Chapter 11: The Adjustment
The next afternoon, the field felt different.
Nothing had actually changed. The same dirt surrounded home plate, the same worn grass stretched across the outfield, and the same metal bleachers sat behind the fences. Yet the Davao Central players were quieter than usual as they gathered near the dugout.
Daniel stood in front of them with a folder tucked under one arm.
"Everyone in."
Joshua dropped onto the bench. "Please tell me we’re not doing another speech."
Daniel glanced at him. "I wasn’t planning one."
"Good."
"I’m also not planning to listen to you complain."
Joshua immediately shut his mouth, drawing a laugh from Miguel.
Daniel opened the folder. "Our next opponent is San Pedro National High School. They’re one of the better teams in the tournament, and they already have one win."
He placed a printed lineup on the bench.
"They’ve also watched our game."
Joshua looked toward Rafael. "Of course they did."
Rafael didn’t say anything. He picked up the lineup and started reading.
"They watched the full game," Daniel continued. "Not just the highlights. They know Rafael hit two home runs, where both went, and that he’s playing right field."
Joshua whistled. "They’re prepared."
"That’s the point."
Daniel placed another sheet beside the lineup. It contained the expected starting nine for San Pedro.
At the top was their pitcher.
Adrian Villanueva — Pitcher, #18.
Beside him was their catcher, Luis Mercado — #7, followed by shortstop Nathan Cruz — #2, center fielder Kevin Ramos — #9, and first baseman Marco Villareal — #21.
Daniel tapped the first five names.
"These are the players I want you paying attention to."
Rafael studied Adrian’s information first. His recorded velocity wasn’t extraordinary, but his extra-base numbers were low, and he had been effective by changing speeds and keeping hitters from getting comfortable.
"How fast?" Rafael asked.
Daniel looked at his notes. "Highest recorded was around eighty-two."
Joshua raised his eyebrows. "That’s pretty fast for here."
"He’s not overpowering," Daniel said. "He gets outs by changing speeds and keeping hitters uncomfortable."
Rafael nodded and looked at the video clips Daniel had prepared.
"Show me the second game."
Daniel opened the tablet.
The clip showed Adrian on the mound. The batter took the first pitch, a fastball outside, then watched a breaking ball drop low for a strike. The third pitch came closer to the middle, and the hitter fouled it away.
Daniel paused the video.
"What do you see?"
Joshua looked at the screen. "Fastball, breaking ball, fastball."
Miguel shrugged. "He’s mixing them."
Rafael shook his head.
"He’s not just mixing them."
Everyone looked at him.
Rafael pointed toward the screen. "Look at the count. The first pitch was one and zero, so he stayed away from the hitter’s power. Then he used the breaking ball after getting ahead. On the third pitch, he wanted the hitter thinking outside again before bringing the fastball back toward the middle."
Daniel replayed the sequence.
Rafael watched the pitcher’s delivery again before pointing at his glove.
"And that’s his breaking ball."
Paolo leaned closer. "What?"
"His glove hand. He holds it slightly higher before the breaking ball."
The clip played again.
The difference was tiny.
But it was there.
Daniel watched it twice before looking at Rafael.
"How did you notice that?"
Rafael shrugged. "You watch enough pitchers."
Joshua stared at him. "How long does it take you to notice stuff like that?"
"Not very long."
That answer earned another quiet laugh, but Daniel was already closing the tablet.
"All right. Let’s test it."
The team moved onto the field.
Daniel called Carlo Mendoza, one of the reserve pitchers, toward the mound.
"You’re Adrian."
Carlo pointed at himself. "Me?"
"You’re Adrian."
He looked at Rafael and laughed. "What do you want me to throw?"
"Exactly what he just saw."
Rafael stepped into the batter’s box while Paolo crouched behind the plate. The rest of the team gathered near the dugout, clearly interested in what Daniel was trying to prove.
Carlo came set.
His glove was slightly higher than before.
Rafael noticed it immediately, but he didn’t say anything.
The first pitch was a fastball outside. Rafael watched it cross the plate without offering.
"Ball."
Carlo received the return throw and came set again. The next pitch broke low, and Rafael let it pass.
"Strike."
Carlo glanced toward Paolo before delivering the third pitch. The fastball came toward the middle, and Rafael fouled it straight back.
Daniel raised his hand.
"Stop."
Everyone looked over.
Daniel turned toward Rafael. "What was coming?"
"Fastball."
"Why?"
"The glove dropped."
Carlo looked down at his glove.
He hadn’t realized he was doing it.
Daniel nodded. "Again."
The next sequence was different. Carlo deliberately changed the pattern, mixing his pitches instead of following the exact sequence from the video. Rafael watched the first two without swinging, then drove the third pitch hard into the gap.
Miguel ran after it, but the ball had already rolled deep into the outfield.
Joshua shook his head. "Okay."
Rafael stepped out of the box.
Joshua pointed at him. "That’s annoying."
Rafael laughed. "You’re supposed to be on my team."
"I am. That’s why I’m allowed to complain."
Daniel ignored them.
"Carlo, make it harder."
Carlo nodded.
This time he changed his timing and stopped giving Rafael the same visual clue. He threw low, then outside, forcing Rafael to take both pitches before slipping a strike across the plate.
Rafael fouled it away.
The next pitch came inside.
He turned on it.
CRACK!
The ball sailed over the left-field fence.
The players near the dugout immediately erupted.
"Again!" Joshua shouted.
Rafael dropped the bat and walked back toward the plate.
Daniel looked at Carlo.
"What did you throw?"
"Fastball."
"Where?"
"Inside."
Daniel turned toward Rafael.
"Why did you swing?"
Rafael picked up his bat. "Because that was the pitch he was finally willing to give me."
Daniel smiled.
"Exactly."
Paolo pulled off his mask and looked between them. "So the point isn’t knowing what’s coming."
Rafael shook his head.
"No. It’s knowing what he’s trying to make you think is coming."
The dugout went quiet.
Miguel looked at him. "That’s completely different."
Rafael smiled slightly. "It’s still baseball."
Practice continued for another hour, and Daniel kept changing the conditions.
He switched pitchers, changed the counts, moved the defense, and even positioned the infield and outfield to imitate San Pedro’s expected alignment against a power hitter. Rafael still found ways to get on base. Sometimes he drove the ball hard, sometimes he took the pitch, and sometimes he simply hit a single through the opening the defense had created.
When Daniel shifted the fielders toward Rafael’s usual pull side, Rafael noticed immediately and sent a line drive into the space they had left in right-center.
Joshua watched the ball roll toward the fence before looking at Rafael.
"You knew they were moving."
Rafael jogged toward first. "I could see them."
"But how?"
"They were giving me space."
Joshua stared at him.
"You make everything sound easy."
Rafael smiled. "It isn’t easy."
"You just hit the ball exactly where nobody was standing."
"That’s because nobody was standing there."
Joshua shook his head. "You’re impossible."
Rafael laughed as he returned to the dugout.
After practice, the players gathered around while Daniel reviewed the next day’s plan.
"One more thing," he said. "They’re probably going to pitch around Rafael."
Joshua nodded. "Makes sense."
Daniel pointed toward the rest of the lineup.
"If they do, don’t wait for Rafael to save the inning. Make them pay for it."
Rafael looked at his teammates.
That was important.
He didn’t need to hit four home runs every game. If the opponent refused to pitch to him, someone else had to punish them, and that was exactly how a strong lineup was supposed to work.
Daniel looked at him.
"You agree?"
Rafael nodded. "If they don’t want to pitch to me, someone else gets the opportunity."
Joshua smiled. "Finally. Something useful for the rest of us."
Miguel laughed. "You just want more chances to hit."
"Obviously."
The team relaxed, and for the first time that afternoon, the pressure surrounding the next game seemed lighter. They weren’t trying to figure out how to make Rafael better. They were figuring out how to make the entire team more dangerous because Rafael was there.
After practice, Rafael walked toward the gate.
Mia was waiting outside.
She looked at him. "Long practice?"
"Pretty long."
"Did you hit another home run?"
Rafael smiled. "Two."
Mia stared at him.
"During practice?"
"Yeah."
She shook her head. "You’re getting ridiculous."
Rafael laughed as they started walking.
After a few steps, Mia glanced toward him. "They were preparing for you, right?"
"Yeah."
"And?"
Rafael thought about it. "They’re good."
Mia waited for the rest.
Rafael smiled.
"But they’re still learning how to play against me."
Mia looked at him for a moment. "You sound very confident."
"I’ve been doing this for a long time."
She laughed. "You’re seventeen."
For half a second, Rafael almost gave her the real answer.
Twenty years.
Instead, he smiled.
"Feels longer."
Mia didn’t question it.
That night, Rafael sat at his desk and opened the opponent’s lineup again.
Adrian Villanueva.
Luis Mercado.
Nathan Cruz.
Kevin Ramos.
Marco Villareal.
He remembered their tendencies, their defensive alignment, and the way Adrian’s glove moved before his breaking ball. Then his attention settled on Marco Villareal, San Pedro’s cleanup hitter.
Rafael opened another video.
Marco stepped into the box.
The first pitch came inside, and he pulled it hard but foul. The second stayed away, and Marco let it pass. The third dropped low, and he took that one too.
Rafael paused the video.
He replayed the at-bat.
Then he watched it again.
Marco wasn’t a great hitter.
Not yet.
But there was something interesting about him. His timing was good, his balance stayed controlled, and he wasn’t afraid of difficult counts.
Rafael leaned back in his chair.
For the first time since returning to baseball, he found himself genuinely curious about another young player.
Not because he thought Marco could beat him.
He simply wanted to see how far the kid could go.
Rafael closed the laptop.
Tomorrow, San Pedro National would arrive with a plan. They had studied his two home runs, his swing, the areas where he liked to hit, and the defensive adjustments they could make against him.
Good.
That was exactly what he wanted.
Because now there was something worth testing.
Not whether Rafael could compete with them.
But how much damage he could do once they showed him exactly how they planned to stop him.
The next game was coming.
And this time, everyone would know his name.
End of Chapter 11