Ultimate Cash System-Chapter 77: Type of PitChapter (2/2)

" Alright, I have zero information on you, I just know you can throw a ball faster than what I should be expecting, so give me that ball." Steve took the ball Lukas just bought in his hand.

Then, waving it gently in his hand, he tried to squeeze it and check if everything was alright with it. After checking, everything seemed to be fine. He gave the ball back and gestured for Lukas to follow him.

" Where did you put your wallet and phone?" Steve asked while walking.

" I gave them to manager Karl, he was in the back working on many things," Lukas replied, as he was really confused about where he should change and put his stuff, and manager Karl, who was the staff manager, suddenly came out of nowhere to help him out.

He took Lukas to the official changing room of the players and even took Lukas’s wallet and phone for protection.

" He’s a bit weird, but he’s trustworthy. Alright, this is an official-size field we are in right now. Do fastball." Steve pointed at the empty place where the batter’s box was and then asked Lukas to throw a fastball.

Lukas nodded his head and utilized how much he knew about pitching, his legs went up, and he used his waist to throw the ball.

109 MPH

" Damn! That’s fast, but tell me honestly, how much do you know about pitching?" Steve asked Lukas with a smile, he was actually very shocked to see Lukas’s speed.

" I know nothing at all, but yeah, if I warm up, the speed could be faster," Lukas said truthfully, as he really knew nothing other than throwing the ball as fast as he could to the batter.

" I understand that’s a very good thing, actually. I can then give you proper instructions. Go fetch the ball," Steve said. He had a smile on his face. A talent like Lukas was really hard to come by in this sport, so he had to train him and make him a good pitcher.

Lukas came back with the ball, then Steve walked up to him and asked him to hold the ball as if he was about to throw it, then he looked at how Lukas gripped the ball, and he was holding it with five fingers.

" Even children don’t grip the ball like that when they play in a garden. Here, hold it like this. Put your index and middle fingers straight across the seam of the ball, and rest your thumb under the ball, under the smooth part. Now try again. " Steve gave Lukas a proper lesson on how to throw a four-seam fastball.

Lukas felt a little uncomfortable with the grip, but he held it tight and utilized his leg and waist to throw the ball.

Zwoop

121 MPH

" Feel that? like a bullet, and the ball seemed to go upward. That’s a bonus." Steve smiled at Lukas, who was, of course, a genius, and teaching him was a piece of cake.

" Alright, now I will teach you another ball to add to your arsenal. Use these two in tomorrow’s match. You can practice here till 7 at night and go back to Philadelphia with the same plane you came in," Steve said with a smile and then gestured to Lukas to fetch the ball once again.

Lukas, who was learning, felt this was a great opportunity, so he just had to absorb everything he could from this man.

Lukas came back with the ball in hand and stood in front of Steve, who was smiling, and he was eager to know more about this ball.

" Alright here, Dig your fingertips or knuckles into the seams, try to keep the ball still in your hand, and throw as usual. Steve showed Lukas how it was done and asked him to throw.

" Try your best," Steve said. Lukas only nodded his head in response and, with his leg going upwards, threw it as hard as he could, but the ball didn’t go as fast as it was before.

87 MPH

The ball was as if dancing in the air before diving down very fast. Lukas was astonished because such simple movements made his delivery so chaotic, slow, and weird.

" This is called a knuckleball. Use these two from now on, and yes, this glove—use it to hide your pitching hand before the throw so that bats won’t be able to guess what that next pitch is coming to them." Steve said, then walked to pick up the ball and threw it to Lukas.

" Warm yourself up first because longer pitching training demands more from your muscles," Steve said, then gestured for Lukas to run around.

Lukas, nodding his head, tied up his long hair and ran across the field. By the time he came back, Steve was nowhere to be found. He continued his jogging for two hours before feeling like his muscles were all loosened up.

As he was about to pick up his ball from the ground, he felt thirsty, so he walked out and went to the back side. To his surprise, Karl was there, and he gave Lukas a case of water bottles.

[Ding!! Mission: Throw 10 Pitches. Minimum Reward: $1000]

Lukas, seeing this, smiled broadly and picked up the ball and started his throwing. After a while, a boy came in to help him out, he was just standing on the batter’s box side and collecting balls for him. He looked 10 years old.

Lukas didn’t mind, he found the boy to be pleasing to the eye and cute because this boy was making him money one way or another.

As the sun was going down, Lukas looked at the boy with a little concern, because this boy was not going home.

" You don’t need to go home?" Lukas asked a little loudly.

" That’s my son. He came here to see me work, and after seeing you practice alone, he just wanted to help you out." Karl came in from the back side slowly with a smile on his face.