The Hitting Zone

Chapter 1147 V3 ch381 Banquet (4)

A lot of the guys looked to me.

"Jake would be fine as long as he got to hit." Noah said confidently. He nudged me. "Tell them, Jake."

I hesitated. "Well. Maybe now I can enjoy baseball as long as I get to hit. But before, like last year, I really only played because Noah played. The pressure of not doing well didn't make me feel good." Seeing some of the guys look sympathetic, I waved both my hands. "But I'm different now. I liked playing with you guys and all. Even without Noah, I would play with everyone again."

"But what if you couldn't hit? Like at all." Garret grinned. "Just endless intentional walks."

I stayed quiet. The guys started to laugh at the long pause.

After the JV team got settled back in their seats and the other coaches sat down, Coach made his move. He stood up and walked to the podium. He had everyone's attention.

Coach gave a friendly smile. "Good evening. I'm happy that every player in the program could make it tonight. And excited that the families could take time out of their day to celebrate my players and all their accomplishments. The freshman team is one of the easiest teams to put together, yet they have the most growth so I'm looking forward to seeing their progress in the summer camp in August."

There was some polite applause.

"As for the JV team..." Coach dropped the smile and looked serious. "I can't say this has happened before, however it's not uncommon for a team to be unable to mesh together when there's an age difference. The JV level is interesting in that there's players of all types grouped together. You have the really talented freshmen, sophomores and juniors striving for that next step, and then seniors that just couldn't make that final jump. Everyone has a different mindset and approach. The attitudes needed readjustments and I can only blame myself for not seeing and addressing that problem sooner. And for that, I'm sorry."

I sighed, feeling sorry for Coach. He had it tough. Besides leading us in practices and games and tournaments, he still had to think of the other two levels.

"I will have to review my system and I will change. Next year, I'll strive to make all three teams well balanced and guide them properly." Coach said. "Even though varsity won CIF, there will always be room for improvement." He smiled. "Now let me introduce to you, the CIF Northern Section Division 3 Champions."

"The seniors: David Atkins. Kyle Atkins. Matt Dalquist. Tanner Erickson. Garret Knudsen. Tyler Larsen. Jason Morris. Jesse Shipman." Coach had paused after every name called, allowing for clapping and comments to be shouted.

Even though Noah had shown some animosity towards Kyle earlier today, there was no one louder than him. Meanwhile, I tried to clap the same amount for everyone, randomly thinking about how we didn't get to see senior videos this year like last time.

"Juniors: Korrey Alvarrez. Bryce Finn. Robbie Harwell. Joey Henderson. Sean Isner. Brian Swoope. Mitchell Torres."

Our table was mostly gone now as more than half the team stood in line with Coach.

I wiped my hands on my pants, getting ready to go up. Coach was calling us by grade level and then in order of last name. I should be next.

"Sophomores: Jake Atkins. Noah Atkins. Marshel Butler. Dalton Nelson. Logan Porter."

I had gotten up after my name was called and tried not to look out in the crowd so much. I stood beside Mitchell and then Noah joined me on my otherside. Both of them were grinning happily, and it relaxed me. This was a happy event; I should be happy too.

"And the only freshman on our team, Oscar Garcia." He waited for Oscar to join the end of the line before continuing. "Give it up one more time for these champions."

The room got loud and I felt my face heat up. I found Mom, Dad, and Grampa in the crowd and focused on them.

"This team did the best I've ever seen in all my years as a high school coach. They went unbeaten for the whole year; the tournaments, the regular season, then the postseason. I've never seen anything like it." Coach grinned. "I'm damn proud of these young men and how they pulled through every challenge they faced."

More applause.

"I'm going to start with the toughest award of the night." Coach got serious. "King of the Hill. It's no secret that we have the three best pitchers in the league. Heck, in the county, all three rank in the top five in the county. Even in the state, you probably couldn't find a better rotation at our level."

I glanced up the line to peek at the twins and Garret.

"This is the first year that I caved and got three copies of the same award." Coach lifted three plaques. Some people laughed and some clapped. "Dave Atkins. Kyle Atkins. Garret Knudsen."

"Coach, you had it right the first time!" Dave exclaimed, accepting the first plaque. "It's David. One more syllable. C'mon. Don't be lazy now."

Coach chuckled. "I'll get it right next time."

Dave pretended to be crestfallen. "There is no next time."

Coach handed out the other two plaques to Kyle and then Garret. He came back to the podium. "Unsurprisingly, I'm sure all three of them are mad about the tie. Thankfully, they're no longer my problem after tonight." He smiled as some of the parents laughed. "I do have a couple of awards for two of those three. One might be surprised and he might even take it the wrong way. Our Most Improved player of the year is Kyle Atkins." He took a different plaque to Kyle.

Kyle looked confused as he accepted the award.

"Normally it's an award based off the season, but having coached Kyle for the last two years, I saw a major jump in his skill level this past summer. He changed his approach and had seen a jump in his speed."

"So technically I should have won King of the Hill?!" Kyle blurted out.

Coach patted him on the shoulder. "You did win. With two of your teammates." He headed back to the podium. "With these three amazingly talented starting pitchers, I had to make one more change this year. Best Closer. We didn't need one with these three ball hogs. It was hard enough for them to share amongst one another."

I laughed along with my teammates as we poked fun at the twins and Garret.

"Okay, now for the other." Coach held up the MVP plaque. "This one goes to the player who does it all. On the mound. In the outfield. A leader on and off the field. Our MVP is the captain himself, Garret Knudsen." He walked the award to Garret as we all clapped for him.

Garret actually looked surprised. "Me? What about Jake?"

I overheard and froze.

Coach chuckled. He faced the room again. "If not everyone heard, Garret said 'what about Jake?' And honestly, if Garret wasn't so dominant on the mound, maybe I would give it to our residential best player in the state." He walked back to his podium and picked up an award. "But the thing is, the best player is not always equatable to being the most valuable. In this case, Jake is the best player because of his prowess at the plate. And for that, he is, once again, our winner for the Silver Slugger award." He walked to me and handed it over with a smile.

"Thank you." I accepted the award and compliments. I wasn't offended at all for not winning MVP. I knew I wasn't. I could carry our offense, yea. But only when I get the opportunity. But Garret could do it all and then some. Pitch, hit, field, captain a winning team like this one. It was common sense to me.

"Our last two awards will go to the same player and maybe you guys will start wondering if the team didn't have enough stars. It certainly does. Just because you don't win an award on the varsity level doesn't mean you weren't doing enough. Noah Atkins is hard to compete with in terms of doing the most though. You will not find another player with the kind of talent, skill, and drive as him."

Coach picked up two awards and walked them down to Noah next to me. "Noah is the kind of player you want behind you on the mound. He wants all the grounders and fly balls to be within his reach. No player has the same amount of coverage as him or the athleticism to make the kind of plays he does. He is our best defender, a co-captain, and our Golden Glove winner." He handed over one of the plaques and held up the other. "This year was a tight race for Most Versatile and honestly thought Garret could take this one home too, but Noah's lead in stolen bases made the decision for me. His speed didn't just take those bases, but also made it easier for our hitters to drive him home without the need for homers."