Stranger in Right Field by Matt Christopher, Bert Dodson Page A

few
     questions, like where he was from, if he was visiting or moving to town—and who the man in the business suit was.
    Coach Parker clapped his hands a few times and trotted out to the third-base coaching position. Alfie sat down next to Roberti
     as Barry McGee, the “Hit-Away Kid,” picked up a bat and headed toward the plate.
    “Okay, Barry! Okay, kid!” Alfie yelled. Even though his mind was on the boy beside him, he wanted the Mudders to know that
     he was rooting for them one hundred percent.
    “A long one, Barry!” Nicky Chong called out from the bench.
    Barry pulled down on his helmet as he stepped into the batting box. He let a ball and a strike go by him. Then he belted the
     next pitch. A high fly to center!
    Adzie Healy of the Bulls made an easy catch of it, and Barry was out.
    “Nice try, Barry,” Alfie said as the outfielder returned to the dugout.
    “Yes, nice try,” Roberti echoed. Barry glanced at both boys, shrugged, then slumped down on the bench.
    First baseman Turtleneck Jones was up next. He took two balls and two strikes, then fanned. Trent Farrell, the Bulls’ lanky
     left-handed pitcher, seemed to have his fastball working well.
    But then José walked, and T.V. Adams doubled. A single from Nicky Chong knocked them both in for two runs scored.
    As Alfie stepped to the plate, he saw Nickywatching him with a hopeful look that seemed to say, “Drive me home!”
     

     
    Coach Parker clapped his hands from the third-base coaching box. “Keep it going, Alfie!” he called. “Make it count!”
    Alfie took a deep breath and readied himself for the first pitch. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Roberti lean forward,
     his elbows on his knees. Alfie could feel the new boy staring at him.
    Suddenly Alfie was nervous. A trickle of sweat ran down his back. One thought ran through his head:
How am I supposed to help Roberti get better at baseball when I have trouble playing the game myself sometimes?

3

    “Steee-rike!” boomed the ump as Trent’s first pitch blazed by Alfie.
    “At least swing for those, Alfie,” Bus Mercer muttered from the on-deck circle. “Don’t just stand there.”
    Alfie didn’t. But he missed the next pitch by a mile. Strike two.
    “Come on, Alfie!” Bus said.
    The pitcher fired in another.
    “Ball!” boomed the umpire.
    Alfie dug his cleats into the dirt.
This next one won’t get by me!
he thought fiercely.
    But it did. Trent’s pitch was waist high andoutside. Alfie cut at it anyway and swished. Strike three.
    “Rats! Made the third out
again!
” Alfie heard Bus say. Alfie felt his face turn red. Even though the other boys often let their teammates know when they were
     disappointed, Alfie tried not to make comments like that himself. They never made him feel any better, and he knew that they
     could make someone else feel bad.
    Roberti was sitting back with his cap pulled low over his eyes. Beneath the brim, his face was as expressionless as a fresh
     apple.
    Bet he wishes the coach had assigned him to someone other than me
, Alfie thought dismally as he grabbed his glove and headed to right field. He took up his position and tried to put Roberti
     out of his mind by starting up the chatter.
    “C’mon, Sparrow! Get ’em out—one, two, three!” he called to the Mudders’ pitcher. Therest of the team picked up the chatter.
    Sparrow faced the first batter, Jim Hance. Jim laced the ball down to short. Bus picked it off and sent it to Turtleneck at
     first base for an easy out. The second batter flied out. But Ted Jackson drove a sizzler past Sparrow and Bus. He made it
     to first.
    That was it, though. Adzie Healey popped out to end the inning.
    Alfie ran in. When he reached the dugout, he hesitated a long moment before sitting beside Roberti.
    “Too bad about your hitting,” Roberti said. “How many years have you been playing baseball?”
    Alfie looked quickly at Roberti. Was the question some kind of wisecrack? Was Roberti suggesting that Alfie