned off part of the locker room. Looking over, she found that Andrew was packing up as well.

"Finally escaped the reporters, huh?" she asked. He turned to her, smiling.

"Yeah. I thought they would never leave," he said. She laughed.

"I know how you feel. After my first game, I thought I was going to have to sleep at Fenway," she said.

"I can't even imagine that."

"Being a major leaguer isn't easy," she said with a smile. "See you tomorrow, Andrew."

"See ya."

As he turned around, continuing to pack up, her eyes lingered for a moment before she turned, leaving. This was going to be an interesting season, that was for sure.

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here ya go @reasie lol

tbh i'm glad some of you are as excited about this story as i am

08.11.17