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“Steee-rike!” boomed the umpire.
Bus Mercer took the call without batting an eye. After all, the first two pitches Bucky Neal had thrown had been balls. The
Green Dragons’ pitcher had already walked one man this inning, the fourth in the game. There was only one out. Bus figured
he could afford to take a strike call.
The next pitch was another ball. Bus relaxed, feeling sure that Bucky would walk him, too.
Then Bucky breezed in a belt-high pitch that caught Bus off guard.
“Steee-rike!”
Bus stepped quickly out of the box. As he ran his hands up and down the aluminum bat, he glanced over at the stands. Sitting
somewhere in that crowd of Peach Street Mudders fans were scouts for the county All-Star team. Bus knew they were watching
every player who came to bat, every player who fielded a ball. The best ones would be chosen to play in the All-Star game
coming up in two weeks. It was a game every kid in the league would give his right arm for. Well, almost.
Bus knew he had to make this next pitch count if he was going to stand a chance of making that special team.
“Belt it, Bus!” Rudy Calhoun yelled from the on-deck circle.
Bus stepped back into the box. He swung hard at the next pitch. A high-hoppinggrounder toward short! Dropping the bat, he beat it for first base. But the shortstop fielded the ball and winged it to the
first baseman in plenty of time.
Drat!
Bus thought sourly.
I really needed that hit! Instead, I just made a stupid out.
Then he remembered Coach Parker’s warning before the game.
“Those scouts will be watching this team for three games. So if you miss out on one play in one game, don’t dwell on it. Just
make a mental note to try a bit harder next time, then put the play out of your head. Nothing hurts a player’s concentration
more than worrying about something that can’t be changed. A good attitude is as important as a good play — and those scouts
will be looking for both.”
So Bus tried to shake off his disappointment by joining the bench in cheering on the next batter.
But Rudy Calhoun, the Peach Street Mudders’ catcher, struck out on four pitches to end the fourth inning.
“C’mon you guys! Let’s stop ‘em again!” Coach Parker yelled, clapping his hands as the Mudders took to the field for the beginning
of the fifth inning.
The Mudders looked neat in their white, blue-trimmed uniforms, a sharp contrast to the green, white-trimmed uniforms the Dragons
wore.
Bus got into his position, covering the hole between second and third, and joined in the infield chatter. “C’mon Sparrow!
Get ‘em outta there! Make it one, two, three!”
Smack!
A streaking grass-cutter shot past Sparrow’s legs for a single.
But that was the only hit the Dragons got that inning. A fly-out, a ground-out, and a strikeout ended their turn at bat.
“Okay, Sparrow,” Bus called as the pitcher tossed off his glove and picked up a bat.“We’ve got to get onto that scoreboard to win this one! Show ‘em you can hit as well as you pitch!”
Sparrow did. He laced a line drive over second base for a single. The bench stood up and joined the Mudders fans in a loud
cheer.
Then Barry McGee doubled, advancing Sparrow to third. But Turtleneck Jones and José Méndez both popped out. It looked like
Sparrow and Barry might die on base. With two outs and the game still scoreless, T.V. Adams stepped to the plate. Bus held
his breath as the ball left Bucky Neal’s hand.
T.V. came through with flying colors. He belted a sky-reaching fly ball to deep left field that went for a triple. Both Sparrow
and Barry made it home. The score was now Mudders 2, Dragons 0.
Nicky Chong flied out to end the inning.
As Bus jogged onto the field, he half hoped the Dragons would get some hits this inning. He wanted the Mudders to win the
game,but he wanted to show the All-Star scouts what he could do in the field, too. And if the Dragons scored enough runs to tie
“Steee-rike!” boomed the umpire.
Bus Mercer took the call without batting an eye. After all, the first two pitches Bucky Neal had thrown had been balls. The
Green Dragons’ pitcher had already walked one man this inning, the fourth in the game. There was only one out. Bus figured
he could afford to take a strike call.
The next pitch was another ball. Bus relaxed, feeling sure that Bucky would walk him, too.
Then Bucky breezed in a belt-high pitch that caught Bus off guard.
“Steee-rike!”
Bus stepped quickly out of the box. As he ran his hands up and down the aluminum bat, he glanced over at the stands. Sitting
somewhere in that crowd of Peach Street Mudders fans were scouts for the county All-Star team. Bus knew they were watching
every player who came to bat, every player who fielded a ball. The best ones would be chosen to play in the All-Star game
coming up in two weeks. It was a game every kid in the league would give his right arm for. Well, almost.
Bus knew he had to make this next pitch count if he was going to stand a chance of making that special team.
“Belt it, Bus!” Rudy Calhoun yelled from the on-deck circle.
Bus stepped back into the box. He swung hard at the next pitch. A high-hoppinggrounder toward short! Dropping the bat, he beat it for first base. But the shortstop fielded the ball and winged it to the
first baseman in plenty of time.
Drat!
Bus thought sourly.
I really needed that hit! Instead, I just made a stupid out.
Then he remembered Coach Parker’s warning before the game.
“Those scouts will be watching this team for three games. So if you miss out on one play in one game, don’t dwell on it. Just
make a mental note to try a bit harder next time, then put the play out of your head. Nothing hurts a player’s concentration
more than worrying about something that can’t be changed. A good attitude is as important as a good play — and those scouts
will be looking for both.”
So Bus tried to shake off his disappointment by joining the bench in cheering on the next batter.
But Rudy Calhoun, the Peach Street Mudders’ catcher, struck out on four pitches to end the fourth inning.
“C’mon you guys! Let’s stop ‘em again!” Coach Parker yelled, clapping his hands as the Mudders took to the field for the beginning
of the fifth inning.
The Mudders looked neat in their white, blue-trimmed uniforms, a sharp contrast to the green, white-trimmed uniforms the Dragons
wore.
Bus got into his position, covering the hole between second and third, and joined in the infield chatter. “C’mon Sparrow!
Get ‘em outta there! Make it one, two, three!”
Smack!
A streaking grass-cutter shot past Sparrow’s legs for a single.
But that was the only hit the Dragons got that inning. A fly-out, a ground-out, and a strikeout ended their turn at bat.
“Okay, Sparrow,” Bus called as the pitcher tossed off his glove and picked up a bat.“We’ve got to get onto that scoreboard to win this one! Show ‘em you can hit as well as you pitch!”
Sparrow did. He laced a line drive over second base for a single. The bench stood up and joined the Mudders fans in a loud
cheer.
Then Barry McGee doubled, advancing Sparrow to third. But Turtleneck Jones and José Méndez both popped out. It looked like
Sparrow and Barry might die on base. With two outs and the game still scoreless, T.V. Adams stepped to the plate. Bus held
his breath as the ball left Bucky Neal’s hand.
T.V. came through with flying colors. He belted a sky-reaching fly ball to deep left field that went for a triple. Both Sparrow
and Barry made it home. The score was now Mudders 2, Dragons 0.
Nicky Chong flied out to end the inning.
As Bus jogged onto the field, he half hoped the Dragons would get some hits this inning. He wanted the Mudders to win the
game,but he wanted to show the All-Star scouts what he could do in the field, too. And if the Dragons scored enough runs to tie
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