59. Training Start (IV)

hey went back home and Shirogana said getting down of the car, "Tomorrow I will teach you what is pitch framing." and went inside.

Rei nodded and went inside. Pitch framing was probably the most important work of a catcher. Only when a catcher can make balls also look like strikes is he successful in his job. Rei was excited about learning this topic and couldn't wait for tomorrow.

Rei directly went into the bathroom and got freshened up. He came back towards the dining table as the food was already ready. Meiko and Sora were not present as they took a lunch box to the club and will eat there.

Completing lunch and helping Narumi with the dishes he went back to his room. He went to his bed and went to sleep for some time as the fatigue from the morning training kicked in.

Waking up after 2 hours he stretched his body and got to his stance training. He continued to stay for the same 1 hour 50 minutes before falling with exhaustion. He heard his door opening and looked back.

Izumi came with the siblings after the practice to check on Rei when he heard he was training with Shirogana's help and wanted to help. He opened the door and saw Rei sitting down exhausted.

"What are you doing there?" asked Izumi.

"I was practicing my stance and how did you come? Is the practice done?"

"Yah practice is over for today and I thought to come and help you out in yours."

"That is good you came at the right time let's go," said Rei, taking the catcher gear Shirogana gave him that morning and dragging Izumi out.

Izumi followed Rei to the back yard and Rei started to wear his gear with Izumi's help. After that, he got into the blocking stance and told Izumi the drill and what he should do. Izumi started to throw the ball at a slow pace and picked it up. Rei missed some but was ok for a beginner.

After that, he took out the glove and sat in the catcher's stance to practice with the soft hands. Izumi threw the ball slowly for practice, it was easy for Rei as it was a tennis ball. Completing the training they both sat down on the grass.

Izumi remembered something and said, "Try the blocking drill without your hands in front and only the chest. It is a bit helpful."

Rei nodded and both of them tried it with hands at the back this time. It was a bit difficult to balance for Rei but he slowly got the hang of it. After training it for some time both of them went back to Rei's room.

Sitting on the bed Izumi asked, "So these are all the drills you are learning now."

Rei nodded and said, "Yes Oji-san taught me these till now and he said he will teach pitch framing tomorrow."

"Practice these more, they are the basics for a catcher."

Rei nodded and both of them continued to talk for a while and Izumi went back home when the sun was setting. Rei practiced the stance again and this time was able to barely touch the 2-hour mark with great difficulty.

Rei went and took a fresh bath while massaging his legs to ease his pain. He changed his clothes and went to the hall. He saw Sora and Meiko sitting and watching some foreign league matches.

Rei joined them and enjoyed watching pros play and learn from it. After a while, they went for dinner as Narumi informed them it was ready.

Completing his dinner Rei went towards his room directly as Meiko was helping out with the dishes this time. He practiced the stance one more time and reached the 2-hour mark before he fell. But this time it was a bit easy but still painful.

He sat on his bed stretching his legs and massaging them. He slept peacefully when the pain decreased.

*NEXT DAY*

Waking up the next day Rei went for his daily jog. Jogging early morning gives a refreshing feeling for him. He came back home and took a bath. He went to his room and saw he had time left before breakfast so he got to practice his stance.

He was able to stay for 2 hours before getting exhausted but Rei noticed it was becoming easier for him to stay like that. He sat down and massaged his legs, the door opened and Meiko entered.

"Oh, Rei stop practicing and come for breakfast." and went out before Rei could reply.

Rei stood up and made his way towards the dining room. He greeted everyone and sat on his chair waiting for food to be served. After eating, Shirogana said, going out of the room, "Meet me in the backyard in 10 minutes, Rei."

Rei nodded and helped Narumi with the dishes before going out towards the backyard. He saw Shirogana together with the siblings waiting for him with 3 balls.

"Now Rei as I told you yesterday I will teach you something called Pitch framing. This tells about the true value of a pitcher."

Rei nodded and Shirogana continued, " Pitch Framing is a subtle movement by a catcher to make a pitch look more appealing to the umpire and call it a strike. A good catcher should be able to make even close balls called strikes by an umpire. Now for you to get good at this there is a drill catcher generally practice.

Generally, when catchers catch a certain pitch they tend to move the glove towards the ball in turn moving the glove with the pitch and making it a ball. This is wrong and instead of this, you the glove should already be in the place where the pitch is going to be and you should slowly bring it inside the strike zone. To make it seem like a strike for the umpire."

Rei listened slowly and understood everything Shirogana was explaining. Shirogana continued, "Ok now I will show it to you with Meiko's help."