Already being June, Naruto had become a hero in the town of Somerset, with the Patriots leading the standings everything was working well for the team.
Currently being in the local radio station, Naruto waited to be called into the booth. "Mr. Uzumaki." an intern called the blond who got up and nodded. "Welcome, to the station. I'm Claire." the woman introduced herself as Naruto shook her hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Claire." he replied.
"The pleasure's all mine." they broke the shake "Is there by any chance anything I could get you, like refreshments or water?"
"I'm good...a little nervous from the fact I'm going to be part of the show, but other than that. I'm cool." Claire nodded "That's great to hear."
When the show had finally took an ad break the blond met up with the DJ who'd interview him and he was set up across him.
"Now coming back to the show, here at Somerset Radio we have a special guest today. Baseball star for the Patriots. Naruto Uzumaki, welcome to the show." the man introduced the blond who smiled. "Yeah, thanks for having me, it's a great honour." he he replied.
"The honour is all mine, man. It's all mine." the man began "Now Naruto seeing as you've had an amazing season so far, hitting .356 with already 17 homers and 36 RBIs, it's what's to be expected of the number 3 hitter on the line-up. Can you tell us how you felt when the manager told you, you'd be in that roll?"
"Well in truth I was a little nervous, but at the same time excited at the fact. Since when I first got here I was in the bottom half of the lineup," he said into the mic "The fact my bat was able to handle the pressure after I got my new role is a relief."
"That's great and seeing the fact the Patriots are leading the Double-A Northeast standings, you can proudly say the manager did a good pick, right?"
"Ah huh, I was able to show him that I can handle the pressure, but in truth this was all a team effort and it's a good thing I wasn't the one to hold back the squad. We've all been working hard and tirelessly throughout the season for this kind of momentum and right now we're all aiming on continuing to play well."
"That's great, what's it like hitting behind Chase Daniels and Raphael Gonzales?"
"It's amazing. Like in my opinion, no one beats Chase nor Rapha when it comes to getting on base. The way they get contact on the ball it just makes my life easy." he replied.
"So what are your goals for the rest of the season?"
"Well getting to the playoffs and winning the championship for the people of Somerset is the #1 priority," he smiled " It's the team goal which everyone in the entire organization takes seriously. From us the players to the board of directors, we're all hard-headed on bringing it home."
"That's great to hear." the DJ commented as Naruto continued.
"My personal goal is to make the Double-A All-Star team. I think if I keep going at the pace I've been at. I'll be representing the Patriots with great pride." he declared.
"Well Naruto, thanks for taking your time to talk to us today. We wish you all the best for the rest of the season."
"Thanks for having me." Naruto replied, as he got up his chair and walked out "And that's all the time we have for today. Thanks for listening to the show, and be sure to join us next time for another interview with a local athlete."
Later that day Naruto had arrived at the team facility to put in some work. Walking with his bat towards the batting cage, he bumped into his teammates Chase and Raphael who both laughed at him. "Okay what's so funny now guys?" the blond asked.
"We heard you interview on the radio, holmes." Raphael explained "Yeah and you sounded pretty confident."
"I guess playing with you guys makes me have a free mind." the blond replied. "So you really think you'll make the All-Star team?" Chase asked "I mean I've been playing good so far, why not." he retorted "Who knows maybe we'll be the face of the whole thing together." he smiled.
"Maybe, just make sure you don't let that All-Star title get all up in your face. We're gonna need that bat of yours come the fall." Chase concluded as him and Raphael went away. Naruto hearing this just went into the batting cage and began practising.
For the entire month, June was a month to remember for the young slugger. Being named the Double-A Northeast League Player of the Month, Naruto's bat was scorching throughout the month as he batted around .350, got 8 more homeruns and 30 RBIs.
Being on fire at the plate all month. The blond having played all of Somerset's 25 June games, he had hit one homerun in each 10 game. His longest being a 450-foot blast against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats on June 25.
Not only being a force in the field, he was as well a force on the basepaths, having stolen 20 bases in the month and had several highlight-reel defensive plays.
Most of his famous highlights were as follows:
-On June 1st, he hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Patriots a walk-off victory over the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, stealing the game in great fashion.
-On June 7th, he made a diving catch in center field to rob a home run from the Portland Sea Dogs that would've tied the game.
-On June 15th, he hit three home runs and stole three bases in a victory over the Reading Fighting Phils. -On June 25, the blond hit a 450 foot rocket against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
Playing with such a performance, it wasn't by any surprise that the Patriots maintained their lead in the Double A Northeast League standings. The Patriots being 12 games ahead of the second-place Hartford Yard Goats, Naruto's hot bat was one of the reason why his team was the best in the league.
Having won yet another game, the Patriots home fans that came to see this evening game clapped in cheer for their team as their amazing season continued to bear great fruits of victory. Naruto walking off the field after having ended the game with a fly-ball to him, had a chat with some of the fans before he was called by his manager for quick word.
"Well kid I got some good news for you." the man began "Are they calling me for another end-game interview?" the blond asked "Well yeah, but what I got is even bigger."
Hearing this Naruto got intrigued "Well what is it, coach?"
"Congrats kid, you've been selected to play in the Double-A All-Star game." he stated showing him his invitation letter. Naruto's eyes widen in surprise at the fact. "This...this is awesome! Hell yeah!" he celebrated "Congratulations, kid. You've earned it." Naruto pats on the back from his coach just had a bright smile.
All of the hard work he did, was finally paying off. Telling his teammates about his accomplishment, they all went out clubbing to celebrate the occasion.
Finally, the long wait was over, arriving at the T-Mobile Park in Seattle that was hosting the Double-A All-Star game. Naruto felt excited to be here. Walking through the clubhouse and greeting some of the staff, he was blown away by how big and different the team lockers were.
'These put the lockers back in Somerset to shame.' the blond thought as he put his bag infront of a locker that was reserved for him. 'It's got even Gatorade!' he said shocked as he took the bottle from the locker's fridge. 'Man the majors are crazy!' Naruto thought shocked as he drank his drink. 'I can't wait to get called up.' he thought.
"It's a nice locker isn't it?" he heard a man speak behind him. "Yeah, it's not bad." he replied "Good, let's just hope you don't vandalise it...it used to be mine." the man stated as Naruto turned around. 'It used to be yours?' he said confused as he turned around to see an african-american man of similar height wearing casual clothes and having a smile.
"No way! It's you!" he jolted from his seat pointing at the man. "Ken Griffey Jr!" he fanboyed as the man smiled. "In the flesh." he stated.
"What are you doing here?" he asked "I was in the neighbourhood so I decided to pop by and see the future stars of the league." Griffey replied. "That's great." Naruto said with a smile as he went up to him and shook his hand. "Must I say it's an honour to meet you, Mr. Griffey. I've been a big fan of yours my whole life! I still have posters of you playing for the Mariners and Reds hanging on my wall, you were the entire reason I play baseball, the way you swinged the bat and how cool you looked with your cap backwards, everything you did made me love this sport."
"Kid, kid...calm down your bumbling." Griffey laughed telling the kid to calm down. Naruto blushing at this apologised. "As much as I love the fact being your idol, I gotta say you're one hell of a player kid."
"It means a lot coming from you sir. Could you like do me a favour and give me your autograph?" the man nodded as he took out a marker from his pocket.
"Do you have something I could sign?" the blond took his bat and handed to him. "Just so you know I plan to bat with it today...as a lucky charm, you know?" Griffey laughed "Yeah, sure thing kid. Knock yourself out." he handed the bat back.
"Well I'm off, good luck in the game." Griffey bid the blond farewell. Naruto still fanboying couldn't believe he got an autograph from Ken Griffey Jr. swinging his bat a bit. Naruto felt motivated even more to get to the majors as he analyzed his hero's signature.
"I'm going to play well, for Mr. Griffey." Naruto told himself as his teammates for the All-Star game walked into the clubhouse.